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mypoisonedvine · 3 years

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Getting In Tune | Chris Evans x reader fluff

summary: taking house calls as a piano tuner doesn’t usually mean meeting hot guys… mostly just old ladies who offer you lemonade, which is great and all, but did not prepare you for an appointment to tune chris evans’ full grand.

word count: 3.7k

warnings: swearing, dirty jokes about pianos, allusions to nsfw things?? vaguely?, mostly just fluff and flirting and awkwardness

Checking that the address on your worksheet matched the one on the door in front of you, you reviewed the nature of the appointment as your boss had written out for you:

Customer: Christopher Evans

Appointment type: Warranty tuning and check-up

Arrival time: 10 a.m.

You checked your watch and saw that it was 9:58, but hopefully that wouldn’t bother him too much. Leaning forward, you knocked on the door and waited. You could hear a dog barking inside, running up to the other side of the door as someone unlocked the bolt and cracked it open, poking his head out while he held the dog back with his leg.

He seemed a little surprised to see you standing there, made even more apparent by the fact that he was obviously wearing pajamas— specifically, a baggy tank top and gingham flannel pants. A few tattoos were visible on his arms and collarbones, though you tried not to stare at them or anything.

“Did you not know you had an appointment today?” you asked him. When he didn’t answer, you tried to give a bit more of a prompting. “I’m here from Boston Steinway…?”

“Right, right,” he agreed, “uh, let me put the dog out, and… put on a shirt…”

“Good idea,” you suggested, “I’ll be here!”

He smiled at you one more time before shutting the door again, his footsteps shuffling away as you waited for his return. Thankfully it was a nice day out so you weren’t too cold in your work uniform (yes, you felt like a total dork having to wear a polo with a nametag on it, but such is the life of a piano tuner). When you heard the dog run into the backyard, and the sound of Chris coming back to open the door, you took a moment to straighten yourself in hopes of looking like you’d been waiting patiently.

“Come in please,” he offered as he opened the door one more time, wearing a navy sweater and jeans now (and a NASA ball cap, for whatever reason) and stepping aside to invite you in.

“I hope I didn’t scare you too much,” you smiled as you stepped past him, letting him shut the door behind you, “a lot of people forget when I’m supposed to show up, trust me.” You shuddered as you remembered those times you caught people in a lot worse than pajamas.

“No, I knew somebody was coming today, I just… wasn’t expecting…” he trailed off.

“A girl?” you finished for him with a smirk.

“I… yeah, I guess I wasn’t expecting a girl,” he laughed, looking a little embarrassed.

"Well, piano tuning is a real boy's club," you joked.

"Is it?" he asked sincerely.

"Um, no, not particularly."

"Oh."

After an awkward moment passed while you cringed internally at your failed joke, he finally guided you across the house to where the piano was; you set your toolbag down beside it, stepping back to admire the instrument. “It’s gorgeous,” you told him.

“Oh, thanks,” he smiled a little. “Yeah, she’s a beaut.”

“How long have you been playing?” you asked. “Or are you one of those people who keeps it mostly for decoration.”

“Decoration?” he repeated incredulously. “Do people do that?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “more often than not I end up doing cosmetic repairs instead of internal ones because families are basically using this as the most expensive object possible to put framed family photos on.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed, “I mean, I’m sure I’m not using this thing the way it deserves, cause I’m still not very good at it but… yeah, at least I play it a few times a week.”

“Good, it deserves that,” you agreed. “Mind if I…?”

“Oh, go ahead,” he prompted, stepping back and motioning for you to touch the piano. You didn’t sit down, just leaning over to do a quick scale up and back down. "Anyways, I think it's mostly fine but those higher notes are getting kinda squeaky…" he mumbled.

"Right,” you noted, messing around with the keys near the top to check what he’d said, “well, they do that, especially out here with these cold winters making the strings tighten up. Should be fixable."

“Great,” he smiled.

“Alright, pretty girl, let’s take a look at your guts,” you grinned, groaning a bit as you lifted the heavy lid to see the strings inside. "It's in great shape,” you observed aloud, “this can't be more than a few years old."

"Yeah, I got it pretty recently actually. It's never been tuned before."

"Oh, this is its first time?" you smirked, leaning in to whisper to the strings: "don't worry, I'll be gentle."

He blushed a little as he laughed, making you pretty sure your joke hadn't gone too far.

“You, uh, don’t have to be around for this part,” you informed him. “I mean, unless you want to, but it’ll just be me messing around in here for a few hours.

“No, I’ll give you some space,” he decided, “just let me know if you need anything. Do you want, like, water or something?”

“I’m fine, but thanks,” you dismissed, “just continue as if I wasn’t here.”

“Oh, you don’t wanna see that,” he disagreed, looking like he regretted saying it as soon as he finished his sentence. You felt your face warm and hoped he just meant that he’d be eating cheetos out of the bag in his underwear and not anything more… mature.

As he awkwardly shuffled away, you opened your toolbox and got to work. Your first task was to get a pitch reader so you could figure out how well-tuned each string was— you set that on the soundboard and got to work testing keys and reading the little digital display of your device. Once that told you how much work each key needed, it was easy to just put your tuning hammer on one pin at a time, loosening or tightening until the pitch was just right. You couldn’t just start at one side and tune all the way up to the other, oh no, there was a very specific ideal tuning order that you’d memorized by now: first the middle strings of the octaves from C3 to C5, then the one of each of the unison strings in the double bass section, then the middle strings from C5 to C8, then the lower single bass strings, then every left string of all the unisons from C3 to C8, then the rest of the double bass section, and finally all the right strings from C3 to C8.

Easy peasy, right?

It actually sort of would be, if you hadn’t gotten stuck on the unison bass string of E flat 3, your tuning hammer suddenly unable to turn even when you tried to brace yourself against the piano for some leverage.

"Um, Mr. Evans?" you called out.

"Yup!" he answered, swinging out from the entryway instantly— he must have been waiting just outside, which made you feel a little like you were being spied on.

"Would you maybe come over here and use your manly-man strength on this?"

"My what now?" he laughed, walking towards you.

"You know," you explained by flexing your biceps and making a sort of serious face; your charades version of what a muscular man looked like, apparently.

"Oh, I see," he nodded, "my—" and he repeated the charade, except it made your face warm and your eyes all but bulge out of your head. That was him jokingly flexing?! What did he look like when he was actually trying to show his muscles?

You tore yourself from that train of thought as he leaned over the edge of the piano, gripping the tuning hammer you'd left on the pin there.

"This one?" he asked.

"Yeah, just give it a little nudge counter-clockwise, please."

He did it like it was no trouble at all.

"You could've at least pretended it was difficult," you rolled your eyes.

"No, you loosened it up for me," he winked. WINKED. Was he trying to kill you or something? "Chris is fine," he said abruptly.

Chris is fine indeed, your brain supplied instantly. "I'm sorry?" you choked out aloud instead.

"You can call me Chris, I mean," he explained. "You called me Mr. Evans before."

"Oh, right," you nodded. "Chris. Thanks for your help with that, Chris."

"Sure thing," he smiled.

Just as the conversation began to lull, you could hear the dog whining and scratching at the back door, and you felt so guilty that he had been left outside. “You can let the dog back in, you know,” you suggested, “I don’t mind.”

“I shouldn’t,” he shook his head, “he’ll jump all over you and stuff…”

“No, really, it’s fine, I love dogs,” you assured him.

“Alright, just prepare yourself,” he chuckled a little as he slipped over to the back door to let the dog in. Running past his owner instantly and straight to you, you knelt down to let it lick your face as you laughed.

“Hi puppy!” you greeted. “Oh, thank you for the kisses, it’s nice to meet you!” He calmed down a bit when you scratched behind his ears, wiggling and putting his paws up on your knees. “What’s his name?” you asked, turning your attention to Chris who had his arms crossed and a prideful smile on his face.

“Dodger,” he informed you with a nod.

“Aw, hi Dodger,” you cooed at the pup, “I’d sit here and pet you all day, but your dad’s not paying me to play with you— apparently.”

Chris laughed a bit as you stood up, and Dodger actually took it pretty well, dashing to curl up on the nearest couch as you got back to work on the piano.

“I’m just about halfway done,” you informed him as you started to move on to the next string, occasionally plucking the string to test that the pitch was right.

“I’ve never heard a piano plucked before,” he observed, leaning in to watch you work.

“Yeah, probably better to just stick to hitting the keys,” you smirked.

“Psh, anybody can do that,” he scoffed, “you could invent a whole new genre of music!”

"I'll leave the musical experimentation to you," you decided, "and I'll stay on this side of the action board."

"See, I didn't even know that was a part of the piano," he admitted.

"And that's why you're on that side."

You two chatted while you worked— he asked some questions about you, you asked some questions about him, classic small talk sort of stuff. He managed to keep it interesting, though, and keep you laughing throughout the whole conversation. It was significantly more fun than you usually had during house calls like this, and instead of distracting you it actually seemed to help you keep your focus. It was easier to talk to him when you could keep your eyes on the strings anyways: looking right at him was sort of overwhelming.

With the last string adjusted, you slipped the tuning hammer into your back pocket and dusted off your hands as you stepped back to admire your work.

"That's it?" he asked as he stood up from the couch, noticing the signs of completion.

"It is if it sounds good!" you smiled. "Go ahead, take it for a spin," you suggested. "Play something and tell me if it sounds how you want."

"Okay," he nodded, slipping around the bench and sliding onto it. He took a breath before he placed his hands on the keys, but then suddenly stopped and set them back on his lap with a sigh as he turned to you. "Um, it's a little weird with you watching me."

"Oh, are you not used to performance?"

"Not outside of my family and friends and stuff, no."

"I don't really have to be here for this part, as long as you're happy with it then that's fine," you shrugged, "but you know, I wanna be able to fix any issues while I'm still here—"

"No, it’s not a big deal," he shook his head quickly, "I should get over myself. I guess it's just scary cause you've probably heard people a lot better than me play…"

"Don't worry about that," you laughed, "just play something, really, I won't judge."

He spun back to face the keys, placing his hands on them— for a second you wondered if he struggled to hit just one key at a time with those thick fingers, but you pushed that thought away quickly.

As he started to play, you found yourself focusing on the music more than the sound of the keys like you should've been. He was good, actually, although you could hear the hesitance in the way he played. He didn't rush as much as most people did, though; he was savoring the piece, one note at a time, and you let your eyes fall shut as he continued to play.

You broke from your trance when he suddenly stopped, repeating the phrase he'd just finished and stopping on the same note.

"Does this one sound kinda… off to you?" he asked.

"Um," you paused, "play it again?"

He poked the key with one finger a few times, and you frowned. "I can't really tell." You stepped forward and leaned over his shoulder, caging his body in accidentally as your arms wrapped around his shoulders to fiddle with the keys in front of him. You rested your knee on the bench beside his legs, not even realizing that it was a massive invasion of his personal space until you were already in it.

He moved his hands out of the way so you could repeat the phrase, and although you didn't hear anything wrong, you felt the key sticking.

"Oh," you mumbled to yourself, "it's the key, not the string."

"Can you fix it?" he asked looking up at you.

"Yeah, I—" you stopped in the middle of your word as you looked back at him because his face was really close, so close that his bright blue eyes were burning right through you; so close that you completely lost your train of thought. "I can fix anything," you finished softly.

"Great," he whispered back, eyes seeming to glance down to your lips quickly before moving back up to meet your gaze.

You cleared your throat as you stepped back, giving him space again as you nervously crossed your arms. "It's probably just something stuck under there or whatever, but I can order a replacement key if not."

"Right," he agreed with a nod, sliding to the side of the bench to give you room to fiddle with it. You grabbed your smaller toolkit and sat beside him, starting with your flashlight to see if there was anything hiding underneath there.

Moving to peer behind the action frame, you realized it was a problem with the hammer hitting the string— or, more specifically, with the mechanism that kept the hammer balanced. All you had to do was reach in with a long screwdriver and shift some parts around, and it seemed to be back in working order.

“Play it again?” you requested, and he slid back to the middle and started the piece over. He grinned when he reached the part he’d stopped at before, flying through the phrase without stopping.

“Hey! You fixed it!” he beamed.

“I’m a genius,” you shrugged, smirking a little. He stopped playing and you found yourself a little disappointed by that, unexpectedly. “Any other musical ailments I can magically cure for you today?”

“Unless you can make me a better sight reader, that’ll be all,” he smiled, standing up from the bench.

“Ah, if I could do that, I’d be using that power on myself.”

He shrugged; "Fair enough."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then," you announced as you put the last of your tools away and picked up your bag. "Hope I didn't disrupt your day too much."

"You did, actually— in a good way," he grinned. "I definitely learned a lot more than I was going to just watching TV and drinking beer."

You followed him back to the front door, which he opened for you. "You can always give us a call if you need anything. Um, anything piano-related, that is. Tell the dog I said goodbye, okay?"

Chris smiled a little, softer than his normal expression. "I'll be sure he gets the message."

As you got back in your car, you took a minute to just catch your breath for the first time since you'd gotten here. Trying to be funny and cute and charming when all you wanna do is stutter and gawk and melt is exhausting! As enjoyable as it was, in a certain sense, you were relieved at the idea of returning to your routine— which typically did not include super hot dudes chatting you up at work.

“This must be a mistake,” you shook your head as you showed the work order form to your boss, “I was at this address two weeks ago, the piano’s in perfect condition.”

“Well, he has an unlimited warranty, so either something happened since you were there last, or you fucked something up when you were there last, or he’s just determined to get his money’s worth out of us,” she explained without looking up from her computer.

You sighed and left, heading back to the same address and hoping you weren’t about to get chewed out for somehow ruining Chris’ like-new piano.

Knocking on the door, you found yourself chewing your lip as you waited for him to answer the door. You were a little surprised when he answered in a button-up and slacks— entirely opposite to pajamas, although you sort of missed that get-up if you were being honest.

“Hey,” he greeted with a grin, stepping back to motion for you to come inside.

“Hi,” you responded awkwardly as you stepped past him. “Is... everything alright with the piano? I didn’t damage it, did I?”

He cleared his throat as he shut the door behind you, the size of the hallway forcing the two of you to stand slightly closer together than you would’ve personally preferred; it was hard to focus with him so close, sometimes. “No, no, it’s not that,” he answered, “the piano’s fine, I just…” he stammered a little, starting over. “Uh, there was something I wanted to ask you about last time, and I called the Steinway store but I couldn’t figure out how to call you specifically, so I just had to make a new tuning appointment.”

You furrowed your brow with confusion, not sure why someone else on the phone couldn’t answer whatever question he had, but decided to let him go through with his thought. “What did you wanna ask me?”

“Uh, I just wanted to ask you… out,” he finished plainly.

You paused as you processed that. “Out?”

“Like, I was wondering if you’d wanna… go out, with me.”

You hoped your face didn’t give away all of your shock, but at the same time, you figured it probably did.

He winced as you continued to stare at him in silence. “I’m kind of out on a limb here,” he reminded you.

“Right, I’m sorry,” you shook your head, “um, I guess I’m just sort of surprised because you’re, like… hot, and stuff.”

“And stuff?”

“Yeah, like… nice…” you explained.

“Hot and nice?” he laughed. “Slow down, you’ll give me an ego.”

You laughed, too, and less nervously than you expected. Feeling the rare urge to be spontaneous, you scratched your neck as you prepared to propose an idea. “Listen, so, this might be crazy but... I have another appointment today, at the Symphony Hall— it’s a final tune-up on the pianos and harps before this massive concerto thing and they always let me stay to watch the performance afterwards. If you came with me, I could get you in for free.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, you probably have better things to do today—”

“I don’t,” he refuted.

“And if you just wanted to, like, get lunch some time then that would be great, I just thought I might as well invite you to hear the chamber orchestra from the best seat in the house,” you shrugged.

“The best seat?” he questioned incredulously. “And where is that?”

“The rafters,” you laughed.

And that was how you and Chris ended up sitting on the steel catwalk suspended on the ceiling of the Boston Symphony Hall, dangling your feet over the edge as the sounds of the concerto echoed out from the stage, over the silent audience and, finally, up to you two.

The music was incredible, if a little quiet from where you were listening, and so soothing that you felt compelled to close your eyes and focus on the sound. You were partial to the piano, as always, but the violins and cellos in harmony made your chest warm unexpectedly. Or maybe that was from the feeling of Chris’ gaze on you, as you opened your eyes to find him looking at your face rather than the performance below.

“What are you looking at me for?” you asked him with a nervous laugh.

“For fun,” he shrugged.

“Doesn’t seem very exciting,” you scoffed, looking back to the stage.

“Oh, it’s exciting,” he mumbled his reply as he returned his gaze to the performance as well.

Your cheeks burned when you heard that, in spite of the fact that it was actually a bit drafty in the auditorium. Even though your nerves were buzzing with anxiety, a rush of bravery struck you and suddenly you were leaning your head onto his shoulder. Just the warmth of him through his shirt— hell, even the smell of his cologne— somehow managed to relax you and energize you simultaneously. His hand gingerly slipping around your waist was even better.

After this many years of tuning pianos, it felt like you were getting yourself in tune for the first time.

#chris evans x reader #chris evans rpf #chris evans imagine #chris evans x you #chris evans fluff

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charming-charlie · 3 years

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Washed Away pt. 5

Title // Washed Away pt. 5

Pairing // Evan Buckley x Reader

Warnings // Mentions of death and a missing kid.

Summary // Who knew hanging out with Buck and Christopher for a day would lead to a life or death situation?

Word Count // 2.5k

Prompt // Hi! Can i request a fic where you were with Buck & Christopher when the tsunami hit? They could be dating or crushing on each other. If nothing comes to mind, then it’s completely fine to ignore this request! Have a nice day!’

Author’s Note // This is the final part of the Washed Away series. || Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

Tagged List // @aprildecker-blog @coffeewithoutcaffeine @daddysfavoritesexkitten @chenfordlove @comeasyoudar @carnationworld @averyhotchner @evanbuckos

The sun had set. The day was over, but that doesn’t mean the situation is. You and Buck had been wading through the water for hours, heading to the last place someone said they saw Christopher.

Exhaustion was starting to settle in. You were sore all over too. It felt like you just finished running up and down a flight of stairs non-stop while carrying a bookbag full of weights. Your shoulders hurt, your legs felt like they were going to give out any time soon, and your body was so dehydrated from soaking up and drinking in a lot of saltwater that you pretty much felt delirious.

Finally, civilization was within reach.

A makeshift help spot was set up near the bakery where you and Buck were headed. Water bottles were being passed out and you reached out to grab one. How could something so common look so precious, like it was made of gold?

You twisted off the cap and downed half of it in three big gulps and handed the rest of it to Buck. He finished off the water, nearly gasping for breath by the end. He was exhausted too. You didn’t even know how long you two were walking and the little help was most appreciated.

The people around you looked worse for wear. You couldn’t imagine the struggles they went through to try and save themselves or what their story could be. You were sure it was similar. Everyone lost someone or something in the tsunami and you knew it was going to be hard to get over that.

Then again, did you really want to?

The whole event gave you a new outlook on life and appreciate what you have. You didn’t appreciate your job enough, but you were grateful now. You were a school nurse and you realized you love those kids that you looked after. You loved Christopher, having seen him and checked on him many times thanks to his worrisome father, and it would break your heart to never see that little boy again.

Now is not the time to think about those things. You didn’t know for sure. Let’s not focus on the what ifs.

For a moment, Buck swore he saw Christopher. He saw a little boy clinging to the leg of some woman, and he let out a relieved sigh, only for his eyes to play tricks on him. It wasn’t Christopher at all.

“Mister, are you okay? You’re bleeding,” a nearby passerby said, and Buck glanced down at his hand.

Sure enough, he was.

There was a cut of some kind, and the two of you didn’t even realize it. You frowned, mentally kicking yourself and cursing yourself out for not realizing Buck’s injury. The ex-firefighter sat down, looking worse for wear and you grabbed his hand carefully while examining it.

You ripped off a strip of your shirt to use as a bandage and Buck’s eyes sort of glazed over. Due to his adrenaline, he probably wasn’t feeling any pain.

“What am I gonna do?” Buck whispered as you tended to him, “how am I gonna tell Eddie?”

You said nothing, because you knew whatever you did say wouldn’t exactly be helpful. However, you were there. Side by side, you were there with Buck and Christopher today and everything Buck did was for that little boy. You never seen someone care so much the way Buck does. He has such a good heart and for once, you were hoping against hope that things would work out in his favor. He didn’t deserve this.

After a bit of a break, including some water to get both of your heads on straight, you two were back to the grind. This time, you didn’t have to walk for long.

There was an old mall or hospital, you couldn’t be sure, that somehow turned into a makeshift triage center not too far from where you and Buck were. The two of you practically dashed over to the building and its tents, being careful since there wasn’t a lot of strength left between you.

Buck was looking in the beds, glancing around for anyone that even remotely passed Christopher. You hijacked a few clipboards, searching for Christopher’s name anywhere you can but you both came up empty.

“Eddie dropped Christopher off with me,” Buck began talking to you and you could hear the defeat in his voice. It sounded like he was fighting the feeling of giving up, but he was on the cusp. “He thought it would get me out of my apartment and… out of my head. And you know what I did? I brought him to the pier. I had him, I kept him safe. And then the three of us were on top of the ladder truck and the water receded, and for a moment I felt like I got this. I had you, I had Christopher, and we would be fine. And now Christopher is gone. We checked everywhere. And now I realize I failed. I’m a failure no matter how you look at it.”

You could hear your heart cracking as you listened to him, and you knew nothing you said would change his mind. He was beating himself up over this situation. He did everything he could, and he was still handed the short end of the stick.

Finding Christopher at the makeshift hospital was the last bit of hope he had and now it was gone. You could see the defeat that wavered in his voice and how it hid behind his eyes.

And if that didn’t help the situation, there was Eddie Diaz, tending to a few patients himself. He wore blue latex gloves, had the navy fire uniform on, and was directing a few people into the hospital. Buck nearly choked back a sob as the realization of what to do next was hitting him faster than a wall of bricks.

He had to tell Eddie, and you were going to be right by his side when he did.

However, Buck dashed behind a white tent, pulling you along with him. Turns out he wanted to hide instead of face Christopher’s father.

“Buck,” you said slowly. Your voice was hoarse from lack of water and from shouting Christopher’s name all afternoon with Buck. You felt like your vocal cords were ripped to shreds at this point, but you soldiered on. Now was not the time to accept defeat. “You have to tell him.”

“How?” Buck answered as he looked at you. His hand slowly slipped into your own, and you squeezed his fingers tightly. “How do you tell your best friend that you lost his son?”

“He’s his father. You have to tell him that Christopher is missing,” you said, knowing this was the only chance he had right now.

Buck shook his head, not wanting to hear it. “No, I need to keep looking for him. I need to find him.”

One of your hands instinctively went up to the side of Buck’s face, caressing him lightly. You still couldn’t believe the man in front of you wasn’t giving up just yet, even though maybe he should. You hated the train of thought you were currently on, but Buck was exhausted, and he lost some blood. Plus, it didn’t help that he was severely dehydrated, much like yourself. The two of you were in no condition to continue searching. You probably wouldn’t make it if you tried. You both needed to rest up and regain your strength.

“Buck,” you heard the voice before you saw who it belonged to and your head whipped around to see Eddie. The man was heading outside to continue helping and he looked a bit surprised to see his best friend standing there. Then his eyes fell on you, and the look of surprise seemed to double. “Nurse Y/N, what are you both doing here? Are you okay? Wait, where’s Christopher?”

There was no time to prepare a giant speech. Eddie Diaz was right there in front of you both, and it was now or never. You let go of Buck as you turned to face the father of one of your favorite patients, ready for what was about to happen. This was a conversation you were dreading, and you couldn’t imagine the internal conflicts Buck must be going through as he mustered up the courage to say what happened.

“Eddie…” Buck interjected in between Eddie’s many questions, and the army vet stopped talking.

For a moment, the two best friends stared at each other, like Buck was hoping Eddie would get the hint without saying anything, but you knew that would be the cowardly way out. If there was one thing you learned today, it was that Buck was not a coward. Not now, not ever.

“Me and Christopher… we were at the beach, and I swear to you…” Buck was choking on his words and you squeezed his hand again for support.

Eddie was nodding, trying to understand, but the look on his face was heartbreaking. It was like if he didn’t hear it, it wouldn’t be true.

“I tried… and I just… but I… Eddie, I just don’t know how to say it. Um, he… he um…” Buck couldn’t get through it. He was stumbling over the words and Eddie’s eyes were brimming with the threat of tears as Buck tried to get the words out.

What made it even worse was that Eddie couldn’t even look at Buck. The army vet was looking behind his best friend, like he needed to avoid eye contact with what Buck was saying.

“Christopher?” Eddie questioned softly, like he needed clearance on what Buck was saying, but your gaze followed Eddie’s. A woman had stepped off a truck, carrying a small child. Your heart almost stopped, and you pulled on Buck’s arm to get him to stop talking.

Eddie slowly walked past you and Buck, and he approached the woman. Slowly, Buck turned around to follow Eddie feeling like this was Eddie’s way of coping with denial.

“Christopher?” Eddie called again, and like music to your ears, you heard the little boy shout for his dad.

The woman was carrying Christopher the entire time, bringing him to safety. Tears exploding out of your eyes once you realized what was going on and you stole a glance at Buck. Buck looked elated, like he was about to cry from relief as well. Christopher was alive and in Eddie’s arms, and there was no greater feeling than that.

“Buck, what happened to you?”

Suddenly, the fire crew of Station 118 popped into view. You didn’t know them personally, but you could venture a guess who from all the stories Christopher was told you during his visits to your little office at the school.

Captain Bobby Nash stood in front of the two of you, and he looked deeply concerned. He looked back and forth from you to Buck before asking, “Are you two okay?”

However, your exhaustion was caving in, along with Buck’s. The two of you practically collapsed to the floor and the fire family scrambled to hold onto both of you. That was the last thing you remembered, passing out next to Buck in the arms of his old crew.

It took a while, but the city was in clean up mode. You and Buck had a nice, extended stay at the hospital, hooked up to fluids and oxygen before given a clean bill of health. You were discharged first, since Buck had some lacerations that needed stitching up but the two of you texted nonstop while he regained his strength.

You went back to your job as the nurse at the elementary school, although you also became sort of a guidance counselor to the kids. Turns out, when you were checking for lice or fevers, they needed someone to talk to and you could just relate to them in a way. You were a familiar face in all the chaos, someone they needed to hold onto in order to make sense of things.

Christopher’s appointments never stopped either. In fact, they seemed to be increasing, only because Christopher wanted to talk to you and hang out with you.

“Honestly Eddie, he’s doing fine,” you spoke to Eddie on the phone about his son. You were sitting at your desk, making your daily calls to parents and Eddie Diaz was no stranger to the phone calls. “He’s in good spirits. Nothing is wrong with him, he’s pretty perfect.”

“You know, I never got to thank you,” Eddie’s voice crackled in your ear, “for what you did. Christopher told me how you and Buck saved him, and you have no idea how much I appreciate that.”

The two of you hung up, although there was promises of talking tomorrow. Talking to Eddie was a recurring thing in your life at this point, and you could use the stability.

“Knock knock,” a head peeked into your office, “these came for you.”

The secretary opened your door and placed a bouquet of colorful roses on you desk. There was a white card attached, looking strikingly clean in the middle of the rainbow of flowers.

You pulled off the card and it only said two words.

Come Outside.

Curiously, you stood up and grabbed your stethoscope, draping it around your neck. You never went anywhere without it now, and you weren’t sure what kind of situation you were getting yourself into. You rounded a corner and pushed open the heavy steel door that led to the front of the school. There, standing in all his glory, was Evan Buckley with the most beautiful smile you had ever seen.

“Thank you very much for the flowers,” you said as you smiled at him in return. “Why didn’t you tell me you were out of the hospital. I would’ve sent you some breakfast or something.”

“That’s part of the surprise. So, surprise!” Buck said happily as he approached you.

You just smiled at him, letting his arms snake around your waist as he hugged you tightly. Your arms draped around his neck and it felt so good. It felt familiar.

As you pulled away, you were greeted with something else. Buck, with no hesitation whatsoever, leaned in and captured your lips in a sudden and welcomed kiss. It was all you wanted, all you were waiting for, and you let yourself melt into his arms as he kissed you with such force and determination, you knew you would be a puddle of goo by the end of it.

“Let me take you out on a date,” Buck whispered against your lips, his lips brushing over yours with each and every word, “a real one this time. Just me and you.”

Your heart felt like it would leap out of your chest and you couldn’t manage to bring any words out. Instead, you nodded as you leaned in to kiss him again.

This was all you wanted. You’ve never been happier. You finally had the moment you wanted with Buck and now, a date on the horizon. With your luck, it would be the first of many, you were sure of it. There was no way you were going to let this man go, ever.

#Buck #evan buckley #buck x reader #buck x you #evan buckley x reader #evan buckley x you #oliver stark #9-1-1 #9-1-1 on fox #9-1-1 fic

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kentos-filmcamera · 3 years

Text

10 times, 1 occasion - Inumaki Toge

2. Gift

A/N: aaaaa i woke up to a lot of notifs, i’m so glad everyone is liking it so far! thank u sm for reading! just a quick clarification, I’m setting the reader as non binary; i will be using mostly they/them pronouns and sometimes she/her but i will avoid to do so. happy reading!

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“Megumi!” You called, waving to the underclass man. He offered you a tiny smile and a wave back. You let go of Toge’s hand to pull him into an embrace. “You’re taller! How much you’ve grown, my boy!” You’ve known him since forever, way before you met your fellow second years. And you always loved to pester him.

“I’m the same exact way since you last saw me” He deadpanned as you pinched his cheeks, his voice as plain as you remembered it to be. You only laughed and ruffled his hair, earning a groan.

“Where’s my hug?” You heard the voice of Gojo Satoru resonate through your ears for the first time in a while, and the most annoying phrase in existence was what he chose to say.

You turned to look at him, unimpressed, your expression matching Fushiguro’s. You were met with his usual cheeky smile and raised brows. He extended his arms and did ‘grabby’ hands as children did. Oh my. This man was annoying; and to think you even considered you missed him in the first place.

“Up your ass” You replied and moved his arms away from nearing your torso. He gasped dramatically and pouted like a wounded puppy. You only gave him a pat in his shoulder “Glad to see you’re... Well, alive”

“Don’t speak to Gojo-sensei like that!” You heard a foreign voice, the same one you heard from a far moments ago. You turn to look at the boy with the pink hair with a raised eyebrow. Something in your head clicked, as did your tongue. You pointed at him.

“Sukuna’s vessel” You said. Even up in the mountains the hottest gossip was the kid that ate one of Sukuna’s fingers and actually withstanded to house the spirit inside him. It was the talk at the dinner table for weeks. Your sister was specifically interested in it one night, making her spill hot soup all over your lap when she was in charge of serving everyone that night.

“Itadori Yuuji” He corrected. You stared at him up and down and gave a tiny smile and a nod.

“And this is Nobara Kugisaki” Panda indicated to you, as you turned to face the ginger that looked at you with gleaming eyes. You waved shortly before introducing yourself to both.

