Loves Me, Loves Me Not [A.D]
Loves Me, Loves Me Not [A.D]
Pairing: Albert DaSilva x Reader
Description: Working as a florist means expressing a person's love for them, writing out their love story in an array of petals and blossoms and messages hidden in between it all. It does not mean falling in love yourself. But then the newsie starts selling outside your shop, and your whole routine goes out the window.
Tags: Oblivious reader, shy reader, flustered Albert, canon era, florist au, flower language/floriography, gender neutral reader, oneshot
A/N: OHHHH you didn't think ol ANGSTY MCGEE could write 10k of sheer toothrotting fluff now didja?? hm?? didja bitch?? well jokes on you cause i wanted to branch out with my reader types and there's nothing i love more than turning the token Tough Guy character into a squirming flustered puddle of a man. anyways i'd say take a shot for every repeated motif in this thing but you'd probably die of alcohol poisoning so just sit back and enjoy the self indulgence!
It is important to note that this happened entirely by chance.
You really can’t stress that enough. There are a thousand things that could’ve caused it, and another thousand things that could’ve led to the whole thing being avoided altogether. But of all things, it had to be chance. And newspapers, you suppose.
Yes, newspapers, har-har. It’s ridiculous, such a simple cause for the whole thing. Something that, again, could’ve been entirely avoided. You know it’s not especially pretty to wrap your painstakingly arranged bouquets in newspapers of all things. It’d be better to use parchment paper – something plain, but rustic, something that drew attention to the blossoms without looking too vulgar, perhaps lined with coloured tissue or lace if you were feeling particularly showy – rather than the same wastepaper the fishmongers used to wrap their catch. But you can’t help it. It’s an in-joke, of a kind; the idea of something growing out of yesterdays news brought you comfort, absurd as that is. So you don’t care if the ladies and businessmen wrinkle their noses at the crinkling paper and running ink wrapped around their lush roses and baby’s breath – they could stand to be humbled some, in your opinion. A rose by any other name, after all.
So, yes. Newspapers. Not the grandest way to start a story, but it’s yours. You like reading them, when the days get long, looking over yesterday’s stories. It became a game, almost – you’d read about the horses favoured to win at Sheepshead and laugh, knowing full well that Admiral Shucker would stumble and come dead last, leaving Zippy Skip to take his first ever victory and render every gambler at Sheepshead penniless. It’s a comfort, knowing exactly what was going to happen. Knowing precisely how the story ended before you read the first line. Which is why, when you ran out of newspapers for your bouquets, you were entirely unbothered – because you knew precisely what you were going to do. You would close for a few minutes, go down Park Row, grab a cheap and terrible hotdog lunch from the park vendor, and then walk until you reached the Promenade, where pack of newsboys would no doubt have stacks of papers ready for the taking as they waited for the double-whammy lunchtime rush of the University and City Hall. And then you’d hurry back, cramming your hotdog into your mouth, and re-open for the lunchtime rush yourself. Same as every Friday.
So you shut your register. You flip your sign to closed. You walk outside and lock the door behind you, and fuss with your pockets distractedly as you cram it back, because that is what you always do at lunchtime on a Friday.
Walking directly into someone’s back, however, is not.
“’Ey, watch where ya-!” Someone snaps as you stumble, tripping over your own feet. You make a rather embarrassing squeak and shut your eyes as you brace for the floor, reaching out blindly for something, anything-
“Whoa – Jesus-!”
You grab the something between your fingers, and then the something grabs ahold of you, hands squeezing your waist tight enough for you to feel rough callouses through your clothes. You open your eyes and – ah.
Well.
That is unexpected.
The boy’s your age, thereabouts. He’s pale, underneath the freckles and sunspots, with eyes cornflower blue. His face is close enough for you to make out the little threads of colour in the iris, like the veins of a petal, and the feather-down of his lashes – orange, you realize, orange and fluffy, like celosia plumes.
You both stare at each other for a moment, as the initial panic subsides. And then you remember the hands on your waist. And you feel the rough wool of a vest clutched between your fingers. And you realize he’s holding you at an angle from where you fell, so you’re dipped just a bit backwards, the way you’ve seen gentlemen dip their lovers for a chaste kiss after they proffer their bouquets.
You clutch your hands to your chest with a small squeak, and the boy leaps back as if you’d burned him.
“Sorry!” He says hurriedly. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t – I wasn’t-“
“No, no!” You say, equally panicked, as you wipe imaginary dust from your clothes. “My fault, entirely my fault, I should’ve been looking, I-“
You both stammer over the other, fumbling apologies and excuses, until you both seem to simultaneously trail off, realizing the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. You laugh sheepishly, and the boy chuckles with you.
“I-I really am sorry.” You say sheepishly. “I, um – people aren’t really around here before lunch, they’re usually working…”
The boy raises an eyebrow and jostles the bag he has slung over his shoulder.
“Well, s’pose I am workin’.”
You frown, glancing from him to the bag of – newspapers!
“You’re a newsie!” You gasp, clasping your hands together. The boy blinks, his cheeks dusting pink, and you bite your lip anxiously – you suppose he must find you quite strange, knocking into him and then getting excited over newspapers, of all things.
“Uh – yeah…” He says awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I, um – I was lookin’ for a new sellin’ spot, heard this place was kinda up an’ comin’, and, uh… I like… Lambs.”
You blink at him, turning to glance at the wooden sign that hangs over your shop door. You’d always loved it, the wee lamb snoozing in a meadow with the words Little Lamb Flowers painted below in curly lettering – perhaps some would find it cloying or childish, but you liked it found it adorable. Still, the idea of this newsie, with his big arms and rough hands and his hat on backwards, being drawn to your shop over a painted lamb… You couldn’t help but find it charming.
He's somehow even redder when you turn back to him, looking at the floor like he’s begging it to swallow him.
“Uh – not, not that I, not to say, y’know, I’m not – I ain’t, like-“ He flounders, and you try not to smile. “The sign’s… Good.”
It’s so awkwardly charming that you can’t help but giggle. He full-body jerks, staring at you with wide eyes.
“Yes, well.” You smile, bunching the hem of your shirt between your fingers. “I like pretty things, I suppose.”
The boy makes a stifled noise, something a bit too sheepish to be a laugh.
“Yeah, s’pose you would.”
“Hm?” You cock your head, and he flushes.
“Uh – nothin’!” He says quickly, looking away with a wrinkled brow, as if the sidewalk had personally offended him. “I just – I-“
“No, um – You’re right!” You try to smile reassuringly – you hope you aren’t making him uncomfortable. You know you can be a little over-the-top, but you wouldn’t want to frighten him off, not after he helped you. And, well – perhaps you were a little intrigued by the gruff, abrasive newsie that liked paintings of lambs. “I mean, I’d hardly be a good florist if I didn’t.”
The boy is silent, glancing around at the quiet street. You fidget with your hands, opening your mouth, then closing it, your body quietly reminding you that you’re supposed to be going to Park Row, because that’s what you do every Friday, and if you don’t get back in time you’re not going to have time to eat lunch, but why would you go to Park Row when there’s a newsie right here? It’s not your routine, perhaps, but – even you can’t deny the convenience.
“Could I-“ You say, stuttering over your words. “Could I perhaps – goodness, this is going to sound awful strange, but, um – I-I don’t suppose I could take a hundred, could I?”
The boy’s neck jerks towards you, hard enough to make you wince.
“Only if you have it!” You say quickly. “I-It is a tall order, if – if you don’t, I can just run down to Park Row-“
“A hundred?” The boy manages to splutter. “What’cha need a hundred for, a pape for every flower?”
You’re sure he’s not angry, just confused – it’s a peculiar request – but it’s enough to make you duck your head anxiously.
“I, um.” You try to laugh, but it sounds a bit pathetic. “I-I like to – wrap the bouquets with them? It’s sort of a… Personal joke, I suppose? It’s silly, sorry, I didn’t mean to bother-“
“No!” He says quickly – you chance a glance towards him, and you’re almost shocked at how scarlet his face has become. “I, uh, no, no, I mean – I’d be a lousy newsie if I said no to a hundred papes…”
He pulls his entire stack out of his bag and pushes it into your arms. You grin, cradling the papers like a prize.
“Gosh, you’re my hero!” You laugh without thinking as you fish the change out of your pocket. “I sure hope you stick around, that just saved me twenty minutes!”
You slide your hand over his and slot the coins into his palm. You try not to shiver as you feel his callouses brushing your skin. He’s staring at you, you realize, mouth parted and eyes wide, and you feel your face beginning to warm up. Goodness, what a state you’ve made of yourself – there’s still pollen on your fingers, no doubt there are stray petals in your hair, and you’ve gone running into a newsboy and taking all his papers and – Lord, this is not how Fridays are meant to go.
“Sorry.” You say sheepishly. The boy quirks his brows, chuckling inquisitively.
“F’r what?” He asks. “Ya just sold me out and the lunch rush ain’t even hit yet, I…” He swallows and tangles his hand around the strap of his bag. “Thanks, uh…?”
“Oh!” You gasp. “I beg your pardon, I’m so rude – [Y/N].” You stick your hand out, curtsying as best you can with a stack of papers balanced in the crook of your elbow. “[Y/N] [L/N].”
The boy makes a noise, half-chuckle, half… Something else, and clasps his calloused fingers around yours.
“Albert DaSilva.”
Now that he’s looking at you properly, not ducking his head or avoiding your gaze, you can make out the subtle twinges of bluebeard-grey that dapple around the ring of his iris, little gleams in the sunlight. DaSilva, indeed.
“Well,” you smile sheepishly, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Albert DaSilva.”
His grip tightens by a fraction as his eyes widen, just a twitch. You frown at his sudden awkwardness, glancing at your hands and-
“Oh!” You pull your hand away – he immediately yanks his own back like you’ve pricked him. “Oh, goodness, I’m sorry, I got pollen all over you!”
Albert blinks, holding up his fingers and peering at the yellow dust clinging to his skin.
“Oh, uh – nah, ain’t no big deal,” he says quietly, glancing at you through his feathery lashes. “I pro’lly-“ he blanches as he looks at your hands. “Aw, shit, I got ink on ya! Ah-!” He tenses again, his whole body going suddenly ramrod straight. “Fuck, I said shit – dammit-!”
You can’t help it – you laugh. It’s all just so absurd, so strange, so not what was meant to happen today. And you like it. It’s ridiculous and stupid and, against all reason, you like it, this bizarre newsboy who’s landed on your doorstep. He watches you as you giggle, positively perplexed, and chuckles awkwardly alongside you.
“I, um,” you manage to say between little giggles. “I-I should really get back inside.”
Albert nods, swallowing hard enough to make his Adams apple bob.
“Yeah, uh – s’pose I should go back to the Square.” He smiles smugly to himself. “Hell, I got a whole day off today!”
You snicker again, feeling just a bit proud of yourself for being the one to make him smile like that.
“Well…” You hug the paper stack to your chest, trying to hide your expression – you must look like a dope, giggling like a fool over a boy you just met. “Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Because it would be convenient, of course. That’s the only reason you ask, for the convenience – it’d beat walking all the way to the Promenade and walking all the way back with a stack of papers, having a newsie so close. That’s why you ask. Not because of lambs or cornflowers or any other ridiculous reason. Still, Albert looks almost surprised that you asked, eyes wide and pretty and nooononono, that’s not what you should be noticing right now!
“I – Yes!” He says it far too loud, and realizes that unfortunate fact quite suddenly, slapping a palm over one red cheek. “I mean, uh, yeah. Cool. Sounds good.”
You bounce on your toes and offer him another sheepish farewell before ducking back into your shop, feeling far too warm despite the breezy spring weather – and you realize with a twinge of fear that your routine is about to become very, very different, in ways that you can’t possibly expect.
You bite your lip as you fuss over your arrangements. This was why you always read yesterdays paper, for goodness’ sake – there’s no surprises when you know what’s coming. Now, you’re going in blind, and it’s – it’s scary.
But then you think about Albert. All the little peculiarities you’ve found out about him in the span of just ten minutes.
It could be a bit fun, too, you suppose.
You go on like that for a while, you and Albert. He becomes a fixture of the store, as permanent as the dried flowers in the window, or the Little Lamb sign swinging overhead. You hear him when the door swings open, barking a headline, and you see him through the window, wandering up and down the storefront, his dandelion-mane ruffling in the breeze.
You try not to get to attached. It’d be like naming a freshly picked flower while knowing full well that within a week, it’d be withered and gone. But you can’t help it. You liked your old routine, you really did – you liked the gentle monotony of your cozy little shop, you liked wandering the shelves and fussing over the flowers, you liked making polite conversation with the customers, from the bashful lovers planning a proposal to the suave businessmen looking to surprise their spouse, to even the flustered housekeepers running errands for their mistresses. But now there’s Albert, rough and unkempt Albert, sprouting between the cracks of your life like a stubborn thistle, prickly and rough around the edges, but… Then he’ll hold the door for you when you’re stumbling out, juggling an armful of flowers. Then he’ll persuade some passer-by on the street to stop in the shop after they buy a paper. Then he’ll lug a whole stack of papers over every Friday and drop them off at the door for you, offering you a stiff smile as he tips his cap.
“You’re an angel.” You say gratefully as you press the dimes into his palm. “I used to have to walk all the way to Park Row and back for these. I’d barely have a lunch break at all!”
Albert nodded wordlessly as he fumbled over the coins, almost dropping one before he shoved them into his bag, face flushed and rosy. Perhaps you were being clingy, but you were beginning to get a bit concerned over how red Albert was all the time – sunburn, perhaps? You knew he was pale, but it didn’t seem right for him to be so flushed all the time…
“Try walkin’ all day,” he chuckles, a bit stiltedly. “M’ready t’keel over by the time the second bell rolls ‘round.”
And that sticks with you as you fidget around your little apartment above your shop. You know Albert didn’t mean anything by it – you’d never heard him complain once, not after a long day’s work, not when he heaved a stack of papers all the way down to the Financial District every week, not even when you got distracted by your keys or your flowers or whatever else and went knocking into him as you exited the Little Lamb. Perhaps he just didn’t want to tell you about stuff like that – it’s not like you know him particularly well, you suppose. Still, it didn’t feel right, having him work so hard for so little.
