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ijustwant2write · 3 years

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A Secret Romantic-Benedict Bridgerton x Reader x Eloise Bridgerton (Platonic) (Part 2)

(GIF credit to @elenawinchstr)

Part 1

Masterlist

Tags: @marvel-ousnesss @myficplace @yelenas-lova @lavxnder @s-unflowxr

Summary: Benedict and Eloise both anticipate Lady (Y/N)’s social event, as does their mother, causing tensions to rise and panic to ensue. Benedict doesn’t want his mother ruining what he may have with (Y/N), asking Eloise for her help, who gladly plays the role of a good sister.

Characters: Benedict Bridgerton x Reader, Eloise Bridgerton x Reader (platonic), mentions of Anthony Bridgerton and Violet Bridgerton

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

(Y/L/N)=Your last name

Warnings: Fluff, fluff, fluff

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Benedict hastily moved around the house, avoiding his mama at all costs. She called out his name repeatedly, growing frustrated at his childish manner. He was supposed to discuss a plan with her about how he should prepare to court Lady (Y/N), but he knew better; his mama knew nothing of (Y/N) (he admitted, he still had much to learn about her too), and he didn’t want his chance to slip away. Although he was confident at her house when he called upon her, there was a sickening doubt looming in his mind that if he did anything wrong, another suitor could easily take his place.

“You have no where else to hide brother.” Anthony smirked, his eyes skimming over the top of his newspaper.

Benedict sighed, accepting defeat. She would find him in a matter of minutes, especially since Anthony’s office was the last place she would look.

“Please, just let me stay her for a few moments.” Benedict begged.

Anthony chuckled, putting down the papers as he reclined in his chair.“Oh dear, I see things are turning serious quite quickly.”

“Yes, which wouldn’t be a problem if mama wasn’t making this such a big ordeal.”

“But it is to her.”

Benedict knew this.“I know that, because someone hasn’t found a woman to marry, so it then falls onto my shoulders.”

“I haven’t seen you so anxious before. Sit down, try to relax.”

Benedict took his offer, practically collapsing into the chair on the other side of the desk. Anthony stood, pouring out a drink each and handing one to Benedict. Though not one to drink in the early afternoon, he gladly sipped at it, wishing he would just calm down.

“Besides mama, what is going on in that head of yours?” Anthony asked.

He genuinely wanted to help. He felt a slight guilt knowing that his mama was more excited about this possible partnership, seeing as he never gave her the satisfaction of even socialising with women.

“I worry that I may not be enough for (Y/N).” he said.“Of course, I have talked to women, I know the right things to say, but I also know that I will not want to engage in further conversation. Whereas with (Y/N), she intrigues me, so much that even after we danced and talked for hours, I still felt like I hardly spent any time with her. I thought about every word I said, listened intently to everything that poured out of her mouth. There are no other women like her.”

Anthony didn’t speak for a few seconds.“You should write poems alongside your art work.”

Benedict groaned, about to stand when Anthony stopped him.

“I am teasing you brother. Look, it’s extremely obvious that you have fallen for this woman. Putting feelings aside for a moment, she also comes from a well off family with a respectable background, so you’ve done very well in that department. This art exhibition will allow me to also see what Lady (Y/N) and her family are like, as well as keep mama away from you both as much as I can.”

“You would do that for me?”

“You seem shocked. I will pretend not to be offended.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I know that you too do not like to be....bothered by mama at these events. No doubt she’ll talk to you about my potential courtship all night.”

The door opened as he finished speaking, Violet popping her head in. Her smile widened when she saw both her sons in the same room, now able to speak with them both about Lady (Y/N). Anthony and Benedict shared a look, knowing they would be there for some time.

Elsewhere in the house, Eloise was suffering through a conversation with Hyacinth. As Daphne had to endure, Hyacinth was questioning her older sister, wanting to know everything there was to know about the balls they attended. She wanted to make sure she had all the knowledge she needed when it was her turn to debut. They never spoke of these things in front of her or Gregory and she wanted all the answers. However, Eloise was not revealing anything, and making it seems that everything to do with debuting was awful.

“Go away and pester somebody else.” Eloise huffed as she descended the stairs away from her sister.

“Why are you always so mean to me? I’m just asking questions!” Hyacinth protested.

Eloise felt guilty, especially since Hyacinth was still young and didn’t understand many things about the world yet.“I’m sorry, but I’m not the best person to ask these questions.”

“Why don’t you want to get married?”

“If I explain, you won’t understand.”

“Yes I will!”

“You won’t Hyacinth.”

“You’re so mean!”

The young girl stomped off, having a tantrum to herself. Eloise did feel bad for being so snappy with her sister, but she really didn’t like talking about these things, doing all she could to avoid it where possible. It just made her feel miserable. And who wants to dote on a topic that eliminates all happiness from them?

However, Eloise did find that she was excited about the art exhibition. She was curious as to how (Y/N) and her brother’s encounter would go. For a moment, she felt like her mama. It sent shudders down her spine. It was nice to have the pressure and attention off of her, and to see her brothers in the spotlight. She knew too many friends with brothers who had it easier than the women of the family. Of course they had certain expectations, but Eloise did not see any men parading around in uncomfortable, tight dresses, with over the top embellishments and feathers.

The remaining days leading up to the art exhibition were filled with dress and suit fittings, lessons on the (Y/L/N) family, and making sure everyone knew how important this day could be. Benedict grew more and more nervous as it approached, his mama making him realise that this could be a turning point in his life. Before this was all about him being excited to see (Y/N), to be in her company again, now it was as if he was proposing to her.

Eloise stepped out into the garden, welcoming the warmth that was still lingering at this time of night. She couldn’t sleep, knowing what was on her mind, but not wanting to admit it. She wasn’t surprised to see Benedict already on the swing set, secretly smoking as they had both done before. A small smile appeared on her face as she approached him, making sure to create some sort of noise as to not startle him.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one being kept awake.” she said as she sat down.

“I haven’t even tried to sleep yet.” Benedict said before inhaling through his cigarette again.

“Is someone nervous?” she wasn’t teasing him, she was concerned.

“Yes.” he surprisingly said.“I’m nervous because mother has made me believe everything is depending on this next meeting. Yet she forgets how long Daphne took to decide who she was marrying.”

“You shouldn’t be nervous.”

“And why is that?”

“Because (Y/N) likes you.”

Benedict chuckled."Ah, I forgot you were the expert on such topics."

"I may not know a lot about...feelings and love, but I am not a fool. I saw the way your eyes lit up when you first saw her. (Y/N) was practically speechless too. But not like the other women who fawn over the Bridgerton name, she actually liked you for your face, for some reason. I don't know, it just seemed that there was something natural between you."

"Eloise Bridgerton, what a doting thing to say."

"I am trying to be nice to you brother."

"I know. And I appreciate it, but...I feel at ease with (Y/N), and I don't like the thought of mother's eyes burning into the back of my head. Anthony has said that he will do what he can to help, but I fear that mother will not be totally distracted by him. She’ll know his sudden interest will be fake.”

Eloise had an idea, and even if she didn’t want to go through with it, she knew it would help Benedict.“I will regret saying this, but I shall help too. I will make sure mama is paying attention to me, I’ll let her drag me around and indulge in hideously, dull conversations.”

Benedict had been shocked for the second time that day. Two of his siblings, both detesting the thought of marriage, had offered to suffer through this social event in order to give him time with (Y/N).

“What has happened to you two today?” Benedict asked.

“We are merely being charitable. Hopefully you return the favour in future. God knows I’ll be in need of saving soon.”

(Y/N) was all a flutter on the morning of the exhibition. Her mother had bought a new dress just for this, wanting to impress the Bridgerton family, prepping their halls and rooms for the exhibition for the last week. (Y/N)’s father was proud of what he had created, and that his daughter may be on her way to marrying a family who were held highly in their society. (Y/N) couldn’t focus at all, relieved that her maids were the ones in charge of getting her dressed and ready for the day; if left to her own devices, she surely would have put her dress on backwards.

Guests streamed in, but (Y/N) was only on the lookout for one person. She remained polite, trying to stay in the moment as more and more people arrived. However, she still kept an eye out for Benedict, also staying on her toes. She had many things in mind to say to him, and she wanted to keep them in her mind. There was no way she was going to humiliate herself.

Her heart started beating a thousand times faster when she saw Benedict enter the main hall, the one holding the biggest and most expensive pieces of art. She smiled, and somehow it grew even bigger when he made eye contact with him. His smile was so sweet, it made you fall for his charms even more. Benedict felt his stomach twist in anticipation, desperate to have just a few moments with (Y/N). Alas, that did not come when his mama latched onto his arm, steering him in (Y/N)’s direction. Although he wanted to speak with her, he found it all rather forceful, especially when (Y/N)’s parents suddenly appeared behind her.

Formal introductions were made, each set of parents making small talk about the last time they were in each others company. (Y/N) and Benedict were silent, nodding along with what was being said as they sneaked glances at each other. The conversation was dragging for them, they knew their parents wanted to figure out if this could be a potential arrangement. It didn’t seem that they were going to stop talking at any point, neither child wanting to be rude, until Eloise intruded.

“Pardon me,” she started, sending a subtle smile to Benedict,“mama, I have been looking everywhere for you.”

“Ah, another Bridgerton. The next daughter to find a suitor, I presume?” (Y/N)’s mother beamed.

Eloise hid the urge to frown. Luckily her mother stepped in.“Yes, this is Eloise. I’m sorry darling, I did not mean to leave you stranded.”

“Yes, well, shall we?” Eloise tugged at her mother’s arm.

“Alright dear. It was lovely to see you both again.”

As Violet eagerly followed Eloise, (Y/N)’s parents also dispersed. Benedict and (Y/N) were now finally together, just as they had wished; so why did it suddenly feel awkward?

“Well, that seemed to easy.” Benedict cleared his throat.

“What was?” (Y/N) asked.

“Getting rid of them.” he grinned, holding out his arm.

(Y/N) smiled back, happy to hold onto him.“I was trying to come up with something to say that would not be rude, but would also mean we could leave. I hope that it wasn’t obvious I wanted to leave.”

“Even if it was, I doubt they would care too much. We both know they are over excited.”

“Oh how right you are. I’m assuming your mother has been acting the same as mine this whole week?”

“Overbearing? Overthinking? Over-”

(Y/N) giggled.“Yes, yes, I do not wish to dote on the memory. I am happy that you are here though Benedict.”

“You are?”

“I am.”

The pair’s arms stayed linked as (Y/N) guided Benedict around the art work. Sometimes they joined other conversations, though liked to keep to themselves. It was easy to bond over artwork, especially since it was a passion both of them had. There were no pauses or silences after a few minutes of talking, conversation flowed naturally between them. Men and women also searching for suitors were jealous; a Bridgerton boy had been swept up all too quickly and (Y/N) had been a popular choice amongst the men. However, people could not deny they made a fitting pair.

"Come, let me show you something." (Y/N) muttered to Benedict, easily slipping away from the crowds and leaving the room.

"We really shouldn't be alone (Y/N)." Benedict said, even though this was all he had been wanting.

(Y/N) had a cheeky smile on her face as she tugged on his arm, her steps gradually getting quicker. Benedict didn't even take in her elaborate house, only looking at her beautiful face every time she glanced up at him. They stopped before two grand doors, which (Y/N) cautiously opened, slipping inside with Benedict close behind her.

In the middle of the room was a huge painting covered by a fine piece of cloth. Benedict was confused why (Y/N) brought him to this, until she let go of his hand (him instantly missing the feeling), and theatrically pulled the piece of fabric down. Benedict's jaw dropped as the piece was revealed. He had never seen a painting like it.

It was a large, landscape painting of a ballroom. It captured dancing pairs in the middle of some sort of waltz, musicians huddled in the corner whilst the other guests stood watching; and it was so intricate, Benedict guessed it must have taken the artist months to complete it. All the colours, the detail, it almost looked real.

"This is amazing." he breathed out.

(Y/N) was happy when she saw Benedict's shock."Isn't it? It's supposed to be revealed later, but I wanted to see your expression properly."

"Who painted it?"

"I don't know. Father said he is going to inform everyone later, but it is a new artist. I just think they're work is dazzling to look at. I become mesmerised."

Benedict's focus changed back to (Y/N)."Yes, that does tend to happen."

She didn't notice that he was referring to her, nodding along in agreement. Her smile faltered slightly, which Benedict was able to see immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he neared her, hating the gap that was created

(Y/N) covered her slip up, as her mother had told her."I'm sorry, it's really nothing..." she started, but found herself relaxed, and wanting to tell Benedict all her problems."It's only that...I used to paint frequently, well, I sketched more, though I enjoyed both. Like all girls, my mother told me to stop that and focus on becoming the most desired lady in society. I shouldn't have even told you about that when we first met."

"That's what made me desire you (Y/N)."

She blushed, realising how intense his gaze was."Oh, Lord Bridgerton-"

"What's with all the formalities all of a sudden?"

"I-I don't know. I don't want to ruin anything and it's only our second meeting. Third if you count when you called upon me."

"And I called upon you for a very good reason."

"I was wishing that everyone else would leave, so I could spend more time with you."

Benedict loved hearing her say that."As did I."

Subconsciously they had moved closer, though they both knew what they were doing. Benedict reached down to tenderly hold her hands, causing her heart to beat erratically. (Y/N) had no idea what to do, she only had experience from the books she read. It seemed simple enough to kiss someone, but also the hardest thing in the world. How much pressure should she apply? How long should they kiss for? Where would she put her hands? Where would he put his hands? She didn't have anytime to think as he was already leaning in towards her.

Eloise and Anthony were finding it extremely hard to keep the fake smiles plastered on their faces. Benedict was really in for it once this was all over. Their mama had kept a tight grip on them both, because as soon as they saw their chance to flee, they would. Both had to suffer through extremely long, boring and repetitive conversations, listening to parents boast about their children's achievements. Everyone knew how this worked, yet they all had to pretend to be happy about it.

"Where is Benedict? He's been away for a long time." their mama pondered as they took a break for refreshments.

"He's probably wooing Lady (Y/N), just as you wanted." Eloise slurped on her drink.

"Do not fret mother, he knows what he's doing. He truly likes her and will be doing all he can to...well, yes, woo her." Anthony said.

"I suppose you are right. It feels strange that one of my children are making an effort for once."

Eloise huffed."Oh, do not chastise us mama. We've been doing this all afternoon, haven't we?"

Violet squinted her eyes at them, suspicious that they were up to something. She was about to question it, but stopped herself. They were doing what she always wanted, finding someone to spend their future with. She wouldn't jeopardise that. Lucky for them, a servant announced that Lord (Y/L/N) requested for everyone's presence inside. The guests were intrigued, following orders and grabbing full glasses of whatever quenched their thirst. Eloise and Anthony had got away with their plan for now, they just hoped Benedict and (Y/N) had had enough time together.

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peeterparkr · 3 years

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The Holiday.|Tom Holland

chapter one: The Prince and the Pauper. (Pauper.)

↳ read Sophia’s version here and a little bit of Tom. (Tim fic)

So, the christmas series is finally here! This is a 2 fics in one, meaning I’ll write Tom’s fic and @jambrosemc will write a Tim Chalamet fic, if you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s based on the movie The Holiday, where two women after being heartbroken switch their homes and lives for a bit. Both fics are reader insert, however Emma’s character will be named Sophia in this fic and my character will be named Iris in her fic. Remember the fics are connected and that Tom’s introduction is held in @jambrosemc ‘s fic. And so Tim’s introduction is here. Hope it’s not complicated and we hope you love it.

STORY SUMMARY: Two women troubled with guy-problems, one who’s in love with love and one who doesn’t believe in it are both suffering from a broken heart, with little reasoning and nothing left to lose, they swap homes in each other's countries for the holidays, where they’ll meet a local guy who will probably change their destiny.

chapter summary: The heartbreak of an unrequited lover. pairing: tom holland x y/n | warnings: Chad, mentions of sex, alcohol, mentions of cheating. word count: 7.2k

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There is something unequivocally known about love, everything that’s been said about it, is almost true. We’ve been bombarded with love songs, romantic comedies, romance novels, poetry, it’s everywhere. There can never be enough love songs, because no matter how incredible it never seems to be the same, you’ll never see two pieces that are identical, some of them are similar, of course, but they all speak from a very deep side of Love. Love isn’t one thing that is written down, not an exact science. There’s no right formula to whatever love is. But every single thing written about love might be true, at least to someone. Love is something so personal and yet we can all relate to it, but then again there’s never two loves that will feel the same. There can be two love stories starting at the same time but you’ll never feel like it’s the same. But everytime someone dares to write or speak or sing about love, it’s most likely to be true. Or so you’ve learned throughout the years.

In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo asked himself ‘Did my heart love till now?’, and there's common sense to it, we’ve all felt that…We’ve all wondered if you’ve known love before you met the one. You believed you had, you thought you had it all figured out. How much can one learn about love? We’ve all felt it. At some point, or another. You had. It’s incredibly easy to understand that though love is unique in its own sense, love is universal.

You did believe that everything concerning love was true. Shakespeare also said, "Journeys end when lovers meet."

Was it true? You loved to rely on that thought, that we were meant to travel until we found the one. That two people are destined to meet in the middle and start a new one together.

You loved to think about love more than anyone did, you were hopeless. It’s incredibly complex, and subtle and it’s got the power to change someone, and a story, completely. Love is not easy.

Love is also blind, you, perfectly, knew about that. It was smart to know that you’d been blinded yourself.

Love fades. Love is lost. Love is complicated. Love can be something eternal, or love can only last for a night.

Then, there was the one love you knew, the one you’d been living for a while. Unrequited love. No one really talks about that one. All love stories rely on the fact that the two lovers will end up together. But the unrequited love? No, no one dares to write about it. Maybe because they’re too sad in their sorrow to even think of that. You always wondered what would be of that story if someone ever dared to write it. And what’s the destiny awaiting for them?

Always the bad luck, the ones with the blinded reason, but always foreign to that one feeling of joy. Always wounded, and always left when the sun is out. The handicapped of hearts.

You were one, you were one of them, the one who is in love with that one guy who never dares to love back.

It gets even worse around the Holidays, everyone speaks of it. It’s everywhere. You go to the mall and see people buying gifts for their significant others, you turn the TV on and there’s the usual bad romantic films that you ended up watching, always the same, the girl goes from the big city back to her old town and her high school sweetheart is in love with her still, all while there’s an angel or Santa Claus, or whatever they come up this time, and she finds herself falling back in love with her old town, and she’s a painter or whatever and she lets go her dream of the big city to go back to her pathetic love interest.

Yet you always watched them, curled up in front of your TV with the candy that you were supposed to give out on Halloween but instead kept them for Christmas.

That was you, a hopeless romantic who was desperate for love.

You were there, wrapping a delicate christmas present that probably was not wanted but that you were too blinded and too stupid to see that. Also trying to wrap your own mind whether you’d give this out or not.

You were pathetic, and there he was in all his splendor. Chad.

Of course, maybe that’s what you get for being in love with a man named Chad, but he didn’t live up to his name. He was handsome, and incredibly perfect, and you were always so mesmerized by him. You had been in love with him for three years now, three miserable years. And honestly it’s been the worst years of your life, worst birthday, christmases, Halloween, New Years Eve’s that needed wine and Xanax. The biggest curse. All because you’re in love with a man who’s never and will never ever love you back.

He probably wasn’t conventionally good looking, not for most girls around anyway, but he had a confidence and a sly sexuality that could get you to your knees in the blink of an eye.

“Y/N, dear, please tell me you’re not deeply lost looking at Chad?” Angela, your coworker and probably closest thing to a friend asked.

“What?” You were snapped out of your trance. “No, no!” Though you had been.

The holidays party at the newspaper you worked at. You wrote the only good news, you’d say, the column of UNIONS, when you described marriages and gave the couples a little bit of spotlight to their recent and new found joy. You wanted to write way more than that, honestly, but you didn’t mind. Though you knew you were probably wasted potential. Potential, everyone said you had it.

“I thought that was over,” Angela pointed out.

“It is! It is—“You tried to say. “It—is, mostly.”

Angela rolled her eyes, “thought so,” she snapped. “What even was the deal with you two? You used to fuck him right?”

“I—“you coughed. “Yeah, I used to sleep with him, but more importantly I was in love with him.”

Still were, for that matter.

“Oh, great, and then—you discovered he was fucking that other girl in accounting, Denise.”

“Yes, I did find out and hence why I stopped… sleeping with him,” you whispered, embarrassed. “And I don’t want to talk about this at the party.”

“But like I always see you two together, so he cheats on you and you keep being friends with him?” Angela pushed to your own disarray. “Plus, I’m like 300% sure you’re the one who writes the articles for him, he hasn’t one ounce of talent and you do.”

You did write his stuff. But couldn’t get anywhere yourself.

“I well-”

“And he cheated, y/n.”

“Yes but he didn’t cheat, you see in his mind we weren’t in a relationship and we were in mine… but like—“

“So if you’re not in a relationship that means you have to expect he’s going to fuck other women?” She pointed out.

“I—“ you didn’t know what to say. “No, no, I mean—but I was so in love with him, but—“Somehow this had opened a gate that you hadn’t opened in a while. “Wait—No, no I can’t cry,” you said to yourself feeling like there was going to be a cascade pooling your eyes. “Does it look like I’m crying?”

“Y/n, maybe—Look,” she wiped off a tear, I—“She coughed. “Did he ever say he loved you?”

“I—yes, three times.” You had counted them. “When I reminded him of that he said it must've been a question and it most certainly was not.”

“You see y/n, when you catch a man fucking another woman you’re not supposed to remain friends with him, you’re supposed to make a scene, threaten to chop off his dick, throw things at him, like I did with your brother.”

You rolled your eyes, “Tim didn’t cheat on you,” you said. “You slept with him once, didn’t talk to each other for like a month and he found someone else and you made a scene.”

You knew your brother was many things but he wasn’t a cheater, he was not a bad person. Tim was someone with enough confidence to know what he wanted and sure, he did find a one night love with strangers every now and then, but he wasn’t a bad person. He probably was too confused. He’s the typical man who is afraid of commitment and has no follow through.

He never fell in love, that wasn’t his thing. The opposite of you, who fell in love deeply. Tim never—wanted any commitment. He could have a one night stand and never follow through.

“But—you see that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Angela continued.

“But I’m not doing anything, we just—text,” you admitted with pity, “and sometimes we FaceTime but like that’s it, and we’ve gone out for lunch and look, he says we’d be idiots to give up our friendship but—“You couldn’t continue.

“Fucking men, they’re trash, all of them, he’s got you right where he wants you, who wouldn't want a fantastic girl like you in love with him ... hanging on his every word …?” She asked. “Chad knows anytime he wants to crawl back …”

“And he is… Look, today he—he said we should go out and he gave me a Christmas present.”

“Which was?”

“A set of lingerie but—“

“Oh my god y/n,” she snapped. “I can’t believe how pathetic you are.”

“Is it pathetic really? To think the world is near perfection every time I’m with him?”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Very. It’s...Chad.”

“I… is it wrong, really? I just want to be loved.”

“And you chose Chad?”

Before you could say anything, your boss called out. “Everybody gather around. I have an important announcement to make,” your boss said. “First of all you, I want to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas. It’s been a year, hasn’t it? I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,”he kept rambling on their achievements or whatsoever they had done throughout the year, you couldn’t care less. “Given that, we may be able to get by with a smaller announcement—Which involves y/n—y/n? Are you there?”

Angela raised your hand.

“Well y/n your column on weddings has been lovely,” he said.

Was it though?

“And—Well, a wedding was privately announced earlier, and I don’t think any other paper in town knows about it and I want you to be the first to report on this particular union, as it is between two of our most esteemed colleagues got hitched! Bring a loud cheer for Chad Bloom and Denise Higgins!”

Boom.

It all felt...no.

You tried desperately not to cry. Everyone could see you there. Were you dreaming? This was a nightmare.

You didn’t know how you got the guts to get out of that office without crying. You’ve never felt braver before, but you had to give the politest of smiles to Chad and everyone around to then proceed to get your coat and head home. How pathetic did you look in your car crying to a guy who definitely was going to do that.

This felt like a nightmare. The love of your life was engaged. And you couldn’t do anything about it. Because you didn’t believe in multiple loves, only one, love wouldn’t come again and knock on your door. This was it, you were destined to be lonely and stay lonely. This was your very worst nightmare, all that time wasted upon and there was nothing you could do about it.

It hurt, your heart was wrenched. You’d open the Halloween candy sooner, and you’d bought ice cream, three pints of ice cream.

Just a week before he had given you the set of lingerie and said he was eager to see you wearing it. Honestly, you had lied to Angela. You had seen him a couple of times, and sooner or later you’d end up in between the sheets because you had absolutely no self control when it came to him. He knew how to press your buttons and where to touch you and he’d try to charm you each time and you’d end up falling for it. He’d say that he’d changed and that he always believed in you.

