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nineteenninety-six · 18 days ago

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don’t i know you?

in michael’s early days of working in the pitt where he still get called by his full government last name, teen or younger reader was a frequent patient with a chronic illness. every time reader came in he would “entertain” her with board games, video games, and just talking. years pass and he still thinks of reader time to time wondering. the new social worker for the ED is making introductions and robby thinks they look familiar, it’s reader.

Pairings: Michael Robinavitch & Patient!Reader

TW: chronic illnesses, medical inaccuracies

AN: Just to let you know, if you’ve requested something back in April I haven’t forgotten about you or your request, I’m just struggling with inspiration for it but I will get to it.

Robby first met you on your ninth birthday when you had a severe flare-up and ended up in the emergency room. There, you encountered Dr. Michael Robinavitch, a new addition to PTMC. Having just completed his residency in New Orleans, Robby had settled in Pittsburgh and started working at PTMC.

He knocked on the door of your temporary emergency room before entering and introducing himself.

“Hi there, I’m Doctor Robinavitch. What brings you in today?”

He smiled warmly at your parents before focusing on you, who looked exhausted and tired, with dark circles under your eyes as you blinked sleepily at him. You were wrapped in blankets from home, their bright colours and cartoon character patterns contrasting with the otherwise plain hospital room. A packed hospital bag sat in the corner, indicating this wasn’t your first time in such a situation, and your parents had prepared well.

“Hi, Dr. Robinavitch,” Your mother pulled him aside while your dad got into the bed next to you, pulling you into his arms so you could rest comfortably. “My daughter has a chronic illness, and today is just a really bad day. We called her paediatrician; they said they have no more beds upstairs for her but advised us to come here to keep her hydrated and monitor her in case.”

Robby looked back at you, nodding in understanding. A frown creased his brow, and his heart ached at the pain and discomfort you were enduring at such a young age.

“Of course,” Robby turned back to your mother. “I’ll come to check on you every hour, but let me know if you need anything.”

Your mother nodded with a soft smile before joining your father in the bed, wrapping her arm around you as they cuddled you between them. Robby watched the family for a moment before leaving, allowing them privacy as he moved on to his next patient.

Robby stayed true to his word and checked in on you every hour but it’s not until he’s updating your chart when he realises what today was for you. It was your ninth birthday and we’re in hospital in pain rather than celebrating and so with a double check of your allergens, he closed your chart and sped up to the cafeteria.

Picking up one red velvet cupcake and one carrot cake cupcake, he pays for them and heads towards the exit of cafeteria before his eyes catch on the milk cartons in the fridge and then he doubles back and picks up a strawberry milk and pays for that as well before he heads back down to the ED and to your room.

He knocks on the door and pokes his head through a small gap, smiling when he sees you're awake, "Hello! I heard it's a special day for a special somebody."

You perk up at his words, shuffling up in the bed so you are sitting up straight. You look at your parents with wide confused eyes but they shrug in response, not knowing what the doctor had planned.

"We can't light candles but…" Robby walks through the door, cupcakes and milk on a tray as he sings happy birthday to you.

Your parents quickly join in singing as a smile lights up your face and you beam up at him when he settles the tray on your lap.

"I didn't know what you'd prefer so I bought both cupcakes," Robby let out a laugh as he rubbed his hand on his nape, "I also got you some strawberry milk."

You let out a happy squeal and your mother let out a wet laugh, wiping happy tears from her eyes, "Strawberry is her absolute favourite."

"I made a good choice then didn't I?" Robby asks you and you nod in response.

"Can we cut the cupcake into fours?" You ask your parents, "We can all have some."

Your dad nods and picks up the plastic knife from the tray and cuts each cupcake into fours. He also pierces the straw through the carton for your strawberry milk, your strength still rather depleted enough so you can't do it yourself.

"Thank you, Dr Robina-, Dr Robin-" You stumble over his name, not quite remembering how it was pronounced.

"You can call me Dr Robby." Robby suggests.

You nod with a smile, "Thank you, Dr Robby."

Dana, a nurse who had been at PTMC for a few years longer than he has, flashed him a smile when he left your room and settled into the seat next to her.

"That was sweet of you," Dana told him, "She'll never forget that."

"I doubt that," Robby laughs as he completes some incomplete charts, "She's only nine, she'll forget about it."

Dana shakes her head at him, "Don't be so hasty to brush off your actions and their impact. Think about it, she's just a kid, who's sick and on a day where they would usually be out celebrating, she's stuck in hospital in pain. You made her day, doctor."

Robby blushed, red heat spreading across his cheek and ears at Dana's words.

"Thank you," Robby muttered, still slightly flushed.

You see Dr Robby constantly over the next six years. Sometimes you'd end up in the ED due to your illness, other times you had your appointments with your paediatrician and Dr Robby would always make his way up to the ward to visit you.

Robby brought board games, magazines, puzzles and usually candy to kill time with you. One time when you had to stay in the hospital for a couple of weeks, he had even brought his game console from home to alleviate the boredom that plagued you.

Robby was a comfort to you over the years for your hospital visits, softening the anxiety and stress they usually caused you. That was until your family moved away from Pittsburgh when you were fifteen, heading to another city where there was more specialised treatment for your illness. It wouldn't cure you but it would improve your life so much that your parents couldn't let the opportunity pass.

You cried when you had to say goodbye to Robby and everyone else in the hospital. You had written Robby a long thank you letter where you detailed your first interaction on your birthday and every other one after that, not forgetting a single one and bought him a little bear keychain that he could attach to his backpack.

Robby tried his hardest not to cry when you gave him the letter and the gift but you could see the tears wetting his eyes and the flushing of his ears before he swept you into a tight hug. He didn't know how to form the emotions he was feeling into words; he wanted your new treatment to do as you all wished it would do and he'd never have to see your face in the hospital again but he also didn't want this to be the last time to see you.

After you and your family left, Robby stuck his head into paper work, trying to keep his mind and hands busy and he was only slightly successful until Dana sat next to him, pulling his attention away from the paperwork.

Dana, who had steadily risen through the nursing ranks and was almost certainly going to be the next charge nurse, knew him better than anyone else in the hospital. She knocked her foot into his to get his eyes away from the sheets of paper she was working on.

"Told you so."

"Hm?" Robby looks confused.

"Six years ago, when I told you she'd remember the first interaction you had. You didn't believe me."

Robby let out a huff of laughter, "Yeah, you're right. I didn't think she would remember it."

"You made her day, made her whole hospital visit, of course she never forgot about it."

"She was nine, Dana. I don't remember much from that age, do you?"

"I remember when my family went to visit my uncle and cousin in California for my fifth birthday and he made me Mickey Mouse pancakes with whipped cream or when I was seven and my dad took me to work in the restaurant he worked at and I was crying and his colleagues gave me strawberries to cheer me up…" Dana recalls with a smile on her face, "Moments like that, I'd never forget. Ever."

Robby nods at Dana's words, recalling his own special moments that lingered despite the many years, "Yeah, you're right."

10 YEARS LATER

Robby slipped his earbuds into their case as he walked into the emergency room. It was heaving with activitiy despite the early hour, nurses were tending to all sorts of patients whilst the night shift doctors did their final rounds before they finally signed off for the day.

Dana, now charge nurse, waved him over from where she sat behind the nurse station, clocked into work early as she usually did.

"You see that waiting room?" Dana asked as she scrolled through the emails.

Robby ran his hands through his hair as he let out a scoffed laugh, "Couldn't miss it even with my eyes closed."

Dana laughed alongside him before she let out a hum at the email she just read.

"Anything interesting?" Robby asked, interest piqued.

"We've got a new social worker. Kiara is bringing them down for the shift and for introductions."

Robby knew Kiara had a tough job, parts of it even tougher than his and he had immense respect for her. Most of the time people respected him, or at least his opinion because of his doctor title and gender but the countless times he's had to intervene on Kiara's behalf due to aggression and sometimes outright violence people give her was eye opening.

"Shit, throwing them straight into the deep end." Robby notes.

Dana shrugs, seemingly unconcerned, "Sure but they're with Kiara and she's great at what she does. Whoever they are, they're in good hands."

Robby spots the crowd of nurses and doctors around the nurses station as he leaves a patient's room and he makes his way towards it as he rubs hand sanitizer on his hands. He overhears people introducing themselves and figures the new social worker has finally arrived.

Dana spots him first and an excited smile graces her face as the crowd parts for him, revealing you, the new social worker of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.

Robby blinks at you, your face familiar to him. His brows furrowed as he tried to place your face.

You look over at Dana, a teasing smile on your lips, "Surely I don't look that different do I? It's only been ten years."

Robby looks between the two of you in confusion, wondering how the two of you know each other as the crowd around them departs, going back to their jobs.

"Am I missing something here?" Robby asked.

"Y'know he still carries that little bear you gave him on his backpack," Dana tells you.

Realisation sets in then for Robby. His eyes widen and his mouth drops as he looks at you in shock. He never expected to see you again, and if he did, he'd never think you'd be a colleague rather than a patient.

"You…" Robby tried to form words but he couldn't.

"Hey Dr Robby."

Robby is silent as he steps forward and sweeps you into a tight hug before he pulls away, taking a good look at your face.

"Why don't you two catch up outside?" Dana suggests, "I'll shout if you're needed."

"I can't believe it-" Robby laughs once they've reached the ambulance bay, settling on a low wall, "What are you doing here?"

"I finished my masters in social work and I've been wanting to move back to Pittsburgh for a while, so when I saw this job opportunity, I knew I had to apply."

