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curlynerd · 3 years

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Just Say It

Happy gift posting day for the @starrynightdeancas gift exchange! I had two assignees, so I'm posting two fics today! My 2nd gift recipient is @deanwinchesteradjacent! She requested canon-adjacent Destiel with fluff, action, and a happy ending. I hope you like it! <3

Word Count: 7.5K Rating: T Summary: A string of violent deaths at an otherwise charming B&B was all the excuse Dean needed to drag Cas down to Florida for some fun in the sun. Things had been awkward since Cas came back from the Empty and they could finally be together, but Dean was sure that a romantic getaway was the perfect thing to help Cas get out of the training wheels stage of Angel's-First-Romance and start acting like a real couple. Just as soon as they took care of a vengeful spirit. What could possibly go wrong? Notes: Post canon, fix-it fic, oneshot, love confessions, Dean is bad at feelings, case fic, beach fic.

Also read it on AO3!

“Alright, I’m heading out.”

“Did you pack deodorant?”

“Dean…”

“Toothpaste? Mouthwash?”

“...”

“Those fancy hair products? Cuz there’s just. So. Many--”

“Dean! I’ve lived my whole life on the road. I know how to pack a damn dufflebag!”

Dean smirked, unperturbed by Sam’s whining. “Yeah but Eileen is a classy lady. She’s not gonna put up with your usual road stank.”

Sam sighed in annoyance as he readjusted the bag on his shoulder. “I’m not the one who wears his underwear three days in a row, jerk.”

“Better leave that attitude at home, bitch,” Dean said cheerfully. “It’s your anniversary, after all.”

Sam’s mouth twitched into a shy grin despite his best efforts. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be on my best behavior,” he said, letting Dean have one last bit of fun before he left. “You and Cas too. Don’t get into trouble.” He nodded in farewell before he climbed the stairs to the bunker door.

“Oh, and Sammy?”

Sam paused at the top of the stairs and turned around. Almost like he could sense what was coming, his eyebrow twitched in irritation. Dean hucked a box up to the landing, and Sam fumbled to catch it. Dean flashed a shit-eating grin as Sam read the Trojan label and fixed him with a scowl. “Make sure you wrap it before you tap it, Sammy.”

Sam rolled his eyes as he walked out the door.

Dean laughed to himself as he turned back to his laptop, scrolling through news articles looking for a hunt. He was still at it an hour later when Cas came shuffling into the room still in his pajamas, two cups of coffee in hand.

“Mornin’ Sunshine,” Dean crooned cheerfully. Cas’ hair was in wild disarray, and between that and his worn, brown sweatshirt and loose pajama bottoms, he looked more like a bear stumbling out of hibernation than a guy just waking up. “Sam already left.”

Cas set a mug down in front of Dean before slumping down into the chair beside him. “I hope he and Eileen have fun this week,” he mumbled as he hunched over his coffee.

Dean smiled at how adorable Cas looked, all grumpy and sleep-ruffled. He was still an angel...somewhat. He had Grace, if only a little. So close to mortality, Cas often needed mundane human things like sleep and food. He wasn’t particularly thrilled about it. In fact, he was so irritated about the whole thing that Dean hadn’t been able to work up the nerve to invite him to sleep in his room, instead of alone. Dean chewed on his lower lip. Maybe after this case, things would change.

“Are you looking up a case?” Cas asked, tilting toward Dean’s screen.

“Uh...yeah.” With forced casualness, Dean turned the laptop so Cas could read a headline from last year: “Gruesome Death at Bed and Breakfast Leaves Locals Worried.” “Over the past forty years, there’ve been six deaths at this B&B. All either heart attacks or a brain hemorrhage. All without a scratch on ‘em. Always a couple. Always on the same night: this Friday. That sure screams ‘ghost’ to me.”

“Key West?” Cas asked as he scanned the article. “Florida? That’s quite a drive.”

Dean shrugged. His fingers tapped against the tabletop. “It is, but hell, why not? Sam gets the week off with Eileen, why can’t we have a little vacation too?”

Cas narrowed his eyes. Suspicious. He was suspicious. Was a little time off really so bad? “You haven’t taken a vacation the entire time I’ve known you.”

“Yeah, well…” Dean struggled to come up with a good excuse. “That was, ya know. Before.”

“Before,” Cas repeated stiffly.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Before everything.” He gestured around his head. Before Cas told him he loved him and immediately died. Before Dean rescued him from The Empty. Before they wound up in this awkward, stilted Angel’s-First-Romance training wheels relationship Dean found them in.

That seemed to placate Cas. He nodded and took another sip of coffee. “The beach would be nice…”

Dean broke into a grin. “Better than nice! Toes in the sand, drinks with little umbrellas… That’s better than paradise.” He gave Cas’ shoulder a friendly pat. Then--because he could, couldn’t he?--Dean let his hand run along the broad expanse of Cas’ shoulder and gently cup the back of his neck.

This was okay, right? He’d held back on any sort of real PDA because of how uncomfortable Cas would act. And that was okay. He understood. Angels and intimacy...Well, angels just worked differently than humans. And it was all new to Cas! It took him over a decade to say he loved Dean. It would probably take awhile before he was ready to hold hands.

But this wasn’t very much, right? Just a light hand on the back of his neck. This was about as innocent as things got!

Except Cas went stiff under Dean, and Dean took the hint and pulled his hand away as he bit back a sigh. So much for that.

His eyes trailed back to his laptop. Hopefully this getaway would change things, help Cas loosen up and finally see that they could act even a little like a couple now. A romantic beach, warm sunshine, half-naked romps in the water, a cozy and only slightly haunted bed and breakfast…

What could go wrong?

----

Three days and one slightly terrifying highway over the ocean later, Dean and Cas pulled into a parking space for a charming bed and breakfast painted in a lovely pale--

“Lavender?” Dean balked at the decidedly dainty color of the siding. “I know they like their pastels here, but geez…”

“It’s just a paint color,” Cas said as he crossed around to the trunk and started unloading their bags. The duffle full of salt, shotguns, and various iron weapons clanked ominously. He shouldered it carefully so it wouldn’t make so much noise.

“This whole street is like friggin’ Candy Land.” Dean eyeballed the canary yellow house across the street suspiciously as they made their way to the front door.

The inside was clearly the result of a scandalous love affair between a Jimmy Buffet concert and a Hallmark store--All tacky tropical themed furniture and a dizzying array of porcelain figurines.

Dean grinned from ear to ear and elbowed Cas. At Cas’ inquisitive eyebrow, Dean nodded his head to a shelf full of long-haired, sad-eyed blonde angels. Cas rolled his eyes while Dean laughed to himself.

“Hello! Can I help you?” An older woman sat behind a small reception desk, smiling warmly at them in the glow of her ancient computer.

Dean put on his best people-pleasing smile. “Yes you can. Hi, I’m Dean, and this is my, uh…” Dean glanced over to Cas and his eyes crinkled in delight. “Cas. This is my boyfriend, Cas.” Just the word caused a giddy bubble of effervescence to float inside Dean’s chest. After all this time, they were really here. This was real.

Cas offered the receptionist a small, tight smile before turning his studious gaze to the figurines on the wall shelves. The woman furrowed her brow, so Dean charged forward with the conversation before Cas’ awkwardness put her off. If they were going to pry into the case here, they needed her to be friendly with them. “I booked a reservation for this weekend. It--Are you guys still open? It’s kinda quiet in here.” Dean glanced around the empty living space. There weren’t any other cars parked outside either.

The woman waved off his concerns. “Oh yes, it’s just the off season right now. Some weekends are like that.” She spoke a little too quickly as she clicked through her computer. Dean suspected all the news articles about bloody deaths had something to do with it. “Not hard to find your reservation. You’re our only guests tonight.” She grabbed two keys off a hook and held them out for Dean. “You’ll be in room 4, down at the end of the hallway upstairs. It’s the largest one. If you need extra towels or anything, let me know. I’m Susan.”

Sensing they were about to be dismissed, Dean swerved into a distraction. “You know, we’ve been on the road for ages. Do you have any coffee or anything like that? A little wakeup before we hit the beach?”

Susan pushed back from the desk. “Oh of course! I was about to get some for myself, actually. I’ll be right back.”

“Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, Cas,” Dean muttered as Susan disappeared down a hallway. “Anything out of place or really old. You know, haunted stuff.” Cas nodded, and Dean covertly pulled his EMF reader out of his jacket pocket and flicked it on. It was silent. They both made a pass of the room, pretending to look around.

“Here we are!” Susan said brightly, expertly holding three coffee mugs in her hands. Dean jumped a little and hastily put his device away before turning around. “I hope cream and sugar is okay.”

“Any caffeine is fine,” he assured her as he and Cas took their mugs. “So Susan, what is there to do around here? You know, other than what Yelp says. The insider’s scoop.” Dean winked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Susan smiled. “Well, if nightlife is your thing, there are some great spots within walking distance.”

Dean chuckled. “C’mon, Susan. Does this guy look like much of a dancer?” He grinned fondly at Cas as he draped his arm over his shoulders. It was ridiculous how much his stomach fluttered from the small action, but dammit, after all they’d been through to get here, Dean had earned a few butterflies. He squeezed Cas’ shoulder even though Cas didn’t really react. Dean was definitely going to have to clarify that the personal space rule didn’t apply anymore.

“Well, the restaurant down the street also does an excellent brunch,” Susan offered instead.

“Now that’s more our speed.” Maybe if the hunt went well they could actually stay the night, instead of getting the hell out of Dodge before the cops chased them down. Keep their salt and burn quiet and enjoy a nice night in. Dean tried not to get his hopes up for sharing a bed with Cas.

And he did mean sharing a bed. Things were moving so slowly between him and Cas he’d be thrilled just to spoon, nevermind anything else. Dean bit back a sigh as he swept over all of the knick-knacks and decorations, hoping for some sort of clue as to the identity of their ghost. “I’ve gotta say, I love the decor. Is all of this your collection?” Maybe a haunted object? Or a cursed one?

“Most of it.” A faint twinge of wistfulness colored Susan’s words as she looked over the porcelain figurines. “My Marcy liked to collect the angels, but that was years and years ago.”

On a high shelf was a large urn next to an oil painting of a young woman that immediately pinged Dean’s hunter’s instincts. “That’s a lovely painting over there,” he said, catching Cas’ eye meaningfully. Cas turned around to look too.

Susan’s face melted into a quiet, sad smile. “Yes, that’s my Marcy right there. A self-portrait. She was such a talented artist.”

Cas tilted his head. “She was your...wife?” he guessed.

Susan’s face crumpled. “No. No we were never…” She took a deep breath and continued in a steadier tone. “She was my business partner, but I loved her. Very much. And I knew she loved me too. So I suppose you could say we were almost together. Should have been together.” Her lower lip trembled.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what stopped you?” Dean felt bad for pressing her for information that was clearly upsetting, but people’s lives were at stake. Possibly Susan’s own.

Susan curled her hands around her mug, staring into the steaming coffee with a far off look in her eyes. “I was afraid. Of my own feelings. Of opening myself to getting hurt. So I...When Marcy needed me to be honest about how I felt I...I let her down. She got mad...We fought...She ran off. There was an accident, and...Well...” Susan took another deep breath. Her eyes were glassy with tears and heavy with regret. “Today is the anniversary of the day she died.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Dean said, injecting even more sincerity into his words even though he expected as much. Marcy was the best lead so far. Was she attacking people on the anniversary of her death? She was obviously cremated, but perhaps there was something keeping her tied here?

“Not your fault,” she said with the heaviness of one who had heard those words hundreds of times. She shook her head. “You’re not the reason she--” Susan cut herself off and swallowed down her tears. Despite her best efforts, a single tear trailed down her cheek.

“It sounds like you loved her very much,” Cas said, his voice infused with genuine sympathy.

“She was my world. I loved her more than she’ll ever know...” Again Susan fell silent, this time lost in thought.

Then, with a deep, resettling breath, she wiped at her eyes with the edge of her finger and forced a cheerful expression. “But enough of that. You’re my guests. You don’t need to hear all of that! Do you need anything while you get settled in? More towels? Recommendations for restaurants?”

Dean shook his head, “Appreciate it ma’am, but we’ll probably just grab whatever’s convenient around here.”

“Well, would you like to eat here? Usually I don’t serve dinner for guests, but since it’s only the two of you, I can cook up something if you’d like. I honestly wouldn’t mind the company.”

Sensing another opportunity to interview Susan, Dean smiled his very best ‘comforting the bereaved’ smile. “We’d like that very much, Susan. Thank you for offering.” Then, carefully timed almost like an afterthought, he added, “Oh, and what’s the wifi password?”

Upstairs their room was somewhat small but airy. The walls were a crisp, breezy blue, the linens bright white. There was even a gauzy white canopy draped around the four-poster bed. Dean grinned. One bed. Surely that was cause for some optimism about tonight.

“I dunno about you, but I’m gonna sleep like a log tonight,” he said with the most casual tone he could muster as he grabbed the weapons bag off Cas’ shoulder and deposited it on the duvet. “What about you? Think you’ll need a couple z’s?” ‘Please say yes.’

Cas eyed the bed. Something strange flickered across his face. Something heavy, even sad. Dean immediately felt like a jackass for reminding Cas about his weak Grace. “I mean, who knows how you’ll feel tonight,” Dean added hastily. He started digging through his bag for his laptop. “Get some sea air in your lungs, and you might wake right up.”

Cas pursed his lips. “I suppose so,” he said, his voice carefully neutral. He turned away from Dean and started roaming the room, looking over the artwork on the walls and the little beachy decorations on the furniture. He came to a stop.

“This looks like Susan and Marcy,” he said, letting his fingers trail along the frame of a painting over the dresser.

“Yeah?” Dean looked up from his booting laptop. It was an oil painting like the one downstairs, with a young couple in bright dresses making each other laugh in front of a backdrop of a stormy gray ocean. One was undeniably a much younger Susan. Marcy looked the same as she did in the painting downstairs.

Cas frowned a little and pulled his hand back from the frame. He glanced around the ceiling and only relaxed when he saw an air-conditioning vent gently humming nearby. Dean shrugged it off and turned back to his laptop. He set right to work searching through the local newspaper archives and breaking into the coroner’s office servers. Finding their ghost was only a matter of time.

“Got it. Marcy Daniels. Died forty-three years ago tonight.” Dean flipped his laptop around so Cas could read the news article. “Hit by a car. Right outside this house. Died before she even got to the hospital.”

Cas squinted at the screen. The photo attached to the article looked just like the woman in the paintings. “And you think she’s the ghost?”

Dean shrugged. “Seems as good a guess as any. Violent death. Susan said they were fighting right before. Probably something happened between them that left Marcy pissed off enough to stay in the veil.”

Cas nodded. “We should ask her about it.”

“Nah, she’s not gonna let us grill her about her dead partner like that. We’ll strike up a conversation at dinner. That should give us enough time to figure out what’s keeping Marcy here before she attacks tonight.”

Cas deferred to Dean’s hunting experience. “Well then what should we do until then?”

Dean grinned from ear to ear. “What do you think we should do? To the beach!”

---

Dean shut the trunk of the Impala and straightened his back, lifting his face to the breeze blowing in from the sea. He breathed in deeply. “God, smell that salt air…” he said with a wistful smile. When he turned to Cas, the angel was looking at him with fondness, warmth making his blue eyes brighter. Dean’s smile grew, and he lifted up his sunglasses to flash Cas a playful wink. Cas quickly ducked his head and started walking.

Dean bit back a groan as he followed behind him with their beach bag. What was he doing wrong? He was trying to be gentle, to give Cas enough space to adjust to the idea that they were together now on his own. After all of the crap they’d been through together, after so many things keeping them apart, he understood why Cas was struggling. Hell, he’d been squashing down his feelings for so long, Cas probably didn’t know how to let himself have this happiness.

At least, that was what Dean kept telling himself. Deep down, though, he was afraid that Cas’ feelings were changing.

“There’s a good spot,” Dean said, jogging up behind Cas and forcing down his depressing thoughts before they could meet up with his self-loathing and really cause problems. He grabbed Cas’ arm and tugged him toward an unoccupied part of the sand. The weather was a little too temperamental this time of year to attract huge crowds, but there were still plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine.

Cas let himself be led, his flip-flops flapping awkwardly over the sand. Dean laughed a little, even though his footing wasn’t much better. When they’d walked far enough away from the boardwalk, Dean unceremoniously dropped their bag and dug out a large blanket to lay out.

“Perfect,” he declared as he tipped up his sunglasses to survey his work. He plopped down on the blanket and shucked off his shirt. A quick glance up let him catch the way Cas’ eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his expression smoothed over. Dean wiggled his eyebrows at Cas, but he didn’t see because he turned around like a friggin’ Victorian lady in order to pull off his own shirt before he sat down in front of Dean, facing the ocean. Dean’s gaze swept down the broad, muscular expanse of Cas’ back, and he could barely contain the heat in his eyes and in his grin.

Only then did Cas glance over his shoulder and catch Dean’s eye. Dean bit his lip suggestively, his grin widening, but Cas’ cheeks turned lightly pink and turned his head away. He rubbed at the back of his neck. Nervous, huh? Well that was alright. Dean could lighten the mood.

He held up the bottle of sunscreen. “Alright, let’s spackle your back.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Dean,” Cas said, not turning around. His voice sounded even more gruff than usual, which was certainly saying something.

“Nonsense!” Dean was already squirting a healthy dollop of sunscreen in his palm. “You can get sunburned, same as the rest of us.”

Cas sighed heavily. His shoulders twitched, tense, but he didn’t protest when Dean slapped his hand at the middle of his back.

Dean set to work rubbing the cream into Cas’ warm skin. “See? This is nice. It’s like a mini-massage.” He made sure to move slowly, almost caressing him. His stomach fluttered with the faintest whisper of excitement. This was the closest thing he’d gotten to action in months, after all. And Cas’ back was nice. Broad and firm and far more muscular than Dean would have guessed. His heart did a little tapdance at knowing that he was allowed to freely ogle now.

“I like seeing you out of the trenchcoat,” Dean said, now using both hands to stroke up and down Cas’ skin. Cas tensed again. “I mean, you look good under all those layers,” Dean said hastily, afraid that the reminder of his waning Grace was too painful. “When did you get so beefy?” Dean slid his hands up to Cas’ shoulders and then down his thick arms. He squeezed them playfully as he shifted closer, letting his knees bump against him.

He leaned in close so he could almost whisper, “Wish I could see it somewhere other than the beach.”

Cas’ back became hard as marble. He lowered his head. “That’s enough, Dean,” he said softly. His voice trembled with some barely contained emotion Dean didn’t understand.

Disappointment rose up Dean’s throat like bile. “Seriously? I’m almost done!”

Cas twisted around, his face pulled into a scowl. His cheeks were flushed. “Dean! I’m an angel! I don’t need this!”

Dean pulled back. “What? I can’t even put sunscreen on you now?” he demanded.

Cas didn’t have an answer to that. He only glared, his eyes flickering with something Dean couldn’t quite figure out. Pain? Longing? Regret?

Knowing Dean’s penchant for screwing things up all the time, it was almost certainly the latter.

Cas breathed out a long, frustrated breath and rose to his feet. “I’m...going for a walk,” he said. He folded his arms over his bare chest.

“Cas,” Dean pleaded. What had he done wrong? Why was Cas so mad?

Cas shook his head. “Please, Dean.” With one last glance filled with that strange, heartache-inducing emotion, Cas turned and started walking down the beach alone.

Dean stared after him as he left. “What the hell?” he said under his breath. The sting of rejection quietly throbbed in his chest as he turned his gaze to the ocean. What had he done to piss Cas off? Had he really crossed a boundary, or was something else wrong? Cas had been so weird since he’d been back. Shouldn’t he be happy? Hell, telling Dean he loved him was the happiest Cas had ever been, right? That was part of his deal with The Empty!

Did he regret it? Did he change his mind? Maybe Cas really didn’t want to have Dean. Not for real. Maybe that was why Cas never told him how he felt before. He had to have known Dean loved him long before his deal with The Empty came along. Maybe there was a reason Cas hadn’t said anything about it before.

Maybe Cas knew that Dean would screw things up if they got together. Maybe he was trying to pull away from Dean, make it easier to break things off when it all came crashing down.

Dean stewed in his thoughts, his expression dark as he watched the waves. He lost track of time until a pair of children came racing past him, screaming in delight and startling him out of his thoughts. He pulled at his phone to glance at the time. Cas had been gone over half an hour. Way too long. Dean looked down the beach, almost expecting to see Cas trudging back up the beach back to him, but he didn’t see any sign of him. But Cas couldn’t have left left. Dean had the car keys! Quietly cursing, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed Cas’ number.

...And heard a familiar ringtone coming out of their bag.

“Dammit, Cas!” Dean growled as he hung up. He stood up, but he still couldn’t see Cas. Had something happened? What if he’d gone in the water? What if he’d gotten pulled out to sea by a riptide? Despite knowing Cas didn’t even know how to swim, worry dripped ice cold down Dean’s spine, and before he knew it he was walking down the beach along the path Cas had taken.

“Cas!” he called out, but he didn’t see him. Dean started walking faster. He scanned the beach for a familiar dark head of hair and the bright orange swim trunks Dean had picked out for him. “CAS!” He was beginning to fear the worst.

