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la-petite-lapin · 27 days

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Double the Love | Part Nine

Double the Love masterlist

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Johnny "Soap" MacTavish x female civilian!OC Word Count: 2.5k Series warnings (may change between chapters): 18+ Minors DNI, angst, mentions of death, mentions of violence, swearing, mentions of nudity, mentions of sexually explicit content, OC has anxiety, communication, polyamory, M/M/F

A conversation and a confession

Simon doesn't say anything for a while. I sit next to him silently, waiting for the words I know are coming. Knowing that they're going to hurt.

I've accepted it. They're probably going to want to move out after this. God - how am I going to explain this to John...

"We thought you needed space today," Simon starts softly, his gentle tone soothing a part of me that I didn't know needed soothing. "We... I've messed up today. I should have shown you more affection. I shouldn't have let you doubt this."

I blink up at him, dazed and bewildered. He's going to have to spell this one out for me.

Like he's reading my mind, he explains, "We really like you, Tali. We didn't want to scare you away after how intense last night was." There's another beat of silence as he glances at Johnny, still fast asleep, and adds, "I think this a conversation that all of us need to be present for."

They like me.

The realisation sets in like a freight train. They really like me.

A giddy feeling somewhere between excitement and confusion creeps in, all but erasing the sadness I felt just moments ago. Simon looks at me, head cocked to one side like he can sense the heavy mix of emotions swirling around inside of me. There's a glimmer in his hazel eyes as he carefully watches my expression.

"Can we... can we wake him up now, please?" I know that it's selfish, but I need to know that this is resolved. I need to know that they both feel the same so that we can move on. So that I can think and plan and mentally prepare myself for what people are going to say.

Oh God.

What are John and Gaz going to think? The people I work with? I'd like to think that I don't really care about the opinions of others, but I do. Deep down, I do. Strangers can be judgemental and mean - especially where poly relationships are concerned. Shit, what about PDA? That's going to draw unwanted attention and...

"Hey, love." Simon gently squeezes my hand with his, scarred fingers surprisingly gentle against my much smaller ones. "Where did ya go?"

I swallow, suddenly aware of how dry my throat is, and how my knees are shaking. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"About this. Us." When he squeezes my hand again, I carry on, shifting closer to him on the sofa until I'm tucked seamlessly against his side. "People are going to judge us."

There's a pause before Simon does something that surprises me. He barks out a laugh. A loud, gruff laugh that startles me for a second, almost making me jump.

I look up at him like he's gone mad, and he looks back at me, eyes twinkling with humour as he smirks. "You really think that's going to be what they focus on, princess? I walk around in public, 6'7, dressed in all black with a bloody mask on. Johnny's hardly a wallflower either. You really think people will be rushing to judge the sweet, beautiful woman walking around beside us?"

Well, when he put it that way, I suppose they wouldn't.

"I mean, there's always going to be a chance that some people will, but fuck 'em. I've caught enough stares to last me more than a lifetime. 's like water off a duck's back." Some of the amusement leaves his tone, eyes solemn again for a moment as he adds, "But seriously, love, if they don't know us, then why should we bother what they think? It's something Johnny said to me when we first started going out. I used to get so fucking stressed out about people looking at us and whispering shit. Just wanted to rip their heads clean off their shoulders. But it's not our problem - it's theirs."

I nod slowly. It seems to simple when he says it like that. I know it won't be, but it gives me hope. Hope that - one day - I'll be as nonchalant about it as Simon is.

There's a grumbling sound from the other end of the sofa. One that draws both of our attention. "Wha's all this about problems and heads?"

Si and I look across at the same time, meeting a pair of heavy-lidded, confused bright blue eyes.

"...and so Tali thought we weren't interested, and that we were ignoring her," Si says, rounding off his summary-version of our conversation to a now wide-awake Johnny.

"Right," the Scotsman says, cradling a mug of black coffee like it's his firstborn. "Well, respectfully, tha's a bunch of shite." He turns to me with wide eyes, and I try not to look sheepish. "Ye know that now, right?"

I offer him a small smile. "Right," I repeat.

The three of us are still in the living room - myself tucked back into my armchair, and the two of them sitting on the sofa facing me. There are some important matters that need to be discussed, questions that need to be asked, and ground rules that need to be laid. Things that won't get done if I'm sitting next to either of them. It'd be all too easy to get lost in their eyes, snuggle up to their ridiculously toasty body heat and drag them back into their room for round three.

I need to stay focused for this.

"So, what does this make us?" I ask, hoping that I don't sound as nervous as I feel. I'm surprised that I'm not physically shaking.

Johnny shrugs, glancing from Si back to me again before saying, "Our girlfriend. Partner. Take yer pick," just as Simon says, "Whatever you want us to be."

"I think I'd like to be your girlfriend, if that's okay." When they voice their more than enthusiastic approval, I turn to my next question, a nervous smile forming on my lips. "What will you tell John and Kyle?"

Simon frowns at my obvious hesitance, the movement tugging at the scars around his mouth. "Captain Price we can leave to you, if you're more comfortable that way. And Gaz... we can tell him we're together whenever you want. He's pretty open-minded."

I swallow thickly. "They're both coming over at the weekend."

There's a beat of silence before Johnny starts laughing. "Making plans with our friends without us already, lassie? We've only been together for half-an-hour."

My cheeks heat up and I fight the urge to get embarrassed. "John made then plans, not me."

Simon grins. "I think it's cute. It's good that you get along with Gaz; he's a nice lad."

We're getting side-tracked!

I clear my throat, all business once again. "There's something else that I need to tell you."

They both look at me, expressions holding varying degrees of concern and blind acceptance. They're looking at me like I hung the moon.

I know that it probably won't change the way that things are between the three of us, but I'm still nervous. Because - technically - I've been lying to them since we met.

They still don't know that I'm Alex's sister.

"Did Price ever tell you how he and I met?"

The question hangs in the air between us. I watch as it dawns on them: he never did. Regardless the pair stay silent, giving me the space to take a deep breath and continue on.

"We met over a year ago, when he came to inform me that my brother had died."

Simon's face turns a sickly greyish-white hue. "You- you never told me that he was military."

On the other side of the sofa, Johnny's expression darkens. "I didn't even know that ye had a brother." He pauses, eyes locking onto mine as he says, "But... if the Captain came to tell ye, tha' means... he was somethin' to do with our lot."

Si's head starts shaking before I can even get the next part of my confession out, like he knows exactly where this is all about to go. "My name - my full name - is Talia Keller. And my... my brother's name was Alex. Operations Officer Alex Keller."

Johnny lets out something between a groan and a choking noise. My heart is beating in my throat, palms clammy and chest too tight. Simon isn't even looking at me anymore; he's looking at the floor, the walls, the ceiling... anywhere but me.

"I... how? Alex never told us he had a sister." Simon sounds borderline frantic. I try not to let that statement hurt me; try to remind myself that it has no bearing on the love that my brother felt for me. Catching the look on my face, Simon adds a broken, "I didn't mean it like that."

If I didn't know any better, I'd say he wanted me to walk over to him and tell him that it's all a lie. One big, sick joke. That I actually met John through a friend of a friend, or some other totally normal circumstance. Not via a death notification.

"Calm down, Si," Johnny says suddenly, his soft, placating tone cutting through the room. "Calm down and let our lass talk." Blue eyes lock onto mine, offering me endless reassurance. "Carry on, love."

I clear my throat, hands clenching and unclenching into fists at my sides as I will myself not to cry. "Our parents died when we were young, and Alex joined the army when I was still just a kid. He was all I had left after our grandmother passed. And - when he died - John came to the flat to tell me he was gone." I remember the crushing weight of the loneliness I felt in those days that followed, and it brings a weak, bitter smile to my lips. "But he didn't just tell me and go. He left his number and he made an effort to be there when I needed him. He pulled me into his life; kept reaching out even when I was too stubborn to see that I really needed him around."

Johnny frowns, and I can see the unshed tears shining in his eyes. "But... why didn't ye tell us, love?"

I shake my head, my own tears falling freely. "I don't know," I say, honestly meaning it. "I just... I don't know. Maybe I thought it would be easier? So that you wouldn't pity me for it?"

Before Johnny can reply, Simon is standing up - crossing the living room with long, precise strides. He scoops me up from the armchair, cradling me in his big, muscular arms. I wrap my legs around his waist on instinct, burrowing my face into the crook of his neck to hide myself away from the world, letting the tears pour out.

"We don't pity you, princess," Simon says, his breath warm against the shell of my ear. I can hear the sofa creaking softly as Johnny stands up. Can feel his fingers brushing through my hair. "Just wish you'd told us sooner, that's all."

I peel myself away from Simon long enough to manage two words before I'm burying my face back into his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, lovie," Johnny coos. "There's nothin' to be sorry about."

Once we've all calmed down, Simon announces that it's time we all head off to bed. It's gone 11 and not only do I have work tomorrow but they have to nip across to the base for a meeting, so he has a point.

As Johnny and Simon rattle around the apartment, double-checking that they locked the front door when they came in earlier, and making sure all the windows are shut, I start to head off to my room. The room I sleep in alone.

"Um, where do ya think ye're going, lassie?" a voice calls out from the top of the hallway. I turn around to see Johnny standing there, his broad frame practically filling the space as he folds his arms across his massive chest.

I let out a quiet squeak. "Bed?"

Simon appears behind him, resting his chin on top of his boyfriend's - our boyfriend's - head. "Nice try. Get your arse into bed. I'm not in the mood to chase you tonight." With an adorable flash of vulnerability softening his battle-hardened features, he adds, "I want to cuddle."

Melting inside, I backtrack down the hallway and push their door open, hopping into what used to be my bed.

After a few minutes, I doze off, and when I open my eyes again, I'm bracketed on both sides by the warm, muscular bodies of my boyfriends. I try not to giggle like a teenage girl internally, but it does a lot to shake off the remaining sadness lingering from our conversation about Alex.

I roll over, accidentally slamming face-first into Simon's bare chest. Instead of whining about it, he grumbles, "Are you going to sleep like that?"

I blink, pulling away to glance down at myself. After I flopped down onto the mattress, I hadn't thought to take off my clothes. Or find myself anything suitable to sleep in.

"No?"

Simon chuckles indulgently, joined swiftly by Johnny - his rock-hard chest vibrating against my back.

"Jesus, lassie, just sleep naked like us. 's easier," the Scotsman says, drawing my attention to the fact that they are both indeed naked. "Saves us havin' to move wardrobes around."

I ignore him, kicking off my jeans before pulling my shirt off over my head. I lay still for a moment before something occurs to me - another question I forgot to ask earlier. A glaringly obvious one.

"What happens after Johnny's stitches have healed?"

Silence fills the room. It makes me wonder if it's something they've been wondering too.

Johnny speaks first. "Tha' depends, lassie. We'd have to ask Captain Price. An' it depends on ye, and want ye wanna do. But we'll both have to return to active duty."

Before I can ask what that looks like for them, Simon clarifies, "That means we'll be out on assignments more often." I don't think I'm imagining the heavy note of sadness that weighs heavy in his voice as he adds, "Sometimes we'll both be gone for weeks at a time, with no way of getting in touch with you."

As much as I hate it, I've already made my peace with that part. The bit that I don't get is the living situation. When they are here, I'd like to stay with them. I can live in the flat while they're away, but what about when they aren't? It's not fair on Winnie to have all four of us staying here, encroaching on her space. This apartment is just as much her home as it is mine.

"Do you two have a place together?" I ask, more out of curiosity than anything. I highly doubt it, since they ended up here with me in the first place.

Simon shakes his head. "We never saw a need for one. When we're in the country, we stay in the barracks with the other soldiers." A frown forms on his lips and I pull back a little further so I can comfortably cup his jaw. I smooth my thumb along the length of his cheekbone. "But I don't think that's a place that I'm happy with you being in."

I open my mouth to protest but Johnny's hand appears from behind me, swatting the air between us. "Can we talk about this in the mornin'? Some of us would like to sleep."

With a soft giggle, I roll over again and press a chaste kiss to the tip of his nose, then his forehead, and the cheek not pressed against the pillow. I settle my head into the gap underneath his chin, feeling the comfortable weight of Simon's arm come to drape over my waist and onto Johnny's. I can hear the sound of them kissing goodnight over my head, and it warms my heart even more than I thought I would.

Sandwiched between the two of them, I doze off again.

a/n: hi guys! I felt bad leaving you on a cliffhanger with that last one, so here's part 9 :) thank you so much to everyone for the kind words and support, both on posts and through messages, it does mean a lot 🧡 - lapetitelapin x

#cod #cod fanfic #ghoap x reader #fanfic #simon “ghost” riley x reader #soap x reader #callofduty #cod x reader #ghost x reader #ghost x reader x soap #female reader #female oc #johnny mactavish x reader #johnny x reader x simon #johnny x oc x simon #simon riley x reader #double the love #romance #ghost x oc x soap

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fluffymaxsworld · 6 months

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“seven days”

monday

model!simonriley x normie!reader

[simon is a model, you’re the typical sweet girl, no smut (but planned), enemies to lovers, mutual attraction, orphanage, mention of christianity, ghost can’t basically socialize poor boy :(]

[not proof read, i’m sorry for grammar mistakes, i’m not english :))]

“If you want to improve your situation you have to take part in this volunteer project” simon riley’s manager handed him a voucher, “It’s a week-a-week job at an orphanage in a small town”

“one week should be easy” he said, “sign me up”

MONDAY

simon riley, world famous model, finally arrived at the orphanage.

lately rumors began to spread about his deep hate for children, which was half true, he wouldn’t lie, but still a bad thing for his public image.

“you should be simon, come in” a old woman greeted him, smiling weakly.

now i get why they need help, he thought.

“i’m really happy another young man has decided to help us”

another? there are other people?

“it’s such a pleasure being here, mrs…?”

“oh, sarah is fine” she began to walk towards a small, cozy room. “this is where you’ll sleep for the next few days, get comfortable!”

“thank you sarah” he smiled and dropped his suitcase on the floor, “i’ll make sure to be as quick as possible to start today”

“what a kind guy!” she said, leaving him alone in the room.

he took a glance around. it was quite different from the hotel rooms he was used to, the sunlight hitting the walls and the beds… beds?!

he didn’t noticed that there were another pair of bags on the floor, a deep shade of pink and some feminine clothes dropping out of them. one of the bed was done, light blue sheets and soft pillows. someone was going to sleep with him.

he sighed, taking out his black surgical mask (to avoid paparazzi during the whole day, his manager said) and putting it on his face, half of it now well covered.

after doing his bed and preparing the last things, he walked into the common space full of lively children and a sweet scent of baked cookies, something he missed a lot. he noticed a couple of women and men around his age helping the kids or playing with them. he sat on a chair, looking around for something to do.

a small hand reached his arm touching his hard muscles.

“are you new??” a cute voice coming out of a small kid, six years old maybe.

“i am kiddo” he replied, “what’s yer name?”

“alex!!” he smiled, “and that’s my best friend!”

he pointed at a 20 years old girl that was wearing a cute yellow dress full of sunflowers, smiling sweetly at some children that were drawing on a piece of paper. you.

“she’s the best ever! i love her so much!” the kid interrupted his thoughts, gripping his arm gently.

“alex! come back here!” your even sweeter voice called out the kid who immediately, still holding simon’s arm, ran towards you.

“hey hey, look who i found! he’s new!” alex said, smiling almost proud of his new friend.

“hello, simon riley”

“simon riley? the model?” you asked bluntly, your soft expression hardening at the thought of more problems, “what are you here for, money or something? we definitely don’t need any trouble”

“girl, relax. i wanted to help, that’s all.” he replied, getting quite annoyed by the same girl he found nearly attractive a few seconds before.

“a model? that wants to help? oh please, do you think i’m stupid?” you grunted.

“what’s your problem, girl. s’not like i’ve brought wit’ me paparazzi and fangirls”

“your stupid fangirls. how can people like celebrities they never met…” you mumbled, almost to yourself.

“i can hear you.” he groaned, “and i even thought you were sweet”

“the fu-” you covered your mouth before cursing in front of the kids, “i don’t wanna talk to you, so please leave me alone”

“tsk, s’not like i wanted to talk to ya” and with this, he walked away.

liar. he wanted to talk to you. so damn much.

lunch time. simon talked to a few guys working there that told him about how the days works and the breaks.

“you’ll choose a table for the whole week, unfortunately you can’t change it.” they explained.

simon took his food, a warm soup with a side of chicken, and sat on a half empty table.

he had small talks with the guys sitting there when suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“what are you doing here?” your voice broke the silence in his mind.

“eating?” he replied, almost sarcastically.

“eating, here?” you sat besides him, “this is my table”

“so? now it’s ours” he grunted.

i wonder how’d you look in bed sweetheart, he thought, blushing slightly under his mask.

“whatever. there’s no need to fuck around for a stupid thing like this.” you said.

“so you can swear. thought ya were some kind of church typa girl”

“what the hell is this supposed to mean? a christian girl can’t swear?” you growled.

“no no, that’s not…” he stopped, “whatever, forget it. let’s just ignore each other.”

“good idea”

simon entered his room, curios on who his roommate might be, maybe a cute girl, he thought.

well, whoever they were, they didn’t arrive yet. luckily, because he needed a shower. after taking off his sweaty clothes and bringing with him all the stuff for his model-like shower he stepped in, turning on the warm water and cleaning up.

you opened the door of your room, sarah already told you about your new roommate and you just prayed he wasn’t simon. a soapy scent filled the air so you just figured out he was probably taking a shower.

you laid on your light blue bed, enjoying the pleasant breeze, smiling softly and thinking about your day.

simon isn’t a bad guy for sure, but you just couldn’t help but imagine him like a thirsty-for-fame man. yet you couldn’t also deny his attractiveness, which made you blush softy at the only sight of him.

of course he’s handsome, he’s a model! you thought.

simon finished the shower. he wrapped around his hips a white towel. he opened the door and…

“you!?” he grunted.

“you??” you grunted back, studying his appearance, “put something on, you pervert!”

“i just took a shower, dumbass!” he growled.

“whatever, put something on anyways!” you looked away, pressing your face into the soft pillow.

he’s so damn hot!!! you thought, blushing intensely.

why does she have to be so annoying, such a waste for a cutie like her, he thought, closing the bathroom door and putting on his calvin klein boxers.

after awhile he stepped out (again) all dressed up as he saw you already sleeping on your bed. you had changed clothes too in the meantime.

so she was naked? he smirked.

“you’re so breathtaking” he whispered to himself.

“i’m what?” you muttered, sleepy voice and sleep eyes.

luckily for him, you weren’t facing him, because right now he was blushing like a school girl, covering his face.

“annoying! you’re so annoying!” he tried to correct himself.

“tsk, whatever.”

i love this concept, seven days of model!simonriley x normie!reader.

i want him to wake up with a morning erection😍😍

pt 2 coming in a few days :))

ask to join a taglist <33

#ghost x reader #simon riley #cod simon riley #simon riley x you #simon riley x reader #ghost x you #ghost smut #cod ghost #simon ghost riley #ghost #simon riley smut #simon ghost x reader #ghost cod #cod x reader

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viviennevermillion · 6 months

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Consider: Elven Prince Bernard and Elven Knight Bethina / Betty (they're hard to sketch so excuse the oopsies).

I think after Disney didn't even manage to successfully nostalgia-bait me (and I'm someone who likes the Star Wars sequels and Season 5-8 of Winx Club so this really says something), we should have a medieval fantasy AU as a treat!

