Creative Prompt Fills

Sideblog for all your prompt fills by creativepromptsforwriting Send in your works (writing, drawing, whatever you have) to be reblogged on here! Some posts may be 18+, so please be careful with what you read.

[creativepromptfills]

Blog rules

This blog is a place for you to show off what you have created with my, @creativepromptsforwriting's prompts or even advice.

It doesn't matter if it's a fic, a drawing, a poem, etc. Show off your creative work to attract a bigger audience, to get feedback, to find like-minded people, and to inspire other people.

If you want your work to be reblogged you can send in your post via chat, as an ask or submit it. Or tag @creativepromptfills in your post (or @creativepromptsforwriting, but then make it clear that it's ok to be reblogged).

This blog only reblogs, it's not responsible for the content of the posts. Please let me know if you have themes in your work that requires me to tag it as 18+ or that has specific warnings.

I'm probably going to change some things about this blog in the next few weeks, but for now have fun everyone!

- Jana

[liaromancewriter]

Closing Time

Premise: Cassie tries her best pick-up lines but Ethan’s not biting.

Fandom: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 885

A/N: I was reviewing my fic ideas tag and found all these flirty prompts, which inspired this fic. I'm using @creativepromptsforwriting Prompt #219: Quotes (31), Prompt #690 and Prompt #970. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills Also submitting to @choicesmonthlychallenge using April prompt "touch"

It was Friday night and Donahue’s was packed. At the back of the bar, Michael Jackson blasted from the jukebox, telling everyone to beat it. Over by the pool tables, there were simultaneous loud cracks as balls split apart before rolling across the green surface.

The darts competition between surgical and medical residents was heating up, but Reggie the bartender wasn’t concerned. He’d seen a version of this rivalry play out over the years. It usually ended with the losing side buying the other a round of beer.

He wiped the inside of a glass, keeping one eye on the empty barstool reserved for one of his regulars. A threatening glare was enough to disabuse anyone who was even thinking of taking that seat.

Most nights, Ethan Ramsey could be found there, silently nursing a single Scotch and reflecting on whatever a physician of his renown reflected on. Although, ever since the man had gotten married this summer (something that still surprised Reggie), his visits had become less frequent.

But Reggie spied Ethan’s better half on the other side with her friends and knew he wouldn’t be far behind. Where Cassie Valentine was, Ethan was sure to follow.

And he was right. Ethan walked in ten minutes later, glanced briefly in his wife’s direction—a soft smile hovering on his lips—and then parked himself at the bar.

“Didn’t think you were coming tonight,” Reggie remarked, reaching under the bar for the top-shelf Scotch he kept for Ethan.

“Lost track of time,” Ethan said, rolling his shoulders and running one hand through his hair before sighing loudly. “It’s been a tedious day.”

Reggie made it a double and left him to his thoughts. Before he turned to his other customers, he caught Cassie’s eye and angled his head, nodding toward Ethan.

Her brows furrowed in confusion at first, and then she glanced at Ethan, saw his slumped shoulders, and nodded in acknowledgment.

A few minutes later, Cassie propped one elbow on the bar and leaned close.

“I have to say, you look really hot.”

“No, you don’t actually have to say that,” Ethan muttered, rolling his eyes as he sipped his whisky.

He could practically see her mentally reassess as he ignored the obvious pick-up line. Really, the woman had better ones in her repertoire. He should know, as he’d been on the receiving end of plenty.

She tried again.

“I heard that you can determine how well you fit together with another person by kissing them. Want to skip the small talk and see if we’re compatible?”

“No, thank you,” he said, not taking his eyes off the amber liquid.

It was perverse of him, but Ethan wanted to laugh at the shocked expression on her face when her second attempt failed.

He peeked at Cassie, grinning at how her green eyes narrowed in determination. She drummed her fingers on the bar top and then straightened.

Placing one hand on his jaw, she angled his face toward hers, her smile coquettish. “I think destiny wants us to be together, and you should never argue with destiny.”

“Uh-huh,” he said dismissively, secretly enjoying himself and feeling the stress he’d been carrying lighten.

It took supreme willpower not to kiss the pout forming on her lips. Ethan wondered if she was ready to call it quits, but her annoyed look told him her competitive spirit had been activated.

“You know, I believe that honesty is the best policy,” she drawled, making his heartbeat skip as she seductively traced one finger down his arm. “So to be perfectly honest, I want to spend many more days with you.”

“Sorry, I’m married,” he said, perfectly deadpan.

This time, he did laugh when she let out a short, frustrated scream and pinched his biceps.

“You try my patience, Ethan!”

Still laughing, he tugged her close, wrapping her in his arms. “In my defense, love, you’ve used better pick-up lines in the past.”

“Oh, please. That was gold-tier flirting, Ramsey,” she said, incensed.

“It must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line,” he quipped, matching her earlier playfulness.

Cassie lifted one brow superciliously. “Were you expecting to have sex tonight? Because your chances are decreasing by the second.”

He grinned. “My wife is pretty forgiving.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue the assertion.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, eyes locked on each other, the bar around them fading away. The longer the silence stretched between them, the more Ethan could feel his shoulders loosen and his mind clear.

“Feeling better?” Cassie asked, her voice whisper-soft so that only he could hear.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” she said, smiling as she stepped back. “I’m going back to my friends now and leaving you to enjoy your airlock.”

Before she could walk away, Ethan reached for her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

“Cassie…” he began, struggling to find the right words to capture how she made him feel, how much she had changed his life. But nothing came to mind.

“I know.” She squeezed his hand. “Finish your drink and then let’s go home.”

Home. For the longest time, he wasn’t sure what that was. But now he knew. It was wherever she was.

-----------

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @jerzwriter @josiesopenheart @kyra75 @lady-calypso @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @snoopdogcone

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[liaromancewriter]

Surprising Revelations

Premise: The rescue mission for Dolores results in new reflections. Missing scene 1x4

Fandom: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 1,110

A/N: I'm just not ready to let go all the possibilities in Book 1, Chapter 4. Enjoy another missing scene.

I'm using Prompt 977 from @creativepromptsforwriting. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills

Ethan Ramsey gripped Cassie Valentine’s hand, holding her steady, as she fished around in the storm drain for a stuffed toy and wondered how this was his life.

A few hours ago, he’d been blissfully enjoying his day, ignoring the fact that Harper Emery was pushing him into a fellowship competition he didn’t want or that Valentine had caught him in moments of weakness, not once but twice.

First, when Harper had patronizingly overruled his objections. Then during his daily walk with Teresa Martinez, one of the handful of people he let his guard down with.

Actually, scratch that. It was three times in less than 12 hours. Just an hour ago, Valentine had asked one of his oldest friends if he’d always been handsome and expressed shock (somewhat mockingly) that he actually had friends.

Well, he’d tried to shut both avenues down with a warning and a glare. Cassie had ignored him as cheerfully as a barker at a circus, impervious to the crowd’s disinterest.

Dolores hadn’t helped matters by indulging his intern’s curiosity. Nor had she been of any use when she rejected his offer of taking the squish balls in his office as a perfectly acceptable replacement for the lost stuffed toy frog she had bought for her unborn son.

And somehow, he’d been commandeered for a search-and-rescue mission to locate a stuffed toy on the side streets as fire crews battled the blaze in Dolores’s office building.

This is not how he’d imagined spending the last few hours of his thirty-sixth birthday. Trying not to breathe in the acrid smoke blowing their way and wishing he was at Donahue’s sipping a celebratory scotch in peace.

On top of that, he’d just spent an awkward half hour on the drive over fielding Cassie’s seemingly endless curiosity about his life: “If you have one, that is,” she had added archly at his sharp look.

Most interns withered after one glare from him. Just look at that curly-haired intern who was always hanging around Valentine like a puppy dog.

She appeared to be made of sterner stuff.

Ethan supposed that if he’d had one-on-one, interrupted time with an attending in his first month of residency, he’d have been mining them for information too. But he’d have stuck to medicine and not pumped them for hospital gossip.

He paused in reflection. On the other hand, he had appreciated her restraint at not spreading rumors about what she’d witnessed between him and Naveen a few days ago. Her curiosity today was only natural.

“Got it!”

At her excited exclamation, Ethan pulled Cassie back out of the storm drain, lifted her to her feet, and—before he could question the wisdom of it—dusted off the dirt and soot sticking to her scrubs as best as he could.

There was a moment, just one, almost like a whisper, when he thought she went still beneath his touch. But when he stole a glance, she was looking at the toy in her hand, not him.

He noticed a smudge of grease on her cheek. A few strands of her blonde hair were also sticking out at the ends. He almost reached out to wipe it off and smooth down the hair, but stopped himself just in time.

“Mission accomplished,” Cassie said with a smile full of delight as she held out the stuffed frog.

He stared at it thoughtfully. He reasoned, underneath all the muck, it was a cute little thing and very much something Dolores would buy.

“Excellent work,” he said neutrally, reverting to his role as her attending. “You can give Dolores the good news when we get back.”

Of course, the frog would have to be cleaned up first, he thought absently, turning towards where he’d parked his car.

“After we sterilize this, of course,” she said, walking beside him. “We wouldn't want it anywhere near a pregnant woman, otherwise.”

“My thoughts precisely,” he said, smiling in approval.

They climbed into the car, buckling themselves in before Ethan started the engine.

Just before he pulled out into the street, she turned her head, throwing him a soft smile, likely of gratitude for indulging her and Dolores.

Based on their conversation on the drive over, she had clearly assumed he was a robot, incapable of feelings because she couldn’t imagine him wanting to rescue a toy.

What had she called him? Ah, yes. Dr. Terminator.

Under the glow of the streetlights, he once again noticed the grease stain and made a decision.

“You have something….” He pointed to her cheek.

Cassie flipped the visor down to check the mirror, turning her face sideways.

Ethan reached for the box of tissues he kept in the glovebox and handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

Ethan waited for a break in traffic, banged a uey, and headed back to Edenbrook. To prevent a repeat of the question-answer period, he turned up the volume on his car stereo, and let Puccini fill the air.

A short while later, he turned into the driveway leading to the hospital’s main entrance instead of the parking lot.

The journey back had been even more awkward than the one before because the silence had stretched, as if waiting. After that, he needed some distance from her before he headed back inside.

“I’ll drop you off here,” he said, pulling up outside the atrium doors. “Page me when you get Dolores’s labs back.”

“Yes, Dr. Ramsey,” Cassie replied, waiting for locks to disengage before opening the door.

She was halfway through closing the car door when she paused, leaning back inside to peer at him.

“You’re actually not that bad when you want to be.”

Ethan smirked, secretly pleased to have surprised her for once. “Don’t let anyone know that or people will expect this from me.”

“Your secret’s safe with me… Dr. Softie,” she added the moniker boldly, her green eyes twinkling under the overhead lights.

Before Ethan could respond, Cassie shut the door and ran up the steps, disappearing through the sliding glass doors.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there staring after her, but the sight of Bobby the security guard waving at him shook Ethan out of his reverie.

He waved back, changed gears, and drove off towards the parking lot, shaking his head at the audacity of this particular intern.

No, he mused again. This is not how he’d planned his day to go, and certainly not how he had imagined he would feel about Cassie Valentine when he’d evaluated her residency application all those months ago.

She already intrigued him, but he suspected the biggest revelations about her were yet to come.

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

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @jerzwriter @josiesopenheart @kyra75 @lady-calypso @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @snoopdogcone

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[liaromancewriter]

Grand Ol’ Fun

Premise: Cassie and Bryce enjoy a snack and light teasing before grand rounds.

Fandom: Open Heart Characters: Cassie Valentine (F!MC), Bryce Lahela, Ethan Ramsey & OPH Gang. Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 890

A/N: I've been wanting to write a friend-focused fic for a while. Finally found the right inspo. Submission to @choicesmonthlychallenge March challenge, prompt "Daffodils"

I'm using @creativepromptsforwriting's Prompt 1280. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills

It was a beautiful early spring day in Boston. Daffodils blooming in the Common. Temperatures in the low seventies, with the sun peeking through white, fluffy clouds. A light breeze swept across the harbor as seagulls swooped down to snatch food from unsuspecting tourists.

Cassie Valentine would’ve rather been out enjoying the fresh air than stuck inside the large, artificially lit lecture hall for grand rounds.

It had been a long winter, and she was ready to shed her thick parka and snow boots for something that didn’t make her resemble the Michelin Man every time she stepped outside.

Probably an exaggeration, but not by much.

Settling into her seat, she locked her hands behind her head and propped her feet on the back of the empty seat in front of her.

Winter wasn’t the only thing that had been long. Lately, she’d been pulling double shifts, covering for another second-year resident who’d had to step back for a family emergency.

Between her own patients, the diagnostic team’s cases, and now this, she barely had time to catch her breath—let alone sleep through the night.

Only five more days to go, she consoled herself.

Suddenly, she straightened, sniffing the air as the familiar scent of buttery goodness hit her senses.

She turned her head just as Bryce Lahela—surgical resident extraordinaire and her partner in fun—slid into the seat beside her.

As was tradition at Edenbrook, one grand round per year brought together all disciplines, from internal medicine to general surgery to pediatrics.

“So we can all learn more from each other,” according to Naveen Banerji, their chief of medicine.

“I can’t believe you brought popcorn,” she laughed as Bryce offered her some.

“I figured attending grand rounds is like attending a play,” Bryce said, munching around a mouthful. “Might as well bring sustenance.”

They sat companionably, the sound of crunching popcorn attracting sideways looks and envious glances.

“Don’t mind them,” Bryce joked. “My fans are legion.”

“Big of you to assume they’re admiring you, Lahela,” Cassie shot back with a grin. “I’m prettier than you, and my hair is better.”

“Now that it’s fully grown back, you mean.” He nudged her shoulder playfully. “That bob wasn’t a good look on you,” he added with a playful tsk.

“Why are you so annoying when you’re right?”

“Oh please. I’m not nearly as annoying as I could be,” he smirked. “Notice I didn’t mention how that pixie cut made you look like a candy striper.”

Cassie retaliated by tossing the last few kernels of popcorn at him.

“Sure could use a Coke right about now,” she mused, dusting salt off her hands.

“Got you covered,” Bryce said, handing her the popcorn bag as he reached into his white coat and pulled out two tubes of soda.

Cassie popped the tab, shaking her head in amusement. “Have you been taking lessons from Sienna?”

“No, but I wouldn’t mind one of her cookies after this.”

“Well, you’re in luck….” She nodded to the end of the row, where Sienna stood chatting with their senior resident, Ines Delarosa.

Sienna was holding Tupperware in her hands. Cassie knew it held chocolate chip cookies, since she’d gotten up early to help her friend finish baking them.

She didn’t see Elijah, and then remembered he was one of the first presenters today. She craned her head and saw him near the stage chatting with Baz Mirani.

