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#my check up got cancelled so like... i hope today is nice and chill
pbandjesse · 6 months
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Some of the best news happened at the end of the day today. Because when I came home from work I've had the mice and when I pick them up a second time one of their eyes had opened! The other ones are still closed but one of the mice is at the eye open stage! They're doing so well and I'm so excited.
And really today was a good day. My energy level is kind of been all over the place and I felt very much like I was having a lot of interior thoughts and feelings. Just not feeling the best. Emotionally. But it was a good day.
I slept a lot better last night and I woke up not thrilled to be awake but I felt okay. I got up and I got washed and dressed. Honestly I should have worn tights today I was so cold for most of it. I think I should start wearing a jacket in the morning because it's a good 5 to 10° cooler at camp than it is down here and I was very cold by the time I got there. Before I left though James walked down with me and gave me a big smooch before they left to bike to the museum and I drove to camp.
When I got there I made a couple stops. The first up to the art building to get my paint brush and the other stuff I would need for painting museum doors. I changed into my little coverall. And then I drove over to the watch to get to work.
I was fully expecting this to take longer than it did. I think I worked for maybe 45 minutes total. I had a video going and I set up plastic under the door so I wouldn't get drips anywhere and I think I did a good job. It's kind of a latexy paint so Joe thought it would fill in all the scratchy mark. And if I go in on Tuesday and it doesn't look as good as I hoped I'll do a second coat. But for now I'm pretty happy. And it was nice having this task. Wasn't particularly physically demanding. It had a clear start and end. Clean up was easy. A good thing to check off the list.
Once I finish cleaning up there I drove back up to the art building to return supplies. I stopped at Joe's shed to leave the gallon of paint. And then I went down to the office to start working on some stuff there.
Everyone came in very late today. And left early. Fridays seem to be kind of chill day. Which is fine with me. After yesterday we all kind of needed it.
But because everyone was coming in late I was alone for a lot longer than I expected. I would come down to the office around 9:30 expecting people to be there and they weren't. So I just got to work on my lesson stuff and was poking around online doing research. I would be in there for a while just doing those little tasks that I needed to get done. And eventually Elizabeth and Heather showed up.
They had two tours today that they had to do. But only one of them they knew was an actual guided walkthrough. And they couldn't decide who was going to do what because they were both being polite and just kept saying well whichever one you want. I finally just said I'm going to decide for you when I assigned them which one they were going to do. Which I thought was hilarious. And we talked about the storm.
A hurricane is coming in. And with the way the weather has been this year we're all kind of expecting it to be pretty bad. I'm shocked that the farmers market is not canceled. It is going to close early and a lot of vendors have pulled out. Including me. Because I just am exhausted already and dealing with the wind makes me more exhausted. I hope that it is fine down there but I am a little nervous. And I'm also nervous about camp. So I asked Heather if there was anything I could do to kind of get us prepped for it. Move anything inside or whatever.
So we made a little list. My first task was to go to the pool and put all the lifeguard chairs down and move all the deck chairs under yawning. Elizabeth seemed really worried about me moving the lifeguard chairs by myself because they are very happy. But I was able to kind of use gravity and leaning to use my body weight to get them to lay down on the ground. Moving the chairs took me a while. I could only pick up two or three at a time because some of them are very heavy. And so good in the sun and I was enjoying the video that I was listening to so it was nice to have that task. It honestly was beautiful today. I was a little too cold at times but it was really nice. I think tomorrow since now I'm not going to go to the market I'm going to go through my closet and try it some fall outfits. Love wearing layers and things so very much excited about this.
I took my shoes off a lot today. I was wearing my birks and socks. But I don't like how the office floor sounds when you walk on it so I was taking my shoes off to kind of control how loud it was. And then I just ended up being in my socks at the pool the whole time I was moving the chairs. I love being in bare feet so it was not a problem I just thought it was funny how often I was just walking around in my socks in the office.
After I finish the chairs I took a few minute break and got back to my research. I'm still trying to figure out where to buy wooden hoops for my hoop and stick a game. I will make them if I have to but everywhere I'm finding things are just too thick or they're just embroidery hoops and it just isn't correct. I'm working on it but I don't know why finding wooden hoops is so difficult.
My next big cast was to walk over to woodlands and make sure all the windows were closed. It was a nice little walk even though I hate that one stretch of very thick gravel. It's just so hard to walk on! The rocks are not compact enough and it is tripping hazard. But I'm sure it's helping with erosion.
I also walked around just looking for interesting nature. When I had been over by the lodge this morning to paint the museum doors I had found all these amazing little teeny tiny mushrooms on the stairs. And I just wanted to find more things but it wasn't a great day for it anywhere else. It's not damp enough. So I guess after this week's storms maybe it will be.
Open the art building I would lay out the canvas I got at home Depot yesterday and cut it in half. I drew out a silly banner for the project for the kindergarteners on Tuesday. It just says better together and then it has flowers all over it. Not super inspired but I looked at The group's website and that's kind of their mission statement. Not in those words but it's like the vibe. So I think they'll like it.
I took a break after that. Jess had sent me the document I had started yesterday but she reformatted and made it much better. For our Disney trip. And I did some research that I could ask some questions and she had put some more stuff on there that she liked and wanted and so I got to look into those things. I'm so excited for our trip.
The afternoon was slow in ways. Mostly research sometimes I would pop out so up to the heart building and do something. I spent a little time stretching up there which was really nice. After the tours were over Heather and Elizabeth were back in the office. Alexi was there too. And I would spend a really long time sorting the lost and found items on the porch. I didn't want to see everything get thrown away if I didn't need to be because so much of it I felt like could be donated. And so I spent like 2 hours sorting and then once I pulled out everything that I thought was salvageable I found all the pairs for all the shoes and I rubber band them together. And then I sorted those into type of shoe. We have a bag of sneakers and a bag of boots two bags of sandals and one bag of swim shoes. I even found a few things that I could keep. I got three pairs of Crocs. I'll probably only actually keep one of them. But I brought three home to clean. I got two pairs of swimming shoes that fit me really well actually. And are basically brand new. And just a couple small items. Keychains. One of those over the door hanging organizers. I don't know where I'm going to use it for but nice to have. And it was just really nice having like these tasks today I love a task. And I feel three trash bags. The porch looks so nice. And we're going to hopefully get all that stuff out to some donation center next week. For now at least it won't get ruined in the rain like some of the stuff that had been on the side did. I had to throw away a couple things that will moldy it was disgusting.
Around 3, after Alexi had left for her family beach trip, All of a sudden Elizabeth starts freaking out because one of her teeth fell out. It turned out it was actually a crown but still all of a sudden she's freaking out. And this was after she had freaked out about wedding photos earlier. So I didn't know what was going on and I was like what is happening what is are you okay. And she was very upset obviously. I would also be very upset and I have been very upset when I broken teeth. So it was kind of decided then that we were all just going to go home early. Heather and me stayed a couple more minutes. I finished up the Amazon list from my lesson plans. The whole thing. I'm very proud of myself. And then Heather said that she was going to leave and that I could too.
So I took my bag of lost and found goodies up to the art building. I double checked that the building was locked for the weekend. And then I went home.
The change James's hours, they changed the hours of the museum, so they are going to be getting home closer to 5:00 now. But they apparently had a pretty quick closing so even though I got home before 4:00 I wasn't alone very long.
When I got back here I brought all my stuff inside and I went and checked on the mice. They weren't super warm anymore because the heating pad is only on a 2-hour timer. But once I got the cage one backed up they were good. I fed them. And then had to clean them off because they are all crispy. And left a low bowl of some of the formula mixed with water in there and they drink it because it was gone. But they were all crispy. So I think they were standing in it while they were drinking it. So I clean them off with cotton balls and warm water. Which I've had to do two more times since then. But at least they were warm.
I would chill on the couch until James came home. They looked a little sad when they got back here. They're dealing with a lot of anxiety and stress right now. But they keep saying they don't want to burden me which I don't think is fair. But I understand having those ups and downs. Can be hard. But once they cooled off they said that whenever I was ready we could walk over to check out what was going on with artscape. The original plan was to go tomorrow but now it's been canceled because of the hurricane. So today was our chance.
I wasn't feeling 100% my best. Just kind of a little vaguely uncomfortable. But I really wanted to spend the time with James and we haven't been to artscape since the last one in 2019 so I was excited. I was knitting and wanted to finish that square and James said that we could leave after that.
I want to go check on the mice after I finished the square and I picked them up and one of them had their eyes open! And I like squealed with delight. Because that means we're basically out of the woods all things considered. hopefully the other one opens their eyes soon too. He's much more active now he wants to walk all over my hand and up my arm. He's seeing everything for the first time and that must be so exciting. I will probably start researching when I can start giving them different foods. I assume that this wouldn't be around the time when they would start eating other stuff. But I don't want to hurt them so I want to make sure I give them the right stuff. And Heather said that if I want to start setting up some kind of nature-inspired tank since they are a native creature it would be nice to have in the nature building. So I don't want to put the cart before the horse but if that works out it would be so cool to have a mouse tank in the nature lodge. I watched someone on TikTok who set up a nature inspired tank for her mice and it was mostly tunnels and I just thought it was the coolest thing. So like grasses and tunnels and things that resemble what a field mouse like these would actually be with. I think that would be amazing.
After I wash my hands. Because you really need to wash your hands after you hold the mice. Me and James would walk over to Micah and start walking through artscape.
It wasn't very busy over there yet. It would be more busy on Charles. But I enjoyed looking at everything. But I also wasn't feeling great. My legs were rubbing together in a very unpleasant way. And I was warmer from the walk that I expected. And I was trying to be okay but I was not having a great time on the inside. We didn't buy anything. We did get three business cards from places that I would like to revisit. But I was a little overwhelmed. We stopped at theater projects or James could drop their bike off and use the bathroom. I sat outside and I felt okay for a few minutes while I sat there but once we were in the big groups I was kind of feeling weird. And my legs were hurting real bad. So after we made it to North avenue. After seeing some really cool installations. I asked if we could go home. James didn't have to be back at the theater till 7:00 so even though it wasn't the original plan for them to walk me back to the apartment they did. And we smooched outside and I went in.
When I came upstairs I checked on the mice again. I fed them a little. I went outside and I secured the plants out on the fire escape for the wind. And then I cleaned the fish tank and the frog tank. Just vacuumed the bottom and took out some of the dead leaves. And after I hugged on sweetp for a little bit, I took a shower.
I would also play with my new hot brush that I got in the mail today. It doesn't get as hot as quickly as I was expecting. I was a little spoiled by my last two. But the brush part made my hair look really nice and after kind of having a low emotional day that was really nice. Maybe me feel good.
The shower helped me feel a lot more normal too. And once I was clean and back in a sweatshirt and feeling cozy I would get the oven to turn on right away and made mozzarella sticks and fries for dinner. Which work right. I tried some of the hot honey that we got and even though James cut it 50% with regular honey it is still basically unedible it is so spicy. It doesn't even taste like anything it's just so spicy. We will not make that mistake again. I had to text James cuz it was so funny I was like I can't eat this. Thankfully I did not pour it on anything and had just tried to dip things in it.
And now I'm just chilling in bed. James will be home around 11:00. I've been texting people and watching videos. Sweetp and me were having a cuddle. I think I might go and have a snack. Check on the mice again. I closed the windows because It has gotten very windy. The storm is supposed to start soon. I was hoping James would make it home before it does but it's not the radar is to be I don't know if they're going to come home completely dry. But the bed will be warm and I will just be happy to see them.
Tomorrow since I am not going to market my plan is to knit as much as I can. I only have seven squares left of this project. And then go through my closet like I said and make some fall outfits. And I was just texting my dad and he asked if we could talk on the phone just to catch up. And I think that's going to be really nice.
I hope you all sleep well. Let's hope that both of my mice have their eyes open tomorrow. Sleep well my friends. I love you all
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canaryatlaw · 2 years
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okay, I'm tired and today did not at all go well. I woke up at like noonish because my mom had made her special breakfast that we all love and is generally reserved of Christmas morning, so that was very good of course. after that we hung out for a bit and just chilled, I packed my bags and everything. I didn't end up going with my sister to get our nails done, but oh well. we left for the airport around 5:30, hit some traffic but nothing too bad. I had been getting alerts all day about the flight progressively being pushed back, so I didn't have a great feeling about our odds of making the flight. but I got to the airport and checked in, for some reason they didn't have the option to print your own bag tags, so I had to stand in the world's longest and slowest moving line for that, and while I was in line I got a notification on my phone that the flight had been cancelled, which was of course just fucking great. so I called my mom and told her to pull over instead of heading home, because I might need her to come back for me. the people in front of me in line heard what was going on and gave me a number to call for their customer service they'd been dealing with for a separate issue (many thanks to them) so I called them while still on line. the guy was very nice and definitely trying his best, but apparently there really just weren't any flights open. there was one out of westchester tomorrow morning, but that would be a whole pain trying to get up there which would be an expensive uber ride, so I passed on that, and the other option was the same flight I had tomorrow evening, so I said to just do that, and he got me booked on that flight. welp. I called my mom and asked her to come back and pick me up. I felt bad she had to do so much driving. it took a bit, but she came back for me and we drove home, also hitting some traffic, mainly from road work closing off lanes, but not too bad. but yeah, we arrived and I pretty much just started getting ready for bed since it was late, and now we're here and I'm quite tired, so I'll be going to bed now. Here's hoping tomorrow night's post will be made from Chicago. Goodnight my friends. Hope your Monday doesn't suck.
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G'mornin
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thefanficmonster · 3 years
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A Little Childish
Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)
Warnings: Swearing
Genre: FLUFF
Summary: Corpse and Y/N go to visit Y/N’s parents for New Year’s. Corpse was promised good food, good company and A LOT of snow. Needless to say, the place didn’t disappoint - quite the contrary actually, it exceeded any and all expectations he had.
Requested by @waterflowersposts Hi there! Sorry for how long it took for this fic to be written :( I hope the final result makes up for the long wait! I also thought it would be appropriate to post it during the holiday season, so I hope you don’t mind. Hope you enjoy the read and I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback and any more requests you may have. Stay safe! Happy Holidays! Love, Vy ❤
I watch as Corpse is basically floating from one room into another in our shared apartment as he’s throwing random articles of clothing in his open suitcase. I have already packed my bags, knowing full well what the appropriate attire is for where we’re going.
I look away from my laptop when Corpse comes in for maybe the sixtieth time today, this time carrying a white tee causing me to chuckle. “Corpse, I know it’s very trademark for you, but the only way you’ll be wearing that when we get there is under a sweater for some extra warmth. I’m not looking forward to having my boyfriend freeze in my parent’s house.”
He smiles, looking at the shirt in his hands, and shakes his head, “Fine, guess I’ll do without it for a week or two.” He throws it in our room, not even bothering to check where it’ll land before he comes to sit down next to me on the couch, “Keep in mind, you have set my expectations pretty high up there. If I am not waist deep in snow the second we step off the plane, I’ll be disappointed.”
I give him a side glance, a smirk playing on my lips. Must say, taking on challenges you know you’re gonna win is the ultimate high-and-mighty feeling. “Honey, you’ve got a big snowstorm coming.”
                                                               *  *  *
All throughout our trip - I’m talking the drive to the airport AND the flight over - I have kept my eyes glued to Corpse, observing as his eyes sparkled more and more with each foot we got closer to our destination. He has told me the most snow he has seen was less than an inch and I immediately felt it was my duty to change that by introducing him to the magic of Canada - my home. My parents own a getaway cottage in the mountains of Calgary where we used to go every holiday season. My earliest memory is playing in the thigh-deep snow with my older sister and crying whenever our parents had to drag us back inside. 
The West Coast of the US was a rather odd surrounding for me, having grown up surrounded by snowy mountains, experiencing Christmas with no snow whatsoever was a true let down and underwhelming feeling. Since Corpse and I started dating about a month after Christmas time last year this will be our first time spending the holidays together and Corpse was more than enthusiastic to visit Canada when I mentioned how much I enjoyed my winters there. We couldn’t go for Christmas, but we’ll be there for New Year’s Eve and the first two weeks of 2021 and I am really excited. I have been dying to see my family that has actually expanded since the last time I visited - my sister has had yet another baby, making her and her husband parents of three very energetic toddlers. The six year old twins - Ashley and Alex - and the three year old Andrew. Or, as I like to call them: The 3 As.
I have warned Corpse about them like seven times despite the fact that he’s already familiar with their energy, convincing him that if that’s more than he can handle we’ve still got time to cancel the trip. He didn’t bat an eye though, each time telling me not to worry and focus my attention on reliving the moments I’ve missed so greatly instead of making sure he was having a good time.
“If you’re there...“ he said, “I’ll sure as hell be having a good time.“
One step out of the airport and he’s already mesmerized. His eyes are shiny reflecting the glow of the snow all around. It’s gonna be funny to see his reaction when he witnesses the real deal - the snow in the mountains. This compared to that is a pathetic excuse.
“I know it’s not waist-high, but that’s because they shovel it and melt it.“ He is looking around, not paying much mind to my words. The utter amazement and disbelief on his face just makes me want to wrap my arms around him and kiss him. He’s simply adorable! I see fragments of the child in him swimming up to the surface in the form of temptation - temptation every kid feels when they see snow: Dive in and lose track of time. “Wait till we get to the cottage.“
This manages to catch his attention, “You weren’t kidding.“
I laugh at my precious kiddy boyfriend. “Whoa there, Corpsie. If your mind is already blown, I’m worried about how you’ll react to the real deal.“ 
I have a feeling I know exactly how he’ll react cause I react similarly - I set the child in me free. After all, no parent can tell you to stop playing and go inside when you are a 23-year-old.
                                                             *  *  *
Walking up to the cottage from the cable-car station has to be the first time I’ve breathed with my lungs’ full capacity in the last five years. The sharp cold air screams ‘home’ to me like nothing else ever did. I am still surprised as to how my sister prefers summer. My family jokes I’m a winter wolf in disguise and I think they’re right. I do like to roll around in the snow much like a wolf. No judgement! Having a few extra years added to my age doesn’t change everything.
“Oh. My. Fucking. God.“ If I could take a shot every time Corpse has repeated this phrase I’d be dead due to liver failure. He is absolutely stunned. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t blinked at all. Who am I to talk - I haven’t either. These mountains keep getting prettier and prettier, I swear. Taking my eyes off them would be a crime.
“Told you. I wish we made a bet, I could’ve made some easy money.“ I tease him, gently bumping my elbow against his as we walk up the trail.
“I’m glad I didn’t propose such a thing. That would’ve been fucking stupid of me.“ Judging by the tone of his voice, he is not really present in this conversation, so I decide not to let it go on any longer.
Not that I could’ve done differently, seeing as how barely three seconds latter I see three smiling faces coming at me at max speed.
Oh boy.
“Auntie Y/N!“ Ashley and Alex arrive first of course, wrapping their arms tightly around my waist. Little Andrew stumbles his way to me as quickly as a three year old possibly could.
Without wasting a second, I put my bags down and crouch so I can hug them properly. “Hi my babies! I haven’t seen you in so long.” Their hugging strength surprises me and warms my heart at the same time. The twins pull away, leaving room for the little duckling in a jacket two times his size and weight. “Hi Andrew! I nice to meet you! I’m auntie Y/N. Mommy and daddy have told you about me, haven’t they? If not I’ll kick their asses.”
“Y/N, I swear, I’ll tell Amy you’re teaching her kids swears at a very early age.“ Corpse says teasingly, stealing the attention from all four of us.
“She curses like a sailor, these kids probably know more swear words than I do.“ Ash and Alex run straight out of my grasp and to Corpse, proceeding to hug him around the waist as they did with me. They met Corpse when my sister and her husband Finn visited me back in the summer. They immediately fell in love with him. I specifically remember Alex telling me I have a ‘really cool boyfriend‘ and he only uses the word ‘cool‘ when he really likes something or someone. Corpse was honorably declared cool by Alex and that still warms my heart till this day.
“Hi guys, long time no see!“ He too crouches down to hug the little demons that immediately cling to him like koalas.
I scoop up the bundle of clothes with a face and stand up, balancing him on my hip. “Let’s attempt to get inside, shall we?” With my unoccupied arm I grab the handle of my suitcase.
Corpse nods and follows my lead, picking up the bags he also left in the snow. Ash and Alex bolt it back to the house while we struggle to follow, lowkey embarrassed by the pace we’re walking with.
Andrew struggles against me, reaching out towards Corpse. I look at them both apologetically. “You’ll meet Corpse when we get inside, darling. Chill out.”
“Y/N!“ My sister’s voice steals my attention. She emerges from the house, followed by the twins, a huge smile on her face. Her eyes land on Andrew who has calmed down is now resting his head on my shoulder sleepily, “Oh I’m so sorry about them, Y/N. I didn’t know they would charge at you the second you stepped foot on the property.“
Amy motions for me to give her her son but I hand her my suitcase instead. When she takes it I use my now freed arm to hug her as tightly as I possibly can with one arm and while balancing a baby on my chest. “It’s ok! I couldn’t have dreamed of a better welcoming.” I release, giving her a big smile.
She loses interest in me and goes to hug Corpse, taking a bag from him as well before giving him a hug. “Oh my God, Corpse, it feels like it’s been forever. I’m so glad to see you.”
“Happy to see you too, Amy.“ My sister has never liked a single guy I’ve dated. EVER. Corpse is the only one she warmed up to and that’s a huge deal to me. Corpse’s happiness when I told him that was something I’d pay to have filmed just so I can watch it every time I’m feeling down.
“Let’s get you both inside, you must be freez-“ She cuts herself off, rolling her eyes at me, “Of course, you’re not.“
I laugh and blow her a kiss as we keep carrying onward.
“Um, guys?“ Corpse’s voice makes me pause and turn around. He’s still standing in the same spot, looking- unsettled, I guess you could call it.
“What’s wrong?“ I walk over to him, taking his hand in mine.
His hand automatically gives mine a reassuring squeeze, “Nothing really, it’s just that...I’m meeting your parents for the first time and-...What if they don’t like me?”
I open my mouth to go off and start stating the obvious that they indeed won’t like him. They will LOVE him. It’s impossible not to love this man! But my sister beats me to it when it comes to stating the facts.
“Look, Corpse, they already love you. Heck, sometimes I feel like they have known Finn and you longer than they have known Y/N and I! They speak so highly of you and haven’t even met you - that should tell you more than enough about how they see you.“ She waves her hand towards the cottage, “Now walk in there and blow them away.“
Honestly, I’m glad Amy beat me to it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. 
And just like that, hand in hand, Andrew still in my other arm, we walk in.
                                                             *  *  *
Corpse is officially the main attraction, stealing the spotlight from Amy, Finn and I - something the three of us are incredibly thankful for. Amy was right with every word she said - my parents are absolutely in love with Corpse. Luckily for Finn and Amy, the 3 As are all over him as well. Especially Andrew. The second someone sets him down he just waddles his way over to Corpse who picks him up and settles him in his lap while he answers my parents’ questions. 
