I'm trying

Currently inactive | What’s up, I’m Lex, I’m 20 and I never learned how to write | Requests always open

[glennisthemenace-deactivated202]

i made another horrible quiz, come get assigned a niche lgbtq aesthetic such as “strapping young transmasc farmhand” or “morose bisexual sailor”

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

This was a WONDERFUL quiz. Many pages I stopped and gaped with delight at the available options. This was Art.

[papa-abel-deactivated20250303]

The fact that I got the below result shows that this is the most accurate fuckin quiz on this website, I am in AWE that in 25 questions, it guessed EXACTLY what I am

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Not sure about this but eh

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Family (part III)

Imagine:  -

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Words: 1241

A/N: 

So the writing spirit struck me again and I actually started to finish this series. Again, I have no clue about pregnancies, so forgive incorrect stuff. Hope you enjoy :)

Also, hope @reid-effect​ can forgive me for taking so long

Warnings: -

Part I  Part II

#

Week 26

You were stretched out on the sofa and watching TV when Spencer came back from work. He looked exhausted, as if he was about to fall asleep any moment but his eyes lit up when he saw you. You pushed yourself up against the armrest of the sofa to sit up while he rounded it and sat down. “Hey,” he greeted you with a soft kiss and placed a gentle hand on your stomach. “How was your day? Was the examination alright?” he asked and you nodded, taking his free hand and intertwining your fingers. “Everything’s fine. The girls are doing well but we might have to expect premature delivery. Which is normal with twins, don’t worry.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I read about that.” When his gaze flicked towards his bag, you found a book about pregnancy and twins inside. A smile spread across your face. “Of course you did,” you said and leaned forward. Due to your belly, he had to cross the gap on his own so you could press a kiss onto his cheek. “Damn, this is starting to get annoying,” you half-joked and he knitted his eyebrows together. You gently pressed you finger against the crease. “Don’t take everything I say for granted, okay? I’m fine.”

Before he could answer, a sudden pain made you tense in surprise. It wasn’t extremely hurtful but it surprised you. There was a look of wonder on your husband’s face and you just realized that one of the children had kicked you. “Did you feel that”? you asked a little breathlessly and he nodded, his hand still resting on your belly. “Yeah,” he breathed and you let out a little laugh. Both of you waited for a moment but it seemed to have been a singular event for now. Still, warmth spread through you at the thought of it. Just the situation reminded you of how real this was. “What’s wrong?” Spencer asked, watching your expression change. You only smiled and squeezed his hand with yours. “I think, my mind is just catching up, that this is really happening. It still seems so surreal sometimes.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Alright. Tell me if I need to remind you that it is in fact real.”

#

Week 30

It took you a few tries to snatch the ringing phone from the nightstand and you answered without even looking at the screen. “Hey, honey,” you greeted Spencer, your voice still heavy from sleeping. “Did I wake you?” he asked, concern clear in his voice and you couldn’t help but smile. “Not really. I was just falling asleep again after my bladder woke me up,” you paused as he laughed and then continued, “I swear, I’ve never been so happy to be off work. With all that stuff going on, I don’t think I would make it through one lesson, let alone a full day of school.”

You shuffled up the bed until you rested comfortably against the headboard and sighed in content, when some of the pain in your lower back was relieved from the change of position. “How’s New York treating you so far?” you asked, not wanting to worry him more. He had already apologized endlessly, when they had been called away but you had promised that you would be fine for a few days and that you would keep in contact with Doctor Harper in case anything changed. You closed your eyes as you listened to him talk about the case while carefully leaving out any detail, involuntarily drifting off again, soothed by his voice.

“I also talked to Rossi and he said it wouldn’t be a problem for me to stay home after you give birth,” he finally added, a sentence that pulled you back into reality. “I’ll just do what I can from home, if needed, so it’s not like they have to do without me completely.” Someone approached him and you patiently waited for him to come back to you, not really making out anything from the mumbled voices through the speaker. With a rustle of fabric he reappeared. “Hey, sorry but it seems I have cut this short. I call with an update in the evening, okay? It seems were going somewhere and that means that I could be home sooner than thought. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Spence. Be careful,” you replied and he hummed before hanging up. You put the phone away and rubbed your tingling hands before shuffling down again until you managed to lay on your side. You pulled up your book and started to read, your earlier sleepiness still present but you knew you would have trouble falling asleep without any distraction.

#

Week 36

You sat in the waiting area of Doctor Harper’s office, playing some game on your phone, when you suddenly felt your lower body contract. Your breath hitched, the pain nothing new but always surprising and definitely unwelcome. With your eyes closed, you breathed through the contractions as you had learned during earlier stages of the pregnancies and waved off the concerned receptionist with a smile, once you were able to concentrate on anything else again. “I’m fine,” you promised her and she seemed to accept that after a moment of consideration. “Is there anyone here with you?” she finally asked and you shook your head.

“My husband is out of state at the moment but Doctor Harper knows about this. She helped me prepare for moments like this,” you explained and the woman nodded before returning to her seat behind the reception desk, still keeping her eyes on you.

Due to the conversation you almost missed the call from Spencer and you quickly picked up, keeping your voice down as to not disturb anyone else around. “Hey, Spence. How is it going?” Unfortunately he had been called onto another case again shortly after the last one but he had promised to be back soon. You exchanged some news before you were called into the office and moved to stand up. “I’m gonna hang up now. See you soon,” you said and after the both of you said their goodbyes, you followed the nurse into the office.

“Mrs. Reid, how are you doing?” Doctor Harper asked and you shook her hand before settling down. “I have my ups and downs. The girls are keeping me busy,” you replied, when another wave of contractions hit you. The Doctor immediately jumped into guiding you through them and once they seemed to have subsided, you leaned back. “Have they been this bad for long?” she asked and you nodded. “Getting worse every day,” you added and she proceeded to ask you more questions, which you all answered truthfully. “Well,” she said, looking down at her monitor and then up at you,” it appears you are going into labor.”

#

On your way to the hospital you tried calling Spencer but only reached the mailbox. “Hey, Spence,” you started, thinking about your next words, “I hope you get this soon. I’m on my way to the hospital right now. I’m fine, don’t worry, but... uh, I’m going into labor at the moment, so that’s happening.” You couldn’t help a nervous laugh and licked your lips. “I just... hope you can make it. Love you.” You hung up and looked out the window, your heart beating faster from nervousness and the uncertainty of the situation.

#

CM Tags: @cynbx​

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Question

After watching the Umbrella Academy, I might be interested to write something for the siblings. Would anyone want to read that? Any requests?

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Short announcement

So, I don’t know how many will read this or will care but...

Even though I basically played dead for the longest time, I’ll now officially have to take a break from tumblr for several reasons. First (without wanting to place blame on anyone), I’ll need to find my motivation to write again and the lack of feedback kinda drags me down. Secondly, I’ve been struggling with m health for the past month, having caught a bad flu and and infection of the middle ear, with regular migraines drowning my energy for the past two weeks.

So, sorry to all the old and new followers but right now I have to focus my remaining energy on school and work.

I can’t promise when I’ll come back (or if, considering Article 13 might go through yay, EU)

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Recovering From An Injury

Imagine:  Recovering from a wound/injury/near death experience

Pairing: John Wick x Reader

Words: 1738

A/N: Was supposed to be week two, day seven of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. But then life joined the chat and I got sick, so... that’s cool, I guess. Also, I really appreciate all the new followers, just be warned that this is more my posting “schedule”. I tried to post once a week but that went well, so I stopped. Sorry to disappoint :’D If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

#

You sat on your couch, browsing through Netflix, when you heard a noise coming from the back door. The rain tapped against your windows, so you didn’t bother with looking at first, crediting the sound to the weather outside. At least until it sounded again. Now you were getting suspicious. There were hardly any raccoons or foxes in the area you lived, so you got up, taking a knife out of the block on the kitchen counter. Slowly, you approached the back door of your apartment, years of instincts kicking in instantly. Reaching for the doorknob, you gripped the knife tighter, ready to instantly attack whoever is behind that door. You tear it open and stumble back in surprise when a very familiar person almost collapsed inside. He clutches his side and barely holds onto the wall to keep himself upright.

“John?” you asked, still unsure if you saw it correctly. He forced himself to look up at you and you realized that you had to act quickly. As carefully as possible, you put his arm around your shoulder to support some of his weight and help him inside. It took everything for you not to crumble under his dead weight, your leg burning in angry protest. Only now you saw the pit bull that sat behind him and you whistled lightly, allowing it inside. Once you crossed the threshold, you kicked the door shut and heaved him into the living room, where you both almost collapsed on the couch.

Quickly you started to organize yourself, turning the light on and the TV off and helping him adjust his position in the piece of furniture. “I’ll get my first aid kid. Stay down,” you ordered, hurrying into the bathroom to retrieve it. It was better stocked than regular ones, one of the few things left of your old life. You also got some towels and a washcloth, leaving it on the coffee table to get a bowl of warm water. Then, you helped him roll over to place the towels underneath him and removed his jacket and dress shirt. You didn’t know where to start. There were more bruises and scratches than you could count, a barely healed gunshot wound on his abdomen and some rather fresh stab wounds, one located dangerously between two lower ribs.

Without a word you got to work, cleaning the deeper wounds before you stitched them up and trying to disinfect as many as possible. He barely moved, exhaustion radiating from his body. There were only some occasional grunts and hisses of pain. Once you were done, you peeled of your gloves and threw the pliers and needle on the coffee table. “Get some sleep. You’ll be safe here. We’ll talk tomorrow,” you said while squeezing his hand. You got him a blanket before you grabbed your car keys and drove to your local supermarket. It fortunately was open late, so you quickly got in, getting some groceries and dog food.

On your drive back to your apartment, you thought about the two of you. You had started out around the same time, quickly becoming friends and someday even more. The contact got lost when you left but you had no other choice. After a devastating accident, you weren’t physically capable to resume your old life and retired. Back then, it broke your heart to leave him but he had made his decision, picking his life over you and you had understood to some degree. Still, it had been almost twenty years since you last saw him and there had to be a very good reason behind him trying to break into your house.

Once you got back, you fed the dog and folded a blanket as a makeshift bed for him before retreating to your bedroom.

#

When you came into the living room the next morning, he was still out cold, or at least good at pretending to be. The dog perked up, wagging his tail and you petted him before settling to make breakfast.

A groan caught your attention and you turned to find John trying to stand up. “You know, when I said you should rest, I meant it. You look like you haven’t properly slept in weeks and your body needs a break,” you said and he looked at you. You quickly gathered tray and brought it over. “At least stay seated,” you added and set it on the coffee table. “I think with your condition you should start with some light food. I made you tea and something to eat. Let’s hope you can keep it down because you sure as hell don’t look like you do.”

“Why are you helping me?” he asked suddenly and you blinked at him. “Well, you kinda tried to break into my house and collapsed onto me yesterday. It’s not like I could’ve left you there.” He shrugged and immediately regretted it, judging from his face. “Most would have. Or would have finished it.”

You watched him for a moment, the grabbed your own cup of tea from the tray. “Well, why don’t you tell me what happened over breakfast.”

#

Excommunicated. They had excommunicated John freaking Wick, the bloody boogeyman. “I’m sure they’re in for a treat once you’re back on your feet again,” you said dryly. “At least I assume you don’t intend on hiding for the rest of your life?” He shook his head, looking into his cup. “No, not really. I don’t really know what I’ll do, if I’m honest. I haven’t thought this far.” You nodded thoughtfully, tracing the rim of you cup with your index finger. “You know, you can stay as long as you need. No pressure or anything, just tell me what you need and I’ll get it.”

He looked at you with an unreadable expression, then nodded. “Oh, by your way, does your dog have a name?” you asked and scratched him behind the ears. “No,” he gave back and you had to smile. That sounded like John. “Fair enough,” you said before you gathered everything and brought it back into the kitchen.

#

He moved from the couch into your guest bedroom after that. You continued to walk and train the dog to occupy yourself if you weren’t at work. One evening you sat alone at the dinner table, shoving your food across the plate while scrolling through your phone. Footsteps caught your attention but didn’t alert you. By now, you already recognized his walking pattern. “Want some leftovers?” you asked, forcing in a piece and only now looking up at him. He only nodded and you gestured over towards the fridge. “Feel free to take whatever you want.”

He joined you at the table shortly after and started to eat in silence for a moment, before pausing and looking at you. “Are you alright? You look... lost in thought.” You huffed out a breath and put your fork down. “Yeah, because I’ve been thinking.” He gave you a look that you knew all too well, even after all those years. “C’mon, John, don’t look at me like that. Am I not allowed to think?”

He only shook his head and you almost missed the hint of a smile on his face. A rare occasion. “Of course you are allowed to think, I’m just curious about what.” You sighed and ate another bite before answering. “You. Me. Back then. I mean, we both changed. A lot. But still, some part of me wonders how things would look now if I hadn’t left,” you said and shrugged. He looked at you for a moment, then down onto his plate. “I got married,” he suddenly said, startling you slightly. “I left to be with her. Or at least I tried. When she died... everything came crashing down on me.” There was guilt in his voice and you reached forward to put your hand on his. He was clenching around the fork but his fingers started to relax when you squeezed them softly.

Of course you had to admit that it hurt a little, knowing you hadn’t been worth leaving but someone else had been but again, a lot had changed in these past years. “I’m sure it’s not your fault. It will get better with time, I promise.”  Even if you had never really loved someone else, you had lost your fair share of close friends. “I mean, you will still miss her but it will hurt less and you can allow yourself to smile at the memories. Just don’t give yourself up.”

He watched your face for a moment then gave you a tight nod before you let go of his hand again.

#

You watched the fireworks through the big glass windows in your living room, the dog curled up beside you. He wasn’t happy with the sounds but you seemed to give him enough safety to stay as calm as possible. Slowly, you ran your fingers across his neck when John joined you, sitting down on the ground next to you, leaving the dog between you.

He had been with you for some time now, fully healed and back to full strength but hadn’t made any move to leave. You didn’t want to force him out either, you enjoyed his company. It was easier to talk to him than to talk to your colleagues at work, since he knew you in ways they would never find out about. “I remember the first New Years in the Continental,” he said and you chuckled. The two of you had snuck onto the roof to watch the fireworks, almost like teenagers but you still didn’t regret that. You hummed, also remembering your first kiss on said evening. Still, after that one conversation some time back, you hadn’t really talked about relationships and love anymore. You wanted to give him time to heal, not only physically, so you waited until he would open up on that part. If he ever would.

You stayed in silence for a few moments more, before you saw him shuffle from the corner of your eye, then you felt his hand slip into yours. Now words were spoken, no looks exchanged but you knew him well enough to see the meaning behind it. When he allowed you to, you intertwined your fingers and smiled up at the sky.

It wasn’t much but for now, it was more than enough.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Enemies To Lovers

Imagine:  Friends/Enemies to lovers

Pairing: Theseus Scamander x Reader

Words: 3667

A/N: Week two, day six of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. Did this get out of hand? Yes. Do I care? Barely. Hope you enjoy. If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

#

The first time you met Theseus Scamander, you immediately hated him. In your opinion, he wasn’t suited to be the head of your department and from the first meeting on he seemed to return your feelings. You barely left the office, stuck to your neck in paperwork he assigned to you. 