Cassie knew Elijah wanted to spend his third year doing research, and Baz had been informally mentoring him.

She started to look away when her gaze locked on Ethan Ramsey, watching her over Naveen’s shoulder. His eyesight was pretty sharp, and those blue eyes narrowed at the sight of the snacks in her hands.

She shrugged, rolling her eyes as she took an extra-large handful of popcorn and popped it into her mouth.

He grinned—most likely at her audacity—and she smirked back, raising her soda can in mock salute.

They broke eye contact as Jackie and Aurora slid past her to their seats, and Sienna soon followed, passing around cookies.

“Are the two of you seriously munching on popcorn and Coke?” Jackie said in exasperation. “This isn’t a movie theater.”

“Sure feels like one,” Bryce teased. “High drama at Edenbrook? Or will it be a comedy of errors as some hapless intern mixes up the PowerPoint slides.”

“I’m here for the previews,” Cassie said, tilting her head toward Ethan as he adjusted his white coat and stepped onto the stage with Naveen.

“And who can blame you,” Sienna said, a note of thirst in her tone that had everyone gaping at her.

“Oops. Did I say that out loud?” she giggled nervously, covering her mouth. “Ignore me. It’s been a long dry spell. Oh wow. I can’t believe I said that!”

She stuffed a cookie in her mouth, her cheeks expanding like a chipmunk’s.

Cassie laughed to show she was unoffended at her best friend thirsting after her boyfriend.

As if providence wanted to save Sienna from further embarrassment, the lights dimmed, Naveen tapped the microphone, and the voices around the lecture hall settled down.

Cassie smiled in the dark. It might be a lovely day outside, but here she was surrounded by friends. And that made the day special in its own way.

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All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @jerzwriter @josiesopenheart @kyra75 @lady-calypso @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @snoopdogcone @tessa-liam

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[lunaskye999]

THE MISFIT (AU Bill Skarsgård+OC oneshot)

Well, it took me a whole week to finish this one but I think it came up very beautifully. This little story is inspired by a nightmare I had over a week ago, featuring an evil stepmother and Bill with his powerful and shapely arms.. I hope you all enjoy it reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. ❤️

💔🌱🌺🌿🏵️☘️🌼📸💪🌼☘️🏵️🌿🌺🌱💕

Word count: 8010

MDNI. Strictly 18+

WARNINGS: Past trauma, mention of abuse, angst, whump, sex, light smut, fluff aplenty, age difference.

Little lovely taglist: @loushaw131460 @kikibit

💔🌱🌺🌿🏵️☘️🌼📸💪🌼☘️🏵️🌿🌺🌱💕

THE MISFIT AU Bill Skarsgård +OC oneshot

Lena came back to the house from her daily walk under overcast skies. She sought moments on her own like others sought the warmth of the sun in winter. Her heart and spirit craved a peace that she was finding difficult to find in the company of others. 

She had moved back to the paternal house as her only left refuge after she had terminated a long relationship with her fiancé. They had two years of pure happiness, or that's what Lena thought. Everything was almost perfect. But then everything went downhill from there. Her fiancé, to whom she had proposed and who had accepted, seemed to have little interest in getting married anytime soon. This became more evident when his ex entered in the picture. 

From the moment they met, Lena knew the ex didn't want anything to do with her. Over the next months it became more and more evident that her fiancé had a closer relationship with his ex than with her. 

Since the beginning of their relationship he had told Lena that he wasn't a romantic person or one to like shows of physical affection. But by the way he treated her ex, the opposite could have been said of him. Then the ex became omnipresent, getting to the point that they never went for a holiday, an event, or even a day out, the two of them alone anymore. Actually he started to go out alone with his ex on some occasions. 

Lena raised her concerns to him but he waved them off saying they were just good friends and that she was overreacting. The reality is that she felt like a third wheel every time the three of them were together. 

When rough times came for her, she turned up to him for support and understanding. She had just nursed him lovingly from a sports injury that had him crippled for over six months. At that time his ex didn't show up at all but Lena noticed that they were texting each other constantly, sometimes for hours on end every day. It got to the point of him ignoring her while he maintained long text conversations with his ex, all in front of her. 

The world started caving in for Lena. She had to leave her job due to an ongoing issue with a stalker that made her fear for her life. She had to have him issued with a restraining order through the courts. Her fiancé told her that she was being overly dramatic. Depression started settling in as she felt more and more alone. She reached for her fiancé many times but he called her clingy. He started being dismissive or ridiculing her in public, then it escalated to verbally abusive tirades, with every attack more cruel than the previous one. Until one day she just walked away to never come back. The last straw was seeing him and his ex one day on the street, kissing. They were all over each other. So much for the man who didn't like to show affection. 

Lena had become a shadow of herself. In the last two years she had a string of dead end jobs as she was unable to work in her field due to the depression. By the time she left her fiance she had been thinking about terminating her life. The idea of giving consideration to something like that terrified her. She returned to the paternal home with her father and her stepmother as she had nothing left. She needed to heal and re-evaluate her life. 

Her mother had passed away when she was a young teenager. Her father was a devout catholic with a strict approach to raising his children. Lena was the youngest of four and the only girl. Her adolescence was rather solitary, almost no friends and no boyfriends at all. When she met her fiancé in University a new world opened for her. She was very sweet, innocent and with no malice at all, very easy going and understanding. She was actually unprepared for the world, never raised to be strong and confident. In the last years she had to learn important life lessons very quickly.  

She was now determined to rebuild her life and to find again her place in the world. She got a good job that allowed her to work from home while she recovered. But home was not as welcoming as she thought. Of course her father received her with open arms but his new wife wasn't that thrilled to have her around. Her father had remarried when she was in University to a woman he was madly in love with. Her stepmother was also very pious and she considered Lena a kind of black sheep. In front of her father she would be nice and also lecture her on how she had to lead a more decent life. But when her father wasn't around, she was different: jealous of her presence, annoyed if she tried to help around the house, cold and dismissive. She treated her as an unwanted guest. Lena didn't want any confrontation that could upset her father, so she kept the truth about her situation from him. That's why she sought solitude. 

Summer had arrived. The big family house in the outskirts of Stockholm came alive, with her brothers and their families coming for the holidays. So not to taint the happiness of the family reunion, she kept the reality of her situation from everyone. In addition to all the family, Bill, her eldest brother ‘s best friend, came also for the holidays. Lena remembered having a huge, hopeless crush on the very tall, impossibly handsome and very outgoing boy when she was a teenager. She was shy and awkward back then. He came every year for the summer holidays and he seemed to have taken a shine to her. He always made a point of talking to her, both of them having long conversations about books and life. He was the first ever person who really listened to her and really saw her for who she was, and she found it easier to confide and talk about things with him than she did with her own family. The year she was seventeen he didn't come anymore. The previous year he had left before the holidays ended. She was heartbroken. She never saw him again. He became a famous photographer, specialised in nature, and very sought after by National Geographic and similar publications. She bought them all over the years. 

Lena had just entered the house from the garden door into the big kitchen, a point of reunion for the family. Bill had arrived a while ago, and he was telling everyone about some of his adventures. He stopped mid sentence when he saw Lena, who was wearing a pretty cotton summer dress, with her hair in two dishevelled braids, her cheeks rosy and her eyes shining. 

His jaw dropped, she had changed for the best. The skinny, shy girl he remembered fondly had evolved into the most beautiful and radiant woman he had ever seen. Her smile when she saw him lit the whole room. 

“Lena? Is that you? Heavens!! You look fantastic!!” 

Bill went to her and engulfed her in a bear hug. He towered over her. He was at least a foot taller. She smelled of oranges, exactly like he remembered her: warm, soft and fragrant. 

Lena’s heart stopped. She was a teenager again. Oh, how she had missed him!. The tall, lanky boy with an angel face and the most expressive eyes she had seen, was now a grown man, well built, with muscular arms. If she wasn't mistaken, he should be  about thirty-five now. Ten years older than her. His stare was as magnetic as she remembered it, and his sea green eyes invited her once more to drown in them. She giggled happily as she lost herself in the hug for a few seconds. 

“You don't look too shabby either, ghost… Though I think I'll stop calling you that, you don't look like one anymore”. 

When she was a teenager she used to call him ‘ghost’. He used to call her ‘little girl’ 

“I see that you're still the little plucky girl, but now you have managed to look like a woman” He teased her. 

Lena’s reaction was halfway between blushing and looking sad for a moment. She didn't think of herself as plucky given what had happened the last couple of years. Her expression wasn't lost to Bill who looked intently at her. 

They got interrupted by the appearance of a cake on the table which was much cheered. Everyone sat and did the honors. 

Lena went upstairs to freshen up before dinner. Her bedroom was round the bend at the end of the corridor and shared the bathroom with the main guest room. When she had moved back to the family house, she couldn't use her old bedroom. Her stepmother had turned it into a crafts room for herself. Her father offered to turn it back into a bedroom for her to the chagrin of the stepmother. But Lena refused for not causing friction. She had been placed in the smallest room, a secondary guest bedroom. 

Dinner was a lively affair with happy conversations all over the table. Bill took a seat next to Lena and entertained her with stories that made her laugh. After dinner she and Bill helped her stepmother clearing the table but this one refused her offer of help to do the washing. 

Lena and Bill joined the others and after a while Lena went to the terrace for a quiet moment. Bill followed her shortly as he was going to smoke. He found her sitting on one of the wooden armchairs overlooking the garden. He leaned on the veranda, facing her. 

“I always remember you gazing at the stars. You used to point me to the constellations and tell me stories about them” He said, lighting a cigarette. 

“You were always so patient with me, listening to all my ramblings”. Lena said softly. “I must have looked so childish and boring”

“Not at all, you were exceptionally cultivated for someone your age. Talking to you was always a pleasure. We always shared a love for books and nature” 

“Yes, look where it has taken you. You're one of the best in your field of work. I've been following it through your books and magazines”. Lena’s tone showed the admiration she felt for his work. . 

“I t makes me happy that you like my work. I wasn't aware that you followed it so closely”. Bill found himself craving her appreciation. 

“I do, it has been one of the few true pleasures I've had in the last years. Unlike you, I haven't been very successful. I'm actually quite the loser”. Her self depreciation cut him like a knife. He looked at her in silence, then he dared to ask. 

“Your brother mentioned something when he said you would be here. What happened?, if you don't mind me prying “

Lena knew that his question was genuine. He wasn't prying, but concerned about her. She knew that her father and brothers loved her, but they were not people who felt comfortable talking about feelings or heartbreak with a woman. Since her mother's passing she had grown accustomed to not speaking much about her feelings. She tried with her fiancé on many occasions but he shut her down. But if there was someone she could speak to, that would be Bill. 

She told him everything. How her relationship had unfolded, about her fiance’s ex, her problem with the stalker, her life crumbling down around her. With every word Bill's heart ached more and more. 

“And have you been alone all this time, without anyone to confide in? . What about your stepmother?. I would think that here you would find peace but she seems a bit tense around you”

Lena explained the situation with her stepmother. How she tried to put her at ease and win her affection without any success. How she opted for not saying anything so her father wouldn't suffer. 

“I will save some money, then I will rent a place and move out. Until then I have just to hang in there”. 

Bill looked at her in disbelief. “You shouldn't have to ‘just hang in there’. You came from a very traumatic situation, Your family should be by your side, supporting you, not enduring you!”

“You know how they are when it comes to talking about this kind of things. They will probably say that I was an idiot for allowing that situation to last so long, which it's true”

Bill leaned forward and put his hands in the arm rests, caging Lena. 

“Listen to me, little girl. You are NOT an idiot for loving someone and wanting to be loved back. You didn't have any experience of life, so the most you could chide yourself for is for being naive. But innocence is not a bad thing either. You are sweet, kind, good hearted and generous. Your heart is pure and you do things with the best intentions”. His eyes were fixed on her. With that intense stare that sent shivers down her spine. “He's the idiot, and a coward too. He had a wonderful woman and he played around with another. You gave him love and kindness and in return he betrayed you, abused you and left you on your own when you most needed him”. Bill lifted her chin with two fingers. “No, Lena, you're a warrior and an angel. You tried everything in your power to save your relationship. While at the same time you were dealing with one hell of a problem on your own. You're so brave. And you haven't lost your humanity. Don't ever say again that you're an idiot. I don't want to hear you talking about yourself in these terms again. Do you understand?“

His passionate speech left her totally dumbfounded. It was the first time she had openly spoken about her ordeal and Bill's response made her heart swell. He really understood her, and he cared. She gave him a shy, little smile, nodding, sniffling and wiping her teary eyes. 

“Y-yes. I hadn't talked about this with anyone. I know my family do care about me, but if I had told them about the reality of my situation, they would have come like the cavalry, snatched me from there and kept me safe and locked for me not to do more stupidities. They love me but they would smother me. You on the other hand listen to me without judging me but with encouragement. It means the world to me”

“Then I'm happy that you confided in me. I'm here for you, for anything you need. Don't hesitate in coming to me. Ok?” He wiped a stray tear from her cheek. 

Her eyes held his gaze. She then realized that they always had that kind of connection. She felt comfortable with him. She remembered her crush of years ago and she wondered if it was just a crush. There was a longing to have someone to feel really close to. The kind of intimacy that two souls who recognize each other share. That feeling that she had looked for in her fiancé and that he couldn't or wouldn't give her. And now, after all these years, here was Bill again, being exactly that for her. What made her realize that he had come to stay with them alone. 

“What about you, Bill? Have you..?”. She felt embarrassed asking him if he had someone. But he could read her like an open book.. 

“Are you asking if I got someone? No. I had, a couple of times, but it didn't turn out to be what I was looking for”. He stood up and lit another cigarette. Taking a while before he kept talking. “There's something that I… “

“Here you are, I was looking for the two of you!” Lena’s father interrupted them, all cheerful and happy. “We're about to distribute the jobs for tomorrow, come with me”

The next day was Midsummer and they were planning the celebrations with all the family together. Bill looked at Lena with an enigmatic smile and scrunched his eyebrows in a mischievous gesture. He offered her his hand and pulled her up from the armchair. They followed her father inside. 

Men were put in charge of decorating the place and set up a Maypole. Women would prepare the food, except one of Lena’s sisters in law who would babysit the children. 

The next day, in the kitchen, the sisters in law chopped vegetables and helped their mother in law make the bread. Lena was pleasantly surprised that her stepmother allowed her to make the salads and starters while she took care of the fish and meats and the cake. She was a good cook and she wanted to please her, so she put extra care in the preparations. She worked hard and finally she finished three trays which laid on the kitchen counter filled with delicious and beautifully decorated food. 

She went to the fridge to make space for the trays to refrigerate before lunchtime. When she opened the door she saw trays of salads and starters already prepared and resting in the fridge's shelves. She turned around, confused as those, together with the ones she had made, were an exaggerated amount of food. Then she understood: her stepmother was emptying the trays she had made directly in the rubbish bin. 

