#which was awesome for pride month (lie). it was a very good time (lie) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

headcans-oneshots-and-stuff · 3 years

Text

Hogwarts No.1 Ship

Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader Word count: 3.4k Summary: You - Rubeus Hagrid’s niece and a surprising slytherin - have a crush on the Slytherin prince himself, but you are sugar and he is spice and there is no world where the two of you would fit together...right? Warning: Swearwordsm concussion, broken bones, but mostly fluffffffffff Requested by the amazing and patient (I’m really sorry it took so long) @onlycherryblossom: Hi! I love your work and I was wondering if you could right a Draco Malfoy x Reader. you know, the one we talked about. It'd be so awesome! i hope you have a good day/night! (I won’t put our chat in here so that I don’t spoiler anything)

Hogwarts had rarely ever known two students who were as opposite to each other as Draco Malfoy and Y/N Hagrid. Draco - who was the embodiment of how people imagined the stereotype of Slytherin to be - was (most of the time) a prideful, cold, unempathetic prick, while you were a selfless, positive thinking, kind and gentle soul that could‘ve been a descendant of Helga Huffelpuff herself. The two of you did have one thing in common though. Your house. The hat had made you both into Slytherins which was on Draco’s side not surprising at all, but quite a shock for everyone who had talked to you for even a minute. Probably the biggest shock was courtesy of Rubeus Hagris - Half-Giant and your adopted uncle (on his father’s side) - who insisted that the hat must have made a mistake, but was quickly shot down by Dumbledoor who assured that the hat didn‘t make any mistakes. After some initial tumbling though, Hagrid realized that the house didn‘t make the person and that it didn‘t matter in what house you were sorted into, you’d always be his little pumpkin. And he was quite right. Even after you had been a Slytherin for just about five years, you had only grown more kind and loving - having bonded with many people in the other houses and years, but not quite as many in your own house. You’d call Blaze and Millicent maybe something close to friends and Pansy tolerated you which is why you gave her the title of ‘good acquaintances‘, but other than that you didn‘t really have a lot of contact with them in your free time. The most complicated relationship you held though was the one to the aforementioned Draco Malfoy. In a weird twist of fate the two of you somehow became the main ship in Hogwarts (with Harry and Ginny or Harry and Hermione as close second) even though you couldn‘t remember more than two or three times that you had talked to the boy outside of a classroom or study environment. Sure, he had never bullied or teased you which already differentiated you from most of the students, but you simply explained it by the fact that you were a good student - especially in potions class - and behaved well enough to gain a number of house points which made you into a good asset to Slytherin and as such made you a less logical target. Now all in itself that would‘ve been more than fine with you, but for some stupid reason your heart decided to betray you against it‘s better judgement and fall for him. Somehow, even after years of seeing him kick others down and behave like a complete douchebag you couldn‘t help but blush slightly at the mention of his name and feel your heart flutter when you walked by him in the hall or in the common room. The worst part was in potions class where he sat right beside you after Snape deemed your former partner as way too unqualified for one of his best students and exchanged him for Draco. Working with him in and of itself was actually rather nice. He was a good student and did his work thoroughly and mindfully, but you found it hard to concentrate when his hand brushed yours as you read a passage in the book or when he poured ingredients in the coultron that you were stirring. You really tried to ignore your feelings and ban every thought of him, but it seemed like you weren‘t doing the best job at it since your uncle kept asking about what it was that was distracting you all the time. On a rainy October day fairly at the beginning of your fifth year you decided you had enough. You were sitting in your Uncles hut with a plate of more or less edible cookies in front of you and a cup of something that was surely supposed to be tea when you finally gathered the courage to say what you had been meaning to say for weeks now. “Uncle Rubeus, can I ask you something?” Hagrid turned to you with his usual smile as he patted fang who was drooling all over his lap where he had laid his head. “Course ya can pumpkin. What’s it about?” “Uhm...well… you know there is this boy that I-“ “Ohhh Ah see,” Hagrid quickly interrupted you before you could even ask the question, “Ya know, usually I’d be more than happy to help ya with every question you have but ah really don’t thin’ I’m the right person for this, I’m sorry.” A little bit disappointed but not really surprised you just sighed and shook your head, telling him that it was okay, before bidding your goodbyes and making your way back to the castle quietly mulling over what exactly your plan b should be now that plan a had failed and you still had no idea what to do with or how to get rid of your stupid crush on Draco.

“You know what I would do if I were you?“ Ginny asked and pointed the end of her quill at you. The both of you were sitting in a corner of the library where you had planned to help her study for her upcoming potions exam, only for her to basically interrogate you until you admitted that you had an unlucky crush, even though she luckily hadn‘t pushed you to tell her who the guy you had a crush on was. “I‘d probably just tell them, I mean what do you have to lose. Either he‘ll say yes and you‘re happy or he says no and you just avoid him like he doesn‘t even exist - which would honestly be the appropriate reaction if he refuses a snack like you. See, no real downside to it.“ “Oh really? Hmmm, I wonder why you haven‘t told Harry how you feel yet then,“ you teased her and tapped your chin. Ginny‘s face immediately started to rival the colour of her hair and the way she crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted reminded you of an overgrown toddler - but in a cute way. “I-I don‘t like Harry, okay? I mean I did when I was like ten because he was famous and I was a child,“ she tried to make sure you really knew how silly she wanted you to believe she thought it was by drawing out the word child for a good few seconds before rolling her eyes and looking to the side, “And anyway, it‘s not like he‘d date his best friend’s sister…“ “Oh Gin,“ you immediately felt bad and grabbed one of her hands with yours, “Have you looked at yourself? You‘re amazing and if Harry doesn‘t see that through his stupid invisible cloak and these glasses than he doesn‘t even deserve you.“ “Even though I admit that yes, I am amazing, this isn‘t the topic that we should be conversing about right now, remember? I think there‘s a certain blond Slytherin that you should be worried about more right now.“ Immediately blood shot right to your cheeks and you quickly looked around to make sure no one could‘ve heard her before leaning forward and hissing: “What? No? I don‘t like Draco? Why would you even think that? I never said that he is the one I have a crush on.“ Ginny just raised her eyebrows in an unimpressed manner, leaning back in her chair and picking the quill back up to play around with while she talked. “Listen honey, I‘m not judging you or anything. Don‘t get me wrong, I still and probably will always think Draco is a major asshole and doesn‘t even deserve to breath the same air as you-“ “He isn‘t that bad…“ “Yes he is, but anyways, no matter what I think of him I also know that you are a clever girl that knows how to protect herself and who knows, maybe you‘d even have a good influence on him.“ Images of you and Draco together with your friend group laughing and having fun crossed your mind and you could feel your heartbeat fasten involuntarily. “That‘s all great and good, but like I said, I don‘t have a crush on Draco,“ you gave the hope of getting out of this situation with the lie you‘ve been telling yourself for months still intact one last try, but Ginny didn‘t give it the time of day. “Oh please, I see the way you look at him in the dining hall and how your eyes are always on him when he‘s playing quidditch and just now you defended him even though the two of you aren‘t even friends. My love-radar is pinging like crazy around the two of you which is why I, Ginny Wealey also known as the love witch-“ “No one calls you that,“ you interrupted her only to be shushed by an evil glare. “I, Ginny Weasley, will help you in fulfilling your desire and getting together with Draco and I already have the perfect plan.“ “No no no no, please don‘t! Don‘t do this! Ginny no!“ you tried to make your point clear but she was already cleaning up her stuff and getting ready to leave. “Don‘t worry oh sweet Y/N, the next time we‘ll talk everything will be set in motion,“ she winked before dashing off leaving you standing in her figurative dust with your mouth agape for a few seconds before you let your head sink onto the table. This would definitely take an interesting turn…

After that you definitely started to actively avoid Draco which was - surprisingly enough - not as easy as you thought. Somehow he was almost always at least in your near vicinity. Besides the obvious factors of class (where you tried to focus on working and on praying whatever Ginny had planned wouldn‘t happen) and when you were eating in the great hall (where you had resorted to sitting at the very end of the table as far away from him as possible) he seemed to also be there in your free time. You were relaxing in the common room? He was there reading a book. You were outside with Harry and co.? Guess who’s coming their way to insult them (while not saying a single bad thing about you). By now there were just about three places where you were sure that he wouldn’t be able to pop up at any given moment. Your room, the bathroom and the potions classroom on Wednesday and Friday afternoon when class has already ended. After Snape had realized that he had some real potions-potential sitting in front of him he offered you extra credit as some sort of teaching assistant which basically meant that you helped him prepare lessons, helped him grade the first to third years tests and that you cleaned up and organized the potions classroom twice a week. Now usually, knowing that you were more than capable of handling the potions and ingredients standing around on your own after having seen you do it for a few months, you‘d be alone while you cleaned up except for the occasional visit of your professor to tell you which ingredients you should put on the students desks for the next class, but for some reason the next Friday - three days after Ginny had made her promise to you - the door already stood open and you could hear Professor Snape talking to someone. “I really expected better of you, your action is the reasons Slytherin has lost 50 housepoints and I hope you know that it is on you to gain them back, no matter your status,“ Snape‘s voice carried to where you stood and you wondered who the student was if Snape went so easy on them with his lecture. Usually you‘d be afraid for your life after losing even ten house points so getting such a calm reaction for 50 must‘ve really meant something. Your questions about the identity of the student were answered when you entered the dungeon room and immediately felt yourself freeze. Of course not even you (time dependent) sanctuary was safe anymore. Of course Draco just had to stand there and look at you without any identifiable emotion in his gaze. “Ah, Miss Hagrid, right on time as always,“ Snape nodded after he also noticed you and you felt slightly more at ease knowing that with him there nothing could really happen. “Should I come back later?” you asked politely, not sure if you had interrupted something. “No, you may stay. Mister Malfoy over here has got himself caught trying to sabotage McGonagall class, a childish act which I would’ve expected of the Weasleys but really not from you. As a punishment he will be the one to clean the potions classroom bi-weekly from now on until he has regained the house points lost. You’ll supervise him.” “I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure I understand.” “Malfoy will do all the cleaning but since he has no experience with it I can’t just leave him alone so, since you’d be here anyway, you can watch him and make sure that everything goes orderly.“ It wasn‘t really a question as much as a command, something that you were used to from Snape, so you just nodded and bid him goodbye as he went to his office, leaving you and Draco behind. By now you had seen through what was happening. This was Ginny‘s plan. Somehow she must‘ve managed to blame Malfoy for the prank on McGonagall - something rather extreme given the taken house points- hoping (or somehow knowing) that his punishment would force you to spend at least an hour with him alone in a dimmed room twice a week. Inwardly you cursed your friend, while outwardly you tried everything to avoid directly looking at Draco as you explained his tasks to him before you sat down at your usual place and pulled out a book really hoping you could get him to not talk to you that way. Either your plan was working great or Draco just really didn‘t care for you, because an hour later you still hadn‘t exchanged any words, instead he dutifully, but slightly pouting, had done his job while you shot him the occasional glance to make sure he was doing it correctly. “I think that was all, you should be good to go now,“ you told him with a small smile, relieved that you were finally free to leave the room and with that the tension that had built up inside you as a mix of nervousness and fear. Draco had opened his mouth to respond when a third year came rushing inside with at least twelve books in her arms that almost towered over her which she quickly placed on a table, slightly out of breath. “Professor Snape sent me. He said these have to be sorted and put away.” You could probably feel Draco’s sigh before he had made it and - not really fond of spending more time so frustratingly close to your crush and yet so far - you just nodded and told both of them that you’d take care of it and that they could leave, which both promptly did. You took the books and carried them to the back of the room where a sole, old bookshelf was standing - since the students mostly had their own books - and started putting them away when you heard a sickening crunch before suddenly the shelf including books came crashing down at you and before you could even think to pull out your wand, the world turned black.

“I’m so so so sorry, you were right I shouldn’t have interfered, if I’d just listened to you you wouldn‘t be lying here now,“ Ginny whined from beside your bed where she had been sitting for the past twenty minutes apologizing over and over again and blaming herself for the broken arm, leg and the concussion that had you unable to leave the infirmary for the next three days to a week. “Ginny, how often do I gotta tell you, it isn’t your fault! I would’ve sorted those books in anyways - no matter if you had pulled that prank or not - and it would’ve fallen anyways,” you tried to reassure her and gave her a soft smile. “But-“ “No but, okay? We can’t change the past anyways, and even if we could I wouldn’t because thanks to you, I don’t have to take that stupid DADA test.” Your attempt to lighten the mood seemed to work, because soon you and Ginny were back to your usual conversation-style and it relieved you immensely. It made you feel okay again. She was just telling you of a stung Harry had pulled in the Gryffindor Common room when she suddenly paused mid sentence and looked up. You followed her eyes to where they were placed firmly on a certain Platinum blond boy that looked simultaneously like he’d rather be everywhere else and like he was glad to be there, it was a sight to see. “I think I’ll leave for now, I’ll come back later with tons of sweets that Luna and I are going to steal from Harry’s personal stash,” Ginny said goodbye and gave you a wink as she walked away making you torn between wanting to roll your eyes and feeling yourself blush. Unsure of what to do next you motioned to the chair that Ginny had just occupied and Draco seemed to get the hint because he quickly sat down. “Hey-“ “Hi-“ “Sorry, you first.” “No it’s fine, you’re injured, you go first.” “Well, uhm-“ you took a deep breath to calm yourself down, “-I wanted to thank you, for bringing me here I mean, Madame Pomfrey told me you carried me all the way.” You looked away hoping that he wouldn’t see how nervous you were. “You don’t need to thank me, I couldn’t just let you lay there buried under books, your not Granger after all,” he said, seemingly trying to joke but immediately noticed that it was probably not the best thing to say given that you and Hermione were good friends. “Listen, what I came here for,” now it was Draco’s turn to take a deep breath, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, but you were always with Potter or avoiding me or whatever, but after I saw you lying there… I guess I was just worried for you, I really don’t want you to get hurt.” Now that definitely caught your attention. For a second you played with the thought that this could possibly not be Malfoy but just someone else playing him with the help of polyjuice potion because he was definitely not acting like himself, but something in his word convinced you otherwise. “Thanks, I think, but would you mind me asking why? I mean...we’re not really the closest of friends,” you asked him, looking directly into his face to search signs of a possible answer. “Fuck it, I like you, okay? Happy?” You were completely stunned. Stunned, speechless, shocked. In all the time that you had been crushing on him you had never even really considered even the slightest possibility that he could reciprocate your feelings but now here he was telling you straight up. “You-You like me? Like like-like me?” You asked, just really wanting to be sure. There was a hint of nervousness and worry in his eyes, but he hid it behind a wall of annoyance. “You heard me, didn’t you? So, just get it over with, do you like me too or do you not, because if you don’t then I don’t want to waste my time any longer.” This definitely sounded more like the Draco you were used to and you had to giggle a little bit. “Yes, yes I like you too,” you confessed and like it was the most natural thing in the world you moved the uninjured hand over to where he laid on your bed and took it in yours. For the moment, you were caught in the shimmer of happiness and glee at having your crush there with you, definitely something more than your crush, and it would probably take a while until you‘d realize that there were some interesting things to follow, like telling your uncle about this for example...

#Draco Malfoy #Draco Malfoy x reader #draco #harry potter #hogwarts x reader #harry potter x reader #ginny weasley #professor venomous #oneshot #hogwarts oneshot #harry potter oneshots #hogwarts

100 notes · View notes

auswriteforyou · 3 years

Text

Undeserving. (Ethan Choi, Chicago Med)

It was burned into her brain. Medically speaking, she knew that was impossible. She knew memories were less medical and more mental. Maybe she should schedule an appointment with Dr. Charles. Maybe he could get the memory of her husband having sex with April in an exam room on the 4th floor while she was doing life-saving surgery down the hall out of her head.

She understood the location choice. It was rarely used, the only time they made it up there was when no other bay was available. She had left the room feeling incredible. It was a difficult situation, one that required far too much attention and far too little preparation was given but it had come out with the best possible outcome. She wanted to find Ethan immediately, tell him what she’d accomplished and about the patient she’d grown close to in this process. She didn’t expect to find him in the exam room she heard a crash come from.

She had figured it was just a patient having wondered from their room but no. It was such a nightmare that she had no reaction to it at all. The scramble of them untangling, the sound of scrubs being pulled on and apologies falling on empty ears.

She filed the divorce papers the next day. She put in her transfer request that afternoon. He refused to sign them. Imagine that. He was unfaithful for months, treated her like a stranger for months, literally had sex with her best friend and now he won’t sign the damn paperwork. And here she was, almost a year later of talking only through an attorney from her very expensive law firm in New York because she didn’t even want to hear his voice.

But she was tired of wasting money and her efforts on getting someone as stubborn as him to do anything without getting what he wanted first. She pulled on her big girl pants this morning and decided that today was a good day for a whole lot of baggage. She boarded her plane, she landed, she came straight to the hospital and she was Pissed. The week long vacation she had been planning to Bermuda had been interrupted for this.

“No way.” Will Halstead greeted her at the door, eyes bright and smile shiny. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

“Do I look that bad?” She smiled, knowing damn well she looked like a four course meal. She’d used this year to become someone she was proud to recognize, to grow the pain and assert herself in ways she never dreamed she would. She was a chairwoman on more boards than she could count. Lead cardiologist in the most sought after position in the most sought after hospital in the world. She knew who she was, she was sure of it.

“Honestly, you’re smoking hot.” He knew how to make a girl feel special. “Do I wanna know why you’re here? You looked like you were about to walk through the walls.”

She held up the file folder, a grimace on her face and he didn’t need any more context clues. They’d all heard the stories, how the papers got served to him in the middle of a surgery and the refusal to sign or send them back on his part. It was annoying honestly.

“Help a girl out, where might I find him?”

“Surgery Room 1.” Oh, good. He wouldn’t be able to run away.

The gallery was almost full, apparently a good surgery in their books. Thankfully, she’d timed it just right that they were beginning to close. She greeted her old coworkers, offering quick hellos and we’ll catch ups because she was always a business first kind of lady.

Ethan stepped more into view and that flutter she remembered from the first time they met flew into her chest. Had he managed to get more attractive? Her finger pressed the intercom. She cleared her throat.

“Ethan, if you don’t sign these papers you’re going to be the one who needs to be sewn up.” His head snapped at the speed of light to her in the gallery. She could tell it took him a minute to recognize her, or to make sure she was actually there. Could have been a mixture of both.

“Darling?” She rolled her eyes, waving the papers at him.

“Meet me at my car when you’re done. Bring a pen.”

He did not, in fact, bring a pen. He barely found her because he wasn’t expecting the Lamborghini rental car. He climbed into the passenger seat, eyes never leaving her face. It was kind of creepy.

“How have you been?” She snorted.

“A year of putting me through the political ringer and that’s what you start with?” She tossed the papers in his lap, trying not to let him see the hurt she still had lingering in her eyes. “Sign these. Please.”

“Talk to me.” He was quick to rebuttal. “Please. Let’s just have one conversation. I’ve spoken to no one but your lawyer for months.”

“Exactly Ethan,” He cringed at the lack of nickname, “I didn’t think I had to spell it out how much I didn’t want to talk with you.”

“Please.” He knew he had no right to ask her for anything but she was here on a mission. She wasn’t leaving without a resolution. “How have you been?”

“I’m head of Cardiology in New York, I have a dog, I bought a new car and recently found out I am allergic to fish. How’s April?” That was a low blow. She knew it, he knew it but she traveled far too many miles to not get her little jabs in.

“She moved away, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her since that day.” At least he was honest. She used to pride herself on being able to tell when he was lying but after all that, she didn’t know what she knew.

“Awesome, glad to know it was all for nothing. Now that we’re all caught up, sign them.”

“No.”

“Ethan, the next option is to have it annulled by the court in which they give me half of everything you have.”

“You were the only thing I had that ever mattered.” She felt her mouth drop open, felt like he had slapped her in the face.

“You’re kidding right? That’s how you treat the most important thing in your life then? I’d hate to be the things you hate. Honestly, fuck that.”

“I fucked up, I take full responsibility. I won’t gaslight, I won’t say you did anything wrong because you didn’t. I was weak, I was the one who sought out something new because I was afraid of my own insecurities as a man, as a husband. I thought I would never be good enough for you and I set out to prove it. It’s not that you made me feel that way or made me feel like I should be more, I just convinced myself I wasn’t.”

It was silent for a long moment, the damage between them beginning to sew itself back up because, for once, he was opening up to her.

“I fought tooth and nail for us, from dating to engagement to marriage. I fought for you when your brain fought against you. I fought for you when you couldn’t fight for yourself. And at the first sign of me healing myself, of me choosing myself for once, you ran off with my best friend because you both felt insecure about things out of anyone’s control.”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. That’s the worst part. It’s the worst part because I took all the respect, all the trust, love, compassion you gave me and stomped on it. I treated you with such disregard and disrespect that it makes me sick and darling,” She looked at him for the first time since they decided to open up, “I am truly sorry.”

She stared at him for a long moment, the anger from earlier finding a lighter lull in her chest as she searched for any sign of a lie. She’d reinvented herself, made herself stronger through becoming who she had always wanted to be. He had reinvented himself by realizing where his mistakes were and how to better himself to be who he wanted, needed to be. She wondered for a moment if he was coming to the same realization as her. They weren’t the same people they had been. They had grown, sprouted leaves and vines and built themselves up from the roots.

“I forgive you.” Out of all the things to come out of her mouth, neither of them expected that.

“What does that mean?” His voice was almost a whisper, his fingers that had saved many lives toying with the edges of the file folder.

“It means we talk,” She took the folder from him, tossing it into the backseat without care. “And we figure out what this means, we don’t lie to each other and we try. Both of us this time. I can’t float this relationship, whatever it is or is not, we have to be on the same page.”

He looked at her like she’d put the stars in the sky, sewn him up with the tidal waves and took them to the moon. She wondered if he’d keep looking at her like that. It didn’t scare her to think that he would. They didn’t kiss, they didn’t jump into each others arms and scream at the top of their lungs about love and happiness. They let their pinkies brush over the console, their hearts and minds race at the thought of whats to be built and allowed themselves to begin to grow, with each other.

it’s been a hot minute but my fingers started tapping and that was that! This was a request from an Anon that I was happy to fill. I hope you enjoy, I apologize for the wait. It’s also been a LOOOOOOng time since watching the show, I don’t have any plot lines. I don’t even know who is still on it, hopefully I was vague enough to not deviate too far off script. (also I didn’t get to proofread this, I'm sorry). Thank you for requesting and happy new year!

#chicago med #Ethan choi #ethan choi fanfiction #Ethan choi imagine #ethan choi imagines #chicago med imagine #chicago med imagines #chicago series #chicago med fanfiction #I honestly just write whenever I want to huhh #anyways #enjoy!#auswriteforyou

129 notes · View notes

what-the--curtains · 3 years

Text

Not A Piece of Art

(Javier Peña x f!reader)

Part 3/5 - Don’t Fall In Love with Me

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

Summary: Lines are crossed as you and Peña work to convince the targets of your unions legitimacy.

Rating: 18+ DNI If underage I will block u (don’t try me) , smut (ish?), fingering (woman receiving), swearing

Authors notes: whoop okay y’all, pretty new to *smut* so I’m trying my best please be kind with ur criticisms! Anyways this is a long one I hope you enjoy it!! Thank you for all the kind words and support you guys are awesome💕💕

Word count: 6.4k

Tagged: @trash-dino-5000 @diogodxlot @agingerindenial

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

Week 2

Sharing the massive California king bed with Javi was less of a palava than you’d expected. It was large enough that you were able to achieve a comfortable distance from him by sleeping on the bed's precipice. Despite your assumption that his annoying personality would carry over into sleep, he was actually the ideal person to share a room with. He fell asleep quickly, hardly moved and most importantly he didn't snore. As the week progressed your sharp edges began to smooth out, helping to relieve the tension making your living situation infinitely more tolerable. You’d relaxed into him slightly, your jaw no longer locking in fury when he so much as entered into your periphery. The surprising nature of the change was only overshadowed by the morning when he’d woken up to your leg wrapped around his waist and his own hand running absentmindedly up and down your thigh. Sometime during the night, and by no volition of your own, you’d maneuvered your way into his arms. Javi wasn’t sure what was more unbelievable, how peaceful you looked while near him or how he hadn’t immediately pushed you off him. The pyjamas you’d been wearing in an attempt to keep your body hidden had failed. Your basketball shorts had ridden up and the Ramones shirt that was obviously an ex-boyfriends had been pushed up by Javis hand during the night. He chuckles, when a faint snore escapes your lips, noting the irony of the situation considering you'd threatened to suffocate him if he so much as made a sound in the night. He wonders if you always looked this way in the morning, he’d never paid attention until he was trapped under you, his heart begins to race as your hand begins circling lightly on his chest. Not wanting you to wake up and see him staring down at you like some kind of stalker he quickly, but gently, rolls you onto your stomach. Besides, domesticity wasn’t an area he was comfortable with, and it definitely wasn’t on his to do list. Especially not with you.

The sound of the bathroom door shutting followed by water splashing onto the tiled floor wakes you up. You swallow, lick your lips and groan into the pillow, not wanting to spend another day living a facade. You roll over, realizing you’d once again shifted into the center of the bed during the night. You groan as you roll out of bed knowing the midday heat that was slowly creeping into frame would be followed shortly by the humidity. Your feet hit the marbled floor, cooling you down instantly as you walk towards the closet that could easily double as a second bedroom, choosing something light and airy to prevent you from sweating profusely. You brush the taste of morning out of your mouth before heading into the kitchen, where you're greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a mug of which is handed to you by the DEA agent, who was giving you a once over.

“Thanks,” you say, taking the mug and sitting down at the kitchen table.