One of their faces lit up “You got attacked by a special cursed spirit last year right?” The boy you recognized as Itadori spoke. Your face blanked and drained of any color as you tensed. The only remedy you found was to nod, your jaw clenched shut as Inumaki reached in to rub his hand through your shoulders. It relaxed you, but you didn’t remember him being this touchy before.

“Idiot! You don’t remind other people of their trauma!” Kugisaki hit him in the back of the head, noticing how your attitude shifted in seconds.

“But! It was awesome! You were the first first year ever to expand a complete domain!” Itadori protested, but he slumped realizing how far you were. Your eyes looked as if they were in another galaxy, your mind taking them far as you spaced out. You hated doing it, but it came rather involuntarily when you were avoiding getting hurt. “You’re so skilled”

“It wasn’t awesome. I—“ You sighed, and accepted the compliment, your mind returning back to the scene. “Thank you. I’ve been training since I saw my first curse” You gave a light thankful bow to him before turning to Toge “Walk me to my room?”

“Sake” He nodded, and led you ahead. Panda passed onto you the duffle bag and gave Inumaki the remaining handbag as you two walked in silence towards the second year building.

Your room was exactly as you left it, except for the made up bed. You remembered that morning clearly; you had always been an organized person, but when Maki pulled you out of your bed for what would be your last mission for a while, you didn’t have the time to fix it before leaving. As you looked around, you heard the sound of bags hitting the floor and the generic sound of typing on an electronic keyboard. Then your phone vibrated shortly on the pocket of your jacket. Taking it out, you read the new message.

[ Inumaki Toge: i laid the bed after you left. i knew you wouldn’t like to find it all messy after all this time ]

“Thank you” You spoke as a response. You stood in place, arms crossed and thought. Inumaki chuckled at your tongue poking out from the corner of your lips. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have liked to find the bed unmade after months” You smiled briefly at the warmth spreading through your chest, opened the windows and looked at your space.

On the bed, your new uniform was laid down, awaiting your return. You asked for both the option of wearing pants and a skirt, depending on the type of mission, you settled with what seemed more comfortable. Your closet was empty, as you didn’t know for how much you were going to be away, except for a few pieces you stole from Maki’s closet. Everything Toge gave you, you took with you, and you wouldn’t take things from Yuta without his permission. You looked at the picture on your nightstand of the five of you, taken by Gojo as you exited a training session. You laughed with Panda as Maki, seemingly angry elbowed you in the ribs, Inumaki and Yuta enjoyed the moment quietly, both smiling. Fitted on the inside edge of that picture frame was a strip of pictures you took at a carnival, in a picture booth with Inumaki before exorcising a curse haunting the house of mirrors. One of the most difficult, terrifying missions you could have ever taken, in your first year nevertheless. But getting some Italian food sponsored by Gojo’s wallet at 2 AM on a Saturday was a great way to end the night.

“Heh, look, you had spiky hair” You mentioned, taking the picture strip out of the frame and handing it over to the boy, who passed you another picture from your board by your desk in exchange. It was a selfie Gojo took with you and Maki, as he found you both sneaking in after getting piercings and tempura in Shibuya, taking Ijichi as hostage to drive you there. Remembering the event, you flipped down your septum, and checked for your five lobe piercings and your helix. Due to your family’s cursed technique, piercings were more than cliche, but on the ear, not on the nose. You opted for a septum for whenever you had to hide it. Your phone vibrated again.

[ Inumaki Toge: i always liked that piercing on u. u look very cool ]

[ Inumaki Toge: you’ve always looked cool :)) ]

“You flatter me too much, Toge, thank you” You turned away to hide the blush on your cheeks. Soon, you received a tap on your shoulder. You faced a flustered Inumaki with a dianty box in his hands. “Uh, you shouldn’t have, I—“ You were perplexed, trying to find the reason why he would give you a present.

“Bonito Flakes” He insisted, shoving the gift into your hands and pointing to the door with his head. He wanted to give you some space, to read the letter and to change back into your uniform.

“I’ll be quick, I promise” You gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before he rushed to leave the room.

You prioritized changing into your uniform, deciding for the navy high rise wide pants with slits on their outer sides going from your mid-upper thigh to the bottom of the piece, made for better movement in battle. You buttoned up and tucked the navy jujutsu high jacket, of which you wore a shorter version, with a classic white collar from your button up peeking out from underneath. You scouted your bag for the tiny chain you hung from the eyelet of the collar, it was a family heirloom, a protection chain; if anyone touched it in battle, your cursed technique of choice would come into effect. Besides, it made you look more classy.

You fixed the puffy long sleeves, the form and the material more breathable, flexible and comfortable for you. You reached out to your closet and fitted the white patent ankle boots, almost tripping while doing so.

“I’m okay!” You shouted back, responding to a soft knock on the door. They were similar to Inumaki’s own shoes, but more stylish. In general, you were more stylish than him; or anyone else in both campuses. You finally fitted your black arm band, which had strapped in a box of needles, a rather thin rope and some thread.

You sat in your bed and took the box between your hands, circling around your fingertips. You removed the decorative bow and cut through the sealing tape with your fingernails. In between the folds of tissue paper, you found a golden ring. Your lost ring. It looked different, but you could recognize that oval shaped emerald anywhere. You touched it several times to check if it was real or not. And it was. You rushed to find an explanation to this, prying the letter open with your fingernails.

“Hi,

As I’m writing this, I’m not sure when you’re coming back. Or if you’re even doing so. Writing this letter gives me hope for your return, as so did getting you this welcome back gift. It’s the ring you took so much pride in owning. Oh, well, part of it. I remember how you got rushed to the infirmary, wailing, touching your damaged hand to see if you had your ring. But you didn’t. I went back to the scene myself that same day, and the next, and the one after the other to find your missing jewel. When I found it, it looked terrible. It was dirty, bent, and the emerald had a crack in one of its corners. It took me some work, but I found someone that could restore it. It’s the original stone, and the original material but it had to be reshaped. I know you like signets, so I hope you can find appreciation in this one too.

You looked once more at the piece and let out a teary chuckle. You had suffered so much the loss of that ring. It was a present from your grandmother, now deceased. You hated yourself incessantly for losing it. But now, it was back in your grip. You slipped it into your ring finger and before continuing your lecture, you fanned your under eyes to avoid ruining the hint of makeup you currently wore.

If you’re reading this, I am so glad you’re back. I missed you, so so much. I’m glad to see you in good health. And I’m sorry everything happened the way it did. You didn’t do anything wrong. I know how you feel. Please trust me. Thank you once more for allowing me to speak to you through written words. You’re the only one I want to write to, anyways. I don’t have the patience for anyone else. Welcome back, cookie.

I love you.

Yours, Toge”

#jujutsu kaisen #inumaki #inumaki toge #jjk inumaki #toge inumaki #inumaki x reader #jjk fluff #10times1occ

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amukmuk · 3 years

Note

From the cliche prompt list - I'm going to save you from the terrible date. (I think that one jumped out at me thanks to the most recent chapter of One Day lol)

Ahhh! I love this prompt!!

Based in the One Day AU :3

From this prompt list

Ahsoka nods along to Derek's seemingly never ending monologue. It's honestly impressive, she doesn't know if it is nerves or what, but she swears he hasn't taken a breath since they've sat down. She's trying so hard to be an attentive listener, but even then she can't help but wonder what Rex would think of the place. The ambiance is expensive in a cheap sort of way--like the owners are trying to pass off subpar Italian as the best in town.

"Here is the veggie lasagna," the waitress says politely handing Ahsoka her plate, "and the chicken parm. Anything else I can get you folks?"

"No, I think we're okay," Ahsoka smiles.

"Actually can I get some ketchup? Whenever you have a moment," Derek smiles. He has a nice smile, Ahsoka can say that much about him, but even then she can't help her own grimace. Ketchup? Really?

The waitress sweeps away and Derek offers Ahsoka a bashful smile. "I just really love chicken tenders and chicken parm the best way to get that at an Italian restaurant."

"We could have gone somewhere else," Ahsoka says and cuts into her rather small portion of vegetable lasagna. She will definitely be hitting up a drive through after this. If she does, she'll call Rex on her way home and asks what he wants from the burger joint. She checks the time on her phone carefully balanced in her lap. He should just be getting off work. "I'm sorry," Ahsoka says, cutting Derek off mid-excuse for his 'youthful palate'. "Can you excuse me for just a moment?"

"Of course. Take your time."

She gets up from the table and makes her way to the ladies room. As soon as she is locked away in a stall, she pulls up her chat with Rex.

SOS

Everything okay? His response is instant and it makes chest warm.

I'm having an awful time

... I would like to take this moment to remind you that it was your idea that we 'get back out there'

But this guy is an actual man child. He still lives with his mom.

Nothing wrong with living with your mom

Rex. He ordered the chicken parm because there weren't any chicken nuggets on the menu. Save me. Please.

What do you need?

Call me on my signal? Pretend to be my sick brother.

Copy

With a smile curving her lips for the first time this evening, Ahsoka maneuvers her way back to the table. As she sits she sends a quick message to Rex.

"Anyway, so I was saying," Derek continues, dabbing sweat from his mile-long forehead.

Ahsoka's phone rings. "Oh. I'm so sorry, I need to take this. It's my brother." She swipes 'accept' on the phone and puts it up to her ear. "Hey, everything okay?"

Rex coughs dramatically into the receiver and she has to hold her phone away a little. "Ahsoka. Help. I'm dying."

"Rex, I'm kinda on a date right now," she says and mouths an apology to Derek.

"But I'm dying. Don't let me die alone. I can see my ancestors in the light beyond." The sarcasm is dripping from his tone and she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out right.

"Are you sure you need me?"

"More than anything," he murmurs, tone as warm as honey.

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can," she pauses. "I love you."

"Love you, too. See you soon."

She puts her phone in her purse and gives Derek a small smile. "I'm so sorry, my brother."

"Sounds serious. Is he okay?"

"I'm sure he's just being dramatic, but it's best that I go and check it out." She tosses a few bills on the table. "Thanks again. It was lovely meeting you."

"Likewise," he says around a big bite of chicken.

Ahsoka doesn't look back.

She lets herself into Rex's house balancing a tray of drinks and two fast-food bags. Lucky, his golden retriever, bounces up to greet her. "Hey Lucky," she smiles. "Rexy home?"

"I better never hear you call me that ever again," Rex says, standing in the doorway to his kitchen, dish towel in his hands.

Ahsoka smiles at the sight of him. He's still in his uniform, a navy CFD t-shirt and navy cargo pants, but instead of his boots he wears grey knit socks. "I come baring gifts," she smiles holding up the bags.

Rex tosses the towel over his shoulder and moves to help her. "Date was really that bad, huh?"

"He wasn't a creep, thank god, but I just... I don't know, I guess I'm just looking for someone who can keep up with me." They sit on his couch and Lucky curls up on her feet.

"Sorry it didn't work out. If it's any consolation, you look great."

She smiles and tosses a braid of her shoulder. "I know."

They eat in silence and Ahsoka relishes in it. After a night of being talked at, the peaceful quiet that settles between her and Rex is like a balm. She knows no one else with whom she can share silence. In fact, she knows few people who can do anything that Rex does. He knows everything about her. He anticipates her moves before she acts. He always knows--

"Something on your mind?" he asks, balling up his napkin and tossing it in the box that held his burger.

He always knows when something is bothering her.

"Just thinking," she sighs and tosses a fry to Lucky.

"Anything I can help with?"

She looks up and over at him and it's like seeing him for the first time. His warm, honey gaze. The scar on his chin, the way his lips are held ever so slightly in a frown. His broad shoulders and narrow waist. The way his hands are folded neatly on his knees.

"I love you," she whispers.

His eyes widen and he sits back a little, no longer bending to catch her downward gaze. "I love you, too," he says. "You know that."

"No, I mean." She huffs and looks down. This is stupid. There's no way he loves her like that. She was his CO. They've been friends since they were children. He probably still sees the little girl on the playground. He probably--

"Hey, 'Soka, what's going on?" he shuffles closer and grabs her hand.

"Remember how I said we should 'get out there'?" she croaks and rubs her fingers across his knuckles, warm and rough.

"Yeah?"

"I... I don't really want to do that."

He's silent for a second and rasps. "Good... yeah, uh, that's good."

She looks up at him. "Why?"

"Because... I... Fuck I'm not good at this." And he surges forward. Her cheeks are held in his hands and his lips are on hers. He's kissing her. He's kissing her and it's amazing and she's so shocked that she's not kissing him back. He starts to pull away and she chases his embrace. She pushes forward and kisses him in earnest, eager and wanting.

They break apart when breathing becomes necessary and even then, they keep their foreheads pressed together.

"I don't want to date anyone else," Ahsoka confesses. Rex runs his hand over her braids and cups her chin. "I want you."

"Good," he whispers and presses a chaste kiss to her lips. "Because I don't want anyone else, either. Just you. Always you."

She kisses him again and again and again.

#rexsoka #one day #modern au #i didn't proof read this so just bare with me lol #amukmuk writes

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atlafan · 4 years

Text

Costumes Galore - One Shot

a/n: this one was based off a few asked for my Halloween themed one shot requests. A lot of you wanted to something around a costume rental store, so I just made Harry the owner of that store! Feedback and reblogs are helpful, hope you enjoy! (not proofread)

Warnings: pining, smut, friends to lovers

Words: 8.7K

Don’t ask him how, but Harry is the owner of a costume rental shop. He was a business major in university, and with some luck and patience, he was able to take over the very shop he worked in as a teenager. Halloween was his busiest season, of course, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t doing well year round. He would give deals to the local schools and community theaters, and people who dressed as characters for parties would come see him. So, needless to say, business was steady. He often had big sales right after Halloween, and people would come in and clean him out.

Preparing for Halloween was his favorite thing to do. As soon as it was September 1st, he would transform his shop, pulling out tons of decorations, and putting out different bowls of candy. He liked making his customers happy, and everyone usually left satisfied. His changing rooms were comfortable and spotless, and he even set up backdrops in the lounge area for people to take Halloween pictures of their kids. People would come in to do that all year to save time and money. He was a smart business man. Harry did most of the work himself, he had a couple of teenagers that worked for him after school, but other than that it was all him. He didn’t mind, it gave him the control he needed over his shop, and he just didn’t have the money to pay someone for full-time help. He was only entering the fourth year of owning the place, after all.

Harry enjoyed the small traditions the downtown area had. Every year on October 30th, all of the shops would open their doors so kids could come trick or treat. It was a great way to give out pamphlets and coupons, while also getting to know the people that lived in the area. He loved kids, so when Harry was told about the tradition by his shop neighbor he got right on it, splurging for the king sized candy bars.

It was getting to be that time of year again, just about the end of September, his shop was looking good, and the Halloween crowds had slowly been trickling in and out. He was at the register when he heard the chime of the bell he keeps above the door to signal someone was coming in. It was a beautiful young woman, and she made Harry’s mouth run dry.

“Hello.” She says shyly as she walks up to the counter.

“Hi.” He swallows, and then smiles. “May I help you find something? Picking a costume up?” He moves to walk into the back door to see what reservations he had left for the day, but she stops him.

“No, um, I was wondering, actually, if you were hiring seasonally? I’m a grad student at the local university, and I could really use the extra cash before the holidays approach.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t expecting such a blunt and honest answer. “Well, I usually only hire high school students…it’s a bit easier to pay them under the table.”

“I don’t mind! I have another job at the university I get a pay stub for and all that, I really just need the extra money for the season. If you’re not hiring it’s okay, I can check with the other shops, I just figured since this is a costume shop you’d be getting really busy soon.”

“You figured correctly.” He sighs. “Do you have much experience in retail?”

“Oh, sure, tons! I worked in a grocery store when I was a teenager, so I know how to work a register, and then in undergrad I worked at an Old Navy, so I know how to fold clothes properly and check inventory.” She pulls a folded piece of paper out of her back pocket. “Here’s my resume, not the most professional way of showing it, but I brought it nonetheless.” She unfolds it and slides it on the counter towards him.

Harry takes it and furrows his brows as he reads it over. Seems like she was in her first year of grad school, but had graduated from her undergrad a couple of years ago. Her undergraduate degree was in social work, and it looks like she had been working in an office for a couple of years. Now she was going for a graduate degree in school counseling. She had plenty of experience, that wasn’t his worry, he just wasn’t sure he would be able to properly compensate her.

“My busiest hours during the season tend to be between 3 and 7PM, and then I’m swamped on Saturdays. How many hours a week do you think you could work?”

Her features soften as she perks up from his question.

“I’m honestly free by four most days, and Saturdays are no problem. Well, as long as I don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn.” She chuckles. “I’m no good early in the morning. I could do Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday if that works for you?”

“I wouldn’t be able to pay you more than ten dollars an hour, and you’d need to keep track of things on your own. I expect the honor system too, no trying to stiff me.”

“That’s perfect!” She was doing the math in her head. “Do you close right at seven? Would I stay after to close up?”

“Probably would need you here until eight. Saturday I’m open eleven to five, would need you here ten to six for that.”

She furrows her brows as she thinks about it. That would roughly come to about twenty hours a week, which was exactly what she was looking for. Then that would be $200 extra in her pocket a week, or $400 if he decides to pay her bi-weekly, and she wouldn’t have to worry about a dime of it coming out for taxes.

“Well, uh…”, she squints at his nametag, “Harry, I think we have a deal.” She smiles and extends her hand for him to shake. He takes it gently and smiles at her. “When can I start?”

“Why don’t you come in this Saturday around 9:30? I can go over everything with you without have to rush. There’s a little kitchen in the back and all that so feel free to leave food here if you feel like packing a lunch or snacks. I also keep a lot of snacks around.”

“Works for me.” She shrugs. “If you’re here until eight most days, what time do you usually open?”

“Around ten, I get here for nine.”

“Those are long days.”

“I don’t mind it, there’s always a lot to do.” It’s quiet between them for a moment.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to it. See you Saturday!” She beams.

“Wait, uh, the door will be locked when you get here, and I can’t just give you a key, barely know you.” He chuckles. “But here.” He grabs a business card and writes his cell phone number on it. “Just text me when you get here, and I’ll let you in.”

“Perfect.” She looks at the card. “Thanks, Mr. Styles.”

“Stick with Harry, we don’t need to be so formal.”

“Alright, thanks, Harry.”

Out the door she goes feeling way better than when she walked in. He wondered how close in age they might be, she had to be around the same age as him, if not only a year or so younger. It would be nice working with someone he could actually talk to. He likes the teenagers, but sometimes he just had no idea what they were talking about.

Saturday morning Y/N isn’t sure what to wear. Harry hadn’t said anything about a uniform, so she decides on a pair of khakis and a black polo to at least look the part of a retail worker. She tucks the shirt in to look professional, and to make sure she looked cute. She puts her hair up in a ponytail, and out the door she goes. She grabs a coffee from the shop across from Harry’s, and takes out her phone to text him.

Y/N: Good morning, Harry! It’s Y/N, I’m outside the shop 😊

She sips her warm drink as she waits for him to appear in the windows. She smiles as she sees him walking up, and he opens the door for her.

“Morning, Y/N.” He smiles, voice still a little gravelly from sleep. It makes her blush.

“Morning.” She nods as she walks in. “Oh…I should have asked you if you wanted a coffee.” She frowns at herself. “I’m sorry.”

“No worries, had mine a little while ago. I should’ve asked you if you wanted anything.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Anyways…”, he looks her up and down, “don’t feel like you need to dress so…well, I should have texted you about attire. Um, you can wear pretty much whatever you want. I just ask if you wear jeans that they’re not ripped, and if you wear leggings make sure you’re bum is covered. You never know what kind of old creeps might be coming in here to steal glances.” She nods at him and follows him behind the register and into the back room. “So this is where I keep reserved costumes. People will call ahead sometimes with their measurements and what they need.” He opens another door that leads into a breakroom. It was small kitchen with a slop sink, decent sized fridge, microwave, blender, toaster, and hot plate on the counters.

“I think you have every appliance known to man.” She laughs.

“Well, I can’t exactly have an oven in here, so I stalked up on other things. There’s some small pots if you feel like having pasta, that’s why I have the hot plate, you just need to remember to unplug it when you’re done. Turns out a lot of clothes are flammable, go figure.” His jokes makes her giggle, and he likes the sound of it. “And then through this door is the office. I have some lockers in here so you can hang your coat up, or put a bag away. Bring a lock if you feel like it, but I promise not to steal your things if you promise not to steal mine.”

“Promise.” She nods. “Where are the bathrooms?”

“In the back of the store along with the dressing rooms. We’ll get there in a moment. Every night I have a cleaning crew come in to make sure everything is spick and span, but accidents happen during the day sometimes so it’s on us to clean that up when it occurs.”

“No problem there. I used to clean the bathrooms at the grocery store all the time. Not my favorite thing to do, but I’m no stranger to it.”

He nods and then leads her back out to the register. He explains how he bookkeeps, and how important it is to save every receipt. Then he takes out what looks like a magazine that explains all of the types of costumes and accessories he keeps. He essentially had the shop on a grid system so everything was easy to find. She would need to learn this so she could properly help the customers. Then he leads her to the back of the store, shows her the dressings rooms and bathrooms, and then to the very back room where all of the storage was.

“Holy shit.” She says to herself. “You could get lost in here.” She swallows.

“You shouldn’t need to come back here too much. I usually have what people need out front, but sometimes you may need to snag some things from here. Mostly shoes.” He takes her back into the main area and into the office so they can sit. “I have cameras just about everywhere. Kids can sometimes pocket the costume jewelry. I have security codes for the doors as well, but I’ll always be here before you, so you won’t ever have to open, or close for that matter.”

“Okay.”

“What’s your class schedule like?”

“I have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and then on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays I go to a middle school for my practicum hours. I’m hoping to become an adjustment counselor, you know, helping students with more serious issues.”

“At the middle school level no less, wow.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Good for you.”

“Thanks.” She smiles.

“You said you had a job at the university too, how do you have the time for that?”

“Oh, I get a stipend as a TA.” She shrugs. “The classes I actually take are online, so I have plenty of time. This is just for the season anyways, so it’s fine.”

“Right.” He opens his desk drawer and slides a nametag towards her. “There you are, no you’re a proper employee.”

“Thank you.” She takes it and puts it on, her tongue slightly peeking out as she does so. “So, how do I get paid? Are you gonna sneak me an envelope every week?” She chuckles.

“That’s the plan, yeah. The pay period will be like Saturday to Saturday, so I’ll pay you on Fridays, sound good?”

“Sounds great! Thank you again. I’ve been budgeting just fine and making things work, but things add up during the holidays: dinners, gifts, parties, all that stuff, and I just wanted to have some extra cushion.”

“I think that’s really smart. It’s nice to see you don’t mind working hard.”

“How did you come to own a costume shop?”

“Worked here as a teenager, so after uni the old man was selling it and he took a chance on me. Been running it for four years now.”

“Shit, you’re really young to be doing all of this.” She looks at him wide eyed. “I still have to call my mom to ask her if I should separate my delicates from the rest of my wash, and here you are…owning and running a business.”

Harry swallows, and nods at her.

“Um, let me show you how the register works, and then we can open up.”

They get up and go back out front. He shows her the prices for everything that he keeps on a laminated sheet of paper. She listens to him intently, nodding along and taking mental notes.

It was a little slow in the beginning, so Harry has Y/N put away some costumes that people left in the dressing rooms. A small rush comes in right at noon, and they work together to get everyone settled.

“No, I wanna be Batman!” Y/N hears a small girl whale out at her father.

“But you’d look so pretty as Cinderella, honey.” He pleads with his daughter.

“Pardon me.” Y/N says. “We have tons of Batman costumes in girls sizes.” She smiles.

“You do?” He asks her.

“Sure! Lots of girls like dressing up like super heroes, and their costumes cover up a lot more, so it’s much more practical. She’ll stay warm and won’t trip over a long dress.” She leads them over to the area. “And she’ll still look plenty cute.”

“Alright.” He sighs with defeat. “Batman it is.”

“Yay!” The little girl exclaims as she snatches a costume off the rack.

Y/N looks over and sees that Harry was watching the interaction. He gives her a thumbs up, and goes back to the register. They take their lunch breaks at different times, and when the end of the day comes she lingers while he checks everything over at his desk.

“You can go, Y/N. Good first day.”

“I…well, this is sort of embarrassing, but I walked here because I live close by, but it’s raining…”

“Oh…you need a ride?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.” Her face flushes. “I can order an uber if you-“

“I don’t mind.” He gives her a soft smile. “Sit on the couch if you like, I’ve got a few things I need to finish up.”

She nods and does as he says. She scrolls through her apps on her phone while she waits for him. She hears him sigh, and he knuckles at his eyes before standing up.

“Alright, let’s go. Where do you live?”

“Just over at The Ledges.”

“No shit? I live there too.”

“Seriously?!” She stands. “Okay, now I don’t feel bad.” She chuckles.

“No need to feel bad regardless.” He puts his coat on, grabs his keys, and they head out. He double checks that the doors are locked, and they make their way to his car. He even opens the door for her. “What building are you in?”

“Five, you?”

“Three. Got a roommate or anything?”

“Yeah, I live with a girl in the same program as me. She’s nice enough, we’re still getting to know each other, but we like a lot of the same movies and music, so it’s been easy to hang out when we have time. What about you?” She tucks some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Got a roommate?”

“Nope.” He says proudly. “Can finally afford to live on my own, which has been nice.”

“Doesn’t that get lonely, though?”

“Not really.” He shrugs. “Most of my time is spent at the shop talking to people all day, so I don’t really mind the quiet once I’m home.”

“Not even a pet to keep you company?”

“I’ve just learned to take care of myself properly, I don’t think I’m quite ready to keep another thing alive.” She laughs at that and it makes him smile.

“You’re really funny, you know that?” He pulls up to her building once he’s turned into the complex. “Thank you so much for the ride, I really appreciate it. I definitely would have caught a cold if I walked in that rain.”

“Anytime, seriously, don’t be afraid to ask.”

She nods and gets out. He makes sure she’s inside before making the turn to his own building.

Harry drove Y/N home most evenings. Her help was the best he’s had in a long time, maybe he could afford to hire her on like a regular employee…only if she wanted. She was personable with the customers, and he noticed she’d pick an accessory to wear during all of her shifts to get into the Halloween spirit. One day it was a tiara and a sash, another day it was cat ears, and another it was devil’s horns. Harry would mostly wear graphic tees with old movie posters on them. She thought it was cute. Y/N noticed how well Harry was with the customers too. The kids adored him, so it seemed.

It really didn’t take much for Y/N to develop a crush on Harry. From the moment she walked into his shop she thought he was handsome, but as she got to know him she realized his personality was just her type. She tried to be sneaky decipher whether he was seeing someone or not. There were no pictures of girls on his desk, other than a family photo of him, his mother, and sister. Harry wore a lot of rings, but nothing that screamed he was in a relationship or married. Surely he would mentioned it by now if he was, right? She even got a glimpse at his lock screen on his phone, and all it was, was a picture of a sunflower.

“Just ask him out, Y/N.” Her roommate, Ronnie, says to her one evening over wine and popcorn as they watch The Addams Family. “What do you have to lose?”

“My job.”

“You’re a seasonal employee. As soon as Halloween hits, you’re done there.”

“Not true, he asked me to stay through November. He has sales throughout November so people can buy costumes at a discount. Also, a ton of people come to get fitted for Santa costumes, so I’ll be there a bit longer than anticipated.” She takes a sip from her glass. “I think that if he liked me he would have made a move.”

“He could be thinking the exact same thing about you! And from what you’ve told me, he seems either too shy or too respectful to do something like that. I mean, you work for him, he wouldn’t want you to think he was harassing you.”

“Hm, I never thought of it like that.” She chews on her bottom lip. “Maybe…maybe I could ask him to dinner one night after work. That wouldn’t be totally weird, would it? He drives me home anyways…”

“I think that’s a great idea. Totally casual, off the cuff.”

“Exactly, like, smooth…cool.” She takes a bite of some popcorn. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Y/N, you wrangle middle school kids for half the week, asking a guy out should be a cakewalk.”

Saturday Y/N decides to wear a sweater dress over some leggings, and goes with a small witch’s hat that’s on a headband to add some flare to her look. Harry had given her a key since he trusted her, so she lets herself in. She goes right to the back to go say hello. Harry was in the kitchen finishing up his coffee.

“Morning.” He says to her.

“Morning.” She takes a deep breath. “Um, do you have plans tonight, like, after work?”

He furrows his brows as he thinks about it, taking one final sip of his coffee before rinsing his mug in the sink.

“Don’t think so, why?” He almost wished he had made something up. It was sort of lame to not have plans on a Saturday night, wasn’t it?

“Well, I was wondering if I could take you to dinner…” His eyes grow wide at her, so she back-peddles. “You know, as a thank you for being so great to me, and driving me home and stuff.”

“You…you don’t have to thank me for anything, Y/N. You’ve been the best temp I’ve ever hired.” He watches as she looks down at her feet. “But, um, dinner sounds good either way.”

“Really?” She perks up as she makes eye contact once again.

“Yeah, where were you thinking?”

“Nowhere special…do you like Mexican? We could go to Chipotle…” It sounded awful leaving her lips, but it was all she could really afford at the moment.

“I love it there, that sounds good.”

“Great.” She smiles and walks over to the coffee maker to pour herself some. She slips around him to get the creamer out of the fridge. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Harry was distracted all day. Y/N rarely wore dresses to work. Had she dressed up in hopes they’d be going out together later that evening. He looks down at himself, and he’s thankful he decided on a black jumper. Was this a date, or was this to be a casual dinner between two people who work together? He really couldn’t be sure. He thought Y/N was insanely attractive, she was lovely inside and out, but he was her boss so that made things a little…sticky for him. She was around the same age as him, so it wouldn’t be weird if they went out, and she was the one to initiate dinner. So it’s not like he was using any sort of position of power over her.

Around lunch time a boy that works at the coffee shop from across the street comes in. Harry greets him, and he says he’s looking for Y/N.

“She’s in the back on her break.” Harry says. “Do you want me to get her?”

“That’d be great.” The boy smiles.

“Hey, Y/N? There’s someone here to see you.”

“Oh?” She swallows the bite of veggie wrap and stands up to see who it is. “Hey, Charlie.” She smiles.

“Hi.” He smiles back at her. “I…I snagged you some of those chocolate chip cookie squares you like so much.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” She comes from around the counter to hug him. “That is so sweet, thank you.”

Harry’s jaw tenses as he tries not to pay attention. He was looking over receipts at the register, but he couldn’t help but be a little nosey.

“No problem.” He hands her the small bag. “Um, I know it’s last minute, but would you wanna catch a movie tonight?”

“Oh, that’s so nice of you to ask, but I actually already have dinner plans tonight, so I can’t.” She gives him a soft smile.

“Alright, another time, maybe?”

“Sure.” She nods, and then he makes his way out. She goes back behind the counter. “Harry, you have to try one of these, they’re so good, nice and chewy. I get them all the time.”