Ideas for what I might draw next / brainrot about:

Witch Sandra — like with a pointy hat and everything! Perhaps with Befana giving her advice but I don't think my skills are good enough to pull that off help

Alternative idea: Disney Princess Sandra who attracts little woodland creatures when she sings (her singing is awful for comic relief purposes and it still makes the finches flock to her)

Court Jester Cal "Do you think Riley will like me in this outfit?" Calvin

Noblewoman Riley

Court Jester Noel — in solidarity with Court Jester Cal

Royal Advisor Edie

Curtis as whatever the male version of a handmaiden is + handbook

Roy Enchantix! — like with big ass fae wings

Snow King Jack. Like, Elsa but shadier.

Mother Nature (we really need to give her a proper name. come on, this fandom is like 10 people, we can make it happen!) as a gorgeous nature spirit! Or maybe as a goddess? Both would work 🤔

What do we do with Scott? Do we just make him the king because the previous king died in his front yard? Can you imagine that?

I think Charlie would work as a knight

I know this isn't medieval but we can slap a Victorian dress onto Carol and have her beat someone up with a high heel but I'm not sure I can draw that 😂

Laura and Neil as regular citizens from some backwater village who don't believe in magic until Elven Prince Bernard plunders their fridge

Magnus Antas as like,,,, Tom Bombadil. A very evil, slightly more feral Tom Bombadil.

#tsc #bernard #bernard the elf #tsc betty #the santa clauses #the santa clause #scott calvin #tsc fanart #the santa clause bernard #charlie calvin #jack frost #the santa clause jack #tsc jack

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linawritesocs · 2 years

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avery, hayden, riley and vance's halloween voicelines!

so. because of classes and me being bad at time management i will most likely not be able to draw their halloween cards EVEN THOUGH I REALLY WANT TO AND I HAVE SOME IDEAS FOR RSA HALLOWEEN TOO. but i decided to write their voicelines anyway! i'll be using avery, hayden, riley and vance for this event :] sometimes i wish allen was a nrc student HE'D FIT SO WELL FOR A HALLOWEEN EVENT

avery's halloween ssr voicelines.

summon: "why are you looking at me like that? you know that vil would never forgive me for not participating."

groovy: "what, am i supposed to say "my fangs are as sharp as rose thorns!" or something like that?"

set home: "i guess this outfit isn't that bad. why vampires though?.."

home idle 1: "i thought that i'd be good at scaring people since i have such an intimidating aura.. but everyone just keeps saying how pretty i am.. ugh, of course they only care about appearances."

home idle 2: "i don't really like vampires, to be honest. it's not like i'm scared of them! it's just.. um, my childhood crush used to dress up as one for halloween. you know, the one who said she'd love me back if i didn't have freckles."

home idle 3: "how does my family celebrate halloween? well, my parents like it a lot, so they always get excited about it even when it's only august. i'm not really a big fan though. they keep mentioning how much i loved halloween when i was a kid, haha.."

home idle groovy: "wait, you're bleeding?? when did you manage to hurt yourself? what should i do.. HUH?? this is actually fake blood and you used it to "awaken my vampire instincts"?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

home tap 1: "which outfit would i choose if i didn't have to wear this one? hm.. don't you think i'd look cool as a pirate? savanaclaw costumes are so detailed, i'm genuinely impressed."

home tap 2: "you've been spending the whole night saying how good i look in this. can't you say something else?.. you'd say how scary i look anytime if it could make me smile?.. w-why are you like this?"

home tap 3: "you really went all out with your costume. well, i should've expected this from someone like you." *trying not to laugh* "the ghosts only made a hat for you and you refused to wear such an "incomplete outfit"? of course, you'd be the type to make a whole costume in three hours."

home tap groovy: "whoa, that's a lot of candy you've got there. wait, no, it's not like i want- oh, it's pretty good actually. now you absolutely have to share it with me."

hayden's halloween ssr voicelines.

summon: "hehe, i promise to do my best today! i can't disappoint you and azul-san after all~"

groovy: "happy halloween, prefect-san! if you didn't know, i can be really scary sometimes and i will prove it to you tonight."

set home: "trick or treat!~.. i sound stupid, don't i?"

home idle 1: "why did azul choose this kind of outfit? i hate it so much, it's so uncomfortable! especially the bandages! i'm gonna make him pay for this.. no, literally, i'm gonna make him pay with money, it would be the worst punishment for him."

home idle 2: "i always found jade and floyd quite scary, but today?? oh, they're even more scary. i just hope they won't pay much attention to me.."

home idle 3: "i'm not like avery, i'm not interested in eating candy with you. and also i'm too busy, i have work to do at mostro lounge- n-no, it's not because i like more "expensive desserts"!"

home idle groovy: "they keep saying that their costumes remind them of jellyfish, tentacles and everything.. it's not like i'm jealous, but it does feel lonely to be one of those octavinelle students who don't come from the sea."

home tap 1: "i actually started celebrating halloween only when i was a freshman here. i doubt that my family would be happy if they saw me right now.. but if it's not just a holiday, but something the headmaster needs us to do, i guess it's okay, right?"

home tap 2: "i heard that the speculum students chose the circus theme this time. i sure hope allen doesn't come to nrc to see me. just imagining him dressed up in something like that.. ugh, he's already creepy and he's already a clown, why does he even need a costume?"

home tap 3: *laughs* "did you see merrill's face when he heard about the costumes idia came up with? this guy hoped for something that will make everyone go crazy for him, but they're really going for the pumpkin costumes!"

home tap groovy: "did you just try to scare me? i'm sorry, but you're just not scary enough. especially your face, it's just too.. uh, you're like kalim, basically. there's no way someone who has that "sunshine energy" will be able to scare others."

riley's halloween sr voicelines.

summon: "um, i'm not good at scaring people.. but i'll try my best, so that i won't disappoint anyone."

groovy: "perhaps i can also be just as scary as my cousin. i wonder if allen would be proud of me if he saw me right now."

set home: "happy halloween, prefect-san. i hope you have a lot of fun today."

home idle 1: "i never wore a costume like this before, i will be careful so that i don't ruin it. hm? what about my past halloween costumes? i.. i never did all this trick-or-treating stuff, i just stayed at home.. oh, not because i wasn't allowed to, i just didn't want to talk to other kids."

home idle 2: "vance-kun has shared his candy with me, because he's not allowed to eat it. he said that i can share it with others too, so here. it tastes a bit too.. sugary for me. ah, probably because it has sugar in it."

home idle 3: "how i feel about pirates? um.. they're cool, i guess? i don't really get why we're dressed up as them, i think they would fit octavinelle better. why? well, because they have a sea theme.. and also they like money.."

home idle groovy: "i felt a bit insecure because i don't know how to scare people, but ruggie-senpai told me my "emotionless face" and "empty eyes" are already scary enough. hey, prefect-san, do i look scary to you?"

home tap 1: "why.. why everyone keeps saying how cute i am.. also that one girl kept trying to squish my cheeks. i don't get it, they're supposed to be scared of me! why everyone finds my cousin scary, but not me? it's probably because i'm not tall enough.."

home tap 2: "huh? did i look like i was smiling? oh, jack-san got scared when i came up behind him and said hi. hehe, at least i managed to scare him."

home tap 3: "i'm gonna be honest, i feel weird in this costume. it's a bit.. uncomfortable. i have to wear so many rings and other accessories too.. the texture also doesn't feel nice. i wish i could just get a pumpkin for a head and say it's my costume."

home tap groovy: "what do i find scary? hm.. allen not wanting to be friends with me. "too predictable"? sorry.. if this makes you feel better, i'm also scared of soap that doesn't smell like anything. how am i supposed to know what it tastes like then?"

vance's halloween r voicelines.

summon: "yay, this is gonna be my first halloween here, at nrc! i'm so excited!"

groovy: "hey, hey, do you find me scary now? i'm not just heartslabyul's cute little brother anymore!"

set home: "whoa, this costume is so cool! i just know that people are gonna think i'm really scary now."

home idle 1: "i wish i could say "trick or treat", but i'm not gonna be able to enjoy any treats people give me.. ugh, sometimes i wish what grandpa said about me "acting weird" when i eat sweets was a lie."

home idle 2: "isn't my jack-o-lantern so scary? oh well, it definitely looks better than the one ace-kun made. come, take a look, he probably didn't show it to you yet."

home idle 3: "riley-kun looks so good as a pirate! but it hurts me to see him so worried about him not being scary enough.. i understand being seen only as someone cute and people not caring about anything else."

home tap 1: "i like this costume so much, whoever made it did such a good job! u-um, i like it not only because i look taller with these heels! i also like.. uh, i also really like this hat!"

home tap 2: "hayden-senpai just came to me and said he wants me to bury him. it looked like he was trying to hide from someone. did i bury him? well, i did want to try it, but riddle-senpai saw us.. yeah, he wouldn't allow that."

home tap 3: "me and deuce-kun actually look pretty similar in our outfits! some people couldn't tell us apart and.. and they started saying that i just look like the shorter version of him.. i-i'm not crying!"

#my boys just want to scare people but everyone thinks they're too cute..#oh well at least hayden doesn't have to worry about that <3 #yes seth would flirt with avery and hayden (and other boys) for the whole event and then he sees vance and riley #and he's like 'THESE ARE MY SONS!!'#also yes i used aurora's idea for the alice dorm name jdkslsl #beauty with self grown thorns: avery #the chameleon with a god complex: hayden #allen's kuudere cousin: riley #a gamer skater boy: vance

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alj4890 · 3 years

Note

I got an ask we know Riley gets kidnapped by Anton but what if Anton was in love with her and he didn’t wanna kill her but makes her his. What if Olivia killed Claudus for shooting drake.

I love the way you think, Nonny! I actually would have eaten this up with a spoon if that had happened in canon. To be honest, I really liked Justin in book 2. If he had been a new love interest, I would have done a play through just to see what happens if Riley chose him 🤦🏻 Of course then we find out he is behind all the bombings and such so...oops, LOL. When I first saw your request, I made an aesthetic with just Justin/Anton and Riley in mind. I completely forgot to add a definite OTP of mine, Drake and Olivia, to it. Smh. The story though will definitely include them along with Riley and Justin. I am so tempted to turn this into a series 🙊

@gkittylove99 @krsnlove @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @yourmajesty09 @mom2000aggie @ofpixelsandscribbles @twinkleallnight @lodberg @amandablink @neotericthemis @mm2305 @sfb123 @iufilms

Masterlist

True Intentions

It had happened when he had not been paying attention. It shouldn't have happened at all. He had one goal. One mission. Nothing had ever come to mean more to him than that. Nothing. No one.

Until Riley.

He knew he shouldn't have spent so much time with her. He shouldn't have helped Maxwell in picking the right dresses for her. He shouldn't have stuck around to see her come out of dressing rooms, an excited smile upon her face, as she twirled around for them to give their opinions.

It had taken all his will power to keep from telling her what he truly thought. Riley's beauty was simply stunning, not because of her outer loveliness, but more that he saw her inner beauty shining through each trial she faced. Her strength amazed him. Her wit brought a smile to his face. Her kindness touched his heart.

It made him begin to long for things he shouldn't. They shouldn't be a part of any dream or plan he had.

And yet...she was beginning to crop up in his thoughts. In his dreams.

In his plans.

He winced as he tried to get comfortable.

His plans hadn't exactly gone as he had hoped. In fact, he should have talked to his men and explained that Riley was not to be a target.

Thank God for Drake. If he hadn't jumped in front of her, she would have been taken from me.

His lips twisted in another painful grimace.

"Are you in pain?"

Justin looked up and tried to smile. "Just a little."

His nurse shook her head. "I told you to buzz before it got too bad." She gently checked his wound.

"I don't want to be a bother." He mumbled.

"You aren't." She patted his hand. "You aren't any trouble at all." Her nose wrinkled. "We had a few nobles cause unnecessary problems when the attack happened."

"Really?"

She rolled her eyes. "Some were knocked down during the chaos and demanded they be admitted."

He chuckled softly. "Sounds like something they would do."

"It's a shame that good people like you were seriously hurt while those spoiled nobles try and take all the attention." She readjusted his covers after administering some more pain medication in his IV. "I don't know why King Liam is so hellbent on bringing them back to court."

"What do you mean?" Justin tried to fight the effects of the pain medicine. "What's he doing?"

"He and Lady Riley are going on some type of tour to some of the major houses to personally invite them to their wedding."

His brow furrowed.

A unity tour. That would work on these small minded individuals. It was a smart move. The public were already Team Riam. Once the royal couple convinced the most powerful houses to come to their wedding, all the other minor lords and ladies would follow suit.

"Well played, Liam." Justin's eyes drooped closed. "Well played."

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

He couldn't believe that they not only convinced Madeleine's entire family, but also somehow got all of Portavira on their side.

"What's the plan?" Claudius asked.

"We need something big to remind everyone that we aren't a one trick pony." Justin told him.

He looked out the window. Leaves were beginning to change with the first hints of autumn in the air.

A hint of a smile appeared as a plan began to form.

"It would be a shame if Cordonia's apple orchard had a bad year, wouldn't it?" He eyed his second in command.

Claudius chuckled. "It really would."

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

Justin watched as every channel showed the devastation of the orchard near Applewood. He couldn't help but smile over Riley making the people love her even more for her righteous anger. Her promises to bring those responsible to justice along with making the orchard bigger than before made him nearly burst with pride.

She had grown into her role more so than he had ever imagined. Gone was the timid young waitress from New York who uttered no comment when reporters surrounded her. She was a confident woman now who could think on her feet.

Justin thought she was more attractive than the first time he had seen her floundering in front of the cameras, in desperate need of a hero. It hadn't been a bother to rush to her side then and put his arm around her. Her wide eyes had lifted to his and he had nearly melted from her beauty.

He still couldn't believe that she forgave Liam for choosing another over her. Granted Madeleine impressed him with how she could manipulate reporters into spinning a story to her advantage, but Riley was so many things that the cold countess was not. She deserved better than what she got.

And he planned on giving it to her.

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

A week after the orchard burning, he turned to see the one rarely far from his thoughts.

"Justin!" Riley rushed over to engulf him in a hug.

"How's my favorite media darling?" He asked.

She leaned back and gave him that smile that was brighter than flash bulbs. "Much better now that I know you're recovering." She playfully glanced about before whispering, "Save me from Madeleine!"

He laughed as he hugged her once more. "I don't know. I've seen her work and can't find fault with it."

Riley pouted. She linked her arm with his as they walked down the hospital hallway. "I prefer your guidance to hers." Her nose wrinkled. "It's weird being told how to act by Liam's former fiancée. I know there wasn't anything between them, but still."

Justin patted her hand. "Tell you what. If Madeleine is unable to do her job or you decide to fire her, then I will gladly step back into my old position." He dug around in his pocket for the earpiece she had used during Liam's engagement tour.

Her smile reappeared. "Old faithful."

"I'm always Just-in-time." He teased.

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

It had been too close. He hadn't expected Riley to go anywhere near Constantine. And there she was, by Liam's side, graciously accepting some necklace from the old man who had destroyed her initial happily ever after.

His heart had nearly stopped as he watched rubble fall around them. Riley had frozen in fear over Liam's safety. It was a nightmare come to life as pieces of the wall and ceiling began to collapse.

At least one good thing had come from this: one king was dead.

It sadly wasn't the king he needed to die.

Justin began to plan how he would comfort Riley once Liam was gone. He wouldn't have to tell her it was he, himself, who orchestrated his death. But he would make certain to enjoy the benefits of it.

His eyes narrowed over another slight problem he had.

He was going to have to kill his own wife too.

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

Lythikos...

It had been almost too easy. Madeleine was already in need of a distraction after hearing Liam gush over how excited he was to marry Riley in a few weeks. Once she requested a fruity cocktail, he knew then that the poison could go undetected taste wise.

The bartender left to go replenish the champagne. Madeleine's irritation over having to wait on a refill was drawing attention.

"Here." He grinned at her. "Allow me to make you another."

Her eyes widened. "Aren't you that press secretary that helped Riley?"

"I am." He began to mix a strong cocktail for her while adding the poison, all right under her nose. "And I must say you are the best I've ever seen."

Madeleine's irritation disappeared over the compliment. "I am, aren't I?"

"Riley's lucky to have someone so knowledgeable in ways of both the court and public like you." He added.

"Yes, she is." Madeleine muttered. "I'll do anything for my country, even if it is a thankless job."

"You should be recognized for your sacrifice." Justin handed her the deadly drink.

"Yes, I should." She took a gulp.

"How is it?" He asked.

"It's the only good thing here." A tipsy grin appeared on her face when she saw Riley. She grasped Justin's hand and pulled him in her wake. "Let's go say, hi."

"Boooooo!" Madeleine giggled when Riley turned around. "It's the ghosts of press secretary past and present."

"The what now?" Riley lips trembled with suppressed laughter as she looked up at Justin for clarification.

"I'm the ghost of press secretary past." He winked at her.

"OoooOooo!" Madeleine swayed where she stood.

"Whoa, there." Riley tried to steady her. "You okay?"

"She's had a little too much." Justin mimed drinking.

"It's a party!" Madeleine slurred. "It's in the worst place ever but it's a party and I'm going to...going to..."

"Enjoy it?" Riley offered.

"Extractly!" Madeleine's brow wrinkled over that not being the right word. "Expactly?"

"Exactly." Justin corrected.

"That."

The crowd quieted around them when Olivia took the stage to offer a final toast of the evening to Liam and Riley's wedding.

"Woo!" Madeleine cheered.

Riley and Justin tried to shush her.

Her giddy smile fell as her rosy cheeks drained of color. "Somefing's not..."

"Madeleine?" Riley lost her grip on her when she swayed violently to the right. "What's--"

Madeleine hit a table, causing the plates to clatter and the vase of blood red roses to fall over.

"I hate this place." She collapsed on the floor.

"Madeleine!" Riley dropped to her knees and tried to bring her to. "Liam! Mara! Come quick!"

Justin stepped back as the two came to see what was wrong. He watched as Olivia made her way through the crowd to find out what the all the fuss was about.

"What's wrong with her?" Riley asked.

"She's been poisoned." Mara whispered.

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

Justin loved seeing the delighted surprise once more on Riley's face when he said he would take over Madeleine's duties for the rest of the tour. It would have been a perfect moment if Liam had not been standing there. He was ashamed to think of his nearly giving himself away when he panicked at the sight of Olivia walking in behind him.

He wished Lucretia would quit trying to push Olivia into going into the family vault. She had a sick sense of humor in wanting her niece to discover she was already married. For some reason, she did not approve of the way her niece depended on her friends for support.

Justin knew the power friends could have. Had he not been trained by his own parents' friends, he wouldn't be the worthy man next in line to the throne. His comradery with his own men inspired their loyalty and willingness to die to make him king.

He needed to distance himself from Lucretia the moment they got out of Lythikos.

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

She was supposed to come alone! Why did she bring Riley? I can't kill her. I need her. I deserve to have a choice in the one I want ruling by my side. The people already adore her, much more so than they admire Olivia. I was supposed to become free of this marriage. Once she and Liam are dead, I'll be able to be king and have--

"Justin?" Riley's eyes were clouded with confusion as she looked first at a picture of him dressed in a royal uniform. "What is this?"

"I'm sorry, Riley." His voice cracked on her name.

Justin reached in his pocket and pulled out a revolver.

Lucretia cackled with glee as she told her niece the truth about her marriage.

Justin stood there silently as the woman he loved shook her head in denial.

She's so incredibly sweet to doubt a friend could be the bad guy. I hate that I can't pull her away from all this and simply explain why I should be the ruler of Cordonia. I deserve it. I worked for it. My entire life was made for me to take the crown. She would be able to understand that. Look how far she's come in her own life. Who could imagine a waitress from some dive bar in America would come to be the next queen of a small European nation?