“But… what are you doing?”. She asked, feeling that a knot was forming on her throat. 

Her stepmother looked at her with such coldness and arrogance that she could feel the chill in her bones 

“This is MY kitchen, and MY house. I don't need any help from you and I don't want you to try to win me over by being nice to me” 

The two sisters in law were watching the scene, totally horrified. Lena felt the all too familiar burn of the humiliation on her face, and without saying a word, she walked out of the kitchen and dashed upstairs without being seen. When she got to the top, the tears were already streaming down her face. She rushed to her room but before she could reach the door she bumped into Bill who was coming out of his bedroom after changing into fresh clothes. He stopped her holding her by the shoulders. 

“Lena, what's wrong? What happened?”

Lena was sobbing so much that she couldn't even speak. Eventually she told him what had happened between hiccups and more sobs. Bill was livid. 

“Lena, that's unacceptable. You must tell your father”

“No, I won't. I don't want to ruin the celebrations. It means a lot to him to have the family together after such a long time “

“Then wait until tomorrow”

“She's just a silly, jealous woman. I have already told her I wasn't here to take her place.”

“You're too nice. That's not being silly, that's being mean. She did it deliberately. She shouldn't be allowed to get away with stuff like that “

“I'm not going to stay here for long. I intend to move out as soon as I can”

“You came here to heal and recover. This is the house of your family. You have every right to be here, to be loved and cherished. She has no business being jealous of you and treating you the way she does”.

“I'm half sick of it. I came looking for peace and instead I have to walk on eggshells all the time”. 

They could hear the rustle of activity from downstairs. Bill kissed Lena on the forehead. 

“Go and get ready, I'll wait for you here. We'll go down together”

Lena looked at him with grateful eyes. “Ok, I'll be quick”. 

“Take your time. Tonight we'll talk, when everyone has gone to sleep”. 

Lena nodded and went into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and once in her room she put on the dress she had bought for the festivities: a long, white, hippie dress with small flowers embroidered all over. She had found it in a second hand shop. 

She went out, looking much better. Bill was waiting for her as he said. His eyes glinted when he saw her, with her hair down, arms bare, smelling of lemons. 

“You're a vision to behold. You look absolutely beautiful”

Lena blushed crimson. But his words made her smile. Bill took her hand and they went downstairs. Before they joined the others, Bill held her chin up. 

“You can do this, ignore her. I'll be with you all the time. I got you”. 

Lena nodded. He infused her with a sense of confidence just by looking at her the way he was doing it right now. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for, but it was good not to be alone. 

They walked into the terrace. Her brother took Bill away and she went to play with the children. They made flower crowns for everyone. One of her sisters-in-law came to her while she was playing with her little nieces. 

“Lena, are you ok?. That was a horrible thing to do!”. 

She was referring to the incident in the kitchen. Lena took a deep breath and nodded. 

“Yes, I got over it… almost. Please, don't say anything. I don't want to ruin the day for the family. I'll deal with it tomorrow. I want to be happy and enjoy with all of you”

Her sister in law hugged her and told her that both of them were on her side. It lifted her spirits to know that others understood her. They went to join the rest at the table. 

Bill, once again, came to sit by her side. He was wearing a foliage crown and brought a flower one for her which he placed on her head. 

“There, now you're the most beautiful girl in this party, but with a crown “

“Keep flattering me like this and I will be so full of myself that I'll be insufferable” she said between giggles.  

Everyone sat at the table. Bill and Lena sat next to each other and Bill poured a cider for her. They talked with everyone around the table and participated from the happy atmosphere. After the long meal and some schnapps, the women went to the maypole and danced while the men sang traditional songs. Bill couldn't take his eyes from Lena. He had brought down one of his cameras and took many photos of the celebrations, but especially of Lena. Their gazes met a few times, and every time they did, she felt the sweetest warmth inside her. 

After the dance, games were played , more songs were sung, then by the evening they lit a bonfire and everyone danced around it. The schnapps was passed around and everyone was in a  happy mood. After a while Lena was feeling overwhelmed. She seemed a bit spaced out. Bill noticed and came near her. 

“Are you ok baby girl?”

She looked up to meet his eyes. The schnapps had made her a bit dizzy. She nodded a bit slowly because her head was spinning.  

“Yes Bill, just a bit… -hic-, overwhelmed”. 

“Don't you mean ‘drunk’?”. He grinned in amusement 

“Just a bit but I'm also overwhelmed, I'm not… -hic-, used to go to parties”

“You have been through a lot lately. Would you like to go for a walk?”

“Would you come with me?” 

“Of course I'm coming with you, I don't want you to trip and fall in the water“.

Lena giggled and he bopped her nose. They walked toward the path near the water, where the views of the city were so beautiful in the twilight with all the lights on. They even might see the glow of the many bonfires scattered across the landscape . 

After about half an hour walking, they stopped at a viewing point overlooking the water. and Lena leaned on the railing. Bill stood behind her with his big hands on her shoulders. There was silence only broken by people singing in the distance. Some bonfires could be seen on the other side, and they looked magical with the background of the midnight sun. The night was fresh, peaceful and perfumed with the scent of leaves, and burning wood from bonfires. 

Lena could feel the warmth of Bill's body behind her. She just had to lean back and their bodies would be touching. And she did. She leaned against him and felt him trembling. Bill wrapped his arms around her, bringing her even closer to him. For a few moments that seemed like eternity, they stayed like this, in silence, feeling each other quiver. He inhaled the fresh scent from her hair, mixed with the flowers from the crown, and she relished the warmth and strength of his muscular arms. There it was the peace and fulfillment she had looked for all her life. 

“Lena, there's something that I must tell you… “ 

His voice made her whole body melt. At the same time he spun her around slowly until she was facing him. 

“Y-yes Bill?”. She looked at him as if she was committing every detail of his face to memory. In her eyes there was a silent plea, even if she wasn't quite sure what she was pleading for. He was looking at her with infinite tenderness, and he removed some strands of hair from her face with his long, elegant fingers brushing her temple. 

“You and I have been friends since you were thirteen, and from the first moment I knew you had a crush on me”

“It was bleeding obvious, huh?” Lena muttered 

“Yes. But what you don't know is the impression you caused in me. Since the first time I saw you I was drawn to you. You were one of a kind and we clicked immediately”. 

“I remember, I was so thrilled that you paid me any attention. And the following year too. It was like a dream came true” 

“But when you were sixteen, it was the last summer I passed in your family's house, something had changed… “ 

“What was it? I remember we still were very close”

“Yes, but you had changed… that summer I didn't see a child anymore, I saw a young woman. And she was everything I ever had wanted: sweet, intelligent, kind, fearless, adventurous… and gorgeous. I realized that I had fallen in love with you”

Luna's breath hitched. She looked at Bill in disbelief 

“You were in… “

“Yes, I knew there and then that I loved you. It wasn't a whim, It was the real thing. And you were sixteen and I was ten years older. It was wrong in every possible way, and there was no way on Earth I was going to let it happen, because it was wrong. I couldn't tell you and I couldn't be near you because I didn't know if I could keep my feelings to myself.”

“Is that why you left before the summer ended?“ Lena was so gobsmacked that she almost forgot to breathe. 

“Yes, I knew it hurt you, but I thought it was the right thing to do. To act on my feelings would have been an abuse to you. I had no right to declare my love to a child, who was trusting, naive, and inexperienced”. 

Lena was trying to process the enormity of what Bill was telling her. Her heart hurt for him, thinking of the pain he might have endured by going away. 

“You thought of me first, even before your own desires, because you wanted to protect me. And it caused you to suffer.” Lena's hand went to his chest, posing it just enough to feel his heartbeat. 

“I had to leave. And I kept myself away the following summer. And then you went to University. You were already of age but even like that you were still too young… And then you got a boyfriend. And then I knew I had lost you….I concentrated on my work. Those two relationships I told you about, they didn't last because you were the standard I measured women by. They weren't you. Then your brother told me that you were engaged and I lost any hope”. 

“Oh, Bill… “. Her voice was choking with tears. He wiped them with his thumbs and continued talking. 

“I kept in contact with your brother and one day he told me that you were back home and that you had split up with your fiancé. And hope lit inside me. There was nothing I wanted more than to see you. He invited me over like in the old times and all I could think about was that I would see you again, and this time you weren't a child anymore” 

Bill’s hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing over it. In his gaze there were all the repressed emotions of the last nine years. He didn't have the will to hold them back anymore. 

“You came here for me… “ Lena was trembling like a leaf. 

“Yes, and when I saw you I fell even more in love with you. With your cotton dress, those braids and smelling of oranges, you were like the sixteen year old girl that I remembered but now you were a grown up woman, beautiful and enchanting beyond my wildest dreams” 

Lena clutched his white top and buried her head in his chest, wanting the comfort and warmth that only him could offer her, unable to fight the wave of feelings that washed over her since seeing him yesterday

“I never felt that I quite fit with anyone. Not my family, not my ex. I didn't connect with anyone else the way you and I connected. It's you. It's been you all along. I don't want to have to be without you anymore. Please, Bill, hold me and never let me go”

She didn't need to say more, His arms wrapped her trembling small body in a hug where he poured all the love he hadn't been free to express all those past years. From deep in his chest where her face was hidden, it came a tiny voice, soft, sweet and filled with emotion: 

“I love you too, Bill, so much that my heart aches. But it's the sweetest feeling I've ever had”. 

And she sobbed quietly against his top. He was also crying quietly while he kissed the top of her head. Not quite yet believing that the woman he had loved in silence all those years was now in his arms and had  just told him that she loved him back. 

They stood there for a while fused in the embrace, until the wave of emotions ebbed. It felt as if they were the only people left in the world. Bill felt his chest wet with her tears as the linen shirt was soaked in them. Then she started kissing him over the opening, on his warm skin, sweet kisses that lingered enough to imprint the love on his flesh.  

“Little girl, what are you doing?” Bill whispered. 

“I'm making up for all the years we've been apart”

“I see. Look at me”

She lifted her head and met his eyes looking at her with quiet adoration. Those sea green eyes that she always kept in her heart, and that now were fixed on hers. Lena didn't have time to drown in them, because Bill's mouth loomed over hers, capturing it in an endless kiss that tasted of hope and longing, of promise and future. 

He took his sweet time kissing her. He could notice how touch-starved she was. He was as hungry for her as she was for him. His heart soared when he felt all the love and affection she was pouring into that kiss. He answered in kind, savouring a moment he had craved for nine years. 

Her little moans and whimpers into his mouth felt heavenly. He lifted her and sat her on the railing without interrupting the kiss. They kissed for dear life for what it seemed like a lifetime. Eventually they slowed down to breathe, looking into each other's eyes again and giggling, drunk in happiness. 

“Bill, would you make love to me?. I want to be yours”

“Yes my sweet girl. There's nothing I'd like more than making love to you. To make you feel how precious you are to me and how much I cherish you”

They made their way back to the house, holding hands and stopping a couple of times to kiss like they couldn't get enough of tasting each other. By the time they arrived, everyone had gone to sleep, so they went upstairs carefully. As their rooms were in a tucked away area of the house, they had a certain privacy. 

They went into Bill's room. He closed the door and pulled Lena towards him kissing her hungrily, his hands holding her face. She unbuttoned his shirt slowly, letting her delicate fingers brush over his taut skin. Off went the shirt and now was Bill's turn to undo her dress which fell pooling at her feet. He himself took his trousers off and they were both left in their undies. They stood close, almost touching. Naked as the truth. Both exposed, both showing themselves to the other one. 

Lena was a bit insecure and blushing while she bit her bottom lip. Bill was in awe of the woman in front of him. After years of dreaming of her, here she was, pure as snow and beautiful like the early morning. . 

Lena looked down, embarrassed, thinking that perhaps she was too low for him. Last time she had been intimate with a man, her ex, he made her feel worthless and had rejected her. Bill’is heart clenched when he saw her feeling insecure. The woman he adored, made to feel insecure by an undeserving man who instead of cherishing her and being by her side when she needed him betrayed her and treated her appallingly. 

She had turned away, ashamed for having ruined the mood, but Bill went closer to her, till their bodies were touching again, her back against his chest, and wrapped her with an arm while he moved her hair from her nape with his other hand. He bent his head to kiss her neck with infinite tenderness, whispering in her ear. 

“Forget the past baby girl, just let me show you how attractive I find you and how worthy of being loved you are. Close your eyes for me”

She closed them obediently, while a small sob escaped her lips. Bill held her tight against him and covered her in sweet kisses from her temple to the shoulder, letting his lips linger and whispering sweet little nothings as he kissed her. He noticed Lena relaxing. She had stopped crying as she felt his love wash over her skin, casting away the sad memories and the pain and banishing them to the nothingness. 

He turned her around and kissed her deeply, nibbling her lips, then he continued exploring her jaw, throat, collarbone. He then went slowly on his knees before her. Without taking his eyes off her he licked, nibbled and sucked  her nipples while his hands played with her breasts. Lena was swept away by the waves of lust that made her body jolt with pleasure. 

His hands ran all over her body with his long fingers traced patterns on her skin as if he was caressing a work of art. Down her back, up her legs, behind her knees, on her buttocks… Lena quivered, and even more when he kissed her below the navel and started descending. 

“B-Bill.. “

“Yes, baby girl?”.  Bill said, lifting his eyes to her. 

“Take me to the bed, please”. She meowed softly. 

As he started getting up Lena put her arms around his neck. He hoisted her and they kissed. Lena savoured his plush lips and he enjoyed the feeling of her small, lithe body wrapped around him. They both could feel it, the sheer happiness that being able to enjoy their love gave them. The sparkling stars in her eyes reflected in the deep sea water of his. 

Bill laid her carefully on the bed and crawled on top of her, caging her between his limbs. His smile was full of mischief, she was giggling, giddy with happiness. Bill started tickling her, she tried to block his attempts without success, squirming and trying to tickle him back. Then suddenly, he flipped both of them over so she was now straddling him. His hands were on her hips and she was trying to sweep her hair back as it was all over her face. Bill went still. The vision of her, with her hands behind her head smoothing her hair, her beautiful, perky breasts jiggling slightly, her lips rosy from all the kissing, it took his breath away. He watched her, fascinated. 

His fascination had physical effects, he started getting hard and there was nothing he could do to hide it as she was sitting on it. Lena noticed his cock growing rapidly between her legs and she looked at him between amused and blushing. It caused the same effect on her and her arousal grew tenfold, she could feel it pooling on her panties, so could he. 

It took Bill less than five seconds to take his boxers off (with Lena still on top) and to rip her panties away. She swayed her hips back and forth, guided by him. When they were ready, he went in, slowly, giving her time to adapt to his size. She fitted like a glove, and despite not having had sex in a long time, she picked up rather quickly. Theirs was an undulating dance, Looking at each other, transfixed and quivering. 