“Clearly.” He reaches into the bag to take one out. “You know, if you wanted to go out with him…you could have…”

“Why would I break our date that I literally just asked you to this morning to go out with someone else?” Ah, so it was a date, he thinks to himself as he bites off a piece of the cookie. “Good, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Charlie’s nice enough, but I don’t like him like that.”

Harry leaves the conversation as that when she goes back to finish her lunch. Did she like him like that? Was that it? Dinner couldn’t come soon enough.

The ride to Chipotle is comfortably quiet, the radio could be heard just over the rumble of the streets. Y/N bumps Harry with her hip when he tries to pay for their food, shoving her card into the chip insert. She told him to go grab a table in a snappy way that made him smirk, but he listened to her regardless. He finds a quieter table for two and sets their things down. She comes over with some napkins and sits down.

“You really didn’t have to pay for me.” He says.

“Try again.”

“Thank you.” He sighs.

“Much better.” She smirks and dives into her burrito bowl. “I see you went with the tacos, those are my second favorite.”

“I love tacos, obsessed with them really. I must make them for dinner twice a week.”

“Really?” She asks with a giggle.

“Only because I usually have leftovers. I try to meal prep and stuff like that.”

“Same here! Every Sunday I go to the market, and cook up a storm when I get back. Then it’s all done, and you don’t have to worry.”

“Exactly.” He smiles and takes a bite of his food. It was a little messy, but she didn’t seem to mind. “So, what made you wanna grab a bite tonight?”

She nearly chokes on her food, and she takes a sip of her water.

“Um…I…well…” She stops talking and just looks at him. “I just thought it might be nice to do something outside of work for a change. It’s nice sharing a meal with someone, you know?”

He nods at her and takes another bite of his food. He asks her questions about school, and how things were going balancing working at a middle school and being a TA. She explains that she’s very organized, so she hasn’t been terribly stressed. She was looking forward to her school’s winter break so she could just work at the middle school and not teach at the same time. They had lost track of time, sitting there for over an hour talking. He drives her to her building, and she lingers in his car for a moment.

“That was fun.” She says to him.

“Yeah…thanks again for paying.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Do…do you have plans on Halloween?”

“Aren’t we doing that trick or treat thing at the shop?”

“That’s the evening before.”

“Oh, right! Here I am telling you I’m organized and I can’t get my days straight.” She takes her phone out to look at her calendar. “I think Ronnie and I were planning to put a bowl of candy out in the hallway and watch movies…why?”

“Well, I have a party to go to…my mate Niall throws a Halloween party every year…would you like to come with me?”

Her eyes widen, and he feels like he’s made a mistake. Had he misinterpreted everything?

“That’s only a week away, where on earth am I going to get a costume on such short notice?” She looks at him seriously, and then she laughs.

“Good fucking thing I own a costume shop, or you’d be shit out of luck.” He laughs. “Is that a yes, then?”

“Yeah.” She smiles and leans over the console to give him a peck on the cheek. “See you Monday.” She gets out of the car, tummy full of butterflies, and goes inside her building.

Ronnie was thrilled for Y/N’s upcoming date, and didn’t mind her breaking her roommate date at all. When Monday rolls around, Y/N can’t wait to see Harry. He was running around when she got in, and he basically yelled at her to get busy. He texted her Sunday night to warn her that the week of Halloween was usually wild with last minute costume buyers. The two of them run around, and don’t close up until nearly nine.

“I can come in tomorrow and Thursday if you need me to.” She tells him as they walk to his car.

“I don’t want you to be stressed out.”

“I won’t be! I’ll be stressed knowing you’re doing all of that alone. Please, you don’t even need to pay me.”

“Y/N.” He chuckles as he drives her home. “Don’t be silly, I’ll pay you. You can come in if you need the extra hours.”

“Alright.” She nods. “Have you already decided on your costume?”

“I think while we’re at the store it would be fun to dress up as a witches?”

“Definitely, and for the party?”

“You…you wanna dress as a pair for that?”

“Well, we’re going as a pair, so I thought that would be fun…but we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Okay.” He pulls up to her building and he turns to face her. “Niall’s dressing like Barney from the Flintstone’s and his girlfriend is gonna dress up like Betty, so I was wondering how you’d feel if we dressed like Fred and Wilma…”

“Do you have those costumes at the shop?”

“Yeah, in the back.”

“That sounds like a great idea.”

“Really? Not too cliché?”

“Not at all, I think it could be fun.”

“Great, I can pull everything out for you tomorrow, and you can tell me how it all fits.”

It was a busy week, but worth it to see all of the little kids come by the shop. Y/N and Harry made quite the pair of witches. He had invited her back to his place for a movie after everything was all said and done. Tomorrow would be another busy day with the really last minute people, but he wasn’t worried about it.

“Right, so, make yourself at home. I’m just gonna get us some snacks. Can I get you anything to drink?” He says to her as he leads her inside his flat. “I’ve got water, soda, seltzer water…”

“Anything with alcohol in it?” She chuckles. “Long week, you know?”

“Oh, sure! I’ve got these pumpkin ciders you might like, they’re really good.”

“Sounds perfect. Do you need help with anything?”

“No, go sit.” He smiles, and she goes to make herself comfortable on his couch.

Her eyes scan over his living area, it was nicely decorated. He had some decals in the windows for Halloween, little black cats and pumpkins, it was cute. He comes in shortly with some cheese and crackers, and a couple of ciders.

“I threw some pizza rolls into the oven, thought this could hold us over for now.” He says as he sits.

“Good thinking, thank you. This is a nice place, just a one bedroom?”

“Mhm.” He smiles. “I like living here a lot, it’s the perfect location if I need to get to the shop quick.” They each take a sip of the cider as he grabs the TV remote. “You like it?”

“Yeah! It’s delicious. So, what are we watching?”

“How do you feel about Beetlejoice?”

“It’s one of my all-time favorites.”

“Thank god.” He says with relief. “It’s one of my favorites too. I don’t love super scary movies, but ones like these are fun.”

“I’m the same way. I don’t get that thrill other people do from being scared.”

He queues up the movie and presses play. She takes her sneakers off so she can sit with her feet under her, and he likes that she’s able to get so comfortable. He hears the ding from his oven timer and goes to retrieve the pizza rolls.

“They’re really hot, gotta let them sit. I don’t want you to bun yourself.” He grabs the blanket from the back of the couch. “Here, you look cold.” She smiles and takes the blanket from him, draping it over her legs. “Let me know when you want a refill too.”

“I will, thank you, Harry.”

He sits back on the couch and pops a cracker into his mouth. This was normal behavior him. He often doted on her in the shop. If she fell asleep at the table during her lunch break she’d miraculously wake up on the couch in the office, or with a blanket draped over her shoulders and the lights dimmed. He knew how tired she had to be, working so much. She didn’t mind it one bit. She was used to taking care of herself, it was sort of nice to let someone else take a turn.

“We can share if you want.” She speaks up as she sees him cross his arms over his body. “If you’re cold too.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s your blanket.” She chuckles, and places some of it over his legs. “There, all cozy.”

They devour the pizza rolls, and drink three cider’s each during the movie. They laugh at the funny parts, and are quiet during the more serious parts. She looks away a couple of times, and even squeezes his hand during one of the scarier scenes. They didn’t touch other than that, though. He didn’t want to make things awkward before the party.

“Oh, I love this part at the end with the football team.” She giggles and finishes her last drink. “I’m really glad we did this tonight.” She turns her body to look at him.

“Me too.” He stands up, and starts cleaning everything up. She follows him into the kitchen with the empty cans. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind.” She tosses them in the recycling bin he has next to the trash.

“I can walk you home if you want.”

“That’s okay, I think I can make it.”

“I really don’t mind.”

“Don’t be silly, Harry.”

“Will you…at least text me when you get back?”

“Sure.” She nods and gets her shoes and jacket on. He walks her to his door with his hands in his pockets.

“I can pick you up before work tomorrow if you like.”

“That I’ll definitely take you up on. It’s gonna be cold tomorrow, I think.” She throws her arms around him and kisses his cheek quickly. “Thanks for a nice night.”

“Bye.”

He sighs as she leaves, and sighs heavier as she makes her way out of the building. She gets inside her own flat and tells Ronnie everything.

“Shit! I forgot to text him!”

Y/N: so sorry, I got in like 10 min ago

Harry: no worries, glad you got in safe

Y/N: thanks again for a really nice night…you’re fun to watch movies with

Harry: you’re welcome, and so are you

“God, why does he have to be so sweet?”

“So, he really didn’t make any moves?”

“No.” She sighs. “We shared a blanket, but that was about it, and I was too nervous to do more than to touch his hand a couple of times.” She groans and sits down on the couch with a huff. “Like…are we dating? Just friends? I’d love to know.”

“You should ask him.”

“You can’t just ask that sort of thing!”

“Why not?!”

“Because it’s awkward. Ugh, I just had to go work for someone like him. Why couldn’t it have been some old lady?”

The work day goes by like normal. Y/N uses ladies room to get into her Wilma costume. Harry had given her an orange wig for the hair, and she got it up into a decent enough bun. The dress was really cute on her figure, and she felt good about it. She’d be cold, but only for the couple of minutes she’d be outside. Harry was waiting for her in the main area with his Fred costume. He was not wearing a wig.

“I’m pretty sure Fred Flinstone has black hair.” She runs a hand through his curls and his face flushes. “But I suppose this will do.”

“You look great, Y/N.”

“You think so?” She does an innocent twirl. “Not too skimpy?”

“Not at all.” He smiles.

They drive to Niall’s, and Y/N is welcome with open arms from the second they walk in. Everyone at the party had great costumes, and she was happy her and Harry went all out. There was music playing, plenty of snacks and drinks, and even a few games. People were playing beer-pong in the kitchen, others were playing some card games. There were some people dancing in the living area. Y/N wondered if some other grad students were mixed into the bunch.

“Want something to drink?” Harry asks her and she nods yes. He takes her by the hand and leads her to the drink cart in the kitchen. He looks at her with raised eyebrows.

“Vodka tonic, please.”

“Coming right up.” He makes two drinks, and hands her one. “Let me know if It’s too strong.”

“Mm.” She takes a sip. “It’s perfect.”

Much to her surprise, Harry keeps an arm around her shoulders for most of the night as they mingled with his friends. It was loose around her, but he was making it pretty clear to anyone else looking at them that she was spoken for. They didn’t drink too much, enough to have a healthy buzz, but not so much that Harry wouldn’t be able to drive later.

“Are you having fun?” He says into her ear. She looks up at him and nods yes. He smiles and goes back to the conversation he was having with Niall.

Y/N liked Harry’s friends. They were all really nice, and did their best to include her in the chit chat. It was a fun night. A little after midnight they decide to call it quits, and head out. Y/N takes the wig off and shakes her hair out the second they’re in the car.

“Man, that thing was itchy.” She runs a hand through her hair and looks at him. “What?” He was already looking at her.

“You’re…you’re just so…” He reaches for her and cups her cheeks in his large hands. They were barely an inch apart, and she could feel his breath fanning over her face. “I really want to kiss you.”

“Please.” She nods slightly, and then he does it.

His lips slot between hers, and her eyes flutter closed. His lips were soft, and he tasted like the mint from the gum he was chewing. Her hands move to the collar of his costume and she tugs him closer to her. He pulls away just as she was opening her mouth a little more, her lips moving towards him. His forehead presses to her.

“Fuck, I…I’ve wanted to do that since the day you walked into the shop, but-“

“Do you wanna go back to my place?”

He nods yes, and throws the car in drive, speeding to their complex. His hand rests on her thigh, squeezing it occasionally, reminding her that he was there and this was happening. He parks in one of the free spaces in front of her building, and gets out of the car. He jogs around the other side and opens her door for her. The air was cold, but the heat radiating between the two of them was scorching. He helps her out of the car, and his lips are on hers again. They shuffle to the main entrance, and she keys in. He’s about to push her up against the wall, but she pushes on his chest.

“Cameras.” She says against his lips, and she tugs him down the hall, and to the elevator.

He keeps his hands to himself while in the elevator, unsure of more cameras, but when she gets them to her door he puts his hands on her shoulders as he stands behind her.

“Is Ronnie home?” He whispers in her ear and goosebumps raise on her skin.

“N-no, she decided to visit some friends for the weekend.”

She keys into the apartment, and she just barely gets the door closed when she’s being pushed up against the wall. If she had the strength to pick him up and carry him to her room she would, but she can’t, so she just tugs on him to move further into the flat. His lips felt so good on hers, and she sucks his bottom lip into her mouth, causing him to groan against her. She finally gets him in her room, and she pushes him back onto her bed. She straddles him immediately, and his hands squeeze at her hips.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” He asks as he looks up at her. “It’s not too fast?”

“Consider it third date sex, I’m good with it if you are.” She reaches for the hem of her dress and lifts it off herself, revealing a white lace set of underwear. His hands slide up and down her sides.

“Third date, huh?” He smirks.

She leans down to kiss him.

“Chipotle.” Her teeth tug at his bottom lip and she lets it snap back. “The movie last night.” She sucks a mark into his neck, just under his earlobe. “And tonight.” She sits back up. “So, no, I don’t think this is too fast, do you?”

“No.”

He flips her over onto her back, and she giggles as he works to get his costume off. He hovers over her, and kisses down her neck. He mouths over her covered nipples and sucks on her through the fabric. Her hips buck up towards him as he continues working his way down her body. Her heart was about ready to beat out of her chest.

“Wh-what are you doing?” She asks just as his lips go right below her belly button.

“Uh…I was going to take your underwear off, if that’s alright.”

“And then what?”

“I’d love to have a taste of you, if you let me.”

“You really wanna do that? It…it doesn’t gross you out?”

“What’s gross about it?” He smirks. “This right here?” He cups her mound and she whimpers. “One of the greatest wonders of the world. So, can I?”

“Yes.”

He hooks his fingers into her panties, and he tugs them down her legs. He kisses on her hips as he opens her legs. He sucks on each of her lips before licking up her slit. He swirls his tongue around her clit, which was positively throbbing for him. He wraps her lips around the small bud and sucks. Her mouth falls open and her hands fly to his hair.

“Oh, fuck.” She moans.

He moans against her, and it just makes her pool between her legs even more him. He was really enjoying this, which was making her enjoy it even more than usual. It was usually a force with guys her age, but Harry had no problem with it. If she didn’t want to suck his dick before, she definitely did now.

Harry removes his mouth from, only for a moment, to suck his middle and ring fingers into his mouth. He slides them through her folds, and then carefully slips them inside her center. She gasps from the stretch at first, and then she feels like she’s melting into the bed. His mouth goes back to her clit while his fingers curl up inside her to pet against her front wall. Her hips start moving along with the rhythm of his fingers, chasing her release.

“Shit, Harry, ngh.” She was panting now.

Her legs move over his shoulders and her heels dig into his back. He groans against her as she falls apart underneath him. He works her through it, giving her clit slow licks as he pulls his fingers from her. He sucks his fingers into his mouth. They make eye contact, briefly, before she’s pinning him down, and she’s yanking his boxers off. Her eyes widen when she sees his length slap back against his lower tummy. She pecks his lips before getting situated between his legs.

Y/N licks up the underside of his hard length, and his head falls back. Her mouth wraps around his tip and she suckles on it before popping off. She spits into her hand and wraps it around him to pump him slowly. She cradles his balls and moves to suck and lick gently on them.

“Oh, dear god.” He moans. “Y/N, I’ll come if you keep doing that.”

“Do you wanna just fuck now? Wanna fuck me, Harry?” She pouts at him.

He was surprised by her. He nods at her, and she smirks at him. She gets up and takes her bra off while she walks into her bathroom to grab a condom. She tosses it to him as she knees back onto the bed. He rips it open and rolls it on, and he gets back on top of her. He rolls the head of his cock between her folds and around her clit before pushing inside her.

“Still sure? I can stop.”

“No, please, I want it, Harry.”

He smiles and continues to push inside her. She grits her teeth at the feeling. Once he’s all the way in he gives her a moment before slowly pulling back out. He sinks back inside her, and that’s when it starts to feel good. She was nice and tight around him, not that he really cared. He knew it would feel good because he liked her so much. He did wonder, though, when the last time someone had the privilege to stretch her out like this.

“You feel so fucking good.” He says and leans down to suck on her bottom lip. His hands move to knead her breasts, and she moans.

She wraps her legs around his waist to pull him even closer. She just want him to smother her. She moves her hips up to rock along with his, and she gasps when she feels him hit her g-spot.

“Fuck, just like that, don’t stop.”

“Yeah? Like that?”

“Fuck, Harry, yeah, keep going.”

He had per panting again, and her nails were scratching down his back. It felt good, though, to feel her just about breaking his skin because he’s making her feel so good. Her back arches off the bed as she comes undone again, and he presses hard inside her so she can really feel it. She thought maybe he had come too since he was pulling out, but he grips her hips and flips her onto her stomach. He pulls her back, spreads her apart, and pushes back inside her.

“Oh!” She gasps.

“This okay?” He grunts.

“More than okay, fuck.” She pushes back against him and he nearly chuckles.

Quick, deep strokes were entering her. Her bed was shaking, and her cheeks were straight up getting clapped. It was such a breath of fresh air to be with man who knew what to do with it. He grips the back of her neck to steady himself as his thrusts get sloppy.

“I’m gonna come.” He groans. “Shit, I’m gonna-“ He moans out as he spills into the condom.

He was so vocal, and she really liked that. He pulls out of her slowly, and takes the condom off.

“Trash is over there.” She breathes and points towards her desk. He nods and gets up to dispose of it. She gets up and waddles into her bathroom to use her toilet. When she comes back out he’s getting his boxers back on. “You, um, don’t need to leave if you don’t want to.”

“Normally I’d stay, but…” He runs a hand through his hair. “Sort of embarrassing to walk back tomorrow morning as Fred Flinstone.” He smirks.

“Right.” She nods as she throws on a bed shirt, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable.

“But I could stay a little longer, lay with you a bit.”

“I don’t want you to be upset if you fall asleep.”

“I won’t be…suppose it would be funny.” He comes over to her and gives her a kiss on the forehead before going into her bathroom.

He gets into bed with once he’s done, and she snuggles up to his side, laying her head on his chest. Her fingers trace around his various tattoos. He rubs her back, and it lulls her to sleep.

The next morning she wakes up to an empty bed. Where he was laying wasn’t even warm so he must have left soon after she fell asleep. She sighs and takes a shower, washing her night away. She checks her phone, and smiles, all worry leaving her body.

Harry: slipped out after you fell asleep, hope you don’t think I’m one of those guys…I had a lot of fun, talk at work Monday?

Y/N: definitely don’t think you’re one of those guys…now lol yeah, let’s talk Monday

She sighs and sits at her desk to get some grading done. Or she was hopeful to get work done. The ache between her legs was proving to be pretty distracting.

Y/N takes a deep breath before walking into the shop Monday afternoon. There were plenty of customers buying discounted costumes, so Harry’s only able to smile at her as she slips into the backroom to hang her coat up.

“I guess…do you think he’ll still like this in a year?” The woman asks Harry.

“I’m not gonna like to you, he easily couldn’t, but if I know kids, they like to have options. If he ends up having a couple of parties to go to, he won’t want to wear the same costume to each event.”

“That’s true…alright, you’ve sold me, Harry.”

“Excellent! I’ll you ring you up.”

Y/N brushes behind Harry as he works the register. The whole evening was busy, so when he’s finally able to put the closed sign up, he’s relieved to see her sitting standing in the office.

“Hey.” He says to her.

“Hi.” She blushes.

His hands grip her hips and he effortlessly lifts her up onto the desk. He presses his forehead to hers.

“Y/N, I know we’ve become close, but I’ve been feeling conflicted because I’m also your boss, and the last thing I wanna do is take advantage of the situation.”

“Hey.” She says, cupping his cheeks so he’ll look at her. “We weren’t even at work…everything we’ve done has been outside of this place. You didn’t do anything wrong. Do you regret the other night?”

“No, not at all.” His hands rest on her thighs as he stands between her legs. He tucks some hair behind her ear. “I just don’t really know what to do here.”

“Well, it’s not like I’ll be working here much longer, just until the end of November, right?”

“Right.”

“So…do you wanna, like, keep dating? Going out and stuff?”

“I’d really like that. I want us to keep getting to know each other. I wish I had stayed the whole night the other night. I felt like such a dick for leaving.”

“Don’t, it’s fine. I would have done the same thing.” She smiles and then bites her bottom lip. “Besides, you’ll have plenty of other opportunities to sleepover.”

“I will?” He smiles.

She nods and he leans in to kiss her. Harry was a simple guy who owned a costume shop, and thanks to the girl in grad school he hired for the season, he made it through Halloween yet again. This time, instead of celebrating his profits with Niall down at the pub, he was kissing the very same girl that took his breath away when she walked in.

#harry styles #costumes galore #harry styles fic #harry styles ficrec #harry styles imagine #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles y/n #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #friends to lovers #storeowner!harry

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accioecho · 3 years

Text

Tkem novel 15

Chapter 1 (novel 2) - Today is more precious than forever.

The two of them stood in the empty field side by side, both gazing at the sun setting down far into the distance. This place they were at was Song Jeong-Hye’s— Lee Ji-Hun’s biological mom, last known address.

“This made me confirm two things. One, Song Jeong-Hye is with Lee Lim. Two, even though it’s work, it’s nice to go somewhere far with you. Wherever it is.” Gon replied, his gaze still fixed at the horizon. He didn’t look at all disappointed. As a matter of fact, he had expected this outcome.

“Do you get tutored to learn phrases like that?” Tae-Eul asked.

“You might be surprised, but I taught myself.”

Tae-Eul let out a small chuckle. “This is why everyone…” Realizing what she was about to say, Tae-Eul abruptly froze, leaving her words hanging.

“Everyone commits treason?” Gon added, a playful expression adorning his face.

Stunned, Tae-Eul lightly hit his back. “Are you mad?”

“Do you think this is okay?”

“I mean, this is why everyone in the palace loves you. You know how to joke in difficult situations. We should’ve skipped more things. We don’t have much time. That’s what I was thinking.”

[NB: Netflix’s English subtitles actually say: “We should’ve gotten here sooner” - but the book says “We should’ve skipped more things. Subtle difference!]

The first time they met, he had enveloped her in his arms. Before she even knew him, he had proposed to her. A fleeting, bewildering moment in time.

But time flowed differently now.

“You thought of a lot of things in a short time.”

“Why would you make such a joke?” Tae-Eul mumbled, looking forlorn.

“It’s a joke only I can make. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d be so startled.” He apologized.

“I don’t know how to comfort you. There’s a person I like, but his past is so dramatic. How can his family history consist of treason.” Tae-Eul’s heart ached.

Gon couldn’t help but be happy at seeing her so concerned. There were a lot of things in his life that made his heart ache, but someone hitting his back like this was a first. This was the first time he liked someone so much as well.

She looked adorable.

Tae-Eul’s lips formed into a small pout when she saw Gon’s slight smile.

“I guess you were troubled since Song Jeong-Hye would have the face of my mother, right?” Gon stared intently into Tae-Eul’s round, clear gaze.

“I thought that maybe you’d want to see her.”

“Not at all. Like how Yeong and Eun-Sup are different, this person is not my mother either. The face is just a symbol of a person.”

“Then let me ask one thing. How do you go back and forth between the two worlds? Both you and Lee Lim.”

“I’ve answered all your questions until now, and I will continue to do so. Except for that question you asked.”

“All right. Then is it true that it’s your first time dating?”

Tae-Eul’s second question caught him off guard. Feigning ignorance, Gon turned on his heels and started toward their parked car.

“That’s an exception too. Shall we go now? It’s suddenly cold, right?”

“We say that men should always keep their word. Don’t you have the same saying in your world?”

“Oh, do you say that here?”

Tae-Eul quickly caught up to him and blocked his path. Trying hard to hide his laughter, Gon looked down at her. He wondered how someone scowling at him like this could be so positively lovely.

Curiosity still piqued, Tae-Eul went on with her interrogation.

“Who’s the girl you made steak and rice for?”

“I thought you had one question.”

“You didn’t even answer one.”

“I attended the Naval Academy. You’re the only woman in my life.

As they walked facing each other, the wind picked up making their hair flutter wildly. Their minds mirroring each other. Together. Lightly making their way forward.

“You have quite a wit.”

Right then, Tae-Eul who was walking backwards stumbled on a rock and lost her equilibrium. Gon caught her by the waist.

“I see that you don’t.”

“You looked good in the Navy uniform.”

Tae-Eul grabbed Gon’s hand. Soon, they resumed their walk side by side, holding hands.

“Why are we holding hands?”

“Did you make steak and rice for Seo-Ryeong too? You didn’t prepare the rice in that uniform, did you?”

Gon burst out laughing at Tae-Eul’s continuous questioning. It didn’t seem to matter that he kept repeating that there was her and only her in his life.

“I rinsed the rice and then put on the uniform.” Gon replied teasingly.

“And what did you say? You put it on ‘at the most honorable moment’?”

“It’s true. The moment I propose to the love of my life for example.”

“You didn’t wear it for me.”

“I couldn’t. I was in a hurry. It’s the best thing I’ve done since coming to this world. I’m waiting for your answer and the story I said earlier was a joke.”

“You call that a proposal? You never asked me to be your queen. You just told me to do it.”

“So what’s your answer? Will you do it?” Gon’s eyes grew serious.

He was being sincere. Tae-Eul knew it, too. Gon closed the distance between them, pulling her tightly against him. Tae-Eul didn’t try to push him away. She burrowed closer, pressing her face against his chest. His embraces felt familiar and warm now. Like she was coming home. She wanted this moment to last forever, a safe cocoon where time stood still.

“Will you do it?”

“If I say no, will I never see you again?”

Would Tae-Eul know that Gon’s heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second there? She probably wouldn’t. Slightly hurt, Gon looked down at her with a piercing gaze.

“So it’s a no?”

“Not today.”

What did it mean?

“I’ve been thinking. I’m just going to live for today and not think about anything else. As if today is the only ordinary day where we’re allowed to be scandalous. That’s what we should do. Let’s do that.”

“… In moments like this, couples pledge their eternal love. But we’ll only live for today?”

Tae-Eul wanted forever too. She wanted to live happily ever, in the safety and warmth of his arms.

If only their universes were one.

But that was just wishful thinking.

“That’s right. There’s no tomorrow for us. That’s why I’m hoping today is a long day.” Trying her best to ignore Gon’s tormented look, Tae-Eul grabbed his hands again. “This is why I’m holding your hand. Because we’ll only live today.”

They both wished this road would never end.

#the king eternal monarch #tkem #lee min ho #kim go eun #lee gon #jeong tae eul #tkem novels #apologies for the late update #I was on a Gangnam Blues kick #also a friend recently introduced me to Ji Chang Wook #have you guys seen his face?#because dear Lord in heaven #Korea really nailed down the secret to taking over the world #samsung and LG? Nah #let’s export hot dudes and hot ladies through kdramas #(also kpop)

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maliby · 4 years

Text

When The Night Comes | CH. 3

↬ Pairing: Jimin x Reader | Taehyung x Reader

↬ Story Genre: smut, angst, vampire!au

↬ Warnings in this chapter: blood, explicit language, smut

↬ Word count: 4.9K

↬ Summary: Your school has two courses: the day course, and the night course. Rules say that it’s strictly forbidden for both courses to interact but can you really follow the rules when you see the same eyes that have been showing up in your dreams for months on a mysterious hot guy from the night course?

A/N: tag list below, if you want to be tagged feel free to ask <3

“Wake up,” you jolted up from your fortress of blankets to an alluring voice whispering on your left ear.

“Who’s there?” you asked looking around the dark room. Your sleepy eyes were having trouble focusing but nonetheless you were able to see a dark figure right in front of you which made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“Don’t be scared, it’s just me,” you immediately screamed as your eyes adjusted to the darkness and spotted the red eyes and hair of your intruder.

“Don’t worry love, I’m not going to hurt you.” Taehyung came closer to you, his hand reaching for your cheek to caress it. “I could never hurt you...that is, of course, unless you ask for it.”

His evil smirk made your instincts kick in and make you want to get away from him, but your body wasn’t giving in. It was like it wanted nothing more than to receive his affection and the danger that came along with him.

Suddenly, you remembered your roommate Yujin was sleeping in the same room as you and couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread coming over you at the potential hazard that would arise if she woke up and saw Taehyung.

“Y-yujin,” you pointed out.

“Don’t worry love, I concealed us from her. She won’t hear or see a thing…” And then his lips were on your neck, kissing and sucking as tiny moans left your mouth.

You should be getting away, you should be screaming, you should be pushing him away, but you wouldn’t. This man had deceived you so you could give him your blood, he had lied to you and tricked you, he was dangerous and yet you couldn’t help but get wet by his touch and you hated yourself for it.

“Why can’t I say no to you? Stop using your supernatural powers on me,” you said, trying to come up with an explanation as to why you couldn’t stop him.

“You think I’m using my powers on you love? I’m offended,” he chuckled. “You better believe that when I have a girl it’s because she wants me to have her, and you…” his hand travelled down your body and entered your pyjama pants and underwear, massaging your lips and clit, “are dying to have me inside you.”

“Fuck,” your hand reached for his arm as a reflex, not really expecting to find such toned biceps underneath his studded leather jacket.

“Am I making you curse now? I love corrupting good girls…” his nose was moving through your neck as he inhaled deeply, probably getting a good whiff off his meal. Soon, his sharp fangs were scrapping through your neck. It seemed like every move of his was made with the intention of luring you into his web of seduction - he started at the nape of your neck, slowly going up, probably leaving red streaks on your neck, as his finger smoothly glided from your entrance all the way up to your clit. It was like it was designed to make you fall, the climax being when he bit your lower lip with one of his fangs and entered you with his 2 long digits.

“Oh my-”

“Scream it louder love, he can’t hear you,” his fingers started pumping into you faster as if encouraging you to let go.

“Fuck yes,” you screamed, your brain not registering what he meant by ‘he’. Was it Jimin?

“I love the way your tight little pussy is clenching around my fingers,” his velvety voice was like fuel to the fire, rilling you up even more. “I can just imagine how good it must feel to have you squeezing around my cock.”

When you thought it couldn’t get any better, Taehyung’s other fingers reached your clit and started rubbing circles on it, making you go completely wild.

“Mmmm,” you moaned through your shut lips, trying hard not to make a noise. Yujin couldn’t hear you, but that didn’t mean the people in the other rooms also couldn’t.

“Scream my name for me love and I’ll let you cum.”

You couldn’t think about what was happening anymore. You couldn’t think about the fact that this vampire was here in your room after he had tricked you. You couldn’t think about all of the dangers. All you could think about was that you wanted to cream his fucking fingers and scream his name. “Taehyung…”

“That’s it love, let them all hear. Let him hear.”

You were in a trance, his smooth voice and long fingers guiding you to your sweet release. You could feel it building up. You could feel your walls clenching tight, ready to let go, but just as you were about to cum you woke up.

You frantically got up and looked around the room - only Yujin was there. You sighed. It was just a dream.

Being aware of your current state of arousal you couldn’t help but hide your face in your hands - the freshly healed cut on your hand throbbing in unison with your pussy. You plonked back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Was this your life now? Dreaming about hot vampire boys? You wouldn’t mind if it was a harmless sex dream, but seeing as the protagonist of that dream had, just the night before, tricked you into giving him your blood just so he could track you things were a little different.