The more time went on, the more he seemed to ignore your requests to actually hire a secretary if he wanted one and allow you to do your job. You were getting frustrated with your job but were also too prideful to quit, which you assumed was what he wanted. 

#

“Sir,” you greeted him after entering his office with the finished reports again. He didn’t even bother looking up and you closed your eyes for a moment to center yourself. With more force than necessary, you put down the stack of papers on his desk. “Look, if you won’t even bother to greet me, at least don’t insist on having me deliver the reports personally. Then you don’t have to ignore me.”  You knew how disrespectful you sounded but you were past caring. He wouldn’t get rid of you unless he would forcibly remove you from the office.

Now he looked up. You only stared back, setting your jaw stubbornly. “I do not appreciate you tone, Miss Y/L/N,” was the only thing he said and you had to mentally hold back to not hex him. Straightening your back, you replied, “Well, I do not appreciate being degraded to your secretary when I should be out there and support my colleagues in the field. I know that I have the skills to perform the tasks of an actual auror, so I don’t see why you insist on holding me in the office.” He reached forward and took the papers you had brought him. “It is my decision to make who to send out and who to keep back. If you wish to keep your position, do not question my decisions any further,” he replied, the waved towards you. “You are dismissed.” A part of you wanted to argue but instead you abruptly turned on you heel and exited the office, throwing the door close in your anger. You ignored the few eyes on you as you made your way back to your desk. The few people that were actually here and not on the hunt for Grindelwald and his followers weren’t benched like you, they simply finished off reports from missions. Reports that would inevitably end up on your desk the next morning. One day you would probably snap and light them on fire the instance they arrived. 

#

A woman entered the office but you ignored her presence. At least, you tried until she stepped up to your desk. Hesitantly you looked up with a blank look, trying to look as busy and interrupted as you could. “Do you need anything?” you asked, not bothering with a greeting. You had seen her before, she was part of some other department in the Law Enforcement. She seemed to be friends with Scamander, considering they often spent their breaks with each other.

Now she looked down on you with an unreadable expression. “Could you ask Mr Scamander if he has time? I wanted to talk to him.” You raised an eyebrow at her. “Sorry, Lady, but I’m not his bloody secretary. He just punishes me for existing with having to read over reports he is too busy for. Someday he’ll probably ask for a coffee. For all I care, he could burst into flames right now and I wouldn’t be bothered at all. Anything else?”

She looked a little taken aback at your hostility towards your boss but only thanked you and wordlessly retreated to his office. 

#

Later you learned that the woman was none other than Leta Lestrange, his fiancée. That outburst would probably fall back onto you but you were past caring.

#

“Y/L/N,” he said, approaching your desk. You plastered on a sweet smile and waited for him to ask whatever he wanted. “Go get your coat, you’re accompanying me.” It was almost embarrassing how quickly you got to your feet, slipping into your coat and following him wordlessly. Though you wondered what caused the sudden change but you wouldn’t test your luck with asking about it.

In the lobby you met up with several other aurors, the head of the Department of Law Enforcement and - of course - Leta Lestrange. You only gave her a semi-politely nod before listening to Travers. 

After the short briefing, you followed them outside and disapparated. The bridge leading to the castle was still like you remembered it and a nostalgic feeling welled up inside you. Your happiest memories all were bundled in the place but you knew you weren’t here for fun.

#

Interrogating Dumbledore went as well as you expected. He stayed polite but passive, not wanting to join the war that was inevitably coming. Or maybe it was already waging, it was hard to tell with how blurred the lines were. 

As you turned to leave, he called out to both you and Scamander. You were at the door already, looking at him expectantly. He warned you, should Grindelwald call for his followers to assemble, that you shouldn’t interrupt. 

On your way to the bridge, you walked next to Scamander, both of you silent. You admired Dumbledore for defending his point despite the pressure against him. You looked at your boss who seemed lost in thought. “Will you follow his advice?” He shrugged lightly. “I don’t know yet.”  You met up with the others again. It occurred to you that that was literally the first conversation between you without any malice behind it. Admittedly, it felt good.

#

Your next stop was Paris. Despite the urgency of the situation, you looked around to take in at least some of the sights. “First time in Paris?” Scamander asked suddenly and you looked at him before nodding. There still were more negative feelings between one another but since your visit in Hogwarts, you offered a less hostile stand, being more passive in your dislike of him.  If he noticed it, he didn’t comment on it.

#

“Where’s Scamander?” Travers asked and you only shrugged. “Why does everybody expect I know where he is at any given time? I’m not his secretary,” you replied, a little on the edge because even Travers was under the impression.  At least he looked more bewildered than offended by your harshness, then ordered for you to go and find him. You tried your hardest not to roll your eyes and trailed off to search and ask around.

In the end you found him locked in a room and tied to a chair. “Mr Scamander, what a coincidence to meet you here,” you said, leaning against the doorframe. When he stopped struggling to look up, you couldn’t hide a gleeful grin. “Looks like you’re in some kind of situation. Once you’re done here, Travers is searching for you.”  You turned around to leave, when you heard him struggle some more. “Y/L/N, wait!” he called out and you feigned hesitation. A heavy sigh sounded from behind you, followed by a “Please. I need your help.”

When you faced him again, you wore a big smile. “Really? I wouldn’t have noticed. I mean you normally got everything under control.” He made a face at you. “What do you want so no one will hear about this?” You raised an eyebrow at him and decided to test your luck. “An explanation and for you to get an actual secretary, so I can finally do my job. Maybe, if you’re feeling generous, even an apology but I’m not greedy.”

He sighed again, looking defeated. “It was your father. When he resigned, he requested for you be kept off the field. I know you’re more than capable but he is a scary and influential man, even if he has retired and I did not want to risk my career for that.” He paused and you thought about it. It made sense. Still, he did not have to be so unpleasant about it.  “I’m sorry,” he added and he seemed to mean it. You exhaled, then waved your wand and the rope fell to the ground. “Thank you for being honest. Though I’m still kind of angry you wouldn’t have told me without blackmail. That’s not a good way to keep up a professional relationship.” He stood up and straightened out his jacket. “I know. And I meant it when I apologize. I’ll try to be more open about your father’s requests in the future.”

“Appreciated,” you replied and followed him back to Travers.

#

You had tried to remind him Dumbledore’s words but he had just waved it off. “If you don’t think you can handle it, stay here,” he had said and you adamantly shook your head.

Now you stood there, watching in horror as blue flames devoured colleagues in front of you. Even though you were standing at a good distance to it, you could feel the burning heat on your exposed skin as if you were standing in it. Screaming from one side caught your attention and you saw Scamander as he tried to get to his fiancée. His brother was by his side, trying to drag him away from the flames when they burned the woman to ash. He was screaming and fighting against the grip, so you bolted down the stairs and grabbed him by the arm. “There is nothing you can do Scamander. We have to leave. Don’t let her sacrifice be a lost cause!” you yelled at him and that seemed to get to him a little. You made it out of the mausoleum barely as blue flames burst through the openings and burned everything in their path. Your hand was still wrapped around his upper arm when you were joined by an old, sickly looking wizard.

The circle around the graveyard was quickly formed and once you claimed your position, you drove your wand into the ground with a yell. A golden line formed on the ground and you watched as the flames were encased by the ward and orange flames until they were dragged into the building and finally snuffed out.

#

You stood next to your boss on the bridge as you watched his brother talk to Dumbledore. “He was right,” the man said and you looked at him. It was one of the few things he had said after watching Leta die and even though you still didn’t really like him, even you would try to be nice. “What do you mean?” He gestured towards Dumbledore. “He warned us. You were there. You tried to remind me but I brushed it off because Travers told me so. We never should have entered that mausoleum.” You hesitated, then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I did warn you but even I couldn’t have imagined that. It wasn’t your fault. She made her own decisions.” You looked out towards Hogwarts. So many students behind the wall didn’t know what had happened only hours ago. Since the obscurial joined Grindelwald, you wouldn’t even deem this place safe and there was hardly anything better protected. “A lot will change, I suppose,” he said, following your gaze. You hummed in agreement, then added, “A lot already has.”

Your little group disbanded, one by one of those that were left walking past the wards and vanishing into thin air. You turned to follow and to your surprise he fell into step next to you. “What are you going to do now?” he asked, hands shoved into his pockets and eyes focused on the stones below them. You shrugged. “Get some rest. Grief those we lost. And when it is called for, fight. That means, if I’m allowed to leave the office now, sir,” you replied and noticed the ghost of a smile cross his lips.

“I can hardly bench my best auror now, can I?” he said and you gave him a firm smile before disapparating.

#

The next time you stepped into the office, it had changed. Some tables had been cleared which tightened a knot in your stomach. Another desk had been set up before Scamander’s office. A woman was sitting at it, avidly reading over some papers. She looked up and gave you an easy smile as you approached. “Ah, you must be Miss Y/L/N. I’m Priscilla Selpie, Mr Scamander’s new secretary and assistant. He asked me to send you inside once you were here.”

You thanked her with a nod and a smile then entered after knocking. “So you actually listened to me,” you said instead of greeting him and he looked up. “Good morning to you, too. And you actually still don’t care for politeness.” He rounded his desk and leaned against it. You doubted that he had slept much since your return from Paris, judging from his messy hair, his pale face and the very noticeable bags under his eyes. Even his suit jacket had creases where they didn’t belong, completely untypical.

“You know, maybe you should listen to another advice of mine and try to take some time off. You just lost someone, it is understandable,” you said and he shook his head. “I got restless at home. It was bad. This way I can keep busy and distract myself. And try to find the man who is behind all of this.” You looked at the picture of Leta Lestrange on his desk and he followed your gaze. “You hated her, didn’t you? At least, that’s what she thought.” Now it was your time to shake your head. “No, I hated you. I felt really more indifferent towards her than anything else. Admittedly, I was wondering a little how she could love an ass like you but now that I’ve seen some other sides of you... She seems less of a lunatic and more of a normal woman with a type.”

A fond smile crossed his face. “So, hated? Past tense?” You rolled your eyes at him. “That does not mean that I like you, Scamander but... let’s just say that my feelings towards you are neutral. I hope that’s enough for now.” Still, your tone wasn’t harsh. You did have more than enough time to think about what happened and what he told you and in the end he was deemed potentially likeable. Maybe, in the near future, you could even become friends.

He looked at you for a moment, then nodded. “For now.”

#

And friends you did become. It was two years after the graveyard and you knew that he wouldn’t have it easy today. You greeted Priscilla who smiled at you cheerily and entered the office without knocking. “Alright, Scamander, time for dinner.” Even though he had asked you along the way to use his first name, you refused to do so, just because of how much it annoyed him. Still, it was different than before, spoken with at least 40% more fondness and 75% less irritation. Of course, those numbers varied from day to day.

He didn’t look up. “I’m not really in the mood for dinner” You didn’t bother and forcibly closed the book he was reading, staring down at him. “Well, then you better get in the mood quickly because we are going. You have no say in that. I’m not going to let you gloom in your office for the rest of your day only to end it with a bottle of bourbon. I watched that last year.” He leaned back and rubbed across his neck, clearly tense from looking down the entire time. “I don’t see you barge into my brother’s house to invite him to dinner,” he replied and you raised your eyebrows at him. “Well, Newt has a friend and a nice American lady by his side, so he doesn’t need me but you do, so get up before I hex you.” He reluctantly did, whether because of your reasoning or your threat was unsure but irrelevant.

He followed you out the building and towards a cozy muggle restaurant close to the ministry. “Why aren’t we going somewhere... uh...” You grinned as he struggled with finding the right word, then interrupted him. “Because you need a break from magic and everything that comes with it. So we’ll eat at a muggle place.”

#

Despite his original hesitation, he seemed to enjoy both the food and the surroundings. Afterwards, you insisted on taking a walk. He walked beside you for a while without saying anything. “I should probably go home... I don’t want to bother you for longer.” You gave him a pointed look and he almost helplessly lifted his shoulders. “Scamander, I already said I’m not going to let you drink your sorrow away. At least not alone. Now come one, I have some drinks at my place.” You offered him your arms and when he put his hand on it, apparated you both to your place. He looked around, the first time he set foot into your flat.

“Take a seat,” you offered and he sat down on your sofa while you retrieved the bourbon and two glasses, placing them on the coffee table and filling them.

#

In the end, he slept on your sofa after pouring his heart out to you in a less-than-sober state. Whatever he had told you, you would keep it to yourself, you decided.

#

On the third anniversary you repeated it. Again, he stayed on your sofa for the night and you woke him up the next morning with a strong coffee. He sat at you dinner table while you prepared some breakfast and seemed to watch you. “How personal did I get?” he asked after a while and you laughed a little. “Even more than last time.” You watched him for a moment before returning your attention to the food in front of you.

He had told you how he wanted to move on but still felt guilty about it. That he knew he couldn’t stay like this forever but that he didn’t want to disappoint or forget her, let alone give off the feeling he wanted to replace her. Then you hadn’t said much with real essence but now you wanted to do so. Still, you couldn’t think of the exact words. And a while ago, another issue had occurred.

Finally you could understand how Leta could have love an ass like him.

#

You entered his office and put the mug down on his desk. “I thought you could use a coffee. This mission was hell.” It wasn’t the first time you did field work but surely the hardest. Or at least second hardest. Nothing would ever trump Paris. At least you hoped it wouldn’t. He took the coffee and sipped on it before thanking you.

“Anything you want?” he asked and you shook your head, leaning against his desk sideways to watch what he was doing. “I finished the report and handed it over to Priscilla. You should take a break. If you continue to squint at the paper like that you’ll get wrinkles or need glasses. Or both. Probably both.” He gave you a tired smile and stretched a little before standing up and joining you on the other side of the desk. His elbow bumped into yours as he took another sip.

“You are always worrying about me,” he teased and you laughed. “Someone has to. You’re clearly not doing it.” He smiled and now intentionally bumped his elbow into your side. Both of you quickly sobered up, then he spoke again. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately. We started out literally hating each other and now... never would have imagined that when we first met.” You nodded, smiling into your mug. “Likewise. But I don’t mind this at all.”

He hummed and you could see from the corner of your eye that he was watching you. “Can I help you with something?” You put your mug down on the desk and looked at him. His expression seemed clouded for a moment, then he leaned forward. You unintentionally held your breath but he stopped and pulled back, then turned away. “Sorry. I’m... I just...” he sighed and you put your hand on his which was gripping the edge of the desk hard. “I know. It’s okay. I understand.” He turned around only to look at you with surprise written on his face. “How do you... wait... the anniversary?” You nodded and gave him a warm smile. “Take your time, Theseus. I won’t go anywhere.” This time, you used his first name intentionally.

Now you leaned forward, to press a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll leave you to it.” You picked up your mug again and pushed away from the desk, not getting further than a step.

His hand around your wrist stopped you. You halted, waiting for him to act, which he did by spinning you around and planting his lips on yours. You willingly melted into him, trying not to drop your coffee, smiling against his lips the entire time.

When you parted, you looked him into the eyes and planted another short kiss on his lips. “That was quicker than expected.” He smiled, a little sheepishly even, and brushed some hair behind your ear. “You made it easier. I’m glad I drunkenly confessed that. Otherwise I might have let you walk out,” he said and your smile only widened. “Would have been a shame, really. But I’m glad you didn’t.”