His large hands held her hips, grabbed her waist, reached for the small, perky breasts, while he watched her writhe and move, moan and whisper, His thumb rubbing her bud while she begged for more. The rhythm became frantic until both came in unison, keeping just the right amount of awareness for not screaming and waking the whole house. 

When the aftershocks had calmed she collapsed on his chest, spent, sweaty, happy to no end. His heart was beating furiously, like drums of war, and his breathing was heavy. They kissed softly while he brushed wet strands of hair from her face. 

“Be mine, forever, please“. Bill begged. It sounded like the most important thing he ever had said, and it was. “I know that you must still be grieving for your broken relationship, but at least tell me that I have a hope”. 

“To hell with grief, you are my balm, my cure, my salvation. I love you”. 

His big, innocent eyes welled up when he heard her answer. “Say it again, please, Let me hear my wish come true once again” 

Lena cupped his face with her hands, and without stopping looking into his eyes she repeated it, slowly, softly, dripping with affection. “I love you, Bill. I want to be with you, and make you happy and enjoy life together”

Bill brought her to his mouth, and kissed her with the love and passion of almost ten years of longing. Unhurriedly, deeply, with all his heart. After a while, they got up and went to the bathroom. They had a quick shower and dried each other. Then they returned to the bed and she curled against him. He held her in his arms and watched her fall asleep. She whimpered and meowed softly in her sleep and he thought it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. 

In the morning they were still tangled in each other. Bill woke up first because Lena’s hair was tickling him. He brushed it away carefully and kissed her head. She mumbled something unintelligible and meowed again, so he kissed her a bit more. Lena opened her eyes slowly. 

“This is the best waking up I've ever had in my life”. She said with a sleepy voice and she peppered sweet little kisses all over him. 

“Same here, my little girl”

“Its the first time in almost three years that I haven't woken up with pain in my heart, but the opposite. I don't think I've ever been this happy”. 

Bill hugged her, still getting used to the idea that she was really there and that she was his. 

“Lena, I want to ask you something… “

She lifted her face up to meet his. She wanted to look into his eyes forever. 

“What is it? Ask away”

“I'm leaving this evening, and I was wondering if you would like to come with me… “

“For a few days? to Stockholm?”

“Well, you said you wanted eventually to find a place, I'm offering you mine… not for a few days, but permanently, if you would like”

“You're talking about living together?“

“Yes, I'll understand if you want to think about it or give it some time, after all you're coming from a traumatic break up, and you might think this is too rushed. But I will never treat you like you have been treated. I would do everything in my power to make you feel happy every day. You won't regret it, I promise… “

Lena put her fingers on his lips, while she smiled happily and a tear rolled down her cheek. 

“Yes…. of course yes!. Nothing could make me happier” she giggled and bit her bottom lip. “I'm good cook, and very easy going” 

“You forget that I already know you baby girl”

They got up, and got ready to join the rest of Lena’s family for breakfast. Her brothers were leaving right after breakfast. They entered the breakfast room and everyone looked at them as they were the last ones to join. Some of them smiled and Lena’s eldest brother gave Bill a knowing look. After breakfast everyone readied to say their goodbyes. 

The sisters-in-law had a mini-conference with Lena and she told them in a few words that she and Bill were together. They hugged her happily and asked her to keep them posted. They all sympathised with Lena and they wanted her happiness.

After all of them had left, Lena asked her father for a private moment. They sat in the garden and she told him about Bill and of her plans to leave. He also told him about the incident in the kitchen the day before. Her father was aghast. She explained that she didn't want to cause friction between them and that it was better for the peace in the family if she had her own life. 

Her father accepted her decision and in an unprecedented gesture he hugged her and told her that he loved her. They returned to the house and Lena went to pack her things, Bill helped her. When they were ready, they carried them to his SUV. After lunch her father, an old fashioned man, wanted a word with Bill, and Lena thought that she would have a word with her stepmother in the meantime. 

She went to the kitchen and found her doing the dishes. Her stepmother turned around and was about to tell her that she didn't need her help. 

“Actually, I just wanted to have a quick word with you before I leave”. She took a deep breath and there she went. “Since I came here a few months ago, you have acted as if I was an intruder. I have endured your coldness for the sake of my father, just because he loves you very much, but this is my family house and I have the right to come and stay if I need to. So to treat me the way you have been doing these past months, knowing the situation I was in, was heartless. Your behaviour yesterday was completely unacceptable, that show of jealousy befits a schoolgirl, not an adult woman who claims to be such a good Christian. I just wanted to please you and be your friend, you were cruel and inconsiderate. I cannot force you to like me. Now you can enjoy the house without the black sheep bothering you. I have told my father purely because if I didn't, my brothers would have. He's very disappointed. It's your fault for acting like you did, not mine for telling him. Now it's up to you to explain to him your motives. 

And without waiting for a response, Lena left the kitchen and went to look for Bill and her father. She found them in the sitting room. She heard her father talking. 

“... it was very unfair for Lena, she lost her mother at the age a young girl needs her the most. And neither me or the boys were the most suitable people to talk about certain things. She grew up being a shy teenager until you arrived and took her out of her shell. To know now that you loved her that way and you chose not to act on it but instead you put her first and did the decent thing, it speaks volumes of you. She deserves happiness, and I think you're the right person to make her happy”

Lena then went into the sitting room. Bill looked at her and extended his arm towards her. She came next to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. 

“He is, dad. I will be ok and safe with him. I need to go out in the world again, and find my path. I don't want to hide forever. You have been wonderful but I need to live my own life.”

Her father gave them his blessing and with that they were ready to leave. Lena’s father came with them outside, her  stepmother showed up when they were saying their goodbyes. She didn't say much and neither did Lena. They got in the SUV and left for Stockholm. 

Bill’s apartment was nice and spacious.  They brought her things up and he made room for her clothes, books and the rest.  Then they went together for some food shopping around the area, and they bought takeaway to have at home. They had dinner on the balcony. There was a beautiful view of Stockholm. While they ate they made plans for their life together. 

“ I travel quite a bit because of my job. Maybe sometimes you could come with me” Bill suggested 

“That would be wonderful! I love travelling. And I think that I will go back to work in what I am good at. I feel I can do it now”

“That makes me so happy! To see you looking forward to our life” He poured her some more wine. “Don't worry about anything, I will support you while you find a job you're happy in.”

“I'm keeping the job I have now, It will keep money coming in while I find what I want. And as I can work from home I can do job hunting at the same time. I was thinking as well to try to find a publisher for my book” 

“Then let's drink to your book and to us”   They both raised their glasses, with the promise of a future together ahead of them. 

Lena was an investigative journalist. She had worked at a modest magazine with a good reputation in the field. Her dream was to be a published writer. All that had come to a halt when her problem with the stalker started. But now the bad times were left behind. Her life and her future, with Bill by her side were an adventure waiting to be enjoyed. She had found her true happiness with the one man who had truly loved her all those past years. 

[lunaskye999]

One of the best ways to exorcise your nightmares is to write a story about them, giving them a happy ending. 🌱💕🥰

@creativepromptfills

[shellalana]

Just A Hug

@creativepromptfills

"So you're the kid, huh?" Quincy nervously flipped his lighter open and closed. It was weird, seeing a younger "version" of Serana that... didn't exactly look like her. He'd asked Serana plenty of times if she considered Sera as some kind of sister... to which he never got a straight answer. Serana had described it as feeling connected to her, but not in any kind of "bond" that she enjoyed. That left him confused as to how he should approach this situation.

Not to mention that the kid was likely aware of what her counterpart was up to when she was the one in "control."

"Guess you could say that. I do have a name, though." Sera scowled back. She was more than just "the kid," but Serana seemed to leave any conversation about her at just that. No elaboration, no going into details. It was as if she didn't want to talk about the Operator at all.

"Sera. Yeah, I know. Serana thought it might be good for us t'talk." He could feel the nervous energy buzzing in the air and dancing across his skin. Even for her small stature, he could see the power that radiated from her. The Tenno. The one who originally learned to pilot these Warframes on her own. He had so many questions, but that wasn't the point of this conversation.

"Your girlfriend doesn't really know much about me, so I don't put much faith in her opinions." She picked at the edge of the couch's armrest, tugging on an errant thread that demanded fiddling. Quincy instantly noticed and did nothing to hide his amusement.

"Dunno. She might know more than you think." He nodded towards her fidgeting. "Still got the same nervous habits, the two of you."

Sera perked up, her pallor flushing darker as she clasped her hands together in her lap. For some reason, she didn't want to be compared to the Drifter, didn't want to have anything in common with her, really. They still weren't on "good speaking terms" after everything that had happened.

"Let's just get this over with. What did you want to know?" She was expecting that he would have questions about her history, the Warframes, what she'd seen, and if she had new insight into how this whole business worked. But the next words out of his mouth threw her for a loop.

"What do you do for fun? When you're not piloting those meatsuits around?" Clink went the lid of the lighter.

"Fun? I, uh, there's... the Ludoplex, I guess..." But she'd beaten all of those games ages ago. They no longer sparked her interest.

"No, I mean, you go out sightseeing or anything? Hobbies? Any friends you got in that future of yours?"

Friends? She had people she knew would watch her back, people she could rely on when push came to shove. But she wouldn't really consider them friends. Just more soldiers in the ragtag "army" that had banded together to protect the System from other Big Bads.

Umbra. The thought of him drew a smile across her face, her chest warming a little. He had become the one thing that had turned her life in a slightly different direction.

Quincy instantly noticed.

"Ooo, there's somethin'." Clink. "Can't wear a smile like dat and can't share."

She was starting to understand why Serana found him a little annoying at times.

"I started learning sign language. To help out a..." Was Umbra a friend? She'd come to regard him as more like a father figure, but calling him that would probably weird Quincy out. "To help someone I care about."

"Really!" If Quincy's smile got any wider, his face would split in two. "Is it anything like LSL?" he signed to her, a little proud that he'd remembered some of it. Never hurt to be multilingual, in his book.

Sera stared back, wide-eyed and forgetting what air was. "I don't know what LSL is," she replied in her gestures.

"Libertatia. Right. I forget, countries don't mean anything to your future." He signed a little too quickly for her to keep up, but he wandered over to the navigation console and pulled up the map of Earth. His finger hovered over a large landmass.

"That's where I'm talking about. We're over here." He drew a circle over the other landmass to the East. "Anyway... Where'd you figure it out?"

"I found some old files online, but there weren't many. I've been filling in the blanks, making up my own."

"Huh. Clever one, you are. Remind me before you 'leave' t'get a couple books for you to keep in here. 'n if you need someone to practice with, I ain't too bothered to help."

"You... you'd do that for me? You barely know me." She hated this comforting warmth that washed over her. She'd been determined to hate him from the start, that she wanted nothing to do with him or this separate life Serana kept for herself. Instead, he was giving her more reasons to hang around and get to know him better.

"Since it sounds like you're not up to doing much in your spare time, you wanna go out 'n see the city? Word around town's that I'm a pretty good tour guide."

"I... don't doubt that." What was the worst that could happen? They run into some Scaldra? That wouldn't be much different from what she was used to.

***

"Woah, woah, careful!" Quincy gave chase, his arms outstretched.

"Help!"

Down Sera went, bicycle and all. But before she could hit the ground, she used Void Sling to save herself from the cuts and bruises that would have followed. The bicycle, unfortunately, continued on its rocky path, skidding across the ground and losing some of its nice paint job.

When she'd first seen the damn thing, she was confused as to what it was. After Quincy had explained, she couldn't figure out the logistics of how someone was supposed to ride it. After several eyerolls, the sniper gave up on explaining and convinced her to take the thing for a test run. It wasn't likely that its true owner would be coming back for it anytime soon.

This was her third attempt at trying to get it going, but balance didn't seem to be something that came to her innately.

Quincy, on the other hand, could not be more amused by the situation. Two "people" from the future, and they didn't seem capable of the simplest things.

He got the bike up on both wheels again and brushed off some of the grit that had rooted into the chain.

"Hey, you got further that time. Getting better, likkle by likkle. You wanna go one more time?"

"What's the point? That thing's seen enough abuse." She folded her arms and pouted, as if it was somehow the bicycle's fault.

"Oh, come on. You? The Tenno drivin' fear into half the galaxy, you're gonna let a bicycle get the better of you?"

Sera's mouth twisted to one side. When he put it that way...

"Ugh, fine." She knew exactly what he was doing, of course, baiting her into trying again. But she was fine with playing along. This was better than being put in the background or dealing with another of Darvo's conundrums.

They strolled back to the top of the hill with the bicycle in hand and turned it around for another try.

"Okay, this time, focus on your core." He lightly backhanded her in the stomach. "That's where all your balance comes from. Keep the tyre pointed forward until you wanna steer out of the way of something. And when you use the brake, don't smash it down like you got a chokehold on it. Gently. Like you're pullin' the reins on a horse."

"A what?" Sera threw her leg over the bike and got comfortable on the seat.

"Oh for... Kaithe? Kaithe, that thing Serana rode around in Duviri... right?"

Sera glanced at him over her shoulder with the most shit-eating grin.

"I'm messing with you."

Quincy's gaze narrowed but he bit back a grin.

"Okay, smart ass," he shot back before planting his boot on the back of the seat and kicking the bike hard down the hill. Something Sera had not been prepared for.

"You fuck!" she screamed as the bicycle ran away with her, her feet pumping the pedals hard to keep up with the momentum.

"Focus on your core!" he yelled after her, though he sounded much farther away now.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Whatever he said next was definitely out of earshot, but she had bigger problems on her hands than trying to figure it out.

Tyre straight, don't slam on the brakes, tight core....

Before she knew it, she was coasting down the rest of the hill until it flattened out, her momentum beginning to slow. Once it felt safe, she slowly pressed the levers for the brakes, filling the street with a rusted whine as the bike came to a halt.

"Ho-... holy shit.."

"'ey, you did it!" Quincy came sprinting down the hill, looking just as proud as she felt. "How was that?"

"I..." It was the most excitement she'd ever experienced, outside of combat. The whole thing had actually been... fun. "Like I wanna go again."

"Ha! Maybe I won't have t'—!"

He grunted with the sudden force against his chest, the small arms thrown around him in an embrace. She was so much smaller than Serana—still just a kid—that he still found it hard to believe she could endure the things she had.

"Still wanna kill me?" he whispered as he returned the gesture in kind.

"Okay, I might have been a bit hasty with that threat." She pulled away and wiped the corner of her eye with a thumb. "Don't hold it against me."

"Nah, ain't gonna do that. Between you 'n me, I kinda deserved it."

"Race you to the top of the hill?" Sera handed him the bike and was gone before he could answer, her Void Sling carrying her back to the start.