“You lookin’ for someone?” a concerned voice called out. Dean whipped his head around to a small family sitting underneath an umbrella.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, my buddy Cas.” Dean jogged over to them. “You see him walk by? Kinda beefy, kinda dorky. Dark hair, orange trunks, about yea high.” He held his palm flat about eye level.

The woman who spoke nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I saw him walking back toward town, though.” She pointed over her shoulder.

Dean furrowed his brow. Did Cas walk back on his own? Irritation flared in his chest as he forced a cordial smile and thanked the woman before jogging back the way he came. He didn’t see any sign of Cas back at their blanket either.

Dean scowled. Maybe he had walked back. Running off without a word was infuriatingly in-character for him. Dean cursed under his breath as he hastily packed up their things and started stomping up the beach toward the car.

What was even such a big deal? If Cas supposedly loved him so much, was rubbing his back that bad? Dean was trying to give him space, he really was, but the way Cas was acting, it was like he didn’t even like Dean, nevermind love him!

The thought clenched tight around Dean’s heart as he drove back to the bed and breakfast. Maybe he didn’t anymore. Maybe Cas was getting sick of him. Twelve years in each other’s lives, it was bound to happen eventually.

Maybe what angels considered love and what humans considered love was just different.

Dark thoughts still swirled in Dean’s head as he returned to the bed and breakfast and marched up the stairs.

“Dude, what the hell?!” Dean charged into their room, anger burning hot as his glare zeroed in on the angel sitting in a chair. “You can’t just go running off like that! You left your phone behind!”

Cas carefully closed the book he was reading. He was fully clothed again. “It’s not a long walk back here. I assumed you’d know where I’d gone.”

“I was worried sick about you! What if you went in the ocean and something happened?”

Cas narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that. You know I can’t swim.”

“You can’t just go stomping off whenever you get mad!”

Cas closed his eyes. “I’m not mad,” he said, though the growl in his voice suggested otherwise.

“Like hell you’re not!” Dean shot back. “So what is it? I can’t touch you now? It’s freakin’ sunscreen, Cas. Is it really that big of a deal?”

Cas’ eyes flew open. “Yes!” he said, deeply pained. “Dean, does it really matter so little to you that you’re okay with just ignoring it?”

Dean was brought up short. “Does what matter?”

“Me!” Cas plastered his hand over his chest. He almost looked like he could cry. “I told you how I felt and you insist on acting like nothing happened!”

Dean blinked. “What? That’s...that’s not true, Cas!”

“Dean! You didn’t say anything! Not once since you brought me back, have you said anything about the fact that I love you! And you may think that by ignoring it and trying to force things back the way they were before that you can lock up that Pandora’s Box again, but you can’t! I can’t. I can’t…”

Dean took a step forward, his expression darkening with confusion. “Cas, what’re you talking about?” He didn’t understand. Why did Cas look so hurt? So heartbroken? Cas loved him. Dean loved Cas. So why wasn’t he happy? What had Dean done wrong? “Cas, I--”

Cold mist curled up from Dean’s mouth.

They both went tense and still as they noticed just how cold the room had gotten. The lamp on the bedside table flickered.

“Shit,” Dean muttered under his breath. His eyes darted to the open dufflebag on their bed with all of their weapons.

He made a move for it, but a figure flickered into being in front of him. She was wearing a torn, bloody sundress. Her long, straw-colored hair was plastered to the half of her gaunt face where it was smashed in, blood staining it crimson. The ghost took a step toward Dean. Thick, dark blood dripped from her head but never reached the floor.

“Marcy,” Dean breathed. Guess she didn’t need to wait for nightfall after all.

“Coward,” the ghost menaced as she took another step closer. Dean carefully backed up. “Can’t even say it. Even when you’re hurting him. Coward!”

Dean’s eyes flickered to Cas, who was edging toward their weapons bag. He tried to make the movement quick, but the ghost noticed. With a vicious growl she flung out her hand and Cas went flying into the far wall.

“Don’t worry,” the ghost said to Cas, and the venom in her voice dropped into twisted sympathy. “I’ll take your pain away soon.”

Cas struggled to his feet as the ghost rounded on Dean again. Her outstretched hand aimed directly at Dean’s head, fingers curled into a wicked claw. But before she could touch him, Cas made another attempt at the duffle. She shrieked in fury and sent it spinning through the air toward the window. A single iron poker tumbled out of the open zipper as it flipped over and smashed against the glass, shattering it. The bag tumbled to the ground below.

Cas lurched for the poker. “Dean!” he called as he tossed it through the air, directly through the ghost. She howled and dissipated into smoke while Dean barely managed to close his fingers around the weapon. Cas and Dean stood back to back as they circled the room, Dean holding the iron poker at the ready.

“Salt,” Dean barked. “We need salt!” Except all of theirs was now two stories below. Dean silently cursed. “The kitchen! Go! I’m right behind you!”

Cas nodded and made for the door. The lights were flickering again. He and Dean narrowly made it into the hallway when their bedroom door slammed shut behind them. They raced for the stairs and nearly collided with Susan.

“Cas, Dean, what’s going on?” Her eyes were panicked, taking in the cut on Cas’ temple and the iron poker in Dean’s grip. Mist followed her words out of her mouth.

“Look out!” Dean reached for Susan, but he was flung backward by an invisible force. Marcy flickered into existence over him again. “Salt, Susan! We need salt!” he cried out before the ghost clamped its cold hand around his throat. Dean scrambled from his poker, but it had fallen just out of reach. His other hand grappled with Marcy’s, trying to pull it away.

He couldn’t see with the ghost pinning him down, but he was pretty sure he heard Susan’s footsteps racing away. Good. Even if she didn’t come back, at least she was somewhere safer. Black dots started to swim in Dean’s vision.

“Hey! Marcy!” A ceramic angel went flying through the air and smashed into a framed photo on the wall next to them, shattering the glass. Marcy snarled and whipped her head around. Her grip on Dean’s neck loosened a little, and Dean sucked in as many painful gasps as he could get.

“This is what you’re about, huh?” Cas goaded. He stood next to an accent table full of figurines, another ceramic angel in his hand, fat load of good that would do against a ghost. “Exacting revenge against shitty lovers?” Dean stretched his arm until his muscles strained. He could barely feel the length of the iron rod brush against his fingertips. If Cas could keep stalling for just a little longer... “I think anger has clouded your judgement.” Cas’ lips twisted into a bitter smirk. “You have no reason to attack Dean. Can’t you tell? He doesn’t love me.”

The statement caught Dean completely off-guard. His hand stilled as he gaped at Cas. “What?” he rasped around the ghostly hand on his throat. Didn’t love him!?

The ghost growled at Cas. She raised her arm as if to psychically toss him toward the stairway, but right at that moment, Susan barreled up the stairs, a blue canister of salt in her hand.

“I have the salt!” she said, and with panic and desperation in her eyes she blindly flung the open canister at Dean and the ghost. Salt flung in a wide arc and rained down on Marcy, who screamed and disappeared instantly.

Dean rolled onto his side, coughing weakly as he grabbed onto the iron poker and clutched it against his chest. Cas ran to him, only stopping to grab the canister of salt. He hastily drew a circle around them, draining the last of the salt on their protection ring. “Susan, get in the circle!” he commanded as he knelt beside Dean.

“You don’t think I love you?” Dean choked out between gasps for air. His head was spinning. Cas’ hand on his shoulder helped a lot, but when Dean asked his question Cas quickly yanked it away. “How could you think that?” he said, genuinely confused.

“What’s going on? Why did that...that thing look like my Marcy?!” Susan nearly flung herself into the circle with them. She clutched at her chest, casting her terrified gaze around the room.

“Her ghost,” Cas said, though he didn’t take his eyes off Dean. His brow furrowed. “Dean, you haven’t--”

“Ghost?!” Susan screeched. “Then what the hell are we doing standing here?!”

“Salt repels ghosts,” Cas replied with way more patience than Dean would have had. “She can’t come into the circle.”

“What’s going on?” Susan’s eyes went huge, her face going pale. “She...She killed those people last year, didn’t she? How do we stop her?”

“Usually burn her remains, if anything is left,” Cas said, “but she was cremated, wasn’t she? So something else is tethering her here. Perhaps a locket? Something she cherishes.”

Susan frowned, panicked eyes darting around in front of her as she mulled it over. “Her painting,” she said with a gasp. “The one in your room. She finished it right before our argument! Right before she ran out into the street and was hit by the car. It was precious to her. She put her everything into it, tried to use it to confess her love for me, and I...I was too much of a coward to say it back. That’s why we fought.”

Cas and Dean’s eyes met, and they both nodded. Dean grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, poker still clutched to his chest. “Susan, stay here. Whatever happens, don’t leave the circle. Cas, I’ll keep her busy. You burn the painting.”

As one unit Cas and Dean left the salt circle.

Immediately the hallway burst into chaos. Doors slammed shut everywhere. The knick-knacks and travel guides on the accent table went flying through the air. The lights flickered until their bulbs burst, leaving only the light of the window at the far end to help them see.

They ran.

“You don’t think I love you?” Dean demanded, because a deadly ghost hunt seemed as good a time as any to have this conversation. Some things were too damn important to wait for downtime.

“Because you don’t!” Cas snapped. He threw himself at the shut door of their room, but it was supernaturally sealed. He grunted and tried again. Marcy appeared at his side, a ghostly hand reaching for his chest, a snarl on her lips.

“Cas, of course I love you, you idiot!” Dean swung at Marcy, forcing her to disappear again. Cas slammed himself against the unmoving door. “How could you think I don’t?”

“Dean, I died--” Cas slammed into the door again. His eyes glowed faintly with his weakened Grace. “Telling you how I felt. And you said--” Another crash; the door cracked ominously. “Nothing about it since I’ve been back!”

Marcy flickered into being next to them again. Dean knocked her away with the poker.

“I thought you knew! I thought you didn’t love me and that’s why you never said anything!”

“I told you!” With one final crash, Cas burst through the door and into the room, Dean hot on his heels. They ran for the dresser. “I told you the one thing I wanted, I couldn’t have! That thing was you, Dean!” Cas yanked the painting off the wall and threw it on the ground, shattering its glass and exposing the paper.

Marcy screamed in fury and appeared in front of him. She flung him at the dresser just as Dean dispersed her with a forceful swing. He flipped the poker in his hand, readying himself to strike again while Cas scrambled to his feet, lighter freed from his pocket and held at the ready.

“Because of the Empty!” Dean insisted. Marcy’s form materialized again, and Dean raised his weapon as she approached. “You couldn’t have me because of the deal with the Empty!”

Cas fumbled with the lighter. “I can’t have you because. You. Don’t. Love me!” It finally lit. Cas threw it onto the painting, sending it up in flames.

Marcy howled in agony as her body sparked and burned. She raised her head skyward as if to escape from the rising flames, but in a flash of heat and bright orange light, she was gone, and Cas and Dean were left standing alone in the room.

They stared at each other in the sudden, violent silence. Cas’ face was a mask of frustration and pain.

“Dean, I’ve been back for months. Months. And you have said nothing about how you feel. Do not lie to me now because you feel sorry for me.” With one last heartbroken glare, Cas stomped out of the room, leaving Dean behind to stamp out the flaming remains of the painting.

Once Dean didn’t need to worry about burning the house down, he went looking for Cas. He found him outside, loading up their scattered weapons into the trunk of the Impala.

He looked shattered. His face was crumpled with pain, his eyes dull, deep furrows in his brow. It brought Dean up short. Guilt welled up so intense that Dean almost couldn’t say anything at all. Except, well, that had gotten him into this situation in the first place.

“I thought you knew,” Dean called across the distance between them. Cas stopped and turned to look at him. The bitterness in his eyes made Dean’s stomach churn. “I thought you knew,” he said again. He took a step toward Cas. “For years I thought you knew. But, you know, you’re an angel. I thought you didn’t...I thought you couldn’t…” He trailed off. Cas’ forehead was furrowed in confusion, but he was at least listening, so Dean swallowed down his discomfort and barreled forward. “I thought angels couldn’t fall in love. Except...then you died telling me you did. Telling me that the reason you couldn’t even tell me how you felt was because being happy would trigger your deal and…” He shrugged.

“You thought I was deliberately keeping us apart?”

“Because if you told me you felt the same, then we’d be together and you’d be happy and you’d die.”

The bitterness had faded from Cas’ eyes, replaced with something that Dean was loath to acknowledge looked a little bit like pity mixed with profound frustration. “So when I came back, you thought there wasn’t anything left to talk about?”

Dean scratched the back of his neck and took another step forward. “Yeah well…What else was there to say? You said you, you know, loved me. And I thought you knew that I, you know…” He trailed off.

“Dean.” Dean had never heard Cas sound so pained just saying his name. “You.” Cas scrubbed at his face. His mouth twitched as he struggled to find words for all the ways Dean had screwed up. Was continuing to screw up.

“The hoops that you jump through to avoid talking about your feelings astound me,” Cas finally said. He dropped his hand with a sigh of defeat, and Dean’s heart sank. This was it. The death rattles of a relationship that hadn’t even really started. Dean never had what he truly wanted, and he never would.

Dean ducked his head, unable to look Cas in the eye. “Right. Yeah. That’s me, alright.” He swallowed around the hard lump in his throat. The long drive back to Kansas was going to be awful.

“Say it,” Cas said softly. His words were a command, but when Dean looked up in surprise, his eyes were pleading. “Please,” he breathed, almost like he didn’t deserve to even ask, and something inside Dean cracked.

“I love you, Cas.” One step, two steps, he crossed the distance between them and threw his arms around Cas’ shoulders, clinging to him the way he wished he could have before the Empty took Cas away. “It’s you, Cas. It can only be you. It’s only been you for years. I promise.”

Cas’ next breath stuttered in his lungs. His arms wound tightly around Dean, desperate. “Dean,” he sighed, this time like a prayer.

“I’m right here, buddy.” Dean held him tightly, the way he should have when he first got Cas back from the Empty. The way Dean wanted to all these months when he thought...Well, when he was an idiot. “You can have me, you know. You already have me.”

Cas pulled back enough to look Dean in the eye. His eyes were glassy. Dean’s didn’t exactly feel dry either. ‘I wonder if I can kiss him,’ Dean thought, milliseconds before Cas did just that.

Cas’ lips were warm against his own, and Dean gasped softly as his hand wound through Cas’ thick hair to cradle the back of his head. His kiss was eager, if not clumsy, and Dean smiled a little as he let Cas take the lead anyway. When they finally pulled apart, Cas’ normally pale lips were flushed pink, and Dean’s soft smile morphed into a huge, affectionate grin.

“Hey,” Dean said, his voice surprisingly husky after a largely innocent kiss.

Cas smiled back. “Hello, Dean,” he said, and Dean couldn’t help it. He laughed. God, how he loved this angel.

“So whadya say, Cas?” Dean said when his laughter quieted. “Ready to get the hell outta Dodge?”

Cas’ hands slid down Dean’s back until they were resting on his hips. “Actually…” His gaze turned wistfully in the direction of the distant beach. “I had a different idea.”

---

“You sure this is okay, Cas?”

“Dean…”

“Cuz I mean, I want to respect your boundaries.”

“Dean!”

“And I totally understand if I’m crossing a line here.”

Cas twisted around and gave Dean and his closed bottle of sunscreen a baleful look. Dean couldn’t help but laugh. “If I get sunburned, you can get your own room tonight.”

“You’re probably not even going to sleep anyway,” Dean shot back.

“I’ll sleep just to spite you.” Cas scowled, but Dean could see the corners of his lips twitching playfully. With a rush of affection, Dean shifted so that Cas’ bare back was pressed against his chest and Dean could rest his chin on Cas’ shoulder. Cas went stiff against his body, but it only lasted a second before he practically melted into Dean’s hold. Dean wrapped his arms around him as he watched the waves.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dean said with a sigh.

“Yes,” Cas breathed, but he wasn’t looking at the sea.

Heat rushed to Dean’s cheeks. He cleared his throat and kept his gaze solidly on the ocean. “You’re such a sap,” he grumbled weakly.

“You’ll get used to it.” Dean could see Cas’ smirk in the corner of his eye. Dean tightened his embrace.

“I dunno if I ever will,” he said quietly, a soft smile on his lips as he finally got to hold his angel.

#starrynightdeancas gift exchange #userstarry #deanwinchesteradjacent #destiel #deancas #destiel fanfic #deancas fanfic #destiel fanfiction #deancas fanfiction #supernatural #spn #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester #castiel #katie writes things #long post

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whitestaghere · 3 years

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Love finds a way - Edmund Pevensie x reader (one shot)

Thought I'd do a one shot for Edmund. I know its not been that long, but I missed writing again. I hope you all enjoy this! ❤️

Warnings :- none

Fluff 💕

Late. That's what I was. Late.

I was running as fast as my legs could take me. My friends and I had planned a picnic since it was finally the weekend. And today of all days, I just HAD to wake up late.

Finally arriving at the park I bent down hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

Looking around I tried to spot my friends.

"Y/N!! OVER HEREEE!!!" I glanced behind me, to see my friends waving me over.

Jogging upto them I gave them a lazy smile.

"Hey y/n!!" Julie chirped, skipping towards me and pulling me into her embrace.

"Wow... well somebody looks like she ran the Olympics," Kyle laughed. "And look those eye bags."

I rolled my eyes taking a seat next to him, "oh why don't you just shut up." At this he poked my side. "Hey don't snap at me! I was just messing around y/nnn!!" he whined flinging his arm over my shoulder. Lips in a pout. I couldn't help but laugh ruffling his hair.

Julie gave me a soft smile, "had a long night?" I nodded my head in response. She scooted next to me leaning her head on my shoulder, "don't overwork yourself sweetie." By now, the two knew me like an open book. So it was easy for them to know how I feel in just seconds.

Kyle nudged me, "yes, it's the weekend! Lighten up girl! We're free from school work and you, from the student council. Now it's just time for you, me and Julie."

He interlocked hands with mine and Julie. I smiled, "thank you.. you always know how to cheer me up." Honestly I couldn't be more thankful.

Julie pinched my cheek scooting in front of us, "so what do you guys want to do??"

I shrugged. "I'm hungry.." I eyed Kyle who was rubbing his stomach.

Julie furrowed her eyebrows, "Seriously? Kyle, we just got here and the first thing you want to do is eat??

"Well, I don't know Jules!! It's called a picnic for a reason you know? You come and you eat. By the way, where is the food?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't just come and eat!! The food will be brought out at the right time!" she snapped back.

This was not anything new of course. It was part of our friendship to argue like this. It was obviously all fun and jokes. I smiled to myself, watching my friends bicker. That is, until someone else caught my attention.

To be more precise, him.

And by him I mean Edmund. I had got to know him through Kyle and ended up catching feelings for the boy.

Kyle on the other hand predicted this would happen and was literally celebrating the day I admitted it. But even though I had met him a couple of times, we had never really had a proper conversation apart from the regular 'hi's and byes'.

Well back to the present situation. He was sitting a little further away from our spot, along with his mother and his siblings; clad in a pale blue shirt and brown jeans. Short brown wavy locks blowing lightly in the wind.

He began to laugh at something someone said and oh God was it adorable. I couldn't take my eyes off him, not that this was anything new. I was so busy admiring him, I hadn't even realised that my friends had stopped their bickering trying to grab my attention.

I only snapped back into my senses the second the the boy locked eyes with mine. He gave me a soft smile waving at me and for some reason I looked away at once, feeling the heat rise upto my cheeks. Facepalm.

Y/n you're supposed to wave back.

"Y/N?" Julie placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Huh, yes? I'm sorry I-I umm" I cleared my throat, "I wasn't following.." My gaze instinctively flickering towards his direction and back at my friends.

This of course not going unnoticed by them. Specially Julie, as she was sitting right infront of me.

Following my gaze she looked back at me with a smirk, "oh I see what's going on here."

Oh no.

Kyle glanced between us tilting his head in confusion, "I- I don't think I'm following.."

Julie chuckled shuffling to the side to give Kyle a proper view, not so subtly pointing towards him. Now realising what was going on, the once confused look was replaced with a sly grin.

He eyed me wiggling his eyebrows, "ooh lala.. I didn't know Edmund was here." The two exchanged mischievous looks. I had mentally prepared myself for the teasing already.

"Oh y/n... this is just ridiculous! Would you just stop staring at him like that and just go talk to him for once?" Julie nudged me.

"She's right you know.. you've been crushing on him for ages now. And all you do is stare. Try to make conversation!" I could only look down in embarrassment, blushing wildly. Normally I'd brush it off, but now that he's right there I just can't.

"Y/N! HE'S LOOKING THIS WAY!" Kyle whisper-yelled waving at them.

Almost immediately my eyes shifted back towards him. He was indeed looking this way, my gaze locking with his. This time mustering all the courage in my body I waved back at him, to which he returned a smile.

"Awww," Kyle poked my cheeks. "Our little y/n is in loooooove!!!"

Julie scooted over next to Kyle grabbing his hands, "don't do that Kyle!! He might get the wrong idea and think you both are a thing." He widened his eyes and dramatically pulled away.

"Oh come on you guys.. don't be silly," I mumbled under my breath but loud enough for them to hear.

"What do you mean don't be silly?" Kyle raised his eyebrows. "You can't fool us, we know you're totally whipped for the boy!"