"And you're doing okay? How's your health?" Dr Robby reared his head, "And your parents, they're doing okay?"

"I'm doing good. I still have bad days but far less frequent then what I used to get and yeah-, they're good. They're selling the house over there and moving back over here. We were always meant to be in Pittsburgh." You smile, "You changed my life, Dr Robby. I am not just talking about taking care of me but the care and time you spent with me, inspired me to become a social worker at a hospital."

Robby stares wide-eyed at you, not expecting those words.

"I wanted to be a doctor like you," You laugh, slightly embarrassed, "I was in a bad time with my illness though, constantly in and out of the hospital and being sick. I was barely attending school as it was but then my counsellor told me about the work social workers do and I realised, I can still help people and make an impact but you inspired me."

This time Robby let the tears fall, shoulders shaking as he sobbed. You pull a tissue out of your pocket and offer it to him, and he takes it with a sniffle.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't think you'd remember me after all these years." Robby wiped his tears.

"I'd never forget you or anything you did for me back then." You tell him, "Kiara was telling me all about you this morning, you're now the senior attending physician, that's amazing."

Robby sniffles the last of his tears away as he nods and stands, "Thank you. For your words, for the little bear keychain, for everything."

You smile at him as the two of you begin to walk back to the hospital, "By the way, my parents can't wait to see you again, expect pie. Maybe even multiple."

#michael robinavich x reader #dr robby x reader #dr robinavitch x reader #michael robinavitch #dr robby #dr robinavitch #the pitt #the pitt imagines

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blood-smiles · 9 months ago

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𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ! ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐘𝐄𝐑 » MAIN PROFILE!! — Introduction!! . Home alone... . what if his darling had a crush? . what if his darling cheated on him?. candy cigarettes . nipple piercing? . reaction to crazy darling . heads will roll (OLD ART) . jealous jealous jealous boy . would Alejandro leave you? . double standard (ART) . only yours . a case of sniffles and kisses -- thunderbolts and snuggles . choco craze . equally obsessed darling . cheater darling pt2 . what if they were pregnant? . for you, the light i bathe in . alejandro lore? character board . cuteness aggression . his reaction to darling saying “why aren’t you holding my hand?” . Doodle dump (art) .#Alejandroposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐍𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — INTRO . Yuuto art #1 . Pulling on Yuuto's hair . Yuuto makes you food (ART) . more on his freaky behavior . even more freak . Yuuto when darling . thirst hours . loveshot (ART) . lore + inspo board . with geisha darling . baby fever (freaky) . pretty in black (ART) . what if they were pregnant? . if darling was uninterested in him . cuteness aggression . baby trap .#Yuutoposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐋 » MAIN PROFILE!! — Introduction!! . Heat cycles(ᴺˢᶠᵂ) . Everyday routine w/ Angelo . Angelo fluff . more angelo . I love the smoke of your lips . Why he is a bad dad . #Angeloposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐃 » Introduction!! . can Exo feel you messing with his wires? . #Exoposting for all posts!!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT2!! — Introduction!! . how do the potions Kairo give you make you feel? . wandom drawing . #Kairoposting

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — intro . pt 2 ⭒ #Mikhailposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT2 !! — intro . more on Juno . #Junoposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐂𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 » MAIN PROFILE!! — intro . Briar's look alike . is briar edible? + lore(?) . His cup size . Meow or Moo? . what if they were pregnant? . more Briar . evil shenanigans . groping his man boobs . eating Briar's ass . Big cow man comfort-fluff . Briar has both genitals . how fat is that ass? and how is he with a mischievous darling . if he has competition . how does his big ass bathe?. Cute fan art! . AMAZING FANART AGAIN!!! . milkshake . bad boy . I’m hungry . what kind of baked goods does he like? . Briar fluff during menstrual pain .#Briarposting for future posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 »MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — intro . #Susanoposting for future posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — intro . #Darioposting for future posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 » MAIN PROFILE!! — intro . what if they were pregnant? . extermination methods with Lucien . #Lucienposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑 (𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄)» MAIN PROFILE IN M.LIST PT 2!! — intro . rough character design (OLD ART) . Jealous to death . #Marcelleposting for all posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑 (𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐑) » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — intro . . #Salvadorposting for all posts

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — intro . #Evelioposting for future posts!

✎ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐁𝐀𝐆 » MAIN PROFILE IN M. LIST PT 2!! — intro . #Edenposting for future posts!

𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒

dick headcannons . what if . best to worse daddy .

MASTERLIST #2 HERE!!

A/N~ Hello!! I might not update this masterlist very often, so if you ever want to look at a character's section containing ALL their asks and posts please sear in the searchbar [ #(Insert Character's first name)posting ].. Apologies in advance!!

navigation.. PLEASE READ! ⋆ about me!

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robinfrinjs · 17 days ago

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2025 24H of Le Mans Resource Post

Happy Race Week everyone! Preparations for this year's 24H of Le Mans are well underway, and just like every year I will be sharing a post with several handy links. This might be updated periodically as more resources drop, so keep an eye if you can.

I tag all my Resource posts with #24HLMResource, so take a look there if you want to find something. I'm also open to answer asks under #Ask Le Mans, you can check if your question is already answered there, otherwise i'm happy to answer.

My 2025 Introduction to WEC, including a Le Mans Section

Spottersguide

Scratchpad (Added 13/06, handy to catch up on what has happened during the race if you can't follow all 24H)

Entry List

Track Map

Shows all Marshall Posts (MP1, MP2, MP3 etc.) on live timing incidents will be located by the Marshall posts. Shows all slowzones (SZ1, SZ2 etc.), to not fully neutralize the race race control can decide to implement a slowzone for an incident. Shows the sectors, marked by the two big black lines and the finish line. (S1 is from start finish to around tetre rouge, S2 is all of the mulsanne straight and S3 is from Mulsanne corner to start finish) Shows all SC deployment spots (indicated by SCA, SCB, SCC) Shows all/most corner names & numbers

Where to Watch (All Sessions broadcast)

Formula E Server (I'm Streaming) Complete broadcasting info WEC TV Subscription (Le Mans Only: 17.99) Eurosport/Discovery+ in many countries Radio Le Mans (RS1) (Does commentary for all sessions, including practice)

Live Timing

FIAWEC.TV, works with the timing71 extension, which i recommend using WEC.TV also works with MultiviewerF1 which has a special WEC section including its own timing but you need a WEC.TV subscription for it.

Timing Results

Notice Board

Committee Decisions

2025 WEC Sporting Regs

2025 Le Mans Sporting Regs

Official Timetable

A Post with links to news sites, social media accounts, radio channels and more

Timetable in Local Time

Wednesday 11 June

14:00 - Free Practice 1

18:45 - Qualifying

22:00 - Free Practice 2

Thursday 12 June

14:45 - Free Practice 3

20:00 - Hyperpole

23:00 - Free Practice 4

Saturday 14 June

12:00 - Warm-Up

16:00 - Race Start

#racing #wec #24h le mans #24hlmresource

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everydayspamton · 6 months ago

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How much longer do you think we have till chapter 3

I've been wanting to break something like this down all Deltarune-theory-style and this seems like the perfect opportunity! The release of chapter 3&4 also relates directly to this blog, so that's a plus.

In terms of development we're lucky that Toby Fox has been incredibly generous with sharing updates on where the game is, and whats left before launch.

Comparing the information we've been given in the last few newsletters to this timeline in the Summer 2024 newsletter, it's fairly easy to pinpoint where we are and what's left.

Public testing for the LTS update and game_change function has recently been completed!

As per the Autumn 2024 newsletter, the untested English PC version of chapter 4 has also been completed.

Chapter 3 has been translated to Japanese and the PC version has been bug tested.

Chapter 4 has just begun Japanese translation, and PC testing will begin when it is closer to completion (which according to Toby will take "some months" for the final pass of translation to be done)

The last bullet is a pretty accurate mark on where we are in the development. Somewhere on the "Console Ports, Japanese Version, and Other Stuff" part of Toby Fox's List.

We can also use the information from the Summer 2024 newsletter to know what's left on the To-Do list before launch.

Complete Japanese translation and PC bug testing for Chapter 4.

Create and bug test console ports (Nintendo Switch and PlayStation. Xbox is a maybe)*

Final Bug testing

Getting the game reviewed by rating boards.

Preparing soundtrack for release.

Creating marketing material and trailers in preparation for release.

"And more... ?" (I'm assuming this is just referencing the fact game development is unpredictable and anything could slow development, but who knows)

*⬆️It seems that it's not a big deal to make the console port, but instead bug testing will be. It also seems that they've begun work on console porting already, based on the autumn 2024 news letter ⬇️

SO...

Given the fact that we've never waited through all these end-of-development processes for a Toby Fox game it's hard to get an accurate time frame for it all. Although, Toby Fox has said Chapter 3&4 will definitely come out next year and I'm beyond ecstatic. I've yet to answer the question though... When do I think it's coming out?? I think we're getting Deltarune 3&4 around Q3 of 2025. (Q3 is just fancy talk for the months of July, August, and September). The main reason I think this is because Toby has put a "some months" time frame around completing the Japanese translation. PC testing for chapter 4 and Console testing for 3&4 is next, which will hopefully be relatively speedy given the fact they have outsourced a company to assist them. After that is a bunch of legal-console-game business stuff they have to get straight. I'm not predicting the end of next year because of how confident Toby Fox seems in releasing it in 2025, and because of the fact we don't have a trailer I don't think it's releasing in early 2025 either. But with the introduction of the frozen inu in the last newsletter, I think we're getting closer and closer to a real release date!