When the kids were finally talked into taking a nap, Corpse and I snuck out to have a little walk in the snow and, of course, take some pictures. I made it my personal goal to make as many artsy and aesthetic photos of him as possible. His favorite - a hand only pic of him holding a snowball - was my idea and I think I have never felt prouder of myself.
“I am definitely posting this one.“ He says, turning the phone so I can see the screen. I give it a quick glance, thinking he’s talking about the hand pic but do a double take when I realize it’s a picture of me that he has taken without my knowledge.
I actually look rather decent, so I give him a green light in the form of a big thumbs up, “As long as you post the hand one too.”
“Hey, Y/N!“ We look back at the house which isn’t far from where we are right now. Amy is hugging the jacket tightly around herself as she approaches us with fast steps. “You know where we haven’t been in like forever?“
I raise an eyebrow and shake my head as I rack through my brain trying to dig up what she’s referring to. It could literally be any place on this mountain!
“Hello! The Waterless Lake? Ring any bells?“
Oh...it sure does.
Brief explanation: it is a huge circular dip in the ground which fills with water when the snow melts and becomes a lake but empties by the time winter comes back around. That being said, when the snow is still not melted, it’s an absolute wonderland to play in. I suddenly remember all the barrel-rolling Amy and I did there as kids and feel really nostalgic.
“Oh God, yes! I miss that place!“ I say, snapping out of my reminiscing trance. “Let’s go while it’s still light enough.”
“Finn is making dinner right now, or trying to at least.“ She rolls her eyes, turning to Corpse, “But it’d be our pleasure if you tagged along, Corpse.“
Corpse shakes his head, “I’ll politely decline. You ladies can reminisce and chat in peace, while I’ll be helping Finn in the kitchen.” He gives me a quick peck on the lips before excusing himself, “Have fun!”
“You too!“ We call back to him in unison.
Amy gives me an amazed, wide-eyed look, “He can cook?”
I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly, smirking, “Oh, you have no idea.”
She laughs, linking arms with me as we begin walking our way to the Waterless Lake. The place probably has a different name or no name at all, but we named it that as kids and never told our parents where it was. It’s our spot, and it is very surprising Amy offered Corpse to accompany us there.
“Sis, you are very lucky. I hope you know that.“ She tightens the hold on my arm with hers, pulling us closer together.
“I tell myself that every time I look at him, Aims. I am fully aware.“ I say dreamily, recalling all the times I’ve spent with Corpse. Almost one full year and I could never imagine that year, nor the upcoming ones, without him.
                                                                *  *  *
Upon returning, we’re met with the most wholesome scene I have ever seen - Corpse and Finn are making snowmen with the 3 As. It seems like they’ve been at it for a while, considering there is an army of snowmen of different designs, shapes and sizes all at different spots throughout the perimeter of the clearing in front of the house.
“Oh dear Lord.“ Amy mumbles, “I had a feeling this would happen.“
The five snowman-builders don’t even acknowledge our presence when we approach them. Ashley and Alex are running around with Finn, looking for sticks to use as the snowmen’s limbs while Corpse is helping Andrew gather as much snow as possible for the body.
I don’t realize there’s a huge smile on my face up until the point I’m trying to say something. Nothing comes out, though. My words are being muffled by all the overwhelming emotions that have taken over - collapsing my senses. 
With a roll of her eyes, my sister opens the front door, taking a step into the house. The second the door opens, however, I get a whiff of the delicious smell coming from inside. Best guess, and probably the right one - this is Corpse’s doing. 
If I wasn’t already hungry, I sure as hell am now and I’m in no mood to be in that delicious food’s proximity without attacking it. 
“Come on, guys! Dinner time! Get your butts inside!“ I call out to them from the doorway.
Corpse turns to look at me with the sneakiest smirk I have ever seen. He narrows his eyes at me, “You have done the very thing you despise!”
It takes me approximately three seconds to connect the dots and scrunch up my face, picking up all the snow I can an forming it in a snow ball, throwing it at Corpse. Growing up doing this exact thing has given me great aim, therefore I hit Corpse square in the chest.
“Oh you’re so in for it now.“ He laughs, picking up snow to form his own snowball.
“Snowball fight!“ Ashley yells, ditching the sticks to make a snowball for herself.
“Oh no...“ I poke my head in the hallway just as a snowball hits my upper arm, “Aims, I need your help!“ 
Before Amy can respond, I run to take cover behind the nearest snowman that, luckily for me happens to be one of the larger ones. I hear Amy call out my name when she exits the house, followed by a surprised yelp from her when three snowballs hit her. “You are all dead!”
While she is fighting blood and fire (well, water really), I am making ammunition for us both to use. I’m on my eleventh snowball when snow showers me from above as though it has fallen from a tree branch.
“Hiding, I see.“ I am still in shock, hair and upper body covered in snow, when I hear Corpse’s taunting voice.
My vengeance instinct kicks in having me grab two snowballs and turn to throw them at him. To my dismay, he’s faster then me and doesn’t allow me to even get my arm at an angle where I could throw properly. Instead, he turns me back around and picks me up with ease, one arm wrapped around my waist, another grabbing two of my prepared snowballs from the ground.
“Let’s show them who the bosses are.“ I see him wink at me from the corner of my eye and it takes me little to no time to catch onto what he’s insinuating.
In short, with joined forces, we took out the opposite team in no time - like a true couple 😉
823 notes · View notes
miguelslefteyebrow · 3 years
Text
Bon 4oyage || K.SJ
Episode 1
Pairing: Kim Seokjin X Reader Summary: In which you're Jin's girlfriend of 9 years and tag along in Bon Voyage Season 4. Wordcount: 3.4k
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" Y/N ah, tell me, do you have any plans for the (random date) till the (another random date)? " Your boyfriend of nine years asks you suddenly. 
The two of you are simply chilling in your shared apartment. 
" Not as far as I'm concerned, why? " You ask, sitting down beside him. 
You were cleaning up the apartment before he asked you. 
" Y'know the boys and I will be going on Bon Voyage again, right? " He asks you, lacing your fingers together. 
You hum with a pout. 
" Yeah, it's my annual miss Jin ti-"
" Not this year love. " He cuts you off, a smile on his lips. 
You raise a brow in confusion. 
" Not this year? " 
" Yeah, I've asked the company, once again. And this time, they actually agreed. " He tells you with shining eyes. 
A smile makes it's way onto your face. 
" Really?! "
It was, in a way, hard to believe. The company liked you, but never actually approved of Jin having a relationship. When you became a couple back in 2010, the two of you had to keep it a secret for 4 years for the company, and another 5 years to the public. Until now, you didn't think that they would be okay with you going public.
You couldn't believe it. Finally your waiting for each other got paid off. 
" Yes. However, there are a few downsides. " He tells you, making a bit of a turtle face. 
You subconsciously run your thumb over his hand. 
" Just so you know, I will not come if I have to wear a mask for the whole thing-"
" No, no. -" He laughs. 
" Even worse. We can't have sex. For like a little longer than a whole week. " He tells you. 
You snort at his expression. You can tell it's genuinely bothering him. 
" Is that an issue for me or you? " You ask him. 
He huffs, turning around so he can lay against you instead. You run your unoccupied hand through his hair. Sure it's basically dead, but you know he likes it. 
" Both. I know your sex drive, plus that also means like, no sleeping naked. And I have to share your attention with the other boys. " He pouts. 
You grin, bending over to kiss his head. 
" Don't worry, it'll be fine, fun even. We'll just have a pg family trip. " 
And so you find yourself seated at a restaurant between your boyfriend and Taehyung. They're about to kick off the season, and today you're just going to talk about activities and what not. 
" There's trekking and a lavender farm. " Hoseok comments as he looks at his phone. 
" That sounds fun. " You comment, as the other boys give their own opinions. 
After a bit more of catching up, the staff calls out to all of you. 
" You've all done your research, right? " The staff member asks. 
You all hum in response. 
" Worry about the activities later, pick the accommodations first. " The producer tells all of you. 
Soon enough everyone's talking again, figuring stuff out. 
" We have to sleep in a campervan for three days. " Yoongi suddenly casually pops when you're drinking your tea. 
You almost choke. 
" eight of us in a campervan? How is that going to fit? " 
" eight of us in one campervan won't be comfortable. " Taehyung agrees with you. 
" We'll probably have 2 vans. " Jin tells the two of you. 
" Y'know, there's this thing I've always wanted to try- When you wake up in a campervan and then wash up in the river. " Jungkook smiles. 
You blink at him. 
" You want to wash up in the cold? " You ask him. 
He grins. 
" If I can manage, yes. It'll be fun. " He nods. 
" We didn't do research that thoroughly. " Namjoon tells the crew honestly. 
" Forget on where to stay! We'll figure that out somehow. Let's focus on the activities first. " Jin calls out, basically canceling the producer's idea. 
Soon enough everyone starts coming with ideas. 
Jimin wants to go to Aurora¿ and on a boat. Yoongi just wants to go fishing and Namjoon wants to go on a kart trek. 
" I want to go on the swing too." Jin says. 
" The swing? " Namjoon asks surprised. 
Namjoon had this great idea to go do some kind of bungee jump activity, just with a swing, as if that would magically make it better. 
Jin hums. 
" Yeah, it'll be fun with Y/N. We can both scream our heads off. " He smiles at you. 
You laugh, swallowing your bite. 
" Okay. But that does me we really are going, okay? No backing out last minute. " You tell him, knowing he's a scaredy cat sometimes. 
He laughs. 
" Yah! It's not like you're any better. " He points out. 
You laugh. 
That's true. 
" Okay, okay, I promise. Do you? " You ask him, holding out your pink. 
He smiles, taking your hand instead and kissing the top of it, sending you a wink playfully. 
None of the boys mind either of you by now, knowing the way you two act longer than a while. 
" I promise, m'lady. " 
" We just sealed our death. " You laughed. 
" We did. " He laughs with you. 
" Well, at least we'll die together. " You tell him. 
He smiles at you and winks again. 
" That we do. "
By the  the two of you tune back in, they're talking about trekking. 
" It only takes 2 hours to finish. " Yoongi speaks. 
Apparently they're talking about Mount Cook. 
Soon enough they're all talking, and giving their opinions on it. 
" It's really only a few hours, we should do it. " You catch Yoongi saying. 
Jin hums in agreement, slurping in his noodles. 
You raise your brow at both of them. 
" Bet, you two will regret it. " You tell Yoongi, who smiles at you and shakes his head. 
He makes an over confident face. 
" We'll be fine, we'll have fun, don't worry. " He tells you. 
" Should we stay in the campervan the whole time? " Jungkook suddenly wonders. 
You make a face but don't say anything. 
The editors do catch it, as does Taehyung. He nudges you with a smile. 
" We'll all stink by the third day. " You tell him softly. 
He laughs. 
Sleeping in a campervan with eight people doesn't sound too appealing for the whole week. 
" We can play Halli Galli. " Your boyfriend adds helpfully. 
" And BTS Uno! " Namjoon adds too. 
" Camping for sure. " Someone pops, probably Jungkook. 
" Does anyone know anything about camping? What do we need? " Namjoon asks. 
" Well, we start with a tent. " Hoseok provides helpfully. 
" I've camped a few times with my brother and his friends. Most stuff is usually inside the campervan."  You tell them. 
Jimin adds onto that, explaining most stuff to Namjoon, like a table that's built in. 
" Let me see the campervan? " Jungkook asks. 
" It's huge. " Hoseok responses. 
" If it's that big, will it be easy to drive? " Jin asks. 
" The road will probably be mostly empty. " Namjoon points out. 
" We do need shower facilities. It's not like we can shower outside. " Yoongi points out. 
" We don't need to shower. " Jin says vaguely. 
You give him a disgusted face. 
" Oh yes we do. " You tell him. 
" I want to too. " Jimin says. 
" We have to think of the rest too. " Yoongi tells Jin. 
" I normally shower though. " Jin says. 
" Yeah I know. " Yoongi grins. 
" You better. " You say with a scrunched nose. 
Jimin laughs. 
" Happy wife happy life, hyung. " Jimin tells the eldest. 
Jin turns to you and looks blankly at you for a second. You raise your brows before flipping your hair over your shoulder sassily, returning your attention to your meal. 
" No, I do take showers everyday, and my lady knows, thank you very much. " He grins playfully, one of his hands going under the table to rest on your thigh. 
After a bit more of discussing about Jin's shower habits, the producer cuts in. 
" We do need to choose an accommodation besides the campervan. " He points out. 
You breathe happily as Tae grins at you. 
For a moment it's a bit of chaos, most of the boys pointing out a 9.7 rated accommodation. 
With a bathtub.
As soon as it comes into view, Jin turns to you, and you give him a cheeky smile back, yet shake your head. 
Rules are rules. 
However, a moment later they're looking at a different accommodation, with cramped rooms. 
" it'll be fun. Like old times. " Jungkook smiles. 
A moment later they're back at discussing the campervan. 
" Jungkook and I will drive mostly though. " Hoseok calls out. 
" I don't mind driving. " Hoseok tells the others. 
" I'll get a driver's license on our days off too. " Namjoon pouts. 
" I can drive. " You tell them. 
Almost everyone turns to beam at you. 
" No, no. Not you, you drive like we're in Fast & Furious. " He points out. 
You grin. 
" Then she can be back up driver. " Yoongi gives you fake hope. 
" Back up driver? We already have enough drivers though.-"
" Yeah, we can't have you drive on national tv. " Jin says quickly. 
You laugh but don't bother with it. 
This can only mean you'll be in charge of the audio right? 
Soon after they're making a song about Bon Voyage. 
You can't really follow, but you clap along anyway. 
The scene wraps up with everyone clapping. 
-
A Few Months Later
" Yah! I went shopping with Y/N especially for this! " Jin says as his bandmates bully him. 
You don't pay a lot of attention, instead busy with helping the boys pack the last stuff and checking up on everyone. 
Soon enough a staff asked you aside. 
" Yeah? " You asked her. 
" This is for you, as you're coming with and the boys' are sponsored by Fila. The company thought it'd be nice if you'd at least have a jacket of the same brand too. " She smiles. 
" Oh, that's really nice. Thank you. "  You smile at her. 
She hands you a soft pink wintercoat. It's admittedly not your colour, nor your style, but you take the jacket gratefully, happy that they at least thought of you. 
" I look good in whatever I wear. " You hear Jin say. 
You come up to the mirror beside him, checking out the jacket on yourself. 
" Noona, your jacket looks nice on you too. " Jungkook compliments you. 
You smile at him. 
" Thank you! A staff member gave it to me, it's from the company. " You beam. 
And then they're arguing over Namjoon's accent. 
" We may be in the same group, but during our days off, I only saw Jimin hyung and Hobi hyung. And Y/N Noona. " Jungkook tells the camera, smiling cheekily at him as you give him a look. 
You too went to visit him on his birthday. 
" Yah! I called you so often! " Jin argues. 
Jungkook doesn't bother with Jin's complaint. 
From there the talk is mostly chaotic. First Jin's asking about an extra suitcase (which is really yours), Taehyung is showing of his Ramen noodles, Jimin has finally arrived and you found out that Yoongi's washing up. 
" At least someone showers. " You tease your boyfriend as you nudge him playfully, thinking of the small meeting a few months back. 
" Yah! I shower too! You of all people know that. " He shakes his head, playing along. 
You grin.
Soon enough you engage in small talk with Namjoon, and you can hear Jin somewhere in the back. 
" Compared to when you went to Malta-" The staff member begun. 
" We took a lot more this time, didn't we? " Jin says. 
" My pillow, something to hug when I have to sleep separately from Y/N, a down coat, fleece, pajamas. I also packed some slippers. And some of Y/N's clothes didn't fit it her suitcase, so it's in mine. " Jin laughs. 
" Do we need to bring shampoo and conditioner? " Jin asks a few moments later as everyone's seated together on the couch. 
"  We should bring our own, we might not be able to bring them. " Yoongi points out. 
" I'm taking mine with me, you guys can use it too if you don't mind smelling like fruit. " You shrug. 
" We can also get them at the airport. " Jungkook suggests. 
" Right, Duty-Free. "
 And then they suddenly spring to the topic of food, and before hopping over to talking about who's going to be the accountant. 
You don't bother adding in on that, you've never traveled with a group of eight before, and you aren't really willing to try when it comes down to it. After that, you're all tacking up your suitcases. 
Soon after they're suddenly grabbing some random bags, and Hoseok finds money. 
How they forget money, you don't know. 
You all sing the new Bon Voyage theme song before you finally set off towards the airport. 
" Did you search for 'huge luggage' when you bought your bag? " Yoongi teases Jungkook, though his bag is just as big. 
You're walking in front of the two, your left arm linked with Jin's right, your suitcase in your right hand and your backpack on top of it. 
You turn to give him a look. 
" I'm pretty sure we all did. " You point out. 
After a moment of rare silence (The only thing you hear is the rolling of suitcases), Jin claps again. 
" Bon Voyage! " 
" Why is no one reacting? " He asks the camera with a grin. 
" Bon Voyage! " Jungkook pitches in late. 
A moment later, the scene cuts, and you all get on the bus. 
You sit in the back with Jungkook and Hoseok. 
" How did you spend your vacations? " The producer asks them. 
They all each start talking about their vacation. 
Yoongi mentions his finished mixtape, Namjoon visited lots of museums and went to Europe, Hoseok points out about how he hasn't seen most of them in a while, Jimin basically went everywhere, from Korea to Russia, and Jungkook worked on some songs. 
" Jin what did you do in the vacation? " A staff member asks. 
You snort. 
" I spent half the time sleeping and half the time playing games. " He admits. 
" I went on dates with Y/N too. " He says quickly after. 
" It's no surprise, at least he made time for you. " Namjoon grins, looking at you. 
" I forced him. " You joke. 
" I wasn't that bad. But I mostly did play games whenever Y/N wasn't around. Or slept. " He nods along to his own words sleepily. 
" Then I realized I couldn't keep living like that, and so I met up with some friends too. " He laughed. 
" You had an important realization. " Hoseok comments. 
" I did. " Jin grins
After that came the question of Taehyung's where abouts and he mostly traveled the outskirts with friends. Most were shook when he mentioned one of his friends already being married. Jin too gave you a quick glance at the mention of marriage. Taehyung also mentioned working on a few songs too. Hoseok came soon after, and he mostly worked on his solo song 'Chicken Noodle Soup', and chilled at his apartment. 
After that they spoke about their pets. When the question came if you had any, you shook your head, though you did mention that your parents owned two cats. 
After that you all got a 'travel guide' made by crew for New Zealand. You didn't open it yet, instead opting to read through on the plane. 
Before you know it, you've all arrived at the airport.
And before you know it, you and Jin are waving the other boys off. 
" Bye guys! " 
" Bye! "
" Have a safe flight! "
" So they can't come? " Jimin asked, as Yoongi did so at the same time. 
" They can. " The staff answered shortly. 
" Huh, so you can't? " Jungkook asks you, still confused. 
" No, we can, we'll just have to take a different flight, we'll probably arrive a few hours later. " Jin tells Jungkook. 
" We have a connecting flight, we'll probably arrive around the same time. " Yoongi points out. 
" As long as you two can come it's fine. " Jungkook comments. 
[ Due to issues with Y/N and Jin's travel documents, the two are unable to board the same flight as the members. Luckily, they're able to take a different flight, and arrive an hour later. ]
Time flies, and before you know it, the two of you are walking in the airport, just having checked in. 
" Y'know, I might as well have forgotten my password. " Jin jokes. 
You shake your head. 
The humor appeared to be low budget. 
Soon after he's catching up with Army through the camera, simply babbling about his plans as you too listen, until, 
" Oh, is that RJ? " He wonders, looking at a shop. 
You sigh. 
" Oh please not again, we have so many of them-"
" Let's be cute and get matching RJ's Y/N. I'll pay. " He says, pulling you along with him as your arms are once again looped. 
Before you know it, the two of you are at the check out, with two matching RJ plushies. He's got a pretty big one, while you've got a smaller, cuter one. 
Soon enough it is time to get on your flight, and time,, flies,, by. 
" Now, we are going to find the other members. " Jin informs the camera as the two of you finally walk out of the airport. 
A crew member tells him it's all good like this, and he turns the camera off, handing it to the staff member. 
" Don't you think it's a little awkward to talk to a camera? " You ask Jin as the two of you and two other staff members get on a cab thing to go to the other members. 
He shrugs, holding out a hand for you to help you get in the car as the car has a bit of a elevation. 
" Not really, we're pretty used to having camera's on us by now. " He tells you honestly. 
You hum, and soon enough everyone's in the car, and easy conversation flows through. 
It doesn't take all too long before you're at the destination. 
Once you are spotted by the other members in the parking lot, Hoseok is the first to hop over, basically jumping on your boyfriend. 
You chuckle, being used to their way of greeting each other. 
" Y/N! " Hobi smiles, looping an arm around your shoulder casually as he leads to the rest, just as Jimin literally hops onto Jin. 
Jimin fetches your suitcases as Jin is quickly waved inside to do training. 
As Jin goes inside, you turn to help Jimin, Hoseok's arm falling off as you do so. 
" Wait, let me help with that. " You call, jogging over to help him. 
The two of you get it done quickly, and soon enough you're being informed by staff of the facility about the campervan. 
The water seems to be a bit of a problem. 
" Look,  how about we all shower together?" Jungkook suggests.
" Except for Y/N of course. " jungkook adds quickly as both you and Jin send him a look. 
" Let's coordinate time. " Hoseok suggests. 
" Yah, how do we do that? We can't control everything! " Jin complains. 
Luckily, the staff comes with a solution. 
" There's holiday parks, campervans can go there too. They have shower and toilet accommodations. " He quips helpfully. 
" That sounds much better. " You laugh. 
" Okay, let's only use the campervan's toilet for emergency. " Yoongi adds. 
" If you're about to die. " Namjoon pops. 
" Let's shower all at once too. " Jungkook keeps trying. 
" We can't shower long. "
" Only 5 minutes, after that, cut the water. " Jin says, as does Hoseok.
A ton of questions later, everyone's once again getting their suitcases, and Yoongi loads it into the campervan. Soon after all of you are clapping along again. 
" Jungkook did you bring your dumbbells again? " Jin jokes. 
" That's not my suitcase. " Jungkook informs. 
" That's mine actually, sorry. " You grin, not actually feeling sorry. 
Once that's over with, there's a small discussion about who's driving what car. It settles with Jungkook driving the campervan and Jin driving the SUV. 
" Where are we going? " You hear most around you asking. 
" The guide book mentioned (a random restaurant). " You tell them. 
" Alright, if you say so. " Jin says, already getting the navigation started without further questions. 
The other car either can't hear you or doesn't listen, as they instead listen to the producer, who agrees with you. 