Honestly, you always fell for it because you thought you were both destined to be in love.

But now it was all gone, you’d lost him. He was going to marry someone else.

This probably was the lowest point in your life, it really was. Because it was so stupid to fall in love with someone who was just going to step on you, and you needed someone. Time was passing by, it was getting darker and night was only drowning you more. You needed someone to talk to, who’d listen. But someone who wouldn’t judge you just as bad or who couldn’t judge you as bad.

You were getting tired of crying but you couldn’t help it. You felt insignificant and as small as humanly possible. So very crushed.

You called your brother, because though he probably would judge you, and he’d probably not care, he was kind of forced to listen because you were relatives and you did help him from time to time. Lately more than you wanted to.

“Y/N—?” Tim answered, and you could hear there was music playing behind him. Of course he’d be awake in the middle of the night. He probably was out clubbing.

“Tim—I need—I’m not okay,” you admitted.

“Y/N I can’t really—“he laughed in between. “Hear you.”

“Chad is engaged!” You said louder.

He laughed. “Chad, what a stupid name.”

“Tim I’m serious!” She stated.

“How serious can this be his name is Chad!” Tim giggled. He was clearly drunk.

“Tim! I—He’s engaged I—I can’t believe it just a week ago he said he—“

“We’ve both known Chad is an asshole y/n, his name is Chad for fuck’s sake,” Tim pushed. “We both—I thought you were over him.”

“I… well.”

“Fuckin’ hell, y/n.”

“I’m never gonna love again,” you stated.

He scoffed. “Love doesn’t exist, y/n,” he stated. “Not for someone named Chad.”

“Stop.”

“He—“Tim sighed. “Look, we both knew he was an idiot, and we both knew he was going to break your heart and—He already had! May I remind you of that? He cheated on you!” He stated. “He is an asshole who doesn’t deserve any of your tears and I’m a hundred percent sure you are crying.”

You were, for that matter. Love for you was also always shedding tears.Sad tears. Love hurts. “I love him.”

“And I love this vodka on my hand,” he stated. “That—means nothing, okay?”

“You’ve never been in love,” she snapped. “You don’t know how it feels to have your love taken away—“

“Don’t go there, y/n.”

“I—I just—I can’t—“

“Y/N you need a break,” Tim said without really caring. “I’ll call you back later alright? I’m busy.”

A break.

Yes, that’s exactly what you needed. A break from your stupid and pathetic life, a break from your little fantasy. A break from Chad. Honestly, you were tired of it. Always having the worst of luck. You needed a break from men, though you barely had… Being completely honest, it only takes one man to lose faith in humanity. They hold that power.

You knew what love was and well, you’d never have it. You were destined to be the side character, the best friend and the one plot device. Not relevant.

Because honestly how stupid were you.

But was it really so bad to feel that way? To long for love, for someone who would run to you, and whom you could fall so deeply with. Guess now you had to build up walls. Because now you couldn’t get nobody else to hurt you again, nobody was worth this pain. Nobody should ever feel this way. You never wanted to let anyone hurt you again.

Honestly, you so needed a break. But where and how?

You couldn’t stay in your place, it held too many memories, lots of them of you being stupid with Chad because you were such an idiot for letting him in your house and corrupt your place. You needed a break because everything would remind you of him, your car, his car, his house, this town, everything. Also your place was too sad.

You could go away. You had to, because you couldn’t let yourself drown in more sorrow. You were so unbelievably tired of it.

You had to go. Away from him, away from this place and your stupid house. Hell, if you could, you’d go to another country.

You rang Timmy again.

“What- y/n?”

“Where should I go?”

“What?”

“Yes on vacation,” you added.

“How do I-I don’t know, fuck it eh, oh wherever they speak English, bye.” He hung up on you again.

Where did they speak English?

England, of course.

Hell, maybe that’s why Chad didn’t love you, you were stupid, probably. England. London. You’d always wanted to go there. Anywhere really, but you never went anywhere because you were still waiting on Chad. Jesus, how much time did you spend wasting on that man?

England.

You opened up your laptop, ready for it. You needed to get away and not waste the holidays watching old and bad Hallmark movies eating ice cream by yourself. Or maybe yes, just far away from your own house.

Airbnb.

You went straight to London, it always seemed like a dream, besides it could work. And you scrolled through houses, big ones, small ones.

Then you found one. ‘Cozy, lovely place above a bookshop’. It did call your mind, it gave the idea of a perfect fantasy, it seemed nice enough.

And far, very far. And so different from whatever her fantasy with Chad had been, what was his thing? Island in the Caribbean.

You kept reading.

“In the other direction, the Bayswater Road will take you to Notting Hill (location of the Julia Roberts/ Hugh Grant film of the same name) and its fantastic local restaurants and bars, boutique shops, and the famous Portobello Road Market.”

That caught your mind. It seemed… perfect but to live with that fantasy of yours to live in a stupid romcom. Could it be?

No, no. You had to go in with the idea that no matter how romantic, you had bad luck and not even such a romantic place would make you have someone to love. You were really supposed to be always lonely. But the idea… of leaving did thrill you.

You didn’t think much of it, but the next morning, you still had that thought roaming in your mind, and eventually… you tried to reach out. It had closed, however. But you had saved the ad.

Sophia.

That was her name.

Hey! I’m interested in your house! That seemed too weird. Besides she had closed it.

You decided to reach out anyway.

“Hey, I was interested in your house! I don’t know if someone else rented it but I thought it was worth the shot. Is it still available? I’m sorry if it’s not. I just really liked your place! It’s okay if it’s not! Sorry! Thank you!” You sent it in. Wondering if you’d apologized just enough times.

You knew she’d probably not respond.

“Oh, sorry! I was renting it because I was planning to go on holiday with my boyfriend but plans changed. We broke up recently so I won’t be going anymore,” she answered. That had been quick. Lucky she was online but the place was no longer available.

This was your bad luck only. Of course she wasn’t going to rent it. The dream seemed too far away. But… she had just broken up, she probably was feeling awful.

“Oh, I’m sorry! why did you break up with him?” You asked.

Then read again what you’d just asked. What was wrong with you? This was a stranger. They didn’t need to give any explanation.

“I’m sorry you don’t have to answer that. I don’t know why I asked.” You added.

She was typing. “No, don’t worry! I guess it’s pretty complicated but long story short, he cheated on me.”

Been there, you thought to yourself. But probably at least most likely she was dating him and they were in a relationship not like you with your stupid “whatsoevership” with Chad.

“Men are trash,” you texted her.

“To say the least,” she answered.

You bit your lip. You knew you had to open up to. Well you didn’t have to, but you… felt the need to.

“I’m really sorry, I know how it feels. I was actually looking at your place to escape from a man myself. The love of my life, Chad, just got engaged.”

As soon as you sent it you saw how stupid you looked. You were absolutely pathetic.

“Chad?” Sophia asked.

You chuckled. You could see the smirk from the other side.

“I know. It’s my fault for falling in love with a Chad. Lives up to his stupid name.” Was your response.

It honestly was. But thought it seemed fun to poke on his name, it really didn’t occur to you that it was because of his name that he was an asshole, don’t blame it on a name.

“Well, I’m sorry that “Chad” had to be the love of your life. It sounds like we both need to get away.” Sophia sent.

Yes, you too were sorry.

“Definitely, but I’m gonna keep looking. I need to be at least 500 miles away from him.”

You really were going to keep looking, maybe not as perfect as the place Sophia had but at least go away.

“Maybe we could work something out?” Sophia asked.

Huh.

You grinned before chuckling. “Let’s switch lives like in The Parent Trap, although we’re not twins we’d be switching breakup lives.”

That would be a fun idea, impossible of course but you secretly hoped it could be done.

“Sounds interesting! Where are you from?” She asked.

Was she really up for it or was she just like you? Bored and alone enough to be talking to a stranger you’d met over Airbnb. Some people do tinder, but guessed you did Airbnb to make friends with other women who’d fallen under the sorrow that is falling in love with men.

“Astoria, Oregon. Pretty boring compared to London I guess.” Was your answer. Of course if she was remotely interested on switching before, all hopes would flush now.

“Not at all! All I care is that it’s far from here.” Sophia answered.

Was… it for real?

“Me too.”

You answered in hopes, but not really she’d back away.

“So, should we switch?” She asked.

You stared at the screen, not believing it. You had to make sure. “You’re serious? My place is nothing like yours.”

“Surely it’s not too horrible.”

It wasn’t, honestly. It was pretty. But not exciting, it was only normal. It was clean, it was full of books.

“I have a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room. That's it. And I’m not near a romantic location like yours. I do have a dog, though.”

You didn’t know why you were sabotaging yourself. Matter of habits, maybe.

She didn’t.. Back away. “That’s perfect, I want far away from romance.”

So weird, you wanted to go near something romantic to be reminded love exists, or whatever. You didn’t understand why. Honestly, it probably was only a way to cope with this.

“Well, this is your chance.”

Honestly, this place was everything but romantic.

“Can I ask you one thing?” She asked.

She was going to back away. “Sure.”

“Are there any men in your town?” She asked.

Well, there goes your chance. You had to be honest about it. “Honestly? Zero.”

You waited for the ‘not interested' answer, instead she gave you: “When can I come?”

You scoffed with delight, not believing it. “Tomorrow too soon?” You asked, half-joking only. Honestly, you had to get away now.

“Tomorrow’s perfect actually.”

You couldn’t believe it. “wait wait wait but like are you for real?”

“Absolutely, or would it be too crazy?”

It ws for that matter, but when you’re brokenhearted you have no common sense. You didn’t have one of your own, that is. But this was exciting and this seemed like an adventure. A great idea for the one book you’d promised yourself you’d end up writing one day, instead of writing every other article for Chad.

You thought about it, you really wanted to go through with it. “It is but I’m down for it, but like, okay do you want pics of my home or something so you don’t think I’m a creepy old man who might kidnap you?”

And that would bring less of suspicion, god, why were you like this?

“Umm, yes actually :) that would be great.”

Yeah, she’d say that.

“Okay, wait, want my phone number so we’re not talking over air bnb?”

“Yes, I feel like that might be better.”

What was going on? Why were you exchanging numbers with a girl who you had never met and who lived in a completely different country. Besides, it was even crazier to think you btoh were thinking about switching places. You were crazy, completely off reason. Yet you didn’t know how or why you ended up both texting more, and talking. Showing each other’s places and ranting about men.

You couldn’t blame her for not believing in love, of course she wouldn’t. The ne guy she gives her heart to cheated on her. You wouldn’t blame her, at all. Besides, it was just…

You both had a very different version of it, but it was… Different. Yes, different, you guessed there was no other way to put it into it.

The texting didn’t cease, it continued more than you ever thought it would. Because sometimes it’s easier to rant to a stranger about life and love’s misfortunes. It seemed incredibly stupid how you both were talking about men who decided to ruin your lives. How in this world had you ended up venting to a stranger?

Danny blamed it on her. Danny seemed like the typical male who wanted to have a girlfriend and well, there was Sophia. It seemed sad, seemed like they both settled for it. Not even Sophia seemed to talk about him with love. She was just so… Not into it. Just talking about someone who she used to share time with.

She had given up on it. You couldn’t understand that. If the one who wasn’t the one could make her happy at some point, how happy would she be with the one?

However, you both seemed very alike, and both of you probably were in the same situation. Well, of course, the cheating part was different. But you’d gone through it as well. But Sophia explained that Danny, her ex, hadn’t even felt sorry for cheating.

You knew that story like the palm of your hand. Chad well… He blamed it on you, too. And he had said it, he didn’t cheat.

And though the stories were so different, the feeling was the same, of wanting to take a break from your pain, from a heartache and being so damn unreasonable to think of this. Honestly, though the idea of London seemed romantic, you knew you’d end up curled up crying on the other side of the world.

Sophia seemed to be very well put together, she had her bookshop, which added to her life. And sure, she seemed like a workaholic but she seemed to be kind. Someone who had the guts to follow her dreams and someone who barely had time to think about love.

You wished you were a bit more like her. She seemed like a main character. Even her name was a main character one.

The texting, not sure how or when, turned into a facetime call, and there you were, facetiming with a stranger about the lack of love you’d been involved with. You pitied her, though. Not in a bad way, but in a way you could completely understand what she was going through. She seemed tough enough. But for her, love had rules. It had to be a certain way, and life had to have a certain balance and everything had to be merely perfect. But love for her was simple, the only rule was not to cheat.

Danny, her ex, had broken that rule. Which honestly, from what you’d gathered she was someone who actually tried. But… No, Sophia had seen him fade out. It always scared you to see that, to see how someone falls out of love. Sophia had seen it. But maybe Sophia’s belief, or lack of, of love was just… Surreal. But you understood it, not completely. But you did.

How could she believe in love when she’d never had it? Truly had it.

And she spoke of love as if it was a disease. Maybe it was, a disease. But was love really the disease or the aftermath the true one?

She didn’t believe in love. And not in a way that everyone has gone through, not in the way when you’re so brokenhearted that you don’t believe in it for a while. No, she didn’t want to give it a chance. For her, life was supposed to be about her success and her job, and the thrill of owning a bookshop.

Maybe she was the one who was right, after all you'd proved that love only could hurt. And how could you, after all of this, believe in it?

“So how long were you with him?” You asked her, as you were pacing around your kitchen, honestly you didn’t care if a complete stranger was seeing you in your ‘Chad reaction’, the bottle of wine, the chips, the cookies, your pj’s. Your pug dog, Tommy following you around.

Yet she was there, so elegantly, with her glass of wine. How was she handling it so well?

She gave it a thought. “About four years. What about you? How long have you loved Chad?” She smirked at the thought.

Four years. It seemed… enough. You rolled your eyes at the mention of his name. “Oh god it does sound super stupid,” you groaned. “But… Three stupid and miserable years, it’s a low point,” you said before finally opening up the wine and pouring a glass.

“No, it’s not stupid,” she answered. But it was, his name was Chad. “But, I can imagine how it would be a low point.”

Very, very low point. “But like you told me—He blamed it on you?” You couldn’t put your mind to it, at least Chad had accepted he’d slept with Denise. Of course, he didn’t say he cheated but he hadn’t… blamed it on you.

“He did,” she admitted. “He said I worked too much, and that I didn’t give him enough attention.”

You clenched your jaw, incredulous of how stupid he was. If you met the guy you’d probably slap him. “Fuck him, honestly, you’re successful bet he was intimidated by your success.” Because that’s how men work.

Sophia sighed. “Hmm, I doubt it. He just seemed… “ She paused. “bored of me.” You could see she was hurt. “I mean, he was right about one thing. I do spend most of my time at work, but that doesn’t give him any right to do that.”

“No. it doesn’t,” you agreed as you plopped on your couch, your dog jumping to your lap .” Why—Why are men—Like—”You didn’t know what you wanted to ask. “No, never mind that’s my question,” and it was. “Why are men?”

She let out a soft laugh. “Why are men indeed. More specifically, why is Chad?” She joked.

You laughed, too, with distress, running a hand through your face. “Ugh, don’t even mention him,” you whined. “He’s an asshole, can you imagine just a week ago he wanted to sleep with me?” You snaked with disbelief.

She groaned. “What I really have trouble understanding is why you ever wanted to sleep with him.” You had the question backwards, why had he ever looked at you? “Maybe his personality, but he seems like such a wad.”

You didn’t know how to answer the question. Then again, you had the same question for her. Why Danny? Why, being such an incredible woman, had she chosen Danny? Love is blind. You’d learned that over the years.

Maybe because ‘Danny and Sophia’ sounded like something with balance. But did it really? How could she see it so simply?

“Look—I—” You took a deep breath. “I believe in love at first sight,” and you did, in your own way. “and I don’t know, I guess—I saw the fantasy, you know?” You explained. “Thought we could—I don’t know, he was charming,” because he had been, at very first, he had been charming and he’d learned how to make you fall in love with him. “I guess I wanted that, you know the whole love story,” you sounded so childish and stupid but how could anyone ever apologize for being in love. “And he made me believe he could give it to me and then he just never—”You had to face the truth. “He only wanted sex and I fell in love,” it all ended so simply. Maybe Sophia was right all along. “Pathetic right?”

She watched you, and you saw it, the pity in her eyes. Yet someone else feeling sad for you. She probably did think you were pathetic. “No, I don’t think it’s pathetic… I think… well, I’ve come to the conclusion that love isn’t worth any cost,” she answered. “Not really, especially since it doesn’t even seem real.” You wondered again, how come she’d never felt it. “Love makes people get their hopes up. It makes us… give too much of ourselves to other people, when we don’t even know what our future with them looks like,” she explained. Yes you were probably a mental woman to her. “But I don’t think it’s pathetic that you wanted to believe in something that only seems to come from fairytales, I just think that’s what most people do.”

How bad is it to want a fairytale? “Love is worth it, though,” you said, because how come a beautiful feeling could carry so much pain. “It’s men who are the problem.”

She grinned, defeatedly. “Suppose you got me there…”

You had to ask though. “But you... like really don’t believe in love?” You asked. “Then why were you with Danny? Didn’t you love him?”

She grimaced and took a sip of her wine. “You know,” she paused to think a bit. “I thought I loved him, and I thought he loved me.” You understood that part, believing someone loves you back and then it turns out they didn’t… Well, it hurt. “But, I guess he just…”She probably didn’t understand it herself. “And it just made me realize that, even if love is real, it comes so rarely that I don't believe I would ever find it.” That you could understand, though you were so enthusiastic about the feeling, you knew you weren’t meant to find it. “I just don’t think most people do.” She watched you, curiously. “Why have you put so much into it if you were hurt?”

It was an escape, really. Love seemed to make people happy and you wanted to be happy. She reminded you so much of Tim, talking trash about love and not understanding the thrill for it. Being so done with the feeling.

“I think… I dunno, love isn’t a one time thing,” you started with that, because it was true. “I think the problem is I suffered from unrequited love, but I think I… I dunno, I think we get chances,” you said. “Not me though,” you scoffed. “but it’s… I don’t know, I think I’ve always read about love and I’ve always wanted that, and love is complicated, that’s it,” you said, because love could come in so many ways. “I don’t think you can easily-“You shook your head. “I mean I do believe in a sort of thing like love at first sight but I mean, I believe in second chances, but like not for everyone,” seemed like believed in second chances for Chad. “ I guess I… I think there is such a thing as love I’m just… “ you took a deep breath. “super unlucky and maybe that sweet fantasy of any Julia Roberts’ romcom isn’t for me, I’m destined to be a side character who gets no… attention.” Or love.

Sophia probably believed you were helpless. You were. “Oh, come on Iris, that’s not true,” it was easy for her to say. She was the main character. “I mean, if you do come here then you’ll have plenty of opportunity to live a Julia Roberts movie. People seem to find this place so thrilling…” Why wouldn’t they. “I don’t seem to know much about love, or to really be the one to talk to about it, though… “ She admitted truthfully. She gave it a thought. “You know, you should talk to my friend, Tom, if you come. I think you’d get along well, he gushes on about love all the time.”

Your dog raised its head as soon as he heard his name. Tom. You smiled and petted him. “It is thrilling I mean, it’s near Notting Hill,” you were excited. “I just need Hugh Grant and that’s it but…”You knew it wouldn’t come. “You might come here and hate on love with my brother, he hates everything related to it.”

He really did. Tim was even worse than her. Tim never, ever had believed in love. He said he didn’t want to bother about it, no commitment, not ever seeing someone twice because why would he? He said it was a waste of time. Shades of gray on love. And he said he didn’t want to risk just to get hurt. He said love was… a mystery he didn’t want to explore. He liked simple things.

“Really? He sounds better than most men already,” she commented.

You laughed. “He’s not.”

If you ever bumped into someone like your brother you’d end up running the other way.

She chuckled. “Aren’t siblings meant to support one another?”

You scoffed. “You’d think that,” you pointed out. “But no, he’s a man,” you stated clearly. “I don’t know who’s worse men who hate love or men who pretend to love love,” you snaked. Probably the second one. “Your friend is probably the second one.”

Men who don’t believe in love at least are direct about it, and the second type they know and try to hurt you.

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. He seems to really believe in it, maybe more than you. He’s really sweet, typically… “She said. “I mean, he is a man so he has his days”

You heard her…. And then you clicked it. Tom, that friend of hers, he probably was in love with her. “Oh,” you closed your eyes. “Of course…. so… Right, right,” she chuckled. “But you don’t believe in love and...Right, right,” you thought it was ironic. You hadn’t even met the guy but you could tell that he probably was so smitten with her and she didn’t see it. A perfect love story. Why couldn’t she see it? “Perfect setup, see?” You said. “This town is perfect for you, nothing that has to do with romance. It’s a great way to get away from everything romance.”

She seemed confused, because of course, she didn’t see it, she couldn’t, for that matter. But god, how did she not see it?

“Then I can’t wait to go, really,” she went along. “I mean, it seems perfect for you here, too. You can surround yourself in things to remember the “fantasy” of love again,” she offered. “So, are we really switching tomorrow?”

You couldn’t quite put your mind to it. It had been hours of you speaking with this stranger. And all because you wanted to change lives with a stranger. Were you actually going to go through with it? You wanted to.

“You think there are any flights?” You asked, half joking.

“I’m sure there have to be some. Should we check?” She offered.

You smirked and reached for your laptop, conveniently in front of you. “Definitely.”

You expected her to back up.

“Wonderful.” She hadn't. “How long are we doing this for?”

Forever? You wanted to say. “Uh, depends, holidays are coming soon… “ You pointed you. “So, even though I have no interest in spending Christmas here, what’s your idea?”

Because you didn’t want to spend Christmas with your family and hear that question, because you’d promised you’d bring Chad for Christmas. Why? You didn’t know. Because you were an idiot.

Sophia wrinkled her nose. “Nothing is really keeping me here for it, honestly.”

“I’m just-- you’re okay with dogs, right?” You asked as you pointed the camera at your puppy, honestly you had lied, Tommy was the love of your life. A young pug who loved to follow you around. “Because little Tommy here is going to miss me.”

She smiled at him. “I’d love to take care of… did you say…”She tried not to laugh. “l-little Tommy?”

You grinned as you hugged the dog close. “Yeah, his name is Tom. He’s the only male that matters.”

“Oh, I love that. I would love to trade Tom’s with you,” she chuckled.

Oh god, why didn’t she see it?

“As long as I don’t have to feed that one,” you chuckled.

“I do hope that you don’t have to, he seems somewhat capable of caring for himself,” she grinned. “Oh, by the way. He’ll be running my shop for me while I’m away, sometimes he stays later for work so if you hear him downstairs don’t worry.”

Of course he was, he was in love with her. You chuckled and then started to actually look for flights. “I probably won’t notice, honestly…” You scrolled through the flights and there was one. “Okay so here’s a flight, can you believe there’s actually one for tomorrow?”

She probably was looking for flights. “I found one too, shockingly enough… Are we really going through with this?”

Were you?

You were excited, scared but excited. “I think we are.”

“Well, alright then… “ She seemed to be rational yet.

“On three then….?” You asked, knowing this decision would probably change your entire life, not sure why. BUt you had a feeling that this was either the worst decision you’d ever made or the best one. This was the so-needed break you needed, you needed to breathe, and this was the perfect way to do so. Yes, this was unplanned and this was mysterious but this was what you needed an irrational decision.

“One…”She started.

“Two…”

“Three!” You said at the same time.

You’d bought the ticket. There was no going back now. You were going to London to a Stranger’s house for the Holidays.

sophia’s version <- REMEMBER TO READ TO KNOW WHAT’S UP WITH TOM.

story masterlist.

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somersetmummy · 3 years

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(A/N) This is a TNA one shot, taking place immediately following book 1 chapter 12 (the gala balcony scene). Characters, some storyline and some dialogue property of Pixelberry.

Story told from point of view of MC Katie Hide. Internal character thoughts are written in italics.

I tried to think about how they would get through the rest of the gala after their little extra curricular activities on the balcony….so here it is!

Original characters: Katie Hide (MC), Sam Dalton, Vivienne Dalton, Mason Sr Dalton, Carter

New characters: Laney, Ryan

Content warning: Some light adult language

Summary: Nanny Katie Hide and her boss Sam Dalton finally take their relationship to the next step on the night of the gala, but just when they should be feeling elated, things spiral quickly. Can they get through the rest of the evening together now that things have changed for good?

Word count: 3462 (I’m out of control!)

- Bonus social edits at the end -

Alone on the balcony, looking out over the city's twinkling lights, she should've been basking in the afterglow of the best sex of her life but instead she feels empty. Her resolve held strong in front of Sam as he skulked off seemingly full of regret but now, her mind races through every minute detail of what had just happened.