"What? NO! That's ridiculous.. I-I- he doesn't even know me to begin with."

"Yeah you know that won't work anymore since you said it yourself that you like him.." Kyle grinned.

"And not all love stories begin with two people knowing eachother you know?" My face began to heat up at the mention of 'love'. Julie continued. "Also come on, it's so obvious he likes you too."

"Does not.." I sighed.

"OF COURSE HE DOES! Have you noticed the million times the boy tries to make conversation with you and how he looks at you?! Only for you to be a coward and find someway to avoid him. Don't even make me bring back the school talent show incident."

I shuddered just hearing her say it.

>> Flashback <<

The school's annual talent show.

My friends and I were performing a song, and Julie just had to suggest that we wear heels. Me being the person who had never worn heels before, tried my best not to fall face forward. But I suppose luck was just not on my side today.

Kyle had helped me backstage, way before the event even began. Which I found a little wierd, since there was so much time and I could've just stayed in the waiting room. He held my hand all the way so he could keep me from tripping.

The day before the show, I had been ranting about how excited I was to see Edmund, and that's when Kyle had got a little idea at the back of his mind.

That leaves us here; we were backstage. "Thank you Kyle.." he smiled at me. "Anything for my beautiful best friend." I blushed at his words nudging him, "oh shush.."

He smirked at me.

"Umm.. Kyle? W-whats with that look?" he laughed, "I'm supposing someone would be really happy to see you today."

That's when it clicked me. This is why he brought me here this early. Heart beginning to race, I scanned my surroundings immediately and that's when I spotted him.

Oh lord.

Edmund smiled making his way towards us. I gasped and quickly began working on an escape plan. Seeing the back door just on Kyle's opposite, I decided to make a run for it. I was just too shy.

"Hey Kyle, hey Y/N!"

"Oh hey Ed! Y/N was just waiting to see yo-" Kyle trailed off processing the situation, "Y/N NOOO!! COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Yep. I made a run for it.

But remember when I said luck wasn't on my side today? Well yes, I managed to trip. I guess I kind of expected this; because how could a person who has never walked in heels before, ever be able to run in them?

I tripped and toppled over into a basket of clothes. Thank god it was big enough, or else who knows what worse things would've happened.

Kyle running upto me and helping me up while Edmund made his way towards us. I could hear the children around me laughing. All I could do was look away in embarrassment. Kicking off my heels I pushed past Kyle before Ed could reach us and rushed out of the hall. Oh that is, before glaring at Kyle.

End of flashback

Julie leaned back to the tree, "I don't see the point of you looking at eachother but not making a move for it." Kyle nodded in agreement, "though Edmund is trying.."

I looked back in his direction. I've got to admit, she does have a point. But I guess this comes with my anxiety. The reason why I cannot resist getting embarrassed and trying to run away. Thinking I'd get flustered, say something dumb and make a fool of myself.

Kyle abruptly stood up, waving at them. "Let's go over to them."

They looked our way waving at us.

Oh no. This is not good.

Peter, the oldest, stood up immediately motioning them to follow him. He began to jog in our direction, Edmund right at his feet.

Feeling like my heart would rip out of my chest I stood up by instinct only to be pulled back by Kyle. Giving me a devilish smirk he whispered into my ear, "oh no y/n.. not this time."

"Hey there!" Peter exclaimed. "We didn't notice you lot here until Edmund told us."

Kyle laughed, "neither did we.. it's great to see you all here." The boys busy engaging in a conversation of their own, I tried to keep my eyes away Edmund.

Lucy and Susan waved at Julie and I, coming over to start up a conversation. While talking I couldn't help but notice Edmund, Peter and Kyle sneaking glances in my direction. I was fighting to hold back the blush rising upto my cheeks. Deciding to brush it off, I listened to what the girls had to say.

"It's so great to see you after so long y/n!" Lucy gave me a hug. Hugging her back I smiled softly, "I'm sorry I couldn't come see you both sooner.. my schedules been so packed lately."

Susan nodded her head, "I heard. The student council has a lot of work going on at the moment." She placed a hand on my shoulder giving me a warm smile, "don't stress yourself y/n.."

Susan and Lu have always been like sisters to me even though I wasn't that close to Peter and Edmund. Hearing Susan's words really made me feel so much better.

A short timeskip (😂) >>>

"Excuse me girls, Y/n.. could I have a word with you?" Kyle interrupted. I nodded my head excusing myself and following him.

"Where are we going Kyle?"

He kept silent eyes focused ahead of him.

"Kyle???" I grabbed onto his arm, "where are you taking meee??" I whined.

"Just follow me.. I have something to tell you," I noticed how he tried to hold back a smile.

Walking further away from our friends we stopped by the water fountain. "Did we have to come this far?" He swiftly turned around to face me at once giving me a sharp gaze; me jumping back in shock at the action.

"Edmund likes you."

"What?" Did I just hear him say what I think he said? I'm pretty sure I'm just hearing things now. Maybe it's because Edmund was with us.

"Edmund likes you," he repeated emphasising his words. I scanned his face trying to see if he was joking or not.

He had to be messing with me right now. There's no way Edmund would like me.

I faked a laugh at him rolling my eyes, "haha very funny.."

"Y/n I'm not joking okay? He told me.. he really did," Kyle looked at me with a straight face. It looked rather believable but what if he was just joking?

Okay I can't take this anymore. At this point, he's messing with my feelings.

"Listen, Kyle.. I'm not buying this okay? If this is your way in pulling a prank on me. I'm not listening." Not wanting to hear anymore of this I turned around, getting ready to leave. But a strong grip on my wrist held me from leaving.

"Kyle no..." I trailed off, turning around to face him I widened my eyes in shock.

Now in Kyle's place stood Edmund.

I jumped backwards letting out a little yelp, "Edmund I-I." Looking around me I saw that Kyle had made his way away from us; pulling a thumbs up at me. I did not expect this.

"Y/N?" feeling my face heat up, I reluctantly shifted my gaze to Edmund. My eyes connecting with those chocolate brown eyes. My throat suddenly went dry.

The situation I was in, made my heart pound against my chest so hard. My crush was standing infront of me and what made me even more flustered? He was holding my hand. And boy were his hands soft.

It took everything in me not to go intertwining our hands together.

"Y-yeah?"

"Y/N, is it true?"

I gulped, "sorry I-I don't think I'm following?" Of course I knew what he was talking about.

"That you like me?" the expression on his face unreadable. I couldn't tell if he was going to be mad at me or happy. He looked at me with his piercing gaze, clearly waiting for an answer.

I can't lie to him.

I don't want to lie to him. I want him to know how I feel. But at the same time, I was scared that maybe Kyle was joking and this was all a prank. And I don't want to lose what Edmund and I have right now.

But my feelings decided to take over.

"I-I... please don't be mad at me. Umm.. yes it's true," I looked down at my hands, not wanting to meet his eyes. Nothing. No response. I knew it, it was too good to be true. All I wanted to do right now was go home and lock myself in my room. I wanted to cry so bad.

"I'm sorry. I-I have to go.." voice cracking. Once again, turning on my heels I walked away from him.

I expected him to hold me back. But no. My vision became blurry with the tears threatening to fall. I knew it. He didn't feel the same.

Just when my tears began streaming down uncontrollably, I bumped into something.

Oh great. Now you have to embarrass yourself infront of him too. I stumbled back losing my balance, bracing for the impact of the hard ground.

Only, I didn't feel anything. No pain.

I slowly opened my eyes, locking eyes with none other than Edmund. I gasped. Apparently, the something I had bumped into, was him. He had managed to wrap his arms around my waist, holding me steady.

Slowly helping me up he averted his gaze scratching the nape of his neck.

"Thank you.." I mumbled looking at my feet.

Suddenly I felt his large hands cup my cheeks, wiping my tears away.

"Y/n.." he whispered.

I looked back at him, his gaze so soft.

"Edmund I'm so sorry.."

"No no shh.. don't be sorry, what do you have to be sorry about?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but he gently placed his index finger on my lips. I felt like my heart would explode at this point.

"Y/n, I'm sorry I let you walk away like that. I just.. I couldn't believe it. That you actually like me."

I tilted my head in confusion.

He chuckled softly, "Y/N I like you too. Heck with it, I think I just might be in love with you."

Okay now I'm sure I was hearing things.

"R-really?" pinching myself just to make sure I wasn't dreaming, I whinced.

He chuckled. Nodding his head smiling softly, "I always have. Since the day Kyle introduced us. I felt so comfortable around you. I.." he took a deep breath, "I kept my feelings to myself because I thought you didn't feel the same. I was afraid of the rejection."

"Why would you think I'd reject you? "

He laughed, "well.. everytime I'd try to talk to you, you would run away."

At that, Julie came into my head. She had told me exactly that. I felt a pang of guilt. That was on me.

"I'm sorry.. I really like you too Ed. I was just so scared you know?"

Now it was his turn to look at me in confusion, "scared of what?"

I sighed, "I wanted to make a first good impression, I thought I'd make a fool of myself infront of you.."

He hummed, "well forget that now. You don't need to worry about making a good first impression on me anymore. Because I think you're just amazing." I felt my cheeks heat up once again.

"Y/N?"

"Yes Ed?"

"Since the feelings are mutual, would you do me the honour and let me court you?" I smiled nodding my head. My heart was fluttering with joy.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him and into his embrace, "finally.. I can do this and call you mine. I love you y/n."

Wrapping my arms around him I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck, "I love you too Ed."

Pulling away I giggled. I was so happy. The moment I had been dreaming of for so long, finally came true.

Gazing into each others eyes we burst into giggles. "You don't know how happy I am right now," Edmund mumbled, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Oh would you both cut with the cute talk and kiss already?!" Peter yelled suddenly. We were so caught up in the moment we hadn't even noticed our little audience.

Lucy was squealing in joy while the others were giving us knowing looks. Like they knew this was going to happen all along. Which they actually did. Kyle winking at me, I really have to thank the guy I thought.

I turned back to face Edmund, who had his eyes on me already.

He cleared his throat, "c-can I?" He looked so flustered. Giggling I stood on my toes pecking his lips. When I pulled away I couldn't resist the urge to laugh.

His lips parted, eyes wide and pupils dilated. And the next minute he leaned down locking our lips together once again the two of us smiling into the kiss.

Well what do you know? Love finds a way..

Hey there everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this! Please send in requests guys, my inbox literally has flies in it 😂❤️

Love you all and stay safe ❤️

#edmund pevensie #edmund x reader #edmund pevensie x reader #edmund pevensie imagine #king edmund #peter pevensie #susan pevensie #lucy pevensie #prince caspian #narnia aslan #narnia #chronicles of narnia

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fanficflaneuse · 4 years

Text

One Day - Part 12

Tags: @fandomscombine @okaydraco @naomi02hook @iliketoast23 @winnsmills @oldfashionedlovergirlsblog @happycomb @xtrashmouthxtozierx @hopplessdreamer @dracoxxyoflam @cleopatera @hess016

(Sentimental A/N at the end)

Draco x reader (she/her pronouns) Word count: 1587 Summary: One day AU. Post-war. Since The Battle of Hogwarts, Draco and y/n meet one day a year.

Masterlist

Enjoy!

3 May, 2012

Minerva McGonagall had decided that this year’s commemoration of the Battle of Hogwarts would be the best they would ever have. Those who attended had always made the it a very beautiful affair, yet it was, often than not, solemn and sad. Even if it felt like too much to ask for, the headmistress truly wanted the day to go be pleasant – a celebration of life rather than a remembrance of death.

The night of May the 2nd, Hogwarts opened its doors once again, this time for a feast. As the Great Hall filled with former students and other members of the wizarding community, excitement lingered in the air. It reminded McGonagall of the enthusiasm of first years. Everyone was dressed up in elegant robes, thrilled of reuniting with old friends and have – for once on this day – a good time.

Draco had never been to one of those ceremonies. Even when (Y/N) had insisted all of those years ago, he felt like it wasn’t his place to be. This year, though, he decided to go. He said it was for her, but in reality, there was a deeper longing to make peace with that place and the people he never had the chance to apologize to.

“We can leave whenever you get tired.” Even if he tried to hide it, the distress was evident in his voice.

(Y/N) gave him a reassuring smile. She knew that, even after the long process of recovery, he still worried about her. “You’re not backing up, love,” she teased.

He gave her a playful eyeroll in response. “We had a very intense day on that “adventure” with Scorp. I don’t even know why did I ever think that was a good idea. I don’t want you to strain yourself too much,” he said, holding her closer to him.

“You thought that was a good idea because you’re the best father ever,” she noted matter-of-factly, “and I’m not strained and we’re going to have a good time.”

“Mr. and Mrs. (Y/L/N) – Malfoy,” Headmistress McGonagall greeted them at the door.

(Y/N) smiled softly. After healer Malfoy had deemed her healthy for his standards, they had gotten married. It was a very intimate wedding with their closest friends and family in the gardens of Malfoy manor. They had adopted each other’s last name and made a point to be referred to as such.

“Where shall we seat, headmistress?” Draco asked.

“Wherever you see fit. No houses today,” she answered excitedly.

As they entered to the Great Hall, the couple was greeted with hugs and cheers. If someone had told eighteen years old Draco he’d have such a reception in his alma mater, he would’ve laughed. Through the years, though, most people had changed their perceptions of him. He was healer Malfoy, who would stay afterhours if it meant some comfort to his patients. He was the Malfoy heir who’d hand out donations for different charities without ulterior motives. He was a friend to a lot of his former “enemies”. He was Scorpius’ proud father and (Y/N)’s loving husband. Draco had finally redeemed himself and could walk through Hogwarts with his head high, even if it triggered some very unhappy memories.

Hermione was the first one to spot them. She waved at them and soon they were surrounded by the Potter-Granger-Weasley clan on the far end of the Ravenclaw table. (Y/N) spotted Luna and Rolf Scammander on the same table, as well as Hannah and Neville and Pansy, Blaise and Daphne. On the other side of the room, from the Slytherin table, Astoria and Theo smiled at them. From the Hufflepuff table, Ernie waved at her. He was sitting with Cho, Justin and Susan. She also spotted Seamus with his husband Dean, talking to the Parvati twins and Lavender Brown. (Y/N) felt like she was living one of those happy endings from the muggle movies they would occasionally watch. Sitting by her husband, surrounded by her friends, no fear and nothing but good news on their way. It was all a bit unreal, in the best possibly way.

By midnight, Harry and Headmistress McGonagall had delivered the speeches, they drank a toast to the fallen and the feast was already over. People were already leaving and those who remained were laughing and remembering their days at Hogwarts.

“Come with me,” Draco whispered in (Y/N)’s ear.

“Where?”

“Trust me,” he answered with a smirk.

They said goodbye to their friends and left the Great Hall. (Y/N) thought they would apparate back home, but Draco surprised her by pulling her towards the stairs. Her smile grew wide as she realized they were on the fourth floor and walking towards that windowsill that marked their lives forever.

They stood there, quietly for a second. Draco then climbed on it and opened his arms for her. (Y/N) chuckled before sitting with him. His embrace was gentler than ever. He had always treated her with care, but after the assault it had become ten times more delicate. As their limbs tangled together, as they did every day now, (Y/N) remembered more than ever that day fourteen years ago.

…

“Draco!” Narcissa’s voice was firm, but loaded with fear.

“Son, where are you?” Lucius seemed desperate.

Draco and (Y/N) were watching the sunrise, cuddling together. He was playing with one of her locks. At the sound of the voices he could distinguish very well, they – very much unwillingly – untangled their stiff limbs. He climbed down the windowsill and she stretched her arms. He found her adorable and for a second there he couldn’t believe they had snuggled all night long.

They looked at each other, like recognizing themselves for the first time. Draco thought that he might find rejection in her eyes, but he only found tenderness. And tenderness he gave back. (Y/N) was overwhelmed by such a strange mix of feelings. There she had the one and only Draco Malfoy, resident bully and death eater, smiling to her, watching her as though she was the most precious woman on earth. She felt like she should hate him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. One night of caresses and silent conversations had given her a whole new perspective on Draco and she wanted more of it.

As the voices came nearer, (Y/N) moved her hand to his hair. She smoothed it. Her touch was appeasing.

“Hey, Malfoy,” she said, a cheeky smile on her face.

“Yes?”

“I don’t hate you.” It sounded stupid once she said it, but it was also liberating somehow.

He smiled genuinely. “I don’t hate you too, (Y/L/N)”.

Soon, the elder Malfoys found the two teenagers holding hands. Narcissa eyed them carefully. Hadn’t she been so worried about Draco’s wellbeing, she would’ve smiled at such a heartwarming scene.

“Draco, let’s go,” Lucius called, his voice wavering.

Draco stood up straighter. He nodded subtly at (Y/N) and walked to his parents, ready to leave. The three Malfoys disappeared down the corridor, leaving (Y/N) to deal with the butterflies in her stomach. She turned around to face the sunrise again, wondering what she’d say to her friends.

As Draco walked with his parents, he couldn’t conceal the smile on his face.

“Who is she?” Lucius asked.

“She’s just a friend,” he answered, trying to be nonchalant.

“Yeah, just a friend,” Narcissa teased.

Draco stopped on his tracks. His parents looked at him, mocking smiles on their faces.

“Wait a minute, okay?” He hadn’t finished saying this and his feet were already taking him back to (Y/N).

“Hey! Long time no see,” she taunted as he stood, once again, in front of her.

“Would you give me your address? To owl you?” he asked hesitantly.

It warmed her heart to see him so disarmed and clumsy. She conjured paper and a quill out of thin air and copied her address. They looked at each affectionately. Draco leaned forward, their noses almost touching.

“Are we friends?” he blurted out. He cringed inwardly at how desperate that must have sounded.

(Y/N) closed the gap between them. It was a little awkward and incredibly sweet, just their lips touching, moving in synch at a very slow pace. (Y/N)’s hand travelled to his cheek, his fingers crawled to her hair. (Y/N) smiled into the kiss as she felt electricity running around them. Draco’s heart was about to leap off his chest.

When they pulled away, Draco pecked her lips softly a couple of times again until she giggled.

“Friends,” (Y/N) agreed happily.

…

“So, we really had our first kiss right here,” Draco said in awe.

“Are we friends?” (Y/N) mocked.

He placed a kiss on her temple. “Merlin, I don’t know, darling. What do you think?” his dashing smile warmed (Y/N)’s heart.

“Well, honey, I really hope we are. I don’t want to be running the (Y/L/N) – Malfoy quidditch team on my own,” she said. This was definitely not the way she wanted to break the news to him, but she figured it was more in their style.

It took Draco no time to register what she had said. He looked at her wide-eyed, completely at a loss for words.

“Seriously?” he asked, happy tears welling his eyes.

(Y/N) nodded vigorously. “No, no tears, my love. We’re very happy today,” she said as she sat up to caress both of his cheeks.

“I’m so happy, (Y/N),” he whispered and gently brought his hand to her belly.

They were soon cuddling again, waiting for the sunrise and feeling pure unaltered bliss.

A/N: This is the end. I hope you liked it! I really couldn’t kill reader, movie be damned. If you’ve reached this far, I really want to thank you. Thank you all for giving me love and support, for reading, liking, rebloging and commenting. Thank you for being kind to me.

My birthday is on Thursday (6 days after Draco omg) so I think I’ll be taking the rest of the week for myself and start posting again over the weekend. If anyone wants me to tag them in my next endeavours (a Draco x reader mini series from a request, a Draco x reader one shot and a Theo x reader one shot) just tell me!

My inbox is open for messages, requests, rants and any conversation you want to have.

Lastly, I’d like to say two things:

1. Trans women are women. We can enjoy the Harry Potter’s books, make sense of them whichever way we want them to, but we cannot take the authorship from J.K. Rowling. We must realize who she is and why she wrote what she wrote.

2. Black lives matter

Have a happy day and a happy life.

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alias-b · 4 years

Text

sins of my youth. 006

Billy Hargrove x OC! Evie Fenny~ Also posted to my AO3

Summary: It was common knowledge that Billy Hargrove hated Hawkins. Hated Cherry Lane. Even loathed the strange girl next door. Evie Fenny wasn’t too fond of the chaotic Cali transfer either. An awful high school tradition sparks a chain of events that changes everything, ultimately bringing two frayed souls together.

A/N: Aftermath of the dance! We learned about the rest of Billy’s night. Both babies struggling before school starts up again. TW: Pica and self loathing. Mentions of guys pursuing underage girls. Taglist open!!!

Chapter 6: Hard Candy

“Anyone up?”

“No, everyone is hungover.” Evie looked around. Everything frosted this morning like a peaceful snow globe. Eternal winter. Gorgeous and destructive. She didn’t kiss Fredrick goodbye. “Thank you.”

“We’ll talk again when school starts up. Don’t call, it’s too risky."

"But-"

"I’m just...risking everything to be with you, do you know that?”

He snatched her wrist when he said that. Pressed down on the pulse there. It sped.

“Yes...I’ll be careful. Do you still love me this morning?” Unsure of what answer would scare her more.

He smiled, grip loosening.

"Yes."

That sufficed. Evie slid out in her dress from yesterday. Watched some dead leaves whirl through the forest before she got onto the sidewalk. Cherry Lane awaited. Bowers turned his car on to slip away unnoticed so she could walk to her house. Mona's car was gone which meant errands.