[ A/N: Oh my god this is a 3.4 k chapter folks,, never done dat before. Anyway, how did you guys like it?  Also, no, there will be no smut in this story, but keep in mind that Jin & reader are both of age and in a 9 year relationship. ]
82 notes · View notes
fandom-monium · 3 years
Note
I JUST READ KITCHEN CATASTROPHES OMG ITS SOOO CUTE UGH MY HEART SO SOFT CAN YOU PLSSS DO A PART 2? THANK YOU KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO
AN: thank you, anon! i dont plan to make a sequel to KC. But if i did:
For Valentine’s Day
Summary: In which you throw a wrench in Spencer’s plans: you don’t like Valentine’s Day. “If it’s with you, I guess it’s not so bad.”
WC: 2.9k (whoops)
Tags/Warnings: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader, fluff, cussing, semi anti-valentines day, Spencer tears up but dont worry were there to fix that, established relationships (blegh), Garvez if you squint, post-For the Holidays
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Fuck cooking, Spencer thinks one day.
It's an irrational thought. The kind that strikes through his mind in a flash of irritation like a scrape of the knee as he is perusing the internet. Yes, he is using a computer willingly. He has to because he's desperate.
Cooking is stupid. Who really needs it, right?
He needs it. God, he needs it so bad.
His need to learn cooking wasn't as incessant until recently. Until you came along.
Spencer is a meticulous person and a romantic if you'd ever met one. Makes sense considering how he grew up, reading the classics and all that. He's read all the gooey literary shit old people write and while he never understood those meanings it all dawned on him one day. Quotes written like 'the stars in their eyes' and 'sunshine glowing off them like a halo', suddenly makes sense once he meets you. Or at least, after coming to know you, months into your newfound friendship.
It's because of this he plans accordingly the weeks leading up to Valentine's day! Because again he's meticulous and a romantic and a genius so he plans every step and makes a back up plan in case A, B, and C fall through.
Is he going overboard? 
… Nah. No way. Not when it comes to you.
But fuck with a capital F, man.
It's your third date. Or what is supposed to be your third date if you would just stop being you for a second.
Then again, he loves you a lot and he wouldn't love you if you weren't, well, you.
Although—pardon his french—what the fuck. 
Spencer knows he needs to learn to cook. You've tried plenty of times to teach him and he loves learning and he especially loves it when you are the teacher (wait, does he have a teacher/student fantasy? Maybe. That’s something he'll look into later. Preferably with you). 
Unfortunately, he's terrible at it.
He's made progress and he knows it's true because you said so but the miniscule progress he's made is. Not. Enough. And it's all your fault! Because he gets so distracted by you during your lessons, like when you put your hands over his to show him proper slicing techniques—holy fuck, he wanted to combust right there—or just watching your deft hands at work, lips and brow scrunched in concentration in that adorable way. And you smell like cooking oil or whatever you're making and you're hot.
He's so into you it physically hurts. Ugh. How is he so lucky? 
You're also the first person he's been this into since Maeve. And everyone knows how well that turned out.
So he tries to dial it down for Valentine’s Day. Morgan told him once he tends to throw himself into everything he does, including love. And when you two got together, he promised the universe he will not fuck this up. He ends up combining Morgan’s advice with Luke’s, trying to be casual like Luke says because apparently you're just as into him as he is of you. 
The thought makes him grin uncontrollably. Luke says it makes him look like a clown but a lovesick clown. A lovefool, Luke hehs.
Spencer doesn’t get the joke, but it does nothing to deter him.
As Luke advised, Spencer does “not” make a dozen back up plans and does “not" plan weeks in advance. Because that wouldn't be casual, would it?
But now the day’s come and as Valentine’s Day turns to Valentine’s Night, Spencer wants to pull his hair, rub his frustratedly stinging eyes but he can't because he's in the middle of work, in the middle of the bullpen, in the middle of his desk and he refuses to be that guy. Not again.
Why does he feel like sobbing? Like a loser? 
Because you don't like Valentine’s Day. No, you abhor it.
It happens in the middle of the work day. It's like he tried to open a door only for a bucket of ice water to be dumped on him and now he looks like a drowned rat. He definitely feels like one.
You're talking with Garcia about her Valentine’s Day plans as you multitask, switching between putting together packets and stacking them aside. Then taking them under the hole-puncher and stapling them together because the BAU isn't all kicking down doors and catching freaks. 
It makes sense that you’re chatting with Garcia during your break. The two of you have become two peas in a pod after you came out of your shell. Now you're inseparable. Only you make Garcia leave her batcave as much as she does now.
Out of sight, he catches tidbits of your conversation when he hears distinctively: Fuck Valentine’s Day.
Okay, you didn't say that verbatim but you might as well have, grimacing as you three hole-punch a packet and his heart. Then a nail on his coffin only it’s with a stapler. 
Thump. Chick.
Spencer winces; there goes your his Valentine’s Day plans. 
It shouldn't sting as much as it does. You've been dating for over a month and Valentine’s Day is definitely not his favorite holiday either. It's not even top 3. And as you rant he can’t help but silently nod in agreement, all the facts straight: yes, it's an eyesore. Yes, it's a capitalistic holiday. Yes, people should do nice things for their significant others no matter the time and not because it's expected on a specific day. Yes, it doesn't compare to Halloween—
The thing is, you two aren't that “couple-y”, at least in a traditional sense. Not like Will and JJ who got a babysitter so they could go out or like Luke and Garcia as they plan to go to a special Valentine’s Day event she wants to check out (she vehemently denies anything going on between them but he doesn't need to be a genius to see the affection they have for one another. Just kiss already, damn).
So yeah, Spencer hoped to spend the romantic holiday with you. For once, he'd have Valentine’s Day plans, aside from exchanging cards with the team and his mother.
But apparently you hate Valentine’s Day! So there goes plan A, B, C, and D!
Spencer feels the tears spring at the corner of his eyes. He sniffs as subtly as he can, raising an open case file to his face. Of all the plans he hadn't thought through this was not one of them. IQ 187, his ass.
He should've known. Or at least ask your thoughts on Valentine’s Day. That was inconsiderate on his part. He blinks back tears, withdrawing into himself despite his hurt because he is a lovefool and only for you. He just wants to impress you, make you happy even if that means canceling your first Valentine’s Day together.
Now if you'll excuse him, he has to call off a few reservations and make some returns. Several actually.
Can you return a dozen donuts in the shape of hearts?
… Yeah, he better ask Emily for the rest of the day off.
"Hey Newb, have you seen Spencer? I haven't seen him since his break," You ask, resting your chin in your hand as you squint at another form. Your eyes are beginning to tire. 
Spencer asked you several times over the course of the last week, checking to see if you were free today. You are, so you planned to hang with him after work, but he hasn't returned from his break and he wasn't answering your calls or texts. Not unusual but still odd for your boyfriend (you still can’t believe you get to say that).
Luke sighs, his smooth voice reaching over your shared divider, "You know at some point I'm just not going to respond. You guys can’t call me Newbie forever."
"Keep telling yourself that," You snort without looking up.
Another sigh and you smirk: you win.
"For your information," Luke grumbles, words punctuated with sass, "Doc went home."
You pause. "Home?" He didn't tell you.
"Yeah, probably to get ready for your date."
"Our date?" You frown and stand up, leaning over the divider to see if Luke’s fucking with you.
He isn't. Luke shrugs, humming wistfully as he rests his cheek in his hand, "You should've seen how excited he was, being it your first Valentine's Day and all. I told him to chill out because you'll love whatever it is no matter what but I'm sure he ignored that and planned something spectacular for you guys." Sitting back, he twirls around in his chair.
You grimace, recalling your earlier conversation with Garcia. 
Shit.
"Meanwhile, I have to spend Galentine's Day with Garcia because all the ladies of the BAU are taken and I have nothing better to do—" Luke comes to a full 720, catching the tail end of your coat as you whip it on and make for the door. "—um, excuse you?"
"If Emily asks, I had an emergency!" You manage to call back, throwing open the glass door.
"Okay?"
"Thanks, Newb!"
As the elevator door dings shut with you inside, leg jumping because you have a sneaking suspicion you fucked up, Luke slouches in his chair and grumbles.
He's not a newb. Or a newbie.
You rush over to Spencer's, catching your breath as you stumble to his front door. There's shuffling from inside, the faint sound of clanking and crashing and your heart swells because this is the man you’ve fallen for, the first one you've ever felt this way for. Here he is, being all considerate and romantic. And here you are, fucking it up when your relationship’s barely even started.
God, you're an asshole, you berate yourself as you turn the doorknob and push open the door. You're an asshole you're an asshole you’re an asshole—
Then your eyes widen and your jaw goes slack. 
Immediately, you slap a hand over your mouth and nose as your favorite scented candles hit you like someone shoved a bouquet in your face. The description isn't too far off considering there's a lovely bouquet of your favorite flowers still in its wrapping, haphazardly set next to a dozen donuts on the coffee table like no one's business. Its petals are strewn across the floor, a few in tiny piles like they were hastily swept to the side. Red and pink and dark green fill your vision.
Who gutted Cupid and tossed his organs around, holy fu-
"(Your name)?"
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Startled, you crane your head to find Spencer, beautiful hair askew and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. His sleeves are pushed up to his elbows as he clutches flowers to his chest. In his other hand, he grips the colored strings of several shiny red and pink balloons in the shape of hearts and—fuck—your heart might actually float up from your chest and into your eyes.
This is your man. Your partner. Your boyfriend.
Your boyfriend panics, fumbling for a second before stuffing the balloons and trimmed flowers back into the room behind him and slamming the door shut. He turns back to you, eyes wide.
"What-what are you doing here?" Spencer stammers, wringing his hands together.
You blink at him, dumbly holding up your phone. "You-uh-you left early and didn't return my calls."
"I'm sorry. I think I left my phone at work," Probably because he left in such a rush, Spencer groans, looking anywhere but you. The petals scattered over his floor are quite pretty in this light. "And I was a bit busy."
"I'm sure you were," You gawk openly at the strings of fairy lights hung around his living room. It's a clash of aesthetics. Spencer always rocked dark academia, but despite how ugly the combination of red and pink decorations with his nature green walls and dark wood is, it leaves his apartment a little brighter, a little cozier, and you love it.
You love everything about this.
But as you take in the ugly beauty of it all, Spencer fidgets at the doorway, mistaking your awe as shock and disgust. Wiping sweaty palms on his trousers, his eyes dart around, trying to focus on something, but every place he lays his eyes on makes him cringe. He catches all the things he couldn't clean up or put away in time. No doubt you do too. All the leftover flower petals, the donuts he can’t return, candles that haven’t blown out because he has the lungs of an 8-year old asthmatic. 
Spencer can't imagine how appalled you are.
And the longer your silence stretches on, the more nervous he gets so he blurts out, "I'm so sorry, (Your Name)!"
Your brow shoots up as he begins to ramble.
"You must hate this. I'll put everything away."
"You really don't have to—" You stop him, and your heart nearly crumbles as Spencer's does when he finally meets your worried gaze. 
His eyes gleam with unshed tears. He swallows, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"
"Doc—"
"At least not without asking you—"
"Doctor—"
"I understand if you want to break up—" His voice cracks, as if the idea itself will destroy him (it definitely will). 
"Spencer—" His voice, wobbly and dripping with unnecessary guilt, draws you to him.
"But I want you to know that I—"
With an exasperated sigh, you grab his hand as yours finds the nape of his neck, pulling him into a soft kiss. 
For a second, Spencer doesn't respond because who kisses the person they're about to break up with? Strange, really. But then he kisses you back. His hands remain frozen, unsure of where he stands, but he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. He figures this is a new social cue he has yet to learn. And if this is the last time you kiss him, he'll treasure every second of it, take whatever you'll give him because again he's a lovefool for you. 
And when you pull back, he's too dazed he nearly misses the look you give him. Suddenly, he can’t breathe.
You look at him like he hung the stars instead of cheap fairy lights around his apartment. 
Spencer’s confused. "I-I... Wha—"
"I'm not breaking up with you," You chuckle, and you nearly burst out laughing as genuine puzzlement takes over his face. You tug him behind you, plopping yourselves on his couch. You smile, appreciating the way he organized the cushions and throw-pillows; there's now space for two people to lay down.
You take a breath. "You wanna know why I don't like Valentine’s Day?"
Spencer slouches, though his body is angled towards you so you suppose that's good. He sighs, "Because it's a capitalistic holiday that reinforces the idea of doing the bare minimum…"
He begins listing your reasons, and your eyes soften. Of course he listened and remembered even if you mentioned it offhandedly.
You nod once he finishes. "Yes but before that—and I can't believe I'm telling you this—back when I was a little kid, I didn’t get any Valentines."
Spencer's brow furrows at the newfound information. You continue, "I'd get some from my friends and stuff but that's not what Valentine's Day is about. At least not when you're a kid. When you’re a dumb kid, it’s about couples and romantic shit, and I didn't really have any of that growing up." You purse your lips and glance away, face flushed with embarrassment. It's really not that big a deal, but putting it into words makes the idea seem more intimate and personal.
It takes a moment for your words to sink in as Spencer can't believe his ears. How could you not have been showered with love and affection and presents on Valentines Day? It's like water doesn't make things wet or fire doesn't produce heat; it just doesn't make sense. Because you deserve that much and more.
"So every Valentine's Day, I lowered my expectations and eventually I stopped caring. I'd tell myself those things and I started to believe them," You bite your lip, eyes crinkling as you give Spencer a sheepish smile. "But now I have you."
At that, Spencer returns your smile, letting you take his hand. Any tears he had seem to evaporate instantly.
“So, I'm sorry that I hurt you. I stand by what I said before, Valentine’s Day sucks. But if it’s with you,” Blushing deeply, you play with Spencer's hand, large and veins defined compared to yours, shrugging, “I guess it’s not so bad.”
Spencer’s smile broadens, and he intertwines your fingers together. "So what you’re saying is, you don’t hate this?” He looks around his living room.
You shake your head, unable to stop the grin crossing your lips. “No. In fact, very much the opposite. Honestly, thank you for this, it’s beautiful. I have no words.” You breathe it all in; the candles, the flowers, the— Your nose wrinkles and you snort, “Did you burn something?”
Bashfully looking down, he scratches his chin. “I-uh-tried to make your favorite dishes. Though, I was hoping the candles and flowers would mask it.”
You giggle and pull him into you, snuggling into his side. “That’s okay. I’d much rather have you anyway.”
With Spencer a blushing, stuttering mess in your arms, head resting on your chest, you press a kiss to his hair and conclude; yeah, you don’t like Valentine’s Day. 
But you sure as hell love Spencer more.
AN:  FtH status: finished - 7/5. yes 7.
I realize this was not what anon requested but oh well i wrote this at 2 am 
I’m not that anti v day but i stand by the capitalistic aspect.
yes this takes place after For the Holidays.
also included luke bc hes my bro and i honestly think he deserves so much more than what the show gave also garvez ftw
happy post valentine’s day!!
Song: Lovefool by The Cardigans
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dandelionflower · 4 years
Text
(Some salt fic september)
Francois DuPont was an artistic school. With talented students varying from designers, to journalists, to DJs, to comic artists and writers. The art room of the school was always the busiest, the loudest, and the favorite room of the school.
So it would make sense for the school to have a yearly showcase. It was called a talent show once upon a time, but eventually the staff and students agreed that ‘talent show’ didn’t suit the talents the students were bringing to the table. Thus, the Francois DuPont showcase was born.
Students worked for months on their piece for the showcase. More than fifty percent of the works in the art room were pieces for the showcase.
It wasn’t mandatory by any means, but most students with a talent in the arts would participate. But with almost all the students participating and some having more than one piece to showcase, the show usually lasted a few days.
Lila, of course, didn’t know any of that so when asked if she was participating in the showcase in a few months, she grinned and said “Of course!”
Alya lit up. “Great! It’s going to be my first showcase too, and I want someone who knows what I’m going through. C’mon, we have to sign up.” And she dragged her into the halls.
Sign up? But it’s in three months. Lila shrugged and allowed herself to be pulled to the sign up sheets.
Alya immediately wrote her name underneath the ‘verbal’ column, putting a ‘journalism’ next to it.
Lila surveyed the options. The easiest thing to fake would probably be photography, so she marked her name under ‘media’ and wrote a ‘photography’ next to it.
“Ooh, photography? What do you take pictures of? Because I know Mari’s been looking for a partner to take pictures of her designs with her.”
Lila bit back a grimace. “Thanks, but I prefer to take pictures of...” Art? Buildings? “Nature. I find that taking pictures of people is narcissistic as a society.”
“Aren’t you a model?” A judgmental voice came from behind her.
“I- well-“ She stuttered.
“It’s completely different, Felix! Lila doesn’t think her photo shoots are art worthy, she’s just doing it as a job.” Alya snapped, throwing an arm out to almost shield Lila from the chill radiating from Felix’s entire person.
“Very well.” Felix stepped around the two and signed his name in perfect cursive beneath Lila’s name and walked away without another word.
“That guy gives me the creeps.” Alix remarked as she scratched her name under the ‘performance’ column, then the ‘piece of art that cannot be moved’ section.
“And he’s doing photography too! Don’t worry Lila, there’s no way he’s better than you.” Alya grabbed her arm reassuringly and began walking with her back to class.
“Yeah, right...” Lila held in a wince as she found her way back to her seat.
Surely photography can’t be that hard.
It was that hard.
Lila had waited one week before the showcase to start taking pictures on her phone. She walked to the park and snapped a few pictures, called it a day, and went home.
They were terrible. Blurry, ugly, terrible.
The next thing she tried was looking up stock images and photoshopping the watermark off.
She was awful at photoshop.
Finally, she resorted to her escape plan.
“Sorry, Alya. But I completely forgot that I’m volunteering at the elementary school all day on the day of the showcase, and I can’t just cancel on them. I’m so sorry.”
“Girl, it’s no problem! Marinette told me that the showcase is going to go on for four days. We’ll just reschedule your slot. It’s no problem at all.”
“Great.” She muttered through gritted teeth. “See you then.”
...crap.
She had only one plan now.
And it was risky.
Lila walked into class on Monday, prepared for her showcase.
She explained to Alya that when she explained what was going on to the leader of her organization, they gave her a rain check.
“I’m just so thankful.” She brushed away a tear. “I really wanted to make sure I could see everyone’s talents.”
“That’s so sweet!” Rose cooed. “I can’t wait to see your pictures either!”
“I just hope they correctly portray the beauty of my subject...” Lila pressed a hand to her chest in modesty.
“Students, I need all of the media students to come to the art classroom with your flash drives and cameras.” Miss Bustier put her phone down and smiled. “And anyone who paired with a media student for their talent please also join the students in the art room.”
Lila stood and gave everyone a hug. “Wish me luck!”
She noticed Sabrina stand as well and accept a half hearted hug from Chloe and a nod of support from Max. Juleka stood too and hugged Rose tight.
“Bye Alya! Wish me luck.” Marinette appeared from seemingly nowhere and hugged Alya tight. “And don’t be worried about your presentation. We’ll find some time to rehearse before tomorrow.”
“Thanks girl. Look after Lila for me? She’s just as new as I am.”
Marinette’s eyes darkened for just a second, but she quickly broke into a grin. “No problem. And don’t be worried, Lila. I’m sure your photos are just unimaginable.”
“Thanks Marinette. That’s just so sweet of you.” They linked arms and waltzed out of the room.
The moment they were out of eye shot of any of their classmates, they stepped aside.
“You don’t even have pictures, do you?” Marinette growled.
“What do you mean Marinette? Of course I have pictures.” She smirked. Or at least, I will in just a minute.
The art room was bustling and chaotic. Perfect for a camera or flash drive to go missing.
Marinette was bombarded by a group of kids from Felix’s class.
“Ready to see the product of our hard work?” A girl with two dark buns on the top of her head asked.
“I hope so.” She gave them a bashful smile.
Lila stopped paying attention. She had a goal in mind.
Her eyes landed on an expensive looking camera sitting on a desk at the side of the room. A sitting duck.
With a side glance for witnesses, Lila walked right by the camera and slipped the memory card right out and into her awaiting palm.
With her goal met, she sat primly in her chair, waiting for them to be called to the stage.
“Alright, photographers, models, actors, directors!” The art teacher stood. “Let’s go!”
Lila skipped up to him, a look of concern on her face. “Sir?”
“Yes Lila?”
“My camera broke on my way here and all I have left of it is my memory card; is there still a way for me to present my photos?”
“Of course there is. Don’t you worry a bit.”
“Perfect!” She grinned.
Once backstage, each student needed to give the teacher their SD cards or cameras and wait to be called onstage to describe their works to the audience.
Lila spared a quick glance towards the onlookers. Talent scouts of every kind were sitting in plush, reserved seats, notebooks and pens at the ready.
She was the first one up, the first one they would see and, unless she used all of her charisma and improvising skill, the first one they would forget.
“...and now, Lila Rossi with her photography!”
Lila strutted out to the greetings of applause.
“Hello, and let me just say I am so honored to be here today, especially considering that a year ago I wasn’t expected to be able to walk to school every day. Photography was really the only thing that got me through the day.”
A murmur of pity rippled through the crowd.
“Pictures like this one.” She pressed the clicker and a picture appeared on the screen behind her.
A picture of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, mid-twirl in a beautiful hand-made dress.
Lila heard Alya gasp.
“I wanted to show simultaneously the mundanity of walking and the undeniable splendor of it. My dear friend Marinette had some designs she was willing to model for me to help achieve my goal. Marinette, come on out!” She held a hand out, daring Marinette to come out from where she was waiting to go next along with her other friends.
Felix stood behind her with a look of horror and disgust on his face; and a particularly fancy camera hanging around his neck. A very familiar camera.
“No? Okay then.” She turned back to the crowd. “She’ll be out with a different group; Mari doesn’t want me to have to share the spotlight, isn’t she sweet?”
The crowd applauded and Lila continued making up technical terms and thought processes for each photo, all of which were of Marinette in different designs.
“Thank you.” She bowed deep before walking off the stage.
Now to hold her breath and hope that Marinette, Felix and all their friends were too chicken to call her out onstage.
“Now, with their short film; ‘solving love,’ please welcome Bridgette Cheng, Claude Lambert, Mercury Bernard, Allegra Harthorn, Felix Culpa, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Hey everybody!” A boy with brown hair and a blue striped shirt grabbed the mic and shouted. “How are we doing today?”
A scattered amount of applause.
“Nice! I’m Claude, and this is Bridgette.”
The girl with the buns waved.
“We were the main idea folks for this video; but the idea only came after the filming.”
Bridgette grabbed the mic. “We asked out friends if we could film them, and then a few weeks ago, we reviewed the film and noticed something... interesting.”
“Allegra here,” a girl with a long blonde braid waved, “did the music and Mercury,” a boy with dark glasses and a green beret, “did the narration. You’ll be seeing more of them soon. My cousin Mari,” Marinette waved, “and Felix are the main subjects of the film. You would have seen more of them, but for some reason Felix’s memory card went missing.”
Lila swallowed, this wasn’t great. The seeds of dissent were planted and now she had to risk either spinning another fake story or hoping that it all went well.