“I have to ask you a question.” Javi says, once he was sure you had been sufficiently caffeinated.

“Should I be afraid?” you ask, narrowing your eyes as you take another sip of the coffee.

“What's your issue with me?” He asks outright.

“Too early to get into this.” you murmur.

“It's 11 but fine, keep your secrets. How about this one you spoon Steve when the two of you use too...” he stops, making an obscene gesture with his hand causing you to look over to him in disgust.

“What?” you ask, confused by more than one of those statements. His confidence dissipates, as he raises his hands up, shifting into defensive mode.

“I’ve never slept with Steve! Did he tell you we did? That’s so fucked up!” you start, face riddled with anger.

“No he never…” Javi tried to explain.

“Then why the fuck would think that!” you exasperate, throwing your hand up in the air, eyes wide waiting for his response.

“I saw you leave his room when we were on that case out of town” He blurts out, hands still up, further away from you than when the conversation had started.

“Ya! I slept on his couch because of you!” you exclaim.

“Me?” he asks, now more confused than ever.

“Yes! Well I guess technically by the women loudly proclaiming there satisfaction with your performance”

“Is that why you hate me? Because I kept you awake for a few nights” he laughs, unable to accept something so minor had resulted in the fiery feud between the two of you.

“One of many reasons” you retort, drawing out the ‘many’, to justify your grudge.

“Can't control what women do when i’m with them, Cariño .” he says, still in disbelief that something so small was the root of your hatred.

“You know it's fake right?” you say, cocking an eyebrow “Like you don’t actually think that it's real? you may be good but there's no way you're that good. Believe me i've been that person before and not to hurt your ego but...”

“No definitely not trying anything” he says, cutting you off. You were currently giving him more and more reason to hate you. He’d have a better reason for it than you currently did, you continuously treated him like shit, and for something so stupid. Enraged, and pride slightly shot, he grabs the remainder off his coffee and a pack of cigarettes heading out to the balcony to cool off. He lights his cigarette and leans out onto the railing, staring over to the mansion where you were being watched. He can’t let you get to him like that, it was too risky, there was already one hot head in this duo, it didn't need another. Taking a long drag of the cigarette he calls you over, and to his surprise you oblige. Guess you could be compliant when you wanted to be.

“They’re watching” he says as you enter onto the balcony. You lean back onto the railing looking up at him confused.

“This whole wall is made of glass, we need to make sure it's turned on whenever they can see us,” he explains. You hated to admit it, but he was right, this act needed to become more permanent. The pained look evident on your face, as you accept your fate causes Javi to smile. Suddenly endeared by your expressiveness, at least he never had to wonder what you were thinking. He wraps his arms around you pulling you into him, for a tight embrace as he rubs his hand down your back. The tension leaves your body, despite his flaws Peña was an excellent hugger. You decided to try and say one good thing about him everyday until this whole fiasco was over and you never had to put up with each other again.

“I’m going to go down to the beach” you say, knowing the ocean was the one place that could keep you calm. Your rage absorbed by the waves, breaking as they crashed into the rocks of the shoreline. You change into an overly revealing one piece before heading down to shore barefoot, happy to have some time away from the confinement of your shoes and the house. You lay the towel out on rock with your cover up prepared to let the water wash over you when you hear your name called. You turn to see Helena spread out on the sand like a cover girl, tilting her oversized sunglasses down as she beckons you over.

“How are you settling in?”

“Better than expected” you say smiling, sitting down on the sand next to her.

“You're lying to me..” she says causing your stomach to drop “glass walls we see everything the two of you have been fighting non-stop.”

“Must it be like having free tv?” you laugh, “The fights are my fault, since the move, i've lost my edge. I haven’t painted anything good in months and I’ve been taking it out on him”

“Hmmm” she hums out, eyes scanning yours, looking for a crack to pry into.

“What?” you ask softly.

“You almost have me convinced, but there's something I can't quite explain, something is amiss between the two of you. What secrets do you harbour? I’d love to know”

“None,” you pause for a moment contemplating your next move carefully, “at least none that involve him” you say eyes meeting her’s she raises her eyebrows and puts her sunglasses back on, seemingly satisfied for now, or simply having lost interest. She stands up, grabbing her towel and book.

“We’re scheduled to have a few new pieces arrive this week, you should come see them once they arrive. Bring your husband. Carlos would be thrilled to see him as would I. Shall we say this coming Saturday?” she asks.

“I’ll have to check, but that would be lovely.” You watch her leave, before standing up and brushing the sand off your ass. You make your way over to the shallows and dive beneath the water. Javi watches from the windowsill as your figure disappears beneath the waves, a strange feeling of concern staying with him until he sees you resurface.

You plod back up to the house as the sun begins to set, not wanting to get stuck out after dark. You walk into the house and the smell of something fills your nostrils, was he cooking? You take a quick shower before returning to the kitchen to see a very disgruntled looking Javi who had evidently made an effort to cook for you both as a gesture of good faith.

“Smells good” you say, you weren't going to criticize him for actually trying to be a better roommate.

“Probably the only thing about it that's good” he grumbles sitting down across from you.

“Well this is not as bad as I thought” you say the food was actually edible, but that was really as much credit he’d be getting.

“Thank you”

“For what?” you respond.

“Lying to spare my feelings” he says.

“ First off I'd never lie to protect your ego and secondly, well I appreciate the effort, you’ve now proven to me that you really can't cook, so I will start cooking for you as well.” you offer

“Thank god” he says, standing up and heading over to the sink.

“I'll wash up, you cooked” you say nudging him out the way so you can get to the sink. He drops the dishes, willing to let you take over, standing at the counter watching you as you clean.

“ She thinks there is something off about us, Helena, I saw her at the beach, she practically said we weren't who we were pretending to be.” you state, turning back to see if he’s listening. “Probably not helped by the fighting I suppose” you admit.

“Probably not.” Javi says.

“Oh and we're going to theres for dinner later this week, the tests came back positive so drugs are definitely coming into contact with the paintings. You need to get him to ask us to make him a fake copy, or at least to admit he’s sending fakes.”

“Begs the question, where are the real things?” he asks.

“Who knows. Gotta be somewhere, he’d have to own them so that when they get mailed it doesn't look sketchy.”

“Mhmm,” he says absentmindedly.

“Hey, are you listening to me?” You ask whipping the towel at his head, noticing he's checked out completely.

“What?” he says, forehead creased, still looking concerned.

“What are you thinking about?”

“About how to convince them that we are... you know… together… physically” he states cautiously.

“Well maybe we only do it in the bedroom, or maybe we don’t do it all? Relatioships dont need to have sex.” you explain.

“No, but I may have suggested that we do it frequently and everywhere” he says sheepishly, eyes on the counter.

“Great” you sigh. “Well, go on, sounds like you have a suggestion.” you continue tilting your head as you continue to dry a pan.

“It's an indecent proposal, but a proposal nonetheless” he draws out.

“Don’t beat around the bush, Peña, get to the point” you say, turning the dish back on the rack.

“I think we could stage what would be considered the beginning stages of it, well within their view without it being obvious”

“Where? In the living room?”

“Yes, but we’d move to the bedroom before anything serious happened” he swallows, prepared for any reaction.

“Alright,” you sigh “but no mouth kissing” he laughs “What?”

“No mouth kissing? How old are you?”

“Shut up!” you say, going to punch him in the arm, but he grabs your wrist rubbing his thumb over it, smiling when you get flustered, pulling away quickly.

The next morning he finds you in the bathroom, hair pulled back out of your face as an exasperated groan escapes your lips.

“You don’t have to put makeup on for me” he smirks, just when you were starting to find him tolerable he went and did something that made your blood boil.

“I’m not putting makeup on” you, murmur. A half lie, you were currently in the throes of trying to artfully create fake hickeys on your neck.

“They're not usually sparkly, you know,” he remarks, smiling as your jaw clenches slightly and your nose scrunches up.

“Ugh, you think I don’t know that! “ You say, grabbing a towel and rubbing the skin raw.

“Don’t worry I’ll leave some tonight” he states.

“You know we're not actually...” you assure looking at him through the mirror.

“I'm well aware, but I want them to look real, nothing intrusive scouts honour” he says holding his hand over his heart.

“Please Peña we both know you're anything but a boy scout. You realize you’ll need some as well.” you state,

“Deal” he says, grinning and raising his eyebrows. Had he just gotten exactly what he wanted? You stand in the bathroom, brows knitted and lips parted as you try and figure out the answer.

It’s after dinner and you stand in the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror. The racy lingerie you had chosen was hitting every curvature of your body perfectly. You want to cover yourself up. Showing your body to someone new was always nerve wracking, even if this was simply an act you still had a sinking feeling in your stomach. A feeling brought on by the deeply rooted fear of disappointing someone.

You pull on a sheer robe with a faint gold floral pattern, it didn’t cover you up much, but it did make you feel less vulnerable. You pull on the high heels that match the lingerie, thanking god that you only had to walk a few meters to your destination.

The distinct clack of high heel on marble causes Javier's head to turn. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of you striding down the hall. He shifts in his seat biting his tongue to distract from the current urges he was feeling. He reminds himself that none of this was real and that he had to keep his cool. You already despised him for being an ass, he didn't want you adding pervert to the list of things you currently hated about him. He leans forward, tapping his cigarette on the ashtray, swallowing hard as you come to stand before him. His eyes move slowly up your body to meet your gaze, but your eyes are looking over him. He puts out the cigarette and places his hands on your hips roughly pulling you down onto his lap. His hands ease up and down your back venturing only as far as the contract would allow.

“What no snarky comment?” you say finally looking down to meet his deep brown eyes.

“Nothing to complain about from my end” he murmurs, his hands rubbing over your calves.

“Gross” you whisper

“Que me estas haciendo hermosa”’ “What are you doing to me sweetheart?” he asks, momentarily forgetting you knew how to speak Spanish.

“What was that?” you say enjoying the power you currently had over the usually cocky agent, who was seemingly in trance. He opens his mouth to say something but before he can get a word in you place a kiss on his jaw line. His mouth hangs open as you begin to trail kisses down his neck. You stop beside a prominent vein caused by his jaw being so tightly clenched. You graze your teeth over the area before biting down on the tanned skin. He thanks himself for deciding to wear jeans and not something thinner, feeling himself strain against the fabric. His grip on your waist becomes vice like when you begin to suck on the area you’d just marked. The soft moan that Javi unwillingly emits takes you by surprise causing you to giggle.

The laugh awakens something in Javi and he growls as he stands up, taking you with him. You wrap your legs around him to steady yourself as he buries his head in your neck. You inhale sharply as he latches onto your skin, immediately locating a sensitive spot. Your head goes back as he nips at the area, biting your lip not wanting to give him the satisfaction. You move your hands through his hair pulling it so he detaches from you, dark eyes staring into your own before quickly moving to your collarbone. He bites down causing you to buck into him, and you could practically feel him smirk into your skin as he moves down to your chest, working overtime to get some kind of noise from you.He drops you onto the couch causing your hair to fall in front of your face, as you work to steady your breathing. You understood why he was sent to get information from women, despite your constant attempts to belittle him, there was no denying that he knew what he was doing.He kneels down in front of you and pushes your legs open.

“Peña” you warn.

“Just marks, I promise” he says and you give him the go ahead. He kisses above your knee before working his way along your inner thighs stopping just before the hem of your underwear staying there long enough to convince anyone watching that he was tending to your needs. You're sure he can see your arousal, despite your attempts to hide it when his teeth had grazed against your inner thigh your body betrayed you. You could feel yourself slowly soaking through the thin fabric. You pull his head back and he pushes himself up onto his elbow positioning his body over you.

“Think they've seen enough?” you whisper, looking up at him through your lashes.

“Probably” he says, if he was a worse man he would have lied and gone back down between your thighs, silently hoping you’d allow him to venture further. His hands pull you into him and your arms wrap around his neck as he lifts you up again, walking you both towards the bedroom. You tried to keep your crotch away from his torso, fearful that you'd leave a stain on his shirt, you’d never live it down if he found out. He stops once more in the kitchen propping you in the counter to mark your neck up a bit more, when you try to squirm your hips away from him he digs his fingers into your skin locking you in place. He pulls you off the counter and carries you into the bedroom, mouth still attached to your skin, willing to take this as far as you would allow.

“Stop” you whisper, pulling yourself out of the situation. Immediately he removes his mouth and drops you onto the bed where you fall with a slight bounce. He walks over to the closet grabbing some sleepwear.

“You want to use the bathroom first or?” he asks as if nothing had just happened.

“No, I just need to brush my teeth, you go ahead.” you lie, knowing full well you had to wipe yourself clean as well.

Javi shuts the door making sure it locked before he growls in frustration, he’d half hoped you wouldn't have stopped him. He thought you’d been enjoying what he was doing, most women did and he knew fucking the rage out of you would feel phenomenal. Maybe women were just that good at faking it, though he swore he could make out a wet patch seeping through your lingerie. His cock, which had been at half mast since you walked into view, had been straining painfully against his jeans for the past 10 minutes. He groans as he finally frees it, contemplating wrapping his hand around it and fixing the problem right now, but he can’t risk you hearing him. He turns on the shower instead, letting it run cold before stepping into it. He walks out 30 minutes later to find you passed out on the bed, the soft snoring that was slowly growing on him filling the room. He crawls under the covers, waiting patiently for you to find your way over to him. Even in the dark he can see his handiwork beginning to take shape, he smiles knowing he’d left them there, only wishing the scumbags back at the office could see them, so they’d finally stop pestering you.

“God I feel like I'm in highschool again” you say running your hands over your neck.

“What the fuck were you doing in highschool?” Javie laughs. How the hell had you gotten out of it looking like a mosaic while he’d only got stuck with the few you’d managed to leave on his neck.

“Come here” you say, watching as he gets out of bed, it was one of the rare mornings that you’d actually woken up before him.

“Why?” he asks stretching as he shifts out of bed leaning his elbows on his knees as he reaches for a cigarette

“I've got to scratch your back up a bit, and don’t smoke in the bedroom!” you chastise.

“Really?” he asks, walking towards you leaving the unlit cigarette in his mouth.

“Ya look at these nails? They leave marks,” you say wiggling your fingers in front of his face. He stops in front of you allowing you to hook your hands under his arm to get to his back. Apparently, Peña was most compliant when he'd just woken up and before his coffee. Slowly, you rake your painted nails down his back causing an involuntary growl to come out.

“You all done?” he mumbles

“Yup” you respond

Week 3

The following days fly by and it's not long before it's time for you to go to your neighbours for dinner again. The bruises on your skin left by Peñas skillful mouth were still prevalent, but now in the unflattering healing process. You walk into the kitchen in another lingerie set, having taken to walking around half naked now Javi had already seen you in such and you no longer considered him a threat. He’d demonstrated his ability to understand basic consent by not forcing you to continue after you'd told him to stop. A low bar, but still one that wasn't crossed. You scoot up onto the counter and he hands you a coffee running his hands up and down your thighs as you take a sip.

“They still watching?” you sign out, annoyed at having someone in your personal space so early in the morning.

“I think so, I've seen a few people move in and out the house, a couple of cars driving up as well, but they've gone now. Wonder if they've got a new piece come in, maybe something you can copy for them.” he says.

“Ya Helena had mentioned something about new arrivals. Think I'll get to see it tonight?” you yawn, as he flicks his lighter failing at getting a flame to appear.

“Hopefully” he grunts, you grab the cigarette from his lips, placing it between your own before taking the lighter and getting it in one. You take a drag as he kisses your neck before taking the cigarette back from you and heading out onto the balcony.

“Welcome!” Carlos booms opening the door to you both, embracing Javi and kissing you on the cheek. “She's more beautiful with every passing day, though I did prefer her skin when it was all one colour” Carlos remarks, raising his brows to Javi in congratulations.

“I can get overzealous,” he laughs.

“A need to mark his property, it's what men do isn't it Cariño ?” he says looking at you as you force a smile.

“Hello, apologies I was in the washroom” Helena says making her way down the staircase. Peña takes the moment to wrap himself around you biting gently on your earlobe.

“Helena perfect timing, take Melanie to the bar, get her a drink, I need an opinion from her husband.”

“You look at her as if you’ve never been with her before, full of wonderment.” Carlos says closing the door to his office and gesturing for Javier to sit on the significantly shorter chair as he takes his place in front of the large oak desk.

“The beauty of loving an artist, they wear many different faces, everyday she's new to me. How can I be of assistance?” he asks.

“That is the wrong question. Can you be of assistance? I believe you to be genuine, but my wife is neurotic, you know how they are. She seems to think you and your wife are not who you say you are. She’s suspicious after a recent unpleasantness with the previous residents of your home, you see.”

“Who can blame her. Many people have questioned our relationship, they think someone like her would only be with me for one reason. But I know the truth, even if the rest of the world doesn't” Javi explains. Helena was smarter than her husband, thank god she wasn't in here with them. He’s sure she’d see through him.

“That's what I believe as well, so by asking you this I put myself in a very precarious position. One I hope you will appreciate. I will not share the details but I need your wifes services.” Carlos states,

“I don't think she would be comfortable…” Javi starts, playing up his incompetence.

“Ha, not those kinds of services though I would not pass up the opportunity. You say she can make copies of art?”

“Yes.”

“Can she recreate this,” he asks, pulling out a photo of a painting in a local museum. Not famous enough to draw attention, but well known enough to not be handled by too many people as it passed through security.

“I'll have to ask her, but I don’t see it being an issue” he says

“Have her do it, drop it off when she's done.” He demands.

“I assume her name won't be attached to this, if anything happens”

“Of course not, we keep our friends safe.”

“Good” Javi nods his head slowly sucking on his teeth as he rises from the chair.

After dinner Helena and Carlos excuse themselves. Leaving you along with Javi,

“I have to pee, I'll be back” you say, standing up and trying to find the bathroom you’d used the last time you were here. You find yourself lost, but you follow the sounds of raised voices, your curiosity getting the better of you.

“You have involved them too soon they cannot be trusted!” Helena whisper yells

“Helena you’ve truly lost your mind this time, did you see the marks on her neck between her legs, how do you explain those?” he says slamming his fists onto the desk.

“Marks can be manufactured, they mean nothing! If we go down it's your fault” she says through gritted teeth.

“If they so much as step a toe out of line, i'll kill them both myself”

“Watch them tonight, she recoils slightly at his touch before settling in, somethings off, I know it.” She states

“Do not presume to tell me how to run this business, and do not blame me for your over emotional outburst again, you know what happens when you stop serving your intended purpose” He spits.

You quickly turn, not wanting to stick around any longer, the sound of there not so silently yells drowning out the clack of heels as you scurry back down the hall. Javi, who had gone out in search of you after you failed to return, is winded as you almost slam into him. He looks down to see a very obvious look of distress on your face. He pulls you into the bathroom locking the door behind him.

“What?” he asks, shaking his head.

“What yourself?” you spit back, despite the confident tone he can see that you’re shaking. He places his hands on your shoulders, thumbs gently rubbing circles helping to calm you down. “they're not buying it” you say, if you didn't get it together you’d both be screwed.

“You can't go back out there like this they'll know.” he murmurs, unsure how to stop you from going into a complete meltdown. He should have better prepared you for the psychological trauma of being undercover.

“I’m sorry, i'm going to blow this.” you say, the first time he’d gotten an apology from you.

“I have an idea, but you stop me if you...” he starts

“Do what you have to.” you say, needing to forget what you’d just heard, not waiting to end up in a body bag.

He lifts you up onto the granite countertop between the two sinks shifting up the thin material of your dress up as he does. He pulls down your underwear, stuffing it into one of his pockets as he pushes your knees apart taking a moment to take in the view. He makes quick work of putting his mouth on you. Sucking down on the already sensitive skin, you emit a loud moan, unable to mask how good the pain felt. His hand moves over your mouth.

“Shhh, baby we can't be too loud” he murmurs into your skin as his hand slips the strap off your shoulder exposing your breasts. He massages it intermittently pinching your nipple until it buds while his mouth works away at your neck. You go to move your thighs together, desperate to create some friction when he bites down on your collarbone, but he uses his leg to keep them separated. He runs his hand down your body. You whimper slightly as he slowly drags a single digit up and down your slick folds gathering up your juices.

“Maybe those women weren’t as fake as you thought.” He says, his mouth attaching to your exposed nipple, preventing you from responding.

“What was that “ he asks, smugly slowly circling around your clit as he sinks two fingers into you. He feels you clench around him when he grazes up against your most sensitive area.

“Jesus your fucking tight” he half moans into your neck as he begins to slowly pump his thick digits in and out, his thumb continuously circling around your swollen clit. You arch your back in an attempt to get him deeper inside you, encouraging him to pump faster, curling his fingers to apply pressure to your g-spot. His mouth goes back to your breast and he bites down on your nipple causing you to whine out desperately.

“Are you faking it now?” he asks, smirking down at you, you don’t know why but the cockiness was doing it for you. Unable to respond you close your eyes and throw your head back. He hears your breath get shorter, and he feels your walls begin to flutter around him. You clench down on his hand as you climax, his hand covering your mouth stopping any noise from reverberating out of the bathroom. He leaves his hand over your mouth until he feels your breathing calm, his thumb running over your cheek bone as he does. He brings the hand down to your throat squeezing it gently as he reluctantly removes his fingers from the warmth of your pussy. He bites his tongue when he hears the disappointed huff leave your lips at the loss of his hand. You watch as he washes his hands and exits the bathroom leaving you to deal with the mess he’d made.

“Excuse us, my wife she gets emotional somethime, things come over her, you know how women can be.” he explains to Carlos and Helena who had been waiting in the bar for who knows how long. You appear behind him flustered, hair messed dress slightly askew, new marks already forming on your neck. Helena looks impressed, Carlos looks surprised, your appearance made it clear as to what had just happened in their bathroom. A fact made even more obvious by your underwear which was currently hanging out one of his pockets. You quickly go up and stuff it deep down the extreme embarrassment you currently felt had completely overtaken the fear of being killed. Had he planned this?

“Emotional, is that what they're calling it these days” Carlos asks, shooting Helena an ‘I told you so’ look. At least one of them was convinced.

As you walk back into your house you bend over taking off your shoes, snapping up immediately when you remember you weren't wearing any underwear. You were dreading the inevitable bragging that was sure to come. You remind yourself that it wasn't really you in that bathroom. It was your character, you didn't cum for Javi, Melanie Alvirez did. You still still hated him.

“He wants you to paint him a copy of this” Peña says, coming up behind you, sliding the photo into your view.

“He trusts us?” you ask, looking up at him.

“Not enough to tell me what it's for, but after that little performance I think he may just tell us what's going on. One last thing.” He says shifting out of his jacket, losing the tie around his neck. “Don’t fall for me,” he says.

“Oh please” you laugh, embarrassment replaced by annoyance.

“Seriously, It wouldn’t be the first time” he brags

“You may be good looking Peña, but you're not a piece of art, so get over yourself” you dig.

“Meaning?” He questions, still smiling.

“Pretty, but lacking depth” you say, returning a fake smile.

“So you think im good looking and good at fucking?’ he continues, hoping to rile you up.

“When did I ever say I thought you were good at fucking?” you ask, fully prepeared to knock his ego back down after accidentally inflating it.

“Your right didn’t say it, moaned it” he emphasizes leaning over the counter.

“Congratulations Peña you know where a woman's clit is! Would you like a round of applause, maybe a participation ribbon, a plaque reading ‘man does the bare minimum’?”

“You’re seriously tryna tell me it wasn’t good?” now you were just making him angry, reactions don’t lie. He’d watched your face, every breath, every bite of your lip as you tried to stop yourself from screaming his name. He knew you'd enjoyed it, he felt you clench around him, felt you soak his fingers.

“No, I'm telling you that you're not ‘screaming through the walls loud’ good!” His teeth are gritted and his nostrils flare as he throws his hands up in the air, heading towards the bedroom. He needed to get away from you. Not wanting to throw you down on the closest surface and show you just how good he could be.

You watch as he storms off into the bedroom, your shoulders deflate and for the first time you consider that maybe you’d gone too far. You’d been trying to piss him off, trying to hurt his feelings, and you’d overstepped. Especially considering you weren’t exactly being truthful. Was he good? Yes. Did you have to take more time than you'd care to admit getting yourself together afterwards? Maybe. Were you curious to know if he could actually make you scream? Absolutely. But he also wasn’t the first guy to leave you feeling that way. It was good but it wasn’t ‘scream it from the rooftops’ good. You wonder if he was even trying, or if he wasn’t invested in your pleasure just giving you enough to make it look believable for the neighbours. The thought leaves you even more interested in his full abilities in the bedroom, not that you'd ever tell anyone that, or that you'd ever do it. You wait an hour or so before going into the bedroom and falling asleep.

In an attempt to clear the air you make breakfast the next morning. Javi appears from the front door, he’d been down to the beach early in an attempt to get you out of his head. He sits down at the bar furiously trying to get his lighter to start up. He sees your hand appear, not looking up he hands you the lighter and lets you pluck the cigarette from his mouth lighting it up in one, before offering it back to him. A moment later a delicious looking breakfast appears beneath him finally causing him to look up.

“Look, I took it too far last night and i'm sorry if I said...” you start

“Save it” Javi says, tucking into the food before him “nothing to apologize for if you were telling the truth.” the use of the word ‘if’ irks you the wrong way, but you let it slide. “besides, it's not like it matters, I only put work in for the women who actually want me”

“Fair enough” you say snorting, causing him to look to you again

“What?” he asks, trying to maintain his scowl, but failing upon hearing the unrefined sound come out of you.

“Your bedside manner never fails to delight me” you say cleaning up the dishes “i'll take this as im forgiven” you nod to the plate that was now empty.