You looked outside the window that stood on the opposite wall of where the beds were and noticed the absence of the silver moon in the sky. You sighed. You hated when it was the new moon. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but you felt like it had to do with the fact that everything felt much darker.

Your mind reverted back to Jimin. Why was he so pissed that Taehyung had drunk your blood? You were glad that he was worried about you but the fact was that he barely knows you. Why was a vampire so worried about the fact that another vampire has fed on someone? He didn’t seem to mind the affairs going on in the hangout place of the nightwing, so why was he so worried about you?

Your thoughts started to subside and soon sleep started to take over you. As the leaves of the trees outside danced around in the wind, your eyes started to close shut. You nuzzled your cheek on your pillow and sunk under, oblivious to the pair of silver eyes watching over you in the trees.

------------------ 1 week later -------------------

You read the text your friend Lisa had sent you out loud so your roommate Yujin could hear it.

Lisa McGuire

Get to the cafeteria now!!! You won’t believe what happened!

When it came to getting ready, you and Yujin were one and the same - you were always late. You both liked to take your time doing things, especially in the shower. Since you were getting ready to have breakfast and not to go straight to class you both felt in less of a rush, but your friend’s message surely intrigued both of you.

“What could it be?” Your friend asked as she quickly applied mascara to her already long lashes.

“Knowing Lisa? It’s probably about a boy.” You finished brushing your hair and placed down the brush, now being fully ready.

“You think she’s already over that Chanyeol boy she hooked up with last week or she secretly sneaked into the nightwing to have sex with him?” Yujin placed her mascara back in her little cup and made her way to her bed so she could pick up her bag and join you.

“I truly don’t know…” You hoped it wasn’t the latter. Chanyeol was Taehyung’s friend, and if he helped him pull his little stunt where he ‘made you’ give him his blood then he was just as bad as the vampire with the red hair.

When you and your roommate spotted your group of friends in the cafeteria you felt your whole world shake. They had company, someone that was currently biting Lisa’s earlobe making her giggle. Someone that made your blood freeze over.

“Oh my god-” Yujin interjected.

”Lisa!” You called in a volume way louder than your normal register, getting the attention of everyone around you, including all of your friends.

“Y/N! Yujin! Look, it’s Chanyeol!” She happily pointed at the boy sitting next to her with a huge grin. Just the look on his face was making you physically sick.

“What is he doing here?! Isn’t he from the night course?” You tried not to sound too angry, but you just couldn’t help it.

“A portion of the night course moved to the day course and Chanyeol was picked!” If she noticed the level of aggression in your tone she didn’t let it show, being really excited about the boy with the silver hair’s presence.

After registering her words you looked around the cafeteria and noticed several people wearing the characteristic navy blue uniform of the night course - dread soon took over your whole body. If Chanyeol was here then...was Taehyung also here?

“He didn’t come,” the man with the deep voice said as if reading your mind. You turned your head back to your own group and couldn’t help but feel the creeps at the smirk he had on his face.

“Who’s he? And...you know each other? Y/N you never told me!” Lisa looked between the two of you all confused. She was probably upset that you had pretended like you didn’t know him all the times she gushed about him.

“We met through a mutual friend.” Chanyeol broke eye contact with you to look back at Lisa, but you couldn’t stop looking at him. You needed answers on what the hell was going on and you needed them now.

“Oh my god! Is it the mysterious hot guy?” Lisa interrogated her crush before she turned back to you. “Y/N you didn’t tell us you finally got together with him!”

“Mysterious hot g-”

“Yes!” You interrupted Chanyeol before he could question Lisa further. You couldn’t have them know about Taehyung, it was way too dangerous. “I was with him at the Halloween party.” Technically you weren’t lying, you were with Jimin at the Halloween party.

“Oh my god! And you kept that a secret?! What happened?” Eunbin who was currently spreading strawberry jam on her toast asked.

“I-” You were struggling with what to say, especially because Chanyeol was right in front of you. You looked straight at him and quickly got annoyed - he was enjoying this. He certainly was Taehyung’s friend.

“Good morning,” a voice you recognized perfectly said from behind you, saving you from this embarrassing moment - it was Jimin. Your eyes, that were looking straight at Chanyeol, noticed how he immediately changed demeanour, the smug on his face disappearing and his head hanging low as if he was submitting. Weird, you thought.

You turned around and there he was. His dark hair softly hanging across his features, his (now) brown eyes that you knew oh so well looking straight at you, his soft plump lips making your heart skip a beat, and the way his navy blue uniform hugged his lean and fit body making your thighs squeeze harder. You know he noticed the way you were ogling him up and down because his soft neutral expression quickly turned into a teasing one, a little chuckle leaving his perfect set of lips.

“I’m sorry to take you from your friends but, would you mind having breakfast with me today? I’d really like to talk to you.”

The way all of your friends gasped at his request made you embarrassed beyond belief, but the worst was when Lisa decided to respond instead of you. “Of course she will!”

You turned to your friend to give her a menacing look that failed to intimidate her, a wink being all you got in response. You glanced over at Chanyeol and his eyes were still on his lap, making you question their dynamics. You wondered for a second if you should ask Jimin about it but then you remembered that he was still waiting for your response.

“Sure,” you ignored your friend’s excited faces and joined Jimin, being terrified to look back for just a second.

“Find a table, I’ll just go and get my breakfast and then I’ll join you,” you turned to leave, but the cold hand he placed around your arm stopped you.

“No need, I got it for you,” he lifted up his tray filled with food making your eyes double in size at all the food he had there. “I didn’t know what you liked so I got a bit of everything.”

“Oh,” you interjected feeling touched at his gesture. “You didn’t have to.”

“No, I didn’t. But I wanted to.”

You two stayed silent for a moment, a blush creeping up on your cheeks until Jimin found an empty table and signalled you to sit down.

You were feeling kind of nervous if you were being honest. You hadn’t heard anything from Jimin since the incident at the Halloween party. He had taken you back to your room but had said little to no words, making you think he was somehow angry at you. But the fact that he was being so nice right now kind of calmed you down.

Looking down at the tray of food you noticed your usual Oreos were missing. But, as the number 1 Oreo fan, you always carried a little package with you, so you reached for your bag and picked up the package so you can dip the cookies in your milk.

Jimin chuckled. “I didn’t realize I was having breakfast with a child. I’m sorry, I’ll get your cookies next time,” he joked.

“Hey! It’s really good okay? Don’t judge me,” you stuffed your mouth with the first Oreo dipped in milk and hummed in approval, Jimin finding your behaviour amusing.

He lifted up his hands in defence and apologized. “I’m sorry, I promise not to make fun of the Cookie Monster anymore!”

You laughed, choking up on the Oreo a bit.

The mood between you and Jimin had never been this light before, a form of tension always being present, but you must admit that you really enjoyed it. Then your mind went back to that Halloween party again and the tension grew once more.

“I’m sorry,” you picked up another oreo and dipped it in your glass of milk, avoiding his gaze.

“For what?” You could tell from his tone of voice that he was confused at your sudden apology.

“For giving my blood to Taehyung…”

You weren’t looking at his face but you saw him clench his fists, giving you a strange feeling in your chest.

“It’s not your fault. I should have been there to protect you.” You looked up at him in shock, but he averted your gaze, looking away into nothingness. It was as if he was being transported to that moment, his jaw locked tight. Why was he blaming himself?

“Jimin, you couldn’t have known…” You cleaned your fingers on your napkin and placed your hand on top of his cold one, immediately feeling something similar to a spike of electricity running through the skin that was in contact with him.

He didn’t answer.

Jimin’s eyes locked with yours for an instant, and as much as you tried to decipher his emotions you couldn’t.

“So,” you removed your hand from on top of his and picked up another Oreo, getting ready to dunk it in your glass of milk, “why did people from the night course change to the day course?” You asked, trying to change the subject and lighten up the mood again.

“The director liked how well the Halloween party went and how the students from both courses seemed to get along, so he came up with this little one-way exchange program.”

You didn’t know why but you had a feeling Jimin wasn’t telling you the truth. Not only did his answer seem rehearsed but the university had been structured like this since 2 years ago when you first enlisted and not once had the director showed this much interest in the two courses socializing. Something fishy was going on but you decided not to press Jimin any further on that matter.

“Does the director know that you’re-”

“Vampires?” He whispered with a teasing expression, seeming to poke fun at the way you got embarrassed to say the word. “Yes.”

“And is he...is Taehyung also going to be around here during the day?” You really didn’t want to bring Taehyung back into the conversation but the thought hadn’t left your mind since you first learned some vampires were transferred and for your own peace of mind, you had to ask.

“Don’t worry, I made sure that worthless rat wouldn’t step his feet in here. You’re safe.”

You couldn’t help but release the breath you now realized were holding. Since the incident, your dreams had been filled with what you would describe as pure porn, all of which involved Taehyung. What bothered you most was how realistic the dreams were. Like you woke up and you could still feel his teeth sinking into your skin and his long cold fingers playing with your pussy. At first, you thought your mind was just acting upon you being around sexy men so often, but for the last couple of days, you’ve begun to wonder if it’s some side effect of you giving him your blood. You wanted to ask somebody who could answer you, but there was no way in hell you were about to tell Jimin you’ve been having erotic dreams with Taehyung. He already despised the guy and seemed to hate even you just mentioning him, much less this.

“Have you been sleeping well?” Jimin asked in a soft voice as if reading your thoughts. You now realized you had spaced out on him, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Hum...yes,” you answered in a not so affirmative tone. “Why do you ask? Do I-?” As on a reflex, you let go of your Oreo and touched your eye bags, wondering if your concealer wasn’t doing a good enough job.

He chuckled. “You look great cara mia, don’t worry,” his hand reached for your cheek and you couldn’t help but feel your whole body burning up. How could it not, when a man that looked like he was carved into perfection was complementing you in a foreign language?

The sweet gesture didn’t last long though, him getting his hand back on the table and clearing his throat. “I was just worried because of the events of last week. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright,” this time his voice was more serious, giving you whiplash. No matter how much time you spent with Jimin, his hot and cold persona was something you found difficult to deal with.

“Don’t worry Jimin,” you reassured him which seemed to ease up his mind.

As you downed your glass of milk - having finished all your Oreos - you noticed your group of friends passing right by you, Lisa holding hands with Chanyeol, and you couldn’t help but worry for her.

“Hey Jimin, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Is he a bad guy?” You pointed to the man with the silver hair currently grabbing your friend’s ass, feeling your chest tighten at their interactions.

“You’re worried about your friend?”

“Yeah…” you trailed off.

“I think that all you need to worry about is that he may be a womanizer. Other than that...he’s not gonna eat her,” his sincere and warm smile ease up your mind.

“I never thought I’d have this response at someone being a womanizer but thank god,” you sighed in relief.

Your response made Jimin laugh and you found that you liked him best like this, his eyes turned into crescent moons and his beautiful smile on display.

“Well then, shall we go to class? I hear Mr Moon is a pain in the ass.”

“You’re in my class?!” Your eyes doubled up in size at the revelation. You hadn’t even thought of the possibility of him being in your class.

“Mhm,” he nodded, his teasing expression back on his face.

Well, if you had trouble paying attention in class before then you really were in trouble now.

Jimin was annoying. Not only did he know the answer to every fucking question the teachers asked him, but he also had the audacity to look like a fucking god sent from up above while doing it.

He sat at the back of the class, probably trying to avoid attention, but the truth of it was that most girls (and even some guys) spent the whole class looking at him. There was just no way you could not when he was sitting there, leaned back, gaze focused on the teacher spinning a pen so effortlessly between his fingers.

The way you spent your time in class went straight from doodling random things on your notebook to drawing full on portraits of Jimin. You just couldn’t help it. You were looking straight at his profile and when you came to it you were already halfway through your drawing.

“Miss Y/N,” professor Moon called, interrupting the shading process of Jimin’s voluptuous lips. “Would you mind paying attention to the class or am I bothering your drawing time of your new colleague Jimin?”

You choked. Everyone was laughing at you and you could swear you’ve never felt more embarrassed before in your life. Then you looked at Jimin and he had an amusing smug on his face. Nope. Scratch that. This was the most embarrassing moment in your life.

“I-I’m sorry,” you looked down and quickly turned the page to a blank one, trying to show him your commitment to the class.

“Don’t let it happen again. Alright everybody, the show’s over. I want everyone doing exercise number 15, you have 5 minutes!” He broke his gaze from you and went to sit back on his desk, waiting for the whole class to finish the exercise.

You sneakingly tried to look at Jimin again and noticed he was still smirking. You quickly turned your head to look for exercise 15, feeling your cheeks burning up. How were you supposed to look at Jimin ever again in your life? You were gonna have to move schools, you simply had no choice.

“Alright class, see you Monday. Don’t forget to do exercises 16 to 20 for homework!” Mr Moon recalled after the bell rang and everyone started to pack up their things.

You were dreading this moment. You hadn’t looked at Jimin ever since the professor had called you out. You had passed a little piece of paper to Lisa begging her to stay with you at the end of the class to save you from further embarrassment, but you felt the evil sting of betrayal as you saw her and your friends promptly leave class with an evil smile on their faces.

They were sooo gonna pay for this, you thought.

“Can I see it?”

You felt his presence behind you even before he spoke u, his teasing voice making you dread the next minutes. Was there a way the whole floor could swallow you right now and save you from this moment?

“Jimin you scared me,” you fake jumped, hoping it would distract him from his original intentions.

You failed.

“I’m sorry. Can I see it?” He repeated, the smug on his face never dissolving. He was onto you.

“S-see what?” You closed your notebook and tried to put it inside your bag, his palm pressing it to the table, making it hard for you to store it.

“The drawing you made of me.” The way he almost sang those words really pissed you off. He was enjoying this.

“It’s...it’s really not good…” you trailed off, half saying what you really thought, half expecting him to not want to see it anymore.

“Don’t doubt yourself like that, I’m sure it’s great.”

You felt warmth spread through your chest. How could you say no to him after that? How dare he be so confident in your skills?

Giving a sigh of defeat you lightly swatted his hand so he could move it out of the way and opened the notebook, quickly flipping through the pages until you reached the object of your embarrassment.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even make a sound. He picked up your notebook and just observed from up close. The expression on his face was unreadable, he seemed to be lost in thought and you were terrified that he didn’t like the drawing. Worse, you were terrified he thought you were a creep.

“See…” you said in a small voice while taking the notebook out of his hands, “I told you it wasn’t good.”

Your words seemed to wake Jimin up from his dazed state, his eyes looking straight at you. “Y/N, that is amazing.”

“R-Really?”

As in most cases, you were your biggest critic. No matter how much your friends told you how good your drawings were, you always found it in yourself to think that they were absolute crap. Usually, your friends’ complements only managed to raise your opinions of your drawings up by a little bit, but something about Jimin made you feel that much more confident in your art. You didn’t know what it was, but you liked the feeling he was giving you.

“Really.”

The way the crescent moons appeared on his eyes as he smiled at you made your heart skip a beat and you were damn sure you were probably blushing again.

“But next time, try to pay attention in class,” he got closer to you and whispered in your ear: “For as much as I love having you stare at me during the whole lecture, I’d hate to be the one responsible for your poor grades.”

You couldn’t move.

Jimin’s cologne and the way his saccharine and enticing voice had delivered that teasing line had completely paralyzed you. All you could do was watch as he winked at you and turned to leave, his perfect ass filling out that navy uniform.

“Come on cara mia, you’re gonna be late for the next class.”

How in the world were you supposed to not stare at him?

“Nice to see you again, love.”

You jumped up from underneath the safety of your blankets and immediately spotted the man with the fire-like hair sitting at the foot of your bed, red silky shirt halfway opened.

You were dreaming again.

This was just what you didn’t need. After spending a lovely day bonding with Jimin and your friends you had, for the first time that week, been able to forget about your sinful dreams with Taehyung. So, when you went to sleep that night you didn’t even dread to close your eyes (like the previous nights) because Jimin was the only thing on your mind. Now, though, that you were seeing Taehyung’s dream form right in front of you you felt weirder than usual; you felt like you were somehow cheating on Jimin, even though you weren’t even dating.

Without saying anything you simply lay back in bed and covered your head with your blankets, hoping he would just vanish.

It took everything in you to deny him right now, especially with that shirt he was wearing, but you had to put your foot down. At the end of the day, he was no good, no matter how hot he looked.

“Are you ignoring me love?” You felt the mattress dip closer to you and soon enough, his hand was running over your leg on top of the layer of blankets. “Mmmh...could it be that lover boy finally made his move?”

Your eyes shot wide open, your head peeking out of the blankets to look at him. Was he talking about Jimin? “What are you talking about?”

“He doesn’t know what you want love,” he continued trailing up his hand until it reached your neck completely ignoring your question. “What you truly need,” he then mounted you, his hand firmly grabbing your neck but not squeezing, completely asserting his dominance over you and you immediately felt your panties getting wet.

You were starting to cave to the sex appeal of the man on top of you. Suddenly your thoughts were fuzzy and your thighs were rubbing up against each other, making Taehyung smirk.

His mouth got near your neck and you felt a chill run up your spine as his breath hit your skin. “I know you can’t resist me,” he licked your neck and by the way his head suddenly moved back and the hand on your neck made you move your head to your right you knew he was about to bite you.

Suddenly a scream coming from the next-door room woke you up - it was Lisa and Eunbin’s room. You turned to your left to look at Yujin and she too had woken up. “Was that screaming?”

“I heard it too, I think it’s coming from Lisa and Eunbin’s room,” Yujin confirmed as she quickly got out of bed and put on her slippers, you following her suit.

You two rapidly made your way to the room next door but immediately stopped as you noticed Eunbin’s figure standing completely still at the entrance of the room.

“What happened? Is everything alright?” You asked as both you and your roommate entered the room walking past a petrified Eunbin.

The sight in front of you completely terrified you - Chanyeol was feeding off of Lisa’s neck, rivers of blood running down her chest.

“V-vampire,” Eunbin stuttered.

194 notes · View notes

thelargefrye · 4 years

Text

GRIMOIRE: TALE OF TALES. DAY O1.

── summary. it all started when you found him floating in the water.

── roles. pirate!ateez, pirate!reader

── genres. pirates, humor, eventual poly relationship, future supernatural

── word count. 3.4k

── warnings. cussing

── main menu.

ten years ago, somewhere in the middle of the ocean

“brat, what the hell are you looking at?” you turn your head to look at your adoptive mother, taeyeon, who stands behind you with her arms crossed.

“there’s a body,” you say, turning back to the ocean and pointing out into the open sea. taeyeon looks at you confused before rushing over to look overboard and sure enough there is a body floating not too far from the ship. “should we save them?”

“i don’t know. they look pretty dead to me,” taeyeon says, “just leave them to the fishes and birds.”

“what! taeyeon, we have to save them! what if they’re alive!?” you shout at her and right as the words leave your mouth your other adoptive mother, tiffany, comes onto deck.

“y/n, what are you shouting about?” she asks walking over to you since you opted to not say but show her what was wrong. “oh my! taeyeon we have to same them!” she says turning to the other woman who just looks at you two in surprise. both you and tiffany are pulling matching puppy dog faces, causing her to sigh in defeat.

“someone get that body out of the water, now!” taeyeon orders causing some nearby crew members to quickly follow their captain’s orders. you and tiffany look at each with matching victory smiles.

once they did manage to get the body out, you were surprised to see that it was a young boy around your age, maybe a little older. you also couldn’t help but notice the navy uniform that adorns his body and you find taeyeon looking at him intently.

you watched from beside tiffany as yeeun, the ship’s doctor, examined the young boy before quickly going and performing cpr on him. after a few tries, the boy finally spits up water and coughs violently.

he struggles to open his eyes but once he does, you can see the scared look on his face as he looks at all the crew members around him.

“hey it’s okay,” yeeun says, trying her best to calm the boy. “we’re not gonna hurt you.” after a few more minutes, he eventually calmed down but you could tell he was still on edge and honestly you don’t blame him.

yeeun soon enough took the boy down below deck to her room in order to do a more thorough check up on him.

“great just what i need, another brat to feed,” taeyeon mumbles but loud enough for you to hear. you turn and stick your tongue out at her to which she quickly copies you causing tiffany to laugh at the both of you.

you don’t see the boy until a week later when you go to take yeeun some food both the both of them. you find him sitting on the spare bed used for sick crew mates as he watches yeeun work at her desk. he no longer wears his navy uniform, but instead a white button up that oddly fits him and you recognize it as yeeun’s from having done her laundry a few times.

“i have dinner!” you say, a smile on your face as you gain both the older woman and young boy’s attention.

“ah, thank you, y/n. i don’t know what i would do if you weren’t for you bringing me food,” she says with a smile as she takes the tray and sets it down on the small table away from her desk.

“you’d probably starve knowing sunny would never bring you your food,” you tease happily and yeeun nods in agreement. you then turn to look at the boy to notice his eyes already on you. once you made eye contact with him, however, he quickly turned away with a light pink color dusting his cheeks.

“hey! how are you feeling?” you ask taking a few steps towards, catching him off guard by your sudden question.

“i-i’m fine,” he stutters, not meeting your eyes.

“that’s good! yeeun is the best doctor there is, so you’re lucky we found you when we did!” you say and yeeun playfully brushes off your comment, but you know she loves the compliments. it feeds her ego.

“so...” you trailed gaining the boy’s attention, “what’s your name?”

“h-hongjoong,” he says.

“hongjoong?” you echo and he nods causing you to smile. “i like it! i’m y/n. hey, do you want to go see my secret hiding spot?”

“secret hiding spot?” it’s his turn to echo you this time causing you to smile and nod your head vigorously. “sure!” that’s the brightest smile you’ve ever seen.

“after you eat hongjoong. knowing how y/n is, you won’t be able to eat until very late,” yeeun steps in before you drag hongjoong out of the room.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” you ask turning to the doctor and giving her a glare as you put your hands on your hips.

“it means that once you get excited nothing can stop you.”

“well, duuuhhhh,” you say, “how else will i become a great pirate and see the world? a great pirate doesn’t sleep!” you exclaim, causing yeeun to laugh lightheartedly at you as you through your fist bump the air. you then turn back to hongjoong, pointing a figure at him, “meet me at the top deck when you finish, you hear? if you aren’t done in an hour i’ll drag you out by the ear.”

hongjoong is surprised but nods his head at your threat and you smile before dashing out of the room after bidding yeeun goodbye.

“she sure is a character isn’t she?” yeeun asked, looking at the young boy who only nodded. “she keeps the ship lively no matter how long we’ve been at sea. she’s a really nice girl so she’ll take good care of you while you’re here.”

when hongjoong came on the top deck, he was surprised to see that the whole crew was made of women. he had never seen a crew like this before and had only heard of this type of crew from older navy captains and his father.

his father...

hongjoong just shook his head at the thought of the man before he scanned the deck for you. he spotted you talking with two well-built women that looked like they could throw an average sized man over their heads without thinking. but they way they smiled at you as you jumped excitedly made him think otherwise.

he glanced up at the main mast catching a glimpse of the black flag that sailed proudly above all the others. yeeun told him that he was sailing with pirates now, but she didn’t tell him the crew name. but he knew the name. he had heard rumors and talk of this crew. the legendary female captain that sailed with the pirate king.

the sones.

“hongjoong!” your cheery voice snaps him out of his thoughts as he watches you walk over to him. the two women from earlier watching you both with smiles before they shake their heads and go back to working. “did you have a nice lunch?”

“i did. are you going to show me your secret hiding spot now?”

“yeah! let’s go,” you say, taking his hand into yours and pulling him back under deck and into the hold. his slightly longer legs doing well in keeping up with you pulling him along down the hall until you reach another set of stairs and go down them.

hongjoong is surprised by how well kept the place looks and you guide him through the array of storage boxes until you both are met with a small makeshift blanket fort.

“no one ever comes over to this part of the ship, so i decided to make it my own spot,” you say once you two crawled inside and you turned on the small lantern that was already there. “you can’t tell anyone about this spot, okay?”

“okay.”

“no, you have to promise,” you say seriously, before sticking your pinky out. hongjoong looks at it for a few seconds before he wraps his pinky around yours and seals the promise.

“so...” hongjoong trails off quietly catching your attention and you look at him with wide, curious eyes. “am i... the only guy on this ship? is this crew really full of women like everyone says?”

“hmm? um, no. there’s a boy who’s my age also on the ship. he’s the son of our navigator, but he’s always got a stick up his ass, so i don’t hang out with him. do you...” you hesitate for a second, “do you want to meet him?”

hongjoong nods at your question and you nod back before climbing out of your secret spot after having made sure the lantern was turned off. you led him back to the top of the deck before guiding him over to the captain’s quarters. hongjoong took notice of how you greeted everyone and how they also greeted back while some even patted your head as you passed them.

“wow, you’re really close with everyone, huh?”

you stop walking turning to give hongjoong a confused look, “they’re my family, so why wouldn’t i be close with all of them?”

“i don’t know... i just– i just thought that pirates didn’t have the ability to love.”

“not all pirates are like that. on this ship, we’re all family and you take care and look out for one another, got that?” hongjoong nodded making you smile as you turned and started walking again.

upon entering the captain’s cabin, hongjoong felt like he was gonna pass out as he watched you just waltz in like you owned the place. he audibly gasped as he heard you greet everyone in the room.

“i brought hongjoong in to meet yeosang,” you explained, the second male’s name leaving you with a slight disgusted tone. hongjoong came in behind you to see a boy sitting in a chair with a book in his lap.

“oh i see the navy brat is up and running around now,” taeyeon said and hongjoong looked at the captain before looking down at the ground.

“oh,” the blue haired woman said with a soft tone before turning to the one hongjoong assumed was yeosang. “yeosang, sweetie, why don’t you go play with y/n and hongjoong, was is?” hongjoong nodded, feeling his cheeks burn at the motherly smile she gave him.

“i don’t want to ‘play’ with y/n, she’s annoying,” yeosang said with a cold tone, not bothering to look up from his book.

“yah! don’t think you’re some a ray of sunshine either, ass–

“y/n young, you finish that sentence, i dare you,” tiffany cuts you off, making you mumble under your breath, a strong glare trained on the brown haired boy.

“kang yeosang, you put that book down and go play with y/n and hongjoong. you need to start exercising your body more or else you won’t be able to hold that big brain of yours!”

yeosang lets out a huff before marking his book before handing it off to his mother who happily takes it. the male walks over to you both before bumping in your shoulder on the way out. you let out a huff as well before following the boy out. hongjoong is about to also leave when taeyeon stops him.

“i hope you realize that you have some explaining to do about yourself later on right?”

“yes, ma’am, i’m aware.”

“good. now get out before the brat comes back and starts shouting.”

hongjoong quickly nods before dashing out of the room and out on the deck where he spots you and yeosang glaring at each other.

“how come you guys don’t like each other?” hongjoong asks, gaining both of yours attention.

“because he/she’s annoying!” you both say at the same time before turning back to glare at each other. hongjoong could tell the more he looked at you both that the two of you were complete opposites of each other. you would rather be outside on the deck and in the sun, while yeosang would rather be inside and reading a book.

“well... how about we find something to do?” he suggests as he walks over to the two of you. i saw some books in yeeun’s room, so why don’t i go grab those and we read outside?”

yeosang snorted rolling his eyes causing you to turn and glare at him, “this idiot can’t read, navy boy,” he says. you cross your arms and look away from the both of them and out at the sea, a embarrassing red coloring your face and ears.

“well why don’t you teach us? because i don’t know how to read either,” hongjoong says meeting your eyes for a brief second.

“and what do i get in return?”

“well what can y/n do that you can’t?”

you snorted this time, “i can climb up the rigging.”

“great! you teach us how to read and we’ll teach you how to climb!”

“whatever,” yeosang mumbles before walking past hongjoong and back towards the cabin. he disappears inside for a few moments before reappearing with a book. you took notice of the picture of a mermaid on the cover with the title being in a large fantasy like font that you couldn’t read.

“let’s go, idiot, navy. i don’t have all day.”

“yah! i’m not an idiot!” you shout, following after the male with hongjoong trailing behind you.

eight years ago, somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

“wow, can you believe that not too long ago those two were always at each other’s necks?” jieun asks as she and tiffany watch you and yeosang sitting together. yeosang was helping you read through a book you had bought at the last port.

hongjoong was sitting on the other side of you as you managed to read what was on the pages, even if you did struggle on a few words here or there.

“i know, i can’t believe it either. i guess recusing hongjoong was a good idea after all, huh, taeyeon?” tiffany ask, turning to look at taeyeon who was standing at the wheel of the ship. she let out a short hm sound making the other two women laugh. “oh, isn’t yeosang’s birthday coming up soon?”

“in a week, i can’t believe he’ll be thirteen soon. it was like he was born yesterday and i was holding him and rocking him to sleep,” jieun says, thinking back to when her son was a baby.

“if i remember correctly, i think i saw y/n trying to wrap something the other night. i think she may have gotten him something at our last stop,” tiffany says offhandedly.

“oh? well that would be nice of her, huh?” jieun says as she looks back at the three of you with a fond smile.

a week later and you had dragged yeosang down to your secret hiding spot. you remember it was originally hongjoong’s idea after about four months of the younger male teaching you both how to read. you were against the idea at first and even got upset at the older male to the point you didn’t talk to him for a few days.

after three days however, you came up to him and apologized for getting upset before telling hongjoong that you didn’t mind showing yeosang your secret spot.

now a year later and the three of you often meet at the spot after everyone else has went to bed. you remember whispering to yeosang to meet you and hongjoong there during dinner when the crew was celebrating his birthday.

“what’s this?” yeosang asked in awe as he looked down at the two presents you and hongjoong held out to him.

“they’re our presents we bought for you,” hongjoong says before gently putting his gift in yeosang’s lap. yeosang noticed that his gift was smaller than yours, but thicker. the brown paper was easily torn away as yeosang ripped it away. he looked at the dark blue box in his hands before slowly removing the lid and letting out a gasp at what was inside.

a pen. but this pen was new and shiny with beautiful small details engraved on it. “the man at the shop said it was made of real gold, but i’m pretty sure he was lying,” hongjoong says as he looks between yeosang and the pen. “i remember you talking about needing a new one and i know its not the sa–

“i love it,” yeosang cuts him looking at the older male with a grateful smile. “thank you, hongjoong.”

“of course, happy birthday.”

you watch the two with a smile on your face, happy that yeosang liked hongjoong’s gift knowing the older had been nervous about if he would like it or not. yeosang then turns to you and you smile before handing him your present. you watch as yeosang does the same with your present as he with hongjoong’s.

“the little mermaid?” he reads looking at the book with surprised eyes. his fingers ran over the cover of the book and you watched nervously.

“it’s the first book you taught me and hongjoong how to read,” you said. “i remember seeing it at our last stop and the old lady said that this was the original version of the story and not the one they made for kids.”

“i love it,” he says with a smile making you grin excitedly at him. “i love both your gifts. thank you,” he adds, setting the pen and book aside and wraps an arm around each other you before bringing you both into a hug.