Toby has also been fond of releasing on special dates. Chapter 1 came out on Halloween of 2018. Chapter 2 was September 17th, 2021, which was the 6th anniversary of Undertale.

September 17th, 2025 will be the 10th anniversary of Undertale, and a date that fits well within the Q3 time frame I've predicted. If I were to put money on any date, it would be this one.

Let me know if any of y'all agree, disagree, or just have any thoughts about this... Or if posts like this are fun to read. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!!

Also... I like your gnarpy pfp

#not daily spamton #daily spamton asks

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lumosinlove · 3 months ago

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Vaincre

Finals part i

(It's been a long time coommingg... Thanks for sticking with me everyone <3 Ended up splitting this chapter up because it got so long, so the next update will not be in two months, but around two days...)

[NHL on ESPN theme song plays and we zoom into a studio desk with Sam Levi, Kevin Becks, and Hank Mairier]

LEVI: Welcome back to NHL on ESPN, we’re in Game One, New York Rangers take on the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, Colorado. I’m Sam Levi here with two who don’t need introduction, Kevin Becks and Hank Mairier. It’s a Rangers alumni studio! What are we thinking, boys?

BECKS: This is going to be a fantastic series, I’m calling it now.

MAIRIER: Absolutely.

BECKS: I mean, the Rangers have acquired some serious fire power this season. The Avalanche is fresh off a whole slew of wins. It’s going to be a fiery one, that’s for sure.

LEVI: Yes indeed. Some top news, MacKinnon back in the lineup after a brief scare. As is Alex O’Hara who was being watched for an upper body injury. He will play tonight, and Montague will get the start. We’re going to go down to the benches where our very own Cassie Baker has Percy Marshall. How’s it going, Cassie?

[Cut to NHL on ESPN logo]

[Cut to Cassie Baker on the New York Rangers’ bench. Percy Marshall is on the ice side of the boards, leaning in to her shot and microphone—He’s wearing no helmet, grinning, and chewing gum]

BAKER: Thanks, Sam. Percy, your team has gone through some changes this season, which include the acquisition of you, and, not one, but two of your old college friends and teammates, Logan Tremblay and Will Morgan. What’s it been like to all play together again and especially to make a run for the Cup?

MARSHALL: Well, aren’t you going to mention you were there, too?

BAKER: I—ha, yes I was there, too. Not playing hockey, though. Could we have imagined this, back then, do you think?

MARSHALL: I certainly would have had high hopes. Seriously, though, it’s amazing to be back with Morgy, Tremz. I mean, wrong O’Hara, but close enough. Accidentally call him Finn all the time. We’ve really pulled together as a group, um, and we’re hoping to start this round off—

[There’s a shout that goes up from somewhere on the ice, a blur of motion, and MARSHALL catches a stray puck in his glove]

BAKER: Oh—Oh my God.

MARSHALL: Whoa there, Baker. Careful out here.

BAKER: I—Thanks. Wow. I…

MARSHALL: Wouldn’t be the first time I saved you, though, would it?

[Marshall skates away before she can reply]

BAKER: [Flustered and smiling] Um. Well, that was eventful, guys. Percy Marshall’s reflexes are obviously game ready. Back to you, Sam.

[Cut back into the studio]

LEVI: What do you think, guys, are we gonna get the story of the first time he saved her?

MAIRIER: Can we see a replay of that? My God.

[Cut to a slow motion replay—Percy Marshall’s gaze moves towards where the puck’s coming from off screen. Cassie Baker flinches into Marshall’s shoulder just as the puck finds Marshall’s glove. Marshall grins, looking down at Baker as he offers her the puck]

BECKS: Wow. That’s amazing, that was really coming for her head! Percy Marshall, life saver.

LEVI: All right, but you know what the funniest part of that is? If you look in the background, you can see Tremblay and Deveaux—two very stoic guys—look, let’s look again.

[The clip replays. In the background, Tremblay and Luke go from worried, to looking at each other before laughing hard]

LEVI: Look at them cracking up! Have you ever seen Luke Deveaux make that face?

BECKS: What, smile? Ha, maybe not often.

Logan covered his eyes as he laughed. “Oh God.”

“That was both sort of smooth,” Luke said, then shook his head. “And so awful.”

“Have you met Percy?” Will asked dryly as he slid onto the bench beside Logan.

Logan caught Cassie’s eye through the glass that separated the rink-side media box from the two benches. He shrugged, not sure what else to do, and she held up the puck and mouthed fuck enthusiastically, miming it hitting her head. Beside him, Will pointed at Percy and Cassie discreetly held up her middle finger.

Logan turned back to the ice, smiling. He tapped his glove on Will’s knee. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. Where are the boys at?”

“They’re here,” Logan said. “Decided since it was the finals it was safe for them to actually be here.”

Will snorted. “Safe?”

“Not “Lions betrayal” as Finn says.” Logan rolled his eyes. “I told them they didn’t have to, they could watch from the hotel, but…”

Logan raised his eyes to the steep wall of seats that surrounded them. He wouldn’t be able to pick them out, but knowing they were in the building sent a warm pressure through him.

“Probably sitting with my family,” Will said. “Yours?”

“They’re coming to New York for next game,” Logan said. “Because Finn’s family is also there, we’re going to have a big family dinner at some point. Minus Leo’s parents, but they’ll be at the wedding.”

“The wedding,” Luke chimed in. “Like royalty or something.”

“I mean, technically, yes,” Will said.

That really made Logan laugh.

“It’s true,” Will said. “If you think about it, in our world, Sirius Black…”

“Well, I’ll text the King and tell him what you guys think of him later.” Logan took a final drink of water before standing and throwing one leg over the boards.

MCDONALD: Welcome to our coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoff Finals. I’m Sean McDonald here with former Rangers Captain Ryan Connors. What are you thinking, Ryan?

CONNORS: I’m thinking this is going to be a hell of a show. We’ve got big players on both sides.

MCDONALD: That we do. We’ve also got Shay Fanarro between the benches. How’s it looking down there, Shay?

FANARRO: Thanks, Sean. These are two teams who really, really want it. Percy Marshall and Alex O’Hara especially are getting the Rangers bench going. Those are loud individuals—and also leaders. Especially O’Hara. He’s been on this team before, he got his start here when he was just eighteen years old.

[Cut to image of an eighteen year old Alex O’Hara, looking young with his hair shorter than it is now. He’s mid-stride in his first NHL game, wearing number 28]

FANARRO CONT: It’s got to be an emotional night for him, almost like a time warp.

[Cut to a live feed from the ice. Alex O’Hara and Logan Tremblay are stretching on the ice, talking]

FANARRO CONT: There’s O’Hara and Tremblay—of course, not the O’Hara that Logan’s used to! You know, that was such a sudden trade this season from the Gryffindor Lions. And Sean, Ryan, I’ve never been shy about saying that I was not in agreement with that move.

MCDONALD: No, you certainly have not been shy about that, ha! What do you think about that Connor? Trading such a core player mid-season?

CONNOR: I think…I think there must have been a plan. Whether or not that plan paid off or is still in the works would definitely be up for debate—I mean, if we’re looking at it bluntly…Tremblay knocked the Lions out of the play-offs. I mean, ouch.

MCDONALD: Talk about backfiring!

CONNOR: Exactly. The Lions brought in strong D men when they let Tremblay go and that can only make me think that Gryffindor management was thinking about how deep their defensive holes used to run, back in what I know people like the call, you know, the time before Sirius Black came in to captain this team into what it is today. Tremblay was a big part of that turn-around, especially in more recent years. I mean, speaking of old Harvard buddies, you got to know that Tremblay was brought in to play with O’Hara.

MCDONALD: That is, Finn O’Hara, younger brother to Alex.

CONNOR: Exactly, Sean. I mean, those two are magnetic, it almost seems insane to split them up and I think that’s part of the reason why Lions fans had such a strong reaction to losing Tremblay. Feels a bit like a car with two wheels. And it did cost them, I mean, O’Hara—this was not his best season, he looked like a fish out of water for some of it. Tremblay, on the other hand—I mean, he’s fresh off a Cup with Gryffindor so it’s hard to compare but this season with the Rangers has been explosive for him. I’m not saying he was happy about the trade—he’s been quiet about it—

MCDONALD: He’s quiet in general.

CONNOR: He is, he is. He’s been quiet about any bad feelings he’s had towards this trade, but he has played like he can’t lose, it’s incredible to watch. So, great for Tremblay, not so great for the Lions. If I was their GM, I’d be kicking myself quite a bit.

MCDONALD: Indeed. Indeed. All right, we’ll be right back for puck drop, don’t go anywhere.

After the game, Logan hissed as he put tentative weight on his knee in the locker room.

“Fuck,” he whispered, reaching down to unwind the tape around his socks.

“Is it bad?” Alex asked.

“How the fuck do I know?” Logan sighed.

“It looked bad.”

“It felt bad.”

Their 4-3 loss didn’t help matters.

“52 took your fucking feet out, didn’t even get called for it,” Luke said. He was half-dressed, pads unstrapped around his chest and hanging loose. “That sucked.”

Him and Alex both considered Logan’s knee as he shed his pants. It was swollen. Not the worst Logan had ever seen, but enough to make the three of them wince.

“Yikes.” Alex reached behind him for his water. “Hey, at least you’re about to get fucking babied to all hell.”

Logan laughed. “Am I?”

“Please.” Luke threw his sweaty towel in Logan’s face. “You know you are.”

Logan just lowered himself back into his stall, stretching his knee out.

“Want ice?” Luke asked.