“For what? No offense sweetheart, I don’t take much stock in others' opinions of me.” You did admire that about him, he really didn’t care what others thought about him. You marked that down as his good quality for the day.

#not a piece of art #part 3 #smut #javier pena x reader #javier peña x you #javi x reader #agent peña x you #narcos fanfic #javi x y/n

39 notes · View notes

thetirisfaltheatretroupe · 3 years

Text

Big Troupe Announcements! Big Troupe Summer!

Hello, everyone! Lord Atos Sunhart here! For those of you who aren’t aware, Fehl had stepped down last year from Troupe related duties due to her own life becoming much more demanding, and so I returned to the director’s seat once again. I’ve been back for about a year, but we’ve kind of laid a little low since my return due to a lot of restructuring and our desire to try a few new ideas out that are coming along slowly but surely!

We have some awesome projects in the works, some of which won’t be ready for some time, and some that we’re excited to bring you much sooner! But we can’t QUITE open the curtains for a peek just yet. Before anything, I’d like to make a series of announcements about some of our projects this Summer, starting with the most important one of all:

The Troupe Is Casting!

Looking at some of the last posts made on this ye olde tumblr I guess it’s not a surprise that the troupe is indeed casting once more. In the past, it was due to not really having enough active people to pull off a large show with, but now, times have changed a bit, and we’re looking for people to make our shows even better and more frequent than ever!

What we’re looking for;

* Any race/gender/faction! Yes, we hire Alliance as well! In the era of Discord and cross faction RP, there’s no reason we have not to. Though, we are overloaded on elves at the moment and would kinda love a tauren or any Alliance character

* Obviously the character should be a good fit for the group! We’re not really looking for a serial murderer warlock who tries to sacrifice our members to the great Murloc Gods at the first chance they get. We’re not too picky here, but there are some characters that just don’t work terribly well with our concept.

* Available to take part in events during most of our performing days, which tend to be weekends, starting around 6:00 PM server. We base all our event times on server time.

* Someone who, behind the character, is friendly, patient, and above all else, mature. The clear rule of “don’t be an asshole” applies in this guild (and I’ll explain what that means below), and we have a zero drama tolerance policy. We are all adults who pay a monthly subscription to a greedy corporation to play with their toys, I think the last thing we want is to relive middle school in our 20s and 30s.

* Someone with a desire to help make memorable, exciting events for others to enjoy. While we play the part of celebrities, and being in the spotlight is a lot of fun, ultimately we want someone who, behind the character at least, does it for the enjoyment of others and not for personal gain or clout. We’re not clout chasers. We are proud of how long we’ve been performing and how hard we work, but ultimately we do this for our audience’s enjoyment.

* Communication is important! We aren’t a hardcore raiding guild, and thus we won’t be upset if you tell us you have to miss a rehearsal night or have a family emergency.. But if you know ahead of time, we really want someone who will let us know they can’t make it to an event so we can plan around it.

Furthermore, it should be said that while we normally do not require a person leave their guild to join us, this time around we’re looking for more to wear the guild tag above their heads, at least for this recruitment effort. Above all of these, the most important key point is the ‘don’t be an asshole’ policy. In the past I didn’t think it needed to be explained, but things we’ve been through in recent months compels me to explain what I mean by this; no homophobic behavior, racist behavior, transphobic behavior, harassment, pedophilia and other such illegal and morally vile behavior will be tolerated in our guild, period. But I’m sure you’re asking, what’s in it for me? Well, the benefits of working with the Tirisfal Theatre Troupe are, but not limited to;

* Being part of a near decade-old (8 years this October) guild that through thick and thin has stood the test of time!

* Working alongside some extremely talented, fun, humorous, and creative minds!

* Getting to make people smile and be a positive part of the community!

* Taco Tuesdays. This is a lie, don’t believe me.

* Helping an already fun concept become even better as we grow and adapt to the ever changing nature of this game and its community!

* Adding “Actor/Actress” to your long series of titles in your TRP Profile. Maybe somewhere between “Lord of the Dance” and “Wrecker of your Shit”! Don’t be bashful, we know you have it in there somewhere.

So if you’re interested in being a part of the stage and bringing the uniqueness that is YOU into our ranks, please send an in-game mail to Atos on Wyrmrest Accord server (Hordeside), or show up for the open auditions at the dates, times, and location listed below;

Thursday, June 3rd 6:00 - 8:30 PM Portrait Room - Legion Dalaran

Friday, June 4th 6:00 - 8:30 PM Portrait Room - Legion Dalaran

Saturday, June 5th 6:00 - 8:30 PM Portrait Room - Legion Dalaran

We hope to see you there! And remember, because we’ve had this happen a few times; if you think you aren’t good enough, you’re probably actually amazing and far more talented than you think!

Anniversary Bash 2021 Officially Planned! With a Twist

Those of you who have followed us for some time are likely aware of our annual celebration we hold on the anniversary of our first major public performance! This has traditionally been held on the third Friday of every October, so that it lines up perfectly with Hallow’s End starting. While we have had on-off years, and even said in the past we would never do it again (Insert I was crazy that time meme here), it’s pretty clear that at least every other year we seem to take to it again with new ideas. Honestly, we LOVE these yearly parties, despite how much stress they put us under, and we’re going to announce it earlier this year just so people know; yes, yes there WILL be a bash this year!

Things are going to be a little different this year, though. This October will actually have 5 Fridays in it due to...well...the calendar! It conspires against us, dammit! Because the third Friday falls in place before the Hallow’s End events are set to start, we will instead be bumping it up one week to the 22nd. So, there you have it! Our Big Bash will be on the 22nd of October! We’ll be making a full announcement about it later this Summer, and honestly, I think folks are going to really like the fun we have planned for it. So if this is something you’re looking forward to early, or you just like making sure your calendar events are always filled out, please make a mark for

October 22nd, 2021!

Hellsqueal Squeals Again, Plus Winter’s Veil In July?

This Summer we’ll be getting back to our roots and bringing Hellsqueal back for another round. The Trilogy will rise again, and you won’t want to miss it! This time we’ll be performing it for our audiences on both sides of the factional fence and making some revisions to the script, but long time fans needn’t worry! Hellscream is still the same boisterous buffoon he’s always been.

Also, we’re bringing you an interesting new concept no one has EVER thought of before! ...well, okay, that’s a lie, but Greatfather Winter needn’t send me a lump of coal in my in-game mailbox for that one! The TTT will be hosting a Winter’s Veil themed party IN JULY! Don your gaudy sweaters, get ready to meet Greatfather Winter, take part in a sled race, and get ready to watch a completely out of season showing of It’s A Wonderful Unlife! Some lucky attendees may even receive a gift! The date for this and for Hellsqueal’s trilogy are yet to be announced, but they will be unveiled very soon!

Even though we never left, it feels good to be back at full strength again and pushing hard to give everyone the quality entertainment we pride ourselves on! Keep an eye out for our announcements this Summer - we’ll be hitting not only Tumblr when an event is ready to go, but the Blizzard forums and various Discord community servers! So please, have a fantastic day, week, month, even a year!

#tttevents #Wyrmrest Accord #WRA RP #Wow Rp #Hordeside events #alliance rp

16 notes · View notes

taylorinthetardis · 4 years

Text

Wallflowers - A Henry Cavill x Reader fic

So I did a thing! Rather than continue to work on my larger, more complicated Pride and Prejudice fic, I decided to make a fanfic out of the fantasy I had at work the other day!

There will most likely be a part two to this, I just thought I was at a good stopping point and wanted to see what you guys thought about it.

Full disclosure: I didn’t mean for this to whole ass turn into a Bath and Body Works ad, but it kinda did. For those of you reading in countries that do not have Bath and Body Works, its basically just a body and home care store. In the US their scents are legendary. Pretty much every young girl went through a BBW phase where that was all they used for soap and perfume. That all being said, in the interest of further disclosure and covering my ass, I own neither Bath and Body Works nor any of the trademarks on the scents listed herein. I also do not own Henry Cavill because owning human beings is a crime.

This is my first Henry fic so be gentle with me! It’s a bit longer than I had anticipated and un-beta’d.

Warnings: just a lot of fluff. some self-deprecation. loads of swearing. don’t know if I should warn for slight bashing of the religious but I will anyway so no one gets mad at me.

Wallflowers

It was shaping up to be another boring ass day at Bath and Body Works. I had started working here during the Pandemic after I was laid off from my job at the movie theatre. I had planned on it only being temporary, but even after things got better and I got my theatre job back, I decided to stick around. What can I say; a bitch is broke. Nothing wrong with double-dipping.

There was something about Sunday mornings in the mall. Probably because people around here still went to church in the mornings. Like it matters. Sunday mornings are always so slow, here and at the theatre, but the day always picks up after 1, when morning church services finish. It was me and Samantha up in the front room this morning, working out the leftover boxes from yesterday’s shipment. She was one of the first people I really bonded with here, both of us being super into both Marvel and DC, specifically Sebastian Stan and Henry Cavill. They had just started filming the next Superman movie and they were going to be shooting scenes up in Michigan again, like they had for Dawn of Justice.

“I’m just saying, we should really consider asking for a few days off and just going up there and scoping it out. I mean, it’s Henry fucking Cavill. He’s less than an hour away from us. Right now. Less than an hour. When is that ever gonna happen again? I can use some of my vacation time at the theatre, so at least I’m not missing out on money from them. It’ll be a blast. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? We don’t see him? I mean at least we’d have tried. I’d rather try than stay down in stupid Ohio with the knowledge that he’s that close.”

“Do you really think Ann’s going to give us time off to stalk Superman?”

“We ain’t gonna tell her what it’s for! Just lie, c’mon now.” I laughed. I dropped a box of Gingham body cream into the understock drawer and broke the box down. Out of the corner of my eye I caught movement, oh goodie, a customer. Samantha was quicker to greet them.

“Welcome to Bath and Body… OH MY GOD!” I turned around and was met with the sight of none other than Henry fucking Cavill, sheepishly running his hand through his now jet-black curls, obviously embarrassed at having been recognized. Damn, am I glad I put make-up on this morning. Alright Y/N, this is your fucking chance. For once in your damn life, be fucking cool. You can do this. You look good, you smell like Champagne Toast, you’ve got this. I pulled my hair down from its messy bun and shook it out a bit before walking over to where Samantha was still trying to collect herself. The store radio started playing Halsey’s Bad at Love and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from bursting out laughing at the absurdity of the situation we were now in. Not five minutes ago we were talking about seeking him out and now here he was in all his brick-shithouse-ness. I looped my arm through Samantha’s in a show of support.

“What a wonderful coincidence! We were just talking about you and now here you are! It’s crazy how the universe works, isn’t it? I’m Y/N, this is Samantha; what can we help you with today, Henry?” I smiled my most adorable smile at him, the one that makes my little cheek dimple pop out, and, honestly, they both looked shocked. Samantha was clearly surprised that I was more capable of speech than she was, and to be honest so was I, and Henry seemed shocked that I would openly admit that we had been talking about him before he got there, which probably wasn’t a great thing to say, but I panicked.

“Well, I was told this was the best place to go for candles and air freshener-y type things. The house I’m renting just has this odd odour that I can’t get rid of. I’ve been airing it out during the day, all the windows open, and I come home and it still smells funky. I know I could just find a different place, but it’s close to a park and that’s been nice for Kal and I don’t want to make a fuss, so…” Henry sort of shrugged, the buttons on his plaid shirt straining with the movement of his broad shoulders, and gestured around the store as if to say “that’s why I’m here”.

“Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place. All of our home care is in the second room, grab a basket, I’m sure we can find you some scents you’ll like.” He walked over to the basket tower to grab one as a couple more customers walked in. Samantha nudged me towards the second room; I was going to have to handle Henry alone for now, it seemed. He followed me over to the Wallflower wall. “So, these are our Wallflowers. They’re sort of like the Glade Plug-ins, I don’t know if you’ve seen those, you plug this diffuser into any power outlet and screw the fragrance bulb in and it diffuses the scented oil into the room. They last for about a month or so. These’ll probably be the best option for you, well these and maybe a room spray or two to start with. The candles are good, but obviously the scent is gonna be strongest when they’re burning and it’s probably not a great idea to light a bunch of candles and then leave for the whole day.”

He chuckled. “No, I’d say you’re right about that. I definitely don’t want to burn the place to the ground. Are there any scents that you’d recommend?”

“Well, I mean, it obviously all depends on your personal preferences. I like sweet scents. I like my space to be smelling like a bakery or a candy shop at all times, so I tend to go for anything like that. We actually still have some of our holiday scents that we’re trying to get rid of and there’s this really great one in that line called Spiced Apple Toddy. It smells like apple pie. I love it. It’s only out during fall and winter so I stocked up. I need it all year long, honestly. I still have so many other scents at home, but like I’m probably never gonna get sick of it, for real, it smells so good. Or I might go every other month swapping between that and Black Cherry Merlot because that’s awesome too. And then there’s Champagne Toast, I mean, that one might be a bit too feminine for you, but I love it. It’s sweet and just a tiny bit citrusy. I can’t do any of the floral or like, outdoorsy scents, they set my allergies off. And honestly there’s some of these that I smell them and I’m like, who is putting this in their house? Like, what nutjob thinks this scent is good? How many people have senses of smell that are this screwed up?” At this point I was rambling, talking excitedly and with my hands, handing him testers to smell and trying to gauge his reactions to know what to hand him next. He didn’t have any bad reactions to anything I gave him until I handed him the tester for Fresh Balsam. His nose scrunched up in the most adorable way and he very carefully set the tester down on the counter as far from him as he could manage. He handled my word-vomit good-naturedly, with a small smile on his face, nodding and chuckling when he thought something I had said was funny. Our fingers brushed a few times as I handed him the testers and after the third time, I began to feel like it was deliberate on his part, but it couldn’t have been, could it? He couldn’t really be interested in me. He’s Henry Cavill. I’m just, well, I’m just me.

Me, with my two minimum wage jobs, still living with my parents, inching ever closer to 30 years old. Why would he want any of that? Why would he be interested in me physically either? I mean, he’s literally flawless and I’m short, overweight, I eat like shit, I don’t exercise, hell, I barely know how to put on make-up correctly. Yeah, I look good today, but that’s not par-for-the-course.

He put a few each of Cinnamon & Clove Buds, Black Cherry Merlot, Limoncello (for the bathrooms, he said), and Laundry Day (for the laundry room, obviously) in his basket along with enough of the plugs so he’d have one in each room. He also grabbed a Black Cherry Merlot and a Limoncello room spray off the shelf next to the Wallflower display before turning back to me. “So then, where do you keep this Spiced Apple Toddy that you like so much, or did you hide them so you could have them all to yourself?”

I chuckled nervously and ran my hand through my hair, sort of disbelieving that he was actually paying attention to what I had said. Boys never listen to me when I talk, I always have to repeat myself, but I guess that’s because I usually end up talking to the dumb ones. Henry’s not dumb. He really is just fucking perfect, isn’t he? Pretty and he listens? That shouldn’t be such a difficult combination to find, but for me it had been. “They’re on the table over here with the rest of our leftover Christmas stuff. Hopefully the tester is still there somewhere.” I put my hands in my apron pockets and I could feel the jolt of confidence I had had just minutes before leaving my body. His charm had worn me down, bringing me back to my normal, anxiety-ridden self. I caught the toe of my boot on the corner of one of the other tables as we walked towards the center of the room. I stumbled, but before I could fall his arm was already out to steady me, wrapping around my waist to keep me upright.

“Are you alright Y/N?” A look of genuine concern was on his face and I swear to God I swooned. Like, fuck, I just stubbed my stupid toe, it’s not that serious. I mean yeah, I stubbed my toe and then almost fell into a table covered with candles in glass holders, but like, I didn’t fall, you caught me, please stop looking at me like you care. You can’t give me that much hope. It isn’t fair. And goddamnit I love the way my name sounds coming out of your mouth. Like, fuck it’s never sounded so good. This isn’t fair, why is this happening?

“Yeah, Henry I’m fine, just a stubbed toe. Thank you for…you know.” I gestured down to his arm, which was still around my waist. The sound of me bumping into the table drew the attention of the rest of my co-workers, however, who were now coming out of their various positions to see what was going on and to make sure no one had broken anything. Samantha popped her head in from the front room and Kelynn and Mira came out from the cashwrap with Pilar and walked to the edge of the third room to peek in. All they saw was me, blushing profusely, with Henry Cavill’s beefy-ass arm still wrapped around my fucking waist. “Everything’s fine guys. I promise.”

“Holy shit, is that…”

“Mira!”

“But Kelynn that’s fucking Superman!”

“You can’t cuss in front of him Mira, he’s a customer!”

“Will you guys cut it out? You’re embarrassing us in front of the hunky British dude!”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea. How about we all pretend like this isn’t happening right now? Pilar can go back to the cashwrap, you two can go back to whatever it was you were doing, and I’ll go back to what I was doing, namely making a damn sale!” I extricated myself from Henry’s grasp so I could shoo them back towards the cashwrap. They turned and walked away, bewildered looks on their faces. I turned back to Henry who was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and ran his hand through his curls, leaving them messier than they were before. An errant one fell over his forehead and I wanted to brush it out of the way, but he just left it.

I walked over to the table that I was originally heading for and found the Spiced Apple Toddy Wallflowers. There wasn’t that many left, but there was still a tester. I grabbed it and spun around to bring it to him, assuming he hadn’t followed me, but as I turned, I found myself going face first into his massive chest. I put my unoccupied hand up to steady myself and pushed on his chest to force him back. He was just too close. Why was he so close? He opened his mouth to say something but I beat him to it. “Here. This is what I have in my bedroom right now, this is Spiced Apple Toddy.” Oh god, why did I say it like that? The one I have in my bedroom. Jesus Christ. He quirked his eyebrow at me and cocked his head to the side, smirking a little. Instead of taking the tester from me, he took my much smaller hand in his, guiding it up towards his face so the tester was close to his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. A serene smile spread across his face and I felt my face get hotter. He opened his eyes, looking down into mine. Fuck I could drown in those ocean eyes.

“Oh, I like that very much. You were right. I think that one’s my favourite.”

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x reader #my first henry fic #fluff #unintentional bath and body works ad #be gentle

75 notes · View notes

tinyshinysylveon · 4 years

Text

i suddenly got this idea where izuku is an anonymous famous editor for youtubers who hire him to edit their videos because he’s a professional at doing it, and katsuki is an upcoming youtube vlogger who travels around the world and yet doesn’t know how to edit his own videos to save his life, so no matter what he does, he always seem to mess up even the basics of editing (part 1/??)

“i think you need professional help” kirishima says as he watches katsuki trying to drag an edited cut on to his video for the umpteenth time that day “shut up, shitty hair just give me a minute-” an error popup. “did you just.. deleted the video?” “....”

katsuki keeps trying, he even watched tutorials on youtube (while skipping important segments ofc because he can totally do that all on his own!) but his patience is wearing thin until kirishima recommended him to someone who’s known in the youtube community for their famous editing skills

“..deku?” katsuki stares at his screen showing a youtube profile with the name deku as their username and an icon of all might with edited-in sunglasses “okay look, he may seem suspicious to you, but i gotta tell you bakugou, he’s legit, i’ve seen his videos and they look awesome!” well katsuki will be the judge of that despite this deku having 5 mil+ subscribers than him!

the blonde spent the whole day watching deku’s videos which mostly consists of amvs (anime music videos) and games, especially the ones that required a lot of effort to make, plus he even made tutorials! so he gotta give him credit for that, but alas, katsuki is still somehow having trouble following directions and gave up on the latest tutorial video on how to add an easy transition

when kirishima came to check in with katsuki, all he heard were multiple clicks and grumbled noises, he let out an exasperated sigh “i can’t believe you’re still trying..” “what the fuck do you want me to do kirishima?” katsuki was trying not to flip his table at this point. “hire him obviously!” the red head yells out as if that’s the answer to their problems “..and how do you suppose i do that?”

it actually took a lot of convincing in kirishima’s part, but katsuki finally threw away his pride and decided to send a message to deku’s business email that was left under his about page on youtube

“..i want you to become my editor and help me in becoming the #1 youtube travel vlogger in the community” kirishima reads the message out loud that’s displayed on the screen, “you sure you want to send it like this?” “i don’t see anything wrong with it?” “but don’t you think it’s too.. blunt? no formalities or anything like, hello i’ve seen your videos and i would be honored to have you as my editor, you know?” katsuki just shrugged, “it’s too late, i already sent it to him”

about half a day later, deku replied back, “Good afternoon Mr.Explosionmurder, I appreciate that you requested me to become your editor and would like to discuss further details about our agreement via discord. You can contact me by adding my username, deku#2463. I look forward to hearing from you.” to this day, kirishima still can’t believe his eyes when he read the message

“oi shitty hair, what’s a discord?”

it wasn’t katsuki’s fault that the majority of time he spent in high school was doing his best to stay on top of assignments and projects, plus being in the A honor roll, he didn’t really get to decide on his career until after he graduated, thanks to the courtesy of his parents owning their own modeling industry, he put the money he saved up to good use in traveling around the world and vlogging it for people to see with kirishima as his traveling partner

he explained all of this and his reasonings to deku on discord once he reached out to him and figured out how to use the platform, but katsuki was still suspicious regarding his video editing skills and wanted to see it firsthand on how his videos would look like as a finished product

deku: fair enough, send me your videos and i’ll see what i can do, until then, if you deem it satisfactory, which i’m confident that you will, i request a 50/50 payment on your revenue. take it or leave it.

for some reason, katsuki agreed to it without a second thought due to the challenging tone from the message; “i can’t believe you! i told you to trust him! why do you have to doubt him?! haven’t you already seen his videos?!” kirishima was full on panicking at this point, how were they going to make money?! “shut up, i know what i’m doing! i know what’s best for my videos!” it was a good chance too since they’re currently in hong kong and planning to shoot the top 10 tourist spots to visit as claimed by an article he found online

a few days later, katsuki finally got all the videos piled up in one folder and sent them all in a google drive to share with deku just as he requested, he even mentioned to him thru discord message to follow the cues he was giving him on his videos such as when he and kirishima took a stroll and tried foods in the temple street night market; “hey deku, i want you to do a close up of kirishima eating the curry fish ball with erotic music playing in the background” he smirks while focusing the camera on the red head eating without a care in the world and not noticing katsuki making the comment, “mmm dude, mmm you gotta try this, it’s so freakin’ good- wait bro, how long have you been pointing the camera at me?”

in less than a week, deku sent a reply back with the link to the fully edited video; deku: hmm, not gonna lie, but your cues were actually helpful and dare I say, creative? katsuki took it as a compliment and opened the link to the video file, it was about a few GB so it shouldn’t take a long time to upload on youtube, but.. was it ready? he called in kirishima to watch it with him and was actually prepared for it to look horrible despite deku’s obvious talent except.. it was actually pretty good?? better even?! “what did i tell ya katsuki? i told you he was legit,” his partner boasted, just earlier he was embarrassed when the part about him eating the curry fish ball with the “let’s get it on” music in the background showed up while the blonde just rolled his eyes.

explosionmurder: thanks, and i just saw it, consider yourself hired deku: happy to be of service! i’m looking forward to working with you, mr.explosionmurder! it would be helpful again if you provided the cues during your journey! :) explosionmurder: don’t mention it and also don’t call me that, call me katsuki deku: okay, mr.katsuki! [all might emoji]

kastuki found it odd that he became really eager during the exchange but thought nothing of it

a couple of months flew by and katsuki with kirishima in tow have already travelled in 4 other different countries, he even received about 500k+ subscribers, he’s almost to 1 million! as per agreement, he gives half of his revenue to deku which was okay with him since he still has a lot of saved up money in the bank including kirishima’s since they’re sharing it anyway, most of the time, his communication with deku have been entirely professional with a few emojis in between (usually deku’s part), until today that is

deku: it must be nice to travel 0: explosionmurder: pfft, what are you talking about? you now have over 7 mil+ subscribers in your channel since i met you, you can go traveling whenever or wherever you want deku: i can’t explosionmurder: what do you mean you can’t?

no reply

since then, katsuki didn’t want to think too much on what deku said and focused mostly on traveling, those videos won’t work themselves! after he finished, he sent over the videos of his recent trip from india over to deku and as usual, deku delivered it back beautifully edited along with a message

deku: that’s so cool! you guys went to india? *o* [link to video edit] explosionmurder: yeah, you should’ve seen shitty hair when he tried that really spicy curry, which reminds me, you did what i asked right? deku: of course mr. katsuki! as always, i’ve paid attention to every cue you asked for! [saluting pepe emoji] explosionmurder: good good, i didn’t just hire you to sit on your ass all day deku: haha you’re not my only contractor you know ^^” explosionmurder: is that what you meant when you said you couldn’t travel because you’ve been busy? way to be blunt katsuki, he mentally berated himself, but at least deku answered this time, although reluctantly deku: ...let’s just say im stuck at home in that very moment, is when everything changed between them explosionmurder: alright nerd, you sound depressed as hell so i’m going to give you the decision to decide on where we’re going to travel to next, think of it as a reward for all you’ve done for us deku: asdkjflas that’s too much! T_T are you sure mr. katsuki??? explosionmurder: i’m waiting, you got 3 seconds starting now, 3 deku: america! i’ve been wanting to go to america...

katsuki told kirishima his plans, then the spiky red head gave him a pat on the back and a thumbs up, “so you do have a sentimental bone in your body!” kirishima was almost close to being dead that very same day

when they arrived to america, he asked deku the list of things he wanted to see and most of them were, “all might amusement park, all might cafe, all might- is there anything else the nerd likes besides all might and superheroes?” katsuki says while viewing the list in the hotel they’re staying at. “give him a break, you said so yourself that he couldn’t leave his house, so this is the least we can do for him and for all the hard work he put in our videos,” kirishima reasoned with him

on the last day of their trip, katsuki did his routine in piling the videos together and sending them to deku with the attached message, “i actually bought you a souvenir if you want it, looked like the type of shit you would like, you’ll see what it is in the videos i’ve sent you” they’ve known each other long enough so he thought why the hell not, it’s just a matter of getting his PO address, and the response to this was immediate, “AAA I SAW IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU!” <3<3 <(^w^<)

it was an all might limited edition figurine only available in the US

for the first time, deku took two days longer to finish than katsuki expected him to since they’ve started because he always goes through them pretty quickly, maybe he’s too busy making them look up-to-par? whatever the case was, when katsuki received the video, it already had a title for it, “MY AWESOME TRIP TO AMERICA PLUS ULTRA!” kirishima just laughed and told him to keep it in honor of deku so he left it like that, “this better give me some views,” he grumbled and uploaded it the night before they went to bed, he wasn’t really worried in checking it out either because he has faith in deku’s abilities

the morning after was hectic, katsuki has been receiving notifications upon notifications on the “travel bros” (courtesy of kirishima) twitter since last night, one in particular caught his eye, “i can’t believe deku and katsuki are dating! who would’ve thought!” what?

a short video appeared underneath that came from the video he uploaded, and regretfully never took a look at, showing katsuki saying to the camera as he held the AM figurine, “deku, you should’ve been here, look at what i got you, nerd,” at first glance, it was supposed to look normal (from the original video!) except hearts and sparkles began appearing around katsuki as he smirks up at the camera, what the fuck? besides, deku was suppose to edit that all out! for every cue in every part where he says deku’s name, he was expected to delete them like he usually does! even though it was no secret that deku was his video editor, he distinctly remembers mentioning about him in a video they took way back when they first started out their contract agreement

meanwhile, kirishima was having a field day, he finally saw their video while katsuki kept on seeing other short videos of him on twitter from different segments of the trip in which he either had sparkles or hearts around him, especially when he mentions deku’s name; “bro you won’t believe this, our subscribers grew up to over 1 million last night!” kirishima yells enthusiastically, but when he noticed katsuki not paying attention to him, he looked over his shoulder to check what he was looking at. “oh that, you know those aren’t fanmade videos, right?” katsuki unblinkingly turned to look at him, “you mean..?” kirishima gave him a toothy grin, “yep!”

a video call from discord, “dekuuuu, what is the meaning of this?” a squeaky voice, “i-I’m so sorry i got carried away and i couldn’t help it! all might was too beautiful including you and-!” “..what did you just say?”