“happy birthday, yeosang,” you whisper, returning the hug and resting your head on his shoulder.

present day somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

“happy birthday, yeosang,” you whisper into the male’s ear before leaning back and kissing his lips. yeosang eagerly kisses back, his hands come up to pull and hold you closer to him.

you can’t help but smile into the kiss before you finally manage to pull away with his lips chasing after yours.

“twenty-one and needy, i figured that would be san’s thing more than yours,” you tease, causing him to roll his eyes playfully at you. “here,” you say, handing him your present.

“this brings back memories,” he says, taking the rectangle shaped gift from you. the brown paper wrapped around it is the same material from when you gave him your first gift. he opens it and looks at it questionably looking between you and the familiar book in his hands. “now this really brings back memories.”

“open it and look at the first page,” you say excitedly and he laughs before doing as you said. inside the cover was a message written from you to him and yeosang let out a surprised gasp.

dear yeosang,

thank you for being my first rival. my first love. thank you for teaching me how to read and write, even if we fought almost everyday and probably drove hongjoong crazy. i know this isn’t something extravagant like what the others will give you, but this book is something special between us. the way you read this story so many times and how all three of us fell asleep in our secret spot to you reading it. this book holds some of my most precious memories.

i wanted to write this note in here so you know how much i love you. and so you can read this whenever you need cheering up.

love, y/n.

“i love you, too, y/n,” yeosang says as he runs his fingers over the small note you had written to him. tears welling up in his eyes as he closes the book so as to not ruin your words with his tears as he thinks back to his birthday a few months ago.

hongjoong stood behind yeosang, a comforting hand resting on his shoulder, “it’ll be okay yeosang. she’ll wake up, just give her time.”

yeosang nods his head weakly before he glances up at your sleeping body. yunho quietly works behind the two, as he does his best in figuring out a way to make you better.

yeosang let’s out a quiet sob as he reaches forwards and takes your hand into his, “please wake up, y/n. please.”

#grimoire tale of tales #grimoire.#hear the sea.#poly ateez x reader #poly ateez #ateez x reader #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez hongjoong #ateez yeosang #ateez pirate au #dream episode.

218 notes · View notes

zelenacat · 3 years

Text

When We Were Young- Chapter 12- An Obitine Story

Satine was on her way to Senator Amidala’s room when she overheard a conversation.

“Oh. My. God.” gasped a certain Jedi.

“Shut up, Anakin.” Padme whispered harshly.

“No kriffing way.”

“Ani, someone might hear you.”

“Yes, Master Skywalker,” Satine said, coming around the corner, “someone might hear you.”

Anakin jumped, then realized who was speaking.

“Your Grace,” the Jedi turned with a bow, “how have you been finding your stay?”

“Anakin.” Padme snapped.

“I enjoy Coruscant,” Satine replied politely, “I sleep well here.”

Anakin’s jaw dropped.

“Duchess,” Padme held out her arm, “do accompany me inside.”

Satine took it, and after a wink at Anakin, entered Padme’s common room, which happened to be full of senators.

“Your Grace,” Bail Organa bowed, “I see you’ve found Padme again.”

“Like bees to honey, Senator.” Satine replied.

Padme smiled. The conversation then turned to a vote that would soon take place and Satine sat quietly. After a while, Anakin’s comm rang.

“Master Obi-Wan,” he grinned, eyes flashing before a frown, “wait, what?”

“Senator Farr has been murdered,” Obi-Wan repeated, “everyone is to stay in the senate building.”

Senator Amidala burst into tears.

“Oh, Padme,” Satine scooched closer to the Senator and put her arm around her, “I’m so sorry.”

Anakin flinched, retracting his arm.

“Anakin, there’s more.”

“What is it, Obi-Wan?” the Jedi asked, his eyes on Padme.

“The funeral will be held in twenty minutes, platform 3B.”

With a sniff, Padme swallowed.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Satine frowned, looking around the room, “for all of you.”

“Thank you, Duchess,” Mon Mothma nodded, “he was dear to all of us.”

“How could this happen?” Senator Amidala muttered.

“It’s best not to dwell on it, Padme,” Bail Organa sighed, “the Jedi will help us. Won’t they, Master Skywalker?”

“Of course,” Anakin nodded, “this is quite the offence.”

“Let’s say goodbye to the body.” Padme decided.

Helping Padme stand, Satine turned and nodded at Anakin, who came forward.

“Senators Mothma and Organa,” the Duchess began, handing Padme’s hand to Anakin, “is there any possibility there were signs of this beforehand?”

“I’m afraid not, Your Grace,” Senator Organa stated, offering Satine his arm, “Onaconda had few enemies.”

“But he did have some?” Satine asked.

“Yes,” Senator Mothma answered as they began a brisk walk to the platform, “there are some who didn’t think he led his people well.”

“And who would that be?”

Satine learned a lot on that walk down to the platform, in fact, she believed she had more in common with Senator Onaconda Farr than she thought at first. There were certain people who didn’t like the way Satine was governing as well.

“I wish I could’ve asked him for advice on the subject,” Satine commented, “how to stand your ground when people blame you.”

“I think he’d say have courage and be cautious,” Mon Mothma replied, “sometimes your constituents don’t know the pressure you’re under.”

“I want the best for my people.” Satine sighed.

“We all do,” agreed Senator Organa, “but I think Senator Farr’s death shows we must be wary.”

Obi-Wan wasn’t on the platform when Satine and her fellow lawmakers arrived, but Master Yoda was. The Duchess had much respect for the Jedi, Obi-Wan had always spoken of him highly, and he trained Master Qui-Gon, but Satine was slightly fearful of him.

After the body was respectfully placed on a ship, Satine took her departure, after a promise that Padme would say goodbye before leaving, of course.

“Your Grace,” Parna clutched her chest, “I just heard about the Senator, are you alright?”

“Of course, Parna, thank you,” Satine nodded, “I think I’ve learned a valuable lesson today.”

“Sit,” the lady gestured, “and let me get you a drink.”

Most of the packing had already been done, so the Duchess relented and took a break.

“You’re reflective,” Parna frowned, handing Satine a water glass, “what is it?”

“Death Watch.”

Parna sighed.

“I think they’re more of a great than we realized, and besides,” Satine lowered her eyes, “most of their operatives were working within my government, I have to do something about this.”

“We will,” Parna nodded, “Prime Minister Almec will likely agree, and our week of hosting court is almost upon us.”

“True,” the Duchess raised her head, “I’m sure the Prime Minister will be a great ally.”

Three hours went by and it was time for Satine to return to Mandalore. Padme met Satine just outside her door and gave her a hurried hug.

“I’ll call you when I figure this out.”

“Padme-”

“I’ll be fine,” smiled the Senator, pulling back, “I consider it my duty.”

“You’re resourceful,” the Duchess admitted, “but who would I be if I didn’t tell you to be careful.”

Padme kissed Satine’s cheeks, “You’re a God-send.”

As Satine and Parna made their way down to the platform, the Duchess noticed two figures waiting by the ship. With a smile, she realized one of them was Obi-Wan. It took all her effort not to run to him.

“Your Grace.” Anakin bowed.

Obi-Wan was smiling at her joy in his eyes. Anakin elbowed him.

“Right, Your Grace.”

Satine giggled, vaguely aware of Parna directing the guards to start loading the ship.

“I’d better go help.” Anakin agreed with a smirk.

“Obi-”

“I know.”

“Still,” Satine squeezed Obi-Wan’s arm, “I’m glad I was able to see you.”

“And I you, my dear,” the Jedi took Satine’s hand and kissed it, “lovely as ever.”

“I’m going to miss you.” Satine confessed.

“So will I.”

“But you’ll come and visit whenever it’s allowed,” the Duchess stated, “won’t you, Ben.”

The luggage was finished loading.

“Of course, Your Grace,” the Jedi bowed, “I’d be delighted.”

“Goodbye for now,” Satine ran her thumb over Obi-Wan’s cheek, “Ben.”

Parna was quiet until the guards were positioned at their various stations on the ship.

“Oh my God.”

“Parna-”

“Your Grace,” Parna leveled her lady a look, “I had to stay with the Senator’s ladies-”

Satine crossed her arms, “I will tell you nothing.”

Parna waited for a beat. Satine broke into a smile, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I’m very happy for Your Grace,” Parna smiled, “though, we may have to tell Gorg and Jaym.”

“The heads of my personal guards?” Satine asked.

“They asked me about it, and I tried to be vague but-”

“They’ll find out,” the Duchess nodded, “I will summon them to my parlor when we return.”

Gorg and Jaym were very smug about it.

“A Jedi,” Gorg grinned, “well chosen, Your Grace.”

Satine opened her mouth to speak.

“It’s almost illegal,” Jaym snorted, “a Jedi and a Mandalorian?”

“No one can know, obviously.” Satine reiterated.

“Of course not, Your Grace.” Gorg bowed.

Satine raised an eyebrow, “Not even any jokes.”

“No jokes.” Jaym agreed.

“Good,” Satine nodded, “you’re dismissed.”

Still under a false bottom in her dresser drawer were the four birth certificates, now, Satine added a list of all the living people who knew her secret so she could keep track.

Khaami

Parna

Padme

Anakin?

Jaym

Gorg

Ursa Wren

Alrich Wren

That was only eight people, yet it still made Satine nervous. Things were very politically unstable now, with most of the galaxy at war, this had to be kept hidden. Parna watched her lady while she did this, silent for the most part.

“Everyone on that list has reason to help keep your secret,” Parna urged, “you’ll be safe Satine, and so will they.”

“But if they were paid enough,” the Duchess frowned, “and given protection-”

“It won’t happen, Satine,” Parna assured, “not unless you want it to.”

“I can’t think of a scenario where that would be wise.” Satine confessed.

Parna was silent for a long moment.

“Shall we review your dresses for holding Court?”

“Yes,” Satine stood, “we shall.”

The next four days were extremely busy for Satine, she spent every free hour she had in meetings. What societies to endorse and what activities to sponsor? Which delicacies would be served and what should the theme of her speeches center around? At the end of it all, the Duchess met with Waldie, her head seamstress of fifteen years, to discuss her outfits.

“I would like to repurpose some of your more magnificent gowns, Your Grace,” Waldie began, “everyone knows Court Week is a time for grandeur, and that all eyes are going to be on you.”

“Very true,” Satine nodded, “which dresses do you have in mind?”

“Do you remember meeting Senator Amidala on Naboo when she was queen?”

Satine smiled, “Yes, although, my hair was longer then.”

“I was thinking of dresses in the style of Saint Jaru’s time for the new ones,” Waldie continued clapping, “you’ll look marvelous. Of course, on the first night, you have to wear your gown embroidered with your star system.”

“That one,” Satine gaped, “it’s certainly been ages.”

“You’ll look lovely, Your Grace,” Waldie assured, “we’ll adjust it, don’t worry.”

“Thank you,” Satine nodded, “any other ideas?”

“Dresses modeled after Queen Mara’s famous ensembles,” Waldie smiled, “it was suggested by one of my assistants.”

Satine grinned, “I like it.”

On the fifth day, Korkie arrived at Sundari’s Summer Palace, it was still dark out.

“How are you, my darling nephew?” Satine asked, embracing him.

“I’m well, Auntie Satine,” Korkie smiled, “ready for the big day ahead.”

“Wonderful enthusiasm,” the Duchess remarked, “now, have you had breakfast?”

“Yes,” Korkie nodded, “but not much.”

Satine smiled, “All you have to do is stand there and look regal.”

“Auntie,” Korkie’s shoulders slumped, “are you sure I can do it?”

“Of course,” Satine stared proudly down at her son, “you’re the Duke of Sundari afterall.”

The Duchess didn’t see Korkie again until after they were both dressed. Korkie grinned when he saw the dress.

“Is that the one you wore to meet Queen Amidala of Naboo?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll knock ‘em all out, Aunt Satine,” Korkie’s eyes flashed, “even though you’re a pacifist.”

Satine snorted, “Thank you, Korkie.”

Korkie was dressed in his navy uniform with silver drippings and a purple sash, he certainly looked the part of her heir. Satine was proud of him. Turning to face forward, the Duchess waited for the doors to open, straightening her shoulders when the trumpets blared.

“Her Grace, Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore, Second of Her Name and Lady Krewella, accompanied by His Grace Korkyrach Kryze, the Duke of Sundari.”

Daintly, Satine descended the stairs with a polite smile, pretending she didn’t hear the audible gasp from the ladies when she appeared. Once she reached the bottom of the stairwell, Korkie stepped forward and offered her his right arm, together they walked through the sea of a parting crowd towards the throne. Elegantly, Korkie took his hand and helped Satine up her stairs before taking his place on her right.

“The Duchess of Mandalore and the Duke of Sundari!”

In one singular motion, the whole room paid their respects. Bowing or curtsying all at once, it made Satine straighten her shoulders. When they rose, the Duchess spoke.

“Welcome to our ancient seat of honor, my fellow Mandalorians,” Satine began, “in light of recent events, I find it fitting to reflect on our past while pondering the future.”

Some whispers arose.

“We used to be warriors, that is true,” the Duchess acknowledged, “but a warrior thrives on chaos, wisdom, which Mandalore has now been blessed with, is far more valuable. The serenity which will come even in this turbulent time has allowed us to be lead by example, and show the galaxy that we will not abide by chaos, and that we choose to enlighten ourselves with the wisdom of non-violence.”

People clapped. Her opening was short, but Satine had no wish to relive her betrayals. Soon there would be new elections and Satine could forget about all her misfortunes.

Korkie offered Satine his arm, and she took it, gliding through the guests and letting them gawk at her dress. Very gentlemanly, Korkie pulled out the chair at the head of the table for his Auntie, and pushed her in when she sat down. Then, he took his place on her left. Once everyone was seated, Satine took her first bite and the meal began.

The duchess turned to her right, “It’s terribly chilling, isn’t it, Count Vizsla?”

His Excellency coughed, “What is, Your Grace?”

“Treason, especially by a member of one’s own clan.”

Tarrei Vizsla paled, that word had heavy meaning on Mandalore, many heads had been disemboweled for it.

“I would like to apologize for my son, Your Grace.”

“An apology will not be enough,” Satine smiled savagely, “your son tried to have me murdered.”

Count Vizsla clasped his hands, “Please, Your Grace, there must be some way to make amends.”

“There certainly is,” the Duchess smiled, “you will spearhead the hunt for Death Watch.”

His Excellency gaped.

“You may decline, of course,” Satine giggled, “but naturally a bounty would have to be placed on your son’s head.”

Tarrei Vizsla’s cheeks pallored.

“Are you well, Your Excellency,” Korkie asked with no care in his voice, “you look pale.”

Count Vizsla began quietly, “You are a pacifist-”

“But if your son believes in the old ways,” Satine countered, “then he should die a traitor’s death.”

Continuing with her meal, the Duchess noticed Count Vizsla didn’t eat.

“Korkie, darling,” Satine turned, “have you finished?”

“Yes, Aunt Satine.”

Smiling the Duchess set down her fork with a clang as her nephew stood, and the whole table prepared to leave. Korkie pulled out Satine’s chair and she stood, taking her nephew’s arm, and led the way from the room. There were few people who invited to join the Duchess on her comfortable couches, but they happened to be Ursa and Alrich Wren, their son Tristan, Lady Khaami and her husband, and, of course, Korkie. While the rest of the room was dancing, this group sat happily chatting, and it was clear to everyone Satine was trying to cultivate a friendship between Korkie and Tristan. For the most part, it went well, but the formalities used put ice on the situation, which made Satine frowned.

Ursa suggested the boys enjoy the festivities, and Satine waved her sons off.

“Handsome boys.” Khaami commented.

“Fifteen and nearly seventeen.” Satine nodded.

“You remember?” Ursa turned.

Satine grimaced, “Of course, it's hard to forget such a thing.”

Lady Khaami’s husband commented on Sabine, the Countess Wren’s daughter.

“She’s very clever,” Ursa smiled, “I’m grateful to have her.”

Alrich Wren put his hand on his wife’s, “We both are.”

Satine glanced away, trying to remain steely in the face of a show of affection. Khaami didn’t miss this however.

“I’m glad your trip to Coruscant was successful, Your Grace,” she commented, “I couldn’t imagine being under siege.”

“Neither could I,” Satine agreed, “there is no need to bring conflict where it is not wanted.”

A slow waltz came on, and Alrich stood, taking Ursa with him. Khaami’s husband went off to get her a drink. The Duchess declined politely.

“May I speak frankly, Your Grace?”

Satine turned her head, “Perhaps.”

“I am in need of employment.” Khaami blushed.

“Ah,” the Duchess nodded, “the war may reach Mandalore yet, I intend to keep it out.”

Khaami pushed forward, “I could help Your Grace achieve such an end.”

Satine grew thoughtful for a moment. Khaami knew, which made her possibly dangerous, and if she was desperate…

“I’d be glad for you to return to your old position once the Court Week is over,” the Duchess smiled, “I’m sure Parna will take warmly to you.”

“Your Grace is most benevolent.” Khaami nodded.

When Satine finally retired, she was exhausted.

“Khaami will be coming back,” she mentioned as Parna undid her hair, “at the end of the week.”

“Really?”

“She needed employment,” Satine explained, “and she knows, besides, we were close once.”

“I hope it will be that way again, then.” Parna commented.

“So do I,” the Duchess’ gaze slipped to her drawer, “how I wish things could’ve been different.”

“I know.”

“Perhaps something good will come of this,” Satine though of Korkie and Tristan, “perhaps good things shall come.”

“Let’s hope for that.” Parna agreed.

The next morning, the Duchess was dressed in a glorious pink gown and gold in the style of Saint Jaru’s time, with long sleeves and flowing skirts. She wore a tiara over her crown of lilies and smiled gracefully as she descended into the breakfast room. Since breakfast was informal, most of the guests were already eating, but when Satine entered, everyone grew quiet. With a smile, Korkie stood and pulled out her chair.

“Gorgeous ensemble, Auntie.” he whispered.

Satine grinned and elegantly took a sip of water from her goblet. Then, she took her first bite of breakfast, and slowly, eating resumed. After breakfast, Satine spent the morning at archery, an ancient skill that many Mandalorians still found fashionable. The court accompanied her of course, splitting up into groups and pretending to shoot while watching the Duchess and her nephew shoot at targets. Korkie Invited Tristan Wren to join them, and oh was Satine pleased.

“Why Ursa, Alrich,” Satine commented, “your son is an excellent shot.”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Ursa nodded, “he does us proud.”

“Yes,” Satine turned back to watch the boys shoot and lowered her voice, “I hope this friendship shall continue.”

“As do I.” Alrich agreed.

After archery, Satine attended her morning meeting while most of the court went for a sightseeing tour of the capital.

“And what of these corruption rumors?” questioned the Duchess.

Prime Minister Almec frowned, “There may be a nugget of truth yet.”

Satine growled, “Public service should be for the people, not for greed.”

“I agree, Your Grace,” the Prime Minister stated, “but it may not be as terrible as the press made it seem.” Satine straightened, “Perhaps an example, a visit from a proper, honest government official would do the people good.”

Some advisors looked at one another.

“I’m sure many of you have heard of a dear friend of mine,” the Duchess smiled, “I’m sure Senator Amidala of Naboo wouldn’t mind paying me a visit.”

Almec cleared his throat, “Isn’t the Senator very busy?”

“It couldn’t hurt to ask her.” suggested an aide.

“Good,” Satine clasped her hands, “and now let us talk economics.”

Once the meeting was over, the Duchess spent a few minutes alone sending holo-messages to Padme. Who was delighted by the idea of a Mandalorian Vacation and sent the matter to her secretary immediately.

Once she’d finished with her meeting, Satine made her way through the luncheon room through the back halls, she needed a moment to herself.

“Dude, no way!”

Although, she might not get it. Smiling to herself, Satine followed the voice.

“Isn’t it awesome?” Korkie’s voice replied.

“So awesome, no more pompous formalities for me!”

Creeping along the corner, Satine realized that she saw the blonde head of Tristan Wren next to Korkie’s ginger one. Then, she frowned, they were heading into the cellar, and they had the keys.

“Come on,” Korkie pulled the door open, “a gentleman always lets ladies go first.”

“Ha, ha.”

“No seriously,” Korkie smiled, “go on in, make a right at the bottom of the stairs.”

Satine was no expert in the cellars of her palace, but she was pretty sure that this is where the wine and cheese were stored. At first she was mad, then she tried not to laugh as Korkie descended the steps. How fun this would be, but first, Satine holo-messaged Parna to find Ursa Wren and bring her to the wine cellar.

“Dude,” Tristan filled out his syllables, “this is so kriffing good!”

“I wonder if they keep bread down here.” Korkie mused.

Satine tiptoed down the stairs, keeping to the shadows. When she reached the bottom, the Duchess carefully maneuvered behind a wine casket so she couldn’t be seen.

“Hey look, bread!”

Satine smiled to herself, watching as Korkie and Tristan spread out a blanket and ate the most expensive Mandalorian cheese one couldn’t buy.

All of a sudden, Tristan looked up, “Wine?”

Korkie shrugged, “Why not?”

Satine gasped, but the sound was hidden by footsteps at the top of the stairs.

“Oh no-”

“Too late, boys,” Satine stepped out from behind the wine casket, “you’ve been caught.”

Korkie went red in the face, “Oops.”

Scrambling to his feet, Tristan bowed, “Your Grace.”

Ursa Wren appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

“You do know, boys,” she began, frowning, “that drinking in the Mandalorian system under the age of 18 is a misdemeanor.”

Korkie and Tristan looked at each other.

“Auntie,” Korkie grinned, “it’s my seventeenth birthday!”

“And I’m fifteen.” Tristan added.

Satine sighed heavily, “I thought I taught you to count better than that.”

Parna snorted.

“Boys, you can be friends,” Ursa stated sternly, “but please don’t do anything stupid.”

“I second that,” the Duchess agreed, “especially you, Korkie.”

Lowering his eyes, Korkie apologized, “Sorry, Auntie.”

“Why don’t you go explore the servant passageways or something,” Ursa suggested, “that’s much more fun than this.”

Both boys looked to the Duchess.

“Go.” she waved.

When they’d left, Ursa turned to her.

“Can you believe that!” gasped the Countess.

“Ursa-”

“I swear I raised him better than that.” she continued.

“Ursa, it’s alright,” Satine sighed, “it’s probably genetics.”

Parna shook her head, “Brothers.”

Both Ursa and Satine stiffed.

Parna recoiled, “Sorry, I thought-”

“It’s alright, Parna,” Ursa clasped her hands, “Satine, can I talk to you a minute privately.”

“Of course,” Satine nodded, “Parna, will you clean up?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Upstairs, Ursa Wren leaned into Satine.

“My daughter is rebellious,” the Countess confessed, “she likes the idea of Death Watch.”

Satine went cold, “And my, your son?”

“He falls somewhere in between,” Ursa sighed, “but I want to tell him the truth.”

“We can’t, the oath-”

“He knows he’s adopted,” tears swelled in Ursa’s eyes, “and he wants to find his real parents, we told him about the oath but-”

“Sh,” Satine wiped Ursa’s eyes, “I know this must be devastating after all you’ve done for our boy.”

“He’s like my own.” Ursa agreed.

“Perhaps we could tell him not in an outright way,” Satine decided, “Mara has figured it out, she could tell him.”

“That might work,” Ursa smiled sadly, “still, what about Tyra and Korkie?”

“I’ll tell them,” Satine stated, “when the time is right.”

At the end of the week, the Duchess wore a gown once adorned by Queen Mara the First, with a cinched waist and a square collar, the dress was red with ruffles. Satine got many comments on it as she bid goodbye to her guests. Of course, the head of Wren Clan and her family stayed an extra day.

“You summoned me, Satine?” Parna questioned, coming around the corner.

“What of your brother’s progress?”

“He should be here with Mara in an hour,” Parna smiled, “they’re coming from Coruscant.”

“Coruscant?”

Parna lowered her eyes, “There is a vast criminal underworld there.”

“Naturally, with the Jedi stationed there.” Satine commented dryly.

“Obviously.” Parna agreed.

In an hour, Satine’s fourteen-year-old daughter Mara was sitting across from her, solemn yet proud. The Duchess was honored to see the Kryze pin on her clothes. Parna’s brother sat next to her, even after all these years, she never learned his name. Ursa, Tristan, and Alrich Wren came in next and sat on the couch opposite Mara and her “master.” After Korkie entered, sitting next to his Auntie, Parna locked the door and Khaami dimmed the lights.

“There is something you all must know,” Satine straightened, “but it is something that will be nearly impossible to tell you.”

“Auntie?” Korkie wondered aloud.

Satine flinched, “Bring the papers, Parna.”

The lady left the room and did what she was asked, Khaami guarded the door to the outside. Parna handed Satine the papers.

“What I am going to tell you,” the Duchess began, “must remain a secret at all costs. There are too many people it would ruin.”

“What secret?” Tristan asked, sparing a glance at Korkie.

“I think,” Mara began, pointing to Tristan and Korkie, “that we’re siblings.”

The room went silent.

Korkie shook his head, “That’s not possible.”

“Mara is right,” Satine stiffened, “an oath was sworn to protect you, but if you need proof, here are the birth certificates.”

Satine handed Korkie his, then Tristan his, and finally Mara hers.

“But,” Tristan frowned, “this says that you’re my mother.”

“It says the same for me,” Korkie’s voice cracked, “have you been lying to me my whole life?”

“There is a good reason for it.” Khaami said calmly.

“No,” Korkie stood, handing Satine the paper, “I don’t believe it.”

“Sit down, Korkyrach,” the Duchess commanded, “I am not done.”

“You lied to me,” Korkie pointed, “how can I trust what you say!”

“Because we all know it’s true,” Ursa Wren stated, “we were all there.”

Tristan turned to his adoptive mother.

“Satine offered me you,” Ursa said, caressing Tristan’s cheek, “after so many years of trying for an heir, and I was so desperate I said yes.”

“But, Sabine-”

“She was scientifically spawned,” Alrich explained, “and that was a huge financial drain for us.”

“Then why,” Korkie asked, shaking, “why would you do this to us?”

“Your father is a Jedi.” Satine stated, full of remorse.

Everyone went silent.

“Korkyrach, I made up the story of my brother so I could keep you,” Satine continued, “I was going to keep your twin sister as well, Tyra Satine, but she inherited your father’s abilities.”

Korkie blinked, “I have a twin sister?”

“She goes by Tyra,” Mara explained, “she’s a padawan to Quinlan Vos.”

“A Jedi with Royal Mandalorian heritage?” Tristan gasped.

“Yes,” Satine nodded, “that is why this has to remain a secret.”

“Mara is force sensitive as well,” Parna’s brother explained, “but she can only do small things.”

“Mind tricks and object manipulation.” Mara nodded.

“What about-” Tristan began.

“You have some midichlorians,” Alrich answered, “we had you tested in secret.”

“Can I have a copy of those test results?” Satine straightened.

“Of course,” Ursa nodded, “we keep it under lock and key.”

“Then,” Korkie frowned, “What about me?”

“We definitely need to test you as well,” Khaami explained, “your father is a very powerful Jedi.”

Korkie turned to Satine, “So, you’re my mother?”

“Yes.”

The Duke of Sundari was silent for a long time.

“Then, who’s my father?”

Everyone in the room looked at her expectantly, except Khaami and Parna who stared at the floor.

“I will tell you someday,” Satine decided, “when you father learns of your existence.”

“You mean,” Mara frowned, “he doesn’t know?”

Satine shook her head, “No.”

The room grew heavy, Satine swallowed.

“Tell me about yourself,” Korkie smiled, addressing Mara, “I don’t know you at all, or Tristan that well even.”

Mara smiled, and taking off her pin, she answered.

“I don’t know if what I do is honorable, but I’ve always wanted a family,” Mara swallowed, “it’s always been a huge missing part of my identity.”

“When were you born?” Tristan asked.

“Marsh second-”

“At four-thirty-two.” Satine concluded, the ghost of a smile on her face.

“I was born on Mash second.” Tristan observed.

“You’re about half an hour older,” Ursa nodded, “I was in the delivery room.”

“And me?” Korkie asked quietly.

Satine put her arm around her son, “You are my firstborn, my eldest son, rightful Duke of Sundari, and the future Duke of Mandalore.”

Satine felt Korkie’s muscles tense.

“Wow.”

“And Tyra Satine?” Tristan asked.

“She was born five minutes after Korkie,” Khaami said, finally breaking her silence, “we were all quite shocked.”

“I’ve met her,” Mara said in a low voice after a quiet moment, “she’s glorious.”

“I’m going to arrange a meeting for all of you,” Satine decided, “I want you to get to know each other.”

#obitine #obi wan kenobi #satine x obiwan #korkie kenobi #korkie kryze #Duchess Satine #satine kryze #sorry i took forever

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs, “Sailor.”

Decided to take a break from the main story-line. I want to go back to working with krill for a while, allowing him to experience different kinds of people and situations, so if you have any ideas, I am open, though weather or not I will get to them is another matter entirely.

Te chopper blades whirled overhead so deafeningly loud that Krill couldn’t hear himself think. Leave it up to the humans to create a piece of technology that got them into the air by attaching a giant fan to the top of it, or giant spinning blades of death. It actually offended him that they didn’t use some kind of hover-craft, which he was sure they had. However, Commander Vir had said that the Navy didn’t have a whole lot of “funding” anymore so their technology tended to be older than dirt.

Krill didn’t think anything would be older than dirt, but stopped short of correcting the human when he realized it was probably just some sort of saying. But now, here he was trapped inside this loud, metal container, feeling the wind buffet them back and forth as Commander Vir adjusted the pedals.

Krill had no idea that the Commander could even fly a helicopter, be here it was.

The guy could probably fly a cardboard box if it had a big enough engine.

Beside him sat the Navy pilot surprisingly eager to learn from the more experienced man, and the two kept a light string of conversation over the headsets. The second guy was on lend from the Naval office as an assistant of sorts. The commander seemed confused, but apparently it was common for higher ranking officers to have subordinates to lick their boots and hand them things.

Commander vir hadn’t gotten that memo.

The original pilot pointed out the front and the helicopter tilted just slightly.

Krill lifted up a bit to look out the front window, but was mostly blinded by sunlight as it reflected off water.

Commander Vir flew the helicopter in low aiming for the helicopter pad on the back end of the ship.

He managed to maintain a hover just above the circle surprised when, “It’s moving!”

“Yes sir, we are on water.”

“Its not supposed to be moving.” he said to himself trying to determine the best way to let down.

“Just get her in close commander than drop her when she comes back up.” The pilot instructed, pleased that they could teach something to a superior officer, though the way the man talked it was hard to remember all those fancy ribbons on his dress grey.

He was a pretty good listener too, and didn’t back down from a fight, lowering himself towards the deck and then timing it just so it placed when the ship swung back up.

It was a minute movement, but still could have thrown anyone off.

As soon as they touched down and the commander cut the engines, Krill could feel the light rocking.

He, and the others stepped out onto deck.

Krill stopped in his tracks eyes staring out at a scene he had only seen through the small windows of the ship. A vast and unending horizon of water on all sides. Tiny white capped waves rolled up and down as the massive steel ship bobbed below him. He turned in a wide circle, staring off at the vast horizons and stretches of water so wide.