You frown at your butterknife as you prepare your lunch, and chance a glance towards your open window. If you strain your ears over the bustle of the street, you can hear Albert hawking away.
You shouldn’t get attached. You really shouldn’t. You can pick a flower and sear the stems or press it between books or dry it from the ceiling but eventually, it’ll still wilt.
Against your better judgement, you poke out of your shop with a wrapped sandwich in one hand and a tin mug of coffee in the other.
“Afternoon.” You try to smile away the tension in your shoulders. Albert glances over his shoulder, then double-takes, spinning around like a puppet whose strings have gotten tangled.
“Uh – yeah!” He blurts, then stiffens like he’s stubbed his toe. “I mean – afternoon! Again. Not, not that it’s afternoon again, just I – I already – you already-“
“No, I got it.” You say gently, bouncing anxiously on your toes. “Afternoon, again.”
You bite your lip and, before you can lose your nerve, shove the food towards him.
“For you.” You mumble towards the floor. “Y’know, a – a lunch break. Since you don’t normally… Get one.”
Albert stares from the sandwich to the coffee to you and back again. You can feel yourself sweating. God, this was a ridiculous idea. A newsie doesn’t want charity, for goodness’ sake, they just want to finish their shift and rest, like any other working kid in this city, they don’t want someone – waiting on them like a nursemaid, they-
Albert tentatively wraps his hand around the sandwich, his fingers brushing yours as he does so, leaving a little static twinge in their wake.
“Thank you.” He says softly, staring at you like you’re something he’s never seen before. You can feel your face warming up, and you have to force yourself to look away.
“It’s only chicken.” You ramble. “A-And lettuce, I didn’t – I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just-“
“It’s good.” Albert smiles at the paltry sandwich wrapped in parchment paper, and glances up at you with those cornflower eyes. “It’s really good.”
You feel your throat go tight. With stiff limbs, you shove the coffee towards him, a drop spilling over the rim.
“And coffee!” You say far too quickly. “I, um – I hope you like milk.”
Albert cups the tin mug between his hands and blinks.
“It’s hot.” He murmurs. His nose twitches – bunny-like, you think distantly, and then you chase away that thought with a stick because that is not what you’re here to do – and he beams. “It smells good!”
“Oh!” You smile. “Well, um – I hope it tastes the same, then.”
“I ain’t ever had coffee that weren’t stale.” Albert looks at you with a wide grin. “You’re… Thank you.”
You can feel warmth blossoming in your chest, bursting outwards like snowdrops after winter-
“Haveagooddayniceseeingyoubye!” is all you manage to blurt out before scurrying back into The Little Lamb.
Not getting attached, you tell yourself as you sweep the shop floor (to no avail, there’s not a speck of dust left, you’ve been sweeping for nearly thirty minutes now to avoid looking out the window). You are not getting attached.
(But if you chance a glance at Albert sipping his coffee and sighing, or smiling as he savours a bite of his sandwich… Well, who’s to say?)
Despite your best efforts, Albert becomes a fixed part of your routine. You bring him lunch every day. Sometimes you’ll even eat together, leaning against the window display and chatting about nothing at all. You’ll usher him into the shop when it rains (“Honestly, Albert, who would buy papers in this weather?” “Someone without an umbrella, I guess.”) and you’ll show him your floriography books, from Floral Poetry to Les langage des Fleurs (although you try not to read that one too often, since Albert’s face goes all funny when you read the French – perhaps it sounds strange to him). You’ll point out the different meanings, the different messages that can be spelt through each blossom, and he’ll nod and watch you like you’re actually saying something important. It was nice, being able to talk to someone and knowing that what you said mattered to them. You’d even brought him an aloe plant one morning.
(“For your skin.” You smiled, breaking off a leaf and scooping sap onto your finger. “See?”
Albert frowned, wrinkling his nose at the gooey gel.
“My skin?”
“You know.” You gestured to his cheeks. “Your sunburn. I’m sure it’s uncomfortable to be selling like that – this’ll clear it right up! Here, just like this…”
You swept your fingers over Albert’s face, rubbing in the gel as gently as you could, so as not to irritate his skin. He was already going crimson, the poor thing – honestly, you loathed to think about how uncomfortable he must’ve been.
“I – uh – yeah!” He squeaked. “Yeah… Sunburn.”)
It’s stupid. It’s so incredibly stupid, you know precisely how this story will go. Albert’s a newsie, the entire nature of his job is temporary. As soon as the spring crowds die down, he’ll go looking for a better place to sell, and then a better place after that, and another after that. It’s simply the way of it. But selfishly, you like having him here. You’ve grown used to your little lunch visits, to the Friday drop-offs, to his permanently red cheeks and his cornflower eyes. You tried to be sensible, you really did, but Albert had gone and nestled himself in your chest anyways, creeping around your heart like morning glory – and you just hadn’t the strength to cut him away.
Seasons change. People change. Flowers bloom anyways. But you’ve gone and grown around him like ivy on oak, except oak doesn’t get to wander off to greener pastures when it needs to, so… So where does that leave you?
Well, you didn’t know the answer to that question just yet. You suppose you’ll just… Have to cope. So you cope. You go about your day, you tend to your flowers, you arrange your bouquets – and when the Little Lamb sign starts creaking around a patch of rust, you fix that, too.
Replacing the chains is always a pain. It’s finicky work, and you hate having to use the stepladder on the street – it sways with every little breeze, teetering left and right as you sway for balance. You grit your teeth and tighten the chain link around the clasp in the sign, gripping your pliers with white knuckles and pointedly ignoring the painted dandelion in the corner of the sign, absolutely not thinking about what the fluffy orange centre reminds you of.
“Right.” You mutter as you pull gently on the chain. It holds secure, without a creak, and you smile to yourself. “Job done.”
And now to-
“Extry, extry, sweetheart leaves idiot gawkin’ on the sidewalk, read all about it!”
You shriek at the sudden noise, the stepladder lurching beneath you as you stumble backwards, and the sign’s slipped out from under your grasp and your pliers have gone flying and now you’re falling and God, this is why you hate chain-repair days-!
You land with a soft – soft? – flop, a firm something stumbling beneath you as it braces, holding you close. Arms, you realize. Strong, bare arms, which is ridiculous because only a fool wouldn’t wear sleeves in spring, and-
Oh.
Oh, dear.
You glance up, your nose bumping against another, as your eyes meet cornflower blue.
“Y’okay?” Albert asks hurriedly. “I was gonna wait, y’looked busy, but fuckin’ Racer, he’s… Um…”
His rambling begins to slow as he peers down at you, and you’re overcome with a very silly urge to trace a fingertip over his freckles.
“Hi.” Albert says quietly, close enough for you to feel his whisper on your skin.
“Oh…” You manage to squeak around your dry throat. “Hi.”
“Oooh, hold it right there, Albie!” You hear someone say, their smile imprinted in the words, and you know Albert’s realized at exactly the same time you have that he is holding you the same way a groom cradles his newlywed. You both make a similar bastardized shriek as you scramble out of his arms and Albert backs away like he’s about to get attacked, holding his hands up in a gesture of apology or surrender or – oh, hell, who knows?!
“Al-bert!” That same voice whines petulantly – you whip around, face flaming, to see another newsie, tall and curly and grinning like a mischievous sprite, who’s holding his hands in such a way that his fingers make a rectangle, kind of like a camera. “I coulda gotten you’s on the front page with a shot like that! Perfect li’l pit’cha o’ domesticity, eh?”
“Wouldja shaddup?!” Albert snaps, and you don’t have to turn around to know his face is redder than a rosebud. “God, this is why-!”
“Racetrack Higgins, m’darlin’!” The other boy says just on the verge of obnoxiously, striding up to you and proffering his hand with an exaggerated bow. “A veritable pleasure to meet’cha!”
You can’t help laughing awkwardly at the way he stretches his voice over the unfamiliar words – very-table play-sure – and slip your hand into his.
“And, um, you as well, Mister Hig-“
You barely finish before he’s pressing the back of your hand to his mouth with an over-the-top smack of his lips. You squeak and yank your hand away hard enough to make you stumble, bumping into Albert’s front.
“Race!”
“Aw, was that Mister Higginsya called me?” Racetrack – Racetrack, what a peculiar name – grins at you, and you feel rather like a lamb about to be eaten. “Albie, ya hit it outta the park w’this one!”
“Oh, just-!” Albert slaps his shoulder, forcing the other boy away from you. “Lay off’a them, wouldja?!”
“M’only bein’ a gent, Albie! Maybe y’should learn a thing or two, might impress ‘em-!”
“Racer, if you don’t stop talkin’ right now-!”
“Well, whateva’ happened t’romance-!”
You watch, dumbfounded, as the two begin to scuffle, jabbing elbows and kicking shins until Albert manages to lock Race’s head under his arm and Race is snapping his teeth to try and bite at Albert’s wrist (“Ah, ya shit, get offa me!” “Y’gerroffa-mm!” “Quit talkin’ w’my hand in ya mouth, ya freak!”), and then they spin awkwardly in your direction, tangled in their playfighting, and realize you’re still stood there watching.
“Hello.” You wave your hand awkwardly. With the decency to look a little bit ashamed, Race spits out Albert’s wrist.
“Sorry to cause a scene, darlin’!” He laughs sheepishly. “Only that Albert talks about this place so much, I had to see it for myself – and c’mon, have you seen the fella?” He gestures vaguely in Albert’s direction. “Fuckin’ brute. Only natural for him to start wailin’ on a guy, y’know?” He twirls his finger around his temple. “Unhinged.”
“I – Race!” Albert yelps. “Don’t say shit like – stuff like-!”
You laugh, and the two go quiet.
“That’s funny,” you smile, hoping to make a good impression after – all that. “I can see why you’re such good friends.”
“Uh.” Race blinks owlishly. “I weren’t jokin’. He stole my cigar this morning.”
You frown.
“Albert doesn’t smoke.”
“Well – yeah.” Says Race, like it’s obvious. “He just… Takes shit.”
You laugh at his joke, rolling your eyes.
“Yep, that’s Albert!” You giggle. “Reeaaal barbarian, huh?”
Race stares from you to Albert, who’s blush is growing darker by the second.
“What kinda fuckin’ witchcraft have you been sellin’ this kid-“
“Park!” Albert yells, clutching at his friend’s collar as if Race were a priest offering salvation. You stall, taken off guard again – truly, what is happening today? – when Race snaps his fingers with a smile.
“Oh, yeah!” He grins, digging his elbow into Albert’s side. “Yeah, that’s what we came for, ain’t it, Albie?”
Albert’s face drops, as if he’s suddenly realized something terrible.
“Wait, noooo,” he hisses, tugging at Race’s sleeve. “Nonono, Race-!”
“What you came for?” You ask curiously. Of course, it’s Sunday – everywhere’s closed for the Church services, that’s why you chose to do the repairs today. They couldn’t be here to sell. Perhaps they were buying flowers for a sweetheart? You felt your stomach drop. Please don’t let Albert be here for flowers.
“Well,” Race drawls as Albert yanks desperately on his sleeve. “We was just in the neighbourhood, y’know, it bein’ Sunday an’ all, an’ the fellas were all thinkin’ we’d hit up the park! And then Albie here-“ he smirks, draping an arm over Albert’s shoulder, who’s staring at the floor like he’s praying for it to eat him, “goes and mentions how close that is to his new favourite florists! So we was wonderin’-”
“Racer-!”
“If this favourite florist o’ his would wanna accompany some humble newsboys,” he places a hand on his chest and bows comically deep, “to the good ol’ City Hall gardens.”
“Favourite?” You laugh sheepishly – your stomach flips as you fixate on the word. “Well, I – I don’t suppose there are any others, so…”
“Oh, but of course!” Race says emphatically, as if the two of you are telling a joke together. “You’re just irreplaceable, ain’t they, Albert?”
Albert slaps a hand over his mouth and makes a noise like he’s in pain. You wince sympathetically, stepping forward to take a look.
“Albert, your face! Have you been using the aloe I gave you?”
Race’s head perks up like a dog smelling a bone.
“Well, aloe there,” he grins, “what’s this I hear? Givin’ gifts, are we?”
“No, no, not like that!” You say quickly, your voice trilling with nerves. “I just – well, Albert always gets so sunburnt, poor thing-“
“Oh, does he?” Race’s voice pitches high with glee as Albert makes another pained moan. “Well, we can’t have poor Albert getting sunburnt, can we?”
“Racer, I am begging you to shut! Up!” Albert snaps, and you realize – oh, damn it all, you’re embarrassing him. The last thing Albert of all people would want is someone fussing over him in front of his friend.
“Um – the park!” You say quickly, trying to change the subject – Albert shoots you a soft, grateful look, and you can’t help but melt a little. “Yes, I’d love to go, if – if it’s not too much trouble…“ You glance towards your closed-up shop, clicking your tongue. “Would you mind terribly if I brought some work with me? I-I just got some fresh flowers, I wanted to make them into crowns come Monday – it won’t be too distracting!”
“Weeell, we’ll just have to see about that, eh, Albert?” Race smirks, and you frown as you try to decipher what he means – apparently, it’s deserving of a quick smack to the shoulder, though, because that’s precisely what Albert gives him. “Ooh, someone’s testy! Don’tcha worry, I’ll leave ya to it.” He makes his way up the street towards Park Row. “Don’t go gettin’ distracted, though!”
You feel your cheeks warming as he presses on the word, distracted – goodness, had you really been that obvious? – and Albert grumbles under his breath as you duck into your shop for your flowers. You gather the bundles in your arms, your eyes just peeking out over the various blooms, and skitter out the door, not wanting to keep him waiting. You walk in awkward silence, avoiding each other’s gaze as Race prances ahead of you both, and you curse yourself for getting so stupidly attached.
You don’t talk for what feels like ages, not until you reach the park. The newsboys are all eager to meet you, grinning and shaking your hands and making comments that you don’t quite understand, but seem to drive Albert up the wall. You wince every time one of the boys says something to you that makes Albert grit his teeth – you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, but it has to be something.
It's only later, when you’re sat on the grass fidgeting with your flower crowns, Albert sitting cross-legged and stiff next to you, that you just can’t take it anymore.