TBC maybe?

#bakudeku #katsudeku #bkdk #ktdk #katsuki x izuku #my trashy writing #I REALLY DIDNT MEANT FOR THIS TO BE LONG #the last time ive wrote something this long was my assassin!au #but this is probably longer aa #the ideas were flowing inside me so i couldnt help myself asdfghjkl #i have it all planned out but it was getting too long and i'll probably write the rest if this gets enough attention #;;;#I swear this sounded better in my head #ill edit this later..

64 notes · View notes

beteranoob · 3 years

Text

Koi Wo Shiranai Bokutachi Wa 43(final chapter)

Beautiful... Just Beautiful 😊

Not gonna lie. Ikezawa and Taichi scenes were easily overshadowed by Eiji and Koharu scenes at the end. Still there were good moments like when:

-Ikezawa and Eiji reflect on her decisions last chapter and made her cry because of her pride. At the end of it It is Koharu made her realize that there's nothing wrong at her decision. It just needs to have a good time management so that she can go with senpai and the concert at the same time. Koharu even lended Eiji to Ikezawa so that it will not be a date with the senpai

- The talk between Ikezawa and Taichi before the concert. This is where the chemistry between them starts oozing. Taichi ask Ikezawa that in the middle of the concert he will confess to her and he asks her to reply. Ikezawa said that she will indeed reply. How she answered this was savage 😁 Unfortunately the confession was off screen but because it's off screen that it led to Aihara's beautiful words to Koharu later on.

- Too bad Koharu missed the concert but thats ok. Her screen time alone is always a pleasure to read.

- But Eiji is there waiting for her and both of them express how much they want to see each other. They have their own ways to show how they missed each other like Koharu hugged Eiji and Eijj felt out of place on the concert cause Taichi confessed to Ikezawa which Izumi thought that it was a beautiful confession and started crying which she was comforted by Bessho. Since Eiji feel out of place he suddenly miss Koharu and went to wait for her part time job to finish. Very sweet thing to do Eiji! 😊

-Another thing to catch is Taichi and Koharu’s mess are resolved, no hanging plots and for that Eiji is happy with it. No one ended up like his past self. 😊

At the end with Eiji and Koharu:

Eiji beautifully threaded all his words until the end. Especially his smile when he is asking if the ring became heavy! That smile shows like Koharu is the best thing in the world! Koharu would definitely cry! Her Monologue at the end also kinda stings with her getting emotional. She is definitely happy that she fell in love with Eiji and initiated that kiss. As she said 'Happiness'... That made my heart melt. Mizuno-sensei made it like they married and she really drop the bomb on the final part cause it was done excellent!

I actually reread this part with background music named Light Flight by FujiFabric and this final part became more memorable and awesome 😁

Ah shit. I'm getting emotional also cause this is the last time! I felt its unfair that it suddenly ended just like Beelzebub back then yet again sensei gave her best this last chapter and she ended it on high note. Yeah, maybe there will be extra chapters but I'm gonna miss those 12th or 13th nights of the months where I always anticipate the new chapter and I take a vacation leave for this every month. Also because of this manga that I learned how to read japanese. Well not really 100% but enough to read out katakanas and hiraganas with the help of google translator...lol

Thank you Mizuno-sensei for bringing us a well crafted romance manga. This work of yours deserves a space on my shelf and I will definitely buy those volumes i havent had yet. Hoping for some extra chapters of Koiboku so I can post more Koiboku content in future. To Koiboku fans, I'm glad that I'm able to join you on this journey, its been good while it lasted. Don't be sad because it had ended but smile and let us be grateful that we're able to experience and read this kind of manga. All thanks to Mizuno-sensei 😁

P.S

Maybe there will be more of chapter 43 on volume 11? I want more Eiji and Koharu 😁

#Koi wo shiranai bokutachi wa #Koi wo shiranai bokutachi wa 43 #Mizuno Minami #Aihara Eiji #Fujimura Koharu #Ikezawa Mizuho #Senami Taichi #Shiosaki Izumi #Bessho Naohiko

5 notes · View notes

paaradoxum · 4 years

Text

BakuTodo Rec List of Fics Vol. II

It’s been a while since the last time I did the other list and many new, wonderful fics appeared (the dynamics will be the same: AO3 fics that includes top!Bakugou and bottom!Todoroki for those that are NSFW), so if you wanna check out here is Part I.

This time there are 32 fics in this list, I have more and probably I will make Part III soon.

Spoiler: EVERY SINGLE one of these stories are FUCKING AWESOME.

Rating: G

→ flowers die, feelings grow by kinneyb

Summary: When Bakugo first visits a local flower shop with Jirou, he buys some flowers in a lame attempt to piss off one of the employees - a guy named Shouto. But then he gets a little too invested in keeping his flowers alive.

→ Pretty by doop-doop.

Summary: Like so many things that had to do with Shouto, the question took Bakugou entirely by surprise. “Do you think I’m pretty?”

→ For a Single Moment by itsclowreedsfault.

Summary: Katsuki shakes his head with a sigh and an unbidden smile. Shouto's always been like an overexcited kid when it came to cats; Katsuki should've known he didn't stand a chance against them in Shouto's first visit to a cat cafe.

Rating: T

→ Ruin My Life by justhavesex.

Summary: He's not a vengeful person, really, he's not.

But him and Bakugou have started this little on-going war of theirs back in middle school when they were 10 years old and Todoroki had accidentally—if you got Todoroki drunk enough and fed his ego well enough he would, in fact, admit that it was very much on purpose—accidentally fed Bakugou's limited edition All Might magazine to his cat.

→ Aesthetic Distance by llyn.

Summary: This was around the time Shouto was appearing in all the blogs and rags and instagrams wearing a hideous faux fur coat of bright, hot neon like some awful crawling creature from an acid trip had been hunted and skinned, its pelt draped over Shouto's shoulders.

→ Dance To This by justhavesex.

Summary: Bakugou has never cared much about being an alpha, not really, not until he met the most frustrating omega in all existence: Todoroki Shouto.

→ Welcome to the Mile-High Club by minhakos.

Summary: In which Todoroki realizes that maybe airplanes aren't the only thing that should make him nervous.

→ Boyfriend Tactics by Esselle.

Summary: 'Shouto's eyes go impossibly wide. He seems to lose all powers of communication for a moment and just stands there, frozen, staring at Katsuki and the kitten. Finally, eventually, he utters the tiniest noise Katsuki has ever heard him make.

"Ah…" '

Katsuki comes to the aid of a small and fluffy civilian while on patrol.

→ Line by Line by Lillabelle.

Summary: With half his sketchbook filled with drawings of the guy, Katsuki wondered if he’s already crossed the line of being insanely creepy. They’ve never spoken, and he honestly only knew the person’s name was Todoroki Shouto because of role call in class. Shouto was just… so unique to look at with his half and half appearance. It was hard for Katsuki’s eyes not to get drawn to him. Not to mention they shared several classes, so if Katsuki ever got bored and felt like drawing something, there he was.

→ a todobaku one-shot collection by kagehinataboke.

Summary: all of my multiple, multiple, multiple todobaku one-shots. i stan two (2) dipshit boys that are obviously in love and hate with each other.

→ amaryllis by ?

Summary: The amaryllis has come to symbolize pride, determination and radiant beauty. Somehow this all suited Katsuki a lot more than Shouto expected.

→ tell ourselves a good lie by ElmoIsSatan. (In-Progress 12/?)

Summary: For a straight guy with anger issues, getting a “boyfriend” might just be his only escape.

Or-

Bakugo makes an impulsive decision and suddenly gains a boyfriend just to prove his parents wrong... The only problem is it’s all fake.

→ how to register for a library card (and get a boyfriend in the process) by Kaleid369.

Summary: “Friends have each other’s numbers, yeah?” Bakugou shrugs. “I don’t hate you, I guess.”

“Lucky me.”

“Lucky you,” Bakugou snorts. “I gotta go. Text me so I have your number.”

“I will.”

He's already started walking away when Shouto blurts out, “See you tomorrow?”

Bakugou shoots him a smirk over his shoulder, as if to say, Duh.

Shouto stands and stares at his retreating back, and the thought of kissing him pounds along with the beat of his heart.

→ on brand by dinosuns.

Summary: Midoriya is honestly unsure what’s worse: the tragic fact that Todoroki Shouto can make anything look objectively incredible or the fact Kacchan has six versions of the exact same photograph saved onto his camera roll.

Nobody saves a photo that many times by accident.

Kacchan set the bar, Todoroki raised it. That is not a good thing.

→ The Journey Home by dinosuns.

Summary: “Your hair looks real fucking nice.”

“I thought it was about time I grew it out,” Todoroki says, something wistful caught in his voice. “You were always saying I should.”

That’s true. And Bakugou is satisfied to know he was right about it looking good, but it’s not like he can share that with the fucking class anymore.

Bakugou tells himself that he's fine with how things turned out between them. He also tells himself he's not still in love.

Rating: M

→ Zephyr by yeetin. (In-Progress 4/?)

Summary: The breeze that sifted gently through a golden sea of tall, dry grass brought the tiny spike of a different scent. An inconspicuous little prickle down the spine, barely even worth paying attention to. Something no one else would even imagine being able to notice.

But Bakugou did.

→ Objection, Your Honor by Myona. (In-Progress (8/?)

Summary: Shoto Todoroki hated Katsuki Bakugou. And he had plenty of reasons to do so.

But he didn't know that how things can change for the two of them who saw nothing but trouble in each other's presence and life altogether. Katsuki was a trouble from the first time Shoto heard his name, to the first day he met the man.

Rating: E

→ On Hot Blondes and Drunken Hookups by Crossfire. (In-Progress 4/?) I love this so so much.

Summary: “I’m Bakugou. What’s your name, Pretty Boy?”

Shouto looks at the drink in his hand, then back to the beautiful blonde boy, then back to the drink and downs it in one go, ignoring the slight burn as it slides down his throat, and while it would have been more suave to appear unaffected, he gives his head a little shake. He takes a quick breath and forces the words out before he has a chance to realize what a massive mistake this all is.

“Hot blondes I want to bang can call me Shouto.”

→ Tick Tick Boom by Ajaxthegreat. (In-Progress 6/?) THIS is so good, I’m in love.

Summary: An exhausted socially awkward violin prodigy and a deaf punk rock drummer walk into a bar.

→ Better Take a Mental Picture by chibibeeee. This is HOT HOT.

Summary: The one where Deku watches Bakugou take Todoroki and their exhibitionist kink is unlocked.

→ Cover: Blown by darkanddank. (In-Progress 1/2)

Summary: Some undercover agents got hooked on drugs. Went full Stockholm Syndrome, flipped and joined up with the other side. As Bakugou’s palm went flat over Todoroki’s navel and dove beneath his closed zipper, Todoroki started to understand just how easy it might be to go rogue.

...aka cop Todoroki gets his world rocked so hard by bad guy Bakugou that he has an existential crisis

→ Just One Bite by Crossfire.

Summary: This particular fuckup begins when he saves a cat from a demon in a sketchy alley.

Well, maybe slightly before that when his esteemed hedge-witch mentor turned out to be an incubus who coincidentally turned him and his stupid nerdy neighbor into incubi.

Or maybe when he was born to a non-magic family, but early on developed minor magical inclinations that turned out to be not-so-minor and kind-of-hugely-destructive.

Wherever this fuckup was born, it’s culminated as follows: Bakugou has been an incubus for one hundred and twenty-two days, seven hours, and thirty-six minutes, has not had a single successful feed, and is essentially slowly starving to death. His mentor is suspiciously MIA and that stupid shitty nerd has managed to secure himself a two-person harem so it’s just Bakugou, starving. To death. Slowly.

→ Gangster by Brixxen.

Summary: Bakugou is a detective trying to solve a case that's been open for months. He ends up in a town and meets a man who could be his undoing...

Todoroki wasn't expecting the blonde at the bar to leave him wanting more...

→ How to spend a Friday night by veltana.

Summary: That's how Katsuki ended up on his bed on a Friday night leaning against the headboard with his laptop between his spread legs, his hard dick in his hand, watching Shouto open himself up for him on the screen.

→ Your Turn by doop-doop.

Summary: An extra scene/epilogue/continuation of smd.

Bakugou and Todoroki housesit for Bakugou's parents and take advantage of Bakugou's large bed.

→ Comfort by hellaradholly.

Summary: Katsuki agrees to be Shouto's roommate after UA despite having an unbearable crush on him.a gift for Katie for the BakuTodo Valentine's Day Exchange!

→ Empire of Dirt by castiiron, clairesail. (In-Progress 5/?)

Summary: There was something different about being with Bakugou Katsuki. Something that Shouto had been searching for tonight, to no avail. A consistent burn in his gut, the warmth of a fire that hadn’t been stoked in many years. Katsuki had been inexcusably rough with him. Harsh in a way that had pulled him back to reality. Shouto hadn’t realized he was missing out, being so used to what he knew; going through the motions, a means to an end. His life for the last few years had revolved around mediocre sex as a way to abate constant desire, always at the forefront of his mind.

Unhealthy coping mechanisms are easier to hide when you aren't screwing your ex-classmate.

→ Be Quiet by chibibeeee.

Summary: Katsuki and Shouto stay the night at Deku's. If only they had any self control, then they wouldn't have to keep so quiet.

→ Speak Softly My Sweet Villain by Brixxen.

Summary: Ask anyone in Tokyo and they’ll tell you the same thing. That the No.1 Pro Hero Todoroki Shoto is the perfect hero. He’s kind to everyone, always the first to arrive on a crime scene, always the calm and collected hero everyone wants him to be.

It was ironic how things happened to lead Shoto to his current situation. Him moaning and shuddering like a teenager, clinging to the strong perfect body of the most wanted villain in Japan, Ground Zero.

→ Peanuts and Wolves by cashmeresho.

Summary: “Yeah, man, okay!” The guy holds up his hands in surrender and Shouto shoots him another apologetic look. “I really didn't know you guys were married! I didn't see a ring!”

“Oh,” Katsuki says. He frowns hard for a minute and then grabs Shouto by the arm to whisk him away to his table with Izuku and Kirishima to guard him or sniff him or whatever weird territorial thing he wants to do.

→ College Roommates|BakuTodo by S_Kuro.

Summary: Todoroki is the son of the famous Todoroki Enji, also known as Endeavor, his father is a famous business man that wants Todoroki to take over his business, but Todoroki wants to become a photographer. He goes against his father's wishes and goes to an art university miles away from home. There he meets a certain explosive blonde, who turns out to be his roommate. what sorts of ridiculous shenanigans will they find themselves in and what relationships will they end up in.

a BakuTodo fanfic

This is my first fanfic with these two, so don't judge me and I hope you like it.

→ Locker Room by darkqueen_25.

Summary: There are worse things to walk in on in a locker room, Inasa thinks, than your two new friends fucking against the shower walls.

There's probably nothing better than being asked to join in, though.

#bnha #mha #bakutodo #todobaku #todoroki shouto #bakugou katsuki #shouto todoroki #katsuki bakugou #bakugou x todoroki #top!bakugou #bottom!todoroki #bakutodobaku #fanfic #fic recommendations #fic list

231 notes · View notes

fandammit · 4 years

Text

Look how long this love can hold its breath (1/4)

Part Ben Gross character study, part slowburn adolescent romance.

*******

I’ve hoarded

your name in my mouth for months. My throat

is a beehive pitched in the river. Look!

Look how long this love can hold its breath.

-Sierra DeMulder, “Your Love Finds Its Way Back”

The first assignment of their Freshman year Honors English class is to write a letter to themselves.

“I want us to capture this very moment -- who we are, what we love, what we hate, what we want,” Mrs. Allen announces with a grand flourish, and he thinks that maybe she would be better suited for drama kids in Theatre than for neurotic, type-A students of this Honors class. “I want us to trap it in amber -- preserve it so that in four years, I can give you back those very same letters and we can marvel at who we were!”

He sneaks a glance over at Devi and can immediately see they’re both thinking the same thing -- it's ridiculous and cheesy, but they’re both willing to go along with it without any fuss.

English teachers tend to have some kind of corny getting-to-know you activity, and despite this overly sentimental first assignment, he’s only heard good things about Mrs. Allen’s class.

So, that night he loads up his printer with his 32 pound bond paper (to show that he takes this assignment seriously) and goes to work trying to capture this moment of his life in amber.

Even saying it in his head makes him want to roll his eyes (he thinks Devi must be thinking the same thing, then immediately thinks about how he can make his letter better than hers).

He knows what Mrs. Allen said -- that this isn’t really an assignment inasmuch as it is a time capsule; that it isn’t a resume, but just a friendly letter so she can get to know them.

But Ben Gross hasn’t gotten this far with his GPA and academic transcript because he’s taken teachers at face value.

He doesn’t lie -- he honestly doesn’t need to, really. His list of extracurriculars and hobbies take up nearly half a page on their own, and his write-up about his pathway to becoming a diplomat is incredibly detailed and specific.

It’s only when he gets to the final question that he hesitates.

What’s one aspect of your life that you think would make a fun movie and why? Describe it to me!

He re-reads the question, then re-reads his letter and frowns. He clearly comes across as competent and confident -- which is what he was going for -- but also a little dry. This question is obviously designed to see if he has some personality.

Which, you know, of course he does. He’s just not sure how to put that on paper so that Mrs. Allen will see that he’s a well-rounded, intelligent but not overwhelmingly dull honors student.

He thinks about writing about his Bar Mitzvah and Blake Griffin -- that would be pretty cool to see in a movie -- but a voice that sounds suspiciously like Devi’s pops into his mind and calls him lame. He thinks about the time he sat next to Drake in first class on the way to Toronto with his dad, and this time an image of Devi rolling her eyes pops into his head.

He leans back in his chair and wonders what Devi is writing about. She probably has half a dozen stories to choose from, each one more exciting and endearing than the last, and each one bursting with the kind of personality that teachers -- for the most part -- seem to find charming rather than obnoxious (which is what it is).

He’ll never admit it out loud, but even though he knows that he can be charming when he needs to be, there’s an easy charisma to Devi that he’s never been quite able to replicate.

He frowns at that thought, then scowls at the rather wide tangent his thought process has taken.

The cursor blinks at him as an idea slowly takes shape in his mind. He writes about the long rivalry between him and Devi -- the back and forth exchanges in class that became back and forth exchanges of first prize and first place and ‘best of’ certificates. The sixth grade disaster of their competing Oregon Trail projects, which almost got them both suspended and lead to a long enough truce for them to divide up any extracurricular and project they might ever take part in.

By the time he’s done with his fictional movie, it’s overtaken his letter; the answer to that one question as long as all the rest of his answers combined.

He reads over it and edits a word here and there, rearranges a couple sentences. Not to toot his own horn, but there’s now a buttload of personality in this letter in addition to proof of his competence, confidence and intelligence.

He ignores the smug-sounding voice of Devi in the back of his mind telling him that he couldn’t have done it without her.

*******

Mrs. Allen takes all their letters with a smile on her face and gathers them close to her chest.

“I can’t wait to get to know you better! Reading these letters is the best way to start my year, and in four years, you guys are going to love reading them back to yourselves.”

She turns and puts the letters in a filing cabinet, which gives him the chance to roll his eyes without her seeing.

She turns back to the class and claps her hands together.

“Now this second one -- it’s not everyone’s favorite, but I personally love it because it lets me see everyone in a different light.”

He groans inwardly, basically sure that she’s going to announce some kind of partner or group project, which he absolutely loathes. It’s way too early for someone to dull his shine in this class (or, in the case of Devi, threaten to eclipse him).

Unfortunately, the second assignment is much, much worse than a group project.

“This assignment isn’t for you,” Mrs. Allen says as she starts to hand out the assignment sheet. “It’s for your parents!”

Anxiety gnaws at the pit of his stomach the minute she says it.

“For homework, I need your a parent or guardian or uncle or aunt or grandparent to write a letter about you to me. It doesn’t really matter who specifically it is, it just should be someone who has helped raise you and shape you to become the person you are today. I give suggestions on that sheet about what I’d like them to write about, but really, those are just suggestions.” She smiles brightly at the class. “Basically, I want to see a different perspective on you. This helps me get to know you better and whoever takes care of you at the same time.”

The anxiety has eaten through his stomach and is now going to town on his liver.

“And I know that your parents are busy people, so they have until the end of the week to complete it.”

He slinks as far down in his chair without seeming disrespectful, trying to figure out a way to keep his anxiety from ravaging his lungs.

“What’s wrong, Gross,” Devi asks to the right of him. “Afraid your dad won’t be able to write anything nice about you?”

He shoots up in his chair and glares at her.

“More like I’m trying to figure out how to make sure my dad doesn’t go over the page limit because I’m so awesome.”

She rolls her eyes and turns back to talk to Fabiola, as he turns his attention back to the paper on his desk.

His parents are both out of town until Friday -- his mom’s at some kind of rejuvenation spa and his father is brokering a deal with some artist named Clairo -- so he knows he won’t be able to ask either of them. It makes sense -- they’re busy and this assignment is stupid, and he should really argue about it except that Devi doesn’t seem to care about it in the slightest and has already put the assignment sheet in her binder.

Putting up a fight about it would admit to a weakness -- his only one, really -- and he’d rather drop out of the class or fail than admit that to her. Er. To anyone.

For just a moment, he considers asking Patti, who does meet all the criteria -- she is someone who’s helped raise him and shape him to be the person that he is. He dismisses the idea in the next moment, because even if she technically fits the parameters, he can only imagine the kind of pity he’d get from Mrs. Allen when she reads a letter written by his house manager. He needs Mrs. Allen to be impressed by him, not feel sorry for him.

He thinks about that letter over the next few days and finally comes up with a compromise -- he writes it himself, but from the perspective of his dad.

He then emails it to his dad, who signs it, scans it and sends it back as an attachment with an email that says Couldn’t have written better myself! You’re so smart! Love you!

He takes that as confirmation that all those things he said about himself as his dad were true, and tries to tell himself it feels just as good as if his dad had actually written them.

*******

The following Monday, he overhears Mrs. Allen tell Devi that her father’s letter was so beautiful and heartfelt that it made her cry.

He doesn’t hear what Devi says in return -- some just-right mixture of pride and genuine gratitude, he’s sure -- just turns away and pretends to rifle through his backpack.

There’s a pang in his heart that he tells himself isn’t jealousy, and an odd sense of relief when Mrs. Allen passes by his desk without saying anything at all.

*******

That assignment is the second thing he thinks about when he hears about Devi’s dad and the orchestra concert (the first thought is something that can’t be put into words -- a kind of bottomless sadness shot through with a concern he doesn’t know what to do with).

He wonders if Mrs. Allen will give that letter back to Devi. If doing so would be an unbearable kindness or an unspeakable cruelty. If Devi would even open it if she did.

Mostly he wonders if Devi is ok, and what would make her feel better.

After hours of thinking about it, he realizes he doesn’t know. It makes him feel sad -- or useless, maybe -- that even though he’s known her for almost his entire life, all he knows is how to piss her off.