Whatever this would grow into, it somehow had been years in the making, neither of you could deny that. It truly had been a wild ride and with the uncertainty of the future, it would surely stay just as interesting but it was easier to look ahead when you knew someone by your side.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Fake Relationship/Dating

Imagine:  Fake relationship/dating

Pairing: Percival Graves x Reader

Words: 2279

A/N: Week two, day four of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. Just ignore that I’m one day behind, I almost fell asleep standing yesterday, so that’s that. I’ll just continue these like I would’ve if I hadn’t missed the day since next week posts will be scarce. Also, tumblr fucks with my formatting, so please ignore that the #’s aren’t centered If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

#

“Alright, any questions?” you asked, looking at the members of your small team. They shook their heads, determination in their eyes. Tonight, it was your job to dig up one of Grindelwald’s nests in the suburbs of the city. With the amount of info and preparation, it should be should be easy. Emphasis on should.

You trusted your team, having gone through enough mess with them to be ready to lay your live in their hands. The one accompanying you was Veronica Jones, your friend since year one in Ilvermorny and one of your most trustworthy colleagues. 

You both apparated to the front door, then entered. The others were taking the back door and roof access. With your wand drawn, you looked around carefully, spells muffling your steps and the rustling of your robe. You flicked your wand, whispering “Homemum Revelio”. You watched it ghost across walls and over the floor, not indicating any presence on the ground floor, then gestured towards the stairs. Veronica nodded and followed close behind. The first floor seemed just as empty but before you could cast another spell, a red flash narrowly missed you and hit a support beam next to you. You quickly stepped back as the wood burst and lifted your arm to protect yourself from flying splinters.

With another look towards you colleague, you quickly climbed the stairs, casting Protego to avoid getting hit on your way to the next cover.

At first you seemed to have the upper hand over Grindelwald’s henchman. Then all of a sudden a spell was cast and the floor exploded around you, collapsing and dragging you down with it. You could hear the others call for you and then everything went black.

#

Your head was pounding when you woke up. You felt heavy and tired. “There you are. Careful, you took quite the hit,” someone said and you turned towards the voice. To your surprise, it was no other than your boss, Percival Graves, sitting by your bed side. “Mr Graves... what are you doing here?” you asked, sitting up a little. He leaned forward to help you adjust the pillow behind your back. His expression seemed just a little less stony as you were used to when he studied your face. “Just as a warning: The nurses didn’t want to let me in, so I told them I was your fiancé. I wanted to make sure you would be alright and I thought you might want some company once you woke up.” You blinked at him. He did what?

“You are joking, right, sir?” you asked and his face softened even more. “No, I am serious. I hope you’ll forgive my small lie.” You only nodded.

“The others, how are they? And what did they say about our supposed relationship?” He sighed and you tilted you head. “You were the only one we found but we’re actively searching for the rest of your team. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find them.” Hearing this felt like your blood froze, so you did what they also would have done: you scooted to the edge and swung your legs off the bed. “What exactly are you planning to do?” he asked, standing up. You sighed. “I’m joining the search. They are my team. I owe them that much.”

You pushed yourself up from the bed and made a hesitant step. That apparently had been enough for your body and your legs gave in. To your surprise, he caught you and helped you sit back down. “Maybe you should wait with that until you’re discharged by a doctor.” You made a face but scooted back. “I should be going now, I’ve been here for too long already. Still, stay in bed, I’ll come by later to keep you updated, alright?” You nodded but one thing had caught your attention. “What do you mean? Why have you been here too long?” Now he made a face, a rare occasion. “I don’t like hospitals. Never have. Hope I’ll never have to stay in one.” You couldn’t help but smile at that.

#

In the following time, he accompanied you onto your missions, earning you comments from your team once they had been found and discharged from the hospital. He seemed more relaxed when you were alone, less inclined to keep that stone cold facade and you learned quite a lot about him. In exchange, you allowed him some insight in your life and with that he quickly grew on you. You never had denied he was a good looking man but also had never expected to fall for him. Still, he was your boss, so you kept it to yourself.

#

It was years later that you were able to repay the favor. The search for Percival Graves had dominated your team’s work since Grindelwald had revealed himself. At first you had feared that the man you had gotten to know was never who you had thought but the others assured you that he only had distanced himself long after the incident.

Now you followed the nurses by the stretcher he was on. He was carried into a room and cared for as you waited and watched. It was then that you remembered his comment on hospitals and you approached the responsible doctor.

“Excuse me, doctor?” you asked and he turned to look at you with a questioning gaze. “I will have to request to personally take over his care in a more personal environment,” you continued and he shook his head. “I’m sorry ma’am but I can’t allow that. Unless a family member requests it, I cannot discharge him now. Also, he would need a certified healer to monitor his status and health.” You crossed your arms in front of your chest, feeling like a stubborn child and went for the first idea that popped up in your mind. “Well, isn’t it great then that I’m both?” you asked and he looked confused. You gave him your best confident smile. “My husband,” yes, you emphasized that word and yes, it made your heart skip a beat, “is not a great fan of hospitals. Due to that and a prior... situation, I have taken it upon myself to be able to care for him should the situation arise.” You pulled your badge from your coat and offered it to him.

He studied it with furrowed brows and looked up at you again. “I’m sorry ma’am but it says nowhere that you are his wife.” You rolled your eyes at him, already being prepared for that question. “We are both active and well known aurors, do you really believe, it would be wise to wear wedding rings on the job? Let alone have the same surname? It’s not on there because it was a secret and private ceremony, just for us and family and not anybody else.” You paused but he still looked unconvinced. To your luck, Veronica approached you.

To hoping she would get the hint.

“Veronica, could you please confirm that I am his wife? Our secrecy is currently anything but helpful and this gentleman won’t allow me to take my husband home. You know how much Percival hates hospitals, so I wanted to spare him this experience but, you know...” Luckily, she did. Without even raising an eyebrow, she looked at the doctor. “I was her maid of honor, I know these people since our first year in Ilvermorny, don’t you think this is ridiculous? They have good reasons for what they’re doing, so just let her take him home and give her a manual of what he needs. She is his wife, she should know best, right?”

He seemed hesitant but agreed, then excused himself to “make the necessary arrangements”. Now she looked at you with a raised eyebrow and you shrugged. “I’m paying back a favor. He was there for me when that one mission went south, so I’m trying to help. Didn’t think he would be that stubborn. Still, thanks for helping.” She only nodded thoughtfully and left you to it.

#

Over the course of the next weeks, you took care of him. He had moments where he was barely conscious but was still unresponsive.

After three weeks of him stationed in your guest bedroom, you suddenly heard a crash while making dinner. Quickly, you hurried into the room to find him on the floor, sweating profusely and fighting against his tormented muscles to stand up.

“Percival,” you called out and knelt down to support him. He flinched, trying to get away but you kept your hold on him, talking until he recognized your voice. When he looked up at you, there was a haunted look in his eyes. You could barely imagine what he had been through, even though you had seen the toll it had taken on his body. Without saying a word you helped him back onto the bed as gently as possible, then flicked your wand towards a bowl with water. He watched you silently as you took the cloth and dabbed the sweat from his forehead.

“Is this real?” was the first thing he asked and you nodded, taking his hand and squeezing it reassuringly. At first he almost looked like he was about to cry. It scared you, to think that this strong, cold man could have been so broken. He only swallowed sharply, still not letting go of your hand. “Why am I not in a hospital then?” You smiled sheepishly at him. “Well, I remembered how you told me you hated them. So, I... pulled a few strings here and there. Pretending to be your wife did have significant weight in the decisions, I suppose.”

He looked surprised, then a smiled ghosted over his face. “You remembered that?” Gently, you placed his hand on his stomach. “Of course I did. Now, wait here and I’ll get you something light to eat. We don’t want to risk you throwing it up again, not in this condition.” He nodded so you made your way back into the kitchen. A soup was quickly assembled with the help of magic. Normally, you preferred to cook yourself but you didn’t want to leave him alone for too long.

#

From this day on, you supported him every step of the way. It took a long time but he got better. During that time, you got to know him even better.

One evening, you were sitting on your balcony, when you caught him looking at you. “What?” you asked, putting down your book. “Nothing,” he gave back and you raised an eyebrow but he didn’t say anything else, so you decided to ask what you had wanted to ask for a long time. “If this is over, will you resume your position as head auror? Or are you thinking about retirement already?”

He seemed to think about it. “Well, I’m not getting younger and I don’t think I’ll have the capacity to be in that position again. Not after everything that has happened.” When you saw the haunting look cross his face, you reached out and took his hand. It had become an automatic reaction for you and he gave you a small smile. After all that time, it still amazed you that he was the person you had known some years ago. Still, whatever he had been through had changed him and maybe, hopefully, you being there had prevented him from getting back into his shell. You didn’t know if it was true but it was an illusion you could live with.

“You should at least officially resign, then. Madam Picquery will understand, I’m sure of it.” He nodded and looked at you. “Maybe I should recommend you as my successor. I’m sure you would do a great job.” You shrugged lightly. “I don’t know. But I don’t have to pretend to be your wife then, right? Unless you really want a Graves in that position.” Your tone was teasing but you meant it. Something had started to happen between you but you couldn’t or wouldn’t put your finger on it.

He laughed quietly. “If my wife was in that position, I at least would want her to be actually married to me, not just fake-married.” You sputtered slightly and tilted your head. “I sure hope that that wasn’t a proposal, Mr Graves.” There was a glint in his eyes which you liked much better than what else you had seen in them during his stay. “And what if it was?” he asked, the same tone but there was a seriousness behind it. It surprised you. “Well, then I would at least require a nice dinner beforehand, I mean one date before marriage isn’t too much to ask for, right?”

He smiled but still, looking at you with a seriousness that befitted the old Percival more. Suddenly, he leaned over and stopped right in front of you, only for a moment, before his lips hesitantly and briefly met yours. You were almost paralyzed, staring at him wide eyed. Your brain allowed you to move when he started to pull back, you followed and almost crashed your lips on his, now leaving him in surprise. When you broke apart his eyes were searching yours and you smiled, your cheeks slightly flushed.

“Good to know I’m not alone here,” you said quietly and even he had to smile. You took his hand. There was still a lot to work on but you would be there, no matter if you were his fake wife or maybe even his real one. Someday of course. For now, you were looking forward to that dinner.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Two People, One Bed

Imagine:  Two people, one bed

Pairing: Spencer Reid x reader

Words: 1447

A/N: Week two, day three of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

„You’ve got to be kidding me,“ you mumbled and stared at the bed. Of course there was one missing, since you had expected one team member to stay behind but no, Hotch just had to come join the last minute despite being on leave. Well, he technically still was but that didn’t seem to bother the man. Now they were one bed short and you and Spencer had drawn the short matches.

“If it is bothering you too much, I’m sure someone will be ready to swap,” he said but you shook your head. “No, don’t worry. I’m just pissed because everything would have been fine if Hotch hadn’t changed his mind.” He smiled at you for a moment. “I can sleep on the couch,” he offered but a look at the small thing made you shake your head again. “Unless you really want back pain tomorrow, I’d advise against it. C’mon, it’s just one night. We’ll be fine.” Secretly, you were happy you got to share the room with him. It wasn’t like the others didn’t like him but you could see that everyone got annoyed by his rambling, at least to some degree. You just found it adorable. “Or are you that appalled by me that sharing a bed is bad?” He quickly shook his head. “No, no, I just-“ he stopped, looking at your grin. “You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?” “Always,” you replied with a wink before vanishing into the bathroom.

After a quick shower, you slipped into the oversized shirt you used to sleep in and crawled onto the bed where Spencer was already positioned. It wasn’t really designed for two people but, as you kept repeating to yourself, it was just for one night. You shuffled under the cover, turning onto your side to save space and closed your eyes. “Mind if I keep reading a little?” he asked and you shrugged. “Do whatever your heart desires,” you replied with a small smile and he laughed a little. “Right. Just tell me if the light bothers you.” You only hummed and tried to find a comfortable position. After a while of slightly shuffling, you sighed and turned onto your other side, facing Spencer. “You okay?” he asked, looking down on you. You nodded quietly, tracing his face with your eyes. He was wearing his glasses, which made him look even cuter than before. “I generally have trouble sleeping. Especially if someone else is in the room. But don’t worry, I’ll find sleep sooner or later.” You studied your face and you propped your head up onto the palm of your hand. “Found something, pretty boy?”

He cleared his throat and looked down onto his book again. The lighting wasn’t great but you could have sworn he was blushing. Like always, when you used this particular nickname for Spencer. Though Morgan was using it occasionally, it was definitely a different context between you and the genius than between the two men. “I just thought... you want me to read to you?” You tilted your head. “A bed time story?” He almost looked nervous, so you quickly added, “Sounds great. Don’t know about your reading voice but that book is definitely gonna put me to sleep,” you teased without any harm behind the words.

He smiled and leaned against the headboard a little more and balanced the book against his thighs. Watching his expressions, you listened to him reading from the book. He started somewhere in the middle though you didn’t mind. And you had been right. The combination of his soothing voice and the text was enough to make you yawn. You saw a small smile on his face when you did.

Before you could think too much about it, you reached forward and took the hand by your side, intertwining your fingers. His reading stuttered a little but he picked it up quickly. Sleep seemed to pull you in quicker than it had ever done before. Before you drifted off into unconsciousness completely, you felt a soft kiss on your forehead and heard him mumble, “Good Night, Y/N.”

You woke up sprawled across Spencer’s chest, not that you minded. Your hands were still connected but due to the angle your arm started to feel numb so you carefully let go of him. That movement must’ve been enough to wake him up and you watched as he blinked against the sunlight beaming through the window. You couldn’t help but adore the way he squinted against the brightness and scrunched up his nose. “Morning, pretty boy. Hope you had a peaceful night,” you greeted him and he lifted his head a little, squinting down at you. By now you had crossed your arms on his chest, resting your chin on top of them. You smiled brightly at him.

“Pretty much. You?” he answered your question, surprisingly less talkative than usual. “Better than ever. Man, if I could, I would just take you home and have you read to me every night. That would be one way to beat my insomnia.” You weren’t lying. It was the first time in years that you actually felt kind of rested after waking up and your desire for coffee wasn’t as strong. This time, the blush on his cheeks was way more obvious. “Can I ask you a question?” he asked and you hummed and nodded.

“I talked to some of the others about it and they gave me two possible reasons but I’m not sure which one is the right one,” he said and you raised your eyebrows, unfortunately not having been gifted with the skill of moving them separately. “You have to specify what you’re talking about, I still can’t read minds, you know,” you replied and he brushed his hair back with his fingers.

“I’m talking about you. You always make me blush but I’m not sure why. I mean, you tease everyone but I have the feeling you’re acting different with me. But maybe I’m just overthinking this and you’re not actually flirting with me but just,” he huffed out some air and before he could continue his rambling, you let out a laugh and scooted upwards. Now you were above him, your elbows and forearms giving you enough support on the mattress and just enough space between you two. He blinked up at you in surprise. “What’s so funny about that?” he asked, fidgeting with the edge of the cover and you just leaned down to shortly but firmly press your lips onto his. He looked back up at you like his brain just short circuited – which you assumed wasn’t impossible – and you smiled down at him. “I have been flirting with you, if it is any consolation. Thank goodness you talked to someone about it though, I almost gave up.” That was a lie but the face he made was priceless.

