#that sing street picture lives rent free in my head

[dwsavideos]

Spring Awakening and Sing Street as Netflix shows

I saw these promo pictures from Spring Awakening and Sing Street and the first thing I thought was that they looked like those pictures they use for the Netflix show titles

I’m grasping at straws here guys. Both these shows mean the world to me but neither of them are currently open or producing any new content. It hurts.

I wish Broadway had a place where they streamed shows but we can’t event get a decent Proshot so

#that sing street picture lives rent free in my head #i miss both these shows #broadway shows #broadway #netflix #netflix shows #spring awakening #deaf west spring awakening #dwsa #musical theatre #dwsa cast #broadway musicals #spring awakening broadway #sing street #sing street musical #sing street broadway #austin p. mckenzie #sandra mae frank #brendan c callahan #sam poon #brenock o’connor #zara devlin #gian perez #jakeim hart

[1004tyun-archive]

my girlfriend crystal hehehe 🥹🩷🩷 i know you’re sleeping right now but i keep missing you >3<

i told other friends of mine about you and i’m so happy hehehehe i get to talk about you to more and more people 🥹🫶🩷

i still can’t believe you’re my girlfriend and i’m yours >\\\< i still remember when i was sending you asks in your inbox 🥺 i always thought there’s no way you’d like me back >\\< rhsjdrjejd and then our era of horny memes and taehyun judgy memes in our inboxes 🤭 everything we experience together is always so fun 🥹🩷

crystal gem 💎🩷🥹 i’m in love with you my sweet <3 thank you so much for being in my life, for being the person that you are, you’re so amazing, beautiful inside and out 🥺🥹😭🩷🩷 i want to kiss you so bad so that i finally get to show you my affection 🥺 talking to you all day makes me so happy already so i’ll be okay hehe 🥺🩷

i saw these strawberries and thought of you since you love spider verse hehe~ i should try to watch it!! and obviously some cookies and cream~ 🤭🩷

my love 🥹 i’m a little stressed today but thinking about you gives me the strength to go on always 😚🩷 i wish i could just focus on you always 🥹 i cherish my crystal time so much 🥺🥺🩷 my beautiful girlfriend hehehehehe (tinnitus english version sung by you lives in my mind rent free 🤭🩷)

i hope you sleep well and wake up feeling energized!! >3< mwah mwah!!

— your girlfriend, cherry bear 🍒🩷😚

my girlfriend cherry~ i was sooo glad to see a message from you as soon as i woke up 🥺🥺🩵🩵 i missed you so so much baby 🥺

aaajshsjs that makes me so so happy baby 🥹🥹 i told my irls that we’re officially official and they were all so happy for me 🥺🥺😭😭 it feels so good to talk about you to people sometimes i feel like going out into the street and being like I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND but i think that would freak some people out 😭😭

i still cannot believe this it feels like a dream 😭😭 when we were first sending asks to each other i was so certain that i was gonna be a pro at keeping my feelings unknown but even then i was super obvious 😭 even when we were in our oblivious gal pals phase all i wanted was for you to know that i cared about you and to make it so there’d be no doubt about it. and then we realized that we were attracted to each other and our relationship progressed into something different and that’s when even taehyun started judging us djshsjjs 😭😭😭😭 but this experience has been nothing short of fun and beautiful :’) 🩵🩵

honest to god when you first said you were in love with me i started crying my eyes out 😭😭😭 to everyone else on the planet it’s obvious but it made me feel so special ;; i love you so much cherry baby i’m so in love with you you’re so beautiful inside and out and i can’t wait for the opportunity to show you how i feel ;3; i want to hold you and kiss you so badly!!! >3< i wanna shower you with affection ;; but being able to do that verbally when we call means a lot to me too 🥺🥺🥺🩵🩵🩵

THIS MOODBOARD I’M GONNA CRYY IT’S SO CUTE it’s everything i love combined plus it was made by the person i love the most 😭😭😭😭 i really couldn’t ask for anything better 🥺🩵

aw baby :( i wish i was there to hold your hand and hug you i’m here for you!! 🥺 every moment i spend with you is so important to me i love having my cherry time with my beautiful girlfriend~ 🥺🥺🍒🩷 (lmaoskhsj i can’t get you singing the tinnitus demo version out of mh head either 😭😭 don’t want no pictures wanna touch your body feel your body push up on me~ 😏😏💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾)

i feel kinda groggy since i forgot to turn my ac on before i fell asleep but i’ll always be happy to wake up and hear from you my dear 🥺🥺 i love you so so much

my love, my girlfriend, my one and only cherry bear~ 🥺🥺🥺🩵🩵

#MY HEART IS BURSTING #where do i even begin with this 😭😭 #our relationship progression never fails to make me laugh bc i’m pretty sure we got some steps backwards #but we made it to our destination regardless! #i’m so lucky i’m quite literally the luckiest person alive #who else can say they have a cherry bear? 🥺 #who else can say they’re with the kindest sweetest softest most beautiful woman in the world 🥺🥺 #i know you say you can’t believe i was ever considered a ‘tsundere’ but i used to be so bad at expressing my feelings in this way #i used to withhold my affection a lot and i would never use pet names or be cutesy #but now look at me sjhshs 😭😭 i have a whole list of nicknames for you #i love being lovey dovey and cheesy with you and i could never imagine withholding my affection from you #not when you’re as lovable as you are 🥺🥺🥺 my sweet girl~ #or should i say my sweet girlfriend? 🤭🤭🩵🩵🩵 #i love you so much… i’m so in love with you my dear #cherry bear 🍒

[acnelli]

Illuminating

I had a lot of fun writing this story for the 2020 HPRomione Discord Secret Santa Exchange. Thank you @remedial-potions for organising this for us. And shout out to @nagemeikenu who beta-read my story at such short notice.

[...] Ron Weasley was, without a doubt, the brightest and strongest light for her and she knew that it was everything she needed. [...]

Also avialable on FFN and AO3.

Please also check out all the other great stories that are and will be added to the AO3 collection.

 “But it’s tradition, Hermione!”

“So?”

“So, it means bad luck if we do.”

“Honestly, you can’t believe that, Ron. This is superstition at its best.”

“Better safe than sorry if you ask me.”

“Isn’t it also against tradition to have sex before being married? I don’t remember you putting up a fight against this particular case of tradition-breaking.”

Hermione crossed her arms in front her and looked expectantly at Ron, absolutely unable to keep the smugness out of her face.

She should’ve known better though because Ron never failed to come up with something in response. “Mum will insist for you to sleep in Ginny’s room tonight. I’m sure,” Ron continued, completely ignoring Hermione’s irrefutable offering of logic, “You may have noticed next to nothing slips by her and this certainly isn’t something she’ll choose to ignore.”

Ron met Hermione with an equally smug grin, absolutely positive bringing Molly Weasley into this would settle the argument.

It didn’t.

“What I indeed noticed is the inability of your family to keep their noses out of our life,” Hermione complained, blowing an annoying strand of hair out of her face, “I love your mother, you know it, but I don’t see how it’s any of her business whether or not the two of us share a bed tonight.”

“She’ll make it her business and you know it.”

“Why does she care?”

“Because it’s bad luck!”

Hermione groaned and ran her hand through her hair in frustration, making it even wilder in the process. Despite them bickering over the silliest things, she certainly didn’t expect this particular topic becoming something they would disagree on. Because as of yet, they never disagreed on anything considering their…bedroom activities.

It was the day before Ron and Hermione’s wedding, and despite their recent argument, Hermione felt excited, looking forward to tie the knot with the tall, lanky redhead in front of her. It was the next milestone in their relationship, and sure enough, the most important one as of yet.

Hermione was well aware that nothing would really change after tomorrow; they’d still continue to live in their quarter of Grimmauld Place since Harry insisted for them to not rent a “ridiculously expensive” apartment in London when they could live in the former Order’s Head Quarter for free. Of course, he was right about that, but both Ron and Hermione agreed that at some point in their life they have to find a place of their own.

Yes, nothing changed. But at the same time, everything did. Marrying Ron didn’t make what they had more important or more meaningful. But there was always something strange about calling Ron her boyfriend. From the earliest moments of their relationship, the word ‘boyfriend’ just didn’t feel right because all things considered, especially the years of mutual pining and constant danger, all the things they went through together, made the word just not strong enough when Hermione thought about it.

She couldn’t help the smile appearing on her face when she thought about the night Ron Weasley stopped being her boyfriend and started to become her fiancé.

It had been almost six months ago when they walked home from Dean’s Christmas Party. The night couldn’t have been more perfect for Christmas Eve with the light layer of snow covering everything, illuminated by the bright light of the full moon. Almost every street light and every window they passed on their way back to Grimmauld Place were decorated with Christmas lights and from somewhere far away they heard a man singing, very loudly and very off-key.

“Reckon that’s one of Dean’s party guests?” Ron laughed as they walked hand in hand through a little park.

Hermione chuckled, thinking about all the booze available at Dean’s. “The only one still sober enough to stand, let alone sing, was Harry. And we know that’s not his singing voice.”

“That’s true. Harry sings much worse than this guy.”

“Definitely,” Hermione said, chuckling at the memory of Harry singing a lullaby to his Godson, “I think he scarred Teddy for life.”

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star will forever be a trigger for that poor child.”

Hermione barked out a laugh and took a quick look at her watch.

“Oh, it’s already past midnight, Ron,” she said and looked up at him, “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, love.”

Ron stopped walking and pulled Hermione against him, kissing her cold nose. “You know,” he said as he clapped his hand against his jean pocket, “I actually have that present of yours right here with me.”

“And…that present is inside your pants and happy to see me or…?”

Ron barked out that deep laugh she loved so much and she loved it even more when she was the one responsible for it. He leaned down to softly kiss her, leaving Hermione with the taste of eggnog and cinnamon on her lips.

Stepping back a little, Ron pulled out a book of his pocket, clearly too big to fit in there. Since Ron hated carrying around bags the undetectable extension charm became one of Ron’s favourite uses of magic. The book had a thick leather cover and in Ron’s messy handwriting the words ‘Our Adventures’ were dancing up and down the front.

Hermione took the diary-sized book from Ron and opened it to the first page.

‘The Beginning’ it said at the top and it showed a photograph of them and Harry in first year. She couldn’t help but smile back at the three children, especially her past self with wild bushy hair and flushed cheeks and a huge toothy grin. Little Hermione was so happy to finally have friends that it made her forget all about her large front teeth she usually used to avoid showing in pictures.

As she turned the pages, Hermione travelled back in time as she looked at all the moving pictures that showed their shared adventures. From their school years over their joint trips all around the world to birthdays, weddings and family gatherings, it was all there. Even the picture her Dad had made of them when Ron and Hermione brought them back from Australia was in there, positively unmoving, but showing a very tanned Hermione and a Ron with the worst sunburn of his life.

And when she turned the last page there wasn’t another picture of them. The words written there sent a jolt right through her heart, making it beat faster. And when she looked up, the picture in front of her matched the question she just read.

Ron knelt in front her with a small, golden ring in hand and Hermione found the same emotions in his eyes that threatened to fill her heart to bursting and that only he could give her; happiness, hope and…love. 

Back then, he asked her to start their next big adventure. When he proposed to her, something clicked into place. She already had the thing she would miss the most, but to tie the knot felt like the right step to make.

When the witch thought back at their years together as friends and a couple, she couldn’t help but marvel over how well everything worked out in the end. Because Merlin knows, they didn’t have an easy start by any means. Their romance started right when incredibly hard and dark months lay ahead of them; months and years of mourning, rebuilding, coping and one of the things she was incredibly thankful for, therapy. They all needed it, although all of them used to consider it an admission of vulnerability before they finally saw how healing it was, amongst other things.

And despite the grave times and hardships, Hermione always had her very own source of light. Among the wonderful people in her life providing her with the warmth she needed to beat the darkness, one of them stood out the most. Ron Weasley was, without a doubt, the brightest and strongest light for her and she knew that it was everything she needed.

Ron currently stood in front of his wardrobe, fishing out one of his old but still brightly orange Cannon shirts. Before he could turn around again, Hermione walked up and hugged him from behind. She pressed herself against his back, her left cheek resting right between his shoulder blades.

“Okay!” She murmured as her fingertips softly grazed up and down Ron’s sides.

“Okay what?”

“I’ll sleep at my parents’ house tonight.”

Ron turned around to her, clearly surprised about the sudden change of opinion.

Before he could say anything else, she softly kissed him. Returning and deepening the kiss, Ron pulled her closer as a soft moan escaped her. Kissing Ron Weasley most definitely will never get old.

“Are you sure?” He asked, and Hermione couldn’t help but chuckle at the not-so-subtle disappointment in his voice.

“Did you expect me to persuade you with my mediocre seduction skills? Because I think I looked right through you just now.”

With a smug and slightly embarrassed look that only Ron Weasley could manage, he gave her one of his trade-mark lopsided smirks.

“It was less expecting than hoping for it,” he answered, softly tugging some locks behind her ear before leaning down to kiss her ear lobe, “And mediocre my arse you little vixen.” “Well, I definitely considered it to be my next move, but then I thought it’s probably kind of romantic to not see each other until Dad walks me down the aisle.”

“I’ll certainly not stand in the way of this rare display of romance by Hermione Granger.” Ron winked at her as he slowly backed her into the direction of his old bed. “But if you don’t mind, I’d love to get you a parting gift before your departure.” 

*******

As Hermione lay in her bed, dressed in her most comfortable pyjamas, she finally admitted to herself why she had been against separate sleeping arrangements tonight in the first place. It was irrational and probably ridiculous considering the many days they spent apart when Hermione went to Hogwarts and Ron to Auror training, but she couldn’t quite shake off the feeling of uneasiness and unrest that settled inside her stomach.

She had gotten so used to falling asleep beside him, with his soft snoring and the warmth always radiating off him, no matter how cold of a day it was. Several night missions and other Auror assignments made Hermione miss the redhead at night, but especially today, with the excitement about tomorrow keeping her wide awake, she found it next to impossible to fall asleep without his large, freckled hand resting on her hip.

As Hermione looked out of the window beside her old bed, preparing herself to count herself to sleep with the stars she could make out from here, a small ball of light reflected in the glass and illuminated the room.

And she really didn’t need to turn around to see who just apparated inside her bedroom. That’s why she just closed her eyes, not being able to stop her face to split into a wide smile when Ron climbed into bed beside her and draping an arm around her middle, pulling her close.

For some silly reason, Ron showing up tonight made her feel so incredibly happy that she couldn’t stop the tears welling up in her eyes. Enjoying his warmth and leanness and the hot breath at the back of her neck, she marvelled at the simple fact that Ron Weasley illuminated her life in every way possible.

“I love you.”

“I love you.” 

#romione #2020 hpromione discord secret santa #ron x hermione #hermione x ron #hermione/ron #ron/hermione #ron weasley #hermione granger #romione fanfiction #romione fanfic #hermione granger fanfiction #hermione granger fanfic #ron weasley fanfiction #ron weasley fanfic #weasley is our king #my fanfic #my fanfiction

[rae-arts777]

Cythina X Dorothy

Very interesting 🤩 @blueangelstone

Red wine, red wine is what they bonded over, the rest is history

Before they started dating, they were the friends who would flirt and very touchy with each other

When Laurent and Dorothy broke up, Dorothy was ready to run into Cythina’s arms, but Cythina wasn’t ready. So after a few months (Cythina also making sure it’s ok with Laurent cause she’s not heartless), the two officially started to date.

Their first kiss was on New Years and at a party in New York. They kissed at midnight and went back to their hotel room, however they ended up just talking the whole night about their feelings.

They both love living the moment. Dorothy is always the one who starts a crazy adventure/date. “How crazy would it be if we just packed our bags and went to Italy for a week?” Or “I say we get in the car and drive for 3 hours straight in one direction! Let’s see where it takes us!” Cythina is always down for these adventures, but she also knows when she say no.

Cythina is 90% of Dorothy’s impulsive control. When Cythina leaves, Laurent or Makoto can find Dorothy cutting the sleeves off one of her t-shirts or surrounded by 7 bottles of wine, or planning some elaborate scheme to con someone she saw on the street. “What happened?” “Cythina left and she’s 90% of my impulsive control.”

Cythina knows how to say no to Dorothy. It’s hard, but she keeps Dorothy down to earth, and level headed. Of course when they started dating Dorothy was like “no one ever says no to me...”. Dorothy loves that about Cythina, she loves someone is willing to stand up to her and tell her no.

Date night is either one of two things. Going out and partying on the city until the sunrises, or staying in wearing snuggies, red wine, and watching reality TV.

Dorothy adopted Makoto as their “twink son”. Cythina had no objections. Makoto had many objections. (There are some times where he admits defeat and goes “yeah..they’re my moms” ).

On the day of the grand opening of Makoto’s coffee shop, Dorothy and Cythina were the loudest ones screaming saying how proud they were of their “son”. Makoto was very embarrassed.

Dorothy calls Abby their “chemical romance daughter”. Abby resents her greatly for that. Out of spite Abby clings to Cythina just to piss off Dorothy.

At bars, both get lots of attention. They flirt along with guys just to get free drinks. After the night ended they’ll kiss each other in front of the whole bar and walk out smirking, leaving shocked faces all around.

Dorothy has a shirt that says “if lost return to Cythina”, Cythina has a shirt that says “I’m Cythina”

Dorothy is a Disney fan. They have a bucket list to go to all the Disneylands and worlds in the world. So far they’ve been to ones in Pairs, Germany (where the originally Disney castle is located), Florida and California, America, and Tokyo. They have a picture and sent of matching Mickey ears on a little Disney shrine Cythina got for her.

Cythina didn’t watch any of the Disney movies until she started dating Dorothy. When a musical number comes on, they’ll both start singing along.

Dorothy is banned from going to any of Cythina’s acting auditions. When Cythina was told she didn’t get the part, Dorothy threw a chair at the director, saying they don’t know the talent they’re missing out on. Cythina loves her chatoic girlfriend, but lord have mercy.

When they settled, Dorothy wasn’t sure what she wanted too do. Cythina suggest she get a part time job, just to get out there. Currently Dorothy works at the old cafe Cythina use to work at, so she can figure out what she wants to do.

They also have little statues of important landsmarks of all the places they’ve gone. Dorothy also loves to collect paintings of the places as well. Cythina would rather not have paintings hanging up everywhere, but she does enjoy the ones Dorothy picks out.

Cythina is the more jealous one, since Dorothy can be a bit too care free, she can be oblivious if someone hits on her. Cythina either comes over and pull Dorothy tightly to her side, or, she’ll drop kick the prev who’s trying to lay their filthy hands on her girlfriend.

Fights usually comes from the fact that Dorothy is indecisive, or Cythina is “trying to tie her down”. The fight will end with Dorothy either storming out, or Cythina kicking her out. Considering the two can be hot heads, it takes a full day for them to apolgize. Dorothy always realizes that she really loves Cythina, cause she wants to run back to her arms and not away anymore.

Makeups are very dramatic. When Dorothy goes to apolgize, she’ll recreate the “in the rain” scenes to one, show how sorry she is, and lifts Cythina’s spirits. When Cythina apolgizes, she’ll run throughout the neighborhood screaming for Dorothy. When she finds her, she’ll pick her up and start apologizing. After their makeups, the two will laugh at how dramatic the other is.

Dorothy use to tip toe a lot, trying to avoid serious conversations after their fight. Cythina doesn’t let her. Dorothy hates having serious conversations, but Cythina reminds her it’s important if they want to have a healthy realationship.

Dorothy still struggles at getting use to having a well communicated and healthy relationships. Cythina knows and does everything she can to help her get use to it. (We Stan Cythina also respecting boundaries)

The ends of makeups also end with kisses and constants “I love you”s

Both fight over being the bigger spoon. Cythina likes to carddle Dorothy, and Dorothy likes holding Cythina on top of her, so she can kisses her all over.

Dorothy sleeps in just boxers on some nights, especially the summer. Cythina always sleeps with a t shirts. In the mornings when Cythina is trying to get out of bed for work, Dorothy will latch onto her back, begging her to stay in bed.

Cythina has grown immune to Dorothy’s seductions, but Dorothy has not grown immune to Cythina’s.

After they gotten married, it took a lot for Dorothy to get use too. But she was excited to finally got to say “THATS MY WIFE BITCHES!!!” Instead of “THATS MY GIRLFRIEND BITCHES!!”

Dorothy has screamed “THATS MY WIFE BITCHES!” At one of Cythina’s theater plays. Cythina was very embarrassed, but ended up laughing with the biggest smile. Dorothy also threw flowers on stage for her.

Cythina does have a fear Dorothy will get bored and run away. Dorothy knows her fears. When they got married and would have a fight, If Dorothy left, she’ll give something important to her to Cythina and go “ILL BE BACK FOR THAT!” And storm out angrily. Even though she’s mad, she’ll telling Cythina she’s coming back for her, not the item. If Cythina kicks her out “TAKE WHATS YOURS AND LEAVE!” Dorothy will pick up Cythina going “FINE” and walk out the door holding Cythina, who’s trying to decide if she should be upset or flustered.

Dorothy started wearing red lipstick so she can leave marks on Cythina’s face when she kisses her, like Cythina does for her.

Dorothy bought them the long flowy robes, they wear them on “special nights”.

Cythina loves to pick up Dorothy and sweetly go “I love you”. Dorothy loves to tackle Cythina to the couch and agresssivly go “I love you!!! Like what?! I fucking love you!!! It’s insane!!!”

Guess this rare pair shall live in my head rent free 😌✨

#great pretender #the great pretender #grepre #cynthia moore #great pretender anime #headcanons #dorothy great pretender #Cythina x Dorothy #Rare pair and now I love it #bacially chatoic X semi chatoic #living in my head rent free

[amwritesitall]

Cordelia Goode Playlist

Masterlist

I’m sharing these so I have post schedullleeedd for my days oooofffff. They most likely won’t be popular but it’s all good :) I’m going to put little baby reasoning since this is a thicc list

Playlist link

Also if you guys want more character playlists go check out @make--your--life--spectacular​ ‘s playlists. Here’s links to Ally and Venable :)

“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac

Now here I go again I see the crystal visions I keep my visions to myself It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams And have you any dreams you'd like to sell? Dreams of loneliness

So the first few songs all kind of have the same reasoning and that is witchy vibes. You can’t have a Cordelia playlist without some Fleetwood Mac

“Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac

She is like a cat in the dark and then She is the darkness She rules her life like a fine skylark and when The sky is starless

The ultimate witchy vibes song

“Seven Wonders” by Fleetwood Mac

So it's hard to find Someone with that kind of intensity You touched my hand I played it cool And you reached out your hand for me But if our paths never cross Well you know I'm sorry but If I live to see the seven wonders I'll make a path to the rainbow's end I'll never live to match the beauty again The rainbow's end

We love our talented Supreme

“Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You” by Stevie Nicks

Has anyone ever given anything to you In your darkest hours Did you ever give it back Well, I have I have given that to you If it's all I ever do This is your song

This song is so preetttttyyyyyy. I feel like this would be one of Cordelia’s favorites

“The Witch Queen of New Orleans” by Redbone

Dime or a nickel any one could buy Voodoo of any kind She had potions and lotions, herbs and tanna leaves Guaranteed to blow your mind Early one mornin' into mucky swamp dew Vanished Marie with hate in her eyes Though she'll never return all the Cajuns knew A witch queen never dies

This song talks about Marie Laveau and idk witch vibes. Cordelia is also the witch queen while Marie is the voodoo queen

“girls” by girl in red

I shouldn't be feeling this But it's too hard to resist Soft skin and soft lips I should be into this guy But it's just a waste of time He's really not my type I know what I like No, this is not a phase Or a coming of age This will never change

A lot of songs just make me think of bb Cordelia

“Loving Is Easy” by Rex Orange County

Loving is easy You had me fucked up It used to be so hard to see Yeah, loving is easy When everything's perfect Please don't change a single little thing for me

Soft gal loving. Prime happy Cordelia vibes

“i wanna be your girlfriend” by girl in red

I don't wanna be your friend I wanna kiss your lips I wanna kiss you until I lose my breath I don't wanna be your friend I wanna kiss your lips I wanna kiss you until I lose my breath

Teen AU Cordeliiiaaaa

“Glory Box” by Portishead

I just want to be a woman From this time, unchained We're all looking at a different picture Through this new frame of mind A thousand flowers could bloom Move over, and give us some room, yeah

HOW CAN I NOT PUT THIS SONG ON HERE?? This is one of my favorite songs they have ever used on the show

“you’re my world” by atlas

You were my earth You were the planet You were the grass The wind and tides And now that you're gone I feel so out of place And now that you're gone I'm just driftin' through space

Anngsssttt

“If We We’re Vampires” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

It's knowing that this can't go on forever Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone Maybe we'll get forty years together But one day I'll be gone Or one day you'll be gone

I’m going to use my reasoning from my other post about this song.