“Sorry.” You say quickly, stumbling over the words, and Albert looks at you, his tense face suddenly soft.
“F’r what?”
“I, um…” You clear your throat into your fist. “I-I didn’t mean to be so… You know. Clingy? I just – you’re my friend, and I don’t want you getting hurt, I mean, hawking’s got to be hard work, all that walking, and you said you don’t get much lunch-“
“[Y/N],” Albert says firmly, enough to make your voice catch in your throat. He pinks as you look at him and glances at the floor instead. “Don’t go worryin’ ‘bout that, yeah? Just the fellas bein’ jerks is all, never know when to shaddup.”
You hum, not quite a response, and make sure to keep your hands clasped in front of you so you don’t invade Albert’s space. You can feel him watching you, his stare burning your skin, and he sighs frustratedly.
“Aw, c’mon, [Y/N], I…” His voice stops and stutters in his throat. He sighs, choosing instead to knock his shoulder against yours – the touch sets you alight. “You don’t gotta be worried ‘bout that, it… It’s nice. That’cha wanna take care o’me. Ain’t many folks that do, so…”
You smile, warmth blossoming in your chest.
“Well, that’s nonsense, then.” You say matter-of-factly as you weave the stem of a red tulip around your fingers. “Caring for you’s rather easy.”
The two of you go quiet again – a comfortable silence this time, simply basking in each other’s existence. You pluck a lady’s mantle from your collection of blooms, twisting the dusky pink against the red of the tulip.
“Those, uh…” Albert says quietly, so as not to break the peaceful tranquillity that’s grown between you both. “Those mean comfort, don’t they?”
“They do.” You nod, your heart fluttering in your chest – he remembered.
“And the tulips,” he continues, his voice getting a bit steadier, “those mean ‘good health’, right?”
You giggle under your breath.
“Almost. Those were pink tulips – these are red, see?” You hold the crown up to his eyeline. “Red tulips mean, uh – true love.” You have to look away as you say it, can’t bear to look into Albert’s eyes as the word love falls out of your lips. “And I’m going to add some Sweet William, too, for gallantry – the meaning’s a bit more masculine for that one, so if you put them all together, you get…”
Your eyes flick towards Albert, landing on his freckles before you force yourself to look away again.
“You get, um… Well, a hope, I suppose.”
Albert says nothing, only cocks his head towards you in invitation. Keep going. I’m listening.
“A hope for… For someone kind,” you say quietly, “and chivalrous, who – who comforts you and… Keeps you safe.”
You can feel him staring. You grab a Sweet William and start threading it into the crown, out of sheer need for something, anything else to do.
“How d’you do that?” Albert asks curiously. “The crowns n’ stuff.”
Thank God, you think to yourself, eagerly snatching up the subject change.
“It’s quite simple, actually – look, I’ll show you.”
You smile as you press his fingers underneath yours – you so loved sharing your knowledge of flowers with Albert. You were certain he didn’t understand a lick of it, but he always listened no matter what. Like it mattered.
“So, you just twist here,” you murmur as the two of you hold the crown together, “and you sort of – lock it under the second stem there, and you…”
You try to help him weave the stems around each other, your fingertips skimming over Albert’s knuckles, but you suppose doing such finnicky work with two sets of hands overcomplicated the whole thing, because the crown fumbles out from Albert’s grip.
“Ah, shit, sorry!” He winces. “God, it ain’t broken, is it?”
“Don’t worry about it!” You pat his shoulder reassuringly as you rescue the crown. “It’s difficult at first. Oh, I know!” You point at a cluster of sunshine-yellow growing in the park. “Would you grab me those dandelions? They’re much easier to work with. The stalks are more flexible, and they don’t snap so easily – it’s how I learned when I was a kid.”
Albert nods obediently, scurrying off to gather two fistfuls of dandelions.
“There we are – here, do what I do.”
The two of you crowd into each other as Albert follows your movements, looping one stem underneath the other and then weaving it back around the blossom, locking it into place.
“Hey, I did it!” Albert grins triumphantly. You knock your shoulder against his, just as he’d done to you.
“See? Easy.”
You half expect him to leave it after that – most boys didn’t find weaving flower crowns to be a particularly manly activity, and after how embarrassed Albert had been today, you were sure he wouldn’t want his friends to see him playing with flowers – but he stays. He grabs another stem and repeats the movement, chaining them together, one after the other. You smile to yourself – you can’t bring yourself to not be charmed. It’s sweet, how eager he is, the way his tongue pokes out as he threads the stems into loops.
“I just love dandelions.” You say quietly into the breeze, almost unaware that you’d even said it. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
Albert looks up from his work and frowns.
“Seriously?” He quirks a small smile. “Didn’t think you’d like weeds all that much.”
You scoff, the sound drawing his attention.
“Weed is a word made up by debutantes.” You say pettily. “It’s their way of separating what’s common to make pretty things seem prettier. But they’re all plants at the end of the day.”
You glance over at Albert’s clumsy crown and smile, tracing a finger over the fluffy centre of a dandelion.
“And dandelions are so cheerful,” you murmur peacefully, rubbing pollen between your thumb and forefinger. “They grow wherever they like, and no one can get them not to. Ask any gardener – you pull one up, and ten more grow back. They’re resilient. I bet the next time we come back here, they’ll be everywhere.”
You lift a loose blossom to your nose and breathe in the bittersweet scent.
“They don’t even have meanings, you know.” You say wistfully. “Not in any of my books. People just decided, oh, that’s a weed, and now… Now they don’t mean anything.” You brush your thumb over the feathery petals and smile as they tickle your skin. “But they mean something to me.”
Albert’s quiet beside you, and you suddenly feel exposed.
“Sorry,” you chuckle, drawing away from him. “Suppose that’s a bit strange, um – I’ll just-”
You’re about to turn back to your flower crown when a calloused hand slides against your jaw. Your breath hitches as Albert turns your face towards his, his thumb drifting over your cheekbone until it brushes over your nose – and as he pulls away, you see the pad of his thumb’s stained yellow.
“You, uh,” he says quietly, his cheeks going pink in the sun, “y’had some pollen.”
“Oh!” You laugh stiltedly. “Gosh, um – sorry.”
“Nah,” Albert shrugs as he fiddles with his crown. “S’cute.”
You feel yourself going warm, even with the evening breeze. Your throat makes a small squeaking sound, and you try to make yourself focus on your crown when you hear Albert make a dissatisfied noise next to you.
“Problem?” You ask tentatively, and he holds up a little white puffball in response.
“Think this one’s shot.” He mutters, about to chuck it when you grab his wrist.
“Don’t waste it! It’s a clock.”
Albert blinks and turns to frown at the flower.
“Uh…” He tilts his head as he examines the fluffy ball of seeds. “How?”
“No – not that kind of clock,” you explain, “a dandelion clock. Here, hold it here-” You pull the little bloom between the two of you. “We’ll share it, see? Make a wish and, on the count of three, blow off the seeds. Ready?”
“I, uh-“ Albert stammers. “I guess?”
“Great.” You shuffle a bit closer and close your eyes. “Okay – one, two, three.”
You lean forward and blow softly, the tiny seeds billowing away on the breeze. You feel one tickle your nose and you laugh softly, opening your eyes to bat it away when- oh.
Albert’s… Close. Closer than before, even closer than the first time – the naked bud of the dandelion rests between the two of you, the only thing separating your slightly parted lips from his. In the evening breeze, it sways just enough to brush against your lower lip, Albert’s eyes flicking toward the movement, and you can’t help but think about how easy it’d be to just shift forward ever so slightly and-
“Well what’cha waitin’ for, Albie, don’t leave ‘em hangin’!”
You jolt backwards, nearly falling onto the grass as Albert leaps to his feet.
“Racer, I am gonna teach you such a lesson-!”
He sprints across the green to tackle the other boy to the floor, and while you quietly mourn the loss of Albert’s warm weight next to you, you can’t help but be grateful for the distraction – at least this way he won’t notice you flopping into the grass and groaning pathetically.
After you somehow regain your composure (and Albert as appropriately pummelled Racec), he walks you home, the two of you walking dutifully on opposite ends of the sidewalk, as if simply brushing one another’s clothes will set you both aflame.
“I had fun,” you say quietly as you reach The Little Lamb. “Even if it was…”
You try to find a word to describe how being around Albert makes you feel, but nothing seems to capture it.
“Yeah.” Albert nods, smiling sheepishly at the floor. “Um – hey!” He says quickly, just as you turn to open the door. “I, um – I…”
“Albert?” You frown as he flounders. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah!” He nods vigorously. “Yeah, I just – I was wonderin’… Say if I, uh, wanted a flower that – that said, uh…” He stares at the step under your feet so intensely you worry he might shatter it. “That I – liked someone. A-A flower that said I… I really cared ‘bout someone and, and that maybe they cared ‘bout me, too. What…” He swallows, honey-thick, and chances a glance at you through his lashes. “What flower’d I need for that?”
You feel your stomach begin to sink.
Oaks and ivy, alright.
Morning glory around your heart.
“Well,” you try your best to smile, “if you want to be traditional, you’d only need something small – one or two flowers and a couple of herbs. White roses are a good one, they’re very…”
God, it felt like you were choking.
“Innocent.” You manage to say. “Sweet. A sort of – tentative love.”
Albert’s lips quirk into the softest smile.
“Yeah?”
“And – and hyacinths,” you say quickly, because you can’t bear to look at him smiling like that. “Blue ones. Those would work. And then you could cover it all in heather and lavender for good luck.”
“Hope.” Albert says quietly, staring at the flower crowns you have cradled in your arms. You clear your throat and shove yourself against the door, forcing your way inside – you have to get away, you just have to.
“Yes, well,” you slap a tight smile on your face, “perhaps you can come by tomorrow and – and I’ll have some for you.”
Albert stares at you through the threshold like he can’t believe his luck. Your chest aches.
“You’d… You’d do that?”
No, no, no-
“Of course!” You laugh, on the verge of hysterical. “I mean, if you’re going to go – go courting someone,” (the word tastes like ash on your tongue), “then who’s better to help you than your favourite florist?”
Albert blinks, his smile dropping.
“What?”
“Yes, I’ll have the perfect selection for you!” You smile, because you just don’t learn, do you? “Not like it’ll make much difference, of course, they’d be a fool to say no to you…”
“I-“ Albert’s eyes flicker back and forth, as if he’s watching something unravel and can’t quite stop it. “Wait, but-“
“I’ll see you tomorrow!”
You slam the door, and try to shut your stupid, horrid thoughts out with it.
God. You should’ve just gone to Park Row.
You spend that night lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself. It’s pitiful, yes, and painfully childish, but damn it all, you’re sad. You deserve to curl up and wallow for a bit. It serves you right, you suppose, doing exactly what you knew you shouldn’t’ve. It’s better to just stick to what you know. Colours and meanings and silly little facts that no one else but you care about. Getting your papers on Fridays, working alone on Sundays, not going around making lunch and getting attached to newsboys.
Why didn’t you just stick to yesterday’s news? To living in the background? To being the author of someone else’s love story? No one gets flowers for the florist, after all.
But then it’s morning, and… And Albert’s your friend. And if he loves someone, really loves someone, then you’re going to do your darnedest to get that person to love him right back. It’s what he deserves.
“There you are!” You smile as Albert pokes into the shop like a stray who’s unsure if he’s allowed on the furniture. Ugh, damn it all, he’s cute. “I have your flowers right here.”
You present them with a flourish, a pair of white roses entwined around a pale blue hyacinth, decorated with heather and lavender. You’ve trussed them up with lace and pretty pink tissue paper and they look splendid, thank you very much, because Albert deserves the best.
He smiles, something small and private and a little bit sad, and holds them preciously in his hands.
“Beautiful.” He murmurs, looking at you from over the blooms, and you try to keep your pulse from racing.
“Yes, well!” You say quickly, fumbling your fingers over your little pet project. “There’s also, uh-“
You shove it into his vest pocket before you can lose your nerve. Albert blinks, reaching up to brush a petal between his thumb and forefinger, the pads of which come away slightly smudged with ink. It’s a flower – well, not a real one, it’s actually a newspaper you’d fiddled and folded with until it took the shape of a rose, but… Well, you’d thought it’d look charming. Perhaps it was silly.
Albert chuffs out a small, disbelieving laugh, wrinkling his brow at the paper rose.
It was probably silly.
“Any fine gentleman looking to court needs a good boutonniere.” You mumble, a bit defeated. Ridiculous.
“I love it.” Says Albert, voice tender. He purses his lips, glancing from you to the bouquet for a moment before he plucks a sprig of lavender from the arrangement and slips it behind your ear.
“I – oh.” You murmur, feeling suddenly off-kilter as your cheeks begin to warm – and then your sensibilities come back to you. “Albert!” You scold him halfheartedly, swatting at his shoulder. “This is supposed to be for your sweetheart, you shouldn’t just go around wasting it! Go on, now, tell them what you want to say.”
“You’re perfect.” Albert says, then blinks suddenly as if waking up from a dream. “I – I mean-“
“Yes, yes, we can save the camellias for your next gift,” you mutter with a wave of your hand, as if you could brush away all your selfish thoughts. “Off you go, now!”
The next time Albert comes into the shop, you slap a smile on your face and ask him how it went, because you’re a good and not at all selfish friend, and Albert is very pleasing on the eye when he looks so wistfully in love.
“I just – I…” Albert flounders under your gaze, fidgeting with his hands, and your heart aches. Lovely boy, so nervous – you try not to envy whoever gets to see him this way. “What I wanna say – what I need to say-“
He tangles a hand in his puff of dandelion hair and groans.
“God, I just wanna be with ya!”
You’re almost taken aback by how desperate he is – and oh, don’t you just feel terrible now, envying the person who’s driving him so crazy. Honestly, you’re meant to be his friend. You smile sympathetically and pat his hand before you grab a cluster of rockfoil and press it between his fingers.
“It’s a bit peculiar,” you say reassuringly as he stares at the little white bells, “but rather charming.”
Albert makes a wounded noise, staring at you like you’ve just slapped him.
“Yeah, well – you’d know all ‘bout that, wouldn’tcha?” He huffs, more to himself than to you, before rushing out of the store and leaving you with a thousand different questions.