And whoever her mother brought home to celebrate the New Year with hadn’t stayed.

Evie had the displeasure of running into a few at breakfast. These men who never lasted. Who froze like a deer in headlights to offer sheepish smiles as if she was stupid about why they were there. Who thought they'd be back. Ha ha. Thankfully, Mona mostly slept with guys not from Hawkins.

Billy’s Camaro was nowhere in sight either. Evie went into her house. Greeted Bourbon and crossed to the bedroom. The mess there replayed all of last night again. Dresses strewn all over her bed. Makeup spread on the vanity.

Evidence of a girl excited to have a great night. With a striking boy. Where she felt beautiful. She pictured herself holding dresses against her body at the mirror. Spinning. Happy.

Wishes.

Evie sucked in some air. Tied her hair back. Hung each dress up again. Pulled her own garment off and tossed it in the trash.

“Maroon is stupid.” She mused in her bra and underwear. “You should have worn blue.” Sighing to sit at the vanity, fingers rubbed her eyes pink. She organized makeup. Tried and failed to avoid the reflection in the mirror.

Her mother wouldn’t want to hear of this. So, Evie tried to look on the bright side. Pressed her palms flat. Looked at the mirror.

“I danced with a boy. A pretty boy and he made me feel…”

Isn’t it funny? Pretty funny. The words caught. Piled up and went back down her throat. Perched like they could become a scream but never returned with a vengeance.

She looked at her skin. Excess flesh. It didn't always bother her. Evie knew what she looked like and how the world preferred to see her.

A fist banged into her collar. Growling, she beat at herself. Unable to stop. Weak little bashes against herself.

“Why?" She clenched. "Why do you look like this!”

Fists rubbed her eyes again raw so no tears could flow. Nothingness. Just her soul spinning out of control all sweet and silent. She always did the world and her mother that courtesy. No use crying over spilled milk, just appreciate what you have. Depression and anger, those were ungrateful little phases and pushing them aside was ingrained into her synapses.

Mona made it look so easy.

Evie knocked into the side table, sending her needle felting project to the floor.

“Fuck.” Snatching items up, a sharp edge plucked her finger.

Blood beaded against the skin. A single prick like Sleeping Beauty. Evie calmed at the grim sight. Brought the finger to her lips. Sucked.

Slowly picked up everything else and saw a shiny button there. The same color as her dress from last night. Two fingers held it up so light could stream into the holes. Tiny heavens opening.

Her mouth watered. She no longer heard the laughter. Fredrick’s heavy breathing in her ear. Her mother chided her to smile through pain. Take bitter life pills with a spoonful of sugar. More noise fluttered away. Thunder while she hid in a dark closet. A hand on her leg.

Evie ran the big, acrylic button across her lip. Clicked it on her teeth and liked the sounds. Wind chimes in the fall glimmering.

Hard candy.

It slipped along her tongue. Shifted around saliva. Evie tipped her head back. Eased it down her throat as if it were another bitter pill.

Why do this? Just to see if she could. To see what would happen. To silence all the chaos she choked down.

Dead silence when it was done. Evie sat there tracing her lips with curious fingers. Pictured the pretty button decorating her insides. She could make art inside herself. Snapping her heart back together.

The exact sensations drained.

Tired and sore, Evie crawled under her bed covers. Decided to sleep and dream as deep as she could.

** ** **

Billy’s night before wasn’t much better.

“What the fuck?” He had blazed back into that shitty bar. Found Brock laughing around his friends and grasped his shirt. “You-”

“Billy, I think you want to let me go, my dad has too much influence. He’s friends with your mayor, you know.” Brock had his hands up to wave his boys off. Billy growled low at him, inches away.

“You think I give a shit that you’re rich?”

“I”m just saying I can make shit difficult on your family. I’m sure your daddy won’t like that, I hear you guys make a lot of noise on Cherry Lane. Could make Fenny’s life harder too, if you care.”

Billy’s grip loosened and Brock smiled. Tommy saw Billy's eyes change and hadn't even chuckled when the boy returned.

“Aw, Hargrove’s gotta little crush. That’s cute.” More laughter.

That did it.

A fist smashed into his cheek.

Brock was sent flying back out of his chair at the same time Billy raced out. Didn't care to watch and enjoy the sight of that boy nearly doing a back flip.

Money tore from his pocket and shoved into Bubble’s hand.

“Take this.” Billy didn’t count how much he’d given her. Picking up the pace before Brock and his goons could pursue him.

“Billy!” Tommy had called after him, but the boy was out into the cold and headed toward his car.

Evie was long gone. He still scanned the city in his Camaro trying to spot those brown curls and that maroon dress. Felt like an hour passed. She looked empty when she’d left.

Billy almost wished she’d cried or hit him. Something. Anything.

“Shit.” He pulled up to a little blonde waiting in the chill. Holding an oversized jacket close and craning to see down the street. “Hey, weren’t you Brock’s date?” Her face was pinched in discomfort. Shifting steps before she gave a nod. Seemed smaller there alone as drunks rushed about in celebration. “What are you doing?”

“Mm...waiting for the taxi.” She had a paper towel pinched between her fingers, trying to get a wet stain out of her dress collar. Billy’s gut twisted because he knew what it was.

“Get in, I’ll drive you home.” Billy sat back and waited. Reluctantly, she crossed over to join him. Face splotchy like she might have teared up earlier. Pulling pins out of her hairstyle. Billy figured Brock must have ruined it getting his blowy.

“Thank you.”

He revved to go in response after getting the address. Stony and intent on the road for once.

“It’s this one.” Was all she said once they’d gotten close to her building. Run down and dilapidated. Reminded Billy of the shitty apartment complex he’d lived in with his dad after mom walked out.

“How old are you?” Billy turned to see her and she cringed.

“I’m...fourteen.”

Fourteen. Barely a year older than Max.

And he’d only been fourteen when...

Nausea swept up his throat. Billy hitched to breathe and dug into his pocket for whatever was left of the cash Brock gave him. Felt like a true piece of shit.

“That guy, don’t go near him again. He asks you to come out or do things for him. Like sexual things... Don’t do it. Just stay away from him. Got it?” Billy reached out and dropped the wad of crumpled cash into her palms. “And don’t get into anymore cars with older boys. They’re gonna hurt you.”

“You’re not gonna hurt me.”

“No, kid, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Billy gestured. “Go inside, it's cold.”

She listened, getting out to disappear into the building. Billy rubbed his eyes because they watered. Music turned up to drown the world out before he skidded off. Made it back into Hawkins and parked at Lover’s Lake.

Decided sleeping in his Camaro was the better idea than going home. Not wanting to face Evie’s bedroom window or her old, scrutinizing cat. She wanted nothing to do with him.

Reclined in the back seat, Billy touched his lips and fell into an uneasy rest.

Woke with his head pounding and birds calling out. A truly grey day. He huffed to get out, pissed near a tree, and made it home to park in the driveway next to Neil’s car. Hadn’t left for work yet.

A groan as Billy climbed the steps to go in, felt like he might vomit at the scent of a warm breakfast. Susan playing housewife. Setting plates at the table between Neil and Max.

“Billy, are you hungry?” She caught him. Billy eyed his father reading the paper.

“No.”

“Come, sit down. Eat the nice breakfast Susan made.” Neil’s snap had Billy turning to plop down. He looked like hammered shit. Susan settled a plate of fluffy eggs and bacon down in front of him. Max was staring so Billy shot her a look to stop. “What do you say?”

“Thank you, Susan.” Billy rasped, picking up a fork.

“What’d you do last night?” Neil asked without looking up from his paper.

“Just some party.” A shrug followed. Susan had sat down with her own plate when the doorbell rang.

“Answer that.” Neil pointed her off so she left her plate to get cold and went into the next room. Billy wondered if Susan's ever eaten a warm meal after getting with his dad.

“Susan!” Mona’s chirpy voice piped up.

Billy dropped a bit of eggs in his lap. Had Evie told her?

“I’m so sorry to bug you early. Can I trouble you for a cup of flour? My poor Evie’s taken ill, I wanted to make her something nice for breakfast. Forgot to pick some up, I didn’t know we ran out. For pancakes. I’ll owe ya.”

Billy’s eyes were darting all over the table.

“No problem, come in.” Susan came back in with a measuring cup. “Sorry to hear about Evie.”

“Just an upset stomach, a couple of my fluffiest pancakes should do the trick.” Mona had followed. “Morning all. Happy New Year. I hope Hawkins made good on the festivities.”

Billy couldn’t look at her. Just shifted scrambled eggs around aimlessly.

Neil peered at Mona’s tight clad legs in her little shift dress. Already looking her best this morning after running quick daylight errands.

“Now, Max, I’d love to see you at my salon with your mama.” Mona clasped her hands and Max snickered because she hinted at that every time she saw the younger girl.

“We’ll be sure to visit before school starts up again. Won’t we, Max?” Susan filled the cup.

“Be sure to bring, Billy, I love doing boy’s hair too.”

“You might convince him to cut this all off.” Neil remarked plainly when Billy’s tired eyes lifted. Mona just smiled.

“The boys love to look like rock stars these days, sir. It's the in thing.” She took the flour. “I’ll leave you to your meal. Say, how about I make you your first dinner of the new year? I know it’s been such a change.”

Susan opened her mouth and shut it, peered at Neil for his answer.

“That’s a wonderful offer,” he replied, “only if we can bring the dessert.”

There he was. The charming family man.

Mona gave a cute giggle.

“I’ll take you up on that. Is six alright?”

“We’ll be there, Mona, thank you. I hope Evie feels better by then.” Susan wiped her hands on a towel and showed her friend out.

“Oh, she’ll be fine. My girl's strong.”

Billy grew bright pink. Fuck.

Susan came back to sit down. Got a few bite in before Neil stood and kissed her cheek. Dug a few bills out of his wallet.

“Make what you like, have it ready.”

“Thank you, honey.” She jumped when Neil unceremoniously smacked the back of Billy’s head.

“What!” He cringed away in his chair, dropping the fork with a clatter.

“You see the kind of attention you get when you look like a fucking fa-”

“She was just being nice.” Billy shot back.

Neil sneered and was already making his way out. Max wordlessly reached to pick up the fork and settled it next to his plate. She eyed him again once the door slammed and Neil made his way to work. Susan stared at her cold eggs.

“We should go.” Max sighed. Something happened between him and Evie. Something ugly. “To the salon.”

“You hate that shit.” Billy lost his appetite and sat back. Pushing up out of his chair.

“We’ll need a ride anyways. Neil always has the car and it’s better than the bus.”

“Do I look like I’m your damn taxi?” Billy snapped. Noted Susan flinching, but she didn’t get between them. Max sat straighter. Too calm and observant.

“No, you look sad.”

“Fuck off.” Billy shoved up and left his plate there.

“Maxine.” Susan stood. “Billy-”

A door slammed. Max debated it and went after him.

“Don’t, he’s upset.” Susan snatched her daughter’s wrist.

“Yeah and he’s not Neil.” Max slipped off, leaving Susan to frown at her plate and pull her sleeves down a little lower.

Summoning more courage, Max knocked.

“Go away.” Came the muffled reply she ignored. Pushing in. “Just fucking go away.”

Billy was under the covers. Having tossed his jeans and shoes aside. He didn’t raise his voice, it only got raspier.

“Didn’t you take Evie to that party? What happened?” Max shut the door. Crossed toward the bed.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“She came home before you. This orange car passed when I was sitting in the open garage fixing my wheel. I saw Evie come out at the end of the street and go home. She looked upset.”

“An orange car?”

“Yeah, like a rusty orange. Old car too, a Plymouth like my dad used to drive. I saw a man in the front seat. He looked like a dad too. Evie was in the car with him.”

Billy’s head lifted to see her. Max didn't often see this look on her brother's face. Horror.

“A dad?”

“I don’t know, it was weird. He didn’t drop her off at her house. He passed it and she walked back.” Max shrugged, dared to sit on the bed when Billy pushed up.

“Did you see his face?”

“I think I’ve seen him before, I don’t know where. I was too far away. He kinda looked like Neil. Lighter hair.”

“Mustache. Blond.” Billy’s eyes searched. He got up. “Gotta shower.”

“Billy, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, Max." A dismissive hand waved. "Just stay out of it.”

“You messed up, didn’t you?” She paused when he whirled around. Thought he’d get upset. But, he only exhaled and turned to go. Stopping again when his thought was too much.

“Max, you know not to get into cars with older guys. Right? Even if they’re pretty? Even if they call you pretty too.” Billy found her eyes and looked defeated. Something else rare for him to show.

“Duh.” Max shrugged. A beat. “You haven’t told Neil about Lucas.”

“You haven’t knocked my dick in the dirt with a fucking nail bat. Don't care that you see boys as long as they don't... Just don't let Neil know you hang out with them.” He opened the door. “Out.”

Max beamed a little.

“Apologize to Evie.” She passed with an obvious huff.

As if it was that easy.

** ** **

“Mom, I really don’t feel good.” Evie mopped around in a robe after taking a long shower. Mona was touching her forehead. A barely there graze before she went to sort some items in the cupboard.

“You feel fine. It’s just dinner. Socializing is good for the soul.”

“Mom, I really don’t-”

“Evie, just smile for a few hours. Please, I want them to feel welcome. You can do that.” Mona waved her hand about.

Evie shut her mouth. Flashed teeth beyond twitching lips. Moved to go off into her room where Bourbon sat sleeping. His eyes cracked before he gave a purr and resumed slumber.

"Least one of us had a good New Years." Evie organized some empty decorative boxes and dishes on one of her bookshelves. Hummed in thought at another shelf full of collectibles. Felt the cool metal of an antique key no bigger than her pinkie.

It tasted vaguely bloody. Clanked around in her mouth. Harsher than the button. Such a forbidden thing. That much was almost thrilling. Evie tried once to push it down. Choked. Coughed it up onto her desk with a small clatter.

Just grin and bear it. You can suck it up, Mona said in her head. Encouragement. Always necessary. Evie picked up the key, spit trails came from it. Forced it to the back of her tongue. Swallowed once. Twice.

It seeped awkwardly down. Dropped into her stomach with the few buttons she’d eaten too.

Evie wondered if they’d dance with her as she navigated the world. Falling back into bed. Debating the musical clicking sounds underscored by growing flowers inside her.

She thought of Fredrick winding around her frame. Kissing her jaw. Teaching her things. There was a soft boy before him, but he’d moved out of state. Mr. Bowers plucked her off the floor after her father left. Talked about how it was forbidden too, but it never stopped him from kissing her.

This is so wrong. Kiss. But, you're irresistible. Kiss. The world just doesn't understand. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.

It was funny how you could be so desired by a person who also constantly tells you it's wrong.

But, that won't stop them. Excess skin. Age. What would bother people more if they knew?

She’d sit on his bed and he’d join her. Put his hand up her leg and…

“Evie!” Mona called. “Can you help me here? I won’t let you stay in that room all day for New Years.”

Evie sprang up to gulp air. Held it. Felt in total control of her existence.

“Coming.”

** ** **

Evie hung back when the knocks rang. Stuck her head in the freezer and swallowed an ice cube whole. Wondered if this new habit would ruin her appetite. Wondered why she wasn’t horrified and ashamed of herself. It was just so quiet when it happened. Soothing. None of the ugly white noise in her daily life clustered.

Nobody needed to know. It was wrong, that wouldn't stop her.

“Honey! Come in and say hello.”

Another ice cube slid down her throat. Felt like good practice.

Wiping cold, wet fingers on her denim skirt, Evie appeared around the corner to see the Hargroves standing in her living room. Billy tried to catch her eyes.

“Hi,” a shy wave followed, “Happy New Year.”

“Evie, you look so pretty today.” Susan crossed to greet her with a dish. “I made cherry cheesecake for dessert.”

“Looks good, thank you, I’ll put it in the kitchen.” Evie pulled it from her hands. Candied and red on top of fluffy filling.

“Mona, I insist on helping.” Susan had gone on.

“You’re my guest, Susan.” Mona looked up from Neil’s hand. Pressed in a nice polo and blue slacks. He offered a little bouquet of snapdragons tied together with tissue paper and twine. Also had a bottle of white wine. “It’s almost ready, please sit at the table. Evie just set it.”

Evie snuck out of the kitchen again and saw Billy there staring pointed at her with an expression she couldn’t read. Averted her eyes to the little redhead next to him.

“Hey, Max, enjoying break?”

“While it lasts,” she glanced up at her brother as Evie shuffled away. Mona handed her the flowers to put in a vase. “That bad?” Max addressed Billy quietly.

“Yeah.”

Evie looked at him like he was nothing to her. No anger, no sadness. Just a big, gaping nothing.

Somehow that was worse.

“The flowers are lovely, Mr. Hargrove. Thank you.” Evie came out to settle the vase on a side table in the dining room as he pulled out a chair for Susan.

“We’re neighbors. Neil and Susan are fine, Evie.” He was all sweetness. The doting husband. Billy crept around the corner with Max.

“I should help my mom.” Evie made herself disappear.

“It smells good.” Max crossed to sit down as well across from Billy.

“I made something special from home. Jambalaya. Tried to go easy on the spice for your stomachs.” Mona brought a dish in after Evie sent some fresh rolls at the table. Her cheeks flush because her mother sat down too quick. The only free spot was the opposite head of the table between Max and Billy.

She suppressed a groan and crossed to take it. Offered sodas to Billy and Max wordlessly.

“Would you like to join me in the prayer?” Mona offered her hands out to Neil and Max.

“Of course.” Neil only smiled. Evie shifted in her seat. Felt Billy’s eyes burn. Took Max’s hand and stared at Billy’s open palm. Was this a game to him?

She took it. Squeezed it maybe a little too tight. Stared ruefully at her empty plate. Max noticed Billy’s knuckles pale and smirked at his tense expression.

“Bless us, Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ. Bless the Hargroves, we are truly grateful to have them join us tonight. Please guide our children through a successful year, we pray. Amen.” Mona smiled. “Please dig in. I always make so much.”

“Allow me.” Neil plucked up the wine and poured three glasses for the adults.

“First Christmas and New years in our town. I have to ask if it was a memorable one?” Mona started conversation. The rolls and dishes were passed around.

“First white Christmas we’ve ever seen, it was beautiful.” Susan radiated.

As the adults chattered about boring Christmas gifts, Max turned to Evie.

“Mom got me some of that felting stuff, you can teach me how to do it now.” She flashed a smile. “Can you show me after dinner?”

“Sure.” Evie was tearing her roll into two pieces. Eyed the butter next to Billy and decided to eat it without. “Eager to stab something a million times into a cute shape?”

“Duh.” Max kicked Billy’s ankle. Tried to get him to speak, but he shoved a huge bite of rice into his mouth. “Maybe I can show, El.”

“El?” Evie sipped her soda.

“This new girl I’m hanging out with. Chief Hopper’s kid, he wants her to have more girl friends.” Max chuckled, twirling her fork around. “We didn’t...get along at first, but it’s better now. We found things in common.”

Another kick at Billy’s shin. He glared. Nudged her foot back.

“Easier when you’re younger.” Evie remarked.

“We’re gonna find Evie a talent agent this summer,” Mona had spoken across the way, “she won all these competitions these last few summers. Sung for the governor himself at an event when she was only thirteen.”

“Mom…” Evie blushed. She loved this food and today, it looked ghastly somehow.

“Being a singer is difficult work.” Neil spoke. “How are you going to make money in the meantime?”

“She’s good,” Billy found his voice, “real good. She can make money singing.” A cold stare penetrated. “Miss Mona, weren’t you a pageant queen?”

That turned the adult conversation for the rest of the dinner. Mona and Susan prattled with Neil stuck between them. Miserable and having to hide it. Billy turned to Evie. Smirked.

“Can you pass the butter?” She blinked at him. Reached for another roll.

Billy cocked his head and handed it over. Evie didn’t want to fall into those pretty eyes again. Listened to her mother and Susan chatter eagerly with Neil chewing and nodding every so often.

Evie saw him fill his glass of wine three times.

“Let me help you clear this for dessert.” Susan was stacking plates so Evie got up to help. Neil drank his last glass down as he sat back. Clearly extremely relaxed.

“Neither of you are going to offer extra hands?” He’d barked under the sound of dishes in the sink and the TV in the next room.

“It’s fine, we have it.” Evie came to set the pie down at the center of the table. Neil snatched her wrist to observe her expression. Eyebrows lifting.

“You’re a very kind, young girl, Evie. You should sing us something.” Alcohol on his breath welled hot. He was drunk and hiding it better than most. Barely ate any dinner because the spices weren’t for him.

Max’s fists clenched on the table and Billy moved like he might stand up.

“Oh, I couldn’t.” Evie replied, another bout of strawberries crept up her cheeks.

“Can’t be a singer if you’re shy.” He chuckled.

“She was sick this morning, she probably shouldn’t.” Billy came out of his chair carefully. Eyes direct on his dad clutching Evie’s wrist.

The fingers loosened so she crossed behind Billy. Paused there so Neil could see who her shield was. Got back into a chair.

Billy slowly sat back down.

Neil would deal with him later.

“Susan, this looks delightful. I hope you’re willing to share the recipe. I haven’t mastered the cheesecake yet.” Mona ushered her friend back in. Neither felt the tension as Neil and Billy stared at each other. Not stopping when the cake was cut and passed around.