"Sure. Leave me the hard work," he mumbled under his breath, still wearing a grin.

***

"You were right, babe..." Quincy worked the conditioner into Serana's hair as she lay in his lap. It was the only part of her "old school" showering routine that she liked. She'd feigned doing it wrong plenty of times just to get him to do it for her.

"Course I'm right. You being good with kids, it was easy to put two and two together."

"Got her one of those digi-pets too. It'll give her somethin' to do when she's not... you know."

"Oh Sol, do you know what you've done?" Serana bolted upright. "What do you think's gonna happen if that cluster of pixels dies?"

"I'm... well..." He hadn't thought that far ahead. "Was that a mistake?"

"Was that a mistake, he says. I'll let you experience that for yourself firsthand when it happens. You'd better add a couple months of tissues to your next supply run."

"That bad?"

"That bad."

[totallynoonelikeme]

Remnders Of Him

Chapter 2

Daminette December 2025 day 18 (Inheritance)

Numb.

That was how Marinette felt: dazed.

Throughout Adrien's funeral service, she sat there, dejected. She couldn't understand a word of what was going on, and she could no longer feel her mother's comforting hand on her shoulder. She felt alone. She felt guilty. She felt a lot of feelings she hadn't even started to process. Being here today was like a confirmation of news she refused to acknowledge. The worst reality check someone could possibly give her.

When it was time to say something about Adrien, Marinette regained some semblance of consciousness. She had to talk, no matter how much it felt like her emotions were clawing up her throat.

"Adrien was a good friend. An even better boyfriend. He was sunshine wrapped all up in one person. At times, I wondered how Adrien managed to stay strong and positive, regardless of the situation. He was a pastry lover," she pauses, giving a dry, humourless laugh. Her throat hurt.

"He would eat obscene amounts of pastries each day and somehow managed not to fall sick. Not even once." A deep breath. She closes her eyes for a moment.

"Adrien was that constant support I never knew I needed, always there for me, when it mattered the most. He will be missed," she finishes and practically flees from the podium. Away from everyone's eyes.

The rest of the service is a blur. She had returned to her mother's side, trying to stay strong. Her maman had given her a good hand squeeze. "You did great, sweetheart," Her maman had told her. As she got home, she remained holed up in her room.

"You've got to eat something, Marinette," Tikki pleads, concern written all over her face.

"I'll eat later, Tiks," Marinette mumbles into her pillow, voice all cracked up and shaky.

"You said that five hours ago!" Tikki screeches. If Kwamis could cry, that is what Tikki could have looked like. Marinette sighs tiredly. She didn't want to worry anyone, and if Tkki was this agitated, her maman was probably worse.

 She sits up in bed, trying to get a good feel of her environment. Her eyes hurt a lot and she was tired, no, exhausted, completely drained. She gets to her feet and stretches, trying to gather energy. She probably looks a mess but excuse her. She's mourning. 

She goes down to the bakery to meet her maman. Sabine, upon noticing her daughter's arrival, rushes to her and gives her a big, warm hug. "Hey maman, Can I please get something to eat?" Marinette asks. Her voice sounds weird, even to her.

"Of course my baby" Sabine answers before going to get her daughter something to eat. 

She notices her father, Tom, talking to a woman in a suit. The atmoshere there is serious, so she sits at the foot of the stairs, waiting. She feels Tikki giving her a reassuring pat on her head from her hiding place in Marinette's hair. "Buginette, would you mind coming over for a bit?" Her father calls for her, a slight frown on his face. Marinette gets up and dusts imaginable dust off her shorts and goes towards her papa. 

"Marinette sweetie, this lady is here for you. If you're not up to it, you don't have to talk to her right now," Tom says, placing a comforting hand at her back. Marinette sighs, more like coughs but nods. She slips into her ladybug persona. As Ladybug, her emotions aren't a priority, her duties are.

"I can already tell this is going to be important so i'll see her now, papa" Marinette tells her dad, taking a seat at the table.

Marinette tries to give a polite smile to the lady in front of her but it comes out wobbled and weird. The lady clears her throat. She then reaches into her briefcase and brings out large documents, placing them on the table with a thud. 

"It's good to see you Marinette. My name is Maria and I'm going to start off by apologising for your loss" The lady, Maria, starts. Marinette simply nods because she has nothing to say. After a pregnant pause, Maria starts again.

"I know that this is a hard time for you but i'm afraid these matters are urgent and cannot be put off. I am here to read out the will of Adrien Agreste," she says. Time seems to still as Marinette tries to process Maria's words. Marinette motions for Maria to continue as words fail her.

"As per the will of Adrien Agreste, all assets, properties and belongings are to be given to Ms Marinette Dupain-Cheng" Maria finishes as Marinette almost faints from shock. She doesn't even recover before Maria hands her a letter Adrien left for her. Tears instantly well up in her eyes as she starts to read.

M'lady,

If you're ever reading this, it means that things didn't go down well with Hawkbitch. I mean, I kinda had a feeling it was my father long before we both confirmed it.It sucks because I'll forever be known as a terrorist's son. I'd rather be rememberedas your lover *wink*! i know it's not the right time to make jokes and you'd probably skin me alive if you heard me joking about my death. I miss you m'lady, I really do. I hope you won't find everything i've given you as a burden but I really hope it helps, regardless of anything. Turn it into your fashion empire or something butdo whatever makes you happy. I love you a lot m'lady, don't stop living because I did. I'm with you wherever Marinette.

-Adrien (Minou)

Marinette's wail has her papa running towards her, just as she loses all the strength in her body. She falls limp into her father's arms and starts to sob. 

Oh Adrien!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75957771/chapters/198771096

@maribat-calendar-events

@creativepromptfills

[totallynoonelikeme]

What did You Do to Me??

Daminette December 2025 {Day 11: Arrhythmia}

There was something about the new transfer student that bothered Damian greatly. Now, Damian didn't mean to brag (he absolutely meant to) but he's the only REAL son of Bruce Wayne. The rest of them were just adopted felons he was unfortunately forced to live with.

Father and Alfred would be disappointed if they knew he thought this. But the deal with Marinette Dupain-Cheng was this, she was friendly, but not too friendly that she would let people walk all over her. Very diligent even though she always seemed sleep deprived like Drake which was a terrible pity.

  And she was very good at physical activities, almost too good to be actually be considered human. She talked but not too much that she made others uncomfortable and she never disrespected boundaries. Now,to correct what you all are probably thinking, Damian Wayne knows all this because he's a very observant classmate and definitely not a stalker.

Now the question that Damian often asked himself was this. "Why hadn't Marinette *cough* Dupain-Cheng come to say hi to him? Was he really that unapproachable??" he didn't know but it sure as hell pissed him off.  He was so lost in thought he didn't hear Kent approach him. "What's up Damian!! Whatchu doing?" Jon asked in his usual cheerily annoying voice. Damian rolled his eyes at Jon and waved him away. "Go bother someone else with you nonsense!" Damian snapped.

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

  Marinette groaned tiredly. This was her second week her at Gotham Academy exhausted couldn't even begin to describe how tired she felt. She had been so nervous at the thought of starting a new school but the at her new school have been a lot calmer than she expected. Not that she was complaining.

I guess dealing with Lila for the past year had made her get used the things that shouldn't be normal.She was grateful that her classmates haven't been outright mean to her but she knows not to trust anyone too easily. She trudged tiredly into her apartment and flopped unto the living room couch lazily.

She's been running on caffeine for a while now and her body system may actually crash if she doesn't get some sleep soon. But she's so behind on her commissions. At the thought of the commissions piled up for her, she closed her eyes in thought and a certain someone came to mind. Damian Wayne, Ice prince of Gotham.

  Jon was a man on a mission. It was obvious that Damian had a crush on the new girl and as his not official official bestie, he was gonna help his poor friend. Jon skips over to Marinette's table. Fortunately for him, he had shown Mari around on her first day here at Gotham Academy so they had become good friends. "Heyy Marii!! How are you??" Jon's cheerful voice greets Marinette. Marinette breaks out into an instant smile. "Hii Jon!! I'm good thanks so much for asking. how are you??" Marinette greets in responds. "Absolutely fine, thanks!! Can I sit beside you??!!" Jon asks, still smiling brightly. Marinette flusters for a minute. "I'm so sorry about that, of course you can sit!!" Jon immediately pulls out a chair and sits beside her. "So... how's your first week of school been, i hope no one's bothering you" Marinette giggles. "Thanks for the concern but school's been great!" Marinette answers, assuring Jon with a gently smile. Jon hums and they enjoy each others company for the next while. At the end of their free period, Marinette gathers her things, getting ready to move to her next class, which happened to be art. Jon stops her, "Mari, i know you have art right now but if you need help with anything feel free to ask Damian, he'll be sure to answer you!" Jon advises. Marinette thanks him and rushes off, not noticing Jon's smirk.

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

        This was marinette's first official art class. The art teacher wasn't available the last week so she struggled a bit on finding her way there. "Are you in need off some assistance??" A deep, cool voice startles her. She jumps, almost falling when a pair of warm, strong hands grab her waist, steadying her. "i apologize for touching you without your consent," He apologizes.

Marinette instantly recognizes the boy, Damian Wayne. Marinette flushes a deep shade of red. "It's fine, touching me i mean! Ahhh me touching you is fine NO!!! You no what, nevermind" Marinette stutters, internally dying of embarrasment. Poor Damian's honestly just confused. Marinette takes a deep breath, composing herself. "I'm fine Damian, and thanks for the catch! I got lost trying to find my way to the Art room."

Marinette says as calmly as she can. Damian looks at her puzzled at why his heartbeat increased at just the little time they had spent together. What exactly was it that she did to him?? Was it something in hearing her voice addressed to him for the first time? Or just being around her in general??  

      Damian gently takes Marinette's hand into his. "Arrhythmia, have you ever heard of it??" damian asks Marinette. Marinette turns red again and she's at a loss for what to say. She manages a nod, which Damian takes as a sign to continue. 'Irregular heartbeats. Either too fast or too slow. THere's something about you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng that makes my heart race, beat way too fast. Such inconsistencies are a norm whenever i'm around you.

What have you done to me Marinette?" Damian ends with a question, looking her straight in the eye. Marinette is speechless. Her heart's thumping way too loudly, she's sure even Damian can hear it. Damian places her hand gently on her chest so she can feel how fast his heart beating is. She simply places his hand on her own thumping chest, watching how THe Damian Wayne turns red instantly.

Before he can say anything, the 5 minutes before class warning bell rings and they both flinch startled. Damian turns an even darker shade of red. Let's continue this discussion after class?!" Marinette suggests and Damian leads them both away to class.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75557636

@maribat-calendar-events

@creativepromptfills

@ao3feed-maribat

[amarantine-amirite]

Gala Performance

You may have read an op-ed in the Washington Post titled What Poor Frustration Tolerance Can Look Like In Girls With Autism, which focused on “Alison’s” difficulty shifting gears, difficulty foreseeing consequences of actions, and struggles with impulse control. 

I am Alison. The details of the scenario itself were wrong, and my frustrations were completely unrelated to autism. Here’s what actually happened.

It started really simply. I took one look at the costume for my school’s fall concert and thought No, don’t wear this, I don't look good in it, I don’t look good in anything.

It’s not my fault I don’t look good in it. I think somebody uploaded a picture of those old Benetton sweater dresses, asked ChatGPT to produce a sewing pattern, and then worked off of those to make the costumes.

Even if you take into consideration the fact that those Benetton sweater dresses didn't look good on anybody to begin with, AI-generated sewing patterns have these disastrous layouts and incorrect measurements that ask you to cut too much or too little fabric. If by some miracle you manage to put it together, there’s no way in hell it’s gonna look like what you were expecting. And it sure as shit won't fit anyone correctly. 

My parents quickly pulled me out of that concert. They gave the school grief, and the school told them to shut up. 

I made up for it though. I, a fresher, and Lydia Balmoral, one of the juniors, got invited to do a performance at High Impact, We Day’s indie music festival. It's the one where the stage has the map of Africa with the word Asia written across the banjo neck.

Our performance was a duet. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera”. I did the Phantom's part on trombone and Lydia did Christine's part on clarinet. I wore a dress that was red with gold flowers and those sleeves that look like giant, pointy t-shirt sleeves. Lydia wore a dress that's royal blue with silver thistles (of course) and long sleeves. We looked like the Faberge Barbies if they were built to last, the blue one had a platinum blonde Karen haircut, and the red one had a bit of scarring from a poorly executed chemical peel. 

We've had our fair share of pain getting this under sail. Originally, we'd planned for me to do Christine’s part on trombone and Lydia to do the Phantom’s part on bagpipes. Less than 24 hours before go time, the stage manager sends us a nasty email telling us that bagpipes aren't an instrument. Consequently, we had a limited window to rehearse our piece where we played each other's parts. Whoever has the louder instrument plays the Phantom’s part, otherwise it doesn’t work.

Another surprise awaited us once we arrived. Everyone had a surgical mask on. A few people had it matching their outfit, but most of them just had blue paper ones.

Some lady with bright yellow hair, black surgical mask, cat’s eye glasses, and a name tag that said Daisy looked at us. I presumed she was the stage manager. “Why aren't you guys masked?”

“What?” I asked. Half of it was surprise, the other half of it was not being able to understand what the stage manager was saying because I couldn’t read her lips

Daisy gestured to everyone else. “Look around you,” she said, “You need to be masked.” 

“Really?” I asked. 

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Even on stage?”

"Yes”

My eyebrows came together so quickly you could put a quarter between them and have it stand up. “Why are you telling me this now?” I shouted, “I feel like this is something you should have told the performers well before the event"

"Well, you should have come prepared,” Daisy remarked.

“What the hell does that mean?”

Daisy began to talk to me like I was a Labradoodle. "As you may know, Kelly Clarkson has been diagnosed with leukemia and, due to the chemotherapy, is quite immunocompromised. We have asked performers to wear masks during the show. It’s bad enough that she has to wait in her car till you’re both masked.”

My mouth hung open like a drive-thru speaker. “You're kidding, right?”

Daisy shook her head. “There's no kidding around when it comes to chemotherapy crapping up your immune system,” she responded. 

“How the hell am I supposed to play trombone with a mask on?” I shouted.

Daisy looked at me with her head on one side. “You…don’t,” she responded. She looked at the trombone, then looked back at me. “Why do you even have a trombone to begin with?”

Daisy’s stupid question made me angry. “Do not get me started, because I will…”

Lydia pulled me aside after this. I know exactly what’s coming next. The good thing about the upper years is that they have no compunction about telling you how you screwed up, especially if they came to America from abroad.

I took a deep breath and spoke. “Before you start,” I began, “yes, I am aware of how badly I screwed up, and…”

Lydia looked at me in surprise. “I wasn't going to say that at all,” she said, “I agree with you.”