“Good… luck?” You try to say, but he only offers you a frustrated yell in return.
After that, Albert comes into the shop almost every day.
“I’m crazy for ya.”
You’d offer him a yellow pansy.
“I think about’cha all the time.”
You’d smile and hand him a blue salvia.
“I think I like ya more ‘an anyone else I ever met.”
You’d tuck an apple blossom into his vest.
“I’m sure they’ll love it.” You’d say every time, offering him a reassuring grin – and every time, Albert would look at you as if he were drowning and all but sprint out the door.
This goes on for a while – Albert will burst into the shop like a man on a mission, report whatever message he wants to give his love, and you’ll dutifully hand him a flower that matches. You never made him pay – a fact you’d beat yourself up about later in bed, when you’re tired and feeling sorry for yourself – but you can’t help it. It’s sweet, how eager he is to get this right, how badly he wants to impress whoever this mystery person is. You can barely bring yourself to be jealous (which isn’t to say that you’re not, but you at least have the decency to feel bad about it).
And then one day, as you’re fussing over a cluster of stubborn chamomile blossoms, Albert bursts into the shop wielding an armful of flowers. It’s a veritable cacophony of colour, reds and purples and yellows all mixing together in a chaotic muddle of petals, leaves and stamens – and as you note the wrinkles on some of the petals, the bits of blight on some of the leaves, you wonder just how many of the flowers did Albert keep?
“Alright.” Albert says gruffly as he shoves the array of flowers onto your counter. He hovers a hand over it for a moment before grabbing one at random.
“Honeysuckle!” He snaps, shoving the yellow-pink blossom into your hand. “Devotion.”
Before you can ask how many he’d like, he hands you a gillyflower.
“And that – that means ya beautiful.” He picks up stem after stem, slotting them into your fingers. “Pink camellia, I – I-I’m longin’ for ya. White lillies, m’love’s pure, bluebells, my love’s constant, and, um-“ He flounders for a moment, staring stubbornly at the wooden countertop before he shoves a red carnation at you.
“My – m’heart aches for ya.”
You stare at the nimbus of flowers in your hands, glancing from it to Albert. He’s redder than his hair, up to his ears and down to his neck, and he looks downright terrified, fidgeting on the spot, his eyes darting between you and the floor.
“I mean…” You say slowly, and he stares at you with wide eyes. “It’s a little chaotic, but… I can make a bouquet? I-I might have to charge you this time around, ‘cause there’s so many, but-“
Albert shoves his heads into his hands and lets out a noise between a groan and a downright scream.
“Alright!” He snaps, planting his hands on the counter. “What flowers ya got that say I love you, ya stupid florist, now please, God, please can you understand what I’m tryna tell ya, ‘cause I can’t keep on bringin’ flowers t’the lodgin’ house wi’ nowhere to put ‘em!”
You freeze, rigid-still. You open your mouth once, twice, and nothing comes out. Your hands tremble against cool stalks and you realize suddenly that Albert’s muddled bouquet is still in your hands.
“One… One moment.” You say quietly with a raised finger, before scurrying to the door. Cradling your bouquet in the crook of your elbow, you use your free hand to close it, then lock, then latch, then flip the sign to ‘closed’. You take a shuddering breath and turn around – Albert’s still watching you. He’s wide eyed, his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw held tight, as if it’d been wired shut – and you almost laugh giddily because all this time, you’d assumed he was posturing, trying to big himself up because he felt uncomfortable being in such a frilly, dainty shop, surrounded by petals and lace, but no. All this time – all this time – he’d been nervous.
You take careful steps toward him, like approaching a stray dog. His spine goes more rigid with each clip of your foot against the hardwood floors, his entire body bickering between ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ and landing on a confused, frightened ‘freeze’ instead. As you reach him, you pluck a single garden daisy from the fragrant shelves and tuck it behind his ear.
“That, um,” you murmur, realizing a touch too late how close you’ve become. “That means-“
“I share your sediment.” Albert breathes, and you duck your head with a small giggle.
“Sentiment,” You correct – his blush goes ever-darker and, out of fear that he may combust if you don’t, you quickly add, “but yes.”
Albert sways forward, almost unthinkingly, like a reed in the wind. He catches himself and clears his throat, but before he can sway away, you duck forward and, gently, featherlight, press your mouth to his. It’s soft and shy, barely lasting a second – more of a petal-brush than anything else – but the noise it pulls out of Albert – something half-blissful, half-wounded – from deep in the hollow of his throat adds more weight to the gesture than you could’ve ever hoped. The tension rushes out of his shoulders in a heavy breath as he all but staggers, slapping his hand against the counter to keep himself upright and pressing a hand to his forehead.
“Hooooly hell,” he says raggedly. “God, I ain’t dreamin’, am I?”
He says it to his hands, staring at them suspiciously like they’re trying to fool him – you slip your own hand into his and squeeze tight.
“Feels real.” You smile gently, a smile that he returns tenfold.
“God,” he says again, and you’re inclined to agree. He leans in hesitantly, looking carefully into your eyes until you nod, and he kisses you – still chaste and sweet, but firmer than the previous. It’s not a questioning touch, it’s something that roots you to the spot, grounds you, whispers yes, this is real.
Albert’s grinning when you separate. He brushes a fingertip over the daisy in his hair and chuffs out a breathy laugh.
“I weren’t kiddin’, y’know,” he mumbles. “Got too damn many o’ these things.”
You roll your eyes.
“You could’ve just not asked for them.”
“Yeah, well, I tried that, and you thought I was askin’ for flowers anyway!” Albert huffs, pouting at the floor. “The fellas ain’t lettin’ me live it down. Keep sayin’ I’m the one meant t’be gettin’ you flowers, not the other way ‘round.”
You giggle, knocking your forehead affectionately against his.
“So that’s true?” You ask coyly, grinning as he blushes again. “Flowers at the lodging house with nowhere to put ‘em?”
Albert tips his head back and groans.
“They’re everywheeeere!” He whines. “Next to my bed, on the fire escape, in the kitchen-!”
You laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“Why didn’t you just give them away?”
“Wh- I weren’t gonna do that!” Albert says indignantly, as if you’d suggested selling his firstborn child. He blushes once he realizes his overreaction and looks away, pouting at the wall. “They were gifts.”
You giggle, making him groan towards the ceiling.
“This ain’t fair.” He huffs, slumping forward so that his chin rests upon your shoulder. You’re struck by the image of a tired beagle flopping its head on its owner’s lap, and can’t help but giggle again. “I ain’t usually like this.”
With just a touch of hesitation, you reach your hand upwards to fiddle with his dandelion hair. Albert hums, pleased, nuzzling against your temple.
“Like what, petal?” You say quietly against his ear, and with him resting his cheek against you, you can feel the way his jaw clenches.
“Like – argh, c’mon!” He whines. “Y’can’t just – say stuff like that! God, only you…” He mutters petulantly, wrapping his arms around your waist as he hides his face in the crook of your neck. “Swear, if you were anyone else… Jus’ some stranger on the street, I’d have no problem gettin’ ya t’blush, but noooo!” He tips his head back with an exaggerated eyeroll. “No, you just gotta go fallin’ right into me, lookin’ all cute, talkin’ all pretty, makin’ me forget which way’s up!” He glares at you with no true heat. “Unfair.”
“You’re unfair!” You laugh around your astonishment, raising up a hand in a poor attempt to hide your darkening face. “Catching me like something right out of a novel, being so – so…” You close your eyes with a soft sigh and lean forward, bumping your nose against his and savouring the contact. “Unexpected.”
You feel more than hear Albert’s scoff, a warm puff of air against your lips.
“Like you can talk.” He mutters, shifting just enough to nuzzle against you. “Race’s been makin’ fun a’me for days, tellin’ me to get my shit together, but how’m I meant’a do that-!” You laugh against him, so close, the warmth mingling between your mouths. “When you’re always fuckin’ – flower crowns and dandelions and…”
His hands skim over your waist, his callouses brushing your skin through the fabric, and you can’t help but gasp lightly. You’re close enough that the movement brushes your mouth against his, your cupid’s bow just barely catching on his, and another noise blossoms from his chest, wanton and desperate, as he presses your lips together, as if it’s the only thing he could possibly do. You flutter against him, your hands skimming down his shirt, and he hums softly, the noise running through you until it settles inside your chest. He traces the seam of your lips, slow and soft, savouring the feeling, and gently, as if afraid to spook you, brushes the tip of his tongue against yours. You gasp into his mouth, but he doesn’t take advantage – he pulls away, just barely, enough for your cupid’s bow to rest on his bottom lip, not quite breaking the kiss, but not quite continuing. Your eyes slip open – just barely – as his do, the two of you looking at each other for reassurance. He chuckles breathily, looking away in a manner you now realize is shy.
“God’s sake, [Y/N],” he whispers, his lips brushing yours as he speaks, “m’only human.”
Bashfully, all too aware of your inexperience, you nudge forward to meet him again. He hums once more, sweet and low, and presses a rough hand to the back of your head, tilting you just so. Tentatively, as if you’ll fade away if he moves too fast, you feel his tongue brush shyly against yours again. You make a noise you can’t quite describe, something small and soft, clinging to his shoulders while he presses a hand to the small of your back, trading tender, sipping kisses. It’s awkward – a bit foreign, a bit confused – but oh, it’s lovely.
Something sparks as he leans forward enough for you to bend backwards slightly at the waist, supported by his hand – and you can’t help but giggle.
“What?” Albert smiles curiously, the two of you still so close that your nose still bumps against his with every laugh. “Hey! C’mon, what is it? Ya makin’ a fella nervous, here.”
“Sorry,” you smile, and then you realize again, and burst into even more giggles. “It’s just – we did this before.”
Albert blinks at you owlishly.
“I, uh – don’t think we did?” He smiles, brow still furrowed, like you’re a puzzle he’s delighting over solving. “Think I’d remember if we did this-”
“The first time,” you’re wheezing now, because it truly is hilarious, “when we first met, when I fell and you grabbed me, I-“ your giggles trail off as your face begins to warm, “I-I remember thinking…”
You look away nervously, your laughter becoming shy.
“I was thinking it was awfully – awfully similar to, um – to the gentlemen who come into this shop… The way they hold their lovers after they give them their flowers.”
Albert blinks, glancing down at how he’s holding you – one hand behind your head, the other pressing on your spine, the slight bend of your waist – and his face burns red, from his roots to his neck.
“Uh – yeah,” he laughs breathlessly, “suppose it is a li’l… Yeah.” He draws away, making sure you’re upright before quickly stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I-I kinda…”
You smile as he stares stubbornly at the wall, one hand rubbing his neck sheepishly.
“I kinda thought the same thing.” He mumbles. “Not – not when it happened, when it happened I was thinkin’, y’know, wow, this person’s close, a-and beautiful, and – and…” His face looks almost painfully red now, carnation-crimson across the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, um – was on’y when I was havin’ dinner at the lodgin’ house I ach’lly realized that – that it’d – happened.”
You purse your lips into a line, trying to keep your smile from going too wide, and step forward, tapping your shoe against his shin.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he says, ducking his head. “I, um – I-I was pourin’ the gravy so long I spilled it all over the table. We ran out. Fellas all had to eat their chicken dry. Jack still won’t let me pour my own gravy.”
You laugh again, and so does he, less shy and more… Well, he still seems shy, but less scared, if that counts for anything.
“You, Albert DaSilva,” you grin at him, “are not what I expected you to be.”
He cocks his head.
“Well, now ya got me worried,” he smirks, “what’cha expect me t’be, sweetheart?”
You roll your eyes at the pet-name. There’s really no use in him trying to be suave now, not when you knew the truth.
“Big, bad newsie with his sleeves cut off, wandering around in nothing more than a vest and an undershirt?” You ask with an arched brow. “Wearing his hat backwards in spring, like a show-off, snapping at me to watch where I’m going before you go and catch me… And then you go and say I like lambs, like it’s obvious.”
Albert’s face goes almost comically blank as he remembers.
“God,” he cringes, pressing a hand over his eyes. “Shit, I can’t believe I said that. Only even tried to sell here ‘cause I figured it was a butcher place.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He nods shamefully. “Was hankerin’ for a leg o’ lamb, figured if I played my cards right I might land some mutton. Only stayed ‘cause I thought the sign was cute. Jesus, can’t believe I told’ja that.” He laughs beneath his hand. “I like lambs. God, I’m an idiot.”
You roll your eyes at your most ridiculous boy, and wrap your arms around his waist, pulling him close as you nuzzle against his neck.
“My idiot.”
You feel him clench again, as if the words had sent a bolt of lightning through him.
“I – you’re – yeah.” He settles on saying, sounding almost strangled. He holds you, runs his hands down your back, and lets the tension seep out of him. “Yeah…” He chuckles. “Your idiot.”
You both stand there for a moment, enjoying the warmth, swaying slightly as you breathe each other in.
“[Y/N],” you hear him say tentatively, “y’think, maybe – if you want – we could go to Jacobi’s?”
You try to not roll your eyes, because honestly, ‘if you want’, as if you could possibly want anything else. Ridiculous boy. Impossible boy.
“I-I get off work at noon,” Albert rambles, pinching your shirt between his fingers and rolling the fabric, committing every detail of you to memory. “So maybe I can swing by one day when you’re closin’, walk you down… If you want.”
You pull away with an exaggerated gasp and clutch your hand to your chest.
“Why, Albert DaSilva!” You say like a scandalized dame. “Without buying me flowers first?”
He stares at you for a moment as you hold your pose – and then you both laugh, full-bodied and creasing at the sides, and you must look like lunatics, laughing amongst the flowers, with rumpled clothes and messy hair and kiss-sore lips, clinging to each other like you’re about to collapse, but neither of you care. It’s just you two here, unexpectedly, by sheer chance. Chance and newspapers. It’s a ridiculous story, truly, but it’s yours, so who’s to care?
(And if that laughter turns to one, then two, then twenty more kisses – well, who’s to care about that, either?)