“Ouais, think so.” Logan framed the worst of it with his fingers. “Thanks,” he called after he realized Luke had already walked away.

Alex was leaning over to see as well. “What are you looking for?”

“I…” Logan shrugged. “Just looking.”

“Can you bend it?”

Tentatively, Logan tried. It felt tight, but it wasn’t all together as painful as putting weight on it was.

“I think if I ice it…” Logan trailed off. “I don’t want to sit. I don’t want coach to take me out.”

Behind him, his phone began to ring. Finn’s name.

Logan held it up to his ear, prodding his knee with his free hand. “Salut. Be out soon, sorry.”

“Are you talking yourself out of being injured right now?” There was a smile in Finn’s voice.

“You got ice on it, honey?” Leo asked.

Luke reappeared, tossing Logan the bag and looking pointedly at the phone.

“They gonna carry you out of here?” he asked. “Calling to check which pillows you prefer?”

Logan gave him a shove, which Luke only returned with a sharp grin.

“Yes,” Logan said to Finn and Leo. “I mean, yes to I do have ice. It’s fine. It just needs to be left alone for a second.”

“Oh yeah.” Finn let out a ha. “Like you’ve ever needed to be left alone in your Logan Tremblay life.”

“I said my knee,” Logan said. He drew his shoulder pads over his head before replacing the phone. “As in I need to keep my weight off it.”

Luke, catching Logan’s eye, pretending to pick Alex up, who proceeded to pretend to jump into Luke’s arms and nearly sending both of them toppling to the ground.

Logan folded the fingers holding his phone until only his middle one remained. “Where are you?”

“We’re in the lounge,” Leo said. “It’s so nice, I mean, they got an espresso bar in here.”

“D’accord,” Logan said. “Going to shower and then I’ll find you.”

There was a rustle, and then Finn’s voice came much closer, whispering right into the speaker. “Save a shower, ride a—”

“Oh my Lord, Finn, not here. See you soon, Tremz,” Leo said, laughing, and the line cut off.

[NHL on ESPN theme song plays and we zoom into a studio desk with Sam Levi, Kevin Becks, and Hank Mairier]

LEVI: Welcome back to NHL on ESPN, we’re in Game Four between the New York Rangers and the Colorado Avalanche and we are back here in the big apple. I’m Sam Levi here with Kevin Becks and Hank Mairier. This has been a wild sort of series. Momentum has been swinging back and forth like a wrecking ball—but the Rangers after losing game one, came back and won game two and three. We’ll see how this plays out. Becks, who has been the most noticeable to you on the Rangers’ side of things?

BECKS: That would be a few. Percy Marshall and Will Morgan have an old chemistry that’s hard to beat. Like Tremblay and Finn O’Hara had on the Lions, really, it’s fantastic to see two guys so familiar with each other. Saint Montague—Sebastian—he’s just a brick wall. I mean, we can go back and watch that power play save from last game a million times but it still boils down to Deveaux making a solid play in front of him, and yes, fine, the puck sneaked through, but Saint was there when the Rangers needed him the most. And, I mean, come on, boys we can’t forget Tremblay. I mean, let’s think about it—this is a guy who was all but raised—career speaking—in the company of guys like Pascal Dumais, Kasey Winter, and, of course, his former captain, Sirius Black.

Sirius was slightly concerned that Hope Lupin might begin to think he was just a little bit insane. He knew the way he watched Logan play was not exactly normal—especially with the Rangers not being his team and all. He stood without moving until an icing broke the spell. He crossed his arms, uncrossed them when the Avalanche scored and switched to sitting down with his palms pressed to his knees.

From beside him, knitting needles moving in a steady, easy rhythm that Sirius appreciated, Hope laughed.

“Does Logan know how hard you’re rooting for him?”

A TV break began at that moment—which Sirius was grateful for. He wanted to look at her while he spoke to her. He’d been the victim of sentences half-thrown in his direction too many times for his liking.

She looked so much like Remus right then. Sun-gold hair clipped back loosely. Eyebrow slightly arched as she posed a question to him. Sirius glanced in the direction of the kitchen, where he could hear Remus, James, and Lily laughing as they cleaned up dinner.

“I think so,” Sirius said. “It’s not really…I can’t talk to him yet.” He laughed. “I know that sounds stupid.”

“Oh, honey, you’re talking to the wife and mother of Lyall and Remus Lupin. Stupid isn’t the word. Intense, maybe. Faithful. Sweet.” She reached forward for her glass of wine. “Besides, this is quite the series, I don’t blame you. Who’s the handsome one again?”

Sirius frowned. “Ah. Which one?”

Hope laughed. “Oh, yes, that’s true. Oh, there he is—Morgan.”

Sirius looked to where they were showing Will Morgan. “Oh, Morgan. Will Morgan.”

“You know him? He’s playing very well.”

“Not really,” Sirius said. “I’ve never played with him. But he went to college with Logan and Finn. And Percy Marshall, who’s next to him.”

“Well, isn’t that a little class reunion.”

“What’s a class reunion?” Remus had emerged from the kitchen, floor creaking beneath his bare feet. He smiled at Sirius as he crossed in front of the television to fall into the couch cushions beside him. Sirius hadn’t even realized he’d broke his superstitious hold on his knee until his arm was already lifted and Remus was under it, fitting into place.

“Morgan, Marshall, Tremz and Finn—well, not Finn, but sort of.”

“I think it’s funny that Alex is sort-of-Finn to you and all these announcers,” Lily laughed. “If someone called my sister ‘sort of me’ I would actually just drop down a hole somewhere.”

“I mean he’s around, like off the ice,” Sirius said, smiling. “Not that they’re the same person.”

“They’re not twins, right?” Lyall asked, settling beside his wife with a kiss to her head. “They sure do look it.”

“Alex is older,” Remus said. “By…I don’t know, a couple years.”

“Speaking of brothers,” Sirius said. “Where is mine?”

“Talking to some girl on the porch.” Julian came bounding in from the driveway, sweaty and with his roller-blades still in his hand. He thrust them out to Remus. “I think one of the wheels is sticking, what do I do?”

Remus took the skates, spinning the wheels with his hand before setting them on the ground. “I can fix it in the morning, bud.”

“A girl,” Sirius repeated, staring in the direction of the porch.

“Some of us do like those quite a bit.” James, coming in from the kitchen and wiping his hands on his shorts, walked behind the couch. When his hand appeared out of the corner of Sirius’ eye, Sirius couldn’t help it. He flinched, just a little. The second his shoulder raised up, he tried to push it back down again. Remus looked up at him, feeling the way he went tense.

James’ hand, which had indeed been about to tap his cheek, froze. Slowly, he placed his hand on Sirius’ shoulder and squeezed gently.

Sirius turned to look up at him, apologetic, and found an equal apology in James’ face.

“Regulus has a girlfriend?” James asked. “I mean—not to assume anything. Made that mistake before, huh?”

Sirius snorted. “Ouais, you really did.”

When the game came back on, Sirius’ attention kept sliding away. Towards the porch, towards Regulus. Did he flinch like Sirius flinched?

Reading his mind, Remus’ hand smoothed slowly up his chest, giving him time to settle into the motion before it reached his neck. His fingers scratched gently through the hair at his nape, thumb smoothing under his jaw. Sirius closed his eyes briefly, at least until the shouts from the television made them open again to find the Avalanche celebrating. They were about to win this game in an unsettling almost blow out of 5-2.

“Well, damn,” Hope sighed. “New York really is going to make this hard on themselves, huh?”

“Hey, Tremblay,” Finn called from the kitchen. “Captain Sirius Black of the Gryffindor Lions is calling you.”

Logan closed the glass shower door. He’d been standing under the spray for a good ten minutes, trying to will all the aches in his muscles away. At Finn’s voice, he looked up from where he’d been rubbing at his damp hair with a towel.

“What?” he called.

“Sirius is calling you,” Leo answered.

Logan wasn’t sure why he ran, but he did. His bare feet slipped just a little on the floor, still damp and probably leaving footprints. He slipped again when he reached the the kitchen counter and nearly took out one of the stools before catching himself and snatching up the phone that was blinking Sirius’ name up at him.

Finn and Leo were laughing so hard they’d turned silent.

“Why did you—run like that?” Finn put his head down into his folded arms on the counter, shoulders shaking.

“You—” Leo gasped through a laugh. “What?”

“Shh,” Logan said. “Shh.” He pressed answer. “Hi? Salut.”

Leo rested his chin on his hands and grinned in an exaggeratedly dreamy way. “Salut.”

Finn had to crouch down behind the counter.

“Salut,” Sirius said, oblivious. He spoke in French. “How are you?”

“I’m being made fun of,” Logan said. He reached forward and pressed a quick thumb into Leo’s left dimple, then yanked his hand back when Leo made to nip at his fingers. “And bitten.”

He could almost feel Sirius’ eyebrows raise. “Should I call back?”

“Non, non,” Logan said. “I’m—you know. Feels stupid, a game like that.”

“You guys were fine, they just outplayed you at the end. Starting Saint next game, do you know?”

“Think so.” Logan took the phone into the bedroom closet, putting it on speaker as he reached for clothes. Sweatpants. He walked over to where Leo’s suitcase lay open and picked out a t-shirt. “Away crowd—he always gets fired up for those, so.”

Sirius didn’t say anything, but Logan could tell he was nodding. Logan waited, nose tucked against the collar of Leo’s shirt.