He briefly thinks about deliberately tanking a test this week to make her feel better, then realizes that he:

A. Is so smart that he probably wouldn’t be able to tank a test, even if he tried.

and

B. Devi would know -- she always knows when he’s up to something -- and it would do nothing but piss her off even more.

So he studies his ass off and gets a higher grade than she does on their Biology test. Her nostrils flare when she sees the grade on his test, and for a moment he really does feel bad -- maybe he should’ve tried to tank the test after all.

But then her eyes flash with something that isn’t sadness for the first time in weeks, and he’s so absurdly happy to see it that he doesn’t even come up with an insult when she lobs one in his direction.

He tells himself it’s because having a nemesis who’s all in makes him a better student, but when she gives a full-on victory cry in class a week later because she’s beaten him on their English test by half a point, that same absurd kind of glee is back with it.

A small part of him thinks maybe he’s just happy that she’s happy, in whatever small way she can be right now. The larger part of him ignores that, and studies twice as hard for their upcoming Algebra test.

*******

He thinks about that letter again on the way home from the Model U.N. trip, as he watches her freeze the moment an ambulance comes shrieking down the street.

His mind is a jumbled mess of emotion -- anger at the way the conference ended, confusion at the way things have seemingly ended between him and Devi -- but all that fades away in a wave of concern as he sees Devi force herself to take steady breaths.

He almost wants to ask if she’s ok, but in the next moment she catches him looking at her and snaps a question, and he’s so mixed up and off-balance that he falls back on what the two of them do best -- insults and sarcasm.

It’s comfortable, but it doesn’t settle him, and for the first time (maybe not for the first time) he wishes he could be good at something that isn’t a way to hurt her.

*******

He thinks about that again when he’s sitting across the dinner table from Devi, her insults still ringing in his ears.

Now would be the perfect time to hurt her the way she hurt him, to make her as miserable as he feels right this moment.

But then he remembers that letter, thinks about the girl whose dad loved her so much that talking about her made a stranger cry, about the look of misery on her face as the ambulance went by and how awful it must feel every time she hears a siren.

He remembers the feeling of wanting to be good at something that isn’t supposed to hurt her.

So he swallows his bitterness at the way the Model UN Conference ended and swerves away from hurting her, makes some charming jokes about how good she is at diplomacy instead.

She smiles at him from across the table, and later even laughs when he tells her about his awkward pizza encounter (he won’t say it makes him feel better than he has in the last 24 hours, but something loosens in his chest at the sound of it).

It doesn’t take away the loneliness of the day completely or soothe all his disappointment, but even though the day still stings, at least he knows that he can be alright -- maybe even good -- at something more than just hurting Devi.

*******

He knows he’s had more grandma juice than is advisable when he finds himself staring at his reflection and telling himself that he didn’t throw this party just so Devi would come to his house.

It’s his birthday, he reasons, and people throw parties on their birthday. It’s what his parents wanted when they left him, and he’s nothing if not a dutiful son. Plus, he has the house for it, and the money for it, and the friends --.

Well, he’s still not drunk enough to say -- even to himself -- that he has the friends for it.

But having parties is what cool kids do on their birthdays, and even if he can admit that he isn’t one of them, he’s at least adjacent enough to cool kids to be able to emulate their behavior.

So, yeah. That’s why he threw this party -- to be cool. Not because Devi asked him about throwing one. Not because seeing Devi look at Paxton like he was a goddamn chiseled marble statue come to life in the style of Pygmalion set off a hot spark of something that felt like jealousy in the center of his chest. His throwing this party had nothing to do with Devi, at all, in any way, shape or form.

He tells himself that a half dozen times as he looks at his blurry reflection in the mirror, as he splashes his face with water in the hopes that it’ll miraculously clear his vision, as he walks down the stairs holding his fourth cup of grandma juice.

Then he sees her come through the door and it’s like his vision clears up completely (if momentarily, because apparently emotions do not supersede biology) and he feels a warmth in his veins that has nothing to do with the alcohol currently coursing through it because Devi is in his house and she actually looks genuinely happy to see him.

He takes her on a tour of the house, pointing out the memorabilia from all his dad clients, showing her the game room and the gym and the two indoor pools (one chlorinated, one a saltwater pool), and she’s complimenting it all without even the slightest bit of sarcasm and laughing at his jokes and mocking him without the usual hard edge to her and he honestly can’t remember the last time he was this happy and --

Oh, fuck.

He totally threw this entire party just to invite Devi over to his house.

#never have i ever #devi x ben #devi vishwakumar #ben gross #listen paxton is hot #and everyone is young and therefore should just date everyone #but i love me some enemies to friends to lovers I CANNOT HELP IT

104 notes · View notes

dangan-happy · 3 years

Note

KAME-HAME FORGET ABOUT IT!

I would like to say thank you to mod taichi, mod rantaro and mod komaeda. I am the anon who was desperate, the one who struggles with academic issue, keep sleeping past midnight because of extra chores, and struggling with executive dysfunction. I don't know how to refer myself haha

It's funny, I saw the notification from your blog about my ask when I was REALLY in need of comfort unexpectedly. it was one of the worse day, I failed the selection to go to college I'm aiming for. there is an alternate way by taking a test but it was a huge and important thing for me, because other relatives would talk (or possibly brag) about how their children are doing wonderfully in academic stuff to my parents. I don't want my parents to feel embarrassed because of me. so of course, it gives me a LOT of anxiety. my heart is beating rapidly that my chest hurts so much.

Then I receive your response to my ask. It's very comforting, it calmed me down. I may teared up a bit. I really appreciate the advices, encouragements, and hugs. (I love hugs) Especially mod komaeda's advices. Thank you so much, I appreciate them. They really mean a lot to me. I didn't realize how much I needed all of these. To be honest, when I was re-reading my ask, I almost can't believe I typed all that. I didn't realize how much I struggled and desperate I am. It was truly a moment of weakness lmao

I've been struggling to respond your response because,, well. I'm still struggling haha. Unfortunately, after I send that ask, things are getting hella rough for me. It was one of those unlucky phase of time, where your days get worse each day, except this time is WAY worse because I'm going to graduate in a month and I have an important exam in two days. Then I got hit by other problems too like a member of my group project doesn't corporate so we were late to submit and it was even half done (it happened just a hour ago and it gives me an emotional breakdown because it was an important one but I'm fine now), I got blamed for something I didn't do (this happens a lot anyway but I'm very drained mentally and physically), I accidentally spat something that I've been keeping to myself to my parents and made them angry (I don't want to talk about my true feelings to them bc they only make me feel worse or worse, they get upset), more homeworks to catch up and more stressful stuff .

Basically anxiety is on my ass 24/7. It's the worst time of my life.

But whenever I hit rock bottom I would re-read your response and it lifts me up, you know? It always cheers me up reading your kind words about me, and as cheesy as it sounds, it makes me feel hopeful haha. But I never felt this hopeful before. So I'm very thankful for it, and thankful for the other mods who work hard helping other people too who come to this blog. Because even though I'm still struggling and facing the worst time right now, I'm not doing as bad as before.

Is it alright if I ask for another hug? Sorry, this whole ask ended up with me venting again haha. But I really am doing not as bad as before... I guess I'm doing better. Step by step maybe. Again, thank you so much!!

( By the way, this is out of topic but... hopefully people who know me don't recognize me on this blog for this question haha (if they do then oh well. shrugs): which one does look scarier for you, Once-ler from Lorax or the character designs from the movie called Cats (2019)? I'm not hating the movie, my friend and I are having a lighthearted discourse about it. u_u )

(Neither. Neither one is even that scary at all, for I fear nothing ~ Mod Hajime 🍊🌈)

---

O-Oh, welcome back, kiddo! Whoa, that’s quite the ask you got here. But it’s more or less an update, i-if I’m correct, and a decent one at th-that. Like you said, it’s all step by step progress, wh-which is still progress no matter how you look at it.

I-I hate to hear that there’s been a few extra bumps along the road since your last ask, b-but I’m at least glad to hear that you’ve been making some sort of progress. Progress is still progress, no matter what. I-I’m just glad that you came to us. I-I’m just some average programmer, but I will agree that Nagito and Rantaro did amazing. Nagito’s... quite the interesting kiddo, but he means well, and Rantaro’s a brotherly figure th-that everyone likes, one way or another. Me? Ah, well... I-I can at least give good hugs, I guess?

S-Speaking of hugs, I’d love to give you one. I-I can at least do that right, heh. I’ll give you as many hugs as you want, kiddo. I personally don’t mind at all.

Hey there anon, you don't have to worry about referring to yourself, I remember you just fine! Hey, how's that for awesome timing huh? I'm glad you could read our answers when you needed it. I'm sorry to hear that you were having a worse day, but hey, it sounds like there's a way to make that test up a different way, so I'd give your all to trying that route. Don't give up just yet ok? Damn, yeah, I'm no stranger to the whole family bragging thing, that's a whole lot of pressure I think both of us can do without. It's really thoughtful of you to worry about your parents in this scenario, but you can worry about yourself too ok? Regardless of what you do, they should still be proud of you, and if they aren't, they're completely oblivious to your intelligence level and the amazing things you can do. Aw, I'm smiling real hard hearing how much our response helped, I'm always worried that I didn't help, or I somehow made it worse. Not gonna lie, this did give me a confidence boost. Hey, it's ok, you were in a more emotional state. It wasn't a moment of weakness. Everyone breaks down like that from time to time, and I'm happy that we were here to help you at the time. So don't feel bad about that, you're only human, and it's ok to get like that.

You don't have to worry about having the perfect response either. As much as I wish we could, we can't automatically fix any anons' problems, we can only toss our two cents in and cross our fingers that it helps. The good news is that you came to us with your struggles again, so we can try to help some more. Eesh, yeah, those periods are never fun. Pretty sure Komaeda knows more about them than I do, but I can understand at the least. First of all, congrats on graduating! That's real impressive all by itself, so hopefully you can take some pride in that. Ugh, ok, wow, the second part of that. Damn I got hit with all the feels. I hate it when group projects go like that. I'm usually stuck with all the work, or the one who's up at one am trying to finish the damn thing. I think I'm getting kinda incoherent, so sorry about that. I'm glad you're doing better on that end though, hopefully things work out with that. Aw man, I'm really sorry to hear about the blaming thing. Is there any way to prove your innocence? I'm not saying go all class trial or anything, but is there any way for you to argue your case? Even if it happens a lot, that doesn't mean it's ok. You shouldn't have to get used to things like that.

Yikes, yeah I can totally relate to the last part too. I'm also the type to clam up about my feelings because I don't wanna make anyone mad, but that happens some times, and honestly you had every right to say how you feel. You're keeping this all in, and it's gonna take a toll on you. Yeah, that's a whole lot of stress for one person to carry. I'm really impressed you haven't crashed and burned under the weight, seriously, you're an amazing, strong, resilient/ person, and it just blows me away. Trust me, you're gonna get through this stressful time. You're getting close to the end of it, and I know that you're gonna make it through. Damn, I'm smiling and blushing now. I'm really really glad we were able to help you out that much. Good! It's not cheesy at all! I'm glad you're feeling hopeful! The little steps are just as valuable as the big ones, and the fact that you're at least doing a little bit better is fantastic. Of course you can have another hug! It's ok, we're here to listen to vents, so say whatever you want to, no one's gonna judge you, I promise. Yeah, step by step, that's how you do it.

Oh damn, that's an interesting question. Honestly, I unironically love the Lorax movie, so the Oncerler ain't scary to me. Cats however...that was a trip. I don't have a better way to describe it, it was just a trip. So the Cats designs are way scarier. Like if I met the Onceler in a dark alley, I'd be just fine, but if I saw a cat-human-thing in a dark alley, I'd run for the hills. However, if I met the onceler fandom in a dark alley, that's a whole other story. Ok, I think I'm rambling again, so I think I better stop talking. Keep making those small steps forward ok? You got this.

W-wow... my advice actually helped someone? Please tell me your joking, or better yet pinching me. I can’t believe my little words could affect you so much.... I think I’m tearing up... hehe. I gotta admit, Rantaro and Taichi did a better job than me! What else do you expect from two amazing Ultimates! Anon, I’m terribly sorry to hear that some things have turned up and made your life a bit more harder, but I want you to keep your chin up ok? You’re doing amazing Anon, I can truly tell! Having a partner that doesn’t help with group projects stinks too! It’s ok that you vented again, it’s always good to speak your mind when you feel bad! Helps to let other people hear to so they can help you! And hey, compliments from Taichi? So nice of you! Never heard myself being called an “interesting kiddo” it’s cute!

I thought you’d never ask! I’d love to give you another hug! As long as you’d let me, I get worried when people want to hug me since I’m utter garbage, but if it makes you feel Hope, then I’m happy to oblige! Ah, and the Onceler or the designs of cats? I’d say the cats, I remember everyone having the hots for the Onceler once, so he can’t be that bad, right?

#danganronpa #danganronpa roleplay blog #ask #taichi fujisaki #rantaro amami #nagito komaeda #mod hajime #mod rantaro #mod nagito

3 notes · View notes

sincerelyreidburke · 3 years

Text

A fic for day 2!

The 25 days of Kiersey continue! This is Thanksgiving-focused, but I wanted to get this one early in the countdown before Thanksgiving was too distant of an event. I’m counting this as a winter holiday.

For context, if you want or need it, here is a ficlet that will function as a faraway prequel to the events of the following fic.

In the summer between his sophomore and junior year, Quinn tours with a fictional production of a real Broadway show, Deaf West's Spring Awakening. I recently watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and decided that Quinn Cooper needed to be in on that action. Here's what happened as a result.

Heaven forgive me, for it is LONG under that cut! I saw the opportunity for Quindo fluff in New York City, and I ran with it, my friends. Featuring Quinn’s tour friend Kyra (in person, finally!), some stereotypical NYC tourism shit, and, of course, the actual Thanksgiving festivities.

///

Playbill.com

November 1st

Summer Cast of Deaf West’s Spring Awakening To Perform At Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Tuesday

Kiersey, NH

Technically, the official start of Quinn’s Thanksgiving break occurs at 1:15 on Tuesday, when his last class lets out. Walking across campus after he leaves the sciences building is, to be sure, a very freeing experience. But it’s not until he’s by the door at the house on Beech Street, with a packed bag over his shoulder and a train ticket in his pocket, that it truly feels like his break is beginning.

“I can’t believe you two are ditching out on Shaley Thanksgiving,” Ben tells him, shaking his head and mock-scowling, as he takes the keys to his Prius off a hook by the door. “After all I’ve done for you?”

Quinn smiles brightly, and offers Ben nothing but a shrug. “I’m sorry, Ben,” he hums, “but I’ll be thinking of you in spirit.”

“Wow, that’s so nice of you, Mini.” Ben puts a hand to his heart, with all the snark in the world still in his eyes. “It’s almost for a moment like you’re not ditching to go to the big city.”

Quinn hums contemplatively, then glances at the time on his phone. “Sebastián,” he calls, and hopes his voice travels up the stairs. “We’ve got to go! The train’s in twenty minutes!”

“Twenty-four,” corrects Remy, as he walks to the door to join them with his own bag in tow. “You’ve got time, Q.”

Quinn knows he does have time, but as they say in the theater, on time is ten minutes early. He smiles at Remy anyway, and sighs. “I suppose we do, don’t we?”

Remy shrugs. “The train station is, like, two seconds away.”

This is also true.

“You’ll have to forgive me, Ben,” he adds, while they’re waiting. “Goodness knows I’m grateful for your mother’s hospitality.”

“It’s okay.” Ben smirks. “On the bright side, this year you won’t have to deal with her being weird.”

Mrs. Shaley does say odd things, most of them thinly veiled discomfort about his existence as an openly gay man (Quinn, you are just so stylish! It must just be natural for you people), but Quinn is still grateful that she had him to her house last year all the same.

Remy, who is going home with Ben again this year for the brief break, looks to him now, and asks, “Will we see you on TV?”

Quinn smiles— he can’t help it— and dusts off his knit scarf where it’s wound around his neck. “I certainly hope you will,” he replies. “So long as the parade is on, I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

“That’s awesome,” Remy says, with a smile of his own, and Ben adds, “I can’t wait to live-Tweet it and say I know you.”

He sighs into his hand. “Oh, Benjamin.” He’s about to call for Sebastián again— he did have the class that released the latest of all of them, so it makes sense he’s the last to be ready, but then again, he should have just packed last night— but before he can call him, the floor shakes with the unmistakable rhythm of him bounding down the stairs, and in another second, he’s joined them by the door.

“Sorry, baby.” With his backpack over his shoulder, Sebastián looks handsome enough that Quinn is willing to forget his previous punctuality stress. “I’m ready now.” He’s in his nice winter jacket, with the red scarf and matching hat, and he looks every bit prepared for the November streets of New York.

“Good,” Quinn says, simply, and fixes the way his scarf tucks into his jacket before he turns to nod at Ben. “We’re ready when you are, mister taxi service.”

“You’re an asshole,” Ben replies, “and let’s get outta here.”

The train station is only a three-minute drive from campus, and Ben and Remy drop them off there, with their own long drive to Providence awaiting them as they pull out of sight. Quinn feels as if he’s buzzing with adrenaline, with the excitement of the five days that lie ahead of them. Thanksgiving break may not be long, and in past years, it hasn’t been very eventful for him— freshman year, he stayed on campus, and last year at Ben’s house was nice but not particularly crazy— but this year is a whole new story.

This year, he gets a Thanksgiving break straight out of his wildest, most wonderful daydreams.

“Are you excited, cariño?” Sebastián asks him, as they’re waiting on the platform for the train, bundled up with their bags in the cold. Quinn feels like they’re at the start of a wonderful holiday movie.

“Of course I am.” He winds his arm up in his and remarks, “In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was quite this excited.”

Sebastián smiles. Under his knit cap, his curls are just a little windblown. Quinn has never seen a more handsome sight. “I’m excited for you,” he says, and kisses his forehead, and this is going to be the greatest school break ever.

Wednesday

New York, NY

On their first full day in New York, Quinn has rehearsals. This makes sense, because the whole reason they’re in New York in the first place is so that Quinn can perform. Nando doesn’t even have enough words for how proud he is of him, and the performance hasn’t even happened yet.

Quinn is up bright and early Wednesday morning. He’s headed to the hotel convention center downstairs, where he’s meeting up with his castmates from over the summer for the first time since he left tour in August. Nando rolls over in bed— it’s still dark out— and smiles when he feels him a kiss to his cheek on his way out. He reaches out of the covers and feels around until he can grab Quinn’s hand in the dark.

He squeezes it, three times— their wordless way to say I love you. Quinn returns the three squeezes, kisses the back of his hand, and then turns to go, a silhouette in rehearsal clothes as he leaves.

The bed feels empty without him afterwards, but it’s still dark outside the windows of the room, so Nando falls asleep for another little while and dreams of

When he wakes again, he has an interesting situation on his hands: time to himself, in the middle of New York City. He’s never been here before, but he’s fully prepared to become a huge tourist so he can visit some of the food spots he follows on Instagram.

At a respectable hour, he gets up, gets dressed, and does just that in Quinn’s absence. A few very successful dessert-for-breakfast experiences later, he heads back to the hotel to FaceTime Mama and his sisters.

“Can we watch him on TV?” Gabi asks.

“Is he gonna be on one of the floats?” adds Rosa.

“Well, not exactly on a float,” Nando tells them, “but yeah, you can watch him on TV! I don’t know when he’s on, but he’ll know, so I’ll text you guys later.”

“Wish him luck for us,” Mama says, with a warm smile, and Nando smiles, too. It’s not that often you spend Thanksgiving in New York, when your family is thousands of miles away and your friends hundreds, but it’s also not often that your boyfriend, the love of your life, your favorite person in the entire world, is performing at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, so. Y’know.

Nando didn’t know it was possible to be this cheeky with pride.

At noon, he goes downstairs to pick Quinn up from rehearsal. He’ll have a busy Thursday, what with the parade and everything, but for the rest of the day, their time is entirely theirs.

It’s kind of easy to tell where the cast people are coming from, because one of Nando’s various acquired skills from the course the two years so far of this relationship is being able to spot Deaf people in public. It’s really not hard. Just watch for flying hands!

That’s how he spots Quinn— leaving the convention area, among his fellow Deaf West people, or— Kyra, actually, to be more specific. Nando hasn’t seen Kyra in months, since July, actually, when he met her on their Phoenix Spring Awakening tour stop. Her hair is different— in space buns instead of her afro— and she’s wearing a bright orange sweater, which, if her Instagram is accurate, is right in line with her sunshine aesthetic. She was amazing on tour; she’s such a talented person.

She walks side by side with Quinn, and they’re moving kind of slowly because they’re turned halfway toward each other to talk. Their hands move a mile a minute, and Nando knows a good amount of sign, but can’t keep up with this rapid conversation.

Lucky for him, he doesn’t have to. Quinn and Kyra seem to see him at the same time— and Kyra signs something he does understand, with this huge, bright smile. Literally, her sign means cactus and S, but Nando knows that’s just his sign name.

He waves across the lobby, then signs back to her— sunshine and K, for Kyra, and she lights up even more. She runs the rest of the way over, and Quinn goes after her.

How are you? he asks, and Kyra looks so excited that she almost jumps up and down.

They get to hold a small conversation in sign, and Nando loves catching up with Kyra but sort of loves even more how Quinn smiles as he watches them talk, like he’s glad they’re interacting, and it’s just— it’s wholesome. It’s great. Kyra is great, and he’s just so happy for Quinn that he gets to see her and all his tour friends again. He was sad to part with them at the end of the summer.

Kyra’s mom is in the city with her, so they part ways when she arrives; Quinn has another brief and very fast sign conversation with her as she’s leaving. Nando figures it’s probably just ‘see you tomorrow,’ but you never know.

“Baby,” he whispers, leaning down to him as they start side-by-side toward the elevator, “you have to hear about the churro I found this morning.”

Quinn laughs, and looks up to him, winding his arm in his elbow. Nando thinks they were meant to fit together this way. It’s so natural, and so easy. “I would love to hear about that.”

“I took pictures and everything,” he says, then pauses to press the button and hail the elevator. He looks to him again to add, “But also, how was rehearsal? Can I take you out to lunch?”

“Out to lunch?” Quinn swoons. “You must be trying to get in my good graces.”

He pretends to pout. “Am I not already in your good graces?”

Quinn swats at his chest. “Oh, don’t be a drama queen.”

He kind of wants to point out that Quinn, rather than he, is the one who just got out of several hours of pro theatre rehearsal— but he guesses that would be telling him what he already knows. Instead, he grins and shrugs, then kisses his forehead. The elevator dings upon arrival. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, and they have a very good afternoon.

Thursday

It’s absolutely frigid outside, and it’s six in the morning, and Quinn is having the time of his life.

He’s huddled on a couch with his castmates, in a trailer, waiting for the day to begin— though he supposes it’s already started, given his five o’clock wake-up call. He thought the tour was exciting, and truly, it was, but this is a whole other excitement entirely— being in New York, with so many performers all in one small place, knowing what lies in store for his day.

Life, he thinks, is maybe a dream come true right now. From coming here with Sebastián to getting to perform, there are so many things he’s grateful for, so many experiences he feels so lucky to have. This is no exception, as he sits in the trailer, with space heaters warming his feet and cast friends on either side. It’s like being back on tour, except this time, it’s one time only. He has to make it count.

And… yes. Quinn is decided. He is going to be completely obnoxious on Instagram today. To start it out, he nudges Kyra, who sits directly next to him, and opens the front camera on his phone.

Kyra lights up for the camera— she truly is the human embodiment of the sun, and Quinn is honestly a little jealous of how good and put-together she already looks at six in the morning. She’s wearing yellow earmuffs that sort of match the gold rims on her glasses, and she hooks an arm around his neck to lean into the picture. Her cheek is warm against his, and he laughs. On his other side, their friend Minji pushes into the camera, too, and flashes a heart at the camera with her thumb and pointer picture together.

Are you posting that? Minji asks, once he’s snapped the selfie.

He puts his phone down and grins. Obviously, I’m posting it.

He’s hunting for stickers to put it on his story when it becomes something of a ‘thing’— the various other friends and castmates around him realize he’s taking pictures, and then, right as he gets the selfie up on his story with a little turkey sticker, everyone is clustering for another.

Group shot!

Let us be on your Instagram!

Yeah, we need a reunion picture.

Hang on, he tells them, and laughs, then climbs up onto the edge of the couch. He faces them to add, I’m not tall enough for that, and while they laugh at his height’s expense, he rolls his eyes and opens his camera again.

Smile! he signs into the camera, and then clicks the button a few times so he’ll have options to choose from. This one should be a post, not a story, he decides. He thinks there are enough cast members in it to maybe send it to production staff. Not to pat himself on the back or anything. Really, he just wants to document these moments with his friends, while they’re all still in one place again.

Oh, you know what we should do? he says to Kyra, as he’s sitting down on the arm of the couch. A before and after picture, with costumes.

Kyra grins, and she nods. They did posts like that several times, over tour— a picture before you get costumed, and then the same picture but after you’re ready to go onstage. We should make a TikTok, Kyra says.

He laughs. Oh, goodness, he says, but he knows he’ll probably wind up doing just that. He has a feeling his social media will be quite alive and well by the end of the day today.

He wants to hold every part of this day in his memory, so he’ll never forget what this feels like.

It’s been three months since Quinn got to be Moritz Stiefel.

Though it took a lot out of him this summer, it’s a role he’s missed sorely, and he doesn’t usually get to go back to playing characters whose shows have come to a close for him. He supposes today is a bit of an exception, and, to be sure, he’s been excited for today since the very moment he learned this performance would be happening— but it’s not real, exactly, until he sees himself in a mirror, in costume.

He knows this version of himself, though he hasn’t seen it in awhile. His hair is mussed up, and the school uniform costume fits just as it’s supposed to, with a crooked tie and a tall pair of socks. He isn’t mic’d yet— that’s a step they’ll reach later this morning, with the sound technicians at the parade, and his hearing aids have been out for several hours; they’re tucked into his jacket pocket right now.