More Posts from Amoreva and Others
FEIGNING FOR YA
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CHAPTER 4
pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader
summary: experiencing your new found freedom with luke and co (why does he smile at you like that?)
warnings: not proofread! slow burn, college au, smau, fake dating to dating, cursing, aged up! pjo charcters, parental expectations
a/n: so guess who lied about being back…do you guys forgive me?
series list | next
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When Luke introduced you to just a sliver of what actual freedom, you yearned for more.
Freedom wasn’t running from the cops and partying every night. Freedom wasn’t skipping class just for the fun of it. Freedom wasn’t doing batshit crazy things under the excuse of “free will”.
Freedom was, to you, having fun—being a normal young adult without worrying about your parents’ opinion.
Between the last month and a half of classes, Luke made it his personal mission to let you fully experience your freedom. Though it was proving to be difficult.
Everytime you did something that would cause your parents to turn their faces away in clear disappointment, a nagging feeling pulled at the back of your mind.
For example, this weekend Luke, you and a couple of others went out to a house party. You were dancing with Luke when you felt guilt linger at the back of your mind. To party so carelessly knowing your parents would be disappointed—part of you wanted to forget their opinions and judgement. The other part of you wanted to tone it down at the party; lessen their disappointment.
It was like the devil and angel permanently moved to your shoulders to torment you.
Which is why you were about to do this.
Was it stupid? Yes. Will you get hurt? 100% Did you trust Luke enough? Somewhat.
“I want you to decide what you want to do—not for the sake of your parents or me or our friends. Make this choice because it’s what you want.” Luke called you late, one night. His voice firm, unwavering.
You wanted this.
Alcohol buzzed in your veins; temporarily silencing the devil and angel. The guilt that crept up on you was gone. You weren’t so far gone you couldn’t tell from left and right, but just enough to not feel guilty about anything.
Again. Was it stupid? Yes.
Will you get hurt? Maybe.
Did you trust Luke? Without a doubt.
Chris, Clarisse, Silena, Luke and you, the usual group, were kicked out of study hall, for disturbance of peace or whatever. Classes were canceled due to AC going down and you were going to study? This must’ve been a sign from the universe. Which led the group to a lake.
Now this was “public disturbance”
Tucked beneath the dense forest on the outskirts of campus, laid a cool lake. With the coming of summer sun, this had been a crucial hangout spot.
Would your parents freak about you jumping into a lake with gross bacteria and possible diseases? Absolutely.
Your childhood consisted of more “inside” activities. Rather than playing outside with your friends, scrapping knees, and such—you had the read a book on the couch as the clock ticks drove you insane.
Silena and you stood on the edge of a decently high ledge. Luke was swimming below. He had already tested the depth of the water. Chris’ speaker lit up in different colors as it played the song. His arm around Clarisse as he held a beer.
“Ready?” Silena turned to you. Her cheeks pink due to alcohol consumption.
“Ready.” You squeezed her hand.
The beat dropped. Silena and you jumped. The cold water engulfing you. The rush felt terribly addicting to you, sobering you up all too quickly. Yet the giddiness of it all provided a different high.
You broke through the surface and arms wrapped around your waist to keep you afloat. You weren’t the strongest swimmer. A laugh erupted from the depths of your soul as Luke wrapping an arm around his neck. His smile matching yours. The sun beared down on the lake, glittering the water’s surface.
Since when did he smile like that? Like you were the only person in the world. Like you were the brightest star in the sky.
Clarisse’s shouts of protest pull you out of your head. Chris is carrying her bridal style, a shit eating grin on his face as he jumps in with her. The afternoon was wasted away at the lake, sunbathing, swimming and drinking.
Your head buzzing with dopamine as you walked to Chris’ car. Luke insisted you wore his dry t-shirt. It was baggy and your wet bathing suit would affect it less. He insisted and made the lame excuse of it being boyfriend material 101.
His t-shirt smelled like him. A mix of sandalwood and vanilla, but you could hardly think about it when the windows were down, blasting music. The perfect summer vibes. Your heart beating fast due to the excitement and not anything else.
You hadn’t noticed at the time, but alcohol did more than just silence the angel and devil.
Whatever you had that afternoon, the freedom mixed with the alcohol and pure, raw happiness, you wanted to experience more of it. A time where you can forget about your parents’ and aunts and uncles future judgmental stares and rude comments.
“Y’know, I appreciate you toughing this out with me.” You spoke up one night.
Luke took you out to help you experience more of your newfound freedom. Which actually was just stargazing on the roof of his car.
Well…you supposed it worked. You didn’t care for your family’s opinion at the moment, even though you knew they chastise you for hanging out with the “bad influence”.
“I’m still in it for the trip, sweetheart.” Luke teased. His eyes darting from each star in the sky to your face. You were oblivious to his gaze, focused on the constellations above.
“I mean it. This fake dating must be a huge strike to your charming lady killer aura.” You sat up on your elbows, speaking in a joking tone. You hardly noticed he was looking at you already.
“Yeah, puts a real damper to my chick magnet having a fake girlfriend.” Luke snorted and sat up.
“You’ll be free soon enough.” You rolled your eyes.
A comfortable silence settles over the two of you. You’ve been best friends since freshman year. It was only natural this would happen and besides there is no feelings attached. A little revenge and you still keep your friendship. A damn good deal if you every had one.
This was something you wanted to do. You had to do. To show your parents you won’t take their crap, to show they you’re grown up.
You shout with enthusiasm. Your body sticking out of Luke’s sun roof. The wind catching in your hair as the warm yellow lights of the tunnel illuminated the space. You felt free and unrestricted and awfully happy.
The best feeling in the world.
“I want a turn after!” Luke shouted, knowing the wind was too loud for you to hear.
“No way!” You did hear him.
Windows were down, blasting music.
“C’mon…” He pinched your leg.
“Stop!” You squealed.
You loved the feelings that swarmed in your heart. Only for it to end when red and blue lights and loud sirens were heard. Luke and you knew the consequences of the recklessness, but as you pulled over, you couldn’t help but share a couple of laughs—like teenage girls caught doing something bad.
You’re quite happy you’re in this with your best friend and no one else.
Making new memories with no romantic feelings attached.
It was the best. The best.
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taglist:
@happy-mushrooms @m00ng4z3r @justanotherkpopstanlol @2hiigh2cry @celluifleur @yuminako @pookiebear16 @mxtokko @cxcillia @kai-islost @kidkrowk @iluvpjo @sofiacblair @cherryynovaa @dracoslovergirl @lalloronaisreal @jennapancake @urbanflorals @sweetstime @cherr-y-eji @thatbird-fromrio @itzlilywelch @annispamz @unseriousgirl @hanankhan8
FEIGNING FOR YA
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CHAPTER 3
pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader
summary: easter with your family sucks and since when can Luke read you so easily
warnings: not proofread! slow burn, college au, smau, fake dating to dating, cursing, aged up! pjo charcters, parental expectations
a/n: guess who’s back from my hiatus! can you tell i used a crazy rich asians line. feedback is much appreciated after i took a long break
series list | next
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You’ve said it once and you’ll say it again. Springtime is truly a lovely time of the year, especially late spring. It was a healthy reminder of the college year ending in a month and a half.
That, along with the flowers in full bloom and allergies at a minimum. Luke watched you enjoy the bright scenery racing by his car window. A sigh escaped his nose.
You were in your head. Luke could tell.
He would’ve said something to cheer you up, anything stupid really, but his car was already coming to a stop. The engine sputtered.
“You’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.” Luke gently placed a hand on your knee. The incessant tapping you produced stopped. You figured he was slightly irritated with your nerves.
Cars were lined down the street. You could hear people talking in the backyard. Easter was a big holiday. Though a bunny planting eggs in the yards of homes was an absurd caricature to choose. Where did the bunny get the surplus of eggs? Dollar Tree.
Luke listened to you (which really meant he listened to your Aunt Shelley). He traded in his wife beater and button up for a sage green button up. The colors matched your white dress with patterned green flowers.
Sure, you hated coming back home at times, but you wouldn’t use that as an excuse to not dress up for holidays.
“I know.” You spoke up finally and glanced at him. He could tell you didn’t take his words to heart.
“Believe me.” Luke emphasized with a squeeze of your knee. You nodded your head, internally thankful he decided to accompany you this Easter. “We’ll be okay.”
And it was okay, like Luke promised, at least it was.
“That’s the boy you’re dating?” Your parents had pulled you inside the house. Shock and disappointment written all over your mother’s face. The subtle action of wrinkling her nose told you how displeased she was with this.
The Easter party was outside in the backyard. Your younger relatives were playing outside, running around Luke, begging him to join their games. Music was playing and your aunts and uncles were joking around.
It was a complete contrast to the inside of the house. Your mother had still upheld the rule of that quiet, peaceful environment. The ticking of the grandfather clock paired with the hum of the AC echoed throughout the house. It was unnerving how foreign the sounds of your home had become.
“He is.” You swallowed your nerves and guilt to put on a mask of faux confidence. You switched from hugging your arms to crossing them. “He…he is sweet and kind and treats me right.”
“He is the one who turned you into some sleaze!” She accused and pointed her wrinkly finger at you. Your father grunted in agreement, staring you down. “Do you not care about your future?”
Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you take a deep breath. You weren’t going to let your parents push you to be their “perfect little girl”. You dropped your hands to your sides and stared at your mom’s judging eyes.
All you’ve done is care about your future, your life. It was the constant studying, the constant tutoring kids who didn’t care. Just to make your college resume look like the perfect candidate for some top notch college. High school was so mundane and terrible and you tried to look on the bright side, tried to reason with your parents—your mom’s, decisions.
“I told you to get rid of those friends of yours and now you’re dating the bad influence. The fly!” Your mom reminded you harshly. Always your and your friends' fault for turning out a certain way. Always. “You never listen to me because of them—him!”
Luke was starting to become concerned with how long your parents were keeping you from festivities. Your little sister and cousins have asked him to lift them up with just his arms so many times.
They were getting impatient, waiting for the Easter Egg Hunt to start. The sky has even taken it’s cue to start going to bed (as your little sister called it)
“He is not a bad influence. He doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks.” You defended with a firm tone. “Luke and my friends are not going to ruin my future because I want to have fun.”
“It’s that mindset that’s going to get you homeless!” You left the conversation after that.
Judging stares and faux smiles were plastered on your older relatives as soon as you left the house, followed by your parents soon after. Aunt Shelley was a prominent figure, reveling in gossip and family drama.
Luke wrapped an arm around your waist and kissed your temple. A silent act of reassurance, that he was here. You watched as your cousins and little sister ran around the large backyard, collecting the plastic little eggs.
“Look!” Your little sister presented a shiny pink plastic egg. She smiled, proud of her find. The sun was beginning to set. A range of oranges, pinks and yellows complimented the clouds and the horizons. The lights in the backyard blinked on.
“That’s really shiny. What’d you get?” You crouched down to your sister’s height, entertaining her ego.
She opened it with a small ‘pop’ and inside was money. “I’m a dollar and twenty-five cents rich!” She exclaimed with a happy smile. Your sister proudly showed off her reward to Luke.
Your sister was the only reason you came back home anymore,
It wasn’t until dinner was served that the whispers became prominent. Left and right as you sat and ate, you heard how different you were. How you back talked (back sassed in Aunt Shelley’ words) your parents. How disobedient and ignorant you’ve become and what they would’ve done in this situation.
“How could she talk back like that? My sister only cares for her future.”
“I would’ve made her do online school.”
“Mm, no bad influences. Smart man, Thomas.”
“When children are away from home too long, they forget who they are.”
God, couldn’t they just mind their business?
“Let’s just go.” Luke suggested smoothly. His voice is like caramelized honey amongst the sea of scratchy voices. It made your stomach churn because it was the best thing he could’ve said to you all night (totally)
At this point, Luke could read you like a book. Since the food came out, you’ve been in your head, thinking twice about this act of rebellion. Doubts seeding through your mind. He needed to pull you out.
And as much as you wanted to stay for your little sister, your need to get out of that backyard outweighed it.
The final stop of today’s lovely excursion was the local lake. The sandy banks were warmed by the fading sun. Luke was determined to cheer you up.
Though he wasn’t doing a good job. He left you at the lake alone.
It was a little bit before he showed up again with a flower bouquet, take out and his jacket. “What good fake boyfriend would I be if I didn’t try to cheer you up?”
“You left me for twenty minutes.” You rolled your eyes. He sat down next to you and handed you the flowers. The appreciative smile betrayed your annoyance.
“Y’know, in a way, you did piss off your parents.” Luke nudged your shoulder, changing topic. You ran your fingers over the flower petals. “Like you wanted.”
And that was what you wanted. To get back at your parents, to piss them off, for how judgmental and controlling they’ve been of your life. So shouldn’t it feel good?
Luke kept staring at you, taking in how resigned you looked. Your mouth turned downwards whilst your eyes hid how upset you were at the comments.
“Thank you.” You finally spoke up and placed the flowers in your lap. “I think…we don’t have to continue this anymore.”
You spoke with much thought put into this. The whole goal was to piss off your parents. Why did you need to fake date when you already did that?
“Don’t be stupid, sweetheart.” Luke rolled his eyes and opened up the Chinese food he bought. “I’m still in it for the trip.”
You snorted. Of course he was. “Besides, you haven’t even touched the surface of rebellion. You feel unsatisfied because you planned this.” He made his point by gesturing with his chopsticks.
“You’re not supposed to care about what other people think of you or your actions.” Luke shoveled some Kung Pao Chicken in his mouth. He talked like he was an expert on this. He was, but only to his dad.
“So what now?” What a failure this was.
“I help you experience your new freedom with rebelling.” Luke smirked and offered you some food. “C’mon sweetheart, the least you could do is indulge in my ways.”
“Okay, Master Yoda.” You laughed and took a piece of his chicken. The sky had fully darkened and the stars blinked in the night sky.
“No, no! I’m Anakin! Come to the dark side.”Luke and you look out at the stars and constellations. You lean your head against his shoulder.
“Fine.” You mumbled. “I’ll join the dark side.”