You shot a glance at the clock. Both of you were up pretty early so you had some time left. “We still have plenty of time,” you said and looked back down on him when he tilted his head. To be honest, you were curious how far you could go. You were serious about this, always had been so after all that time, maybe you were moving too fast? He reached up to run his finger across the crease between your eyebrows. “What are you thinking about?” You tilted your head to press a kiss to his wrist. “I am serious with this but I don’t want to ruin it with doing something you’re not up for yet, you know? Though we would theoretically have enough time for me to show you how serious I am,” he rolled his eyes at the suggestiveness in your voice though there was a hint of pink back on his cheeks, “I’m kinda afraid to ruin the mood. Which is a first for me,” you admitted. He smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I don’t think right now is the right moment for that, especially since the others don’t really care for knocking but since you are serious, I think there might be some time later for you to show me.” You smirked at him, secretly relieved, and hooked one finger into the neckline of his shirt. “Might be wise. I mean, I have been waiting long enough to see what’s under all those vests and button-ups, I might just be able to wait a little longer.” “You really love doing that, right?” he asked as his cheeks darkened a little. You tried your best innocent face before leaning down. “Maybe,” you confessed against his lips, then kiss him again.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Getting Stuck In A Cave Together

Imagine: Getting stuck in a cave together

Pairing: Sam Drake x Reader

Words: 1581

A/N: Week two, day two of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. I feel like I tend to go overboard with Sam... might just be my imagination though If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

This was the worst thing that had ever happened to you.

„I’m sorry, Y/N,“ Sam said for the probably billionth time as he was stacking fire wood into a pile. You rubbed across your upper arms and tried not to shiver. “You keep repeating that but all I want to know is how we ended up here,” you replied, setting your jaw to keep your teeth from clattering.

After slipping and falling into a gap on the floor (which, of course, had to happen to you) you had lost consciousness only to wake up in an empty cave. You were soaked and so was Sam once he appeared with some wood under his arm, presumably to start a fire.

“You were lucky to survive,” he started as he fished his lighter from his pocket and set some sticks aflame. “The rain made it extremely difficult to get down to you and when I was at the bottom, I first thought you were dead. You hit your head pretty good, so you should take it slow.” (At least you could now check the point of Almost cracking your skull open through slipping on a wet stone off your bucket list. One less to go.) He turned to pull something from his backpack, then offered you a blanket. You thanked him quietly and wrapped it around you as he got some of the food supplies out as well. “Try to take at least some of the wet stuff off, you getting sick will only make this more complicated. I’ll go out again to try and find your backpack and you should eat something.”

He put down a can of dried beef next to you and you fished a strip out of it. “Be careful, okay? You doing what I did also wouldn’t make it easier.” He gave you a crooked smile before pulling his coat back on and heading outside into the pouring rain. You actually took his advice and stripped off the soaked outer layers of clothing. As you spread them out next to the fire, you gaze fell onto his backpack. “Well, I’m sure he won’t mind,” you mumbled before digging through and actually pulling out some spare clothes. After a quick examination, realized that his sweatshirts would be the only one you could get to fit, so you slipped out of your bra and into his shirt before putting the wet piece of underwear next to the rest of your clothes.

The amount of energy it too for you do all that seemed to already cross your limit and you sat back down as your vision started blurring. The rest of your wait you spent slowly eating piece after piece of the beef and thinking about the past journey. He had hired you as an expert on the Arthurian legend (yeah, always a good idea to take the nerdy bookworm-historian onto a trip into the wild. What could go wrong?) but you hadn’t expected this much adventure. Though it might be as fascinating story to tell, you supposed. If you didn’t die of hypothermia out here.

“I see you can listen to advice,” he said, startling you. You rolled your eyes at him, regretting it immediately because of the sharp pain shooting through your head. “Don’t get cocky, Drake. I prefer to keep at least some of my dignity, and that includes not dying out of spite.” He laughed warmly, then noticed his backpack looking less pristine. “Digging through my stuff, really?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and you lifted your hands in defense. “Hey, I figured you might have spare clothing that wasn’t completely wet, so I took the liberty to borrow a sweatshirts. Also, it’s a lot warmer than sitting around butt naked if you don’t count the blanket.”

Again he laughed, then put down your own backpack. As you had figured, it was wet. “This stuff will never dry completely,” you mumbled and he proceeded to unpack it and spread it out as close to the fire as possible. “Well, you did fall into an underground lake, I’d say it’s expected.”

With a sigh you pulled the blanket closer around your frame and silently proceeded to watch him. “Be honest, you could have chosen any of us, why me? I’m surely neither the most competent looking not the hottest, so why?” He snorted out a laugh and grinned up at you. “Allow a man some secrets, sweetheart, will you?” You involuntarily blushed like a school girl at the nickname. “Whatever. Just so you know, I’m not into this whole ‘Let’s have sex to share body heat’ trope, alright? So don’t even try it.” He grinned and shook his head. “Noted.”

Once he was done unpacking your stuff (you didn’t comment on the look he had when unfolding your spare underwear) he pulled out his sleeping bag and rolled it out. Sitting down on it, he grabbed the tin to eat the rest of the beef. He seemed to have noticed your longing look. “We can share it. Don’t worry, you can keep on the sweatshirt. The heat will still be enough through the layers of clothing. No obligation, just an offer.” You thought about it, then swallowed your pride and nodded. “Just keep your hands to yourself, ‘kay?” He hinted at a bow and you had to grin slightly.

The rest of the evening was spent mostly in silence until he was ready to go to sleep. By now he had also mostly changed (though he at least wasn’t completely soaked, unlike you) and you definitely hadn’t caught yourself watching him. With as much dignity as you could muster you slipped into the sleeping back with him which was surprisingly spacey. Was there a thing like sleeping bags for two people? You had to look that up once you were back. “What are we gonna do tomorrow?” you asked into the silence and not tried to shudder as his warm breath tickled your neck. You could feel him shrug. “I figured we’d go back. You’re in no condition to continue this and I want to have you checked up. You might have a concussion.”

“Seriously? You just gotta abort the mission? Then what? Get one of my colleagues to try again?” Of course it would have been a reasonable solution but somewhere deep inside you had to admit that it hurt a little to just think about it. “Nah. We’ll see how you’re doing and if you’re still up for it when you’re back on your feet, we’ll try again. I’ve grown quite fond of your company, even the sarcasm and spite you love to carry around with you.” You snorted but couldn’t help to feel relieved. “Well, we’ll see about it. If you’re not too annoying until then, I might give it another try. But I gotta get some waterproof equipment first.”

He laughed softly, then wrapped an arm around you. As you tried to protest, he only held you tighter. “Look, darling, I know you are a prideful person but I think we have been in a more compromising position already. Or do I have to remind you of the night I arrived here?” You exhaled loudly and could almost feel him grin.

Even though you had try to push it aside to be professional, the night you had spent with him almost three months ago hadn’t left your mind. Especially since you had started to crush on him hard since you worked together. (God, if your coworkers knew that you had shagged the hot treasure hunter, you would never hear the end of it.) “No need for that, it’s still fresh in my mind,” you gave back and he chuckled. “Good. How about we go out for a coffee sometime wen we’re back? I know we didn’t really have the most romantic start but,” he trailed off, leaving the rest to your imagination. Now you started to shift, turning yourself around (which was more exhausting than it should ever be) to look at him. “Wouldn’t have taken you for the romantic type. Thought you were too rebellious for that,” you teased and he grinned down on you. “Well, I know this lovely British historian, who is always sweet and helpful and definitely never sarcastic, who I might make an exception for.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? Who is she? I’m gonna find her and fight her to the death for your affection.” He laughed and you admittedly really like how soft it made his face look. “Though I’m flattered, she is right here.” And then (finally) he leaned in to kiss you. It was soft this time, and slow but just what you needed right now. When he broke away, you leaned you head onto his shoulder and he ran his fingers through your hair. “Damn, now I really don’t like that I may have a concussion.” He chuckled and replied, “And here I thought, you weren’t into that sort of thing?” You wrapped your arm around his torso and ran your hand across his back. “Well, I do know this charming American treasure hunter who is a real gentleman and would never sleep with a woman without buying her dinner first, who I might make an exception for.” He laughed and pressed a careful kiss to your forehead.

In retrospect, falling through that gap and ending up in that cave wasn’t really the worst that had ever happened to you.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Kissing In The Rain

Imagine: Kissing in the rain

Pairing: Arthur Curry x Reader

Words: 914

A/N: Week two, day one of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. Again, I’ll try to do as many as possible but sometimes I just don’t find the time or spark to write, so if some days are missing, I missed them. Also, I found out that the formatting is basically nonexistent on mobile, so sorry for that. I’ll try to fix it If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

You walked along the coastline, feeling the sand between your toes as you silently hummed a tune. The waves rolled against the beach, some even sweeping past your feet but you weren’t bothered by it. The sea always had drawn you in. After a while you reached a rock formation and sat down on one of them, looking over towards the horizon.

It had become some sort of ritual for you, wandering along the beach in the evenings and sitting there, waiting until the sun disappeared. And all of that for the man that you loved. Of course, you had known what you were getting yourself into when you fell for the king of Atlantis but still, waiting for him was everything but easy.

A cold breeze whisked around you and you pulled you jacket closer around your frame as a shiver run down your spine. With a heavy sigh you watched the sun vanish behind the horizon, then slipped off the stone and made your way back to your house. It had a wonderful view of the beach but most evenings you didn’t dare look outside. Afterwards, you quickly went to bed.

Thunder cracking almost directly above your house ripped you from your dreams. You turned the lamp on your nightstand on and looked around the room. Everything was calm until lightning struck outside and momentarily brightened up your room. You knew that you would have a hard time going back to sleep immediately, so you padded into the kitchen to make yourself some tea.

Closing your eyes and leaning against the counter, you listened to the storm moving towards the town that wasn’t that far away. Once the water was hot and the tea prepared, you grabbed your mug and went onto your porch. The rain pelted soothingly onto the roof and you sat down in one of the chairs. You watched the lightning crack across the sky, lighting it up. You stayed like this for a while until the storm was further away.

Another strike of lightning made you almost drop your mug. You placed it down quickly and the stood up, walking over to the railing. You squinted against the darkness in front of you, the stars and moon barely giving off enough light to make you a vague silhouette. It came closer and you heartbeat quickened. Could it be? When another distant flash illuminated the figure, you started to run. You quickly were off the porch, trying not to slip on the now wet sand as you closed in on him. It didn’t bother you that the pouring rain soaked you clothes and hair, even less when he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close.

“You’re here,” was the first thing you were able to say and he let out a chuckle. “I am. I promised, right?” You nodded but rubbed across your neck. “You did but I almost thought you had forgotten about me.” He suddenly broke the hug to lift up your chin, causing you to look into his eyes. “I would never forget about you, Y/N. I know it isn’t easy but I’ll do my best to visit you more often in the future, now that everything has settled down. I love you, you hear me?” You couldn’t help but smile. “I love you, too, Arthur. Or should I now say Your Majesty?” He laughed and shook his head, then pulled you into a kiss. To reach him, you had to stand on your tiptoes but you didn’t mind the least.

He tasted and smelled like the ocean, not that it was surprising. You reached up to wrap your arms around his neck as much as you could and buried your fingers in his hair. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around you and lifted you up, seemingly without any trouble. You couldn’t help but laugh into the kiss when you felt his grip against you lip and quickly wrapped your legs around his waist to take some weight off his arms. “I could stay like this forever,” you mumbled against his mouth and he ran a hand through your hair. “I wish it was that easy.” You brought some space in between your faces to look at him, still not making a move to get onto your own feet. “Yeah, me too,” you replied, tracing the tattoos on his neck with you index finger. “One day, I’ll find a way to show you Atlantis, I promise,” he said and you smiled though it wasn’t completely happy. “I told you, you shouldn’t make any promises you can’t keep.”

He cupped your face with one hand and you leaned into the touch (not trying to think about how easy it was for him to support you with just one arm) and he ran his thumb across your cheek. “Well, I don’t. I just make those that I sincerely intend to keep. One day.” You huffed out a laugh and pressed a kiss onto his lips. “I’ll hold you onto that.” He smiled and nodded, then you looked up, squinting against the falling rain. “Maybe we should go inside. I do like the rain but unlike I’ll get sick very easily.” He agreed with a hum and proceeded to carry you inside. You only protested half-heartedly, secretly enjoying it quite a bit.

Only the next day, when you woke up wrapped into his arms, you remembered that you had left your mug on the porch.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Love Confessions

Imagine:  Love confessions

Pairing: Sam Drake x Reader

Words: 2035

A/N: Week one, day six of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. This got longer than I anticipated but let’s just say that is to make up for yesterday (where I had no clue what to write) If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

You sat on your bed, mindlessly reading over the same paragraph again and again. Honestly, by now you were worried. Your best friend had gone MIA several days ago, even though he had promised to come back soon. It didn’t help that you couldn’t even go outside to look for him since your father wouldn’t allow it.

A sudden knock on the window made you flinch and you whipped around to see a face wearing an apologetic smile behind the glass. You quickly hopped off the bed, opened the window and allowed him inside. “Sam! Where have you been? I was worried!” you exclaimed as quietly as possible, hugging him in the process. He hugged you back shortly. “I got in some minor trouble but don’t worry.”

Tilting your head, you looked up at him with furrowed brows. “Well, that’s easier said than done.” He gently patted your back, then wandered over to the bed. “How safe is it today?” You sat down next to him. “My dad had too many drinks and is already pissed off at our neighbors, so we shouldn’t risk anything.” He nodded thoughtfully, then fell back onto the mattress. “I really wish I didn’t have to say this but... I’m afraid I have to leave town for a while.” Your insides twisted together at that. “What do you mean? Does this have to do with your minor trouble?”

His undeniably guilty expression felt like a slap to the face. “So you’ll just leave me here? After everything? You said we would stick together.” He sat up again and reached for your hand but you pulled it back, standing up and stepping away. “I mean it but... things are complicated at the moment and I don’t want to drag you into anything. I promise, the moment you are eighteen, I’ll be back and we’re out of here, okay?” You looked down at him skeptically but your resistance melted away when you looked into his eyes. It wasn’t a surprise to you, you had been in love with the guy for forever but probably never would say anything. “I’ll count on it. If not, I won’t forgive you, you know that, right?”

He nodded sincerely, then stood up and pulled you into a hug. “I know.” After a moment of hesitation, you wrapped your arms around him, then pulled back a little. “Sam, before you go, there is something I wanted to tell you.” Before you could say anything, your door flew open and crashed into the wall, allowing your father inside. You quickly shoved Sam towards the window while he started screaming obscenities at your friend and got in between the two. “Dad, stop!” you pleaded but this time it didn’t seem to work. In a fit of rage, he violently pushed you aside and into a cupboard, where you hit your head on one of the shelves.

Your ears started ringing and when you reached up and touched the spot, they came back sticky while fresh pain seared through your head. Through the noise in your ears you could hear Sam calling your name. You looked up at him, pleading with your eyes to leave. He seemed to understand and though he hesitated a second, the view of your father made his decision and with a last look in your direction, he quickly climbed through the window.