“I’ll write it down for you.” Susan offered Billy a piece, caught Neil’s eyes. “Neil says that’s what made him fall for me. Way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

Neil pressed this tight smile and laughed with the two ladies. None of the kids followed.

“Better if you just go through his chest.” Max had mumbled. Stabbing a bright red cherry with her fork. Evie suppressed the urge to snicker. Swallowed the sweet treat and excused herself when the meal ended. Max trailed after.

“Want to show me? No plans tonight.”

“Sure.” Evie twitched a smile.

Mona was pulling Susan out onto the back deck while Evie grabbed a basket she kept her craft items in. A body blocked her in the hallway.

“Evie, can I see you outside?” Neil wasn’t particularly tall, but he certainly had a presence.

Her eyes went steady on Billy at the end of the hallway behind him.

“Yes, sir.” She glanced again and Billy disappeared. “Max, want to use my desk? You've seen my room, I can show you this. Don't mind Bourbon snoring, he's been extra tired today.”

“Yeah, sure.” Max took it after an uneasy beat so Evie followed Neil out front.

“It was a lovely dinner, I don’t go much for exotic food.”

“From New Orleans, Louisiana.” Evie replied flatly. “I guess.” Neil was all pleasantries. Shifting on his feet and breath smelling of wine.

“You just seem nervous around Billy. My boy has a history.” He gestured. “Not a very nice history with girls like you.”

“Girls like me?” Evie’s nervous hands rubbed together in front of her. Shoulder’s lifting.

“Girls who are just a little…” Bigger. Darker. Stranger. Exotic. “Different.”

“Billy and I...Well, we don’t really talk.”

It was clear Neil wanted some admission out of her. Just for the sake of it.

“I just mean, if my boy has been unkind to you. I’d like to know about it. Billy gets into trouble and it’s my job to keep him out of it.” Neil stepped in. “You’re a very nice girl, boys take advantage. That's all I'm saying.”

“We…” Evie’s lip wobbled. “We don’t talk, sorry. Billy hasn’t…”

“If my boy steps out of line, Evie, I’d like to know about it.” Neil smiled again. “Tell your mother I said thank you for dinner. No doubt, she’ll keep Susan busy another hour.”

“Sure.” Evie watched him step down the porch. Stumbled and recovered quick. “Goodnight.”

The moment Neil went into his house, no doubt for another bottle, Billy slid out of the front door.

“You didn’t say anything. To your mom or anyone.” He observed plainer. Unreadable. "Why?"

“Your dad’s gone, Billy, we don’t have to pretend anymore.” Evie replied without a tone. Stepping around him. Sparing him a beating maybe. No emotion to give him.

He wasn’t worth it.

That replayed over and over again. No tears, no anger. Just ice. Cool and sleek.

Evie went back into her house.

Billy decided another night in his car away from Cherry Lane was better.

** ** ** **

“You can glue the eyes in now.” Evie applied some from a tube and pushed two tiny eyes into Max’s project.

“Looks like a monster.” Max snickered at the hideous yellow blob. “It was supposed to be a baby chick.”

“Ah, takes practice. Just keep stabbing. Give it to your mom, she’ll display and love it forever because you made it.” They sat at her desk under a little lamp. Max looked at Evie twisting wool around to make a shape, plucked up the project she’d made. “Kinda strange, you stab something a million times until it’s pretty. Keeps my hands busy though.”

“Trying to stay distracted?” Max piped in. Bourbon lifted his head behind them and wandered over for pets.

“When you get older, all you want is distractions.” Evie shrugged her shoulders and sat back. Let her cat sweep their legs.

“What happened with you and Billy?”

“Huh? Nothing.” Evie managed to smile.

“I know he took you to a party and...he came home without you looking trashed like he crawled out of a dumpster.” Max paused. “Someone else took you home.”

“I just got a ride from another friend. I don’t rage like Billy does.” Lie.

“You’re mad at him.”

“I’m not mad. I don’t…” I don’t want to feel anything. Sadness and fury. They weren’t to be processed or discussed. They made you ungrateful.

“Did you have a bad time? Did he get mad? He gets mad and does stupid stuff.” Mad Max was too sharp for this entire bland town. Evie sucked in her cheeks.

“No, I had a great time actually. That was the problem.” A wave crashed into her. Covered in metallic confetti. Magical. Crushing.

“What happened?” Max pressed.

“It’s not for me to say, I don’t want to-” Evie sprang up and the door opened.

“Sorry girls, Susan was headed out.” Mona dipped in without knocking. “Having fun?”

“Yeah.” Max stood up. “Thanks, Evie, I’ll keep practicing. As long as it takes.” Felt like she was hinting at something else.

“Night, Max.” Evie watched her mother show the younger girl out. Quickly swept her craft supplies back into a basket and plucked up her old cat. Listened to him purr. Decided another long night of sleep and late morning was better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Chat with me if you have time :))

Tagged:: @80sbxtch @nottherightseason @orxhidshavana @alagalaska @alongcamedolly @kellyk-chan @billy--hargroves

#billy hargrove #Billy hargrove x oc #Billy Hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fanfiction #Billy x angel #Angel Fenny #mine #writing #SOMY

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myssparklesbookrants · 4 years

Text

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS I WISH WERE TRUE SO THAT I COULD DATE THEM or stare at them from afar

HIWow! It was hard choosing a first topic to talk about. I felt like I needed to talk about something big and glamorous to blow the brains out of… of someone. But alas, this is my best, for now..

So, I chose the first one that I had listed on the top of my head ever since I first started reading.

BOOK BOYFRIENDS!

This is a list of MEN or BOYS who tickle the romantic bone just right! (I had dreamed that there was such an organ in the human body, just near the stomach)

I selected these FICTIONAL BOYFRIENDS as potential members of my harem If I ever defy normal Filipino conceptions of marriage and take up polyandry.

The criteria I used is simple.

Choose the fictional partners that I can imagine existing in real life (not too much of an alpha and rich or good looking that borders on unbelievable). The type of characters that I can imagine talking to, who I find fascinating and can be a potential long-time partner, casual hook up or best friend.

I originally wanted to stick to 10. But as I wrote, a lot of names popped up and I can’t not put them in the list but still, I am sure after I have this article published (Char! Haha) there will be a lot of “Shoot! Why did I not put him on the list???” exclamations. So, maybe I will eventually make another continuation list???

This list is based on the BOOKS I READ so if you have a bet that I didn’t list, please don’t hesitate to give a recom. A new book to swoon over is always welcome.

Most Importantly: READ THE BOOKS WHERE THESE AMAZING CHARACTERS CAME FROM. I liked them because of their wit, their personality, how they interacted with other people, their dreams and how their love for their other half made them better people or vice versa. MEANING: THE BOOK WAS WICKED AWESOME AND THE AUTHOR WAS A GOOD STORYTELLER.

(I must apologize for the lack of female to female romantic partner mentions given my current lack of FF Romance reads, which is something I will rectify soon. But if you have recommendations, feel free to comment below and maybe add some MM ones too!)

Anyway, meet…

1. Clayton Danvers and Lucas Cortez

Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld Series

Genre: Horror fiction, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy

This series is adapted on screen called ‘Bitten’ which is available on Netflix.

Clayton Danvers is the strong, silent, and smart type. He is a professor in a university where he met Elena(his student) and a werewolf! His devotion to Elena was sweet, passionate and faithful to the point that bordered on obsessive but not off putting. The best thing about him was how un-Alpha he was. Although he was strong , his relationship with Elena was a partnership.

This is what romance needs today guys! A PARTNER not a rich and condescending daddy!

Lucas Cortez, on the other hand, is a lawyer/sorcerer, young master of a Cabal Group, who informally separates from his family's company to pursue a life as a lawyer protecting the rights of other magical beings against abusive Cabals(including his family's). Unlike Clayton, he was slender with brown eyes behind glasses. So basically, a cute, smart nerd who is the 'good' black sheep of the family.

(they are in separate books with different female romantic partners)

2. Quinn Sullivan

Penny Reid’s Neanderthal Meets Human

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Quin…*sighs*... So awesome! He was quiet, mysterious,unsmiling, rich and had an almost perfect handsome face. I love that the author imagined small flaws like almost unnoticeable crooked bottom front teeth and differing sizes of his ears with one prominent feature -his hawk-like stare. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, he took Janie's quirkiness in stride. Asking questions, debating, protecting, annoying, kissing…. You know the drill..😉

3. Beau Winston

Penny Reid’s Beard in Mind

Genre: Contemporary Romance

On first read, Beau was a good looking, charming good boy who is looking for his path after his twin, Duane left to pursue his own.

What I loved about him was how he dealt with Shelley's(Quinn's Sister) clinically diagnosed mental illness(OCD). He researched about it and made efforts to make it easier for her and was just overall supportive.

It was awesome how much the author has put an effort in researching OCD facts to make details perfectly accurate and how it was NOT at all a hastily placed plot device to get the story going.

4.Ted Beaudine

Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Call Me Irresistible

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Hello to my favorite romance book of all time!

I think I have read this many times already and have to put off re-reading it again for next year(2021) to give my brain some time to forget some of the plot. We need to keep the mystery going! amiright??

Anyway, Ted was the perfect genius, good boy and people pleasing guy. He is perfectly polite, straight laced and has basically carried the whole town in his muscled shoulders for years. (Did I tell you he was the Mayor?)

Meg's carefree life and struggles basically tickled his good boy bone the wrong way.

Read this novel to witness how a perfect boy and wastrel girl turned out in the end. Seriously Please Read!

5. Patrick Jason 'Pick' Ryan

Linda Kage' Be My Hero

Genre: Contemporary Romance

He was the tattoed, orphan softie on the wrong side of town who thankfully did not grow up a thug because of a vision he got when he was young from a moled witch.

One day, his tinkerbell, the star of his visions, enters the bar he works at, but PREGNANT!

Gosh! I loved this so much. This was part of the Forbidden Men Series but can read as a stand alone. Although, I advise you to read the other books also, they were all awesome!

6. Colin Bridgerton

Julia Quin’s Bridgerton Series

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance

Charming, green eyed and younger son, Colin was considered a catch of the ton.

He had a case of wanderlust and couldn't stay at one place without getting an itch. I can't say more without giving a major spoiler, but I loved that the author made him major insecurities.

Because secretly,too perfect is boring, right??

7. Sean Cassidy

Penny Reid and L.H Cosway's The Player and the Pixie

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Wewowewowewo. *sexy flames*

Imagine a gorgeous jerk of a jock with sexual inexperience and a rainbow haired goody goody shoes girl (whose brother is his ultimate enemy) who is willing to be the TEACHER!

But it was more than that, I liked how the authors highlighted the perils of kleptomania, the privilege of the rich and how gorgeous jerks are set straight by their women who would not suffer in a relationship with a class A insensitive jerk just because he was good looking and rich.

This was a ride! I lost count how many times I re-read this book.

8. Elend Venture

Branson Sanderson’s Mistborn Trilogy

Genre: High Fantasy

Elend was the angsty boy part of the elite class who is disgusted by his privilege and looks for ways to make the government better by reading outlawed books that spark rebellious and forward ideas. In short, he was a closet revolutionary.

Throughout the series there were some major changes in his life from a closet reader to a person who pursues ideas he just once read in books?

How do they say it? Walk the talk or in his case, Walk the read? (talking about it would mean death)

9.Archer Devereux

April White’s The Immortal Descendants Series

Genre: Time Travel Romance/ Historical Fantasy

Dumdumdumdum. Imagine a conservative college boy from the past your future self time traveled in, spends time with you, helps you in your quest, likes you secretly and is shy about it and becomes a vampire stuck in immortality waiting to meet the 'present' you.

Talk about love lasting through time! This was a great book if you love time travel stories with historically accurate and interesting facts injected heavily into the story!

10. Rupert Carsington

Loretta Chase’ Mr. Impossible

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

A hellion younger son of an earl who loves an adventurous carefree life who is without inhibition, just goes along the ride and has a set of surprisingly caring and dependable muscled shoulders.

Meets a beautiful tempered scholar who needs his help finding his kidnapped brother in the sands of Egypt.

This is perfect for those who love adventure romances, and topics on the papyrus, mummies and the french and British looting conflict in the African colonies.

11. Sebastian Ballister

Loretta Chase’ Lord of Scoundrels

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

My favorite Historical Romance book ever!! Like Ted Beaudine's book, I try to read this at least once or twice a year to forget some of the plot and keep the mystery going.

He was called the Marquess of Dain and has been raising hell since childhood and in the present day France where he meets the blue stocking Jessica. The author throughout the book continually refers to them as the Beauty and the Beast.

What makes this book SPECIAL is how intelligent, witty and funny most of their conversations were. It's funny how many books are under many sexy, funny and witty lists on goodreads but only some of those on the list are actually true! THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THEM!

Jess was not annoying or shy or too much of a fighter and Dain was not too obnoxious. It was perfect.

And if you have not read this book or others from this author or genre, I command you to start reading after you finish this article.Break some cherries!

12. Hardy Cates

Liza Kleypas’ Blue Eyed Devil

Genre: Contemporary Romance

A blue neck Town boy chasing dreams outside of town to leave the shithole of a living. He has white knight complexes but leaves the damsel in distress after the case is solved. Also, muscular and has the blunt and bluest eyes on Texas

This book I have also reread many times because it talks about dealing with domestic abuse and moving on after an abusive relationship, dealing with people who have narcissistic disorder and the life of the privileged.

13. Connor ‘Mad’ Rogan

Illona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy Series

Genre: Paranormal Romance (PNR)

Wootwootwoot. Imagine a former military but now head of the House 'Mad' Rogan successfully publicly kidnapping you in broad daylight using only wads of cloth. Talk about a powerful telekinetic!

I loved that he was once again, A partner in the relationship and not an overprotective ape despite him being awfully more powerful than Nevada.

14.Phil Tucker

Jennifer Crusie Welcome to Temptation

Genre: Contemporary Romance

This is written by an author whose ALL BOOKS WRITTEN i have read and loved.

Phil is part of a long line of male Mayors in the family and meets almost fugitive-like Sophie.

Read as they deal with each other, try to take down a production of town porn video, deal with an enemy, try to dirty Phil down to win the next election and spend time reading a romance classic.

15. Ansel Guillaume

Christina Lauren’s Sweet Filthy Boy

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Known for the many explicit sexy times that can be read throughout the book. So, if you want to stay green in the ears, skip this one till you're legal.

Ansel is a sweet, full of life French Lawyer celebrating with friends in LA and Mia with her friends also, celebrating their newly graduated from college selves.

Ansel is soft, a daydreamer, magnificent bringer of orgasms and game with all things Mia is willing to do.

They married through Elvis and decided to not divorce yet to explore the beautiful France and a possibility of a good relationship.

AND DONE!

I actually have a lot more but these are for now.

CONSIDER THIS LIST AS A BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR AWESOME ROMANCES WITH WELL WRITTEN AND SWOON WORTHY CHARACTERS

Topic for my next blog entry:

How to Find the Next Good Book to Read:

A Guide to Good Sources of Book Recommendations

#bookaholic #penny reid #jennifer crusie #christina lauren #ilona andrews #loretta chase #lisa kleypas #susan elizabeth phillips #kelley armstrong #april white #brandon sanderson #julia quinn #book boyfriend #bookstagram #books to read #boys #men #love #romance

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dansnaturepictures · 8 months

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10th September 2023: Martin Down

Flora and fauna photos taken today in this set: 1. Hawthorn. 2. Devil's-bit scabious, I was captivated by swathes of this one of my favourite flowers. I'd only seen them in the New Forest before the ones I saw at Old Winchester Hill two weeks ago and it was great to see some here as it's the main caterpillar food plant of Marsh Fritillary one of the star butterflies of this site. We don't often come at this time of year so had never seen these flowers here before, it was great to see good numbers of them therefore. 3. A bright looking mossy rose gall. 4. A marvelous Meadow Brown, we got some smashing views of this enduring butterfly and remarked during the walk about how the species goes on from the start of summer until the end outlasting many others, they're a welcome constant over the summer. 5. Chaffinch that I heard calling well too. 6. Buttercups. 7. Some quite late lady's bedstraw which I made the most of. 8. Common toadflax another of my favourites. 9. Bee on bramble flower with blackberries and hawthorns nearby. 10. Black-eyed Susan in the emerging sun this evening when home.

Perfect for Wildflower Hour on Twitter's seed head theme tonight I liked zooming in on many flower seed heads on the walk including wild carrot, yarrow, hogweed, knapweed, creeping thistle, ragwort, marjoram and old man's beard. It did feel a bit like summer winding down when out and it was overcast here with the brown fields around, a place we normally visit when brimming with insects at the height of spring into summer (there were still a fair few about today of course), and a lot of the flowers had gone over (again, there were many still about though) but it was good to appreciate that they can still be beautiful after they flower. I saw the flowers of some of these too and centaury, eyebright, wild basil, dark mullein, pineappleweed, field/small scabious, hemp agrimony, pretty honeysuckle, ivy including some covered in bees which was nice to see, speedwell, self-heal and some poppies in the famous adjoining poppy field were other highlights. Rose hips, sloes, elder and privet berries were other fruit highlights. Small Copper again, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Small White, Small Heath and a splendid fresh looking Peacock were other good butterflies to see. Veneer moth, Southern Hawker, horse fly, hornet, possible wasp, Long hoverfly, possibly the rare Large Marsh Grasshopper and spiders were other highlights. It was brilliant to see two Redstarts, what an autumn I'm having for seeing them at different places. Kestrel in the air, Magpie, vocal Woodpigeons, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Stonechat, Swallow, Skylark, Linnets, loads of colourful Goldfinches which was great to see and Great Tit were other standout birds. It was good to see bee in the garden on the Black-eyed Susan, Goldfinches out the front and Collared Doves out the back and fly before bed last night at home, with an epic Buzzard view on the way back from Martin Down.

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bethhxrmon · 4 years

Text

do flowers exist at night? -chapter fourteen

Chapter Fourteen: No Categories

Pairing: Steve Harrington x OC

Chapter Summary: Being stuck in detention with a few other people, it is only natural to have some sort of long-winded conversation that no one learns anything from.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: Swearing, implied sexual assault, slight homophobia, probably not great writing lol

A/N: I hope you guys maybe catch the reference here?? Anyways I’d love some feed back from y’all. It you like this, you can find the masterlist here.

~*~*~*~

Getting in a car with Jonathan Byers to go to detention was not what Annie would have done with her Saturday morning if she had a chance. Still, it beat walking to detention and she knew that.

She ended up getting out of bed before Steve woke up for once. It was easier to sleep with someone next to her. Not that it ever fully got rid of all the nightmares, but it was as good as it got. So she waited until Jonathan was in her driveway before waking Steve a bit to let him know she was leaving.

"If you need me to beat up Billy for ya after, let me know," Steve murmured.

Annie kissed his nose, "You're not gonna do that, I'll be fine."

That was the goal at least. If she was there with Jonathan, then it didn't matter that Billy was there. Besides, there would be anyone else who got detention that first week back. Who knew what that could be for, but she wasn't banking on many people being there.

The car ride with Jonathan was pretty quiet aside from the cassette tape playing. If nothing else, she could say that the guy had good taste. Really, the only wrench between them was any grudge she had because he sort of played a part in Steve getting hurt. Not that it was a huge deal now. That was clearly the case considering how easily Jonathan gave up the day.

He pulled up to the school and they both stayed seated for a bit longer.

"Thanks for this... you um... I know it's probably not the way you wanted to spend today," she said, shrugging a little.

Jonathan sighed, "It wasn't, but you shouldn't have to deal with that guy alone."

With that, they both went to the school and walked straight to the library. Much to Annie's surprise, there were four other people. She recognized Billy and Carol, but wasn't completely familiar with the other two. They were both in her theater class and she knew that she would feel like an ass if she asked their names now.

Instead of the librarian running detention, it was the assistant. A man who only seemed to be a few years older than any of them. However, that meant he didn't really care what they said or did as long as they shelved the books and didn't bother him as he gossiped on the phone.

It was simple enough. Once all the shelving was done, she could just keep to herself until they could all go home. Everyone seemed rather content to do that. At least, everyone except for Billy who couldn't go five minutes without saying something to someone.

At first, all he did was talk to Carol. None of them really cared. Carol seemed to agree with him on anything he had to say, so he got bored of that easily. It was Annie's personal goal to not be a target. Though, she also trusted Jonathan to help her out if things got bad.

Though, his first actual remark was to the girl whose name Annie couldn't quite place.

"So what did you do to get detention, sweetheart?" Billy asked.

The girl side-eyed him as she shelved a book, "The name's Robin, and it's none of your business."

"Oh, come on! You're such a boring nerd, forgive me for having a hard time seeing you get into detention for any reason at all. You’re basically everything a parent could want. Boring and quiet," he said.

Annie watched as Robin sighed, "Not all of us like our parents as much as you'd think."

"Oh, you wanna trade places then? Do you wanna see what my old man did to me? His bitch of a wife didn't even bother to stop-"

"That's enough. You don't need to prove how much your life sucks," Jonathan said.

Billy approached him, "Oh, and why's that?"

"Because you'd come in last compared to all of us," Annie said, just loud enough to be heard.

It hadn't been Annie's intention to say that out loud, but now she had Jonathan and Billy staring at her. Maybe no one would take her seriously. Though, she was willing to bet every cent that her life was more difficult than Billy's since he was one of the reasons it was so hard for her to simply go to school.