“How’s wedding planning going?” he asked finally, when Sirius was quiet. He flicked off the closet light, took the phone off speaker, and went back into the living room. Finn was on the couch already, book in hand, and Leo was sitting with his on the floor, back to the sofa, doing something on his computer. Finn’s free hand was in his hair.

Sirius laughed. “It’s good. I mean, for myself, it just matters that Remus is there, but I’ve been told cake and stuff is important.”

“Cake is very important.”

Leo snorted, looking over at him.

“What?” Finn whispered. “What’d he say?” He tightened his fingers a little in Leo’s hair and Leo grinned when he gently pulled his head back to look at Finn upside down. “What?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sirius said in Logan’s ear. “Hey did you tell them about the cabin yet?”

“Cake is important,” Leo whispered.

Finn pulled a face. “Okay?”

Leo turned, kneeling, and took Logan’s bent knee, gently flattening it along the edge of the couch, pressed up against Finn. He held up a silent finger—one second—and crossed into the kitchen.

“Not yet,” Logan replied. “But soon.” Logan met Finn’s eyes when he curled a warm hand around Logan’s ankle. “It’s going to be amazing. Really, I can’t believe you pulled this off so fast. Oh, hey, we hung out with Reg a few nights ago, he seems good.”

A tisking sound came from behind Leo, and then he appeared, still translating Logan’s French. “Don’t gossip to his big brother!”

“Oh,” Logan said. “I’m not supposed to gossip about him to you, apparently.”

Sirius laughed. “Tell Leo I understand. But you’re right, he does seem good.”

Logan jumped when something cold pressed to his leg, then looked to see Leo carefully molding an icepack to sit comfortably on his knee.

“So, I’m actually calling…” Sirius began.

“Hm?” Logan said. He was half-preoccupied with reaching up to pull a smiling Leo into a kiss.

“I said I wasn’t going to say anything until something was actually—like, accomplished, but I was watching you play and thinking about what happens if this season turns out the way the Rangers want, and I’m thinking about how I could get you home again this summer.”

Leo and Finn couldn’t hear him, but they both looked up before Logan even said anything. He’d tensed, or maybe his face showed something, something like pain, or maybe longing, or surprise. Leo started fussing with the icepack. Finn sat up a little and pulled Logan’s other ankle towards him, draped over his thigh, and settled a hand behind his unbruised knee.

“What?” Finn whispered. “What’s wrong?”

“You…” Logan swallowed. “You’ve been thinking about that?”

“Ouais, so. So basically.” There was the sound of a door slamming somewhere in Sirius’ background, and then a soft rustle of wind against the speakers. “So, there’s really not much more this game can give me in terms of—”

“You’re retiring?” Logan burst out.

Leo gasped, then slapped a hand over his mouth.

“What?” Finn hissed.

“No, no, no,” Sirius said, laughing a little. “No.”

“Oh. Merde, Sirius.” Logan shook his head at Leo, who dropped his head back in relief, hand on his chest.

Finn sat up a little more. “Oh my fucking God, what is he saying?”

Leo gave a half-hearted shrug, watching Logan intently.

“I was going to say money,” Sirius said. “I want to see what management says if I tell them I want to take a pay cut in order to allow you to come back. Or at least open up the options.”

Logan wasn’t sure if he heard right.

“We’ve got a lot of big names on our team. Worthy names,” Sirius continued. “So, it’s not enough if it’s just me. But I wanted your permission to ask something similar of Finn.”

Slowly, Logan raised his eyes to Finn, who snapped his book closed and mouthed silently, frustratedly, what?

“Not Leo,” Sirius said. “It’s so early in his career, I wouldn’t ask that of him. But Finn. Finn could be very helpful towards something like this. And he loves you—I mean, we both know how much that—what does Natalie say? That freckle loves you.”

Logan felt his brow furrow, though he knew Sirius had meant for him to laugh. He stared at Finn. Those brown eyes. Helpful. Could he ask something like that of Finn? He already knew Finn would say yes in half a heartbeat, but could he ask? It was his career. It was his life, he deserved every single part of it. Logan had once been willing to give Finn up entirely so Finn could get what he had worked so hard for.

“Okay,” Finn whispered harshly. He looked a truly upset now. “I really can’t do the silent looks while on the phone. I really can’t do it. Logan. Speak English right fucking now.” He dropped the whisper. “Talk to us right now, I can’t do this.”

“Is that Finn, too?” Sirius asked.

“Sorry, yes.” Logan reached out and took Finn’s hand, kissing his palm. He switched to English. “Sorry, I should have told you, not on speaker or anything, but Finn can’t understand me, um…Okay, hold on. Can I…”

“Call me back whenever you want,” Sirius said. “I really didn’t mean to—ah, throw it on you, I just…”

Sirius lapsed into one of his long silences again. Finn and Leo were staring at him, Leo a little nervously glancing towards Finn, whose ears and cheeks were pink, his mouth set into an unhappy frown. He didn’t pull away from Logan, though.

“I just…I want you to win.” Sirius’ laugh shuddered a little. “I want the Rangers to win, I really, really fucking do, because I wonder if that make them see it like they got what they wanted from you…and as stupid and senseless as it sounds, maybe they’d give you back.”

Logan wanted to stare at the phone where the words had came from after Sirius hung up, but he tossed it down, letting it get lost in the cushions, and took both of Finn’s hands in his own.

“Rouge. I’m sorry. Come here, everything’s fine.” He brought his knuckles to his mouth, then reached forward a put a hand against one of his cheeks—he was hot to the touch. “Finn. Everything’s fine.”

Logan set the icepack on the table, drawing his legs in to give Leo more room to settle against Finn’s side. Finn let out a long breath and pushed his face against Leo’s neck.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Leo said, rubbing Finn’s back. “Jesus, Lo, you gave him a nervous fever practically.”

“I’m sorry,” Logan said. “I didn’t—Sirius surprised me. Finn, I’m sorry. Finn?”

“I’m not mad,” Finn said. “I just…Fuck. I don’t know, I couldn’t understand what you were saying and last time you were looking at me like that and a phone was involved…”

“Here’s what we said.” Logan scooted forward so Finn and Leo’s outer thighs bracketed him. He settled his hands on theirs. “It’s not—Sirius wants to try to get me back on the Lions.”

Finn lifted his head. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but said nothing.

Leo, though, just let out a long, exhausted breath and closed his eyes. “Thank God.”

Leo looked flushed now, like the mere thought of it had set his heart pounding. He rubbed a hand over his chest and looked at Logan. “Fuck. What else did he say?”

Logan, still staring at the pink of Leo’s cheeks set against his blue eyes, fumbled over a few sentence starts.

“Well. C’est—It’s a lot. He wants to take a salary cut.” Logan looked to Finn. “And he was hoping you’d do the same, Rouge.”

“Yes,” Finn said instantly. “Fucking yes. Yes, they can pay me ten fucking dollars a month, see if I care. In fact, I don’t need money actually.”

“Finn,” Leo laughed.

“That wasn’t me asking,” Logan said. “That was me telling you what Sirius said, I—I can’t ask you to do that.”

“But you know we would,” Leo said.

Logan smiled slightly, shaking his head. “Those are your careers.”

“And you’re our life,” Finn said. “Don’t you go telling me I wouldn’t chose you over hockey, you know I would, Lo. You know I would have when I first met you, and you know I would now.”

“It’s not even him over hockey,” Leo said. “It’s a pay cut.”

“And it’s not about choosing, it was never about choosing,” Logan said—then realized what a lie that was. What an old, habit of a lie. “I mean…”

“Yeah-huh,” Finn said. “For a second there, it was.”

“Ouais. Fuck, okay, but I would never have let you do that,” Logan said.

Finn looked at him for a long moment, then nodded minutely. Logan didn’t like that this was still hard for them to talk about.

“Sirius wouldn’t have you be one of the players to take one,” Logan said to Leo. “He said so. And I wouldn’t either, Le, you’re worth a—a contract that is incredible, you’re worth everything—”

“Maybe I want to,” Leo said, chin up. “If it’ll get you home, maybe I’ll tell them to take it all back and give me an entry level salary. What the hell is all that compared to…” Leo sighed. “Lo, I would do anything if you could come back. I know we’re figuring it out and I know we’re better for it, but—I mean, can we make it work if you’re in New York next year? Well, yeah. But that’s not what I want.”

“Of course it’s not,” Logan said. “I know that.”

Leo let out a huff of a breath. “So—then—I just…” Leo’s lip trembled a bit through a smile and he reached out to brush a hand through Logan’s damp hair. “I want you home so bad. So badly. Distance is… Look at your beautiful face, you’re not made for distance. I’m not. We’re not. You’re Logan Tremblay, and I need you close to me.”

Logan caught his hand before it got too far away.

“I know we haven’t done the distance for a whole season yet,” Leo continued. He turned to Finn and passed a hand through his read hair. “And—I know it’s going to get really hard. I mean, it’s a really long time.”

“Don’t say that,” Finn said softly.

“It’s true, honey,” Leo said. He brushed a thumb under Finn’s eye at the high of his freckled cheek. “It’s okay, it’s just true.”

“Compromise,” Logan said. “Okay? Ready?”

“Comprom-ise,” Leo corrected gently. “But you’re right, we should say it like ‘promise’ and, yes, I’m ready.”

“Compromise.” Logan liked the way Leos’s eyes narrowed at the imitation of his accent. That nice, slow ‘I’ sound.“If Sirius even begins to pull this off, and if he needs you, then okay.”

“Deal,” Leo said. He leaned forward and kissed Logan, once and sealing. “Now, cheer Harzy up.”

Finn was indeed sitting very still. He was laid back, messing with the corner of his book, gently ruffling the pages with his thumb.