Instead of taking the time to carefully ingrain every delicious detail of their time together into her memory, she painfully second guessed every move, every touch, every whispered promise. Once her exhausted mind began to fray she decided to sweep the whole thing under the carpet determined to save face, for now. Collecting herself, she absentmindedly ran her fingers up and down her arms, goose bumps standing proud, finally giving in to the cold night air.

On her way back towards the ballroom, while wondering how the hell she was going to get through the rest of the evening, she prolongs her return to reality by ducking into one of the lavish bathrooms to freshen up. The room is quiet, an older lady leaves as she enters, another younger girl, probably around her age, is refreshing her makeup by one of the opulent vanity's. She sits down on the plush velvet ottoman in the middle of the vanity area with a sigh, not really sure what to do next.

"Well you look like you've been through the ringer!"

Turning towards the kind voice, the girl who was doing her makeup, a warm glow pours out to her as the stranger looks her up and down with genuine concern. Her face is one of those which feels familiar, like someone she could’ve known her whole life. It is enough to encourage her to open up a little and feels like a relief to have someone to talk to after feeling so alone out on that balcony.

"I'm sort of having the best night of my life as well as the worst. And to top it all off I've left my purse in the main room..." She gestures towards her untidy hair and slightly smudged makeup by way of an explanation.

The stranger offers a knowing look in reply.

“So are you here with someone? Your dress is divine by the way."

Smoothing the front of her dress, Katie replies absentmindedly, "Oh no, I'm just here with my boss, filling in an empty seat at the last minute." Hesitant to share more with someone she'd just met, she kept the more intimate details to herself.

"Me too, well sort of. I'm a stylist, one of my clients insisted I join them to make sure they look perfect all night long, god forbid her dress creases when she sits down for dinner!" She waves Katie over to the vanity and the open make up case. "Here, use whatever you need." She continues watching as Katie gratefully grabs a brush and some powder. "I'm really just starting out but figure these sorts of events are great publicity if I can dress the right people. I mean they're all living on another planet of course but they love to be in the spotlight and gush about their outfits, which is great for me!"

The pair chat easily together for a while before Katie glances at the time on her phone screen realising she'd been gone much longer than anticipated. She’d enjoyed having an ally and getting her mind off the car crash of a moment with Sam, truth be told, she’d much rather stay here in the safety of her mirrored cave and the kindness of a stranger than plaster a smile on her face and return to the Dalton’s table. With a wistful smile she turns to the stranger.

"I suppose I should be getting back, although I can't say I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm Laney by the way." She holds her hand out to Katie and they share a gentle shake.

"I'm Katie. I've really enjoyed hiding out in here with you, thanks for everything." Leaving Laney to pack up the overly large purse full of beauty treasures, Katie heads back towards the bustling ballroom. Barely making it into the room, Laney breathlessly catches up to her holding out a business card.

"Hey, I thought maybe we could meet up for a coffee sometime, you know if you want to have someone in the real world to spend time with!" She points over to someone across the room and continues animatedly, "You said you went to NYIT right? I'm sure my friend Ryan would love to meet you too, he did his Grad course there and always loves a trip down memory lane!"

Taking the card, Katie’s eyes are drawn to Sam over Laney's shoulder. He looks just as he did before the balcony, the ever professional businessman, as if nothing had ever happened. He gives a slight tip of his head in Katie’s direction, motioning for her to join him back at the table.

The new friends share a quick hug promising to catch up soon and she makes her way over to Sam who won't quite meet her eye. Despite the frostiness between them, he's a gentleman at heart and doesn't think twice about pulling out her chair, tucking it in gently as she sits. As the bustle of dinner being served continues around them, the thorny silence between them grows thick with unspoken feelings.

After a whirlwind of Sam and his parents catching up over the exploits of various family friends and tales of the boys, Vivienne turns to smile at Katie.

"Now dear, we're being rude talking around you as though you're not here. Sam tells me you're quite the budding scientist yourself?"

She looks to Sam to see him offering a helpless smile and shrug of the shoulders and can’t help but wonder whether he’d shared anything about his previous employees with his mother, or if she was the first. As Katie pulls her eyes away from Sam’s, she pushes down all the feelings which bubbled up inside her and plasters on her most professional smile.

"Yes, Mrs Dalton, I have a Masters in Chemistry and up until recently was managing projects for Panacea Labs."

Being the expert that she is at reading people, Katie astutely notices how Mr Dalton’s ears prick, he clearly didn't know that there was more to her than being 'just a nanny', whatever that means.

"Please dear, you're practically family, call me Vivienne."

A warm glow fills her body at the thought of being accepted into the fold of the Dalton family. Smiling back at Vivienne, she continues to share stories of her experiences in the industry, her passion for science and her love for exploring through the twins eyes.

"Mickey and Mason are such a brilliant example of how a love of science can be developed at a young age. They're so curious and passionate about exploring, it's such a pleasure to be a part of."

Next to her, barely able to disguise the pride he feels for her, Sam tries his best to remain outwardly impassive while watching the rest of the table listen attentively, completely captivated by her storytelling. He'd meant it earlier on the balcony when he'd agreed that she was meant to be by his side, a partner not a secret he had to hide his feelings for. He just didn't know how to make it a reality, trapped within his own life. But in this moment, his feelings bubble to the surface and it takes everything he has not to take her in his arms in front of everyone and let them come flooding out for all to see.

After all, it wasn’t Katie’s fault that his true feelings for her hit him like a tonne of bricks earlier that evening while he watched her effortlessly talk Selene into keeping her shares. In front of his parents no less. Right there, everything he loves about her shone out for everyone to see and he realised he was deeply and helplessly in love. It just wasn’t with his fiancée. Hell that's the reason he took Katie out to the balcony in the first place, to steal a moment to share how he really feels but as always he was too much of a coward to do anything about it in fear or letting everyone else down and jeopardising his sons future.

He knows that the only way to try to push through it all is to detach himself from Katie as much as possible, even if it means becoming the bad guy. In his mind, she deserves better, she deserves the damn fairytale and that's just not something he's able to give.

As they move through the plentiful courses of dinner, Mason Sr continues to interrogate Katie on her knowledge and opinions of various scientific and business theories, although his directness falters as the meal goes on and they both seem to enjoy the lively debates. Vivienne occasionally interjects with questions of her own about Katie’s family, her life back in England and whether it's difficult to be far from home. To Katie, it almost feels like she’s on a 'meet the parents' date which in her mind could be going a lot worse.

When coffee is finally offered, Mason Sr stands abruptly, eyes focussed on Sam.

“Ladies, while this evening's discussions have been...interesting, I think it's time we get down to some business." He nods curtly at Sam before gesturing towards a quieter bar area off the back of the room.

Sam stands to follow him but not before turning to Katie and instinctively placing a hand on her shoulder. She involuntarily shudders at his touch as her mind races back to the last time they touched on the balcony.

"This shouldn't take too long, will you be ok here?"

"Of course she will darling, I'm not going to bite her!" Vivienne cuts in before she can reply. Sam nods in approval towards her and lingers for a moment before walking away to meet his father. Katie's shoulder still tingling at the memory of his touch.

Katie looks across the ballroom taking in the general splendour and jovial atmosphere while Vivienne takes the opportunity to really look at her, contemplating how much to share with her. After taking a few sips of coffee, she turns herself to fully face Katie and offers a warm smile.

"I can see why the boys are so taken with you...all of them."

The honesty of her comment takes Katie by surprise. Unsure how to respond, she slowly turns to meet Vivienne’s eye, raising her eyebrow slightly in question.

"You're all the things Sam said you were. He was right when he told me we'd get on well."

The intensity of Vivienne’s gaze is so strong Katie daren't look away.

"I want to thank you for everything you've done for them all. They've come alive again since having you in their life. Poor Sara was taken from him far too soon, from us all really...it was all so hard on Sam and the boys." She trails off clearly lost in memory. "I know he cares for you and wants you to feel part of the family."

“Shit” she thinks to herself. Feeling like a rabbit caught in headlights, Katie's mind races. Does she know? How can she, they've only met once before, surely that's not enough to make her suspicious?

"I think Sam's just taken pity on me because I'm so far from home and he knows I don't have any family around. He and the boys have been so gracious in making me feel welcome."

Hoping she sounds convincing she takes a sip of coffee, relishing the opportunity to hide her blushing cheeks behind the cup. Vivienne suddenly looks up with Katie follow her gaze over her shoulder. Behind her, Laney is standing with a cowboy-next-door handsome man in tow, a welcome interruption. His dirty blonde hair is slightly unkempt, his frame more lean than Sam's but he still carries an athletic look, he smiles charmingly at Katie.

“Excuse me" Laney directs to Vivienne before turning to speak to Katie. “This is my friend Ryan who I was telling you about earlier."

Katie reaches out to shake his hand which he is already holding out towards her.

"I hear you're a fellow NYIT grad? You look far too respectable to have hung out in the sort of dives I used to find myself in!"

"Try me..." she challenges with a twinkle in her eye.

Laney rolls her eyes with boredom and escapes, business card in hand, to fawn over an awkwardly dressed woman at another table.

"Would you like to dance? I promise not to break out the old NYIT match day chant moves!"

She can't help but laugh at his natural charm. After looking to Vivienne, who waves her hand in approval, she lets Ryan lead her out to the dance floor where they sway together at ease in each other's company reminiscing. It’s a far cry from the intimate dance with Sam earlier that evening, instead Katie could relax into it knowing that she wasn’t trying to hide anything, and it felt freeing.

As Sam's discussion, or more accurately argument, with his father comes to an end he heads back to the table where he notices his mother is sitting alone.

“Where's Katie?" He asks forgetting to hide the panic in his voice, worried for the second time that evening, after she had disappeared to the bathroom for half an hour, that Katie had thought better of compromising herself for him and fled the gala.

Vivienne nods towards the dance floor, Sam's eyes follow and a bolt of jealousy hits him right in the heart as he sees her in the arms of another man.

With a steely glare he starts towards her but is stopped by Vivienne's hand firmly holding him back by his arm.

“Leave her be, she's enjoying herself."

Letting out an almost inaudible sigh he sits down next to his mother but can't pull his eyes away, so enthralled that his mother's voice is almost a whisper in the background.

"She really is wonderful darling, I know even your father is impressed, of course he'll never say it." Her arm still resting on his, she studies Sam's face before continuing, "What a shame you’d not met her sooner.”

Allowing himself for a moment to hope that his mother's glowing reference suggests she is in approval of his relationship with Katie becoming something more, Sam smiles and leans forward ready to gush even more. He catches himself just in time as the ever repeating voices in his head remind him of his responsibility and everyone else's expectations of him, instead he brings it back to the boys.

"Yes she's brilliant with Mason and Mickey, they're lucky to have her."

Dancing and talking together with Ryan, Katie had almost forgotten about Sam and their earlier tryst on the balcony, grateful for the distraction and if she was being honest the attention. It's not every day that she goes to the effort of dressing up at the last minute and schmoozes the un-scmoozable to help her sort-of-boyfriend look good, it's nice to have someone sweep her off her feet and put her first for once.

"Your boyfriend doesn't seem too happy about us dancing together" Ryan nods towards Sam who is trying to get their attention, his parents behind him appear to be getting ready to leave.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Ryan's eyes widen sensing an opportunity. “Well I guess that's good news for me...can I call you sometime, take you out for dinner?"

She drops her gaze, shaking her head slightly.

“I'm sorry, I don't think it's a good idea..." trailing off, he gently lifts her chin to look up at him.

"But you're single...?"

"No, I...it's...it's complicated" she stutters while looking over his shoulder at Sam, who looks less than thrilled.

"Well, if you change your mind, Laney has my number." With that, he kisses her hand and watches the silk of her gown cling to her hips as she walks away.

Returning to the table, Mason Sr takes Katie’s hand and shakes it almost warmly.

“Pleasure to see you again Katie. Excellent damage control with Selene earlier...very impressive."

He moves to Sam, impassively shaking his hand as Vivienne envelopes her in a hug, kissing each cheek.

"Wonderful to see you again dear, give those grandsons of mine one of these from me!"

Katie smiles tenderly back at her, nodding in agreement.

After the Dalton's leave, Katie and Sam remain at the table, sipping their drinks in awkward silence, steadily interrupted by acquaintances of Sam's wanting to talk business. Finally, noticing Katie’s arm propping up her tired head, Sam stands.

“I think that's enough shop talk for one night, let's get you home."

Waiting for the limo to pull to the front of the building Sam notices her shiver in the cold night air. He takes off his jacket and wraps it around her shoulders, the most contact they’ve had all evening since being intertwined on the balcony together. His gaze lingers on hers, neither able to look away. She tries to read his thoughts as she looks deep into his eyes but all she sees is a muddle of pain, confusion and longing. It doesn't make her feel any better.

"Mr Dalton..." the driver says with a small cough as he stands by the open limo door.

Sam pulls away and walks her over to the limo with his hand hovering behind the small of her back, not daring to touch. Once settled in their seats it doesn't take long for the gentle motion of the car to send Katie to sleep, her head lulling and dropping onto Sam's shoulder.

It takes everything he has for him not to wrap his arms around her, his mind conflicted thinking of the nights events. The incredible connection they shared on the balcony, the fire within him burning hotter and brighter than ever before, his mother's glowing review, hell even his father had been impressed and suggested during their conversation in the bar that Katie’s role within the Dalton empire might be wasted as just a nanny. But none of these thoughts could quite suppress his feelings of guilt at falling for another woman, his responsibility to his sons, the business and their legacies. At least not in his mind.

Back in the penthouse, Sam makes his way into the open plan living area to find, thinking him for his help with the boys. Katie hangs back, not wanting to make small talk in front of Carter, who is incredibly astute and would no doubt piece together that things were not as they seemed.

"Miss Hide, you're a vision!"

Walking towards the elevator, Carter beams at her like a proud dad seeing his daughter on her wedding day.

“I didn't get the chance to see you before you left, my my..."

"Thank you Carter. And thank you for watching the boys, I hope they weren't too much trouble?!"

He taps his nose, keeping secret whatever mischief they got up to that evening. She smiles back at him knowingly as he steps into the elevator and the doors close.

As she turns back towards the living room she is halted by Sam standing right in front of her, so close, she almost crashes into him. Sheepishly she hands him his jacket as he offers a bottle of water in exchange.

‘You should never go to bed dehydrated" he blurts out, trying to fill the gaping silence.

“Sam...."

"Goodnight Katie, thank you for your help this evening, I appreciate you coming."

Unable to muster up enough energy to argue push any further, Katie drops her gaze to the floor as she shakes her head disappointedly. She walks away without a word, her heart aching more than she thought possible.

TAG List: @shewillreadyou @chemist-ana @txemrn @silma-words @thefrenchiemama @secretaryunpaid @sfb123

- Bonus - photo posted by Katie the morning after followed by a conversation with Jenny (before Sam drops the Italy bombshell and she was supposed to have the day off!)

#the nanny affair #tna #fanfic #sam dalton #sam dalton x mc #sam x mc #choices

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char-lotteral · 3 years

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I agree with Kishimoto never trying to use the girls. The hate they get is not fair. I used to defend Sakura back in the days because I hoped kishi would do her justice. When shippuden started I WAS SO HAPPY because I thought this was the start of something great for Sakura and the girls but NOOOOO. Every time, Sasuke showed kishi turned her brainless. If you compare Naruto's actions and Sakura's actions to sasuke, you'd see they're completely different. What's up with that weird fake love confession scene 😭? It makes her look like she was manipulating Naru. JEEZ.

Also he literally had badass Tenten and Temari with cool useful abilities and he didn't use them ?! TF ?! Thank god for modern authors who treat their characters with respect :)

okay2 you know how i am with these longass rants so click readmore and brace yourselves

The way I see it, Sakura's character development in shippuden was always one step forward, two steps back. She gets this really badass scene (like her fight with Sasori and those cool ass medical skills) but is then regressed back into a pining girl in love every time Sauce is on screen or Kishi just throws her in the background YET AGAIN.

I love Sakura's abilities actually. Her brute strength, intelligence, vast knowledge and skill as a medic nin. But what I dislike about her character is how kishi handled her feelings for Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura's obsession with Sasuke was so???? huh??? it was so damn toxic and i never once understood why both Nardo and Sak were so obsessed with him. They were a team for one year???? I mean its great that they care about him alot but Sauce's feelings were kinda valid. His freakin clan died. Id go batshit crazy against my own village too. BUT BESIDES THAT. Both Nart and Sakura's Sasuke obsession was so annoying. 80% of shippuden was literally Keeping up with the Uchihas or Naruto yelling SASUKEH. BUT what irks me so much is the fandom's double standards with both Naruto and Sakura. "Oh Sakura shouldve gotten over her Sasuke obsession" but then turn around and call Naruto's obsession cute and gush about how he's so in love with him!!

Hot take but the only reason why sasunaru is "the most developed ship with the most chemistry" is because theyre both male characters.

I guarantee you if Naruto was a girl and SHE would be the one to have this unhealthy obsession who was chasing around Sasuke, the fandom would shit on Naruto just as much. And if Sasuke were a girl, Sauce would be sidelined like the rest of the female cast and Naruto would have another male character to have a "brotherly bond" with, because thats the only bond Kishimoto is actually good at developing. Yey for male characters having all the screentime and cool assets <333

And about that confession scene, I get her intentions. I really do. I understand that she did that in order to bring him home and that she cares about him but honey, w-why?? Why lie to him about your feelings?? Supposed he DID believe her, then what? then what kishi???? huh??? Some of her fans point the blame on Sai or whatever but I personally dont see why that scene was at all necessary. Maybe to establish Naruto's feelings for her wasnt all that serious? or his maturity? idk man. That scene was such a clusterfuck.

In the end her development in The Last and in Boruto was immaculate. She had one of the best glow ups in the old gen and ironically enough, her character wasn't butchered in Boruto. She got badass scenes she was cheated from in shippuden. I also love how she's finally getting the spotlight she deserves. Unlike the other konoha 12 :,)))

Okay onto the next female character that Kishi completely wasted. My baby. My light. 🙈 AAAHHH HINATAA.

I DONT EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN OKAY2 DEEP BREATHS.

Let me just establish this real quick. Hinata's goal was to get stronger because of Naruto, her goal was never to be with Naruto. She wanted to become someone who is worthy enough to stand beside him, someone whom he can consider as an equal, as a partner. She NEVER once said "marrying Naruto-kun is my all time goal UwU" (if youre one of those weirdos who interpret her character that way, youre immediately invalid, go take a hike)

I personally dont have anything against their crushes but to the point of making their personalities revolve around these guys every time theyre onscreen is so fucking frustrating. And with the way he writes their dialogues is so.damn.cringey. Like that one scene in the war arc with Tsunade and Madara

"I mAy bE a WomAn but I aM nOt WeAAKKKK"

BAAHAHAAHHA WHAT?? Everyone else gets coolass monologues and one liners but thats the best you can come up with Kishi?????? Hilarious.

If im being honest. Hinata's character is actually kinda well written. Not well executed. Dear God no. But with the way he set her story, her personality, her chracterization. She's honestly one of the best written female characters on the show. IMO. By Kishi's standards of writing women ofc. She's hands down one of the most complex characters. Her shy personality wasnt out of the blue, it wasnt a cutesy waifu trait. Her abusive upbringing made her that way. Her trauma turned her that way. So yeah, sue her if she looked up to Naruto as an inspiration when everyone else in her family treated her like dust. Shit on her for having Naruto's love light in her dark when her own damn father wouldnt even look her in the eye and her entire clan shunned her because she was "weak." She doesnt owe her family shit so idgaf what they do with the Hyuga clan. Neji and Hanabi aren't included btw

Im not gonna deny that her role in the show was only as the love interest but tbh for a love interest, Im glad her character wasnt so one dimensional. It just pains me SO MUCHHH how fucking wasted she is. Every time she's with Naruto, they always make her into a damsel in distress. They always feel the need to turn Naruto into the heroic prince. How cute.

LIKE THAT ONE SCENE IN THE LAST WHERE SHE'S THROWN IN THE CAGE?? WHY??? LET NARUTO AND HINA FIGHT THAT FREAKING ALIEN GOD TOGETHER. QUIT WITH THE TOXIC MASCULINITY. WE GET IT. NARUTO'S STRONG. GOOD FOR HIM. NOW LETS SEE HINATA THROW HANDS AND PUT NARUTO IN THE CAGE GODAMMIT

Hnggggg dont get me started with her role in Boruto. She's as relevant as a damn houseplant in the manga. They made her into an invisible trophy wife and "the mc's mother" and we all KNOW what happens to the shounen mc's mother once mc is in need of character development :) Quit putting her in the background. Give us that scene where she won against Hanabi DESPITE being retired for years. Give us that scene where she trains Boruto. GIVE US ANY FIGHT SCENE OF HER WHERE HER POTENTIAL ISNT WASTED WTF?¿

Now if you say that Hinata didnt have development. YOURE INVALID. She came from an abusive household, the shyest girl in her class, her insecurities got in the way of her own confidence, had difficulty of standing up for herself now became a loving mother of two, has the guts to kick her husband out of the house(with whom she couldnt even keep eye contact with when she was a kid) became the strongest hyuga, most supportive wife and mother, and has given her kids the comforting childhood she never had as a kid.

She has one of the most beautiful stories in the show and if you think her personality is only Naruto-kun and big boobs, then im sorry that you cant appreciate such a heartwarming story.

And I agree, killing her would honestly make me feel more at ease than continue to see her suffer because of godawful misogynistic writers. But at least let her die in an epic fight. Please. PLEASEE. She got nerfed so bad, i feel a physical pain every time i think about it

Okay what else. I think Ino got pretty good development. Another wasted potential in shippuden but she's doing good for herself in Boruto. I dont know what Temari is up to. They basically made her into another classic angry mom who beats up her husband for comedy trope. Haha very funny and original! Im not sure with her career, im not that invested in the anime.

Tenten??

oh G O D Tenten. The dirtiest of all. Her jokes about her screentime is so mean and i hate that its true ahsjhs. She was the only female character in OG who's goal wanted to be as strong as Tsunade but what did Kishi do to her?? Sidelined. Forgotten. Irrelevant. Like every damn female on the show :D

Konan shouldnt have died. I blame plot armor. I know in my heart that Konan wouldve kicked Obito's ass if it weren't for Kishi's boomer mindset.

Tsunade had so much hype when she was introduced but died down in the war arc. Madara wiped the floor with the kages. Holy shit. Not only that, but yipee! Naruto is there to save the day AGAIN!!!!

AND UGHHHH If the female characters were given proper treatment then maybe MAYBE all the endgame couples wouldve made fucking sense????¿¿¿

I think that ends my rant. Im not sure how the female characters in Boruto are handled. Except maybe Sarada (she's pretty well executed in the manga imo). But arguably they are sooo much better handled in Boruto than how the old gen girls were. And thats because Kishi isnt anywhere near the new gen female cast. I cant formulate a solid opinion with the other new gen female cast since im not entirely invested in the anime. Not ashamed to admit that I only watch it for the sunshine moments and for Hinata :DD

#and *scene #salty char.txt #char complains about Naruto AGAIN #yey #please end my suffering #i need to leave this fandom what am i still doing here #naruto #day 202 of WTF KISHI #i think i got that out of my system

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frogjutsu · 3 years

Text

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi x Maito Gai

Word Count: 2088

Warnings: slight angst, lots of tomfoolery

A/N: written as part of the KKG server gift exchange! Feel free to read here or on Ao3

The sun filtering through the branches felt like a lover's caress. It was almost enough to make Kakashi forget how lonely he was. With a sigh he settled further against the tree. The bark scratched against his back and the grass felt cold against his thighs but the scent was comforting. The scent was home.

Kakashi turned a page in whatever copy of Icha Icha he'd brought with him today. He'd read them so many times he could probably quote them from memory, but he had appearances to keep up. Anyone who saw him would simply assume he was reading his pervy books again and leave him alone. Well, almost anyone.

"Ah, there you are, rival," Gai's voice boomed as he jogged up to Kakashi. He was surprised Gai wasn't running on his hands this time. "I've been looking for you."

"And you've found me," Kakashi said, not looking up from his book. It would be too much like looking into the sun.

"I've devised a new challenge for us. One that will truly test our limits as shinobi. Are you interested?"

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes, Kakashi thought, but what came out of his mouth was: "I suppose" coupled with a shrug.

Gai laughed and it echoed through Kakashi's heart. It might've been the most beautiful sound he ever heard. "Cool as ever, dear rival. In that case, you'll need this." Gai whipped out a small booklet - from where in that skintight suit Kakashi couldn't tell. If Kakashi's eyes lingered too long, Gai didn't mention it.