Cordelia knows that one day she will die. There will be another Supreme after her and she can’t live forever. This is her coming to terms with the fact that maybe it’s for the best that she won’t stay around forever. Not being immortal allows her to live in the moment and savor all the time she has.

“Red (Demo Version)” by Miki Ratsula

Stars light up the sky, the clock strikes twelve Adventure in sight, the hours melt Ben Howard plays, she sings along I look to my left and fall in love

When she leans in for a red light kiss And places her love on my lips Hearts and lungs increase in pace Passion overwhelms our space But, the corner of my eye lights up in green This fragile moment woken by reality Our lips depart, our breathing slows as I wait again To kiss her lips, when the light turns red

Soft teen Cordelia vibes

“Planets of the Universe - Demo” by Fleetwood Mac

I will never love again the way I loved you You will never rule again the way you've ruled We will never change again the way we are changing Oh, you'll forget the chill of love but not the strain

One of my favorite songs. The demo is my favorite version of it because it feels so raw? Like the emotions in it and also young Stevie sounds like a cutie at the beginning and end when she’s talking to Christine.

In general this is also has Cordelia vibes too lol

“18″ by 5 Seconds of Summer

I'm not old enough for her I'm just waiting till I'll eighteen I think she wants to get with me But, she's got a job in the city And she says that she's always too busy She's got a naughty tattoo In a place that i wanna get to

Being a student at the Academy and having a thing for Ms Headmistress Cordelia

“House of the Rising Sun” by Lauren O’Connell

It's one foot on the platform The other's on the train I'm going back to New Orleans To wear that ball and chain

Witchy woman

“Bad Liar” by Selena Gomez

I was walking down the street the other day Tryna distract myself But then I see your face Oh wait, that's someone else Ohh, tryna play it coy Tryna make it disappear But just like the battle of Troy There's nothing subtle here In my room there's a king size space Bigger than it used to be If you want you can rent that place Call me an amenity Even if it's in my dreams

Nervous Cordelia trying to hide her feelings. Possibly Teen Cordelia?

“Nervous - Acoustic” by Gavin James

'Cause every time I saw you I got nervous Shivering and shaking at the knees And just like every song I haven't heard yet no I didn't know the words in front of me In front of me, and oh But I don't wanna know Who'll take you home?

Season three shy gal

“Mariposa” by Peach Tree Rascals

I can't wait for you To come my way I've been far away But I'll keep runnin' Just to find a way to you til' then

Cordelia will do her damn best to get to her love. Don’t mess with her b.

“Sweet Love of Mine (Acoustic)” by Joy Williams

When you found me I was all alone The whole world around me And nowhere to call home I heard your voice sing like heaven's choir Gathered up my fears and threw them in the fire

Oh my darling, sweet love of mine I'll hold you all through the night

I don’t think this is what the song is technically about but it makes me think of Cordelia finding someone that finally loves her and helps her love all of the things that Fiona made her self conscious about.

“Hurts Like Hell - OurVinyl Sessions” by Fleurie

I don't want them to know the secrets I don't want them to know the way I loved you I don't think they'd understand it, no I don't think they would accept me, no

I loved, and I loved and I lost you

Dreams fight with machines Inside my head like adversaries Come wrestle me free Clean from the war Your heart fits like a key Into the lock on the wall

This song makes me think of Misty x Cordelia or angsty teen au Cordelia. I can also cry on demand if this song is playing

“Waiting Room” by Rex Orange County

Our family reunion I'd rather be anywhere but here It's like a pain you shouldn't ignore But my uncle's here to open the door, and I don't like him This family reunion I felt so uncomfortable, I left They all decided to stay So it's just me and my mistakes And I'd like to know that you smile when you're alone And when you need time to yourself Remember me, I won't be anyone else I'm just the boy you love

And my lover, my best friend When I heard that you don't know why you're here I fell face down And became one with the ground And my lover's best friend

Cordelia’s hella dysfunctional family and just yeah

“Fancy Shoes” by The Walters

Let's go walking in the city tonight You wear the dress that makes you look so nice Like my fancy shoes I wore them just for you Tell me why all the good ones go Well I don't know but I want it to somehow change I'll be a better man if you just stay

This one I don’t have much of an explanation for besides vibes

“Common Sense” by Joshua Bassett

Common sense tells me kiss the girl goodbye Common sense tells me leave it all behind Common sense says the girl's not worth my time But common sense ain't common when you come to mind

Delia madly in love

“I Talk to the Sky” by Maddy Estelle

I write down things I wish I could say to you I talk to the sky I collect words I wish I could give to you I talk to the sky, I talk to the sky The sky doesn't say a word

Cordelia after she’s lost her loovee the annggsstt but sis is getting a happy ending

“Two Straws” by Also Joe

You've been on my mind In rain and sunshine You've got the sweetest smile that I've ever laid eyes on You make me dance And I make you laugh But nothin puts me in a better mood than being loved by ya This is the love that I've been dreaming of

Delia after falling really really hard

-

You might like:  Audrey Tindall Playlist or  Poems that Remind Me of Cordelia Goode

#cordelia #playlist #music #cordelia goode #cordelia foxx #teen au #ahs #coven #ahs coven #sarah paulson #american horror story #american horror story coven

[artificialqueens]

Rose Noir (Gigi x Nicky) - moonshot

A/N: Nicky decided to sing La Vie En Rose during one of her IG lives and somehow prompted me to write a full on 3.8k fic about it, it be like that sometimes! this is my first time submitting a fic on here so I hope you enjoy it, and please, feel free to leave some comments, it only motivates me to write more! x - moonshot 

Summary: Gigi didn’t know how she ended up listening to a mysterious and gorgeous woman sing in a lounge bar in the middle of Paris on a cold winter night, except she knew it was totally Crystal’s fault.

—-

Gigi didn’t know how she ended up in a lounge bar in the middle of Paris on a cold winter night, except she knew it was totally Crystal’s fault.

One moment the Missouri girl was standing next to her, eating a messy chocolate croissant, the next she had disappeared, leaving the tall brunette alone in a foreign city without any knowledge of the language.

Ugh, why didn’t her parents force her to take those French lessons back in high school? At least, she could have been able to say something other than omelette du fromage.

A loud thunder woke her up from her thoughts as she could feel small droplets hit her body. The model let out a frustrated sigh as she knew she wouldn’t be able to make it back to the apartment her agency had rented for her and her best friend before the rain would have gotten too intense.

To miss methyd:

(12:02 AM) YOU ARE DEAD MEAT, CRYSTAL ELIZABETH METHYD, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU. you better be safe tho text me k? ASAP

She shot the older girl a text as she entered one of the many lounge bars that populated the streets of Paris. Just as the door closed behind her, she could hear the way too familiar sound of pouring rain. At least, she wasn’t lost in the middle of Paris on a cold winter night and drenched, but it was still all Crystal’s fault, definitely.

Gigi looked around the softly dimmed bar, strangely feeling at ease. She was known among her friend group as being indifferent to music (“HOW can you not like listening to music? What do you do when you put on makeup” “I just sit in a corner in silence,” needless to say, her Broadway-enthusiast friend Jan almost had a heart attack at the thought of it).

She went up to sit at the bar, ordering for herself a simple cocktail, trying to figure out what to do until the rain stopped. Thankfully, it seemed like the world had an answer to her dilemma, as a soft accordion started playing. The brunette was so into her own head that she hadn’t noticed a breathtaking blonde woman had stepped on the stage, wearing a decadent black satin dress that hugged her curves almost as if it had been sown on her body.

One look at the mysterious singer and Gigi was captivated. As the woman started to sing, the brunette knew she was already in too deep.

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens

Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche

Voilà le portrait sans retouche

De l'homme auquel j'appartiens

Gigi swore French had never sounded more like pure sex than it did when the blonde woman sang it. The drink in her hand was long forgotten as the American girl locked eyes with the other woman. Despite the dim light on her, Gigi could make out that she was being smirked at as the song went on.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras

Qu'il me parle tout bas

Je vois la vie en rose

Il me dit des mots d'amour

Des mots de tous les jours

Et ça m'fait quelque chose

As the song went on, Gigi couldn’t help but feel herself getting more and more drawn in as she felt the blonde woman sang just for her. She was under the spell of that French goddess in front of her.

The final notes of the popular song filled the room - too soon for the brunette’s liking - and the singer flashed a smile, thanking the audience before disappearing behind the luxurious red velvet curtains out of Gigi’s line of sight.

Oh, wow. Oh, wow.

She definitely had a crush on an unknown lounge bar singer that she was probably never going to see again. Just great.

Gigi finished her cocktail as she was busy trying to work up a way to get home when the bartender, a friendly black-haired woman, she would have guessed in her early 30s, spoke up.

“Can I get you anything else?”

She was about to reply when a voice with a very deep French voice interrupted her.

“Un rose noir pour moi, Jacqueline”

Gigi turned her head to the side to see the very beautiful singer standing right next to her, their faces close as the blonde spoke with the bartender. She stood there in silence, slightly panicking at the proximity with the other woman.

“Here you go, Doll,” the barwoman gave the singer a rather fancy light pink looking drink, adorned with some dark blueberries on top, “For you, another martini, miss?”

“Uhm, uh, I-” she hesitated, trying to mentally calculate if she had enough money for another cocktail and the eventual taxi ride to the apartment.

“Get this pretty mademoiselle another drink and put it on my tab,” the blonde woman smiled at her, Gigi blushed at the compliment.

The unnamed woman sat on the empty stool next to her and extended her hand, “Nicolette Doll, but you can call me Nicky”

Gigi shook it, not failing to notice how soft yet firm the other woman’s hands were.

“I’m Gevenive… Gigi Goode, the ‘e’ is silent, you can call me gay- I mean, Gigi is good, wait, fuck, no pun intended!”

Well, it hadn’t taken her long to embarrass herself in front of a beautiful woman.

Thankfully for her, it seemed that Nicky had found her endearing as she erupted in a loud laugh, “Aren’t you something else, miss Goode?”

Gigi chuckled nervously as she took a sip of the cocktail placed in front of her, Nicky mirrored her actions, her eyes never leaving the brunette.

“What is an American like your fine self doing all alone in Paris? Business? Pleasure?” Nicky arches her perfectly sculpted brow to emphasize the last word.

“Uhm, well, I’m a model, got to move here just a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been so busy with fittings and photoshoots that I’ve barely had any time to enjoy the city, you know?

“A model? With a beauty like yours, it isn’t hard to picture it,” Gigi blushed at the not so subtle compliment, “And how did you end up in this bar, chéri?” The blonde asked her, the brunette could feel herself melt under the gaze of those icy blue eyes.

“Ah, funny story, I kinda lost my best friend while we were roaming around and I was basically forced to take shelter since mother nature out there decided to cry her heart out as much as Crystal does when she listens to early One Direction songs,” the American said in one go, watching the woman’s face in front of her go from concerned to slightly confused.

“Is your friend okay?” Nicky furrowed her brows as she asked the question.

“Probably, it’s not the first time she leaves me because she got distracted by something. Only thing is that my phone kinda died on me and I can’t see if she texted me back” Gigi took one final gulp of the drink and placed the empty glass on the counter, while she showed off the black screen of her phone to the blonde.

“I can lend you a charger, I live right above here,” she turned around to the bartender, “Jackie, love, what time is it?”

The black-haired woman was seemingly putting away the glasses for the night, just then Gigi realized that there were only a couple of people left in the room, including herself and Nicky.

“About 1:30, want me to close today?” Jackie cocked her head towards Gigi as she spoke with the singer.

“That would be perfect, are you ready to go, cocotte?”

Gigi grabbed her designer purse and nodded, taking the hand Nicky was offering her. The blonde swiftly moved around the tables until they both reached a side door Gigi hadn’t been able to see from where she was sitting throughout the night.

The brunette wasn’t really sure why, maybe it was the alcohol, but she felt like giggling. She really was going to a very gorgeous French woman’s apartment late at night. How very daring of her. Nicky seemingly shared her same feeling as she softly giggled as well.

Goddamn it, even her giggle sounded French and luxurious.

After two flights of stairs, they reached a deep mahogany door on the second floor. The singer unlocked it with one hand, still holding Gigi’s hand with the other.

Nicky went to turn on the lights, revealing a very modern chic apartment, before disappearing in one of the unlit rooms. The minimal furniture left space for the white walls to be decorated with giant poster-size pictures of various editorials, some even including the blonde herself. The American girl looked around the place, taking in the aesthetic. It looked a hundred times better than the small apartment she had to share with Crystal.

Wait a moment, was that a wooden sheep?

“Bienvenue to my crib, ma choupette!”

Nicky came back with the promised charger in hand, “You can leave your shoes at the entrance. Also, give me your phone so that I can go plug it in for you, love” Gigi quickly handed the phone over, “merci beaucoup,” the French woman continued before walking over the living room table and plugging it to the socket on the wall.

The brunette took off her heels, losing the slight height difference she had with the blonde. She laid her coat to rest on one of the wooden chairs around the table, after turning her attention back to the revived phone. It quickly rose back to life with a familiar white bitten off apple. It didn’t take long for the phone to start blowing off with notifications, mostly from Crystal.

From miss Methyd:

(1:42 AM) IT’S ALIVE

(1:43 AM) long story, i’ll tell u tomorrow

(1:43 AM) n e way, coming home tonight?

(1:45 AM) miss goooooooodeeeeee, are youuuuuuu theeeeeereeeee

(1:45 AM) i’m gonna cry if you don’t answer me

To miss Methyd:

(1:46 AM) staying out tonight, don’t wait up for me, and i expect ALL the details, you crazy clown

Gigi put her phone down after sending the text to her best friend, finding Nicky leaning on the glass on top of the table.

“Everything good?”, she cocked her head as her eyes roamed up and down Gigi’s slim figure.

“Yeah, my friend is okay, but she definitely owes me an explanation tomorrow morning when I see her…”

“Now that you know your friend is safe, I can call a cab for you… if you want?” Nicky offered to the brunette, but Gigi could clearly hear in her voice that she would hope she would stay.

“I, well, uhm, you know, I don’t mind staying here a bit longer, if it’s okay with you? The night is still young now, isn’t it?” Gigi counter-offered, biting her lower lip as she stared deeply in the blonde’s light blue eyes.

Nicky’s smile widened as she nodded, “I’d love that,” she walked closer, coming inches away from the taller girl. The French woman lowered her gaze onto the tight-fitting green dress Gigi was wearing, her hands gently caressing the fabric, “I was meant to ask… I don’t recognize this designer, where did you get it? It fits you like a glove, you really look perfect in it, chéri”.

“I made it myself from scratch, actually,” Gigi admitted proudly, meeting Nicky’s surprised eyes.

“Well, well, don’t you have such talented fingers, love. However, I have only one complaint…” The brunette felt the other woman’s body press against hers, her cheeks spotting a deep blush color that definitely wasn’t just coming from her makeup.

“And what is it?” it came out almost as soft as a whisper.

“You’d look much better without it,” Nicky didn’t give her time to reply as her hand sneaked behind Gigi’s neck, their lips locking into a passionate kiss.

The younger girl deepened the kiss, grabbing onto the blonde’s hips and pressing their bodies even closer together. With a swift move, Nicky placed her naked thigh between Gigi’s long legs, smirking as she heard the American moan in their kiss. Their hands inverted their positions with the model’s arms crossed behind the singer’s neck while the latter’s hands landed on Gigi’s derrière.

Nicky was the first one to break the kiss, always keeping her face close to Gigi’s.

“Ready to take this to my room, ange?” She asked, making sure everything was still alright.

Gigi smiled, surprising the older woman as she wrapped her legs around the blonde’s waist, “Oui, mon Doll”.

Nicky let out a laugh at the terrible French impression before reconnecting their lips as she kept her balance with the younger girl in her arms, leading both of them to the lit bedroom.

The older blonde placed Gigi on the soft bed sheets without breaking the kiss, her hands reaching the hem of the short green dress. Gigi got the gist of what Nicky was trying to do and lifted her hips to help the fabric slide off her body, exposing a matching emerald lace bralette and panties. Nicky momentarily straightened herself up, taking in the sight of a blushing and panting Gigi.

“Mon beau petit oiseau, let me take care of you”.

The French woman took the moment to get rid of her own dress before diving in to enjoy Gigi’s exposed skin. She started with soft kisses just below the defined jawline, occasionally leaving a darker reddish mark as she sucked on the fair skin. She could feel the younger girl’s hands run on her back, definitely leaving nail marks of appreciation after a particularly intense hickey above her collarbone.

Nicky kept on leaving love marks all over Gigi as she continued her descent down the toned slim body of the model. Once she arrived to the covered mounds, she sneaked a hand behind the girl’s back, quickly undoing the bralette and getting it off with the help of the American. She stared hungrily at the now soft freed breasts, gently rubbing her thumb across one of the pink nubs to get it all prepped up while she lazily circled the other with her tongue.

“P-Please, more” Gigi moaned out, her eyes closed from the pleasure.

“Your wish is my command, chéri” Nicky smirked before taking in the entire nipple in her mouth, sucking hard on it while her fingers kept on pinching and rubbing the other.

Gigi arched her back, biting her lower lip to prevent a loud moan to come out as Nicky’s mouth did wonders on her chest. She threaded her fingers in between the blonde locks, gripping on the base of the scalp to bring the older woman even impossibly closer to her as the latter had brought her mouth to the other soft and supple mound.

“Fuck, N-Nicky! Please, keep going do-… Ah!”

The brunette threw her head back when the French woman bit down on the sensitive nipple before releasing the mound with a loud pop.

“Needy, aren’t we?” She chuckled as she pressed her lips in the center of Gigi’s chest, just above her heart, leaving a faint kiss mark, “I guess my princesse earned her reward”

The blonde continued her trail of love bites down Gigi’s flat stomach. She left one last kiss, just above the hem of the green fabric. She looked up to see the younger girl looking back at her with lids half-closed, her breath uneven, the tidy brown hair now scattered all over the place on the pillows. She looked divine to the French woman.

Nicky presses her tongue on the delicate bundle of nerves over the fabric, feeling the dampness through it. She brought her hands down to hold in place each Gigi’s trembling thighs, hooking her index fingers under the fabric while the younger girl was desperate to separate the last barrier between the French woman’s mouth and where she needed her the most.

After having finally gotten rid of the completely ruined panties, the blonde turned her attention back to the brunette’s dripping core, inhaling the sweet scent. Nicky kept eye contact with Gigi’s face as she started to swirl her tongue around the sensitive clit, watching with a keen eye every single reaction she could get out of the American.

She had just found her but Nicky had come to the conclusion that she could listen to the soft moans of the brunette all day without ever getting tired of them. She latched her lips onto the clit, sucking hard while the digits of one of her hands ran up and down the glistening folds, her fingers were coated in sheer seconds.

Gigi arched her back as the feeling of Nicky’s fingers teasing her entrance, “Please, fuck me already,” she whined.

The singer couldn’t help her smirk as she didn’t waste any more time slipping a finger inside the tight opening, encountering almost no resistance with how wet she has made the younger girl. Gigi grabbed the white sheets, enjoying how the slim digit felt inside her, slowly stretching her walls. Nicky kept a slow pace at first, gradually fastening her thrusts as she felt Gigi respond to her movements.

“M-more, more,” Gigi moaned out as her body started to meet Nicky’s thrusts halfway. The latter complied, her mouth not leaving the engorged clit as she added a second finger. The blonde adjusted the digits and curled them upwards as she went deeper inside the brunette, finding Gigi’s weak spot that made her let out a moan louder than the rest. Now that she had found it, Nicky fastened her movements even more, feeling the walls tightening around her fingers.

“Goddamn it, fuck, I-I’m so close, oh God, ah…”

Nicky took Gigi’s tangled mess of profanities as her cue to travel up the model’s body so that they were back being face to face. Before she could protest for the sudden lack of a mouth sucking her off, Gigi was silenced by Nicky’s lips, feeling the blonde’s thumb rubbing her clit in fast motions and matching those of the fingers inside her.

The older woman broke away, leaving even more kisses on Gigi’s jawline before whispering in her ear.

“Come for me, mon cœur”

The low French nickname brought the brunette over the edge as her body tensed up, unable to speak as she felt an intense wave of pleasure running through her. She held onto Nicky, the latter guiding her throughout her orgasm, gently kissing her face.

“You did so well, mon bébé,” she whispered before kissing brunette’s lips one more time.

It took a couple of minutes for Gigi to recover, feeling her body almost melt against the bed.

“Holy shit, you French people are really talented when it comes to tongues,” was the first thing the model was able to say, breaking the silence but not letting any awkwardness build up between them.

Nicky laughed loudly, before replying teasingly, “Is that what you Americans think of us? What else is being said?”

Gigi chuckled back, but taking the distraction to invert their positions, straddling the older woman, “Oh, so many nasty things, but I guess I have to see for myself, don’t I?”

“Be my guest, chéri,” the singer challenged her before their lips reconnected.

Gigi woke up the next morning well-rested.

If she had her list of reasons why she loved Paris, she would add the very beautiful blonde sleeping soundly next to her to said list.

She took in a few moments to admire the breathtaking beauty of the French girl. She gently ran her fingers through the untamed blonde hair, this time in a soft comforting manner, compared to the rough one from the night before.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone’s ringtone she had set up specifically for her best friend.

She tried her best to leave the bed without waking the sleeping beauty. She threw on one of the shirts she saw laying around Nicky’s room before walking back to the living room to answer the call.

She managed to answer at the last ring, unplugging the phone from where it had been charging all night.

“Good morning, camper”

“Goooood mooorning, miss Goode!” Crystal’s high voice maybe was a bit too much that early in the morning after an endless night of sex mixed with the couple of drinks she had before that.

“Now, I was promised to know why you decided to pull a stunt last night!” Gigi whined, but not entirely regretting the fact that her best friend had disappeared on her, after all, it had brought her to Nicky. She couldn’t really complain.

“IT WAS WILD! I was distracted by, you know, one of the clowns performing on the streets, and I lost you there. I tried to call you but my phone died on me, so I started walking home, well, I attempted to because a bald dude started yelling at me, calling me El Debarge or something…” there was a slight pause, “Who the fuck is even El Debarge?!”

Gigi laughed out loud at the exasperation in Crystal’s voice. She walked up to the window, looking outside at the Parisian streets slowly coming to life.

“Anyway, long story short, he was convinced I was this El Someone and tried to get my autograph? I just signed a photo and even took a picture with him. That was crazy, I could be a celebrity impersonator, you know? Screw modeling, you are going to catch me in Times Square by the time we get home for the holidays…”

Her best friend kept on talking but Gigi got distracted when she noticed Nicky had woken up and was watching her as she leaned on the doorframe. The only thing covering her body was a short black satin kimono. The brunette unconsciously licked her lips - a thing that didn’t go unnoticed by Nicky, who arched her brow amused.

“Yeah, yeah, listen Crys, I’ll call you back later when I’m coming back home. I have something to do right now, try not to scam anyone while I’m gone, will you?”

She quickly closed the call after Crystal bid her goodbyes as well. She placed her phone on the table, walking towards the blonde singer.

“Ready for round 5?”

“I thought we were on round 6 already?”