I didn’t expect her to agree with me, especially considering how much of a scene I made. “What?” I responded, “You think that I was caught off guard?”

“Oh, aye,” Lydia nodded, “but it goes beyond that.”

“I bet it does,” I agreed. 

Lydia said something that more or less confirmed that there was way more to this requirement than the stage manager was telling us. “I'm convinced she made this up.”

My eyebrows did the best impression of Volkswagens trying to park. “Kelly Clarkson?” I said, befuddled. “She lied about having cancer?” Of all the showbiz folk that I can think of, she actually strikes me as the least likely to lie about having cancer.

“No, but if your immune system is that messed up, you're far better off to either dial into the show via Skype or wear something with a beefier filter. I'm convinced the stage manager is making this up so she doesn't have to deal with wind players.”

It alarmed me how much that tracked. We only found out we needed to wear masks after we got here, and there was nothing to suggest that there was a bin of masks for people that didn’t bring their own, so that means everyone brought their own, which means they probably received some communication from either the stage manager or the venue that masks are required, and we did not. I think they actively excluded anybody they booked who played a wind instrument when they sent the email bulletin saying that masks were required during the performance. I didn’t see anybody else with wind instruments there, so either we were the only wind players signed up for this thing or any other wind players who showed up got sent home for not following the mask rule.

Before either one of us could say anything else, Daisy bought it in. “Really?” she said,  “You didn’t think I wouldn’t hear that?”

I groaned, “OK now what?”

Daisy shook her head. “That has to be the stupidest excuse ever,” she tsked, “It’s not either everyone masks or Kelly wears a respirator, everyone masks around Kelly and she also wears a respirator.”

I can see it coming a mile away. I know she’s about to rant about fit testing. “I think you're letting perfect be the enemy of good here.”

She didn’t listen. She didn’t even look at me. She looked at Lydia. “Also, Lydia, you’ll need to put your clarinet in a bag with slits for your hands as you’re playing.”

Lydia didn't even flinch. “No,” she shook her head, “I'm tone deaf and I need to see where my fingers are so I can play properly.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “That excuse was even worse than the last one.”

What remained of Lydia's patience left the building upon hearing that. She launched into a rant. “Awright, listen tae me you wee shit, I know what's going on here! First you wait until less than 24 hours of our timeslot before you tell me bagpipes aren't an instrument then you feed us this bullshit line about Kelly Clarkson and her leukemia. I know it’s bullshit because if Kelly Clarkson really did have leukemia, it would’ve been all over the news. Media outlets go bonkers when celebrities have cancer.”

Everybody stopped what they were doing and stared at us. Lydia didn't stop. “We all know stage managers cannae handle wind players!” she gestured to everyone else, “You may have fooled them, but nae us! Alison and I both know that you’re lying!”

Usually, when people get caught in a lie like that, especially if the rant that exposes the lie results in staring, they panic. Either they start spouting more nonsense that digs themselves deeper, or they run away. Daisy did neither. “Can you speak English? Because I don't speak Mexican.”

Now, as hard as it may have been for us to believe, the rant was indeed in English.  As was what she said next: “Fuck you!”

We got sent home. I learned two things that day. People will put more effort into excuses to get out of doing things than they will to do the actual thing. Flipping out or getting taken aback by something doesn't necessarily mean you're wrong. 

@creativepromptfills

[bren-melantha]

‘Finally’

“Finally,” lance said, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. “It’s about time you won a round.”

Samir shrugged, avoiding the stupid smile and playful eyes of Lance as the winnings were pushed in front of him.

“I never said I was good at this game.” Samir was gripping his glass tightly in his left hand, the last few drops of tequila in it having gotten warm by this point.

“We can tell,” Amazia said as she grabbed the cards, carefully shuffling them.

“Who wants another drink?” Lance asked, pushing away from the table and standing up, stretching his arms above his head to relieve some of the tension from sitting so long.

“Beer.” Amazia said, not looking up from the cards.

Samir wordlessly held up his glass, showing lance the smidge of liquid left in the bottom.

“Tequila, right?” Lance snatched the glass from Samir’s hand, and headed for the kitchen.

“Yeah!” Samir shouted after him, looking down the hallway as Lance disappeared into the other room.

“Maybe you just need to be drunk enough to be able to win.” Amazia started dealing the cards.

“Maybe Lance should stop cheating.”

“He only cheats a little,” Amazia said with a grin.

From creativepromptsforwriting’s advent prompt event, day one, one word prompt.

[bren-melantha]

@creativepromptfills

[bren-melantha]

‘Feel better?’

“Feel better?” Lance asked, gingerly rubbing Samir’s back as the other man was bent over the toilet of their shared quarters.

Samir grumbled, his left hand gripping the toilet seat and his right hand pulling his poorly trimmed hair back in a weak attempt to keep it out of the toilet bowl.

“Let it out man, let it out,” lance said, letting himself lean against the side of the tub, “I knew you should have stopped drinking.”

“Shudyup,” Samir said with a groan, followed by the pathetic sound of him heaving.

“Tequila and you do not get along,” Lance said as he slid his hand up from Samir’s back into his hair, sneakily pulling it into a very much sloppy pony tail.

“We’fine.” Samir waved his now free right hand wildly, slapping it against the sink.

“Obviously,” lance said, his hand returning to Samir’s back, slowly rubbing circles once more.

Samir heaved again, causing lance to wince at the sound. “You done yet?”

Samir groaned, nodding slightly.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

Part of @creativepromptsforwriting advent event, day 2, 2 sentence writing prompts

[bren-melantha]

@creativepromptfills

[bren-melantha]

‘Please, shut up’

“Please shut up.” Samir said, his head buried in his hands, bent over the table in an attempt to block out the overhead lights of the mess hall.

Which was less of a hall and more of a glorified closet with enough seating for about 8 and could push it to 10 if people were plenty chummy.

“Dude, I didn’t even say anything,” lance said, carefully shutting the door to the fridge from across the room. “Do you need coffee? I can make you coffee.”

“Make it quietly.” Samir as he buried himself further into the table.

“Explain that to the coffee pot,” lance mumbled, trying his best to get everything into the coffee pot without making too much noise.

Samir groaned.

“You are such a baby for someone who drinks an entire bottle of tequila,” lance said as he pushed the button on the coffee maker, the machine making an awful gurgling sound as it began heating up the water.

“Oh shut up.”

“Not even gonna acknowledge anything that happened last night?” Lance asked, prepping out two mugs.

“Besides me throwing up and having this god awful burning feeling in my throat?” Samir didn’t move.

“I was more or less talking about the fact you decided to sleep in my bed and wouldn’t let me leave.” Lance slammed the milk on the counter.

Samir’s head popped up, hair sticking up. “I did what?”

“It’s not like you did anything inappropriate, you just apparently get clingy when plastered.” Lance slowly poured milk into both mugs, making sure the green mug had significantly more milk than the grey mug.

Samir groaned loudly, once again burying his face into the table. “Fuck me.”

“Only if you buy me dinner.”

Oh hey look at this day 3 in the bag!!

Don’t look at the date

For @creativepromptsforwriting advent event

[bren-melantha]

@creativepromptfills

[comandersprings]

The Gift of a Lifetime (Gojo x GN!Reader)

Note: Of course I had to write a fic for Satoru's birthday and of course it had to be something sweet and extra fluffy like this <3 Truth be told, I got the idea of writing a birthday-themed fic from KefiTeria over at AO3, who writes amazing and adorable Gojo/Reader fanfics. After reading this one, you should go check out their stories!

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4,321

Summary: Accompanied by his students and you, Gojo celebrates his 29th birthday at home. He will be getting many gifts today but, after almost a year of preparation, you will be giving him one he can't see coming. One that will mark the start of an exciting and beautiful new chapter in your lives.

• • • • • • •

Attached by cords to their respective stands, bouquets of blue satin balloons swayed from side to side. They flanked a big “Happy Birthday” banner Yuji and Megumi hung on the wall a couple of hours ago while you, Yuta, Tsumiki, and Nobara devoted yourselves to tasks such as folding the ivory white napkins to make them look fancy, plating the food on dishes from Satoru’s best dinnerware set, framing them with matching cutlery… Everything had to be perfect.

The rest of Satoru’s students couldn’t make it to the dinner, but they, too, were in on what would happen there. After all, today wasn’t an ordinary day: it was his birthday. That alone was special enough, but there was a twist not even his Six Eyes would see coming, one that would add an extra layer of significance to the day.

Today, on his birthday, you would propose to Satoru.

It wasn’t something you had thought of on a whim, no. You wanted to do it from the moment Shoko finished patching you and your boyfriend up after the battle against Sukuna. You already knew, but looking at him lying next to you, with your hospital beds pressed together and your fingers tightly interlaced after narrowly escaping death, your certainty solidified. You wanted to spend the rest of your life with Satoru.

Originally, the idea was to propose on Valentine’s Day, but that concept was corny even to you. As you discarded it, the perfect date came to mind like a strike of lightning: his birthday, December 7th. Not only was it another special date, but it also gave you almost an entire year to prepare and make sure everything was perfect. To further ensure that, you asked the kids for help. They performed particular tasks each: Megumi and Tsumiki convinced Satoru to celebrate his birthday at home—you wanted the proposal to be an intimate moment; Tsumiki accompanied you for ring shopping; Nobara helped you pick your outfit for the occasion; Yuji took care of the decorations, and Yuta, of the cake. As for Panda, Toge, and Maki, they came up with the menu: miso soup, salmon, and tempura. It was a pity they couldn’t be there.

The kids could almost feel as their own the palpitations you hid behind your big grins and your giggles, all of them seasoned with a pinch of nervousness you beat yourself over in your mind. You knew you had nothing to worry about, and yet, a faint anxiety crept up your chest every time you took your hand to your pocket and pictured Satoru’s possible reactions to what you were hiding in there.

Laughter and friendly banter surrounded you. Okay, Megumi was as serious and stoic as usual, but you could tell he suppressed laughs every now and then.

“The sound Sukuna made when you stepped on him?” Satoru said, tapping Yuji’s arm, “I think of it every time I need a quick laugh. It was like one of those noise putties.”

“You mean the ones that sound like a fart? They’re gross.” Nobara scrunched up her nose.

“But you still know about them,” her teacher pointed out with a triumphant grin.

“With your past as a tomboy,” Yuji added, “I bet you’ve played with noise putties before.”

“N-no! I’ve never played with those.” The girl’s nostrils were all flared up, but Yuji and Satoru still laughed.

And you laughed with them. Nobara half-pouted at you and continued eating. Megumi shook his head and did the same. For her part, Tsumiki laughed under her nose. Her brother’s classmates were an interesting bunch.

Things were much calmer for sorcerers ever since Sukuna was dealt with, but moments that allowed for fun and peace were still more than welcome. Actually, the peace part could be scratched this time for you, anyway. You exchanged glances with the students every now and then. The food on the plates was waning and with it, the minutes until Yuta brought your boyfriend’s birthday cake into the dining room. The cake was something Satoru was curious about, by the way.

“Won’t you give me a hint on what it’s made of?” he asked Yuta, leaning forward.

The boy shook his head, pausing before picking a piece of tempura with his chopsticks. “I already told you it’s meant to be a surprise.”

“You won’t even tell me what color it is?”

“He already told you it was a surprise,” Megumi droned from across Satoru.

The cake… You almost turned it into an actual surprise by hiding the ring in it, but you had heard enough horror stories about people nearly choking on their engagement ring to rule the idea out. Going down on one knee was special, too.

After taking a sip of his miso soup. Satoru turned to look at you. “Hey, babe.” His words made you jolt in your seat. “You good? You’ve been pretty quiet ever since we started eating.”

Oh, of course he noticed.

“Yes, I’m fine,” you told him with a reassuring smile. “I’m just… listening to you all.”

Satoru narrowed his cerulean eyes, a mix of disbelief and amusement glinting in them.

“Listening to us? It’s more like you’re lost in thought.”

Nobara gave you an alarmed look. You briefly shook your head at the girl, eyeing her out of the corner of your eye.

“I’m also wondering about what the cake will be like.”

“But you must have seen it while plating everything,” your boyfriend pointed out. He chuckled and patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t press you on it.”

Your eyes landed on Yuta next. He let out a sigh just as your shoulders lost their tension. Satoru’s perceptiveness could be a problem sometimes.

You were that quiet because, in your mind, you were going over what you’d be saying when the big moment came. You had looked up ideas online and, while some of the suggested sentences were beautiful and loaded with emotion, going off something you had read somewhere would mean scripting your feelings. Satoru deserved to hear words born from your heart, not a repeat of what someone had written online.

In the blink of an eye, all of you were done eating. Yuji leaned back against his chair’s backrest and rubbed his stomach.

“Everything was great, but I’m so full! I hope I can still eat some cake.”

“Of course you can,” Tsumiki said, “there`s always room for cake.”

“You’re right.”

Meanwhile, your guts were so tight you couldn’t believe you ate everything on the plate. The food tasting so good must have played a part.

Yuta gave you a fleeting glance, then spoke, “When should I bring out the cake? If we eat it right now, it could be too heavy on our stomachs.”

Satoru leaned back, supporting his chin on his hand. “That’s true. I don’t think I want to end the last birthday of my twenties with indigestion.”

“Do we wait twenty minutes or so, then?”

“Yeah. That should do it.”

You exhaled. Twenty minutes before the proposal. You touched your pocket, making sure the small black velvet case was still inside. Satoru saw that. The first thing that crossed his mind was that you had your gift on you and that it must be something tiny. Not that it mattered; anything coming from you or the kids was valuable. What didn’t sit as well with him were your eyes, all fixed ahead, the fast-paced rise and fall of your chest, and the small nods you gave to yourself every now and then. Satoru was tempted to take you aside and ask if something was troubling you, but the smiles you shared with him and his students eased his concern somewhat.

Those twenty minutes passed by both in a blink and at a snail’s pace. When Yuta got up from his chair, a rush of heat washed over your back and you opened your mouth like a fish out of water. You had to reach for your glass and pour some soda into it because, at that rate, your mouth would become so dry the words to “Happy Birthday” would get stuck in your throat like they were in a traffic jam. The kids shot you sympathetic glances. You had this, they were sure of it.

Rising from her chair, Tsumiki said, “I’ll go turn off the lights.”

The girl flicked the switch and the dining room became illuminated only by the light coming from the kitchen, where Yuta lit the candles on the cake one by one. When he was done, he turned off the kitchen’s lights and the warm glow coming from the candles extended from one room to the other. You all stood the moment Yuta came into view through the door’s threshold and began singing the famous song.

You eyed Satoru as you sang. His gaze was both on all of you and on the cake, a two-tiered chocolate sponge cake covered in a generous coat of delicious, perfectly smoothed out icing of the same flavor. Of course, it was adorned with twenty-nine colorful candles, their flames flickering with each step Yuta took.