They were the only ones here, nothing else in sight.

He grew a bit dizzy.

“Good morning Commander.”

Krill turned to watch as the ships XO (executive officer walked forward to greet the man with a firm handshake. He was surprised at the youth of the commander, he was older than a good portion of his men, but younger than a lot fo them too. The Captain was in his early forties, this man almost young enough to be his son.

“A pleasure captain.” At his back the Lieutenant stood stiffly waiting to be used for some reason or another.

“I heard you were coming, to what do we owe the pleasure.”

Commander Vir glanced out at the sloshing waves with some unease, “I wanted to come down to observe the operation of your ship, Captain. I am afraid to say that current UNSC protocols are still being made, and I thought Navy and UNSC vessels are similar enough I might due to take some lessons from the way things are run.”

The man smiled, “Well, sir generally the brass doesn’t sail. In the Navy you would have a cushy job somewhere on land behind a desk.”

“String me up when that day comes.”

“You and I feel the same way then. The sea is my life, Been sailing since I was a kid, and I couldn’t imagine what I’d do without her.

Commander Vir nodded, “its flying for me.”

Krill glanced around the ship, watching as men and women worked on objects that he did not know, wearing uniforms he did not recognize. They were led down onto the deck, and Commander Vir stumbled a few times, unsteady on the moving platform.

The captain grinned, easily riding the gentle rocking motion as if they weren’t moving, “Someone has yet to get their sea legs.”

Commander Vir gripped the railing, “Fun fact. I’ve never actually been on a boat, at least not larger than a canoe.

Behind him, Krill simply tried floating to avoid having to move, but found the boat deck moving below him, and a gentle sea breeze pushing him back. In panic he set down on the deck again.

“Seems strange, someone who pilots a ship,”

“No such thing as space legs.” The commander commented gingerly letting go of the railing. We have gravity mats that make it just like earth, and there is no wind or water to make us move. Steadier than riding in a car, and once the acceleration is done there is no way to know you are even moving.

The man shook his head, “Can’t imagine wanting to fly in space, being trapped inside a tin can that, if it malfunctions my eyeballs would be sucked out of their sockets.”

“Actually that doesn’t happen. You would freeze first, while your blood boiled off anyway.”

The man gave him a look, “You’re insane.”

“I’m insane! At least its better than drowning, or being eaten by sharks.”

The captain waved a hand, “I can’t remember the last time someone in the navy actually drowned.”

Commander vir eyed the edge of the ship nervously.

“Anyway, Commander, I am glad we could be of service, truth be told us sailors arent needed all that much anymore now that wars tend to take place in space and off world. Most of the stuff we do includes tracking down pirates and saving dumbass civilians who don’t know what a red sky at morning means.”

Commander Vir stared at hi blankly.

The man frowned, “You don’t know do you.”

“Can’t say I do.”

“Red sky at morning sailors take warning. Meaning there’s going to be bad weather?”

He shrugged, “Why not just use radar for that.”

“The man looked almost offended, “Thousands of years of accumulated knowledge, and you just want to use radar?”

Krill watched in silence keeping notes in one of his cortical hemispheres as he listened. It was strange, by all rights these two men should have been similar in a lot of ways. When it came right down to it a UNSC vessel and a Navy one were pretty much the same and included a lot of the same sort of things on board. Even the two men were similar in their almost rabid love of the place they worked. One and knew more about the ocean than krill thought there was no know, while the Commander had a handle on space that no other man in the history of humanity ever had.

To krill’s surprise it turned out there was some actual sill to floating on a large body of water. The man talked about the currents, and the weather patterns, and the way the ship liked to ride them.

Space vs ocean, and neither man seemed to understand why the other would want to go anywhere near the other’s domain.

The Navy captain also seemed to be having a right old time watching commander vir stumble into things as he adjusted to his “sea legs.”

Krill had no idea what that meant, but he kind of doubted it was what it sounded like. The saying made hi think the human was going to spontaneously grow new legs for walking on the ship, but the more likely explanation seemed that the human body would get used to the constant moving, so the person would no longer have trouble when walking.

Krill didn’t really need sea legs, though he marveled at how the humans could seem to work so normally on a rolling surface when their balance was already unbelievable.

Around the ship, the regular Navy men were more than a bit tickled to see a member of the brass (UNSC or otherwise) wobble about like a ‘drunken’ sailor. Mostly it was funny and partially it made them feel superior to someone who would usually have that edge over them.

Eventually the Commander go the hang of it and accompanied the Captain to the bridge and around the ship to see how things worked taking occasional notes, but eventually ordering the Lt. to do it for him as, “Your fidgeting is making me nervous, so have something to do.”

Krill got stared at, a lot, but that was pretty normal for him, and, on one occasion, a call went out from one of the men on deck, and an entire group of them rushed over to one side, pointing at the water. The captain led them over just in time to watch in awe as a massive creature breached the surface of the water. Krill stepped back as the massive shape slowly tilted backwards and water erupted around it.

The captain turned to look at the commander with a smug expression, “Guess you didn't get to see that in space.”

He was a little less pleased to see the commander smirking at him, “Perhaps not…” he let it trail off there, though his grin was rather telling.

“What! You’re not telling e there are space wales.”

“I am not at liberty to discuss that, captain.”

Krill wasn’t entirely sure if their teasing was friendly or if their rivalry was something more than that.

Either way the captain did get the last laugh, as sitting inside the ship the commander didn’t touch his food head resting back against the wall, eyes closed. As a doctor, krill couldn’t help but notice the parlor that had fallen over his face. He was about to ask the commander if he was feeling ok when the captain strolled up, his turn to look smug and took a seat, “Don’t worry, a lot of people get seasick their first time. But I’m sure that’s not a problem in space.”

“Cosmic hysteria is worse.” The commander muttered.

“A bit green about the gills there. Do you want e to get you a bag.”

The commander frowned, but didn’t open his eyes.

“I thought you were a fighter pilot, shouldn’t you be immune to motion sickness.”

The human was teasing him, but commander Vir felt to sick to respond. He was very much determined to keep his lunch down, but knew that was going to be a losing battle.

He could hear the sailors laughing as he bolted upright and sprinted to the edge of the deck mouth salivating so badly he was sure he was going to drip on his uniform.

Nothing was funnier to the crew than a member of the brass who couldn’t hold in his lunch on a ship.

Krill personally found a couple of things interesting, number one being the ardent glee that the other humans experienced upon watching the suffering of another. It seemed to be a common theme in humans, enjoying watching someone in power over you get what they deserve It seemed to make underlings feel superior in some way where they normally wouldn't. Through their ribbing was generally light-hearted and nothing worse beyond that.

Second being the human’s strange ability to become sick because of unpredictable rocking motions. He had never seen an alien with that issue, though, upon looking into it with the crew physician, he learned that humans, while having the best sense of kinesthetic awareness out of most of the species, that had to do with the placement of liquid inside the ear canal that moved with the movement of the head.

Constant movement that was in contradiction to the movement of the eyes, or caused the sloshing to become confused inside the ears could cause a reaction in the brain that simulated poisoning.

You see one of the first signs of neurotoxin is dizziness and the body responds with nausea. When movement causes the fluid in the ears to become jumbled and confused, the rain interprets this in the same way and responds with nausea.

Quite fascinating, and Krill couldn’t help feel his own sense of satisfaction knowing he couldnt get seasick.

Although he was ore than happy to get off this moving metal tube of death.

Leave it to humans to figure out a way to make metal float and then decide to spend days at a time on it.

Humans who loved large bodies of water were insane.

Though most humans were insane he supposed

317 notes · View notes

auror-lovie · 4 years

Text

I Loved You, Mr. Scamander; Chapter 2

━━━•✦.✧. Author’s Note.✧.✦•━

Chapter 2 is O U T!

GOSH THE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH I DID JUST TO MAKE THIS CHAPTER.

Besides the point, I had a lot of fun doing the research. (Where was this version of me in high school-)

I hope you guys enjoy it! This chapter is a bit longer than I anticipated. It was a mix of research, personal experiences, and listening to the same song for hours-

You can find the playlist and the taglist form link in my bio! (Or you can just comment, send an ask, or PM- whichever feels comfortable)

━━━━━•✦.✧. Summary .✧.✦•━

After Hogwarts, (Y/N) and Victoria become the MOM’s Investigation Department’s secret weapon. While celebrating the completion of a recent case, she meets someone new. Who knew that this someone is related to her first love?

━━━━━•✦.✧. Add-Ons .✧.✦•━

A little back story of what happened during their last year at Hogwarts

Theseus~! ( Gosh, I hope I didn’t write him too out of character. Then again, in this chapter, he’s fresh out of WWI )

Victoria and (Y/N)’s friendship is solely based on the friendship I have with my fellow RavenPuff best friend. ( If she ever finds this fic, though I doubt it, I love you~! )

Fluff! (Hopefully)

Theseus and Reader being oblivious to these coincidences.

CLICHE ROMANCE STUFF. I’M A HOPELESS ROMANTIC, OKAY???

Hilarity ensues

Blood, but it’s a short scene

Slight angst at the end

━━━━━━•✦.✧.☾.✧.✦•━━━━━

Before Newt left, he promised to owl them. He was set on working for the Ministry to work with magical creatures in some way. Though his letters always came at odd hours- stupid time zones.

The day after Newt's expulsion, (Y/N) and Victoria had cut ties with Leta. They couldn’t trust her after what had happened. Despite all that, (Y/N) wished Leta the best in life.

For once the roles reversed, Victoria wanted to hex the hell out of Leta, but (Y/N) talked her out of it. Told her that it wasn’t worth it. Instead of spending all that energy on hating someone, it was better to wish them the best and let them go.

Sixth year had come to an end. On the day everyone was set to go back home for the summer holiday, Headmaster Dippet had summoned Victoria to his office.

“Headmaster Dippet,” She said as she stepped into his office. “What can I do for you?”

“You can take this, Miss Howard.” He replied, his hand gesturing to a small, yet elegant metal box that sat near her side of the desk.

Puzzled, Victoria walked closer. She hesitantly grabbed the box and opened it. On the small cushion, laid a navy blue pin, with the words HEAD GIRL in bronze.

“T-This is an honor, sir.” She stumbled, picking it up. It was funny how valuable a small badge would be. How much weight and responsibility it held while being almost as light as a feather.

“I want you to wear it on the first day back.” He gave a small smile.

“I understand, Professor. I can’t thank you enough-“

“Hush child. Come next year, you’ll curse me out for giving you the responsibilities.”

In their final year at Hogwarts, they made it their best year yet. They went to all the Quidditch games and Hogsmeade trips. They studied their hardest and gave it their all. When they graduated, they both got “Exceeds Expectations” and “Outstanding” in all the subjects needed to apply for the Auror Training Program. These subjects were Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Charms.

~*~*~

Auror training required strenuous work to complete, but nothing they couldn’t handle. It was mandatory to undergo a rigorous series of character and aptitude tests. These tests showcased how well they reacted under pressure. They trained extensively in advanced magical combat, other elements of practical defense, and methods of criminal investigation.

Other training courses were Concealment and Disguise, Stealth and Tracking, Battle Instinct, Best-Laid Plans, Duelling in the Dark, Field Training, History of the Dark Arts, Method in the Mad-Eye, Resilience Training, and The Auror Advantage; while poisons and antidotes were also essential studies. Their training lasted for three years and was difficult work.

(Y/N) excelled in courses like Battle Instinct and Dueling in the Dark. Victoria showed her prowess in courses like Stealth and Tracking and Best-Laid Plans. Their personalities complimented each other. Apart, they had their successes, but together? They were a force not to be reckoned with. You’ve heard of power couples, but they were a powerful dynamic duo.

The Ministry of Magic in the Investigation Department is where they started. They were the department’s secret weapon. The only people who knew of them were those also in the Investigation Department. If they left the department due to any reason, they would be obliviated of their memory of (Y/N) and Victoria.

•✦.✧.🔎.✧.✦•

Another report was finalized and another dark wizard in Azkaban. In celebration, Victoria had convinced (Y/N) to go out to a pub with her. Coincidentally, the muggle world was celebrating a victory of their own.

At the pub, (Y/N) and Victoria was sitting at the bar, both on their second glass of Sidecar cocktail. Their work clothes were more wrinkled than usual as they relaxed on the stools.

The place was hot (despite it being winter), loud, and reeked of perfume and alcohol. People were celebrating the victory of “The War to End All Wars”. Men in uniforms were all around. Some were at home with loved ones. Others were kissing random strangers at the pub or hanging around with their mates. Then there were a couple of groups raising a glass to their fallen comrades.

“I’m headed to the restroom. You coming?” Victoria asked after finishing her glass.

(Y/N) swished her drink in her glass. “I’m good. I’ll wait here for you.”

Victoria nodded, “Alright, dear. Remember no boys, and if one won’t leave you alone- hex him or punch him.”

(Y/N) gave her a look.

Victoria laughed. “Be alert.” She said before leaving.

She nodded, “I will, Vi. I always am.” (Y/N) let out a sigh as she watched Victoria walk towards the restroom.

Her train of thought started with work but soon drifted to Newt. Over the years, she and Newt continued to stay in touch. Since she graduated, Newt had served on the Eastern Front- not in the war, no. He was there to wrangle some Ukrainian Ironbellys. That year, Augustus Worme commissioned him to write a book about magical creatures.

“Of course he took the job. It’s the perfect job for him…” She mumbled before taking another sip.

If there was anything (Y/N) wanted to do right now, it would be to go home. Being at a pub wasn’t her thing- neither was it Victoria’s, but she let it slide this time. ‘To whatever God or higher celestial being up there, please keep Newt safe.’ She thought, staring at the remaining liquid.

“Hey, what’s a pretty little lady like you doing in a place like this all by herself?” A male voice cooed as he sat on the barstool to her left.

Snapping out of her thoughts, (Y/N) turned to face a man in uniform. He had short blonde hair (but if it were any longer, it would break regulation) and light brown eyes. Attractive? Yes. Her type? Definitely not.

“I’m not here by myself,” (Y/N) eyed the single chevron patch sewn on the upper half of his uniform’s sleeve. “-Private.” She said before meeting his gaze. “I’m here with a friend.”

“Private Keaton Williams.” He said as he took one of her hands in his, bringing it up to kiss her knuckles.

‘Merlin’s beard. Where’s Victoria?’ She thought as she saw the satisfaction on his face. (Y/N) slowly retracted her hand, holding it close to her chest.

“Thank you, Private- er, Williams. But I should be looking for my friend.” She said, getting ready to stand.

He held onto her wrist, preventing her from leaving. “Come on. We both know it’s a lie. You’re not really here with anyone.” Keaton teased.

She tried to think of a way to turn him down. She couldn’t hex him- he was a muggle. There were rules about using magic in the presence of muggles! And she couldn’t punch him. How could she punch a man who had fought for the country she called home?

“She’s with me.” said another male’s voice. This time, it came from behind her.

Keaton looked past (Y/N) to see another man in uniform. “Oh wow. I’m another bloke in a uniform. What makes you so special?” He mocked.

“I don’t condone men flaunting their uniform as a way to catch a woman’s heart.” The one behind her replied. “I’ve dealt with idiots like him. Play along.” He whispered in her ear. (Y/N) nodded, before taking back her wrist.

“I know how to get what I want 's all,” Keaton boasted, then turned his attention back to (Y/N). “Let’s go, love. Let this soldier show you a good time.”

(Y/N) turned to get a look at her savior. Oh great. Yet she stared for a second longer- he looked so familiar.

Shaking her head from her thoughts, she leaned into his chest. “I’m sorry, Private Williams. You had no chance from the start. This soldier had already caught my attention.”

The man looked shocked for a split second before playing along with her little skit. “Ah yes. I’m glad I was able to return home to the love of my life all in one piece.” He said before wrapping an arm around (Y/N)’s shoulder.

She blushed. ‘Love of his life? No- stop it. It’s a ruse.’

Keaton looked at the other, eyeing his rank. “What’s a Sergeant got that I don’t?”

The man shifted, a crimson ribbon pinned to the pocket flap of his left breast pocket revealing itself. “I have the right mind to back off when a woman says no.”

Keaton looked again, seeing the ribbon, and gasped. The Victoria Cross Award. “Y-You’re him. T-That Theseus guy… The War Hero.”

Theseus. The name of her saviour was revealed!

Theseus rolled his eyes. “It’s Sergeant to you. Now scram before I report you to your commanding officer.”

“Y-Yes Sergeant,” Keaton said before walking away from the pair.

(Y/N) let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed her shoulders. “Thank you… Theseus, was it?”

Theseus hummed in agreement, removing his arm from her shoulder. “It’s no problem…” He trailed off, running his hand through his hair.

She turned in her chair to face him. His hair now slightly messed up due to his recent action. His uniform suited him- good and squared away. But his face. It was so damn familiar. It was as if she’d seen those blue eyes somewhere before.

��Uh… Like what you see?” Theseus joked.

(Y/N) blushed. “I-I didn’t mean to stare…” A small pause before sticking her hand out, “I’m (Y/N).”

Theseus gently took her hand, bringing it to his lips, and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “Theseus. Charmed to meet you.”

‘Did… Did he just…?’ (Y/N) giggled, taking her hand back and interlocking her fingers together. “So what’s a wizard like you serving in the military?”

He sighed, sitting on the seat that was once Victoria’s, “The military part was a cover-up to get me on the front lines. Even if the muggles were at war, that didn’t mean dark wizards would stop their heinous crimes. I was working double time. A field agent for the Ministry and a Sergeant for the British Armed Forces.”

(Y/N) nodded. “Thank you for your service… For our world and theirs.” She smiled at him.

The silence was deafening between them, but it wasn’t awkward in any way. It was more comforting.

(Y/N) brought herself to look at his eyes again, her pupils dilating. His eyes made her heart swell with love- the type of love she reserved only for Newt. Though, she couldn’t help but spill a little bit of that to Theseus. Love at first sight?

Theseus returned the smile. How could someone, let alone a stranger he met, be this beautiful? His mind drifted to a small montage of made-up scenarios. He could see a growing relationship with her- a family even. Would his mother approve? Would Newt approve? She’d make a great addition to the Scamander family.

“Sorry I took too long. Ready to- Merlin, (Y/N)! I leave for five minutes!” Victoria’s voice yelled from behind Theseus.

“Sorry about that.” (Y/N) mumbled.

He turned in his seat to face Victoria. “I-I’m sure you’d like an explanation, but first, hello.” He stuttered.

(Y/N) emerged from behind him, walking over to her friend. “Vi! This is Theseus. Theseus this is my best friend, Victoria.”

‘He looks so familiar. I’ve seen his face somewhere before.’ Victoria thought.

•✦.✧.🔎.✧.✦•

On Theseus and (Y/N)’s first date, they went to a coffee shop.

“So you’re part of the law enforcement? Are you sure you retired from your military work?” She joked.

Theseus chuckled softly before sipping on his tea- he was never a coffee person. “First, yes. I’m retired. And yes, I work within law enforcement. I’m what you call “well respected”. And what about you, love?”

She blushed. “I work in the field then do some paperwork. That’s all. Nothing that special.”

“Hm…” He thought for a moment before an idea popped into his head. “Ever thought about working for the Ministry? They could use a couple of recruits in the Auror Department. I’m sure Victoria would join as well. Training is only about three years and with your skills, I’m sure you two would be a great Aurors.”

(Y/N) smiled before sipping on her cup of coffee. ‘Only if you knew…’

~*~*~

For their next date, they went out for a walk in the park. It was cold out, so they wore their long coats and their house scarves.

“No way! You were a Hufflepuff? I thought you were a Gryffindor!” (Y/N) exclaimed as he neared their meeting spot.

Theseus smiled, “Well, hello to you too.” He then stood in front of her, ruffling her hair. “Well then, Little Miss Ravenclaw, aren’t you full of surprises?” He teased.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “What house did you think I was in…?”

He gestured to his Hufflepuff scarf.

“If the Sorting Hat sorted me again, I’m pretty sure I’d be in Hufflepuff. If Victoria got sorted again… She’d definitely be a Slytherin.”

“Then again, you’re the feistiest Ravenclaw I’ve ever met.” Theseus teased, poking her cheek softly.

(Y/N) swatted his hand away from her face, “W-Well you’re the cockiest Hufflepuff I’ve ever met.

~*~*~

The third time they went out, they went to a fancy restaurant.

“Theseus… Where are we going?” She asked as they walked hand in hand.

“Somewhere special. I’ve been dying to take you out here for months.”

“Oh?” She asked. “What did I do to deserve this?”

He smiled as they turned the corner. “Ah, here we are!”

(Y/N) looked at the building and gasped. “Theseus… The Ritz?! This must've cost you a fortune!”

He kissed her cheek, “Anything for you.”

~*~*~

Then came their fourth date. Theseus had decided on that night, he’d make their relationship official. He would’ve done it sooner, but he’d only met her a year ago. He wanted time to get to know her and make sure it wasn’t an impulse decision. To his surprise, she agreed. So after a year-long wait, he took his chance. Nothing to lose… right?

After dinner, they decided to take a walk in the park. A last-minute plan she was not dressed for.

“You know, despite its kleptomania for shiny things, I always wanted a Niffler. They’re such interesting creatures.” She admitted.

Theseus chuckled- a sound that was now music to (Y/N)’s ears. “You sound like my brother. He’s into all that care of magical creatures stuff. Me? Not so much.”

She hummed, “I’d like to meet your brother sometime…”

“I’ll set up a date for all us to have tea when he comes back from his travels.”

“C-Can’t wait!” She stuttered as she rubbed her upper arms for warmth.

He noticed this and nonchalantly removed his coat. He draped it over her shoulders, “Sorry. It’s my fault you’re cold.”

She held the lapels of his coat, “But now you’ll get cold!”

“It looks better on you than it did me.” He gave her a playful wink.

(Y/N) gasped as she remembered a moment like that. All those years ago at Hogwarts- with Newt. Though she dismissed the thoughts of her first love. Newt wasn’t there with her. Theseus was. Newt hadn’t taken her out on those wonderful dates. Theseus had. Newt didn’t love her. Theseus did- or so she hoped.

Theseus had stopped them in front of a water fountain. The sound of trickling water and the echoes of the city filled the silence. He shoved his hands into his pockets. Were his hands always this sweaty? He took a deep breath and exhaled. It was now or never.

“Theseus, darling, A-Are you alright?” She asked, one of her hands cupping his cheek.

He hummed and leaned into her touch. Despite the cold, her hand was radiating so much warmth. He looked at her lovingly, “Yes, dear. Everything is fine.”

“(Y/N)… During my Hogwarts years, I never gave dating a second thought. And after I graduated, I immediately started working for the Ministry. Then I got sent to war. Merlin- I never want to step foot in a muggle war ever again.” He paused to make sure she was paying attention.

Her hand returned to the warmth of his coat. She nodded, giving him the okay to continue.

“And when I returned home, I was so set on returning to my duties at the Ministry. Then I met you. You wonderful, beautiful, intelligent woman. I couldn’t believe that I caught your attention. I know I’m rambling and your feet must be in pain for standing for so long, so let me ask you this.” He paused for a second. “Will you allow me to date you properly? To make this- us, official?”

(Y/N) smiled. “Theseus… I never thought you’d ask. I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

Full of joy, Theseus wrapped his arms around her and spun around. Their laughs mixed, composing a duet that harmonized with each other perfectly.

When he set her down, she sighed in content. “Oh, Theseus…”

He cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. “Can… Can I kiss you?”

She nodded. “Yes-”

He cut her response short, closing the gap between their lips.

•✦.✧.🔎.✧.✦•

The New Year’s season came to pass and it was the start of the 1920s. Victoria and (Y/N) transferred to the Aurors Department. Effective immediately. They loved the Investigation Department and everyone there. Must've been something serious if their transfer was immediate.

Little did they know, Theseus was the Head of the Auror department.

On the way to the meeting room, (Y/N) was ranting about the sudden change. Victoria was saying her thoughts about the matter but listened to her friend’s distress. They walked past an office and Victoria caught the nameplate on the door that read “Theseus Scamander”

Scamander? Oh-

Before Victoria could ask questions, they had gotten to the meeting room. There were other Aurors in the department. Everyone there knew each other, so Victoria and (Y/N) were the “newbies”.

Victoria turned to (Y/N), “Hey… You know that boyfriend of yours, did you by any chance get his last name?” She whispered.

(Y/N) shrugged, “No. I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Well, let me tell you-”

The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Torquil Travers, entered the room from the back entrance. “Fellow Aurors! As you all know, Grindelwald is gathering up recruits for his “For the Greater Good” revolution. All of you are here today to form up a special task force in bringing him and his organization down. Leading you in this endeavor is the new Head of Auror Office and retired War Hero, Theseus Scamander.”

A round of applause erupted, welcoming the new Head of Auror Office.

Turning towards Travers, Victoria clapped along. “I’m sure it’s not your Theseus-”

“Oh shit.” (Y/N) cursed as she saw her beloved walk through the doors.

Theseus nodded as he walked towards his new task force.

Travers patted his back, “You’ll need to choose an assistant and a communications liaison, but take your time.”

Theseus scanned the room. He knew all of the people, some he trusted, and some he didn’t. Then he saw a pair he knew all too well- but he only saw them outside of work- (Y/N) and Victoria.

(Y/N) gave a shy smile, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Victoria smirked, “You’re screwed.”

As the applause died down, Theseus announced, “I’ve already chosen the people for the positions. For my assistant, I’ll be having Miss (Y/N) (L/N).”

She blushed as she felt everyone’s eyes on her. Though slightly confused, the other Aurors in the room applauded.

Victoria leaned down again, “Try not to make too much noise in his office, eh?”

(Y/N) opened her mouth to gasp, but nothing came out. “I would never!”

“And my Communications Liaison will be Miss Victoria Howard.”

(Y/N) nudged her friend, “You’re stuck with us now.”

Victoria laughed nervously, waving at everyone. “Brilliant…”

~*~*~

The three of them were in Theseus’ office. (Y/N) was pacing back and forth as Theseus was sitting at his desk and Victoria leaning against the bookshelf.

“Why me? Why another Scamander?” She groaned in agony. “How did I not know!” She muttered.

“Love, what’s the problem?” Theseus asked, slightly worried.

“You wouldn’t by any chance have a brother would you?” Victoria asked, looking at him.

“Yeah.” He replied, his attention still towards (Y/N), who was still pacing back and forth.

“About this tall?” She said, extending her arm to its highest point.

“Around there.”

“Loves magical creatures?” She asked, now crossing her arms over her chest.

“More than life itself.”

“Got expelled from Hogwarts in his sixth year?”

“Yes. Wait, how did you-”

“I figured.” She gave a curt nod before looking at her distressed friend. “Honey, you need to calm down.”

(Y/N) stopped in her tracks and faced Victoria. Her eyes were on the verge of tears.

Victoria's expression softened as she shoved aside the blunt responses she had prepared in her mind. “Hey… Come here…” She cooed as she walked over to her with arms wide open.

(Y/N) quickly ran into Victoria’s embrace, letting the tears fall. She mumbled something into her shoulder.

“What was that, dear?” She asked softly.

(Y/N) pulled away, “I said, what am I going to tell Newt? I’ve told him that I recently got a boyfriend. How is he going to react when it’s his brother?”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “What’s it to him? He’s your best friend.” She said, emphasizing the fact that Newt was just her friend. “If it’s his brother or not, who you date is not his business.”

Theseus stood from his seat and walked over to the pair. “If it makes you feel better, we can invite him over for tea and tell him.”

(Y/N) moves from Victoria’s arms and walks over to Theseus. “I… I think I’d like that.”

•✦.✧.🔎.✧.✦•

Despite Theseus and (Y/N)’s relationship, they never let it get in the way of their work. (Y/N) had the same workload and deadlines as the others in the task force.

Victoria was still expected to represent the Ministry’s Auror department, write news releases, and coordinate the distribution of information along with her fieldwork.

Theseus randomly assigned partners in every stakeout or raid- mostly because he’d feel like he’d protect the hell out of (Y/N) if she was paired up with him all the time. (Y/N) was capable, and he knew that.

Though there are sometimes where one of them got hurt and the other can’t help but care for them.

(Y/N) had made Theseus take off his blazer and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. Blood dripped from the wound caused by one of Grindelwald’s recruits. She sat on a short stool with a bucket of warm water off to the side, just within arms reach.

Theseus slouched in the chair, flinching at the slightest touches (Y/N) made with the towel. She had wiped off all the dried blood surrounding the wound. Then she started dabbing the towel ever so gently on top of it. The towel was damp and warm, but it didn’t make the pain any softer.

He grimaced as he inhaled sharply, jerking his arm away from her.

“I need to clean your wound, love” (Y/N) said, reaching over to where he moved his arm.

“But (Y/N) it hurts!” He whined.

“You’re being childish.” She replied.

“W-Well you’re not the one on the receiving end!”

“Honey, you were a soldier. I’m sure you’ve dealt with more serious wounds than this…”

“That’s because I didn’t have someone as cute as you cleaning me up.”

“Flattery won’t get your wound cleaned up.”

“Can’t you just use a spell?”

“Unlike most wizards, I like to do some things without the use of magic.”

He huffed childishly, not looking at her.

“If you didn’t move, it wouldn’t hurt as much.”

Theseus grumbled, still moving his arm away.

“Theseus Scamander, hold still or so help me I will hex you!”

“I thought we didn’t allow magic in the bedroom~” He teased.

“Theseus! We’re at work!”

•✦.✧.🔎.✧.✦•

After months of asking and asking, Theseus had finally convinced Newt to come and visit him- to finally meet his girlfriend. (Y/N) had already decided on the tea so they were waiting for Newt to arrive.

As they waited, Theseus was looking over some reports as (Y/N) was leaning on his bookshelf, doing some light reading.

He sighed, setting the papers in his hand back down on his desk. Glancing over to (Y/N), he smiled, ‘She’s beautiful even when she’s reading…’

Theseus looked at her ensemble. A white long-sleeved button-up, a grey vest with a matching blazer, and dress pants. He looked at his suit- the same color scheme. Were they always matching?

He looked at her again and noticed that this time, she wore a tie with her suit, but not just any tie. A yellow and black tie- His Hufflepuff tie. Theseus smiled, “Hey (L/N), nice tie.”

(Y/N) nodded, turning the page of her book. “Yeah? I put it on this morning.” She said nonchalantly.

Theseus stood and made his way over. When he stood in front of her, he took the book from her hands and set it to the side. “Where’d you get it?”

She looked up at him. Was he always this tall? “Hogwarts. From when I went there. Duh.”

“Really? Because I remember you telling me that you were a Ravenclaw,” He said untucking the tie from under her vest. “This is clearly a Hufflepuff tie.” He held up the end of the tie in her line of view.

(Y/N) gasped. “I swear, it was an honest mistake!”

“Hmm…” He trailed off. “I kind of like seeing you in my ties. It’s cute.” He said, leaning in close.

“Thes… We’re at work… A-And your brother could walk in any minute-”

His fingers slid up the material, finally wrapping around the knot. “Yeah… But I haven’t kissed you since we left my flat…” He whispered, tugging softly as if to bring her closer.