It’s not like they had any proof though; she should be fine.
“Anyway, here’s ‘Solving Love.’”
They all stepped to the side and the video began with a smooth piano.
“Love.” The screen showed couples going up to Andre’s and sharing ice cream. “The answer to everything. To ourselves, to the meaning of life, to the questions we cannot ask.”
“But how? How do we get from complete strangers, to people so close they are the same person?” The video changed to a showing of Marinette and Felix shaking hands, both with sardonic smirks. “People rarely get to see the entire process of when people fall in love; there are always pieces missing, hidden moments only for the people in question to recall. Love is left for the investigator to discover for themselves, when the time is right.”
“But maybe,” it showed Marinette talking animatedly, as Felix yawns beside her, “maybe one day, we’ll be lucky enough to see most of the picture.” Felix’s eyes droop and his head falls to rest atop Marinette’s, in the beginnings of a nap. Marinette flushes red.
The rest of the video shows the stages of Marinette and Felix’s relationship, from sarcastic rivals, to peers, to friends, to partners. The narrator described different relationships and how love is a constant through all of them.
The video showed Marinette dancing, twirling in a brilliant dress as Felix kneels and snaps pictures. “Ah, but is this all of it?” They lean down for a swift kiss. The image pauses there. “The full picture? Or is it only a snapshot,” the screen lights up white, “a minor clue, to solving love?”
The auditorium was quiet for what seemed like minutes. Then, the room burst into uproarious applause; a standing ovation.
Lila growled as she turned to sulk and maybe get her makeup so she could fake an injury and get some pity points to heal her bruised ego.
She ran face first into the grey suit of Mr. Damocles.
“Oh, hello sir.” She beamed. “Is there a problem?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Yes Miss Rossi, there is. Did you take those pictures of Miss Dupain-Cheng? Because that video tells a different story.”
“Yes sir, I swear it.”
“You swear it, huh? Well you best come with me to the office. Miss Dupain-Cheng and her friends will join us when they’re done.”
“What?”
“Miss Rossi, you are accused of stealing Mr Culpa and Miss Dupain-Cheng’s creative work. We will be calling your mother to discuss this.”
Back on stage the crowd of students and talent agents alike had taken to shouting questions to the group of students.
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btsslowburnfic · 3 years
Text
The Arrangement Ch. 28
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Story summary: Desperately in need of money, you answered the questionable ad. AKA-Arranged marriage AU featuring Y/N and Yoongi
Chapter Summary: Photo shoot day. This ship is leaving the harbor. 
Previous Chapter here
It was still dark out when you got up. Your joints ached as you made your way to the kitchen and got your coffee. You walked over and opened the curtain slightly. In the early morning darkness you could make out snow flurries making their way to the ground. You pressed a hand against the glass, feeling the cold seep through. A chill went through you. You were glad you had ordered the extra waterproof equipment for today. 
You looked back and over towards the stairs. Yoongi would be able to sleep for two more hours before he needed to be at the trailer. BigHit had rented an area of park about 15 minutes outside of Seoul. You hoped traffic would go smoothly given the snowfall and that everything would be on time. The trailer company had already confirmed with you last night. Now all that was left was ensuring the trucks got appropriately loaded with the equipment. You got dressed and headed to the loading docks. 
The sun started to rise an hour later after you, the lighting, and the photography crew had made sure all of the equipment had been loaded. You then sent a message with directions to the head of catering and grabbed the clothing and accessory trunks. Satisfied, and sweaty, you hopped into the van and let the driver know you were ready.
The trip up into the mountains was a little bit scary, to be honest. The fresh snow crunched beneath the tires. As if sensing your nervousness, the driver reassured you, “We’ll just take our time. I drive in snow all the time.” You gave him a grateful smile but did not loosen your grip on the handle above the door.  “I can’t believe this didn’t get canceled.” He continued.
“Yeah, me either,” you agreed. You continued to monitor your phone. There were so many moving pieces that went into this shoot. It was difficult enough when everything was on-site. Having it in a location off-property and outdoors was immensely more difficult. You were glad to see the trailers were actually set up and running when you arrived. You had ordered a restroom trailer and a production trailer. Both generators were running smoothly. You checked in with the photography and lighting crew before unloading the van. 
You set up all of the clothing and accessories in the back room of the production trailer.  Hoseok had sent you photos of what each outfit was supposed to look like along with little notes. On the plus side, it was very nice and warm. It was small, but the space was manageable enough for 2-3 people. On the downside, it made going back outside suck even more. You walked back through the rest of the trailer, making sure the galley was prepared for the catering crew. Photography had their own section to review any footage without getting frostbite.
You took a deep breath and looked around. Yes. This could work. The sun was over the horizon now. You went out to help set up heat lamps.
At around 9 am the rest of the staff showed up: catering, stylists, and various assistants. You quickly assigned jobs to the assistants and showed the caterers to the galley. 
“Hey lady!” Alice waved as she exited the van. “It’s been a minute. What have you been up to?” She reached back in and produced two coffees, walking towards you with one. 
“Oh my goodness. Thank you. Thank you. You know. The same. Working. Helping Jimin prepare for the auction.” You took a sip of the coffee. “This is delicious.”
“Right?” Alice smiled, “I asked the driver if she would mind stopping at a real coffee shop and it turns out she was also burned out on BigHit house blend so we did. It’s so cold.” She shivered.
“Yeah. Well, you will be in the trailer to get started. Yoongi will be coming straight here so nothing will be done.”
Alice giggled, “Oooo, bed head Yoongi.” She turned around as you heard another car door shut. “You hear that Bongcha?”
What. the. Fuck.
“Hey!” Bongcha greeted you. “Ugh it’s so cold.” She wiggled and took a sip of her coffee. “Bed head Yoongi? Sign me up.”
You felt your eye twitch ever so slightly. You took out your phone, “Yeah he should be awake now. I’ll text him to check.” How to ask this tactfully, “Hey Bongcha. I thought Jessi was on make-up today.”
“She was, but she started to feel sick last night and asked if I’d cover for her. Of course I said yes.” She smiled
You swallowed your pride, “Awesome, well thank you so much. I really appreciate you stepping up. Like I said, you two will be in the trailer to start out. Yoongi’s room is in the very back, feel free to set up in there.” You gestured to the production trailer. 
“Great, thanks!” Alice said, walking around to the back of the van. You directed some of the assistants to help the ladies take their equipment inside.
YN: You up?
YG: No :p
YN: omg never call me a brat again. It’s freezing out here by the way
YG: What happened to “the snow is so pretty. I love winter. It’s the best”
YN: I like snow. I hate cold. Status?
YG: leaving now see you soon
YN: You gonna drink hot coffee today?
YG: never
You smiled and put your phone back in your pocket. Watching your breath become air you turned and looked at the set. It was all coming together; you had done it. It had fortunately stopped snowing for now, but unfortunately, your feet were soaked. You didn’t own waterproof shoes.  Oh well, you thought as you felt the cold begin to creep into your feet. This too shall pass.
You checked in with the crew members directing them to the hot beverage station which you had asked catering to set up outside. A floor had also been placed down under a canopy to provide a brief respite from any precipitation. Several people were taking turns standing in front of the heating lamps. “Thanks so much for ordering these!” “I can’t believe we’re shooting today.” You heard several times from the production crew. 
Finally you saw a car pull up that had to belong to Yoongi. You were surprised to see that he had driven himself. You had definitely requested a driver for him. You walked over, waiting for him to get his bag out and open the door.  He got out and mumbled a hello. He was wearing a hat, scarf, facemask, gloves, and long coat.
You smiled, “Hiding from the cold? A good strategy.”
“I hate this.” He said as he walked past you.
“I know.” You followed him, falling in step beside him. “But, look: you have a fancy trailer. And a fancy trailer to pee in. And your skin looks so refreshed and hydrated.”
You heard him laugh behind the fabric, “Yeah thanks, someone assaulted me with face lotion last night.”
“Assault? Please. Anyways, your room is in the back of the trailer. Alice and Bongcha are waiting for you, I have your outfits organized.” 
Yoongi stopped, “I thought I told you not to...you know.” He widened his eyes and trailed off as the two of you were surrounded by people. 
“I did what you asked me, and it couldn’t be helped. I’m sorry, I just found out.” You shivered. The sun had briefly escaped behind a smattering of gray clouds.
Yoongi rolled his eyes, clearly even more pissed off than he had been. “Yeah. Great. Where are your clothes?”
“What do you mean?” You asked, confused.
He gestured to you. “It’s -3.”
“I don’t have many winter clothes. Besides. It’s not so bad in the sun.”
Yoongi sighed in annoyance and took off his hat. He unceremoniously pulled it down onto your head, covering your eyes.  
“Hey...” you whined as you moved your hands up to fix it. When you did, Yoongi was already at the door of the trailer and going inside. You sighed and enjoyed the added warmth of the grey hat. It was extra toasty since Yoongi had inadvertently prewarmed it for you. You decided to go try and nonchalantly put your feet in front of one of the heaters and hope your shoes would dry out.
“45 minutes. 45 minutes left til go.” You yelled as you headed over to the awning. You plopped down into one of the camp chairs you had rented and took out your phone.
Jimin: Good luck today. I'll be sending you warm thought :(
YN: Thanks my dude. It’s fucking freezing out here. 
You snapped a selfie making a sad face.
JM: Yeah it snowed a lot last night. Omg you have Yoongi’s hat. So cute. Invite me to the wedding
YN: *eyeroll* I’ll invite you to your funeral *angry face*
JM: ahahahahahahahahahaha You smiled and answered a few emails.
WWH: Where are yooooooooo gggggguuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyyssss. Yoongi won’t answer meeeeee :(
YN: Photoshoot all day. Sorry. Maybe we can hang this weekend.
YN: Jin is sad you won’t text him back. 
You sent a screenshot of Jin’s messages.
YG: WWH? 
YN: World Wide Handsome.
YG:.........user does not exists error 404
YN: ???????
YG: This number has been disconnected
Oh my God, you laughed. Putting your phone back into your pocket you decided to go make the rounds on the set and ensure when Yoongi came outside things could move quickly. The first set was with a sleigh. You walked through the blocking with the head photographer and checked with the propmaster to make sure the correct items were in and around it. Satisfied you went to the trailer. The door to the back room was open so you stopped at the doorway and watched. 
Alice had blown Yoongi’s hair back, exposing his forehead. Bongcha was done applying foundation and was lightly lining the corners of his eyes. He flicked them over towards you suddenly. 
“Go away, I’m mad at you.” Yoongi deadpanned
The two girls laughed.
“You two also. When you’re done with my make-up you can leave.” He pointed to the door while pouting. 
Clearly you had missed something.  “Oh? Yeah? Are you mad about the fancy trailer or the coffee station? I need to know.” You put a hand on your hip.
“I think he’s jealous of World Wide Handsome. He’s been going on and on about it. He was trying to get us to disagree, but we can’t.” Alice laughed. “I’m getting ready to spray, hold your breath if you’re sensitive.” 
Bongcha used her hand to shield Yoongi’s eyes as Alice applied the hairspray. 
You rolled your eyes as they all giggled. “Whatever. Your first shot is with the sleigh so it needs to have that Christmassy vibe. It’s this outfit here,” You walked in and gently shimmied behind the other girls, pulling the outfit and accessory bag off the garment rack. You sat down on the couch next to Yoongi. You turned and left the room.
“YN I’m just kidding!” You heard Yoongi yell. Whatever. He was right. Today sucked. You continued on outside, giving another countdown. A few minutes later Bongcha and Alice exited the trailer, presumably to let Yoongi change. They walked over towards you. Ugh. Not today. 
“How has everyone else been to Jin’s apartment but not me?” Bongcha whined as they approached you.
Alice laughed, “WelI was only there to work and do his girlfriend’s make-up. It was awful.”
“Ex-girlfriend though,” You clarified.
Bongcha sighed, “We’ll see how long it lasts this time. They do this a lot.”
“Oh. that sucks.”
“Yeah. Especially since Alice has the world’s biggest crush on him.” Bongcha teased.
“Shut up.” Alive gently shoved her. “Anyways...YN. I need to know. And I won’t be mad. Do you have a crush on Jin?”
You were dumbfounded. Why did people keep asking you that? “Um no?”
“Are you sure? Because you can tell me. I mean. I’ll fight you for him because I’ve liked him a long time and may the best girl win.”
You laughed, “Alice. I definitely definitely don’t like Jin. He’s like a goofy older brother to me. I’m just glad Yoongi has a friend.” 
Bongcha sighed, “It’s just our fate in life to pine after the men of BigHit,” She looked dreamily over at the production trailer.
“Sorry,” Alice said. “Yoongi mentioned Jin was in your phone as world wide handsome so I just got super paranoid.”
You blinked several times and then started to laugh. “Ahahaha no. That’s just how he talks and it makes me laugh. I mean. I understand that he is objectively a good-looking guy. But so are most of the guys we work with soooo…”
“Yeah. But Yoongi is definitely the cutest.” Bongcha sighed. “And he’s so sweet. He even let you borrow his hat today.” She smiled.
“Yep. He’s very thoughtful.” You added, careful to watch what you said. You felt slightly sick to your stomach. You saw the door to the trailer open. Yoongi had his coat on over the first outfit. He scanned the set and headed over to talk to the director of photography. You waited a few minutes before heading that way. 
"Perfect timing YN," Yoongi said. He slipped his coat off and put it around your shoulders. "Keep this warm for me." Before you could object he headed over towards the sleigh. 
Dammit. The coat was warm. You crossed your arms in front of you, pulling the fabric around you. Bongcha and Alice went in for touch ups and then the photography began. 
After the second set another round of snowfall began. You were thankful that so far Yoongi hadn't asked for his coat back. Your feet were thoroughly soaked. Everything on set seemed to be in order. The snow crunched beneath your feet as you made your way over to the production trailer. You headed into the back room and shut the door. Removing your socks and shoes you pressed your cold, pruny foot between your hands, hoping it would warm up. It did help, but you began to dread putting your socks back on. Dammit. 
You heard the door handle turn and looked up. Fortunately it was just Yoongi so far, not the girls. 
"Hey. Sorry, I'll get out of here." you said, starting to collect your things. 
"What's wrong with your feet?" Yoongi asked with a concerned look on his face. 
"Oh. I guess some snow got into my boots. They’re fine. Just cold." You half lied. 
Yoongi picked up one of your socks. "This is soaked. You can't put this back on." He gave the sock a disgusted look and jettisoned it across the room.
“No!!!! That’s my only sock. Yoongi I have to.” You got up to try and find it. “I don't have other ones. There's not even extra Gucci socks from the clothing trunk I can steal.” You started digging around between the couch and end table with your ass unceremoniously in the air.  
Yoongi smirked at first, “Well it's going to keep snowing.” He sighed. “Just stay in here the rest of the shoot.” 
You turned around, your face red from being upside down. “No. I'm your assistant. I need to be out there helping.” You were clearly upset.
Yoongi took out his phone and side eyed you. “Calm down. Just wait. We're taking a break anyways. 30 minutes. OK? I’ll be back.” He shut the door as he turned around. 
Yoongi dialed the number and walked over towards the door. There weren’t many shoes to sort through so he found yours quickly. He frowned as he felt how soaked they were and checked the bottom. The person finally picked up the phone.
Hobi’s voice was high pitched, tinged with concern. "You're calling me? Is everything OK?" 
"No.” Yoongi tried to keep his voice low as he walked over to his car for some privacy “We're at this fucking snow infested shoot and YN doesn't have waterproof shoes and her feet are going to get frostbite. Her socks and shoes are soaked." 
Hoseok could see where this was going. "Where is the shoot?" 
"It's only like 15 minutes away. Maybe 20 with the snow. She wears a 255" Yoongi opened his car door and got inside.
 Hobi couldn't resist, he ran his tongue along his lips. "And what do I get for this favor?" 
Yoongi ran a hand through his hair, "Whatever you want. I don't have  a lot of time before we start shooting."  He stopped in annoyance, the hair product sticking to his fingers.
Hoseok closed his eyes and smiled. The satisfaction of his suspicions being true felt good. "I tease. I like YN, I don't want her to get frostbite, I'm doing this for her. No favor necessary." 
“Thanks. I’ll send you the coordinates.” Yoongi hung up the phone and texted Hobi.  He leaned his head back against the headrest. Namjoon was making them do this to punish him, he was sure. There was no reason why this couldn’t have been moved back. He had done everything he had been asked to do lately though. Even though, it turns out what he had been tasked with wasn’t difficult at all. He hadn’t intended to like this arrangement. He hadn’t intended to like you. And it was becoming more and more difficult for him to ignore the fact that he did. You were constantly on his mind.
He smiled as he thought back to last night. You were so cute.  Yoongi closed his eyes briefly, remembering the weight of your hand in his and the feeling of your fingers on his face. He wanted it to happen again again. He felt a warmth rush through his body. It was cut short when he heard the car door open, shaking him from his thoughts. He was annoyed for a half second until he saw you. Still wearing his hat. You were holding his coat. 
“Here, you can have your coat back.” You said, handing it to him like a blanket.
He briefly chewed on his lip, and looked forward again. “Jhope’s bringing you shoes.”
“What? He doesn’t need to do that. Yoongiiii”
“You will make a terrible assistant if we have to cut your feet off.” He replied dryly. He cleared his throat. “Why are you out here anyways? You’re supposed to be staying in the trailer where it’s warm. And not wearing those,” he gestured in disgust to your soaked shoes.
You rolled your eyes, “Bongcha is ready to touch up your make-up. We have ten minutes until the shoot starts again.”
The snow had covered most of the windshield at this point. Leaving the two of you with a half-covered view of the set.
Yoongi looked back out towards the snow, his breath visible as he confessed, “I just want to go home.”
“Me too. I don’t even want to play in the snow. You know how bad that is?” 
Yoongi turned to face you, “If you like the snow so much why don’t you have snow-proof shoes?”
You fidgeted, uncomfortable with the question. “Snow shoes are expensive. I gave mine to my aunt when I moved out. She still has to walk to work.” You pulled down your sleeves to make sweater paws. “I work in the building most of the time so I thought she should have them.” 
“Of course you did.” Yoongi shook his head.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” You said defensively.
“Calm down brat. It means you do a great job taking care of others.” He reached over and grabbed your hand. “But you need to do a better job taking care of yourself.”
You looked out the window, sure that your face was growing red. “Yeah. I guess.”
“I know it’s what you’ve had to do for a long time.” He took a deep breath as he forced himself to say the next part, “So I’ll take care of you until you get better at it.” He squeezed your hand and then let go. “Jhope should be here soon with your shoes and socks.” He placed the keys in the cup holder. “Turn the car on if you want.” He let himself out, leaving you to sit and think about what had just happened. NEXT CHAPTER @lidda​​​​  @anpanman-sonyeondan​​​​   @firefairy1​​​​  @cuteipat​​​​  @sugaslittlekookies​​​​  @janeelizabeth1216​​​ @deeepvibes​​​​ @gxldenhunny​​​​ @livelyjay​​​​ @bobbyboops​​​​ @honeysunandsoil​​​​ @deathkat657​​​​ @niniita-ah​​​​ @min-yus​​​​ @or-worse-expelled7​​​​ @black-rose-29​​​​ @storms-and-stars-blog​​   
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pbandjesse · 2 years
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And with that, camp is over! I already have rose colored glasses for it. And I hope that I just can focus on how many good things happened this year, even if logically I know it was she's. And!! Jess is back in America. So I am in a good mood.
I slept really well last night. I fell asleep pretty fast. Though I did get woken up s few times because my foot was in a lot of pain. But it's not as bad tonight.
When I got up I felt very cute. I wore my new quilted pants. I was in an alright mood. James made me toast with the apple bread I bought. And walked me to the car.
They biked off and I headed to camp. I had a great drive and felt good. I got there around 815 and got things ready to go. I was in a good mood.
I chilled in my hammock and chatted with people as they went past. Then I was like ready for my first group. When I realized I did not have a group. Because there were only 8 day camp groups today. And group 9 was on my schedule. Oops. So I got another hour to chill.
I would work on my beading project. And cleaned. And got a few more things packed up. I had a snack and soon enough my day really started.
The kids made good work. And they were all really fun. I got to work on my beading and have silly and weird conversations. It was really a good time honestly. I enjoyed my coworkers. The weather was beautiful. It was a great day.
I had lunch at the office. And would go and get a chocolate bar from the trading post. I got a few hugs saying goodbye in case we didn't see each other. And it was a nice way to spend the day. Made me feel a little more like this summer was good.
My afternoon groups were sweet. A day camp, stockade, tipis. We made sculptures and the boys painted, and tipis made shields and hung out in the hammocks. We had a lot of laughs. And tipis helped me bring all the tables and chairs inside to be stored for next year. I really appreciated the help.
All through the day I was in contact with Jess. Her flight was cancelled. And that wasn't even the first thing that went wrong. The airport security wouldn't change check when film and put it through the x-ray and probably ruined all of it. And then they got to their gate and the plane showed up and minutes before boarding they canceled it. And then they were able to get another flight in three hours. But there was no gluten free foods except rice. Poor Jess.
She would finally get on a plane and got back at 730. Where they discovered that their suitcases were all the way back in Dublin. Because they had been loaded in the original plane. I warned her about checking a bag with the way everything has been. But shit. At least they know where it is and apparently it will be back to her in a few days but Jesus. The stress. Not a great way for a trip that was already very stressful to end.
I spent the next couple hours after tipis left cleaning, labeling, sorting string, making lists. Laura came to hang out before she went to get the camo award she was working towards. I was so proud of her. I would bead her patch all special. And signed her little book. I hope she comes back next year.
I would spend that time just enjoying her company. But I also very much wanted to go home. They said we were doing camo cleanup until 830. But Heather said I could go whenever because I had done so much cleaning already. And so once I was done me and Laura ran around giving more hugs to anyone we could find. And then I was off.
I ran away from Laura when she was going to cry. Crying was unacceptable. I told her how glad I was we met and happy birthday (her birthday is next week) and that I hope she has an amazing year at school. And she kept saying you aren't saying goodbye!! And she walked me to my car and waved me off before she could cry for real. I really hope she does come back next year.
I waved to many people on my way out. And on my drive home I felt a lot of. Good about this summer. About the connections I made, and the good work we did. Like there was nonsense and food issues and scary times. But so much of this summer was good. And that feels good.
I got back here and James helped me bring things inside. And then I was so tired. James made us hotdogs. Vegetarian and not. And we chilled for a while.
James would put a lot of stuff away for me. And I did some myself. I would also put away some clothes. James helped me fold things. I want to go through everything on Sunday but for now it was good and made me feel a little more settled.
I took a very good shower. Used my new body scrub. And now I am cuddled up in bed. Feeling very tired. I touched up my toe nail polish and took off my fingernail polish. Maybe I'll do them tomorrow.
I have the market tomorrow. And then I want to take a nap. And like the weight can leave my shoulders.