Finally, Kakashi set his copy of Icha Icha to the side and reached for Gai's hand. Their fingers brushed as he took the booklet and Kakashi wondered if all of Konoha could hear his heart pounding. Before he could ask what the book was, Gai interrupted: “Meet us at the theatre tomorrow night.”

“Us,” Kakashi asked as he opened the book. His eyes trailed across a hand-written script. The character “Damsel” was highlighted.

“Yes! Team Gai is going to put on the ultimate display of youth and you are to be our damsel in distress. Then the audience shall decide who embodied their emotions better: the infamous Copy Ninja or the Green Beast of Konoha.” Gai planted his fists on his hips, striking a pose as Kakashi stared at the pages before him. What had he gotten himself into?

It was not the only time Kakashi asked himself that question. In fact, it seemed to be the only thought he could form as he memorized the few lines he had and showed up to the theater, only to be rushed into what was clearly a storage closet someone had hurriedly turned into a changing room. Sakura and Ino had been roped into helping Team Gai with makeup and wardrobe, though, as they forced him into a rather skimpy pink dress and braided wig, Kakashi doubted they really needed any convincing. At least Sakura was thoughtful enough to include a matching pink mask.

As he was ushered onto the stage and the curtains lifted to reveal most of the village gathered around to watch this farce - play, Kakashi corrected himself - Kakashi tried to pinpoint exactly which decisions in his life had led him to this point: dressed in pink and lace surrounded by a trio of children with plastic swords and too-big costumes pretending to be pirates. Perhaps if he’d never joined the ANBU or if his father had never died. Maybe it was just an inevitability. Perhaps Kakashi Hatake was always doomed to give more of himself than he would ever receive.

He was broken out of his gloomy reverie when Gai burst forth from the wings, dressed in a loose flowing white shirt and pants that seemed even tighter than his green jumpsuit. His hair was held back with a leather band and - Did he oil his chest? Kakashi thought, noting how Gai’s skin glistened under the stage lights.

Lee elbowed Kakashi in the hip. “It’s your line, Kakashi sensei.”

“Oh,” he replied, forcing his thoughts back to script. He cleared his throat and began:

“Blessed be the gods for sending the Green Beast. Save me from these scoundrels and then we shall feast.”

Gai stalked across the stage, pulling his own plastic sword out of its sheath. “My dear Princess, it would be my pleasure / for rescuing you would be life’s greatest treasure. / Avast, ye pirates. Stand and fight! / Draw your swords and face my might!”

Now it was Lee’s turn to jump forward into the spotlight. “First you must pay the princess’s ransom! / I don’t care if you are devilishly handsome. / 10,000 yen is what we agreed. / If you can’t pay she’ll be tossed to the sea.”

Silence fell over the stage for a moment as Lee and Gai stared each other down. Then, Lee coughed and looked at Neji out of the corner of his eye. Kakashi thought he heard Neji mutter something about wishing the swords were real so Gai could kill him, but he stepped forward nonetheless.

His voice was blank as he spoke, brandishing his sword as if he wished he were anywhere else. “Captain, please. Don’t be a fool. / There’s no way you could beat the Beast in a duel.”

TenTen took a step toward Kakashi. She was definitely the most comfortable of the three of them, and, as she pressed the sword under Kakashi’s chin he honestly had to remind himself that this was just a play. “Take another step and I’ll end her life,” TenTen said. “And then you’ll never take her as your wife.”

Wife. Kakashi let his mind turn the word around in his head, wringing it out until he could pull a drop of meaning from it. He’d never been one for domesticity. Never really given a thought to marriage, having spent so much time alone already, but Kakashi had to admit the thought of being whisked off his feet by a local folk hero and devoting himself so wholly to them held some appeal. Then again, as Gai leapt forward and began his choreographed fight with his teammates, Kakashi realized he was already devoted to someone.

The fight was beautiful, really. Kakashi was sure Gai choreographed it himself. He could see the fluidity in the movements, the way each step was tailored to each character. Kakashi found himself distracted by the sheen of sweat dripping down Gai’s chest, trailing down and out of sight past a tear that appeared where one of the kids got too excited by their role as villains. The clash of plastic swords could barely be heard over the cheering of the audience as Gai gave one final blow to Lee and he died dramatically, dropping to the stage floor next to Neji and TenTen.

Kakashi walked forward, hands still bound behind his back. “You truly are a hero, my dearest Gai. / Stuck with those pirates I was afraid I would die.”

Gai closed the distance between them, reaching around Kakashi to pull at the rope around his wrists. It fell free with little effort, but the action brought their chests together and Kakashi swore he could feel the rumble of the next words Gai said in his ribs. “I will always save you, my dear Princess. / No matter the challenge. No matter the test.” Gai brushed his knuckles against the underside of Kakashi’s jaw, pulling his mask down just past his lips, and wrapped his left arm around his waist. “You’re free now to do what you like. / Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“The honor is mine,” Kakashi said, more breathless than he’d intended. He hoped Gai would just write it off as good acting. “After such a brave feat. / No better man could I hope to meet. / So ask me again. I’ll respond with a sigh. / There’s no greater honor than becoming Mrs. Maito Gai.”

The audience cheered as Gai pressed his forehead against Kakashi’s, but neither of them heard it. There could have been a stampede of elephants running across the stage or a surprise ambush from a neighbouring village and it wouldn’t have mattered. All Kakashi could think about was how warm Gai’s skin felt against his and how Gai’s hand felt like it belonged on the small of his back and how easy it would be to just lean forward and claim his lips and argue that it was an acting choice later, but that would require spine and Kakashi may have been reckless at times but he’d never been brave and -

And then Gai did something unscripted. He pressed his lips against Kakashi’s and his knees buckled. Kakashi was sure he would’ve fainted if Gai’s arm hadn’t been there to hold him up. Gai was always there to hold him up.

The audience erupted into cheers again, but Kakashi only cared about the taste of Gai’s lips. Salty and sweet, tasting vaguely of sweat and matcha and the dango they’d all had backstage before the show started. Kakashi let his tongue brush against Gai’s lips, but he broke away with a laugh.

“Eager, I see, my dear Princess. / But after such an ordeal, I’m sure you must rest. / After all this concludes our heroic tale. / So now I must bid you all farewell.” Gai stepped away from Kakashi and took a deep bow. It wasn’t until Lee, Neji, and TenTen returned to the stage that he realized he was supposed to do the same. Gai’s hand felt like a hot coal in Kakashi’s. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to toss it to the ground or cling to it until it became a diamond in his grip.

After what felt like an eternity of bowing and clapping and greeting the audience, Kakashi finally escaped back to his changing room. He quickly peeled the dress off and yanked on his uniform pants. He wondered if it wouldn’t be easier to simply use a teleportation jutsu to get home. Otherwise, he might have to face Naruto in the audience, and Kakashi wasn’t sure his nerves could handle that right now.

A knock interrupted his plans. Before Kakashi could say anything, the door opened as quickly as it shut and Gai stood before him, still in his costume. The closet changing room didn’t offer much space and, with Gai blocking the exit, Kakashi knew there was little chance for escape.

“You were wonderful out there tonight, rival,” Gai said. His voice seemed even louder in the small space. Kakashi didn’t think he’d ever get tired of it.

“Thank you, but I think you’ve bested me this time.”

“Almost certainly,” Gai laughed. “But I must say, pink is your color.” He stepped forward and brushed his knuckles against Kakashi’s jaw again. In the dim light of the closet, far from the scrutiny of his peers, Kakashi let himself enjoy the moment. He closed his eyes and leaned against Gai’s touch, let himself be led as Gai pulled Kakashi closer by the hips. “What do you say to rehearsing for our next performance?”

Kakashi might’ve said something in response, but it was lost as Gai claimed his lips with his own. It quickly became clear that the kiss on stage was an act, a buildup to this beautiful crescendo. Gai was more insistent now, pushing his own tongue between Kakashi’s lips as one hand slid up Kakashi’s bare back to tangle in the short hair at the nape of his neck and the other held so tightly to Kakashi’s hip he knew it would bruise in the morning. He couldn’t bring himself to care as he cradled Gai’s face close to his, unwilling to let go. Unwilling to admit that this was probably just a dream or an act or something unreal because good things simply didn’t happen to him and there was nothing more good than Maito Gai.

Finally, Kakashi’s brain caught up with him, though, and he jerked away. “Wait. What do you mean next performance?”

Gai only smiled, reaching behind to pull another booklet out of his back pocket. “A chance to regain your honor and prove who’s the better thespian when we perform the sequel.”

Kakashi hummed in response as he took the booklet. Gai’s hands settled on Kakashi’s waist, stroking the skin over his hips and sending fire coursing through Kakashi’s body. He flipped through the booklet and pretended to read the words as Gai began to kiss the skin of his shoulders. There was a single character highlighted: Damsel.

#my fics #kakashi x gai #hatake kakashi #maito gai #kakagai #happy late birthday grandpa gai

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max-is-tired · 4 years

Note

number eleven with the sentence starters dukeceit because tbh we dont give those two enough love. (dont worry ill probably send in a dukexiety one too i gotta love All Of Them)

11-“Can you pretend to be my date so my parents will shut up?”

Ships: Dukeceit, Romile (background)

Characters: Deceit Sanders (called Ethan), Remus Sanders, Roman Sanders (mentioned), Emile Picani (mentioned)

Words: 1.508

Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit, sympathetic Remus, just a hint of angst but it’s resolved immediately, kissing

Notes: man I really love writing these two nckjnsjkcn also this fic made me ship Romile, I was not expecting to love this ship as much as I now do but oh my god they make my heart go soft-

Commission me!! Buy me a coffee!! Join my Discord server!! AO3!!

“Can you pretend to be my date so my parents will shut up?”

Ethan blinked, looking at Remus in confusion as he slowly lowered his cup back on the table.

“What?”

Remus groaned, looking up at him from where he was holding his head in his hands.

“Now that Roman has found a boyfriend my parents keep not so subtly asking when I’m finally gonna bring someone home, so I need you to pretend to be my partner during Thanksgiving break to get them off my back. Please? You’re literally the only one I can ask who is also free during that week.”

Ethan fought down a wince at Remus’ words -it wasn’t a secret that he wasn’t exactly on good terms with his family, but having it so blatantly pointed out to him still wasn’t pleasant.

“Sorry,” Remus sighed, “but still, please? I’ll do whatever you want, I’ll even stop stealing your deodorant if you ask me to.”

“Well, how can I say no to that,” Ethan rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping from his words. Then, he turned to look at Remus, and immediately realized his mistake.

Remus had brought out the puppy dog eyes, and if there was one thing Ethan couldn’t resist it was the way the other pushed his lip forward and looked at him all wide-eyed and pleading. God, why did he ever believe anything good would ever come out of Remus’ friendship with Patton?

Ethan sighed, sagging on his seat as he sent his friend a half-hearted glare.

“Oh, alright you sewer rat,” he finally agreed, looking everything but pleased. “But you owe me big time, you hear me?”

“Hell yeah, thank you so much, E!” Remus cheered, jumping up from his seat to throw his arms around his friend. “I knew I could count on you!”

Ethan grumbled something under his breath, turning his head to the side to hide the faint blush on his cheeks.

An entire week pretending to be his crush’s boyfriend without outing their scheme or losing his mind? Oh yeah, he could totally do that.

(Spoiler alert: he very much could not, and lying to himself was not going to change the reality of his situation anytime soon.)

+++

Surprisingly enough, Ethan managed to survive most of the week without letting his gigantic crush on Remus compromise their ruse. It helped that the entire family seemed to focus more on the other couple present, with Roman and Emile being all sweet and romantic at any chance available and making what felt like the entire house aw in delight.

Ethan was pretty sure he was going to get cavities by the end of the week because of them, but at least he didn’t have all that attention focused on him.

The Incident went down on the Friday after Thanksgiving, with everyone chilling around the house and half-heartedly munching on leftovers after spending an entire day eating enormous quantities of food. Ethan had to give it to them -if there was one thing the Grimm family excelled at, it was cooking.

Remus and Ethan had been chilling on the floor in front of the couch when everything started.

Roman, who had been sitting just a few feet away from them, had suddenly perked up as the firsts note of “Can’t help falling in love” flowed out of the speakers, grinning from ear to ear as he jumped on his feet. He reached up to gently grab Emile’s arm, pulling his boyfriend up with him in a flurry of giggles before guiding him in a slow dance around the living room.

Ethan watched them with an amused smile, noticing how Roman was murmuring the lyrics just for Emile to ear as they dance around with equal, smitten smiles on their face. If Ethan were a little more childish, he would have probably gagged at the sight. As it was, he knew he could count on his dear (fake) boyfriend to properly express their feelings, fighting down a chuckle as Remus fake-gagged to his heart’s content.

“Remus, hush,” his mother called from the couch, a smile on her face as she looked fondly at the dancing couple.

“You should invite your boyfriend to dance too!” Ryan -Remus and Roman’s little cousin- piped up, grinning innocently at them from where he was playing on his switch.

Ethan stiffened just slightly, feeling a twinge of panic come to life in his chest -dancing with Remus to such a romantic song? He was pretty sure he would end up doing something very stupid like act on his feelings, and he was not quite ready to face the following rejection just yet.

“Ry, I’m pretty sure Roman might kill me if I were to steal his spotlight right now,” Remus shot back, using the arm he had around Ethan’s shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze.

Ethan felt his heart skip a beat at the small gesture, once again melting inside at the way Remus did everything in his power to keep him from anything that could make him uncomfortable.

“You still want to, though!” Ryan snickered.

“Never said I didn’t,” Remus answered, rolling his eyes at his cousin’s attempts to embarrass him.

Ethan knew it was all fake. He knew Remus was just playing the part, that there was no truth in his words. And yet, he couldn’t stop the way his heart fluttered at the other’s words, eyes widening just slightly as he looked up on instinct.

Big, big mistake.

Remus stared back, blinking down at Ethan in surprise. Their faces were barely inches apart, mismatched eyes drowning in green as Ethan’s heartbeat thundered in his chest. He couldn’t help the way his eyes flickered briefly to Remus’ lips, their breaths intermingling with how close they were.

God, he really wanted to kiss Remus. All he needed was to lean up just a little bit, to erase those few inches left and get it over with.

“Ew, are you two gonna kiss??”

Ethan reeled back, almost falling with his back to the ground with the force of the sudden movement. Remus looked at him in confusion and something else shining in his eyes, making Ethan’s heart do somersaults in his chest as his mind reeled with a thousand thoughts.

“I need-” he choked out, ignoring the sudden worry in his friend’s gaze as he stumbled to his feet. “Sorry, I think I need some air.”

And he walked out of the room, barely keeping himself from running towards the back porch until he was out of sight.

God, he should have never agreed to this.

+++

Ethan didn’t turn around as he heard the door that led to the back porch slide open, keeping his eyes fixed forward while hugging his knees closer to his chest.

“Can I ask you something?” Remus asked, sitting down beside him.

“You already did,” Ethan muttered in response, not quite able to stop the twitch of his lips as Remus’ laughter filled the air. Damn him and his hopeless crush.

“No but seriously, can I?”

Ethan sighed, shrugging. “Yeah, I guess you can.”

“Were you going to kiss me, back there?”

Ethan stiffened, still refusing to look at Remus as he picked at the hem of his pants.

“I…” he started, searching for the right words. On one side, he could deny everything, blame it on wanting to keep up with their ruse until he could maybe convince himself of it too. But on the other hand… he was getting tired of lying.

“I didn’t want our first kiss to be a lie,” he finally whispered, low enough Remus had to strain his ears to catch it.

Silence filled the air, stretching on for the longest seconds of Ethan’s life. And then, Remus chuckled.

“And what if it wasn’t?” he asked, making Ethan’s head snap up and whip around to look at him.

“What…?”

“Honestly E, you should be the one with the braincell between us!” Remus grinned, eyes twinkling under the setting sun in a way that made Ethan’s heart stutter in his chest. “Man, and here I thought I was being too obvious!”

Ethan’s mind was reeling, trying to get his head around the meaning of Remus’ words.

“But- You-” he tried, waving his hands around in frustration as he tried to formulate a coherent sentence.

Remus chuckled, reaching out with one hand to cup the other’s cheek. “Can I kiss you, E?”

Ethan froze, words dying in his throat as he processed the question. Then, he nodded, cheeks flaming red as he subtly leaned into the contact.

And then they were kissing, soft and sweet as the sun slowly fell over the horizon just in front of them. Ethan clutched at Remus’ shirt, sighing through his nose as he melted in Remus’ arms.

“So,” Remus murmured once he drew back, grinning from ear to ear, “ready to head back in, boyfriend?”

Ethan hummed in thought, suddenly leaning forward to steal another quick kiss before pulling back with a smirk.

“Why, boyfriend, I believe I am.”

#sanders sides #dukeceit #deceit sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus #fake dating au #kissing #dukeceit fluff #ts fanfiction #sanders sides fanfiction #maxiswriting

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awhilde · 3 years

Text

down, down the rabbit hole

pairings: none, but the characters include mingyu. wonwoo, jihoon, jeonghan (from svt) and an oc

genre(s): thriller, gore (tiny bit). a made-in-abyss!au :D

warnings: because of the previously mentioned gore, readers discretion is advised. also swearing!

word count: 4.06k words

synopsis: in which mingyu and his friends allow their naivety and curiosity to drive them forward, dropping them down a 20,000 metre abyss where the abnormal becomes far too evident. stumbling through nature’s phenomenon, the group is forced to experience horrors that sombre their once exhilarating endeavours. will they be able to be decisive when their friend’s life is on the line, and who is this red-eyed creature that promises them sanctuary?

author’s note: hey guys! unfortunately, this isn’t the genshin au i promised however i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! i believe i published this a while ago on another account but i’m posting it again for content <3 also it was originally a y/n piece so please tell me if there’s a “you” or “your” that i’ve missed in my brief editing! the genshin au will come out soon :)

mingyu struggled to pinpoint an exact moment in his life which he could blame for his current circumstances.

it was as easy for him to say that sneaking into his good friends wonwoo and jihoon’s room past the stroke of midnight was the cause, as it were to say growing up at his local orphanage was at fault. hell, if the reasoning travelled down this path, it could also be justified that by simply existing he’d cause himself to arrive at his current position. perhaps this was his destiny, every event of his life leading up to this climax, worthless in the grand scheme of fate for every decision he had believed to have made was manipulated for the sole purpose of mingyu in the situation he was in as of present; torn with the constant conflict of emotion he was experiencing.

this was where his life had led him, 20,000 metres deep into a swirling, unforgiving vortex where the abnormal became evident with every blink of the eye, and where it intended to end, it seemed.

the sky overhead had vanished from sight two layers into the unnatural phenomenon, when the fog by their feet had thickened to a substance that clung moist against every vulnerable patch of skin and surface. mingyu never thought he would come to miss the cloudy skies of his mediocre hometown. where had his thirst for adrenaline gone now? but after a tormenting week treading deeper and deeper into the abyss’ claws, mingyu had yearned for familiarity.

when his stomach gave way on the third layer, mingyu missed most the plain bowl of congee the orphanage served to him every morning despite its lack of taste and colour.

when his eyes started to leak pus and blood, mingyu missed most the shimmering sun, burning on the edge of the horizon every evening despite its glare on his skin.

there was much the boy felt grateful for, oh how he only came to this realisation now, 20,000 metres far from home. his goal to reach the very depth of the abyss slipped from his hands like running water, gathered only by the company his friends provided him. mingyu never felt more grateful that he hadn’t entered alone.

if his naivety had gotten away from him yet again, mingyu shivered at the prospect of descending without the companionship of his three closest friends, wonwoo, jihoon and lyra. he never sourced his complaints outside of his head, for every disaster that he experienced, he knew his friends experienced the same suffering alongside him, comfort in the form of unspoken understanding. mingyu knew he would be able to overcome these mishaps as long as their companionship never left him.

however, god’s sense of humour must be twisted for the first night of the fifth layer, the last layer of mingyu’s sanity thinned.

“fuck!” jihoon swore. his hand shook in the tangles of his hair, the other hovering over wonwoo’s body as if uncertain. “fuck, fuck, fuck!”

mingyu heard jihoon’s cursing as if submerged underwater for his head went static from his own worry. he tipped his backpack upside down in desperation, seeking an item his sub-conscious knew didn’t exist. hadn’t they packed an antidote for this specific reason? but it had been long gone, shattered and spilt over the edge of a crumbling cliff after a desperate struggle of power between a gnarly beast and mingyu’s life. that mistake could possibly cost his friend’s life.

lyre caressed wonwoo’s hair as his head laid like deadweight on her lap, mouth dry against the dense air, chest heaving harsh pants. his eyes, heavily diluted, seemed to stare past her head at empty space and lyre may have lost all hope had it not been for the ghost of determination underlining the furrow of his brows. “wonwoo, i swear you’ll be okay, just hold on a little longer. mingyu’s getting the antidote now, he’s just a little slow. you know how clumsy he can get, just hang on, okay?”

but wonwoo had stopped giving replies ten minutes ago.

her hands, like her voice, trembled under the weight of a moist cloth, aiming to replace the steaming one on his head but fear diverted its path with every shake. doubt threatened to choke her of her words, leaving lyre curled up by the side of the abnormal rainforest, the world never viewed the same again. but she knew, if not marginally, that panic wouldn’t do the situation any more good.

jihoon seemed to have lost all sense of this concept however, as he continued to alternate between standing and pacing the grounds. “there has to be something i’ve forgotten, something that can help. think, jihoon, think!”

wonwoo hissed in pain then, and all three of his friends turned in fright. his arm had swelled to an abnormal size, pulsing liquid under his skin and shaded a dark purple.

“jihoon.” lyre called after the boy had settled, voice wavering. “wasn’t there something we learnt at school? something about the poison of []’s?”

“i know there was something, i know! but i can’t remember it!” jihoon let his words explode from his chest yet he heeds no apology. “damn it, what was it?” his eyes found mingyu across the field, still digging through the contents of their shared bags. “for fuck’s sake, leave the fucking bags, mingyu! they’re worthless right now.”

mingyu glanced up from his own world of regret and doubt, torment swimming in the pools of his eyes. the situation looked hopeless no matter what angle he portrayed it in. and, this had been his fault. his own carelessness, his naivety had prompted the death of his best friend. why hadn’t he listened to them all when they told him to step back from the pond? what had his mind been doing, telling him to continue his reckless behaviour just for the short lived praise he might have received? he had been pushed to the side when the lone [ ] had arrived at the scene, a creature so foreign and unknown that fear had short-circuited his actions.

he had stood frozen in the line of danger, horror encasing his body in suffocating crystals. it was wonwoo that had moved first, wonwoo who had considered all possible options which led him to sacrifice his own body for mingyu’s, wonwoo that had thrown himself at the creature, mingyu’s life and not his own being the only thing weighing on hid mind.

what had his last words been? the thought dawned on mingyu, like a nostalgic taste on the tip of his tongue. “don’t sulk, you look super dumb?” no, there was something else. something of potential importance, yet it mocked his grasp when he neared the truth. wonwoo’s whines of pain sounded as background noise at the point of his pondering, so familiar and yet gruelling at the pits of his stomach.

“something…” he mumbled, and lyre and jihoon looked up at the sound of his voice. “wonwoo said something before he couldn’t speak, what was it?”

“is this really the time?” jihoon snapped. “this isn’t the time.”

“jihoon, shut up. there was something he said before he became like this. i have a feeling he was trying to tell us how to deal with the situation.”

lyre turned her head from mingyu to the pale boy in her lap, a concentrated look evident in the crease between her eyebrows. mingyu caught the movement from the corner of his eye and clicked his finger at her. “lyre, you were the closest to him at the time. do you remember what it was?”

at the sudden spotlight, her mind blanked. there had been something previously, but the thought taunted and danced around the perimeter of her head as she tried, and failed, to chase it. “his arm, he mentioned something about his arm.” she finally blurted, his voice entering her head.

jihoon practically growled at the words. “well geez, that solves everything, doesn’t it? thanks for wasting our time, mingyu.” both mingyu and lyre took no offense to his harsh words; someone had to be the angry one in the current situation. lyre continued that train of thought, blocking out the noise of jihoon’s ranting, mingyu’s mumbling and wonwoo’s whimpers. she hoped that fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to give her this sliver of hope, thin and feeble in her hands, and that the solution to this dawning terror would be solved with the following revelation. “breaking something… he mentioned breaking something. what was it? a tree branch? true, the antidote of a beast should be found around the region so that its prey may survive from its poison. otherwise, the ecosystem would fail. but which tree? in this rainforest, what tree are we talking about. breaking apart… a bug? another small mammal? no, you wouldn’t break something with flesh, you would break something that’s hard. breaking… like snapping? breaking…”

jihoon continued to pace around you and wonwoo, head spinning in constant agony. there was fault coloured in the pale flush of his cheeks, why didn’t he know how to solve this issue? why didn’t he pull mingyu aside when the monster had first showed itself? and worse, why hadn’t he been the one to risk his life? why had he froze, selfish in the way that he valued his life over his dear friend’s, opting instead to leave someone else to do the harsh deed. why hadn’t he moved and pull wonwoo who laid by his feet out of harm’s way, instead standing still and letting the monster take a fierce chomp out of wonwoo’s arm? there was no doubt that if he had successfully performed the manoeuvre, wonwoo wouldn’t be in the position he was in now.

his feet crunched against a fallen stick as he paced and the noise triggered a thought in lyre’s head, her eyes widening in disbelief as it all clicked together.