As you sat there, trying not to throw up, you hoped he would keep his promise, not knowing, that he would be unable to.

“Miss Y/L/N,” someone called out and you looked up from the papers on your desk. Your secretary/assistant stood in your doorframe with a stack of paper in her arms. “Is that the catalogue of the new donation?” you asked standing up and she nodded, handing it over to you. “Yes. The donation itself should arrive by tomorrow.”

Already flipping through the pages. “Thank you, Julia. Anything else?” You could see her shaking her head out of the corner of your eye, so you turned back to your desk. “Oh, wait, actually, a Mr. Drake wants to see you. He said he had something he wanted to have evaluated. When I tried to refer him to someone else, he stayed adamant about wanting you.” You furrowed your brow. “Well, sure, when does he have time? Maybe we can finish this before the workload we get tomorrow. And what does he want to show me?”

“He said he had some pieces from the treasure of Henry Avery.” You scoffed unwillingly, the name still twisting your insides. “Everything alright?” Julia asked but you just nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, yeah, don’t mind me? Again, when does he want an appointment?” She looked behind her. “Uh, right now? He’s here.” With a heavy sigh you nodded. “Alright, send him in. Shouldn’t take long.” She nodded and stepped outside for a moment to allow him into your office. You used the time to read through more descriptions. When you heard footsteps, you didn’t look up immediately. “Alright Mr. Drake, what can I help you-“ you choked on your words when you finally did look up, as nothing could prepare you for the sight in front of you.

And if that wasn’t cliché enough, the catalogue slipped from your hands and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Julia came back in and tried to make sense of the scene. “Is everything alright, Miss /Y/L/N?” You blinked rapidly, trying to wake yourself from your trance. “I don’t know. I think I might have just seen a ghost,” you replied quietly before picking up the catalogue with shaking hands.

“Well, fortunately, or unfortunately, depends on the point of view, I am very much alive and real,” he said and you shook your head in anger. The hot feeling burned away your shock effectively and you set your jaw when you looked at him. “You might not be for much longer if you don’t give me one good reason not to kill you. You got nerves, coming here after twenty fucking years! So much for your goddamn promise.” You noticed only partially how Julia left and closed the door, probably seeing how this was personal.

“Look, Y/N, I get it, you’re angry and you have any right to be but please let me explain,” he said but you shook your head again. “Nothing you could say could excuse what I’ve been through. And now you have the audacity to step in here with a smile, hoping I would have forgotten? I got over you, Samuel Morgan. The hard way, so now leave me alone!” You were right in front of him now, staring up at him. He hadn’t moved back, you had to give him that much. His eyes were fixed on something on your face but you didn’t even want to know what. “Now get out of my office before I forget myself and actually hit you.”

As you turned around, he reached forward and grabbed your arms, locking you in place. “Hey!” you shouted, struggling against his grip but the sorrow on his face stunned you. “It left a scar,” he said quietly and you raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” Despite your clear aversion of him, he reached up to trace the pale scar on your temple. To this day, it still hurt sometimes, it started pulsing when you had headaches or were stressed. “Yes it did. Why do you care now?” Now he looked into your eyes and despite all the time that had passed they were still the same, open and sincere. “I always have, why wouldn’t I now?” He let go of you almost reluctantly. “Because you broke your promise and only came back after almost twenty years because it’s convenient for you.” He shook his head but you still turned around and walked back to your desk.

“What did you mean when you said you had gotten over me?” You rubbed your hand across your forehead and sighed. Frankly, you hadn’t. You probably never would. But admitting that was hard, even if it was only to yourself. Still, you figured, why not come out with it now? It wasn’t like it would matter in any way. You turned and leaned against your desk, crossing your arms in front of you in a defensive matter. As you talked, you stubbornly stared at the ground. “I had to because I loved you. God, I was so gone. It broke my heart, having to let you go that day but I thought, what are one and a half years? It turned out that was nothing compared to what I felt when you didn’t show up again. But that is history. We are adults now, both have our own lives, so it’s not important anymore.” “It is to me,” he said and you looked at him. “Pardon me?” He hesitantly got closer but stopped at a respectful distance. “I said it is important to me. Y/N, I wanted to come and I hated myself for not being able to keep my promise but... I know it’s not an excuse, just an explanation but I spend fifteen years in a prison in Panama for something I hadn’t done and then I had to track you down. Which, by the way, wasn’t that easy. Fuck, I probably wouldn’t have made it out alive if I hadn’t thought of you. Because I wanted to keep my promise.”

You looked at him, dumbfounded and unsure of what to say. He reached out for you and after a moment of hesitation, you offered him a hand which he took in between his. “I know that I’m probably too late now, that you probably have a family of your own and that there is no place for me in your live but you have to believe me when I say that I love you. I did back then and I still do.” Inhaling deeply, you closed your eyes and tried to swallow the knot that tightened in your throat. “Well, if you think I have a family, you are far too optimistic. Look at me. I’m not the person to go out much, let alone someone that could find a partner and have children.” When you opened them again, he was a little closer and you looked up at him.

“Does that mean I might have a chance?” he asked quietly and you rubbed your free hand across your thigh. “That primarily means you have a lot of explaining and story-telling to do and then I can think about it,” you replied, this time not looking away. A small smile played around his lips. “I wouldn’t have expected anything else.” While you were mentally kicking yourself for having your resolution break this easily (Really, you had spent years imagining what you would say to him if you met again but barely any of it had come out), he closed in, gently placing his lips on yours.

The kiss was soft, careful, both of you exploring the new territory. Of course you were still angry and he would never hear the end of it but all of the tension and negative energy that had been building over the years crumbled away in mere seconds before you wrapped your arms around his neck. Your fingers gently ran through his now longer hair and a stray thought made you wonder how he would react if you tugged on it but you shoved it away quickly. If this was going to work out, you had plenty of time to find out. He broke the kiss but stayed close to you, his forehead pressed against yours. “I can almost hear you thinking. I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be,” he mumbled with a grin and you hit him lightly against the chest.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Mister. You’re by no means off the hook.” Still, you couldn’t help but smile. A lot of talking would be required to make this work but you believed it could be worth it. He laughed quietly, his breath brushing against your lips. “I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he said before he kiss you again.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Slow Dancing

Imagine: Slow dancing

Pairing: John Wick x Reader

Words: 495

A/N: Week one, day four of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. No one can convince me that John Wick doesn’t know how to dance :D If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

Soft instrumental music played in the background while you stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner. You hummed along to it quietly. After a while, the front door opened and you could hear the excited tapping of the dog’s paws on the tiles as he entered the living room. John followed shortly after and you turned around. Leaning against the kitchen counter, you smiled at him.

“How was the walk?” you asked as he shrugged off his jacket. “Uneventful,” he replied. “Good. Wouldn’t have wanted my two favorite guys in trouble.” He smiled and looked over to you before joining you in the kitchen. “What are you cooking?” he asked, wrapping one arm around you and lifting the lit of the pot with the other. “Curry. It’s almost done, we just gotta wait now. Hope that’s alright?” He nodded and you looked up at him, studying his face.

Whenever he left the house, there was a certain unease within you. You knew that around here, it was highly unlikely for anyone to recognize him but still, with the amount on his head, you never knew. “We should think about relocating,” you said and he raised an eyebrow. “I know, maybe I’m getting paranoid but... I’m worried, you know? I’m afraid we get too comfortable around here and then one day they are outside of the house.”

“Hey,” he said quietly and pulled you into a hug. “I think right now we have nothing to worry about. Should anything change, we can be out of here immediately but for now, try to relax, alright?” You exhaled deeply but nodded. You knew he would do his best to keep you safe but you still were uneasy after years on the run.

You started to distance yourself from him but he tightened his grip, which surprised you. You knew the story around his wife, so even though you both had expressed interest in each other, you allowed him to go his own pace. “John? Is everything alright?” you asked quietly against his chest and he hummed. Then he looked down at you and you tilted your head in question. Another song came on and there was a glint in his eyes before the gently stared swaying from side to side, guiding you to follow his movement. A smile started to spread across your lips as you reached up to loosely lock your arms behind his neck. “Didn’t know you were the type for slow dancing in the kitchen,” you mused and he laughed quietly. “There is a type for that?” You only grinned up at him, then dropped your head against his shoulder.

“Maybe one day we’ll find some time, then I can teach you how to really dance,” he mumbled into your hair. “I would like that,” you replied and gently ran your fingers across the back of his neck. If it hadn’t been for the curry bubbling on the stove, you could have stayed like that forever.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Building A Pillowfort

Imagine: Building a pillowfort

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Words: 759

A/N: Week one, day three of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

The doorbell rang, cutting your nap short and you took a second to ground yourself before you rolled off the couch and quickly made your way to the front door. Before you opened, you quickly combed your fingers through your hair. To your surprise, you found Peter behind the door, grinning at you. “Happy Birthday!” he exclaimed and you stared at him dumbfounded. “Peter, what are you doing here?” you asked as he allowed himself in, leaving you in the doorframe.

“It’s your birthday. That’s what I’m doing here.” You blinked, then closed the door to follow him into the living room. “I know it’s my birthday but-“ you started but he interrupted you with a quick kiss. “You usually don’t celebrate, I know. But that’s not why I’m here. I brought pizza and old horror films to watch. If you don’t want to celebrate, just take it as me spending a day with my girlfriend, okay?”

You couldn’t help but smile fondly at his explanation and nodded. “Okay.” His grin returned then and he went into the kitchen to prepare the pizza while you shuffled through his collection of DVD’s. “Found anything you like?” he called over from the next room and you took one case out of the bunch. “I’m all in for Shining tonight. Sounding good?” The appreciative noise that came from him made you giggle and you put it into the player, before sitting down on the couch.

Listening to him in the room next door, your mind wandered off as you looked through the pictures of you together that you had on your phone. It made you smile. Your birthday usually wasn’t a reason for you to do so. When you were twelve your parents had died in a car accident as you were on your way home from the movies. Since then you had neglected that day but being with Peter made it easier. He understood your boundaries without a word and never questioned, never pushed, giving you your own time to open up.

Speaking of Peter, he returned to the living room with a ridiculous amount of blankets and pillows. You had to laugh. “Where the hell did you find all those?” you asked and he only shrugged. “Maybe you just have more of them in your apartment than you think. Care to help me?”

You shook your head and stood up. “Sure. If you care to explain to me what exactly you plan on doing.” He put down the mountain of fabric and looked at you. “We’re building a pillowfort.” A knot seemed to tighten in your throat. You had told him about it. After every birthday, your parents had built you a pillowfort. “Peter-“ you said but he was already on his way over to you, cupping your cheeks and tilting your head so you were looking at him. “I know, Y/N, I know. But I thought, maybe at the end of the day, you could have some happy memories that you can look back at. If it’s too much, I’ll put them back, I just thought...” he trailed off and you looked into his eyes. They were sincere and worried, and it warmed your heart.

You reached forward and ran your fingers through his hair. “Okay. A pillowfort it is. I really hope you know what you got yourself into,” you said, offering him a smile which he gladly returned. “We’ll see.”

Together, you started shuffling chairs around, pinning blankets together and putting in every pillow and stuffed animal you could find. Once you were done, he wrapped his arms around you and you leaned against him. “Is that good enough?” he asked quietly and you nodded, then he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “Okay, so you get the laptop, I’ll get the food and then we get in there, alright?”

You nodded again and shortly after you were snuggled up against him on a soft blanket with his back against the mountain of pillows while watching the movie. He ran his hand up and down your back gently as you shared the pizza and some snacks.

Once the movie was over, he pulled you into a tight hug and you leaned your head against his shoulder. “Thank you, Peter,” you mumbled against him and you could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Nothing to thank me for. If you’re up for it, we could make it a tradition.” A smile spread across your face as you replied, “Sounds good to me.”

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Early Morning Cuddles

Imagine: Early morning cuddles

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Words: 368

A/N: Week one, day two of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. This is probably the shortest one I wrote yet but I didn’t feel like dragging it out to much. If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

You blinked awake and stretched slightly. Focusing your eyes on the alarm clock on your night stand. 

07:16am

You yawned and allowed your head to fall back onto the pillow. Suddenly, an arm snaked around your waist and you were pulled against someone behind you. The touch was familiar, so you smiled and turned to look at the man behind you. “Hey Spence,” you mumbled and he looked at you with half-closed eyes.  Reaching forward, you ran your hand through his hair, brushing it out of his face. He smiled at you warmly and wrapped his other arm around you as well.

“When did you come home?” you asked, twirling one of his locks between your fingers. He leaned over you a little to squint at the clock and sighed. “Maybe three and a half hours ago,” he mumbled and you smiled, reaching around him to gently massage his neck and scalp. With a content sigh, he leaned closed his eyes again, so you leaned forward and kissed him. You could feel his lips twist into a smile as you pulled back, before he rolled onto his back and pulled you with him.

As you rested your head on his chest, he ran his fingers through your hair. “When do you have to go?” he asked quietly.  You trailed your fingers across his chest and looked up at him. “I work from home this week,“ you said with a smile which he returned. “Good,” he mumbled and pulled you closer, until your head rested against the crook of his neck. “That means we can stay like this and no one will care.”

You laughed quietly and pressed a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw while snaking your arm around his torso. “I could imagine worse,” you replied. He chuckled before a comfortable silence fell over the room. You listened to his breath as it found a more steady rhythm until you were sure that he was asleep. With a smile on your lips, you huddled against him a little more before closing your eyes again and drifting back into your dreams.

When you woke up some hours later you found that neither of you had moved.

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

First Date

Imagine:  First Date

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Words: 1560

A/N: Week one, day one of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. I’m trying to do as many of these as possible, though they will be shorter (and I will skip the third week) If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

You closed your locker and flinched as Peter appeared behind it. “Jesus, Peter! Don’t scare me like that!” you exclaimed and he had at least the decency to look sheepish for a moment. “Sorry. I just wanted to ask you a question,” he said, rocking back and forth a little. You tilted your head. “Are you nervous?” you asked curiously and he shook his head but the way he rubbed his neck told you otherwise. Before you could resume your conversation, the bell rang and he let out a groan.

“Well, sorry Pete but that has to wait for later. See you after class, alright?” you said, already half-jogging on your way to class and you had your back turned to him when you heard a half-hearted “Yeah.”

You exited the building and spotted him leaning against one of the bike racks with his headphones in. Trying to get revenge on his (admittedly accidental) scare from early, you approached him from behind and tapped onto his shoulder. To your disappointment, he didn’t seem that surprised and didn’t even try to look like he was. “Hey, Y/N,” he greeted you, taking the headphones out. Crossing your arms, you leaned against the bike rack from the opposite site. “I can never scare you. It’s almost unfair,” you complained, barely holding back a grin. He only shrugged. “Call it a sixth sense.”

With a snort you looked around. “Where are Ned and MJ?” you asked. They should have been here by now. Again, Peter looked a little nervous. “They’re headed home already. If you remember, I wanted to ask you something,” he said and you nodded. “I haven’t forgotten. Aren’t they allowed to know?” You watched him fidget. Though he could be generally classified under ‘awkward teenager’, this behavior was uncharacteristic.