"Do it already!" Lucretia hissed. "Shoot her!"

He couldn't do it. Even as he held the gun steady, pointed directly at the woman he loved's heart, he couldn't shoot Riley.

"Get away from her!" Liam ordered.

Justin spun around to see the king and guards filling up the narrow passageway.

"I thought you said this was secure." Justin snapped at Lucretia.

"It was." She held her hands up in surrender.

Justin watched as she stepped forward, pretending to stumble.

His eyes widened as once again his love was trapped within a collapsing room.

He managed to see her safely end up in Liam's arms before escaping through a hidden passage.

He left Lucretia to the guards. She had served her purpose and was sadly of no use to him any longer. Now he could plan what he truly wanted to happen.

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

Liam and Riley's wedding day...

"I don't care who you kill. Olivia and Riley are to be taken alive." Justin told the small team of men he was sending in. "If you have to wound them to get them here, make certain Riley's is non life threatening.

He ignored the questioning look Claudius sent his way.

"Bring them both to our stronghold." His eyes narrowed. "Do not fail me."

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

Later that night...

"Good work." Justin straightened his jacket. He wanted to look his best when he saw Riley again.

Claudius smirked at him. "Just think of all the men we would still have if you had let me go alone."

Justin chuckled. "True, but at least we are free of our weakest links." He smoothed his hair back. "Now take me to our guests."

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

"I know the real Justin is somewhere in there." Riley leaned as far forward as her bindings allowed. "You helped me gain the love of the people. You know that if you kill me, the people will not readily accept you as king."

He couldn't help but smile. "I know and that is why I don't intend to hurt you."

"Then why kidnap us?" Olivia demanded.

He turned toward her. "If I'm to be king, then I have to take the necessary steps to claim the throne." He motioned for Claudius to come in.

"You're the one who shot Drake!" Olivia shouted, struggling against the ropes biting into her tender skin. "You'll regret that."

"And you tried to kill me!" Riley added, narrowing her eyes.

"That was a mistake." Justin quickly said. "You were never to be harmed."

"Then why all the attempts?" She asked. "Why do you persist in--"

"You weren't supposed to be here, Riley." He knelt down in front of her. "You should have stayed in New York until the time was right"

Her eyebrows drew together. "What are you talking about.

Justin asked Claudius to remain with Olivia while he took Riley somewhere private.

"If you think for one second that I will remain with this man while you take her away go do only God knows what," Olivia's chair creaked at her straining to break free, "then you don't know what a Nevarkis is truly made of!"

Justine rolled his eyes over her rant as he untied Riley from her chair. He kept her ankles and wrists bound together. He swept her into his arms and carried her out.

Olivia's shouts were silenced by the sound of a hard slap.

Riley struggled in Justin's arms. "What did he do to her? OLIVIA?!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Justin, please don't--"

"Nothing's happened to her." He took her into a surprisingly clean, yet drab, sitting room.

Riley was dropped on a chaise lounge. She eyed the door then Justin.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He repeated. He gently cupped her cheek, fingers brushing along her jaw line. "I love you too much to ever harm you."

Riley stilled. She looked up at him. "You what?"

He knelt before her. "I'm in love with you. It didn't hit me until you told me you had accepted Liam's proposal on the train. I didn't plan it, but I refuse to hide my feelings any longer." He smiled at her. "You've proven yourself as the rightful Queen of Cordonia. Once Liam and Olivia are dead, you and I can rule this country as we see fit. We'll--"

Riley shook her head. "Justin," she believed he was deranged and knew she had to handle this carefully, "I'm flattered. Really I am. I mean, we both know I would never have gotten this far without you."

His smile grew at her realizing she owed him for her meteoric rise within the court.

"But if you kill Liam and Olivia, the people will not feel any love or loyalty for you." She tilted her head as she studied him. "Surely you see the problem with this plan."

"People respect power." He explained. "They respect someone who fights for what is rightfully his. Since my birth, I have been meant for something greater. My parents, Olivia's family, even my soldiers realized that I alone am worthy to rule over this country." He focused once more upon her. "And I've seen that you are the one to do so by my side."

Riley shook her head. "Justin, I am honored," her voice cracked on that lie, "to have your love but I can't accept it." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm in love with Liam."

"Riley, he didn't choose you." Justin argued. "He left you on your own to fight against nobles, the press, even his own father. You deserve so much more than being an afterthought."

Tears slipped down her cheeks once more. "That wasn't what he did. He was trying to protect me. And I--"

He leaned down and kissed her.

She froze at the touch, refusing to participate.

"Once Liam's gone, you will see the truth." Justin promised.

"I won't." Her eyes narrowed. "As long as I live, I'll hate you with everything within me for taking him from me."

"You don't have it in you." He shook his head in amusement. "You've forgiven everyone. Olivia, Penelope, Madeleine, even Constantine. You never hold a grudge."

"You'll be my first." Riley vowed. "Liam is the love of my life. If you ruin my chance to finally be with him, I will never forgive you. As long as there is breath in my body, I will find a way to destroy you."

"You are amazing." He murmured, knowing she was speaking from her heart. He couldn't wait for that devotion to be for himself.

"Anton?"

The two turned to see Claudius in the doorway. "Liam should be here any moment."

Justin nodded and told him he would meet him and the rest of the men downstairs.

He lifted Riley in his arms and placed her back in the cell with Olivia.

His wife had the bruised imprint of Claudius's hand on her alabaster cheek. Blood had dried on her bottom lip. No tears had fallen from the force of the hit. Her left eye was bloodshot as she glared up at him.

"Liv?" Riley choked out. "Are you--"

"I'm fine." Her harsh answer echoed in the chamber. "It will take more than some two bit thug to hurt me." Her eyes did a quick scan to make certain Riley wasn't hurt.

"If you will excuse me, I have to go prepare for Liam's last night on earth." He retied Riley to her chair.

She threw her head back with all her might to connect with his face.

His glasses broke from the force of her strike. Blood poured out his nose as he stumbled away from her.

"Don't ever," his voice dropped to a hiss, "do that again, my love." He gripped her chin and jerked her face up toward his. "You will learn how to behave soon enough."

He slammed the cell door and left them alone.

"Did he hurt you?" Olivia whispered.

"No." Riley bit her bottom lip. "Not yet."

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

"Where is my wife?" Liam demanded.

Justin couldn't help but be impressed. The young king was standing before him, completely outnumbered, yet didn't show the slightest flicker of fear.

He asked the one question that he himself would have asked if Riley was taken from him.

"She is well." Justin replied. "Which is something I can't promise about your own well being."

"I want to see her." Liam bit out. "Now!"

Justin's chuckle was interrupted by a hastily whispered message from Claudius. His head jerked around to search the dim hallway as if doing so would reveal the missing prisoners.

How had they escaped?

"You don't get to make demands here." He snapped at Liam.

"Let Riley and Olivia go." Liam ordered. "And I will take their place." His eyes narrowed. "I know it is a temporary one."

Justin couldn't help but smile. The man was indeed brave to trade his life for Riley and Olivia's.

"No!" Riley screamed out from the stairs.

Chaos broke out as she led the charge to attack the Sons of the Earth. Justin watched as she ran over to protect Liam's back.

The couple were doing their utmost to protect the other from harm.

Their friends were taking his well trained soldiers out one by one. It was embarrassing to see how pitiful his men fought.

Olivia moved into his line of sight. Fury blazed across her delicate features.

"I'm impressed." He told her, unsheathing his sword. "I should have searched you myself."

"Trust me." Olivia circled him. "It will be the last mistake you'll ever make!"

She lunged at him. He easily parried her attack. "I think you've forgotten that it was your parents who gave me the same training you had."

"I think you talk too much!" She twirled about, bringing her daggers up to stop his sword from meeting her shoulder. He grunted from her heel piercing his leg as she pushed off to break his hold.

They continued to try and deliver punishing blows to the other. She was desperate to kill the man who was after her friends and country. He was anxious to be free of their marriage.

He noticed from the corner of his eye Claudius and Drake fighting. His second in command stunned the commoner with an uppercut to his jaw, causing Drake to stumble back into a wall.

Olivia heard the scuffle and followed Justin's line of sight. Her face paled at Claudius moving towards Drake to end him once and for all.

With a flick of her wrists she not only slashed Justin but threw her other dagger at Claudius. It struck true along the side of his neck, cutting into his jugular. He let out a garbled scream as he fell to the floor.

Justin hissed at the deep gash she had made along his ribcage.

Seeing that it was a lost battle, he hopped the banister and began to rush upstairs. He would have to go into hiding once more before orchestrating another attack.

"This ends now!" Riley yelled out at him.

He spun around to see both her and Liam rushing toward him. He raised his sword, determined to put an end to the man who stood between him and the throne. He hesitated when Riley jumped in front of her husband.

"You're not taking him from me!" She raised her battle ax. "Every time you try, I will stop you."

Does Liam know how lucky he is? She waited on him to choose her. Twice! And now she stands here, ready to defend him to the death. How could any man not fall in love with Riley?

His refusal to fight her was his downfall. He was pushed over the banister by the royal couple. While his breath was knocked out, Maxwell and Hana bound his hands together behind his back.

He looked about at his fallen and captured comrades. His attention was drawn toward Olivia and Drake. The pair were covered in blood and bruises, yet they were leaning against each other. Drake had his arm around her while softly speaking. Whatever was said caused Olivia to press even closer to his side. Her arms slipped around his waist. Her eyes were closed tight as she allowed him to hold her.

Justin had suspected something more between the pair. It looked like his coup for the throne had accomplished something for them.

Bastien and the rest of the King's Guards rushed in. After talking to the king and new queen, he collected Justin and hauled him outside.

On the way, Justin met Riley's eyes.

There were so many things he wanted to explain to her. He believed she would have been on board with his plans for the kingdom. Once he had killed Liam and Olivia, he would be the benevolent king the country needed. Gone would be the purpose for pompous nobles. He would have established a council of Cordonia's citizens from all walks of life to advise him. People would be rewarded and honored for their service instead of simply being born to the right parents.

And she would have been his queen, guiding and protecting all she deemed worthy.

"Riley, I..."

"You will never ever hurt those I love again." She hissed.

"Take him away." Liam ordered, keeping his arms locked around his wife. "He will be dealt with in the morning."

Justin knew then that it was pointless to try and explain. She would never give him a chance after all that had occurred.

For the first time in his life, he realized that his intentions didn't matter to the one he loved most.

#the royal romance #trr #choices #trr liam #liam x riley #drake x olivia #justin x riley #choices the royal romance

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d-criss-news · 3 years

Text

Saweetie & Darren Criss Talk Performing at the 'Celebratory' SHEIN x Rock the Runway

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, we may receive an affiliate commission.

SHEIN is putting a spin on the typical fashion show.

The shopping e-commerce company is presenting on Sunday (Sept. 26) its SHEIN x Rock the Runway show, an hybrid special event that is part concert, part choreographed dance sequence all while showing off SHEIN's top trends for fall/winter 2021 in five individual segments. Saweetie, The Chainsmokers, Darren Criss, Thuy, Willie Gomez, Riley Clemmons, Blu DeTiger and more are all set to take the stage at the star-studded event.

"I love that SHEIN’s goal for this event is to create a one-stop destination for fashionistas to discover up and coming creators across all aspects of the industry," Saweetie tells Billboard of the opportunity. "I love that SHEIN is opening that door for everyone by shining a light on the biggest of stars to the indie artists. I’m passionate about so many things… music, fashion, beauty, and I’ve been so fortunate to pursue my dreams. Music is my ultimate love and it’s opened the door for all these other amazing things."

Fellow performer Darren Criss is equally excited to be included in such a unique opportunity, telling Billboard, "I really like the idea of not your typical fashion show and it being more of a celebration of dance and music and contextualizing the clothes via the music and performative elements and seeing how clothes look on all different kinds of people with different kinds of movement and music. That thinking out of the box factor of a typical fashion show was immediately appealing to me."

Saweetie shared that for her performance, which will showcase the Ski Party looks, fans should expect "lots of dancing" choreographed by Brya Woods and assistant choreographer Aahkilah Cornelius.

Criss is gearing up to perform his new single "For a Night Like This," which he describes as an "unapologetically celebratory jam."

"It’s all about celebrating with the people you love," he adds. "It’s such a vibrant song and the creativity that they were going for with this fashion show was a really great match for the song I wanted to perform. I’m happy I can showcase that vibrancy and colorfulness."

Criss, whose performance will accompany the City Sleek styles, emphasized his gratitude for SHEIN bringing his song to life with “a hundred dancers of all different backgrounds, shapes and sizes, with a variety of movement. That is something that really takes a song to the next level. It takes it from a song to a spectacle and a visually exciting experience. It’s something we all hope can happen with our songs when we write them.”

"Any opportunity I have to be around dancers and have dancing in my life – I’m not a dancer myself, but any time I can have that in my life, whether it’s through one of my songs or walking through life, I embrace that opportunity," he continues. "The more dance, the better."

SHEIN x Rock the Runway will also help raise awareness and donations to benefit National Action Network, one of the nation's leading civil rights organizations and Youth Emerging Stronger, which helps to build futures for foster and homeless youth. SHEIN is donating $350,000 across both charities.

"While I love to use my platforms to entertain, it’s just as important for me to educate and make a positive impact on the world and I love that SHEIN is acting on this by partnering with these organizations," Saweetie says of the event's charitable aspect. "I’m huge supporter of education and giving everyone access to the knowledge that will help them to grow and succeed in the world regardless of their background."

"It’s obviously the bonus for anything you do," Criss agrees. "You’re happy to support anything that supports others beyond the preliminary presentation of ‘Here are some cool clothes, here are some amazing dancers, here’s a cool song.’ In the process, we’re also shining a light on an organization that are doing a lot of good in the world. I always prefer that to be a component in anything I do."

Since this is a fashion show, after all, how would Saweetie and Darren Criss describe their personal style? "My style is always growing and evolving," Saweetie explains, "Because I am constantly researching and studying designers and their collections throughout the past. I love to play with fashion and take risks with my style – anything glam! I draw a lot of inspiration from the 90s and early 2000s and try to mix these retro and nostalgic elements with the feminine aesthetic of old Hollywood glamour."

"I’m a big believer in dressing for the party," Criss says. "This is a much larger idea that goes into music, that goes into how I approach everything in life, which is knowing what the venue is, honoring what the dress code is and then doing your own spin on it to be a little unique and not like everybody else. Just enough of something that is accessible so that people feel comfortable around your choice, but you’re also pushing it a little bit. I like toeing that line in general. I’m not saying I’m a fashionista at all, but it depends what day of the week it is, what coffee shop I’m walking to and what part of town. All those variables have their own set of rules that I like to abide by. But I’m definitely not one type of thing and am never thoughtless, that’s for sure."

Catch the SHEIN x Rock the Runway event when its streams on Sunday (Sept. 26) at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on the SHEIN app, and the company's Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook pages. Shop the SHEIN x Rock the Runway looks here.

#darren criss #saweetie #bilboard #shein x rock the runway #press #sept 2021

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shewillreadyou · 3 years

Text

Haven’t met you yet

As always. I hope that you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing.

A/N: This is a TRR AU. Liam is already married, but see’s Riley and wants his cake. If the readers are receptive this might turn into more than a mini series.

Disclaimers: Most characters are property of Pixelberry

Warnings: NS*FW (+18) don’t read this fic if you’re a minor; period.

Word Count: 1887

Prompts: @wackydrabbles prompt #88 “I meant every word.” will appear in BOLD

Pairings: Drake & Riley

Song inspiration: Haven’t met you yet -Michael Buble

Be Kind: Hit the heart button, leave a comment or reblog. It makes a writer so so happy.

A replay of the Royal wedding of King Liam and Queen Carsyn of Cordonia was playing in the background as she packed her clothes in the small carryon. She giggled when they kissed. Although it was rumored that the king was into black women, something seemed off when he kissed his bride. She had watched this wedding a half dozen times and still couldn’t really put her finger on it. She was headed to New York to stand up in the wedding of one of her sorority sisters. After landing her dream job in Dallas, Riley couldn’t wait to meet her sorors in New York to celebrate. After all, Norah was about to marry the man of her dreams and Riley was truly happy for them.

There was currently no man in Riley’s life and no prospects. Maybe she’d meet someone in Dallas or maybe she was destined for the life of a career woman. Maybe there would be no happily ever after for her. She turned out the lights in her new downtown Dallas apartment, and grabbed her carry on dragging it to the door as she headed to the airport.

She opened the door to see her latest amazon purchase on the door mat. She took a moment to retreat inside to open the box. She was hoping it was delivered before she had to head out. Her pink Bedroom Kandi toy was still packed away lost in the sea of boxes crammed into her guestroom. She knew that she would not survive this long weekend in NYC without some form of sexual entertainment. She was disappointed when she opened the box to find her new toy was smaller than the picture made it look. Her flight left in 2 hours and her uber was downstairs so she shoved the disappointing toy in the side of her bag and headed down.

After the uneventful three hour flight, she finally landed at JFK. Mack was supposed to pick her up from the airport. She stood to the side as people herded to baggage claim to send a quick text. A group of men came from the opposite direction. One was this tall, very attractive Asian guy who looked alot like King Liam. He was with a few other men but there was one in particular who caught her eye. He was beautiful, he had dark hair and the most beautiful blue-grey eyes. The guy who bore resemblance to King Liam smiled and winked at her, while his brooding friend who definitely glanced at her, kept moving. She was snatched from her day dream when Mack texted to say she was outside.

They checked into the Crown Plaza in Manhattan, freshened up and changed into their little black dresses before meeting the girls at a local rooftop lounge for appetizers and drinks before the bachelorette party.

The sounds of Dua Lipa’s “Don’t start now” played in the background and encouraged a slightly inebriated Lauren to shake her body on the empty dance floor. Still licking the wounds behind a very fresh break up she intended to use this weekend to drink her troubles away and vowed to nail a stranger.

The hostess seated a group of gentlemen at the table directly behind the ladies giving Riley, who never sat with her back to the door the best look at the group. It was them. The men from the airport. When they were settled, Riley’s eyes met with the Asian guy’s who was smiling and licking his lips. She rolled her eyes and turned to Kourtney.

“So, how is Gabrielle, is she two now?”

“Yes, she’s great. Busy, but great. That was real smooth. You have an admirer.”

“Ugh, I saw those guys in the airport when I landed. He smiled at me then too.”

“But now there are two of them looking at you like you’re a steak.”

Riley coyly glanced at the group again, this time noticing the dark haired man looking. She blushed and turned back to Kourtney right as the server approached with a whiskey sour, complete with a phone number written on the cocktail napkin.

“How did he know what you drink?”

“Girl, I have no idea. Should I drink this?”

“Sure, they wouldn’t have served it if it had been tampered with. But the real question is are you going to call him?”

“Me? Noooo. What would I say?”

“What do you have to lose?”

“Wait, you have never dated a white guy before have you?”

“Well, no. Not that they aren’t attractive. I just never had one interested. Not all of us find our Prince Harry.”

“You do now. Besides, Chris is no Prince Harry, but he does treat me like a queen. I have always wondered if there are people who would rather be alone than to date outside of their race. Chris is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“I definitely would date outside of my race if it were the right person. He is gorgeous, I’m still not calling this guy. He’s going to think i’m desperate.”

“You are!”

“I am not!”

“When was the last time you got laid? Mack told me about your toy.”