“oh my god, his arm.” she murmured.

jihoon goes to quieten her, goes to tell her to stop obsessing over the idea of his arm when a tear slips from her eyes. the sheer terror from the thought evoked strong pulses of emotion to leak from lyre’s eyes like bleeding cyanide, but she pushed through regardless. how selfish would it be to only think of yourself whilst your friend suffered on the brink of death?

she looked jihoon in the eyes and repeated herself. “his arm. he wants us to snap his arm before the poison reaches his brain.”

lyre gave the boys no time to digest this new sliver of information, working instead to tear off a section of your shirt and wrapping it tightly where the poison had evidently stopped on his arm, black and purple, budging skin pressed against the material. in truth, lyre had no idea what she was doing, simply relying on memory and the many shows she’d watched to guide her movements as she tightened the knot.

the still silence broke when mingyu began to protest against the speculation, fearing the consequence of the action, but jihoon had moved to her side without further protest.

“guys, what are you doing? this isn’t right, we’ll just be killing him instead! guys, please stop, don’t think like that, there’ll be another way, please…” mingyu’s words failed to comprehend through his friends’ ears.

jihoon’s hands replaced lyra’s on the fabric and took over the job, eyes empty as he worked. only lyre saw the tremor in his hands as he tore more fabric and secured the separation of skin. his eyes meet the shivering girl’s over wonwoo’s body. “can you do this?”

her intake of breath is loud in the air shared between the two of you. clearly, jihoon had no idea what he was doing either, despite being the token medical friend. despite knowing that it was her idea, lyre shook her head softly.

“i’m going to use the axe that we kept to break his bones. can you help snap the rest?”

his words were gruesome, sickening to its core but wonwoo’s cries answered his question before she was able to, and she nodded seconds after. hesitance could cost wonwoo’s life.

mingyu stood over the two of them, passing the axe to jihoon with a grimace on his face. “god this is wrong, god this is so, so wrong.” but the transition is smooth as he lets the axe fall into his friend’s hands.

jihoon acknowledged the fact with an incoherent mumble before adjusting his grip on the tool. “mingyu, get me some water. we may not have disinfectants but if we don’t wash it, bacteria will kill him instead.”

the boy’s shadow left the trio. lyra placed a hand over wonwoo’s eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t catch a glimpse of what was to come. was he even conscious in the process? what if she had been wrong to think that his last words demanded the loss of a limb. this was by no means a perfectly successful strategy, but as it was all they had, so regardless of any .lingering whips of doubt, she held onto it like a lifeline.

“ready?” jihoon murmured.

the both of them nodded their heads slightly; there was no way they would be completely ready. but lyra’s hands found wonwoo’s biceps and they stayed there, stayed there until the axe swung up into the air, metal glinting in the reflection of the sun before falling from the force of gravity and the aid of jihoon’s strength. stayed there until the axe fell and met his flesh with a sickening thud.

a thud.

a blunt thud.

wonwoo’s shrill screams pierced through the previously tranquil atmosphere of the rainforest. his back lurched forward but mingyu had some sense to hold down his body before the axe had fallen. though mingyu had held down his body, wonwoo didn’t halt thrashing around. his arms pulsed under lyra’s hands and his legs kicked out for an escape.

“oh god.” jihoon exclaimed in horror, white sheet evident against his face. his hands shook and the axe fell to the floor.

underneath where the blade of the axe had fallen, crimson paint blossomed leaving a trail of broken skin and something else twisted. his flesh peaked from under the flabs of his skin, untainted until it was, blood and pus swimming from his arm.

wonwoo couldn’t stop screaming.

it was clear that jihoon had failed to touch the bone.

wonwoo’s eyes felt wet under lyra’s hands and she let out a weak sob.

jihoon froze.

mingyu struggled under wonwoo’s flailing figure.

“give it here!” mingyu was quick to shout, snatching the axe from the ground without a response, forcing jihoon to quickly melt his terror from his skin and throw himself onto wonwoo’s body.

wonwoo cries were deafening, coarse now from use and the strength in his limbs had weakened, allowing jihoon to hold down his body with more ease despite the weight difference.

mingyu swung without any indication of doing so, hard and fast against the same spot jihoon had attacked. this time, he pulled away with a weak crack. he whimpered at the noise but raised it again.

“oh my god.” lyra whimpered. “oh my god, why did we use a blunt axe?”

but mingyu doesn’t stop. he continued to swing the axe, up and down, letting the momentum aid his strength, letting wonwoo’s protests to stop fuel his stamina. there is a squelch among the splinters, a cry amongst the shouts but mingyu never falters. he doesn’t falter when lyra moved her own hands to help settle the body, avid to stop his movements. he doesn’t stop when wonwoo’s voice crack, soundless screams like the cries of tormenting ghosts whispering regret and fault into his ears. he doesn’t stop when the boy’s eyes roll back into his head, revealing murky white. and he doesn’t stop when wonwoo’s body finally falls slack on the floor, limp and drained of all energy from the continued torture he had undergone.

he only stopped when the arm separates completely from the body, a tattered arm lying lifelessly away from its previously conjoined biceps, adorned with the colour of fresh blood and oozing pus. the wound pulsated with flowing blood.

“water!” mingyu cried. he turned to a shell-shocked jihoon whose eyes had watched without blinking. “get the water, goddamnit!”

perhaps it was his tear-stricken face, or his eyes that reflected a haunted expression due to the fact he axed away at his friend, but jihoon finally moved. he’d leapt to grab their source of water and begun to pour it without thought at the injury.

lyra gasped, taking in the oxygen that your body severely lacked. “stop, you’re wasting it! put the bottle closer!”

truthfully, half of the spent water and rushed and spilt onto the jungle floor, worthless to their current situation. the boy instantly followed after your words, edging nearer to the smell of rotting flesh and decay. the boy felt faint at the scent, more so at the sight. god, there was so much blood.

mingyu rebooted and finally began to move again. “tear off your shirt.”

the girl hesitated at his words.

“tear off your shirt!” he repeated with more intended force.

she was quick to break out of her trance and began to tear long stripes of cotton from her attire, mingyu doing the same. in a clumsy, almost child-like way, the three of you attempt to bandage the leaking wound as best as you can, but the white cloth turns scarlet red as soon as its placed. a hopeless sob escaped your throat. had you just murdered your friend?

the almost lifeless body laid like a corpse on the ground, pale in his complexion and unconscious. he would have been mistaken for dead had it not been for the shallow breaths the three of them heard occasionally. when the sun had fallen, the bleeding had eased. simply for a lack of supple, lyra wondered in half-hearted ponder. she felt lightheaded in the sense that thought ran away from her. she wished for water, but they had used the majority in hopes of washing wonwoo’s wound.

it seemed hopeless all over again.

“oh my. perhaps it’s finally my time to step in.”

lost in her own world of panic, lyra missed the words of a newcomer though it appeared jihoon hadn’t.

“who are you?” jihoon asked, successfully gaining lyra’s and mingyu’s attention away from the body though it lingers on their minds. hostility crept into the boy’s voice as he continued. “what do you want?”

the source of the unfamiliar voice stemmed from a figure hidden within the shadows of the towering trees. none of the three could determine the identity of the creature causing suspicion to raise.

the creature walked from beneath the tree’s shade, a smug-like expression adorning their face. they appeared human-like, sharing similar features with the humans lyra was familiar with. they had normal curly, black hair that tickled the tips of his ears, eyes that curved like crescents and a mouth in which appeared to be in a constant mocking state. they would have come off as human save for the sharp teeth that glimmered in his grin and the red, hungry look in his eyes. “my name is jeonghan.” he explained.

“are you… human?” mingyu wondered.

the thing chuckled as if he found something the boy said humorous. “that’s funny, as if i could possibly downgrade.”

jihoon positioned his boy to protectively angle his body against the strange creature. “what do you want from us?”

jeonghan tilted his head. “why, what does it look like i’m doing?”

“it looks like you’re being a nuisance.” he answered. grabbing at the axe, he placed it between the four of you and the red eyed beast. wonwoo’s blood dripped from the edge of the blade to which jeonghan raised his eyebrows at. “stay back.” but jihoon’s voice betrayed his attitude and cracked under the pressure.

“put the axe down, jihoon.” jeonghan warned, taking a step forward. despite his firm voice, his lips wavered as if to conceal a smile.

“how do you know my name?�� the boy replied instead of complying. despite jeonghan stepping closer, jihoon’s threats made no appearance. he had entered the abyss in hopes to solve the lifelong mystery of where it came from, not to fight a mystical creature. nothing in his life had trained him for this

“you two were screaming it so much it was hard to miss. it would be, rather, more shocking if i hadn’t heard it.” jeonghan said, gesturing to lyra and mingyu. “you two should really keep it down, by the way, or you’ll wake stronger beasts than the one you encountered before, you know, the one that bit your friend? and then even i wouldn’t be able to save you from them.” he hesitated and you flinched from his words. “well, maybe i could.”

mingyu took the silence that followed after as an opportunity to speak. “this sounds like you’re here to help us?”

jeonghan shrugged and mingyu noticed that he had been steadily closing the gap between him and the group but he let the thought slide. he were tired, oh so tired from the fear of losing his friend, the adrenaline from contributing to said friend’s loss of a limb and now this, a potential threat. perhaps death called, though it couldn’t be so bad if it promised a peaceful rest.

“i would simply be delighted to aid you in your…” he glanced around jihoon’s guarding figure to wonwoo’s body. “successful attempt to save your friend.” he finally spoke, words coming out rather slowly. “however, my buddy jihoon here, seems to be opposed against my gracious decision. perhaps you want wonwoo to die, jihoon buddy ol’ pal?”

jihoon looked to be physically in pain, teeth grinding upon each other. his mouth opened to say more but mingyu placed a firm hand on his arm. “we’ll accept.” mingyu said. “please save our friend.” the boy glanced at jihoon and shook his head desperately. “wonwoo doesn’t have time for us to argue.” he offered as explanation and when jihoon sighted wonwoo, he found himself agreeing.

“fine. please help us, jeonghan.” he muttered, hands still tightening on the handle of the axe though he lets his arm drop.

the creature clapped his hands in excitement. “excellent! i knew you would come around, jihoon.”

lyra cut into the conversation before jihoon could take the bait and bite back. “how are you going to save him? what are you going to do?”

the desperateness must have coloured her tone for jeonghan turned to face her. his eyes were haunting when they settled on hers for the first time, seemingly delving deep into her soul and prying deep into her memories. they left no surface unturned, a hurricane in his wake, the smile engraved into the crevices of her mind as he spoke once more. “come back with me and i’ll show you.”

lyra watched as jeonghan turned from her, colour returning into her sight as his figure began to disappear against the backdrop of the rainforest. she heard only her faint breaths and the whistle of perching birds, heads tilted in curiosity as they watched the event that occurred in the world beneath them. her eyes find mingyu’s which have been hardened beyond recognition and the two of you knew that the moment would forever be etched into the wrinkles of their brains. if they were to ever survive this, it would only mean elongated suffering.

there were tears in lyra’s eyes at the prospect of failing their initial endeveurs to explore the hidden depths of the unknown phenomenon. hadn’t they only wanted to explore what the abyss had offer? hadn’t they simply wanted the thrill of adventuring with your childhood friends, seeking out a journey that would be inked in history? and now the reality of the world had sunken into their bones like cement.

the four of them had barely descended past the fifth layer, edging on the boundaries and the concept of returning knocked on your mind like an unwanted friend.

jihoon stood, rustling the wind at the sudden disturbance. he swung wonwoo’s only arm over his shoulder and wordlessly trekked after jeonghan whose back was almost consumed by the forest’s shadows. there was only one option and jihoon knew this, knew this before the rest of his friends did.

mingyu followed after jihoon, zipping up his backpack and tossing it over his shoulder. he offered lyra a hand as he passed her on the floor, which she accepted. an unspoken nod is bounced back between the two, something like determination and acceptance in the gesture.

whatever was in their path of destiny had to be overcome no matter its challenge, for the four of them had descended so far to die only at its fifth layer.

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kyber-kisses · 4 years

Text

Hung The Moon (1/2)

Dean Winchester x Reader

Warnings; violence, gore, character death (maybe), cursing, nooses and everything that entails, some sketchy surgery, Sam playing doctor, cricothyrotomy. (Please consider this a DARK FIC)

Bad Things Happen Bingo

Square filled: bound and gagged (kind of)

Summary: after a hunting accident that takes one of the things Dean holds most dear, he is desperate to put the pieces back together (Takes place in s12)

It happened so fast.

It was like the moment they took you woke up from your drugged state your senses increased tenfold. You felt the rough canvas material of the sack being pulled over your head, your hands and ankles had been bound with cloth as you now teetered on the edge of what could only be a chair. The old wood creaking under your weight as you tried to shift.

But it was the rope around your neck that really had you scared. It was like every cell in your body was vibrating as your mind tried to hatch an escape plan. But in all truth, how were you supposed to get out of this mess? Sam and Dean were probably out looking for you- but the chance of them getting here before whoever had taken you decided to kick the chair out from under you was slim to none.

“You can give up the thought that they’ll actually save you.” A sudden voice spoke up from behind you, her accent immediately informing you on who exactly had captured you. “We have the Winchesters running in circles as we speak. They’re miles away.”

Fucking British men of Letters. Could you ever catch a break from them?

“Toni. I wish I could say it’s good to see you.” You swallowed, attempting to wriggle your wrist out of its binding. “But seeing as you put a damn bag over my head-“

“Goodness, I can see why the Winchesters like you so much. You’re a sarcastic chatter box just like the older one.”

“You wanna tell me why you got a noose around my neck? I thought you assholes were trying to recruit us, not kill us.”

The crack of her heels against the pavement gave way to where she walked, her shadow passing over the fabric of the bag over your head. If you could just keep her talking, you could buy yourself some more time.

“That was the original plan, yes. But you American hunters are too stubborn and reckless. It’s better to just wipe you off the playing field all together.”

Even with the canvas pulled over your eyes, you couldn’t help but roll them. It was like she loved hearing herself talk. “Well alright, Bonnie. Where’s Clyde in this whole situation? I thought for sure he’d be here too.”

“Ketch is busy with those flannel clad idiots of yours. Leaving them false breadcrumbs leading far, far away from here.” She quipped, the constant clack of her heels telling you she was somewhat occupied, giving you a chance to continue working on weaseling your hand out of its binding.

“So it’s just us girls? We should make a girls night of it. Order pizzas, paint each others nails-“

“Oh do shut up.” The sound of her heels quickly drew closer as she suddenly picked up her pace, your hand came loose and she struck the chair with her foot, kicking it out from beneath you and leaving you hanging. . . Literally.

It just happened so fast.

*. *. *. *. *. *.

“I’m telling you man, she has to be around here somewhere!”

“Dean, this is the fourth farmhouse we’ve checked tonight. She’s not here. Plus, Cas is searching for anything suspicious. He’ll give us a call if he finds anything.”

“She could be dying for all we know, Sam! Now we ain’t stopping until we find her!”

Dean spun around, throwing his fist into the rotting wood of the old abandon house. They had spent the last few hours searching for any clues to your whereabouts but it was like everything they found was steering them further away.

“So whats your plan? tear apart every abandon building in Georgia until we find her?”

“If that’s what it takes, yeah!”

He knew something was off the minute he and Sam had stepped back into the motel room earlier. Not a single thing was out of place and you were nowhere in sight. Everything about it screamed unusual. If you were to leave you would have texted him, informed him that you were going out.

“You know, this has those British bastards written all over it.” he growled, pulling the keys to the impala from his pocket, the older Winchester stormed back out the door. “Now c’mon, we gotta keep looking.”

Sam watched his brother go, letting out a deep sigh. As each minute ticked by Dean was growing more impulsive in his behavior. The second they realized something had happened to you he could see the fear cover him like a blanket. He knew how much his brother cared for you. You were like the sun and moon to Dean Winchester. . .and yet you had no fricken clue about it at all.

“Sam! You coming or what?! We don’t got all day!” Deans voice echoing through the threshold and pulling him forward, his phone also deciding it was the perfect time to go off right then and there.

Fishing the device out of his pocket, Sam quickly answered, ignoring the impatient look Dean was giving him from over the hood of the impala.

“Cas, you got anything?”

“I might. But I’m not sure. The place is heavily warded against angels.” His voice loud enough through the speaker to gain the jade eyed hunters attention, resulting in him throwing open the drivers side door and sliding in, the engine roaring to life in a matter of seconds.

“Where is he?” His voice heavy with urgency as Sam slid into the car, almost hitting his head on the window when Dean threw the car into drive at a record speed, peeling off onto the two lane road. “Sam! Where the hell is he?!”

“Cas, where are you?”

There was a muffled answer, drowned out by the thunder of the impalas engine, the older Winchester taking his eyes off the road to look wide eyed at his brother. “Well?”

“He said he’s just outside of Barnwell.”

“Barnwell? That’s the opposite direction in which we’ve been traveling!”

With another click, Sam put the angel on speaker, holding it up for better sound. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe the clues that you have found were deliberately placed? Put there to send you in the wrong direction?”

Sam watched as his brothers head fell foreword in defeat, eyes closing momentarily as he rested his forehead against the steering wheel. “God. I’m so stupid! I’m so damn stupid.”

“Dean, no you’re not. We just couldn’t see things clearly in the panic. It happens.”

“I swear I’m gonna slit the throats of whoever took her.”

Shifting slightly in his seat, Dean pressed down harder on the gas, the world beyond the windows becoming a dark blur as he cut across the state. If anything happened to you, he would never forgive himself. He need you safe. He needed you.

*. *. *. *. *. *.

Adrenaline flooded through Deans system as he slammed against the front door, splintering the door frame in one go as he tumbled into the dark.

“Check every room. She has to be here somewhere.”

Flashlight beams danced across the dusted surfaces of the vacant homestead as the brothers searched for any signs of life. The drive would have normally been around an hour long but Dean had managed to narrow it down to a clean twenty five. The house that Cas had found had long since been abandon, so overgrown with honeysuckle and kudzu that the building looked like a cocoon of greenery. The only signs that anyone had been there were the tire tracks in the driveway.

“Y/N, you in here?” Dean whispered, taking light footsteps through the house, Sam splitting of to check the basement. Cas was still out of commission due to the warding, resulting in him hanging back on the front porch.

Eventually the hunter fell back after finding no evidence of you,instead opting to follow the direction in which his brother had gone. The old stairs creaking under his weight as he descended into the dark of the basement.

“Sam, you find anything?”

His feet had barely touched down on the cement floor before the mass that could only be Sam barricaded him from going anywhere, his younger brother taking his shoulders in a vice grip and pushing him.

“Dude what the hell? You scared of the dark now?”

“Dean-“ Sam struggled, the words sticking like cotton in his throat. “go back upstairs.”

“Sam, just let me through. I’ll be fine.”

“No, I’m telling you, You don’t want to see this. Just get out of the house.”

The tone and words hit like an icy shock to Deans system, the hunter drawing his eyebrows together as he pushed against the hold Sam had on him. Alarms going off in his head as every muscle in his body felt like it had been bound tightly with wire. Maybe if his flashlight hadn’t illuminated his brothers face he wouldn’t have been so scared all of a sudden- but his face was pale and his eyes were wide and glassy.

And then his flashlight beam fell across the silhouette just beyond his shoulders and Dean felt his heart stop in his chest. The paralyzing fear spread through his body like icy liquid metal, jade eyes widening in dread as the flashlight slipped from his palm, clattering down the last two steps.

“No-no.” The word came out of his mouth shaky, his voice cracking. If it weren’t for the rotting banister and his brothers quick reflexes his buckling knees would have sent him to the ground.

The fallen flashlights beam now acted as some morbid spotlight to your fate. If it weren’t for the pair of bright yellow converse on the set of feet, neither brother would have guessed it was you. Your feet dangling a good foot above the floor, your body suspended like a puppet from the rafters.

No.no. this wasn't right. this was just some nightmarish landscape that his mind had cooked up. You weren't dead. You couldn't be. Not here. Not now. Not this way. You were supposed to always be there. The one thing that he would never lose. You were supposed to stay and he was supposed to find the courage to tell you he loved you.

You end wasn't supposed to be met with your neck in a noose.

“We gotta- we gotta cut her down.” he stuttered, finding that his tongue had practically gone limp in his mouth. They couldn’t just leave you there. “She---she-”

And then it was like a sudden adrenaline rush went through the hunter and he was pushing past the man blocking him from you. Maybe a part of him still didn’t believe what he was seeing, or that he could allow himself to really believe you were dead.

And He didn’t know what made him reach out for your wrist, but when he did- he found something he didn't expect to actually find. he found a pulse.

Eyes widening, he took a step back. “Sam, she’s still alive!” Letting go of your wrist, Dean whipped around, eyes finding the knocked over chair in the dark and racing to stand it up, jumping onto the base of it as he pulled out the knife tucked into his waistband. Sam was beside him in matter of seconds, ready to hold your body the second the rope was cut. As he did you dropped like an unstrung marionette into the hunters arms, the younger Winchester sinking to the floor. The sack was pulled away from your face and the noose was quickly loosened.

“How is she even still alive?”

“Her hand-“ Sam breathed, lifting up your left hand to show the bruises around your fingers. “She managed to wedge it between the rope and her neck before it could fully choke her.”

“We need to get her to Cas then!” Deans voice thundered around the otherwise empty room as panic overrode his system.

“If we move her I don’t know what will happen. I need you to go and grab Y/Ns emergency kit from the car. Along with the straw from your drink earlier.” Being as gentle as he could, Sam lifted the noose from around your neck, his hands shaking as he did. Meanwhile Dean was paralyzed with fear, also slightly confused as to why his brother wanted the fucking straw.” Now, Dean! Go!”

Another switch was flicked in his brain and the speed at which he took the stairs probably would have impressed most people. He ignored the shouts from Cas as he blew past, throwing open the trunk of the impala and rummaging around until he found your kit. And then he was flinging open the passenger door and ripping the straw from his cup, deciding it was better to not ask questions at this point and just grab what Sam told him. He didn’t bother closing the doors to the vehicle as he sprinted back into the house once more, almost falling down the stairs in the process.

Breathlessly, he fell to his knees and ripped open the kit, his hands shaking worse than his brothers. “Sam, what do you need?” His words falling out of his mouth rapidly. He didn’t know how to help you or what to hand his brother and he was on the verge of passing out from fear alone. “Sam!”

“I need you to cut off about a two inch piece of the straw. I also need your pocket knife.” His words earning a panicked look from Dean, but he did as he was told, handing over the objects quickly.

“What the hell are you going to do?!”

“We need to puncture her airway. Get air into her lungs.”

“And you know how to do that?!”

There was a pause. “Kinda. Read about it in a book once.”

“Kinda? What if it doesn’t work?!”

“Then she dies. Now I need you to shut up and trust me because this is the only chance we got at saving her. Now hold her head steady for me.”

Despite his whole uneasiness with the entire situation, Dean complied, moving to hold your head in place as Sam brought the pocket knife to your throat, being as steady as he could when making the incision. Everything in the older Winchester wanted to tear his eyes away, but they seemed glued to what was happening. There wasn’t exactly a gentleness either as he put the small piece of straw into the incision, having to of course make sure it reached your windpipe.

Suspense blanketed the three until there was a stuttered breath from your unconscious form and your chest ever so slightly rose as your lungs wheezed with lost air.

“Was that it? Did it work?”

“Yeah, yeah I think it did. But we need to get her up to Cas. Hopefully he still has some juice left to help fix her.”

Dean let out a sigh of partial relief, shifting so he could get a better look at you, his calloused hands moving to cup your face, still shaking from the whole ordeal. Through the blurriness of the tears in his eyes he could still make out the rope marks on your neck. He wanted you to wake up, tell him who did this to you. He wanted you to really confirm that you were still with him. But he knew it was better for you to stay unconscious.

“We’re gonna get you to Cas, okay Sweetheart? You’re gonna be fine. You're gonna be Just fine.”

Read part 2 Here

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monkeymindscream · 3 years

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1, 2, 11 and 28

Well this got long quickly...