"Well, what else are we gonna do here?" Carol asked, "May as well compare all our shitty lives."

Billy nodded slowly, "Okay, let's do it."

"Shouldn't we have some rules?" Robin asked.

The other boy Annie didn't know nodded, "Yeah, is this a competition? Because if we vote then we're all just gonna vote for ourselves."

"Then we just... can't vote for ourselves," Annie suggested, "I don't know."

Jonathan sighed, "Alright, who's starting us off?"

"I can. And then you'll all just understand how shitty someone's life can be," Billy said, leaning against a table, "Are you guys ready?"

Annie rolled her eyes a little, "Go for it."

"I will," he said, glaring at her, "My life's never been great. When I was a kid my mom left me with just my dad. He always beat on her and when she left, he did the same to me."

The other boy shrugged, "Everyone gets hit around as a kid."

"Shut the fuck up, dorito breath," Billy snapped.

"It's Keith, actually."

"Like I give a damn," he crossed his arms, "Anyway, my dad started seeing Susan and she had a daughter. Max was always a bit of a bitch, making my life a living hell. I got tired of her and I gave her some shit. Now, my old man didn't like that, so he said he was gonna send me to a military school."

Carol blew a bubble of her gum and let it pop, "Doesn't look like you got any military training."

"Yeah, that's 'cause I told him there was no way I was letting him just ship me off somewhere away from home. I hate him, but all the punks there would treat me even shittier than he does. See, getting beat around a bit might be normal, but I'm hit around more than a bit."

Annie couldn't help seeing red. Of all the things that he could have complained about, he had the nerve to complain about being hurt by a parent? That was supposed to justify everything he did? How could that possibly excuse what he did to those around him? She stopped listening at that point, her brown eyes giving a steely gaze at the gaudily-patterned carpet.

The only reason Annie knew that Billy was done was because Carol cleared her throat, "Come on, I can totally do better than that. You might get beaten a bit, but come on. You're more of a bitch than I am, Billy."

All of them nodded. She didn't think that he would be winning this. Not when she already knew exactly what she wanted to say. Maybe she would put on a bit of a show about it. It was hard to decide.

"Okay, so I was born in Chicago and then moved here in '72. Everything here is super lame, I feel like I should get points for a good part of my life just being too dull to document," Carol said, chewing on her gum, "Anyways, I started crushing on Tommy when we were in seventh grade. It wouldn't have been a problem, but he was dating my sister. She was a grade above us so you can't ask her now, but I just had to have Tommy."

Annie wasn't quite sure where this was going, but she felt like it was better than Billy's self-pity. Sure, his life sucked, but she would have more sympathy if he hadn't done the things he had.

Carol let out a sigh, "So, it took a bit of work, but I was able to win him over. Half the school hated me. That might still be the case, so... I guess I'm sorry? Except I'm not. Look, it's all in good fun. Doesn't matter anyways since the rest is history with me and Tommy. Except for the last year I know he's been screwing around behind my back."

"I um- I actually don't know what to do about that. Do any of you know what I'm supposed to do?"

Robin shook her head, "You dump him!"

"Yeah, I can't stand you, but you should definitely break up with Tommy. You deserve better," Annie added.

Somehow, with the knowledge that Tommy had been doing that to Carol, she felt worse for the girl than she did for Billy. Not that it was a difficult thing. She hadn't talked to Carol since the day she and Tommy were bothering her.

Jonathan sighed, "You're not the only one who's lived here a long time."

"So you're going next, Byers?" Billy asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm not about to pretend like I don't have issues. Because, like you, I got beat around by my dad. So did my mom, I helped Will get out of that. Look, you and Carol are a bit more... headstrong than I am. That's just not my speed. I don't talk about that stuff much, but I know I'm the one keeping things at my house together."

"Oh, come on. You're dating Nancy Wheeler, shit can't be that hard," Billy said.

Annie rolled her eyes, "You can be dating someone and still have a hard time. Let him go."

"Aside from everything with my parents, I think you all know about Will. I'm not gonna talk about that, but it still counts for all this shit. So, I think some of you know how outcasted I was-"

"Only because you took stalker pictures of Nancy," Carol said.

He sighed, "I know that's part of it, but you guys didn't like me before then either. She's kind of my only friend and I waited almost a year to be with her."

"Um, okay, I thought we were lab partners," Robin chimed in.

Jonathan nodded, "You're right. You're both right, but I still never feel like I belong. After everything my family's been through, I can't afford to feel sorry for myself. I have to be unbreakable, you know? Instead of giving my little brother a hard time, I try to take care of him as much as my mom would. Sometimes I wish she took care of me that much, but I know she cares. I just don't know what's gonna happen when I go to college. It's far off, but I don't wanna abandon my family."

"You're not going to. You can move on from this town when you get a chance. Nothing says that you're not allowed to come back," Annie pointed out.

Obviously she knew that there was more to Jonathan's story. He went through everything over a year ago plus the same stuff she dealt with. It sucked, but she knew that he wasn't about to tell everyone. They couldn't talk about that stuff.

There was a long pause as some of them shelved the nearly empty carts of books. No one seemed to want to go next. Annie almost contemplated on going next. Everything that she wanted to say was right there in her head whether everyone wanted to hear it or not.

Keith let out a long sigh, "Okay, I know you guys are wondering what hardship a guy like me could have."

"We don't have to wonder," Carol said, "You're a tragedy."

Robin shrugged, "Not being allowed to eat in the library isn't a tragedy."

"Neither is not being allowed to annotate books," he countered, "Well, Jonathan over here isn't the only one with the hots for Nancy Wheeler. I helped out one of her brother's friends and I was supposed to get a date with her."

Jonathan laughed a bit, "Did that actually happen?"

"Nope, nothing happened, I totally got stood up. See, she doesn't think I'm the most attractive guy."

"Wonder why," Carol said.

“She has a boyfriend, that’s why,” Jonathan countered.

Keith glared at them, "I happen to think I look great. Nancy doesn't know what she's missing, and I don't wanna hear it from the chick dating Tommy Hagan of all people."

Annie's mouth dropped open. The nerve of some of the people at this school was beyond her. She could see Robin look a bit on the shocked side as well. Though, now, she had to know where this story was headed.

"Anyways, after that failed date, I went home. It's a classic story, you know? The mediocre-looking guy loses the beautiful girl because she thought she was too good for him. So, you might ask yourself if I'm bitter about all this," he paused before shrugging, "Not really. I got to go home to my parents and our large house and my Atari. Now, that's tragic."

Billy coughed, "You gonna give us your sob story?"

"Well, I lost the girl, but I still got to dance around my room in my underwear. So, you do the math. I can still flirt with whatever pretty girls I want. I'm a free spirit and I don't have to do anything unless I want to," he looked around the room, "So I guess I don't have a sob story. Life's pretty damn great."

Carol nodded slowly, "Okay, that's one person out of the running. I'm thinking we should just get to how we're gonna vote or whatever."

"Um... hello? I've still got something to say," Annie said.

Keith looked at her, "I'm sorry, but who're you again?"

"Oh, she's the chick who's dating Steve Harrington. His rebound, ya know?" Carol said, "What could you possibly have to say that could be tragic?"

Keith shook his head, "Of all people, you had to date a douchebag?"

"Not only a douchebag, but a pussy one at that," Billy added.

Jonathan reached out an arm to stop Annie from doing anything, but she ignored it and walked up to Billy. What it was she had in mind to say was beyond her. All of it just fell out of her mouth. Any bit of anxiety was replaced by a pure, unbridled rage and it was all she could do to not electrify him to death where he stood.

"This isn't about Steve. This is about me," she said, "And you know what? Maybe there's something to be said for me not having anything to say that could top any of you."

Billy nodded, looking like he was waiting for her to admit defeat.

"Like, seriously, your lives all sound like they suck and your stories... they show that as well," she looked up at Billy, "I mean, seriously, coming so close to getting shipped off to military school for being a dick. That could have come so close to being a real problem for you. Not like something I know of that's an actual problem."

She walked over to Carol, "And, getting cheated on? A tragic yikes. Unfortunately, I've seen that happen too many times to count. Seriously, though, please dump Tommy, he's not worth it."

"And Jonathan," she patted him on the shoulder, "Having to wait a year to get the girl you loved? And then getting her at the expense of hurting someone else's heart and trust? How could you have been so wronged!"

She glanced at Robin, "I don't have your story yet, so you're good for now... but Keith, oh Keith."

He looked at her and she frowned, "Being thrown aside for how you look? Now that sounds like the actual worst. Unfortunately, I can't relate. I mean, let's be real here. I'm, like, super hot. So hot that I have a dick for a boyfriend apparently. Hm... I'm not sure if I could ever compete with you guys!"

"Oh, I think I got an idea!" she said, standing in the middle of the library, "See, my looks have always been pretty great. So great, in fact, that I've had great luck with boys ever since I was little. And even from that age I was totally aware that all guys wanna do is, well, you know."

She wiggled her eyebrows as she sat on one of the tables, "So when I was in Seattle, I was fourteen when I met Jeremy. He was my music tutor, about eighteen, he was a senior. You could say he taught me everything I know. Like, he would take me through my scales and vocalizing exercises. He put my mouth to work a lot, if you catch my drift. Had to break me in, you know? And once all that was done, he would play with my hair and tell me how pretty I was. I thought there was a connection there, something different."

"Wait, did he-" Jonathan was cut off by Annie giving him a pointed look.

"So... that fell through after, like, six months. Then there was Greg. I was sixteen, he was nineteen. He worked as the sexy secretary for my mom's law firm. Naturally, I offered to help him out," she took a breath, "He had me help out in more ways than one. I mean, he could barely wait for my mom to leave the room before getting my shirt on the floor. Still, I'm pretty sure we had a connection. It was gonna be different."

Carol scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"Yeah... it didn't pan out, so I decided to focus on school. That's how I met Dr. Lancaster, my dad's boss. You guys know about the college professor scene in Seattle, right?" there was a pause and she shrugged before continuing, "He admired my intelligence and I helped him grade papers and whatnot. There was no way that he could've gotten through the semester without me. He said that we had something special... not quite as different as I thought."

Robin's eyes widened, "You fucked a professor?"

"No, actually. My parents were starting to have problems, so we moved to New York before anything happened. Pretty cool, right?" Annie said, letting out a sigh, "It wasn't easy there. The guys sucked, everyone did. Well, aside from my dad's TA."

"We already know he’s just gonna be a dick!" Carol exclaimed, "Sorry."

Annie forced a smile, "Todd made sure that I was handling the move okay. We would hang out all the time. It was great to actually have a friend. Nothing special to it. Until we were in my dad's office and he was talking about how much he really liked me... that's fine or whatever, but then he started to force himself on me um... pinning me to the desk? My dad caught us and he's blamed me ever since. He wrote a long letter about how I'm the biggest slut he knows."

There was a pause and she took a shakier breath, "So, moving here and getting that plastered all over my locker? Not so different from what I'm used to. I mean, all guys wanna do is, well... you would know, wouldn't you, Billy?"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means. I know what you were gonna do to me if Max didn't stop you."

"Annie," Jonathan said, giving her a warning look that she ignored.

Billy rolled his eyes, "You tried to slit my throat."

"Because you were killing Steve!"

"Only because you guys were hiding Maxine."

"Because she was scared of you, and I don't blame her," she said, her voice cracking.

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever, now you're just crying to get more points."

"The least that could happen is that I win some dumb competition about who had the shittiest life," she said, getting off the desk, "Come on, Robin, you're up."

Robin looked at all of them, "Um... you know what? I'm good. This is really what we've come to? Arguing about whether someone deserved to get their face beaten in or whatever? I don't wanna bother."

"She's just worried that her story isn't gonna be that good," Carol said, crossing her arms.

Keith nodded, "Yeah, I hate to say it, but I agree."

It continued like that for a little while, each of them inadvertently pressuring Robin into saying something. After all, they all said something that was super personal. They may as well just have Robin in the running for all this.

"Okay, fine. You guys want some sad story? I'll tell you one," she said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, "Just... a bit of context, I went to a camp last summer. Um... I met a gir- guy. We hit it off, you know?"

"What's his name?" Carol asked.

Robin sighed, "Sam, her-his name was Sam. We had something really good going, you know? It was really sweet, the way that um... that he would talk to me. I thought we could keep it up over the school year. The only problem is um... my parents, they're traditional. Like, really traditional and he was... well, he wasn’t someone they’d approve of. They found that out when he sent a photo. So I had to write him a letter and end things."

"Oh... what did you say?" Annie asked.

"I told he-him that... well, that I loved him. I loved him as much as you could love someone. That I really, really missed everything about him. I even said that if I could, I would have told my parents to screw off. As if they can choose who I love and wanna be with. I'll never be what they want, no matter how hard they try to force me into soemthing I don't want," Robin sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Of course, I can't say that to my parents... so I ended up sending that stupid letter. Is this really what we're doing, though? I have to bear my soul to all of you to win some dumb competition? I'm over this!"

There was a silence around the room before Billy piped up, "They had a point, you can't trust some people."

"I already have to hear it from my parents, so shut the hell up, Hargrove," Robin replied, shaking her head, "See, this is the type of shit that happens when we open ourselves up. It's stupid to compete for this. We'd all obviously vote for ourselves."

Annie shook her head, "I was gonna vote for your story, actually."

"Robin's right, though. Comparing everything like this was stupid,” Jonathan replied.

"It was that bitch's idea anyways," Billy said, gesturing to Annie.

She rolled her eyes, "Because you were being a dick. I didn't mean to actually have us spend this long on the subject."

Eventually, the topic dissipated, and no one cared any longer. It took a lot for them to all talk about what they had, but it clearly didn't make a difference. Annie just focused on shelving until Robin came near her.

There wasn't anyone else close enough to hear both of them, so Annie approached Robin, "Hey, um... I've got a question."

"What's up?"

"You don't have to answer, but... was Sam a girl ?" Annie asked.

Robin's eyes widened and her mouth opened.

"Wait, don't worry, I was just... I was wondering because it sounded like that. I mean, only because I kinda play for both teams, you know?"

Robin blinked, "Hold up, but you're dating Steve Harrington."

"Yeah, and? Still doesn't change the fact that in those two years I didn't mention that I was dating Penny who lived a few doors down from me."

"Holy shit, and you're not gonna tell anyone?"

Annie shook her head, "Wouldn't dream of it."

The both of them continued to shelve in silence. Though, Annie felt like there was more of a friendship between both of them. She hadn't told Steve about any of that yet. Not because she was scared of him reacting, but because she really didn't want him to just claim that he didn't believe her. That thought didn't stick around.

A couple hours later, and everyone was allowed to go back home. It almost felt like none of them had talked about anything. Maybe that was for the best.

Taglist: @dungeons-and-demodogs @nxncywheeler @ilovebucketbarnes

#steve harrington #steve harrington x original character #steve harrington x oc #stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things 3 #stranger things 2 #stranger things x original character #stranger things x oc #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #dfean?

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sweets-fanfics · 4 years

Text

Homecoming (4/?)

Title: I was bein’ nosey

Wordcount: 2754

warnings: Fluff

AN: This will be the last chapter for the week, I work until Tuseday so I’ll write the next chapter on Wedensday. But please enjoy this one.

Tags: @rollyjogerjones

Dutch’s surprise when he saw all four of you ride into camp gave you a bit of enjoyment. He seemed too happy until he saw you covered in soot and Javier explained what happened. Dutch had sighed and apologized. What ended up happening when it came to sleeping was both you and Henry slept in Arthur’s tent while he slept outside. Dutch had originally tried to give up his tent but Molly wouldn’t have it.

“Why do I have to give up my bed for them? I didn’t burn their house down.” She had said. That was about a month ago. You now had your own tent near your fathers and Arthur’s. Henry’s tent was behind yours.

You got up and stretched your arms above your head. It felt good to move your arm again. You knew Susan would probably start giving you chores today as well. You pulled your dark brown boots on and tried to look at your outfit. You had on a white button-up shirt with small colorful designs stitched into the shoulders, tucked into black riding pants. You had started wearing pants more since you had been trying to help out more with the camp when you could.

You stepped out of your tent and stretched again. The smell of coffee pulled you to the fire where you poured yourself a cup. You had never been a fan of coffee until moving here. You happily sighed after your first sip.

“Goodmorning princess,” Arthur said as he poured himself a cup. He had on his blue shirt you loved.

“Good morning Arthur. Shocking to see ya awake this early.” You smiled into your cup as you took another sip. You and Arthur had been… flirting… kinda. It was hard to do when your father and brother were everywhere you were. It was small moments alone like this when he seemed a bit more confident in his approach towards you. You definitely were falling for this blue-eyed cowboy.

“Well, that ain’t fair… I woke up this early last week.” You giggled a bit, “You look much better, Y/N.” He smiled at you and seemed to gaze into your eyes just a bit longer then if someone had been around.

“Feeling much better, I don’t think I will be trying to get stabbed anytime soon.” You finished your coffee and walked behind the wagon to put your cup in the water. He followed you so that you were both hidden behind the wagon. He seemed to drink his coffee faster just to have an excuse to follow.

“Y/N I was wondering if you are somehow able to get away from Henry or Dutch if you would go with me on a little huntin’ trip. You have been seeming eager to get outta camp.”

A smile widened on your face as you looked up at him. “That sounds good. Would we go hunt a bear?”

He laughed and patted your shoulder, “Let’s start with rabbits and work our way up.” He left his hand on your shoulder for a moment. Your cheeks started to blush as he let his fingers softly glide down your arm.

“Are we… are we ever going to talk about this? Or are we going to keep sneaking around like criminals?” You ask knowing full well your face is bright red.

“I don’t know Y/N, you know how your dad would feel…” Arthur started to say.

“What if Dutch wasn’t an issue?” You looked into his blue eyes. You could see how he fought himself. Finally smiled at you softly.

“Well, I don’t believe we’d be hiding behind a wagon just to talk.”

You smiled hopeful and began to speak when you heard someone walking up. You pushed Arthur so he wouldn’t be so close to you. Susan walked around the corner and dropped her cup into the wash bin eyeing you both.

“Ms. Van Der Linde, how’s your arm?”

“It’s good Susan. I’m ready to work if you have any chores for me.” You smiled.

“First person I’ve ever heard who offered to do some damn work around here.” She took your hand and lead you away from Arthur. She sat you at the campfire and placed some clothes, needle, and string in your hands. “Do you know how to sow?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good. Just sow up this stuff and then rest for the rest of the day. Dutch will kill me if I overwork ya.” She patted your cheek before walking off yelling at the girls to get up.

You started getting to work, greeting people as they woke up and walked by. Henry finally walked out of his tent with bed-head and sat next to you. “Sister, why are you working already?”

“It’s nine in the morning, brother. But I did wake up around seven.” He leaned against you as you continued working. You looked at him as he sighed. “What is it?”

“Dutch asked me to go out with him today.” You put your work down and smiled.

“That’s great! You should try to like him he is our father.” He rolled his eyes. “Henry, I’m serious. I would greatly appreciate if ya got to know our father. He reminds me of you in some ways. I think you two would get along.”

He groaned and got up. “Fine. But I’m only trying cause you are beggin’ me.”

You shrugged and went back to working as Henry walked off. Shortly after two strong hands landed on your shoulders. You looked up as your father kissed your head.

“How are you this morning, Y/N?” He asked.

“I’m ok, getting work done. Pa, can I ask you somethin’?” You knew not calling him Dutch would already give you a higher chance of accepting whatever you ask.

“Of course my dear. What is it?” He moved so he was next to you.

“I want to get better at huntin’ and I was wonderin’ if I could ask Mr. Morgan to show me since he brings in the most meat we use.” You peaked up from your work to try and read his face. He seemed annoyed. Very annoyed.

“Has Mr. Morgan heard this idea?” He asked in an irritated manner.

“No. I just wanted to check with you first. Why are you getting so angry soundin’? Is it me wanting to use a weapon thing? Or is it the Arthur thing?” You asked. You had become better at flat out asking about your Father’s mood since it changes so often.

“To be honest my dear, it’s a bit of both. You are barely able to use the arm again. And on top of that, I’m not blind. I see how you two look at each other.”

Your work suddenly became a lot more interesting as he said the last part.

“I just… I’m not sure how I feel about you two together.” He said softly so only you’d hear.

“Pa, it’s just hunting, and second even if Mr. Morgan and I ended up having feelings for each other, we are both two grown adults.” You said matching his volume. “And he wouldn’t even be my first relationship.” You admitted out loud on accident. You slammed your mouth shut.

“Ah. So you are already thinking about a… relationship with Arthur.” You heard someone choke on something and start coughing. You both looked over your shoulders as you saw Arthur near his tent hitting his chest. He had definitely heard that.

“No no. I just mean…” You lower your voice more. “I.. I do like him, Pa. But I’ll keep it to myself if you want me too. I don’t want you kicking me out.” You try to joke. You hope he doesn’t ask about the first relationship you mentioned.

“I would never kick you out, my darling daughter. Just don’t do something stupid. I won’t stop you, but you have heard my feelings on the matter. I will consider about a hunting trip.”

You perked up, “So yes?”

“Consider.” He repeated walking towards his tent.