Goodnight everyone. Take care of each other. Sleep good!!!
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gryffindorcls · 3 years
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The Purr-fect Gift
Summary: Years after the reveal and the start of their relationship, Marinette and Adrien move in together. To her dismay, Adrien has become distant and quiet after the move. Marinette just wants things to return to normal, but Adrien has a surprise for her that will change their lives forever.
Length: 2,894 words This is my Secret Santa present for @luminousinthedark from the APS server! You asked for fluff and romance so cheesy that it would make Plagg question his life choices, so I tried to think of the most romantic thing that could possibly happen between these two dorks. Don't let the beginning fool you....the end is **very fluffy**. I hope you enjoy it!  Happy Holidays! :D (A shout-out to my super awesome beta @misscongenialityofmlb for taking a look at this!) — AO3
Fanfiction
Marinette checked the time on her phone for the thousandth time that day, cringed at the numbers on the screen, and repocketed the device. She stood on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over the throngs of people blocking her view of the register. Crossing her arms, she began tapping her foot on the hard tiled floor.
“Girl, chill.” Alya rested her hand on her shoulder. “We’re almost to the front. I pre-ordered the new iPhone for Nino, so once we get there, we should be done pretty quickly.”
“Sorry,” Marinette mumbled, taking a peek at her phone screen again.
“You can go if you need to. I really don’t mind waiting by myself.”
“What! No! I promised that I would wait with you. I’m fine.”
Crossing her arms, Alya shot her a disbelieving look. “Uh-huh, and I’m the Queen of England. What’s going on with you today?”
“What do you mean?” Marinette straightened her posture and did her best to smile.
Alya shook her head “I haven’t seen you this jittery in years.”
“Jittery? Me? Pshh, no!” Giving up the ruse, she slumped and groaned. “Is it really that noticeable?”
“Yes, it is. Now spill! What’s going on?”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“Maybe you can start with why your eyes have been glued to your phone all morning.”
She shoved her phone into her pocket, feeling a rush of heat to her cheeks. “I’m just a little anxious about getting to lunch with Adrien and Nino on time.”
“Since when are you concerned about being on time? I think the boys know by now that Miss High-Fashion has a tendency to be fashionably late.” Alya put a hand on her arm. “What’s really going on?”
“I don’t even know how to put this. I...I’m worried about my relationship with Adrien.” Marinette buried her face in her hands. “And I don’t know what to do.”
A fire ignited behind Alya’s eyes. “Did he do something to you? Because if he did-”
Marinette waved her hands in front of her. “No! No, it’s nothing like that! It’s just that he’s been a little, what’s the word, distant?”
“How so?”
“Ever since we moved in together he’s barely been home, and right before he left two weeks ago he canceled our plans to decorate our Christmas tree. He was gone all day, and he got home an hour before he had to leave for the airport.”
“Ahh, I see.”
“Yeah, and even though he got back yesterday, I haven’t seen him yet. When he suggested that we all meet up for lunch today, I was kind of hoping that it meant that maybe things would go back to normal.” She threw her hands into the air. “I don’t know. Alya, help me!”
Alya tapped her chin. “Have you tried talking to him about it?”
“I would, but he’s never around! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Maybe we’re moving too fast, and it’s scaring him. Or maybe he’s still overwhelmed about the whole...well, you know...reason why we don’t have to transform every day and fight Akumas anymore.”
“I doubt that. He loves you so much. You’d have to be blind to miss it.”
“He’s changed.”
“Marinette, listen to me.” Alya grabbed her shoulders. “If he’s acting weird, it probably has nothing to do with how he feels about you. That boy has been in love with you for years. Are you forgetting that this is the same human you gave a constipation prescription to when we were fourteen? And then he filled it without questioning why you needed it. You weren’t even dating yet, and he was willing to do anything to make you happy.”
“But-”
“No, buts! He loves you. He’s your ‘kitty’ and you’re ‘his lady’. You two are made for each other.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Girl, the sheer number of pictures that I have on the Ladyblog of Chat Noir looking at Ladybug while she’s not looking should be proof enough.” Alya leaned in and dropped her voice to a whisper. “And if that doesn’t help, I have a whole folder on my phone of pictures where he’s looking at you outside of the mask.”
“He did once tell me that it was always going to be us against the world.” Marinette shrugged. “Maybe I’m overthinking it.”
Before Alya could answer, Marinette’s phone went off several times in her pocket. She pulled it out, tapped on the notification, and read the text in her inbox.
Adrien: [11:16] Hey there, beautiful.
Adrien: [11:16] Something came up, I can’t make lunch today.
Adrien: [11:16] Sorry
Adrien: [11:17] :(
Her heart dropped. She sighed before typing out a short response.
Marinette: [11:17] no worries
Marinette: [11:17] see you later! <3
“What’s up?” Alya asked, “Are the boys already at the restaurant? Tell them we’ll be there in like thirty minutes. There are only ten people in front of us now.”
Shaking her head, she tried not to cry. “No, Adrien can’t make lunch. He’s just going to meet us back at the apartment later tonight.”
“Hold on." Alya whipped out her phone. "Let me text Nino.”
Marinette hugged herself. The air around her was cold, and she felt so small and alone. How could this be happening to her? Before they moved in together, everything had been fine with her relationship? What changed? Why now? What was she doing wrong?
“So, I texted Nino, and he’s with Adrien. Neither of them will be joining us for lunch.” Alya pulled her into a hug. “But everything is going to be okay. Trust me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Have I ever steered you wrong?”
“No.” Marinette shook her head. “At least not on purpose.”
“Look, you’re my best friend, and I propose that we have a girls’ day before we meet up with the boys later.” A smile lit up her face. “How would you feel about getting our nails done after the two of us grab a quick lunch?”
Marinette’s sadness was quickly replaced with confusion. “Our nails? At a salon? Since when do we pay for manicures?”
“Since today! So, what do you say?”
She didn’t want to spend another day sulking in her apartment. Perhaps a day out would do her some good.
“I guess that could be fun?” Marinette shrugged. “Just as long as we can grab some cookies for Tikki before we go. She’s been asleep in my bag all morning.”
“Yes!” Alya threw a celebratory fist into the air. “Works for me! Trixx needs some food, too. I’m sure he’d appreciate having something to eat while we get pampered.”
“A little pampering sounds nice.” Marinette looked down at her nails. “Maybe something festive? A bright red? Or sparkles?”
“Yes! That’s the spirit.” Alya slung her arm over her shoulder. “And maybe while we’re at it, we could get our hair and make-up done, too!”
“Wow, nails, hair, and make-up? This is starting to sound like we’re getting ready for a photoshoot, not a night in.”
“Why should model boy have all the fun? Besides, I’m sure he’d love to see you all ‘dolled-up’.”
Marinette laughed and did her best to imagine the smile on Adrien’s face when he finally saw her later that evening.
***
To her delight, Adrien did smile when she walked into their apartment, but it was quickly overshadowed by the hasty hello and peck to the cheek that he gave her before rushing off to the living room. Feeling her heart sink, she hung her coat on a hook and made her way to the couch.
The plan was to decorate their tree with Alya and Nino, but everything that could go wrong went wrong. The lights shorted out when they plugged them in, and at least twelve ornaments shattered when she attempted to hang them.
Adrien didn’t say a word as he cleaned up each little mess she made. He merely smiled and grabbed another ornament for her to put onto the tree. As the night wore on, he moved further and further away and made little to no eye contact with her. He even disappeared into their bedroom several different times.
Just when she thought the universe couldn’t possibly make her day any worse, Marinette managed to burn a batch of Christmas cookies that she’d put in the oven for them to enjoy when they were done decorating.
When the smoke alarm finally stopped beeping and the panic in the kitchen had subsided, Marinette reached her breaking point. How was she supposed to convince Adrien to keep living with her if she kept messing everything up?
Sure the broken ornaments were on par with her usual clumsiness, but burnt cookies? She was a baker’s daughter! Burning cookies was something that just didn’t happen to her anymore.
Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Marinette bolted from the kitchen, ran into the bedroom, and slammed the door behind her. After unceremoniously flopping facefirst onto the bed, she sobbed into a pillow, not caring about ruining her professionally-done make-up.
She’d tried so hard to make tonight perfect, but of course, she wasn’t even capable of making it okay. Even after she’d calmed down a little, Marinette cringed at the idea of rejoining the group. She wasn’t ready to see the look of disappointment on her boyfriend’s face.
If he didn't before, he definitely regretted asking her to move in with him now.
A knock at the door sent her flying towards the tissue box on her nightstand. There was no way she was letting anyone see her like this. Especially not…
“Hey, Marinette?” Adrien...of course, it was Adrien. “Can I come in?”
His voice sounded so unsure, and it immediately broke down her resolve. “Sure.”
She hastily wiped her hands at her face as the knob turned and the door slowly creaked open. Adrien poked his head in, locked eyes with her, rushed to her side, and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Oh, love.” His hand rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Please tell me what’s wrong. What can I do to make it better? Is it the cookies? Because we can just make a new batch. It’s okay.”
“Everything.” The floodgates opened, and Marinette buried her face into his chest, sobs racking her body once again. “I messed everything up! I know that you probably regret moving in together, and I was hoping that I could change your mind tonight, but I failed.”
Adrien pulled away, his eyes filled with concern. “Marinette, what are you talking about?”
“Y-you’ve been avoiding me, and I get that this was a big step and that you might not have been ready…”
He cut her off. “What? Marinette, no! Moving in with you was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. What made you think something like that?”
“Well, I barely saw you before you left, and you keep making excuses to not hang out or be in the apartment. Please don’t hide how you feel from me.” She sniffled. “It’ll hurt, but I’ll be okay.”
“Marinette…” He grabbed her shoulders and shook his head. “I love living with you.”
“Please.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I just need to hear the truth.”
“But I am telling you the truth. I don’t regret any part of our relationship. If anything, you’re the reason I’ve made it through all of this insanity the past few years. I’m so sorry that I ever made you feel like I didn’t want to live with you anymore.” He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. “I actually feel quite the opposite.”
The feeling of hopelessness began to ebb away under his unwavering gaze. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Then why do you keep disappearing all the time? We’ve barely seen each other in weeks.”
“Oh, uhhh, right.” He cleared his throat. “There’s a really good reason for that.”
He pushed himself off of the bed and made his way over to the dresser. After fumbling around one of the drawers, he pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box topped with a sparkling golden bow.
“I had this custom made for you, and there was a problem with my order. I was trying to take care of the issue the day I left. That’s why I canceled all of our plans.” He held out the box for her to take.
Marinette took the box and examined it.
He sat back down on the bed and clasped his hands in his lap. “I was going to give it to you while we were decorating the tree, but I got kind of nervous.”
“Is that why you kept avoiding me tonight?” She cocked her head to the side.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Why? I love everything you give me.”
“This is just...really special, and I wanted the moment to be purr-fect.”
She giggled. “A cat pun...really? I thought we were having a serious moment, Chaton.”
“Well, it made you smile, didn’t it?” He reached up and brushed a stray hair away from her face. “I want to look back and say that you were smiling when I gave this to you.”
“This must really be some gift.”
“It is.”
“What is it?”
“How about you open it and find out.” She turned the box a few times until she found the tape holding it together. She carefully removed the outer wrapping and pulled out a small, plain cardboard box with a lid. Marinette took off the lid to reveal an elegant black velvet box with a small silver clasp. It fit in the palm of her hand, and the more she stared at it, the more things began to make sense.
“Adrien, is this…” The words died on her lips when she looked up to find her boyfriend on one knee.
He took the box out of her hands, opened it, and turned it around, putting its contents on display. In all her years of dreaming about this moment, the ring he’d chosen was more beautiful than anything she’d ever imagined. She was left breathless as she watched the ring’s three stones sparkle under the glow of the ceiling lamp.
Knowing what was coming, her heart pounded against her chest. Her head was swimming amongst the clouds, and the colors around her suddenly seemed brighter and more vibrant. Her nightmare had turned into a dream–a beautiful, wonderful, and surreal dream.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are the light and love of my life.” The happiness radiating off of him was palpable. “When you dropped into my life, you filled a void I didn’t even know was there. You stayed by my side through every bump and struggle with nothing less than unwavering encouragement and love. Without even trying, you helped me grow into the person I am today. You accept me for all that I am, and I can’t even begin to thank you for that. I love you more than anything, and I want to build a life with you. I want to grow old with you, get a hamster, have children...I want it all.”
“Adrien…” Her hands were covering her mouth.
He took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”
Marinette launched herself off of the bed and tackled Adrien to the ground in a crushing hug. “YES! YES! OH MY GOD, I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING! YES!”
Now it was his turn to cry. “Wait, really?”
“I have been dreaming about marrying you for thirteen years!”
“But...that’s when we met.”
“And when I fell in love with you.”
“Oh, yeah…”
“My amazing, Chaton...Adrien, I love you so much.” She held his face in her hands. “I would love nothing more than to marry you.”
Before she had time to react, his lips were on hers. She slid off the bed, sunk to the floor, and erased the remaining space between them. Her hands were in his hair, desperate to feel him even closer. All too soon, they pulled away, gasping for air.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you, my lady. You’ve made me the happiest cat in the world.”
She leaned in and kissed him again. This time, it was a chaste peck on his lips that she knew left him wanting more.
“Marinette, no,” he whined, “come back.”
“I will," she said with a teasing lilt, “as soon as you finish what you started.”
“What?”
“Or do I have to put the ring on myself?”
“Of course not. Your hand, my lady?” He picked the box up off of the ground, plucked the ring out of the cushion, and slipped it onto her finger.
And just like that, all was right with the world. She always knew that she and Adrien were a forever kind of thing, but before today, it always felt abstract. Now, it was more than a daydream. It was their future, and it was real.
They kissed again and again until their lips were chapped and their cheeks hurt from smiling. Sooner than they would have liked, they decided to rejoin their friends; however, before she shut out the light and walked out of the room, she stopped to admire the ring once more.
It was a perfect fit...just like them.
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ushidoux · 3 years
Text
Baby, It’s Cold Outside - Oikawa x Reader
Summary: You may have fallen for Oikawa on the first date. (~1.1k words)
Warnings: sfw but with suggestion of sex, gender neutral reader, fluff
A/N: I was in my u wu feelings and was listening to a Christmas playlist so here lmfao
Song: Baby, It’s Cold Outside - Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé
----
I really can't stay
Baby, it's cold outside
I've got to go away
Baby, it's cold outside
This evening has been
Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice
I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice.
--
Your fingers always froze in the winter, right side worse than left, but this evening the chill was tempered by the warmth of Oikawa’s hand holding yours.
Dinner had been surprisingly nice. You had been wary about Oikawa’s intentions from the very beginning, wondering why a notorious playboy would be interested in someone like you over so many others that were either more stunning, more entertaining or at the very least, more receptive than you, but as the date progressed you had found yourself opening up to him.
You wondered if you could account the quickened pace of your heart and the acute awareness of the blood circulating through your arms and legs to the turns you had made around the ice skating rink together, but you knew this excitement was the fact that you were still beside him, wondering whether or not to part.
The two of you stood together in a pregnant silence, waiting for the cab that would take you back to your university’s dorms, while he returned instead to his off-campus apartment. It was excessively apparent from the lack of words between you two despite the animated conversation and laughter just minutes earlier that neither of you wanted to part ways for the night.
But who would speak first? The wolf who obviously just wanted to get you into bed? Or would you offer up your own body as a platter?
You glanced up at Oikawa for a moment to find that his brown eyes had already been softly resting on you.
“D-do you want to come over?” The two of you whispered to each other in unison.
--
The neighbors might think
Baby, it's bad out there
Say, was that a wink?
No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how
Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell
--
“You want to come over?”
Oikawa’s characteristic half-smirk settled on his face, and reflexively you let go of his hand, embarrassed that you had shown evidence of falling for his charm. Intimidated by the mischief you could read in his expression, you backtracked. 
“Actually, it’s a bad idea,” you replied quickly, now clicking open your phone again to check the time. “I have a final in a couple of days and this was already too much of a break.”
“What’s a couple more hours?” Oikawa said now, leaning in to you. He checked his own phone to check the status of your ride. “I don’t mind canceling - your ride won’t be here for another ten minutes anyway so it’s not too out of his way.”
You pursed your lips, hesitantly, and he added:
“Please.”
--
I ought to get home for dinner
Mind if I move in closer?
So it's time for me to cast you aside
What's the sense in hurting my pride?
--
“I can’t, my roommates are waiting for me to study,” you insisted, the warmth now settling on your cheeks as Oikawa pivoted from your side so that he was standing in front of you.
You expected this - of course he had a lot of practice with sudden, purposeful movements like this - but it still startled you when he held both of your hands, urging you to look up at him. 
Despite the fact that you had resisted his attention up until today, you couldn’t deny that in the cold, when backlit by scintillating city lights and when looking at you with a measured but obvious affection, he was almost dazzling.
“___, you had fun today, didn’t you? Let’s not end it here for tonight.”
--
You're very pushy, you know
I'd like to think of it as opportunistic
--
“I won’t sleep with you,” was the first thing you asserted the moment you arrived at his apartment. Oikawa paused for a moment, his hand pausing as he turned the doorknob and he looked at you. For a split second, he looked as though he had been hit, but another smile spread across his face.
“Am I really that type of man to you, ____?”
“Yes,” you said, quickly. He paused again as he opened the door and let it swing open.
“___, I promise I only have the utmost respect for you.”
--
I simply must go
Baby, it's cold outside
So thanks for the show
But, baby, it's cold outside
The welcome has been
How lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm
--
Outside was a flurry of powdery snow, accented by the wintry whistle of the January wind, but inside you were warm and cozy in Oikawa’s arms. His lips tasted of hot chocolate and espresso, reminiscent of the eyes that beheld you with enchantment, and you continued to drink deeply of him with soft kisses. You weren’t sure when your intimacy began but you knew in your heart of hearts that you had made the first move. 
Could you blame yourself?
The two of you indulged in each other moments, and moments more, but as hands began to travel south and breaths got heavier and longer and drawn out, you knew things were getting carried away.
Yet before you could reel yourself back, Oikawa pulled back from you first, scrambling off the couch.
“I’ll take you home.”
His voice was a soft mumble, and you could still see lingering desire in his eyes, but he readjusted his clothing and went to the door to get your coat, leaving your heart full and wanting. 
“Tooru,” you uttered as you rose slowly from the couch to watch him.
He smiled, as he brought your coat over and an extra scarf, not unlike the one he wore himself during your date. Wrapping the article around your neck, he smiled, and pecked you softly on the forehead.
“It’s very cold outside, ___. You can return the scarf anytime.”
--
You’ve really been grand
I thrill when I touch your hand
But don’t you see?
How can you do this thing to me?
There’s bound to be talk tomorrow.
Think of my life-long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied
If you got pneumonia and died.
--
I want to see you again, if that’s alright with you.
Now home, curled up in your own bed with a mug of hot chocolate that tasted like Oikawa’s kisses, you read his text to you and promptly texted back.
I can’t wait to see you again.
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qingxintea · 3 years
Text
➼ chongyun || hiraeth
tw: mention of knives (no violence), kidnapping, explosion _______
you angled your camera to catch your face and upper body correctly and adjusted your blinds for the correct lighting. you put thin pieces of yellow and pink paper over your lamp to give off a sunset lighting sort of aesthetic in your minimalist room. your tiny cacao tree sat in the corner of your room, setting some sort of simple beach vibe.
then, you began to stream.
you watched as majority of your followers came to view as you sat in your rolly gaming chair. the greetings came rushing in and you noticed two of your friends had came along too, xingqiu and chongyun.
"hey gang, it's kingexplosionmurder here with your weekly sunday stream," you smiled and watched as comments came in asking you to notice them. beginning to select randomly, you flicked a short strand of hair behind your ear. "you have been noticed, yourlocalsugardaddy," you blessed them. and you swore you chose randomly.
on the other side of the screen, chongyun's face slightly flushed before eating his popsicle again. yes, that was his username, selected by xingqiu after the guhua heir was somehow able to trick him into selecting so. the situation must've been that he accidentally consumed some jueyun chili's, that was also xingqiu's doing.
he watched you smile as you explained your schedule for this stream, when he noticed you suddenly began laughing. it sounded genuine, he wanted to believe it was genuine, but there was a trace of disappointment in it. he observed your face, noticing you were looking at the chat box. "i agree too, scarymoose."
scarymoose: this streamer's kinda dog shit ngl 😐
by instinct, his fingers grazed over the keyboard as he analyzed the tone. this kid wasn't joking around with himself, he was really out to bring you down. he exhaled, shaking his head, wondering how you would deal in the situation.
yourlocalsugardaddy: miss karen this isn't yelp 🙄
he wasn't content with that yet, things could've gone onto more serious matters, but he knew you liked to keep your chat clean and peaceful. you went to the farther extents to keep that from happening, agreeing with rude comments yourself as a said joke, but actually have it sometimes harming you.
so chongyun tried his best to keep you happy.
redrumreaper: yo moose chill 😳
he recognized his friend xingqiu also trying to calm the situation as you just laughed it off and attempted to continue, sooner enough just beginning to ignore all his comments. some other viewers came up to your defense but in all honesty, you wanted to move on.
"s-so, i found some silk flowers outside of wangshuu inn yesterday, aren't they pretty?" you took a tiny bouquet of the said silk flowers and presented it to your viewers, holding it next to your cheek. the pink tone of the flowers matched the color of your cheeks and made for a nice picture. chongyun would've screenshotted it, but he respected your privacy.
yourlocaldumba$$: yes they're so pretty we love you 😍
13lue13erry: yes ong ong 💕 thiccer than my granny
Straw13erry: don't bring madame ping into this 💀💀
colino: are you sure it's alright to take from someone's legally owned property ?? much less from their garden
Straw13erry: u mean ur neighbors don't harvest ur flowers every day? 🙄 privilege spoke 🤚
yourlocalsugardaddy: vv pretty 😳
redrumreaper: simp 💀
you slightly choked over on your side and xingqiu calling chongyun a simp, for you. quickly clearing your throat, you regained your composure. your viewers could see that your cheeks had been dusted with a darker shade now.
13lue13erry: 👀
Straw13erry: 👀
yourlocaldumba$$: 👀
redrumreaper: 👀
sireluck: 💀
bazinga: 👀
dandelionn: 👀
poetichoe: 👀
"okay- anyways," you pushed that aside, watching the chain of 👀's coming in. you weren't too sure at what they were referring to, but just assumed that they were interested in xingqiu exposing chongyun. but, there was no way chongyun really felt like that, right? it was just a friendly compliment from what you believed. "just a tiny flex but y'all guys, i am so cracked at apex, not gonna lie. for all the new followers out there," you randomly commented. 'and to change the subject.'