1. How long ago did you discover The Dark Crystal, and how?

I wassssss three or four, I think? So over two decades ago by this point (because yo’ girl here is dusty). It was Easter and my aunt gave me THIS:

Before anyone asks: no, I did not dig this old-as-balls VHS out for the sake of this ask. It was already sitting in my room.

(Also I want everyone to know that I wonder every single day which skeksis that’s supposed to be on the cover. Is that supposed to be skekSil?? Is that Sil?? Why does he Look Like That???)

I had a very complicated relationship with this movie for most of my childhood, actually? Which - on that note - unnecessary tangential story time!

When me and my little sister ( @shuri-flurry ) were little, our parents used to take us to this video place to rent movies, yeah? And the place they’d take us to would frequently have The Dark Crystal playing on the TVs they had mounted towards the ceiling of the store. “Previewing the merchandise,” or something.

(Upon reflection, though, there was seemingly no reason for them to have had Dark Crystal playing. This would have been in the mid to late 90s, and therefore well after the movie had been released and needing to be advertised. So I’m not sure what the Video Vision employees thought they were doing there).

My little sister and I - despite having already seen the movie at this point and therefore knowing exactly what we were looking at - were royally freaked out. To the degree that for months afterwards we would be coming up with battle strategies in the car whenever we were taken to rent movies. Essentially, put your head down as soon as you walk through the door so you couldn’t see the TVs, and KEEP it down until you’d discerned whether or not Dark Crystal was playing and how much risk you were in of seeing a skeksis (as long as you couldn’t see them move you were safe).

Now, reading all of the above you’d think I didn’t like the move, right? Wrong! I loved the movie, and would watch in on loop. And my favorite part of it was, in fact, a fucking skeksis (which we’ll get to in a sec here). It’s just that for some ungodly reason, I was utterly terrified of the thing that brought me joy.

Figure that one out.

2. If you watched TDC as a child, who were your favorites then, and who are they now? If not, do you think that your child self would have enjoyed it?

My fave back in the day was our most beloved bastard, dear skekSil. For as much as the skeks freaked me out as a kid, I couldn’t resist falling in love with Sil. Mostly because my villain-lovin’ baby-heart felt incredibly bad for him. Not only was he picked on by the other skeksis (from a toddler’s point of view, at least), but when he talked to Jen and Kira, they were mean and ran away!! Even after he saved them from the Garthim!! RUDE you guys, not cool!!

(I knew that he didn’t have Jen and Kira’s best interests at heart when he was talking about “peace,” but I couldn’t quite comprehend it at that age. If that makes any sense at all.)

He’s still up there in my top 5, although now it’s because as an adult I can appreciate just how cutthroat and devious he is, all while doing it so... uniquely. In all of fiction, there’s only ONE Chamberlain.

He’ll be very aggrieved to know that he’s sharing the spotlight with several others now, though (all still skeks; don’t know if this counts as irony or just me upholding my brand):

SkekSo has clawed his way up the ranks, which knowing him either involved stalking his way up to the front of the line of potential faves and expecting everyone to just. Move out of the way for him (which, credit, they did), or it involved actual clawing. The emperor that AoR showed us would absolutely rip a bitch’s face off to bolster himself, and damn him, I adore him for it.

I’ve always had a soft-spot for scientists and abused underlings, and when you combine the two you get skekTek. Obviously he’s a fave. Honestly, his character is kind of more what my child-self had initially interpreted Sil to be, but with the addition of snapping under the abuse and violently committing murder (so he continues to check all my boxes!)

Is there a single person in this fandom who DOESN’T have skekGra somewhere on their list of favorite characters? Anyone? Because he’s certainly on mine.

Last but not least (none of these are in any kind of order, honestly), we’ve got skekLi, and Wig it is ENTIRELY your fault for this. I didn’t even need to meet him in canon - I didn’t even need to read the book he’s in (y’know, literally his only canon appearance???) because you swooped the fuck in and made him the most lovable creature in existence. The impudence.

11. Three favorite romantic ships?

Wig, why would you ask me a question you already know the answer to? You’re the reason I ship anything in this fandom, I was a blank slate before you. Have I not gushed enough? Have I left room for doubt in your mind?

Listing these in chronological order of when I got dragged in if anyone’s interested in knowing, here we go:

a. Li/Gra

When we first started talking, Wig sent me a variety of arts, right? Because she’s sweet like that. Among them was this, which I babbled in the tags on (jokingly, this was only supposed to be a JOKE!), and, in response, she sends me this. Then, while I’m floundering, she drops THIS on me. And then followed that up with about, ohhhh, three, four months? Of developing, pure, heart-wrenching ANGST.

And that’s how I got tricked into shipping Li/Gra.

b. Sil/Ung

This used to be a pairing I didn’t understand the hype for. Like... Yeah, okay, they had the rivalry thing going in the movie for all of five seconds, but apart from that I couldn’t comprehend any interesting ways their characters could bounce off each other. There was no chemistry as far as I could see.

Enter Wig, sliding into my DMs one day, sending me cute art. Then, after softening me up with this initial strike, she casually goes, “have you heard about this scrapped early plot idea in the novel where Zok initiates another trial by stone after Ung won the first one, and uses the reflection in his sword to break the rock leading to Ung being exiled too?”

And then, when I was weak, finished me off with "AU WHERE THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENS AND THEY HAVE TO BEGRUDGINGLY WORK TOGETHER TO GET BACK INTO THE CASTLE."

One dramatic reimaging of the movie, several instances of character development, and the dramatic culmination of all discussed -later, and I’m sobbing my entire shipping heart out.

And that’s how I got tricked into shipping Sil/Ung.

c. So/Li

This one I’ll accept partial responsibility for, since I was technically the one to go “hey wait-” over it, but I would have never stumbled on the realization if I’d never talked to Wig, so I’m still holding her accountable.

This all started when Wig reblogged this, and then we got talking about how this angle might affect Li’s relationship with So. Things escalate and then suddenly it hits me: A demanding, violent tyrant, and the ONE(1) asshole who is both not afraid to and routinely gets away with aggressively taking the piss outta him?? That is FANTASTIC. I’m only human for God’s sake how is one person supposed to be able to resist that kind of dynamic-??

And that’s how I- ah shit. I didn’t technically get tricked into this one, I played myself. My pattern is all thrown off.

28. If skekEkt wanted to design something especially for you, what would you ask him to make (formal wear, armor, an accessory etc.)?

Hooooo boy, okay, here’s the thing: I never know how to respond to people wanting to like... GIVE me things. Or DO things for me. And I don’t imagine I’d feel any less awkward when the person wanting to do things for me is a friggin’ skeksis, who aren’t known for their generosity. It’d make me feel like an exception and I don’t know if I could cope with that.

More to the point, I’m literally a cartoon character. Y’wanna know what my daily outfits usually consist of? I take t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweatpants (or jeans if I’m going out) that are two or three sizes too big, and then I layer. I call it “I’ve rolled out of a dumpster please leave me to my business” -chic.

None of which meshes with Ekt’s brand of style at all. Nor does Ekt strike me as the type who’d tolerate his creative vision to being restricted in any form, if you catch my drift.

So not only am I awkward and uncomfortable with people doing things for me, but he’d be doing something for me where I wouldn’t know what to do with the finished product.

Just kill me it’d be so much easier.

#dark crystal #muttering about thra #thewiglesswonder

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madlymiho · 5 years

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We're celebrating a special day today, the birthday of one of the greatest person I have ever met! @all-blue-headcanons, my lovely friend, I have a special something for you!

I don't have enough words to tell you how important you are in my life, because for months now, you have been nothing but a fantastic friend, even when things were tough and complicated in our respective lives. You're probably the strongest person I know, and I just have the deepest respect for your incredible nature, and that big golden heart of yours! Because yes, my sweet Blue, you truly have one and you deserve all the best things in the world! Happy birthday, my darling 💖

Mhmh!!! Since you have already made such a fantastic alphabet for the incredible Crocodile, I've decided to honor another of your favorite character, this lovely ginger-head man who truly deserves more of the spotlights too 😋

X-Drake NSFW Alphabet : ALL THE LETTERS

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Drake is particularly attentive when it comes to the end of your sexy moment. He’s often very sensitive to your needs, and will do everything to make you feel comfortable. As soon as he breaks the shell around his natural shyness, Drake is someone rather careful and kind. He might doesn’t know what you want, so be prepared to get a lot of questions in your first times, until he properly analyzes how you work and what do you prefer. Water, blankets, food, towel, books, perhaps a bath? He really doesn’t mind to leave the bed to get you something.

But what Drake prefers are the cuddles after your intercourse. He’s still in a pretty sexy mood for a while, and he definitely craves to feel your body. He loves to see both of your bodies almost flushed together, even if you’re all dirty, and the natural warmness of your skin is something which somehow reassure him a lot, and most of the time, your aftercare moments are always about his big arms rolled around your waist and his mouth hidden in the crook of your neck.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Drake is pretty proud of his chest. He loves to see the look you give him whenever he walks bare chest - which is always - and he often smirks and blushes, knowing perfectly that you are sensitive to his charm. After all, there’s something animal, almost primal within him, and you crave to feel the softness of his torso under your touch, whenever you start to get kinky in your shared bedroom.

However, when it comes to you, Drake is a little bit of a perv, and he can’t control himself. He loves everything about your beauty, yes that’s a fact, but when you walk in front of him, he only looks at your rear, and already imagines the many things he could do to it. He also has a certain interested in your breasts, and definitely, you can feel his hungry stare when you’re wearing a something with a revealing cleavage.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Oohhh Drake tastes really good. Even if he likes to have his booze from time to time, it’s not an usual habit because of his father. He tends to be really careful to what can give him addiction, so he’s not a drunkard and it’s perhaps for the best. His alimentation is very correct for a pirate, and he doesn’t mind eating veggies, fishes, meats and all good dishes for his body. He takes care of himself since he’s still young but also mature, and doesn’t really appreciate to overeat during fests. He’s content with many ailments, which gives him a very creamy cum, but not so bitter and pretty nice to swallow.

But oh, dear. When it comes to the bedroom, Drake’s inner instincts are quite wild and it might surprise you at first. He’s a bit messy in the sheets, and frankly obsessed with the idea to have this strange power to ravage you, so most of the time, when he’s really in a very intense session, he begs you to cum on your breasts or just at your entrance, so he can see the drops of his seed dripping along your thighs.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Drake dirtiest secret is pretty simple, but for him it’s really something flustering. He loves you very much and he tends to get slightly addicted to you, especially when you’re not around to satisfy his needs. So Drake has many many, maaaany pictures of you, and some particular parts of your body, hidden in the drawer of his desk, in his captain’s cabin. All those pictures have some white spots on them… because yes, he often jerks himself off on them whenever you’re far from him. Hopefully, you won’t ever find them, but he’s not really proud about it!

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Drake is quite a normal experienced man for a 33 years old man. He didn’t had many girlfriends in his life, but he has some experience with one night stands, and other meaningless short relationships, especially when he was still in the Marine. So he knows what he’s doing, despite his shy nature, and the fact that it’s still complicated for him to flirt with a woman.

Yet, when Drake is with you in the bed, you better be certain that he knows what he’s doing. He often works by instinct, but most of the time, you are always satisfied by his pace, his positions, and the sweet things he whispers in your ears. He forgets everything about his flaws and his fears during these moments, embracing entirely who he is, and what he can make you feel. So you’re a really lucky woman! Drake knows what pleases you, and he’s generous and kind enough to make you reach the Seventh Heavens each time you have sex together.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Alrighhhht, it’s time to dig a little bit more in which positions are often use by your sexy ginger-head lover. And it’s not certainly the most common ones! Yes, Drake likes to explore, to feel you deeper, closer, and thanks to his Zoan nature, his wildness is really something present in your sexy moments.

First, you need to know that Drake is a top. He would never really give you the power in bed, even if he lets you take the lead, from time to time. Perhaps it’s a bit because of his manly character, or something more shameful, but he would aways prefer to pin you hard against the mattress. He likes to have you all wrapped around his body, your breasts always brushing his chest during his thrusts so he can appreciate their softness, if not playing with them. There’s also something very hot in the crab position, where he knows you can’t really move and just takes him, fully, his eyes seeing every emotion on your face, while he can kiss you passionately.

However, Drake got really something with the positions where he can take you from behind, since he can go really deep inside of you, and makes you moan for him. He appreciates to put all his weight on your body, trapping you under his ferocious thrusts, as you’re able to touch yourself if you’re willing to. Of course, when he really wants to be in charge, and feels all the power he has on you, you better be certain that you’re going to do the downward dog position.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Drake is not the most goofy person you’ll encounter for a sexy session. First, he already needs to get into it. I mean, seducing a woman? Letting her see the ravenous fire on his cheeks whenever he tries to have a word with her? It’s a damn adventure! So no, Drake is quite old school in the sheets! Plus, Drake shares his nature with a primal carnivorous beast with wild and dangerous behaviors… Sex is nothing but a natural inner need, so, no, he doesn’t really joke about it and wouldn’t appreciate to hear some jokes as he pounds inside of you. It would only disturb him, and you don’t want to face a pissed off dino!!

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Yes, the carpet definitely matches the drapes! Drake is a beautiful ginger man, and you’ll definitely fine some lovely orange hair in his underwear, even if they are slightly darker than the ones of his head.

Yet, even if Drake has a quite good hygiene - at least he showers once a day - he’s not particularly found of getting rid of his hair! He doesn’t like to shave this area, and would do the strict minimum to keep it clean and not too hairy for you. But don’t ask him to shave the entire thing, he would never agree! Drake is proud of his hair, he feels manly, and wouldn’t like to look like a young teenage boy. He’s a man, okay?

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

It really depends on the mood of your intercourse, and why you’re having sex at the moment!

If it’s a quicky, Drake isn’t really romantic. It must be intense, quick, passionate, so he’s not going to be really careful with you. As soon as he’s entirely sure that you can take him all (we’ll talk about it but wow wow what a cock!), he’s going to pound hard and even talk dirty.

Same scenario would happen if your intimate session if for a roleplay, or a sort of bedroom reconciliation moment after an argument. He needs to make you moan, and sweat hard, and there’s no place for romance when he’s still slightly angry about your behaviors…

However, Drake could be very romantic from time to time. He also appreciates to be tender with you, slowly rocking his hips as he kisses you, whispering your name in the crook of your neck. He likes those particular moments when the two of you have been separated for a while, creating this intense need to feel you intensely, and deeply.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Dear god, what an intense need we have here! Yes, it’s a thing, but Drake likes to masturbate. He’s doing it at least everyday, starting his early morning routines by a long shower where he beats his meat to get rid of any kind of frustration. It’s easy for him to get hard ; he only needs to remember your bouncing body on his cock, and pouf, you have a massive boner here! He tends to have a certain obsession with all kind of sexual things, and he definitely doesn’t want to think about shoving his dick inside of you all the time, especially when he’s about to have a rough and serious day!

Plus, it’s also a way for him to relax. Being the captain of a pirate ship, and also at war with many other dangerous people, doesn’t really help in general and he doesn’t want to let those things affect his mood. So let him have some fun before starting the day! If you have sex later, don’t worry... He will be ready anyway.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Grinding. Oh, he loves it. He loves when you’re both still fully dressed, aroused as hell, but there’s still this clothes’ barrier between your genitals. He loves to rub his hard cock against your covered core, feeling your desire, your anticipation, the way you chase your pleasure because you want so much more… When he’s about to enter you, he takes his time to let his cock sliding against your wet entrance, your growing frustration becoming something wild and present. It’s really one of his favorite kink!

Also, Drake really has something with his seed. When he cums inside of you, he usually remains still for a very long time after his orgasm, feeling his warm cum plastered against your inner walls. Perhaps because he wishes to become a father one day, or perhaps he finds it really arousing and dangerous, but when he loads in the deepest part of your womb, Drake wants to remain buried there for a while, until he pulls out with a very nasty sound, immediately followed by his creamy semen.

Mmmmh, roleplays in bed… Drake loves it deeply! When he can use his former marine uniform to punish you, he really goes crazy, taking you hard and deep, until you come in a long growl. Yes, it excites him when he’s playing someone slightly rougher than usual, and he loves to have you under his control in this situation.

During his wildest sessions with you Drake particularly appreciates anal sex. The narrowness of your pink hole makes him going crazy, and from time to time, he loves to see you struggling so hard to take him in that particular hole. It’s a great little game, and he loves when you do your best, overwhelmed under his long and sharp thrusts as he takes you from behind.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

If Drake appreciates to make love to you in his bedroom, he deeply prefers your sexy sessions outside. Yes, when he’s the middle of nature, there’s something sexy to take you here and there, only pulling down his pants to shove his dick right inside of you. It’s perhaps because of his Devil Fruit, or some inner instincts, but most of the time, Drake is always turned-on when you’re walking on lonely paths somewhere far from the curious eyes.

He also greatly appreciates sex in his boat office, throwing the many maps, compasses and pens on his desk right on the ground, to put your rear at the edge of it and slams his hips against yours. It often happens during your quickies, but it’s a real motivation to remain awake at night when he has to work. At least, he can have a proper break with some intimate and carnal moments with you, and he deeply enjoys this.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

You’re a walking turned-on for him, you have to get it. Drake is literally drooling whenever you’re near him, even if he’s perfectly able to maintain a strict and stoic face by your side. He always dreams to undress you as soon as you smile at him, and more than once, he has to control himself, your pretty eyes and your lovely features calling for something more… sexual.

Yet, he can’t deny that watching you walking in his shirts is also really great. He just needs to lift that little small homemade dress of yours, and voilà, you’re soon enough bouncing on his lap, moaning his name. He’s really not complicated to get in the mood!

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything which involve pain, Drake would hate it. He suffers from a very complicated past with his drunkard father and clearly doesn’t want to bring unnecessary pain in your sexy moments. He hates to be marked, in any way, and even hickeys aren’t always welcome. He needs to trust you deeply to let your teeth creating a purple circle on his neck, and frankly, this is only to suit you. Drake finds it unnecessarily dangerous and he would rather avoid it.

Everything which involve pegging him too. He’s really not in the mood to let you play with his sacred hole, and he would violently turn you down if you ever suggest the idea. This is out of question!

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Drake loves to give oral to his partners, but sincerely, he really has something when you give him a blowjob first. He just can’t control himself ; you’re way too hot when you’re sucking him. Everything is a sweet torture is addicted to ; from your soft lips circling the head of his cock, to your expert hands on his balls and your sensational tongue ; it’s the perfect way to start the day or to finish it. When you two are involved during a quicky, sometimes, he only wants you to give him head, because it’s really his guilty pleasure.

However, he’s not bad at making you moan under his tongue! Drake has a very sweet wet muscle, and he has some experience as well. He knows how to make you cum, even if his gestures might be sometimes sloppy at first. But there’s really nothing alarming! Drake is just overwhelmed by the scents of your core and he sometimes gets a little bit too much excited, sucking a bit too harshly on your clit.

P = Pace (Are they fats and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Well, usually, Drake is someone rather passionate and raw. He’s in his golden age, he’s experienced and full of stamina, plus he’s a Zoan, so hey hey, you’re going to really have some fun in bed! He just loves to pound inside of you at his best performance, and sincerely, it always swips you away, so once you’re used to it, you sincerely adore it!

From time to time, though, Drake is able to offer you some slow and tender thrusts, especially when you’re not at your best shape. He certainly doesn’t want to hurt you, so he manages to control himself and to give you enough pleasure by moving his hips with a slower pace, less sharp than usual. It often happens when you’re tired, injured or sick. He likes to cuddle you in those bad moments and be there for you, and most of the time, it leads the two of you to a reassuring sexy session. He appreciates to make you feel good by the power of his magical dino cock, and who can blame him? He knows the best medicine.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

He does love those quickies as much as regular sexy sessions! Yes, oh yes, Drake is a busy man, always sailing somewhere, getting involved in political issues, or fighting enemies… He’s not always sure when he’s going to have a proper night with you, so quickies became a real option to keep the fire alive between the two of you. Also, it really matches with his very instinctive nature. Quickies are nothing but moment where the both of you surrender to your needs, and those primal sessions feel really hot. Yep, you totally have a fan of quickies here!

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Frankly, at the beginning of your relationship, yes, he doesn’t like to take risks. He’s barely able to control himself, so he doesn’t really want to put you in risky situations where the two of you could be busted by anyone. No, not really a pleasure to think about it… But with time… Drake evolves differently. The crowd around, the pregnancy risk, everything which involves something rather dangerous feels thrilling and you manage experiencing new stuff in your relationship that you would have never expected coming from him! He just gets more comfortable with you and this is his way to show you that he’s really ready to go deeper in his feelings. The more he takes risks with you, and the more you know he really loves you. What a pirate!

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Great lord, my lady, you need to be ready! Drake is only 33 years old, he’s young and full of energy, and he knows what he’s doing and how to control himself when he’s about to cum. He knows how to keep you panting for hours, pounding hard inside of you, and honestly, you have never experienced someone so primal and raw, but also… with that ability to actually last for hours?! It feels like a performance for him, a goal he needs to achieve. But if you ever feel uncomfortable and sore, Drake would stop everything, and wouldn’t even mind if he didn’t come. Pain, remember? He doesn’t want it.

Yet, one round is never enough for him, especially during your quickies. There’s something missing, and he’s definitely energetic enough to go for a second! As soon as he came, usually, he needs just a few minutes to get a raging hard on for the second time, plastering your back on the mattress or wherever you are, purring in your ear that you didn’t have enough and he can see it.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Not really interested? I mean, he’s not close-minded but he doesn’t really get the point of adding toys in your sessions when you have already plenty to play with? Sex shall only involved the two persons who are in the room, and he doesn’t really understand your need to bring something new and definitely odd for him in this perfect equation. However! Well, blindfold and handcuffs aren’t a problem if he can use it on you, and have some fun with your body while you can’t respond. This dominant kink is really something which turns him on.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Drake can be slightly unfair when it comes to sex and foreplays, but this is always very respectful. Sex gives him power over your body, and you also know that he’s pretty old-school and definitely loves to top you. He likes to take his time with you when he knows that he has plenty, and if he can deny your orgasm a few times, he simply goes for it. There’s something in your frustration that build up his own excitement, and soon enough, he lets you burst into this intense climax, reminding you that you look absolutely dirty and needy under his big fingers.

Yet, he’s not unfair at all of your sessions, and doesn’t mind if you play with him a little. His tolerance is very low, though, because teasing him on his deepest instincts is somehow very bold of you! But perhaps you want it rough, and he will definitely go in that direction if you tease him too much.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Drake isn’t the loudest in the sheets, but he’s definitely not the most silent either! He doesn’t powerfully moans, but there’s those deep and bestial whimpers which slowly filled the room along with the delicious sound of your colliding flesh. Drake tries to maintain his voice down, but the deepness of his tone is often busted by everyone on the ship. When he reaches his climax, Drake tends to growl even harder, but honestly, you are too swept away to actually ask him to keep it down!

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Wild card, oh! Let’s talk about the fact that he has some problems when you’re topping him. Yes, I mean real issues. Drake is always pretty flustered with a naked woman around, even more when she’s bouncing on his lap, her breasts coming up and down, as she looks nothing but the most sexual thing on Earth. Drake still has nosebleed happening from time to time, and when you’re topping him, the chances of seeing a river of blood coming out of his nose are big! It’s not entirely because he prefers to be the top, or because he’s too manly to let you have some power… No, sweetheart, he’s just terrified to see how much you dominate him in many ways when you’re the one in charge!

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

The dino cock… Let’s talk about this piece of art we have here! Yes, Drake could be really proud of his manhood, it’s already impressive when he’s fully dressed and you can only imagine the thing when you look at this bulge!

Drake is already pretty tall (233cm/ 7.73), so basically you can’t expect him to have a worm in his pants, it wouldn’t match his height. And he definitely doesn’t have one! Drake’s cock his long, but also large, and there are also many veins on it, but nothing disgusting, on the contrary, it reveals his deep nervous nature. So yes, down there, he’s around 23-24 cm (9 inches), and this is really something if you’re willing to share his bed!

The head of his cock is slightly redder than the other part, otherwise, the skin is darker than his natural color. His balls are also smaller than his cock, but they swell a lot if they are full.

He’s definitely a shower rather than a grower! When he’s not excited, Drake’s cock looks pretty the same, losing just two or three centimeters, explaining the massive bulge you often spot in his pants. When he’s excited, he tends to have a lovely curve to the left, which is just amazing when he penetrates you!

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Very high for his age and way before average! Drake isn’t old, it’s true, but seriously, he’s very intense in his sexuality and he has some high needs on this matter. Drake thinks about sex a lot since he ate his Devil Fruit, and having you around doesn’t really help to calm down his nature. He wants you all the time… I mean really all the time, sweetheart! Sex is almost an everyday task in your relationship, even after many years. Drake tends to deeply crave those moments with you, but wouldn’t force you if you’re not in the mood.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He’s not the kind of man who falls asleep after he had sex. Alright, he can feel a sort of inner calm within, or perhaps a soft call for a nap (or night time if you just had sex in the middle of the night), but Drake doesn’t easily fall asleep.