“Oh, so you’ve been keeping count, uh?”

“Look who’s talking, Frenchie. It’s only a matter of time before I wipe that smirk off your face,” Gigi fake threatened, sliding her arms around Nicky’s waist.

“All I hear is a lot of words and not a lot of action, chéri” The older woman teased back, bringing her hands to caress the nape of Gigi’s neck.

The brunette smiled, opting not to reply as she leaned in to capture the blonde’s lips in a soft kiss.

Maybe, Paris was really the city where she could see herself staying around for a while.

#rpdr fanfiction #gigi goode #nicky doll #crystal methyd #jackie cox #gigi x nicky #lesbian au #smut #moonshot #submission #s12

[starker-stories]

Iron Man

Also on AO3

Another of the moodboards by @starker-sorbet​ inspired this one. Whenever I'm looking for a bit of inspiration, that's where I go. There are moodboards there that just talk to me. Amazing work. The best moodboards in the fandom.

Click on the link to go see the pretty pictures :) Young, rich & promising app developer!Peter x ex hacker and now struggling homeless middle aged!Tony for anon. Peter takes pity on the man and gets him in his house to shelter him on rainy/snowy night.

Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Hackers, Hacking, Alternate Universe - Homeless, Homeless Tony Stark, Role Reversal, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Pre-Slash, Ex-Con Tony Stark, Rich Successful Peter Parker

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

The man didn’t ask for anything. Didn’t have a sign or a cup or his hat off and upside down on the ground in front of him. He was just leaning against the wall of a little delivery drive between stores near Grand Central. Something about his look, maybe the amount of snow he had on his cap, said he’d been standing there for awhile. He was wearing an old, frayed woolen top coat. The sort worn over a suit. Beneath it only a ratty t-shirt and baggy jeans. None of which would keep the man warm enough. Not when it was already in the teens and going to drop below zero that night.

Peter took a twenty out of his wallet and put it back. He folded the bill so it could be passed discreetly, but had the value showing. He didn’t want any other homeless people to see how much money the man had. Peter had read that thievery and violence was endemic to that class. He stopped just before he got to the man, standing off to the side of him, not directly in front, not threatening.

“For whatever, dude,” he said, holding out his hand as if to be shaken, but with the bill showing. The man shook his hand and nodded his thanks. “You need to get to a shelter. The city’s opening warming centers.”

The man scoffed. “It’s safer out here.” He started to walk away. “Thanks for the donation,” he said with another nod.

“How much to get an SRO for the night?” Peter asked, falling in to walk beside the man.

“Only by the week and only if there’s room and only if you have about a hundred.”

“The money’s not a problem…”

The man muttered, interrupting, “Wouldn’t think so.”

Peter passed it off. He was exceptionally well dressed. A coat like the man himself wore, only not frayed and this season’s style. Beneath it a suit. He’d been heading back to his hotel after a meeting, or else he’d be dressed down, Silicon Valley style.

“Okay, then let’s solve the other problem.” Peter always thought in terms of problem solving. Breaking a matter down into segments, creating an algorithm to work towards a solution. “Availability. How do we do that?”

The man shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Got a real California boy genius problem solver here. We walk, rich kid, we walk. Spoil those Louboutin’s with the salt and slush.”

Peter furrowed his brow. “How do you know I’m from California. I don’t tan.” The man smirked and kept on walking. There was something familiar about the expression.

Against his better judgement, Peter kept walking beside the man, even as he led him down a winding path, the blocks getting progressively worse in appearance. It was a very long walk. “What’s your story?” he asked just to fill the silence.

“Want me to sing for my supper? Don’t think so.”

“You weren’t panhandling.”

“Not there. Too close to the terminal. They move you on immediately if you put your hand out. Holding up a wall? You can get away with that for a bit.”

“Why waste your time there, then?”

The man shrugged his head to the side and spread his arms a little, hands upturned. Again, Peter was struck with an odd familiarity in the gesture. He watched the man move, falling a step behind to see his walk. Unlike most homeless, there was no slouch, no shuffle. He walked upright, steadily forward, with surprisingly confident, hurried steps.

The man gave a little chuckle and fell back to walking beside, not ahead, of Peter, but didn’t change his gait. “My time to waste,” he said. They walked silently for another block. “How was the 7 line to Queens today? Riding for old times’ sake instead of taking an Uber?”

Peter reached out and took the man’s sleeve, stopping their progress. “Do you know me?”

“Peter Parker. ParkerSoft.” The man brushed Peter’s hand off his sleeve and kept walking. “Another block. They usually have rooms.”

Peter stopped them again. “Do I know you?”

The man smirked again. “Nope.” He started walking again. “‘I don’t associate with Star Wars twerps and noobs’,” he said, giving Peter the same line he’d sent when the kid was a ten year old exploring corners of the web he didn’t belong in.

That time Peter grabbed the man’s arm, turned him away from the street and pushed him against the wall. “Holy fuck, you’re Iron Man!”

The man snorted. “WAS Iron Man. Now? Just being near that particular brand of phone,” he nodded towards Peter’s pocket, “is a violation of my supervised release.”

“Shit. I remember reading about your trial. Iron Man is Tony Stark.” The pieces were all falling together. The place where the man was leaning had a good view of Osborn Tower, formerly Stark Tower. And the phone in Peter’s pocket was made by Stark Industries.

“That, I still am, for all the name’s worth.”

“It’s still worth something.”

Tony laughed. “The board locked me out. And even if they hadn’t? Try running my business without going near a computer. Tony Stark’s as dead as Iron Man. You getting me this room or what?”

“Come back to the Langham with me,” Peter said excitedly.

He shook his head. “I mean it, kid. I’m not going back to prison so you can tap my brain and get me to do some work for you,” Tony said.

“I thought if you got caught at your level of hacking, the FBI or the NSA offered you a job.”

Tony laughed uproariously. “Still a noob. You believe that shit? The only thing they offer you is a six by eight room for fifteen years. And not at some country club estate.”

The problem solving wheels were spinning in Peter’s head. “Okay. Room first.” Peter grabbed Tony’s hand in his and headed into the SRO’s lobby. He paid for a month.

“Lose your bag, kid,” Tony said before they left the desk. “You’ve got my phone, you’ve probably got the tablet and I know you’ve got the laptop with the severely dumbed down version of JARVIS in there. He, I most definitely am not allowed near.” Tony smirked again. “’Course neither is anyone else.”

Peter put his phone in his messenger bag, and with a couple hundred incentive, left it with the desk clerk, hoping it would still be there. If it wasn’t and someone tried to access any of his electronics without his biometrics, everything would erase and the batteries would overheat, literally frying everything inside. He followed Tony up the stairs to his newly rented room. He plopped himself into the one chair in it.

Tony sat on the end of the sagging double bed. “So… TANSTAAFL. What do you want from me for the room?”

“I don’t want anything.”

Tony snorted. “If you didn’t want anything, you’d’ve upped that twenty to a hundred and walked on to your next meeting.”

Peter fell silent. “I want to test the limits of your cage. See what I can do to get them expanded.”

He chuckled harshly. “Easy for you to say from where you’re sitting. Before I lost it all, I threw everything I had at this problem. I had the best lawyers. Paid politicians at the highest level in my pocket. I was too damn high-profile for them to do anything. All the favors suddenly dried up because everyone knew I’d be in prison and be unable to make good on any deal. I’m worthless, Parker. This is it.” Tony spread his hands expansively, taking in the small room. “The limits of my cage, as you put it. It’s bigger than six by eight. And I can walk out that door whenever I want. After fifteen years, I count myself ahead.” He leaned forward, his hands on his knees. “I have nine more years of my ten supervised release to do. I am not spending that time back in prison. The limits of this cage don't get tested.”

“I thought you completed your sentence; you were free.”

“Fuckin’…” Tony shook his head. “Yeah, I got sentenced to fifteen, served fifteen. I got caught in defense systems. Federal time. No parole in that system. And after? They can do whatever the fuck they want to you. God, you’re naive, Parker.”

“Okay. So there’s no getting around the electronics restriction…”

“Nope.”

“Do you need access to code?”

“You are a piece of work,” he said shaking his head. “I am not coding for ParkerSoft. You can’t afford me,” Tony said, arrogantly.

Peter shrugged and looked around the room.

“Bye, Parker,” Tony said, standing up and heading for the door. “Better hope they never catch the Spider. Or I’ll be sharing a street corner with you.”

Peter’s eyes went wide. “How did you…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Tony turned and leaned his back against the door. “You were ten when I met you in the warez channels. And as you got older, you went everywhere bragging about every system you walked around in. You wrote lazy, distinctive code — still do. Anyone who looks at your old code and compares it to the shitty apps your company puts out would catch you in a minute.” “You don’t get it. I didn’t get it. How… ephemeral… this all is.” He crossed his left arm low across his body, holding his wrist.

“There’s nothing solid in the world, no matter how much we pretend there is. There are a million ways for you to end up like me, even if you never get caught. ParkerSoft has employees living in their cars, and you won’t even let them stay safely in your parking lots much less pay them a living wage for the area. Stark had them too. Living in places like this because the cost of living in New York is mad. At our lowest level, we had people taking sponge baths in McDonalds and sleeping wherever they could.

“I had no idea. Even if I did, I would’ve thought it was their own fault for lacking ambition or skill. You need to get it through your head. This is it for me. Maybe in nine years, if I live that long, I can manage to build a little something again to carry me through my sixties. Probably not.” He sniffed, scrunching his face.

“Then why not work for me?”

“Because, kid, I don’t trust you. You are going to brag about having Iron Man or Tony Stark writing your code. You can’t shut your fuckin’ mouth. I’m too big a get for you to just sit on that information.

“Second, not only can’t you pay me what I’m worth, you can’t pay me at all. I can’t have income without a job. I can’t get a job. Getting this place? I can say I got lucky panhandling. More than that?” Tony shook his head. “Not risking it.”

“C’mon, Tony. It’s a system. It can be gamed,” Peter said, enthusiastically. “You and me? Best in the business.”

Tony snorted at the kid putting himself in his category.

“Don’t judge me by my apps. That’s money.”

“What else do you have to judge you by? Certainly not your hacking skills.”

“I do games…”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Everybody does games. Thrill me.”

“Security.”

“Walk me through it.”

Peter explained the companies that he personally provided security for and how he did it. Tony grudgingly gave him a side nod. He went back to sit on the bed. “Interesting, but, eh… not exactly…”

“I’ve reverse engineered JARVIS,” Peter spluttered out.

“The OS on your computer may have his name but…”

“Not the OS. That was just the starting place.”

“Impossible.”

“Okay. I haven’t done it completely…”

“No shit.”

“But I’ve gotten farther than anyone. JARVIS is the big get our world right now. Has been since you went away. No one else has gotten past the OS.”

“But you have,” Tony said skeptically.

“I have his visual manipulation systems. The true natural language, not the crappy OS version.”

“Personality?”

Peter shook his head. “None of his personality or on-the-fly problem solving. Not…”

“So none of what makes JARVIS, JARVIS. Just a slightly more advanced OS that you’ll never be able to use because Stark still owns the rights to him even if they can’t get to him.”

“I’m looking to put together a buyout of Stark. Not just their computer division. The works.”

“You don’t have the resources, kid.”

“It’s not worth what it used to be.”

“I know exactly what my company is worth. Without me, it’s been rushing for the bottom. Pepper can’t salvage it, even though she’s good.

“Exactly. A decent offer, the board wouldn’t turn it down. They’re looking to cash out while what’s left is still worth something. A little manipulation…”

“You’ll get caught.”

“No I won’t.”

“Not gonna argue with you. You still don’t have the resources to buy Stark, even at a bargain.”

“When I turned twenty-one five years ago, I inherited my parents’ estate. Including my father’s chemical patents.”

“Okay,” Tony said, nodding once. Richard Parker had done some groundbreaking research. Stark had tried to hire him and failed. “But none of what you say, none of your ‘gaming the system’ gets me out of my situation. You can’t ‘game’ your way out of supervised release.”

“Your connections, give them to me.”

“Wow. You’ve got balls, kid. Anything else of mine you want in exchange for a three fifty a month room?”

“Yeah.”

Tony snorted. “Go on. Tell me. You want me to code. You want JARVIS. You want my connections. What else?”

Peter stood up and walked closer to Tony. “I want you to put me on this bed and fuck me brainless.”

Tony threw his head back and laughed. He looked up at Peter, ran his gaze up and down him, then laughed some more.

“What!” Peter said, offended at the apparent rejection.

“I’m far more than twice your age. I look like shit. I haven’t had a shower in a year. I’m fifteen kinds of filthy. And you want me to fuck you. What the hell kinda kink you got, kid?”

“You are still as fuckin’ gorgeous as ever. And brilliant. But I can’t fuck your brain. There’s showers down the hall, the guy said.” Peter took off his overcoat. “I’ll wait.”

“And you get to fuck your sexual-awakening crush. Bet you had pictures of my Iron Man icon on your wall along with the Death Star.”

“Nah, but I did have Tony Stark’s Rolling Stone cover,” Peter said, grinning.

“Shit. You always this direct?” Tony a.

Peter shrugged. “In business or fucking, it gets me what I want or gets me out quickly. You’d know. I took the play from your autobiography.”

“Kid, you’re killin’ me,” Tony said with another shake of his head. “Fuckin’ fanboy since you were ten. Why the hell should I put you in this bed?”

“I’d imagine you haven’t had any for awhile,” Peter said slyly.

“I’ve always liked them young and pretty and I’ve stayed in shape. This past year, not so much. Before? Plenty.”

That took Peter aback.

“Christ, Parker, I never raped anybody,” Tony said, seeing Peter’s reaction. “Stop watching bad movies.”

“Well?”

“I am not fucking you.”

“Okay.” Peter said down on the bed, next to Tony. “Can I take you to dinner?”

“You get nothing for it.”

“I’m okay with that.”

Tony looked at him skeptically.

“I’d just like to get to know you,” Peter said.

“Still a fanboy.”

“A little, maybe, but I’m a bit old to be just that. You’re hot and I’d like it if you fucked me. You’re brilliant and I’d like to get to know you.”

“Gonna take me on a date, kid?”

Peter smiled. “Maybe.”

“The clothes will still reek, but I’ll take a shower.” Tony smiled. “You figure out the best place that will let someone dressed like me into it. I’ll let you buy me dinner.”

“Unh unh. You’ll let me take you on a date.”

Tony laughed genuinely. “Okay Pete, I’ll let you take me on a date.”

#starker

[enixamyram]

Hope’s Party

Summary: When Robin discovers that Hope has invited everyone but Alice to her birthday party, she takes it upon herself to stand up for the other girl. And to right a wrong concerning a certain ‘magical pony’ along the way. 

  Emma Swan-Jones was by no means a bad person. She just honestly wanted her daughter to have the very best time for her sixth birthday.

  She had been planning it for months in advance. They had rented the field in the best park in town, gotten there the day before to get it decorated and ready, hired the dwarves to help prepare things, gotten Elsa to have a snow cone station at the ready, Ariel giving swimming lessons in the portable pool David had brought and set up for them, had Cinderella doing everyone’s face paints and even hired Granny and Ruby to prepare all the sweets and treats that were sure to give everyone a sugar high. They had even managed to get Anton and Snow’s help to include a pair of regular horses from the Nolan farm to pull along a carriage as well as the best surprise of all. It hadn’t been easy but Emma had finally managed to get her daughter an actual unicorn (or as Hope called it, a magical pony). They were fairly rare as of late and this one was still young and perfect – a light purple hint to its white coat with bright blue eyes and a light pink mane that rolled down the back of her neck and around the crystal white and sparkling horn sticking out just above her eyes.

  The unicorn was the crowning achievement on the perfect party. Snow hadn’t been very sure when Emma explained that Hope would be keeping her as a pet after the party was over, but as Emma explained, the unicorn was going to be hunted by dark magic users for her horn anyway. At least this way Emma and everyone else could keep it safe. It would live a good long life with Hope. Emma would make sure of it.

  So everything was set, planned, ready and waiting.

  It was all perfect…

  … Except for one thing.

  Alice Jones.

  Alice was Emma’s niece in law (it was actually much more complicated but everyone had adjusted to thinking of Rogers and Killian as brothers so that’s what everyone went with now) and she happened to be the same age as Hope and in the same class as her in school. She also happened to be the only person in the whole of the class that Hope did not want at her birthday party.

  “She’s weird, mum!” Hope had whined, stomping her pink sandal foot on the floor of their kitchen. “She does all this weird stuff! No one even likes her! She always goes and plays by herself and talks to the school hamster and says weird things about him! He can’t talk back to her but she pretends he does! I don’t want her ruining my party! It’s my party!”

  Well… It was her party. As mean as it might seem, it wasn’t right to force Hope to invite someone she didn’t want to be there. The whole day was meant to be about her and what did it even matter if Alice apparently didn’t have any friends? No one would notice her not being there and she probably wouldn’t even know what she was missing. Emma had seen Alice’s ‘weird’ behavior for herself the few times Rogers had asked her and Killian to babysit (though he only asked them if Rumple and Tiana were both busy). She did have a habit of talking to things – animals, plants, pictures – as if they could understand her and as if they responded. No wonder Hope was so upset with her being there. She’d probably spend the whole time having an endless conversation with the horses or the unicorn and take up the time from everyone else.

  In the end Emma gave Hope permission to not invite Alice.

  “But you need to send the invites by mail so as not to hurt Alice’s feelings,” Emma began explaining.

  “I will!” Hope said, not really listening and skipping out of the room, much happier now.

*O*U*A*T*

  The day of Hope’s party, Robin Hood-Mills was doing her absolute best to be as slow as possible getting ready and heading down the street. And it wasn’t just because her mother was forcing her into a lime green frock that had more frills on it than a dog did fur. She insisted on wearing her brown shorts and white vest underneath – fully planning on ditching the dress the second her mother turned her back – and pulled on a pair of brown boots so late that her mother finally gave in arguing with her about them in order to finally get her out the house. Zelena desperately needed Robin to go to this party, even if they ended up being late for it. Her daughter had been spending far too much time with her brother and the Merry Men in the woods and didn’t have any real friends at school. Zelena was determined to change that, whether Robin wanted to or not.

  So despite Robin’s best efforts, she soon found herself trudging down the street with a fat pouting scowl on her lips, kicking every loose object that happened to be lying down in front of her. Zelena kept telling her off, telling her to stop slouching, to smile, to stop pulling at the green ribbons she had put in Robin’s pig tailed hair, but she might as well have been talking to the pavement for all the good it did her. About halfway there she gave up trying, letting Robin sulk and instead focusing on rushing her fast enough that they didn’t make such a disastrous entrance by being too late to even sing happy birthday over the birthday candles.

  Halfway there, Robin happened to glance up and caught sight of a familiar face sitting by herself on one of the local street benches with a thick red book settled in her lap. It was Alice. Robin had seen Alice a lot in school but had always been hesitant to approach her. She always seemed to be enjoying whatever game she was playing and Robin felt very self conscious about interrupting her in case she wanted to be left alone. And while she didn’t want to interrupt her reading, she also saw another perfect opportunity to once again put off going to Hope’s party.

  “Be right back!” Robin declared, darting away before Zelena could stop her and rushing up to Alice.

  Zelena started to call her back, then hesitated and stopped as she saw where she was going. Her daughter was willingly approaching another girl her own age without Zelena prodding her back with encouragement the whole time. There was no way Zelena was going to ruin that!

  “Alice!” Robin said, coming to a stop in front of her. “Are you on your way to the party?”

  Alice looked up and smiled widely right up until Robin mentioned the party. At that she dropped her eyes back to her book and shrugged. “No.”

  Robin blinked. “You’re not? How come?” Had Alice found a way out of it? Could she get Robin out of it too?

  “I wasn’t invited.” Alice shrugged, ducking her head further down into her book so her messy blonde hair fell down and hid her face.

  “What?” Robin frowned. “Everyone was invited!”

  Alice shrugged again.

  “Why weren’t you invited?” Robin pushed.

  Alice finally looked up again. “Hope didn’t want me. She told me. She said she asked her mum if she could not invite me and she said yes.” She looked back down. “She said I’m weird.”

  Robin’s frown turned into a scowl. “Well who needs her dumb party!”

  “You don’t wanna go?” Alice blinked, surprised.

  “No!” Robin pulled a face and stuck out her tongue. “Hope’s annoying! And her party sounds boring!”

  “Even with the magic pony?” Alice said, wide eyed.

  “Roland told me it’s just a unicorn.” Robin shrugged. “And anyway. It shouldn’t be at a party. It should be free in the woods. Roland says it’s cruel to use it as a…” She paused. “I can’t remember what he said. But he said it was bad.”

  Alice glanced down at her book. “I wish I was there so I could set it free to run in the woods.”

  Robin glanced back at her mother, who suddenly was no longer in a great hurry to get Robin to the party now she was talking with Alice. Instead she seemed more interested in fixing her hair and clothes casually across the street. She looked back at Alice and smiled. “I gotta go to the party. Roland there already. But wait here for me, ‘kay? I’ll be real quick.”

  “Why?” Alice asked.

  “So we can play!” Robin said happily.

  She was already turning away when Alice called after her. “You don’t think I’m weird?”

  Robin looked back over her shoulder and grinned. “Yeah! That’s why I wanna play! Weird is fun!”

*O*U*A*T*

  When Robin and Zelena finally arrived, they were more than late. But despite Zelena’s fears that everyone would stare and point at them, the party was such a loud and busy event that no one even noticed their arrival. They slipped onto the field and made their way towards the table where all Hope’s presents were stacked one on top of another. Zelena quickly set down the gift she had brought for her (a cheap coloring set) before she turned to push Robin’s shoulder, meaning to nudge her towards the other kids. However she didn’t get the chance as she was already rushing off towards Hope, Alexandra and all the other girls crowded around a miniature toy car that Emma had enchanted to ride around passing out pink frosted cupcakes to everyone. Zelena smiled, proud that Robin was making a real effort to make other friends, before she turned to find Regina and the other adults hanging around the tables.

  Zelena had faded from view just as Robin reached the girls. She ignored all of them focused instead on Hope. It wasn’t hard to find her. She was dressed in a bright sunshine yellow frock with pink patterns swirling around the skirt and white flowers on the torso, and was the only girl who had a ridiculously large silver tiara balanced in her bright blonde hair. She also happened to have a birthday girl balloon in one hand and a plastic light up wand in the other that she was using to wave so enthusiastically, she nearly took Alexandra’s eye out twice before Robin had even reached them.

  As Robin got close enough she didn’t slow her pace. In fact she sped up, reaching her hands out and charging straight into Hope’s back. Her hands hit her shoulders and threw her forward and with her hands full, she failed to catch herself and hit the ground hard, narrowly missing the toy car whizzing around. The balloon slipped from her fingers, drifting towards the sky and her tiara slipped into a crocked position on her head.

  Robin then stood with her hands on her hips, frowning as Hope spluttered and gasped in shock, rolling and jumping back onto her feet. She rounded on Robin and immediately stepped up onto her toes so as to seem taller than the other girl she was normally nose to nose with.

  “You pushed me!” Hope accused.

  Robin responded by lifting her hands and pushing her again. Hope saw it coming, yet still was unable to stay on her feet, falling back down to the ground for a second time. “Yeah, I did!” Robin snapped, glaring down at her.

  Hope stared up at Robin, sat on the ground for a moment of surprise before her blue eyes began to bubble over. A moment later she threw her head back and screamed and howled loud enough to be heard by all the parents standing by the dinner table. Within seconds they all rushed over, Emma at the lead with Snow, Regina and Zelena following closely behind.

  “Honey! Are you okay?” Emma gasped, ducking and tucking her hands under Hope’s arms, helping her back onto her feet.

  “What happened, sweetie?” Snow asked, leaning over Emma’s shoulder.

  “SHHHHHHEEEEEEEE! PUSHED! MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Hope screamed, pointing the wand at Robin.

  “What?” Regina rounded sharply on her niece.

  “She did!” One of the girls said immediately. “We saw. She pushed her.”