She could feel herself leaning in close. Her lip mere millimeters away-

“Here we are! Head of Aurors Office!” Victoria said, opening the door to Theseus’ office. She and Newt walked in.

(Y/N) quickly pushed Theseus away, shoving the tie back under her vest.

“Newt!” (Y/N) exclaimed, shoving herself off the bookshelf.

“Brother!” Theseus said happily as he walked over to Newt.

There, Newt stood in a nice suit, a mustard yellow vest, and a blue overcoat. In his hand was a suitcase. The enchanted suitcase that (Y/N) had read so much about in his letters.

“Wait, when you told me in your letter that you had a boyfriend, you never told me it was my brother,” Newt said, slightly hurt.

“We meant to tell you!” Theseus said defensively.

“When? When I catch you almost snogging each other?” Newt retorted, glaring at his brother

“No! It would be over tea! Which we would be having right now…” She pouted.

“I think… I think I’d like a rain check on that…” He said as he started to back away.

“Newt! Don’t do this!” Victoria pleaded.

He finally turned around and walked to the door. When he got there, he stopped in Victoria’s line of view. Newt didn’t face her. He looked straight ahead, grip tightening on the handle of his case. “You knew and didn’t tell me?” Newt asked bitterly.

Victoria placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She opened her mouth to say something and for once, she didn’t have a blunt response or snarky remark. “It wasn’t my position to say…”

Newt scoffed. “It would’ve been nice to know beforehand,” He said before shoving her hand off and walking away from Theseus’ office. Away from his brother. Away from his friend. Away from her. Newt hadn’t seen then in so long and now that he had the chance… He just left…?

(Y/N) quickly ran after him, “Newt, wait!”

Victoria leaned against the door frame, banging the back of her head against the wood. “It’s always a Scamander…”

Theseus looked at Victoria. “Did… Did they have something?”

Victoria sighed, stopping from her current action to look at Theseus. “It’s not my position to say…”

~*~*~

In the hallway, (Y/N) finally caught up to Newt. She held onto the material of his sleeve.

“Back there,” She panted. “What was that about?”

“You… You’re dating my brother?” He asked. Stupid question, but he needed to hear it again to make sure he wasn’t imagining it.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” (Y/N) said, but her tone made it sound rude.

“Didn’t think he’d be your type…” Newt mumbled.

“And you know what my type is?” She replied, slightly offended.

“I…” Newt paused. ‘I was hoping that it’d be me.’ He thought.

(Y/N) sighed, finally letting go of his sleeve. “Look, you’re my best friend and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’ll admit that it was my fault, but I don’t want to lose you just because I’m dating your brother. I-”

“What?” Newt interrupted. “One Scamander isn’t enough? You need both of us in your life, do you? Why do you need me? You already have Theseus wrapped around your fingers.” He snapped.

“What is up with you, Newton?” She groaned in frustration. “You know what? Now is not the time. I’ll give you all the time and space you need. When you’re ready to talk about this, I’m only an owl away.” She turned to leave, but not before saying something that made Newt realize how he felt about his best friend.

“Just know that before Theseus,” She paused. “It was always you.”

#fbawtft #fbtcog #theseus scamander x reader #theseus scamander #fantastic beasts fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #Series: ILYMS

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carewyncromwell · 3 years

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Whew! Three drawings for the price of one for the POTC AU! The first two feature our new Pirate King Jules Farrier-Weasley @cursebreakerfarrier (flanked by Jacob “Black Jack” Cromwell Roberts and Orion Amari), and Cutler Beckett (flanked by Carewyn Cromwell “Carey Weasley” and Patricia Rakepick). The last one features the human form of our Davy Jones, Finn McGarry @theguythatdraws, with his One True Love Chiara Dalma, A.K.A. Calypso! These took a while, but they were fun to do, so I hope you like them.

Jules’s “tunic” is actually the same chemise she cut up while she was still on board the Artemis, as seen in a doodle on a previous post. Carewyn’s new uniform (which we’ll address in this part) is based on yet another of James Norrington’s costumes, this time the one he wears in the third Pirates film. Unlike the character whose role she roughly fills, though, Carey isn’t going to die unceremoniously in the middle of the damn story after getting this costume change. (Why no, I’m not bitter about the fact that Jack Davenport didn’t get more screentime and that Norrington didn’t get to be the Javert to Captain Jack Sparrow’s Valjean in the sequels the way he so could’ve been after the first movie, why would you think that? *snort*)

Now that we’re getting more into the Davy Jones/Calypso stuff, I can acknowledge how much I’ve changed from the original films’ depictions of the characters, as well as why. Personally I find the characters’ relationship to be a bit toxic and not as romantic as it should be. Calypso, being a goddess, could very easily not understand things like the passage of time through a man’s eyes, but the excuse she gives for why she wasn’t there to support her lover after all of the hard and lonely work he’d put in for her after ten years is just “it’s who I am.” I get that she’s a manifestation of the sea and not something you can pin down and all that jazz, but at the same time, it was cruel to follow her own selfish whims over considering her lover’s feelings. She presumably then also didn’t even try following up with Jones after he returned to the sea, as they aren’t able to sort out that misunderstanding before the events of At World’s End. (I mean, she’s a shape-shifting goddess of the sea, and she made him that way in the first place, so it’s not like she couldn’t have met him somewhere that wasn’t dry land.) I understand Jones couldn’t expect her to change her nature, and that’s fair, but it doesn’t make me like Calypso very much or feel much of anything for her relationship with Jones. And on the flip side, Jones decides to take out his pain at this misunderstanding (which he really should’ve tried clearing up AGES before the events of At World’s End) on his lover in the most spiteful, vindictive way -- teaching a bunch of pirates how to trap an immortal goddess into a mortal body that definitely has none of the power innate to her, presumably feels pain, and could even age or die. Rather than trying to quit the job Calypso gave him or even trying to figure out what happened, he decides to clip the wings of the woman he supposedly loves, all due to his own pain at being betrayed. So I don’t feel much for Jones as a character and for his relationship with Calypso either. In the end, when they quasi-make up, I didn’t think it was earned or that it was a good outcome for either of them. I do think there’s some tragedy in the situation, for they clearly feel deeply for each other, but their romance is really dysfunctional in my opinion, and I think it could’ve been handled a lot better if you wanted to make the pairing as romantic as the theme Hans Zimmer wrote for it. (As a side, take a listen to this lovely lyric cover someone wrote for the Davy Jones theme, it’s so good!) This is part of why I like being able to write Chia and Finn (the Calypso and Jones analogues in this AU) with a more sympathetic backstory, as well as some organic development for both them and their relationship while they’re apart from each other, which I kind of think was lacking in Tia Dalma/Calypso in particular.

Previous part is here, whole tag is here, and I hope you all enjoy!

x~x~x~x

Carewyn was perturbed by how fast an armada of ships from Port Royal caught up with the Flying Dutchman, once Rakepick had Jones send one of his cursed crew members with a message for Beckett. It was as though the head of the East India Trading Company had been waiting in eager anticipation of the Dutchman locating Shipwreck Cove ever since he gave her and Rakepick the mission in the first place.

Among the armada was the Clearwater, and Carewyn was shocked and a little happy to see Percy crossing over to the Dutchman from his ship and leaping off the gangplank to greet her. The youngest of the three Weasley brothers who’d joined the Navy gave her a salute for formalities’ sake, but he couldn’t keep the relieved smile off his face.

“Commodore Weasley,” he said formally.

“Captain Weasley,” said Carewyn in return.

As soon as they’d greeted each other, both of them loosened considerably. Carewyn opened her arms and brought Percy into a rather mannish hug, clapping his back the way Bill often did whenever he hugged his brothers.

“Jones’s men treated you well, I hope?” Percy murmured under his breath, his voice betraying some cold suspicion despite himself.

“Well enough,” Carewyn said softly.

When they broke apart, Percy was smiling a bit more fully.

“It is good to see you, Carey,” he said, his faintly pompous voice nonetheless incredibly sincere, “though I’m afraid I’ll have my own ship to run now...”

Carewyn smiled proudly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. A Commodore needs a talented Captain in his fleet.”

‘I know how long you’ve dreamed of moving up the ranks. Even if the Navy isn’t what it should be...I’m glad that you’re living your dream, Percy.’

Percy’s brown eyes softened, clearly touched. Before he could say anything, however, a familiar, aloof voice interrupted him.

"A Commodore does indeed need a talented Captain...”

Both Weasleys turned to Cutler Beckett as he stepped down onto the deck of the Dutchman beside them. His small eyes were locked firmly on Carewyn.

“...as does the Admiral of the fleet.”

He materialized a folded letter and held it out to Carewyn. Her eyebrows furrowed as she opened it, before her eyes widened upon its contents and the royal wax seal at the bottom.

“I’d already had this prepared ahead of time, prior to your departure from Port Royal,” said Beckett with a cool smile. “I wrote to the King of how impressed I was with your dedication, ingenuity, and talents, and he was most pleased. When I requested you to be at the head of my fleet for this upcoming venture, he agreed immediately. Upon receiving Madam Rakepick’s letter about you initiating the search for the Tower Raven’s old fleet and using one of their own ships to guide us to our target...I knew that my faith had been more than warranted.”

His eyes narrowed slightly over his cold, satisfied smile.

“Congratulations...Admiral Carey Weasley.”

The “honor” the King had bestowed upon her, if one could call it that, made Carewyn feel ill for multiple reasons. Not only did she truly not, NOT want to fight the Pirate Lords and whatever ships they gathered together, but she knew that she had largely gotten the position thanks to the effort of Rakepick -- who had for whatever reason credited Carewyn for following the Phoenix rather than taking credit herself -- and Beckett -- who Carewyn didn’t trust as far as she could throw him, but couldn’t figure out why exactly he had so much “faith” in her. Was she truly that good of an actress to completely fool him? She wanted to think so -- and yet the way he looked at her, not unlike how Rakepick looked at her, spoke of him knowing something she didn’t. Sadly Percy, even if he had seemed legitimately troubled by the hangings in Port Royal, was not distrustful enough of Beckett to express anything but pride in Carewyn’s accomplishment, so Carewyn couldn’t talk to him or anyone else about her suspicions.

When she confronted Rakepick about what she wrote to Beckett, the older woman’s response was oddly coy.

“I already told you you don’t belong on this ship,” she said, her dark blue eyes locked firmly onto Carewyn’s with a murky emotion she couldn’t quite identify. “Now that you’re Admiral, you’ll have more power to command your own ship, overlooking the Dutchman as well as the rest of the fleet.”

Carewyn’s eyes narrowed. “So you wrote that so I’d get off the Dutchman?”

Rakepick’s eyes narrowed slightly too, becoming more solemn. “You heard Lord Beckett -- he’d already planned this for you in advance. Although my reasons are different from his, I’m more than willing to play along with his whims, if it means I get what I want.”

“And what is it you want, Rakepick?”

Rakepick’s red lips curled up into a cool smirk. “Now, Admiral...one can hardly expect a lady to answer such a personal question.”

Not long after confronting Rakepick, Beckett summoned Carewyn to his cabin on his flagship, a Man O’ War called the HMS Lion. Unlike any of their previous meetings in his office, Carewyn found the cabin completely empty except for Beckett when she arrived -- in the past, Percy or Rakepick had been there too, as well as one or two employees of the East India Trading Company. It gave her the feeling that Beckett wanted this meeting to be more private than the others, which gave her a terrible sense of foreboding.

“You wished to see me, Lord Beckett?” she asked, once she’d finished saluting him.

“Yes,” said Beckett.

He was sitting behind his desk, which once again had a map laid out with different model soldiers and ships littered all over it. There were also seven Piece of Eight coins lined up in a neat little row -- he was once again playing with the eighth, rolling it along his fingers lackadaisically.

“Word has come from Shipwreck Cove, from the so-called ‘Pirate King,’“ he said, his eyes on the coin in his hand. “She wishes to rendez-vous on a tiny island on the far side of Shipwreck Island at sunset tonight, a ways away from the Cove. No weapons -- just talking.”

Beckett’s eyes flickered up to Carewyn’s face almost critically.

“...The Pirate King...signed her name as ‘Captain Jules Weasley’ -- so she’d be an old flame of yours, would she not?”

Carewyn stiffened slightly. ‘Jules is the Pirate King?’

She covered up her surprise quickly, her blue eyes narrowing.

“Miss Farrier -- pardon, Mrs. William Weasley -- never commanded any affection from me. Although her father bid she court me, her feelings were always for my brother -- so much so that she followed him into piracy.”

Beckett’s lips spread into a cold smile. “Then it’s as I surmised. Governor Farrier expressed frustration that his daughter had not managed to ensnare your heart, as opposed to your older brother’s -- especially considering how much she seemed to enjoy your company...”

Carewyn could not figure out what Beckett was trying to suss out from this conversation and it troubled her greatly -- so she put on her best, coldest expression and lied through her teeth.

“Whatever woman I respected in the past is dead, now that she’s an enemy of the Crown,” she said harshly. “I know no ‘Captain Jules Weasley’...nor do I wish to.”

Beckett’s smile did not shift in the slightest. If anything, his small, dark eyes flickered in something almost like triumph.

“I understand your sensitivity to the matter. You truly do love with all of your heart, don’t you, Admiral Weasley?”

Carewyn’s eyebrows knit tightly over her eyes in confusion, but she did not reply. Beckett put the Piece of Eight coin down in the row on his deck and rose from his chair, moving over to the decanter of red wine on the side table so he could pour a glass.

“I saw you with Captain Weasley, before you left Port Royal -- and of course, your reunion on-board the Dutchman, earlier today. I also heard quite a few interesting rumors circulated among our prisoners from Tortuga, speaking of your honor and the respect you showed them despite their criminal status...even moving a woman into a cell with her husband without being asked, if I’m not mistaken...”

His voice was very aloof and was tinged with a bizarre fascination, like an entomologist might have for a rare butterfly he’d pinned to his wall. Carewyn felt like her heart was being squeezed, but she dare not say anything.

Beckett finished pouring out two glasses of wine and put down the decanter so he could pick up both glasses.

“It’s not something I’m familiar with, that kind of concern for others.”

He offered the glass of red wine to Carewyn, his eyes boring into her face. Carewyn kept her face as blank as she could even though she could feel the blood leaving it as she took the glass of wine from him, but did not drink it.

“...I did not mean to displease you, Lord Beckett,” she said lowly.

Beckett’s eyes flickered again with that strange satisfaction as he took a sip from his glass of wine.

“On the contrary -- it’s only appropriate, for a woman to have a gentle heart.”

Carewyn stiffened sharply.

‘No. No, no, no -- !’

It was one thing for Rakepick to find out, but Beckett to know -- did Rakepick tell him? No, she said she wasn’t really doing any of this for Beckett -- should she deny it, Carewyn wondered? But if she did, and he caught her in a lie, could that make it worse -- ?

Her hesitation made Beckett’s eyes gleam with greater satisfaction than ever.

“Then I was right,” he murmured. “I admit, I wasn’t sure. True, your voice is higher than one normally hears and you’re smaller than most, but I know first hand that means nothing. And your military record...had it not been for me having met and employed Patricia Rakepick previously, I would never have believed a woman could be so skilled in battle and strategy, nor so aggressive. But when Captain Weasley expressed such interest in me having hired a woman, and even went out of his way to bring it up to you...my interest was peaked. All the more so when I found out how truly useful you are, as an officer.”

Carewyn felt like she was drowning in horrifying, icy cold water. Beckett knew she was a woman -- he knew she was a woman, and could tell anyone about it, if he so chose. She’d not only lose her position -- the one thing that she had left that she could use to protect Jacob, Orion, Bill, Charlie, and Jules...but she’d be cast out in disgrace, leaving her with nothing -- possibly taking Percy along with her for having kept her true gender a secret --

Her blue eyes had drifted down to the floor absently, but were not focusing on anything.

Yet...Beckett had said nothing of his suspicions to anyone. True, he hadn’t known for sure...but why would he recommend her to the King as an Admiral, if he’d suspected?

And then it hit her.

She bowed her head, casting her eyes into shadow as she put down her untouched wine glass on the side table.

“...What do you want from me, Lord Beckett?”

Beckett raised his eyebrows but did not respond.

“You very easily could’ve gotten both Percy and me cast out of the Navy in disgrace,” she said, keeping her voice low in an attempt to try to keep it steady, “yet you’ve kept me and even helped get me promoted, presumably because I’m so ‘useful.’ What use do I have, for you?”

Beckett gave her something of a patronizing smile as he stepped forward, coming up right in front of Carewyn so that his chin rested just shy of her shoulder and he could look at her face out the side of his eye.

“Isn’t it obvious? You are an excellent Naval officer -- a leader and inspiration to those who serve under you. You’re world-renown for your honor, your courage -- your passion. You prompt people to fight with you -- for you -- with a loyalty that even the King of England himself cannot boast. Were you a man, you would be someone I’d be very threatened by, indeed. But since you are a woman...I can appeal to your heart.”

Carewyn could feel his breath sliding past her ear and she couldn’t help but cringe. She stubbornly refused to look him in the eye, keeping her gaze firmly on the floor.

“I’m afraid my disinterest in the once-Miss Farrier was not a one-off thing, Lord Beckett,” she said very dryly. “Romance is not something I think about very regularly.”

Orion’s face rippled over her mind, making her heart ache. Oh, if he were there, in that room -- the thought of him seeing her letting herself get pushed around by the man who’d branded him and sent the Navy after him for piracy...it made her feel ill.

Beckett’s lips curled up in a slightly tighter, almost miffed smile as he pulled away just enough that he was facing the wall behind her rather than looking at her face.

“...Oh...no, Admiral...you misunderstand me. I know I own no part of your heart...but Captain Weasley, he most assuredly does.”

Carewyn’s head shot up so she could look at him, her expression stricken despite herself.

“Your younger brother is not nearly as useful as you, but he has shown great dedication to me, since I threw him a bone and ensured his promotion. It’s a loyalty I hope that you will likewise show me...especially considering that both you and he have been given access to information that few others have been...and that I would do just about anything to ensure doesn’t become common knowledge...”

Carewyn stared at Beckett, her shock giving way to cold hatred.

“So that’s it,” she murmured. “You’ll hold Percy’s and my lives and livelihoods over our heads, to make sure that I don’t surpass you, somehow. How I don’t know, considering that the Navy is not part of the East India Trading Company, nor shall it ever be, but clearly you feel loyalty is something to threaten out of people, rather than earn -- ”

“The only thing one can really earn in this world, Admiral, is money, and therefore power,” Beckett cut her off sharply, “and I have no intention of losing either, now that I’ve earned both of which I’m owed!”

He turned to look Carewyn straight-on in the eye, their faces mere inches apart. Gone was any hint of attempt at gentlemanly poise -- there was a hard edge to his gaze, not unlike the way he’d looked at Jones, but because he was actually an inch or so taller than Carewyn, he seemed to relish the power he had looking down at her both literally and figuratively.

“You will use your talents to serve my interests,” he said under his breath, “and I, in return, will continue to reward you and your brother, by ensuring that your careers and lives flourish under me. It’s just good business.”

At sundown, Beckett and Jules met at the tiny island agreed upon. Jules strolled down the long, narrow beach toward the shoreline where they were to meet, Jacob on one side of her and Orion on the other. She’d originally wanted Bill with her, but McNully was able to persuade her that she’d look that bit more intimidating to Beckett if she arrived in the company of two of the most wanted pirate captains in the world, and even Bill had to agree. Jules was determined to stand between Jacob and Orion, though, considering that there was still a lot of tension between them.

Jules had been furious with Jacob, when she’d learned about the deal he’d struck with Davy Jones. Even if he’d originally planned to give Jones “a Cromwell” as in Charles or Blaise Cromwell -- two objectively bad people who had been largely responsible for Carewyn and Jacob’s abusive, unloving childhoods -- Jules was also confident in thinking that Carewyn would be horrified, knowing that Jacob was willing to enslave another person to Davy Jones, just to find her. Jacob refused to feel guilty for that, but he clearly was destroyed by the knowledge that his choice had put Carewyn in so much danger. It was apparent from the way he talked about it and the way his hands and shoulders shook with silent sobs that Jacob would’ve sacrificed himself a hundred times over, if it would guarantee Carewyn wouldn’t be harmed.

Orion, by contrast, hadn’t said a word since Jacob told them what was going on. Throughout the entire conversation, he’d had his hands clasped tightly in front of him and kept his gaze downcast, even taking time to close his eyes for long periods of time as if he were meditating. Despite his silence and his detached affect, his usually stoic expression and unsteady breathing betrayed genuine anxiety. At one point, Bill brought a hand onto Orion’s shoulder to try to comfort him, and Orion actually subconsciously smacked his hand away.

“I’m sorry,” said the Captain quickly, his voice very hushed and tense as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. “Just...please, don’t touch me.”

Bill, Charlie, and Jules all thought they could guess how Orion was feeling. Although the others had forcefully shot down the idea that Orion was the least bit responsible since he couldn’t have known the consequences of calling Carewyn by her real name, their words had done little to soften the Pirate Lord’s brow. If Orion’s past behavior hadn’t been indicative of how deeply he felt for Carewyn, then the way he clasped anxiously at his own hands and shut himself off from everyone else at the thought of her being doomed to spend the rest of her life trapped on board the Flying Dutchman made it crystal clear.

“Orion’s always valued his own freedom more than any kind of loot,” McNully murmured to the three Weasleys under her breath, “more than anything, really. And if he cares about the Commodore so much...”

“...He probably couldn’t bear it, if she lost hers,” finished Charlie, bowing his head and closing his eyes as they welled up with pain and righteous anger.

As Jules, Jacob, and Orion approached the shore, they caught sight of three people standing in the distance. The man in the middle dressed in black Orion identified as Cutler Beckett. On his left was an older woman as tall as Orion with hair as ginger red as Bill and Charlie’s that Jacob immediately recognized as Rakepick...and on his right was Carewyn, dressed in a new yellow-trimmed navy blue uniform and a black tricorn hat.

The three pirates stopped five feet away from the Head of the East India Trading Company and his two female companions, a notable sting of tension prickling at the air. Jules tried hard to keep her focus on Beckett, but her eyes were drawn to Carewyn despite herself. Although her friend faced Orion -- the person directly in front of her -- with a hard, stoic expression, she looked so pale. When Jules glanced over, she noticed out the side of her eye that Orion’s unreadable gaze was also locked on Carewyn, even as he took deep breaths through his nose and his hands clenched absently at his sides.

“Well, well,” said Beckett, his eyes narrowing darkly upon Orion’s face, “if it isn’t my old friend, Orion Amari.”

Orion glanced at Beckett out the side of his eye without turning his face away from Carewyn’s. Although his face remained rather calm, there was a faint edge to his soft-spoken response.

“...I did not think you were ever much in the market for friendship, Cutler Beckett...considering it’s something you cannot buy.”

His gaze returned to Carewyn. Beckett glanced from Carewyn to Orion, his lips curling up in a very cold smile.

“Ah, yes -- you and Amari are old friends also, aren’t you, Admiral Weasley?”

“Admiral?” repeated Orion, taken aback despite himself.

“Yes,” said Carewyn, and although her response was very cold, her eyes pulsed with emotion that she attempted to obscure by glancing to the side in Jacob’s direction rather than straight at Orion. “By order of the King, as a reward for my work alongside Lord Beckett.”

Jules could see Jacob’s jaw clench out the corner of her eye. She too felt like her heart was being squeezed. Carewyn no doubt hated her promotion with everything in her, if it was something she’d earned chasing after them on Beckett’s orders. Still...Jules couldn’t express that flat-out, so she put on the strongest expression she could.

“...I suppose congratulations are in order, then.”

Carewyn flashed Jules a look. “I don’t want congratulations from you, Mrs. Weasley. Or should I call you ‘Your Majesty,’ now that you’ve started playacting as a royal?”

Jules’s lips came together tightly when she saw how broadly Beckett smirked. The small man’s reaction seemed to piss off Jacob too.

“You will show proper respect to the Pirate King,” he said with a fierce look at the Head of the East India Trading Company.

“Respect,” scorned Rakepick. “Is that a word you can even define, Black Jack?”

“As well as I could wring your neck, if I were allowed,” spat Jacob.

“I’m surprised your ‘Pirate King’ would want a man in her company who’s so comfortable threatening a lady’s life,” said Carewyn sharply.

‘Don’t start a fight with her,’ she thought desperately, praying that Jacob would be able to sense her intent even with the act she had to play.

Unfortunately Jacob, as smart as he was, was never the best at reading people’s emotions -- and so when his narrowed eyes shot to Carewyn, she could see a flicker of pain. She surmised that even if he clearly didn’t think she believed what she was saying, it hurt him beyond reason, to see her having to defend the woman who’d tried to kill him.

Orion, however, very quickly adapted to the new method of “conversation,” fixing Carewyn with a calm, but piercing gaze.

“And I’m surprised that a honorable officer such as yourself would be so comfortable in the company of those with no honor whatsoever,” he said.

‘You’re in danger,’ Carewyn surmised he was trying to say. Her eyes narrowed upon Orion’s face.

“I beg your pardon?” she retorted. “I fail to see how a pirate has any leg to stand on, speaking of honor.” ‘What are you trying to tell me?’

“Even I have more honor than a captain who would burn an entire settlement to the ground,” murmured Orion. ‘Davy Jones.’

“Jones follows orders, as do we all...something else a pirate wouldn’t understand.” ‘What about Jones?’

"Orders...from Cutler Beckett, or from you? From what I’ve heard, you were on the Flying Dutchman yourself -- hardly a place one would expect to find Port Royal’s greatest hero.” ‘You must get away from Davy Jones. Get off of the Flying Dutchman.’

Carewyn’s blue eyes narrowed a bit more. First Rakepick wanted her off the Dutchman, and now Orion? Yes, Davy Jones was dangerous, but at present she found him much less of a threat than Beckett...

“A true hero knows that his reputation comes second to the good of the others,” she said very softly. “As does a loyal officer.” ‘I can’t leave.’

Something in Orion’s dark eyes flinched.

“Your older brother will be very disappointed, to know you’ve sold your loyalty so cheaply,” he said just as softly.

Carewyn felt her heart clench. She knew he didn’t mean Bill -- and yet the thought of both her surrogate brothers and Jacob was a silent knife to her back. She didn’t dare look at Jacob for fear her strong facade would crack, so she kept her focus solidly on Orion.

“I would think given your own history with Lord Beckett, you’d know full well how valuable of an ally he is, ” she shot back quickly, feigning temper as best she could, “and how dangerous of an enemy, as well. Both I and the brother who chose to follow the law rather than spit in its face are certainly glad for his aid, in ending your reign of terror.”

‘I can’t leave, not with what Beckett has over me and Percy. And if I do leave, then you’ll be in more danger than ever...’

Her eyes bore into Orion’s fiercely as she begged beyond reason he’d understand.

“...You may tell William...that I am no Bedlam maid in need of saving.”

‘You can’t help me. I love you.’

Deep in the depths of his sparkling black eyes, Carewyn could see a flicker of desperation, almost like anxiety. Afraid that Beckett might notice the crack in Orion’s expression, or in her own at the sight of it, she quickly whirled on Jules.

“He is the one who should stand down,” she said, her voice hardening further in an attempt to obscure her emotions. “All of you should, unless you wish to face down an entire armada.”

‘There are 34 Man O’ Wars waiting out there for you,’ she hoped Jules would be able to discern. Even if she didn’t know an armada had that many ships, Jacob and Orion would.

Jules, to her credit, matched Carewyn’s act with her own cold gaze. “Don’t underestimate us, Admiral Weasley. Both the British Navy and the East India Trading Company have done that consistently from the beginning.”

“And now we have come to the end,” said Beckett smoothly. “Of you and the rest of your Brethren.”

The others all turned to look at him. He flashed Orion a look better suited to a cockroach before redirecting his gaze onto Jules.

“Tell your Court this,” he said in an aloof, condescending voice. “You can fight, and all of you will die...or you can stand down, in which case only most of you will die. I daresay the Governor could be persuaded to spare you from the gallows, if you threw yourself on his mercy...and if I were to be merciful enough to leave out your new position, in my correspondence with the King...”

Jules’s dark eyes flashed with hatred as she strode forward, coming to a stop two feet from Beckett so she could glare right into his face.

“There are few things I can tolerate less than cowards who resort to blackmail just to make themselves feel powerful.”

She didn’t look at Carewyn, but Carewyn could sense Jules was thinking of her, as she said this.

“We will fight. And you’d best hope that we will show more mercy than you would, in our place.”

The Pirate King turned on her heel and walked away. With some reluctance, Orion and then Jacob turned away and strode quickly after her, leaving the other three alone on the shore.

“So be it,” said Beckett with a cold smile.

Carewyn couldn’t look at Rakepick or Beckett at her side. Her gaze was solidly locked on the departing backs of her brother, friend, and love as they began to shrink into the distance.

She’d never been very good at relying on or having faith in others...but in that moment, more than anything, she knew all she could do now was put her trust in Orion -- in Jules -- in Jacob -- in Bill and Charlie and all of the other pirates on Shipwreck Cove.

‘Please...please, be careful. Please be safe.’

In that moment of helplessness, she felt her heart ache all the more, watching Orion walk away. She closed her eyes, trying to bring back the memory of him standing shoulder to shoulder with her on the Artemis -- of him lying in bed as she tended to him, when they were young -- but it was no use. The graveness of the situation was too dire even for escapism...

Carewyn clutched her own arms behind her back. They suddenly felt so much heavier...as if there really were manacles there she couldn’t hope to break.

‘...Please...please live.’

On the opposite side of the island, both Jules and Jacob noticed the silent tears that had streaked down Orion’s face...but none had the heart to address it as they boarded the jollyboat that would take them back to the Artemis and to Shipwreck Cove.

At the same time that the pirates and the leaders of the British Navy were meeting, Davy Jones had been left behind on the Flying Dutchman with Percy supervising the troops. Beckett thought that Jones was threatened into line by how many soldiers were still guarding his heart, but thanks to Carewyn, Jones knew that Rakepick had stolen and relocated it. Now that he didn’t know where his heart was at all, he knew he couldn’t afford to move until he’d found it again -- and with Carewyn likely leaving the Dutchman with her new position as Admiral, it was likely it’d take a while before she could smuggle him any more information she might acquire about that. For the moment, though, Jones had put that concern on the back burner, for the Dutchman’s arrival near Shipwreck Cove gave him the opportunity to catch up with the Phoenix.

As luck would have it, when Jones phased through the Dutchman and onto the Phoenix, the ship was largely abandoned, since the crew had all gone ashore to Shipwreck Cove. The only person remaining was a small woman with long white hair, looking out to sea over the deck. In her hand was a pretty silver locket in the shape of a moon, the lid of which was cracked open so that a sweet, tinkling music box melody played.

Chia Dalma closed the locket half-way through the song, her eyes closing sadly as she clasped the locket close to her chest. She straightened up in shock, however, when she suddenly heard the rest of the tune echoing from behind her. She whirled around, to be faced with a giant, hulking shadow with writhing tentacles sprouting out from his jaw, holding an identical locket in his claw. Anyone would’ve been terrified at the sight -- but Chia looked upon the figure with tears in her eyes.