"actually, you know what? fuck the schedule, let's go to trolling little eight year old kids posting selfies on instagram. due to certain reasons i'm just not gonna be blurring their usernames out, but please don't spam these people, i don't wanna be cancelled 💗" you sweetly smiled as you pulled up instagram and started streaming on your phone.
of course your sus notifications ruined it 🤡🤡
because xingqiu took advantage of the situation, sending messages to your discord. nothing mentioning your romantic life because he knew better than that, but just trolling. 'HEY GANG. ITS ME, TONY, AND TODAY WE'RE GONNA SEE IF IM FASTER THAN THIS MOUSE TRAP.' 'TURNS OUT, I AM NOT FASTER THAN THIS MOUSE TRAP.' 'AN UPDATE, IT HURTS. ALRIGHT. BYE GUYS.' you tried hard to contain your laughter, but certain giggles came out in the end, giggles that made chongyun's heart flutter.
xingqiu just kept spamming without a stop, to the point that you accidentally clicked into the notification instead of someone's username on a selfie post. so now everyone could see your group chat with xingqiu, chongyun, and a few other viewers that were actually your other friends.
13lue13erry: oh no 🤡
Straw13erry: 🗿
yourlocaldumba$$: HAHAHAHA WE'RE EXPOSED 🤡👌
just water support boy 😔: image.png
oh my god he's sending chongyun catboy edits. you made this concerning noise, glad no one really seemed to know who chongyun really was on twitch. you went back to instagram, beginning to dm a random kid, ignoring the situation that had just happened.
chongyun choked, slight heat running to his cheeks. what the fuck was xingqiu doing- how did he even get those pictures? maybe it was that one time xingqiu forced him to go to a furry con, but how did he ever get the time to photograph these? he nervously fidgeted and played with his fingers.
13lue13erry: 🤡
Straw13erry: 🤡
yourlocaldumba$$: 🤡
redrumreaper: 🤡
<— oraoraoraor
kingexplosionmurder: chav check
oraoraoraor: what
kingexplosionmurder: chav: check 😹😹
oraoraoraor: bruh
oraoraoraor: who tf are you
kingexplosionmurder: hope you like baddies cause i'm bad at everything 💗
oraoraoraor: bruh ok i'm blocking
kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me
oraoraoraor: 😐
kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me
oraoraoraor: wtf
kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me
oraoraoraor: wait wait UR that one twitch streamer?
kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me
oraoraoraor: ig ur fans gonna be so disappointed in you
kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me
oraoraoraor: hahaha wtf i'm gonna post this and tag you
kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me
afterwards you sent a barrage of really cursed images and left the person on read when they tried to complain and get a reaction out of you. you chuckled, extremely satisfied with yourself. this is what your viewers followed you for. you went on hunting for another user, "GO Y/N GO" filling up your chat.
you were just about to dm this other kid until you heard a ring from your doorbell. "oh what the fuck, i didn't invite anyone. but you know what, i'll pull something up to entertain y'all guys while i'm afk." searching on youtube, you typed in 'banana fish ep. 1' and clicked on the longest video you saw. then you got up from your chair, making your way to the front door.
you didn't mute yourself before because you thought there was really no need to, and you underestimated your mic sensitivity. god did you wish that you could go back and time and do just that.
twisting the doorknob, you opened your door and was met with... a certain, someone.
someone that you recognized and has caused you so much pain, and it was all so fun and games before they had to come along. "bruh. aight what you here for fam?" you played it super chill, though you were really sick and tired of this person's shit.
"(y/n). we need to talk," her stern voice made you flinch as you just stared straight into her eyes. you simply nodded your head and crossed your arms, shifting your weight onto your right leg. "we're thinking of taking you back home."
your froze, your breath hitching as you just stood there, waiting for her to go on. clenching your fists and looking down, you stayed silent for a little moment and questioned, "...why?"
"well, you have a stable income source, right?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "you can finally be of use to us," she clasped her hands together, a bright smile on her face. your finger twitched, awaiting an explanation. "you're a streamer, yeah? so you can be a useful asset to our family name."
"...you only want me to come back so i can make you all seem... good?"
and here you thought, just for a second, that you would be accepted back into the place where you really belonged. your shoulders slumped, as small tears began to well up in your eyes. "and for our profitable gain of course, it would be a shame to not acquire that from you."
you composed yourself and looked up. "im afraid my profit can only cover for one person, and it would be myself that i focus to make a suitable and independent living out of. you've kicked me out ever since i've graduated from college and had me fend for myself, now inviting me back once i have a stable job?" you breathed, fiddling with the sleeves of your black hoodie.
"oh, not inviting, dear. taking."
confused by her words, you let your guard down as she suddenly pushed a warm cloth over your mouth as you let out a constrained scream. you tried to break free of her grasp, reaching for the switchblade in your pocket, but the drowsing chemicals from the cloth took control of you and you felt disoriented. "you... bitch..."
your head hit the floor.
》●✿ time ● skip ✿●
silence.
thats all you heard when you awoke.
pure, unfiltered silence that overwhelmed you as you were completely lost. what was happening?
you tried turning to the other side of your childhood bed, the moon casting light shadows into your 'room'. there was a rope around your wrists you noticed, so you brought them up to your lips and starting gnawing on them until it broke apart. (guys we feral its not a furry instinct ok?/ ??  ?)
the material had irritated your skin, but you put that aside for now. escape- thats what you really needed to do. it was fairly dark, but you didn't have a good estimate of time. the analog clock was broken and set to a different time that displayed 11AM. you sat up, your fingers running along the frame of the window next to you.
for a moment, you stopped, thoughts rushing into your head. what if you could start a whole other life here where things could finally be peaceful, what if you didn't have to feel so isolated anymore, what if you could- ...
no. (y/n), get yourself together. what has happened will anyways stay there, and there is no healing scars. ...still, you couldn't shake off the feeling of missing this home so much when you had an amazing childhood, though full of fake actors who had manipulated you.
opening all the cabinets silently, you grabbed things that you assumed would come to your aid. a tiny backpack, which you then stuffed with other things around it. a first aid kit, a spare knife just in case, along with a clean oversized sweater and a couple dollar bills. all that, along with a compass.
you turned towards your window, stepping on your bed.
pushing open the sides of your window, your stepped on, the brown coldness of the frame coming in contact with your feet. you shivered just a little bit before stopping to think. what would you do once you were out of here? you barely knew your way here. and not to mention, your devices were still left at your other house, so there was no way of contact.
...
did your stream ever end? even if it did, had you muted yourself before leaving? no, you didn't, and you could remember in precise detail. someone out there, anyone, would be willing to help, right? you couldn't possibly be here forever, not when you're basically blown up all over your socials?
your friends, yes, your friends! xingqiu and chongyun were watching the stream and had made obvious interaction in doing so, and they'd be willing to protect you. if they just had a lead...
but... what lead was there? all they heard was the woman's voice and, that was probably it, wasn't it? only a voice with no other clear features that could identify her. it looked like you were doing this on your own.
you came in contact with the blades of grass tickling your feet and conveniently found a pair of sneakers outside. it definitely wasn't yours, and it smelled like the scent of your old room. most likely, it belonged to someone from inside your house, lavender and mint, but who inside there was in the age range to wear modern day sneakers..?
brushing that question aside, you unhesitatingly laced them on and they were just a bit too big, but you could manage.
you breathed, inhaling the freedom intertwined air, a much needed factor of bringing you back to your lost sense of happiness. then, the fear struck you once again, because you needed to improvise now. you needed to run, but which direction? you barely knew this place at all.
you dug around your pocket for the compass you had and it was pointing east. you remember that stepping out of your house was facing west, so you were going the right way... but who knows how messy the path was? it couldn't have been an exact pathway, but going directly ahead was your simplest option.
you heard a pair of footsteps coming from inside the house, probably a few seconds away to opening the door. you sucked in your breath and ran, ran as far as your legs could take you. your intimidating speed and played into your advantage, and taking one last look, you saw the lights on, before continuing.
a few minutes into it, you felt some elemental energy. it was a sense you learned to develop since you were young, giving you the upper hand in a variety of situations. you followed the trail of glowing lines, the air starting to get colder and colder. you shuddered, the crisp coldness nipping at your skin.
you sat below a tree, taking your backpack off your shoulder and took out the oversized sweater. you put it on over your black tee and light blue skinny jeans, its nostalgic aroma filling your sense of smell.
it was... warm.
it shouldn't be warm.
the warmth proved as a sign that someone had worn it before, but this size was from what you knew, too small to fit the woman you came across again, and you absolutely did not recall any other beings within the house. it was a small household.
suddenly, you remembered what she said.
we're thinking of taking you back home. you can finally be of use to us.
plural. you should've noticed it before and you shook your head, slightly disappointed in yourself. you didn't remember any other birth siblings. could it be the fact that during the time, they had, in a way, replaced you?
you sat up, then suddenly went drowsy. your eyelids were getting heavy as your back hit the same tree. ah, that clever bitch. you chuckled to yourself, but still unsatisfied how this was gonna end. reaching inside your pocket, you grabbed a bomb that a little kid gave you, and threw it as far as you could. it wasn't as far as you hoped, but it was exceptionally far considered your sleepy state.
in a few couple seconds or so, it was going to explode. you did that to divert the attention of her and slowly ran as far as you could. a few seconds in, you gave in, hoping that your efforts were enough. 》●✿ perspective ● shift ✿●
chongyun heard an explosion.
he raised his head in the direction smoke was coming from, and made a run for it, then stopping to think. no, you're smarter than this. he gathered his shit together and remembered that one day klee gave you a bomb. he deducted that you had used it as a diversion, and began to search around the area.
and finally, he came across your sleeping body. to ensure your living state, he crouched down and let two fingers travel across your neck, searching for a pulse, and was relieved when he found one, pulsing at a normal rate.
he then carried you on his back, picking up the pace since he deducted someone was out for you, would you need a distraction. he remembered some details of the woman, she had ended your stream with your sleeping form in her hands, a dirty smirk coming across her lips. she had dark hair with some natural highlights, but that was all he saw because the rest was concealed by a cloak.
a few minutes, maybe half an hour later, you began to stir. chongyun decided that he ventured far enough to liyue and slowed down for your comfort. he wanted you to get some well deserved rest. but slowly, you woke up, but only the tiniest movement was made. your eyes were still droopy and you wanted to return to sleep.
but the sight of pastel blue hair kept you from doing so.
you felt the familiar silk coming in contact with your arms as he kept on trudging forward at a more consistent and smooth pace. "..chongyun?" you muttered out weakly, earning a small smile from the male. he hummed in response, continuing forward.
your mind was cloudy, unable to interpret the language of the world. but softly, words effortlessly escaped your lips, "... did i do the right... thing?" blinking multiple times, you awaited his answer.
"yes, yes you did," his soft voice reached your ears, making you smile a bit. you nuzzled deeper into his shoulder, clinging onto him tighter, unwilling to let go.
"thank you," you whispered.
he chuckled a bit before responding, "anything for you."
_____
bro ending is a little off because i'm wrote this at 2:53AM and so my brain has went ⬇️⬇️ also i'm just hungry
copy and pasted from my wattpad,, @ppeachtea_
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noyashighlight · 3 years
Text
The Villianess who lived
Tumblr media
Chapter one
“ And for the crimes of trying to harm another noble not only in public but in the vicinity of the royal family I summon you to death Y/n Villarreal.” The executioner’s voice boomed through the crowd of people gather in town square.
The one accused of the Horrendous crime was nothing more than a young girl, but not just any girl the daughter of Duke Villarreal who had just been beheaded this moment in an attempt to save his beloved daughter. Though she was vain and jealous of the baron's daughter for managing to steal her love the first prince, poisoning tea wasn’t her thing. Speaking of her beloved first prince, Tooru Oikawa was the one who sentenced her to this harsh death. He loved Maryanne Barlowe and not y/n, only being engaged to her for political advantage to be the crowned prince. He watched from his seat a daunting smirk on his face, his hatred for the girl ran deep to the point where the announcement of her death made him chuckle.
Next to him stood his best friend and personal knight Hajime Iwaizumi wearing his usual poker face. Though she was annoying with her unexplained love for the one he served and her cruel attitude towards women, the knight didn’t believe she deserved this punishment.
And on his other side sat Maryanne Barlowe the eighth and youngest child of the Baron, known as the sunflower of high society thanks to her friendly attitude she used to social climb. No one saw her as a threat due to her title, but now she would be the future empress. Soon she would reveal her true self as this was all an act for her, from pretending to be nice and weak to poisoning her own drink at a tea party Y/n hosted.
Y/n’s eyes shook with rage, hatred soared. Everything was taken from her, she was an accused villainess whose only real crime was falling for the wrong man who thought of her as a disposable object. “Any last words Lady Villarreal?” Tooru said standing from his seat, making sure he could get a good view of her in her last moments.
“ I hope that in my next life, I’ll be the one to place your head on a stick and parade it around the capital.” She still held her head high as if she wasn’t who just defamed the future self-proclaimed king.
He let out a loud chuckle that would send chills down anyone’s spine, “ Those who have sinned don’t get a next life, I hope the heavens forgive you my dear.” To think the only time he called her my dear was in a sinister setting. He nodded his head as cue for the executioner to do his job, “ May your damned soul find peace in the after life.” He whispered before swinging the sword down.
Her throat felt cold and burned as she shot up in her bed holding her throat letting out a scream of terror. “ My Lady are you okay?” Her personal maid Olivia burst through the double doors of her room. Y/n looked around horrified, she was back in her room. And Olivia was alive and well? This couldn’t be, the maid had died after taking the fall saying she had poured the tea thinking it would save her master.
“ I-I’m fine, how old am I?” It all felt too real to be a dream, was she given a second chance? Or was this the peacefulness of the afterlife being with the ones she loves? “ You’re about to turn 17 in a week, are you sure that you’re okay? You look pale and sweaty my lady.” The maid worried checking her head for fever or any signs of one. She was interrupted when Y/n pulled her down into a hug.
“ I’m fine Liv, I’m just happy to see you that’s all.” The young girl was never this gentle on any subject but that prince. Ah, that bastard who dared to cross her after devoting her life and body to him. She had a year until her death so she hadn’t done anything stupid yet. But to change her fate she had to change the future. “ What’s my schedule for today?” She hummed, if they wanted a villainess she would play the part but for her own benefit.
Olivia looked at y/n like she had lost her mind, “ You’re having tea with the first prince, you had to wait a whole month to get him to agree since he said he was busy.” Ah, that was right Tooru did all he could do to ignore and shun his betrothed. What a cowardly man, she thought getting out of bed.
“ I want to wear a light orange dress today, the more innocent the better. I’ve got a crow to catch.” She smiled to herself as sat in front of her vanity. Her maid was distraught by the sudden change of dress. “ But my lady! You’ve had that revealing aqua dress you were planning to wear since it’s Prince Tooru’s favorite color.” Maybe her mistress had finally lost her mind.
Y/n couldn’t help but laugh, love was such a blind curse. “ Throw it out, and anything else that color it makes me was to puke. Now pick me out something simple for breakfast so I can have breakfast with father. The maid nodded and quickly got her ready.
“ Father!” Y/n hugged the stern Duke, his face automatically softening. She hadn’t clung to him like this since he told her that he got the king to accept her engagement to Prince Tooru. “well hello to you too sweetheart, what did I do to deserve this?” He was curious, he hadn’t brought her anything over the past few days due to him being gone.
She couldn’t believe that her father was standing before her alive and well. “ Nothing I’m just glad to see you, now let’s have breakfast together before I have to go to the palace. “ she clung to his arm as they walked to the table together, she was going to make sure her father didn’t die in vain this time.
“ And we're finished, you look gorgeous Lady Y/n. No Lady’s beautiful rivals yours, the prince will definitely fall in love with you this time.” Olivia gushed at her handy work, as y/n stared at herself in the mirror astonished at her reflection. “ Olivia I will reward you when I come back home, now I must go I don’t want to be late.” She smiled making her way to her carriage, it didn’t matter if she was late or not because the prince would always arrive an hour late just to show the true distance between them. In this hour of free time she would set her plan into action.
“ Lady Villarreal.” Her knight Wakatoshi Ushijima said, holding out his hand to help her on to the carriage. “ Toshi I told you not to be so formal when no one is around, I get enough of that already.” She giggled at him taking his hand and getting on. Not only was he the best knight of the Duke but also her childhood friend.
“ My apologies lad- y/n, I’m used to you always having one of the noble ladies with you.” Those ladies weren’t here friends only using her for her high status, in the past, she was just too dumb to see but now it was clear as day.
The second she arrived at the palace she told wakatoshi to wait for her, as she wanted her alone time with the prince. Aha if only they knew which prince she was talking about. Y/n was headed to the crow garden, where the second prince Tobio Kageyama would be since it was a garden dedicated to his late mother. Once aprincess from another kingdom before becoming the empress while Tooru’s mother was only a queen. Sadly Tobio’s mother died at a young age, this palace was deadly yet somehow he was still alive. She was taking a real gamble coming here trying to meet him, it could even cost her life but whether she dies now or a year later made no difference.
The garden was filled with orange and black flowers that seemed almost otherworldly, the girl looked like she was a part of the garden with her dress blending into the flowers. No sign of the second prince at all, maybe her plan was going all to waste. The girl crouched down gently touching a flower. Just then she felt a cold sword on her shoulders threatening to cut her neck. “ Your highness prince Tobio has forbidden anyone from picking the flowers. Stand up slowly and turn to state your name.” Y/n gulped as she followed instructions meeting eyes with Shoyo Hinata, the orange-headed prince’s guard. He usually wore a playful smile but when ordered to can become deadly in seconds.
“ Lower your sword, I’m very aware of who she is. Though I have no idea why you’d show your face in this part of the palace.” A low voice ordered from behind Shoyo. prince Tobio finally came into the picture, but he didn’t look too happy.
Y/n bowed after the sudden shock, “ Glory to you your highness, may you prosper.” She spoke humbly, he was almost taken aback that she was bowing in his stead. Yes, she was in a lower position than him, but rumor had it that the duke’s daughter thought of herself as a prince who would only bow below the king and her beloved. “ You may rise, Lady Villarreal, why have you come here?”
He was itching to find out why she was here of all places, was she sent by his brother to kill him? Tobio had never formally met Y/n only the rumors that she was an evil being. There was no evil being that stood before him just a lovely woman who looked innocent. “ I’m sorry that I’ve intruded, I’ve heard about this garden since I was little but was never able to come. Also I heard that you would be here.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, with Knight Hinata still here she couldn’t reveal her true plan yet.
She came here for him? What business did she have him with anyway? Maybe he had done something to offend her, Shoyo often told him that his face was scary and made ladies cry. “ Why would I be interesting enough for the lady to come all the way here just to see me? Does my brother know that you are here?” He and everyone else knew Tooru didn’t love Y/n but if he knew one thing about his brother is that he is possessive. Just knowing that his fiancé came to see him would drive him crazy.
“ Ah I can’t say, your guard is scaring me.” She lied straight through her teeth, Tobio took the bait nodded his head to dismiss his knight. “ Now you may speak freely.” This whole encounter was strange for him and what she was about to say was even stranger.
She took a deep breath, worse comes to worse she would be sent to jail for offending royalty. “ I’m going to cancel the engagement with the first prince.” She looked up to meet his eyes that just went wide with concern and confusion.
“ Why would you do that? And why would you be telling me this as if it mattered to me?” He questioned as his eyes narrowed with suspicion, maybe she wasn’t as weak as he had thought when he saw her.
Y/n smiled as she had just won a prize, he was asking questions which was a good sign. “ Well, it’s clear that Prince Tooru doesn’t love me, and is only with me for ties to the Villarreal Dukedom. Without me lowers his chances of being king, being with Maryanne Barlowe who can’t give him a status raise will be his downfall.”
“ You know speaking of a future king while the current one is still alive is a crime right, yet you refuse to bite your tongue. Go on and continue, I’ll decide by the end of this if you’ll end up in the dungeon or not.” Tobio advised causing her to gulp, she must not falter to his empty threats. 
“ My birthday ball Tooru will bring lady Maryanne instead of escorting me, excuse me but that bastard is going to embarrass me for that woman publicly. I do not wish to stay by his side, I do not wish to love anymore. So please be my escort to my birthday, I will back you and make you king. Just don’t let me die.” Her eyes began to water and gloss over which she didn’t intend to happen, the thought of repeating the past scared her.
Tobio was taken back by the sudden emotions she held, she was shaking like her life was in danger. How was her fiancé being unfaithful going to end in death? His brain swirled with theories and answers but nothing made sense. This offer was too good for him to decline also too risky in the same sense. “ Keep your word that you’re going to cancel the engagement, then I’ll send you a message on what my answer will be.” This was the only acceptable answer he could give fearing this could all be a trap, something in her eyes was crying for him to help. If Tooru did become king he was as good as dead since he had hate for Tobio. With that he left without another word, he couldn’t take in any more information at the moment.
Y/n sat in the indoor garden sipping on her tea, she had been here for two hours, her fiancé was running extra late today not that she minded. It gave her time to practice speaking calmly instead of jumping over the table and brutally murder him for the trauma he had caused from her death. When the door opened Tooru arrived with Hajime, this tea was informal as ever how did y/n of the past look forward to meeting this rude man.
“ Sorry for being late, I had some stuff to take care of. “ he sat down expecting her to whine about how she had waited so long to see him. “ I didn’t mind, I was enjoying being in my own company. I’m starting to prefer spending time with myself instead.” She said calmly not even bothering to look up from her tea.
He smirked at her attitude, he wished she was always like this instead of drooling all over him. “ Your birthday is next week, I’m guessing you’re here to ask me to escort you? I’ll be wearing blue so you have to match me.” He loved toying with her emotions and getting her hopes up, yes he would agree to go but not with her.
Y/n hated the way he was so cocky and sure of himself, “ You don’t have to worry about us matching, I’m not wearing blue at all.” She simply stated finally meeting eyes with him. “ Is this your way of telling me that you want us to wear a different color? How rude you know I love blue.” If she wanted to wear a different color he would comply since it wasn’t his party but usually she agreed with whatever he said.
“ No not us, I will be wearing a different color since you won’t be escorting me.” She dropped the bomb on him even making his knight flinch at her harsh words. Tooru most definitely thought she was playing hard to get now. “ Why wouldn’t I be? I’m your loving fiancé aren't I?” He wore a playful smirk on his face, she was going to cave in if he played the part of a lover.
She chuckled at his ignorance, he just wasn’t getting it was he? “ Prince Tooru we both know you don’t love me, and I’ve decided to stop loving you now. So why don’t we do each other a favor, and stop this? I y/n Villarreal am annulling this engagement.” She stood up from her seat shucking the prince who could only grind his teeth. Lowering herself she got close to his ear, “ Why don’t you ask Maryanne Barlowe to be your betrothed, or you might be better off marrying a commoner.” Y/n stood up straight as she made her way to the door.
Tooru could barely react in time, “ If you leave right now Y/n, I will never take you back no matter how much you or your father beg me.” He stood up quickly making his chair topple over with a slam, their was no way this weak-minded girl changed overnight.