The boy placed the cake in front of Satoru, who quipped, “My birthday cakes are starting to look like concerts.” You and Yuji chuckled at the comment.

“What are you going to wish for?” Nobara inquired.

Satoru shrugged. “The kind of thing one usually wishes for on birthdays.” He put his hands down on the table and leaned in. “Alright, time to take care of these candles.”

He focused on the twenty-nine flames in front of him. Despite the vagueness of his response to Nobara, your boyfriend had two specific wishes in mind. He wanted everyone he cared about to be safe. He thought of you, his students—including Tsumiki—and his colleagues. He hoped a threat on Sukuna’s level would never arise again, but that, if it did, he’d be able to ward it off the same.

And right before blowing out the candles, Satoru also wished for being able to keep aging by your side.

All the flames went off in one go, leaving behind the characteristic scent of their charred wicks. Clapping and hugs followed as Tsumiki rushed to turn the lights back on. You were the first to embrace Satoru, but you angled your body awkwardly at the last second so the jewelry box in your pocket wouldn’t poke him. Your heart broke a little when you saw the confusion in his narrowed eyes, but it was fine. He’d find out why you had been acting so off soon enough. Too soon for your comfort. If those already shaky hands of yours managed to drop the box when the moment came, you’d curl into a ball in a corner of the room and cry.

“Time to go get our gifts,” Yuji announced, giving you a side glance as he did. He then addressed Satoru, “Stay patient, okay?”

“I’ll try, I’ll try.” He sat down on his chair and dragged it back, stretching his long legs.

You and the students headed towards the living room, where the gifts awaited inside a cupboard. Megumi opened it and everyone took their corresponding packages. You watched from a few steps away, taking deep breaths and trying to visualize a circle expanding and shrinking with every breath. You kept telling yourself you were ridiculous for being so anxious over proposing to your boyfriend after months of preparation, but you couldn’t help it. Asking the love of your life to marry you wasn’t like asking them what they wanted for dinner.

Megumi put a hand on your shoulder. “Hey.” His voice and sudden touch startled you. “You don’t need to worry about anything. It will be alright.”

“But…” You put your hand into your pocket, grasping at the box inside. “What if he says no? You know how Satoru is. He could say he doesn’t need to marry me to know he wants to be with me. I wouldn’t complain, mind you, but still…”

“Have you two ever talked about marriage?”

You two had, in fact, talked about the possibility of marrying someday and, in fact, Satoru told you he liked the idea, but that there was no need for a wedding in his eyes. He loved you with or without a ring.

“Yes,” you answered. “He is… ambivalent about it.”

Nobara, who had heard the exchange, approached you with a hand on her hip. The other held the gift she got for her teacher. “If he dares say no, I’ll ‘accidentally’ ruin all of his favorite shirts.”

“Come on, Nobara, don’t be petty,” Yuji scolded her before addressing you. “Besides, Gojo would never say no to you.”

“You know you have him wrapped around your finger.” Tsumiki gave your back a couple of comforting pats.

“It’s unnerving because you care,” Yuta said, taking a step towards you, “but it will be a beautiful moment. Your proposal will make him happy.”

You took another deep breath and placed your hand over your heart. Its beat was so strong you could feel it by just grazing your chest.

“Please, I hope so.”

The six of you left the living room and returned to the dining room, where Satoru awaited, seated on his chair, arms and legs crossed. As soon as he saw Megumi—the one who led the group—cross the threshold, he got up and approached all of you.

“This is my favorite moment in birthdays besides the cake.” He had a big, almost childish grin on his face. He was going to make you melt. “Let’s see what you all got me.”

Megumi was the first to give Satoru his gift. It was a copy of Frankenstein; Satoru had resolved to read more, but he wanted to start with something he was already familiar with thanks to movies and, to him, that was a perfect option. Next was Tsumiki, who got him a cotton candy machine. Satoru’s eyes all but sparkled when he unwrapped the box and saw the gadget’s image on its colorful front. You knew he was thinking of all the cotton candy he’d be making day in and day out.

Everyone else’s gifts were just as amazing: Yuta got him a sleek black smartwatch—on the cheaper side, but Satoru didn’t mind that at all. He praised its wearability and even put it on. Nobara’s gift was a men’s cologne that had been widely advertised lately and that she thought Satoru would like. Indeed, he proclaimed it as his new favorite after the first whiff. As for Yuji, he gifted his teacher a box that contained a selection of the most iconic movies of the 90s. Satoru thanked the boy for giving him so much great material for future movie nights.

With every gift he received, your mouth grew drier and your breathing shallower. You reminded yourself to visualize the circle, to trust yourself and, most of all, to trust Satoru. He glanced at you after each one of the presents, hoping you’d be next. When he placed the box Yuji gave him down on the table, Satoru’s gaze stayed on you. Everyone’s gazes were on you, actually. The kids moved aside to give you space and stood side by side, ready for what was about to unfold. Nobara retrieved her phone from her purse in a discreet movement; you had given her permission to record the moment, which only added to your fear of messing this up somehow.

You took a sip of soda and approached your boyfriend. He didn’t eye you from head to toe, hoping to guess where you hid your gift, nor did he ask you where it was. He stood there, waiting as you got choked up without even having said anything yet, as you blinked back the tears you knew were coming. You looked over at the kids for reassurance one last time, and then, your attention was all on Satoru.

“You might be wondering where my present is,” you began. “I don’t blame you, it must be weird for you to see that I’m the only one without anything to give you, but the truth is that I’ve had it on me all night long.”

Satoru nodded, letting out a soft snort. “I thought as much.”

You expected him to make a humorous comment or try to take a guess at what it was, but he remained silent instead, allowing you to continue. His natural perceptiveness must have told him this was important. You extended your hands towards him and he took them in his own.

“You’re shaking,” your boyfriend noted.

You squeezed his hand to reassure both him and yourself. “It’s okay, I’m fine.” Your shuddering breaths said otherwise, but you continued, “We’ve been together since we were just two teenagers. Remember the face I made when I confessed and you said you liked me back?”

“Of course I do.” Satoru chuckled at the memory with fondness. “You thought I was joking.”

“Because it was too good to be true… And it still is. Sometimes I still can’t believe we’re together.” You rubbed your thumb over the back of his hand. Your other thumb soon mirrored the action. “I can’t picture life without you in it. The nineteen days you spent inside that damned box gave me a glimpse of what that would be like and I didn’t like it one bit.”

Thinking of those lonely nights where, full of anguish, you wondered if Satoru would get to come out of the Prison Realm during your lifetime made the lump in your throat even heavier. He was the one caressing your hands now.

“Not to mention the battle against Sukuna. Despite my faith in you, I was terrified that you’d—”

You pushed your lips together. Even thinking of the word that would finish the sentence put a bitter taste in your mouth.

Another breath. You leaned in, your gaze fixed on his. “In a world full of chaos, you’re my peace. You’re my home. My life is brighter and better because you’re in it, stopping at nothing to cheer me up, making me smile even when I feel like I can’t, reminding me that I’m worth loving and being patient about it despite how self-doubt makes me go in circles sometimes.”

Satoru’s lower lip quivered, but he tried to hide it by smiling at you. Tears gathered in your eyes and you blinked so they wouldn’t blur your sight. That was the last thing you wanted right now.

You took your hand to his cheek, brushing it with the backside of your fingers like it was made of the most fragile porcelain. The moment had arrived.

“Because of how much I love both you and the life we share,” you said, letting go of Satoru’s hands and taking a couple of steps back, “there’s a question I need to ask you.”

One final deep breath before reaching for the box in your pocket. When you were certain your grasp was firm, you pulled it out and went down on one knee. His hands were already covering his mouth.

“Satoru Gojo‐” you opened the black velvet box, revealing a beautiful platinum band with an octagon cut aquamarine embedded in its center “‐will you marry me?”

For once in his life, the talkative and charismatic young man was at a total loss for words. All he could do was dart his gaze from the ring to your loving and hopeful expression. He, too, had to blink a few times so the tears he was trying to hide wouldn’t obscure the scene before him.

“God…” Satoru lowered his hands to his chest, over his pounding heart. “God, babe… Yes. Of course I want to marry you.” He held out a trembling hand towards you to help you up. “C’mere, sweetheart.”

You chuckled, then looked over to the kids with the box still open in your hand, then back at Satoru with your eyes drowning in tears. The moment you took his hand, your body shook with a quiet sob that turned into more sobs as soon as you buried your face into his embrace. Satoru was quick to squeeze you between his arms and cradle the back of your head in his hand. He lowered his face to rest it against your hair and only then did he let his tears fall.

The kids—excluding Nobara, who was busy recording the scene—cheered and clapped at the beautiful moment they were witnessing. Yuji gave Yuta and Megumi loud pats on the back that earned him a flinch from Yuta and a glare from both Nobara and Megumi himself. Meanwhile, Tsumiki wiped her tears away with the back of her index finger.

When the two of you calmed down, Satoru pulled away and held your face between his hands. He wiped your tears away with his thumbs and pressed kisses to your forehead, nose, and lips. He didn’t care that his students were seeing this side of him; Megumi and Tsumiki were well acquainted with it anyway.

“Damn…” he said. “I suspected you were up to something, but I had no idea it would be this big.”

You grinned, reaching out to wipe his tears away yourself. “The biggest surprises come in the smallest packages sometimes.”

“Indeed.” He then looked over at the kids, dramatically arching an eyebrow. “Did any of you know anything about this?”

“N-no…” Knowing he was a terrible liar, Yuta gave him a sheepish smile.

“No, not at all.” Yuji whistled.

“Hey, Megumi,” Tsumiki said, “now we can say we had the privilege of watching our parents get engaged.”

Megumi, who was totally not using his shirt’s cuff to make his tears disappear, cleared his throat. “Yeah, not everyone can say that.”

“Don’t forget the most important part!” Nobara called from behind the phone.

Right. You opened the box again; you had closed it before hugging Satoru.

“I think I have something of yours,” you told him, carefully taking the ring out of the case. Now empty, the black velvet box went back to your pocket.

He extended his left hand towards you. “You’re right. It’s time you give it to its rightful owner.”

Gently, you took Satoru’s hand in yours and slid the ring onto his ring finger. You admired the way it looked now that it was there. It felt like it had always been in Satoru’s hand, like it was meant to be worn by him and only him. He, too, gazed down at the meaningful piece of jewelry with a warm glint in his eyes that threatened to bring tears to yours again. You couldn’t believe you had the luck and privilege of being the one putting that look on his face.

You lifted his hand to your lips and pressed a gentle kiss to its back, giving the aquamarine in the ring a glance before connecting your gaze to Satoru’s. Nobara stopped recording at that point. Your now fiancé and you, looking at each other like the world had narrowed down to just the both of you, was the perfect closure for the video. However, neither she nor the others said anything. They could tell the moment wasn’t over yet.

“Thank you,” you murmured.

“What are you thanking me for?” Satoru asked, tilting his head to the side.

“For saying ‘yes’ to me. I know you’re supposed to be the one getting all the gifts today, but you just gave me a huge one.”

Your fiancé would have joked about how he was indeed a huge gift, but you and the new status of your relationship were so amazing of a present to him that it would have felt wrong to say it. He held your other hand and, leaning in, he answered, “Babe, if there was a multiverse, I’d say ‘yes’ to you in every single alternate reality out there.”

You got even closer, until his torso touched yours. “I would do the same in a heartbeat.”

Satoru’s lips and yours met as he took you back into his strong arms. You melted into the kiss, cupping his cheek with your hand and holding him as close as you could with your free arm. The thought that the kids might get scandalized at this display of affection lingered in the back of your mind, but you made yourself forget about them for just a moment. Satoru was your priority.

Yuji leaned towards Nobara and whispered, “It’s like watching a romantic movie happen right in front of us.”

“Then, it’s more like a romantic theatre play,” she said.

“Except this is very real.” Megumi sported a faint smile he didn’t bother hiding.

You pulled away after what felt like the sweetest of eternities, but Satoru kept his forehead on yours. You looked into his eyes, tracing the perfect contour of his cheekbone with your thumb. He brought his hand up to give you the same treatment and placed another kiss on your forehead. You both knew you’d be doing a hell of a lot of cuddling and kissing later.

“I want to stay like this forever,” Satoru whispered into the tiny space between your faces, “but I’m sure the kids would like to congratulate us.”

You glanced at them, your gaze warm and grateful. “Yes, I’m sure of it.”

And just like that, you saw yourselves surrounded by the excited teenagers, hugs and well-wishes going round. You felt a little bad that Satoru was no longer the sole focus of their congratulations, but you knew he didn’t mind; the radiant smile he gave you after hugging Tsumiki—one that crinkled his eyes in the most adorable way—confirmed it for you and, right that instant, you made it your life’s mission to ensure you put a smile like that on Satoru’s face every day for as long as you lived. He deserved it.

[creativepromptfills]

"In a room full of chaos, you are my peace."

[heyitsmetonid]

You Better Believe It

Synopsis: Albert's sleep is disrupted by an impromptu phone call.

Word Count: 490

Reading Time: ~2 minutes

Author's Note: This flash fiction is based on one of @creativepromptsforwriting's writing prompts: Drabble List 1, #16: "You and me - movie night."

⭐️ Looking for something else? Go to the bookshelf!

Albert jolted himself up in bed when he heard his phone ringing. He looked at his clock on the nightstand and wondered, “Who is calling me at 3 am?”

With curiosity and a pounding heart, he searched for his phone that was buried under his blankets. When he finally found it, he exhaled.

“Ava, it’s 3 in the morning,” he spoke into the receiver.

“I know, I know!” his fully awake friend replied. “But if I didn’t call you right this second, I was gonna forget to ask you!”

Albert fell back onto his comfy pillows and groaned. “Ask me what?”

“You and me – movie night. I was thinking tomorrow at 7! That way, we can actually have dinner and a movie. I’ll make chicken and mushroom soup, your favorite! Whaddya say?”

“I say you could’ve waited another 3 hours at least to ask me.”

“But I couldn’t!”

“Why? It’s only dinner and a movie.”

“It’s not just dinner and a movie!” Ava responded offendedly. “It’s me spending time with my favorite person in the whole wide world and having fun. Sorry if I can’t wait to talk to my best friend!”

Albert could hear her pouting and whining on the other end of the phone, and it made his heart thump even more. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he thought about what she must look like in that moment. Probably in her pajamas, sitting at her desk or on the couch, where she was perusing through some kind of show or content that gave her the bright idea for a movie night, and call him at 3 am.

“You’re right,” he said suddenly. “It’s not just dinner and a movie. You know what it is?”

“What?” Ava asked rudely.

Albert took a moment to breathe and bravely said, “It means the world to me that you want to spend time with me, and if our time together creates a memory that lasts a lifetime, I’m totally down for tomorrow night.”

A gasp.