  “Robin, is that true?” Zelena demanded.

  “She’s horrid!” Robin snapped, pointing back at Hope. “She’s awful and horrid and dumb!”

  “Robin!” Regina shouted angrily.

  “You apologies right now,” Emma said, frowning at Robin while her hand dusted the grass blades off of Hope’s dress.

  “She should say sorry!” Robin snapped. “She made Alice feel bad!”

  “Alice?” Snow blinked. “Alice isn’t even here, is she?” She glanced around like she might spot the messy blonde running in amongst everyone else.

  “No! She’s not!” Robin snapped. “Cause Hope didn’t let her come! She said she wasn’t invited!”

  There was a brief pause. “Hope.” Emma groaned. “I thought we said we wouldn’t tell Alice so not to hurt her feelings.”

  “Hold up.” Regina said, turning her frown onto Emma. “I’m confused. Why wasn’t Alice invited? I thought the whole class was coming.”

  “It’s a long story,” Emma said quickly.

  “She said Alice is weird so she wasn’t invited!” Robin shouted, fighting to break out of the grip Zelena now had on her to keep her from propelling herself on Hope a third time.

  “Emma?” Snow asked, frowning at her daughter. “I thought you said you were going to have Hope invite either all the girls or the whole class? Why did you let her not include Alice?”

  “It’s her party, okay.” Emma sighed. “She doesn’t get on with Alice very well.”

  “Last time I checked, all or none means all or none.” Zelena snorted.

  “Let’s not change the subject now!” Emma snapped, scowling at Zelena now. “Which is that your daughter was attacking mine!”

  “I was standing up for Alice! My daddy says always stand up for people!” Robin snapped.

  “Your daddy’s dead!” Hope snapped through her tears.

  “HOPE CHLOE SWAN-JONES!” Regina shouted.

  By this point, Emma just looked embarrassed and quickly reached down, scooping Hope into her arms. “I’m gonna go get her cleaned up.” She said.

  She started to walk away and Snow hurried after her. “Emma, seriously! What kind of lesson are you teaching your daughter? That it’s okay to exclude people if you call them names? You can’t let Hope invite everyone but Alice! How do you think the poor girl feels?”

  “Mum, with all due respect, Hope is my daughter and I’ll raise her how I want.” Emma said sharply. “This is Hope’s party and she’s going to have what she wants and invite who she wants.”

  Snow crossed her arms. “And say what she wants as well?” She challenged.

  Emma turned to Hope, still crying softly in her arms and frowned. “No. She will apologies for that.”

  At that, Hope began crying hard all over again. This was her party and now she was in trouble after Robin had pushed her down! It wasn’t fair!

  Meanwhile Zelena and Regina were in a heated discussion of their own back in the middle of the field. The vice like grip that Zelena had on her daughters arm had loosened slightly, allowing Robin to finally slip free and now she hovered, looking up as Zelena became outraged that Regina would even suggest Robin’s violent behavior was from her parenting.

  “You’re in trouble…” Someone suddenly sang into Robin’s ear.

  She jumped and spun around, then grinned at the sight of her older brother. “Yup!” She said cheerfully.

  “What did you do?” Roland asked.

  “Pushed Hope over.”

  Roland snorted and covered his mouth to smother a laugh, then reached over and ruffled Robin’s hair, causing one of her ribbons to become half undone. “Good girl. Anyway, I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “You leaving?” Robin said, her smile dropping hard.

  “This party’s boring.” Roland shrugged. “Gonna go into the woods and shoot some arrows.”

  Robin glanced up at her mother; still so busy arguing about just how much she lets Robin get away with at home that neither she nor Regina had even noticed Roland’s arrival. She looked back at him and grinned when she caught sight of something over his shoulder. “Wait for me. I need to change and I’ll pick you up!”

  Before Roland could ask what she meant by that, Robin had rushed passed him to the nearest flower bed. He looked at Zelena and Regina, then awkwardly began to shuffle away before they noticed him.

  While everyone continued to either party, argue, or hover around, Robin quickly stripped off the dress and threw it carelessly onto the bench. Then she broke into a hard run and dashed across the field as fast as her little legs could take her. She ran straight for the unicorn where it was drifting in amongst greedy children that were pulling poking and prodding its mane, sides and tail greedily. A few were even trying to jump up and grab its horn like it was a game rather than a piece of its body. Robin nearly stopped to push each of them over but knew she only had so long before her mother caught on to wha she was doing. Once she realized that, she would definitely get Regina or someone else to use their magic and drag Robin back to them before she could get away.

  So instead, Robin simply pushed those closest out of her way and jumped up. She managed to grab onto her back and slide her body around into a sitting position on top of her, reaching down and untying the loose rope around her neck that was being used to keep her from running off in the middle of the party. Once she was free, Robin lightly grabbed a hold of some of her long soft hair (it felt like feathers in between her fingers) and leaned forward. She then carefully nudged the unicorn’s sides with her knees and turned her around, directing her around and away from the kids and for the streets.

  Roland had drifted over to the present table, probably seeing if there was anything he could sneak into his pockets without getting caught, and Robin directed the unicorn straight towards him. She wasn’t much of a rider, so had a feeling the creature understood that they were escaping, since she immediately followed every direction and rushed straight over to the table. A few people were shouting after them and Robin heard more than one person scream her name (one or two might have even been adults) but ignored all of them.

  “ROLAND!” She called.

  Roland glanced up in time to see her and immediately jumped onto the table, kicking and scattering presents onto the grass around them. He trampled on a few parcels, no doubt breaking a couple under his heavy stomps, and was laughing when he reached out a hand and caught Robin’s. He jumped and landed on the unicorns back easily and the three of them jumped over the food table ahead of them, ducked around the people rushing around in their way, and shot out of the field and onto the streets.

  “Did they just…” Zelena said, her mouth falling open speechless as she watched their shape disappearing down the road.

  “Yes they did.” Regina nodded slowly.

  Zelena’s body tensed and felt her lips purse furiously. “That. Girl. Is-”

  “Just like her father,” Regina chuckled.

  Zelena blinked, turning to look at Regina for a moment. Then sighed and shook her head, but was unable to stop the smile pulling at the corners. A moment later the two sisters burst out laughing at the mess the Hood siblings had managed to cause after less than five minutes of arriving at the party.

*O*U*A*T*

  Alice was still reading her book on the bench where Robin had left her. She had slipped out the house so her papa wouldn’t see her sad face and ask her what was wrong but now she was even more lonely than if she had stayed inside. It had been nice when Robin had stopped to talk to her, but she’d gone to the party. And even though she said she wasn’t interested in going, she obviously had changed her mind after getting there. Alice had heard about all the things Hope was having and couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at all the fun everyone else was having there.

  Just then an odd sound reached Alice’s ears. Like a clopping sound on concrete. She glanced up and her eyes widened at the shape that quickly grew larger as it approached. Within seconds she realized it was the magical pony that Hope had been bragging about (though now Alice could see it was definitely just a normal unicorn) and riding on its back was a boy Alice vaguely recognized and… Robin!

  “I’m back!” Robin called, pulling the unicorn to a stop in front of her.

  “Hope gave you her unicorn?” Alice gasped, her book completely forgotten as it slid off her lap and onto the floor as Alice climbed to her feet.

  Roland snorted loudly and Robin elbowed him. “Not exactly. But anyway! Who cares how! We’re gonna go set her free! Wanna come?”

  “Can I?” Alice beamed.

  “Duh! It was your idea!” Robin grinned.

  “Okay but we better go soon before Emma or Killian come chasing after us,” Roland laughed.

  Alice stepped forward and gently stroked the unicorn’s face, moving her fingers over her soft features with care the rest of the kids at the party hadn’t even been capable of. Smile smiled at the creature softly as she did. After a moment, she began whispering and leaning her forehead against the creatures face intimately.

  Roland frowned down at her. “What are you doing?”

  Alice glanced up and blushed slightly, remembering what Hope had said. “Uh. I’m just talking to her.”

  “You talk to animals?” Roland blinked.

�� Alice hesitated, then nodded.

  “That’s awesome!” Roland beamed.

  “Told ya she was cool!” Robin said, grinning proudly.

  Alice was surprised by their enthusiasm but quickly found herself grinning back at them. “You think it’s cool?”

  “Hell yeah!” Roland said. “So what is she saying?”

  Alice paused, putting her ear near the unicorn’s mouth for a moment and listening to what Roland would describe as rumbles and huffs of breath. After a moment Alice looked shyly back up at them. “She’d like you to get off her now. She doesn’t really like people riding her.”

  “Oh! Sorry!” Robin and Roland rushed to climb off, each moving around to gently stroke her face and apologies in turn.

  “I’m serious though,” Roland said, glancing nervously behind them. “We should get going. Come on, I know a short cut to the woods.”

  With Roland leading the way, Robin and Alice stood on either side of the unicorn by her head and they began walking and guiding her along together. They moved quickly, very aware that there would be a number of people chasing after them by now, but Roland ducked them in and out of alley ways and behind buildings that kept them off the main street and shortened what would have been a much longer walk.

  “So does she have a name?” Robin asked, looking around the unicorn at Alice.

  Alice muttered to the unicorn, stroking her while she spoke then paused to listen. She looked up and shrugged. “She doesn’t have one.”

  “Should we give her one?” Robin asked.

  “Well you got to call her something!” Roland called back. “Can’t keep referring her as ‘The Unicorn’. What about Blaze?!”

  “Ugh, no! That’s a boy’s name.”

  “It can be a girl’s name.” Roland shrugged.

  “Well it’s not her name.” Robin turned back to Alice. “What do you think?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you!” Robin laughed.

  Alice fell quiet, watching the unicorn closely for a moment as they walked the long way around the back of the Nolan farm, closing in on the woods. She concentrated so hard on a name that she began frowning and wasn’t quite looking where she was going, causing her to stumble a couple of times, although even that didn’t stop her from thinking hard about names and she barely reacted as she straightened herself back up and kept going. Robin resisted the urge to giggle and instead waited with uncharacteristic patients.

  “I know!” Alice said finally. “Frou-Frou!”

  “Frou-Frou?” Robin asked, testing the name out. She reached up and stroked the unicorn. “What do you say, girl? You like Frou-Frou?”

  In response she gently rubbed the side of her head against Robin and Alice in turn, giving Alice an extra lick along her ear and making her giggle. “I think she likes it!” Alice laughed.

  “Frou-Frou it is!” Robin grinned, rubbing the unicorn face.

  A moment later they had reached the edge of the wood. Roland paused, unhooking an old waterskin one of the Merry Men had given him from his belt. It belonged to his father and now he rarely went anywhere without it. He turned it up and let Frou-Frou have a long drink from it. He didn’t know when the last time she had any water was but no doubt would need some soon. She was in for a long run once she was free to head as far into the woods as she could get. She was smart, and would probably want to get far enough away to avoid any more run ins with anyone who might once again mistake her for a child’s pet.

  “I’m kind of sad to see her go,” Robin said, hugging Frou-Frou around the neck.

  “She’ll be fine,” Roland shrugged.

  “We can always visit!” Alice said excitedly.

  “That’d be fun.” Robin said, then reached over and took Alice’s hand in her own. “Let’s promise! Every day we’ll come here, after school, and see if she’s nearby. And every week we’ll go into the woods and look for her! Roland can help!”

  “Sure, Roland doesn’t mind wasting his weekends.” Roland said, rolling his eyes but Robin ignored him.

  “Okay!” Alice beamed.

  “You gotta promise!” Robin said immediately.

  “I promise.” Alice said firmly.

  “A proper promise!” Robin said suddenly.

  “What’s a proper promise?” Alice blinked.

  “We gotta kiss.” Robin nodded.

  “We do?”

  “Yeah. Cause boys spit on their hands and shake when they make promises. But I don’t wanna spit on my hand. So we can lick our lips and then it’s basically the same thing.” Robin said seriously.

  Roland bit his tongue to keep from laughing or correcting her. Little John had told him off for not letting his sister “have her fun” as he put it and in the end, this was a story he could happily file away for when Robin was older and more easily embarrassed.

  “Okay!” Alice nodded. The two made a point of sticking their tongues out and wetting their lips dramatically. “I promise!” Alice stated with Robin repeating after her before they leaned in and quickly pecked each other’s lips.

  “It’s a forever promise now,” Robin nodded seriously. “We can’t ever break it.”

  “Never ever.” Alice agreed.

  After they were finished, they watched Frou-Frou run off ahead of them, her beautiful light shaded body fading into the dark shadows of the safety of the woods. Roland was already bored, turning his attention towards the town to see if he could spot anyone chasing after them (almost hoping they would be so they could have an exciting chase) but Alice and Robin watched Frou-Frou go right until the moment she disappeared. Their forever promise to visit her often cemented in their newfound friendship.

  A friendship which might one day grow into something more…

#Once Upon A Time #Alice Jones #Robin Mills #Roland Hood #OUAT Fanfiction #Curious Archer

[fanficsandfluff]

Emotions Get the Better (4)

The two of you arrived at this diner, coffee shop hybrid and you could smell the brewing coffee from outside, so that was instantly inviting. Arthur held the door open for you, and you got a booth for the both of you. 

Now that you were in better light and Arthur was sitting directly across from you, you couldn’t help but study his face. There was something about it that was so gentle, in his demeanor and even in the way he looked at you. And there was still that awkwardness and maybe what you would describe as slight paranoia in his shifting eyes.

“Decaf coffee and a slice of coffee cake, please,” you said once the waitress came over. You realized that was the first time you spoke since leaving the comedy club. 

After Arthur ordered his black coffee, you asked, “Do you go to Pogo’s a lot?”

“When I can, yes. I like it.”

“So, I saw you have that book,” it was now tucked away into his jacket, “What’s that for?”

Arthur hesitated. You were worried this was another “why were you laughing at all the wrong jokes” question, but Arthur put back on his smile and answered, “It’s a journal... a-and a joke book.”

“Oho, a joke book. Can you read me one?”

“No, no no I-I---”

“Come on! I really wanna hear one!” you took your coffee when the waitress brought it over and took two packets of sugar.

Arthur looked at you almost pleadingly, but he conceded and reached into his jacket for the folded up notebook. He held it in both hands as he flipped through it. You tried to get a peek of what the inside looked like, but Arthur caught you looking and he pulled it to his chest more, “Hey.”

“Sorry,” you smiled guiltily and blushed. You stirred your coffee, waiting for him to find a joke. As you sat in silence, you realized you probably knew way more about this guy than he knows about you. What has he actually asked you? Your name? That was pretty much it. And here he was, spending a late night coffee date with you. 

“Here’s one,” Arthur smiled and cleared his throat, “Give a man a match and he’ll be warm for a few hours. Set a man on fire, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.”

Your eyes widened and you scoffed, chuckling, “Wohohow, that’s dark. But I liked it.”

Arthur seemed not very enthused by your response to that one so he shut his book.

“Wait, can you tell me one more?” you asked, hoping your continued interest would make him happier.

Arthur re-considered, and he searched even more vigorously through his pages, skipping through a whole bunch in the beginning and focusing more towards the more recent pages. You watched his nimble fingers skim through the pages, entranced, until you were certain you caught sight of a pasted in picture of a naked woman.

“Okahay,” Arthur made himself chuckle at the joke this time, “Well, this one’s a bit sillier---”

“I love silly.”

“What kind of exercise do lazy people do?”

You grinned and bit on your lip, leaning back in your seat in thought, “Hmm.... I dunno, what?”

“Diddly-squats.”

You actually laughed at that one, the punchline being so silly and innocent and the whole joke being corny. Arthur looked proud of himself. You calmed down and looked at him, the two of you staring at each other in a content silence. You lifted your coffee cup to your lips and took a sip, eyeing him still as you took a bite of the coffee cake you ordered. Delicious, by the way.

“Okay, sorry if this is really rude of me, honestly, but I have so many questions about the clown thing. Like, how’d you get that job in the first place?”

“Oh,” Arthur smiled, “Well, I saw one of them dressed up on a corner selling laugh track records for a record store. I asked him how he got the job and I went and applied.”

“So where do you get assigned?”

“Street corners for businesses, parties... oh! and my favorite is going to the children’s hospital.”

Your heart practically melted right there, “Ohh, Arthur. That’s so amazing. Do the kids like it?”

“Yeahah, they usually love it.”

“What’s your routine?” 

“Well, there’s magic tricks, dancing, and I sometimes have a record playing songs for the children to sing with me.”

“Cute,” you mused, “I like you without your clown makeup,” you said kind of out of nowhere, “The makeup really changes how you look. Which is impressive on your part that you can hide your face so well.”

“It took some practice,” Arthur admitted. There was a faint blush on his cheeks. 

“Do you wanna ask me some questions?” you asked with a grin, “I feel like I could get you to tell me you killed JFK if I keep probing long enough. You’re not curious about me?” maybe it was a selfish question, but you wanted to know why he wouldn’t ask you things. Maybe it was politeness? 

“Oho, um, okay,” Arthur adjusted himself in his seat, “What do you do?”

“I’m an usher at Wayne Hall.”

“You are?”

“Yeah, why so surprised?”

“Not surprised. I just pass by it on my way to work. It looks like a nice theater.”

“And I pass by you on my way to work,” you smiled, “Isn’t that funny? And yeah, it’s a gorgeous theater.”

“Do you live with anyone?” was Arthur’s next question. Odd and probably a little creepy, you had to admit. 

“No,” you answered truthfully, “Just me. Crazy, right? Like, how could I possibly afford a place in the city living on my own? I made a deal with my landlord that if he reduced my rent, I’d get him free admission to see any special premieres or exhibitions or whatever he’s interested in.”

“I wish I could make a deal like that. I live with my mother and we’re still struggling,” Arthur admitted amicably.

You didn’t mean to make him feel that way, or put yourself on some pedestal above him, “I’m sorry--”

“Don’t be,” Arthur said easily again. You could see his leg shaking under the table.

There was another silence. There were many of those that night, you realized. Then there was the sound of light pattering on the window beside you and Arthur and you turned to look. 

“Oh fuck,” you sighed, seeing a rain that was getting heavier by the second, “They didn’t predict rain, did they?”

“I don’t think they did. We can stay in here and wait it out,” Arthur said.

You checked the time on your watch and it was very late at night. The trains were definitely going to be running slow. Maybe a cab? But shit, in this part of the city there were all very creepy, shady cab drivers. You pulled out your wallet to pay for your coffee and you really didn’t have enough cash on you for a cab, anyway. 

“You’re leaving now?” Arthur asked, and he looked mildly panicked, but mostly sad, and then it was like he was angry at the weather. The reaction was like a kid’s. 

“Yeah, I mean it’s getting late,” the rain sounded like it was pouring even harder. You stood up and brought your money to the cash register, paying for yours and Arthur’s snacks. 

“Oh, wait, you don’t have to pay for me. Please, let me--” Arthur was standing as well and approaching you.

“It’s just a coffee, Arthur,” you reassured him with a smile, getting your change back. 

“Will the train be coming at this hour? I wouldn’t mind at all if you stayed over at my place, I only live a few blocks from here.” You also live with your mother. What are you thinking bringing a woman home with you?, he rationalized in his head.

“That’s very sweet of you,” you pulled your coat up around you more, ready to brace the rain, “I’ll see you, Arthur.”

“Will you?”

The odd response made you turn back to him when you reached the door. He looked sad, guilty almost. Something was clearly going on in his head as he stared straight through you. 

“You know where to find me,” you said as a final goodbye, jogging through the downpour to get to your subway track. At least the station would have a roof over it. 

#arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck #reader insert #coffee date #joker #reader #conversation #arthur fleck x you #joker x you #arthur fleck x y/n #joker x y/n

[iwillgiveyoumyhappiness]

김우성, Kim Woosung

file-missing asked:

Could I do a request? The Rose, Woosung 7. “I almost lost you.” 3. “Please don’t leave.” 9. “Don’t ever do that again!”  Genre is obviously angst. Not much more specific other than pleeease put a good end to it. Thanks a lot!

Group: The Rose (더로즈)

Member: Woosung

Prompt: “I almost lost you”, “Please don’t leave”, “Don’t ever do that again”.

.

.

.

She tapped her fingers nervously against the pages of the book she was trying to read. Trying was the operative word. Her mind was occupied with too many other things. 

All of them were thoughts of Kim Woosung, spinning frantically like a playground’s Merry-Go-’Round.   

She stood up with a groan, tossing her book onto the couch. She carded her fingers through her hair while she paced around the living room. “Don’t be so anxious,” she told herself. “You’ve gotta speak your mind. Nothing to be ashamed of.” 

She took in a shaky breath, staring at the floor. “How do you even start a conversation like that?” she wondered out loud. She kept pacing about, not thinking much about where she was going. Her thoughts were too muddled to care. 

She’d wandered through the kitchen, almost stubbed her toe on the table in the keyboard in the spare room, flopped on the bed for a few minutes before getting too anxious and continuing her mindless wandering. 

She found herself in the hallway, surrounded by pictures. Or—more aptly described—memories. She traced her fingers along the frame of one picture in particular. 

It was framed photo from their first date. 

They both had on shy, but wholehearted smiles, a little nervous to face each other. They stood in front of a building covered in fairy-lights, wrapped up in scarves and thick jackets, their cheeks, noses and ears painted a bright red color. It’d been surprisingly cold that day in November. 

She smiled a little bit, thinking about how he had wrapped his own scarf around the both of them as they watched a busker on the side of the street. “For warmth”, he had insisted. 

“You goofball,” she chuckled quietly to herself. She walked further down the hall, tracing her fingers across the other pictures there. She looked fondly at the picture they took together of them stuck in the rain together, completely soaked, but still grinning like idiots on their first anniversary.

She felt warmth spread in her heart when she saw the picture of him hugging her tightly, his fingers tangled in her hair, looking so proud after she’d gotten into the college of her dreams. 

People had doubted her, saying she wasn’t educated enough for such a high-class university. Everyone but him. She had always felt like the dumbest person in the room, always brought down by other people’s intellect and general knowledge, but he made her feel smart. 

Smart, powerful and confident. She felt like the most beautiful and important person in his presence. 

“In a way,” she muttered to herself, “you made it possible for me to pass those damn entrance exams.”   

She laughed at the picture of him and his band, all gathered together on the first of the month to watch Sing Street and play games until the early hours of the morning. They were surrounded by empty soda cans, potato chip bags and gummy bear packets, Uno cards and Monopoly money scattered haphazardly at their feet.  

She was filled with bitter-sweetness at the picture of them all crying together after their first concert as The Rose, overwhelmed with so many new emotions. She remembered the words she had told him that day. 

“You did well.” 

She meant those words, too.

She sighed, feeling a pang in her chest as she gazed at the memories hanging on the wall. “Oh, Sammy,” she sighed. “What happened to us? We weren’t just a honeymoon phase... right?” 

She jumped a little, hearing the jangling of keys in the front door. She knew exactly who it was, rushing out to greet him. 

“Sammy!” she said, full grin on her face. “You’re back.” 

He shrugged his guitar case off his shoulder, setting it to the side. “Yup,” he said quietly. 

Her smile dropped. “Rough day at work?” 

“Not the best,” he answered. 

Oh, great. She cleared her throat. “I’m really sorry about that,” she mumbled. “Do you mind if we talk, though? Just for an hour or two, like we used to.” 

He raised an eyebrow as he breezed past her and into the kitchen. “Like we used to?” he echoed. “Is this supposed to be code for something? Some female cipher that I need to solve?” 

She watched him take a beer out of the fridge, popping the lid off with the bottle-opener hanging on a hook. “Why would you think that?” she asked, frowning. 

He took a long sip. “Hunch,” he breathed when he finished. 

She sighed under her breath. “Well, you’re wrong. I just wanted to hang out for a little while and work out some stuff.” 

“What’d I do now?” he huffed. 

She licked her lips nervously. “You didn’t do anything specifically, I just wanna make sure we’re okay, you know?” He quirked an eyebrow. “There’s just a lot of things going on right now that aren’t very big by themselves, but they add up, so I just wanted to make sure we were, like...” She thought for a moment, but eloquence seemed to have escaped her. “All good,” she settled on. 