“ Your highness please refer to me as Lady Villarreal in public from now on, I don’t want people to get weird ideas.” She smiled politely before exiting, leaving the prince to flip over the tea table in anger. Though she had escaped from that death doesn’t mean she escaped from death completely.
A/n: it took me awhile to place the characters! Thank you to everyone who submitted stuff, I’m sorry if I didn’t get to use the character you wanted but I’ll be making some headcannons for the ones y’all sent. P.s I don’t hate Oikawa at all but you can’t tell me he doesn’t play his part well lmaooo. See you next time <3
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bokoutoe-retired · 3 years
Text
— setups, haunted houses, and confessions
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characters; daichi sawamura, gn! reader
synopsis; after being set up by sugawara, a pining captain and a smitten team manager stumble their way through a very unplanned ‘date’
total w/c; 2154
warnings; a little mentioned of (implied) fake blood, and i mention clowns and zombies like once, just some normal haunted house stuff. otherwise nothing but awkward pinning here
「 a/n 」 requested by @girlontumblur! so i obviously failed at getting this out like i wanted (i went back and edited last minute smh) 😔🤚 but it’s here now! 😼😼 and i hope this does decent because although it doesn’t flow as well as i wanted it to, i still kinda like it lmao. anyways, daichi simps unite 🤝 enjoy!
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you honestly should’ve known something was up the second sugawara approached you after practice with a sly grin plastered on his annoyingly pretty face. you should've known when everyone texted the team group chat with last minute cancelations or excuses for running late. and you definitely should’ve known when daichi was the only one you found sitting at the planned meeting spot. but, you didn’t and neither did he.
now you two were sat alone on the small blue bench. daichi had one of his hands tucked into the pocket of his thick army green jacket and the other hand scrolling through the same group chat you were looking at minutes prior. the two of you had agreed to wait for a little in hopes that maybe one or two other team members might show up. but unbeknownst to either party, both of you also hoped someone would show up and save you the pain of embarrassing yourself in front of the person you had been pining after for nearly three years. daichis phone pinged, interrupting the awkward silence. it was a text from suga and daichi can feel the tips of his ears grow warm as he reads the message;
have fun on your date! ;) -suga
of course it was suga. he shouldn’t have expected anything less from his scheming vice captain. how he got the whole team to go along with it, is a mystery he decides to leave for another day when he hears you speak up from your spot next to him.
 “is anyone else coming?” he’s thrown out of his thoughts when he feels you nudge his shoulder with yours and sees you nod to his phone. he quickly turns it off and pockets it before he turns his attention to you completely.
“i don’t think so, asahi was the last one to check in and he just canceled,” he sighs and shoves his other hand in his pocket. you two have been close friends for years, but a few recent incidents, (perhaps incited by suga now that he thinks about it…) have left you walking on eggshells around each other. all in attempt to not admit your feelings, the same feelings that are completely obvious to everyone except yourselves.
“oh.. well, i don’t mind if you don’t?” you wring your hands together in your lap as you look at him.
“yeah, yeah of course not. we’re already here aren’t we?” he gives you that big, warm smile you love so much. it’s practically infectious as you feel a wide grin spread across your face too. “lets go, yeah?” he stands up from the bench, and doesn’t hesitate to offer you his hand. you happily allow him to help hoist you up off the bench, but have to resist the urge to intertwine your fingers with his.
the walk to the pumpkin farm and haunted house combination is only about fifteen minutes, but the awkward silence from before is gone. replaced by comfortable conversation about your responsibilities as team captain and manager respectively, funny stories about your friends or talk about your shared classes. you’re so involved with the conversation neither of you notice the way you walk with your shoulders pressed together. maybe it’s a subconscious pull to one another or maybe just an attempt to escape the chill of the late fall air. 
upon your arrival, you can see the towering entrance archway, made of large sticks and corn stalks. built up into a curve with twinkle lights woven throughout. it welcomes you into the family owned farm turned halloween attraction. underneath the arch, families enter and exit, some with children in their costumes and some with parents carrying pumpkins. some young couples and teenage friend groups pass through as well. the small apple cider stand surrounded by hale bales emits that sweet spiced scent that so perfectly encapsulates autumn.
the original “plan” as stated by suga was to just go through the haunted house together and get some food together, just some team bonding. but without the lovable burden of the entire karasuno volleyball club with you, it’s easy for you and daichi to leisurely make your way around the entire farm and participate in all of it’s available activities. you made your way through a hay bale maze together. it may have been meant for children but you had fun regardless, laughing when you got separated and teasing each other when you hit a dead end. you got the treat of watching daichi attempt to bob for apples, and get nothing except for a slightly damp shirt collar.
you even purchased a bag of animal feed for you and daichi to share. you went around petting and feeding goats and a few chickens. at some point you reached into the small brown paper bag right when daichi did. your fingers brushed his and you both pulled back like you had been burned. each of you flusteredly spitting out apologies, until he takes a deep breath, chuckles and shakes head, telling you not to worry about it and it’s no big deal. his strong voice and calm words are a stark contrast to his worried apologies just seconds earlier, but it’s enough for you to relax and continue on with the afternoon.
eventually, daichi leads you to sit down across from him at a wooden table and you’re quick to fall into comfortable conversation. all while the warmth of the apple cider he had just bought you seeps into your fingers and keeps them warm.
if you didn’t doubt yourself so much, you would’ve thought this felt exactly like some sort of date happening. the two of you together, spending time doing things any real couple would. at the same time, similar thoughts raced through daichis mind. he thought about how much this must look like a date to any people passing, and how much he really did wish that was the case. to be able to call you his own and take you out on cute dates like this whenever you wanted. too concerned with his cheeks dusting red at the thought, he fails to notice the similar blush presenting itself on your face.
it’s so easy to get caught up as you keep talking with daichi, you don’t notice the sun starting to set and you don’t even catch him gazing at you with that soft look in his eyes. 
you crack a joke during your story about some of tanaka and noyas shenanigans and he laughs. he laughs this hearty, bright laugh that makes your chest tighten and your own smile widen. i’d like to make him laugh like that for the rest of my life you think.
“you know, i’m a little relieved. with the entire team here it would’ve been hectic to say the least,” he lets out another laugh at the thought of the whole club wreaking havoc on the poor farm, “and you know… i’m glad i got to spend time with you too. it was nice and i’m having a really good time” his soft smile is just as sincere as his words.
“i did too, daichi. thank you for today, i really had fun” you smile back at him and take a sip of your cider.
“ah ah! don’t say thank you yet, y/n. we’ve still got one last thing to do,” he shoves a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the haunted house. from your spot at the table you can see the flash of the strobe lights and artificial fog trickling from the attraction. “maybe we should go get in line?”
you nod, and he once again offers you his hand to help you stand. and just like before you resist the nagging push in the back of your mind to just intertwine your fingers with his. you make your way over, tossing your empty cider cups into the trash as you walk.
you purchase your tickets, or more so daichi buys both of them despite you insisting it’s your turn to pay after he bought cider, and get in the line of about ten people.
“you know i didn’t really consider the fact i wouldn’t have the whole team to hide behind anymore” you rock and back and forth on your feet, as you hear a couple of screams echo from inside the house.
“what, is your captain not big and strong enough to protect you?” he teases while flexing one arm.
“oh stop it, you know what i meant” you playfully roll your eyes and poke him in the ribs right before he swats your hand away.
“just remember, if you take me out now you won’t have anyone to hide behind” by now the line has moved up and there’s only two or three people in front of you.
they group in front of you goes and suddenly you and daichi are up next. the front of the haunted house is decaying and covered in those sticky store-bought cobwebs. you drop your tickets in the box and with a wave of their hand an employee motions you forward into the entrance.
you make your way through the halls of the attraction, going through different themed sections. a circus tent full of crazed clowns, a bloodied butchers shop, and zombies kept back by chain fences. each hall comes with its own set of spooks and scares. creepy sound effects, banging on the walls all around you and air machines puffing air into your face. you don’t even attempt to hide your terror as you scream and even grab onto daichis arm. he lets out his own shouts of fear, but manages to put on his tough act at least partially. you notice him place himself in front of you slightly as you walk, the arm you cling to held in front of your body protectively, although there was no true danger. you’d probably think something of it if you weren’t too distracted by the adrenaline pumping in your veins. it’s not all scary though, a couple of daichis screams make you giggle and act as momentary distraction from your surroundings. a particularly high pitched yelp of his has you gripping the back of his shirt, doubled over laughing. but a loud bang that rattles the wall next to your gives you a start and you keep venturing forward through the house.
you think you’re finally in the clear when you're walking down the hall that leads to the exit off the back of the house. you see an employee dressed in all black at the end directing people around the side of the house and back to the front. but it’s only when you feel your heartbeat start to slow that you hear the chainsaw start and the screams of the group behind you and daichi. you’re heartbeat picks up again and out of pure instinct you lurch forward. you make it out the hall and into the small gravel field behind before you realize daichi still had himself in front of you. you’re too late to react and go barreling into him. the momentum brings both of you tumbling forward into the gravel. you land halfway on top of him but his reflexes are much better than your own and they help keep you from going too far. one arm keeps you from rolling and the other cradles your head to his chest to prevent you from hitting it. the loud buzz of the chainsaw fades as the actor chases the friend group around the side of the house for a short distance. you immediately sit yourself up and attempt to apologize between labored breaths.
“oh god, daichi. i- i’m so sorry, i just heard the chainsaw and i started moving. i didn’t even think. i understand now why you don’t like me back now. i’m so sorry” you hang your head in apology, not even registering the words that slip from your mouth in your scramble to say sorry.
“what?” he asks, stunned.
“...what?” you echo back slowly before the realization hits you hard. you struggle to spit out an explanation and you feel your face heat up, “i just meant-” 
daichis look of shock morphs into a soft smile as he cuts you off with another one of his warm laughs and uses the hand at the back of your neck to pull you down. his lips meet yours in a kiss thats just as warm and solid as him. he pulls away after a moment only to rest your foreheads together and smile at you softly 
“does that mean?” you breathe out, smiling back hopefully.
“yes, yes it does,” he chuckles and stands up from the ground. daichi offers you his hand one last time, you take it and pull yourself up. but unlike any previous offers, you don’t hesitate to lace your fingers with his.
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boop-le-snoot · 3 years
Text
PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 12
Click here if you are a first time reader.
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Summary / TWs: Steve Rogers does not pass the vibe check yet again, le sad face. Loki is a good bro. Bruce fluff but what else is new? Literally everyone is a good bro, yo. Reader has best people. Tony's in there, kind of. Parents still suck.
For taglist: please send an ask if you changed your @! I noticed several people are unavailable :(
As always, my baby gay @miscmarvelwritings is the bestest beta!
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"I think I am going to murder your father." Bucky's angry statement didn't surprise me. Neither did Steve's initial reaction, or anybody else's mostly pitying looks.
Bruce, my Bwucie, was calm and dejected. That worried me. I expected him to be at least a little bit green around the edges when Steve forcefully sat me down and made me explain the drunken, drugged stunt I'd done the night before, but alas, it seemed like Jolly Green was just sad. Or disappointed. And I didn't know which was worse.
The more I thought about it, the more defensive and abrasive I became. "And you'll kill yourself trying, he'll drive you fucking nuts" I responded to Barnes. "Honestly, I don't fucking see the problem here. My dad shows up five times a year at best. It's been like that forever. And it's not like I'm some kind of junkie," I defended myself, and my dad, because I really didn't see the huge deal about it. Relaxing once in a while doesn’t hurt anyone.
"It's not right!" Steve exclaimed, loosely banging a fist on the table. The self-righteous prick, seemed like he wanted to pick a fight just for the sake of it.
"And who are you, exactly, to say that? The moral police?" I blew up, standing and turning to the blonde man, hands on my hips. "Or you've decided to be my parent without asking me first? Keep your hopes up and maybe a fuck will magically appear, so I could give it to you."
He stood up in turn, getting uncomfortably close to my face. I was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was a very large, very strong man. "We want what's best for you! Can't you see it?" Rogers was getting red in the face, crossed arms, staring at me down like I was dirt under his shoes.
"How about..." I seethed, having to stop mid-sentence to swallow the scream that wanted to erupt. "How about... You FUCKING ask me what I want?"
"I suggest the Captain leave to go calm down," Loki suddenly piped up. He stayed silent throughout the whole conversation, picking at his food instead. Only after his sharply uttered words I noticed he had stood up. His hand hovered over my shoulder, body discreetly wedging between me and the Captain.
I heard Steve growl before he stormed off, throwing an annoyed look at Loki. A pregnant silence hung in the room. The longer it lasted, the more I wanted to crawl out of my skin, suddenly hyper aware of all these people - strangers, save a few - debating on what to do with me. Like I wasn't a person. Like...
"Ugh, fucking hell," I growled, beelining for my bag. I had definitely overstayed my welcome.
"Where are you going?" Bruce asked, standing up to follow.
"Home," I replied curtly, nodding my thanks to Loki for the intervention. He nodded back, walking off. I would have probably started swinging at the Icicle Dick if not for the raven haired Asgardian's timely interruption.
"I'll drive you," Banner trotted after me like a dejected puppy. I didn't have the mental capacity to deal with this, at all.
"I need to see Tony first. Meet you downstairs?"
Bruce nodded, looking even more confused.
Tony kissed me hungrily, in between promises to kill Steve and cancel my dad and get me my own apartment in the tower. Believing in fairy tales wasn't something I was ever prone to; I smiled, nodded along and did my best to shut him up with my own mouth on his. I left with the promise to text him as soon as I got home.
"How are you?" Bruce asked me as we once again drove through the busy city. This was becoming a nice habit but we really had to meet up when I wasn't going through another one of my turmoils.
"All things considered, I am great. Better than I've been in a while." I answered honestly, meaning it. However brief Tony's attention would be, it still satisfied me. Then and there I decided to always, always cherish what happened during my brief stint in his arms.
"Really?" Banner's warm smile was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. "Care to share?"
It threw me for a loop. I didn't know how much Tony wanted to disclose regarding what happened between us. I didn't know the extent of his friendship with Bruce. I didn't know...
"Tony," I choose the usual option. Admit what you can't deny, deny what you can't admit.
"I know the feeling," The good doctor chuckled, companionable-like and meaningful. "He tends to go all the way for the people he cares about. Too much, if you ask me."
"What do you mean?" I was confused. Sure, me and Tony were friends. But not, like, super close or anything. We'd fucked, or more like messed around, so I expected our friendship to grow colder. That's what happened when friends decided to bump uglies.
"I mean... He'll move mountains and challenge the government and bully them into dropping charges against you," There was a hint of sadness in Brucie's voice. I vaguely recalled seeing something on the news, something about the Hulk and a massive destruction spree. It didn't take long to put two and two together.
I reached out, putting a hand on his knee. He covered my palm with his own, giving it a brief, warm squeeze.
"It must be great having a friend like that. You're both wonderful and brilliant. You deserve no less," The smile threatened to split my face in two.
Bruce returned the smile but the sadness didn't go away. "You realize that extends to you, right?"
"Me? I'm just me, Bruce." I wasn't sure where this was going. "I'm Peter's classmate and the resident hot mess express."
Bruce frowned, deep and long, up until he parked. Life seemed to be taking back all the happiness it gave me previously-in fucking buckets. The strap of my bag was going to get its threads pulled out with the way I was fiddling with it.
"Baby… Princess?" The scientist turned to me, tone torn somewhere between stern and pleading. "Listen to me. You are brilliant. Incredibly smart, talented and beautiful. Don't ever, ever think of yourself as less than any of us." I gaped at him.
Did he mean us as the Avengers? Us as Tony and Bruce? Meanwhile he continued, "In fact, I think you are the one who deserves so much better. I don't know what Tony found in me… Or what you found in me."
Was the man an idiot or yes? That was the question of the day. Cursing Tony's affinity for small cars (bless me and my own SUV), I only hesitated a moment before grabbing the dumb Banner by his face and startling him into looking straight in my eye. "If you don't quit talking all that fake-ass bullshit, I will kiss you. On the mouth. With tongue."
"Uh," Was his articulate response. I watched him squirm, blush and lose the heat to his argument.
"Exactly. I've had it all with you idiots today. Next time someone says some stupid ass fucking thing, I will kiss them. On the mouth, with tongue. Pass it on," I exhaled, releasing his face and dropping my head onto his shoulder.
"Some way of solving conflict you have," Banner chuckled weakly, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "I'd like to see Steve's reaction."
"A boner, probably, because he needs to get laid before he spontaneously combusts," I grumbled venomously, still bitter about his reaction. The Capsicle needed to chill. Hehe.
"I'll pass it on too," Bruce remarked wryly. "See you next week?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Bwucie, you're the fucking best," I kissed the scientist on the cheek, giving him a tighter than usual parting hug and walking up the pathway. Home.
Mother was nowhere to be seen - and the obvious reason for that laid on the kitchen floor. Couple of smashed dishes, a bottle of whiskey laying half-empty in a puddle on the grey tiles. The living room rug bore more stains and the smell of alcohol, bitter and acrid (like my soul, hardy har), hung heavily throughout the whole house.
At least I wasn't the only one who fought for myself that day. Mother probably had landed a good one on dad, too, by God the woman could be ruthless with her icy words. Dad never stood a chance. I've felt begrudgingly respectful of the way mother put people in their place with her words ever since I understood sarcasm.
First things first, I cleaned up the mess and opened the windows a smidge, cranking the air recuperation system to the max. Hanging around a place that smelled like a bum on a good Friday night was a horrible way to spend free time. Having successfully cut myself and bandaged the cuts up, I retreated to my room, not wanting to spend more time than necessary in the quiet, stinky, creepy house that my home had become.
My phone was long dead so I plugged it in, waiting for the 2% to appear, turning it on. A few messages from Peter, first cheerful, then worried and then relieved. Tony must've placated the spider child and told him I was staying at the tower. Good call, Tones, or else poor Peter would've worked himself into an anxiety attack and crashed in a dumpster while patrolling. Or something. I still didn't quite get his spider-hero side-gig.
A text from Bruce - rather, a photo, of a disgruntled Steve with his eyebrows raised, titled "I told him the next time he freaks out, you will kiss him. With tongue. Barnes cackled for about ten minutes until he ran out of air."
And a text from Tony. My chest tightened when I opened it. "Good tactics. Sneaky, clever, I'd give it a B+."
I snorted. Then the phone beeped again and I froze. A text ordering me to be ready tomorrow, for a date night? Unreal. I was torn. A part of me was elated, thinking Tony wanted to keep me around like that. The other, more sensible part, was firmly telling me to chill TF down. He'll most likely kindly reject any further intimate interactions, maybe have me sign a few NDAs.
I still answered positive, mushy and cute and all. Feelings aside, I wasn't about to change my texting style for any man. My God, I was turning into a monster. A horribly cheesy, pink, soft, fluffy monster.
The next day, school was nearly unbearable. People talked. Not to my face, of course, since the rumours of me putting away Flash Thompson were still fresh enough for everyone to be cautious around me, but the whispers followed me throughout hallways, tongue in cheek remarks thrown at me from the bathroom stalls, behind the teacher's desks. Did I care? Nope.
Okay, I did, but not in the way one would think. The little spring in my step, a slight smirk. My thoughts were occupied with my upcoming dinner with Tony.
Peter and his pet nerds stood at my side, the ever watchful guards. I had no idea why they decided I needed reassurance or their comfort (I did not), but I had to admit it was cute. MJ, in particular, glared her Death Ray Stare at any male-identifying student that dared to as much as look wrongly in my direction. I mostly ignored the trio. Pete himself did a great job with entertaining his friends, he babbled on as usual, about everything and nothing in particular. Mouth ulcers. He was going to get them one day.
Dad called me during third period, saying he was flying off to California. I would have been lying if I said I didn't know why he scheduled the sudden trip; mother's total radio silence and the absence of her laptop in her own office spoke volumes about the state of my family's affairs. They had a fight and ran off to the opposite ends of the continent. I didn't understand why mother was upset with me, though. I saved her face during dinner at Tony's, so why is she mad about me going to a party with dad? Baffling woman.
Admitting the house felt like home when either of them were absent was hard. Or, perhaps, I felt nothing at all. Spending so much time around the Brady Bunch- the Avengers made me too soft for my own liking. It wasn't just Tony that lived in mind rent-free all the time now; there was Bruce, with his kindness, Bucky with his overgrown teenager attitude, Wanda with her wit and hair that smelled like cheap shampoo - seriously, I absolutely had to show her the benefits of decent hair products. That was just to list the few little quirks. There were so many people, all of them different and wonderful in their own way.
To summarize it, I was both happy for them and bitter for not having any of that to myself. Although it made me kind of glad I didn't have a sibling - looking after someone in the mess that mother and dad created would've been a nightmare. They say it's always a better place where we are not.
I went through a whole pack of cigarettes in a span of a couple of hours. Plagued by strangely melancholic thoughts, trying to push down the anxiety over my upcoming date, my choice of outfit proved to be a cumbersome task while in process.
Expensive but simple dress with spaghetti straps, in my favourite colour. That was the easiest part. A good base for any accessories. Would Tony like it? Would the press make outrageous comments?
Either way, it would. Dad's comments cut deeper than I probably realized it until now; in a sudden bout of self-awareness and a couple of mouse clicks later... Tony wouldn't care. Tony wears suits with sneakers. The Manolos flew back, towards my shoe closet, and a pair of Chanel trainers made their debut. A Hermes 2002 barely weighed down by my wallet, keys and phone. A nice coat, too, appropriately light and so very conceptual and fashionable.
I spent way too much time deciding on what to wear. A stern talking to, however, didn't help me, and I had to redo my make-up - the "nude", "all natural" look was one of the hardest to nail. Or so Marie Claire said. Whatever, my highlighter game was, as usual, on point.
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themetaphorgirl · 4 years
Text
I asked for cute and cuddly things so I could write something adorable!! I tried to combine as many as possible!
@therestisconfettis​ : “the psolc babies making a pillow fort!!”
@birds-are-better-than-you​ : “My brain immediately goes to people actually listening to him talk instead of cutting him off, but thats just rooted in sadness”
@fragolinaa​ : “I just want people cuddling him, maybe someone who hasn't yet like Emily or Dave?”
@purpleturtle31extra : “Spending an off day exploring music together! Like showing him songs that remind you of him or a certain memory..”
anonymous: “cute cuddly idea: u mentioned Emily and Dave getting Spencer legos. Write a little thing of a rainy day or whatever and everyone’s just chilling building random shit with legos and then there’s gonna be Spencer actually building something with proper ratios and actual potential urban planning and everyone else is just like “hmm... I have built something vaguely resembling a plane”
anonymous: “omg cuddly mom alex?? maybe spencer napping with her and he has a nightmare??”
I hope I touched on everything!! I think I captured at least a little bit of everything!!!
----------
“Hey,” Emily said. “Are you feeling okay?”
Spencer dragged his fork around his plate, his chin resting heavily in his hand. “I’m not hungry,” he said dully.