“Remind me to kill her later. It’s been 8 months, 3 weeks and 5 days. But who’s counting?”

“Exactly,” Kourtney cackled, drawing the attention of the men at the next table.

Maroon 5’s, “Moves like Jagger” started to play as they continued to chat.

“May I have this dance?”

Riley was disappointed to find the King Liam look alike.

“Thanks, but my feet are killing me.”

“That’s too bad,” he said as he flashed her a sexy smile.

Just then she glanced across the rooftop to see him whisper something to his brooding friend. In an instant the guy with the beautiful eyes headed over and slipped the DJ a tip and whispered something in his ear before heading Riley’s way.

“Kourt, shit! He’s coming over here what do I say?”

“Don’t. Let him do the talking.”

He held out his hand and smiled at her and she was sure her panties were ruined.

“Hey, did I get your drink right?” he asked placing her hand in his.

“Actually, yeah you did. Impressive.”

Just then the DJ changed the song to Silk Sonic’s, “Leave the door open.”

The stranger pulled her to her feet.

“Let’s dance.”

His scent was intoxicating, his arms where strong and she could get lost in his eyes. He held her with a familiarity that made her feel at home in his arms.

“So are you going to tell me your name?”

“Drake. And you are?”

“Riley.”

“We don’t have to talk right now. Let’s just dance. Just use my number when you’re ready.”

“Their bodies swayed slowly to the song before her friends pulled her away to the next leg of their night.”

Two weeks later

After a very long weekend in New York, Riley was back in Dallas. She had been there for almost a month and hadn’t met anyone at all. Well, there was Will from work. But she doesn’t date co-workers and she is pretty sure he is gay. In her freetime she goes to the gym, and eats at new restaurants a few times a week, which leads her back to the gym. After a particularly long work day, circuit training and an hour on the treadmill Riley came home and poured herself a very large glass of wine. She filled the tub, lit some jar candles and grabbed her toy and the romance novel that she was currently reading.

She was soaking in bubbles up to her neck when her phone rang, it was Kourtney. Out of all her friends she probably checked on Riley the most. She dried her hands and pressed the speakerphone button.

Hey Kourt,

Hey Ri, what’s new?

Not a thing, work, the gym, dinner, wine repeat.

That’s sad. No human interaction?

Not really. I’ve hung out with Mack and Ben twice but I always feel like a third wheel.

Remember when I told you to call the guy from the rooftop?

Yeah.

I meant every word.

I will think about it. I gotta go. Early morning. Love you.

Whatever, I know when I hit a nerve. I love you too.

Three days later

Riley was as lonely in Dallas as they come. She thought about online dating but wanted something more organic. Kourtney’s words lingered in the back of her mind. Maybe she was right. Riley had nothing to lose by reaching out to the handsome stranger who sent her the drink in NYC. She decided to take the plunge.

The next morning Riley sat on her balcony reading the paper and sipping amaretto flavored coffee when her phone rang.

Hey Mack!

Hey, I am running into church and I know it’s short notice but Ben is out of town next weekend and my college roommate is getting married down in Waxahachie. Please tell me you don’t have plans and you’ll be my plus one.

I’ll have to check my planner. She laughed.

Who am I kidding? I don’t have plans. Free booze, food, and maybe a groomsmen to have a fling with. Count me in…

Yay! She squealed. I will pick you up Saturday morning and we can ride down to the ranch together.

Saturday

The doorbell rings and Riley grabs her clutch and the wedding card she got for the newlyweds before heading down to meet Mack. They catch up while they take the 30 minute drive out to the Walker Ranch where the ceremony is to be held. Mack talked about feeling like an after thought when it came to her boyfriend. Riley mentioned the need for human interaction, more specifically from a man and how the one man she met in New York lives in Europe. When they arrive Riley takes in the vast land and the beautiful event space.

“Savannah’s family owns this ranch? Wow, it’s massive.”

“Yeah, I know at one time they were really struggling to keep things afloat. But it definitely looks like they are doing well for themselves now.”

“Right? I love when family businesses do well. It’s really a gorgeous day for an outside wedding. But we should probably take our seats. The ceremony will be starting soon.”

Mack led Riley to a couple seats on the bride's side. Before long a very serious looking groom and an officiant that Riley could only describe as a King Liam look-a-like stood under a wedding trellis decorated with blush colored blooms. The violinist started to play a beautiful arrangement as the attendants began to descend the aisle.

“All rise and receive the bride.”

They guess all stood and turned to receive Savannah. She was a stunning bride. Then Riley laid eyes on those hypnotic blue-grey eyes. She instantly broke out into a sweat. She couldn’t ever mistake those eyes for someone else’s. He was as beautiful as the first tine she saw him. She swallowed hard and her mouth went dry. Her heart seemed to be pounding out of her chest, she was shaking when she gave Mack’s hand a firm squeeze.

“What’s wrong Ri?”

Before she could answer, his eyes met hers, he bit his lip and her knees buckled.

“Um Ri?”

“It’s Drake from the rooftop in New York..”

@txemrn @pixie88 @secretaryunpaid@khoicesbyk @blackkingliamstan @mom2000aggie @shannonwrote @hopelessromanticmonie @fanjessfic @rideordiechronicles @lucy-268 @dcbbw @darley1101 @maurine07 @burnsoslow @sfb123 @bbrandy2002 @kingliam2019 @schnitzelbutterfingers @lem-20 @choicesficwriterscreations @wackydrabbles

TRR: @twinkleallnight @bebepac @mainstreetreader @romereadingshop @romewritingshop @lem-20 @texaskitten30

#choices fanfiction #choices #the royal romance #fanfic #fandom #fanfiction #drake walker #drake x riley #follow shewillreadyou #kim reads #kim writes

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cordonian-literature · 3 years

Text

Forever Mine

chapter three

❦ summary — The time for Princess Riley to step into her role as queen fast approaches and finding the future king is Cordonia’s top priority. Commander Liam is aware of that, and has plans to make sure the princess ends up with someone suitable.

➺ chapter warnings: none

❦ catch up here!

➺ word count: (+/-) 2081

*all characters belong to Pixelberry, except those unique to my story*

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The waves crashing and the fresh breeze brings life into Commander Liam’s step, who walks towards the beach with the King to his left. Constantine continues talking about his favorite parts of the Regatta, though Liam doesn’t care much to listen.

The Commander had been cooped up in his office for the past three days straight. He fell asleep and woke up in the same position in his chair, and whenever the King needed to speak with him, Constantine simply marched into the room himself.

He hadn’t seen a single glimpse of the princess since the picnic. Even now, Liam still hadn’t spotted her. He understood that she needed to give her attention to her suitors, but he became increasingly confused as to why he hadn’t put himself up to be one as well.

No matter how much he wanted to fling himself in front of Riley and be at her mercy, he knew it was no use: it was too late for him to become a suitor. And, more importantly, it wasn’t smart for Liam to put himself in such a vulnerable position.

Constantine’s words fall on Liam’s deaf ears, but the King goes on and on, not noticing that the Commander wasn’t paying attention. Only when Constantine walks away to announce the beginning of the races does Liam focus on him. As Constantine makes a few strides towards the front of the crowd, Riley appears next to him.

While Constantine speaks about the war and loyalty and Riley, the Princess’s eyes reach the Commander. Once Liam smiles at her, she pushes her shoulders further back, and her smile widens.

Months ago, after Leo had abdicated and Liam tried to teach Riley what he could, the princess had been reluctant to accept the role. She had even approached Liam with a request to tell her father to not announce Leo’s abdication. She wanted to draw it out, maybe wait until Leo had heirs that could take the throne and the crown could skip over the pair of siblings.

Her anxiety had overtaken her. Liam had been the one to witness the worst of it: the labored breathing and heavy tears and incomprehensible phrases. She had cried and asked him to leave her room, and though he had wanted to embrace her, he walked away.

But the next day, Liam urged her to continue her lessons. When she refused, he asked her what she was afraid of. He put it in his mind that whatever words she would utter he would make disappear from this world.

With her hands shaking, Riley had explained to him that ever since she was a child she had done absolutely nothing in the public light. During any event, Riley would only be allowed to stay long enough for the press to take pictures and for her to smile at important persons before she was led back to her room in the palace.

Liam knows her words are true, and from the bottom of his heart, he pities her. The poor girl had never expected to have so much responsibility on her shoulders. She had most likely come to terms with the fact that she would never have any political significance and was just meant to be a pretty pawn at a man’s side.

That day, which had been months ago, he had gently urged her to stand and told her that the people loved her and that there was nothing she could do wrong to upset them.

Most of the things he had told her were lies, but they had quelled her anxiety thoroughly. With every concern she had, Liam had a better plan as to how she would rise above it.

Now, while she stands next to her father as Neville’s, Rashad’s, and Prince Alexander’s boats launch themselves into the race, Liam’s heart swells as Riley begins to walk towards him.

Her angelic voice rings out, “I haven’t seen you in days! I’ve missed y—”

“RileyRileyRiley!” Maxwell cries, running up to the pair.

“Maxwell, what—”

“I’m really hungry right now and I’m smelling something fantastic from Zeke’s boat,” he says. “Please come investigate with me?”

“No!” she cries.

“Please?” Maxwell asks again before Riley can continue her sentence.

“It would be better for the two of you to join Lord Michael’s party on his boat,” Liam advises, though internally he hopes Maxwell will run off so he can get another moment alone with Riley.

“But—” Maxwell whines.

“Go see what Lord Michael is serving his guests, and I’ll try and figure out what Zeke has on his boat,” Riley proposes.

“Oh, and we can ask for samples!” Maxwell cries. “But remember, Riley, don’t be shy just take the whole tray. Say you’re about to pass out from hunger or something. They won’t risk the princess’s health!”

“Perfect, Lord Maxwell,” Liam pats Maxwell’s shoulder a bit harder than he meant to. “Now go along, the princess will catch up.”

Focused on food, Maxwell runs off, leaving Riley and Liam alone.

Riley’s giggle fills the air around Liam. He tries to come up with a joke to prolong her laughing, but before he can say anything she speaks.

“I should go talk to the press with my father.”

Liam nods. “Yes, that would be a good idea.”

“What should I say if they ask me about the war? Or about Prince Alexander?”

“Say that Cordonia’s generosity is greater than her selfishness, as the Regatta symbolizes. We didn’t choose conflict, we were forced into it.”

“Okay, that...” she pauses and frowns, causing an adorable wrinkle to appear on her forehead, “that makes sense. And what about Alex?”

“Prince Alexander,” Liam reminds her. He didn’t mean to be forceful, but her shoulders jerk up.

“Sorry, sorry! I just...”

“No worries,” he comforts her. Liam maintains a stoic expression, but his insides boil as he wonders how many affectionate nicknames she’s given people. Did Riley have a nickname for Liam?

“I...” Riley stutters again.

“Deep breaths,” he tells her, noticing her face becoming pale. She obeys his command, and once she’s calm again he continues. “Tell them that you and the prince are still getting to know each other. It’s true, and doesn’t make it seem as if you favor him.”

“Alright.” She nods at him confidently, looking towards the reporters still talking to her father. Liam thinks she’s about to walk off, but her eyes meet his again.

“I... will be in the library later tonight,” she states. “If it’s not too much to ask, will you meet me there? Shortly after midnight.”

“Why so late?” Liam asks, his curiosity peaked.

“I don’t want anyone to speculate, you see.”

Liam is partly glad at her responsible outlook, but is intrigued at the fact that she thinks people might believe she holds affections towards him. Is she truly just worried about how people would view her, or was she trying to hide her feelings as well? Was this her way of voicing her feelings?

Before the silence becomes frighteningly long, Liam pulls himself out of his thoughts. He reminds himself that this is her social season. It’s too late for anything to happen between them.

“Of course,” he tells her, lifting her soft hands to his lips, stopping himself from kissing her wrist.

“Wonderful,” she says, a slight blush appearing on her face as she walks away.

...

After the three suitors and their boats returned to the harbor and Lord Neville’s victory was announced, the short man made a beeline towards Riley, allowing her to compliment him.

From the sidelines, Liam wondered where this man’s confidence came from, and more importantly, how to get rid of it. He watched as Neville brought Riley into his boat for the party and kept her at his side while speaking to other nobles. Riley never made a move that showed she wanted to walk away from him, but the one time her eyes met the Commander’s, Liam understood what he had to do.

He didn’t stay for the beach party, even though Lord Maxwell lightly urged him to. Instead, Liam went back to the palace and straight into his office, where his right-hand-woman was waiting for him.

Zoe Zacharias, a talented and highly intelligent soldier that Liam had trained with. She was not prepared for the role of Commander as her strategic skill wasn’t as sharp as Liam’s, which is why she was not chosen by the King. But once she began working under the new Commander, Liam saw her improve and knew that she would be a perfect successor to him, God forbid his death were to come earlier than expected.

What was even better was the fact that she listened and went through with every one of Liam’s commands without question or hesitation.

“Commander!” Zoe salutes as Liam walks into the office.

Without batting an eyelash, Liam tells her to look into Neville’s background and history.

Zoe nods, a slight smirk on her face. “Need to find a weak point, sir?”

Liam grins. She caught on quickly. “Before midnight, if you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

Liam leaves to prepare for dinner, keeping his meeting with Riley at the back of his mind at all times.

At the dinner table, when he notices Neville sitting next to Riley and comfortably talking to her, Liam averts his gaze and hopes that Zoe has found something.

Thankfully, only an hour before midnight, Zoe enters Liam’s office with a report. Reading over it, the Commander’s shoulders relax. Leaning back in his chair he takes out a pen and a piece of paper to start writing a letter.

…

“Highness?” Liam’s voice echos along with the sound of his boots, reaching Riley. She lay on a pile of blankets in front of the fire, a small basket of food next to her.

“I thought we agreed that you would not call me that anymore.” She pats the space next to her, and that’s all it takes to summon Liam to her side.

He sits on the blankets with her, allowing his fingers to brush against her ankles and over the thin material of her dress. Liam glances up, seeing that Riley’s face was impassive. He allows himself to smile at the seemingly empty way she gazes at him, knowing what type of game she is playing.

Liam notices assortments of bread in the basket. “Will some bread lighten your mood, princess?”

Ripping a piece of bread from the loaf, Liam holds it out to her for half a second. When she doesn’t move to take the piece, he gently presses the soft bread against her lips, and her face becomes softer.

The glow of the fire lets the tiredness in her eyes shine through; Liam saw every uncomfortable emotion in her changed expression, and brought his forehead closer to her’s.

She was overwhelmed, he knew. She couldn’t muster the energy needed for these events. Liam’s pity for her runs deeper. Just an hour ago he had read an article written by the same reporters who had asked the King and Princess questions during the Regatta. They criticised the way she executed her answers and made false assumptions about her personality that made Liam’s heart ache.

The social season had so far only brought Riley pain, and Liam’s anger at the King increases. The old man was foolish, selfish. What was the use of protecting his daughter from a world he would later push her into?

Liam burrows his head against the crook of Riley’s neck, his heart calm when she asks if they can stay that way for a while.

But after a few seconds, Liam moves away from her. “It’s late, princess.”

She sighs and stands. “You’re right.”

Liam collects the basket and the blankets, putting them to the side where the servants could take it away. He takes her hand and softly kisses her knuckles, hoping to prolong the moment of quiet peace. But Riley takes her hand out of his grasp and gently rests it on Liam’s shoulder, then leaning forward to land a soft kiss on his cheek.

Liam’s expression doesn’t falter, but he waits for her face to come into view. He wants to view her kind eyes and loving expression before the stressful night ahead. But Riley turns her head quickly and leaves the room.

Minutes later, Liam leaves, too. As he makes his way back to his office, he hopes that Zoe has already delivered the letter.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

a/n: i know this is probably crap, and i know i havent updated in more than a month and im crazy sorry for that - life stuff got in the way and i wasn’t doing so well mentally either. but!! my mojo for writing is back!!! hopefully it stays lol

also, i understand my lack of updates was probably annoying, so please let me know if you want to be added/removed from the tags!! no hard feelings!

@twinkleallnight @gkittylove99 @sweatyrysconnoisseur @kingliam2019 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @queenrileyrose @royalromancer @princess-geek @mom2000aggie @zoehanji @claireloutoo

#choices fanfic #trr fanfic #liam x riley #trr au fanfic #the royal romance #the royal romance fanfic #evil liam #liam rys #trr laim #trr riley #riley brooks #sorry for being gone for forever lol

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bbrandy2002 · 4 years

Text

Fools Rush In

Part 6

I’m participating in @wackydrabbles prompt 55: This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course, I’m in.

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Liam x Riley

A/N: Thank you to my amazing bestie @burnsoslow who beta read at 2 am last night. And my prereaders @charlotteg234 and @mom2000aggie

Series Premise: With two weeks until Liam is to marry Madeleine, the guys throw him a bachelor party in Vegas. After a drunk night, he finds himself with way more than he bargained.

**MC did not exist in Liam’s social season. OC lives in Las Vegas.

Word Count: 1740

TW: Drug usage mentioned

Permanent Tags: @burnsoslow @dcbbw @ao719 @hopefulmoonobject @texaskitten30 @drakesensworld @janezillow @merridithsmiscellany-blog @mskaneko @loveellamae @queenjilian @sirbeepsalot @pedudley @caroldxnvxrs @jovialyouthmusic @forthebrokenheartedthings @desireepow-1986 @bebepac @kingliam2019 @lovablegranny @cordoniaqueensworld @amandablink @blueaster-blog1 @liamxs-world @choiceskatie @iaminlovewithtrr @hopelessromanticmonie @charlotteg234 @twinkleallnight @annekebbphotography @txemrn @thecordoniandiaries @alyssalauren @cordonianroyalty

Series: @princessleac1 @cordonia-continued @sanchita012 @shz256 @cordonia-gothqueen @narrytheworld @graceful-leah @mom2000aggie @queenwalton @tinkie1973 @muchkoolermk @captain-kingliamsqueen @gabesmommie1130 @cordonianprincess @cinnamonspongecake @loudbluebirdlover @liamandneca @waywardromancefantasygirl @thegreentwin @walker7519

The limo pulled out of the Taco Bell parking lot onto Tropicana Avenue, headed west towards Spring Valley. In the back was one king, a former prince, and a teacher-turned-overnight-queen of a country she'd never heard of 24 hours ago.

While the trio cruised down the bustling thoroughfare to retrieve some of Riley's belongings, Liam was on the phone with his credit card company. He was trying to figure out why his unlimited card was declined, leaving Riley to foot the bill for Leo's Nacho's Grande Box, a Triplelupa Box with extra lupa, and a Pineapple Freeze.

Leo gulped as he scooped melted cheese and beef up with a tortilla, trying not to look too guilty. He didn't want his younger brother to know that he and Drake paid for the entire bachelor trip using Liam's card ... among other unusual expenses. However, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing Drake had it last, and the blame could fall squarely on his shoulders.

Frustrated, Liam hung up the phone after the automated agent couldn't understand his Cordonian accent and continued to reroute his call back to the beginning. No sooner did he put his phone away than he was alerted to an incoming call. Liam glanced down to see his stepmother's name flashing boldly with each ring. There were no doubts in his mind what she wanted. Obviously, the news had reached her at the Palace.

With an anxious feeling growing in his stomach, Liam let out a heavy groan before tapping the screen.

"Hello, Regina."

"Hello, dear." Her greeting was surprisingly warm and pleasant. "I need to know the truth; are these rumors accurate? Did your brother marry you to some strange woman?"

Liam rubbed a hand nervously across his mouth; he was in no mood for a lecture. "He did. But I don't even remember it happening."