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taglist:
@happy-mushrooms @m00ng4z3r @justanotherkpopstanlol @2hiigh2cry @celluifleur @yuminako @pookiebear16 @mxtokko @cxcillia @kai-islost @kidkrowk @iluvpjo @sofiacblair @cherryynovaa @dracoslovergirl @lalloronaisreal @jennapancake @urbanflorals @sweetstime @cherr-y-eji @thatbird-fromrio @itzlilywelch @annispamz
levii's jeans | art donaldson x reader
warnings: SMUT 18+, cursing, mention of death, other than that pure fluff! this is an au!!
listen while you read! cowboy carter masterlist
The front door creaked open with a heavy groan, hinges warped just enough by time and South Carolina summers. It was nearly seven, the sun starting to melt behind the hills, and the smell of baked peaches and browned butter still clung to the air. You didn’t turn around at first—you knew that sound, knew the lazy thud of boots on hardwood, the way it was always followed by a deeper, familiar exhale.
"Hey, pretty girl."
That voice. Rough with exhaustion, low with affection. You grinned into the sink as you rinsed the last plate, suds clinging to your wrist.
"Hey, sexy," you shot back, glancing over your shoulder.
There he was—sweaty, sun-kissed, a walking southern daydream. Art Donaldson leaned in the doorway like he hadn’t just spent nine hours mending the southern pasture fence. Shirt half-buttoned, jeans hanging low on his hips, hair matted down by his cowboy hat. Lord, he looked good. And he knew it.
He set his gloves on the table, walked over slow, like he had all the time in the world. You felt his eyes sweep over you, the soft hum of appreciation under his breath.
"What’s that smell?" he asked, nudging your shoulder with his nose, his hands already at your waist.
"Peach cobbler. Still warm," you murmured, leaning back into him. "And don’t try to distract me with your hands in my back pocket again, Mr. Donaldson."
He chuckled against your neck, voice all gravel and syrup. "Can’t help it. These jeans were made for my hands."
You elbowed him playfully, but he just held you tighter, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. Outside, the kids yelled something about the sprinkler, laughter echoing off the barn walls. Inside, it was just you, him, and the scent of something sweet.
You glanced toward the window. "We should call 'em in before they track mud everywhere."
"They’ll come in when they smell supper," Art murmured, spinning you gently to face him. His hands found your waist again, pulling you close with a soft insistence that made your breath catch. "Right now, I’m busy."
"Oh, you’re busy, huh?" you teased, letting your arms drape around his neck.
He didn’t answer with words. Just slid his hands into the back pockets of your jeans, pulling you flush against him as he kissed you slow, deliberate—like the whole day had been leading to this moment. The kind of kiss that made you forget the dishes, the sprinkler, the porch light you’d meant to fix.
And then—
"Ew! Moooom, Daaaad!"
You broke apart with a laugh, forehead pressed to Art’s as the kids barreled in, barefoot and soaking wet, each dragging a towel behind them.
"Told you they’d come in," Art grinned, pressing one last quick kiss to your cheek.
"Go wash up! Supper’s ready," you called, still flushed and smiling.
As they darted down the hall, Art leaned in close one more time, whispering, "I'll get you later. Trust me."
You swatted him with a dish towel. He just winked, sauntering off to set the table like the smug, lovesick cowboy he was.
It still feels like a dream, some days. That this is your life now—boots by the door, cobbler in the oven, laughter echoing through the halls of the house Art had once only known through childhood summers. Every July, without fail, Granny Donaldson would bring him here. She’d plop him in the porch rocker with a popsicle or sweet tea, let him chase fireflies until he collapsed into her lap—half-asleep, sticky with sunshine, a gap-toothed grin still ghosting his face.
She’d been the kind of woman who ran the ranch with a firm hand and a warm heart. She smelled like lemon balm and old books. She called him her golden boy and taught him how to ride, how to tend tomatoes, how to tell the weather by the sky. When she passed—just after he turned pro—Art hadn’t cried. Not at first. But when the letter came saying the ranch was his now, he spent three hours alone in a locker room, staring at the tile floor until it blurred.
It was only natural for him to end up here when he finally retired. Tennis had taken so much—his shoulder, his fire, his sense of peace. And he gave it willingly, until there was nothing left but a name in a bracket and a body that ached in the mornings. But it had also brought him the two greatest things in his life: Tashi, his old coach and lifelong friend (now very happily with Patrick, which still made Art smirk), and you—his wife, the only person who made him feel like more than what he’d won.
The ranch isn’t just a home. It was a return to softness. To something earned, not chased. And every day that begins and ends with you? That’s the real trophy.
Dinner is a little chaotic—just the way you like it. Art’s already got one kid slung under his arm like a sack of potatoes, spinning them in slow circles while they shriek with laughter. The other clings to his leg dramatically, demanding equal attention, and he obliges with a tickle attack that ends in a pile of giggles on the kitchen floor. The kids bounce around the table, hair still damp from the sprinkler, cheeks flushed from sun rays and childhood. Eventually, he wrangles them both into chairs, brushing flour off one forehead and plucking a wild dandelion from the other’s curls. He sets the plates down with a mock flourish, tossing you a wink when the cobbler gets an audible gasp from your youngest.
You scoop mashed potatoes with one hand and tap a napkin under your daughter’s chin with the other. Across from you, Art is dramatically cutting the kids’ chicken into cartoonishly small bites, complete with sound effects and mock chef commentary that makes both children giggle so hard they almost forget to eat. Art slips into the seat across from you, that easy smile on his face as he passes the butter for the rolls like it’s the most important task he'll ever do.
"Daddy, why do your arms look like tree trunks?" your son blurts, halfway through his cornbread.
Art raises an eyebrow, flexes—just a little—and leans in. "Because I wrestled an alligator for that fence today."
The kids shriek with laughter. You roll your eyes. "He fixed a post and scared off a chicken. Don’t let him fool you."
Art shrugs, smug. "Still counts."
The table rocks with warmth—forks clinking, stories swapping, feet nudging under the table. You catch Art watching you more than once, chin resting in his hand, his gaze soft and full of something weighty. Something content.
He doesn’t say it out loud, but you know what he’s thinking.
This. Right here.
This is the life he never knew how much he needed.
"Who wants some vanilla bean with their cobbler?" you ask, already reaching for the ice cream scooper.
Two voices chorus, "Me! Me! Me!" as the kids bounce in their seats, bowls clutched in eager little hands.
A few minutes later, they’re curled up on the porch swing and an old quilt, cobbler bowls in their laps, bare feet swinging just above the floorboards. Fireflies flicker at the edges of the yard, and the sky is fading lavender, dusk giving way to the velvet hush of night.
You and Art settle into the rocking chairs side by side, plates balanced on your thighs, each holding a generous scoop of cobbler crowned with slowly melting vanilla. The whiskey glasses clink softly between you, golden liquid catching the last threads of light.
Art exhales, low and content, boots crossed at the ankles as his chair creaks back. He leans just enough to nudge your shoulder.
"You really outdid yourself with that crust," he says, voice warm and a little raspy.
You hum, licking cobbler from your spoon. "You say that every time."
"Because it’s true every time."
The breeze slips through the screens, carrying the scent of honeysuckle and cooling earth. One of the kids lets out a sleepy giggle. You glance over to see your daughter bump her brother with her elbow, both of them sticky and happy.
Art watches them too, then looks back at you. That same look from dinner—like everything in the world could stop, and he’d still be right here.
And for a moment, you let it all be quiet.
Just the chairs rocking. Just the cobbler cooling. Just the love lingering in the air like smoke and the essence of promise.
Eventually, the kids are carried off to bed—sleepy and syrup-smeared, full of stories and sun. You wipe the last of the cobbler from your son’s chin and braid your daughter’s damp curls as she yawns in your lap. Art reads the bedtime book tonight, his voice deep and slow as the kids cuddle into your sides. You sing their goodnight song softly—one passed down from your own mother—and tuck in blankets with whispered kisses to soft foreheads. When your son insists on 'just one more hug,' you oblige, pulling him in tight, while Art straightens the stuffed animals along the windowsill.
You close the door with the practiced hush of parents who’ve done this a hundred times and hope to do it a hundred more.
Back in the kitchen, it’s just the two of you again. The plates are stacked in the sink, the cobbler dish nearly empty, the last of the whiskey poured. You stand at the counter, sleeves pushed up, warm water running. Art takes the towel without asking, drying beside you like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
"Thinking about calling Mr. Sutter next week," he says. "That north field’s about ready for leasing. We could run that hay crop deal we talked about."
You nod, handing over a plate. "Might be time to start writing out some numbers. You want me to look over it tomorrow?"
He hums his approval. "You always catch what I miss."
You glance sideways, smile tugging at your mouth. "Damn right I do."
He laughs—low and boyish—and sets the last plate down with a thunk. His hand grazes your lower back, slow and lingering. You don’t have to look to know what’s coming next.
"You think the kids are really asleep?"
"I think they’re out cold," you murmur, turning to face him.
He steps closer, hands skimming your hips, eyes dipped in amber and mischief.
"Then c’mere, pretty girl. Been thinking about you all day."
And when he kisses you this time—without an audience, without the interruption of sticky hands or squealing laughter—it’s deep and unhurried. Like every quiet thing you’ve built together. Like the kind of love that grows slow and steady and pulls you under just the same.
He backs you up against the counter, mouth still on yours, one hand slipping beneath your shirt, the other tugging you close. You hum into him, fingers curling into the fabric of his tee, and let yourself be kissed like that. Warm. Wanting. Home.
Eventually, you're tugging him down the hallway by the collar of his shirt, both of you muffling laughter like teenagers about to get caught. The bedroom is dark except for the moonlight pouring in through the sheer curtains, and the air smells faintly of cedar and sun-warmed linen.
Art closes the door behind him, and when he turns, his eyes are hungry in that soft, familiar way. Not greedy—just full of you.
"Think I should get you out of those jeans," he murmurs, brushing a thumb under the hem of your shirt. "You know, before I do somethin’ irresponsible."
"Pretty sure we passed 'responsible' an hour ago," you grin, already reaching for his belt. He laughs, kisses your cheek, your jaw, your collarbone.
Clothes come off between kisses, tossed somewhere near the foot of the bed. The mattress dips beneath you both, and he settles between your legs like it’s the only place he’s ever meant to be.
It’s fun, and messy, and filled with the kind of intimacy that only grows from years of loving someone deeply and daily. He makes you laugh when he nearly knocks his knee on the nightstand, and you whisper a soft “bless your heart” into his neck as he groans dramatically.
His hands roam slow—callused palms skating down your sides, thumbs brushing over your hips like a prayer. Your back arches under him as he kisses down your stomach, his name a breathy sigh against the pillow.
"Want me to take care of you?" he asks, voice low and velvet-smooth.
You nod, dizzy and already undone. "Always."
He does—patiently at first, tongue tracing soft, devastating circles that have your thighs tightening around his shoulders. His fingers find their rhythm next, slow and purposeful, curling just right until you’re gasping his name like a benediction. You fist the sheets, hips rising to meet every glide, every press, every flick of his tongue that turns you molten. He doesn’t stop until you’re trembling, crying out with your head thrown back and your voice wrecked with gratitude.
You’re still breathless when he crawls back up beside you, and you drag the back of your hand across your damp forehead, grinning like a fool. You press a kiss to his jaw and murmur, "I would’ve suggested we move down here a lot earlier if I’d known you were so passionate about cowgirls."
Art blinks, then grins, teeth catching the light. "Oh, you know exactly how I feel about cowgirl."
And before you can laugh again, he flips you with practiced ease, hands already trailing down your sides. His mouth finds your neck as you settle into his lap, and you’re both breathless with laughter and heat all over again.
You brace your hands on his chest, rocking your hips just enough to tease him as you sink down, slow and steady, watching his eyes flutter shut and his jaw clench. He leans up to press a line of kisses along your collarbone, then latches onto your chest with a low groan, tongue swirling, teeth scraping just enough to make your breath hitch. He murmurs something hot against your skin—“so damn soft”—before sucking again, then pulls back just long enough to say, “drives me crazy when you ride me like this.” His hands guide your rhythm while his mouth keeps alternating—suck, praise, kiss, filth. He worships every inch he can reach—your breasts, your sternum, the space just below your throat—like he can’t decide which part of you he needs most. Each word falls between kisses, between gasps, until your name is all he can say, all he can taste.
"Jesus," he breathes, hands gripping your hips like he’s hanging on for dear life.
You start to pace yourself now, slow and deliberate, grinding your hips in lazy circles that make his grip tighten and his mouth fall open. He leans in again between bounces, mouth latching onto your breast mid-movement, sucking you in deep before pulling back with a pop and whispering something filthy right against your skin—only to repeat the cycle all over again. Praise, suction, gasped-out adoration. One moment his mouth is dragging over your nipple with aching focus, the next it’s murmuring "you’re unreal, baby, fuck, just like that" into the curve of your chest. Every time you rise and fall, he meets you halfway, a soft grunt escaping him each time you take him deeper.
He’s a mess beneath you, flushed and panting, eyes locked on where your bodies meet. His mouth is far from quiet—he keeps talking, filthy and sweet in the same breath. Telling you how good you feel, how perfect you look like this, riding him like you were made for it. Every time you grind down, he gasps, eyes flickering up to yours with raw need.
"You’re gonna kill me," he groans, voice wrecked.
You lean forward, hands on either side of his head, and whisper, "What a way to go."
He laughs, breathless, but it catches midway when you clench around him. "Just like that, baby," he groans, hands guiding your hips into a deeper grind. "You’re so fuckin’ beautiful—look at you. You’re gonna ruin me." And when you lean down, pressing your mouth to his, he doesn’t stop. Even between kisses, he’s murmuring praise, coaxing your name, losing himself in the heat and rhythm of you. You ride him harder now, bouncing and grinding, letting your name fall from his lips like a prayer.
You feel it building in him before you’re even close—his hips stuttering, his head falling back into the pillow, a low moan breaking in his throat. You watch the tension coil in his body, watch the way he tries to hold off, tries to wait for you.
But you know him. You know that look.
"Let go," you whisper, hips rolling just right, your hand splayed over his chest. "I want to feel you."
And he does—with a strangled groan and a shudder that rocks through him, his hands seizing at your hips as he spills into you, mouth parted in awe.
You don’t stop. You keep going, slower now, chasing the rhythm that still curls in your belly. He’s still hard enough to keep going, to keep thrusting up into you with trembling effort, trying to give you what you need.