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

The next day when you had woken up when you usually do you saw Arthur’s tent was empty. You sighed sadly knowing you wouldn’t be able to talk to him as you usually do. You walked up to Suzie giving her an apple you grabbed.

She hesitated a bit, “Come on, I know it’s not your favorite.” She seemed to whine a bit before finally taking it. “Good girl.” You rubbed her velvety nose.

You looked up as Charles was waking in from his guard shift. “You sure seem to be an early riser.” He comments.

“Who’s replacing you?” You ask.

“Supposed to be Bill, but he was drinking pretty heavily last night.” Javier had brought back an Irish guy named Sean last night. He had been apparently caught by bounty hunters and Javier, Arthur and Charles got him out. You were able to see Uncle Trelawny again as well for a brief moment. In fact, most of the camp was still passed out.

“I didn’t drink last night. I could stand watch for a bit while you try to get Bill up. I know it’ll take some time.” Charles looked at me a bit suspiciously. “I promise I won’t get into any trouble. I just want to be doing more then I am.”

“Fine, but if you get in trouble, you forced me.” He handed you the pump-action rifle.

“Thank you!” You smiled and practically skipped to the place where you’d stand.

You stood there for a few hours before seeing why no one wanted to do this ever. Bill never showed up so you figured you’d just wait for whoever would come in the afternoon. You heard a horse riding up, “Who’s there?” You ask.

“Y/N?” You heard Arthur ask. “Who let you be on watch?”

“I was bored so I forced Charles to let me.” He got off his horse and sat next to where you were sitting leaning against a tree. “But now, I’m realllly bored.”

Arthur chuckled. “Yeah, this chore is not fun.” He looked around for a second before quickly leaning in and kissing your cheek.

You seemed to freeze entirely, you had not been expecting that. You were frozen for so long Arthur started tog et worried. “I… I’m sorry if I crossed a lin-”

You yanked his collar down and kissed him hard on the lips. His hand didn’t hesitate as they gently cupped your face. It was a warm and welcoming kiss. His smell was intoxicating. He smelt like leather and cigarettes and pine. You usually weren’t a fan of smoking but at that moment the only time you’d accept that smell is if it was Arthur. You both pulled back for a breath. You looked at his eyes as they stared back in shock.

“I’m sorry.” You said quickly.

“No, don’t. I…” His face was turning red. “I really enjoyed it. Best we keep what just happened between us for a bit.”

“Agreed.”

“I also agree,” John said as he walks up and takes the gun from you as you jump. “My turn.”

“Please don’t tell my dad…” You begged. Arthur was quickly getting back on his horse.

“I won’t, but ya guys gotta figure out what you two are. I should let you know that there is a bet between some of the people in camp and if I lose twenty dollars because you two decide to not be together I may shoot Arthur.”

You smiled as Arthur laughed, “You could try.”

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

As you walked into camp Abigail approached Arthur as he got off his horse. “Hey Arthur, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, Miss Abigail, what is it?”

“I was wonderin’ if you could take Jack to do somethin’ he’s been really down since the move.”

“And I’m your personal nursemaid?” He retorted back.

“I just think it’ll be good for him.” She sighed.

“Actually, I would like to go too if I can. I’ve always wanted to fish.” You smiled at Arthur, kinda hoping he wouldn’t be able to say no to you. He groaned a bit, “Oh… oh ok, fine. I’ll go ask him.” He walked off towards Jack as Abigail stood next to you.

“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.”

You shrugged acting innocent. “I have no idea what you mean Abigail.”

She laughed as she started to walk away. “You two are so cute.”

You joined Arthur as he pulled Jack onto his horse. “You two look ready to go I reckon.” You smiled pulling yourself onto Suzie’s back.

“Are you coming with us aunt Y/N?” Jack asked smiling.

“Only if you’ll have me, Jack.”

“Of course, aunt Y/N. You can help me catch some fish!” He looked up at Arthur, “Uncle Arthur, she’s going to come with us okay?”

Arthur chuckled starting to walk his horse. “I guess she could come, hopefully, she won’t scare the fish.”

“No, she won’t. Uncle Hosea said she’s a princess and princesses aren’t scary.” Jack said missing the joke.

“He even calls me that when I’m not around?” You sigh. “I may have to have a talk with Hosea tonight.”

The three of you stopped by the edge of the lake. “This is a nice spot, Mr. Morgan. I can’t feel my family’s eyes on me and it feels wonderful.”

He chuckled as he put bait on all of our poles. “This is your first time outta camp in a while huh?” You nodded holding on to your pole. “Alright, so you’ll swing your arm back and when you throw it back over you'll let the line release.”

“And what then the fish just grabs it?” You ask slowly.

“Eventually, but then you gotta wait.”

“How long?” Jack asked.

“Depends on the fish.” You and Jack didn’t seem to like that idea. “Oh come on, it’ll be fun.”

“If you say so uncle Arthur.” Jack sighed.

The three of you stood at the riverbank. “Maybe I should have brought a book or somethin’” Arthur looked at you raising his eyebrows.

“Y/N it’s been twenty minutes.”

“Yes, and the only thing that’s happened is you catching a fish you threw back and Jack is now making flower necklaces for me and his Momma.” You pulled your line in and started breaking down your pole.

“Unlike you to give up,” Arthur started.

“Not giving up, just making a smart move to benefit my win later.” You shrugged and gave him a small wink before going to sit by Jack.

“I made you a crown instead, aunt Y/N since you’re a princess.” Jack stood up and placed it on my head.

“Thank you so much jack!”

“How sweet.” A new voice said sarcastically. You looked over your shoulder as Arthur stood between you and the stranger.

“My name is agent Milton, this is my associate agent Ross.” Milton gestured to an angry-looking mustached man. “We know who you are Arthur Morgan, five thousand for your head alone.”

“Can I turn myself in?” Arthur asked.

“And who’s the… the boy called her a... princess?” He gestured towards you as you held Jack behind your back.

“No one that concerns you, just passin’ through.” You mumbled.

“Uh-huh… If you are just passing, then you and your ‘son’ need to leave.” You glanced at Jack before taking Jack to your horse, “Mr. Morgan, we are looking for Van Der Linde.”

“Haven’t seen him in months,” Arthur replied. You put Jack on Suzie before fiddling with her bags pretending to be looking for something.

“Now you know I don’t believe that. If you bring him to me I’ll make sure you don’t hang.” Milton started getting a little heated, and so did Arthur.

A strong wind started blowing making it hard for you to hear them. “Aunt Y/N, the wind is going to blow momma’s necklace away.” You took it and slid it into your bag.

“It’ll be safe now.” You smiled at him.

Arthur’s hand on your shoulder suddenly made you jump a bit.

“Why didn’t you two ride away?” He asked a bit angry.

“I… I was bein’ nosey, but then the wind got too loud for me to hear.” You looked down. “Sorry Arthur.”

He lifted your chin up with his fingers softly, “Don’t be sorry, I just got worried when I saw you two still here.” He helped you onto your horse and then went to his. “We should head back, I gotta talk to your father.”

#rdr2 #rdr2 fandom #rdr2 fanfic #rdr #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan x female reader #jack marston #john marston #abigail roberts #dutch van der linde #charles smith #writing #write #fanfic

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iwantthedean · 5 years

Text

A New Fall

Graphic courtesy of @atc74.

Part Six: Cripps Pink. Brisk, autumn nights.

Summary: The Fall Festival continues. Pairing: Jensen x Reader Word Count: 2409 Warnings: Set post-Season 15, which I know makes a lot of people sad to think about. Square Filled: This entire series will fill my proposal square for BTZ Bingo.

A/N: Thank you for the continued support! I am loving writing this series :) Enjoy this fluffy chapter! Thank you to @jerkbitchidjitassbutt who let me use her requested drabble prompt for this (bolded), and @atc74 who helped me pick a song for the moment ... don’t want to give to much away, but you’ll know it when it comes.

Masterlist

Friday afternoon went about the same as Thursday, except now Jensen was more comfortable with the register. The two of you sat behind the counter, making small talk and joking like you were old pals. It was a comfortable familiarity that made you like him even more.

Ms. Kitty would trade out with the two of you sometimes, give you the chance to mingle with other patrons of the festival. Some of them were local, some had traveled from places like Boston and Providence.

Towards the early evening, Stephen came in to close The Farmer’s Stand for the day. Normally the market would have stayed open later, but on the festival weekend, it gave everyone the chance to enjoy the festivities. Tonight was the chili cook-off. With Ms. Kitty’s blessing, you and Jensen walked from The Farmer’s Stand over to the main square, where tables were all set up. Each cook stood behind their table, offering bowls of chili scooped from deep pots or huge crockpots.

“So, I normally walk around and check out all of them, then decide which one I want to eat,” you informed Jensen. “Not a big fan of the spicy stuff, so I stay away from those. How about you?”

Jensen puffed out his chest. “Oh, bring on the spice! The spicier the better!”

“Oh, really, Mister?” You challenged him with your brow raised. “Okay. Come on then, let’s go see the Randalls table. You’ll smell their chili from a few feet away.”

The closer the two of you got to the Randalls’ table, the more nervous Jensen looked. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself. He had tried to act all macho, and now you were calling his bluff. You couldn’t wait to see how this turned out.

“Hey, Genita,” you greeted the wife. “This is Jensen, he’s new in town. He says he likes spicy.”

“Well, you came to the right place then, darlin’.” Genita reached for a plastic spoon and a Dixie cup to scoop out a sample for Jensen.

He looked like he was going to be sick before the spoon and cup were even in his hand. You hurried to pull up the video feature on your phone. Jensen took a generous bite of the sample, and seemed okay -- for about a second and a half. He threw the cup and spoon into the nearby bin, cough and sputtered as he swallowed down the chili, then accepted the beer from Ray, Genita’s husband. He chugged down half the bottle before he took another breath.

“How ya feelin’, tiger?” you teased, still pointing the camera at him.

Jensen’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, you are not videoing this!”

“Oh yes I am!” you laughed.

Your laughter grew deeper and the phone fell away when Jensen attacked you with his free arm wrapped around you and tickling your side. You shrieked and squealed, begging him to stop. Finally, you managed to grab the beer can from him and finish off a good portion of the rest of it.

“Hey!” he said, taking it back and finishing it off. “Can’t believe you.”

“Can’t you?” you smiled, finding your phone and tucking it into your back pocket.

The two of you grinned up at each other as you walked with him over to the table of the family that usually made your favorite chili.

* * * * *

Jensen couldn’t get to The Farmer’s Stand fast enough Saturday morning. He hadn’t wanted to leave Y/N’s side the night before when they parted from the square, but the hotel was in the opposite direction of the The Farmer’s Stand where she had left her car. Today, they would spend the morning at the market, then go back to the farm until the carnival that evening. He was looking forward to seeing visitors react to the activities on the farm for the first time -- and seeing Y/N interact with all of them.

“Y/N called this morning, she’s running late -- they needed a little more help setting the final details. Although, by ‘they needed help’, I assume she means she really wanted things perfect for her last Fall Festival there.” Ms. Kitty’s face smiled, but her tone held a note of sadness. “Jensen, dear, I need more price stickers, and there’s some on the desk in the office. Do you mind grabbing them for me?”

“Sure, can do.”

He went into the office and stood behind the desk. The price stickers probably should have been right in view, but he was having trouble spotting them. A manila folder with Y/N’s family name on it caught his eye; he picked it up and glanced through the papers in it.

Months of inventory were recorded on print-outs, and in two columns. It looked like the same month in both columns, but the numbers were different in one column. Jensen frowned; before he could look further into it, Kitty stuck her head in the back.

“Find ‘em?”

Jensen put the folder down and gave the desk another once-over. The price stickers were right there; he wasn’t sure how he had missed them in the first place. He held them up for Kitty and went back out to join her in waiting for Y/N.

* * * * *

You watched from the porch as the last family left, smiling with their bag of apples, and the kids hefting their carefully selected pumpkins into the car. The farm had been bustling all afternoon; you realized how much you were really going to miss this. Sure, there was nothing that said you couldn’t visit the farm once you picked an offer and sold it. It just wouldn’t be the same.

Jensen jogged up the steps to stand next to you. “Been a good afternoon. It’s amazing, watching all these people, come and go.”

You nodded. You had enjoyed spending all of this time with him, but in that moment, already missing what wasn’t even gone yet, you wanted him as far away as possible.

“Going to the carnival tonight?” he asked.

You shrugged. “Probably.”

From your peripheral vision, you could see that he was chewing nervously on his bottom lip. “Do you wanna ride to the market with me, then we can walk over to the square?”

With a deep breath, you turned to face him. You opened your mouth to tell him exactly what was on your mind, but you chickened out, in the end.

“I think I’m gonna take a nap. I’ll see you there, maybe.”

You gave him a tight smile, then went into the house to indeed take that nap and, hopefully, sleep away all of your negative feelings.

* * * * *

When you woke up, you showered off the sweat from the hard couple of hours of sleep. You put yourself together, all the while debating whether you even wanted to go to the carnival or not. People were expecting to see you though, and you couldn’t stand the thought of letting down anyone else.

You wore an off-the-shoulder, comfy sweater, your favorite pair of jeans with the hole in the knee, and a pair of brown lace up boots. You went with your usual curled hair and pretty makeup, then left the house. You parked your car at the market, then walked the way to the square on your own.

A lot of the carnival-goers had been at the farm that day, and they greeted you with a wave. Most of the locals greeted you by name; your heart broke a little more. Would you always be the girl who almost was if you stayed in Attleboro? Maybe sticking around wasn’t such a great idea.

You let go of the thought for now and approached the funnel cake truck. After receiving your snack, you found an open table and took a seat. While you tore pieces away from the sweet, fried food, you watched people walk back and forth. These were your people; your world. Leaving it seemed unimaginable, up until now.

“Hey. I picked this up. Not specifically for you, you know, but if you want it, you can have it.”

You turned toward Jensen where he had slid onto the bench next to you. With a deep breath and a quick decision, you decided not to be harsh. You allowed yourself a half-smile as you took the small bouquet of black-eyed susans from him.

“They’re pretty.”

His smile reflected his relief. “I’m sorry if I’ve been pushing too hard, Y/N. I love being in this town, and learning about the farm and everything you do around here. I’m excited but I know you probably aren’t. So, I’m sorry.”

You shook your head. “You don’t need to apologize, Jensen. I know it’s not personal. It’s just -- that farm is my whole life. Every memory I have, where I lived with my grandparents and my dad up until they passed away and my dad moved to the Midwest. I know it’s time to let go, I’m having a hard time with it is all.”

“Don’t apologize, either.”

“Okay.” You got up to drop your empty plate into a trash bin. You returned with only the flowers in your hand. “What now, Mr. Ackles?”

Jensen offered his elbow. “Dance with me, Y/N.”

More than a little nervous, but remembering that you couldn’t hold him responsible for your personal problems, you tucked your hand into the crook of his arm and let him lead you to the dance floor in the middle of the square. A few couples were already out there dancing, and the two of you fell in line with the rest of them.

Despite your hesitancy, you felt nothing but butterflies when he put one arm around your waist and clasped your free hand with his. You set one arm over his shoulder, still holding tight to those flowers.

When holding your breath is safer than breathing

When letting go is braver than keeping

When innocent words turn to lies

And you can't hide by closing your eyes

The slow song started not long after the two of you started to move over the makeshift dance floor. You were so torn over the moment, and you needed to feel safe. Whether it was coincidence, or Jensen could sense your need for a life raft, he held you closer as you hugged tighter to him.

When pain is all that they offer

Like a kiss from the lips of monster

You know the famine so well, but never met the feast

And home is the belly of the beast

The ocean is wild and over your head

And the boat beneath you is sinking

Don't need room for your bags

Hope is all that you have

So say the Lord's prayer twice, hold your babies tight

Surely someone will reach out a hand

And show you a safe place to land

What the hell was it with moments like this? You needed a safe place to land, and here was this song playing while this man -- this man you hardly knew but wanted to know -- held you close and made you feel just as safe as you needed to feel. More than, even.

The longer the song went on, the tighter you held to Jensen. You still had a suspicion that he was only getting close to you because of the farm, but right now, in this moment, you weren’t going to think about that. You were only going to think about this man that you were attracted to -- hell, that you maybe were starting to care about -- and how much he seemed to wanted you back. When the song was over, Jensen made to move away from you, but you still held tight.

“Wait … don’t pull away. Not yet.”

Without question or hesitation, Jensen stayed right there with you, until you were ready to leave.

* * * * *

Jensen rode back to the farm with Y/N. They hadn’t even spoke about it, he just got in the car, and she seemed to agree that he should accompany her.

She seemed to be nervous as she let them into the house. Immediately going into the kitchen, Y/N took a glass vase from the cupboard and filled with water, then dropped the bouquet of flowers in. She set the vase in the middle of the table, then turned to him.

“Are you thirsty?”

Jensen shook his head. “No. I’m okay. Thanks, though.”

“How about I put on a pot of coffee and we can sit out back and talk? I was gonna sit out there by myself anyway, but the company would be nice.”

He agreed immediately. While the coffee brewed, she went upstairs to change. When she came back down, her hair was in a ponytail, she had exchanged her jeans for leggings, and her feet were bare.

By now, he knew where the coffee cups were. He poured a mug for each of them, and met her at the back slider. Y/N had an armful of blankets, and he could already see extra pillows on the two lounges on the patio.

For the next couple of hours, she told him more or less every memory she’d ever made on that farm. About her grandparents, about her father, about living in the house alone.

“Thank you for telling me all of this,” he said when she finally wrapped up her stories. “I hope I can do this place justice, if you decide to take my offer.”

Y/N drew in a breath and hugged the blanket tighter around herself. “I suppose I should make a decision soon. I just wish I knew who the other offer was coming from. I don’t know if they’d be as nice as you and let me stay through the holidays.”

Jensen pursed his lips. “You know, Y/N, my spending time with you -- yeah, it’s about the farm. I want to know how things are done. I don’t want to ruin any traditions or change things from the way you’ve done them. But I’m not hanging around so you’ll take my offer. When I came here to see the farm, I didn’t plan on you.”

Her smile was unmistakable. “I didn’t really plan on you, either. I guess that goes without saying. I’m not doing any of this so that you’ll keep me around or decide to pull your offer.”

“I know that.”

“Good. Glad we got all of that on the table.”

“Me too.” Jensen stood from the lounge and stretched. “It’s late. I should let you get to bed.”

Y/N stood too, the blanket still wrapped around her. She stood in front of him. “You could take my car back to the hotel, if you want. Or -- or you could stay. I’m not really in a mood to be alone.”

Jensen took a deep breath. His eyes searched hers before he slipped one arm around her waist and let the other arm wrap around her shoulders. She tipped her head up to meet him halfway; when he pressed his lips to hers, Jensen felt, for the first time in a long time, that he was home.

* * * * * * * * * *

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Jack Attack: @tiffanycaruso @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk

Two for the Money: @jayankles @akshi8278 @jensensjaredsandmishaslover @supernatural-jackles @adoptdontshoppets

A New Fall: @marilynnlew @backseat-of-deans-67chevy @traceyaudette @ellen-reincarnated1967 @maddiepants @littlewhiterose @tftumblin @monkeymcpoopoo @pinknerdpanda @thatgirl1456 @deangirl7695 @woodworthti666 @writtingrose @flamencodiva @dean-winchesters-bacon @cap-just-said-language @xstephxo

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trashyswitch · 4 years

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A Little Magic to Help the Days Go By

Day 1: Butterflies!

The Coronavirus is forcing people to stay inside, and not everyone is pleased about this. So, Roman tries to make the slow days easier with a little bit of magic...

T.S’s Notes: I know a lot of people are trying to get away from the whole 'CO-VID19 Paranoia' thing, but I want to turn it into something positive with this fic. I think we all need a bit of magic in our lives, especially right now.

Everybody in the U.S.A is being forced to stay indoors. Medium/large gatherings are prohibited until further notice. No one should leave their house unless absolutely necessary. Those who leave the house are instructed to wash their hands really good and to resume previous instructions. The cleaning product sections are all empty in the local grocery stores, and so is some of the produce. People are rationing and finding things to do in their own home. Those who struggle with staying still and being in the house, are being forced to either deal with that issue in the safety of their homes, or risk their chances of catching the deadly virus. Anyone who is immunocompromised, are especially warned to stay in their home, and to wear gloves/use sleeves when they go places. Overall: The world has become a paranoid mess in less than a week, and Thomas doesn't know how to process it.

Introverts, like Virgil, are taking this news in a bittersweet manner. Introverts are always looking for excuses to refuse socializing. Now, they have one. Virgil is perfectly content with being in his room with his spider, listening to heavy metal. But, he's also anxious as can be. He has to keep reminding Thomas to stay inside, refusing to let him go anywhere without some anxiety and paranoia going through his brain. The last thing Virgil wants is for Thomas to get diagnosed with the virus and be close to death.

Logan is a little like Virgil, but with more sweet than bitter. Logan is the definition of unsocial, which means the virus pandemic is doing him some favors. Logan has been taking time to research whatever questions come to his mind, and has caught up on some documentaries he's wanted to watch for months. He's been busy learning all he can in the comfort of his room.

Roman's reaction is more optimistic. He's happy to be running around in the imagination he created for himself. He's had quests, dragon fights, and even invited Remus to have a sword fight with him! And surprisingly, it was really fun!