He could hear her disappointed sigh and felt terrible that his actions caused her this much distress. Regina might not be his mother, but she had been an integral part of his life since childhood, and he didn't want to let her down.

"Is your brother with you? If so, I would appreciate speaking with him."

Liam shot a look at Leo, whose hands were covered in melty cheese and sour cream. "Uh, yeah, hang on. Let me put you on speaker." He hit the button and whispered loudly to his brother that it was Regina for him.

A broad grin appeared on Leo's face as he swallowed the last bite of food. "What's up, Mommio?"

"Leonardo Wolfschitz Rys!" Her once-gentle tone was now brittle. "I am highly disappointed in you."

His eyes widened in confusion, the grin he had on before fading instantly. "What? Why? It was Liam's idea."

"Perhaps, but did you try to stop him?"

"No. He's 27 years old," he squealed.

"Be that as it may, you're the older brother. You're supposed to know better."

Liam snorted. "That's true, Leo. You really should start setting a better example for me."

Leo narrowed his eyes, reached across Riley, who jerked back, and punched Liam in the groin, causing him to yelp. "You're such a tattletale; you got me in trouble! She was all I had left."

Liam rolled his eyes then reassured his stepmother he would meet with her when the plane landed back in Cordonia in the morning.

Staying quiet, Riley's wide-eyed stare remained fixed to the front of the limo, hands crossed in her lap. This ... this is my new family.

They made their way to Riley's townhome located within a tree-lined community scattered with homes similar to hers.

While Riley took the shower she’d been desperate to get since waking that morning, Liam made himself at home just as she asked him to. Leo had met Old Man Burt -- Riley's elderly neighbor -- as they walked up the driveway. He begged the man to let him whittle sticks with him. The senior man thoughtfully looked at him before spitting out chewing tobacco and instructing Leo to score him a dime bag, and it would be a deal.

Leo didn’t know the man from a hole in the wall, but replied, “You know what, Burt? This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course, I’m in.”

Leo knew just the place and took off.

The neighborhood was quiet and serene; as Liam drummed his fingers on the leather sofa's armrest, he could almost envision a life of simplicity like this. He closed his eyes to take in all the sounds and scents not entirely unfamiliar to him but things he imagined most people took for granted:birds chirping in the windowsill, the occasional car that passed by, the screech of bicycle brakes, apple cinnamon air fresheners, and another scent he hadn't smelled in years. Craning his neck around to look out the window, he saw Leo smoking pot with the white-haired man dressed in denim overalls in the front yard. "What the hell? Dumbass."

Riley's shower took longer than he expected; feeling antsy, he rose from the sofa and walked through the home, trying to get a sense of who she was. The house was well maintained with brightly colored artwork on the walls, a nicely stocked bookshelf, shiny hardwood floors, and metal-framed photographs of different sizes assembled atop the fireplace mantle.

Liam's eyes danced from photo to photo, studying Riley's images in a graduation gown posing with a small grinning brunette about Riley's age, her with two older gentlemen hugging in front of a Christmas tree, and a classroom of smiling kids holding up colorful drawings.

There was one frame that laid face down.

Thinking perhaps it fell over, he gently lifted the frame to put it back in place. His brows lifted in shock.

"She's married?"

"I was," Riley answered.

Liam whipped around with the photograph still gripped in hand, not sure what else to say. It wasn't like it was some deep, dark secret hidden from him, something that should upset him. She more than likely would have mentioned it to him at some point, considering they still hadn't had time to get to know each other. But he couldn’t shake the jealousy he felt.

"I'm sorry. I was just looking at your pictures and thought this one had been knocked over." He carefully placed it back on the mantle as Riley approached him.

Liam watched the hurt etch across her delicate features, and eyes that reflected a shattering pain as she stood face to face with her image in a flowy white gown wrapped in the arms of a man she admitted to being married to at one time.

"I … met him in my senior year of high school. We dated all through college. Had this big elaborate dream wedding after graduation. He was my best friend, my lover -- I thought he would be it forever ..."

Liam gripped her shoulder when she paused to catch a breath, noticing the slight break in her voice. "After two years, he no longer wanted to do anything together. His excuses were always the same: working late, too tired, ‘just want to hang out with the guys tonight.’ He stopped talking to me. Quit looking at me. Stopped touching me. I think I knew in my heart what was going on, but didn't want to believe it. Then one day … I came home from work, and his closet was empty." She let out a humorless laugh. "But at least he left a strongly-worded letter detailing all my faults and where I failed him. It said he found someone better and that I didn't make him happy. He just ... didn't want me anymore." Those last words came out in whimper.

"Riley." Liam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. "Sweetheart, that wasn't your fault."

Riley stepped back and swiped the tears from her cheeks. "That's why I'm doing this, Liam."

"What d’ya mean?."

"When I met Madeleine, I just knew I couldn't let you marry someone who would make you miserable too. You deserve to find someone who will make you happy."

He smiled at her. "What if that's you, Riley?"

She stood motionless for a moment, thinking about that question, then shook her head and muttered, "I don't make people happy, Liam. In the end ... they always leave me."

When Riley turned to walk away, Liam caught her wrist and drew her back. His hands flew to both sides of her face, cupping along her jaw. Their eyes studied each other; those compassionate blues cast a spell on her teary browns, engulfing the warm air surrounding both of them in want and desire.

"I can't do this," she rasped weakly and lowered her face away from him.

Liam tilted her chin, his voice desperate and pleading. "Look at me, Riley. You can. You can. You just have to let me in."

Without a second more of hesitation, their lips collided into each other passionately.

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

Drake scowled at the envelope in his hand that bore his name in large letters. "What do you mean, I've been served? I ain't been served shit."

The smaller man prepared to explain, but the intimidating glare in Drake's eyes made him choose his words more carefully. "Mr. Walker. Sir. I'm just the messenger --"

"Then, you can take your message and ..." Drake shoved the envelope toward the man. "This fucking envelope back to where you came from. I don't have a kid or owe anyone child support."

The man backed away and looked at Maxwell to gauge whether he would protect him from his rather large, angry friend. He figured out real quickly the lanky one holding two full bags of medications most definitely wouldn't. He swallowed past the fear that collected in his throat. "Everything you need to know is in the envelope." He nodded to them, both. "Have a good day."

Drake slammed the door open and tossed the room key and his wallet on the kitchen counter. He ripped the envelope open and scanned the documents with Maxwell looking over his shoulder. "I'm being sued for $120,000 in back child support by a woman named ... Boom Boom Powell."

A picture slid from the documents and landed at Maxwell's feet. He bent down to pick it up and rose slowly when he caught a glimpse. "Uh, Drake. This must be a picture of the kids." He held the photograph up of what appeared to be three-year-old identical triplets. "Who do these kids look like?" He knew the answer before he asked.

Drake squinted to get a better look; then realization hit him. He had never been to Las Vegas, but he knew someone who had many times before. And judging by the blonde hair, blue eyes, and mischievous smirks on the three little boys in the picture, he knew his assumption was correct. He tightened his jaw. "That fucker! He is dead."

#fools rush in #the royal romance #liam and riley #king liam #trr liam x mc #liam x mc #liam x oc #trr #trr au fanfic #choices liam x mc #choices fanfiction #choices stories you play #choice trr #choices the royal romance #king Liam x mc #drake walker #prince leo #tw drugs

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multimetaverse · 3 years

Note

I just watched s1 of Head High, and wow...I can't wait for s2. It's such a good show, the end of the first episode hit me hard, I BAWLED. I'm really impressed with how Tai and Steven have been built up, considering we only had them for three episodes. It's clear that the writers have put importance on the relationship, because out of the teen romantic relationships they're definitley focused on the most imo.

Whoops thought I had answered this instead of leaving it in my drafts lol. I agree anon, Head High is a great show and what they managed to do with Tai and Steven in so few eps was a very pleasant surprise. The writers drew a clear contrast between Taiven and the other het ships. We got Mana ‘tapping and gapping it’’ with Madison and after he makes up with her he ends up tapping it and gapping it again when he thinks he’s about to leave for Australia. And Imogen is just using Scotty to cover up her affair with John White which ends in disaster.

I also really liked the contrast they were drawing between Tai and Mana. Mana isn’t a bad guy per se but he does come off as less caring than Tai: he seemingly has no qualms about leaving Madison stranded alone when the car breaks down, or sleeping with her when he thinks he’s leaving for Australia for good, or causally telling his mom and step-dad that he’s heading off to play rubgy in Australia. Whereas with Tai he really does care about people: he covers for Scotty’s steroid use, he checks in on Imogen after the JW affair comes to light, and he spends a whole evening looking for Steven and ultimately rescues him from the pole he was tied to. If it was Mana he probably would have just not bothered to go looking for Steven. It’s something that the press package for Head High S1 talks about:

‘’Because Tai’s personality has been so shaped by a sense of competition with his older brother, there are significant and more generous parts of himself still waiting to see the light of day including a keen sense of injustice, a latent empathy for others and his under-explored and ambiguous sexuality. If Tai can access and develop these areas of character he may even become the star he believes he already is.’’

I have high hopes for S2 and think the extra 2 eps will help the show develop their characters and story lines a bit more. We don’t know much although Lionel has said that S2 will have more drama, more ruby, and is spicier than S1. We do know that Steven is in at least 3 of the 8 eps, Scotty ends up back on the St. Isaac’s rugby team by 2x08 and that there’s a fancy event in 2x08 that Tai, Steven, Mana, Aria, Scotty, and Imogen all dress up for so that should be exciting.

For those interested the press package is only 20 pages and contains lots of juicy tidbits like the tangled backstory of the Renee/Vince O’Kane/Jesse Roberts love triangle and confirmation that Riley Deering is in love with Aria O’Kane who was his dead older brother’s secret girlfriend. Here’s a link:

https://southpacificpictures.com/uploads/websites/2966/epk.pdf

#Head High NZ #Head High #Taiven #Tai Roberts #Steven Grimstone #Tai x Steven #Head High Asks #Asks #Answered

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stradlingmrstradlin · 3 years

Text

Steve Riley x Mick Cripps

Requested by: Anonymus on wattpad

Words: 2419

Warnings: Nothing bad really, just the word "Fuck"

It's pure fluff and cuteness, enjoy

Story: Their adopted daughter meets the band for the first time

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

It was a cool, breezy night with a calm sky full of stars. Steve and Mick were sleeping peacefully next to each other while their daughter Bethany was sleeping in the room next door. They brought her home a week ago but she hasn't met the band yet. Mick thought it was a better idea to let her get used to her new environment before meeting those three crazy boys, and Steve agreed. Beth however got used to her new living space quite quickly, already calling Mick or Steve Dad or Dada by accident a few times, but of course, none of the boys minded.

At first, the band was quite surprised when the two announced that they are together but they weren't bothered by it, and thinking back to all the times they caught the two of them cuddling it wasn't surprising either. When they decided they wanted to adopt a little girl it was a long and tiring process, considering that they are two men in a rock band, but with the help of the band and a few family members after more than a year of waiting they could bring home Beth.

Before bringing her home they've met the little girl many times in the park or in the temporary home where she lived, and when they told her that she'd get to come home with them she was shouting and jumping from happiness.

Steve's dreams were interrupted by something or rather someone jumping on his chest and a quiet "sowwy dada, didn't mean to". He glanced at the clock on the wall and it read 10:23 am, might be time to wake up Mick. "Hey angel can you wake up Papa too?", as soon as these words left Steve's mouth Beth was already poking Mick in the face and shaking his shoulders. "Mornin' kid, are you excited to meet our friends today?' Mick asked as he slowly sat up lifting Beth in his lap, Beth nodding her head really fast "wowwy, 'ts making me dizzy" she giggled.

Beth wanted to choose her own outfit, but the dress she wanted to wear was really warm for a summer day, so finally, she agreed to wear a Hanoi Rocks t-shirt with a puffy striped skirt. Breakfast consisted of pancakes and fruits and Bethany made sure to put as much chocolate on her pancake as she can before either of her dads notice, she managed to stuff quite much in her mouth before Steve noticed something was up,

"What are you hiding kiddo?" a muffled "Notin" came back "You sure about that? Because I think there's chocolate smeared around your mouth" Steve said while trying not to laugh. " Maybe 'ts choco, but "ts yummy'' Beth said pointing at her tummy. "Alright kid, I'll let it slide this once, but don't tell Papa about it"

"What shouldn't I know about?" Mick asked when he walked into the kitchen. "Dada said I could eat this choco pancake if I don't tell you" she quickly blurted out making both of her fathers laugh and smile at her adorableness.

After getting ready and putting the dishes in the sink the little family sat in their car to travel to the park. Their plan was that they'd meet the guys there and maybe later for lunch go back to their house and the boys could come if they want and then later, they'd have a concert. Saying Beth was excited could be an understatement, she was jumping up and down in her car seat and when the park came into view, she tried to stretch her neck to see if anyone was there already, but that proved hard as she didn't know who to look for. As Mick parked the car she was ready to get out already and both of her fathers took one of her hands into theirs and started walking towards the playground, her trying to pull them to go faster.

When they reached the playground area with benches one seat was occupied by a long black-haired dude who gave them a wave as he saw them approaching. "Hi, guys. Nice to meet you kid, I'm Tracii" he said while stretching out his arm towards the little girl. "Tracii, that's a girl's name? 'm Beth, nice to meet you." said Beth as she took his arm and jokingly shook it. While Beth played with the chains on Tracii's pants another voice could be heard talking to her parents and then looking at her. "Hi love, my name is Phil" the guy, Phil said with a funny accent. "Beth, you're not from America, are you?" she questioned while standing up from next to Tracii and sitting down next to Phil "No, I'm British, that's on another continent" Phil answered. Beth looked puzzled for a bit but then her attention was on a motorcycle parking in the parking lot and another black-haired guy got down from it. "Wowy, 'ts cool" she exclaimed to no one in particular and then only looked away from the motorcycle when the guy stepped in front of her.

"Hi little one, my name is Kelly, it's nice to finally meet you" Beth thought that the guy was very cheerful "Why do you have a girl name too? Oh, I'm Beth" she giggled and almost forgot to tell Kelly her name. Kelly faked being offended and that only made Beth laugh harder, finally when she calmed down, she convinced Kelly to climb onto the slide thingy at the playground with her, Kelly being...well Kelly he of course agreed with very little persuasion needed.

It proved to be harder than they thought to go down on the slide together because Kelly was taller than the top of the slide and they got stuck at least five times, when they got down Phil was laughing his ass off and the others had a smile on their faces too. "Let's play tag" Beth shouted and then slapped Phil's hand signaling to him that he was 'it'. So now Beth and five men who looked really funny were running around the park, the guys, of course, running slower to let Beth win. After about ten minutes Beth got tired and decided she wanted ice cream, and to her luck, an ice cream parlor was right on the other side of the street from where they were standing. Carefully crossing the street Kelly and Beth were discussing what flavor of ice cream they are going to get while Steve was still wheezing a bit from the game of tag. The little group arrived at the parlor and ordered their frozen treats. Beth ordered her favorite, chocolate ice cream and now probably more was smeared around her face and hands than in her mouth, but she was enjoying herself nonetheless.

After cleaning up they decided that they should probably head back to the house because it was getting increasingly hotter outside and wearing black didn't help much either, plus the guys were getting hungry and the ice cream didn't do much.

When they arrived inside Beth was eager to show her toys to the guys and even invited them to play dress-up with her. She was the princess and decided that Phil will be the prince on the condition that he will let her do his hair. "No, nope, sorry love but no." Phil said and as Beth was looking around she saw Tracii also shaking his head in protest. "Kelly, pwease?" she did the puppy eyes so of course, Kelly was now sitting in front of her while she asked Mick to bring her some hairspray and a comb "I'm going to make your hair pwetty, like Mike Monroe's" Beth cheered as Mick handed her the supplies.

She was not so gentle with the teasing and Kelly tried not to make any noises but the look on his face described everything. When they were done Kelly looked like anything but Michael, more like a bird decided to nest in his hair. But of course, he wasn't going to tell that to the little girl "Thank you kid, I look like a true prince now".

"See Phil, you would look pretty, but you didn't let me do it, you're not pretty now" Beth said half serious half joking while staring at Phil, Kelly tried to at least make his hair a bit less messy while Beth wasn't looking, but to no avail. They played princess for a bit more, but Beth got bored of it and the guys were hungry, so they decided to order pizza.

"Can we play hide and seek? Pweaseee"

"Fine kid, who should seek?"

"You Papa"

"Alright, I'll count to two minutes" Mick said as he closed his eyes and leaned against a wall.

Steve hid under the table, Kelly tried climbing into a closet but gave up and hid in the shower instead, Tracii quickly stood behind the curtain in the living room and Beth climbed under the bed, but she didn't want to be alone, so she asked Phil to go with her. Somehow Phil managed to fit under the bed, but climbing out probably won't be easy.

"Ready or not, here I come" Shouted Mick downstairs. The first to be found was Tracii because let's face it, the curtain only covered him above the knee. Then he found Steve under the table. Kelly was only found because he sneezed and then slipped and Mick heard it, "What in the name of...Kelly, what are you doing on the bathroom floor?" Mick questioned "I, ugh might have slipped?" Kelly said laughing a little

"Beth, Phil, where are you?" Mick shouted, no answer. He was searching for maybe a few minutes when he heard a small whisper from under the bed. "Found you" He exclaimed when he looked under the bed, and to his surprise, two pairs of eyes looked back at him.

"Ah, nice to see you too Mick, now please would you help me get out from under here?" Phil asked after a failed attempt to get out, in the end, he somehow climbed out but swore to never climb under a bed again.

When the pizza arrived it was probably around three in the afternoon and everyone was hungry. Beth was getting increasingly tired, but she acted like she didn't care because she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her new friends. After the pizza, everyone agreed that watching a movie would be an awesome idea. They watched The Little Mermaid as it just recently came out and Beth hasn't seen it yet.

"I'm a mermaid" Beth yelled as she was now running around the living room imagining that she was underwater. Then she decided to draw the guys and herself down, it was basically five black-haired people-shaped things and one smaller brown-haired thing. Steve decided that this drawing would look fabulous on the fridge.

After this Beth had to take a nap because she was going to see them play live tonight and she needed to be well-rested for that. While she was sleeping Kelly combed his hair out with a bit of help from Tracii in the back. When she woke up it was already time to go to the venue, so Steve dressed her up and strapped her in the car, "See you there" she waved to the other three guys.

There were so many people outside when they got there and some noticed them and screamed making the little girl whimper "It's okay kid, everything's okay" Mick whispered as he held her even tighter. Inside was a lot calmer and there were many doors and corridors and people running around setting up everything for the show. The next time Beth looked up she was in a dressing room with her fathers who were teasing their hair and putting on their stage clothes. There was a knock at the door and seconds later Kelly came in sitting down next to the kid "You want to cause some mischief before the show?" He asked with a grin "Yeah, like what?" Beth asked "You'll see kid, don't worry we'll meet you guys at the stage" he said the first part to Beth, the second to Mick and Steve.

"Okay, so we'll hide here behind the door and when Tracii or Phil comes by we'll jump out and scare them, ok?" Kelly explained the plan as Beth eagerly nodded, excited to scare people. They only had to wait a bit before an unsuspecting Tracii came out from the room, they jumped out causing him to yell out a surprised "Fuck".

Beth copied Tracii "Fuck". "Okay, um, kid you probably shouldn't say that or at least don't tell anyone I said it okay" Tracii tried explaining it to Beth before she yells out the word again. Luckily Beth forgot about the bad word in a few minutes and when Phil opened the door and they scared him, he luckily just made a loud gasping sound, no curses.