He likes to make this moment lasts a little bit more, cuddling you softly when you don’t want something particular, his thumbs fondling your hips and your back, as he kisses you intensely. This is just impossible for him to cum, roll his hips and fall asleep, when he has just shared something so wonderful with you. You’re usually the one who loses the battle in his arms, his kind massage and the heat of his body sending you in a deep and comfortable sleep.

#one piece headcanons #one piece imagine #X Drake #x drake one piece #dino drake #one piece headers #one piece imagines #one piece hcs #one piece hc #lemon #not suitable #HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIFT #all-blue-headcanons

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taebadam · 4 years

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hello! i have had the privilege to see jagged little pill twice now and first of all: words cannot truly explain how amazing this show was. just. wow. but i remember when i was first getting into the show i searched desperately for descriptions of staging, choreography, etc. so here’s a (probably way too detailed lmao i’m sorry) synopsis of the show. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. seriously. im about to tell you literally everything i remember so retreat now if that’s not what you want. ok here we go. oh boy. (also i’ll be using actor’s names for ensemble members who don’t have character names and then character names otherwise)

CONTENT WARNINGS: sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, addiction and overdose

here’s act 1:

ok i loved the whole thing for sure but honest to god one of my fav bits is the first minute of the show. the STAGING. so as the lights come up and the overture starts we see a mostly still dark stage with all the ensemble members facing backward w a spotlight on yana (my love wow) in the center. she’s the first to turn around as she delivers the opening line: “swallow it down.” the rest of the ensemble begins to join in and turn around one by one starting w ezra (!!!! i love ez so much they are the best you cannot convince me otherwise) and the build begins. they move in closer to yana, chanting “around and around” and then all come in with “WAKE UPPPP” and they all bend down in this beautiful moment where the bass just. drops. and then in comes the band holy SHIT. so the band is on these really cool moving platforms that come in from the wings and as the bass drops and the ensemble starts jamming out they come on stage and it’s just truly incredible. they sing some of the overture like this w stunning choreography and then as you oughta know’s theme comes in jo runs in and joins the ensemble but it’s really slick you don’t really notice at first until the second part of the chorus when she breaks away and comes center stage, singing on top of the ensemble as they start to break apart behind her and pull out these stunning moving panels that are like 15 feet tall w projections on them. jo runs back through the panels right before they meet in the middle and close behind her revealing the words “jagged little pill” as the overture comes to a close.

the panels now open up and reveal a couch with all four healys sitting on it w santa hats and reindeer antlers galore, posing for a christmas card photo and yelling “merry christmas from the healys!” we have mj, the mom, steve, the dad, nick the perfect son and frankie the adopted, black daughter. mj then goes on with her monologue about how great their lives are while they all sit there with frighteningly fake smiles pasted on their faces while the ensemble plays carolers behind them. soon the stage morphs to show us steve’s office on one side of the healy living room and frankie’s room on the other as mj begins to write in the card about her perfect little family. she discusses steve’s new position as partner (while he chugs a bottle of pepto-bismol), nick’s acceptance to harvard (they recreate the moment he opens the email) and then finally frankie and her best friend jo. as mj talks about frankie and jo she mentions how they’re upstairs right now doing a “little craft project” and off to the side you see them working on a sign that says “FUCK FASCISM” which jo holds up w pride. then (lmao) mj talks about frankie’s friendship w jo and how she loves “female friendships” and how she remembers “the days of discussing clothes and boys” and meanwhile to her left frankie and jo are literally just full on making out in her room clearly romantically involved and it’s just so fucking hilarious.

then mj begins to discuss her car accident from the previous year and how she’s battling it w “natural remedies.” meanwhile, the ensemble, truly the conscious of the show, sings right through you while looking on from behind her. she begins to discuss her hot yoga and the stage begins to turn red, the music growing as we see all four healys in their own sections of the stage, each acting like everything is fine but doing something that shows its not (like nick is always doing push-ups. rip derek honestly lmao) as the song comes to a close.

we now transition to the breakfast table where mj is setting out pancakes. steve tries to kiss her but she pulls away, saying she’s “not a big morning kisser.” they talk for a bit, including the iconic exchange between mj and frankie: “when my friends and i wanted to save endangered sea lions we sold brownies on the quad. well, actually they were blondies” “of course they were blondies. even your brownies are caucasian.” aaaaand that line kicks off all i really want. such a powerful song. frankie stands up on the table and the band and ensemble come back in, just completely rocking out and blowing us all away w their choreography and energy as they surround the family, dancing around, on top and under the table. in the build-up to and then during frankie’s line “i’m frustrated by your apathy” the ensemble surrounds her with various protest signs. i can’t remember all of them but some highlights include “our future is dying,” “black joy matters,” “my body my choice,” “don’t be a fossil fool,” “white silence costs lives,” “no human is illegal,” “stop separating families” and “no ban on stolen land” while frankie carries one that says “does my period scare you.” it’s stunning. fast forward now to the “why are you petrified of silence? here can you handle this?” line. wow. frankie stands on the table, staring down mj in front of her and holds up a sign that says “fear has no place in our schools.” the ensemble all lays down in front of her w their arms crossed over their chests like they’re corpses and the screens behind her show projections of memorials for victims of gun violence in schools. the whole theater is silent for a solid thirty seconds. incredible. then they continue. another heart-wrenching moment is when it gets quiet before the final climax of the song and frankie goes “and all i really want is a wavelength.” she’s reaching out across the kitchen table to mj, who’s looking away from her at nick. mj’s arm rests on the table and as soon as frankie’s about to touch her hand mj moves to touch her own face, still looking the other way, not even realizing what frankie was doing. and their last belts. wow. mj and frankie are center stage, yelling at each other as they scream the final lines before frankie stomps off to go to school and mj is left alone in the kitchen where she swallows a pill— her pain meds for her car accident injuries.

a brief side note: let’s talk about the ensemble real quick. first of all they had input in a lot of their outfits and my fav is ezra’s which has a huge pink triangle on the back (they’re trans). i mean. wow. but also what’s important to know is that a lot of the main cast have sort of dancer body doubles? they have dancers who are supposed to represent them, be their alter egos and this comes into play a lot in the choreography and staging. mj’s double is heather, frankie’s double is ebony and jo’s double is ezra. i bring this up here because when frankie sings “i am fascinated by the spirit to a woman. i’m humbled by her humble nature” the ensemble lifts up ebony behind her and spins her around while frankie takes the same pose on the floor in front of them. absolutely genius.

and now we’re at school! we see bella, nick and andrew briefly discussing the party that will be happening tonight and then we zero in on jo (played my lauren patten my actual favorite human on this earth holy shit) and frankie, hanging out during what’s supposed to be a meeting for SMAC (social movement and advocacy committee) which frankie started— but rn they’re the only two members (also jo came in w a sign that says “let my people flow” and a picture of a pad because they were planning on protesting for the school to provide free menstrual products). jo and frankie have a sweet conversation featuring some hilarious comments from jo. frankie complains about her mom and jo responds “your mom is iconic. she’s one salad away from a psychotic break i live for it” then “at least your mom yells at you. mine prays for me. dear jesus. please don’t let my only child be a gay. especially not one of those obvious gays who wears performance fleece and utility sandals. in the name of fox news amen.” frankie is immediately concerned for jo and, for just a second, we see jo’s vulnerability and we know she must be really hurting but just as quickly she brushes it off: “i don’t care. i’ve been out of fucks to give since the early 2000’s.” really just phenomenal acting from lauren. wow. and now we have hand in my pocket! such a wonderful song. most of it is fun and uplifting (including a cute kiss between jo and frankie) but there was one part that really stood out to me. when jo sings “i haven’t got it all figured out just yet” she kinda stops for a moment and her face falls just slightly and frankie stands behind her, concerned, as the ensemble members dancing behind them all pair up and hug one another (including jo and frankie’s doubles: ezra and ebony). but just like that jo is back to singing and dancing and laughing, hiding her pain and uncertainty. at the end they do this adorable slap dance thing with the ensemble around them and everyone’s cheering and the lights are rainbow (yup thats gay) and it’s just so wholesome i love it.

now we go back to mj. we see her at the pharmacist’s office, trying to get a refill for her painkillers but being denied as she’s out. she then goes to a cafe where she runs into some other moms (laurel, jane and heather) and it’s hilarious. they’re all wearing the exact same outfits and sound so so fake. at one point ebony who is playing the barista asks if she can start a drink for anyone and one of them goes “i’ll take a skinny flat white” and ebony goes “how appropriate.” mj is clearly uncomfortable this whole time, especially when one of them makes a racist comment about frankie. after this she goes behind the cafe where she meets up w a drug dealer (played by john) and gets more of her painkillers. now comes smiling. this song is stunning. the whole song we see mj’s day moving backwards, all the way back to the morning when she took her first pill and she stares at herself in the mirror, clearly struggling. the whole song she and the ensemble all actually act everything out backwards, featuring ezra jump-roping backwards and antonio walking backwards while drinking coffee. true talent honestly lmao. and they move the sets so smoothly it’s amazing.

ironic!! so cute. so funny. the context is that frankie is reciting a poem to her class and they’re critiquing it but phoenix defends her. the desks are on wheels and the choreography is adorable. and frankie and phoenix’s voices WOW. and heather plays a stoner high schooler. this is not important it’s just so funny. after ironic there’s a moment in the hall where frankie and phoenix are still talking and so clearly flirting. jo walks up behind them but only sees frankie (on one side of the stage) at first. she starts to move towards her but then notices she’s talking to someone and gets a glimpse of her flirting w phoenix. jo’s face falls and she kind of falters, trying to decide whether to walk up to them and ultimately decides not to and walks off. lauren patten’s mannerisms in this whole show are just truly stunning. i really felt for jo everytime she was on stage. she’s so clearly putting up this sarcastic, uncaring front but really she’s just awkward and scared and lonely and lauren really does a phenomenal job making that come through— down to the fidgeting and awkward steps and nervous ticks that, once you notice them, make it clear who jo really is even though she doesn’t want to show it. yes i love lauren patten is it that obvious.

oK ANYWAY. back to mj. we see steve call to say he’s gonna be home late and they have a v passive aggressive conversation and then so unsexy happens. rip steve honestly. then perfect. mj and nick are decorating the tree. there’s a great line where mj goes “you need to make decisions for yourself” and he tries to put an ornament on the tree and she goes “no not there” and it’s so funny. but she just keeps going on about how he’s the only thing she’s done right and how proud she is of him. he asks “what if i hadn’t gotten in” re harvard and she goes ”you were always going to get in.”a couple of sympathetic sighs from the audience. then nick sings perfect and it’s honestly heartbreaking he’s so good and you feel so bad for him, always terrified that if he ever messes up his parents won’t love him anymore. that transitions right into lancer’s party.

here’s the thing about lancer’s party. this is the party where bella is sexually assaulted by andrew, kicking off her powerful storyline as a survivor and nick’s storyline about coming to terms w why he didn’t do anything at the time. but here’s why it’s so chilling, if that wasn’t enough: bella and andrew’s interactions at the party are not emphasized. in fact, if you didn’t know about the plot beforehand, you may not really notice anything at all. but it’s there. oh wow is it there. EVERY SINGLE TIME bella has anything to drink, andrew is the one to give it to her. she goes to talk to her friends and andrew grabs her hand and casually pulls her away. he puts his hand on her waist a little too often. he tries to get her alone one too many times. he barely leaves her side. but if you’re not looking for it, you may only see one of these just slightly ~off~ actions and think “hm that’s a little weird” and then move on. they’re not always center stage. they’re not always in a spotlight. they’re just part of the party. and we as audience members don’t stop to pay attention to them, even if we see something off. we’re not urged by staging to see it as important or vital to the story. and we don’t notice anything until it’s too late. the show puts us in the position of a bystander, like nick, who sees this all happening and does nothing. and this really comes back in the second act and punches you in the gut like. just wait.

anyways while the party is raging phoenix and frankie go outside on the swingset (!!!) and have a little heart-to-heart. they talk about their dysfunctional families and how frankie is adopted, a black girl in a perfect white family and how her mom “doesn’t see color” but she wishes she did. she talks about how her parents adopted her when she was little and how she’s been “fucking up their lives ever since.” phoenix comments “i have this theory that perfect families only exist in orange juice commercials and utah.” it’s funny and cute until it’s not. they start talking about how it’s not like they don’t love their families, it’s that they wish they were better kids. they think they’re not good enough and if they were different, everything would be better. phoenix says “if i were a better kid i’d have it all figured out. i could fix things at home. my dad might still call me.” and frankie agrees, adding “my mom might still love me.” and cue that i would be good. absolutely. heartbreaking. i cried so much. but it gets even worse when jo comes in. she enters on stage left w her mom, without her beanie and her flannel tied around her waist wearing a bright pink blouse. “there. i wore it.” she says, visibly shaking and looking away from her mom, almost curling in on herself. she takes the blouse off with unsteady hands, holding it behind her and still looking away. her mom yanks it out of her grip and jo flinches, “i don’t know why i even try, joanne.” as her mom leaves the stage jo quickly puts back on her beanie and flannel, looking terrified and heartbroken, and begins to sing “why won’t you accept who i need to be.” she crosses the stage to stand near phoenix and frankie, shaking and fidgeting the whole time. at the climax they all come to the front, frankie in the center, and just sing their hearts out and they just all look so— desperate. sad. lonely. it’s really just gut-wrenchingly beautiful and sad and just ugh. wow. and as jo starts to walk off stage and the lights fade phoenix asks “do you have a boyfriend?” jo freezes. “a boyfriend?” frankie repsonds, “no.”

now we’re on to the next day and jo is bringing coffee for her and frankie as she meets frankie at the swingset. they talk about last night and jo once again jokes and brushes off the church social she had to go to w her mom: “did you know that god forgives gay feelings as long as you don’t act on them? thanks for the life hack father tim.” then they discuss the party and jo pulls out her phone, showing that people had taken pictures of bella without her shirt on while she was passed out and had posted them all over social media. frankie immediately insists they go visit bella right that second to make sure she’s ok and tell her that they’re here for her. jo follows, in awe of frankie’s bravery and passion. as they head to bella’s we see andrew and nick doing their morning workout, andrew talking about how bella was “all over him” while the ensemble surrounds them, singing “this could get messy.”

we get to bella’s where she’s sitting on her couch in a flannel and sweatpants under a blanket. she eventually tells frankie and jo what happened, how she passed out in an empty room and woke up a few times to andrew assaulting her while she was unable to even talk much less fight back. as she begins to tell her story (it’s truly haunting, she sounds so just dead and done kathryn gallagher is amazing) a soft sound can be heard— the theme from predator. the soft “ooh” from the very start of bella’s song in the second act rings through the otherwise deathly silence as she softly starts to recount the horrors of the night before. frankie and jo immediately tell her that’s rape and she responds “what? no. i’m just a fucking idiot.” they try to assure her she’s not and urge her to go to the police. her response is heartbreaking: “are you kidding me? like i’m really gonna say andrew montefuray… everyone like worships his whole family. there is literally a statue of his grandpa downtown. plus, they never believe anyone anyway.” jo responds “we believe you.” she then reveals that nick saw something at the party and didn’t do anything and frankie goes to confront nick about it. he responds by telling her bella’s always overdramatic, that he shouldn’t be expected to look out for everyone. frankie looks devastated. mj walks in on their fight and, in response to frankie telling her bella was raped, says “you can’t just go calling the police every time a girl gets drunk and there’s some he said she said. these things can happen. i wouldn’t go making this your cause of the week.” cue wake up. frankie sings the opening lines directly to nick and mj, looking both furious and horrified. as the song builds the ensemble joins in and off to the side we see an interrogation room. frankie and jo come in w bella, trying to support her through what looks like a stressful interrogation w an intimidating male police officer who is constantly frowning and interrupting. we don’t get any dialogue from this as the song is happening around them but we see bella look more and more embarrassed and devastated as frankie and jo only look more angry. they eventually leave and andrew takes a seat and has what looks like a pleasant conversation w the policeman that ends in a friendly handshake. at the climax of wake up, after the interrogations, the whole ensemble is on stage and with them are the two moving panels/platforms. the main cast stand on the panels, and the ensemble moves them and flips them, revealing characters that were on the other side in switches so fast it’s incredibly impressive and overall a truly mesmerizing scene. the last line is frankie, alone in center stage with the ensemble behind her looking at mj who is in front of her staring out into the audience as frankie yells “wake up.” stunning.

the last scene of act one is forgiven. wow wow wow. mj goes into the church and begins to pray. she prays for her kids, for her marriage. then she begins to discuss something else. she goes “the last time i asked you for something…. well. you remember back in college. even after that night— that was my fault.” her voice breaks a little, sounding weaker and more scared by the second and once again the soft, ominous theme of predator can be heard in the distance. the same theme from when bella was accounting her assault and the theme that will come back in act two. chills. every time. mj starts to break down then, asking for help w her addiction. she admits she’s having a hard time stopping and begs for assistance. cue forgiven. in comes part of the ensemble— but only the non-male members of the ensemble. stunning. she begins the song and the ensemble moves the church pews and panels in a wonderful bit of choreography as the song grows. by the second chorus bella appears from the back of the stage and slowly walks up to join mj as the non-male members of the ensemble move the pews to surround the two of them. mj and bella stand back to back in front of a semi-circle of the non-male ensemble standing on benches. they chant “sinner! witch! whore!” while mj continues to sing and they point at bella and mj at each word, the lights flashing. it’s haunting. then bella joins the ensemble and they leave as mj moves to exit the church. she’s outside now, snow falling around her as we reach the climax of the song and the rest of the cast joins her on stage one by one. i couldn’t tell this was the case on the cast album but on that last chorus each main character gets their own line over the ensemble as they enter the stage. steve starts, “we all had delusions in our heads,” then nick, “we all had our minds made up for us,” then frankie, “we had to believe in something. so i will,” then andrew “we all had our reasons to be there” then bella, “we all had a thing or two to learn,” then finally jo, “we all needed something to cling to. so we did.” we could talk about how meaningful all of those lines are to each of those characters for hours honestly. and now the whole ensemble begins to join and the chorus only grows, everyone just singing their hearts out as they belt (ELIZABETH’S VOICE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK) and they end with a haunting final note “amen.” and that’s the end of act one. holy fucking shit.

#jlp #jagged little pill #jagged little broadway #elizabeth stanley #sean allen krill #derek klena #celia gooding #lauren patten #kathryn gallagher

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cordoniantrash · 5 years

Text

Once Upon Another Time: Chapter Four

AU: In another time where the brothers Beaumont did not reach Cassandra in time, the waitress turned lady went back to New York to rebuild her old life. After finding an unexpected souvenir, she set off and joined her long lost family. Four years later, a newly divorced King of Cordonia arrives in New York in hopes of reuniting with his beloved. Instead of Cassandra, all he found was a postcard with the word Edgewater written on the back

Catch up here: Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three

Plus a masterlist if you guys are interested.

Hello and welcome to chapter four! Thanks so much for all the likes, reblogs and comments on this fic guys! Anyways, constructive criticism is very much welcome. Grammatical mistakes are my own (I was in a rush to post this so theres probably many).

Thanks to @thequeennefertipi for betaing!

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, Pixleberry has that privilege, title for both the series and the chapter titles, plus the epigraphs are from Sara Bareilles’ discography

Pairing: Liam x MC

Warning: swearing, drinking

Words: 3453

Chapter Four: Hercules

Cause I have sent for a warrior

From on my knees, make me a Hercules

I was meant to be a warrior

Please, make me a Hercules

“Let me introduce you to my mother, Your Majesty. This is Countess Clara Sinclaire-Harper of Edgewater.”

Liam paused, the Countess’ hand still in his grasp. He opened his mouth to say something. What, he did not know yet. His thoughts came to a screeching halt when a little voice piped up from beside her Ladyship.

“You’re the man from the telly!”

----

Edgewater, two weeks before

“Let me get this straight: you want me and Lucas to inherit?”

Aunt Clara sighed. The evening sun filtered through the windows into the manor’s study. First, I find out that Liam’s divorced, his name being dragged through the mud by Madeleine, then Lucas unknowingly sees his father for the first time and now this?

“Your Aunt Lizzy refused to inherit. Your Uncle Charles, well, he made it very clear that he’s not getting married anytime soon,” Auntie looked at her, the lines around her eyes more prominent than ever “Cassie, you and Lucas are the only ones left. I won’t leave our lands and this estate to some distant obscure cousin. Not when our family is here.”

Cassandra was conflicted. This was her family, but is she really ready to step into the spotlight again? What about Lucas? He’s barely past being a toddler. She’s more than familiar with how courts and social circles and elite society’s work. Will I subject him to that too?

Aunt Clara rose from her seat and took Cassie’s hands in her own. “I’m sorry I just sprung this one on you. I genuinely thought my children would inherit after me when I invited you here. I can understand if you won’t do it. I really do love. And I won't be angry nor cast you out. I promise you that. Just… think about it?”

Cassandra nodded and Aunt Clara smiled in relief. A knock on the door interrupted the moment.

“Ma’am? Lord Charles is on the line.”

“Thank you.” She turned to Cassandra. “Would you like to stay for a while, dear? Charles might want to talk to you too.”

“Sure, Auntie. I need to get some reading done anyway.”

As her aunt answered the phone, Cassie took out her phone and looked up the Cordonia’s latest news. Articles about the debacle were the first ones on the list.

Madeleine just won’t give up, huh? Kiara’s now the communications director and Liam already gave an official statement.

She opened article after article. What about Hana? Or Maxwell? Even Drake?

“Whatcha reading mommy?”

Her fingers fumbled with her phone.

“It’s nothing, baby. When did you get here?”

“Just now,” Lucas said as he climbed into her lap. Cassie could see Lucas’ nanny as the older woman was leaving the room. Aunt Clara was still on the phone, her eyebrows furrowed. Her voice was too hushed to be heard across the room.

“Were you reading ‘bout the man on the telly?’ Lucas asked her. Confused, Cassie asked, ‘What man?”

“The man on the telly! The one that looks just like me,” his little face scrunched up. “Why does he look like me, Mommy? Is he magic?”

Because he’s your father, she wanted to say. He’s your dad and I’ve kept you from him and he’s gonna hate me for that. You will hate me for that too.

----

Palawan, Philippines

Leo Rys had just sat down when his phone rang. Still keeping an eye on the twins playing by the sand, he answered the call.

“Liam! Wasn’t expecting you to call for another month at least! Have you finally defeated paperwork?”

“Um, Leo? It’s Maxwell.”

“Oh.” He briefly looked at the caller ID. “Hey, Maxie! Was watching the girls, I didn’t see your name. How are you, man?”

“Good! Great! Couldn’t be better!”

“Uh-huh. What happened?” Leo sat up, caught Katie’s eye, and gestured at his phone. His wife nodded at his unspoken request, her eyebrows knitted with confusion. Leo stood up and walked a little distance from his family.

“Uh, have you seen the news?”

“Out with it, Maxwell.” Leo was becoming more worried by the minute. What happened now?

“Um, maybe you should see the news first…”

“Oh god,” horror filled him. “Is Maddy pregnant? Is Liam hurt?”

“What? No! They’re actually divorced!”

Relief filled his system and Leo grinned. “Good for him!”

“See, that’s the thing…” As Maxwell relayed the events of the past few months, Leo experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. When Maxwell ended the story with the smear campaign, Leo was apoplectic.

“What the fuck is she playing at?”

“Um, we don’t know either…” Maxwell trailed off.

Leo sighed. “Thanks for telling me, Maxie. I’ll get there as fast as I can. I’ll have to tell Katie and the girls we have to cut our holiday short, but they’ll understand.”

“Actually, there’s something else.”

“What is it?” Leo sighed wondering if this can get any worse.

“You pretty much travelled around the world, right? Do you happen to know any place called Edgewater?” What now? What’s this got to do with anything?

The word tugged at his memories. He vaguely remembered it although he couldn’t place when or where. Before he could pinpoint exactly where or when he encountered it, a scream from behind interrupted his thoughts. He spun around and saw that the twins had started a water fight.

“Edgewater, huh? Should I even ask why you’re looking for this place?”

“Remember Cassandra?”

“The girl Liam’s besotted with?” said Leo, remembering the petite dark-haired Lady who looked at his brother like he hung the moon.

“Um yeah? Let’s go with that. This might be a way to find her.”

“So Liam’s finally going after the love of his life?” Leo grinned. “Good for him!”

“Yeah! It’s gonna be awesome! Listen, I’ve got to go, but, um we’re kinda desperate to know where it is, so if you remember hearing anything would you let us know?”