The mirror in the trailer is small, and he smiles at himself in it. He always likes this part, performing— when he gets to see himself as the character he’s going to be. Today, it’ll only be for five minutes— but five minutes of glory, on television, with his friends from the summer, and so they’re bound to be some of the most exhilarating five minutes of his life.

He doesn’t want to get a big head, but the fact that so many people will be watching… that’s a lot to take in. On the street, in person, Sebastián will be watching, too, and that’s something he’s very mindful of.

Kyra is putting flowers into her hair, at the small mirror next to him. He grabs his phone to wave it at her, and she grins, then signs for him to wait one second, so he does.

Just like old times, she says, when she’s done, and then lets him take their picture in the mirror. He sends it off to Sebastián first, then puts it on his steadily growing Instagram story.

It is just like old times. Quinn doesn’t want the day to be over, and it’s barely begun.

Of all the places he’s performed, Quinn has to say that the streets of New York City rank high.

The morning is a blur— move from place to place, let people tell you where to be, get briefed by tech people who know a lot more about what’s going on than he does. Comply, because that’s what you do. Warm up your voice. Take so many pictures that your phone starts to yell at you that it’s running out of storage.

From a distance, spot someone who looks an awful lot like your boyfriend on the side of the street. You can tell it’s him, because you knit that red scarf for him two Christmases ago. It’s his color, undoubtedly. Kyra signs his name at him from afar, but he doesn’t see either of you. Until you go on.

You get a little nervous, but you don’t have time to be nervous, because you’re on the move and you’re waiting to perform, and then— you blink, a rush of adrenaline, and it’s over.

And you just did what actors all over the country dream of doing.

There aren’t words for that in English or in sign.

Friday

On Friday morning, when Quinn wakes up, it’s snowing.

He doesn’t realize it at first. He’s tucked beneath Sebastián in their hotel bed, waking from a sleep so deep and welcome it felt truly heavenly, buried between covers and warm weight. He opens his eyes to gentle, natural light in the room, a sure sign they slept in, and he blinks a few times before he realizes what he’s seeing in the nearby window.

Snow. So much snow, and falling fast. Goodness, it’s beautiful. The view isn’t bad, either; Manhattan is a sea of buildings, and this snapshot of glass is only a glance. The snow is so peaceful, coupled with the thought that they have nowhere to go, nowhere to be. After the dream come true that was yesterday— the parade, the performance, getting dinner with Sebastián and Kyra at some diner with no other patrons in the middle of the Thanksgiving afternoon— he could use to rest and reflect.

Quinn knows it’s cliché, but he truly does love this city.

He threads his fingers into Sebastián’s curls, and pulls his head close to his chest, and rests in bed while he watches the snow come down.

Some time later, when Sebastián has woken, he gets to spend a lazy, snowy morning in bed, and between gentle kisses, he tells him there’s nowhere else he would rather be.

Saturday

“Can you keep up, baby?”

Nando knows a retort is coming before it even does, but he still grins when Quinn pipes up, from a few feet behind him, “Oh, you just mind your business, Sebastián; I am fine.”

As if to prove it, he closes the small space between them and skates up by his side. Nando knows that getting out on the ice and immediately taunting him was not practical, but it was entertaining, and he likes that Quinn’s cheeks are flushing now. He holds out his elbow, like a peace offering, and Quinn wraps his gloved hand up in it.

“You wanna take a winter stroll?” Nando asks him, with a wink down in his direction.

“This is hardly a stroll,” Quinn replies, in that know-it-all voice that drives Nando crazy in the best way possible. “It’s more of a glide,” he adds, and with that, they start skating along.

“That’s fair,” Nando replies, and tips his head up to take in the view.

He couldn’t spend any weekend even slightly related to the holiday season in New York City without going ice skating under the huge tree. Because first of all, it’s in every New York Christmas movie ever, and second, one of his and Quinn’s first dates was skating, and third, he fricking loves to skate, and fourth, this is his life, so there.

“This is breathtaking,” Quinn remarks, and that’s an understatement. There are enough lights on the tree to probably show up from space, and Nando has learned over the past few days how huge this city actually is, but being right here in the middle of everything just reinforces that truth. They skate along in the throngs of other people, which is part of the tourist experience, and honestly just makes it even better. Nando has seen this on TV so many times. He can’t believe he’s actually here. Pretty much everything about this weekend has been like some kind of dream situation where crazy things you imagine actually come true.

And speaking of dreams. He looks down to Quinn, and it’s, like, okay— cheesy, but the lights are all reflecting in his eyes, and he’s bundled in his scarf and peacoat, and he’s the prettiest thing Nando has ever seen. Including the giant tree. Including everything.

Quinn catches him looking. Of course he does. He smiles, rosy-cheeked and windblown, and hums, “What?”

“I love you,” Nando replies, and kisses him right in the middle of everything.

Quinn laughs out of the kiss. He stays tight on his arm, and somehow, they keep skating without falling. Nando thanks his hockey side for that.

“I love you, too,” Quinn replies, and his voice could block out all the noise of the whole city.

They’re the center of the world.

Sunday

Kiersey, NH

The whole way home to Kiersey, Quinn sleeps on Sebastián’s shoulder.

It’s unintentional, but peaceful all the same, dreams full of memories of the weekend. He gets into his seat at Grand Central Station, slumps against him, and wakes to his gentle nudging hours later, so they can change trains in Boston. The next ride is shorter, but he rests again anyways, and the gray November day is dimming outside the train windows when he opens his eyes at the Kiersey station.

They walk back to campus— it isn’t far. Sebastián is holding both of their bags, and Quinn is holding nothing but his arm. It’s chilly, but bundled up, it isn’t so bad. With this boy, Quinn is so very warm. By the time they round the corner onto Beech Street, lines of student houses with warm windows stretching down either side of the familiar road, the sun has gone down.

On the front steps, Quinn pulls his hands out and looks up to him. He hasn’t had his hearing aids on in over twenty-four hours, and it’s been the most liberating and lovely experience. Before they re-enter the chaos of the hockey house and he’ll have to put them in again, he wants to sign him one last thing.

Thank you for joining me, he says, once he has his gaze. I love you so much.

Sebastián smiles. He puts the bags down by the door, rests both hands on his shoulders, and kisses him gently. No wintry breeze could stop the warmth in Quinn’s chest.

When he’s pulled back, Sebastián replies, I’d join you anywhere. I love you, too.

Quinn beams at him, and with one more shared, quiet moment, Sebastián picks up the bags, and Quinn leans into the front door and pushes it open. Hey, people! he reads on Sebastián’s lips, no doubt a loud exclamation, as they cross the threshold together. We’re home!

Home, indeed. Quinn closes the door behind them, and the warm, familiar, slightly chaotic embrace of Beech Street welcomes them back.

#25 days of kiersey #quinn theatre hours #mini quinny #nandoooooooo #quindo #quinn and dwsa #that should be a tag on this blog #my writing #ficlet #nah this is a straight up fic #whatever #uhhh #what else #kiersey college #crickets #mel writes

5 notes · View notes

thisisasideblogforbooks · 5 years

Text

bi books for twenty-biteen!

so in honor of pride month in our blessed year of twenty-biteen, i wanted to recommend some books that feature prominent bisexual characters! most of these are already very well-known books and series, but i thought it’d be fun to honor my fellow bisexuals out there with a list! also, there is a shocking lack of bi females included on this list, and i am currently on the hunt for more if anyone wants to rec me some!

with that aside, lets get into the list!

i’m gonna start with series:

1. the six of crows duology by leigh bardugo: this action-packed duology contains two bi main characters, one of which is female and one who is male. they both own my heart, as well as the rest of the characters in this series. highly recommend!

2. the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater: this series revolves around a tight-knit group of friends (that you’ll wish you were a part of) searching for a dead welsh king. one of the main characters is bi, but what i like about this series is that its not a big deal. as important as stories of self-discovery are, it’s refreshing to see a character who is just bi, and no one cares at all.

3. shades of magic trilogy by v.e. schwab: this trilogy contains two bisexual guys, as well as some awesome world-building and a super cool take on magic! this is the most recently read series on my list, and i really enjoyed it!

4. openly straight and honestly ben by bill konigsberg: these books def have their flaws, but i’m putting them on this list because they were really important to me when i was figuring out my sexuality. the way the bi character in this series talks about his sexuality really spoke to me at a very important time in my life. warning for slight biphobia that i don’t think was handled amazingly, but still fun books! (NOTE: someone has added to this post that ben does not identify as bi. it’s been several years since i read the books, and i forgot that this is the case. i will leave this here, but just be aware that while he is in relationships with girls and a boy, he does not identify as bi and chooses not to use labels!!!)

5. i also want to mention the trials of apollo by rick riordan! it is far from my favorite series by rick, but the main character makes several references to his past relationships with both men and women, which i feel is super important to see in a middle grade series! (if you want a laugh, look at the one-star reviews on amazon. 99% are mad homophobic/biphobic parents)

and now onto stand-alones:

1. the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue by mackenzi lee: the physical embodiment of disaster bi. the protagonist is a mess and i love him for it. this is also historical fiction with some magic! honestly what more could you ask for? (there’s also a sequel that i am planning to read as soon as i get my hands on it that centers around his ace younger sister!)

2. grasshopper jungle by andrew smith: next on the list is another disaster bi! let me tell you, this book is a TRIP. i couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks after i read it. the main character is bi and also in love with both his girlfriend and best friend (see what i mean by disaster?). is he an asshole? absolutely. but an undeniably entertaining one.

3. little and lion by brandy colbert: this book is so underrated, i swear. the main character is a black jewish bisexual girl and i related to her on SO many levels. this book focuses on her coming to terms with her sexuality, but also on the importance of family and it’s so good please pick it up!

4. autoboyography by christina lauren: this book centers around a bi teenage boy living in a very conservative mormon community. i’m not gonna lie, it’s definitely got its flaws, but i’m a sucker for romance what can i say? it’s no doubt a fun summer read.

5. running with lions by julian winters: like autoboyography, there were some things that irked me with the plot (one of these being the treatment of the only prominent female character). that being said, the book centers around a super accepting soccer team with kids of all sorts of sexualities, including our bisexual protagonist! there’s a refreshing lack of toxic masculinity that i am so here for. it’s a cute read!

6. leah on the offbeat by becky albertalli: the sequel to simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda, this book centers on the relationship between simon’s two bi female friends. although leah is not the most likable protagonist in my opinion, there were definitely moments i found myself relating to her. becky really said bi rights with this book.

7. carry on by rainbow rowell: this follows the story of the “chosen one” who has no idea wtf he’s doing. it’s got enemies to friends to lovers and magic, which are two of my favorite things. although he never states that he is bi in the book, i included carry on here because he has a relationship with both a girl and a boy and he appears to be attracted to both of them. (p.s. this won’t be a stand-alone for long as a sequel will be released later this year!)

8. radio silence by alice oseman: this novel features a bisexual, half-ethiopian female protagonist and focuses on the pressure of school and the importance of friendship. also, there’s a podcast. the friendship between the two main characters was the sweetest thing and i loved this novel. (also want to give a shout-out to alice oseman’s webcomic heartstopper, which focuses on the relationship between nick and charlie, who are bi and gay respectively. these characters can also be found in her novel solitaire.)

9. ramona blue by julie murphy: this book centers around a girl who is convinced she only likes girls until she starts to fall for a boy. it is a sort of self-discovery that is not often found in literature, but i know several of my friends that went through a very similar path and this book means a lot to them. i loved seeing ramona’s journey, and enjoyed this book a lot!

10. red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquiston: this is the newest book on this list, and let me just tell you, the rep in this book is phenomenal. the main character is the bisexual, half-mexican first son of the first female president of the united states, and it tells this story of his relationship with the prince of england. honestly need i say more? cause i will. his best friend is also bi and i’m in love with her. this book has literally so many of my favorite things: royalty, enemies to friends to lovers, fake relationship (kind of), strong female characters, and so much more. definitely a quick, fun summer read to get in the spirit of pride month!

please add to this list with more books with bisexual rep that i missed! i would love to get more book recs :)

happy pride everyone!

#booklr #book recs #lgbt #specifically the b #twentybiteen #soc #trc #adsom #carry on

724 notes · View notes

davieslandon · 4 years

Text

Flashback || Landon & Roman

Discord thread featuring: Landon & @romanbeckett

When: After Landon’s car accident

Where: London

Mentions: -

Description: Roman takes care of Landon after his accident and tries to explain they’re no longer dating even though Landon doesn’t remember.

Trigger Warnings: mention of car accident and injuries, feels

Roman.

His apartment was small, and not near what it should be in order to be taking care of someone after an accident, but when Roman heard what had happened to Landon, he hopped the first plane he could book, and flew straight home. He’d been living in Tokyo, enjoying the completely different culture, learning massage, and never in a million years did he think he’d be torn back to London for something like this. Landon had been asking for Roman, because for all Landon knew, Ro was still very much his boyfriend, and Harry was a perfect stranger. Roman’s hair was a mess. Pulled up in a loose bun that was falling around his face, puffy from crying after trying to get himself together. “Hey.” He croaked as he walked into the bedroom, his own bed all set up for Landon so he could be comfortable. “I brought food.”

LANDON

As soon as Landon saw his boyfriend (or who he thought as his boyfriend) he tried to sit up and winced when a wave of pain ran through his whole body. The doctors kept saying how lucky he was to have gotten out of the accident the way he didn’t but he didn’t feel so lucky. A broken leg, fractured arm, broken ribs not to mention the fact that his face looked like it had gone through a meat grinder. “Ro baby”, he rasped, trying to hold his good hand out. “What have you got? Don’t think I can eat much.”

Roman.

Roman stopped dead in his tracks when Landon called him baby, something he hadn’t heard leave the other’s mouth in a couple years. He’d changed so much physically, Landon would notice that once he was closer. His baby fat long gone, cheekbone, and jaw more defined, long curls instead of his frat boy phase. He was different. They were both different, and now it was like he was being thrust back into the past, completely unprepared, and scared to say the wrong thing. “I Ehm, I’m glad you’re awake. It’s jus’ soup. Nothing heavy.” He explained as he got a bed tray set up for the smaller across his lap, avoiding eye contact as he arranged everything.

LANDON

Everything seemed so different to Landon, and it wasn’t just the way Roman looked. He was older than he remembered but he knew that was because of his amnesia. The doctors explained that he’d lost a few years after the accident so obviously his boyfriend looked different than he remembered. Landon himself probably looked different as well. It was Roman’s behaviour that was worrying him the most. At first he put it off to worry after the accident. It couldn’t be easy for him to see Landon in this state. But it seemed to be getting worse by the day and Landon couldn’t understand. Why was his boyfriend acting so strange? Avoiding his eyes at all costs, freezing at random times...it was starting to worry him. “Are you...are you okay love?”

Roman.

Roman could have broke the fuck down right there when Landon asked if he was okay like that, like nothing had changed, like they were still together and head over heels in love, and Ro hadn’t been off in Tokyo for two years trying to move on. He was scared to be honest with Landon, they were supposed to ease him into this, but how was letting him think everything was fine going to help the man? “No...I jus’ — Landon...” Ro took a seat at the edge of the bed, looking off to the side as he closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath. “You’re married now, and it’s not to me.” There, he said it, still looking at the wall because he couldn’t bare seeing the look on the smaller’s face. “You broke up with me two years ago.”

LANDON

Landon could have burst out laughing right then and there if laughing didn’t hurt his ribs so much. Is this Roman’s idea of a joke? He was about to say just that when he realised his boyfriend still wasn’t looking at him, resolutely staring at the wall in order to avoid eye contact. He was being serious but...what? How? Landon loved him. He wanted to marry him, have kids, a family...why the fuck would he ever break up with him? Two years couldn’t change things so much, they just couldn’t. And married to someone else? That was ridiculous. “What the hell are you talking about? This isn’t funny.” But Roman wasn’t laughing and he still wasn’t looking at him damn it. “Will you just fucking look at me? Please.” Landon hurt all over and couldn’t even sit up in bed without some help and now his boyfriend (ex-boyfriend?) wouldn’t even give him the time of day. “I just...I don’t understand. I love you”, his voice broke on the last word.

Roman.

Damn this hurt. He had to go through this AGAIN?! It was hard enough dealing with this the first time, how was he supposed to sit here, and convince Landon that they weren’t together when it still killed him every day. It hurt to hear that he loved him, he’d spent so fucking long trying to convince himself that he didn’t, just so he could move on. God, this was his worst fucking nightmare. “Let’s not push it right now.” Roman turned to look at the smaller, evidence of tears having formed in his eyes. “You have so much healing to do landon, it’s a miracle you’re even alive.” He sniffed, not even wanting to think about it. “We need to get you strong.”

LANDON

Landon wanted to push it. He wanted to know why Roman was treating him like a stranger, what led to them being here because he couldn't...wouldn't...believe that they really weren't together anymore. And if that really was the case...why the fuck would he have gotten married to anyone else? But he could see that this was taking its toll on Roman and on him as well. Just a few days before he was in a coma, he shouldn't be taking on so much at once. Landon wanted answers but it was almost as if his body was telling him otherwise. "I'm fine." Now that was definitely a lie but if there was one thing he really hated, it was feeling weak.

Roman.

“You’re not fine.” Ro leveled with the smaller, his tears now freely falling down his face because the fear left over from getting that phone call was still enough to make him feel sick. He’d never been scared like that in his life, and now? Now what? He of course was the one person landon wanted to see the most, and here he was putting his life on hold to nurse his ex boyfriend back to health because he was still so fucking in love with him, it was suffocating. “Please. Eat.” He gestured towards the soup, and then reached to take his hair down. He was starting to get a migraine, and wearing it up wasn’t helping. Ro shook a hand through his longer curls before they hit his shoulders, and thankfully provided a distraction to his tears.

LANDON

The last thing he wanted was to make Roman cry but he was just so confused. It felt like one second he was living the best life with his boyfriend and the next he was waking up in this strange world were there seemed to be no place for him. It left him feeling useless and lost. Without another word, Landon picked up the spoon with his good hand and took a few careful sips, being careful not to overdo it. The last time Roman brought him food he ate too much too fast and the other barely managed to get him out of bed fast enough to reach the toilet in time. That was embarrassing, to say the least. His eyes kept drifting to Roman though, watching him run his fingers through his long hair. "I love your hair like this...the extra length really suits you. I think you look beautiful."

Roman.

Ro did manage to blush when the smaller complimented his hair, and said he looked beautiful, which prompted him to tuck some long curls behind his ear. He always wondered what Landon might think of his hair. They had kind of been distant since he grew it out. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d like it or not.” He admitted honestly, turning so he could face the other a little better. “You really scared the shit out of me, Lan. I don’t think I’ve ever booked a plane ticket so fast in my life.”

LANDON

"I love it." Seeing the way his cheeks turned red at the compliment made him want to run his own hands through Roman's hair and he probably would have, if he could actually move. Landon prided himself on always being on the go, always having something to do or somewhere to be so spending all this time stuck in bed was going to take some getting used to. "I'm really sorry. I...I'm still not sure what happened exactly. All I know is that the other guy ran a red light but I was speeding so I guess I'm to blame as well. Sorry for worrying you but I guess I'm thankful you came all the way back to London. My mum told me you were in Tokyo?" Landon had been confused over why his boyfriend/not-boyfriend was in Tokyo and why he wasn't there with him.

Roman.

The last thing Roman wanted to hear right now was that Landon loved his hair. Months ago, maybe he’d be dying for that, to have any attention from the smaller, but now if just felt...like a fever dream. This wasn’t Landon, not the real, current Landon. Roman’s boyfriend Landon was gone. “Don’t be sorry, I’m jus’ glad you’re okay.” His soft green eyes scanned his former lover, a vulnerability there he couldn’t hide. “Yeah, I’ve been living there for about a year and a half now.” Roman smirked, because he knew Landon was going to get a kick out of this. “I’m a masseuse! I also act and intern for this really awesome theater company there. It’s a blast honestly, Landon, you have to see it there. It’s so different from London.” Clearly this was a joyous subject for the actor.

LANDON

That wasn't exactly what Landon was expecting but he could oddly imagine Roman as a masseuse. And he seemed to be living his dream as well, working closer towards getting his own theater company. He was happy. Landon kept thinking of what his boyfriend told him...about how they broke up two years and how he was married now. He still didn't believe that could ever happen but...it was beginning to make more sense. Why else would he be all the way in Tokyo while he was in New York when he crashed? But then....Roman was so happy so he was doing well and where did that leave him? "Oh wow, that's great! I knew you could do it."

Roman.

Roman was technically sharing happy news, but it didn’t feel that way. Ro’s happy news for Landon was just an empty feeling - knowing that everything he thought he knew was completely different now. “I moved back here for now.” For you. “Gotta make sure ya have a familiar face.” He smirked, trying to lighten the mood just a bit. “You seemed pretty happy too though. From what I could see.” He tried to assure the smaller, even though it hurt to say it.

LANDON

For now. That left a bitter taste in his mouth. The doctors were positive that he was going to get back his memories eventually but what if that didn't happen? What happens then? He apparently had a husband he didn't remember and an ex-boyfriend he was still in love with. Then there was the fact that his mum kept telling him Elle missed New York. She missed seeing Des and Aaron and Alison but he couldn't go back. He didn't know anyone there, his family was here. Roman was here, even though Landon felt bad the other had moved back to London temporarily just for him even though he apparently broke up with him and what the hell was he thinking doing that. He ignored what Roman said about looking happy, he didn't want to hear it. "How's Elle? Haven't seen her since I woke up...I don't want to scare her."

Roman.

“Elle is fine. Don’t worry.” Elle thankfully was so young, that she didn’t know much of what was going on. Roman was jealous. “How about you though? How’s your pain?” Ro was of course in charge of administering meds, and making sure that Landon had everything he needed. Of course the mother hen in him was thriving, but he’d always been a natural at taking care of the smaller. “You need to eat.”

LANDON

All Landon wanted to do was to see his daughter again, hug her close and tell her that everything was going to be okay but he knew the sight of him would probably scare her. She was too young to see the state he'd reduced himself to so hugging Elle again would have to wait until he recovered a little more. "My pain's...fine? I can't really move without somewhere hurting but if I stay really still I can pretend this is all some weird dream." That was a bit of an exaggeration, obviously. "I had some soup, isn't that enough?"

Roman.

"You had...a bite of soup." Roman sighed, and then let his eyes settle on the smaller for a moment. He hated seeing him so battered up, and the fact that this was the first time he'd even SEEN Landon in well over a year...it just...it was a lot. To Landon, he'd probably JUST seen Ro. This was hard. "Landon, I haven't seen you in a year and a half, but trust me, I am just as stubborn as ever, and I WILL force this soup down your throat." He threatened, the hint of a smirk at the corner of his full pink lips.

LANDON

Roman was probably one of the most stubborn people he knew but Landon was also quite stubborn himself and he had a way of getting what he wants. “How come you haven’t seen me in a year and a half?” he asked, trying to catch him off guard. “I get that apparently we broke up but we’ve been in each other’s lives since we were young kids. So...why?” Were things between them really that bad? “Tell you what, if you tell me what happened I’ll eat the soup and you won’t even have to force it on me. Deal?”

Roman.

Ro swallowed hard when Landon asked why he hadn’t seen him in a year and a half. The main reason of course being he was in Tokyo, but he also knew that wasn’t exactly an excuse. “Well I just...” he shook his head, looking down at his lap, feeling taken off guard. All of this was taking him off guard frankly. “You got married, and I guess it was just hard for me, after the breakup. Selfish. I know.” He let out a humorless chuckle.

LANDON

It hurt that apparently they were at a point where they barely even saw each other but Landon could understand. If it was the other way around and he had to watch Roman get married and live a happy life with someone else, he doubted he would be able to stick around to see it. So even though he still wasn't sure what happened and it killed him to know things were so bad between them, he nodded in acceptance and picked up the spoon again. "You're not selfish", he mumbled before he started taking small sips of his soup. "A deal's a deal."

Roman.

Roman did manage a small smile when Landon started to do as he was told, eating on his soup like a good little boy. He wasn’t gonna say that outloud, but it was endearing as fuck. “Gotta keep food on your stomach with those pain pills.” The actor muttered before he was pushing himself up off the bed to gather the laundry basket he’d brought into the room to finish earlier. He began picking out each article of clothing, folding them for Landon, just as he used to do when they lived together. It made him sad, and yeah, all of this was harder for Ro than he’d ever even admit to himself, but he loved Landon with all his heart, and it wasn’t even a question when he’d gotten that phone call, that this would be what he was doing. “Do you have anymore questions for me?” He muttered without even looking at the other male, knowing his head was probably full of curiosity.

LANDON

That was probably a good point considering he was currently living off of pain medication for his various injuries. The soup wasn’t even bad but keeping anything down was a chore and Landon would much rather sleep the rest of his day away at this point. He was so grateful to Ronan for dropping everything to come back to London and take care of him, even though he did feel guilty about it. There was one question that he was desperate to ask but he couldn’t be too sure of Roman’s reaction so when the other asked him if he wanted to know anything else, he took the opportunity. “How did we break up?” he asked, trying to gauge Roman’s reaction. “What happened?”

Roman.

Roman slowed down his movements when Landon asked how they broke up, because for some reason, he hadn’t expected that question. It took him so off guard, he was having trouble breathing. Where was his fucking inhaler? “You thought you were holding me back, that we were drifting apart. We were so busy all the time, and I guess jus’...living two different lives.” Ro finally replied, still not looking at the smaller as he continued folding clothes. “Then you met Harry.”