When the four of them got to the stage Steve and Mick were already there waiting for them "So you'll sit on top of the chair and stay there, okay?" Mick asked, pointing to the side of the stage where a chair was already placed for Beth. "Okay Papa"

She enjoyed the show sometimes standing up and dancing a bit or trying to copy the guitar sounds with her mouth or singing the words... kinda the words, but she tried and that's what matters. She was exhausted when the show ended and almost didn't Phil lifting her up and bringing her to his changing room to let her fathers have a bit of alone time.

"I'm sleepy, I wanna sleep" She mumbled as Phil placed her down on the couch and lifted her head into his lap. He started singing softly and she was asleep in a minute, smiling in her sleep.

Later Phil helped Steve put her into the car and buckle her up before saying goodbye and going on his own way. When the little family got home Mick lifted Beth out of the car and with the help of Steve opening the doors he placed her into the bed, tucking her in and both men placing a kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams angel" and with that, they closed her door and went to their own room to take a shower and then snuggle up in bed and also fall asleep.

#mick cripps #steve riley #kelly nickels #phil lewis #tracii guns #la guns #mick cripps x steve riley #pure adorable fluff #oneshot

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

(Wo)men in Glass Houses (Branjie) - Pinkgrapefruit

A/N - now my yearly october to january hibernation is over, have a fanfiction. read by ortega and jaz and quite frankly neither of them found anything glaringly wrong with it so… enjoy lads. i swear i’ll post something of more substance soon.

I’ve been sleeping late

And if I’m speaking honestly

My dreams are the only place

The thought of you can’t bother me

Vanessa is on her back - eyes piercing holes in the ceiling. It’s white, as most ceilings are, wood chipped and bumpy. There’s a coffee-coloured stain that jeeps drawing her eyes but she’s too scared to ask how it got there. If she’s honest, she doesn’t want to know.

Her bedmate is still fast asleep or is at least doing a good job of pretending, and it’s giving Vanessa too much time to think. Her immediate thought - the one that breaks through the carefully constructed walls at the edge of her mind - is how she wishes she wasn’t awake at all. She wants to be asleep again, running through the fields of spring flowers near her childhood home in Yorkshire, blissfully unaware of the mistake sleeping next to her.

She loathes to call Brooke a mistake - but there aren’t any other words.

The covers are soft between her fingertips and her pillow smells of eucalyptus and mint and it brings her back to her train of thought. They were never meant to happen. It’s simple really, the relationship was never meant to happen. They’re a square peg in a round hole who’s too ashamed to admit it and is therefore trying to pretend it doesn’t have any corners at all and the point is - they don’t fit.

Coffee and cheese. Milk and sriracha. Piers Morgan and drag queens. No entiendo por favor.

(She truly does not understand).

They’ve been trying to change each other and like an elastic band, Vanessa just wants to snap back to how she was. She enjoyed her lazy Sundays with Riley, drowning last nights hangover in coffee just long enough to make it to brunch with Kiki and Silky. She misses her half-hearted gym sessions where she’d piss about with resistance bands and yoga balls in the studio off the side before actually doing some hip hop dancing and calling it a night. She hasn’t seen a shitty action film in months and, dare she say it, she misses bad nacho cheese.

She’s not the only one whos made ill-fated sacrifices - she can admit that - Brooke hasn’t been working late, misses her morning runs most days and only drinks chamomile when Vanessa isn’t at her house because the brunette says it smells like old people.

Drink your old people tea, Vanessa thinks in a more scathing tone than she would dare say out loud because it’s before six am and she’s in a worse mood than she thought. She looks at Brooke - her blonde hair splayed on the pillow like a halo. Fucking drink it.

And when I’m wide awake

It takes all of my energy

To tell our friends we’ve never been this happy

The thing about breakups - is if you know they’re coming, you can watch them in slow motion like a train crash.

A’keria has been watching this one for months.

It’s the sort of ‘watch and wait’ scenario that leaves her grabbing the popcorn and tucking herself into the sofa with a blanket her nan crocheted and she’s not mad about it.

So she watches the relationship go up in flames and wonders how either of them thought it would be a good idea to act on the sexual tension that’s been threading around them for years and she privately thinks that maybe she should have just set Vanessa up with her sister to save the trouble.

Because climate change has moved faster than these idiots.

Waiting for the glass house to come down

Waiting to hear that crashing sound

Waiting for the right words to tell you how

I don’t wanna be false art

They move around each other in their perfectly choreographed morning routine - not a word is spoken but they are both fed, watered and ready to go when they need to begin their walk to the office.

Their fingers are intertwined but it’s more of a perfunctory gesture than it used to be. Vanessa grabs Brooke’s hand somewhere between the offices for Walkers and Harveys. She always does.

With Brooke in a maxi dress, she looks more like a model than a lawyer and it allows Vanessa to exercise her possessive streak when a builder catcalls. They kiss bruisingly in the disabled stall before they head to their respective offices - frustrated before 9 am.

When A’keria asks how Vanessa is doing - she lifts the edge of her shirt to show the hickey embedded into her hip.

I’ve been making shit up

But I’ll come clean

I finish in the bathroom

While you fall asleep without me

Brooke stays in the bathroom after sex.

She washes herself slowly and thoroughly, as though any hint of mint shampoo left on her body would be a sin. (Brooke’s shampoo is lemon because she refuses to make her hair smell like toothpaste).

She cannot deal with post-coital cuddling today - the image of another person in her bed just too much to accept in the waning light of day. So she performs her nighttime routine twice to make sure that the summer sun has set entirely by the time she is back in the bedroom. It allows her to slide under the covers in the dark and pretend she is alone - if not for the steady exhales of Vanessa.

She is not right for Vanessa.

The brunette deserves romance and wooing and all Brooke can give is detached sex in bathrooms and bitter black coffee.

There are things she needs to unpack. A box of memories in her wardrobe that will sting more, the longer she leaves them hidden away.

She cannot love herself with enough fervour to love Vanessa.

They both know it.

So she suckles bruises onto her collarbone and calls it adoration.

And our friends they say they want this

But they don’t see

That it’s inevitable

And inevitably

“God, I want what you two have. It’s practically a romcom - friends to lovers.”

It’s harmless, just Courtney simpering as she heads towards the bar set up on the corner of the room but it makes Vanessa dig her nails into her palms so hard she worries she might break the skin.

Brooke sidles up to her - cold lithe fingers wrapping around her waist as she leans down to whisper in Vanessa’s ear.

“Bathroom, five minutes,” she whispers and then she’s gone.

Vanessa marvels at the way people interpret things they don’t understand. To most people - the blush that’s threatening to flutter across the apples of her cheeks is in response to a declaration of love, or a flirtation between sweethearts.

They can never know the detached but furious way Brooke will make Vanessa come undone while the brunette is leaning against the sink - faucet poking into the small of her back. The way she will nip red marks into the flesh of her inner thigh and then later into her bottom lip - Vanessa’s tongue carrying out its own assault on Brooke’s mouth.

For all the ways the forced romance has ruined them - the sexual tension is as thick as the day they first met.

The glasshouse to come down

Just waiting to hear that crashing sound

Waiting for the right words to tell you how

I don’t wanna be false art

Like a fairytale - their eyes met across a crowded room and that was it.

That is, of course, a lie - but it’s how they tell it.

In reality, Brooke had just moved to London from Devon and she’s booked an interview at the firm Vanessa worked HR for. Vanessa took her paperwork, A’keria noticed the spark, Brooke got the job.

They mistook sexual chemistry for romance and by the time they’d figured it out they were four months into a relationship of convenience.

Vanessa has always thought that friends with benefits was a ridiculous arrangement but men in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and isn’t this just the kind of relationship she always scorned.

Acquaintances that share bodily fluids, a bed and invites to dinner. Someone to share secrets with and hold hands on the way to work. Someone to watch sleep in the early hours of the morning and cuddle you when you’re drunk and lonely.

Vanessa is, too often, drunk and lonely.

It’s a habit she intends to break.

Pretend we’re picture perfect

When we’re breaking beneath the surface

I don’t wanna be false art

They break up on a Sunday and finally, Vanessa can agree it’s a day of peace.

It can hardly be considered a breakup from her perspective - the only emotions left to untangle are Vanessa’s towards Brooke’s cats. It’s cold, clean and incredibly reminiscent of Brooke herself - cold, clean, perfect.

Icy.

In a twenty minute sweep of her apartment - every hint of the tall blonde is gone.

Make love like we deserve it

To cover up what’s hurting

I don’t wanna be false art

She makes a cup of coffee, inhaling the scent that reminds her so vividly of university and youth, and drinks it by her window. She plays her music loud.

She refuses to have any regrets.

I don’t wanna be false art

#rpdr fanfiction #pinkgrapefruit #branjie #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #akeria davenport #angst #song fic #lesbian au #(wo)men in glass houses #barest hints of smut if you call talking about hickeys smut #look im not here to cheer you up #my triumphant return is a songfic about branjie being unhappy #its like i never left #thanks V (you’re a legend)#concrit welcome #(how I've missed you and your tags...xoxo -v)#submission

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alj4890 · 3 years

Text

Angst Prompt

(Liam x Riley) with the prompt of Riley getting shot in another country while Liam was in Cordonia and it have been ordered by King Bradshaw as requested by Anonymous.

A/N Oof. What a way to knock me off my fluff kick, LOL. This isn't a part of my AU's but let's see what I can do for your prompt, Nonny. This takes place after the Bradshaw/Isabella mess but before Barthlemy's challenge. I guess I will ruin that brief moment of peace, LOL.

@gkittylove99 @krsnlove @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @hopefulmoonobject @yourmajesty09 @mom2000aggie @ofpixelsandscribbles @twinkleallnight

Masterlist

News

The Royal Palace, Cordonia...

"Here we go, princess." Liam settled his seven month old in her swing. "How about you help your father with reading through these proposals the Council is considering?"

Eleanor smiled around the teething ring she had put in her mouth.

Liam pressed a quick kiss to her cheek then started the swing.

He settled behind his desk, finally feeling a sense of calmness. With all the ups and downs he had gone through since his brother's abdication, he rested in knowing that he, his family, and country were at last entering into a season of peace.

He intended to keep it that way.

The gurgles and coos from Eleanor drew his attention. She waved the teething ring a few times before putting it back in her mouth.

He chuckled at her antics.

He was enjoying these few days of one-on-one time with his daughter. Riley had been asked to be the guest of honor at Lancelin St Clair's fashion grand opening. The renowned designer had created a place where his creations could be not only sold, but created specifically for the customer.

Lancelin had completely renovated a four-story building in Paris's Faubourg Saint-Honoré district, turning each floor into one with a definite purpose. The first floor was a shop that housed various sizes of his most popular creations. The second floor was part runway/part design on demand for the shopper looking for something completely original. The third floor would debut his new bridal line. And the fourth was set as his personal work area/apartment for when he needed to stay late and work on his designs.

All this was to be shown to the public to set off Paris's fashion week.

Since Riley had walked his runway during Liam and Madeleine's engagement tour, he had invited her to be part of his grand opening. Ana De Luca was traveling with Cordonia's queen to do an exclusive spread of Riley in some of the dresses Lancelin had made specifically with her in mind.

It was just the sort of news the people of Cordonia would enjoy after months of uncertainty.

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

"I really don't want to go without you and Eleanor." Riley told Liam the night before she left.

"I don't want you to either." He held her close. "But I have to meet with the Farmers' Association about the progress of the apple orchards." He pressed a tender kiss to her lips. "I've already had to reschedule twice with them. They need to see I take their concerns seriously."

"I know." She sighed. "And I know that Eleanor would distract everyone from Lancelin's moment." She eased out of his embrace. "This will be the first time I go out without you or any of our friends."

Liam took her hands and tried to ease her worries. "You will do great." He smiled at her. "You charm everyone you meet. I believe I am proof to your effect."

Riley shook her head before kissing him. "If anyone is the charmer, it's you."

He chuckled while tugging her toward their bed. "Do you want me to find someone to go with you? Penelope or Kiara perhaps?"

"No thanks." She snuggled closer to him. "I wish Hana was well enough to go. She was looking forward to it."

Liam gently rubbed her back. "With Maxwell in Hollywood and Drake in Texas, we don't have anyone left."

"I wish Olivia was back." She muttered.

"Amalas needed her expertise." Liam reminded her.

"I know." Riley sighed again. "If I can't have you with me, I do tend to depend on the others to be there. I need to learn how to stand on my own."

"The world will once again be amazed by Cordonia's queen." He kissed the top of her head. "You'll see."

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

Liam glanced at his desk clock. It was nearly time for Ana's live report of Lancelin's grand opening.

His princess had fallen asleep in her swing, drawing another smile from him as he carefully lifted her out. Cuddling her close, he sat down on one of the sofas and turned the television on.

Finding the right channel, he relaxed as the first images appeared.

Cordonia's Queen Riley has been given the honor of walking the red carpet first. Lancelin St Clair awaits, giving her the shears to cut the ceremonial ribbon.

He readjusted Eleanor in his arms as he watched his wife's bright smile flash towards the cheering crowd.

Ana continued to detail what they would soon see when shots rang out.

Liam stood up, causing Eleanor to whimper at being rudely awakened.

Ignoring her fitful cries, he watched as the camera caught his wife and Lancelin falling to the ground.

Then the feed went dead.

"BASTIEN!" Liam shouted over Eleanor's wails.

The head of the King's Guards hurried inside while talking on his phone. Regina rushed in behind him.

"Give me the baby." She insisted, gently taking the fussy little one in her arms. She left the study, allowing Liam to be able to focus on what Bastien was saying.

"And the shooter?" He asked. "I see. Where is her majesty being taken?"

Bastien wrote down the information. "Keep me updated."

Once he ended the call, he faced Liam.

"What happened?" He demanded.

Bastien cleared his throat. "A lone gunman shot both Riley and Mr. St Clair."

"Is she alright? Have the plane prepared. We must get there as quickly as we can!"

"Sir," Bastien hesitated. "I must insist you remain here. The gunman was killed by one of our guards. We don't know if there is another and--"

Liam shoved past him and called the airfield. Declaring it an emergency, he then rushed to tell Regina.

"Liam." She teared up as she took his hand. "Be careful and call as soon as you know more."

"Your majesty, I insist you remain here while I go to Paris." Bastien followed after him. "Once my team has investigated, I can then guarantee your safety--"

"Do you honestly think I give a damn about my safety?!" Liam rounded on him. "My wife was just shot! She is alone in another country and hurt. If you think I will sit here behind these so called protective walls, then you do not know me at all." He went back to his study and quickly packed his briefcase. "Now get me to the airport."

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

Early evening, Paris...

"Her majesty is at one of the private hospitals." Bastien explained as the car continued through the city. "Interpol is working with us to identify the shooter."

Liam stared blindly out the window. "Is my wife conscious?"

"She was." Bastien tried to explain. "She lost some blood from her wound and--"

Their car stopped at the front entrance.

"Liam!" Bastien shouted as the king didn't bother to wait on guards or to check that it was safe.

The young king ran inside, pausing long enough to ask where he should go.

"Je suis le roi de Cordonia. Ma femme a été amenée avec une blessure par balle. Où est-elle? Est-ce qu'elle va bien?" He said quickly.

"Elle se repose dans la chambre 138, Votre Majesté. Dr Miller a dit--" the receptionist blinked when he took off running once more.

Liam slid on the freshly waxed tile floors, barely catching himself as he followed the signs.

A doctor and nurse were just leaving Riley's room when he arrived.

"My wife," Liam gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Is she alright?"

"Oui. She was struck in the shoulder." He paused as both King's Guards and Interpol Agents joined them. "We removed the bullet while she was unconscious."

Liam reached for the door handle as the others began to question the physician.

He paused at seeing his wife laying there, looking so fragile.

One of the first things he had first noticed about her was her inner strength to face any obstacle she encountered. He realized he had taken that he had taken that for granted. The only other time he had seen her like this was when she collapsed during Eleanor's birth.

Liam knew there were only a few things he feared in this world. But those few things centered on something specific: his family.

He could face an entire firing squad and not bat an eye. But let it be Riley or Eleanor that was to be threatened, and he could not take it.

He collapsed in the chair by her bed and pressed a kiss to her fingers. Bowing his head, he waited by her side until she awakened.

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

A few hours later...

Liam stood up when Riley became restless. Soft cries escaped her lips as she slept. He reached for the buzzer.

Explaining that his wife was in pain, he waited for a nurse to come in.

Bastien entered first.

"Have you learned anything about the shooter?" Liam asked in a low voice.

"We have." Bastien stopped the nurse.

He and an Interpol agent patted him down and checked the IV bag of morphine he held.

They stepped back and allowed him to tend to Riley.

Liam watched him replace the bag that had been on a slow drip.

"Can she have more?" He asked as she cried out again.

"Yes sir." He showed Liam the button he could push if she needed more, reassuring him that it wouldn't administer any past the dosage she could have. He increased the flow and left.

Riley's eyes barely opened. "Liam?"

He went back to her bedside. "I'm here, my love."

"My shoulder." She sucked in a painful breath. "What happened?"

"A man was in the crowd." Liam gently explained, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "He shot at you and Lancelin and--"

Her eyes widened. "Lancelin! Liam, he was bleeding so much!"

Bastien cleared his throat as he stepped forward. "He is in intensive care at another hospital, mam."

He pointed at the right side of his chest and mouthed lung to Liam.

Liam frowned some before turning back to Riley.

"Where's Eleanor?" Riley asked, turning her head. "Did you bring her?"

"No. Regina is watching over her at home." Liam eased down on the bed. "Do you need anything? Is there something I can do to make you more comfortable?"

"No." Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him. "Liam, if...if I had died...you...my baby..." She began to cry.

Unable to take her in his arms, Liam did his best to comfort her. He wiped her tears while speaking in a calming tone that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. That she was safe. That they would soon be home with Eleanor.

Riley tried to calm down but she shook her head. "We'll never be truly safe, will we?"

Liam paused in his assurances. He felt exhausted from the trials they continued to face. Should he now fear peace, knowing it would end horribly in some new threat?

Running a hand through his hair he spoke of what he did know. "No one is ever truly safe, my love. Even if we were locked away somewhere, accidents can happen. Sickness can strike. Bad things happen just as good ones do."

She sniffed and closed her eyes. "I know you're right," she opened her eyes and met his steady gaze. "I just wish we didn't keep having trouble."

"I do too." He cupped her cheek and softly kissed her. "All I need to know to make it through our trials is that you and Eleanor are taken care of." He struggled with swallowing. "I should have been there today to protect you."

She weakly raised her hand and caressed his cheek. "Then you might have been hurt or..." She couldn't finish that sentence. "I can't lose you, Liam."

He nodded, kissing her again. "I refuse to lose you." His words came out in a harsh whisper. "I will find who did this and will make certain they never do so again."

Riley rubbed her cheek against his hand and closed her eyes.

Liam relaxed once he saw her drift into a peaceful slumber.

"Sir?" Bastien motioned for him to step outside.

"What did you find?" Liam asked.

"The man was a hired gun from America." Bastien began. "But he was born in Auvernal."

Liam's eyes narrowed. "And who hired him?"

"King Bradshaw."

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

Cordonia, a week later...

Riley was rocking back and forth with Eleanor sleeping in the crook of her good arm. She heard voices outside the nursery door. Curious, but unable to hold her daughter properly, she remained where she was.

A few moments later, Liam slipped quietly inside and smiled at her.

"Is she down for the night?"