“Finn,” she breathed. Her lips were curled up in a weak smile, just as they had been before, but the joy was stained with so many other emotions -- grief, shame, and regret.

Davy Jones regarded Chia critically as he took several plodding steps toward her. “You know I haven’t been called that name in years.”

Chia bowed her head. “Nor have I been called my true name in years.”

Jones tilted his head, trying to read her expression better now she was looking away from him.

“I had not expected to find you like this,” he said very lowly. “You’ve never taken on such a small shape before.”

Chia’s eyes flashed with righteous anger as she raised her head. “That’s because this form is one I did not choose to take. It was thrust upon me by the Brethren Court.”

Jones straightened up slightly. His eyes narrowed to slits.

“...Then they did not kill or trap you. They transformed you.”

His voice was as low and growling as thunder. Chia clutched at the sides of her arms with her hands, her gaze smouldering with resentment as she glared down at the deck.

“Oh, but they did trap me,” she said bitterly, “trapped me in this single form, which can’t do even half of what I should be able to. I’ve been able to use what power I have to slow down the aging process, but this body still feels pain. This body still feels strain, and weakness, and hunger, and exhaustion, and longing...”

Something rippled over her eyes -- something more ashamed and pained.

“...I never knew...how much time truly weighs on a human,” she murmured.

Jones’s expression grew much more grim. “An immortal such as yourself should never have had to learn that.”

“Should never have had to, yes...but...”

She looked up at Jones, her gray eyes pulsing with strength despite the pain rippling within.

“...why did you not tell me, how long ten years felt for you? I have felt those ten years several times over, trapped in this tiny, fragile, helpless body every single moment -- and it’s...it’s been torture. To know you took the job I gave you -- only coming ashore once every ten years, so you could help me with the burden of tending to the dead at sea -- when ten years feels like that, to you -- ”

Chia’s eyes flooded with tears.

“I gave you the position of ferryman because I wanted to spare you from death,” she whispered. “Because if I didn’t give you that role and give you some of my power, you would’ve died. I’d never thought that those ten years would feel so long -- drain you so much...”

Jones was quiet for a long moment. Then he brought up his claw to brush her bangs from her eye.

“It’s only natural that you saw things the way an immortal would. Time is no object to you -- ten years no doubt felt like a small price to pay, in the face of your life span. And...”

His eyes became a bit smaller.

“...it’s not exactly like I wanted to die and be separated from you either. Even though part of me always doubted you’d be there waiting for me, when I returned...even though I resented you for years because you weren’t there...”

A ghost of a smile flickered over his features.

“...I know I shouldn’t have expected you to see things as I have -- to change yourself to suit me. If you did...you wouldn’t be the goddess I fell in love with, would you?”

Chia smiled up at Jones, her eyes shining with tenderness.

“I tried to make it back to you,” she murmured. “When the Court transformed me, I tried so hard to get there, to reach you...”

She extended her hands, tentatively trailing them along his tentacled face. Jones seemed to tremble at her touch.

“I know of the danger you’re in, Finn,” said Chia seriously. “As long as Cutler Beckett has your heart, I know you’re beholden to him. But I have allies among this newest Brethren Court. If they convince the others to break my chains, as I’ve foreseen they will...then as soon as I am free, I will come for you. I will make sure you and I are never separated again...and I will make sure your captors suffer the consequences, for hurting the man I love.”

As her small white hands held his face, Jones’s face and frame suddenly began to morph. In an instant, the slimy texture, the tentacles clinging to his face, and his claw all vanished -- and there stood the tall, handsome pirate she’d fallen in love with so long ago.

Finn McGarry’s face broke out into a broken, soft smile. He stretched out his hand, caressing his love’s human cheek with more gentleness than his claw ever could have.

“Calypso...” he murmured.

Chia’s face broke out into a full smile as well. She knew she couldn’t permanently remove the fishy transformation, as it was something that had mutated Jones over the many years they’d been apart, due to his heartbreak and grief...but seeing him looking so much like his old self after so long...it made her currently human heart swell with love.

“Just as you gave me your heart, when you became captain of the Flying Dutchman,” she murmured, “so too will you always have mine.”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #potc au #au #pirates of the caribbean #carewyn cromwell #patricia rakepick #jacob #jacob cromwell #orion amari #chiara lobosca #percy weasley #jules farrier #finn mcgarry #other people's mcs #my art #my writing #these drawings and especially the writing took longer than I expected #oh orion you and carey truly do think alike!! you're both so good at reading people and adapting to them!!#why can't you be together the way you should?? DX #look at finn and chia! they're perfectly adorable!#don't you guys wanna be adorable too??#also yes beckett is a complete arsehole #I see him LOVING the fact that he has a new 'pet' who can bite into orion for him #i see beckett harboring a similar kind of resentment for orion as he did for jack in the original films #even if orion was much younger when he became a pirate I see beckett being that little bit younger too #and more importantly orion as an adult ended up being even more of a thorn in beckett's side #all thanks to beckett effectively robbing orion of the freedom to do anything else with his life but be a pirate #don't get me wrong orion's adapted well to being a pirate but you do lose some freedom being branded that way too #the freedom needed to return to port royal and go searching for this girl you once knew without being arrested for example :<

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pls-let-me-out · 4 years

Text

Invisible string

Chapter 1, 17th and 18th of December

Spending Christmas’ Eve with a complete stranger wasn’t in Will’s to-do list, but sometimes fate really doesn’t care about one’s opinion, and strange shit happens. That’s what happened to Will, he was just chilling, with text-books spread all over the place, hoping anyone would just come and save him, when the doorbell rang. Not fifteen minutes later, Will was moving across the globe to meet his soulmate.

Will had spent most of his day with Princess Hazel. She had talked him through the procedures, telling him what he’d need to do when the Prince came home.

‘I’m sure he’ll be happy to finally meet you,’ she had said more than once. ‘He’s reserved, really reserved. Don’t let his demeanor fool you, though. He’s a sweetheart.’

She had given him such a sweet, little smile, that Will couldn’t do anything but believe her. It hurt him just to think about meeting his soulmate, but what could he do? He had no chance of leaving.

Then he met Prince Niccolò. It wasn’t love at first sight, not with the way Will’s heart crumbled.

Will had been stuffed into a navy suit, and a long grey French coat, worth more than his apartment’s lease. He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, when Queen Persephone sent a glance his way, and he finally stopped, blushing a deep red. The bells rang and a sleek, black car pulled in the driveway of the palace.

It stopped before the fountain. Will’s heart was thumping in his chest, so fast and hard it was a mystery how no one else heard. It was the 17th of December, but the sun was too hot on his skin.

A body-guard pulled the door of the car open, and the Prince stepped out. He was wearing a black military uniform, the only touch of color were the embroidery buttons of the jacket, one of which the Prince was just pulling close, and the medals hanging on his chest.

Their eyes met. From the very first second, Will knew he couldn’t walk away. The mark on his shoulder burnt as though on fire, but not nearly as hot as the tears on his eyes.

The Prince had stilled, too, completely taking in Will’s appearance.

Somewhere, the bells rang again, and cameras went off.

It was a long ride to the airport, but this time Will wasn’t alone. It was four in the morning, the air was cold, and the silence heavy. They were heading to the Royal Family’s chalet in the Alps between France and Italy, Will hadn’t understood the name of the place. He was half-asleep when they told him, anyway. He wasn’t even sophisticated enough to have ever heard of it, to be honest.

In the reflection of the car window, Will saw that the Prince was giving him his back. He was wearing a suit, still completely black, and an obsidian ring shone on his middle-finger. He was already in the car by the time Will reached the parking lot.

Will wanted to talk, but he didn’t have anything to say. He closed his eyes, and faked sleeping. He actually dozed off at some point, and was awoken by the Prince shaking his shoulder. He wore a black face mask, that only left his forehead and eyes uncovered. Will couldn’t see whether his eyes were black or brown, nor differentiate between the pupils and the irises. His heart jumped up in his throat.

“We’re at the airport,” the Prince said, before hopping down the car.

He had left a blue face mask behind, and Will wondered whether it was for him for half a minute, before deciding he would just take it. It was soft under his fingers, and smelled of oranges.

He and the Prince had only taken a few items with them, the Queen had said many times that their belonging would arrive later in the evening.

They sat beside each other during the short airplane ride, little more than an hour and a half in the air. The Prince was tense in every place they touched each other. Thigh, arm, and shoulder. Maybe he was always like that, he often seemed like a statue.

“We haven’t been properly introduced to each other,” Will said, finally raising his eyes from the ground. His voice was steady, despite the thumping of his heart. “I’m Will.”

“Niccolò,” the Prince replied. “You’re American, right?”

“Yeah. Someone told you?”

“Your accent.”

Will nodded. He didn’t find anything to say for a long moment. “Texas.” He cleared his throat. “That’s my accent.”

“I’ve never been there,” the Prince said. He yawned discretely. God, he probably thought that Will was some sort of uncultured peasant. “I heard it’s horrible, though.” Will blinked at him, and the Prince blushed a deep red. “No offense.”

“None taken. It’s not –it’s not horrible if you’re a white supremacist, though.”

“Are you?”

“Absolutely no. That’s why I moved to New York.”

The corner of the Prince’s lips twitched. “There I’ve been.”

“I go to school there.”

“You go to college?”

Will nodded. “You just ended your military service, right?”

The Prince’s face turned dark, as though a shadow had fallen upon it. Nodding, he looked out of the window, clearly putting an end to the conversation. Will tried not to let it get to him. It wasn’t like he wanted to be there, anyway.

“It’s a mansion,” Will said as soon as he could see the ‘chalet’. “Like, it’s bigger than the mountain peak.”

Prince Niccolò gave him a blank stare. “No, it’s not. This is not even the mountain peak. Have you seen the mountain peak?”

Will bit his tongue. I need to shut up, I need to shut up, I need to-

Then the Prince clicked his tongue, the sound made the blood in Will’s vein rush in anger. “Did–”

Will didn’t let him finish. “You said it was on a mountain, and this is not a mountain! This –this is a village. We are in a village, not a mountain. A village at the foot of the mountain, but still a village. Seriously, did you take me here to kill me? Is that why you wouldn’t even tell me where we were going?”

The Prince blinked slowly, completely unmoved by Will’s rant. Will, who was flushed and panting, as though he had had to run there, instead of having taken the car alongside the Prince.

“Was that sarcasm?” the Prince asked. “Is that your humor?”

“No, that’s–was that sarcasm?”

If that was someone else’s life, Will would have laughed. With tears in his eyes, and cramps in his stomach, because holy shit, that is not something that’s supposed to happen. Who would ever be kidnapped one week before Christmas, to go live with his so-called soulmate, who is the Prince of a small island between Italy and Greece, then dragged to a fucking chalet?

“No, that was me replying to you.” The Prince’s lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Were you sarcastic when you asked me if I was being sarcastic?”

“Are you being –no wait. You are mocking me!”

The Prince turned to the side. “I would never do that. You are such a put together person, it would be hard to find reasons to mock you.”

Even without seeing his face, Will knew the Prince was smiling. He wondered what his face looked like when he did, whether his nose scrunched up. It wasn’t a strange thought, really, he had just noticed that the tip of his nose moved a lot when he talked, it was only realistic that the whole thing would also–

No. That was a mistake. Will couldn’t do that. Thinking about the Prince’s nose would make him human, and Will couldn’t do that. No sir.

So, Will said the only thing he could think of.

“I want pizza for dinner.” Then the Prince gave him a bewildered expression. “Thank you.”

“It’s not even midday!” The Prince was saying, but Will had already reached the door.

He realized a bit too late that he didn’t have the keys. It was embarrassing to say the least, but he just stood there and made no move to turn back.

The Prince’s voice turned lower when he spoke in Italian, Will heard it when he was NOT eavesdropping standing just outside the living room on the first floor, but just minding his business. By not hiding. And he was always silent, thank you very much. He hadn’t been careful not to step too loudly, nor knock into anything. He never did.

Since Will couldn’t understand Italian, he just waited until the Prince didn’t talk for a couple of minutes before dropping in the room.

“Where you watching me,” the Prince asked, although it sounded more like an answer than a question. He was sitting on the floor, just in front of the fireplace,

Will’s skin heated up, as he crossed his arms. “No, absolutely not.”

“I saw you.”

“There was nothing to see.”

“You were standing there, not moving, with your ear against the door.”

Will’s silence lasted a bit too long. “You must have confused the coat hanger with me.”

“The only coat hanger is attached to the wall next to the door, on the other side of the floor.”

Will clasped his hands. “So you agree with me that this house is massive!”

“You were–”

“You seem to know a lot about me. Were you spying on me?”

The Prince stuttered. Will almost pitied him for a second. He had lived with his siblings for years, there was no way he’d lose an argument. From what little he’d heard about the Prince from Hazel, he guessed they didn’t fight nor bicker often. He had no practice in front of Will. For once in his life, he was glad for his sister Kayla’s habit of being nosy as fuck, which had given them countless occasions to fight.

“Your pizza will be here at twelve,” the Prince ended up saying, after some grumbling in Italian. Or Greek. Will didn’t know much of either, but it was probably Italian.

“Why? Won’t you be eating it too?”

“Italian pizza is different from American pizza. You, like, share one with multiple people, right? Italian pizza isn’t supposed to be eaten in slices. You eat a whole one.”

“Like, you don’t cut it? You fold it in half and stuff it in your mouth? I’m seriously confused.”

“Of course you cut it!”

Will shook his head. It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. “When will yours arrive, then?”

“At twelve.”

“You –you seriously need to work on your communication skills, man.”

Once again, the Prince’s unblinking stare settled on Will. “Right.” He cleared his throat, the air around them shifted to awkward.

Will supposed it wasn’t surprising, they were strangers with a house all to themselves, after all. He dropped on the floor in front of the Prince, so close to the fire his skin heated up immediately. He drummed his fingers on the hardwood floor, the sound echoed in the silence.

“So, are you like giving me a tour?” he asked.

The Prince tilted his head to the side. “Couldn’t you just look up the city on Google Maps?”

“I meant of the house. I mean, if you’re as put together as you don’t look, I guess you have it–”

“I look very much put-together.”

“You are sitting on a floor, when there are multiples sofas, you look at me like a deer caught in the headlights whenever I talk, and your nose scrunches up when your lips move downwards.” The Prince opened his mouth, and Will silenced him with a wave of his index finger. “Don’t fight me on this, it’s happening right now.”

The Prince’s silence prolonged for a moment, before he brought his fingers to his nose, smoothing it out. Will felt a strange kind of pleasure with the knowledge that the Prince was blushing.

“Wait, what were you doing before coming in here then? I thought you were exploring.”

“I don’t normally snoop around people’s houses. Or chalets. Or mansions.”

The Prince looked at him from under a thick layer of lashes. “Castles?”

Will shrugged, a grin pulled at his lips. “When the occasion arises.”

For a moment, it looked like the Prince may laugh. He didn’t, and Will tried to keep the disappointment hidden. He shouldn’t even be disappointed, damn.

“So, where is my tour?” Will continued.

“I haven’t been here in ages. I’m not even sure I remember where things are supposed to be.”

“Good then!” Will clasped his hands, a smile erupted on his face, as the Prince flinched. “We’re exploring!”

“But–”

“I can snoop around if the owner of the house is with me.”

“Your logic baffles me.”

Will rose to his feet, so fast his head started spinning, and bent down to grab the Prince by the shoulder. “Come on! We don’t have forever.”

“We’re literally stuck here for a week,”

Will tried pulling the Prince up, but he seemed cemented on the floor. “Time flies when you have fun!”

“We’ve been here for half an hour and it already feels like a lifetime.” Despite his words, the Prince stood, his legs wobbled for a moment.

“Wow, rude.”

Despite his words, Will didn’t let go of the Prince’s wrist –his hand had fallen there somewhere during the run, and honestly, why not?– and stopped only when he reached the hallway. Their hand-bags were still by the door, which made sense, since neither of them had tried moving them.

“So, we’ll act like you are a mannered guest instead of yourself–”

The Prince snorted. “That’s incredibly bold to say for someone who believed me to be a murderer less than an hour ago.”

“I was just ranting, and honestly–”

“So that wasn’t sarcasm.”

Will waved his finger. “Don’t try luring me into that loop again.” He exhaled heavily, and let go of the Prince’s wrist to put his hands on his hips. “So, that tour.”

The Prince rolled his eyes, and pointed to the stairs on the left. “The second floor. Go there, and you’ll easily find your way to the attic.” He pointed to the direction they had come from. “That’s the living room, and–” the only other door. “I honestly don’t remember. I think there’s like a corridor? You can reach everything from everywhere. The chalet is all connected, so–”

“Wait, wait, wait. Is this the tour?”

The Prince slowly blinked. He probably spent half of his time doing just that, it was in equal part amusing and annoying. “Yes?”

Will tsked. In the back of his mind, he was aware he was acting like a child, especially when he started stomping his foot on the ground. “In a tour, you need to walk around. Point at the rooms, and tell me something about each of them. Something that will make me smile.”

“I don’t even know what makes you smile.”

“I know, that’s what we need this bonding experience for! So you get to know it.”

The Prince rolled his eyes. “You are probably one of those people who just smile when they see cat videos on Instagram. God, you probably even laugh when you see dogs stumble and fall.”

“I’ll let you know, I actually cry when dogs fall, because they are pure souls, and don’t deserve such treatment.” He sighed. “So, my tour…”

Will wasn’t surprised to hear the Italian grumbling at this point. What surprised him was that the Prince actually gave up, and started stomping toward the mystery door.

“So you only came to the living room, where I was?” the Prince asked.

Without paying much attention, Will nodded.

“So you stayed here? Like an insect when you draw a circle around them?”

Will shook his head. “I’m sorry I have manners and don’t sno–oh my God. Oh my God. Is that –is that you?” Will pointed at the pictures on the wall, eliciting a groan from the Prince. “In a onesie? Oh my God!”

“Who else would it be?” he asked.

“Babies all look the same, you could have told me that was the neighbor’s daughter, and I would have believed you. Oh God, is that a –is that you dressed as a princess? This is priceless!”

“Oh, shut up,” the Prince said, covering his face with his hands.

Will giggled. “You were adorable. What happened to you?”

“Gee, thank you. I may not be a mannered host, but you aren’t the perfect guest, either.”

Will flashed him the finger. “Be glad I haven’t mentioned how you’re still not out of your emo phase. Anyway–”

“I have never gone through an emo phase.”

Will raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, Wednesday Addams. Whatever you say.”

The Prince huffed. “It’s such a pleasure to have you here.”

“Thank you, I’ve always been told I was a pleasure to have in class.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Yeah, that was a lie. I was always considered too loud and–”

“Always considered?” He scoffed. “More like always was.”

“I will tell your sister about your behavior.”

“My sister? Let’s hope she doesn’t ground me.”

“Well, I’m sorry your father scares me!”

The Prince’s lips started twitching again, and Will wondered why he didn’t just smile. It was far easier than fighting it, to be honest. Plus, he had some freckles on his nose, and Will wanted to see whether they’d stretch or not.

The doorbell rang, a loud sound, that had Will jump in the air.

The Prince snickered. “Come on, pizza is here. Try not to faint when you see our shadows.”

Will stuck out his tongue at him, but the Prince was already in the hallway.

“You’re giving me the real tour later, right?” Will asked, sitting at the kitchen counter.

The Prince rolled his eyes. “I swear to God, I’m going to put you in the dungeons.”

Will gave him a saccharine smile, and lied through his teeth. “Funny. I looked it up on the Internet, you can’t do that.”

Once again, Will was put under the Prince’s unblinking stare. “You are in a city you don’t know, in a country you don’t speak the language of, with a stranger.”

“I know you, now. You are a bit grumpy, but also a big, big softie.”

The Prince’s face scrunched up, as though Will had put a lemon in his mouth. Would he be offended if Will took out his phone and took a photo? Probably, but it wasn’t really Will’s problem, was it? Unfortunately, the Prince turned his face back into careful blankness before Will could act.

He turned to open the fridge. “We only have water.”

“It’s freezing outside, don’t take it from the fridge.”

Without taking his eyes off Will, the Prince stepped away from the fridge, revealing all its emptiness. Will looked at the fridge. Then at the Prince’s exhausted expression. He couldn’t control the laugh bubbling up inside of him, especially when the Prince took four glasses and filled them with water, not to make more than one trip to the sink.

“I was wondering–”

“If the word tour leaves your mouth, I swear to God, I will close myself in the bathroom.”

“I mean, sounds more like a treat than a threat, but okay. That’s not what I was asking, though.”

“Will this bonding experience ever be over?” The Prince groaned. “Can’t I ever just eat?”

“I’m not stopping you from eating, so –oh, wait. Are those your manners? Are you not eating because I’m not eating either, and that’s what a good host would do? Aren’t you the–”

“I’m jumping out of the window if you don’t shut up,” he grumbled, finally opening the pizza box.

“Rude. Does anyone stay here when you’re not? Like, did we throw someone out?”

“No, I don’t think so. Wait, are you asking me so you can call someone to rob us?”

“That would be pretty idiotic of me, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh, like the Queen wouldn’t protect you. You just had to look at her once, with your blue eyes, and your puppy enthusiasm, and she was gone for you.”

The Queen. Will hadn’t wanted to assume, he knew mixed people that could pass as white, and he knew it was rude to ask. So, since the King was white, the Queen black, and Hazel black, he had just thought the Prince was white passing. It must have been written on his face, because the Prince reached over to open Will’s box for him, as though he didn’t want to look at his face.

“She’s not my mother, you know,” he said. “I’m just the King’s bastard son.”

Will gasped. “No one says things like that, anymore.”

“Not where you are from, they don’t.” The Prince took a slice of pizza, and motioned over for Will to do the same. “Listen, you are part of this, now. I’m not going to lie to you, it has both pros and cons. You will never have to worry about money, rent, whatever you used to before. But you have to be extremely careful. Whenever you do something wrong, people will be there to judge you. Things as little as leaving a party too early or too late, you will be seen anyway, and people will try to tear down every single move you make, until even you doubt yourself. Until even you can’t like yourself.”

Will cleared his throat. “I know what it’s like.”

The Prince shook his head. “You don’t.”

Will’s throat closed. He should have told the Prince. He should have looked in those brown eyes, and simply said that his parents weren’t exactly farmers. He opened his mouth. He was about to say it.

“It’s the first time I eat pizza so close to Italy, you know?”

The Prince didn’t pressure him for more, he just rolled his eyes, cheeks dusted with pink. “You really have no idea where we are, do you?”

“Yes, I do! In the border between Italy and France.”

Will’s smug moment was cut short by the Prince’s scoff.

“We’re in Livigno, genius. It’s in Italy. Well, technically it’s on Switzerland soil, but it’s an Italian city.”

Will shrugged, willing his blush to disappear. “You should stop lying to yourself.”

“Says the guy who treats borders between countries like they are no man’s land. ‘Where are you Will?’ ‘Oh, you know, just in the border.’ You should have been given bodyguards, seriously. You are a public danger!”

Will shook his head, but there was no way of hiding the stupid smile on his face. “Going back to pizza–”

“Pizza and tour, two words that will give me nightmares and scar me for life.”

“So, now that we’re talking about tours again!” Will moved so fast on the high stool he bumped into the pizza box and sent it flying to the floor across the room. Luckily, the pizza didn’t fall out.

“Was that you sending the pizza on a tour?”

“No, that was a threat for you.” Will pointed at the floor, where his pizza was looking back at him. “Take me on a tour, or you’ll end up like the pizza.”

“In your stomach? Because I’m not calling the restaurant to order another.”

“Wow, I see the length you’d go for me. I’ll remember it.” He popped down the stool, and bent to take back his food. “Look! It’s not even smudged. You should give me the restaurant’s name, I’ll put on a nice review.”

When he turned, he found the Prince stubbornly looking at his food. “I can take you to the village later. Do you ski?”

“No. Do you?”

“Well, yes. There’s this hotel where you can use one of those sled with dogs. I can call and see if they have a spot for us in the next few days, I’m not sure, though.” He looked up, to see Will staring at him with wide eyes. “What? Is there something on my face?”

Not caring about the dough on his fingers, Will put his hands on the Prince’s cheeks, and squished. “Do you think they have puppies?”

“What the–what are you doing to my face?”

“I’m forcing you to look at me, because I honestly think that I’m more interesting than food. So, do they have puppies?”

Will squished tighter, and the Prince’s words turned out muffled. “How would I know?”

“How would you not know? How can you go anywhere without checking whether there’s puppies or not?”

“You’re here with me. Did you check?”

Will threw his hands in the air. “I just admitted that I didn’t know what city we are in, so make a wild guess, darlin’.”

The Prince shook his head, exhaling through his nose. “We wouldn’t go there today, anyway.”

“I want the tour of the house first, anyway.”

“Sure thing, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, peasant.”

For a second, Will thought he’d gone too far, taken the jokes too lightly, and the Prince would never talk to him again. Then, the Prince just shook his head.

“You are so bad mannered it’s literally scary.”

“My Texan grandmother would be heartbroken over your words.”

“My Italian grandmother would tell you not to talk while you eat.”

Will rolled his eyes, stuffing another slice of pizza in his mouth. “She would love me. I’m lovable. Lovely. I would sweep her off her feet.”

“I’d tell her you called me a peasant and she’d hate you forever.”

“Would she?”

The Prince’s lips twitched, he took a large gulp of water before responding. “No, not really.”

Will scoffed. “I’m far too bright for your lies.”

“Sure thing, principino.”

“What does it mean?”

The Prince sighed. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I’m calling Persephone,” the Prince said. “That was her doing. Or Hazel’s. I hope to God it wasn’t my father, or I’m fucking retiring as Prince, and they can find someone else to fill the fucking spot.”

So the Prince stomped away, Will heard his angry steps on the stairs, as he went to retrieve his phone. Will just stood there, watching the only bed in the whole house as though he had never seen one before.

During their tour, they had discovered that every bed had disappeared, except for the one in the Prince’s room. A queen size bed –which Will would have found hilarious, in any other circumstance– with far more pillows than necessary.

Outside it was already dark, although it was only five in the afternoon. Will could almost see people on the streets in the village, which wasn’t more than fifteen minutes by foot, or so the Prince had said.

Without anything else to do as he waited for the Prince to return, Will decided to snoop around a little. He stopped in front of the desk in the corner of the room, remembering he couldn’t snoop around. Then the Prince would know that Will was a snooper, a serial snooper, which he had denied being. With a heavy sigh, Will fell on the chair.

There was a trunk in front of the bed. It looked pretty old, probably the first thing in the whole chalet that had a story, and it was in the Prince’s room. Will couldn’t help but wonder what was in it.

The Prince reappeared at the doorframe, heavily panting, leaning forward on his knees.

“Geez, did you run all the way back to your island?” Will asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

“I can’t believe you don’t even know the name of ‘my island’,” he replied, making quotation mark with his fingers.

Will stared at him without blinking, much like the Prince often did. “Maybe you don’t know it, and I don’t want to give you any clues.”

“Why wouldn’t I–do you even hear yourself when you speak? God, you’re giving me a headache. A headache!”

The Prince sat on the bed, taking off his shoes to fold his legs underneath himself. He passed his hand through his dark hair, sighing heavily.

“What can I say, it’s part of my appeal,” Will replied, shrugging. “You’ll get wrinkles if you keep frowning, darlin’.”

The Prince sighed again. “I’m not even going to respond to that.”

Will stretched his arms over his head, arching on the chair until he started seeing black and foggy. He spoke around a yawn. “So I win.”

“You don’t win shit, don’t you –whatever. That’s not what I needed to say.” He finally took his hands off his face, revealing his frown. “Persephone –that’s the Queen, in case you didn’t catch her name either– said that the other beds needed changing.”

“We can order one on Amazon. Wait, does it exist in Europe?”

“We’re in Asia.”

Will’s eyes widened, and only then did he notice the Prince’s grin. He put his hand on his racing heart. “You’re an asshole.”

“It’s not my fault you have no clue as to where you are, principino.” The Prince shook his head, and passed his hands through his hair again. “Anyway. She said we can’t get other beds for a couple of days, so we only have this. I’ll just sleep on the couch downstairs. By the way, your suitcase was lost, so only mine was delivered.”

“Lost.”

“Well, as you can imagine, it probably never left the island. Persephone must have told the bodyguards to bring it back to the palace.”

“But why would she do that?”

“She reads too many books, that’s why. She probably thinks sharing clothes is a bonding experience, or whatever.” He fell on his back, making the pillows bounce. “We can buy clothes tomorrow. I don’t want to go out now.”

Will scratched the back of neck. “I didn’t really bring that much money.”

“I told you, you don’t need to worry about it anymore. You can just use one of my cards.”

“I’d much rather not do that. Just–I don’t want to use your money.”

The Prince looked at him for a long moment, but he didn’t insist.

“I’ll sleep on the couch, you stay here. It’s your bed.”

“You’ve been calling me a bad host all day,” the Prince said. “Let me sleep on the couch. I insist.”

“No, you’re sleeping here. It’s your house.”

“Listen, for the past two years, I’ve mostly slept on the ground. I can handle sleeping on the couch for a week.”

“I’m letting you sleep on the couch in your own house.”

“I’m not letting you sleep on the couch in my own house.”

“What if we slept together? No wait, that got out wrong. Like, what if we share the bed? No wait, that’s like letting the Queen win. We’ll share the couch!”

“How is that any different?”

“I’ve seen the living room, darlin’. There’s like three couches. I’ve seen couch-sellers with less couches, plus the fireplace is there! It’s perfect. We can even make a blanket fort! It’ll be like a cool sleepover.”

The Prince rubbed his closed wrists on his eyes. “I haven’t done blanket forts when I was a kid, I’m not going to start now. So get it out of your head.”

“You are no fun.”

“Whatever.”

“So, are we having a sleepover?”

“It’s not a sleepover, are you going to call the whole week a sleepover? Because I’m already finding it annoying.”

“Yeah, I know, it’ll give you a headache. Anyway, we need to bring the blankets and pillows downstairs, and take pajamas. Did you bring any?”

As it turned out, the Prince was quite a bit taller than Will, which he had noticed, but not given too much thought to. Just taller enough that he needed to roll up the pants. The Prince also gave him a pair of sponge socks and a sweatshirt in which he literally swam, and told him where he could find a toothbrush. The neck of the sweatshirt kept falling over his shoulder.

When Will got out of the bathroom, the Prince was also wearing a pajama. Will shook his head, feigning disappointment.

“And you say you have never had an emo phase. You say that to my face, then give me black clothes, as you wear black clothes, and have only brought black clothes.” Will waved his index in front of the Prince, who tried to take a step back, but was blocked by the bed. “I may not know much about Europe. European princes, hell, I didn’t even know your island existed. But! I know everything about emo phases. So don’t you dare lying like that to my face, ever again.”

“You are so weird it’s scary.”

“Thank you. So, blanket fort?”

“Absolutely not.”

#riordanuniverse #solangelo #percy jackon and the olympians #nico di angelo #rick riordan #will solace #riordanverse #rickriordan #solangelo fic

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