“Hey, Pete, come on. Whatever it is, just ask. You look like you’re afraid I could bite your head off.” He huffed out a laugh, then looked up at you. “I just wanted to ask if you,” he paused for a moment, “if you maybe wantedtogoonadatewithme.” You stared at him for a moment and it seemed to get awfully quiet. You had understood clearly enough and that moment realization had struck you like lightning. Before, you had waved his sometimes odd behavior off as his Peter-isms.

And if you were honest, yeah, you had started to develop a crush on the boy which had only driven your walls up higher. Every time there was even a hint of interest from his side, your mind had automatically flagged it as over interpretation.

Now, Peter stared back at you with visibly growing concern. “Y/N? Look, I’m sorry if this comes unexpectedly or you don’t want to, which would totally be okay, I mean, I wouldn’t mind us staying friends, I just thought I’D give it a shot and-“ he started to ramble, finally snapping you out of your state. “Peter,” you interrupted him. “Breathe.” He did just that with inhaling sharply before returning your gaze. “Look, I- I’d love to. I just needed a moment to realize that this was reality,” you said and a smile broke out on his face. “Really?” he asked and you nodded.

“Yeah. And by the way, if anyone – especially MJ – had told me yesterday that we would have that conversation and that you were a nervous wreck, I wouldn’t have believed them.” He rolled his eyes at the comment and playfully punched you in the shoulder, your usual way of being at ease around each other having been restored once the question was out of the way. You set the date for Friday night, then you waved him goodbye and left for home with a giddy feeling in your stomach.

“Mom, please stop tampering with my outfit, I like it that way,” you complained as your mother fidgeted with your jacket and she tutted, shifting her attention to your hair. “It’s my baby’s first date, just let me have this for once,” she replied and you rolled your eyes but allowed her to make, what she called, adjustments.

You only swatted her hands away when the doorbell rang and made you way into the hallway to open the door. “Hey,” you greeted him and smiled, which he returned. He looked good, not too different from usual but a little more polished. Apart from the fact that he had exchanged his usual nerdy shirt for a button up, he had also put some product into his hair. Or maybe May had done it.

“Ready to go?” he asked and you nodded, grabbing your phone and keys and waving your mother goodbye before pulling the door closed behind you. “Alright, where are we going?” you asked curiously and followed him. “I figured we could watch the movie we talked about last week. I hope that’s okay?” He looked at you from the side and you linked arms with him. “Sounds great.”

After the movie the both of you sat down in a diner for a bite to eat. While you were chewing on a bite of your burger, you watched him. “Peter?” you asked after a while and he looked up at you, face stuffed with fries. “Mhm?” Swallowing a grin, you leaned forward a little. “I know we both aren’t really experienced with stuff like this but I really enjoyed it. Thank you.” He swallowed his food and smiled. “Yeah, me too. I know it wasn’t anything special but,” he said and shrugged, so you put your hands on his. “It was perfect the way it was, alright?” He huffed out some air but nodded. The thought that you were making him so nervous made your heart flutter.

In an act without thinking, you dunked your finger in the cream that was left in your milkshake and smeared it onto his nose. He pause dumbfounded for a moment before you started laughing. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that. But it suits you. Really, you should wear that more often.” Now he grinned and answered with smearing some cream onto your cheek, causing a very uncharacteristic giggle to escape you. Peter looked at you in wonder. “I didn’t even know you were able to make sounds of joy,” he teased and you reached across the table to hit him without any malice behind it. Then he pulled his phone out. “Come on, I wanna keep that memory.” With a grin, you switched seats so you were on the bench next to him and leaned against him. Both of you grinned into a camera as he took some shots.

Then, to your surprise, he leaned forward to press a kiss on your cheek, semi-effectively removing the cream from your skin with that action. What surprised you even more was the actual blush that now crept across your face and that was perfectly captured by Peter’s persistent camera. He laughed at your surprised expression and then – in an apparent rush of bravery and self-confidence – went even further by licking the rest of it off. “Peter!” you exclaimed, weakly hitting his chest but he was grinning from ear to ear. “Sorry,” he replied,” not looking sorry at all and you only rolled your eyes.

Neither of you saw the amused looks you were receiving from the waitress before she headed into the back again.

On your way home you walked comfortably close to him, allowing your hand to brush against his. When he understood and took it, that giddy feeling returned. Frankly, you were the most unromantic person you knew but right now nothing was too cheesy. You allowed your thumb to draw circles on the back of his hand and you two stayed silent until you reached your door. “Thank you again,” you said and looked up at him. If you were honest, you didn’t want this moment to end. Peter gave you a smile. “I’ll send you the pictures later,” he promised and you playfully rolled your eyes. “Well, if you insist.”

After a moment of silence he huffed. “Alright then... I guess I don’t want to keep you any longer. But I enjoyed it too. See you on Monday?” You nodded but changed your mind when he started to leave. “Wait a second,” you said, reaching for him to grab his arm and turning him back to you. Before you could stop yourself or convince yourself that this wasn’t a good idea, you pressed a quick kiss onto his cheek which now left him the one blushing. “I owed you that much,” you teased even though you secretly wished for a little more. He seemed to hesitate for a second, before cupping your cheek and pulling you into a proper kiss. Once you had found your rhythm it was perfect. He left shortly afterwards but you were happier than you could imagine.

Your lips still seemed to tingle when you finally fell into your bed some time later.

As promised, the pictures were on your phone the next morning. After some evaluation, you found your favorite one. You smiled into the camera and Peter was turned towards you, pressing his lips onto your cheek. It was the second before realization and blushing had settled in and only looking at it made your stomach flutter.

Feeling satisfied with your decision, you put the picture as your home screen.

[alyssalenko]

Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event

This February we are excited to bring you a month of Romance! I present to you, the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event all through the month. Hosted by myself, @starsandskies and @vorchagirl. This month is dedicated to celebrating all of the romances, potential romances, or dreamed of romances, in a positive, friendly, and accepting way.

Leather and Lace:

The aim of this portion is to encourage fans to create art or renders or graphics, capture screenshots, write fanfiction or poetry, or discuss their favourite romantic tropes. There are different themed prompts to choose from, Smut, Romance, Fluff, and classic tropes, with little sub prompts to help anyone lacking inspiration. Participants can choose to either take a Leather or a Lace approach. That is, you can choose to create NSFW /smutty content, or you can approach things in a fluffier, sweeter, and G-rated manner. If you already have a piece of writing, art or HC that is perfect for this event, please feel free to share it!

You Keep Me Warm:

Remember that event back in July when we were all being prompted by our followers and mutuals for some smut? This is a continuation of that for those who didn’t finish all their prompts, as well as get new ones (or clear some prompts out of your inbox, because let’s face it we all have some) and create art or renders or graphics, capture screenshots, write fanfiction or poetry, or discuss their favourite romantic tropes, while interacting with others, but if you want to ask for more prompts or delve into a new pairing, this is the place for that too. You can again choose whether to take a lacy approach with happy g-rated content or a leather approach with all the smut.

When does it run?

The Whole Month of February because we just want to celebrate love!

Prompts

Fluffy

First date

Early morning cuddles

Building a Pillowfort

Slow dancing

Forehead presses

Love confessions

All the kisses - height differences, first kisses, little kisses, forehead kisses.

Tropey

Kissing in the rain

Getting stuck in an elevator/room/closet/cave etc together

Two people/one bed

Fake relationship/dating

Soulmate AU

Friends/enemies to lovers

Recovering from a wound/injury/near death experience

Smutty

Kinks/Fantasies/Roleplay

Foreplay/Seduction

Laughter during sex

Pleasure

Favorite Position/Experimentation

Odd places/times to have sex

Stripping/Undressing

Romantic

Unromantic Romance (i.e. making their drink of choice the way they like, ordering a pizza with no olives because they know their lover hates olives because they watched them pick them off the first pizza they ever ate together–doesn’t even have to ask)

A date that goes horribly wrong in every way possible but they still have a good time

Escape/vacation/shoreleave

Watching the other one across the room and just smiling to themselves until someone calls them out on it

Soft Touching

The little things they do that no one else notices, but their partner loves it

Playful competition/teasing

Smut Tumblr Prompts

Fluff Tumblr Prompts

Are there any rules?

- Please avoid all fandom wank and negativity. Fandom drama, discourse, or anti-ship/character hate is not welcome. In fact, hate in general is not welcome.

- It should go without saying that sexist, racist, queerphobic, ableist etc. behaviour is equally unwelcome. In short: Be excellent to each other!

- Follow the golden rules: Ship and Let Ship & Your Kink is Not My Kink!

- Tag your work if it’s NSFW and for all major warnings/triggers - it’s only polite!

- Please respect LGBT+ characters sexualities and pronouns

- This is a celebration of consensual romance, in all its forms.

- This is a sex positive event, and that means that all healthy and consensual sexual relationships are welcome. In the same vein, romance does not necessarily equal sex, and of course this means that asexual and aromatic relationships are welcome too, as are casual sexual relationships.

Tags & Thank yous

Please tag your work with #romancemonth within the first 5 tags if you participate so we can see all the lovely fanworks you guys are sharing or tag one of us(@AlyssAlenko, @VorchaGirl, or @StarsandSkies) directly!

We also have an AO3 collection I am working on fine-tuning, but should be up and running by the time everything starts.

Signal Boosts are very welcome so we can spread the word about this event!

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

So, again, not dead. If anyone wants to request characters/ships for these tropes, I’ll greatly appreciate it. My goal is to do as many of these as I can (safe for the smut ones since I’m not really comfortable writing that for now), so some input from the outside would be awesome

[lexinthelibraryofdreams]

Shoreline Dance Academy

Imagine: -

Words: 8362

A/N: For the lovely @missdictatorme who requested a Dirty Dancing-inspired piece. This may or may not have deviated from that path but I hope you still like it. Since I didn’t meet my previous “deadline”, I’ll put it out as kind of a Christmas present :)

Not the outcome I had in mind originally but this got out of hand so I think this is alright.

Also, not beta’d and barely edited

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

You opened the door, entering the building and looked around. The light floor was decorated with brown-ish red carpets, the beige walls had accent panels in the same color. Big windows allowed light to flow into the entry area, giving it a homely feeling despite the lack of decoration. The reception desk was empty but you knew your way, stepping through the doorway into the center of the building. The room led towards the staircases and two dance halls. There were three more upstairs plus an outside area that was often used for different events. The only free wall housed a bar and you checked the clock behind it before walking over to one of the windows that allowed you to watch the current class.  Your eyes skimmed across the room, past dancing couples until you found the person you were searching for. You didn’t know his name or anything else about him, really, just that he was a dance teacher who joined the school a few years ago. You always came to pick up your daughter and for a while now you came a little early to watch him through the window. Not that you would ever admit that or talk to him, you simply enjoyed watching. In this moment, he looked up and straight back at you, sending you a smile. You sent him a shy smile of your own until his eyes flitted behind you and his expression soured. 

“Y/N,” Rafe greeted you and you turned, kissing him on both cheeks like you always did. “Here to pick up Ava?” he asked and you nodded. “Like always. Nadine said she will probably soon join the more advanced group.” He waved you over to the bar and you leaned against it while he stepped behind it. “Yeah, she told me. You really can be proud.” You nodded. “I am. All of that is only possible because of you. I don’t think I could ever repay you for what you did for us.” He only smiled and offered you a glass of water which you took with a grateful smile. “You don’t have to, I already told you that.” 

You heard the door opening upstairs and the group walked down the steps, chatting and walking towards the seating area in the front of the building to change the shoes. Nadine followed them. She had pulled her hair into a tight bun and sent you a smile when she approached you. “Hey, Y/N. I just wanted to let you know, she’s switching groups once the new year starts.” You smiled as well. “This is amazing. Thank you Nadine.” She gave you a wave, grabbed a bottle of water from behind the bar and then went to the front and behind the reception desk, into the employee-only area. 

Just as Ava came back with Henry, a boy from the class you always picked up as well, in tow, the other class ended as well and your gaze immediately landed on the teacher. He looked back at you but his eyes flit over to Rafe again and before he followed Nadine without another word. „Who is that?“ you asked Rafe but he only waved it off. “Don’t worry about him. He isn’t someone you should care about.” You furrowed your brow but didn’t say anything. Instead, you waved him goodbye and left.

“Hey, mom?” Ava called out from her room as you finished cleaning the dishes and you answered with a “Hm?” indicating you were listening. “Have you seen my shoes? I need them for the rehearsal after school tomorrow.” You halted a moment, drying your hands off then walked out into the living room, where she was standing now, tearing apart her bag. “No. When was the last time you saw them?” you asked and she stopped for a moment, before sighing. “I think in the locker room,” she said and you huffed, looking towards the clock. “Okay, I’ll be back shortly,” you said and she hugged you quickly. “You’re the best. I’ll finish my homework, okay?” You nodded and watched her skip into her room, before you pulled on your boots and left the apartment.

You breathed out a sigh of relief when you arrived and saw light pour through the windows onto the sidewalk. After hurrying towards the door, you failed to open it and then pressed the doorbell after a moment of hesitation. To your surprise, it wasn’t Rafe that opened the door for you but the nameless dance teacher that you always watched. He seemed just as surprised as you were. “Oh, hey. Can I help you?” You rubbed your hand across your neck awkwardly and replied,” Uh, yeah, I hope so. Ava thinks she left her shoes here and I came to pick them up. They have an onstage rehearsal tomorrow and we won’t make it here before that.” He only nodded and let you in. You sent him a small smile, then headed towards the locker room and looked around. “I’m Sam, by the way,” he suddenly said and when you looked back, you saw that he had followed you into the room. Somewhat, at least, as he was leaning against the doorframe. “Y/N,” you answered and he smiled shortly. “That’s a beautiful name. And really fitting.” You felt a blush creep up your cheeks at the unexpected compliment and quickly turned to resume your search. After finding nothing, you walked up to Ava’s personal locker and punched in the code. “So... Ava’s your sister or something?” he asked and you only shook your head. “She’s my daughter, actually,” you said and opened the locker, finally finding the shoes and picking them up.

“Oh, okay,” was the only thing Sam said and you raised an eyebrow at him after closing the locker again. “No, uh, I mean, how old is she?” he then asked and you exhaled. “She’s turning nine soon. Why are you asking?” He shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. “Just curious.” You titled your head questioningly but when he didn’t seem inclined to explain himself, you made your way out. “Why are you always watching my classes?” he suddenly asked and you stopped immediately. Yeah, why were you watching? None of the reasons that came to mind at the moment would sound good out loud, so you kept your mouth shut and turned to him. “I mean, why don’t you just join us? You always seem eager to learn.” You thought about a plausible answer and settled onto, “I don’t have a partner. Also, I can’t really afford it.”

He blinked at you for a moment, not commenting on it. You took it as your moment to leave. “I have to go. Thank you for your help and goodbye.” Before he could say anything else or you could embarrass yourself more, you slipped out the door and practically sprinted back to the car. “What the hell?” you breathed to yourself and looked back at the building. You could still see him standing there through the huge windows. Shaking your head, you started the engine and drove back home.

The next time you had to pick up the kids, you hesitated in your car, staring out at the building. Your eyes wandered across the sign above the door. Shoreline Dance Academy. At first you had wondered how it got its name but then Rafe had taken you up onto the roof terrace and showed you the perfect view onto the coastline.