“Is that it?” he chuckled dryly. “It sounds to me like you’re complaining.” 

She crossed her arms, tilting her head, examining him. He looked so tired. So stressed. The darkness under his eyes, his chapped lips, the lack of plush to his cheeks. “That’s not what I’m trying to do, Sam. You know that.”

“Do I?” he asked, setting his bottle down on the counter with an audible clatter. “I bet you’re gonna say something like, ‘You haven’t been spending enough time at home’, or ‘What happened to our monthly hangouts with the guys?’, right? Something like that?”

She shrunk a little. “Well... Yeah,” she admitted, “a little bit, but I wasn’t gonna phrase it like that.” 

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t bother,” he said curtly. He scooped up his beer, breezing past her towards the living room. “You knew what you were getting into when you started dating me, so you should learn to live with it.” 

Her jaw dropped, turning around to follow him. “Wow,” she huffed, “you’re really going there?” She scoffed. “Yeah, I knew what I was getting into, but I also didn’t expect to be the only one that was trying for this.”  

His eyes winded. “You think I don’t try?” he derided. “Grow up, woman. You’re so unbelievably stupid sometimes.” 

She felt something in her chest. A painful twist or break, like glass falling against pavement. Was that her heart? She felt a rush of fire in her veins, making her lash out. 

“Don’t ever do that again!” she screamed without thinking. He visibly jumped, not expecting her to shout like that. “You know how I feel about that! How dare you bring that up? You, of all people!” 

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but they weren’t sad or pitiful. They were angry and passionate. “You’re supposed to be there for me!” she ranted. “You’re not supposed to tear me down—you’re supposed to build me up!” 

His gaze sharpened. “And you’re not supposed to yell at me as soon as I walk through the door!” he countered, taking a step forward. 

She took a matching step back. “I didn’t yell at you!” 

“Then what’s this?” he questioned. “A civil debate? I don’t think so!” He mussed up his hair. “Don’t you see how stressed I am? I’m at my wits’ end! Nothing is coming together, everything is screwed up, the guys and I aren’t getting along right now, and I can’t think because my mind is being too loud! I can’t shut up my mind!” 

She clenched her fists, paling her knuckles. “I have noticed!” she yelled. “I’ve been trying to help and I’ve been ultra patient with you, but you’re not the only one that’s got issues, Sam!” 

She used her fingers like a checklist. “I’m having trouble in school, which is making me feel even more dumb than I already know that I am. Work’s threatening to let me go, yet I’m having to work more hours to pay off this month’s rent—which just went up, I’ll have you know!”

He stared at her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he shouted. “We promised no secrets—I would’ve helped!” 

“You just got finished telling me how stressed you were!’ She felt the tears falling now. “Make up your damn mind! I was trying to make things easier for you!”

He groaned loudly. “You’re not making it easier for me!” She’d seen him angry before, but never this angry. It almost scared her. “All you’re doing is making things worse! I wish you’d just go!”

He didn’t mean it. She knew that he didn’t mean it. Did either of them really mean anything that they were saying? She was so blinded by emotion at the moment, she didn’t care. She felt like the world was crashing down around her, but it was moving too fast. 

She didn’t have anything to grab onto, and she was free-falling in the rabbit’s hole from Alice and Wonderland. She felt alone in front of the person that was supposed to feel like home. She felt cold in front of the person that was supposed to warm her. 

She felt unwelcome in front of the person that was supposed to love her. 

“You want me to go?” Her voice dropped dangerously low. The air felt thick and stagnant, almost sickening. She pushed past him, grabbing her light jacket from off of the disorganized coat-rack. “Fine, then.”

His breath went cold. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice suddenly much quieter. 

She grabbed her keys and her phone, shoving them in her pockets. “Away,” she said simply.

“You’re not serious,” he breathed. 

She met his gaze sharply. “Watch me,” she challenged.   

He grabbed her arm before she reached the door. “Please don’t leave,” he whispered. He sounded so vulnerable, like he was breaking as he spoke. He always had a sort of tremor to his voice when he sang, but that same essence could be heard in his words at this moment. 

She froze, not daring to move, but also not daring to turn around to look at him. She was angry, but she was also ashamed. 

Who’s fault was it? Both, one, neither... The endless questions spun through her head like a dizzying roller-coaster. Could she blame him in good conscience? 

No. She could never. 

She loved him, despite him. In his good times and bad. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice gentle. She could feel his sincerity, but she was still hesitant to turn around. “I messed up so bad. Just because I haven’t been doing so well doesn’t mean that I should’ve taken it out on you. I should’ve told you about how I was feeling... I’m really sorry.” 

Her shoulders drooped. “I’m sorry, too... I should’ve told you about the rent. I shouldn’t have kept that from you.” She tucked her hand into the one that was holding her wrist. She squeezed his hand gently, intertwining their fingers. “We made a promise, after all.” 

She relished in the feeling of his guitar-calloused fingertips.

“You should’ve told me about school, too,” he chuckled. 

She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “Don’t test your luck, mister.” 

He stayed quiet for a moment. “Right, sorry,” he said. He sighed deeply. “I wish I didn’t yell at you.” 

She frowned. “I wish I didn’t yell at you, too...” 

There was a silence before she heard sniffling. 

She whipped around immediately, staring wide-eyed at the tears dripping off of his chin. “Why are you crying?” she asked, pulling him close and wiping his tears with her thumbs. 

“Because I’m a mess,” he whimpered. “We’re a mess.” He leaned his head on her shoulder, soaking her jacket and gripping at her waist. “I love our mess so much. I love getting stuck in the rain with you, I love playing board games with you, I love petting stray cats with you, my allergies acting up and you magically having Benadryl in your purse.” 

He took a shaky breath. “I love helping you with homework and talking about the future with you. I love it when you trace my tattoos with your fingers and I love teaching you guitar and ugly-singing in the car with you... I love you.” 

He gripped her tighter, as if afraid that she really would leave if he let her go. He just couldn’t risk that. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.”

She took in all of his words, taking them completely to heart. She couldn’t have described it better if she tried. That was just the way his lyricist mind worked, she supposed. She rubbed his back comfortingly, soothing his sobs, even if it was just a little. 

She felt like that was all she could do for him. 

“You won’t lose me,” she whispered, pulling away to cup his cheeks and look into his eyes. “You won’t lose me because we’re going to make another promise right now.” 

He put his hands over hers, leaning into the touch. “And what might that promise be?” he asked, looking at her with sad, red, puffy eyes. 

“We should promise never to lose ourselves again,” she said, “because we’re both terrified of losing each other.” 

He gave her a weak but genuine smile. “Promise?” 

She nodded. “Promise.”

.

.

. 

Okay, so... Ikindoflovesammyalotandthiswasreallyhardbutfunandsofttowriteandnowidon’tknowwhattodowithmyself. 

Send help. 

Thanks for the request, I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to stop by anytime! We are all in need of some more The Rose content. 

(I almost wrote just “Rose content” and I am ashamed of myself. The “the” is their pride, after all.) 

#kpop #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop fluff #kpop angst #the rose #kim woosung #sammy #kim sammy #angst #fluff #the rose imagines

[needyoulikeaheartbeet]

lover: first reactions

Album Length: 61 => 6 + 1 = 7 TS7 confirmed

1. I Forgot That You Existed free rent, living in my mind it isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference! haha I LOVE THE LAUGHS

I love how she says indifference skgnfskj

It's all just a blur?

THE SO YEAH AT THE END LOL

2. Cruel Summer is this with jack

the chorus is so effing good

I DONT WANT TO KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU!!!!

OMG END OF BRIDGE INTO CHORUS HOLY FUCK I ALMST CHOKED ON MY WATER I HAD THIS FACE: :o BUT WITH WATER IN MY MOUTH YESSSSSSSSSSSS

GOD

OKAY. OKAY! I SEE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

(AFTER LISTENING TO LOVER IN FULL) IM LISTENING AGAINA ND CRYING

3. Lover 

Lover is absolutely stunning. I love the instruments. I love The lyrics. Everything is beautiful. The soft "forever and ever" in the chorus. 

4. The Man 

OOF SECOND VERSE YES

SPEAK IT TAYLOR

DID SHE SAY BITCH AND BITCHES

USE DEROGATORY SLANG BACK AT THEM YES

ITS OKAY IF YOURE MAD!

OMG THIS IS FUN TO DANCE TO

POwER HECKING MOVES

5. The Archer 

HELP ME HOLD ON TO YOU.

THE ROOM IS ON FIRE, INVISIBLE SMOKE. I love the buildup within the song itself. Beautiful vocals. Im baby.

6. I Think He Knows

OOOOO SHIT OKAY

SHE INTO HIM

WAS THAT AN ACCENT

Cute!!

7. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince 

Omg ok i like this intro

This gives me Lana vibes

SO SAD WE PAINT THE TOWN BLUE

the ahhhahhhhhhahhh before the pre chorus

you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes

THE WAY SHE SINGS THE TITLE

jack?

after the bridge omg back into the chorus YES

THE END

whats it about tho [edit: now I get it, it’s BRILLIANT]

8. Paper Rings 

PAPER RINGS IS UPBEAT

I LIKE HOW HER VOICE SOUNDS

IS THIS STAY STAY STAY OF LOVER?

PAINTING BROTHERS WALL … THE PICTURE. STOP CUTE

THE LIL 1 2 1 2 3 4 I LIKE

ID MARRY YOU!

After the bridge the way she sings the chorus!!!

9. Cornelia Street

SECOND TIME WE MENTION BEING DRUNK

I HOPE I NEVER LOSE YOU

I RENT A PLACE ON CORNELIA STREET! OK! MY HEART. 

10. Death By A Thousand Cuts

ANOTHER DRUNK! I like how she's singing.

The back vocals omg

The drums / guitar make it sound like it’s from the early 2000s 

BUT IF THE STORY'S OVER WHY AM I STILL WRITING PAGES

O DAMN

THE BRIDGEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YO.

11. London Boy 

I love her little laugh and I love sampling

Ok I like how she sings this song it's PRETTY CUTE

The beat is good too

IS SHE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT SHES DATED MANY BRITISH MEN OMG

LOL

Its so fun omg

I saw someone say it's like a country song disguised as a pop bop and THEY RIGHT WOW

12. Soon You’ll Better 

I'm already crying.

Okay now I'm sobbing.

13. False God 

OH IS THAT A SAX? DAMNNNNN

False God has a nice beat. 

THE ALTAR IS MY HIPS? OH OKAYYYY

OMG THE NEXT VERSE WHOAAAA

They all warned us to when you're lead by

It's like… Yes.

Second chorus oooo

The END

Is this the dress / SIG of this album omg

14. You Need To Calm Down 

CAUSE SHADE NEVER MADE ANYBODY LESS GAY!

15. Afterglow

Blue is another common word

Is that autotune (in my "head"?)

I DONT WANNA DO I DONT WANNA DO THIS TO U! 

16. ME!

THE DRUMS WE GOT A SNEAK PEEK OF UGH

ME! Is so fun

17. It’s Nice To Have A Friend

I like that steelpan!!!

A cute simple love story developing oh my gosh

NEW MARYS SONG

FROM SCHOOL TO RICE ON GROUND WEDDING

18. Daylight

I once believed love would be burning red

But it's golden, like daylight.

YOU GOTTA STEP INTO THE DAYLIGHT AND LET IT GO

Omg the ending… I'm crying I love these things.

I wanna be defined by the things that I love

Not the things I hate

Not the things I'm afraid of- I'm afraid of

Not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night

I- I just think that…

You are what you love.

What a beautiful ending to this magical album. It literally felt so complete and like a ride through all the ups and downs of love.

ARE THERE 13 SECONDS OF SILENCE AT THE END? TAYLOR. I LVOE YOU.

#personal #lover #taylurking #first reactions

[howrv]

Woodstock, 50 Years Later

Living in our HOW (Home on Wheels) for the past three years has been our ticket to amazing experiences. From rodeos to The Rose Parade, art museums to boat races, slot canyons to The Grand Canyon, we have done amazing things.  

A year into our journey we planned to attend Woodstock 50, wherever it was to be.  We reserved a spot for HOW at both Watkins Glen and the original location at Bethel Woods, knowing that eventually one would become the clear choice.  As the event approached, everything went wrong for the Watkins Glen event.  Michael Lang, who owned the Woodstock name, experienced withdrawals from promoters and artists, and never got ticket sales off the ground. Somehow, booking Jay Z, Chance the Rapper, Miley Cirus and hip-hop acts did not match our expectations of what a celebration of Woodstock should be.  Rolling Stone quoted David Crosby’s take on Lang, “it had nothing to do with anyone feeling good about each other.  It had to do with certain people making huge amounts of money.”

So, on the weekend marking the 50th anniversary of the greatest love-in music festival in history, we arrived at what seemed to be hallowed ground. The spot that was once Max Yasgur’s alfalfa field is now a beautiful venue for the arts and music, set in the pristine rolling meadows called Bethel Woods. Much has changed but the vibe was still there as an anticipated crowd of 100,000 passed through the gates in this four-day celebration, (far less than the 500,000 of ‘69.)  Arriving early, we tail-gated for a while, had some wine and cheese and talked to folks who were adorned with tie-dye, beaded headbands, bell bottoms and peace-sign jewelry. Some arrived in their original restored VW buses. We met old hippies who were there a half century ago, as well as first timers.  We were surprised how many young people there were. A blended mix of peace and love seekers of all ages. (pictures below)

The first night we rented lawn chairs and sat on the hillside right behind the covered amphitheater on immaculately manicured grass.  As the sun was sinking over the fields behind us, the stage lights illuminated Earth, Wind, and Fire as they took to the the stage playing: “You Made Me So Very Happy, Spinnin Wheel , And When I Die, and God Bless The Child. The band spanned all genres of pop, rock, featuring a new kid from American Idol, Bo Bice as frontman.  

Next to perform was the biggest surprise of the night. Edgar Winter Band rocked the planet (or at least Bethel Woods) playing Tobacco Road, Frankenstein, Free Ride, Rock-and-Roll Hoochie Koo, and Dying to Live. Winter is a multi-instrumentalist but is acclaimed as the first person ever to put a neck strap on a keyboard and dance the stage with a Moog Synthesizer.  The most remarkable performance was his vocal ability.  He mimicked complex riffs and was answered by the lead guitar, bass player, keyboards and drums to the amazement of everyone in attendance.

The stage fog increased, pounding bass notes vibrated and pulsed with intensity. Strobing, motion ellipsiodals, pars and dichroics traced through the sweet smelling, pot laced air, ushering in the headliner… Ringo Star and his All Star Band.  

An extremely fit and young-looking Ringo Star danced to downstage center and the crowd responded in thunderous unison.  Gobos painted peace symbols on the upstage scrims and familiar tunes echoed through the hills.  The setlist was epic: It Don’t Come Easy, Boys, Hold The Line , Act Naturally, Matchbox, Down Under, The Weight, Anthem, You’re Sixteen You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine , Pick Up The Pieces, Work to Do, The No No Song, Photograph,  and I Wanna Be Your Man.

Leaner and livelier than Ringo’s 79 years should allow, his message was peace and love, but his anthem was FUN.  He did jumping jacks to Yellow Submarine that frenzied the crowd who responded by singing every word.  

Ringo has surrounded himself with luminaries of Rock-and-Roll fame and his band reflects amazing talent.  Colin Hay, the Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor was lead singer for Men at Work.  He displayed his talents on the keyboards, percussion, bass and lap steel.

Hamish Stuart of Average White Band has played with John Lennon, Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Smokey Robinson and the list goes on.  He led The All Star band with his signature hit Pickin’ Up The Pieces.

Vocalist, drummer Gregg Bisonnette who hailed from Van Halen, Santana and later Toto, joined Ringo to duet on the drums.

Guitar legend Steve Lukather was the original guitarist and vocalist for Toto and served in that capacity for the band’s entire existence. Steve demonstrated unbelievable licks throughout the entire set.

The Hammond organ has always given that unmistakable “goin-to-church” feel to R&B, rock and jazz.  Keyboardist Gregg Rolie who sang for Santana and Journey made me want to yell hallelujah!

Warren Ham came to the All Star Band from the Maranatha Praise Band and toured with Promise Keepers.  He also toured with Kansas, Donna Summer, and Olivia Newton-John.

Ringo’s encore finale electrified the audience with A Little Help from My Friends. People held hands and waved their lit phones above their heads.  We left that night feeling a little more peace and love and ready for the next day’s events.

The next day was special as we were able to share it with our daughter, Kirby and Phillip. We had incredible preferred seating.  We arrived early and were able to enjoy the venders, people watch, and stand in line to buy Woodstock tee-shirts.

I had mild expectations for Santana’s opening band. The Doobie Brothers, surprised us with their tight, amazing sounds and vocals.  The band’s ability to evolve and remain connected to multi generations of audiences is a testament to their craft.  Only two originals remain, Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, but they have added young progressive talent to their roster to deliver their unmistakable style of pushing the beat. 

Dancing erupted and continued throughout the whole set as the Doobs belted What a Fool Believes, Listen to the Music, Takin’ It To the Street, China Grove, Black Water, Jesus is Just Alright, and possibly the most recognizable opening guitar riffs of all times, Long Train Runnin’.

But the headliner of all headliners was about to emerge from the green room.  Santana began his set with dramatic video of Woodstock ’69, a documentary set to music that took you back to the chaotic days of Vietnam, Martin Luther King, Bobby and John Kennedy and the emerging peace movement.  Santana, dressed in a black original Woodstock t-shirt and played his signature red guitar. Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, Gypsy Queen,  Maria Maria, Oye Como Va, and of course, Smooth had the crowd memorized and dancing in the isles. Carlos paid tribute to Lennon, Caltrain and Hendrix. The stage production, set design, lighting and sound were masterful. The energy level peaked and stayed there for three-and-a-half hours resulting in sensory fatigue for most of us, but a high we will never forget.  

We left with the message of peace and love, sharing and caring which, I believe, has diminished in the past 50 years, when the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young echoed across the soggy fields known as Bethel Woods,  the real Woodstock.

#homeonwheels #jonandbecky #retireontheroad #bethelwoods #woodstock19 #homeiswhereyouparkit #nobodylivesbetter

[zeroconnectionn]

alternate music video for Sucker by Jonas Brothers feat. jaime and brienne in fancy clothes chase-dancing each other through a museum. I’m keeping it under the cut because it’s super long (it’s just text... in bullet points again bc i can’t write unless it looks like lists... mayhaps there is a drawing at the end...)

so pretend this is one of those music videos with an obnoxiously long introductory scene where the music starts late in the video. We see doors being pushed open and Brienne storming out of it with tears in her eyes, Jaime following closely behind her, calling out to her. 

When he catches up, he starts apologizing for something that happened inside (he’s not at fault). Maybe they bumped into nasty Lannister relatives at the function or maybe the press was annoying them with questions about their relationship, either way it soured her mood and she just wants to go home.

(btw Jaime’s looking sharp in a fancy suit and Brienne is in a tailored dress that fits her perfectly because obvs Jaime got the measurements right!)

We see them walking briskly down the street, Brienne assuring him she’s fine (she’s not) and stops to hail a cab. Jaime doesn’t want the night to end yet, not like this at least, so he looks around to find a place they can be together a little longer, away from people. He spots a museum across the street and grins, tugging her arm and walking them there. Brienne groans and shakes her head all the way there. Jaime tells her ‘Trust me, it’ll be fun’. They approach the man at the counter who tells them they have 30 minutes before the museum closes. Jaime pays for the tickets, thanks the man, and ushers Brienne into the first exhibit. To their relief, they seem to be the only ones there.

Jaime starts cracking jokes at everything he sees, animatedly gesturing at things as an attempt to cheer her up and distract her. Brienne offers him an appreciative smile but stays mostly quiet and crosses her arms, distant and still feeling insecure from earlier events. Jaime sees this and sighs. He doesn’t want her to think that he’s uncomfortable with being seen in public with her, like he’s ashamed to call her his girlfriend. Like he doesn’t enjoy her company. He plots a way to save their night (and possibly their relationship).

At the second exhibit, he tells Brienne he has to go the men’s restroom but actually goes to see the man behind the counter for a favour. When he comes back, they walk around the exhibit in silence, examining things separately. Brienne sighs, a little frustrated and turns to him, "Can we please go now?". Jaime stays silent but holds a finger up, motioning her to wait. Brienne looks at him confused but before she can ask, pop music starts playing from the speakers. Jaime grins at her. And Oh, she Knows that look too well, he's planning something. Brienne watches him closely, one eyebrow raised.

Jaime, still grinning, walks a few paces away from her, then turns around and does a dramatic popping arm wave and passes it to her. He raises an eyebrow at her, encouraging her to accept the wave. Brienne scoffs at him, bewildered but secretly amused. She turns her back to him and walks away. For a second, Jaime’s worried he's pushing things too far tonight with the sudden dance, afraid she’ll leave. As his arm lowers, Brienne rolls her (BEAUTIFUL MUSCULAR BARE) shoulders and cracks her neck. A pause. And she tentatively extends her arm, bends it 90 degrees and does a robot wave, passing it back to him. Sucker starts playing, ‘We go together’. Jaime's face immediately lights up, captivated by her and her trust in him. Brienne looks at him embarrassed but determined, wanting to give this a try.

And they dance. Brienne totally does that Pick Up Gown/Skirt And Sway It Left And Right like Emma Stone did in La La Land. There are also disco moves, attempted hip hop moves, a little waltz here and there (Jaime leading and dipping her effortlessly, sometimes Brienne twirls him), looking at each other while doing the side shuffle from The Breakfast Club

When the chorus hits, ‘I'm a sucker for you, you say the word and I'll go anywhere blindly’, they’re running around exhibits, touching things they're not supposed to, Jaime twirling her, Brienne teasing him, Jaime chasing after her, Jaime doing the splits and failing (and Brienne laughing at him)

Everything is magical and playful, bokeh lights everywhere. In one of the hallways, they do the back and forth shimmy towards each other. In another exhibit, they sit on a bench and do something like the tap dance scene in La La Land

Also like.. the best thing about brienne's dance moves is that it's based off her longsword training. The way she spins her body and arms? Her wrist and feet? She's channeling her training, but it’s a little different from Arya’s water dancing. Brienne’s movements are more masculine and powerful but it makes her feel so good because it's what she's familiar with. And Jaime loves it, heart eyes and admiration 24/7. But Brienne also dares to step out of her comfort zone and try more feminine movements, because she Wants to and Jaime + empty museum is giving her a safe space to explore that side of her. "And you're making typical me break my typical rules" <3

For our viewing pleasure (lmao), their movements start having more finesse and we watch as they transform into skilled contemporary dancers. We see Brienne grabbing his tie and pulling him towards her, pressing her palms onto his chest to push him away, Jaime’s hands running down her sides before she slips out of his hold, Jaime picking her up and pressing her close against him, LOTS of almost-kisses, and the finale... Jaime on his knees crawling towards Brienne as she grips his tie tightly in one hand and a high heel on his shoulder WITH LEG PEEKING THROUGH THE DRESS AAA 

This dance is totally trying to parallel their fight in the books.... it’s just.... sex guys....

Eventually, they stumble into the lobby and Jaime is tryna steal a kiss but the song abruptly stops. We see a security guard staring at them with a flashlight. He tells them the museum closed 10 minutes ago and they need to go now. Brienne and Jaime awkwardly apologize and leave in silence, Brienne covering her face in embarrassment... but once they're outside, they burst out laughing uncontrollably, sides hurting. Jaime wipes a tear from his eye and fishes out his phone to book them an Uber. We see Brienne touch his wrist and shake her head, "I have a better idea”. She smirks and juts her chin towards a building down the street. Jaime gives her his famous s7 “fuck loyalty?” confused look

In the next scene, the song continues with the chorus “I’m a sucker for you” but this time they're in some downtown club, wearing the same clothes, pressed closely to one another, beaming and bopping to the music. Time seemingly slows down, we see Brienne and Jaime doing shots and letting loose, having so much fun on the dance floor. And even though it’s packed, their eyes are only on each other.