Albert didn’t know what that meant. He waited for a response, but when one didn’t come, he called out to her.

“Ava?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so quiet?”

“I just … I just can’t believe I have someone like you in my life. That’s all.”

Albert smiled. “Well, believe it because I’ll be there at 7 pm sharp. Now, can I go back to sleep, please?”

Ava laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. See you tomorrow, Bertie.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Albert hung up and flung his phone onto the nightstand, so he could find it more easily next time. He relaxed into bed and closed his eyes. As he lay there trying to drift off to sleep, his thoughts, heart, and spirit seemed to fill with only one thing. It brought yet another smile to his face and made him chuckle.

“I can’t believe I have you in my life either,” he whispered before falling asleep.

Author’s Note: Thank you for taking the time to read this, and as always, comments, likes, and reblogs are welcome.

Toni D

Visit my bookshelf to read more!

“You Better Believe It” © 2025 by Toni D

All rights reserved. No part of this written work may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author. Do not repost, translate, plagiarize or otherwise repurpose.

Credit for dividers to  @cafekitsune 💜🖤🩷

🔁@creativepromptfills🔁

[liaromancewriter]

Dare to Wish

Premise: Two times Ethan wished for someone to wake up to, and the one time he did. Set during different moments in intern year.

Fandom: Open Heart Characters: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 1,170

A/N: Submission to @choicesmonthlychallenge Flufftober prompt "falling asleep together".

This fic was inspired by @creativepromptsforwriting Prompt 729 (5 times Person A woke up without Person B and 1 time they woke up together.) I shortened it to fit my story. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills

I.

There was something buzzing in the summer night air.

Ethan Ramsey couldn’t define what it was, but it felt as if his life was hanging on the precipice of something impossible. Punching the pillow, he turned on his side and stared at the neon numbers of the digital clock on his bedside table.

Three a.m. The Witching Hour.

Not that he believed in witches, wizards, or spirits that went bump in the night. He was a man of science, after all.

And yet, he couldn’t argue with Hamlet—there were more things in heaven and earth than were dreamt of in human philosophy. The mysteries of the human body were impossible to fully decipher.

So much so that he had determined to devote his life to doing exactly that. He’d be utterly useless at it unless he managed to catch some sleep.

Sighing in the darkened bedroom, Ethan tossed and turned in the king-sized bed, unable to get comfortable or shake the vague feeling lurking in his heart.

He stared at the shadows dancing on the ceiling, pondered the city lights twinkling in the distance, and blinked as the minutes slowly turned on the clock display.

None of it helped as random thoughts crowded his brain.

Absently running his hand over the empty pillow beside him, he wondered if this was what loneliness felt like.

It had been ages since he’d woken up beside a woman, or snuggled with one in the middle of the night. He missed the closeness of two bodies tangled in heated sheets, the scent of her hair tickling his senses, the weight of her head on his shoulder.

He and Harper Emery had called it quits almost a year ago. Since then, he hadn’t exactly been a monk, but he rarely invited company to spend the night. He realized he wasn’t ready for the kind of commitment intimate mornings signaled.

Shaking off the strange mood, he closed his eyes and willed his mind to shut off.

With a new crop of interns starting residency tomorrow—today, technically—he needed to be on high alert for the usual shenanigans.

II.

There was so much left unspoken in the poignant silence of a warm Miami night, with the sound of waves lapping against the white sands below.

But there was also so much he wished to say—if only he were brave enough to grab the pocketful of stars that sparkled against the inky sky above the Atlantic Ocean.

Only a few hours ago, he’d reached for the sun and been burned, just like Icarus. Crashing back to earth, cognizant of his own folly in forgetting that he and Cassie Valentine were impossible, Ethan did the right thing.

He walked away, closing the door between them with the finality of someone who knew what it was like to dare to wish for more, but remain grounded regardless.

Folding his arm beneath his head, he stared out at the balcony—now full of dark shadows except for hints of moonlight—where everything had changed.

There are some things that are worth any risk.

And with those words, he’d sealed his fate.

When before he had only wondered how Cassie’s lips might taste or how she would feel in his arms, now he knew the answers intimately. Like heaven. Every curve made to fit his hands perfectly.

If it weren’t for his strong moral code, she’d be nestled against him right now—her sunny tresses contrasting with his darker ones, their breaths mingling in the darkness, anticipation making the wait that much sweeter.

If, if, if…

He’d be waking up beside her on the comfortable bed on the other side of the wall, instead of trying to find an angle that didn’t have his long legs falling halfway off the pullout couch.

Just two and a half years to go, he consoled himself.

Once her residency ended and they were equals—peers—then he’d break down the insurmountable wall between them. Ask her out on a proper date and see where this attraction took them.

Until then, he’d draw upon the control he’d relied on most of his life to get him through hardships and impossibilities, and keep his distance from temptation.

III.

One could tell a lot about someone from the state of their bedroom.

As he looked around Cassie’s inner sanctum in the dusky light of an approaching dawn, he took in the classy art prints adorning the walls and the books—medical and otherwise—lined neatly in the bookcase under the window.

Photographs of smiling faces in colorful picture frames stared back at him from the bedside table. Ethan could see the family resemblance and realized he didn’t know much about the woman who’d crashed through his carefully constructed barriers.

Oh, sure, he knew she had the potential to be an amazing doctor. She was fiercely loyal to her friends and got along well with everyone, from the nursing staff to patients. She liked dogs, was a coffee aficionado—maybe even more than him—and was one half of a twin.

Once upon a time, he’d seen her reliance on relationships—her need for a support network—as a weakness, a trait at odds with the grueling competitiveness of medical residency. But she wasn’t one to give up easily; her stubbornness made up for a lack of killer instinct.

Still, so much of who Cassie was as a person remained a mystery waiting to be solved. And he wanted to be the one to uncover the woman behind the intern.

Ethan sneaked a glance at her, still wondering how she lay beside him—finally—as he’d slowly woken up after a night when their passion had known no boundaries.

He drew in a slow breath, her scent—soft, elusive, utterly hers—making him lightheaded. Her head rested on his shoulder, her warm breath teasing the fine hairs on his chest. His arm curled around her, holding her close, his touch feather-light so as not to wake her.

He wanted to linger in this quiet intimacy, his mind replaying the moments of last night when, for once, he’d let himself believe what he’d dared to wish for could be real. It had been surreal, like watching snow fall on a winter beach.

For one night, they were two people free to be with each other, without worry or care for rules or power imbalances. Just Ethan and Cassie.

In a few hours, they would walk through the doors of Edenbrook Hospital—separately—and reality would have no choice but to intrude. They’d be attending and intern again. But not now.

Now was for believing it wasn’t the last time he’d wake up beside her, watching the morning sunlight gilding her hair.

He didn’t believe in fate, not really, but a few months ago, even the idea of last night had seemed impossible.

So maybe, just for today, for one singular heady moment, he’d let himself believe they were meant to find each other after all.

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

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @jerzwriter @kyra75 @lady-calypso @loreofyore @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @snoopdogcone @tessa-liam

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[blackdogprairie]

Response to this prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting

Contents: a little bit of violence, little bit of humor. Feel free to rip it apart (critiques).

Gone Sideways

Ruari yanked at his handcuffs, wincing as they bit into his flesh. His right eye wouldn’t open fully, hot and swollen after... Randy? Russ? - something with an R. Ruari hadn’t caught the name, and at this point, he couldn’t be bothered to ask. Hard to focus on introductions when someone was kicking your ribs in.

The room was empty - for now. He couldn’t be sure how long he’d been there.

He’d fucked up. It was meant to be a simple mission - go in, grab the data, get out. But he’d failed to disable a camera, skipped over it on the list, maybe he hadn’t seen it. He wasn’t sure how. All he knew was that he’d missed it and now here he was.

Rodney - or was it Roger? - re-entered the room, drying his hands with a rag stained faintly pink. Ruari could make an educated guess whose blood stained it.

“Good, you’re awake,” Roger said with a grin, tossing the rag away. He hadn’t gotten all the blood off his hands and Ruari figured it didn’t matter. “Did you enjoy your beauty nap?”

Ruari just stared at him, unimpressed. It hurt to breathe. He didn’t even want to try speaking. Still, he’d have to do something. There was no way he was just going to let this fuck kill him. Not without a fight.

The silence just seemed to amuse Roger. Or Roy. Or Rambo. Whatever the fuck. He just let out an amused breath through his nose and turned to a table in the middle of the room. It was such a cliché that Ruari couldn’t help but let out a snort of his own and immediately regretted it. He curled in on himself as much as he could, his ribs screaming at him.

Roy laughed at him out loud and turned, gripping a small blade in his meaty paws. It glinted in the light. Ruari appreciated that it looked sharp - less damage, cleaner cut, would hurt less. “I appreciate you doing the work for me, but don’t take away all the fun.”

Bang. Hot liquid splattered across Ruari’s cheek. He blinked up at Randall - or at least, where his head had been. The body slumped to the floor with a wet, sickening thud.

Behind it, near the door, Lex lowered his gun. His eyes slid over Ruari, taking in the damage.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ruari demanded. The words came out slurred, whether it was from the swelling or the head trauma, Ruari couldn’t be sure.

Lex tucked his gun back into his holster and approached the table, taking in all the “toys” Ricky had been so fond of. Eyebrows raising, Lex lifted a tiny, thin, pale object. One of Ruari’s fingernails. “Rescuing you, you idiot.”

“I had it under control,” Ruari lied. Lex didn’t argue. He found the handcuff keys.

Ruari flinched when Lex passed too close on the right side, half-expecting another blow. But Lex didn’t react. The sharp clink of metal sounded, and sudden relief hit Ruari - until the handcuffs fell away, unleashing a burst of vision-whitening pain in his ribs. “Fuck,” he breathed.

If Lex felt any sympathy, he didn’t show it and dragged Ruari to his feet.

“Van’s down the alleyway. Walk.”

Ruari did. Each snail-slow step was agony. Lex didn’t rush him; his hand hovered at Ruari’s back, steady.

The rag remained on the floor, pink and sticky.

Ruari didn’t look back.

--

Here's a link to this piece on AO3.

[amarantine-amirite]

The Day Feels Broken

I remember very vividly before the state of New Hampshire became the first state to implement a four-day work week. 

“Hey, sweetie. How was your day?” Mom asked.

I almost never answer how was your day. But this time, I very excitedly told her, “They’re gonna pass a law that gives us a four-day week! I’m psyched!” 

Mom groansed. “We get half days on Friday during the summer at work,” she rolled her eyes, “Trust me, it’s not what you think

“It's not?” I said, surprised. I couldn’t conceive of how a four-day week could be bad.

Mom’s eyes narrowed. “Well, we had half days on Friday all right, but only for the guys. We were doing all their work while they got to take off.”

I tipped my head to one side. “You've mentioned some of the girls at work doing stuff with their half days, haven't you?”

“That's because they dumped everything on me!” Mom exploded, “I never got to enjoy those Fridays. Instead of five 8-hour days, it turned into four 10-hour days!

“So, it was just more work?” I frowned. After thinking it over, I responded, “Shouldn’t the longer weekend give you time to decompress?”

“Grow up, Christina,” Mom scoffed loudly, “A three-day weekend will never make up for the mountain of work piling up, and that goes for your homework too, missy!”

That shut me up. That whole conversation made me realize that despite first impressions, four-day work weeks aren’t worth the burnout. It also made me a lot more hesitant to share what I originally perceived to be good news

The four-day work week is now here, and things have, predictably, gotten more chaotic. Today was supposed to be a half day, but Mom was stuck at work long after she’s usually home

I got hungry. The fridge was locked. I needed to make food. 

We’ve had a lock on our fridge since Halloween. A trip to the grocery store to buy bags of candy ends with something scary: being broke.

I didn't know what caused the problem, but when we purchased the candy, Mom was down to her last $1.50. Granted, she was getting paid next week and we have other money in savings accounts, but still, it was distressing. How did she let the checking account balance get that low? Regardless, there is now a lock on our fridge. 

I came up with a plan to get the fridge open. Our fridge was embedded next to the door frame. The male side of the lock was on the fridge door, the female side was on the wall. I got a screwdriver and removed the female side of the lock off the wall. In the process, I cracked the door frame. 

I know how to fix it before Mom sees it; just fill the cracks with spackle and call it a day. This is not good. we are out of spackle 

Sneaking out is a bit fraught. You can’t go to the places you normally go; you have to go somewhere different, where people don’t recognize you. I’ve had several life experiences that reinforce the message that different is rarely better. 

I went to the hardware store across the street from the mall. I was still hungry so I got something to eat first. After eating, I got the spackle. It turned out to be easier than I expected. They didn't check IDs. The cashier didn’t even ask me what I broke that warranted sneaking out of the house to buy spackle. 

Now, the trip back is usually where it goes wrong in movies, especially if the person is in possession of goods, stolen or otherwise. In real life, it’s easier because you can just retrace your steps.

Successfully getting stuff from the hardware store deserves a reward. After I bought the spackle, I left the hardware store, went to the T.J. Maxx, and bought these pumpkin spice caramel chocolates, and I think they’ve got bourbon in them. Obviously, they are leftovers from Thanksgiving. Normally, I’d say you’ve fucked up if you haven’t moved last year’s Thanksgiving merch by March, but the pumpkin flavour masked the bourbon really well. Usually, candies with alcohol in them have such poor quality alcohol in them that you want to spit them out, especially if the alcohol in question is bourbon.

What happened next should not have happened, and not just socially. The amount of alcohol in your average booze chocolate isn’t enough to get a 170 pound adolescent female drunk. Why the amount of alcohol in the candies got me drunk remains a mystery. I know for a fact I don’t have auto-brewery syndrome because I’ve eaten sweets before without getting drunk, so what gives?

Regardless, prank time started. At Louis BonBon, I made a trail of orange juice on the floor to the bathrooms. Next I went to Benetton, where I walked up to an employee and told him in an official tone, “I think we have a code 3 in menswear” and watched the floor associates run around like chickens with no heads chasing down a nonexistent shoplifter. I went into Barnes and Noble and moved a CAUTION WET FLOOR sign to a carpeted area. I hid in the clothing rack at Dior and said, “Pick me! Pick me!” as people browsed. 

I hit a snag when I got to the Gucci store. They were not pleased to see somebody enter the fitting room and loudly yell, “Why won’t this flush?” They actually called mom to come and get me. Mall security came by and warned me if the monkey business continued, that I would be permanently banned from the mall.

She was not happy about me getting drunk off of candy. She was even less happy about the door frame. And trust me, it went beyond money.

As it turned out, damaging the door frame put a significant dent in a load bearing wall. Thanks to the crack, part of the wall disintegrated. Not only is anything supported by that wall now at risk of a cave-in, an arm fell out of the hole.

This is not good. This is really not good. 

@creativepromptfills