Logan gave Leo his spot on the sofa and knelt on the rug beside the couch. He did as Leo had, taking Finn’s face gently in his hands and turning Finn’s eyes to his.

“Look at me.” He swiped his thumbs over the warm, flushed parts of his cheeks. “Regarde moi, look at me.”

Brown. The richest brown.

“It’s you,” Logan said. He carded his fingers through Finn’s hair, dropped his palm to rub gently against his back. “It was you in the ocean, when I couldn’t say it, and it’s you now, when I will say it to everyone who will listen to me.”

Finn let that sit for a moment. He closed his eyes like it was sun to bask in. He let the pressure of Logan’s touch tilt his head back slightly.

“I know that,” he whispered. “I just thought something was wrong. I thought you weren’t telling me.”

Logan let Finn’s forehead rest against his shoulder and looked at Leo. He was watching them with a soft expression, his elbow slung on the couch’s arm, temple against his fist. Logan kept his eyes on him, even as he felt Finn’s hand flatted over his chest, like he wanted to touch where Logan felt most. He kept his eyes on Leo as he covered Finn’s hand with his own.

“You know that, whatever happens next season, I’m going to be here for you this time.”

The tips of Finn’s fingers dug into Logan’s chest. he saw Leo’s chest rise sharply with a surprised inhale.

“I don’t care how far away I am,” Logan said. “I would drive through ever single night. I’m going to be here for you whenever you need me.”

Logan knew they needed to hear them. And he’d said it to them before, in different ways. But this, hearing them when he was right here, just the three of them, pressed so close together, felt different. Heavier. True.

“Even if you don’t need me,” Logan said. “I’m there.”

“Don’t need you,” Finn repeated, the words heavy with utter disbelief and so soft that Logan wasn’t even sure Leo heard him. He pushed his forehead harder into Logan’s shoulder, huffing out a breath like something hurt.

“You’re not gonna shut us out again,” Leo said.

Logan shook his head. “Non.”

“When it gets hard,” Leo said. “When we can’t see each other for weeks at a time—”

“You’ll get so sick of your phone ringing, you’ll want to throw it away,” Logan said.

“There…” Leo pressed his lips together and sat up. He put his hands on Finn’s bent knees and Finn straightened them, nearly cradling Leo between his thighs. Logan felt Finn turn his head to look at him. “I was comparing this year’s schedule. Earlier on, there are weeks when both teams are on the road one after another, us, then you—”

“Every morning,” Logan said. “I call you every morning.”

Leo shook his head. “The time zones don’t always—”

“Leo,” Logan cut him off softly. “I promise you.”

Leo’s mouth pulled to the side.

“I won’t shut you out,” Logan said softly. “Ever again.”

“Or Harz,” Leo said. “No matter what happens?”

“Or Harz,” Logan said. He turned down to look at Finn. “No matter what.”

Logan wasn’t sure he could have explained it if someone asked him to. All the ways he’d found a new home, and all the ways he felt like he’d never quite be home again, not until they were in the same city. How he didn’t completely know if he would survive next season without them.

“I’ve been so focused on making it around this year,” Logan said softly. “I mean—non, what is it?”

“Through,” they answered in unison.

“Through this year. And then Sirius just went and talked about how maybe I could…come home. And I realize—I realize that there’s a real chance that I can’t.”

He looked at Finn and he was watching him drive away again from the OKN house. He looked at Leo and he was being yanked back from the elevator and into his arms.

“I could be in New York for the rest of my career, or somewhere even farther, any of us could—” Logan said in French to Leo, then closed his eyes and, in English, “I could be in New York for the rest of my career—”

Finn leaned forward and pulled Logan up the way he knelt in front of them. He pressed his palms to the back of Logan’s thighs, pushing him down onto the couch, his back against Leo’s chest, before leaning forward to hover over him. Logan’s breathing hitched at the easy way Finn moved him, handled his body.

“And you’ll be ours…” Finn settled into the V of Logan’s thighs. Leaning on one forearm, sunk into the cushions, he took Logan’s chin between his fingers and pulled him into a hard kiss, running his tongue along Logan’s lower lip until they could meet. Logan’s world began to tilt in that slow way, especially when he felt Leo’s mouth press to his neck. “For the rest of our lives.”

Leo’s arms went tight around his waist, low on his stomach. Large, warm palms holding Logan’s hips as surely as Finn’s body pressed down on his.

“I’m trying to comfort you,” Logan groaned.

“The rest of our lives,” Finn said again against his mouth. He pulled back with a last kiss, and then Logan was blinking up and watching Finn’s pale throat and jaw move as he kissed Leo. Flashes of tongue, teeth when Leo smiled, and the feeling of Leo going slack and sinking into the cushions beneath him. Logan put a hand on Finn’s jaw, feeling the way he kissed, and then behind Leo’s neck, arching his back upwards until his mouth could reach the underside of Leo’s jaw. The position, though slightly awkward, pressed his chest against Finn’s and caused Leo to break his kiss to catch Logan’s mouth—a lopsided kiss that Logan chased.

“Mm…” Leo mumbled. Because Finn was there, too, bringing his mouth to both of theirs. It startled Logan for a moment—only a moment. And then he was lost in it. He was turned in a way that, had they not both been grasping hands around his back, he would have fallen, and he knew he was doing very little to support himself anyhow. He traded one of their mouths, their tastes, for another without even having to turn his head. It wasn’t even a trade. Both of them, at once. Their warm skin, breath, and teeth, at once. He lost his breath enough that he had to look, had to see. Leo’s fair eyelashes fluttered, brows drawn together at Finn’s kiss—and then he was turned slightly, hardly at all, and Logan found himself lost all over again.

“Fuck,” Finn breathed, and Logan realized his grip on him had been reduced to only his sweatshirt. “Wait, wait, Lo, c’mere—”

Logan was kept from falling from the couch only by Leo’s quick hands. His arms scooped around Logan’s waist again and held fast.

“Ah,” Finn whispered, pressing himself forward to get at Leo’s neck. His arm secured itself around Logan’s waist, too. “Nice save, One.”

Leo’s blue eyes opened from where they’d closed in pleasure, delighted. “You’ve never called me that before.”

“One and ten makes eleven,” Finn said, pulling back to look at them. “Which…I can’t think of a reason for right now because that was…” Finn’s smile was one of Logan’s favorites—sharp, though his eyes held the glass of arousal. “Really, really hot.”

“Why did we stop?” Logan asked.

“You were falling off the couch,” Leo replied, laughing.

“We could have all fallen to the floor and continued.”

Leo clicked his tongue twice, smiling and taking Logan’s chin in his hand. He saw Finn’s smile out of the corner of his eye and let him hook Logan’s leg up around his waist.

“That’s why you are rarely in charge,” Leo whispered. He brushed their lips together, tongue darting out to trace Logan’s lower lip. “And why you have the two of us to catch you,” His eyes went soft, no longer talking about the sofa or the floor or the kiss, “when you feel like you’re going to fall.”

Finn exhaled slowly from beside them. He tilted his chin forward and Leo kissed him gently before turning back to Logan.

“And you for us,” Leo whispered. “No matter what happens.”

“You’re there,” Finn said. “You’re there for us, Lo. You’re so there for us, you sit there and torture yourself when you haven’t been.”

Logan couldn’t help the laugh that spilled out of him. He let his head fall back against Leo’s shoulder. He reached up and back, tangling his fingers in Leo’s hair.

“I love you,” Logan said in French, then realized, but Finn merely smiled.

“That one I got,” Finn said.

“Okay, come here,” Leo said, and heaved Logan so that he was on his other side in the stability of the couch and their bodies again. “There.”

“Wanna hear something funny?” Finn asked.

Leo and Logan looked at each other, then laughed.

“Sure, Harz,” Logan said. He sat up a little until he could wrap an arm around Leo’s shoulders and turn his face into his hair.

“Any time a book in school had a character, figure, whatever, that started with L, my essays that I’d turn in would always accidentally have Logan in there instead at least twice.” Finn curled a palm around the back of Logan’s neck. “One class, I did it so much, the professor wrote, okay, who is this? in the margins.”

Leo’s laugh tilted his head back. “Oh Lord, I can see that clear as day.”

Logan on the other hand felt stunned. “I didn’t know that.”

Finn just grinned. He turned his gaze towards Leo “Little did they know, I’d have two Ls. Jokes on them, I’ll never see that letter the same again.” Finn was still smiling as his eyes closed and let his weight go against Logan’s chest. Leo, beneath them both, made a content sound. “That letter…That letter is my heart, that’s what it is.”

We’re back in Colorado boys, and the Rangers look like they’re staging a third period come-back to finish off Game Five of the Stanley Cup playoffs—either that, or we’re in for a very tense over time.

Tremblay—God he’s playing like a man on a mission. Did this somehow turn into a Game Seven when I wasn’t looking? He’s on the puck like he’s going to win it all tonight!

And with a nose he keeps having to get stopped up at the bench. That was quite a fight with Henderson, but that’s what happens when you get into the blue paint. Tremblay’s always been a goalie defender, if I ever saw one. All right, Rangers face-off win and it’s brought around by O’Hara, now to Marshall. Picked off by the Avalanche captain—oh! Back on Tremblay’s tape. Oh, this stadium doesn’t like his skills one bit. Pass up the ice, O’Hara, that was close! Hit the post. Tremblay, racing, step behind, finds the scramble for the re-bound, and he scores!