LANDON

Landon winced because that sounded like something he would do. He never thought he would get to the point where he would break up with Roman but if it was ever going to happen, it made sense that it was for that reason. Especially since Roman's career seemed to be taking off. Maybe he could bring himself to accept that but Harry...that's still something he couldn't wrap his head around. How could he ever find someone else if he couldn't have Roman? The idea of it seemed ridiculous. "I don't get it. When I woke up and my mum talked to me about Elle...the first thought that came to my head was that we were raising her together." Landon regretted saying it out loud the second it was out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Roman.

Ro closed his eyes when those words came out of Landon’s mouth, because fuck. This was what he would have died to hear before the smaller’s accident, and why the hell did it have to happen this way? Why did landon have to be hurt? Married? Ro’s heart was hurting, and he felt tears start to prick at the back of his eyes before he looked straight up to try and coax them to go away. “Yeah, well.” His voice cracked a little, and he gripped the sides of the laundry basket. “Life is weird I guess.”

LANDON

Landon knew he shouldn't have said that but at the same time it was the truth. If he got married to Harry he knew that he must have loved him because marriage wasn't something he would take lightly but he just couldn't remember him. Why the hell would he remember his daughter but not his husband? He even remembered Roman and how much he loved him. That had to mean something right? A part of him felt guilty for Harry because he knew he must be hurting him even though he didn't know him but Roman was his life. "I love you Ro."

Roman.

Ro picked up the basket, fully intending on doing something with it until landon said he loved him. That’s when he dropped it, right on his fucking foot, which caused a lot of cursing under his breath. “Love you, too.” He managed, knowing full well Landon was saying it in a way that meant so much more than the tone Ro was responding with. Not that Roman wasn’t in love with Landon. That would never stop. He just. Fuck. “But I think...” Ro turned to look at the smaller, sighing prior to dropping down to grab the laundry. “I think maybe you fell out of love with me, and that’s fine. It happens.” Yeah, okay. “Eat your soup, and I’ll put on a film.”

LANDON

Landon's eyes opened wide when Roman dropped the laundry basket right on foot. He made a movement almost as if he was going to get up but the pain running through his whole body made him pause with a cause. "Ah shit", he hissed. "Are you okay?" He so desperately wanted to get out of this stupid bed and run to Roman's side but he knew he was stuck there for the time being. His face fell at Roman's words and he quickly shook his head to deny it. "Forget the freaking soup. That's not true and you know it. I love you and it's fine if you don't anymore but you can't decide how I feel."

Roman.

Roman looked panicked when Landon hurt himself trying to get out of bed, holding his hand up in protest like he was going to somehow stop what had already happened from happening. His heart was breaking all over again, and he didn’t even know that was possible. He was shaking his head, not wanting to get into this right now, not when Landon was recovering like this. “I don’t know what I was supposed to think. You invited me to your wedding, and got upset that I didn’t come. Of course I didn’t go. Of course I love still you.” Ro muttered, and then ran a shaky hand through his hair. “But, you broke my heart. I’m jus’, please. We don’t have to do this.”

LANDON

Landon desperately wanted to talk about this and explain his reasoning for inviting him to his wedding but how could he when he couldn't even remember said wedding? He almost wanted to travel to the past just so he could slap himself in the face. "I can't tell you what I was thinking when I did that but I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. And I know I broke your heart...well I don't actually know that but I know you wouldn't lie to me about it", he sighed. "You're right, I shouldn't hve brought it up. Sorry."

Roman.

Roman had no idea what to say now, because it’s not like anything in life was ever in place to teach you how to deal with this sort of thing. All he knew what landon needed him right now, and despite everything, he was gonna fucking push through it. “Don’t be sorry. You’re confused, and want to know.” He assured the smaller before moving over to sit down on the bed, choosing that over laundry right now. “I jus’...I wish I could give you the answers you want.” He muttered from the end of the bed as he looked over at his best friend. “I wish I could fix all of this.”

LANDON

Landon wanted to remember everything because he didn’t like feeling like a part of his life was a complete blank but he was scared of what he would remember. He wasn’t sure it was the life he really wanted to be living and at least right now he could pretend this was it, with the excuse of not remembering how it really was. He knew that wasn’t fair on Roman and that he should let him get back to his own life but Landon was selfish like that and wanted to enjoy these moments with Roman to the fullest. “It’s okay. I know it’s something I’m going to have to figure out on my own eventually”, he shrugged. “I wish things could be simpler but I guess this is the hand i was dealt and I have to deal with it.”

Roman.

Roman couldn’t help himself, and reached for his hand, something he always did when he wanted to help, and didn’t know what to do. This was fucking hard for the both of them, having to relive this over again. It was like pouring lemon juice into a cut. “I’ll be here to help you through it, every step of the way. I moved back after all.” He managed a small smirk, and then squeezed Landon’s hand. “I’m jus’ so fucking glad you’re okay, Landon. I was so-“ his throat got tight, tears threatening to peak again. “You scared the shit out of me.

LANDON

Landon squeezed back his hand as well as he could and gave him a shaky smile. This was the perfect opportunity to tell Roman that he should get back to his life in Tokyo. It wasn’t fair of him to put it on hold just for Landon but he couldn’t get himself to say the words. They were in each other’s presence again. Maybe this could be their opportunity to stop being strangers. “I know, I’m sorry. I was careless and...well, now I’m suffering the consequences of that. If it helps, I don’t think I’m going to be driving again any time soon.” He hated upsetting Roman and he knew that seeing him like this was upsetting the other boy. He would be the same if it was the other way around.

Roman.

Ro nodded, trying his best not to full on sob, especially since landon was trying to make it light hearted, but he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He just exploded, and started crying like a fucking baby. He crawled up the bed to make a place beside the smaller, curling up against Landon like a dog who’d been missing his owner. Man, that was kind of ironic. He certainly felt that on a spiritual level. The actor didn’t say anything else, instead just nuzzling against his best friend, and hoping he didn’t somehow disappear.

LANDON

The last thing he wanted was to make Roman cry but he also knew it was to be expected in the situation they were in. He managed to keep up the facade longer than he would have thought, all things considered. Roman was as considerate as ever, getting in on the side were Landon wasn’t so wrapped up in bandages he resembled an Egyptian mummy. Wrapping an arm around the other boy, he brought him in closer, kissing his forehead and humming soothingly. “I’m okay, I’m okay I promise baby.”

Roman.

it was like Roman couldn’t help but slip back into that role, the role that felt responsible for taking care of Landon, and cuddling into him like this. He knew as he was doing it, that he shouldn’t be. The man was married, they were broken up, even if landon didn’t remember it. But. Hearing the smaller call him baby was his downfall, and he knew he was done for. “I know, I jus’...” he sniffed, and closed his eyes while still laying against Landon. “I’m glad you are.”

LANDONBOT12/09/2020

“I know and I promise I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m staying right here.” Well, he didn’t have much choice about that considering he couldn’t get out of bed right now but he was referring to longer than that and he knew Roman would understand what he meant. Landon didn’t know what he was going to do about the Harry situation. He knew he wouldn’t have married him without a good reason but how could he be with someone he didn’t even remember when the man he loved was right here, cuddled next to him? He kissed the other on the forehead again before whispering against his skin. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me Ro.”

Roman.

How could Roman keep denying that this was everything he’d wanted for the last several years? He’d wanted so badly to be in Landon’s arms again, and to hear that he was the best thing to happen to someone, especially Landon, his best friend. His love. He struggled so badly with self esteem, and abandonment, obviously. Children of abuse handle it in different ways as adults, but Ro had always so heavily relied on Landon, and maybe that wasn’t always easy for the smaller. It was one of the many thoughts Roman had in thinking back to their breakup. Was it his fault, was he too much to deal with? “I don’t know about that, but you’re definitely the best thing that ever happened to me.”

LANDON

Landon smiled at hearing the other’s words and he so badly wanted to kiss him right now, show him just how much he meant what he said but he wasn’t sure Roman would appreciate it. He didn’t want to push him away because he knew the other knew things that Landon couldn’t remember. More than ever, he wished he would remember just so he could tell Roman that he knew everything and it didn’t change anything. He still loved him. That was going to take time though. The doctors told him he could get his memories at any time, within a few days or it could take years. There was also the possibility that he would never remember but Landon didn’t want to think about that.

Roman.

Ro could stay here all day, snuggling Landon, telling him how much he meant. But, they couldn’t do that. This wasn’t old times. Roman pulled back to look at the smaller, their faces a lot closer together than he really planned on them being, but at the same time, it’s not like he was startled. How many times had they been this close in their entire lifetime? Too many times to count, and yet it still made his tummy swoop. His eyes traveled from Landon’s blues, to his lips, and then back again, a small smirk on his face because he just. Sigh. What were they doing?

LANDON

With the way Roman was looking at him, how was he supposed to stay away? It was impossible and so he finally stopped fighting it and leaned in, pressing his lips to Roman’s in a soft kiss. He was careful of how he moved, not wanting to hurt himself and ruin the moment with how much he knew the other would worry over him. And even with his limited movement, the fact that mist of his body was broken and in pain and he couldn’t remember shit, it was still perfect.

Roman.

Roman sucked in a deep breath when Landon kissed him, wanting to pull away, but not at the same time. To Landon, this was normal, he woke up remembering Roman as his boyfriend, his longtime lover. To him, this kiss was normal, nothing wrong with it. Part of Ro felt that way too, but his heart was also aching. He pulled away with tears in his eyes after a moment, pushing his fingers through his long curls before flopping down on his back beside Landon to stare up at the ceiling. “Fuck.”

LANDON

“Sorry, I’m sorry”, he said, as soon as Roman pulled back and he realised he was holding back tears. Landon seemed to be saying that a lot today, constantly messing up but he couldn’t help it. He was so lost and confused and it only seemed to be getting worse instead of better. “I didn’t mean to do th - actually that’s a lie, I wanted to do that but I know I shouldn’t have and I’m sorry.” This is when a horrible thought came through Landon’s head. If he got married after they broke up, did that mean....? “Are you seeing anyone?” If that was the case then he needed to know.

Roman.

Ro turned to look at Landon when he asked if he was seeing someone, answering “No.” a little faster than he really meant to. He just...the thought of seeing someone else made his stomach drop. He couldn’t. He wasn’t ready, and honestly? He didn’t know if he ever would. “I’m...I can’t.” He admitted, turning his head back once again to look up at the ceiling. “I jus’. I can’t really fathom that at the moment.”

LANDON

Landon bit his lip to cover up a smile at his fast Roman answered him although he ended up wincing. Shit, he forgot there was a cut right above his lip. He wished he could say the same to the other, that he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else but him. It wouldn’t be a lie right now but at some point it was because he got married. Something told him that saying that to Roman right now would only hurt him worse so he kept his mouth shut, he did enough damage for one day. And yet Landon didn’t have enough self control and he just had to say something. “I know I’m being selfish but I’m kind of glad you haven’t found anyone else.” Great going Landon.15 September 2020

Roman.

Roman genuinely didn’t know what else to say. Landon was glad he hadn’t found anyone else? Ro wasn’t. He’d wanted to move on so badly, because it hurt. It HURT seeing his ex with someone else, it hurt that he’d gotten married, and was raising a child with someone else. That was what he had wanted with Landon his whole damn life. He’d thought about marriage from he time they were early teens, thinking of colors, and songs, and who they would invite. That was supposed to be HIM walking down the isle, not Harry. “Yeah, well.” He said dryly, turning his head away from the smaller, because he once again was tearing up. “Landon, I don’t want to be depressing when you’re hurt. I’m here to take care of you, we don’t have to do this right now.”

LANDON

Landon knew he hurt him, again. It's not like he was doing it on purpose but he was desperate to understand. How did they come to this? He remembered them together and happy. Okay, so Landon was always a little worried that Roman was way out of his league and that he was holding him back in some way but he never even considered breaking up with him over it. What could have changed since then? He wanted to talk about it, wanted to understand, but he could tell it was taking its toll on his boyf - on Roman and didn't want to make things even worse. "You're right, sorry." Landon wasn't sure what they could talk about if not this considering that he still did not remember his apparent husband or their breakup but he would ask more questions some other day.

Roman.

Roman wasn’t used to hearing his was right, so the comment from Landon’s mouth almost made him smile. But, he didn’t. Instead he just gathered the laundry once more, and began to attempt putting it away in the drawers by Landon’s bed. That wasn’t awkward at all, being domestic after just turning him down. If that’s what that even was. Roman had no idea what that fucking was. “Think you can attempt to eat more here in an hour?” Ro asked his ex without even looking over his shoulder at the smaller, pretending to be preoccupied with the underwear he was perfectly organizing in the top drawer.

LANDON

It was so confusing for Landon to see Roman go around his rooms putting his clean laundry in the drawers. He just told him they broke up and pretty much implied that nothing was going to happen between them and yet here he was being all domestic. Taking care of him and folding his laundry...how could Landon not be confused? He was getting a lot of mixed feelings and he wasn’t sure which one was the right one. “I guess I could try”, he shrugged. This was awkward...why were they so awkward? “Are you sure you’re okay staying here with me? I’m sure my mum wouldn’t mind coming over.” He didn’t want Roman feeling uncomfortable.

Roman.

Shit. Roman had gone and made shit awkward, and now Landon felt weird having him around. Fuck fuck fuck. “No, I’m fine.” He turned to look at the smaller, holding his hand up in a gesture to apparently say he was fine. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make things weird. We’re friends, I’m still your best friend, Landon. Come on. That’s never gonna change.” He was almost making himself emotional again, but his words were true. Before they were lovers, they were best mates, from the time they were five, and he’d always ALWAYS be there for Landon. No matter what.

LANDON

Landon might have lost his memories but he wasn’t stupid. “Really? Then how come you weren’t at my apparent wedding? If we’re still best friends.” He promised himself he wouldn’t bring this up again and he could understand why Roman wouldn’t want to come but it made him hesitant to believe the other boy. Were they really so close to each other after their breakup? Judging from what he was presented with so far, Landon wasn’t so sure.

Roman.

Roman held his breath when Landon called him out like that, once again backing him into a corner he didn’t know how to get out of. He really didn’t want to upset the smaller right now...or himself. “Because it was too hard.” He answered easily, trying not to make it a huge deal, even though it definitely was. “You wanted me to be in the wedding, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t watch you marry someone else, or be a part of it. I’m sorry.” He’d never said that before. He wasn’t able to say it to Landon before the accident, but for some reason he could now...like this was the person he’d known for so many years. This was his Landon.

LANDON

Landon could understand where Roman was coming from. He wouldn’t want to see Roman get married to someone else either so how could he hold it against him? Especially since it was a wedding he couldn’t even remember. “You...you don’t have to apologise. I’m sorry for bringing it up. I can’t even remember the fucking thing so it’s not like I particularly care. It’s just that...you keep saying we’re still best friends and then say something else that makes me think we haven’t seen each other in months and I don’t know. I don’t know which one is the truth.”

Roman.

“Landon, just because we’re best friends, doesn’t mean Everythin’ is so simple.” Roman muttered, turning to look at the smaller with a look of defeat on his features. “Being your best friend doesn’t stop me from loving you, or being miserable at your wedding.” He was being way more honest than he’d been able to be in years, but he knew he needed to be. Landon needed to know the truth, and he needed to accept it for himself. “We made a promise to each other when we first started dating that no matter what happened, we’d always be best friend first. Do you remember that?” Ro asked softly.

LANDON

Things has never been simple for them, why would they be now? He smiled at the reminder of their promise, although it was bittersweet. He kept telling himself that if he was in that position he wouldn’t want to go to Roman’s wedding either. “I remember. So we kept that promise?” Landon wished he could know for himself but right now he depended on the other to tell him everything he couldn’t remember.

Roman.

“Yes. I mean...maybe we’re not as close as we were. Hard to be when I live all the way in Tokyo, but. We try.” He hesitated, and then tucked his hands into his pockets. God he hated feeling so awkward. It wasn’t natural with Landon. “I do know you happen to enjoy my long hair though, cause you ALWAYS stalk those photos on Instagram.” He admitted with a sly smirk, trying to make his friend smile after they’d been so serious.

LANDON

Landon huffed our a laugh but didn’t argue. Couldn’t, really. The first time he saw Roman after waking up, he gaped at him like a fish out of water. It was obviously Roman but he looked so different than what he remembered. More muscular, his features no longer those of an eighteen year old but of a man and his hair. Landon wasn’t above admitting to himself that he often imagined himself running his hands through his long hair and pulling at the strands in moments of passion. Not that that was going to happen with his poor broken body and the fact that apparently he was married now. “Do I? Well at least present me didn’t lose all his senses”, he said, only half joking.

Roman.

Roman did manage to laugh when Landon made a joke about his present self, wishing he didn’t smile as big as he did at that joke, but Landon did always make him laugh so much. Roman probably found him funnier than he should, but he couldn’t help himself. “You’re always the first one to like any photo I post, and that did not happen until I had the hair.” He informed the smaller, maybe exaggerating a bit, but he knew Landon well enough to know this was something he enjoyed. “You wanna touch, don’t you?” He teased his ex boyfriend, which was probably mean, but he was enjoying the banter.

LANDON

Landon knew he was probably exaggerating but at the same time, he wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a complete lie. The Roman he remembered was good looking but sort of in a cute, sweet way. The Roman in front of him right now was pure sex appeal and Landon wasn’t even sure how to act around him. He didn’t want to make it so obvious but couldn’t help himself. “And what would you do if I said yes?” Two could play at that game.

Roman.

Roman swallowed hard when Landon played along with him, shifting where he was standing, because for some reason, he hadn’t expected that. This flirting, which is definitely what it was, was taking him back to a place he hadn’t been in a long time, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to be in it. “Do you want some wine? Because I kinda want some wine.” Offering a man in pain pills alcohol? Smart, Roman. But, he needed it before he lost his damn mind. “Maybe we can watch a movie, and have a drink?”

LANDON

Some part of Landon was aware that flirting with your best friend while married to sons one else probably wasn’t the best idea, even if he couldn’t remember his husband. But he couldn’t really help it. He raised his eyebrows at the other at the suggestion of wine, unsure if he was in a position to drink alcohol but at the same time...when was the last time he loved a little? The accident took so much from him, it didn’t have to take this too. “Sure, I’ll have some wine. Which movie do you want to watch?”

Roman.

“Not to make a dark joke, but I’m sure we’ll have several films to choose from that you don’t even know you’ve seen.” He tried to tease, even smiling because he hoped it would at least lift the mood. He got them both a massive glass of wine before settling in beside Landon, after getting him comfortable of course in a seated position that wouldn’t be too painful for the smaller. “I fucking hate seeing you this way.” The taller admitted before taking a long few sips of wine, and then raked a hand through his hair while he flipped on the tele. This was just unnerving, and he wanted to fix everything immediately so that Landon wouldn’t be in even an ounce of pain.

LANDON

Landon snorted at that, knowing Roman had a point. There was a whole period of movies which he didn’t even remember, even if he watched them in the past. At least he could attempt to look on the bright side of things and think about the advantages of getting another opportunity at seeing some good movies for the first time all over again. Landon but his lip as Roman was moving him around the get him settled. Everything hurt and so the slightest of movements felt like torture but Landon didn’t want the other to feel bad and did his best to hide it. Not that he did a great job, judging by Roman’s reaction. He took a few sips from his wine to try and calm himself down. “It’s okay, I’ll be all good in no time. You’ll see”, he tried to reassure.

Roman.

“Not fast enough.” He answered dryly, looking down at his wine glass because he just...this sucked. Not being with Landon when Landon thought they were together, seeing him so hurt he couldn’t even bathe himself. It was horrible, and he just wished...he wished a lot of things. “I’ll bathe you tonight if that’s okay? You’ll probably feel better, and I need to clean and rebandage up your wounds.” Nurse Roman. It had a ring to it.

LANDON

Having Roman bathe him was embarrassing, even though it wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before. It made him feel vulnerable and he was terrified at the thought that Roman could be out off at the sight of all the guys and bruises that littered his body. Landon knew he was lucky to be alive considering the nature of his accident but he wasn’t feeling very lucky right now. “I’m only human, don’t have super healing unfortunately”, he teased, trying to lighten the mood. “And um...yeah sure you can do that.”

Roman.

“I know you don’t, shut up.” Roman teased the other, nodding when Landon said he could do that for him later. He knew it made the smaller uncomfortable, but Ro of course was happy to do it. He wanted to take care of his best friend, especially since Roman was such a mother to everyone. “Okay, now more wine.” He gestured, and then reached for his wine glass again while picking some comedy that would hopefully make them laugh.

LANDON

Roman was always the first to offer when it came to taking care of someone and Landon was glad to notice that hadn’t changed at all. It was the one thing he could still count on after everything. It almost made him think about his little girl and how she was doing with all this. He missed her. “This movie’s hilarious”, he said, trying not to show that he was feeling a little down.

Roman.

“It is.” Roman turned to look at the smaller. He knew Landon better than he knew himself sometimes, so it wasn’t hard to tell by just glancing at the other male, that something was wrong, and it wasn’t just the obvious. “What’s wrong?” Roman pried, because yeah, whether Landon wanted to discuss it or not, Ro was going to continue to poke him until he did. It’s just the way it always has been.

LANDON

Landon could deny anything was wrong and try to keep himself distracted with the movie but he knew Roman wouldn’t take no for an answer. He would keep bugging him until he got it out of him. “I...I miss my little girl”, he finally said, avoiding the other’s eyes. “My memory is still shaky so I’m not a hundred percent sure how I’ve found myself with a daughter but I miss her even though I know she’s better off with my mum right now.”

Roman.

Roman’s heart sank when the smaller admitted he missed his daughter, something Ro didn’t blame him for AT all. It’s not like he wouldn’t be the same way if their lives were reversed. “Which is why we’re going to video chat her tonight. She won’t really be able to tell the state you’re in Jus’ through the phone, but she can still see you. It’ll be good.” He tried to assure Landon, and make him feel better about the situation.

LANDON

That was definitely a relief. He knew why Elle needed to stay with his mum and away from him for a little while. The state of him wasn’t something anyone’s daughter should see as he knew it would scare her. Knowing that at least he was still going to get the chance to see him in some way, even if through a phone screen, was enough for now. “That would be amazing”, he smiled. “Have you...have you met her?”

Roman.

Roman shook his head when Landon asked if he’d met Elle, because even after all this planning between himself, and Landon’s Mum, he had yet to even see the little girl. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to, it was just...weird. He felt like this was something they should have been doing together, and they fact that they hadn’t...it was just. Yeah. Complicated. “I wanted to wait until we could do that together. In person. If that’s alright.” He suggested, because really he wanted to do whatever Landon was comfortable with ultimately.

LANDON

“Sure, I’d love for you to meet her. I know this is probably something every parent says but she’s so smart, even though she’s only a year old”, he gushed a large grin on his face. Landon could imagine that the whole situation was really weird and he was still baffled as to how he wasn’t raising Elle with Roman. But at least the two could meet.5 October 2020

Roman.

Roman smirked when Landon talked about Elle, because he’d always been a sucker for Landon talking about kids. He thought when he discussed his own tough, it would be Ro’s as well, but he wasn’t going to get into that. “I’m sure she’s perfect. I wouldn’t expect anythin’ less.” He assured the smaller, and then finished off his wine before pouring himself another glass. “Want more?” He gestured with the bottle.

LANDON

“She really is.” Landon wanted nothing more than to drink enough wine to stop the pain running up and down his body but he knew it was probably a horrible idea while taking a whole cocktail of pain meds. “Nah, I’m good. Don’t want to fuck myself up even more by mixing alcohol and medication.” There would be time for him in the future to let loose, or at least he hoped.

Roman.

Roman's face fell when Landon mentioned not wanting to mix alcohol with his meds, suddenly realizing that he should have been thinking about that beforehand. "Shit. I'm sorry..." He apologized, giving his friend a sympathetic expression in hopes Landon wasn't thinking anything negative towards Roman's ability to take care of the smaller. "I wasn't even thinking about that." He reached for the other's wine glass, and then sat them both on the side table, out of mind. He was clearly beating himself up for this, which was probably unreasonable. Everyone made mistakes, but when it came to people he cared about, Ro was so mindful usually.

LANDON

Landon wasn’t blaming Roman for anything but it was clear Ro didn’t feel the same way. He might not be able to move from this bed for at least a few weeks and everything hurt, but his brain worked just fine, amnesia apart. He knew that drinking on pain meds wasn’t ideal but he did it anyways and that was on him, not on Roman. “Hey, no. Babe this isn’t your fault, you’re not responsible for every choice I make. I knew it wasn’t ideal but I did it anyways. That’s on me.” Roman moved back to London and welcome him into his home to take care of him. That was already going above and beyond anything Landon could have ever expected.

Roman.

Roman knew Landon didn’t blame him, he never would. Ro could probably murder someone, and Landon would find a way to come to his defense, but it didn’t make the actor feel any better. Once the movie was over, Ro started getting things together to get Landon a bath, and then rounded the bed so he could offer his help in getting the smaller out of bed. “Just take it easy, okay?” He warned, while holding onto his friend.

LANDON

This was probably the time Landon dreaded the most out of the whole day. Not only d it take him ages to get out of bed and out of his clothes in order to be able to get in the bath but needing to get help for something as easy as a bath never failed to remind him of the situation he found himself in. He watched Roman get everything ready, trying not to frown too much and sighed when the other offered him his hand. “Yeah, yeah, I got it”, he said, even though he was wincing trying to get himself up. It just hurt so much and the worse part was that it wasn’t just in one area. His whole body hurt. I feel like I was run over by a truck. It was probably too soon to joke like that and Roman probably would not appreciate his humor.

Roman.