But Patton...Patton was not enjoying it. He missed Thomas's friends. He wished they could come over like they used to all the time. But...it wasn't allowed. Nothing fun was allowed. Though Disney movies and popcorn were allowed, that was really it. No friends over, no travelling too far away, no nothing. It was unfair. Patton had spent a couple of the days just pouting and crying on his own. It hurt, but it also felt nice to cry.

Meanwhile, it was growing painful for the other sides to see Patton like this. It just...wasn't right. They knew crying was okay, but for this long? That's never happened before. So, Roman made it his personal goal to make him a little happier everyday.

Starting today.

Roman hid behind the opened door, as he peeked in and saw a crying Patton, laying on the bed under the covers. Roman could sense himself ready to cry alongside him. He's been like this for almost a week. It's felt like forever since Patton's baked something in the kitchen. Perhaps some magic will cheer him up? Roman knew just the thing...

Patton laid in his blue bed in the darkness. He didn't feel like doing anything, except staying here to be comfortable. He knew it wasn't realistic. He knew he'd have to get up at some point to eat and go to the washroom. But for now, Patton closed his eyes as he laid down in his warm, comforting bed.

...He was so bored and saddened, that he didn't even notice his floor was changing color. His grey carpet had slowly turning brown, and grass was starting to sprout out of the ground. It was only when Patton smelled a flowery scent, that he finally opened his eyes. Patton gasped as big, enthusiastic smile grew onto his face! It was the biggest smile he had ever mustered up in over a week! Patton couldn't believe it! His room was covered in colorful flowers! They were all gorgeous, and pretty-smelling!

Flowers of all sizes, colors, types, and shapes were growing in his room! Butterfly Bushes, Cone Flowers, Phlox's, Lantana's, Marigolds, Black-eyed Susans, Blazing Heart Flowers, even Lavenders were growing there! It was the lavender scent that Patton actually opened up his eyes to. Patton slowly sat up in his bed, and looked at the flowers beside him. There were Chocolate Cosmos' and Lavenders growing beside him! Patton happily squealed before smelling them. They smelled so pretty!

How this was happening, Patton had no idea! But, that didn't matter! Patton knew what these flowers had in common: They attracted butterflies! So, where were the butterflies? Patton looked at each one, looking for any signs of butterflies.

Suddenly, Patton could hear the sound of twinkling magic! Patton turned around towards the source of the sound: Sure enough, there were sunflowers with monarch butterflies on them! Patton squealed and clapped his hands excitedly. Patton placed his finger slowly, but closely to the sunflower. Amazingly, one of the butterflies climbed onto Patton's finger! Patton was now holding a butterfly on his finger!

Patton giggled. "Hi! I'm Patton!" the father greeted. Another butterfly, a yellow and black one, flew itself over to Patton's shoulder! Patton bit his lip as he tried to stay as still as possible, as to not disturb it.

Soon, another butterfly came flying over from across the room! Patton's face froze as the butterfly landed on his hair! Patton slowly lifted his free hand up to his head, and showed it his index finger. The butterfly hopped itself onto Patton's finger, ready to be lifted up to him. Patton slowly carried the butterfly towards his face, and looked at it: It was a sky blue butterfly, with an outline of black pokadots on the outside of its wings, and an outline of black surrounding the dots. Lastly, there was an outline of white outlining the black! It was so pretty!

Unexpectedly, the monarch that was on his finger, hopped off and onto his shirt. It climbed his shirt up to his collar, before fluttering its wings up to Patton's nose! Patton went cross-eyed, to see the butterfly. The content monarch moved its wings open and closed to show Patton what its wings look like up close! Patton giggled and bit his lip nervously. This has never happened to him before! The butterfly's tiny skittery legs tickled the surface of his nose. It was so cute!

"Hi! Do you like my nose?" Patton asked curiously. It felt so weird to have 4 little butterflies on his body. Soon, the butterflies flew off him and onto some of the flowers surrounding him. Patton was so happy! There were so many butterflies! It was so cool!

Patton gasped as he realized who would love this: Logan!

"Logan! Logan!" Patton cheered excitedly, as he headed for the door. He opened his door, and sprinted out. Patton ran towards Logan's door, and began ramming on the door excitedly. "Logan! Come here! You HAVE to come see this!" Patton pleaded excitedly. Logan opened his door, and just about exploded in happiness. Patton was standing in front of his room, a glimmer of happiness in his eyes, and a huge smile on his face! How- Is Patton feeling better? How did he get out of his sad little funk?!

"What-" Was all Logan could get out of his mouth, before being interrupted.

"What do you know about butterflies?" Patton asked quickly.

Logan stumbled on his words for a second. "B-butterflies, you said?" Logan clarified.

Patton nodded his head eagerly. "Yes! What do you know about them?" Patton repeated.

Logan stumbled with his words as he attempted to create an answer for the suddenly enthusiastic Patton.

"I-I can name them off, based on their wing colors and shape-" Logan explained.

"Great!" Patton shouted, before grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of his room. "Follow me! There's something AMAZING I wanna show you!" Patton shouted as he pulled Logan with him.

"WAIT! PATTON! WHERE ARE WE-"

"TO MY ROOM! IT'S IN MY ROOM!" Patton replied excitedly. Logan quickened his feet to try and catch up with the witty father. As soon as they got to his room door, Patton stopped Logan's body by pushing lightly with his hand. Then, Patton slowly opened the door, and smiled as the flowers and butterflies filled his room still. Patton quietly told Logan to come in. Logan's left eyebrow raised, but he followed him into the room anyway.

Logan's eyes widened, as he observed the world around Patton's room: The whole room was filled to the brim with flowers and butterflies! It was absolutely gorgeous! He's never seen anything like it! Sure, Logan has red books on butterfly greenhouses before, but a butterfly greenhouse in Patton's room?! Who's heard of such a thing?!

"Hi buddy! Look! I brought a friend!" Patton cheered as he looked at the medium-sized monarch. Logan's eyes widened as he adjusted his glasses. This can't be real...This has to be Roman's imagination! Who else could create such beauty in under 10 minutes?! "This is Logan!" Patton introduced, bring the butterfly closer to Logan's eyes.

Logan let a small grin grow onto his face, as he lifted his right finger up to Patton's. Unexpectedly, the butterfly flew onto Logan's finger! Logan's smile grew wider as short gasp entered his lungs. Logan slowly brought his other free hand underneath the finger, to keep the butterfly safe. "Hi." Logan quietly greeted. The butterfly slowly opened and closed its wings, revealing its orange and black wingspan. It was so pretty. Logan couldn't fathom it. All he could do, as stare at it in awe, as it opened its wings again. Soon, the butterfly slowly walked itself up Logan's finger, up his hand, and onto his lower arm. It was so calming seeing such a beautiful creature on his arm.

Suddenly, Patton walked into Logan's view with several, different colored butterflies on his body. There were 8 butterflies: 2 on each arm, one on each index finger, one on his head, and even a tiny white one on his glasses! Patton looked so happy! He giggled as one of the butterflies on his right arm began skittering down his arm. The white, light orange and black butterfly flew off of Patton, and onto Logan's reached-out arm.

"A White Peacock butterfly." Logan thought aloud.

Patton gasped, and looked up to the butterfly on his glasses. "That's a Cassius Blue butterfly." Logan told Patton.

Patton gasped again excitedly. "Really?" Patton asked.

Logan nodded, before pointing at the butterfly on Patton's head. That one, on your head, is an Orange Sulphur butterfly." Logan stated.

"Is it orange?" Patton asked, unable to see the butterfly that was standing on his hair.

"Kind of...it's more of a yellow color." Logan replied. He pointed at the now-single butterfly on Patton's right arm. "That one is a Great Purple Hairstreak." Logan told him. Patton looked at it.

"That streak isn't purple, it's blue!" Patton corrected.

"I know it's blue. The name is what's stating it's purple." Logan explained.

Patton narrowed his his eyes with a smirk. "It sounds like the people who named these butterflies, were colorblind when they named them." Patton commented.

Logan chuckled as he watched the monarch butterfly walk up his arm further. "Perhaps they were." Logan agreed.

As they explored the different butterflies in the room, Patton happily listened as Logan named each type of butterfly off by heart and told him little facts about them.

"Here's something coincidental: all of the butterflies in your room are native to this state." Logan told him.

"Really? They originated in Florida?" Patton asked. Logan nodded in response.

Patton looked at a purple and black butterfly, that was collecting nectar from the lavenders. "This purple butterfly reminds me of Virgil." Patton stated.

Logan knelt down beside him, and observed the butterfly in its natural habitat. "This butterfly is called a Purple Emperor." Logan told him.

Patton giggled. "It's beautiful." Patton said with a smile. Logan watched as a yellow, lime green and black butterfly on a Chocolate Cosmos flower nearby. "That one is a Golden Birdwing. It kinda reminds me of Deceit..." Logan stated. Patton turned his head to the side slightly, as he looked at the butterfly. Slowly, Patton lifted hi finger up, and let the butterfly land on his finger. When the butterfly opened its wings, Patton observed them and smiled.

"You're right: It does remind me of Deceit." Patton stated with a grin. "Just put a tiny hat on him, and you'd get Deceit." Patton added.

Logan giggled at the extra comment.

Patton gasped; He suddenly got an idea! Patton got up and let the Golden Birdwing fly off his finger. Then, Patton looked around for a certain butterfly. When he found it, he slowly got the butterfly to get onto his finger. It took a few extra tries (this butterfly was stubborn), but Patton managed to carry back an outstanding-looking butterfly on his finger!

"Here's Roman!" Patton cheered. Logan's eyes widened at the sheer beauty of the butterfly in Patton's grasp: It was a hot pink color, with a mix of light purples mixed into the inner top of the wingspans. It was perfect for him!

"A Noble Leafwing. Good choice!" Logan told Patton.

Patton placed the butterfly onto the lavenders and looked around for a blue butterfly. It wasn't that hard, unsurprisingly. Soon, Patton had come back with a large black and blue butterfly. "Logan!" Patton called, grabbing his finger, and lowering the butterfly onto Logan's finger. "It's you!" Patton said excitedly.

Logan looked at the butterfly with a big grin. "A blue morpho?" Logan asked.

"Yeah! Logan the Nerdy Morpho." Patton stated proudly. Logan took one more peek at the butterfly, before placing it on his pocket. The butterfly locked its tiny feet onto the pocket flap, and opened its wings.

"Logan the Nerdy Morpho: at your service." Logan stated. Patton giggled happily and gave Logan a toothy smile.

"Yes! It's so cute!" Patton reacted.

To add to the butterfly party, Logan grabbed a monarch butterfly, and placed it on Patton's grey tied sweater. Patton's eyes widened as he looked down at the butterfly. "There. Patton: King of the Monarchs." Logan presented. Patton gasped happily. His reaction was so wholesome! Patton's eyes practically glittered with excitement from the light! He looked like he was gonna die of cuteness overload!

"I'm a kiiiing..." Patton whispered excitedly. Logan chuckled and shook his head with a smile.

"Do you wanna collect some flowers for the kitchen table?" Logan asked. Patton's lips closed to hide his teeth, before nodding his head. Logan conjured up some scissors to cut the flowers and fill their hand.

20 minutes later:

Patton and Logan looked at the flowers they collected.

"Hey Patton. Feeling better?" Virgil asked. Patton looked over to him, and nodded.

"Look what I collected!" Patton said, pointing to the vase of flowers.

Wow...those are pretty! Where did you get them?" Virgil asked.

"From my room." Patton replied, casually. Virgil froze. His room?! How does THAT work?!

A couple seconds later, Roman walked in. Upon seeing Patton out of his room and looking at the flowers (Roman's flowers), Roman ran up to him and gave him a big hug from behind. "You're okay!" Roman reacted.

Patton giggled in response. "Yeah, I am!" Patton replied.

"And you're collecting flowers again!" Roman reacted.

"Yup! The table looked like it needed it." Patton admitted.

"It's really nice!" Roman said.

"Thank you! Logan helped!" Patton told him.

"Really? Good job, Logan." Roman said, grabbing his shoulder and winking as he walked by.

Logan blinked and widened his eyes when he realized something:

It was Roman's doing! That explained everything. And now, Logan's in on his secret as well.

Here's some links for where I got the inspiration:

Virgil's butterfly:

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183946971862

Roman's Butterfly:

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183946010202

Deceit's Butterfly:

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183944038382

Logan's Butterfly:

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183943297077

Patton's Butterfly:

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183942152672

Credit goes to @the-ghost-of-pastels!

#tooth-rotting fluff

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yconic · 5 years

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I don't think you understand how much I love the concept of single dad Tony being protected by his kids, because, quite frankly, they don't think anyone is good enough for him. And the list of possibilities on how he becomes a single parent is infinite, but I personally prefer the one where he adopts on his own, be it because the kids were left on his doorstep or because he picks them up from an orphanage.

That being said, I loved this concept so much I came up with an AU for it! It's kinda like this:

A nonpowered AU where Tony always loved baking because he always used to do it with people that he loved. Maria and Jarvis used to bake all the time when he was a kid and he'd always stay in the kitchen to help them and have some bonding time together since Maria used to be busy working and baking hours were almost the only times she was free.

So you best believe Tony opens a bakery as soon as he graduates! Ever since he was a little kid he'd save up for it and kept it up in adulthood because he wanted to build something with his own money since Howard always used to say he couldn't do anything on his own. So he buys a busted up building, and makes it into his dream.

Everything goes smoothly for a year or so. The business prospers, Tony's got himself an apartment, finally moved out of Rhodey's basement. ("You know I don't mind if you stay for a day or two more.") ("Awww, admit it, you love having me around!") ("I changed my mind, have your bags ready to go by morning you fucking menace.") ("I love you too, Platypus.") He's doing pretty good financially. It all goes great!

Until it doesn't.

One day, two kids walk in. They can't be older than nine, their clothes are obviously hand-me-downs, and they're ogling the pastries like they're some kind of never seen treasure. They're siblings, Tony can tell that much. He doesn't want to be an asshole and assume they're here to do what he thinks .

He can count on one hand the number of times he walked into a store and the manager or the stuff followed his every move with their unkind eyes, subtly (not so) trying to make it seem like they're busy in the area he was at. But it was obvious they expected him to snatch something and dash out of the store. Their behavior made Tony feel helpless, unwelcomed and inferior, like someone like him had no place in a place like that.

He didn't want to act like those assholes, so he welcomed the kids with a smile, deciding to give them the benefit of the doubt.

They snatched some pies and dashed out the door in a blink.

He chases after them of course, not with the intention of dragging them to the police or give slapping them a new one like Howard would've done. Not for something as simple as pies. But he well knows he wouldn't have taken if they stole money, either.

Tony is convinced that if his father was alive, he would've called him weak, soft, a disappointment, for just wanting to pull them aside and ask them why they did it, ask if they needed help, as Tony planned on doing. It was clear they were in a desperate situation, otherwise the thievery wouldn't have been done.

After an hour or so of chasing, where Tony had to stop two times because damn the kid with silver hair was fast, they barge into an old orphanage. It was obvious the building's seen better days, if the paint peeling off the cracked walls and broken windows covered with rotten planks was anything to go by.

He explains the incident to the woman who runs the place as he looks around, bottom of his shoes sticking to the dirty floors and the overwhelming smell of mold invaded his nostrils, making his stomach clench in disgust. The children in there look like they haven't seen a bath and warm meal in weeks, some in their lives.

It's unbearably infuriating how the staff acts like everything is normal, ignoring how the kids were obviously unhappy and in need of care, as they lead him to the room where Pietro and Wanda were.

He learned their names when they were practically spat by the director, and that they were Sokovian refugees, sent to America by parents who didn't want their children to bask in the violence and bloodshed of war. The room the twins lived was small, two bunk beds and a single closet.

The duo was on the floor, scarfing down the pie they grabbed with two other kids, younger than them, Tony noted. The twins noticed he was there, but their eyes were downcasted on the ground, refusing to look at him.

With his mind made up, Tony turns to the director, no trace of hesitation in his voice "I want to adopt them." He wants to yell when she practically hands them over like a pair of unwanted, old jeans, barely even letting the ink dry on the adoption papers.

The first two months are tough on them all. It's hard for them to accommodate to a normal home after spending so much time in a house full of neglect, hostility, and constant state of unsafety. The fact that they got three meals a day bewildered them, that Tony didn't yell, or hit them confused them, and Tony's heart broke every time.

The situation improved as time passed, with gentleness and patience, with love and acceptance of differences and difficult pasts, leaving them behind and looking forward, they build a small but united family. And unknown to them, it will extend with a new member on the night of December 24th.

It's Christmas and Pietro's was on the couch, playing video games with his head on Wanda's lap as she was reading a book, waiting for Tony to come back from work, when the doorbell rang so insistently Wanda smacked him on the back of his head, ordering him to open the door.

"Uh, " Pietro dragged the sound out, eyes glued to the crib on the doormat, where a pair of big, brown eyes stared back at him, just as puzzled as he was "Hey, Wanda?! There's a baby on our doorstep! I'm bringing him inside to adopt him so I can take his allowance!"

"That's nice, Pi," Wanda replied, absentmindedly flipping the page of her novel, "you better share it with me, shithead," but immediately her eyes winded in realization, standing up in a hurry "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"I FOUND A BABY ON OUR DOORSTEP!'' Pietro yelled, emphasizing his point by literally shoving the baby in her face, who immediately began to cry at the loud noise.

"DON'T YELL AT ME! YOU MADE HIM CRY!''

"YOU YELLED AT ME FIRST! "

Right then, Tony entered the apartment holding grocery bags which he desperately fought for against Susan, the annoying neighbor from above, only to be welcomed by a shouting match "What's all this yelling?! I can hear you guys from across the, --" he dropped the bags the minute he saw Pietro holding a baby. A human baby. A breathing, human baby.

"What's, " He started after a moment of silence, pointing at the crying babe in his son's arm "that?"

"Um, 'that' is a he, and his name is Peter! Can we keep him, dad? I want to steal his allowance and birthday presents. And stick his dirty diapers in Wanda's mouth when she's sleeping."

"Do that, and it'll be the last thing you do."

"What's it doing in my house? " Tony asked, taking the fragile baby in his arms, and the cries immediately stopped. The little hands hooked on his shirt tightly, having no intention of letting go. Heart melting, he smiled down at the baby boy, steading him in his arms "you said his name was Peter?"

"Yep! It was written on the note attached to the crib. We found him on our doorstep. We're keeping him, right?"

"Please, dad?" Wanda chimed in "he's so cute! And I might finally have the servant Pietro was supposed to be!"

"Hey, fuck you, alright? But yeah dad, let's keep him! I always wanted a brother! Please? I said please, so you know how much I want this."

"Oh, kids, I don't know, " Tony whispered, eyes warm as he looked at Peter who was playing with his index finger, trying to bite into it with his squishy gums. Looking at the twins, he wasn't surprised to find a set of begging puppy eyes staring at him. There was no changing their minds.

Sighing, he smiled "Hope you guys like smelly diapers and midnight wake up calls." Susan complained about the noise of their cheer and the thud after the kids tackled him in a hug. Tony couldn't bring himself to give a fuck, though.

Two years later, standing in his bakery, laughing with Pietro and Wanda while they told him about their day at school, between bickering with each other, of course, preparing cakes with a happy two year old Peter in his arms, Tony couldn't be happier with his decision.

He had a family. A happy family, nonetheless. After so many years, Tony can say he's nothing like Howard, he can say his kids are content, he can say they're safe and comfortable, and happy with him. Tony made sure to give them everything Howard didn't give him. It couldn't get any better than that.

"Dad, don't look now, but that blonde over there has been checking you out for the past hour or so, " Wanda whispered to him with a smile on her face, gesturing to a blonde man drawing in a corner. Their eyes met for a brief second before he moved his eyes away in a flash, red dusting his cheeks and neck.

The baker snorted, passing Peter to a glaring Pietro, who pinned the man down with a stony gaze before 'hmph' ing. Tony raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him, instead hurrying to serve the apple pie and hot chocolate to the artist (?). Giving the other man a friendly smile, he set the order on the table.

"Apple pie and hot chocolate, right? Interesting combo, If I do say so myself, " Tony commented with a small chuckle. The blue-eyed man finally looked up. Tony could get lost in the sea of his eyes, as cliche as that sounds.

He chuckled, thought it was a tad nervous, and played with the circles that held his sketchbook together, blush still flaming on his porcelain fair skin. "You've never prepared weird orders before?"

"Weird isn't the word I'd use, but I had. One time, a guy told me to shred some cheddar cheese on his chocolate muffin. I still want to puke everything I think about it." Tony laughed at the memory, Pepper's deranged face appearing in his mind.

The other man laughed "Oh, that's not good, " he extended his hand, giving Tony a smile that made him weak in the knees "I'm Steve. Wanna sit down and tell me horror stories about disgusting food orders?"

Turning to his kids to see what they thought about it, he got a thumbs up from Wanda and some clapping from Peter. In the meantime, Pietro shrugged, not taking his piercing eyes off Steve, but he softened, shrugging his shoulders.

His eyes fell back on his Steve, the corners of his mouth lifting as he sat down "I'd love to!"

#stony #single dad tony au #pietro maximoff #quicksilver #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #mcu #marvel #steve rogers #captain america #iron man #tony stark #peter parker #spiderman #superfamily #my writing #au tag #pining #otp

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