What do you say? I say come-back complete and I’m ready for a Game Six in New York to close this for good. The New York Rangers are one game away from becoming Stanley Cup champions.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to tell him yet,” Remus said. His voice was a little strained, his hands high above his head as he fastened a delicate row of lights, small bobble ones all spaced out along their dark chord, to one of the posts they’d erected by the dock.

“I don’t know what happened, I was just suddenly telling him.” Sirius rested with one elbow on his knee, looking down at the boards he was laying for a makeshift dance space along one square of the beach. It wasn’t big, but Sirius only had one dance planned. He was half-wondering how much dancing would distract everyone else while he stole Remus away. “I called him to talk about playoffs, if he was as hurt as I thought he was, that hit to his knee…and then I was suddenly saying how I could maybe get him home.”

Remus eased himself down the ladder, jumping the last two rungs. “And he said?”

“He wanted to talk to Finn and Leo.”

Remus nodded. “Well, that makes sense.” He knelt down near Sirius, knocking his knuckles on the wood—or, plastic, maybe. It was a hard, durable material at least. “Lily keeps asking me what I’ll do if it rains.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “What you’ll do?”

Remus laughed. “We. But don’t lie, if we could say our vows only to each other and then just throw a big dinner party, you wouldn’t say yes, but you wouldn’t say no, either.”

Sirius straightened a little, elbow resting over his thigh. “You think I don’t want to dance all night with you right here?”

Remus pressed his palms to the makeshift floor, examining it. “I think you want to be with me all night, but I know you don’t want to dance.”

Sirius watched as Remus got up again, going back to his ladder, this time to hang the banner he and Lily had been working on. A painted S & R. Sirius watched him manage the fabric carefully, admiring their initials beside each other. Remus tilted his head back to consider the side of the house. It drew his shoulders back and bunched his t-shirt where they met strongly at the top of his spine.

Sirius could have lived in a loop of this. Wake up. Run. Breakfast with everyone. Swim. Lunch. Swim. Dinner that they all cooked together, too many people in the kitchen, Lily getting lime juice in her eye and James kissing her red cheeks. Harry on Sirius’ hip, babbling into his shoulder and looking at Remus as he talked gibberish to them. Regulus and Julian coming in sweaty from playing street hockey in the driveway, Sirius not quite getting up the courage to ask about any late night phone calls taken on the porch.

Yes. There had been a time when Sirius would have taken something quiet over a party with speeches and audiences watching rings being exchanged. Back when parties meant smiling and agreeing, and speeches meant performing so his parents could boast, and audiences only asked him questions rather than let him talk, and and rings caused cuts that stung for days.

And kitchens were places kept out of sight, and kisses were lipstick to be wiped away, and holding a baby against him meant someone else had to endure his terrible, terrible world, and you didn’t play hockey in the driveway, you went to the rink at five and ran drills until seven.

Sirius rose from the new ground he had lay, and walked across it to where Remus was draping the banner over the top of the ladder, ready to climb. Before he could, Sirius caught him by his hips and stepped closed to him from behind. He set his mouth on the tanned and freckled skin of his neck.

“Yes, I do,” Sirius said against him. “I do want to dance with you.”

Remus leaned back against him. His hand covered Sirius’. “Oh, baby, I didn’t mean—I didn’t mean that in a bad way at all.”

“It doesn’t matter how you meant it, I’m just telling you.”

“I mean, I’d marry you in a deserted—uh, desert. I’d marry you in a courthouse or in the locker room, like between play-off games, if that was how this all worked out, I’d—”

“You know, when you’re around your mom, your sentences become twice as long.”

Remus laughed and turned in Sirius’ arms to lay his hands on his chest. “You don’t want to dance in front of everyone. I know you.”

“D’accord.” Sirius put his hands on either side of Remus’ face. “So, yes, it’s not my first choice of things to do in my free time.”

“I just meant that I…I know you,” Remus said. “That’s all.”

“But you want to dance,” Sirius leaned down to brush a kiss to his mouth. “You want banners and lights and a dance floor. Cake, flowers…”

“I want you.”

Sirius smiled, shaking his head. “Yes. But you want banners, lights, dancing, cake, flowers, and all the rest, and so that’s what you’ll have.” Sirius took step back, drawing Remus with him. “You’re never going to miss anything ever again.”

Remus’ eyes fell down to their feet, which Sirius had begun moving in a slow, synchronized circle. “Tall order.”

“Just watch me make it happen.”

Remus put his arms around Sirius’ neck, letting himself fall into Sirius’ slow dance. “Competitive.”

“But you already knew that.” Sirius drew one of Remus’ hands into his own and guided him into a spin, before pulling back against his chest. “Did you know I was forced through dance lessons?” Before Remus’ face could fall even a little, Sirius guided them into a turn, their arms crossed lightly one way, then the other. “I don’t think it ever occurred to them that I’d use it to dance at my wedding to my husband.”

Slowly, feeling his way back to ease through Sirius’ true smile, Remus let himself be spun again, and when his face came back into Sirius’ view, his smile was true, too.

“Best use in the world, I think—oh my God, you can dance? I’m gonna make a fool out of myself, Jesus. But, I don’t—” Remus broke out in a laugh as Sirius spun him again. “Are you trying to disorient me?”

“I’m trying to show you how good I am at everything. Including giving you everything you’ve ever wanted.”

When Remus laughed, Sirius added it to the loop where he wanted to live. This summer, and that sound.

“Shut up,” Remus sighed, putting his arms around Sirius’ neck again. He let them sway. “All I am saying is that I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. I don’t care how much I want it.”

“And all I’m saying is that I used to wonder how long I had before it looked weird that I didn’t have a girlfriend. Wasn’t getting married. And now I have my boy who wants to dance at our wedding…”

Sirius thought about dipping him, he could, but he wanted to keep him close. The setting sun cast Remus’ skin in pinks and oranges, and it occurred to Sirius, so suddenly and all-at-once that it nearly made him lose the rest of his sentence, that this was what Remus would look like when he said yes to the rest of their lives.

“You…” Sirius found his voice tight. “You think that I am going to do that?”

“Oh—” Remus pressed forward. “God, come here.”

No sooner had Remus’ mouth found his, than music was blasting through the new speakers—the beginning chords of Back In Black. Remus jumped, nearly biting Sirius’ lip.

“Jesus fuck,” Remus cursed.

“James,” Sirius shouted, looking towards the house.

All he was met with was a cackle.

“Try again!” Regulus’ voice answered them.

#vaincre lumosinlove #wolfstar #hockey au #coops #o'knutzy #sports au #Harry Potter fic #Harry Potter au #sirius black #remus lupin #sirius x remus #remus x sirius #Leo knut #finn o'hara #Logan tremblay

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prettygirl-gabi · 5 months ago

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Chapter 17: Court-Side Love and Matching Jerseys

Rating: General Audiences

Warning: none

Paring: Paige Bueckers x !photographer fem reader

Fandom: Women's basketball

Summary: the camera's are watching and kk slick be leaking the tea....

Welcome to the chapter 17 of Through The Lens. I hope you all enjoy and there is more to come...stay tuned my loveies!! 🏀💕📸

The team had been buzzing about this trip to Seattle for weeks. Coach Geno gave us the weekend off, and when Nika found out we were all coming to watch her play for the Seattle Storm, she nearly cried on FaceTime. Paige, of course, insisted on coordinating matching jerseys for us.

"They’re custom," Paige said, holding up the black-and-green and gold-and-green Seattle jerseys with Nika’s name and number on the back. "Because we’ve got to support our girl properly."

I smiled as I took mine, running my fingers over the embroidered lettering. "Matching jerseys, huh? You trying to stake your claim again?"

Paige shrugged, her smirk betraying her nonchalance. "Maybe."

Climate Pledge Arena was electric. The lights dimmed for the starting lineup introductions, and Nika’s name drew loud cheers from the crowd. She gave a quick wave to us before jogging onto the court.

Paige and I sat courtside, our matching jerseys impossible to miss. She laced her fingers through mine, resting our intertwined hands on her thigh, for a short moment before playfully smacking my hand and "flicking" my hand back to my lap. After I told her her hands were sweaty, I caught a couple of cameras pointed our way, but I ignored them, focusing on the game and the warmth of Paige beside me.

KK sat on my other side, clearly the third wheel. She leaned over during halftime, pointing at our jerseys, as if she didn’t get one from Paige after begging her to let her match with us.

"Y’all we really went full matching, huh? You know you’re just feeding the internet more content, right?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "What are they gonna do? Complain about us supporting Nika?"

"True," KK said, pulling out her phone. "Might as well lean into it. Smile, moms!"

Before I could react, KK turned her camera toward Paige and me, starting an Instagram Live.

"Hey, girly pops! Okay so boom we’re out here at the Storms game, watching the one and only Nika Mühl do her thing. And look at this!" She flipped the camera to show Paige and me. "Matching jerseys. I’m officially the third wheel."

Paige chuckled, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer. "You’re lucky we let you sit with us."

The comments rolled in fast:

• They’re so cute!

• Not KK calling them ‘moms’ lol.

• When’s the family photos dropping on the gram since you’re matching?

• So like are they a thing or what?

KK squinted at her screen, reading aloud. "‘When’s the family photos dropping on the gram?’ Honestly, y’all, that’s a great question. Hey, moms, any updates?"

I buried my face in my hands, laughing despite myself. "KK, stop!"

Paige, on the other hand, grinned. "Patience, KK. Good things take time."

After the game, the team crowded into the players' tunnel to greet Nika. She hugged each of us, saving Paige and me for last.

"Look at you two," Nika said, gesturing to our jerseys. "My biggest fans."