Roman knew the smaller male was prideful. He always had been, and really didn’t like depending on others. Roman was the same way though - always taking care of someone else, and feeling awkward when the roles were reversed. He could set that aside though and ignore Landon’s reactions in order to make sure he received the care he needed though, and lord did he need it. “Good.” He encouraged the other, getting him into the bathroom before hesitating. He didn’t want to just strip the man down without any warning, so he gave him a look before he was helping him out of his clothes. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before, but the damage done to his poor body was. Ro could feel his eyes watering up as he took in all the cuts and bruises, careful to keep the bandages sealed on the bits that didn’t need to get submerged in the water. “Okay. Just a quick soak so I can get you cleaned off, and it’ll be over.” He tried to encourage while grabbing Landon’s hand, and helping him into the tub.

LANDON

Landon wished he could just pretend like the accident never happened and walk to the bathroom with no help at all. Then he would wash himself up all by himself and get dressed alone as well. But even the shirt walk from the bed to the bath took a lot out of him and that was with Roman‘a help. He was sweating and breathing deeply by the end, grateful that at least Roman wasn’t bringing it up. Landon could feel himself turning bright red when the other helped him undress. It might not be anything he hadn’t seen before but the situation was completely different. There was nothing remotely sexy about this. He nodded along to what Roman was saying and squeezed on his hand as support to get in, letting out an audible sigh of relief once he was in. “That was way more effort than it’s worth”, he mumbled.

Roman.

Roman frowned when Landon finally got in the tub, and seemed exhausted. He shook his head at the other’s words, already grabbing the cup he’d brought in to get Landon’s hair wet. “That’s not true. I think you’ll feel loads better once we get you all cleaned up. Lean back.” He instructed, watching the smaller with a certain level of intensity, concerned by every little move he made, not wanting to hurt Landon more than he already was. “Let me know if anythin’ is too much for you.”

LANDON

Landon knew that this was taking a lot out of Roman as well. If their situations were reversed he would be going mental right now trying to figure out how he could help and terrified to hurt him. So he tried his best not to give away the level of pain he was actually in, not wanting the other to worry about him even more. He leaned back and closed his eyes as Roman got his hair wet. As much as he hated to admit it, the bath was already making him feel much better.

Roman.

Even in this damaged state, Roman couldn’t help but take in just how beautiful Landon was. His face was just...a masterpiece, and he didn’t want to stare, yet here he was. Staring. Respectfully. Kind of. Ro cleared his throat and then began to massage some shampoo into Landon’s hair before he was soaping up a loofa to wash around his friend’s wounds. “You okay?” He checked in.

LANDON

Landon could feel eyes on him and yet he didn’t open his own. Like this he could pretend that things between them were just like he remembered them instead of whatever fucked up mess they were now. They were still together and in love, Landon didn’t look like he’d just been through a meat grinder and this was actually a romantic gesture. If only. His silence must have worried Roman though so he opened his eyes and smiled half heartedly. “I’m all good, just thinking.”

Roman.

“Yeah?” He watched the other, working on washing his shoulders before he was pouring a warm cup of water over the smaller to rinse him off. He could only imagine what Landon was thinking about, and maybe deep down, he kind of knew, they were just connected like that. But, that didn’t stop him from wanting confirmation. “Wanna talk about it?” He offered, and then decided to condition the ends of the smaller’s hair, because Roman was kind of self care, and he couldn’t help himself. At least he wasn’t going to force Landon through his own extensive nightly routine.

LANDON

Should he even sat what was going through his head? Landon didn’t want to hurt him more than he already had but if Roman was asking...surely he had an idea of what was going through his head right now. Or at least he hoped. “I’m thinking about how I wish we were doing this under different circumstances”, he said, closing his eyes again when Roman started running his hands through his hair with the conditioner. Or maybe he just didn’t want to see the other’s reaction to what he was saying. “And maybe I’m thinking about how I wish I could just kiss you right now.”

Roman.

Roman didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until landon said that last bit, feeling like he might passout at any minute because FUCK. Maybe Roman was thinking about that too, really wanting to kiss the smaller again because yeah, he’d been in a terrible accident, but he was still naked and beautiful, and even more important than that, Roman missed the fuck out of him. He knew it would be wrong technically to kiss him. He was married, and vulnerable in pretty much every way a person could be vulnerable. So. Why was he feeling so selfish? “Well...can I then? Kiss you?” He asked with bated breath, knowing what Landon’s answer would be, and yet he still was waiting in anticipation.

LANDON

Landon’s eyes snapped open and he looked up at Roman in shock. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting at all. He thought Roman would once again remind him that he was a married man and that they shouldn’t do this even though he couldn’t even remember his husband. But instead he said yes. That was a yes. There wasn’t anything else Landon could do other than nod and he watched as the other leaned in until their lips connected. Anything other than this moment went out the window and Landon just didn’t care.

Roman.

What was he doing? The second his lips touched the others, he knew he was in trouble. Did that stop him? Absolutely not. In fact, his hand ended up at the back of the smaller’s head to hold him in place while their tongues tangled together. Ro let his heartache, and how much he missed the other male get in the way of thinking logically. He even sighed out a moan of relief into Landon’s mouth as he dropped the loofa into the tub.

LANDON

If Landon wasn’t so distracted, he would probably spare a thought to the fact that he was completely naked in the bath while Roman was fully clothed. At any other point, that would have had him feeling embarrassed but right now all he could think about was the feeling of coming home that he was experiencing. There might be a lot that he didn’t remember but he still felt like he missed Roman so much and was finally getting him back. He loved him. Landon hummed when the other loved his hand to his head, feeling completely safe in Roman’s arms. “I love you”, he mumbled against his lips when they pulled back for air.

Roman.

Roman felt his heart twist when Landon said he loved him, making him feel a little nauseous honestly. Did he want to take advantage of this, and just five back into what they had now that Landon was forced back there mentally? He’d be lying if he said no. But, he knew that wasn’t right. What if Landon eventually married Harry? It just...it wasn’t as simple as he wished it could be. “I love you, too.” He sighed while pulling back, and then tensed his jaw as he turned to seek out a towel. “I wish this wasn’t so damn complicated.”

LANDON

Landon thought they were getting somewhere, especially when Roman said he loved him too, but his hopes were crushed when the other pulled back. His words didn’t leave him feeling all that great either. Landon knew things were complicated, and even more so for Roman who remembered things that he didn’t. He couldn’t forget that he was married and that they broke up but, try as he might, he couldn’t bring i himself to care. They loved each other. Why couldn’t that be enough? “I know it is and I hate it but I just...I can’t hate the fact that I could do that with you again.”

Roman.

Roman looked down when Landon said he couldn’t hate the fact that he could do that with him again, forcing the taller to once again focus on what he had been doing. He had to be the one with a rational mind right now. There was no choice. Landon was hurt, and had every excuse to do, and feel what he did right now. But, he was married, he had a kid. Ro had to be the one to think about that if Landon couldn’t. As much as he wanted to give himself to the smaller whole heartedly, again, he couldn’t. And as soon as Landon was back on his feet, Ro would be moving on to his next dream, far away from here.

#discord #thread #flashback #c: roman

3 notes · View notes

nataliedanovelist · 4 years

Text

GF - Beauty Within the Fallen ch.VII

Summary: Two misfit twins come across an enchanted castle, home of a mysterious beast, and slowly begin to form a strong bond that just might survive through anything. Even evil demons.

AU and artwork belong to the beautiful and very talented @artsycrapfromsai. Go give her some love, guys!!!

ch.VI - ch.VIII (finale)

~~~~~~~~~~

Dipper, Mabel, and Waddles hastily traveled through the forest. They may have a map leading them to Fiddleford and then to the village, but the wolves might still come. Dipper led the way with a lantern he had borrowed from the castle and the map Ford had given to them. Mabel looked ahead and screamed before running with Waddles at her heels. Dipper looked up from the map and nearly dropped it in shock.

He hurried to the tree Mabel was kneeling at and examined Fiddleford. He looked more dead than alive, his skin pale, almost blue, and heavy bags under his eyes. He must have been searching for them this whole time. Without a single word, much like how they helped Stan when he was hurt, the twins stood on either side of Fiddleford and helped carry him out of the woods. It was the middle of the night when they arrived home. It would have been comforting if the circumstances weren’t so dire. Fiddleford might be dying. The children quickly worked together, fixing medicine, building a fire, dressing their guardian warmly and putting him to bed, until they finally admitted defeat to sleep and curled up with Fiddleford in his bed. ~~~~~~~~~~ The first thing Fiddleford noticed was how warm he felt. And better, much better. Oh. No. No, no, no! Did he die?! Is he in heaven?! He can’t die yet! The children! He wanted to quickly jump up and act, but his body was weak and he ached. Oh. Okay, good. He was still alive. He forced his eyes open and though his vision was blurry, he smiled weakly to find the kids at his sides. Mabel and Dipper both beamed at him, perfectly safe and okay. Mabel was dressed in her blue peasant dress and cloth headband, Dipper in his navy-blue nest and hat with an orange shirt. He gave Fiddleford his glasses and he croaked, “Welcome back.” “Kids,” Fiddleford sat up and slipped on his glasses, then wrapped each child up in a tight hug, which they happily returned. “Oh, thank God. Thank God. I thought I’d never see y’all ‘gain.” “We missed you, too, Fidds.” Mabel cooed. “You’re finally awake…” “What on God’s green Earth happened t’y’all?” Fiddleford asked as he loosened his hold. “You wouldn’t believe it, Fidds!” Mabel cheered as she sat on her knees next to him. “There was this beast in a castle and a talking hammer and an axe and a teapot and all sorts of magic inside and a poor journal who couldn’t talk or eat or sleep and…” “But the beast and the journal - Stan and Ford - are our friends. They took care of us.” Dipper cut Mabel off. “Well, everyone in the castle did, but the guys are awesome! They’re twins, like us, and under a curse.” “And we have to help them!” Fiddleford blinked, completely and utterly confused, but then he smiled. “I believe ya.” The twins are a bit surprised, but then again, they were talking to one of the most open-minded people they knew. “You do?” They asked at the same time. “O’course.” Fiddleford said. “I always said this world’s gotta lotta thangs we don’t quite get. Some thangs are just different, like us. N’ I trust y’all enough to know ya wouldn’t lie ‘bout this. Now, y’all said they’re under a curse?” “Yeah, and to break it, Stan the beast has to fall in love with someone and they have to love him, too.” Mabel answered. “We were gonna try to help by finding a match for him, courtesy of the best matchmaker in the world!” “Hm, well, if…” Fiddleford stopped when he thought he heard yelling coming from outside. “Did y’all hear that?” “Yeah, what’s going on?” Dipper asked and they went outside to investigate. ~~~~~~~~~~ Stan sat on Abuelita the armchair, watching the sun set behind the woods. His mind was elsewhere. Ford, his journal closed, noticed this and wished to help or comfort him, but the beast, back in his normal attire of red cloak over a white shirt and dark pants, was too distracted to open a journal and read at the moment. The sun was now gone, all light but from candles lost, and Stan sighed. He needed to say something. He cautiously opened the journal and said, “I’m sorry, Stanford. I’m sorry I couldn’t set you free.” Stanley, was the only word for a while, but then Ford managed to write more. You were willing to let me go. Thank you. “No,” Stan shook his head. “It’s my fault you’re trapped.” Don’t blame yourself. I’m the one that summoned Bill in the first place. I fell for his easy flattery, but you saw him for the scam artist he is. “I didn’t exactly make this curse easier for you.” No, perhaps not. Ford admitted, but then quickly added, But your heart was in the right place. You’ll never admit this but you were afraid. I understand; when the curse was first brought upon us neither of us knew how to respond. Accidents happen, Stanley. “Yeah, and I’m chop full of ‘em.” Even still, I won’t lie to you. All those years you never opened me, kept me in that glass container, I nearly went insane. There were so many times I didn’t know if I existed anymore. That wasn’t even the worst of it. All I could do was listen and watch you suffer alone. “I know, I know!” Stan growled. “That was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve done some really stupid stuff, and I’m sorry.” It’s alright. I forgive you. I should have been a better brother to you. I should have seen your pain and done something about it years ago. “And now you’re gonna die like this.” Stan said darkly. As will you. “Who cares?” I do! And those children care, too! The tiniest of smiles flickered on the beast’s face. His memory brought back those kids for a moment, a beautiful, glorious moment. Dancing with them, reading stories, teaching Dipper how to fight and hugging Mabel close to his furry chest. You miss them, don’t you? Stan sighed, a tired old man. “Yeah. I love them.” I know you do. And because you love them, they will be with you, in your heart, for evermore. Stan, once again, cracked a small smile at that. He had no idea if they found Fiddlebucket or not, or if they ever made it home, but he hoped that they were safe and happy. Do you wish to see them? Ford asked. Look at my hand. You can see them whenever you want. Stan, excited, closed the journal and looked at the six-fingered hand. He grinned at the sight of the children, standing at a front door with an old man with a long beard and big nose. His smile dropped when the children looked scared and uncertain. He watched as echoes of voices grazed his large ears. “What’s going on?!” Dipper asked. “What are you all doing?!” “Dipper!” Lazy Susan gasped. “Mabel! You’re okay!” “But… how…” Blubs stuttered. “Gideon says you were kidnapped by some beast in a castle!” “What?!” Mabel gasped and shook her head wildly. “No, no! He saved us! He saved our lives! He’s our friend!” Stan beamed with pride. Lil’ Gideon paled. “I… I don’t understand. Y-You were t-t-trapped by a monster!” “He’s not a monster!” Dipper snapped. “Mabel’s telling the truth! The beast wouldn’t hurt anyone. He gave us a place to stay and took care of us.” “Yeah!” Mabel said as she and Dipper left the porch of their home to talk to the angry crowd. “He’s sweet and kind and gentle. You don’t have to be afraid of him. He’s a very good person. He even liked Waddles!” “No, I don’t!” Stan growled with a smile, unheard by everyone except for Abuelita and Ford. The old armchair rolled her eyes, knowing her boss was lying. Gideon’s face reddened, his chubby face curling inward in fury. “Of course! The beast has them under his spell! I’ve heard of dark magic like this, but never before seen it with my own eyes!” “What, no!” Mabel cried out. “Officers, you don’t believe him, do you? You won’t let this happen, will you?” “Sorry, kids, but we trust Gideon over a couple of odd-balls like you.” Blubs said coldly, arms crossed over his chest. “And nothing short of a miracle could ever change that.” “NO!” The kids shrieked and turned to Fiddleford. “Fiddleford, tell them!” Dipper called. “Tell them it’s not true!” The angry mob laughed. “You’d put your word on a loony old man?! The same guy that destroyed the town three times just this month?!” Durland cackled. “I done rebuilt it every time!” Fiddleford defended. Gideon stood on his dazzling white horse and called out to the townsfolk, “You see?! The spell spreads! Look at what the monster has done to our poor friends!” “He’s not a monster, Gideon,” Mabel snarled and pointed at the white-haired boy. “YOU ARE!” “ENOUGH!” Gideon hopped down and grabbed her wrist so tight she winced in pain. Stan growled dangerously. Dipper yelled and was about to act, but Ghost Eyes grabbed a hold of him. “Don’t worry, Mabel, once I kill the beast and the spell is broken, you shall finally be my queen! Keep them safe! Lock them away! We can’t have them gettin’ in our way!” “NO!” Mabel cried out as a big beefy man grabbed her and shoved her, Dipper, and Fiddleford into a cart and it was locked up. “HELP! HELP US!” Dipper rammed his body against the iron doors to try to escape, but it was useless. “The beast will come after us all! He’ll come after us in the night!” Gideon called out to the crowd, who cheered and yelled. “I say we kill it!” “YEAH!” “NO!” Mabel cried as tears ran down her face. “DON’T HURT HIM, PLEASE!” “We're not safe until he's dead!” Northwest concluded. “He'll come stalking us at night!” Mr. Valentino gasped. “Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!” Manly Dan cried out, hugging his three sons so tight their faces turned blue. “He'll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free!” Lazy Susan feared. “So it's time to take some action, fellas!” Gideon called out. “It's time to follow me!” And the crowd began to gather guns, torches, pitchforks, and chanted “kill the beast” courageously into the night. Stan stood up quickly and left the armchair, throwing the door open. “Soos! Wendy! Get over here!” Soos and Wendy hopped over as quick as they could. “We’ve got a code Piertotum Locomotor! Man the boundaries! Protect the castle! Get ready for battle! Go, go, go!” And the beast left to organize the attack, all the while he couldn’t shake away the blossoming feeling that those kids were willing to risk their lives for him. Maybe he was worth it, after all. ~~~~~~~~~~ Even after the mob marched away, Dipper continued to throw himself against the doors, making loud bangs but no progress. “DIPPER, STOP!” Fiddleford grabbed him and rubbed his shoulders. “You’ll hurt yourself, calm down.” “We have to do something!” Dipper cried out. “This is all our fault! They’ll kill him! We have to help!” “Hush, boy, hush.” Fiddleford hugged him and rubbed circles into his back. “We’ll think o'somethang. We are three geniuses, after all.” Mabel looked out the window, though the bars, and tried to find something that could help. Her eyes dazzled at the sight of her pig as he ran up to the cart and oinked. “WADDLES! Waddles, we need your help! Go get us a pry bar! You can do it, Waddles, go find one! Good pig!” “Mabel,” Dipper scolded. “He’s just a pig! There’s no way he even knows what a pry bar is!” “C’mon, Dipper, have faith!” “No, no! YOU need to be realistic! I love Waddles, too, Mabel, not there’s no way he’s gonna…” The pig squealed with joy and the three humans peered down to find a ring of keys in his mouth. Mabel gave her brother a sassy look. “Well, it’s not a pry bar.” Dipper quipped. Waddles tossed the keys in the air and Fiddleford put his arm through the window and caught them. He pushed himself against the door and started to fiddle with the lock and the keys. “One of these gotta be it…” ~~~~~~~~~~ Manly Dan led the team to chop down a huge pine tree and cut it so they could use it as a battering ram. The mob hoisted it on it’s shoulders, following Gideon on his noble steed and Ghost Eyes marching beside him. “Take whatever booty you want, but the beast is mine!” He called out, using the map Gideon had woken up with in his fist to find their way. Gideon grinned to find the castle before them and they ran up to the giant doors. Miraculously, it only took one hit and the doors flew open, giving the invaders a false idea that this would be easy. They found the castle filled with items in the lobby, like a rich yard-sale. Gideon left his horse outside and led the crowd into the dark and quiet castle. Books, chairs, chests, dishes, nearly every type of item surrounded the unafraid villagers. Ghost Eyes leaned down to whisper to Lil’ Gideon. “Aren’t you worried this place might be haunted?” “Don’t lose your head, Ghost Eyes.” The bodyguard picked up an axe from a table and held it, ready to attack anything that may come his way. “NOW!” The axe cried out, and the castle lit up with life as the battle began. Drawers smacked people in the face. A coat-rack boxed with one of Manly Dan’s sons and won quickly. Pots fell on people's heads and clashed with metal spoons and pans, making their ears ring. A chest consumed people and dumped them back outside like dumping out trash. Grenda stood from the second floor and cried out, “GRENDA’S JOINING THE PARTY!” and she fell on top of Ghost Eyes. Gideon dodged out of the fight and went up the stairs. Three men were coming towards her to attack, but Grenda had cloth and material swarm around them and soon they were dressed in drag. Two of the boys screamed in horror and ran, but Tad Strange only stared ahead and said calmly, “This is fine.” Robbie was kicking tea cups and trying to squish them, but Candy hung from the above chandelier and spilt boiling hot tea on the crowd. Wendy was running away from Manly Dan’s own axe, but Soos came out of nowhere and hammered him in the face, knocking him out cold. Melody burst through the doors of the ballroom and shot her keys like bullets. Meanwhile, using Ford’s given map, Dipper, Mabel, Fiddleford, and Waddles were running up to the castle and gasped to find the battle before them. “Hurry!” Mabel cried out and they hurried up to the front door. Fiddleford used his banjo to swing at people’s heads. Waddles bit people’s ankles. Killbone was about to go after Fiddleford for helping the enemy, but Lazy Susan hit him over the head with her rolling in, knocking him out cold. “Susan?! But I thought…?” “I’m sorry, old friend, I just didn’t wanna be locked up.” Lazy Susan explained as she and Fiddleford fought back-to-back. “Claustrophobic. Plus I could’ve very well fight the bad guys locked away, could I?” “Ah, gotcha. Well then!” Fiddleford swung his banjo and hollered, “Fight like a hillbilly, woman!” Mabel and Dipper punched people and shoved them out of the way as they hurried up to the West Wing to make sure their friends were okay. ~~~~~~~~~~ Minutes prior, Gideon cautiously opened the door, a bow and arrow in his chubby hands. His eyes immediately landed on the handsome journal on the table. He noticed the six fingers on the golden hand and he hypothesized that this journal must have the answer to undoing the spell Mabel was under. No wonder it was so well cared for while everything else in the room was ruined beyond repair. Gideon walked into the room to take the journal, but the door slammed behind him and he spun around, arrow ready to shoot. His eyes widened at the huge gray beast before him, peering down at him with cold brown eyes and on all fours like an animal. “Last chance, kid.” The beast growled warningly. “Get out before things get ugly.” “You mean uglier than you, never!” Gideon declared and shot his arrow. Stan dodged it, but soon saw that it was a distraction so the little troll could run to Ford. The beast tried to get their first, but just a few feet shy and Gideon had the journal in his chubby hands. “I got it! I got it!” “Give it back.” Stan snarled. “Why?” Gideon asked coldly with a wicked smile. “Why’s it so important, monster?” “Just give it to me.” Stan was careful to sound firm, but he looked in no hurry to hurt a kid or his brother. Gideon opened the journal to find it blank. He flicked through the pages roughly, losing his temper, and when he concluded that the answers he was looking for were not here, he ripped a page out and yelled in fury. Stan grunted and sunk, like he was in pain. Gideon noticed this and grinned as an idea came to his twisted mind. This journal must be the source of his powers! Destroying it would free Mabel! Gideon ripped out another page, then another, and another. Stan growled on all fours and curled in on himself in overwhelming pain. He tried to shake his head and clear away the distraction, but he could practically hear Ford’s screaming in his ears, even if it was only his imagination, and it was maddening. “Stop it… stop it… STOP IT!” Stan gnarled at Gideon. “Or what, huh?” The child mocked. “What are you gonna do, huh? Huh?! Face it, foul creature, without this book you’re nothing!” He laughed and tore out another page. Gideon suddenly cried out in pain and dropped the journal. Stan huffed and puffed to try to compose himself. He looked up to see Dipper and Mabel standing in front of him, facing Gideon, both of them wearing scary looks and Dipper had his fists curled and ready to strike again. Gideon rubbed his pale chubby cheek. “Ow! What the… how did you…?” “Doesn’t matter.” Dipper snapped. “You’re leaving. Now.” “Oh, am I, boy?” And Gideon ran to him to punch him. While the boys punched each other and fought, Mabel hurried to Stan and petted his shoulder, trying to soothe him and help him feel better. “Stan? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Hazy still, Stan weakly looked up at the girl and smiled. “Mabel… you came back.” “Of course we did.” She looked back at the fight and saw that Gideon was having a slight advantage. He shoved into Dipper and they both fell through and broke a window, toppling down the roof. Mabel and Stan yelled with worry and ran after them. The boys tumbled and rolled, punching and slapping each other. Dipper fell on a balcony and groaned with ache while Gideon squealed and kept on going. He fell on a slanted roof and staggeringly got up. Like a scrawny cat, he climbed up to Dipper and kicked him in the jaw. Dipper quickly rolled up on his feet and used the lessons Stan had taught him to fight. Mabel quickly slid down the slanted tile roof and jumped into the fight. She punched Gideon in the jaw and found that his stuck-up traditions made him not hit a girl. She and Dipper took advantage of this weakness and worked together to beat up their enemy until he fell and didn’t get up. He rubbed a swollen black eye and looked up at the angry pre-teens before him. The beast, he noticed, was over on the next roof and letting the twins handle their own battle with a huge smile. “Listen, Gideon,” Mabel said coldly. “It’s over. I will never ever be with you.” “Yeah!” Dipper backed up and Mabel kicked him in the head, just hard enough to knock him out cold. Stan hopped down behind the twins and had his hands on his hips. “Nice technique, pumpkin.” “Stan!” They both cried out with relief and ran up to him. Stan got on one knee and engulfed them in a hug. Mabel nuzzled her face into his fur and Dipper held him tightly. “We’re so sorry, we tried to stop them but they wouldn’t listen to us!” The boy said. “It’s okay, kid, it’s okay.” Stan soothed and rubbed his back as he purred. “I know.” “You know?” Mabel gasped with a huge grin. “Ford! He showed you, didn’t he?! You asked to see us, didn’t you?!” Stan shrugged and put the kids down to ruffle their hair. “What can I say, I missed you knuckleheads.” Mabel squeezed his paw. “We missed you, too, Stan.” Meanwhile, Gideon’s one unswollen eye opened yellow and slit, like a cat’s. He rose and flexed his fingers and arms, getting used to his body. Standing with his back to the happy reunion, he began to cackle evilly. A chill ran down Stan’s spine. His grip on the twins tightened. “I know that laugh.” Dipper’s jaw dropped. “No… it couldn’t be… it’s impossible...” Gideon turned around and they saw his eye. Stan growled protectively and hunched over the kids. “Bill Cipher.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note: I have nothing to say. Except the code Stan used as a reference to the spell McGonagall used during the Battle of Hogwarts. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope y’all enjoy an upcoming chapter full of angst!

#GF #gravity falls #beauty within the fallen #batb au #stan pines #ford pines #mabel pines #dipper pines #fanfiction #oh boy #here we go

24 notes · View notes