"She fell asleep long ago, but I wasn’t ready to let her go." Riley let him put Eleanor in her crib. "I missed her so much. I'm so thankful to be home with you both."

"Nowhere near as much as I am." Liam wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I heard voices earlier. Is everything alright?"

He nodded. "Everything is fine."

Riley chewed on her bottom lip. "You never told me what was found about the gunman."

"There wasn't much to discover." He told her.

"Was he just some crazy person or was he hired by someone?" Riley prodded.

Liam let her go and motioned for them to leave the nursery when Eleanor made a disgruntled, sleepy noise.

"I don't want you thinking anymore about this." Liam insisted. "We are taking care of eliminating the threat."

"Eliminating?" Riley's brow furrowed. "But that means he was hired--"

"I want you to rest."

His nearly cold evasiveness alarmed her.

"Liam," she reached for his hand. "Please talk to me. I can handle whatever you have found."

Remembering how upset she was in the hospital, he averted his eyes. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Her lips parted to insist. She shut them when he escorted her to their chambers.

"Do you need anything?" He asked after helping her change.

"No." She murmured.

He covered her up and began to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" She sat up in surprise.

"I have somethings that require my attention in the study." He explained. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

She quietly watched him leave, feeling even more uneasy than before.

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

A little after three in the morning...

Riley awoke when she felt the bed dip down.

"Liam?"

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to wake you."

She checked the time. "Are you just now coming to bed?"

"Yes. It took longer than I planned." He stretched out beside her.

"What did?" She demanded, turning a lamp on.

She gasped when she noticed his bruised face and bloody knuckles.

"What happened? How did you--"

"It's nothing." He winced as he tried to get comfortable. "I'll be fine."

"Liam!" She snapped. "Talk to me." Her eyes narrowed. "Now."

"I took care of the one who tried to take you from me." He snapped back.

"So there was someone else involved?"

"Yes. And he will never have a chance to hurt anyone again." Liam declared.

Riley gently touched his face. "Liam, you didn't..."

"I wanted to." He admitted. "I was so close to beating Bradshaw to death." He closed his eyes at that memory.

It would have been so easy. A few more strikes, a quick twist and the king that had caused Liam’s world to nearly crumble would have had his last breath.

"I allowed Interpol to take him." He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "Olivia found all the evidence we needed to make certain the only way he will ever leave prison is to attend his own funeral."

Riley blinked back tears.

She then punched Liam in the arm.

"Riley!" He sat up when he noticed her shaking with rage. "What--"

"How could you?!" She screamed. "How could you risk your life when you already had everything in place to arrest him?!"

"He tried to kill you!" Liam yelled back. "All because we caused him embarrassment." His eyes narrowed. "Did you think I would do nothing to the man who set out to take my wife from me? Take my daughter's mother?!"

"He wasn't worth you taking a chance on him having a weapon or one of his guards kill you! What would Eleanor and I do without you here?" Tears fell, nearly blinding her. "How could you risk our family?"

All of Liam's anger disappeared at hearing that she had his own fear. Gently pulling her close he silently held her as she cried. His own tears mingled with hers as he thought of a life without her.

The sun was beginning to rise as their tears came to an end. They still held to one another, speaking in low tones of their life together. An occasional hitch in one's words caused the other to try and comfort the one temporarily unable to speak.

As light crept through the drapes, the two remained upright, still clinging to the one they loved.

Riley lifted her head off his shoulder. "Eleanor will be awake soon."

"Yes, she will." Liam pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead. "You should rest. I'll take care of her."

"I'll help you." She hugged him close with her good arm. "I don't want to be apart from either of you today."

His arms tightened around her. Unable to say all that filled his heart, he simply nodded while muttering that he didn't either.

She pressed a tender kiss to his lips and smiled. "It's a new day, my love. A new day just for us."

#choices the royal romance #choices the royal heir #liam x riley #king liam #liam x mc #trr liam #trr riley #trh liam #choices stories you play

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whumpschild · 3 years

Text

Carson/ Tyler series crossover (Part 1)

@writehardwhumpharder

Carson hadn't expected a knock at the door, it was around 4pm in the middle of June and Daniel wouldn't be home until 7:45pm. He answered the door only to see a familiar face he hadn't seen since November of last year. It was Tyler, a guy who he had met in Oregon on an investigation about magical murders all over the country. His striking purple eyes stood out the instant carson opened the door as well as the large scar on his forehead.

“What the hell?” Carson said in surprise “Why are you here? How the hell do you know where I live?”

“Riley told me.” Tyler said. If she’s gonna go handing around my information the least could do is give me some warning, Carson thought to himself. Just then his phone binged, it was a text from Riley saying she sent a special somebody over. The whole point of a warning is to tell me before something happens. Carson thought to himself.

“Well since you’re already here I guess you can come in.” Carson walked away, leaving the door wide open for Tyler to follow him.

“Thanks ya know,” Tyler said as he walked in ,closing the door and locking it behind him. “Are you still wearing pajamas? It's like 4pm ya know.”

“Eh, it’s the weekend,” Carson shrugged.

“Its Thursday,” Tyler corrected

Carson stopped in front of the couch and glared at him before sitting back down where he was sitting before he got there, “What’s your point?”

“I don’t have one.” Tyler usually was fully dressed and looking Presentable even on the weekends so he felt the need to comment on Carson's appearance.

“It’s kind of bad timing. I’m really busy today,” Carson sighed. Truthfully, he just felt a little uncomfortable and surprised.

“Really? What’cha up to?

“Uh…” He had to pause to think about it, he was sure he had something planned. Oh yeah, “Um, well, I was gonna have some tea later and maybe read a book…”

“Reading sounds cool, I don't like tea though, it tastes like grass to me.”

“Aren’t you like half-british?”

“No i was born and raised in America ya know, i just have the accent.”

“Coffee then?”

“You bet, could you put a lot of sugar in it?”

“Sure, whatever. Just sit down.”

Tyler took Carson's offer and sat on the opposite side of the couch.

“You can find a book to read as long as you’re careful with it,” Carson motioned to the massive bookshelf behind him, full of a strange assortment of books. Most of them looked worn and old. Tyler's eyes lit up like fireworks as he speed walked towards the books, he looked like a kid in a toy store. A lot of the books were magic, something that wasn't often sold in bookstores in his small town in oregon. Tyler had driven all the way from Oregon to New York because he had been given a three week vacation after being promoted after a case. He drove because he hated flying at all costs, it took him four days to get there. But he really enjoyed all the things he saw on the way there.

Tyler picked out a thick book that had something to do with magic items and went straight to reading. There were lots of things like how wands worked or how you could draw effective Magic circles. Carson brought over a cup of coffee and handed it To Tyler. Carson looked over his shoulder and looked at what he was reading.

“The journals are my favorite. I got all these from Daniel’s shop,” Carson said without looking up.

Tyler got excited, he had never seen anything like this before and there somebody was, who had a ton of it. “Really? Wait do you live here alone or with daniel? I kind of had the idea you guys were roommates in addition to being good friends ya know.

“With Daniel, he’s just at work right now.”

“Oh cool,” Tyler stopped and pointed to something written in latin. “What is this? I don't think I’ve seen it before.”

“Well I don’t speak latin but I can tell one of the symbols involved is about heat. So I guess it’s some kind of spell for that.”

“Could you teach me?” Tyler said setting his head on the back of the couch. “Ya know, how to do it?

“Personally, I manipulate heat by adding and removing life energy from a space. Can you move magic?”

“I’m not sure. Never tried.”

“If you can see it I’m sure you can move it. It just takes a lot of practice and guessing.” Carson told him. He set down his book to give him his attention.

“See what? Magic? You can see stuff like that?”Tylers curiosity peaked. He could sure sense magic and other psychics but not see it.

“Remind me, what are your powers exactly?” He needed a starting off point. Unfortunately, they were completely different kinds of magicians.

Tyler sat and thought for a second “Well I can see in people's minds, I can lift things and manipulate objects like a light pole or a cup. Oh if we had a small bit of something already burning, I could make it burn more, or snuff it out completely. “ Tyler paused and looked at the book. He had the power of a third eye but it wasn't fully in control yet so he didn't want to mention it.

“That’s basically like manipulating heat then. That’s how I make flames. I guess the real question is can you do the opposite and freeze something?”

“Hmm, Maybe if you gave me an ice cube in a cup of water i could make the whole cup freeze.”

“Give it a try. Kitchen is back there,” he pointed over his shoulder.

“Freezing something?” Tyler asked, tilting his head and shifting up his glasses.

Carson looked up at him, “Yeah. Let’s see if you can do it.”

Tyler got up off the couch and walked to the kitchen, “Which cupboards are your cups in?”

“Left of the sink,” he called back.

Tyler grabbed a cup that was plastic just in case it broke, so it would be easy to replace, filled it up with water, and put an ice cube in it then walked back to the couch. Tyler set the cup on the coffee table and sat on the floor next to it and concentrated. He took off his glasses and hooked them on the neck of his purple T-shirt. He stared intensely at the cup and hovered his hands over it. It took a minute but in a quick flash the water froze from the ice cube out as it cracked the cup. It let out a light wave of cool air around Tyler's hands and Carson could feel it slightly. “I'm glad I got a plastic one, right?” Tyler said as his nose started a small stream of blood.

“Jeez, you could have mentioned you have no control over your powers. Here, if you get blood on the couch Daniel will kill me,” he forced a box of tissues in his direction. Tyler grabbed a tissue and put it over his nose. He then noticed how cold his hands had become even though it was summer.

Tyler continued trying to freeze things and melt things for the next few hours while Carson coached him then somebody walked in the door. It was Daniel. He looked a little tired but not too tired.

Daniel set his things down then walked into the living room looking puzzled, “Hi Tyler. No one told me you were coming by but it’s nice to see you.”

“No one told me either,” Carson chimed in.

He sat down next to Carson then let his eyes trail down to the coffee table in front of him. It was littered with broken cups. “Uh… what have you two been up to?” Daniel perked up and started looking at the mess in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the trash can had been moved to next to the opposite couch. “What the hell is that? Carson, did you-” He looked like he was about to start a lecture.

“Carson is teaching me how to manipulate heat, don't worry about your cups. I'll buy more for you,” Tyler said, still sitting on the floor then leaning back and supporting himself on his hands behind him.”Wanna see?”

“Sure,” he said.

Tyler grabbed a cup on the table that had not broken yet with a half melted ice cube and did everything he was doing before. “Cool ya know?” his nose started to bleed slightly again but not as bad as the last few times where it took two tissues to stop. Carson again handed Tyler a tissue so he could wipe away the blood.

Daniel’s brows furrowed slightly with concern and he looked between Tyler and Carson. “Yeah, that’s cool. Maybe you should take a break.” He suggested.

“Why? It’s kinda fun to do it. I can melt it too.” Tyler said standing up he became slightly unsteady on his feet as his minor blood loss made him dizzy.

Daniel quickly stood and grabbed his shoulder, urging him to sit back down. “Like I was saying, I think it’s a good time for a break,” he subtly leaned over and started gathering the cups on the table to take away.

Carson perked up suddenly, “Wait a sec. Where did your blob go?”

“Blob?” Tyler was confused for a second “Oh yeah. Milo? I made him stay back in oregon. I'm on vacation ya know. I can't just bring my supernatural entities anywhere.”

“Oh, by the way,” Carson leaned toward him, “Don’t open that door. Daniel’s cat, Pixie, is in there so just… try not to die.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” Tyler said. “ speaking of dying.” He asked Daniel to grab him his backpack that he had with him by the couch. Daniel did what he asked as Tyler took out his inhaler and took it even though he wasn't wheezing.

“What’s that for?” Daniel asked. He remembered Tyler had asthma but he seemed to be breathing okay at the moment.

“Flare up, it's when, maybe for a few weeks at a time, it gets really bad ya know. I gotta take an inhaler every four hours.”

“Well good luck with that,” Carson said. “So how long are you going to be in New York?”

“Two weeks,” Tyler said as he suddenly realized what time it was. “Aw shit. I forgot to get a hotel,” Tyler said while putting on a light sweater and trying to get his stuff together.

“Two weeks?!” Daniel asked in shock, “What kind of supernatural threat is out there you need to be here that long? God damn.”

“None,” Tyler said “I got a promotion ya know.” Tyler said with enthusiasm. in his voice “ I got a three week vaction ya know.”

“Congrats,” Daniel told him. “So what did you come all the way out here for if you’re not working? Don’t you hate planes?”

“I felt like it, I didn't really get a chance to go sight seeing when i was here last ya know?” Tyler said, shifting around. “Of course I hate planes, I drove here. You miss a lot if you take a plane ya know. It's not as interesting.”

“Sounds like hell but whatever, man.” Carson said.

Carson rummaged around the books left on the table and set some things aside, “So what’s for dinner?” He looked at Daniel expectantly.

“Oh, I don’t know. What do you think, Tyler?” Daniel asked.

“Carson doesn't eat meat right? How about stir fry? I know how to make it with ramen noodles. On worry by the way after dinner i'll go find a hotel that takes in people at the desk.” Tyler got up from the couch, Daniel was ready to grab him if he fell, he was still slightly worried about his blood loss. "Come on I'll teach ya how to make it." Tyler said coaxing Daniel to get up. They both went to the kitchen as Daniel grabbed things Tyler asked for like broccoli, corn ,carrots and five packets of ramen. Tyler pulled all of his hair back into a bun and washed his hands. While Tyler was cooking Daniel was making sure to write down all of the steps to make this for future reference.

By the end there was a large pan full of stir fried noodles. Daniel never really made this much before and the amount seemed a little much just for the three of them . It made Daniel wonder how big Tyler’s appetite really was. They all sat down and started eating. Carson wasn't always the biggest fan of food but it actually tasted pretty decent to him. Daniel got the idea, since everyone is allowed to drink alcohol that he would bring out wine for everyone.

Daniel stopped to think for a second "Tyler, do you drink?" He asked. To him, Tyler didn't look like the kind of person that drank alcohol.

"Yep, Not beer ya know, it tastes like a sewer." Tyler replied.

"I can agree with that." Carson said looking up from his food.

"It's wine," Daniel said, bringing over three cups. "How well do you handle alcohol? Carson's a light drinker so he gets tipsy pretty quickly. He's also kind of a light weight," Carson was a little offended by that comment. He wasn't that light of a drinker.

"How much do you weigh Carson?" Tyler asked.

"Around 145 pounds, You?"

Tyler's face turned slightly read like he was embarrassed. "136," He said, scratching the back of his neck. Tyler never went out of his way to not eat, in fact he had a very big appetite. It was just that when he worked he would frequently forget to eat. He would frequently go through periods of losing and gaining a normal amount of weight.

"Do you even eat dude?." Carson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I do. I get distracted with work a lot. I got bills to pay ya know."

Carson moved his plate out of the way so Daniel could set down three glasses, “I picked a white wine, hope that’s okay with you, Tyler.” Once the glasses were full Daniel sat back down. “Carson wouldn’t eat either if I didn’t shove three plates of food in front of him everyday,” he shot him a look. Tyler laughed, these guys were entertaining.

Carson rolled his eyes but continued to poke at his food while Tyler scarfed down his whole plate at record speed. They were starting to understand why he cooked so much. He stared at the wine curiously and sniffed it before drinking. He had a strange habit of doing that with new things he ate or drank. They ate and drank, Carson and Daniel found out quickly that Tyler couldn't hold in alcohol because his half british accent became more incoherent as he started to sound like a sailor. It got worse when he insisted that Carson would teach him some simple magic. Daniel grabbed a piece of paper and a magic book and set them down in front of Tyler.

“What’s that for?” Tyler asked as Daniel pulled out a marker.

“We're gonna draw magic circles,” Daniel replied, flipping through the book then pointing to a symbol on the page. “Try and draw this.” Tyler took the marker and started drawing the circle on the page, it would be pretty accurate if the lines hadn’t been slightly shaky.

“Lets see if it can actually hold magic” Carson said. Flipping his vision to see if there was magic being held in it. Little flakes of magic were floating around in it like dust so it would hold well enough.

“Did it work? Tyler asked, resting his head on the table.

“I don't know, did it?”Carson asked. Carson could see if it was working but Tyler needed to figure that out for himself. Tyler studied the circle for a minute looking at it trying to see what he could find. He decided to put his hand over it when a sudden tingly feeling like tv static came through his fingers. “That feels weird, I think it worked.” Tyler said.

For the next hour or so. Carson and Daniel thought Tyler magic circles and how they worked and what they did. Tyler himself wasn't a magician , he was a psychic he dealt with more of a mental side but he was still capable of using it. Before he realised it it was around 10:30 pm. “Aw crap, I need to go. I still haven't checked into a hotel.” He said, grabbing his backpack and stumbling around before Daniel grabbed his arm.

“Do you really think drunk driving is a good idea?”Daniel asked with full intention of keeping Tyler there for the night.

“Good point,” he said “But where do I go now?” Tyler asked, the fact didn't click in his drunk brain that he already had somewhere to stay.

“Here, where else?”

“Oh, I'll sleep on the couch then.”

“You can take Carson's room.” Carson perked his head up in annoyance, that was his room Daniel can't just give it away.

“Won’t the couch do? Can’t I just sleep there?” Tyler asked Daniel, he didn't want Carson to be annoyed at him.

“Yeah Daniel, why can't he sleep there?” Carson complained

“Because i say so, he can’t stay in my room, Pixie's there. Your room is the only cat-free space in the whole apartment”

Tyler just kind of sat there with Daniel still holding on his arm he was definitely buzzed because his brain felt like TV static. “Can I have my arm back now?” Daniel looked back and let go of his arm “Sorry man,”

“Eh it's fine” They continued to sit around the table for a while talking about nonsense until they all got tired and went to bed, Tyler apologized to Carson for stealing his room as he only got a grunt as a response. Tyler sat on carsons bed and noticed a few bottles of pills; they were mainly bottles of antidepressants. He laid on his back and just stared at the ceiling, as he fell asleep the thoughts of other sleeping people rushed through him like he was used to.

Carson woke up around noon to find that Daniel was at work and Tyler was still sleeping. He had left the bedroom door slightly open so Carson could see him. He noticed that he tended to cough a lot in his sleep. He sat on the couch for an hour or so watching TV until Tyler finally decided to wake up and go sit on the couch with him and took a puff of his inhaler. Neither of them bothered to say anything, choosing instead to just focus on the show. They sat there quietly until Tyler stood up, grabbed some clothes, and asked if he could use the shower. Tyler took a whole twenty minutes in there, most of it was spent on his hair but he still took forever.

“I'm gonna go sightseeing, wanna come?” Tyler asked, coming out of the bathroom and putting on his glasses.

“Dunno,” Carson said from the couch with a sigh. He didn’t have any plans but he didn’t know if he wanted to go out either.

“I was thinking of going to Daniel’s bookstore. I’ll drive us...” Tyler suggested, trying to coax Carson into coming with him because he really didn't want to go alone.

“Fine,” Carson said. Tyler waited for Cason to get changed and ready to go. As he did, Tyler slipped his inhaler into his pocket and put on his purple converse. His hair tied in a bun which he always did in the summer. Tyler wore a short-sleeved white shirt and black cargo shorts that went to his knees. The shorts exposed a large scar on his right leg that he had gotten last November. Coincidentally, the last time he saw Carson before visiting.

After about ten minutes, Carson came out of his room in a button down shirt that he rolled the sleeves on to make it a little more appropriate for the weather. He slipped on his old grey converse that stopped just below the ankle. You could see Carson's mismatched socks peeking out. They walked down the hall and took the elevator down to street level. Tyler's car was parked around the corner at the closest available parking spot. As they walked Carson made a mental note to have Tyler park in the garage under their building when they get back. Tyler got behind the wheel then realized he didn't know where Daniel worked. “Hey, wanna drive? I don't know where he works and this city is huge.”