As the music fades out, the scene transitions to the next morning, we see Brienne drooling and sleeping naked under the covers, hair disheveled, their clothes scattered on the floor. Jaime, equally disheveled, rises up quietly and presses a kiss to her temple. He walks to the kitchen to make them coffee and as he’s waiting for the water to boil, we hear a shit ton of notification sounds from his phone. He unlocks it and it's from.... everyone. He opens his chat with Tyrion first. "Had fun last night??? Father is gonna be so pissed. Proud of you two". Confused, Jaime scrolls down and opens a link Tyrion shared. It's an article about him and Brienne's night at the club from the night before. The title is something like "Lion of Lannister parties hard with Mysterious Tarth Girl". Whoever wrote it (in my head it was Ellaria Sand hehe) said very interesting but glowing things about Brienne, which amuses him. He’s not at all surprised by how fast the media works by now but he’s grateful for the pleasant change in the way the media is reporting their relationship today. 

He scrolls through the gallery of pictures attached to the article and stops at a somewhat blurry but candid picture of Brienne, looking confident and free. He stares at the picture for a solid minute, drinking in every detail. Her arms thrown up, legs bent, eyes wild, toothy smile. Brienne living in the moment. Brienne being herself. Brienne happy. Jaime doesn’t think twice before saving that picture and making it his lock screen picture. As he switches back to the messaging app to reply Tyrion, there's a loud crash and scream coming from the bedroom. "They said WHAT about me!?" Jaime shakes his head as he laughs, pours them both a mug of coffee and walks off screen with their mugs. The music video ends.

I have no life so I also drew this!!!!!!!!!

Also for whatever reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about music related AU’s like:

Music and Lyrics AU: Jaime, the former 80′s pop music heartthrob and Brienne, his neighbour who’s looking for more jobs to pay her rent. Imagine them writing and singing Way Back Into love again

Pitch Perfect AU: Brienne, the new Barden Bellas recruit and Jaime, the leader of the Treblemakers. Everyone knows they’re in love except them.

The Office’s Jim & Pam Wedding March but it’s Jaime and Brienne and Sansa + Tyrion (together or not together, up to you) planning it

Lip Sync Battle. Who wins? What are the two songs they perform? How extra were they?

#jaime x brienne #The Umbrella Academy had a very corny dance scene that I loved a lot!! #I couldn’t stop thinking about Jaime and Brienne having their own impromptu dance scene in a modern AU so this happened #braime

[jarryprompts]

Filled Jarry Prompt :)

Prompt: “Harry waiting for James under the Christmas tree wearing nothing but a big red bow please…!” Author’s note: I wasn’t sure whether or not Nonny intended their prompt as a reunion fic so I kind of put my own spin on things. I hope that’s okay :)… This was also only supposed to be a 1000 word (or below) oneshot but I kind of got carried away… oops. This fic features a fair amount of Romeo and seeing as I started writing this before the most recent episodes exploring his and James’s relationship aired, certain details may not be perfectly in line with particular events on the show (although I did attempt to tweak most of them to the best of my ability).

Words: 10k

Rated: M

Trigger warnings: Nothing overly graphic but a few references to James’s past regarding Mac’s abuse and Donna-Marie.

Mod’s notes: massive thanks to @jarryxox for submitting!! 

xxx

Feeling overwhelmed by the surrounding sea of emptiness that marked the approaching night, James stumbled his way desolately through the ill-lighted village with only the distant flickering of Christmas lights to accompany him on his path back home. He wasn’t sure whether it was to do with the day’s overhanging sense of unity and spirit and the way in which this conflicted with his own foul mood but today, walking alone with the image of his father sat across the table from his son at Christmas dinner etched mockingly in the back of his mind, well he felt especially defeated. It seemed that both the misery and alcohol had done a good job of numbing his senses. It’s not that James couldn’t smell the trimmings and potatoes laced in goose fat or hear the distant muffled blare of Christmas music, he just wasn’t fully aware of it. Pulling the freshly-purchased bottle of red wine that he’d been cradling protectively underneath his jacket in further, he noted shamefully how on days such as these, when there was little else to preoccupy his mind, the day would always end for him in exactly the same way in which it had started. How in both the early hours of the morning and the late hours of the night, he’d make a brief trip to Price Slice to purchase another bottle of wine, face always burrowed deeply into his scarf in an attempt to cloak his misery from the many prying faces that often pervaded the streets of Chester. He wasn’t quite sure at which point in his life he’d came to care so much about what the local ex-druggy, Ken Doll or a McQueen thought about him but shielding his face in his scarf’s soft blanket of warmth and security had become common practice for him in recent weeks.

And it always had to be the same scarf too. He convinced himself that the simple reasoning behind this was because it was the warmest, most expensive scarf that he owned but of course this was not the entire truth. This particular scarf was very special to him for two good additional reasons. Not only had it been personally picked out for him by his beloved grandmother Tabby, but he’d lent this particular scarf to Harry on more than one occasion. Often they’d even found themselves having playful disputes regarding the true identity of its colour. “It’s white.” “It’s grey. “I can assure you, as both its purchaser and proud flaunter for ten or so plus years, the scarf is white.” “You must have just gotten it grubby then.”

Sometimes on his loneliest days, he’d pull the scarf in tighter, close his eyes and allow himself to picture himself enveloped in Harry’s embrace. Of course cashmere could never quite replace the tenderness and delicacy of a human touch and Harry’s was more than just any touch. It was soft, deft, solacing, friendly, understanding, warm… but two glasses in and it was almost easy to pretend; almost. James often tried fooling himself that it was never really about the alcohol, never because he really wanted nor needed it. That it was merely an excuse for him to leave his flat on unbearable days such as today, a brief pause in the routine of solitary and sadness that he had allowed himself to slip into. If nothing else, it offered him the opportunity for a chance encounter with Romeo or his mother (even though admittedly they hadn’t exactly been on the best of speaking terms as of late), without having to go to the grand gesture of knocking on doors. But it wasn’t just that. Besides work and his slowly but surely blossoming relationship with his son, his customary rounds to the local mini-market followed by a thorough search down every turning and alley for a particular face, Harry’s face, felt like his only current motivation in life. Sometimes, in his dreams he’d find Harry dozing away in the folly, his face its same perfect, gentle sculpture, sleepy and content, oblivious to the anxiety and disturbance that he’d caused to James and his life. On other nights he’d have a slight variation of this very same dream and find Harry waiting for him outside his flat still dressed in his same sodden wedding clothes, face and body laced with bruises but somehow still smiling that same sprightly, infectious smile. Unfortunately however, when it came to real life, he never once did strike lucky. Some days he hated Harry for doing this to him. Others he simply hated himself for being so grossly lovesick and allowing himself to be demeaned in such a way. His surroundings being so dark and him being so intoxicated, James took extra care to make sure to keep a sharp eye out for any potential obstructions littering his path (which turned out to be everything in his drunken state; even his own feet). Ten steps in however and this particular train of thought was forgotten, abandoned by the realisation that he’d if not both rather unconsciously and selfishly taken the short route back home rather than his usual thorough loop around the village in search for Harry. Turning back and making his way over towards the folly, he could hear the distant rowdiness of a pair of mutual drunks, singing their own special rendition of Jingle Bells. Nice to hear something human, James thought, although the comforting sensation of Harry’s light breathing against his chest was the only sound that truly mattered to him right now. Finding nothing but a discarded newspaper on one of the benches although reassured nonetheless to find no latest headline of “young rent boy found dead in a ditch”, James was left disheartened to find that his unsteady slog towards the folly had been in vain. The passing image of Harry lying somewhere dead, of the lifelessness in his blue eyes caused a figmental headache to develop in the side of his head, so he allowed himself a moment to try and encourage the image away with a massaging hand. Once again however, his efforts proved futile. Willing to adopt any passing thought in order to drive away the dreadful images playing repeatedly in his mind’s eye, James tried inviting a different stream of inessential thought but his efforts somehow always ended up leading him straight back to Harry. Scratching frustratedly at his beard with his free hand, he tried a different approach of focusing his attention on a different kind of pain, leaving him to consider which one hurt him more: his moments spent wandering drunkenly alone in an empty street or drinking alone in an empty flat. At least, he told himself, when things still moved outside life went on. At least that way when he lay passed out on the sofa by half-eight every evening after his third or so bottle, he could trick his brain into believing that, even if only by the off chance, one of the many set of footsteps that he heard trudging by his flat at night belonged to Harry. He tried playing a similar enough game now, straining his ears that had been furiously tinged red by the cold as they scanned briefly towards the direction of each surrounding household. Each one of them an invisible speck in the universe. The Lomax’s. The McQueen’s. The Hutchinson’s. The Hutchinsons. He was sure that if he dared to listen closely enough, he would hear them now, all so harmoniously ignorant, continuing on with their lives without Harry with such careless ease. He tried distinguishing between each voice, tried pairing each one with a face but it was never the face he wanted to see; never Harry’s. In fact, it didn’t take much to make him think of Harry. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling but it was like the constant dull panging of a toothache. If only, James thought, sleep could alleviate this particular kind of pain. He needed a distraction from it. He did consider, perhaps for the fraction of a millisecond the possibility of paying a quick visit to his son over at 4 Oakdale Drive, his father’s current place of residence. That would certainly help to divert his thoughts away from Harry. His father had after all made it his life’s work to make every waking moment of James’s life a misery ever since the moment he’d been born. It would be difficult for him having to face them all at once: Mac, his mother, Alfie, Donne-Marie… but he knew that it would mean a lot to Romeo and at least that way he could show him that he was trying, really was trying… Deep down however, a part of him knew that this was a terrible idea and he wasn’t entirely confident that in his current drunken state he could resist the urge to turf his father’s smug, complacent ass straight out of his chair. Certainly not upon witnessing him attempting to poison his son against him whilst all the while, everyone else around him remained fooled by his newly reformed, frail old man act. Nor did he wish to contribute towards any kind of happy family pretence that they might have had going. Besides… he didn’t wish to give the wrong impression that he had only dared to show his face there for the company. It wasn’t exactly a particular desire of his to look that overtly desperate in front of an audience…

So instead, James resorted to doing what he had always done on his darkest days in youth, scanning over and counting the cracks in the pavement, tiptoeing between them as if they were snare traps as he made his way back home from school as a frightened, bitter teenage boy. He realised how stupid this might have sounded to any outside party but it gave him a distraction from the truth. Took his mind away from counting down the steps until he made it back home to that monster; to his father and whatever beating he might have had planned out next for him. But at least this way, as he invested himself in scrutinizing the concrete for any of its flaws, he could fool himself into believing that it wasn’t really his life, that it was the path to somebody else’s home. Mimicking those same youthful steps now, tracing the ground with those same vulnerable eyes, he even allowed himself to echo one same juvenile thought. It was a silent plea mostly, that if he had to have this life, if Mac had to be his father, if he couldn’t have Harry then he prayed that the sound of his footsteps mattered to at least one person. In the distance there was this disruptive clompling sound as a figure started to approach about to cross paths with him. So heavily absorbed however, in dodging cracks and the sound of his own drunken steps, James barely noticed it. It was only the blunt impact of human flesh, multiple shopping bags and the consequent driving of the sheltering wine bottle into his ribs that tore him away from his current trance and James’s head was left feeling all the more woozy from the sudden startlement.

“Harr-” “Oi! Watch where you’re going!” chided a scornful voice. Still caught off guard from the collision and needing a moment for his eyes to readjust, James opted not to rise to this particular scolding, instead continuing to hold his gaze towards the floor whilst he worked on recovering both his breath and balance. Then, shaking his head in a further attempt to will the fuzziness away, he tried to make out the sight of the figure stood before him. Heels, he could see a pair of heels. Hideous ones at that if you asked him. And a rather odd choice of shoes for this kind of weather, he added disapprovingly as an internal afterthought.

Once he felt fully braced enough to come face to face with the irked figure that remained towering over him, James allowed his eyes to disengage from the inadequately clothed feet and sweep upwards to find a much less than amused McQueen scowling fiercely back at him. “Ughh, Nightingale! Trust it to be you!” The figure fired a disapproving glance at James before thrusting her arms forward in as best an attempt as she could manage at shoving him, despite the number of bags and gifts she was carrying, causing him to re-lose hold of his footing.

Unprepared for this second blow to the ribs, James grabbed instinctively onto his assailant’s sleeve in an attempt to steady himself. “Ahh, Mercedes,” James unthreatened, began smugly. “So there is life on Mars after all. Glad to see we’re not all that far drunk on eggnog, false jollity and uncharacteristical kindness to the extent of being delusional.” “And there were me thinking that people of your kind spent the day with their faces buried up to their neck in paperwork rather than Christmas dinner.” "Actually,” James said, adopting an informative tone “that’s precisely what I’m doing.” “Oh, so who’s that for then?” Mercedes enquired nosily, eyeballing the bottle of wine that was now swaying loosely from James’s grasp. “That really is none of your business,” James responded bluntly, attempting to brush his way past her. “Go on!” Mercedes encouraged, further blocking James’s exit. “I won’t tell anyone. Who’s the lucky fella?” James stood staring menacingly at her for a while before relenting when it soon became clear that she had no intention of moving. “Okay, fine. It’s for me, if you must know. Do you know, it’s not until you walk the vacant streets of Chester alone on a dark December night that you realise how insignificant you really are in the grand scheme of things.“

“Bit of a morbid take on life that, don’t you think love?” “Maybe,” James replied unleashing a sad, ironic smile.“Only slightly.“ “Well if that’s what a mountain of paperwork does to your head, I sure am glad I didn’t choose to become a lawyer.” "Dad! There you are!” a voice intruded in an overly spirited tone. “And suddenly they all come at once,” James observed, hoping that the enthusiasm carried in his voice would help to conceal the uneasiness he felt at his son’s sudden appearance. In fact, rather ashamedly in that moment, he tried to picture Harry. Just the thought of Harry helped to calm his nerves. Not that he blamed Romeo for any of it but he longed for a day where he could look at his son without seeing her; Donna-Marie and that dreadful night. “Dad?!“ Mercedes was scanning Romeo’s face intently with an amused sparkle in her eyes before allowing her glance to slide back to James as if assessing both of their faces for any kind of resemblance. “You kept that one quiet. Full of surprises you are!” She exclaimed now satisfied, hitting James playfully several times on the upper arm.“Anyway, I’ll leave you boys to it. Besides, I’d best be getting off anyway. Mum’s just about to dish up the turkey kebabs!” James simply nodded in acknowledgement at her goodbye, before drifting his foggy gaze back to Romeo. “Romeo… Look, I know what I said about the possibility of the two of us getting to spend some more time together but now really isn’t a good time.” “And I suppose that’s your third bottle so far today is it?” he replied critically, noticing James’s unsteady stance and gesturing towards the wine bottle. “Well don’t look so judgemental. It’s to accompany me and my ever-growing bundle of paperwork if you must know. You know, James Nightingale, hot shot lawyer. It’s kind of part of the job I’m afraid.“ “Paperwork? But it’s Christmas…” “Please, don’t remind me. And tell me, what exactly am I supposed to be doing anyway? Sing carols? Gorge myself on overcooked turkey? Sit around playing Pie Face with my homophobic dad and my treachorous excuse of a mother? That’s the kind of thing normal people do at this time of year isn’t it?” James was playfully spacing his words as if to add impact to his careless derision. Romeo sensing that his father’s confidence was somewhat forced, allowed his voice to soften. “Well, surely that’s got to be better than—“ James cut him off abruptly. “Please, spare me th—“ “And I thought Christmas day without a father was bad enough growing up.”

“Oh come on, what exactly is that supposed to mean?!” “You really can’t see it can you? All of this, you’re just punishing yourself. You’ve got months of pent up hatred and anger kindling inside of you. You sit around alone in your flat, drowning yourself in drink, putting on a brave face, pretending that you don’t care and then there’s Harry.” “Do not mention his name!” James snapped, defensively taking a step back from Romeo and crossing his arms protectively across his chest. Romeo far from discouraged by this took another step forward back towards his father, securing a hand around one of his noticeably trembling wrists as a gesture of comfort before continuing on "You sit there telling yourself that you’re over him, yet you’re still blaming yourself. And the only person that’s suffering for it is you.” “That’s it, end of conversation!” Face both reddened from the cold and flushed from the outburst, James snatched his arm coldly away from Romeo’s grasp before turning to walk away. “That’s it walk away from me. I’m not the one that’s alone on Christmas day!” “I can’t believe I’m hearing this…” James began incredulously, before turning back to face Romeo. “Who would ever have thought that a woman with standards as low as…” he paused for a moment considering what would be a fitting enough jibe “Ste Hay’s IQ could raise a child to become such a critic!” “Hey, look back off! I’m just trying to help! I know you’ve both got your differences but I’d appreciate you not talking about my mum like that. I didn’t have to come here you know.“ “And why did you come here exactly?” James demanded, inching forward slightly. “Because if it’s presents you’re after, I’m afraid you’re going to be very disappointed. Besides what is it that kids your age are even into these days anyway apart from shoes and cheap-smelling aftershave? Love Island? Those ughhh… those spinny things.” “What, fidget spinners? No, they went out of trend ages ago.“ “Ahhh… the ever-changing, vacillating nature of the youth. Anyway, I’ve got to sort out my taxes and you’ve got a family to get back to. Say hi, to Juliet for me.” “Da- James wait!.” Romeo called out desperately after him as James made to turn away. “Surely you could make an exception.” James stopped in his tracks, scoffing briefly before turning back to face Romeo. ��What is it with kids these days and never quite being able to get the point?” Romeo watched uneasily as James began fiddling with the contents of his right coat pocket. Then, pulling out a series of fifty pound notes and attempting to force a handful into Romeo’s clenched grasp he added “Look, take this and I will make it up to you at a later stage, okay? “What, no! You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want your money! I heard from Gran how you turned down her offer to come and join us all for lunch today.” "Oh that,” began James, pausing to give a harsh, derisive laugh. “How was it anyway, your nice little family get together? Cosy and snug, was it?” “Yeah, it was nice. Look, I didn’t realise things were really that bad between you two; between you and granddad.” Unable to bring himself to face Romeo whilst discussing Mac, James refocused his attention back to the floor, carelessly unsettling the frost that had began bonding itself to the pavement. “Yes, well… that is a conversation for another day.“ “You know the day’s not quite over yet. You could still come over. Play some games with us.” “I’m already playing a game my dear boy. It’s called harbouring a broken heart and trying to function on less than three hours of sleep. Besides I’d rather die—” “Look, would you please just stop with the sarcastic remarks. Gran said that you were likely going to end up spending the day alone and I don’t know… I thought that maybe you could do with some company but if you’d rather live up to the whole lonely, empty future prophecy that you appear to have claimed for yourself then be my guest!” “Romeo, wait!” James called after him, gesturing towards the direction of his flat. “I’d like that. Some company I mean.” Romeo simply nodded and smiled as James detected a suspicious, furtive look in his eyes before turning back as if to walk in the opposite direction to the one that James had pointed out. “Wait, where are you going? The flat’s this way.” “Price Slice to get some beer.” “Uhh, I think champagne should suffice nicely enough for you young man,” James said, leading Romeo away by the sleeve. xxx

Romeo flinched as James slammed his fist weakly into his front door, eyes narrowed in frustration at his continued futile attempts to cram a little silver key into the lock. “For crying out loud!” James groused before clumsily dropping the metallic cluster into a teeny arch shaped crevice on the cracked floor. “It’s okay”, Romeo said calmly, ducking gallantly to the ground to retrieve the fallen bunch of keys. “I’ve got it.” Flushed with frustration, James began removing his scarf. The cool air nipped at his previously sheltered skin and he shivered slightly. The thought that the cooling touch of night mist brushing against his cheek and now fully exposed neck would likely be as close to any form of physical contact (at least of the human, intimate kind) he would feel tonight made his stomach lurch with longing. Meanwhile, Romeo undoubtedly sober had succeeded in smoothly working the key into the lock on his first attempt and now stood smugly staring at James. This moment of triumph he felt however, was only a temporary pride as he soon found himself left with his own inanimate rival to contend with when the door refused to budge. James watched in unconcerned amusement as Romeo remained there fighting against it for a moment before opting to kindly put the boy out of his misery. “Home dripping with money,“ he began, emitting the sweet jangling sound of metal as he extracted the keys from Romeo grasp. "Victim to multiple break-ins. Streets bestrewn with innumerable criminals and thugs. Do you really think I’d risk leaving my home unattended to without double locking it first?” Romeo blushed as James fiddled around with various sets of keys before holding an individual key up towards the unlit sky, scrutinising it closely with heavy eyes. Satisfied he presented it to Romeo. The door opened offering a welcoming creak. Once both men had crossed the threshold, Romeo made sure to swiftly force it shut in a bid to keep out the uninvited cold. Moments afterwards Romeo turned to find James stood stock-still a few metres away from him. “What is it?” There was a solicitous tone to the boy’s voice. “I didn’t leave the lights on. Somebody’s been here…” “Are you sure? I mean the TV’s still on. Maybe you just forgot.” Leaving the TV switched on whilst the flat remained unaccompanied had only been a recent habit of James’s. Television could never be a true replacement for conversation but it meant not having to go back to a silent flat without Harry there to drain his hot water and leave biscuit crumbs all over his couch. He tried listening now, drowning out the unrelenting pounding in his ears with the familiar senseless sound of a festive family movie playing in the background. Background noise was after all the best company when there was nobody else. He knew that all too well from his solitary days and nights spent inside prison. James laughed bitterly at the thought that his earlier casual mention of intruders had indeed summoned one. “Yes, I’m sure! I’m just the fraction of the slightest bit tipsy, not senile.” He was positioning his fingers in front of him as if pinching the air in order to illustrate the accurate extent of his drunkenness.“I mean, seriously? What is it with people and breaking into my flat?! In fact, who even needs keys when you can just break into your own home? Everybody else seems to have no problem letting themselves in…” Romeo solely shrugged in response, reflecting with regret his own recent commission of this exact crime.

James relieved himself of his jacket, sauntering briefly over towards the kitchen area in order to reunite himself with his deserted, quarter-full wine glass before stroking the side of his nose as if considering something.

Romeo watched uneasily as James reached clumsily over the sink in search of some form of protection before settling his grasp contentedly on the handle of a well-sharpened kitchen knife with a twinkling blade.

“Wow, okay I don’t think that’s entirely necessary,” Romeo discouraged, teasing the knife from James’s loosened grip. “I mean does it appear as if anything has been taken? Seems like a bit of an odd time and place for someone to opt to choreograph a break-in after all.”

“No but that’s not the point,” James said alleviating the wine bottle of its seal before relenting “Okay, maybe you’re right. Maybe I did leave them on and I’m just being paranoid.”

Emotionally drained, James allowed himself to collapse into the firm, plush security of his sofa, gesturing for Romeo to do the same. Now would be a good time for him to offer Romeo the opportunity to spill any details he thought worthy enough of mentioning about his day, which James would acknowledge with dishonest interest with a few stray nods and insincere smiles here and there. Silence on his part would, after all, offer him the chance to recuperate and regain internal strength after another emotionally demanding day; that and another few glasses of wine.

Romeo complied, noting with amusement his father’s apparent abhorrent lack of hosting skills in forgetting to offer him a drink despite pouring out himself one. He was in the middle of describing Marnie’s idea of a fitting Christmas gift for a long-lost grandson when they heard the interrupting muffled thud of a tumbling object. Despite the effect of James’s carpeted bedroom floor swallowing the thump in a swift and soundless brutality, the noise somehow still sounded maiming to James’s own ears.

Two sets of ears pricking up in alarm and both heads turning towards the sound in a brusque manner, James got up with caution, firing Romeo a brief scolding glare of trepidation.“I told you somebody was here!” Romeo simply offered him an apologetic glance in return.

“Stay here!“ James ordered, handing Romeo his glass and removing his shoes before skulking his way over towards the bedroom.