“This is your last day to eat whatever you want,” she pointed out. “Go get something sugary. Donuts or something.”
He shrugged, and she bit back a sigh. Everyone else had left on Wednesday afternoon to spend Thanksgiving break with their respective families- literally everyone, even Hotch- and while they’d had a nice Thanksgiving at James’s house, and she was enjoying having her room all to herself, she and Spencer had been left behind, and the kid was moping like it was his job. She was starting to figure out that while he liked doing things on his own, he needed the security of knowing that everyone else was nearby.
“I guess I’ll go get some chocolate milk or something,” Spencer sighed, sliding down from his chair. 
“See? There you go,” she said. “Treat yourself.”
As soon as he slid down from his chair and trudged away she pulled out her phone.
the cause of hotchner’s headaches
9:09am
You guys need to help w the kid hes so sad i dont know what to do
James texted back first, which didn’t surprise her.
doctor james, medicine man
9:10am
Is he okay? 
the cause of hotchner’s headaches
9:10am
HES SAD I CANT HANDLE IT COME HELP ME
spaghetti grandpa
9:11am
He’ll be fine. He knows everybodys coming back today right?
the cause of hotchner’s headaches
9:12am
HE IS SAD NOW COME OVER
She set her phone aside as Spencer walked back up to the table with a carton of chocolate milk in his hands. “Can you open this for me, please?” he asked. 
She did and handed it back, but he didn’t drink it. “How about we go watch a movie or something?” she suggested. “While we’re waiting for everybody to get back on campus. That’ll be fun, right?”
He shrugged. “I guess,” he said. “What time is it?”
“A little after nine.”
He scrunched up his face, calculating. “Who do you think will be back first?” he asked.
“I don’t know, babe, we’ll have to see,” she said. “Drink your milk and we’ll get out of here.”
He sighed. “I don’t think I want it anymore,” he said. She shot him her best impression of Alex’s mom look. He rolled his eyes, but he drank it anyway.
Outside the dining hall it was cold and gray and dreary, rain falling just steadily enough to be irritating. She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and made Spencer put his purple galaxy-print raincoat on over his his sweater before they walked down the steps. 
“Do you think the weather will ground planes?” he asked anxiously. 
“Your guess is as good as mine, squirt,” she said. “It’ll definitely rain all day, but I don’t know if it’ll affect planes. You’ll probably know better than me.”
He said nothing, but he slipped his small hand into hers. She squeezed back gently. The kid had been perfectly well-behaved the whole time she’d been left to watch him, but it was frustrating to see him so sad and quiet and droopy. She didn’t think it was possible to be homesick for other people, but Spencer definitely had a bad case of it.
They settled in the common room, but the cozy space seemed cavernous and empty without the rest of the group. Spencer left his coat and his shoes in his room and settled into Alex’s usual spot on the couch, leaning on the armrest. 
“So what do you want to do, kiddo?” she said. He raised and lowered one shoulder. She huffed. “I’ll just pick something then.”
“Nothing scary, please,” he said, his chin resting on his folded arms.
“No, don’t worry, I learned my lesson,” she said. She grabbed a Star Wars off the shelf- she wasn’t sure which one it was, but she figured she couldn’t go wrong with something sci fi.
“Hotch’s plane lands at eleven, right?” he said as she plunked down on the opposite end of the couch.
“I think so,” she said. She reached over and ruffled his hair lightly. “Stop overthinking, you’re going to blow a fuse in there. Everyone will be home soon, don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not worried,” he mumbled.
They got about halfway through Star Wars (she still wasn’t entirely sure which one it was) when they heard Dave and James on the stairs. “Hey, guys!” Dave called. “We’ve got presents!”
Emily paused the movie. “What do you mean, presents?” she said. “What’d you bring me?”
James and Dave each held large plastic tubs that they dropped with heavy clatters on the floor. “Spencer, you’ve been having fun with the legos we got you for your birthday, right?” James said.
Spencer raised his head. “Yeah,” he said slowly.
“Well, we decided to dig around for our old lego collections you can have your own giant collection,” Dave said. 
He slid off the couch. “Really?” he said.
“Yeah, absolutely,” James said. “Go get yours, we’ll put them all together.”
Spencer’s eyes lit up. “Okay!” he said, darting off to his room.
“Oh my god, thank goodness you two are here,” Emily said. 
“You know, you said he was sad, and I didn’t believe it till I saw him,” Dave said, wrenching the lid off the first bin. “He looks like a deflated balloon.”
“See? I wasn’t lying,” Emily said. “Poor kid has been moping all week.”
James checked his phone. “Hopefully everybody will get in without any problems,” he said. “Alex texted me a little bit ago and said they delayed her flight by an hour.” 
“Oh, yikes,” Emily said. “She’d better get back here soon. And don’t tell the kid that, he’ll worry more.”
Spencer ran back into the room with his legos. “How should I organize them?” he asked. “Color first or size first?”
“How about we, you know, build something?” Dave suggested as he sat down on the couch. “C’mere, passerotto, I think I have all the pieces to the batcave.”
“Ooh, which version?” James asked as Spencer sat down on the floor in front of Dave.
“I don’t know. I think I built it once when I was Spencer’s age and then never touched it again.”
Emily leaned over James and scooped up a handful of plastic pieces. “What are you going to build?” she asked.
“Hey, don’t copy me!”
They worked on their projects mostly in companionable silence, sometimes absent chatter. Rain continued to tap at the windows. At least Spencer seemed distracted at last, focused on his projects.
Lightning cracked, white light shining through the window for a brief moment, and everyone jumped; Spencer knocked over one of his structures. “Holy shit,” Emily said. “That was terrifying.”
“You okay?” Dave asked, touching Spencer’s arm lightly.
He nodded, leaning against Dave until he lifted him onto his lap. “Do you think everybody’s okay?” he asked. “Planes can’t always fly in this sort of weather.”
“I’m sure everybody’s fine,” Dave reassured him. Spencer bit his lip, still staring out the window. “So what have you been building?”
“Scale model of campus,” he said. “Well, it’s not exactly to scale. But it’s pretty close.”
James held up a lump of legos. “This was supposed to be a plane,” he said. “But it doesn’t look particularly aerodynamic.”
Spencer laughed. “What kind of plane is it supposed to be?” he asked. “It looks like an off-kilter Cessna.”
“I don’t know. Just...a plane,” James said. 
“I’m trying to see how tall I can build this thing without it falling over,” Emily said. “Not much success yet.”
“I’m sure you know, caro,” Dave said, poking Spencer lightly in the side. “How tall is the tallest lego structure ever?”
“The tallest one is in Milan, it’s a hundred and fourteen feet, eleven inches tall,” he said. “The previous tallest was just a hundred and fourteen feet tall, in Budapest.”
“Milan, hm?” Dave said. “Maybe I’ll go see it next time I’m over there.”
“There’s one in Tel Aviv that was built to be four feet taller but-”
Lightning cracked again and Spencer jumped. Dave rubbed his back lightly. “It’s okay, it’s just a bad storm,” he said. It was too late, though- the attempts at distraction had failed, and Spencer was clearly back to worrying, the corners of his mouth tugging down.
Dave looked over at Emily. What should we do? he mouthed. She shrugged helplessly.
Thankfully, right at that moment heavy footsteps echoed on the stairs. Spencer raised his head. Please let it be one of our group, please let it be one of our group, Emily thought fervently.
A tall figure in a rain-soaked coat made it to the top of the stairs, almost terrifying for a split second, but he threw back his hood and shook his head. “Jesus, that was a nightmare,” he said. 
Spencer scrambled to his feet and ran towards him, nearly kicking Dave in his haste. “Hotch!” he shrieked, throwing his arms around his waist.
“Hey, kiddo!” Hotch said, bending to hug him. “Hey, careful, it’s raining really hard out there, I’m drenched and I don’t want you to get wet.” 
“How was your flight?” James asked.
Spencer, undeterred, still clung to Hotch; Hotch ran his fingers through his thick short curls. “Unbelievably shitty,” he said. “Flights were getting canceled left and right, it’s just storming bad everywhere. If I hadn’t gotten such an early flight, I might not’ve made it back.”
“That’s what we’ve been worrying about,” Emily said. “And when I say we I mean Spencer.”
Hotch tugged him back so he could see his face. “Hey, stop worrying,” he said. “Everybody will get back eventually. I promise.” 
“I can’t help worrying,” Spencer said. “What if everybody’s flights get delayed? What if something happens to their planes. What if-”
Hotch scooped him up. “Hey, I think the dining hall’s open for lunch,” he said. “Anybody else hungry? I didn’t have time for breakfast before my flight and all they gave me was one packet of pretzels.”
“They stopped giving away peanuts because of allergies becoming more common,” Spencer said, leaning his cheek against Hotch’s shoulder even though his coat was soaked with rain.
“Yeah?” Hotch said. “How about you go get your coat and your shoes, okay? I’m starving.”
“Okay,” Spencer said reluctantly. Hotch set him back down on his feet and he ran down the hall to his room.
“I am so glad you’re back, Hotchner,” Emily said, sweeping her lego tower back into the bin. “He’s been so sad with everybody gone.”
“I can tell,” he said. “Has he been like this the whole time?”
“Oh, yeah,” Emily said. “I’ve barely been able to get two words out of him.”
“Even when they came over for Thanksgiving he wasn’t talking much,” James added.
Hotch sighed. “I didn’t even think about this,” he said. “Poor kid.”
Emily’s phone buzzed. “Oh, it’s Penelope,” she said. “I’ll put her on speaker. Hey, Pen, how’s it going?”
“Terrible!” Penelope said, her voice crackling over the line. “I made the flight from California to Texas for my layover, but they canceled my connecting flight. It’s storming too bad.”
“Oh, yikes,” Dave said. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she sighed. “They have me booked for a flight first thing in the morning, and the airline is putting me up in a hotel for the night, but it’s so frustrating.”
“I’m sure,” James said. “Stay safe, okay? Do you need anything?”
“Are you kidding? The hotel has like a million channels and room service, I’m doing great!” Penelope said. “I’ll call you guys in the morning before my flight, okay? Talk to you soon!”
Emily sighed as the call ended. “Well, that’s one down,” she said.
“Penelope’s not coming?”
Spencer peeked out of the hall, his rainboots on and his coat dragging from his hand. “Yeah, her connecting flight got canceled,” Dave said. “But she’s safe, and she’ll be on a flight tomorrow, okay? So don’t worry.”
Judging by the way he pressed his mouth together, he definitely was worried. Emily pushed herself up from the floor. “Let’s go get lunch, okay?” she said. “Before Hotch starves.”
The rain had gotten decidedly worse, coming down in heavy sheets and flooding patches of the courtyard. Her umbrella helped a little but not much; Dave complained loudly the entire walk over. Spencer stayed glued to Hotch’s side, clinging tightly to his hand even once they made it to the warm safety of the dining hall. 
Hotch pulled Spencer’s hood down as they got in line. “What do you want?” he asked. 
“I’m not hungry,” he said.
He frowned, then covered Spencer’s ears. “Emily, be honest,” he said. “Did he eat while we were gone?”
“Not for lack of trying,” she said. “I kept putting shit on his plate and he barely touched it.”
“Did he just eat ice cream and candy?”
“He didn’t even want sweets. Or coffee, even.”
Hotch’s frown deepened. “Well, shit,” he said. He dropped his hands to Spencer’s shoulders. “Okay, kid, you have to eat something. If you don’t pick, I’ll pick for you.”
Spencer shrugged. “That’s fine,” he said. 
Hotch met Emily’s gaze, eyebrows raised. “I told you,” she said. 
She followed Hotch down the cafeteria line as he filled up two plates. Spencer stayed so close he ran the risk of getting stepped on, his small hand clinging to the hem of Hotch’s jacket.
Dave and James had beaten them to their usual table, and neither of them looked particularly happy. “Bad news,” James said. “JJ just called. Her parents rescheduled her flight. They were worried about the storms, so she’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.”
Emily glanced over at Spencer. “But she’s okay?” he said anxiously.
“She’s fine, caro,” Dave said. “And she’ll be here tomorrow.”
“What about Derek and Alex?” he asked. “Have they called? Or texted.”
“Not yet,” James said. “Maybe they’re already on their flights, though. I”m sure we’ll hear from them soon.”
Hotch set the tray down on the table, then picked Spencer up and set him down in his chair. “They’ll be fine,” he said. “So how did Thanksgiving go for you guys?”
Even with their attempts at changing the subject and trying to draw him into the conversation, Spencer seemed to sink further into himself, his legs tucked up under him and his chin resting in his hand, his plate still mostly untouched. Emily couldn’t blame him for being sad. All week it had been just the two of them in the nearly-deserted dining hall, and even with the boys there it seemed wrong without the rest of the group- Penelope shrieking about something that didn’t need to be shrieked about, Derek regaling them with stories from football practice, JJ’s pretty laugh bubbling over, Alex keeping the peace and stopping cups and plates from getting knocked over and tilted onto the ground.
Hotch didn’t make much headway getting Spencer to eat, but at least he ate a little bit, and their little group braved the storm to get back to Lincoln House. “What have you guys been up to?” he asked as they settled in the common room again, coats and umbrellas hung up to dry.
“Legos,” James said. “This was supposed to be a plane.”
Hotch laughed. “Yikes,” he said. “I’m glad you’re not planning on going into engineering.”
“Yeah, probably for the best,” he said ruefully. “I-”
“Hold on, hold on,” Dave interrupted. “Did you guys see the group chat?”
Emily fumbled for her phone. “No, I didn’t, I...oh.”
“What’s wrong?” Hotch asked.
“Derek’s flight got canceled too,” James said. “He says it got delayed and he sat on the tarmac for three hours, but they pulled everybody off the plane. His mom’s already picked him up, so he’s fine.”
Emily glanced over at Spencer. He curled himself up smaller, his knees tucked up to his chest, chewing on his thumbnail. “But he’ll be here tomorrow?” he said. 
“Yeah, he’ll be here tomorrow,” Dave reassured him.
Spencer lifted his head. “Can we call Alex?” he asked quietly. 
“Yeah, of course,” Emily said, immediately pulling Alex’s contact info on the screen. “Here, kiddo. Just press-”
Lightning cracked, and with a sharp pop the common room went dark.
“Holy shit!” Emily shrieked, the phone falling from her hand.
“Did a fuse blow?” Dave said.
James got up and looked out the window. “Well, judging by the other buildings on campus...I think the power’s out everywhere,” he said.
“Well, fuck,” Hotch said.
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Watch your language!” she said in mock horror.
“Oh, shut up,” Hotch said good-naturedly. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait for the power to come back on. Spencer, do you want to go ahead and call Alex? She’ll probably be glad to miss the power outage.”
“I think the tower’s down too,” Spencer said in a small voice. “There’s no signal.” He held the phone back out to Emily. “Thanks anyway.”
She reached for the phone, and as the lock screen flickered she caught the faint mark of tears on his cheek. “Oh, no,” she said. “Oh, fuck. Spencer, don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying,” he said, but there was a distinct wobble in his voice.
“Spencer, it’s going to be okay,” Hotch said. “The power’s going to come back on, and everyone will be home soon.”
It was too dark to see, but she could hear Spencer sniffling in a valiant effort to keep form crying. “I know,” he said. “But I-”
Hotch picked Spencer up and placed him in Emily’s lap. “Stay here with Em for a second,” he said. “James, Dave, come with me.”
Spencer dropped his head against Emily’s collarbone as she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “It’s been a rough week, dude. You didn’t get to go home and see your family, and you miss everybody. And you’re worried because of the storms. It makes sense.” She kissed the top of his head. “And now we’ve got all this power outage shit. But it’ll be okay.”
Hotch dumped an armload of stuff onto the nearest armchair. “Thank goodness for Penelope’s illegal candle stash,” he said. 
Emily twined one of Spencer’s short curls around her finger. “What’s with all of the pillows and blankets?” she asked.
In the dim light she could see Hotch grin. “We’re going to make a blanket fort,” he said. “C’mere, Spencer, I could use your brain for this.”
Emily set Spencer on his feet as James and Dave brought in their collections of pillows and blankets. She busied herself lighting candles and placing them in safe places around the room as Spencer directed the older boys in their construction. He seemed to perk up a little bit with something to focus on, especially as they let him be in charge.
“Okay, I’ve made some blanket forts in my day, but this one is pretty cool,” James said. 
“That’s because Penelope has about eight million blankets and they’re all soft as baby puppies,” Emily said as she crawled into the fort. “I claim the blue pillow!”
All five of them fit comfortably inside, the interior lit with a string of battery operated fairy lights, also taken from Penelope’s room. Spencer nestled himself between Hotch and Emily. “Are we going to tell Penelope that we borrowed all of her stuff?” he asked. 
Hotch handed him his favorite blanket. “I think if we leave the fort up till she gets back, she won’t mind as long as she gets to hang out in here,” he said. 
“What should we do?” Dave asked. “Power’s still out, and there’s no wifi either.”
“Oh!” Emily said. “Okay, I’ve been trying to get you to listen to this album for weeks. Now is the perfect time! You’re a captive audience.”
They took turns passing each other’s phones back and forth, listening to different songs in the comfort of the handmade blanket fort, playfully arguing over each other’s tastes in music as the warm glow of the fairy lights cast soft shadows. Spencer seemed a little less tense now, snuggled safely between Hotch and Emily with his blanket hugged to his chest.
She hadn’t kept track of time, but it was at least two hours before the power switched back on, the overhead lights suddenly way too bright after the dimmness of the tent. “There we go,” Dave said, sitting up and checking his phone. “And we’ve got signal again!” He stretched his arm over James and Emily to hold out the phone to Spencer. “Here, passerotto, see if you can call Alex.”
He took it eagerly and tapped at the screen to bring up her info, but his excitement faded almost instantly. “It went right to voicemail,” he said. “Thanks anyway.”
James scrambled ungracefully to his feet. “Hey, since the power’s back, who wants to watch a movie?” he said. 
“Not a Star War, please,” Emily called. “I can’t tell any of them apart.”
Hotch propped himself up on his elbow. “Hey, Spence,” he said. “It’s okay. I’m sure Alex is fine.”
“Yeah,” Spencer said. He turned to Hotch, one corner of his mouth tugging up in a rueful little half smile. “I bet her flight got canceled too. It’s okay.”
James flipped the overhead lights off, leaving them back in the glow of the candles and the string lights, and crawled back into the fort with the remote in his hand. “All right, if anyone has objections, y’all can get up yourself and change it,” he said.
Emily settled back as the movie started. Spencer was quiet beside her, but after a while he rolled over onto his stomach, his forehead pressed against Hotch’s arm and his blanket tangled around his legs, and she smiled when she heard his first little snore.
“Hotchner,” she whispered. “This blanket fort idea was genius.”
Hotch grinned. “Sean made me make one for him while I was home,” he said. “I figured Spencer might like it too.” He paused. “Is he asleep?” Emily nodded. “Thank god.”
James sat up and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Guys, I still haven’t heard from Alex,” he said. “It’s still going right to voicemail when I call her and she hasn’t answered any texts.”
“Maybe her signal’s out too,” Dave said. “Don’t worry about it. Alex can take care of herself.”
James pouted. “Yeah, but...I might be a little worried about her,” he said. “It’s not like her to not answer.”
“Awww, you miss your girlfriend,” Emily teased. 
“I do! I do miss her!” James said. 
“Guys, if any of you wake up Spencer, I will murder you,” Hotch hissed. 
“I’m sorry!” James whispered back. “I just- I think I need to be worried about Alex.”
Suddenly a familiar person knelt down and leaned into the tent. “You’re worried about me?” Alex said, her long red hair hanging loose around her shoulders. “That’s so sweet!”
James scrambled up, smacking Dave in the face in his haste. “Oh my god, I missed you!” he said. He tugged her closer, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her deeply. “Oh my god. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she laughed, running her fingers through his hair. “My phone died and I didn’t pack any of my portable chargers in my carryon. Where’s everybody else?”
“Everybody’s flights are delayed,” Emily said. “Spencer’s been beside himself.”
“Oh, poor thing,” she said. “Is he sleeping? I don’t want to wake him up.”
“Yeah, he just dozed off,” Hotch said. “He’s going to be so relieved to see you.”
Emily scooted over to make room. “C’mere, the movie hasn’t been on for very long,” she said. 
“Hey!” James protested. “She’s my girlfriend, shouldn’t she be next to me?”
“Well, she’s my roommate, and I’ve had her for longer,” Emily said. Alex laughed as she settled between her and Spencer, busying herself with snuggling him against her side and tucking him in. Emily leaned over to whisper in James’s ear. “Besides, we all know you two are gonna go fool around the second you get a chance. You’ll get your quality time, don’t worry.”
Even in the dim light she could see him turn red. “What are you guys whispering about?” Alex asked. 
“Nothing!” James squeaked. Emily made a rude hand gesture and he smacked her arm. “Emily! Stop it!”
She snickered as she leaned her head against Alex’s shoulder. “How was your week being in charge?” Alex asked as she adjusted Spencer’s blanket around him.
“Could have been worse...could have been a lot better,” Emily said. “He was so sad. I’m not good with sad kids.”
“I’m sure you did great,” Alex reassured her.
The movie was almost over when Spencer began to shift and whimper in his sleep. “Is he okay?” Emily asked.
“He’s-” Hotch winced as Spencer kicked him in the shins. “Ow. Bad dream, I think.”
Alex sat up. “Okay, I’m going to wake him up,” she said. 
“Careful, he can be pretty feisty,” Hotch warned.
Alex stroked his hair back from his forehead as he tried to pull away from her. “Spencer, wake up,” she called gently, her hand resting on his chest. “Come on, darling.”
She kept coaxing him until his eyes finally opened. “What’s going on?” he mumbled.
“You had a bad dream,” she said. 
He blinked. “Alex?” he said sleepily. “Did your plane land safely?”
Hotch laughed. “Yeah, kiddo, her plane landed safely,” he said. “Get the sleep out of your eyes.”
Spencer rubbed his face and blinked again. “Alex!” he yelped, throwing himself into her arms. 
“Hi, baby,” she said. “Did you miss me?”
“A little bit,” he said, tilting his face so she could kiss his cheek. “Was your flight okay? Was there a lot of turbulence?”
“Everything was fine,” she reassured him as she cuddled him against her side. “Now, sh, I think Dave is getting invested in the movie.”
“No, I’m not,” he said absently.
“Yes, he is,” Emily teased.
Spencer settled down with his head on Alex’s knees; Hotch tugged his blanket around him. “Everybody else will be here tomorrow,” he said. “Penelope’s connecting flight got canceled, and Derek’s got canceled, and JJ’s parents rescheduled her.”
“That’s good,” she said, stroking her fingers through his hair. “Go back to sleep, darling. You look so tired. And everything’s going to be okay, nothing to worry about.”
The rain had settled back into a light tapping on the window; the thunder and lightning had long since stopped. Emily leaned back against her pillows, smiling in contented relief. Alex was right. Everything was going to be okay.
213 notes · View notes