“Of course, Maxie. I’ll ask around. Say hello to the others for me. Oh! And tell Liam to give his older brother a call. Preferably sometime this month.”

Later that night, after the girls had gone to bed and his wife had fallen asleep, Leo lay awake, his thoughts alternating between Liam’s divorce and in trying to remember where he heard that word. Looks like you didn’t win old man, he thought, all your careful machinations fell apart in just a year. This is what you get for trying to control your sons’ lives. Now, where did I hear that word again?

Faint memories of the woman who birthed him entered his mind.

The woman I consider my mother is dead, and her name was Eleanor, he had made that clear when his birth mother tried to reconnect with him a few years back. Might as well ask her, he thought.

He got up, retrieved his laptop, and stepped out of his hotel suite. Once he arrived at the lobby, he sat down and composed an email.

Hey, Cordelia.

How are you? The kids and Katie are great, holiday’s going well. Something came up and I just want to confirm something…

----

Four years ago

“What the fuck are you playing at?”

Constantine turned and faced his firstborn. “Really, Leo there’s no need for you to barge in like that.”

“Oh really? Then why are you meddling with Liam’s life now, Father? Is this some sick-twisted way of getting back at me? I didn’t play by your rules so you take it out on my brother?” Leo sneered. “Or is this another sacrifice for crown and country?”

Constantine scowled. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand yet Leo. Maybe you will once your children are born –”

Leo glowered at his father, “Don’t you dare bring my family into this. You’re the one tearing your family apart. Not me.”

Constantine braced himself on his chair, his face paling. Leo couldn’t quite bring himself to care. When Constantine spoke again, his voice was strained. Leo wondered how much of it was an act.

“What I did is what I have always done. A King’s foremost duty is to his country, not his family.”

Leo scoffed. “Of fucking course it is. I never quite knew what mother saw in you. You’ve always been a manipulative bastard. Everything goes as long as it benefits the Cordonia in your mind.”

Leo stalked towards his father and jabbed his finger on Constantine’s chest. “You’re not the one who will live with your decisions, Father. Liam will have to live with that for the rest of his life! And you don’t even care!”

“Don’t mistake my decision as lack of care Leo. I love you both. I’m doing this for both of you!”

“Oh please. Spare me that bullshit.” Leo rolled his eyes. A folder caught his attention. Before Constantine could react, Leo had already taken the folder in his hands. His blood grew cold.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

The folder contained several documents. What drew Leo’s wrath was the name written on the first page.

First name: Cassandra Marie

Middle name: Sinclaire

Last name: Angeles

“You had her investigated? Was sexually harassing her not enough?”

“Leo –“

“Just how many lives have you ruined for your precious Cordonia?”

“Let me explain –“

“No.”

The single word brought Constantine short.

“Now, listen here –“

“You have no power over me, Father. And it won’t be long before you lose power over Liam either.”

He moved to exit the room, the folder still in his grip. I have to get this to Liam; he thought. At the doorway he paused.

“Oh, and don’t even think of visiting my family.”

----

Cordonia

“Well?” Olivia asked as Maxwell put down his phone. They were back in Liam’s private office.

“Leo said he’d look into it. Oh! And he’s coming here as soon as he can.” He replied.

“That’s wonderful!” Hana exclaimed from her seat next to Kiara.

“Leo helping an investigation?” Drake mused. Olivia had a retort ready when she saw Hana shake her head. Urgh. Fine.

“Leo might be impulsive, but he loves his family. He might just pull through,” Olivia said instead. Unlike you, she wanted to say. She’s still miffed that he left her without back up back in Paris. All to chase a dead-end clue about his sister. You can find your sister after all this is resolved. We’re already engaging multiple fronts here. No use overreaching our resources. “Besides, I’ve already placed an agent in her staff. Even if Leo’s inquiries yield nothing we’ll have a back-up plan.”

“This is progress either way,” Kiara noted from her seat.

“Agreed,” Liam said as he turned to the two seated ladies. “How is the media campaign?”

“The CBC and Trend have agreed for an exclusive interview with you. My department would provide the questions so we can remain focused on our message. I’ve had some of my people on damage control as Madeleine’s interviews had reached the international stage.”

Liam sighed. “I should have nipped it at the bud.”

Olivia turned to him. “You wouldn’t have known she would do this, Liam. Hell, it blindsided even my network.”

“No, but I knew she wouldn’t take this lying down. I have humiliated her in front of the entire world.”

“Might I suggest we organise an event that would shift the focus of both the media and the court from Madeleine’s campaign?” Hana said steering the conversation away from Liam berating himself.

“What event though? There will not be an occasion for weeks, and we need to move fast.” Drake said from his position at the window.

“We can always make one up!” Maxwell piped in.

Liam mustered a smile but shook his head. “I’m afraid not Maxwell. The people are scrutinising us already. I don’t want to give Madeleine another weapon against us.”

“It doesn’t have to be a party. We could always spin a commemorative celebration,” Hana supplied, “perhaps even a state dinner for our allies? Even Madeleine would have a difficult time disparaging that.”

Drake groaned. “Another dinner? Really?”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “It’s not like anyone asked you to attend Drake. You are always welcome to sulk and brood in the hallways.”

Liam spoke up before Drake could muster a retort. “A state dinner has some merit to it. It would also help us make a good impression to various heads of states before they could hear Madeleine's side,” he turned to Hana and Olivia, “can I entrust this to both of you?”

Hana nodded and Olivia answered affirmative. Liam turned to Drake. “I trust that you know your role in this?”

Drake’s eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded his assent. Urgh, I have to work with him again?

Olivia scowled.

“I’ll help Hana with the party details!” Maxwell volunteered. Could be worse, Olivia thought as she shrugged and said: “Very well.”

Liam checked his watch and stood up.

“Well then. Let’s do this.”

----

Edgewater

“Absolutely not!”

“Cassie –“

“He’s just four Auntie. I can’t –” her voice broke “He will hate me. Both of them.”

“Dearest, they will not hate you.”

“I’ve kept them from each other Auntie. Lucas is about to start school, and he will ask questions soon. And Liam – well, I’ve kept his son from him. Hell, he doesn’t even know that Lucas exists!”

“Exactly. So what is there to fear?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed Auntie, but Lucas is his spitting image!”

“He looks like you too, dearie,” Clara countered. “Yes, his eyes are his father’s but that means little, especially if he has no proof. Besides, it’s a state dinner, Cassie. We’ll be there for as your Uncle’s guests so there’s very little chance that he’ll notice a little boy, especially when he has dozens of diplomats to entertain.” Plus, I need to get a measure of him before anything else can happen. I need to know if he’s worthy of the two of you.

Cassie glared at her. “What are you planning?”

Clara raised an eyebrow, her face the definition of innocence. “Nothing dear. I just think you two have been cooped up here for far too long. Besides, I want to expose Lucas to other people, not just the staff here and at Ledford. You said it yourself, he’s going to school soon. It’ll be better if he develops his conversational skills now,” Clara paused as she saw her niece hesitating. Time to deliver reassurances, “He’ll stay for just a course or two love. I’ll send him to bed right after that.”

Cassandra frowned. Clara almost smiled. You aren’t the only one who can talk circles in this family dearest. Who do you think taught your grandmother everything she knew?

Cassie took a deep breath. “It’s not for another week, yeah?” When Clara nodded, she continued, “Then I need to think about it.” A diplomatic answer. Not bad. Looks like the student will surpass the master soon.

“All right, love.” But not yet.

----

Beaumont Estate

Bertrand will not like these calculations. Maxwell thought, his heart sinking. But Savannah needed money for Bartie’s medicine, not to mention his school supplies.

Thinking of various delaying tactics, Maxwell stuffed the document into the drawer of his desk. Maybe another purchase? No, I used that last time. A knock on the door interrupted his anxious musings. He rushed to open it. It was Kiara’s secretary. He was carrying a stack of old documents that Liam and Olivia had suggested he review.

“Uh. Thanks! Um…” he trailed off. What’s his name again? Julius? John?

“Justin, sir. Duchess Olivia said you were expecting these.”

“Oh yeah! Thanks!” Maxwell perked up, taking the documents from Justin.

“Any time my lord,” Justin said with a polite smile, but Maxwell was already placing the documents by his desk. He glanced at the dates and his heart sank. All the way to the 19th century?

Maxwell bid Kiara’s secretary a hasty goodbye and then settled down to start his research.

I need back-up for this one. Liam’s too busy, Hana’s busy charming the court, Kiara’s on media control, and Olivia’s too intimidating… oh! Drake’s free today! I think.

After sending an urgent text to Drake, Maxwell settled down for what looks to be an extensive research session.

I’ll worry about Bertrand tomorrow.

----

Edgewater, a week before the dinner

Cassandra was just finishing her latest writing project when the door of the sitting room swung open. Lucas rushed in just as she glanced up. There were cookie crumbs on his clothes and her last coherent thought was a dismayed oh no before he ran to her seat and started bombarding her with questions.

“MOMMY!”

A headache was forming between her eyes. Who the fuck gave him sugar? Just before nap time too! I’ll fucking kill them.

Taking a deep breath and forcing a smile, Cassie replied, “Yes baby?”

“Are we gonna see the man on the telly? Grandma said she’s gonna see the man on the telly! Can I come too? Can I? Can I? Can I pleeease?”

Dammit.

“Baby –“

“Please mommy? I wanna see if he’s magic! Do you think he’s magic?”

“Lucas—“

“Is he like the stories? Can I meet him?”

Her head was pounding now. This is a low-blow auntie.

“Grandma said I’d have to ask you. Say yes, Mommy! Please?” He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.

Oh god, how do I say no?

“That’s enough, Lucas,” Cassandra said firmly. Her insides felt as though it’s churning. “Grandma and I are going to talk about it. How’s that?”

Lucas sniffled, his eyes turning glassy with tears.

Oh no…

“Baby—“

The tears were flowing. Damn it, Auntie!

“Shh… darling,” Cassandra ran her fingers through her son’s hair. “We just have to talk about it.”

“But that means I’m not going!” Lucas said, lip quivering.

“No, it doesn’t”

“You say it all the time! Please, Mommy? I wanna go! I’ll be good. Promise.”

Those eyes will be the death of me.

“Lucas –“

The four-year-old shook his head, tears still flowing down his face. Cassandra felt her heart crack.

“Fine! You can go with Grandma.” She sighed.

She was rewarded by a hug from the four-year-old. She sighed again.

“But you’ll behave you hear me? You’ll listen to Grandma and Aunt Lizzy,” she lifted him into her lap and looked him in the eye, “and you won’t wander off. Understood?”

Lucas nodded, tears were still clinging to his lashes as he beamed at his mother. “Yes, Mommy! Thank you!”

Cassandra hugged her son again.

And don’t let him see you.

----

The Former Queen

“He doesn’t want to marry me.”

“But he will.”

“With all due respect sir, he can barely hold a civil conversation with me. How is that conducive to running a kingdom?”

“The two of you together is already a symbol of stability. That would be enough,” he paused, “besides when you’re queen, you’ll have to power to enact the changes that you dream off. Isn’t that what you want my dear?”

“…yes sir.”

Four years and all for nothing, Madeleine thought, scowling into her scotch. I gave everything to this country only to be tossed aside when it’s convenient! What do I get? A failed marriage and a reputation in shambles. Well, if I’m to lose everything I worked for, then I will take you with me.

A knock interrupted her thoughts. She turned around, posture perfect, pearls in place.

“Yes?”

“Madame, the CBC had declined your offer of an interview.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “They have been eager to accept my offers in the past.”

“They have cited that they have already committed to various engagements,” her aide replied. They hesitated, sensing her foul mood, “They have been invited by the crown to cover a prestigious event.”

She huffed out a laugh.

“Of course they did.” So the crown finally strikes back. That won’t be enough.

“I can extend another invitation, Madame. Perhaps by another media outlet?”

“The big ones would just decline us. And I will not lower myself by engaging in tabloids.”

“Very good, Madame.”

The aide turned to leave.

“Wait.”

“Madame?”

“What event are they covering?”

“A state dinner ma’am. The King is to meet with various foreign dignitaries in a weeks’ time.”

Madeleine hummed.

“See if you can get me an invite.”

The aide hesitated. Looks like I have to fire another one.

“What?”

“It’s just that, we might not be invited to such events, Madame. Considering the current political field.”

“Is my mother invited?”

“… Yes, Madame.”

“Then I’ll personally take an invitation myself. Dismissed.”

The aide scurried off.

Try to fight back husband mine. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. I am the Queen after all.

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#series: once upon another time #emgee tries to write #liam x mc #trr fic #trh #playchoices #choices: stories you play #choices trr #choices trh #king liam x mc

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smolbeandrabbles · 5 years

Text

Lover - Martin x Reader (Untogether)

Read as part of Like You Say You Do / Get Even if you like 💕

Gif Credit: @benmendo

Author’s Note: How and Why he is the easiest Mendo for me to write I’m not sure... But I gotta say, it does mean I can write when inspiration hits in a day... Which is good news for Martin. AND the Martin Squad...! @stcphstrange @beany-ben @mfolcore @alotofrandomfangirling @shantellorraine Disclaimer: The usual / I own nothing but the writing and the reader character Premise: On the final (hometown) gig of the tour, Martin has a surprise for you... Words: 2558 Warnings: N/A

_________ And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years? This is our place, we make the call And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? With every guitar string scar on my hand I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue All's well that ends well to end up with you Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

---

You’d been with Martin for a little while now, and things had gone from good to better. He had never been kidding about your notebook full of poems (or as he consistently called them, lyrics); and before you knew it the band (who, you would like to add also wrote their own stuff) had at least one album, a multitude of music gone digital and a hit in the radio. And there was nothing like that feeling of you both screaming the first time you’d heard it come on in the car. They were also successful, not little clubs to big time stadium successful, but enough to know what it was like to your outside more than just the States. (Though you felt Martin’s heritage helped with that part of the tour).

You and Andrea stayed best friends, and before you knew it - despite your original protests - double dates between her and Nick and you and Martin became nearly a weekly thing; and not always on purpose. In fact, the four of you had also been on holiday together and you couldn’t count the number of times you’d seen them both at concerts. Tara however... didn’t remain a real friend for much longer than a few months. You still saw her around, and she certainly wasn’t your biggest fan - but you supposed being courteous with each other was a lot better than the cat fight you’d had when she turned up on Martin’s doorstep one day. You’d tried to be reasonable about it, but she wasn’t having it - Martin had to prize you both apart and that didn’t end well for him either. Two hours later he came back, having dropped her at home, and his face had said don’t ask, and you weren’t sure you wanted to. Since then you’d pretty much kept out of each other’s way. And that was sensible.

Tonight was the hometown last gig of the tour, and afterwards Martin wanted to take a break, paint a little bit (because he knew how much you still loved to watch him do that in tight white T-shirts) and get his life in order. Not that it wasn’t in order - but you’d bought a house together and hadn’t done a lot with it yet, except paint it; obviously. And there was nothing like painting together; especially as there was now always coffee and donuts involved. Traditions were important things to keep! The show was sold out, and not on-the-day sold out either but months in advance sold out, that made you so happy. You liked to keep track of things like that - you loved yelling; “There’s another one sold out!!” At him from scrolling around on your laptop and how he’d run in; “You’re kidding?!” You weren’t always able to go with them, only when work allowed - so thus far you’d seen him a few times. You had a good supposed network and were fine without him there but, you always loved having him home again. So, you hadn’t seen him in a few weeks either. Luckily you had a couple of days before the show so do nothing much more than lay around the house and make out...

Andrea and Nick would be there, of course. And a bunch of your other friends, because they wanted to be there for the welcome home gig. Also Martin pretty much told everyone he would buy the bar afterwards, so many people didn’t need that much persuasion to buy a ticket! (Not that you would hope they would need much persuasion anyway - you’d kick ‘em otherwise) What did surprise you was that your parents and other family members were going to be there. You remember scoffing when they told you that; Why, it’s not even your type of music! You do know it’s not a sit down venue?! Well, we want to support him... also what do you mean not our type of music?!

So here you were, night of, backstage with about 3 minutes before he went on. And he wouldn’t. Stop. Kissing. You. “You’re gonna be late on!” You giggled, as he set his guitar up in between kisses; “Never late, it’s my gig!” “Well then it’s your fault if they chuck you off stage or cut the power at curfew!” “They’d never...” he pushed his forehead to yours; “Okay fine... One more, for good luck...” You raised an eyebrow; “I thought wishing you good luck was bad luck? I thought it was break a leg?” “Please dear God, no!” He laughed “Good luck is fine...” “What do you need good luck for anyway-!? It’s not luck if it’s talent...” He gave a gentle shrug “Oh, you never know what you’ll need luck for do ya...” “Okay...” you wound your arms around his neck, making this kiss last “Good Luck!”

As you expected he was incredible. He hit all those notes fearlessly; and the band were also on top form. They were riding the high of the home gig, the last gig of the tour - the energy of the crowd... their little steady wave of success. And you couldn’t be prouder that he was giving it his all here. They didn’t wind down because these were the last few minutes they’d spend on stage, they wound up. And you knew that setlist by heart; even the songs that he interwove and changed depending on where they were and what was getting the most airplay. So you knew when there weren’t so many songs left. And that was sad, you didn’t want them to pack up yet, to stop, you wanted them to play all night long.

But with one song left Martin’s energy seemed to completely change. He didn’t talk often between songs; liking to let the music do his talking for him. But every so often he would. But the last song was high energy, the perfect finisher. Or it was supposed to be. Instead Martin took a deep breath and stepped up to the Mic. “Now usually, there’s a song we would play here, which would make sense as the final song on a set list... right? But... tonight I... wanted to do a little something different. But, I also didn’t really want to do it alone... Because I wrote her a song.... so... I figured if I was gonna play it for ya, it would only be right if she was on stage too, yeah?” It wasn’t that you weren’t listening, just when you suddenly froze at the realisation he was talking about you, he’s written a song for you. But even then it still wasn’t completely registering with you what he’d said, until he called your name. “So hopefully with a little encouragement we can get Ms.Y/N out here, what do you say?” There was a cheer from the crowd that made you instantly embarrassed, and for some reason you felt like you still weren’t hearing this correctly - “C’mon, Y/N… don’t go all shy on me now…!” Martin’s laugh edged nervous, and one of his road crew nudged you in the back. Lucky for that too – as it snapped you back into reality. You took a deep breath, and walked out onto the stage.

The spotlight meant you couldn’t really see the sea of people here to watch him. But Martin was clear as day, and just as beautiful. “Ah! Here she is; may I introduce those of you that don’t know her, to my gorgeous Y/N…” You wanted to push him and tell him to stop, but this was neither the time nor place… And with him looking at you like this in front of his own fans, you couldn’t help your grin. Probably like an idiot, and in front of people I know… Dammit Martin! “So as I was saying… I wrote her a song… And I’d quite like to sing it for her…And maybe end this show a little more low key… Is that alright?” Another jubilant cheer from the crowd made him grin; but still he was fixing you with that look; and you couldn’t figure out what it was… “Aha… Earlier I asked her to kiss me for good luck.” You nearly rolled your eyes; Oh, now he was going to start telling embarrassing anecdotes about you too… “And she said ‘You don’t need it’ which… might be true…” He was still staring at you with immeasurable adoration; “…But for this I feel like I might…”

He stepped away from the mic for a moment, cleared his throat and swallowed hard – and you thought the band might begin to play the notes, to accompany his melody. But no, instead you were met with almost dead silence, because instead of stepping back to the mic Martin stepped forward; and then down onto one knee. WAIT-! There was a mix of emotion from the crowd; somewhere between a scream of delight but also dead silence at respect for the moment, and to hear what he had to say (or you could hear what he had to say). You gathered your hands to your mouth; they all KNEW! Your family and friends they must all KNOW! That’s how come they were all here-! MARTIN!!!

“So, maybe I thought I was never going to be the marrying type…” He pulled a little navy-blue box out of his pocket; “…And maybe sometimes things just happen to let you know, even though you might commit to spend your life with one person… There might be more to it than that. I know that it took me a while to realise that that person was you, but I also knew I’d finally found her in you… Y/N… And maybe it took me a while to realise that I wanted to marry you, but you’re also the only person I’ve ever wanted to get down on one knee for. And I know I don’t plan much, but I did plan this…” He opened the box delicately; the dainty silver piece inset with amethyst was beyond-words beautiful. And you held back your tears, even though you knew they were happy ones. Hell, Martin could have proposed with a piece of plastic and you’d have said yes. “So, in front of my band and a bunch of our friends… I’m asking for your hand in marriage… And you can have my heart and soul…” He gave a tiny shrug with a smile; “Heck, I think you already do… So, I know you’re going to take good care of ‘em…” Martin took another breath; “Y/N… Will you marry me?” Not that you would have declined; but how you were supposed to do that in front of all these people anyway was a mystery to you. You also decided that vocalising it might be better, in the circumstances, than just nodding “Yes!” “Yes?” “YES!” The crowd erupted in happy raptures; led by his band, as Martin stood and pulled you to him to kiss you, winding his arms around you you could feel the nervous, now triumphant, energy that flowed through him. “Good thing you wished me luck…” “…Oh yeah, that’s the only reason I said yes…” He couldn’t help but laugh as he let you go and took your hand in his – you watched, still smiling and a little lost for words, as he slipped the ring onto your finger. “Guess now is as good a time as any to tell you I love you?” You shook your head; “I know, why do you think I said yes?”

He motioned to his crew to bring you a stool to sit on; but Martin being Martin wouldn’t let you just sit on it, oh no… He had to pick you up whilst kissing you and put you on it himself. You covered your face with your hands; yes – that what perfect cause to be embarrassed thank you very much!!! You had to live this down to your family now. And Andrea. Who was probably filming the whole thing. He shouldered his acoustic guitar and turned back to you; “So… Y/N… This song is for you…” The band let him start alone – and suddenly you were transported to your living room, where he would cuddle up with you and test out your poems, or his lyrics with tunes in his head and see what stuck, and what sometimes didn’t. But even if you were aware you were in a room full of people – for that first verse there was just the two of you. And you realised something. You realised exactly what he was doing – and what this song was – and how no one in this room would ever know the significance. “Martin…” You knew you’d murmured it, that he knew you’d said his name and you got it by the way he smiled; he’d entwined lines from your poems about him in with his own lyrics about you… Lyrics you couldn’t even believe he remembered from the first time he’d read your notebook and asked if they were about him and you’d denied it… He was perfectly mixing them here… He wasn’t just singing lyrics to a song he’d written. Martin was singing your history. This song wasn’t for you. This song was yours.

***

Andrea was, unsurprisingly, the first one to greet you – almost screaming – as you appeared from back stage “OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!” “How long have YOU known!? C’mon, he invited all of you because you knew – don’t deny it! I’m gonna KILL HIM!” “Okay, before you go killin’ your fiancé, we were always gonna come, I’ll have you know! I dunno, I think he finally up and told us about a month ago. I’ve literally been biting my tongue about it, though.” You stared at her for a second, and had barely listened to anything beyond her seventh word, before your face lit up; “Holy sh*t! Martin is my fiancé!” “…Yes, no more boyfriend girlfriend stuff its- YOU!” she yelled again, and another cheer went up from both your friends and family as he appeared looking nothing more than euphoric. Andrea let you go and ran to him; and almost tackled him to the ground; “YOU! YOU ASSHOLE!!! DO NOT TELL ME THAT SPEECH WAS ON THE FLY! YOU SAID EVERYTHING I WROTE DOWN!!! YOU SON OF A-!” “Woah, okay, okay, I took some inspiration…” She smacked his arm; “You didn’t even act like you were interested or listening! I could kill you as much as I could kiss you! But I won’t because I don’t want to make your new fiancée jealous.” You folded your arms with a laugh; “Oh, did Andrea write it?!” “No! No!” He pointed to her “Be fair; I told you what I wanted to say…” “Okay…” she huffed “I put his speech a little more eloquently… Or you would have been up there listening to him ramble for 30 minutes, and then he’d get knee cramp…” Martin scoffed at that idea, walking across the floor to you, taking you back in his arms; “Whatever…” She called after him; “C’mon – short and sexy!” “…Old and sexy!” You looked around him with a grin to your best friend. Martin sighed in mock annoyance. “Geez… I have this for the rest of my life…!” “How lucky are you!?”

💍

---

AHHHH!!! I FINALLY WROTE IT! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

@dennismitchell @krnncsbtch @happyskywhale #MendoTagSquad.

#SO yeaaaaah Taylor Swift's new album #Writing inspo it certainly is #I've had this scenario for a while but the bridge to THIS song #OH wow perfect #Martin #Martin x Reader #Untogether #Ben Mendelsohn #64 #/Hums Beatles Song/

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