“Don't have a license,” Carson responded.

“Oh, why not?”

“It's not my fault, okay?” he said groaning, “Some idiot doctor misdiagnosed me and they took it for medical purposes. My lawyer is working on it.”

“That sucks ya know, sorry about that.” He said while turning on his phone and giving it to Carson. “Could you put in the address?”

On the way, Tyler took the time to admire the scenery every time he stopped at a red light. The buildings were huge. They towered over everything that would have been in Tylers town; the tallest building there would probably be the clock tower at the church. Several times Carson had to remind Tyler to keep his eyes on the road but his eyes couldn’t help but wander up the tall buildings, casting shadows over the road. It wasn’t long until they got to the bookstore and Carson directed him to park around back so they could avoid the meter.

A little bell chimed when they walked in and Carson immediately started looking for Daniel among the mess of bookshelves. There were a couple customers walking around, minding their own business.

Daniel poked his head up behind the register, ready to greet who he assumed were customers. His brows furrowed with surprise, “H- Wait, why are you here? Did something happen?” He asked, straightening up and walking around the counter to them.

“Nothing’s up, Tyler just wanted to see the city.” Carson told him, “Of course I generously offered to be his guide-”

Tyler cut him off, “No you didn’t.”

Daniel laughed and led them to the back room knowing they would probably prefer to look at books in private, away from the other customers. Carson walked around the place like it was his second home, he knew where everything was including the secret stash of magic books.

“You know, the cool thing about this place is that it isn’t just a regular bookstore. They specialize in rare, hard to find books. A lot of them aren’t even published, some are even handwritten by the authors. You never know what you might find,” Carson said proudly.

Tyler picked up a book and opened it to a random page, “Speaking of which, what the hell is this?”

Carson tilted his head to read the title, the ink was so washed out he could barely make out the letters, “Hmm, that one looks like a journal,” he looked over his shoulder to see that it was handwritten and pretty badly at that, “Yep, definitely a magician’s personal notes.”

“What’s this language?” Tyler asked.

Carson smirked, “English. Look closely.”

Tyler squinted at the book. The words really were in English. “Why is the handwriting so bad? It's worse than mine.”

“Eh, I’ve read that guy’s stuff before. Pretty sure he was an alcoholic,” Carson shrugged.

Tyler studied the handwriting as much as he could because some of it was faded. It did seem similar to somebody's handwriting that was intoxicated or high. That is something he was frequently used to analyzing since he was a detective. He also noticed there were a few strange blotches of something on the pages too, it might have been alcohol. If it wasn't he didn't want to know. “Probably, look at the stains, it might be alcohol ya know.”

“Hey can I see that real quick?” He asked, pointing at the book in Tyler’s hands.

“Yea go ahead,” Tyler said, handing the book over to Carson.

He wasted no time opening it up and holding it close to his face. Carson sniffed it so aggressively it was like he was trying to huff the damn thing. “Spiced rum, the good stuff,” he concluded then handed it back to him.

“What? How the hell do Ya know that?” Tyler asked in surprise “That thing is like 80 years old!”

“How don’t you know? You’re a detective aren’t you?” Carson didn’t mean it as an insult, it just seemed like something worth knowing in that line of work.

“I have literally drank three times in my whole life I wouldn't know. I'm not a forensic.”

“Sometimes I forget how young you are. Although that shouldn’t matter, I started drinking at 15.”

“That explains a few things,” he said jokingly and laughing. “I didn't drink until I was almost 23.” Tyler paused for a second and processed that Carson called him young. “Wait I'm not that young you're only like three and a half years older than me!”

“No way, you’re at least ten years younger than me.”

“I'm 23 not 16,” Tyler pouted.

“That’s not what I meant,” Carson clarified, “You’re 23 and I’m mentally, physically, and spiritually 34 if not 50.”

“Old man,” He said with a smirk. Tyler was probably a little immature because of the years he missed in a coma after a plane crash but he didn't want to admit that because he didn't want Carson to be right. “You do seem to have a lot of grey hairs ya know.” He said

“Take that back.”

“I’m just kidding. You don't have grey hair.” Tyler could hardly speak for himself; small chunks of his hair were still grey from going overboard on his powers last November that he neglected to dye brown again. He was hoping Carson wouldn't notice since his hair was up in a bun but a small chunk was pretty clear from his bangs.

“What about that?” Carson asked, gesturing towards Tylers bangs.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Tyler said brushing at his bangs that were parted to the side.

Daniel laughed at the two of them while he worked around them. Tyler walked around some more, still fumbling with his bangs. He got lost in the bookshelves of old and newer books. He picked up books and pulled down the books he couldn't reach, levitating them with sheer will. He wasn't super aware of how people treated stuff like that in New York, good thing nobody saw him. He picked up a little black notebook full of notes and stuff it that was sitting on a table by one of the bookshelves “Hey this one is magic too right?” Carson walked over looking over Tylers shoulder. “I'm not sure it's real” Tyler said, “It doesn't feel tingly like the other ones.”

Carson stared at the book and smirked “That's Daniels ya twat,” he said mocking Tyler’s accent yet again as he grabbed the little book from Tyler's hand and stuffed it in his pocket and walked back to a little table in the corner. Tyler continued gathering lots of different books he decided not to grab anymore as this much would probably cost 300 dollars.

He went to a table Carson was sitting at and threw down a mound of books from fantasy to sci-fi to magic and got to reading. He got lost in his reading, he had a very bad habit of zoning out anything and everything when he was into reading.

Carson just sat there and watched as Tyler practically molded his face to a book and darted his eyes around at a very fast pace. He was sitting there looking at his own books. A couple hours passed like that and when Carson eventually got bored he went to help Daniel with the shop. When he grew impatient, Carson tried to get Tyler’s attention.

“Tyler?” Carson said looking up at Tyler who gave no response “Hey, four eyes,” he said a bit louder. It took Carson flinging a pencil at Tyler to get his attention.”Asshat” Carson thought into Tyler's head.

“Huh? What?” Tyler asked.

“Is this what you call sightseeing? We’ve been here for two hours.”

“Really? I thought it was maybe thirty minutes.” Tyler said, getting up and stretching. He grabbed his mound of magic and other books and took it to the counter that Daniel was sitting at. There were probably thirty or more books in that pile.

“Do you plan on starting your own library?” Daniel asked, starting to scan Tyler's books He noticed that Tyler seemed a lot more lively than when they had met the first time. He was probably drained and stressed out the whole time then but now, even the dark circles under his eyes had almost completely faded. This was how Tyler really was, a good kid. While he was 23, he acted a lot younger. Another thing he hadn't noticed before.

Tyler grabbed all of his bags of books and called over to Carson so he could get help bringing them to his car. He had to bring the books to the counter in several trips and he didn't want to take several trips to the car in 90 degree weather. "Ya coming with me or am I leaving you here? Tyler asked.

"I guess I'll go with you. I have nothing better to do." Carson said, tossing a bag of books into the back seat of Tyler’s little red car which had a lot of stuff in it like suitcases and backpacks. He shut the door and he got into the passenger side door.

"Do you feel like getting food? Have you eaten today? I haven't.” Tyler said, starting the car.

"I could go for some pizza I guess,'' Carson said as Tyler pulled out onto the road. As they were driving, a car pulled out of nowhere and Tyler had to slam on the brakes.

“WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING YOU JACKASS!” Tyler screamed. It startled Carson more than the car because of how loud his voice was. He sounded like a really angry european. A street lamp simultaneously bursted above them sending sparks onto Tyler's car.

Ah, not again. Tyler said swinging his head into the headrest of his seat.

“What? That car almost hitting us?”

“Yes, but no. I blew a street lamp again.” he said.

“You blew that? Do you have any control at all?”

“Apparently not.”

“You’ve had magic for a while now, right? You should have more control than that.” Carson said that thinking Tyler had had his power for at least ten years or so.

“Two years, two and a half if you want to be precise.” Tyler said, pulling into the parking lot of a pizza place and sat in the car for a minute. “After the plane crash I died several times before going into a coma, I didn't wake up with them but shortly after I got out of the hospital I managed to accidentally blow out the tv in my bedroom as well as other things like an old nebulizer and an entire bookshelf had all my books fly off of it when I wanted to get a book but didn't have the energy to go grab it. I saw a ghost for the first time, it was Milo just sitting there on my bed like he owned the place.”

“So the first ghost you ever saw was a cat?” Carson asked.

“Weird right? I didn't think he was a ghost at first.” The more tyler thought of it the more he realized he might have seen a lot of ghosts back at the hospital but might not have noticed that they were.

“Well it’s probably less startling than a human ghost. Anyways, two years isn’t very long. Where did you get so much raw power?”

“I don't know where it came from to be honest, I kinda just woke up with it one day out of the blue.”

“Fair enough. I don’t know how this shit works either,” Carson shrugged.

“Seems pretty accurate, let's go in and get pizza, we can find somewhere to eat it after.”

Tyler and Carson walked into the pizza place. Carson had been there a few times so he was familiar with the menu. After about ten minutes they walked out with a pizza, half cheese, half Pepperoni and olives.

Though they were past the hottest part of the day, the heat didn’t seem to be letting up at all. The sidewalks were still packed with people so Carson suggested they get off the main road and head over to the park where there would be some shade. Despite living so close to the park Carson had only wandered in there a couple times. He wondered why it took Tyler coming to visit to get him out of the apartment. They walked around for a bit, Tyler holding the pizza box. They found a bench to sit at so they could eat.

“I didn't know places like this had little ponds.” Tyler said, looking to an empty part of the park where there was nothing but grass. Carson wasn't sure what Tyler was talking about or what he was looking at because to him nothing was there.

“This park is kind of known for its ponds and bridges but that patch of grass isn’t one of them, dude, what are you looking at?”

“What? Are you blind it's right in front of us.” He said resting his head on his hand and staring at seemingly nothing.

Carson glanced at Tyler skeptically and out of curiosity he decided to look with his magical senses. What he saw didn’t look like a pond but there was an odd concentration of magic there. Carson stood up to get a better look, “Oh shit, you’re right.”

A couple walking by gave them weird looks and walked a little faster to get away from them.

“Wanna see it?” Tyler asked Carson, perking his head up. Carson might not be able to see like him so he thought he might want to try.

“I don’t know what there is to see but I guess so.”

“Okay you need to look directly in my eyes, I'm going to look like I passed out but it's fine.”

“Uhh is this going to hurt?” Carson asked.

“No if it didn't hurt Jared you'll be fine, the worst that could happen is somebody's nose bleeds a little bit.”

Grimacing slightly, Carson agreed and looked into Tyler’s purple eyes. It took a second but Carson felt a spark of Tyler's magic before his eyes rolled back and he fell off the seat onto the grass, his blue rectangle framed glasses flying off his face. Carson just sat there for a minute blinking a few times before catching something in the corner of his eye. There was a small pond right in front of where they were sitting just like Tyler said. The water was clear and sparkly, it even had fish and a few frogs in it. There was suddenly a couple sitting on a bench that wasn't there before. It felt strange, almost like a dream. Carson didn’t have full control of his mind as he watched the couple with fascination. It was almost like seeing back in time. They looked so happy. Do all souls look like this to Tyler? He wondered. Carson wanted to get closer but he felt the connection wavering and the next time he blinked his eyes, they were gone. He had the distinct feeling of waking up, coming back to reality. He hadn’t even noticed that Tyler was on the ground next to him, seemingly unconscious.

Tyler started to stir, and opened his eyes, he laid there for a second then stood up brushing himself off and putting his glasses back on. “Did it work? Did ya see?” he asked.

To his surprise, Carson was frowning. He seemed sad. “So… this is what you see. They looked just like people.”

“Yeah,” Tyler said, noticing the look on carsons face. “What's wrong did it not work that well?”

“We can’t leave them there.” He said suddenly. “Dead souls aren’t supposed to stay in the living world, it’s not right.”

“Do you have to take them now?” Tyler asked, staring at the bench where the couple were. Carson could no longer see them as people. Instead they appeared as plain little souls that were very faint to his eyes.

“Do you have a better idea?” Carson asked him seriously. He knew that Tyler saw spirits but he never questioned how he uses that power.

“I'll go talk to them, if they have to move on better give them a heads up right?” Tyler said getting off the bench and walking around the empty patch of grass where the pond was. Carson stayed a few steps behind him. Tyler stood there and introduced himself like it was all normal and explained who they were and what they were doing. It looked like he was talking and responding to thin air.

Carson waited for Tyler to give him the go ahead then he approached them. He had to really squint with his magical vision to even know where they were. He’d seen recently deceased souls before but the couple’s were especially dim as if they had been there for a long time. Closing his eyes, he held out his hand and grabbed onto the souls. Before he could really do anything Tyler nudged his arm “At least tell them your name ya know, I would wanna know who's taking me to the afterlife.”

Carson put his other hand over his outstretched palm as if that would somehow keep them from hearing him, “And tell them what? Hi I’m Carson Hall and I’m the grim reaper here to send you to death. Have a nice trip?”

“Yes, straight to the point. These people already know they're dead.”

Carson rolled his eyes but did it anyway feeling incredibly stupid for talking to thin air, “Whatever. I’m Carson and it’s my job to send lost souls like yours to the afterlife.” Carson waited for a second while Tyler looked like he was listening to what they were saying.

“They figured this would happen.” Tyler said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Without wasting any more time, Carson knelt down and put his hand on the ground. Tyler could see the smoky shadow under his hand for a split second before it was over and they were gone. “Well this isn’t how I planned on spending my night.”

“Eh, adventure is fun when you're not dying ri-” Tyler screamed and it sent Carson into a fight or flight response. He looked around then back at their table “The pizza!” Tyler screeched. It was getting eaten by pigeons as Tyler rushed over there like he was the one in danger, not the pizza and shooed them away. He regretted running immediately as it made him out of breath. It was too late, the pizza was half gone.

Carson took his sweet time walking back to the bench, “Give it up man. It belongs to the birds now.”

Tyler sat there and pouted and took a few puffs of his inhaler before complaining. “I spent 15 bucks on that ya know,” he whined.

“Who cares? We’ll get more on the way back.”

“I can't spend all my money on just pizza. I have about two thousand I can spend on this trip, most of that was for the hotel I planned.

“Why don’t you just use your powers to make money?” Carson asked him seriously, “Besides, you had $300 to spend on books this morning. Now you’re telling me you’re too broke to buy some pizza?”

“Good point, on both parts.” Tyler said grabbing the pizza box and shoving it into a nearby trash can. “What do you do to make money? You work at the station right? With Morris.”

“I’m a magical consultant, I don’t get paid shit for that. I make most of my money by doing side jobs.”

“What kind of jobs?” Tyler asked as he and Carson started walking back to the car.

“It’s pretty simple. I just find a rich person with an incurable disease and ask them how much their life is worth to them.” Carson didn’t even try to sugarcoat it.

“Sounds hard, wish I had thought of that. I would have enough money to have you cure my asthma ya know,” Tyler said laughing that turned into a slight cough.

“Well it’s not like your asthma will kill you, right? I mostly help people with terminal illnesses.”

“It could if it got real bad, but it has never gotten to me not breathing at all ya know, i've been taken in to the ER though, the staff knows my name how funny is that.”

“Sounds like a real pain to live with.” Carson commented as they got back into Tyler’s car. “They know my name too but not a good way.”

“How's that?” Tyler said starting up the car.

“You haven’t noticed? People hate magicians. At least they do here. The gangs really don’t help with our public image.”

“How bad is that hatred here? It's not so bad in my hometown. Since we are small, there isn't a whole ton of crime there up until recently.”

“I grew up in a small town,” Carson said bitterly. “Didn’t stop anyone from hating me that’s for sure.”

“Go ahead and talk about it, i'm the only one here ya know”

“Eh what’s the point. Everyone hated me and tried to kill me a couple times, end of story.” He said with a sigh.

“KIll you?! I-its okay i won't pry if you don’t wanna talk about it then don't if it makes you on edge.”

Tyler seemed like the one on edge but Carson took his offer, no reason to bring up the past now. “What about you?” He asked, trying to change the subject.

“How do people treat me?

“Yeah.”

“I'm not sure, I know Ramin was sent to keep me from killing anyone but other than that, people don't really care unless you hurt somebody.”

“What about highschool?” Carson asked for a split second forgetting that Tyler didn't have any kind of power in highschool.

“I didn't have any kind of power then, You wouldn't believe if I told you I was the athletic kid who always got into fights, I got along with people but I only had like two real friends.”

“Yeah, I'm not sure I believe that.” Carson said, letting out a small chuckle.

“It's true I have pictures of me on the soccer team in 10th grade. Winter was really hard to do sports since it was so cold so I stuck with just bowling.” Tyler paused and thought for a moment, “I've been suspended several times too, I got in a fight with this guy and he tried to take Jared’s backpack and my inalor so I couldn't fight back. I sucker punched that son of a bitch and got our stuff back. You wouldn't believe how much trouble I was in.”

“For defending yourselves?”

“No, I mouthed off to the teachers. Since the guy threw the first punch My mom wasn't too mad about that. I had to sit in a chair with soap in my mouth at home until I went to write an apology letter and personally apologize for mouthing off.”

“What did you say?” Carson asked. He never would have guessed Tyler was like that as a kid so his curiosity got the better of him.

Tyler took a breath and smiled. “You guys are a bunch of sorry bitches if you are defending the pathetic excuse for kids who can't fight without a handicap.”

Carson was surprised by how Tyler was almost completely contrasted with what he was like now. Carson can't really judge though after all he had killed his own classmate. He just couldn’t see Tyler being so aggressive, it seemed out of character for him. Carson just nodded awkwardly, not wanting to comment either way.

Carson didn't say anything but Tyler couldn't help but laugh. He started laughing a lot which triggered a short coughing fit that had him setting his hand on his chest.

“You’ve been coughing like that alot, I'm not going to have to heal you again right?” Carson didn't want to use his magic unless he really had to. He has had to heal Tyler’s asthma once before it took a lot out of him but this time Tyler had an inhaler so it should be fine.

“No, I've been outside a lot today, it's normal.” Tyler said, clearing his throat. He saw a music store while driving. Maybe they had a keyboard there that he could get really cheap. “Hey do you mind if we pull into this music store real quick? I wanna take a look around ya know.”

“Do whatever you want,” Carson said casually though Tyler noticed out the corner of his eye he seemed to be squirming a bit.

“I won't be in long I promise, are you gonna wait here or come in with me?”

“I’ll come, no point waiting in the car.”

“Okay,” Tyler said, pulling into the music store parking lot and getting out of the car. “I still have to buy you guys new cups too I must have broken like 12 of them”

Tyler and Carson walked into the music store. It smelled nice, like an old wooden house. “Welcome,” the cashier said as a little bell chimed from the two walking in the door. Tyler went directly to the area where the keyboards were. “Do you have any of these used, maybe under 70- dollars?” The cashier brought him a keyboard that had a bit of dust on it. The keys were worn a little bit but it still worked.

Tyler walked out of that store with a big grin on his face. They started driving back to Carson’s apartment, picking up cups and more pizza on the way. They arrived, Tyler bringing up a few magical books and his nebulizer in a backpack while carrying the keyboard. Carson had the pizza. They walked into the apartment and they both flopped on couches opposite of eachother. They felt like they did a lot that day so they both ended up falling asleep for about two hours.

#whump #whump blog #magic whump #whumpee #crossover #carson series

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