Romeo obeyed readily, unsure about how this next part was going to play out.

As one of his hands latched shakily onto the bedroom door handle, James allowed himself a moment to inspect the scarce, suspicious glow falling in below the door. Then, watchfully turning the handle, he steeled himself to meet his latest in a stream of intruders.

A millisecond’s death glance at his trespasser and James felt as if all breathing had ceased. It was as if he had taken a bullet straight to the heart. His body remained taut in the doorway, face as white as bones in the snow regarding the intruder intently whilst fighting desperately to avoid his pleading gaze. He was standing right in front of the Christmas tree that Romeo (at the boy’s own insistence) had assisted him in putting up just two weeks earlier. Scanning straight past the near concealed hunger in the indescribably captivating blueness of his eyes, James allowed his gaze to fixate briefly on the hideous sight of a perfectly positioned, giant red bow tied a little bit too immaculately around the lad’s neck. Shamefully saddened to find that the bow’s perfectly-even trimmed ends were concealing a fair section of his naked chest, the images of them in bed together soon surfaced in James’s mind. Harry quietly observed as James’s eyes covered the entire length of his unclothed body, furtively withholding the urge to gather James in his arms as James remained unnervingly impassive. His jaw, a perfectly sketched outline, left unshaven. No bruises like he had dreamt. Abs still as perfectly formed and unyielding as the last time he’d traced them with delicate fingertips. Down further still, no further trace of clothing right down to his feet.

Harry feeling increasingly exposed at James’s hardening gaze and its accompanying silence desperately willed for the moment to pass. Soon enough, as if satisfied, James allowed his eyes to fall briskly towards the floor.

"James?” Harry took several tentative steps forward towards James. An extensive involuntary smile tugged at Harry’s lips. For a blissful moment, Harry allowed himself to replay his desired imagining of their reunion, of James falling bonelessly into his arms, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck in order to re-familiarise himself with the consoling cloud of Harry’s boyish scent. But James could barely bring himself to look at him. This was not how it was supposed to go. Harry wasn’t entirely sure what kind of reaction he’d been expecting exactly. Not that he could exactly blame James for opting to mask the conflicting emotion of pain and yearning with a hard-hearted silence but his rather dispassionate response stung Harry in a way that he couldn’t quite grasp; at least rage would have been something.

For the first time in months, James allowed himself to lock eyes with Harry to which Harry’s own automatically began to sparkle. James’s face was set hard like concrete, with not a single twitch of resentment or longing to betray him.

“Harry? Wha—”

“Dad, is everything okay?” Romeo froze in wordless terror. The boy was left in an apparent paralysed state of perturbation, all apart from his eyes which had darted with overstated eagerness away from Harry and now remained plastered on the ceiling.

Feeling thoroughly humiliated at Romeo’s unexpected arrival, Harry was certain that he’d never blushed this immensely in his entire life. Hands instinctively slipping in a downwards direction to cover himself, Harry repressed the urge to dive straight out of the window and leap onto the next departing plane to Australia, first forsaking his pride before abandoning his disaster of a life and its many chapters to the mercy of the many intrusive villagers (or cockroaches as James would say) that resided in the streets of Chester.

“I thought I told you to stay put,” James reproached trying his best to sound nonchalant, which was rather a struggle given the circumstances.

Numbly his feet carried him towards a small heap of discarded clothes forming a sodden mound carelessly by the foot of the bed closest to James’s side of the room. A jumper, a vest, a pair of jeans, socks, all dripping wet; odd seeing as it wasn’t raining outside. James released a weary sigh, infinitely grateful to find that Harry’s boxers were not in the same saturated condition as its sopping counterparts. He took a moment to quell the lurching pulse he felt at the base of his throat before turning back to readdress Harry, tossing the only slightly dampened pair of boxers aimfully in his direction. Harry smiled ruefully both in acknowledgement and shame.

Out of respect to Harry, James ensured to turn away whilst Harry made to dress himself. When James finally dared to speak again his voice was very low but still full of indecipherable emotion. “Harry, what are you doing here?” he directed to the floor.

“I…” Harry fell silent, his lips forming a soundless shuddering plea: James, I love you. Just take me in your arms and hold me, please. He was shivering.

James could feel the muscles in his hands twitching, still trying to process the sight of his half-naked lover. Whilst his head desperately told him to flee before his guard had a chance to slip and leave his heart defenceless once more, he couldn’t deny the inner compulsion he felt to just hold him. James’s mouth twitched as if intending to say something but said nothing. Instead he began edging his way across the room but only to retrieve an inadequately-sized fleece blanket from a pile of folded linen to wrap Harry up in. A groan escaped from Harry as James secured the blanket around his pale, trembling shoulders. He was slightly thinner than James had remembered which only made the temptation to submit himself to desire and secure him into a fixed embrace all the more difficult to withstand but somehow he managed. As much as he ached from resisting, James could not quite stifle a feeble, defeated moan from escaping his own lips. Harry’s leaping heart now just a hairbreadth away from his own, he was sure he could feel it reaching for him through the cold air, beating hard against him like a little drum. He tried his best to ignore it before leading Harry unresistingly away from the cold surroundings of the bedroom to the living room.

Romeo long departed from the bedroom by this time, was sitting hunched on the edge of the sofa, apparently so far engrossed in ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ that it wasn’t until he heard the click and consequent loud steaming of a kettle that he realised Harry sat awkwardly beside him. The blanket enveloping Harry was large enough to just about cover his shoulders but not enough to prevent several abs from peeping through. Romeo was almost certain this had been a deliberate move on James’s part.

Retrieving the hideous, red Christmas jumper that Harry had borrowed from him the previous year (and fucked him in, although he urged this particular thought to fall from his mind), James removed the bow from Harry’s neck before assisting him in shouldering his shivering form into the scratchy, insatiable embrace of the jumper. The jumper was a baggy fit and Harry allowed his hands to disappear into the cuffs. Draping the blanket over Harry’s uncovered legs, James wandered back towards the kitchen to work on making a coffee for Harry in a bid to warm him up further as well as pouring out a glass of champagne for Romeo; as earlier promised.

The dull smack of a porcelain mug on the coffee table signalled James preparing to get down to business, derailing Harry from paranoid thoughts about the possibility of losing James for good in failure of winning around his affections.

Meanwhile, eyes focused and unmoving and ears concentrating desperately on the sounds of the television in a strenuous effort to distract himself from the tense atmosphere, Romeo also started at the sound. When he heard the sound of his own drink smack against the table, followed by the brief scratching of glass against glass as James pushed it close enough towards him for it to be within his reach, he did not waste the energy to lift his head, assuming that his father’s acquired taste in alcoholic beverages would differ vastly from his own. Freeing his hands from the jumper, Harry wrapped them securely around the steamy mug and inhaled deeply, instantly feeling more awakened from breathing in the caffeine as well as alert from the transient sighting of James’s sullen glare.

Both Harry’s modesty and warmth restored, James prepared himself mentally for the gentle method of interrogation he had lined up for Harry, not entirely certain that he wished to know the answers. Restless and unable to bring himself to sit, he began pacing listlessly around the sitting area before planting his feet behind the coffee table, obscuring Romeo’s view of the television. Wine bottle and glass back within reach, he took the opportunity to pour himself out another glass and God he was going to need it. Shuffling as far to the end of the sofa as he could without losing sight of the TV or having to crane his neck to block James out of his field of vision, Romeo remained locked in an awkward position as rigid as a statue until a twinge in his neck forced him to reposition. The sofa’s thick layer of cushions meant that he was already perched awkwardly towards its end, making his position uncomfortable enough already. This as well as knowledge about the probable confrontation that was about to come between the two stubborn lovers did nothing to ease his discomfort. Sighing and surrendering himself to the unwelcome demands of discomfort, Romeo leaned back in his seat. Looking back up at his father, he detected an indication of vexation in his eyes. Maybe the champagne was a good idea after all.

Watching James take a long sip of his drink, Romeo was encouraged to reach for his own glass. Having uttered nothing since his unexpected encounter with a stark naked Harry, the soothing, bitter trickle of bubbles down his throat made Romeo suddenly aware of its niggling dryness. Likening the taste of the champagne to bile in his mind, Romeo forced down the second gulp pulling a discreet expression of repugnance so as not to offend his father.

Meanwhile, Harry couldn’t tear his eyes away from James, towering unstably above the two of them as if about to perform a one-person show. Witnessing Harry staring at him as if his eyes were the window into the soul, as if they held the answers of how exactly to earn back the heart of a resentful, emotionally stunted lawyer, James was encouraged to speak.

“What do you want Harry?”James asked firmly, setting his jaw tightly to keep from losing his composure in front of Romeo.

His tone was still surprisingly calm. Usually Harry loved that particular uncertainness about James, like how he could never quite decide whether his eyes were hazel or green but this current unruffled demeanour of his was causing him anxiety.

“What do I want?” Harry echoed softly, pushing the blanket aside before rising warily up from the sofa. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come back to you James.“ James swallowed deeply, only this time it wasn’t enough to quell his anger. “You’ve came back to me? Am I hearing this right?” James disbelieving, began shaking his head slightly as if to clear the buzzing of Harry’s words from his ears. Slowly, the rush in his ears that came with the echo of Harry’s declaration subsided.  “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through these past few months? Anything could have happened to you! For all I knew, you could have been lying dead somewhere in a ditch!”

A shiver coursed through Harry’s spine, the jumper, blanket and hot tea combination offering only an insufficient barrier against the lancing coldness of James’s tone. Harry all but stammered in response. “I know, look I’m sorry… I should have told you where I was… I just… I needed some time alone to just get my head straight. So much had happened and… I thought…”

James lacking both the patience and will to allow Harry to break into his usual long recitation of excuses cut him short. “You thought what? What exactly did you think was going to happen Harry? You thought you’d come waltzing back into my life wearing nothing but a tacky bow and I’d just be standing here with my arms wide open like the fool I am willing to put my entire life on hold for you at the flaccid snap of your fingertips? As I said you’re a child Harry and I’m not about to let my heart be stomped on all over again by a pathetic schoolboy who can scarcely manage to decide what he wants for dinner let alone who or what he wants from life. People move on. Maybe I’ll give you a little moment to try and get your puerile head around that.” He turned as if to walk away but his feet remained planted in the same position by the coffee table.

Harry allowed his head to fall in grudging defeat.

Witnessing this, Romeo repressed the urge to remind James of the little red bow he’d added as a personal touch to the box of shoes he’d purchased for him just a month ago in a desperate bid to win him over; that and the fact that deciding what was for dinner was in no way an easy affair. Bowing his head to conceal the involuntarily curling of his mouth at the memory, he tried contemplating what would be a more delicate approach to assisting Harry in making his father see sense before settling with “Apart from you haven’t really moved on, have you?”  “Oh what, so you’ve known me for five minutes and now suddenly you’re an expert on my love life and the inner workings of my mind.” James countered. “Hey! Don’t take it out on him. This is between us!” Harry interjected.

“Oh so what, you’re allies now are you? Friends? Well at least something good has come out of this rather unsolicited reunion.”

Harry felt a hand plant itself unconfidently on the side of his neck. “He doesn’t mean that,” Romeo affirmed, allowing his hand to slide down towards Harry’s shoulder before squeezing reassuringly.

“Oh, don’t I? Won you over like that did he?” James snapped his fingers. “And all it took was a flash of abs and five seconds exposure to his boyish charm.”

“Well he certainly did a better job of a first impression than you did.”Romeo retorted coldly, watching warily as James began eyeing him closely, subjecting each side of his neck and face to a scrutinizing gaze before turning to address Harry despite Romeo being the chosen victim of his incoming remark.

“Well, would you look at that? It seems as though we have a malfunctioning off-switch and just when I was starting to see the appeal. Remind me to find the receipt and ask for an earlier dribbling replacement model. Sons are no fun once they start talking back to you.” Harry lowered his eyes as James began inching in towards him, lowering his stance until his mouth was at level with Harry’s right ear. “That’s if I haven’t already succeeded in throwing you out by then,” he uttered in a low voice with the balefulness he intended.

The taunting made an angry flush rise in Romeo’s cheeks.

Harry on the other hand did not care for James’s games. He was too far engrossed in thoughts of a future where nights with James were no longer something to be craved for, where they no longer had to act on spontaneity, that and the equal possibility of losing it all.

“Yeah, well you needn’t bother with the replacement. I was just leaving” Romeo spat, rising so hastily from his chair that he felt a sudden cramping in his stomach. Harry looked up at him, a desperate pleading in his eyes as if willing for the boy to stay but he’d already torn his eyes away from Harry’s direction to busy himself with locating his jacket. “No, you are not!” James snapped. “Just sit down and drink your champagne!”

“I’d sooner drink toilet water!” Romeo bristled, still feeling the presence of its vandalising taste on his tongue and lips. Ignoring Romeo, James went to grab Harry by the shoulder of his jumper, fighting to keep his hold of the fistful of wool as Harry struggled fiercely against him.

“Wait, what are you doing? James, wait no!”

Grabbing onto Harry’s arm to secure his hold, James began tugging him firmly towards the direction of the front door.

“James let go!” Feeling the pull strengthen, out of instinct Harry tried his best to resist, planting his feet firmly at first before leaning backwards to make the act of dragging him across the floor all the more arduous on James’s part.

When James’s efforts failed to seize, Harry tried twisting his body around in an attempt to wiggle his way out of the jumper, which only resulted in a tight readjustment of James’s clasp on his wrist convincing him that the use of words as ammunition was probably a better option in trying to reason with James.

“I’m not going to let you throw me out again! I’m not just going to give up on us!”

Harry felt James’s grip automatically loosen at his words. “Us? There is no-” James returned to eyeing the floor. As Harry filled in what James could not bring himself to finish, a whimper escaped from him.

“James, just listen to me!” Somewhere in the midst of all of this emotional outrage and pleading, tears had begun tainting the natural blue glow of Harry’s eyes. He reached for James, tugging defeatedly at his shirt cuff like a kid reluctant to go to school tugging away at their parent’s sleeve.

“Do not touch me!”

“You said before I left that the only reason I was here was because I had nowhere else to go and do you know what James? You were right. These past couple of months away made me realise, now more than ever, I don’t belong anywhere else or with anybody else. I belong with you! You did this! You made me fall in love with you James whether you intended to or not.” “Oh so now it’s my fault is it?”

“Yes!” Harry croaked with furtive defeat, mirroring with hurt the look of lancing accusation in James’s eyes.

For several minutes, nothing more was said. There was just the unrelenting pin drop silence whispering the truth hauntingly to James into the distance. As much as he wanted to deny it, he could not be without Harry and whilst so much had changed for him since the day Harry had left, the overbearing love he felt for the boy was certainly not one of them.

“You told me to go James! You told me it was over!” With a visible effort James returned to talking calmly. “Yes, and what I meant by that was… Look I was angry Harry, justifiably so. And yes, admittedly everything that I said that night might just have been said in the heat of the moment but that doesn’t change the fact that you married someone else-“ “Yes and marrying Ste was the worst mistake of my life!” James went on as though not hearing him. “Nor does it change the fact that you just upped and left without telling anyone, without telling me! Without any means of communication—” “I know but James, it wasn’t planned. Look, after you threw me out, I went to see my dad and he… he made me realise that… that—” James’s insides constricted at the thickness of vulnerability in Harry’s voice.“That what Harry?” He prodded gently.

“That I’m a disgusting person!” Harry choked out.

At that a lump formed in James’s throat which he tried to coax down unsuccessfully. “Okay wow, when you said you were after an emotional reunion this isn’t exactly what I thought you had in mind,” Romeo drawled, just about done with the day’s events.

James forgetting that Romeo was there followed the direction of the voice, turning briefly to face his son who was now standing in his father’s abandoned spot by the coffee table.

“Emotional reunion? What are you talking about?” James uttered cluelessly.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Romeo shrugged off. “Don’t worry about it.”

Several doubts crossed James’s mind but it wasn’t long before concern for Harry took over, pushing away any thoughts he might have had about Romeo and the questionable innocence of his suspicious passing comment. 

Switching his focus back to Harry, James reached for him, planting a hand on his back before moving his fingers soothingly along his arm. Harry who stood with his head in his hands, fingers furrowed deeply into his hair, stirred at the feel of James’s gentle touch. For him the slip in James’s mask betraying his habitual overprotective attitude was just the small piece of normalcy in these past few months of emotional turmoil that he needed.

“Listen Harry, you’re not a disgusting person.”

“Apart from I am!” Harry pulled away. “You’re not seriously going to make me go through the whole bright young lad talk again, are you?” “Look, I’m sorry I should never have come back here. I’m an idiot for thinking this was ever going to work.” “No you don’t.” James caught Harry’s wrist before his hand had a chance to reach the lock. “You’re not an idiot Harry. Arrogant, conceited however, that you certainly are. I mean this, really?” James said, briefly lifting up Harry’s jumper and gesturing the length of his partially exposed body. “You thought you could crush my heart from leaving and just win me over like that?” “Are you denying that you weren’t in the slightest part tempted?” Harry blushed. “I just wanted to surprise you.” “Oh, well you surprised me alright.” “In a good or bad way?” “Well put it this way, even if I wanted to, I can’t.”  

“Why not?” Harry asked resignedly, sounding disheartened. James lowered his voice thoughtfully in a bid to spare Romeo of any further awkwardness. “If you honestly think I want my son familiarising himself with my sex noises before he’s even had the chance to discover my middle name then you can think again.”

Despite still hearing everything, Romeo let his gaze wander appreciatively over towards his father, finally thankful for an opportunity to leave. “It’s okay, I was just heading off now anyway,” he said, feigning an appreciative smile. “Thanks for the champagne.”

“Oh, it’s nothing” said James, waving a hand in dismissal. “Any time.”

“Yeah, about that…” Romeo began, pulling up the collar of his jacket in preparation for his much apprehensively awaited reunion with the frosty night. “I may have to turn you down on that offer.” Then he turned to address Harry.  

“I guess I should probably thank you too, for the…. rather unpleasant sight,” he said, making no attempt to mask the amusement he felt in his voice at the recollection of Harry’s predicament.

Harry looking away but sensing Romeo’s intense gaze boring into his back, shuddered. Hesitantly, he turned towards him nodding a momentary acknowledgment at his words of thanks before remembering something. “Wait Romeo, before you go… thanks for this by the way.” “No problem mate, any time.” James’s heart skipped a beat when he realised what was going on. “Wait a minute. Were you in on this?” “Mostly. Although he might have forgotten to mention the naked part…” Romeo responded rather matter of factly, with total disregard for Harry’s already harmed pride. "So that’s why you were so insistent on cluttering my bedroom up with a tree and cheap charity shop lights.” “I think that’s his way of saying thank you.” “Thank you Harry but I can speak for myself. Romeo… son… I just wanted to thank you…”

Romeo pretending to be underwhelmed at James’s words, screwed his face up as if awaiting more than just a simple thanks for his efforts.

“Wholeheartedly” James added readily if not willingly before opening his arms to offer his son a hug.

“All right that’ll do,” Romeo smirked. “Don’t push it. You’re most certainly welcome Dad.”

xxx

Hearing the door slam behind Romeo, James wasted no time in reaching for Harry in an unconscious act of indulgence. Grasping at the jumper’s woollen neckline he tugged Harry unceremoniously in towards him. At James’s touch, Harry’s composure began to crumble and he allowed his head to fall forward until it rested just below the soothing, incessant flutter of James’s quickened heartbeat. Harry closed his eyes tightly as James cradled his head lovingly against his chest, concentrating only on the sound of James’s breathing and how it calmed at the contact of his touch. It felt so good to finally hold him, to feel James’s warm breathe filter against his cheek, to smell him. Reaching up with his right hand, James brushed his cold fingertips along the fine layer of stubble on Harry’s jaw, around his earlobe and down his neck. Feeling his muscles stir under James’s touch, Harry grabbed a fistful of James’s shirt before reciprocating gentle strokes around the nape of James’s own neck, fingers brushing lightly over the fine mass of hairs there. James lowered his head and at as best an attempt as he could manage at trying to mould the quivering in his voice into something seductive, whispered into Harry’s ear "So, seeing as we’re now alone…” He was interrupted as Harry yanked at his tie, inadvertently tightening it in an attempt to pull James in closer. Harry’s fingers began working eagerly to free his lover’s neck of the long, restrictive piece of cloth but his hands shook so much with the cold and hunger for James’s body that he could not reloosen the knot, only succeeding in tightening it further. After several futile attempts of trying to release the knot, he allowed his hands to fall, inching back slightly as if to leave room for James’s incoming assistance. Smiling down at a defeated Harry, whose cheeks were glowing in frustration in a faded shade of cardinal, James began delicately picking apart the knot with his fingernails. Wearing a self-congratulatory expression, James allowed Harry to do the honours of removing the tie from his neck. Feeling James’s hand slip down towards his waist and cling tightly to him just above his hips, Harry was inspired to speak.   “So, tell me… what is it you were going to suggest we do Mr Nightingale?“ he uttered in a low, suggestive voice brushing a thumb gently across his lover’s lips eliciting a broad, mischievous grin from James. "Hmmm, why don’t you go and take these off, put that red bow of yours back on and I’ll walk back in without my sixteen year old son and try to pretend to look just the slightest bit interested.” “I’m not so sure about that.”  Harry teased, unlatching James’s fingers from his waist before turning his head mock sulkingly away from him. "After all, you did say that the bow was tacky?” James cleared his throat. “Well…” he began unperturbed. “You know what I said about how some things can be said in the heat of the moment and all.” Reaching for his face, James ran his fingers gradually along Harry’s neck and then down towards his chin, grabbing him firmly by the jaw and turning his face complaisantly back towards him. Looking down, James stared right into the lecherous gaze of Harry Thompson. The lawyer froze. “Screw the bow,” Harry said, heedlessly forcing James backwards into a fortunate soft landing of blanket and pillows. Harry sitting crouched over him, James assisted him in wrestling his way out of the Christmas jumper, relieving his soft skin of its unpleasant scratchy material. Skin exposed to the cold air and chest no longer encompassed in its safe pocket of warmth, Harry began to shiver, not that it at all longer mattered to him that he was cold. What mattered was that he felt an urgent need, one that could not be relieved without the sacrifice of his warmth. He wanted James’s hands and kisses all over him; his admiring touch brushing along every single one of his bones and joints, down every inch and crevice. Harry waited with bated breath as James began the arduous affair of unbuttoning his shirt, buttons escaping fitfully from his fingers at the sense of urgency for him to undress. Every now and then, following a stalled attempt at releasing a button, James would lean in to place a teasing wet kiss on Harry’s neck. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one undressing me?” James mused aloud. “Only if you want to be here all night.” Harry replied softly, beguiling the time it took for James to rid himself of his shirt by attempting to steady his hands, occupying them with gently threading his fingers through James’s hair. He paused occasionally to inhale its enticing scent. All attempts to rein his excitement were futile and he felt pleasurable shudders of eagerness course through him all the same. Reaching the final button, James brushed a hand over Harry’s sandy sweep of hair, running his fingers to the back of his head before coming to rest at the side of his neck. Forcefully stripping James of his shirt, Harry’s fingers curled instantly into the back of his neck, other hand stroking lightly back and forth across his chest causing the lawyer to swallow a moan. Returning Harry’s affections, James began trailing his thumb down the length of his spine, stroking from the base of his skull down to his tailbone, nosing occasionally behind his ear to plant firm, wet kisses on the edge of his neck. Sliding his hand teasingly around Harry’s back across to the graceful build of his abdomen, James began drawing along the soft indentations of Harry’s ribs before roaming downwards, hand stretching the elastic at the front of his boxers. The taunting touch made Harry arch involuntarily upwards. Nearly headbutting James in the chin, he choked down a relieved sharp breath. Then screwing his eyes shut, Harry exhaled deeply, preparing himself for what was to come. “James” Harry whined, cursing inwardly at the fulfilment he felt at the act of James easing the boxers past his waist, dropping at his knees. James developing quite some determination at the rate that things were moving, at how Harry near melted at his touch began guiding Harry’s fingers towards his belt buckle. James’s hands now clutching at his buttocks, Harry carried out the task of unbuckling the belt in a breathless silence, breathing labouredly through wide nostrils and an open mouth. With his fingers trembling as much as they were and incapable of shifting his position at James’s firm groping of his ass, Harry struggled with the buckle. Witnessing just how much Harry’s hands were shaking, James shifted to help, rising slightly to give a better view of the buckle.  “Got it” Harry announced beaming, looking up for James’s approval. James began kissing him for a while in ravenous silence, preventing any need for a response. As Harry’s hands began wandering down towards his zip, a soft sigh escaped from James. Feeling the tug below his waist, James reached for Harry’s shoulder, clutching its supple broadness for support, grip tautening as Harry yanked a little harder at the zip. Feeling the eventual downward slide of his trousers closely succeeded by his underwear, James pressed his face into the side of Harry’s neck sucking lightly, gripping Harry tighter still by the shoulders as the lad began groaning aloud pleasurably.  Unlatching James’s tongue from his neck Harry coaxed him back down, crouching over him to readopt their earlier position. James could feel Harry progressively hardening against his belly. Allowing Harry a moment to smother his body in tender kisses, James closed his eyes reaching up blindly to tickle the perfect curvature of his abs. Slowly, Harry lowered himself, pressing his face against James’s chest, caressing its fine hairs with rapture. Harry’s fingers reaching the edge of his hip, James laid his hand over Harry’s, stilling it. Taking a moment to appreciate the youthful softness of the hand, James began running his fingers pleasantly along the thin bones, closing his eyes in tender admiration for the simple promise of the incoming pleasure they offered.