After five more minutes of nervously fidgeting with your sleeves, you sighed and entered the building. Why did the thought of meeting him again make you nervous? You barely knew him and it usually didn’t bother you what people thought of you. Well, at least that’s what you tried to convince yourself of. You ended up in front of his class out of pure muscle memory and your eyes involuntarily scanned the room.

“Searching for someone?” a sudden voice asked from behind and you flinched, turning quickly and finding yourself almost chest to chest with the man that had haunted your mind for a week. Due to being rather close, this was the first time you noticed the tattoo on his neck. He grinned slightly and watched for a moment as you opened and closed your mouth like a fish on dry land. “I wanted to apologize,” was the first thing you breathed out once your mind had calmed from the surprise. He only tilted his head. “What for?” Rubbing your neck sheepishly, you let your gaze wander around the room to avoid looking at him. “I was unnecessarily rude the last time. I don’t even know why.” Sam only gave you a warm smile. “Don’t worry about it. I actually wanted to make you an offer but you were gone so quickly, I couldn’t even say anything.”

You raised an eyebrow in question and he leaned against the wall next to the window. “I’ve seen you every time you watched the class and you actually seem like you really would like to join, so I wanted to offer you some private lessons. No second thoughts, don’t worry, just me teaching you how to dance after the others are out for the day. How does that sound to you?” To be honest, you were more than surprised. Still, as much as you wanted to accept, there was that one thing. “I already told you, I can’t-“ you started but he interrupted you. “Afford it, yeah, I remember. Listen, I won’t ask questions, all I’m saying is that I would be willing to do it for free. All I would ask of you is not to tell Rafe about it.” “Why not?” you inquired, raising the eyebrow again. He brushed his fingers through his hair and you followed the motion with your eyes before returning your gaze to his face. “Well, you two always seem awfully close and he really doesn’t like me, to put it lightly. Also, I’m technically not permitted to give private lessons but, you know, since I’d be doing it for free and after closing, I would count it more as doing it in my free time. Look, I don’t know why he hates me so much but Rafe put a bunch of restrictions on me, as if he’s waiting for the day I break one of his ridiculous rules. If you’re not okay with not telling him, I won’t be mad. Just think about it, alright?”

“Drake, don’t you have a class to teach?” Rafe sneered from behind you and you turned to look at him. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Sam’s face darken, before he muttered something to himself and slipped through the door back into the room. “We were just talking, Rafe. That is still permitted, right?” Your tone was slightly annoyed. He was your friend, almost like a brother to you but sometimes he was irrationally overprotective. “What are you supposed to think about?” he asked, ignoring your comment and you rolled your eyes slightly. And in that moment, you made your decision, even though you weren’t really sure what made you do it. “Nothing important. He was asking me if I didn’t want to join one of the classes, since I seem interested. I declined. I mean, I can’t pay for it and I also can’t expect you to offer it to me for free.” He looked at you and huffed quietly. “You know, I offered to teach you,” he responded then but you only shook your head.

“Whatever,” he changed the subject. “Just stay away from that guy. My parents might believe he is reformed but that doesn’t erase his prison time. I wouldn’t trust him.” You paused for a brief moment. Prison time? As much as you wanted to ask more about it, there was something in Rafe’s eyes that stopped you from questioning it. “I’ll keep it in mind,” you offered as an answer, before fishing your phone out of your pocket and checking the time. “Look, I’m going to go upstairs and see if they need any longer. See you later, yeah?” He nodded, his brow slightly furrowed but you didn’t comment on it and went upstairs. There, you fished your notepad and a pen out of your purse and quickly wrote a message.

Need more info but would be interested. Also got some dancing-unrelated questions. –Y/N

You scribbled your phone number on the bottom, hoping you weren’t about to make a huge mistake. Before that thought could stop you, you entered the break room and slipped the piece of paper into the locker you now knew belonged to him. The few times you had been in here, you had wondered what the initials S.D. might stand for. Well, now you knew. Even though you did nothing wrong, you felt like you were intruding, so you left quickly and waited for Ava and Henry to join you.

Unknown Number: Glad to hear you’re interested. Should I be afraid of the questions, though?

You looked down at the message for a while, knowing who it was from without looking at the picture. Quickly, you added him as a contact.

You: Don’t know. Not if you’ve got nothing to hide. But let’s not talk about that via text. How about we meet up and discuss the details?

Quickly, you tapped Send. It was far easier to appear confident via text messages but you also knew that a normal conversation would clear questions a lot easier.

S.D.: Sounds good. I have the weekend off, just tell me when and where.

You: Saturday, 12.30, Sully’s Coffee Shop, Downtown. It’s my break then, so we can talk without me having to tell some overly entitled people that we don’t sell the special kind of cake they feel they deserve.

You almost feared that comment would scare him away but his reply came almost immediately.

S.D.: Sounds great. See ya!

You stared at the messages for a while before forcefully putting the phone away and returning to your chores. No, you would definitely fall head over heels for the dance teacher with a potential criminal past. There was no way.

You cleaned off the table and checked your watch before stacking the dishes onto your tray and balancing it back into the kitchen. You started to put them into the dishwasher but were interrupted in the middle of doing so by Sully. “Hey, Y/N, there is some guy asking for you. You awaiting a visitor?” Quickly, you put down the half-empty tray and glanced through the window in the kitchen door. There he was, leaning against the counter, hands fidgeting with something you couldn’t identify from your position. He was wearing a simple brown t-shirt with some logo on it and a blue short-sleeved button up thrown on to. “Uh, yeah, I do,” you said once you turned back to Sully. Hopefully, you hadn’t taken too long to answer. The older man smiled slightly. “Okay. How about you finish stacking that dishwasher and I’ll escort him to my office?” You sent him a smile of your own. “You are an angel, Sully.”

He laughed out and slipped through the door and you stole one last look at Sam before quickly finishing your task. Afterwards, you put your apron up on the hook, washed your hands and then went further back, entering Sully’s office after knocking on the door. Sam look up at you from his phone, a smile forming on his lips. “And here I almost thought you would stand me up.” You rolled your eyes slightly. “Would I have invited you to my workplace then?” His grin only broadened. “Touché. Now, what do you want to know?”

You sat down opposite to him on the worn leather couch that was probably older than you and leaned back. For the next thirty minutes, you questioned him about how he planned on pulling this off behind Rafe’s back and even though you didn’t like the thought of lying to your best friend, over time you grew more comfortable with the idea of dancing with Sam, so you were ready to pay that price. It was a small prize, though, since no one could expect from you to tell Rafe everything you did. “Okay,” you finally said and your mind switched back to the most pressing question. “There is one more thing. I really don’t know how to ask this and I don’t want to offend you but I think... I mean, I need to know for sure that I can trust you or this isn’t going to work.” You took a deep breath and prayed to any gods that might listen that this would end well. Sam on the other hand just looked confused, maybe a little curious.”

“Have you been to prison?” you asked quietly and his expression fell before it darkened.

“Rafe told you, didn’t he?” he asked and you only nodded. With an exhausted sigh, he rubbed across his forehead. “I did go to prison. I made a mistake and I learned from it and I changed since. No more hanging out with the people that got me into this. I have a serious job and this was the one and only time I have broken the law. Not planning to revisit that in the future.” “That all sounds like a really good plan,” you said, “but I have to know why.” Sam shook his head, with his brows furrowed. “Before all that, I was on top of my game, despite everything life had put in my way. I had won multiple awards, was the owner of an amazing dance studio but I made the mistake to leave my finances to someone else. I was arrested for tax evasion because everything was filed under my own name even though I never took care of it. Still, they had a bunch of evidence against me and since I couldn’t pay the bailment, I went to prison.”

Now it was your time to furrow your brow. “Was there no one that believed you?” He shook his head. “I mean, my brother did, but other than that, no one. I was the perfect scapegoat, with some minor offenses as a teenager but I had changed since then. I had found my passion and a job that could support me and my brother without having to steal food. Still, when I got back out, my image was tarnished, my studio sold and the only people willing to employ me were Rafe’s parents.” He exhaled deeply and leaned back. “Look, if you’re tapping out, I understand.”

You shook your head. “No. I mean, I believe you, so I don’t see any reason not to do it. One last question is left, though. When do we start?”

To say you were excited was an understatement. When you rearranged your bills for the third time in the past five minutes without actually looking at them, you sighed and leaned back, rubbing your temples. Sam and you had agreed on Friday evening, after the studio was closed, since Ava always spent that day with Henry. Your eyes flitted towards the clock. Thirty minutes left. There was no logical explanation for you to be so nervous but still you felt like a love-struck teenager awaiting their first date with their crush. It was ridiculous.

Somehow, you kept your mind occupied for long enough, before driving to the studio. You waited in the car for a moment, then walked towards the building and entered. It was unlocked, as promised and once he heard the door opening, Sam stuck his head out behind the reception area and greeted you with a smile. “Y/N, I’m glad you’re here. Let me just finish the rest of the paperwork, then we can start.” You nodded and went into the dance hall he gestured at. After quickly changing your shoes, you started to bounce slightly, looking around. The mirrors made the room seem almost intimidatingly big. Normally, you didn’t like to look at your reflection and now it stared back at you from two walls but you would have to get used to it.

“Yeah, the mirrors are kind of an overkill, aren’t they?” Sam remarked from the door and you turned to look at him. He wore a grey, knitted pullover and a simple pair of dark jeans. The top of the three buttons on the neckline was opened and it was cut wide enough that you could easily see the tattoo on his neck. You used the moment to study it, finally recognizing the lines as birds. He seemed to understand your unspoken question and rubbed his hand across. “The only thing I brought back from prison. They symbolize the freedom that was taken from me.”

“But now you have it back, right?” you asked because he looked like something was off. Sam shrugged slightly. “Technically, yeah. But as long as I’ll be working for Rafe, I can’t really do much. But that’s okay. It’s better than having nothing.” You only nodded thoughtfully, then decided to switch to another issue. “Okay, so how do we start?” you asked and he sent you a small smile. You could have imagined it but it seemed thankful. “The first dance I’ll be teaching you is the slow waltz.”

He proceeded to explain the steps, encouraging you to mirror him and showing you how to hold your arms. It went surprisingly easy and with his lead, you quickly stopped looking at your feet. It was nice, swaying to the music with him. Yeah, you had made the right call.

Over the next few weeks, Sam taught you several different dances and figures and over the time the two of you grew unbelievably close. After your training sessions, you often just sat together and talked about your own lives. He told you stories about his little brother Nate and you told him about Ava. Never once did you have the feeling that there was something you couldn’t tell him.

You slipped out of your shoes and stretched. And idea popped up in your head. “Hey, Sam?” you asked and he looked up at you with a questioning look. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tomorrow?” The question hung between you for a moment while he stared at you with surprise. “Really?” he finally managed and you nodded. “Yeah:” A smile appeared on his face. “I’d love to. Will Ava be there?” You nodded and took out your phone. “I’ll text you time and address. See you tomorrow then.” Snatching your shoes, you gave him a short hug and left with your heart fluttering in your chest.

You were just done preparing dinner when the doorbell chimed. “Who’s that?” Ava asked, already sitting on the table. “A friend of mine. I invited him,” you answered before taking off your apron and going to open the door. He looked good, not that you had expected anything else. He always did, if you had to be honest. “Hey,” you greeted him cheerily and let him inside. You took his jacket off him and put it on a hanger after gesturing towards the living room. “I just finished preparing dinner, so you’re perfectly on time.” He gave you a smile and followed you to the table. Ava looked at him a little skeptically. “That’s your friend?” Before you could scold her for being rude, Sam nodded. “Yeah, I’m her friend. My name’s Sam. And you are?” he asked and smiled.

“Ava,” she responded and he offered her his hand with a slight grin which she shook giggling. “Nice to meet you Ava. You mom has told me a lot about you. Of course, only good things.” She grinned broadly, then looked at you. “Can we eat now?” You had to laugh and nodded. “Of course.”

After dinner, you brought Ava to bed, the joined Sam on the couch. “I’m sorry. She can be a little... herself sometimes.” Sam only smiled warmly at you and pulled you in. “Don’t be. She’s great. You can be proud of her.” You smiled and looked towards the door of her room. “I am.” The next few minutes were spent in comfortable silence. You thought about the last few weeks and how close you had gotten. Sure, Rafe was your oldest friend but he was also like a brother to you while Sam... was just different. And since you started to meet up regularly, you had started to notice some of Rafe’s weird behavior you had just waved off before. “Y/N?” Sam asked suddenly and you hummed, turning to look up at him. “Do you want to be my plus one at Nate’s wedding?” Your eyebrows shot up in surprise and you sat up, winding yourself out of his embrace. “You would want me there?” Of course, he had often talked about the wedding but you always imagined him either going alone or already having a plus one.

“Of course,” he replied. “Why wouldn’t I?” Now that he was asking like that, you didn’t really have an answer. “So?” he asked after you stared at him for a moment and you nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to but I don’t know if I’ve got anything to wear.” He smiled fondly at you. “I expected you to say that. Just let that be my concern, okay?” You hesitated but nodded when you saw the look on his face. “Okay.”

From that moment on, he came over more often. You either talked or watched a movie, practiced new figures sometimes. To your relief, Ava and Sam got along amazingly. He always seemed to know exactly what to say to make her laugh.

You finished working through your bills when you heard laughter from her room. Curious, you pushed away from your desk and went over, to find Sam on her floor, Ava in his lap and both of them with a face full of her glittery make-up. He had offered to look after her while you worked through the bills and just seeing them together, full of glitter and carefree laughter made your heart flutter. The more often they spent time together, the more it became clear that he was the type of father you had always wanted for her, the father that she deserved more than anything. Sam looked up at you with a wide smile on his face that made his eyes crinkle. “There you are? Done with the paperwork?” You nodded and returned the smile. “I am. And it looks like you two have fun. Maybe you should wear makeup more often, it suits you.” He laughed at that and Ava joined in. You sat down with them and allowed your daughter to paint your face as well. After a while, Sam left, not before wiping the glittery pink off his eyelids. Once you had closed the door, you helped Ava get rid of her make-up and brought her to bed. “Mom?” she asked as you turned on the small night light in the corner and you looked at her? “Yeah?” you asked, sitting next to her on her bed.

She yawned and stretched. “I really like Sam. He’s nice.” You smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “He is. And I like him too.” She pulled one of her stuffed animals to her chest and snuggled against it. “I wish he could be my dad.” Shortly after you left her room with a knot in your throat.

You stared at yourself in the mirror. The floor-length dress seemed to fit perfectly. Three layers made up the skirt that started high on the waist. The bodice was covered in an extra layer of lace that had the same soft pink color as the rest of the fabric. Some more fabric wound around your upper arms and connected to the sweetheart neckline in the front and back, baring your shoulders but giving you enough resemblance of actually holding the dress up. “Well, what do you think?” Sam asked through the door and you turned to open the door. “It fits perfectly. Where did you get it?” He didn’t answer though, just looked you up and down while a smile formed on his lips. “Hello? Earth to Sam,” you said and snapped your fingers in front of his face.