You grind against him, one hand slipping between your legs, and he watches—absolutely wrecked—as you take yourself over the edge. The sound you make is soft but guttural, head thrown back, muscles tightening around him until he gasps again from the overstimulation.
You finally sink down against him, chests sticky, breath tangled. He wraps his arms around you, and neither of you says a word for a long, perfect moment.
You collapse onto his chest, hearts racing in sync, bodies flushed and sated.
For a while, it’s just the sound of your breathing, the slow stroke of his hand across your back, the cool brush of the sheets as you both shift into something softer. You press your cheek against his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart under your skin.
He finally breaks the silence with a low murmur. "You’re unbelievable."
You grin against his collarbone. "Takes one to know one."
He kisses your hair. "We should do this more often."
"What, have incredible sex while the kids are asleep and the house is clean? Groundbreaking."
He chuckles, deep and warm. "Okay, yeah—but also just... this. You and me. Like this."
You lift your head, meet his eyes in the dark. "You know we’ve got it good, right? Like really good."
His expression softens. "I know. I think about it every day."
You lay there a while longer, curled into each other, letting the silence stretch. Not empty—never empty. Just full of peace.
Eventually, he shifts to reach for the blanket, tugging it over both of you with a satisfied sigh. You nestle closer, nose brushing his shoulder.
After a few quiet beats, you murmur, "I know you miss her."
Art doesn’t answer right away. His hand is still moving gently across your spine, slow and thoughtful.
"Every day," he finally says. "She’d love this. The kids. The way you bake like it’s a sacred ritual. The porch. The damn cows. All of it."
You tilt your head to look up at him. "She’d be proud of you, you know. You turned this place into something really beautiful."
He nods once, eyes a little glassy but steady. "I hope so. Sometimes I think I hear her voice out by the tomatoes. Or smell her tea on the breeze. I don’t know if it’s real or just memory playing tricks. But it’s comforting either way."
You press a kiss to his chest. "It’s real enough."
He breathes out, a quiet laugh. "She always said I needed to slow down. I guess she got her wish."
"Yeah," you whisper, closing your eyes again. "And look at everything you made when you finally did.
Art’s quiet for a second, then grins. You feel it more than see it—the slow curve of his mouth against your temple.
"How about we make some more?" he whispers, pulling you gently by the hips, shifting beneath you just enough to suggest exactly what he means.
You laugh softly, lips brushing his as you murmur, "You’re insatiable."
"You love me."
"Unfortunately," you whisper back, already kissing him again.
The covers shift. A soft rustle, a giggle, a breath caught between lips. His hands are already moving again—lazy, warm, familiar—and your laughter is muffled against his mouth as he flips you over for the second time that night. The rhythm starts up again, slow and teasing, and somewhere beneath the hush of crickets and the creak of the headboard, one of you says something ridiculous that makes the other laugh so hard you both nearly lose the moment.
But not quite.
Because even in the dark, even between gasps and jokes and tangled sheets, it’s all still love. All still home.
-----
tagging: @kimmyneutron @babyspiderling @queensunshinee @hanneh69 @jamespotteraliveversion @glennussy @awaywithtime @artstennisracket @blastzachilles @jordiemeow @soulxinxthexsky @voidsuites @elsieblogs @deeninadream @nozhdyved @asheepinfrance
it’s…taken me…way longer to type this than I should, atp gonna use text to speech.
I got my nails done for an event and I underestimated how hard it would be to type with acrylics, bare with me about writing ch 5 of FFY 🙏🙏🙏
A SAD SONG
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pairing: luke castellan x daughter of apollo!reader
summary: in which the gods and goddesses were hungry for something new.
warnings: not proofread! tlt/tlo spoilers! major character, death, angst
a/n: inspired by @basicrese post!! i did use some hadestown lyrics/lines from the show, so credit to anaïs mitchell & Rachel chavkin.
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The seeds of doubt sprouted: grasping at his mind, tangling itself through his hope. The Fates whispered in his ears, step after step. It was cold and dark. He never felt more alone.
Where is she?
Where is she now?
Orpheus gripped his guitar tighter. Every step he made felt like he was getting further and further from the surface. He chastised himself at every turn.
Why would he let me win?
Why would he let her go?
Why am I to think that he wouldn’t deceive me just to make me leave alone?
Where is she?
Where is she now?
Eurydice’s words fell on deaf ears. She was desperate to let Orpheus know she was here. Right behind him. She’d always been. She kept staring at the back of his head. It brought immense comfort as they walked and walked out of the Underworld.
They were so close. Eurydice could taste the surface, until she saw the contours of his face and his warm eyes filled with affection. A soft gasp fell from her lips.
“It’s you.” Relief filled his heavy heart when Orpheus saw her. His love. What had he done?
“It’s me.” She committed his face to memory, the warmth of his gaze comforting her. “Orpheus—” Helplessly she reached out, hoping to embrace her love once more. Instead of the warmth she wanted, cold hands grasped her arms, dragging her back to the Underworld.
“Eurydice.” His voice cracked. Frozen, staring at the place where she was.
Thus ended the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. Hermes told tales to entertain Olympus, but the gods and goddesses were growing tired of the same old tales: the same old tragedies. They craved something new.
Hermes gave a small smile and shook his head to the stars. He gave them what they wanted as a new tale formed in his head. It was a sad tale, but he was going to tell it anyway, even if it involved his own son.
Luke Castellan was a hungry young boy. A runaway from everywhere he’d been. He was no stranger to the world. No stranger to the wind.
The daughter of Apollo was a poor girl, but she had a gift to give. She could make you see how the world could be. In spite of the way that it is.
Yet, the son of Hermes had seen how the world was. When he fell, he fell in spite of himself…
In love with the daughter of Apollo.
It was the height of spring when Luke and you fell in love. He was scorned and pitied after failing his quest. Feelings of abandonment, fury and betrayal simmered below his lighthearted jokes and his composed smiles. He learned he could only fend for himself. To hell with the rest.
Until he met you, your sole being made him feel alive and when he fell—he fell hard. He was enamored your bright smile and optimistic personality. You’d caress his hair gently while singing a small tune. He learned to lean on your shoulder when nightmares passed, hoping your light was enough to shine through the darkness that overtook his head, plagued his sleep.
It wasn’t enough.
You awoke to the sound of shuffling. Blinking the sleep from your eyes, Luke was sitting on the edge of his bunk. His shoulders tensed as he held his head in his hands. “Luke…?” Your voice hoarse.
He turned his head towards you. An apologetic smile graced his lips. “Hey…” His voice low, raspy from underuse. He stretched over to give you a kiss on the forehead, keeping you from sitting up.
“You okay?” Your arms wrapped around him. He melted, burying his head in your neck, hiding his turmoil.
“Mhm.” And for a night, your light clouded the promises the deep voice in his dreams offered. It was a temporary distraction, one that wouldn’t last long—one he couldn’t keep relying on.
You should’ve known. Blinded by your ignorance and his empty reassuring words of his health, Luke disappeared from camp. Hit with the reality, you did everything in your power to find him.
But, he did not want to be found. Not by you. He knew if he saw you again, your eyes, your smile—your light would melt his purpose, his mission, leaving him putty in your arms (he missed it.)
Your original camp songs disappeared from the nightly bonfires. Your light faded ever so slightly. Regret, worry and guilt simmering beneath your smiles.
You swore you’d catch glimpses of his curls or his broad frame when you were in the city. You were chasing a ghost—holding onto the love you had for him. The restless nights plagued you, but instead of Kronos’ words, music notes coaxed you to stay up and write.
The sheets of music hidden beneath your bunk. The song for your and Luke’s hearts only. You were holding onto something you should’ve let go.
But, like the tragedy tale of Orpheus and Eurydice you met once again, but not under joyous circumstances.
The Battle of Olympus was treacherous. You kept catching glimpse of Luke—but instead golden eyes replaced the ones filled with affection you used to know.
You saw how the world could be, no longer naive to the truth. Your siblings perished in the battle. Cabin Seven went from being the largest cabin to the third smallest in the span of—gods knew how long. In spite of it all, you saw the beauty after it ended.
A bright light flashed. Exhausted from fighting hellhounds, empousas, telkhines, etc, you trudged your body to the Hall of Gods. Bone collided with the marble floor.
After all these years, you saw your love. Without the golden eyes or scorned look in his face, albeit bleeding, it was him. Your eyes filled with relief and warmth when you saw him, finally.
A soft gasp fell from his lips. He expected hatred, frustration—but found nothing but affection from you.
“It’s you.” You whispered, cupping his face with your battle-worn hands.
Luke leaned in, knowing it was the last time he would feel your touch, your light, your love. He committed your face to memory, so that when he goes—he goes remembering your face forever.
“It’s me.” He reassured, turning his head to kiss the palm of your hand.
So many words were on the tip of your tongue, but they kept themselves from forming properly. All you could do was stare at Luke, at last, after so long. Tears blurred your vision. Luke reached up to caressed your cheeks. Remembering your face with his eyes wasn’t enough.
“My love.” His voice so soft, gentle like he was admiring your light again: getting lost in your songs, melting in your arms and loving like the Underworld was shining.
Luke knew you had a lot to say. Words laced with frustration, concern, confusion, but all meant to be said with love.
“Luke.” You whispered as if your heart wasn’t breaking into a million pieces. Communicating in a silent stare, he felt your words, taking them to heart.
You couldn’t leave him with that and so you hummed.
The familiar notes that plagued your nights emitted from your lips. Luke’s hand dropped form your face with a thud. He shut his eyes and smiled as he listened. And for a moment, just for a moment, it felt like you and him were back at Camp. His head in your lap as you caressed his hair. The sounds of the forest accompanying your singing.
His breath stilled. The cold hands of the Fates grabbed him after you said your goodbyes, but his dead body held your warmth, your light. He remembered your face long after he made it to River Styx.
And you?
You sang your private song again for the world to hear. To keep him alive and you were going to sing it again with your love so full for the runaway.
Thus ended the tragedy of the son of Hermes and the daughter of Apollo. The gods were throughly entertained asking to hear it again and again. Until, it was an old song and they craved something new.
Hermes shook his head up to the stars. Heart stricken with grief and sympathy. It was a sad tale. A tragedy. And he was going to tell it again. The gods and goddesses of Olympus knew how it ended, but they were going to listen again and again as if it might turn out this time.
See, the daughter of Apollo was a poor girl, but she had a gift to give. She could make you see how the world could be. In spite of the way it is.
And the son of Hermes was a hungry young boy. A runaway from everywhere he’d been. He was no stranger to the world. No stranger to the wind.
Yet, the son of Hermes had seen how the world was. When he fell, he fell in spite of himself…
In love with the daughter of Apollo.
It was the height of spring when Luke and you fell in love.
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Hii I’m so sorry if your request are closed, I didn’t see anything saying if they are or aren’t, but I was wondering if you could write Luke Castellan x Daughter of Aphrodite reader. I don’t really have a prompt in mind other than that. If you don’t want to write if or if your request are closed I totally understand and feel free to ignore this.
COLUMBA
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pairing: luke castellan x daughter of aphrodite!reader
summary: you were doomed from the start you were claimed as aphrodite’s daughter. you were doomed from the beginning you joined the hunters of artemis, you were doomed when you saw luke castellan
warnings: pre-tlt, angst, betrayal, alluding to kiss, main character death, spoilers to the last olympian, spoilers to the titan’s curse
a/n: ik this is not accurate to being a hunter of Artemis but i thought it was an interesting concept, so apologies and bare with me on this! also bare with me on columba being a constellation in pre-tlt. it’s all to fit the story and plot. idk if I liked this one as much. lmk if you guys do!
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In every hero story, the protagonist had fatal flaws or in other words weaknesses. Superman had kryptonite. Green Lantern, the color yellow (in your opinion it was a stupid weakness). Annabeth has admitted numerous times her fatal flaw was hubris. Percy couldn’t tell, but his was his excessive loyalty.
And you?
Yours was love and love led to you easily trusting something which ultimately led you to your naivety.
So, you joined the Hunters of Artemis; trying to make the futile attempt to escape your flaw.
“I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.”
Your mother was not thrilled when one of her daughters swore off love and into maidenhood. Additionally, your charmspeak would not be proven useful as a Hunter.
One sacrifice for your life.
You thought it would be the perfect solution to escape your fatal flaw. Artemis required her hunters to reject all forms of romance. If you did happen to fall for a man, you would meet the same fate as Kallisto. If you fell for one of your fellow hunters, you could bargain.
It was perfect.
Until Mr. Greatest swordsman of his time weaseled his way to your heart (again.) The first time was when you arrived at Camp. It was your mother’s revenge: rekindling a past crush you got rid of ages ago.
Luke Castellan managed to flash you one charming smile when the Hunters of Artemis were resting at Camp Half-Blood (much to the displeasure of the hunters).
Your swore your heart beat at least twice as fast as usual when you saw him pass by and flash you a smile. He was as cute as you remembered yet mature and responsible. Quickly, you reminded yourself if you fell—Artemis would turn you into an animal.
“In and out, a week at least due to winter solstice.” That was what Artemis promised the hunters for their duration at Camp.
It only took you a week to fall in love all over again.
After another easy win of Capture the Flag for the Hunters of Artemis, you found yourself in the vicinity of Luke everywhere. He seemed curious. The girl he knew two years ago as the daughter of Aphrodite was now a Hunter of Artemis.
He thought you died due to monsters or refused to come back to camp. Look at you now, a beautiful silver glow and circlet complimenting the beauty you had. Your personality still the same. Aphrodite made his heart beat a little fast when he saw you again.
It was bad. It was really bad.
Guilt twisted in your stomach at the thought of breaking Artemis’ oath. You were not as distrusting and peeved at the thought of men like some of the other Hunters were. You were still relatively new to being a hunter, about a year or so.
You even began to talk to Luke in secrecy, so your fellow Hunters would not pull you away. You knew you fallen for the boy hard when he did some kind gesture. You were still a girl after all.
You should’ve stayed Aphrodite’s daughter. You shouldn’t have ran away from your weakness.
Artemis was supposed to come back the last day the Hunters were staying at Camp. Many girls, like Zoë, were glad to get out of Camp, out into the wild. You…not so much, but it would do you good. Yet, your mother’s plan for revenge was complete.