Then unable to resist for much longer, James turned over, pulling himself from underneath Harry’s lithe form. Once again freeing his tongue from the confines of his mouth, James proceeded to cover Harry from head to toe in soppy kisses, silence broken only momentarily for Harry to utter “As if you’re starting with my feet?” “It’s called working my way up…. from the best bits.” As James continued working his way up Harry’s body, Harry tensed even more, clawing at a nearby cushion as he endured the pleasurable scraping of James’s beard against his naked thighs, of the warm trail of drool and breath he left behind. Then, feeling the firm parting of his cheeks, of James’s nose brushing against the base of his spine down towards his crack Harry cried out helplessly, eyes fluttering shut as James prepared to take him. 

xxx

They lay cuddled up together on the sofa afterwards, James clutching onto Harry’s hand, unwilling to let go. James having found a larger blanket to accommodate the two of them had pulled it far up until it rested snugly beneath their chins. All resentment and tension in their air was gone and there was only tenderness between them. Naturally, Harry laid in front of James, pressed tightly against him as the smaller spoon, James stooping his face slightly every now and then to nuzzle his face into Harry’s hair. They fit best that way. 

Tired out from the steady act of making love to his fit, young lover and relishing in the satisfying radiance of warmth that came as a result of their bodies being pressed compactly against each other, James had seen no reason to move. Harry on the other hand, was pained by the one small inconvenience that came with having his back to James, of not being able to admire his beautiful face.

Eventually resigning himself to desire and using cramp as an excuse to move, Harry gradually eased his way out of the embrace with an opposing James. James remained curled up in a worn out slump on the sofa, content and unmoving as Harry spent a long time looking down adoringly at his face, abrading his skin with his stunning blue eyes.

Pressing a kiss on his temple, Harry ran a finger gingerly across a small cut on James’s lip, not recalling the taste of blood during their rather intense and ruthless make-out session on the floor.

Looking up at Harry’s eyes examining his busted lip James laughed. “Don’t even consider taking credit for that. That was me trying to prevent myself from waking up the entire neighbourhood when you started… you know,  sucking…”

Harry remaining silent, smiled proudly at the not-so-distant memory.

 “So tell me, is this the best present you’ve ever had?” Harry asked eventually, voice still very much hoarse with lust. “Possibly a close fifth,” James smiled wryly. “Fifth? And what would that be after exactly.” “Hmm let’ see, first, a stolen childhood from my father. Second, a false murder allegation that nearly saw me get a lifetime inside. Third, nearly losing you to that drug addled, tracksuit sporting low life—” James began stating grimly before being cut off by a concerned Harry. “Yeah well you’ll get none of those things from me. I’m never leaving you again.” “Lucky me.” James murmured playfully to himself. “Oi! I heard that. So come on then what was the forth?” “Well, I was going to say a child spawned by none other than the prostitute that my worthless excuse of a father forced me to sleep with but seeing as this particular child in question was partially responsible for this most welcomed reunion with my living, breathing bed warmer—” James stopped briefly as Harry shot him a lurid death glance.

The snarky remarks slipped so easily off James’s tongue. Harry had worked him so hard he was surprised he still had the energy to come up with such things. “And might just be starting to grow on me,” he continued. “I guess we could settle for you leaving me to believe that you were quite possibly dead in a ditch somewhere. "Oh come on James, I’ve already apologised for that.” Harry said defensively. “So…” James added quickly, desperately willing for a subject change. “Tell me, how exactly did your clothes end up soaking wet?” “Well I may have run them underneath the shower in cause things didn’t go accordingly to plan.” “Ahhhh…” James quirked an eyebrow. “You know so that you’d think against throwing me out before I had a chance to explain things to you.” "And you weren’t, you know… living on the streets?” James approached this particular subject softly. “No,” Harry smiled assuringly. “I was staying with Mum."  "I see.” James sighed relievedly. Harry was gratified at the warm smile James bestowed on him in response. “Well, I guess now it’s time for your present.” “And what would that be?” Harry winked suggestively at him. “Round two?” “Not quite, although that could certainly be arranged…” To himself only, James questioned whether he would last a second round considering how much his muscles ached. “Although…” James began abstractedly. “Although?"  "Although, it might be your turn to-” James trailed off, blushing and Harry rewarded him with a grin laced with promise and determination.

“Anyway, your present…” James rose from his cosy nest on the sofa, pausing both to clear his throat and to retrieve something from his jacket pocket. Then, taking hold of one of Harry’s hands and positioning it so that his palm remained widespread, he planted two small, cold shining silver objects into its surface before placing his own hand firmly on top.

“Here’s your… keys back.”

#jarry #filledjarryprompt #au harry returns #tw past abuse #christmas #submission

[distanceiskillingmetoo-blog]

Brighter - Shawn Mendes (3)

Juliette Petit is a 25 years old French artist, who’s performing at the grammy’s. After meeting one of her best buds after her performance, she met someone new. Everything is history after that.At first, I wanted it to be a one shot. But I got carried away.

English isn’t my mother tongue, so I’m sorry if I made mistakes.

“Can I ask you a question?” Shawn asked on the phone. “If I say no, would you still ask your question?” “Yep!” He laughed. “So go ahead.” “I know that you came to London to work on your music, but before that, what were you doing?” “I was working with children by day, and singing in bars by night. Not as crazy as you being discovered!”

“You probably were so exhausted doing all of this.” “At that time, I didn’t think it was exhausting, because I was having fun at night,” I smiled a bit too much explaining this to Shawn. “My friends were there, and I could do anything I wanted, either it was my own songs or covers. Plus it included a lot of free booze, and I was so down for it.” “I bet you were.” “Are still missing those vine days?” I asked. “I mean the days when you were just at home?”

“As crazy as it sounds, sometimes I do. Because being away all the time can be hard because I miss my mom, my dad and my sister.” “I know what you mean… Sometimes I think I miss a lot of my nephews and niece’s lives. I talk a lot to my brothers and my in-laws, but the kids they’re still pretty young.” I sighed. “But living your dream doesn’t come with no effort. So I made peace with myself about it now.” “Juliette, you’re such a strong person!” “That’s because I am older than you, I’m wiser.” I laughed. “You wish you were. Miss I-drunk-to-much last night.” “Heyyyy that’s not fair!” I said. “You’re just jealous, you can’t drink as much as me and the boys. You’re bitter because you’re underage to be able to drink in the US, so you can’t drink wherever you want. But don’t blame us people, who are old enough to drink anywhere they want in the world, because we are drunk sometimes.” He laughed. “Especially after a hard day at the studio. We needed a way to loosen up a little.”

Me and Shawn were on the phone.. We didn’t talk about music anymore, but I decided the boys didn’t need to know about that because they would have teased me non stop.

“I have to go to sleep, I have a meeting tomorrow morning!” “Okay, have a good night.” Shawn said. “Have a great day Mendes!” “Bye Juliette.”

-

I was up at 10 am for an appointment with a tattoo artist. I was getting a new tattoo today and I couldn’t wait. I was in a rushed on the busy streets of London. As it was beginning to rain, I opened the door of the saloon a bit too hard.

“I’m sorry Vic, it’s not me, it’s ‘cause of the rain.” “Don’t worry Juliette!” He laughed. “Are you nervous?” “Nope, it’s not my first one, but I just can’t wait to have it!”

I had a few tattoos already, but the one I was getting today, was one I wanted for a long time. A rose on my forearm. It will complete my forearm.

“So, I just done this draft with the colors and everything.” Vic gave me the paper. “What do you think of it?” “Wow,” I smiled. “That’s beautiful, don’t change anything. I love it like that.” I couldn’t stop smiling. “You’re so talented! Just do it already damn!” Vic laughed. “Let me getting ready and we’ll do it.”

I sit down in the waiting room while he was getting ready. I was on instagram liking pictures and scrolling. I decided to film me to post on my story.

“Hello everyone, it’s not even 11am in London town, and I’m already up. No studio for me today. I am about to do something I wanted for a while in a few minutes. And just can’t wait. As soon as I can I’ll let you know what it is. Mwah Mwah Mwah!” I finished the video by sending kisses to the viewers of my stories.

Vic said to me, he was ready and in a little less than 1 hour he was done. His work was so good. It wasn’t the first time he worked his magic on me, and I knew it wasn’t the last time either. Wherever I was in the world, if I wanted a tattoo, I would go see him or one of my friends.

“That’s beyond what I imagined you were going to do. Thank you Vic, seriously! That’s perfect,” I smiled. “I love it! You always blow my mind with your talent.” “Always a pleasure to work on you.” He smiled.

It was a good time to enjoy London, as it didn’t rain anymore. We even got a little sun. It was a perfect Wednesday. I was going to go to lunch with one of my girl friends on her lunch break. We find each other in Soho next to her work place.

“Hey girl!” “Juliette I’ve missed you!” She said hugging me. “Missed you too,” I answered smiling a bit. “I know i’ve been a bit MIA since I came back from the grammy’s but-” “You had this song in your head, and you had to work on it.” she smiled. “I know you, don’t worry! I’m so proud of your performance!” “Thank you,” I smiled. “You have to tell me everything about the red carpet and your performance!! and damn I knew you were bold, but giving up your heels to Sarah to put your vans at the grammy’s, I was so proud!”

“awww Lisa, you don’t even know how scared I was walking the red carpet with those heels”, I said laughing. “But when Seacrest told me I could do it, I didn’t wait another minute. That’s not the best part. You know who I met on the red carpet?” “Who?” “I met Diplo. He was so sweet with me.” We laughed. “But I almost fainted when Katy Perry and Lady Gaga walked through me.” I smiled. “Oh shit,” she laughed really hard. “And nobody has any footage of it, that’s a shame!” “Thank god! I think with my vans’ story it’s better to not have anything more on my plate at the grammy’s.”

“Any good after parties?” “I didn’t go to any official after party.” “But? Because there is a but.” “After our performance, I talked a bit with Josiah and he invited us at the party to his friend’s home.” I smiled. “So we went to his friend. His friend being Shawn Mendes.” Lisa blinked a few times. “You mean, you went to his house?” “Yep,” I said laughing. “The video of Josiah and me singing to Bon Jovi was at Shawn’s house in LA, the house he rented when he’s more than just a few days in town.” “Oh my god, Juliette!” “andweretalkingeverydaysincethen!” “What?” She asked smiling. “Don’t make me say it again.” “You have to tell me everything…” She said. “Now!”

I explained everything to her. As much as I loved my guys, I couldn’t talk about Shawn to them. But I could with my girl friends. Especially Lisa. She’s been here with me through thick and thin for years now. I told her our session on Skype working on Paralyzed.

I told her how sometimes he said something cute to me, and I didn’t respond as it mades me uncomfortable and comfortable as the same time. I told her how it happened a few times that I fell asleep being on the phone with Shawn and I knew that in the morning because he was saying it by text.

“This guy is so cute!” “That’s the problem… This guy is cute.” “Is it really a problem?” She asked. “I don’t see one.” “But he’s way younger than me…” I sighed. “Juliette, seriously…” “I’m 25 and he’s 20. That’s young. I can’t go too deep into this thing going on.” “You should ask him.” she smiled at me. “Be bold and ask him…” “You know me, you know it’s easier for me to write a song and sing, than just talk to someone.” “I know, but if you ignore him, that would be awkward as hell.” “I don’t want to ignore him,” I sighed. “That’s the worst part.” I laughed. “You have a crush on someone.” “I won’t deny it to you, but I will deny it to the guys!” I laughed. “They’re already giving me a hard time about him. No need to give them anything more.” “I still think, you should clear everything with him…” “Maybe I’m just a fool, and I’m just assuming things.” I sighed. “I’m sure that’s it. No big deal.” “Juliette….” “I’ll see him in Paris at his show…” I sighed once again. “I’ll try to grow some balls and talk to him!” “Ok, now I have to talk to you about something work related.”

She told me she had a promotion at work. I was so proud of her. She was doing amazing at work and with her boyfriend Tim. They were great together. One of my favorite couple ever, with Josiah and Sami.

If one day I was in a relationship like both of my friends were, I will be so happy. We ate and talked happily about anything too important, just catching up on our favorite tv shows and the bands we both like.

“Lisa, I didn’t even show you my last tattoo,” I said to her while taking off my hoodie. “Look it’s beautiful!” “Oh damn Juliette! This rose is a very elegant one, I love it. And the colors are beautiful.” “Yeah I agree with you,” I said putting my hoodie back on. “Vic has done an amazing job! It’s really perfect!”

We finished our lunch together and she went back to work. And I kept walking around London. I loved this city. Paris will always be home because my family are there, but London will always be MY home, where I’m truly feeling like myself. When I came here for the first time for my music, it was pretty intense. I didn’t sleep much, because I was always either at the studio or walking around the city. Discovering every neighborhood, every street, every park. I couldn’t let myself rest for a month. I was living the beginning of my dream, and I wanted to live it at 100%, at least. So yeah, Paris is home because it’s where I grew up and where my family is. But London it’s where my heart is.

It was time to put a new story on instagram. I took my phone out of my leather jacket and began recording myself.

“It’s me again people! I had lunch with one of my fav gals ever earlier and now I’m just daydreaming while walking in London. I can’t let you speculate over what I was doing this morning. So in the next story you’ll know! I love you all! See you very soon! Mwah mwah mwah!”

And I decided to upload this picture of my new tattoo.

FROM SHAWN: your new tattoo is hot you woman. Can’t wait to see it soon.

I didn’t respond to Shawn’s text as I really didn’t know what to say. He tried to call me 3 times right after that, but I didn’t answer his calls either.

FROM SHAWN: You must be busy, really wanted to hear you. Tomorrow?

TO SHAWN: sorry Mendes, I’m at a party right now. tomorrow I’ll be in Paris with my family, raincheck?

FROM SHAWN: no probs

What Shawn didn’t know was that I wasn’t at a party. I wanted nothing more than talk to him, but it was getting hard to not fall for him. I needed to distance myself a bit from him. At least for a few days. And being in Paris will help me. Because I will have a reason to not answer him all the time.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn raul peter mendes #shawn mendes imagine #brighter #part 3

[roseisread]

My Year in Movies: Favorite Non-2018 Feature Films (Part 1)

I watched a LOT of movies this year. At last count, I had logged 229 features and 126 shorts; and that doesn’t count rewatches--only movies that were new to me.

I set a few challenges for myself as well this year. The first one was to watch at least one non-English language/US release per week--this exposed me to so much world cinema and some really amazing filmmakers. Anyone who avoids foreign films because “I don’t like subtitles” is really missing out, and I found myself craving these narratives from voices I don’t ordinarily get exposed to in my everyday life. 

Other personal challenges: Watching as many horror movies as possible in October (with horror defined pretty loosely so I could include entries from silent era and onward, as well as some comedy cult classics that have horror/thriller elements); participating in Noirvember (in addition to attending Noir City in Chicago); crossing off some major blindspots from my list (such as Bicycle Thieves, The Producers, Lethal Weapon, A Few Good Men, Grease, Home Alone 2, Brazil, and Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom); and trying to watch movies and short films from every decade that motion pictures have existed.

In 2019, I hope to do similar personal challenges with a focus on movies made by women, LGBTQ+, and people of color, in addition to filling in the gaps of my classical/canonical movie knowledge. 

OK, so that’s enough preamble. Let’s get to the list! For this list, I’m excluding movies that were released in 2018--that’s coming but this is for movies released before that. 

50. Linda Linda Linda (2005, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita, country of origin: Japan)

High school girls recruit the Korean exchange student (Doona Bae, of Cloud Atlas and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) to join their rock band a few days before the school talent show. This is just a feel good film, recommended if you enjoyed the likes of Sing Street, We Are The Best!, and The Runaways. Unfortunately, it’s out of print in physical form; but last I checked someone had uploaded it to YouTube so you might want to get on that before it’s removed. You can watch the trailer here.

49. The Blue Dahlia (1946, directed by George Marshall, country of origin: US)

This film noir stars Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, and like any good noir, it deals with dark subjects including murder, blackmail, political corruption, and PTSD. It’s been on my watchlist for a long time, and thanks to Noir City Chicago, I got to see it on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre. For small screen viewing, you can catch up with it via rental on Vudu, Amazon, iTunes... the usual suspects. 

48. Siren of the Tropics (1927, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Etievant, country of origin: France)

My dearly departed Filmstruck had a spotlight on the films of Josephine Baker, and this was among them. I fell in love instantly with the lively, beautiful Baker, here playing a woman named Papitou who deals with some super scummy dudes but manages to be herself in the face of all that nonsense. Silent films can sometimes be tougher to engage with for modern audiences, but this one flies by and contains some unexpectedly racy sequences for the time. Its racial politics don’t meet today’s cultural standards, but considering Baker’s parents were former slaves and their daughter went on to become the first woman of color to star in a major motion picture, this is still a landmark film worthy of our consideration. She broke down many barriers and contributed a great deal to both the entertainment world and the Civil Rights movement, and this serves as a nice entry point into her career. It’s available on DVD through Kino Lorber, and hopefully one day soon it’ll pop up on another streaming service that carries on the Filmstruck legacy.

47. I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore (2017, directed by Macon Blair, country of origin: US)

Here’s a film that goes to some unexpected places. I had no idea what to expect from Macon Blair, who frequently appears in the movies of Jeremy Saulnier; but in his debut feature for Netflix, he pulled out all the stops. Hilarious, violent, and intense, with memorable performances from stars Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood, this is a movie about getting in over your head and just going for it anyway. I don’t want to tell you about the plot because it’s best discovered through watching--just go to your nearest device and add it to your Netflix queue. 

46. Song of the Sea (2014, directed by Tomm Moore, country of origin: Ireland)

Absolutely gorgeous animation from the team that previously brought us The Secret of Kells, and a touching story that combines family and mythology. I adored this one. Watch it on Netflix or rent on the usual streaming sources--for a preview, click here. 

45. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942, directed by Michael Curtiz, country of origin: US)

I always watch Independence Day on the Fourth of July; but in 2018, I decided to mix it up and cross this patriotic musical off the watchlist. I’d seen James Cagney’s gangster movies like White Heat and The Public Enemy, but seeing him sing and dance was a whole new joyous discovery. This movie is entertaining, funny, touching, and full of iconic sequences that other films would go on to borrow from. I absolutely loved it. Pretty sure I saw this on Filmstruck originally, but since that’s no longer possible you should be able to find it at your local public library or you can rent it for a couple bucks on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, and the like. 

44. The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950, directed by Felix Feist, country of origin: US)

This tightly wound noir thriller pits brother against brother against the backdrop of 1950s San Francisco. Lee Cobb plays an aging bachelor and an accomplished police detective who falls for the wrong dame. His younger brother, played by John Dall (Gun Crazy, Rope), has just joined the police force and idolizes his older brother. Trouble strikes when the dame murders her no good husband and needs help from Cobb to cover it up. Naturally, Dall gets assigned to the case and as he begins to piece together the clues, he doesn’t like where they’re leading him. The climactic sequence is one of my favorite endings to a noir film, and I’ve seen a lot of them. Watch it for free if you have Amazon Prime; otherwise, there are a few versions uploaded to YouTube of varying quality or you could wait for it to pop up on TCM. 

43. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003, directed by Thom Andersen, country of origin: US)

This documentary edits together clips from movies of every era that were filmed or set in Los Angeles, and explains through voiceover narration the significance of each location and the history of the motion pictures in LA. That’s it--very simple concept but also fascinating. I split this up over a couple nights because it’s pretty long, but if you’re a film fan or a Los Angeles native, this is well worth your time. The voiceover is kind of hilariously flat in its delivery--kind of a Steven Wright sound actually--but that sort of adds to the charm for me. Get a taste by watching the trailer, and then you can rent it on YouTube for $1.99.

42. A Simple Plan (1998, directed by Sam Raimi, country of origin: US)

It’s been almost two years since we lost Bill Paxton; I don’t know about you but I don’t think any other actor can really fill those shoes. This year I caught up with three films that showcased his talent: A Simple Plan, One False Move, and Frailty. He plays very different characters in each one but in many ways they all start off with a similar premise: Ordinary guy dreams of becoming more. What that “more” is for each character is what sets each film and performance apart, but Paxton provided a great canvas to paint these unique characters onto. He inhabited the ordinary man better than just about anyone. 

In this film, which I watched during Noirvember, Paxton plays Hank, a college-educated guy working a blue collar job in a small town, trying to make a better life for himself and his family. He’d like to get away from those small town roots, but his socially awkward brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) relies on him. Unfortunately, Jacob is often accompanied by the hard-drinking loose canon Lou (Brent Briscoe). When the unlikely trio discover a crashed plane in the woods containing a suitcase full of cash, they each have ideas for how to handle the situation. Of course things escalate from there, and the way the movie explores human nature and family ties set this story apart. Available for online rental on the usual platforms.

41. The Iron Giant (1999, directed by Brad Bird, country of origin: US)

Given my obsession with Vin Diesel in the early 2000s, it’s pretty shocking I never saw this movie til now--sure, he and his glorious muscles don’t appear on screen, but he does provide the voice of the title character after all. When the Iron Giant made a controversial cameo in this year’s film adaptation of Ready Player One, I decided it was time I saw the source material for myself. 

This gorgeously animated fable unfolds during the Cold War era, and features an ET-inspired story arc of a young boy befriending an unlikely being that the government is looking for. If you’ve never seen it, this is definitely a must-watch. Currently available on Netflix, but rentable on other platforms too.

40. The Unsuspected (1947, directed by Michael Curtiz, country of origin: US)

I adore Claude Rains, star of this film and supporting actor in Curtiz’s more famous work, Casablanca. Here, he plays the host and narrator of a popular radio show that revolves around tales of murder--basically the Law and Order: SVU of its day. We learn early on that he sometimes draws inspiration for his broadcasts from real life criminals. When people in his own life start dropping dead, the plot thickens and he finds himself at the center of the action. A very suspenseful and well-plotted film noir, which is available from the Warner Archive collection on DVD. I got to see it at Noir City Chicago, and loved every second of it. 

That’s all for this entry--stay tuned for part two of this list, posting soon! 

#film noir #foreign films #favorite films #movie lists #Movie Reviews #netflix #amazon prime #streaming movies #sam raimi #brad bird #the iron giant #bill paxton #james Cagney #michael curtiz #elijah wood #macon blair #melanie lynskey #doona bae #song of the sea #animation #silent films #josephine baker #filmstruck