“That’s a secret,” he answered your initial question with a grin and you rolled your eyes. “Very funny. And you sure that’s okay?” He nodded firmly. “Sure. I asked Elena and she approved of it, so don’t worry. Now, ready to go?” He offered you his arm and you took it with a smile. “Careful, if you act too much like a gentleman tonight, I might get used to it,” you said and he gasped in fake offence. He guided you to the car and opened the door for you despite your protest.

The drive was spent in comfortable silence. You watched the town pass by, tapping your fingers onto your thigh to the quiet music from the radio. Once the car stopped, you carefully gathered your dress and stepped out, looking around in awe. “Wow, this looks amazing.” Sam only smiled and offered you his arm again which you took, leading you towards the church in which the ceremony would be held.

You looked around. The ceremony itself had been amazing and you remembered Sam’s proud grin when his brother and now-sister-in-law exchanged their vows and rings. You smiled as you watched him talk to the couple now and took a sip from your glass. He looked over and a strange expression crossed his face for only a second, before he smiled and waved at you to come over. Hesitantly, you followed the gesture and offered the bride and groom your hand. “Hi, I’m Y/N,” you said and shook their hands. “Nice to finally meet you,” Nate said after they introduced themselves and you raised an eyebrow in question. “Seems like you’ve been looking forward to it,” you replied and the confusion must have been very visible on your face.

“Uh, yeah, Sam told us that you were coming and... how you met and stuff.” Nate looked over your shoulder and you turned around, too, to see Sam abruptly cutting off whatever gesture he had made. “Alright,” you said, “well, it was nice to meet you but I don’t want to keep your attention for too long. I’ll be on the balcony for some fresh air if anyone needs me.” After congratulating them again, you turned and walked outside where you leaned against the banister to overlook the garden. Shortly after, steps approached you and someone leaned against the cold stone next to you, mimicking your pose. “It’s nice out here, right?” Sam said and you hummed in agreement, subconsciously swirling the glass in your hand and watching the liquid follow the motion. “Is everything alright?” he asked after a moment of silence and you nodded. “On my side at least. You have been acting weird back there. Care to let me in on the big secret?”

Now you turned your head and looked at him. You rarely challenged people, only if you were comfortable around them and it surprised you how much it bothered you that he wasn’t talking to you about whatever was wrong? “Look, if you’re embarrassed because your brother told me you talked about me... I don’t get it. I mean, you couldn’t have just brought a random girl you met on the streets to your brother’s wedding, right? So what’s the problem?” He sighed and looked down, letting his eyes traced the shapes of the garden. “The problem isn’t that we talked about you but why we did. I didn’t just tell them about you because of the wedding but... because you are important to me.” You tilted your head and reached over, placing your free hand on his folded ones and squeezed it slightly. “I still don’t get why that is a problem.” Now he looked at you, clearly bothered by something and his gaze wandered across your face. Suddenly, he stepped in close and you looked up at him with surprise. “Sam?” you asked but then he leaned down and pressed his lips onto yours.

At first, you were almost frozen, except for your heart that started to hammer against your ribcage like a racehorse but then you melted against him, cautiously testing the new waters he had pulled you into. The kiss ended as abruptly as it had started and there was something dark in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “Please just forget about it.” The he stepped back and hurried inside, leaving you behind on the balcony. Now that the warmth from his body was gone, you suddenly grew cold and once you gathered yourself, you followed him inside.

Even though you searched everywhere you could think of, he was nowhere to be found. In the end, you approached Nate and Elena who were currently eating. “Sorry to interrupt you but have you seen Sam anywhere?” you asked and they exchanged a look. “Not since he followed you,” Nate replied and you nodded, frustration and disappointment settling into your stomach in a tight knot. “Okay. Well, I’m sorry but I have to go already. I hope you enjoy the rest of the wedding. In case you find him anywhere, could you please tell him not to expect me on Friday?” They nodded and Elena wanted to speak up, her expression worried but you waved her off. “I’m alright, I just got a call from my daughter. I’m sure we will see each other again someday.”

With that, you hurried out of the building. Though you were sorry for getting them into it, the words had slipped before you could stop them. You called for a taxi and tried to sort out the evening for the drive home.

It had been a week since the wedding and you had been ignoring Sam’s texts since then. At least he was wise enough not to show up at your apartment. You didn’t know what you would do since you weren’t even sure what had happened. Still, you were frustrated and angry at him for just leaving you there without a word and trail to follow. The biggest part of the problem was that you had finally felt a sliver of hope. Your love life hadn’t been great, the first man you had ever loved was Ava’s father and he had dumped you once you found out you were pregnant. Every man afterwards had been scared off by you having a child and then Sam had come along.

He didn’t judge or push, he accepted your limits and was great with Ava, all you ever wanted in a man. And if you were honest with yourself, you already had a crush on the man before you even knew his name. Now, you were falling so hard but it seemed that you had hit the ground and harshly at that. Of course it had to be that way.

When you entered the school for the first time since the wedding, you stayed away from the window. Instead, you sat down at one of the tables and took your phone out as a distraction. “A penny for your thoughts?” You looked up at Rafe and smiled tiredly at him. “Just a stressful week, nothing that would interest you.” He leaned forward and reached out for your hands, taking them in his. “You know I’m always interested.” Looking down on your hands, a sudden realization struck you. Could it be...? Cautiously, you leaned back and pulled them out of his grip, careful not to seem too aggressive and more incidental in your approach. There was a spark in his eyes you had seen often and it fit. It was there every time you had – admittedly without wanting to – rejected his advances whether it was saying no to an offer or stopping him from touching you. His advances. The realization hovered through your mind and you felt as if cold water ran down your spine.

He was into you.

Normally it wouldn’t have bothered you but that spark seemed like a dangerous mixture between anger and disappointment and it made you uncomfortable. Only adding to that was the fact that you had started to actually notice his strange behavior. You kind of always had but never had really thought about it until now.

Before you could say anything, you heard steps and voices from the stairs and Ava ran over to you with a spring in her step. “Hey Mom. Hi Rafe,” she called and he smiled at her. “Hey, Princess,” you greeted her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “How was practice today?” “Great! Nadine said that maybe when we’re older, Henry and I can compete together. You know, as a pair,” she said and beamed at you. You smiled and sent her back to change but before she left she asked “Hey, is Sam coming again on Saturday?” Your heart clenched at that statement and you shook your head. “No, he is busy. Maybe another time.” She made a sad face but left and when you turned to Rafe you almost flinched. He just looked at you, his gaze ice cold and you were almost afraid of him. “Sam? As in the guy I told you to stay away from?” You swallowed but set you jaw stubbornly. “I can make my own decisions, Rafe, I am an adult and my own person. Why don’t you let me handle my private life alone?”

He was on his feet in not time and grabbed you by your wrist, pulling you after him. He went upstairs, into the break room, all while you protested. Once the door was shut, he let go of you and you took a step back. Now you were alone with him and he was blocking the only exit. Considering his current state, you were clearly worried.

“I have done everything for you and this is how you thank me? Meet up with the only person I prohibited you from meeting!” You flinched at his words. “I am not your personal belonging, Rafe!” you replied, louder than you anticipated and he pressed his lips into a thin white line. “I would have given you the world but after all those years you still won’t see that.” He closed in, crowding you against the desk with no way out. Your mind and heart were racing. “Look, if you have feelings for me and I don’t have any for you, I’m sorry. But that is not how love works, you can’t force or buy it. Rafe, please, just listen to yourself. You’re scaring me,” you pleaded and winced when he gripped your upper arms tightly.

Just as you were expecting the worst, the door flew open. “Hey!” Sam called out and Rafe let go of you to turn away. Nadine was behind Sam, her face worried when she looked at you. “Stay out of this Drake, this doesn’t concern you. Or do you want to lose everything again? I already contacted the police that someone in our company is committing tax evasion. With your history, all fingers are pointing at you. You should have just listened to me and stayed away from her.” It was like the last puzzle piece clicked into place.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” you suddenly asked and all eyes were on you. “What do you mean?” Rafe asked and you looked up at him. “You’re the one responsible for the finances. You ruin the owners and take over their schools, right?” Rafe’s face grew cold. “You have no idea how much I hate that you’re smart... it’s a shame, really. You could have had everything but you decided on this?” Steps caught all of your attention and shortly after, police officers put handcuffs on Sam. A detective recited his rights but you stepped forward, ducking away from Rafe who – luckily – didn’t act out now the police were here.

“Stop,” you said and the detective looked at you. “He hasn’t done anything.” The man gave you a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, ma’am but we have evidence. We have records of Mr. Drake spending at least two hours longer in the building each Friday and bills and papers with his name under them from exact theses times. You would have to have a better explanation for what happened.” You looked at Sam. He looked defeated and tired. “I was with him,” you said and his head whipped around to stare at you. You held his gaze for a moment, then looked back up at the detective. “He taught me how to dance during these times, that’s why he stayed longer. I have text messages to prove that we met up every single time. And for the finances... they are handled by Mr. Adler’s own company. Just like they handled the taxes of Mr. Drake’s school and I’m sure they also helped out Mr. Ross, the former owner of the Shoreline Dance Academy. Both were accused of tax evasion and found guilty due to the immense amount of evidence even though they weren’t involved in it.”

The detective furrowed his brow and looked at Rafe. “Is it true that you are responsible for the finances, Mr. Adler?” His eye twitched and you could see the moment fuse blew. As if he was suddenly robbed of all common sense, he attacked Sam out of nothing, pushing you out of the way and into a cabinet. You pushed down a vase which shattered into pieces not far away from where they went to the floor.  Sam, as he was still handcuffed, was tackled to the ground easily. Now he was trying to protect himself from Rafe’s blows as you watched helplessly. The officers and Nadine tried to get them separated but he grabbed one of the shards and swung it at the next best person. In horror you watched as the sharp edges easily cut across Nadine’s collarbone and throat, leaving her stumbling back. As quickly as it escalated, it ended. One of the officers shot Rafe with a taser which – thankfully – took him out.

It was almost surreal. Just an hour ago your world had been fine. Well, it had been okay but not... this. You watched silently as Rafe got arrested – despite his parents’ protests. They had arrived once they had gotten wind of the commotion. Now Nadine and Sam were treated by an ambulance outside. Fortunately, the shard hadn’t only cut through anything other than skin but the paramedics assumed it would still leave quite a nasty scar. Sam on the other hand had been less lucky. The shard had left a deep cut in his left upper arm and he looked pretty beat up. You still hadn’t have any chance to talk to him but you waited in the lobby with Ava next to you. After answering her questions as well as possible, she had resorted to playing games on your phone while you were waiting for the police to take your statement.

Once everything had died down, with the police gone except for the people searching Rafe’s office, you took Ava to your car. “Y/N, can I talk to you for a moment?” He gave Ava a wave and she grinned at him which made your heart skip. “I suppose.” You closed the car door once Ava was inside. Maybe there could be a little bit of privacy.

“I’m sorry for what happened at the wedding, I... I freaked out.” “Really?” you asked with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t notice.”  You sounded bitter but after everything that had happened today, you didn’t care. “Look, “ he said and gently took your hand. You didn’t pull away, even if it was only to feel that warmth again. “I was worried. I didn’t want to get you involved in anything like this. Shortly before, Rafe had warned me that he knew we had met sometimes and that if I didn’t stay away, he would destroy me. I was selfish and still took you with me but... the kiss reminded me of that. I understand if you are angry but I rather had you angry at me than anything else. I had hoped that was it but when Nadine told me he basically dragged you upstairs, I was afraid he was going to hurt you.” He lightly traced over the bruises that had started to form on your wrist after Rafe’s iron grip.

“You’re right, I am angry. But I am even more disappointed. Just when I thought I might have found a decent guy, you pulled this shit.” You wound your hand out of his grasp and he looked at you like a kicked puppy. “You were patient, funny, and great with Ava, everything I would have wanted but then you pushed me away. And I don’t know what to make of it. I’m sick of being someone’s play toy which they throw away when they’re bored. It was the same with Ava’s father and with every guy after him until I gave up. I made it my job to be there for my daughter instead of wasting my time pursuing love that I would never receive anyway and still, after all those failed attempts, I still fell for you like a naive teenager. I can’t keep doing this to myself, so either you tell me what you want or leave it.” He looked at you while processing what you said. “Well, if it is any consolation, I also fell for you like a naive teenager. I just wanted to keep you safe but you know how that worked out.” He paused. “If you still want me, I would love to give this another shot. But make it right this time.”

You looked into his eyes and your hesitation melted away. Curse your weak heart. “Well, it’s not like you should have a hard time in beating your last try, right?” you gave back, barely able to contain your smile. Relief seemed to wash over him and he stepped closer. This time, you felt safe, not like you had with Rafe. You knew that Sam wouldn’t hurt you. When he kissed you this time, you melted against him easily without the hesitation and carefully wound your arms around his neck, minding his beat up face. When you brought distance between you two, he smiled at you easily. “It doesn’t look like we will have any classes until this stuff gets sorted out. Mind if I invite myself for dinner today?” You smiled at him and nodded before the both of you got in the car. Ava made a face in the rearview mirror when he pecked your lips again and you laughed.

You blinked awake as fingers trailed up and down your arm and smiled lightly. “Good morning,” you mumbled and Sam pressed a kiss to your neck. “Good morning, doll. Ready for today?” You hummed quietly without really answering his question and turned around in his arms. “No. I’d rather stay in bed forever.” You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, his stubble tickling your skin. Slowly, you let your fingers trace the inked birds on his neck, wandering down to his upper arm to run across the scar left there, to the scars on his abdomen.

He had told you the story on your first night together, how he had been caught in the cross-fire while in prison. You had remarked that that seemed like his specialty to which he had laughed.

The peace was interrupted, when the door opened and Ava climbed into the bed. She squeezed herself between you and Sam and both of you had to snicker as she grinned proudly up at you. “Good morning, pumpkin,” Sam greeted her and you watched them with a warm smile.

After breakfast, Henry’s parents picked Ava up to go ice-skating and you settled onto the counter with Sam between your legs. You rested your arms on his shoulders, running your fingers through his hair and occasionally scraping your nails across his scalp.

Since That Day™, everything had seemed to work out. The police had found overwhelming evidence against Rafe and his company. Besides the tax evasion, he was also charged for assaulting both Sam and Nadine and resisting arrest. At least those were the charges you knew of. Once everything had been sorted out, Sam had been officially cleared of all his charges and had received quite the compensation for his prison time. Most of this money had been used to buy the Shoreline Dance Academy which he now co-owned beside Nadine. They had hired another teacher, who surprisingly was also a friend of Nate and Elena. Chloe Frazer not only brought a fresh spirit with her, she also had Nadine quite smitten. In secret, everyone had a bet running on how long they would take.

You also had been lucky. A few weeks ago Sully had announced his retirement and had put you up as the new manager. He still owned the café but wanted you to run it as your own. Today was your first day as the boss, as position that came with a much bigger paycheck.

As for you and Sam, he had moved in shortly after That Day™, much to Ava’s satisfaction. She almost claimed more of his time than you but every time you saw them together you thanked whoever may listen for this wonderful man by your side. Yes, he was rough around the edges but so were you. And few people were as ready as him for another beauty session with you daughter. You still kept on dancing and learning. Sam also had started to teach Ava (and occasionally Henry) some of the more simple steps and figures and she seemed to have fun.

When you got engaged shortly after, Sam made promised you to make it up for your last wedding experience. And he stood by his word.