“Would you still love me if I was a worm?” You asked the night before Artemis came back to camp. Hands twisting in one another as you stared at the moon.
Luke chuckled. The more he talked to you the more he loves your way of talking. He’s heard this question before as a joke from Chris, but the serious look on your face dispels the humor.
“Yes, of course. I’d buy the best damn place for a worm and take care of you still.” Luke reassured and put a hand on yours. Your silver glow fading and fading as your heart beat for him.
“I’m serious.” You conveyed.
“I am too.”
“Luke…I—” You took a moment to compose yourself. “I don’t know what will happen when Lady Artemis comes back tomorrow. She’ll be hurt and disappointed I broke my oath and—and kept this from her. I’ll be turned into an animal when she sees me—she’ll know…”
Luke hears the guilt and panic in your voice. He sees it in your expression. “Hey…hey.” Luke soothed and shushed your worry. “You told me you could bargain if you fell in love with one of your hunters. Maybe…you can do it for this?”
“I can’t…” You denied and shook your head.
“You are the daughter of Aphrodite—surely Artemis will understand.” Luke reassured you and pulled you into a hug.
“I was the daughter of Aphrodite.” You spoke into his shoulder.
“Maybe your mom and Artemis are fighting about this right now?” Luke suggested to try and make you feel better, but he knows better than anyone that the gods and goddesses won’t fight for their kids.
You fell into silence. That silver glow that all Hunters had had completely faded. Your heart hurt with guilt and shame. “Listen.” Luke whispered soothingly into your ear. “Whatever animal you turn into, I will not love again. You will be my first and last love.”
“Luke…you can’t just swear off of love . It’s useless—” You protested. You failed and you doubt Luke would be able to do it.
“I swear on River Styx.” Luke said firmly. The crush that rekindled after so long felt like fire through his and your hearts.
Your first and last kiss was shared by Luke Castellan. It was bittersweet and everlasting.
You confessed to Artemis with downcast eyes the next day. You broke her oath and met the same fate as Kallisto. Aphrodite would be mad at the goddess, but that did nothing to stop her from turning you into an animal.
A dove.
An ironic thing to be turned into.
You were visited by Artemis once more after that crucial day. It was out of pity. The Goddess, herself, knew you would succumb to your emotions as the daughter of Aphrodite. She had warned you once and yet you insisted on joining the Hunt.
You did not deserve a place in the stars, not with your story.
And yet, Artemis pitied you. She forgave you. She ended your life as a dove and blessed you to live in the stars. Just like Kallisto and her son. And soon, just like Zoë Nightshade.
You wondered if Aphrodite wept for you when a new constellation was added to the night sky.
Columba. A faint constellation with the Latin name dove.
Luke stared at the faint constellation as he laid on the battlefield, having stabbed himself. He was to be judged in the Underworld and condemned for all the crimes he committed by being Kronos’ Lieutenant.
Columba was made up of a blue subgiant and a runaway star.
Your story was a reminder that no one should run away from their fatal flaw. That other half-blood should face their weakness head on.
Columba. Luke’s first and last love. The last thing he’ll see in his life.
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FEIGNING FOR YA
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CHAPTER 2.5
pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader
summary:
warnings: slow burn, college au, smau, fake dating to dating, cursing, clarisse x chris, aged up! pjo charcters, yn is older sister figure to percy, luke and thalia are older sibling figures to annabeth, drinking
a/n: not too much today, but the sm posts are cutesies.
series list | next
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cbeckendorf
Liked by yn.ln , silenabeau, and 129 others
cbeckendorf i don’t need to go to a museum to look at art, i have her.
tagged silenabeau
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user1 when is it my turn :/
user2 REAL
jasongrace did you go to the claude monet exhibit?
silenabeau yes! i loved his paintings silenabeau they were absolutely gorgeous racheleliz and you didn’t take me with you? 😔
yn.ln cuties
wisegirl the rings are so cute!
seaweedbrain i can get you paper rings 😎
user3 me when? 💳💥💥💳
lukecastellan posted a story!
jasongrace
Liked by leovaldez, frankzhang, and 23 others
jasongrace late italy photo dump
tagged thaliagrace
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leovaldez i’m hiding in your suitcase next time
thaliagrace 🦞🦞🦞
jasongrace 😀 jasongrace it wasn’t even that bad thaliagrace you were red for days
user4 gorgeous place
frankzhang expecting an Italian lemon for my birthday
lukecastellan
Liked by clarisselarue, chris.rod, wisegirl and 259 others
lukecastellan she made me change shirts :(
tagged yn.ln
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clarisselarue good.
clarisselarue it’s atrocious.
lukecastellan hater 🙄 yn.ln it was
chris.rod the other woman 🥀🥀
chris.rod (it’s me.) travisstoll 😀
yn.ln wait that photo turned out so good
clarisselarue she’s an icon, a legend and he’s. there 🧍♂️
user5 i wouldn’t make you change shirts
user5 GIVE ME EIENE CHANCE 🙏🙏
silenabeau 🤭
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taglist:
@happy-mushrooms @m00ng4z3r @justanotherkpopstanlol @2hiigh2cry @celluifleur @thatbird-fromrio @yuminako @pookiebear16 @mxtokko @cxcilla @kai-islost @kidkrowk @iluvpjo
just finished reading/re reading all your Luke fics!!! love them all mwuah mwuah 💋💋💋
thank you!! I appreciate all the support!!
MY BONNIE
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pairing: racetrack higgins x fem!reader
summary: after a year without seeing her, race is able to see her beauty in the moonlight. he’s able to see her, once again.
warnings: small mention of death
a/n: an idea popped up and i couldn’t stop writing. i don’t think “my bonnie” was an actual sea shanty, so we’ll pretend like it is.
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The Seven Seas are dangerous to navigate with the vicious weather and the creatures haunting the depths of the ocean. From krakens the size of two pirate ships to mythic Scylla to serpents that feed on the mutineers to the dangerously beautiful sirens.
The sirens are most common within the Seven Seas. Pirates are wary every time they voyage across the seas. Race even more cautious. He had been a survivor of a few siren attacks. His crewmates don’t believe him. They laugh and mock because all pirates know…once you hear a siren’s song— you are dead.
The moonlight and stars twinkle in the night sky. The crew mates of the Crooked Star laughing drunkenly. Albert or Romeo had found the alcohol stashed below the deck. It caused for a mass party among the crew.
What were they celebrating? They don’t even know themselves, but everyone loves a good drink of alcohol after being on the seas for so long.
Race was leaning against a barrel. A wooden cup of alcohol in hand with a cigar between his fingers. The lanterns on the ship illuminating the wooden deck orange and yellow. A wide tipsy grin on his face as he watched his crew sing sea shanties and dance.
“My Bonnie lies over the ocean!”
“My Bonnie lies over the sea!”
“Well, my Bonnie lies over the ocean!”
“Yeah, bring back my Bonnie to me” “Yeah, bring back. Ah, bring back”
“Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me. To me!”
Yet, something combated the pirates’ singing. Something magical, enchanting to the ears. Something luring. Race could recognize it within seconds. He could always recognize their songs.
It sobered him up real quickly.
“Sirens!” Race’s voice boomed over the singing. The word sobered everyone on the deck real quick. Wooden cups, empty or not, were discarded. Hands covering their ears. Alcohol staining the deck, but they could get the stains out—if the crew survived.
“Beeswax!”
Again, Race’s voice boomed. He’s learned well enough beeswax can muffle the songs of sirens. If that didn’t work, you better tie yourself to the mast of the ship.
Race was able to shove the beeswax into his ears when he saw his friend, Mush, mindlessly walking towards the edge of the ship. The pirate gritted his teeth and launched himself at his entranced friend.
“Mush, you idiot!” Race shouted with intensity. He would not lose his friends to these creatures. Albert helped Race tie Mush to the mast of the ship.
Once you hear the sirens’ song, you couldn’t get out until they stopped. Race rushed to the railing of the ship. He could see the heads of the sirens, peeking out of the dark waters. For a second, he thought he recognized one. A siren from the last attack he went through. That was impossible though.
Jack stormed to the edge of the ship. His face stern as he held his flintlock pistol. A shot rang out. The heads of the sirens submerged in the water quickly.
Race’s heart was beating against his chest. Adrenaline pumping through his veins. All is calm, but you could never be too sure. Mush’s head lolled to the side as he regain his senses. The other crewmates of the Crooked Star wearily glance around at each other.
They look at Jack for orders. Jack looked at Race. At least none of his friends will mock him for “surviving” sirens now. Davey crouched and put beeswax in Mush’s ears. Thankfully, he was the only one who was entranced.
“Retire to your bunks, keep the beeswax in until the morning!” Jack barked the command and glanced at Race. A silent thank you passing his eyes.
Lanterns were blown out as the pirates dragged their bodies below deck to their hammocks. The hangovers tomorrow would be a lot to deal with. Race decided to stay out on the deck. An exhausted look in his eyes. He picked up one of the wooden cups and filled it with alcohol, well—half way. There was barely any left.
The moon was the only light source he had as he leaned against the railing of the deck. A cool breeze blowing through his hair. Race was with his own thoughts for a moment or two when there was a thump and a splash.
Faintly, he can hear a hum. He can’t hear the tune, so against his survival instincts—he takes out the beeswax. He hopes, he prays.
He can hear, clearly, someone humming “My Bonnie”. The shanty his crew was singing earlier. His heart beats against his chest, for a different reason, not fear, but love.
“You humans put words together that don’t make sense and call them songs.” That only confirmed his suspicions.
He turned around and there, right there, was the dangerously beautiful creature he warns others of. She had the face and the upper body of a mortal woman, but that doesn’t dismiss the tail hanging off the deck. The scales that captured moonlight.
Right there, sitting on the edge of the deck was his Bonnie.
“Bonnie can’t lie over the ocean. It’s impossible.” The siren stated. She’s leaning back on her hands. Her hair slicked back against her head due to the sea.
“Y/N…” Race let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It had been so long since he heard her voice, seen her face, her tail, her beauty. It was his Bonnie.
“Hello, my love.” Y/N smiled.
Race tackled the siren in a hug. His knees slammed against the deck. His shirt getting soaked with the water running off her body. He didn’t care— he was just so happy to see her.
Y/N hugged the pirate back. She can feel the weight of emotions through one single hug.
The siren and pirate first met during Race’s first siren survival. He had been the only one to survive out of a crew of 20. This intrigued Y/N. Pirates hadn’t figured out how to survive siren attacks back then, so she was curious.
Fortunately enough for her, curiosity did not kill the cat. Though Race was weary and young, he wasn’t naive. He knew he should’ve killed the siren, yet he held a conversation with them. Maybe it was the despair realizing he was the only one left or possibly, his teenage hormones that couldn’t resist a beautiful creature. Y/N’s company made his sailing a little more bearable.
They talked, laugh, spoke to each other about their dreams every night. Every night, until Race reached land. Y/N returned to the ocean, but not without leaving Race a gift. One of her scales. It was one of the smaller ones, but it held memories. Memories that Race interpreted they both enjoyed each other.
Race confessed his love the second time he saw her. She accepted. He was still young, early 20s, but now…now that he’s a little older and matured — he knows, he knows his love isn’t some infatuation, but true, pure love.
“I see you found yourself a more suitable, stronger crew.” Y/N stated her observations for earlier. Her and her sisters were close to getting one to feed on, but Race got in the way of that. Not that she could be mad.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Race pulled back from the hug to cupped her face. A million of words being spoken with his eyes. “A year away and I still recognized you.”
“A year away and somehow, I’m still dreaming of when I could see you again.” Y/N admitted softly. She glanced at a soft colored silver chain around his neck. She reached out to remove it from under his shirt.
It was her scale on a necklace.
Race kissed her forehead. “Had to keep you close, somehow.”
The pirate sat down next to her. Legs hanging off the deck next to the scaled tail of his love. It still feels unreal that she’s here. He’s praying he isn’t hallucinating from the alcohol and cigar from earlier. “May I?”
Y/N doesn’t respond back. It was something they both needed after being apart for a year. Their lips meet, a contrast in temperature. His warm lips against her cold lips. The smell of the sea on her skin makes him feel dizzy. If the sea and moonlight were a person, it’d be her.
Her hand cupped the back of his neck, deepening the reunion kiss. They kept kissing and kissing until Y/N was warm. They pulled away, but Race hugged the siren once more.
“I missed you so much.” He reiterated.
“I missed you too, my love.” Y/N said it back.
“I didn’t know you were on this ship until I saw someone tackle their crew mate.” Y/N giggled quietly, remembering the scene from her perspective in ocean. “I hate you for being able to prevent our attacks.”
“Well, I survived two others. I would be stupid to not use this knowledge to my advantage, sweetheart.” Race snickered and wrapped an arm around Y/N’s shoulders.
It was silent for a moment. The couple enjoying each other’s presence. The moonlight reflecting off of Y/N’s scales softly. Race’s body heat keeping Y/N comfortable in his arms. The ship aimlessly sailing north.
“Does the song really mean a woman is lying on the ocean water?” Y/N asked softly. Her curiosity was one of the things he admired about her.
“No, sweetheart.” Race kissed her forehead. “The song is about someone they love caring about the other’s return.”
He paused letting her process. “In this case, us pirates, sing the song in hopes we return to our loved one. Like my captain, Jack, is waiting to return home to his wife, Katherine or my buddy, Romeo, hoping someone is waiting for him at the dock for his return.”
“Or me, waiting to be reunited with you.” Race muttered softly. Y/N glanced up at Race. A small, loving smile on her face as she leaned up to peck his lips.
“You should be singing my Bonnie lies in the ocean. My Bonnie lies in the sea.” Y/N joked with a giggle.
Race matched her smile. “Well, my Bonnie lies in the ocean. Yeah, bring back my Bonnie to me. Bring back, bring back. Bring back my Bonnie to me. To me.”
Y/N leaned her head against Race’s shoulder as he sung the modified words to “My Bonnie”. It was special to them. Only they would know the true meaning.
And when they parted ways, they had a new song to hum when they missed each other. Not a siren song or a sea shanty, just their love song.
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