"Always," Paige said, handing her the jersey we’d brought for her to sign.

Nika scribbled her name across the back before pulling us both into a hug. "Thanks for coming, guys. It means a lot."

Later that night, KK couldn’t stop talking about the Live.

"You should’ve seen the comments, Y/N," she said, scrolling through her phone. "People are obsessed with you two."

"Obsessed?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, like, in a good way," KK clarified. "They’re rooting for you."

I glanced at Paige, who was lounging on the bed, her hand resting on my knee. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled softly.

"Let them root," she said.

Her words settled something in me, and I leaned over to kiss her cheek.

As we boarded the plane back to Connecticut, Paige tugged me aside, holding up her phone.

"One of KK’s comments gave me an idea," she said, her tone mischievous.

"Oh no," I groaned.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

-Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

-prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

Tag list: @sayurireidotcom , @astroeliza , @paxaz535 , @0phantom0 ,.... (more to be added)

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moonlitcelestial · 4 months ago

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Chapter 6 Remastered

Beyond the Lens - Logbook Videographer!Reader x OT8 Ateez

W/C 6,741

🎥 Series Masterlist 🎥

☽ Masterlist ☾

Inspiration Pictures

Pinterest Board Masterlist

Previous Chapter (Chapter 5)

Disclaimer: This story is purely a work of fiction. It is not meant to assume or mock anything about Ateez, Atiny, or anything relating to what I do not know about being a videographer. I will be attempting to keep it as gender neutral as possible but it will have she/her pronouns.

The logo in the center is mine. Please do not reuse or copy.

I strongly recommend looking at the inspiration pictures (which will be updating as the story goes on).

Warnings: cussing, conflict, possible angst, fluff, and obliviousness.

This list will be updated as the story goes on.

A/N - Here is the long fic! Thank you to everyone who voted on the poll for helping me decide if I was going to split this in two! This story has been set while they were filming for Golden Hour Part 2. That being said, I have this set as late spring as the MV shoot was in the summer and they released it in November. This will follow similar events of the production behind video for Ice on My Teeth.

Thanks for reading <3 Moonie

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

It has been about a week since your first day. You were settling into being around the boys and their chaos. You were currently sitting in the studio monitoring the recording of their recording. You were the only one that came to KQ today because there was no need for all of you to be away for just simple filming. You had agreed that you would be the main person to do these because you had a setup that was easier to tote around. You had set yourself up behind the directors desk. You had let all of your clients know that you had been hired for a large company and that your production time would slow down a little, that you would not be in the office as often, and that you will not be accepting as many jobs. Thankfully they were very understanding and were very happy for you.

It was just before 10 a.m. you had already been there for about an hour making sure the cameras were set and they were streaming to your laptop. You had made sure they were at good angles before turning them on shortly before Hongjoong came in. He greeted you and asked you to set something simple up so he could record the introduction to the video. You had set up your small camera up on the table with a short tripod to give him a better angle. Once you had it at a good angle you turned the viewfinder around to face him so he could see himself. He checked his appearance before giving you a thumbs up. You had given him a nod as the camera started recording. He was always easy to film for, generally once your things were set up he didn't have you fiddle with the cameras like so many other people did. He recorded for about ten minutes before signalling he was done. You turned off the recording and smiled at him.

“You're a natural in front of the camera, you know that?” You picked up the camera to set it aside. Stealing a glance at him you took in his bare face, he wasn't even looking at you but you could see his small blush. You put your head down and smiled at the effect you had on him. Eden and a couple of other directors came into the room and you bowed politely. All three of them returned the gesture and sat in the chairs in front of the computers. They were discussing some things about the sound of the track and how they wanted it to fall together.

A couple of minutes later Wooyoung appeared with a large smile. He was the first one to go in the booth. You let him know about the three cameras in the booth and where they were positioned before he walked in. You also pointed above your head to the wide angle camera that you recorded the outside looking in shots with. The reason you had a wide angle was so you could capture everything and then edit down the shots into more appealing angles. As he walked into the booth you double checked that all of the cameras that were streaming to your laptop and made sure they were still recording. The laptop extender that you had was one of the smartest purchases you had made for days like today. Your laptop was situated in the middle and you had one screen set up vertically and one set up horizontally. (See the Inspiration Pictures under equipment for a reference) The first time the boys had seen it they were baffled, they never had seen anything like it. They asked so many questions about how it worked and how you utilized it. You gave Wooyoung the thumbs up that all of the cameras were ready. He stepped into the booth and started his recording.

Shortly after he stepped into the booth Hongjoong came and sat beside you. He was watching all of the cameras with intrigue. “How did you get all of them to stream to your computer?” He asked his eyes never leaving your screens.

“I have a wireless receiver that is connected to all of the cameras and my computer.” You pointed to the white receiver you had set on the floor next to the couch.” Which allows the cameras to stream directly to my computer over the wifi. Its companion software is currently recording the streams. It was kind of complex in the beginning of using it but it has saved me the pain of having to go back and save all of the footage individually. Once we have all of it ready we are able to take clips from it and edit them together, which will turn into one of the behind the scenes videos. ”

“That is so cool! I love being able to see all of the angles of the camera. You have some more advanced equipment than some of the other videographers I have seen.”

“Generally that is how that goes, we are fortunate enough to have the money to be able to afford such niceties.” you watched as Wooyoung took some instructions from the directors that were sitting in front of you. You both sat in relative silence while you watched Wooyoung and the directors. After Woo was finished Hongjoong stepped into the booth. You watched how animated he was while he was recording his parts. You could really see how his mind worked in the moment. He had made a comment at the outrageous camera angle you laughed at him, he always needed to be at his best angle. While it may not have been quite flattering it was good for some of the other shots of them while they were farther away from the mic; almost like a mic pov. The creation of the dubbs made you giggle, a couple of the directors also laughed with you.

You felt the couch dip next to you and you looked at Yeosang who was wearing a tanktop. By god was this man trying to kill you? You quickly looked away from him to cover your blush. He watched your computer screens and listened to Hongjoong intently. “Good morning Y/n-nie, the way you have things set up is so cool. I love that I can see everything at the same time.”

“Thank you Yeosangie. This is going to be how your recording behind the scenes will be from now on.” You were sitting shoulder to shoulder with him and you could feel his warmth seeping through your red cardigan. You had decided to add a pop of color to your black tee and black ripped skinny jeans today. Yeosang had become very comfortable with you the past week. He was so sweet and always perceptive of you. He might seem like he is always confused or not paying attention but you think he is more than likely listening to absolutely everything around him and can't focus on one specific conversation.

“You are really talented. I can't even fathom how you multitask with all of these windows open on your screen” He said looking at you and back to your computer. You blushed and looked at your computer. You were never great about taking compliments.

“You are one to talk, Mr. Doberman have you heard your voice, it's like heaven on earth and the visuals are immaculate” you sniped leaning away from him and holding your fingers out to frame his face from your perspective. He looked at you like a deer caught in the headlights. You laughed at his reaction and pulled him to you with an arm around his shoulders. “Don't dish it out if you can't take it back Sangie.”

You heard Hongjoong huff out some laughter as he was walking out of the booth. “What are you huffin for Captain? You aren't any different, your vocal range and rapping is some of the best I have heard. Don't even get me started on your gorgeous face.” You said snickering. He had looked at you with his nose scrunched and eyes squinted before plopping into the chair next to the directors. You and Yeosang burst into fits of laughter. These were some of your favorite moments with these boys. You could be goofy with them and they completely accepted it. San decided that it was the best moment to make an appearance just to check in on how everyone was doing.

“What are you three on about?” He asked, looking at you and Yeosang doubled over in laughter and Hongjoong pouting.

You whipped your head to look at him, “and YOU, Mountain Choi, Your tone is so special and your range is amazing. Don't even get me started on your muscles, your shoulders are as wide as the Korean Peninsula and everyone drools over you.” He looked at you flabbergasted and the other two burst into heavier laughter; even the directors were quietly giggling at your antics. Hongjoong was about to fall out of his chair, and Yeosang was practically crying on the couch clutching his stomach. You couldn't help yourself but to fall into a fit of giggles at his reaction too. You collapsed over Yeosang dramatically as your laughter turned silent.

He shook his head at all of you and walked out of the room muttering “They’ve all finally lost it.”

Yeosang went in after he collected himself from your giggle fit. He briefly checked himself in the camera and asked if he looked okay, you wanted to steal the mic from the directors and shout yes. Yunho came into the room not too long after Yeosang went into the booth. He plopped down on the couch and rested his arm over your shoulder while you worked. He had picked this up as a habit with you after showing you around the studio on the first day. You turned to look at him and gave him a quick smile. Your computer chimed and all of you jumped, you looked to see that Aurora had sent you a message asking a question about one of her projects. You typed quickly on your computer replying to Aurora’s question before turning down the volume.

“Your work is always so fascinating, I have no idea how you do it with all of the cameras streaming to your computer.” Yunho said, looking at your monitors.

“Don't start that,” Hongjoong said, not even looking at the two of you. “It turned into a compliment battle earlier and none of us could handle her.”

Yunho chuckled at the thought. “I don't think we can handle her any other time either.” You stuck your tongue out at him and turned back to your monitors. Shortly after checking the angles you leaned on his shoulder and sighed.

“Hi Yuyu,” you murmured, rubbing your temples. Your brain was starting to hurt after staring at a screen for so long and or possibly from hunger.

“Hi Y/n,” he replied back to you in an equally soft tone. He started rubbing circles on your shoulder. You relaxed into his warmth and continued watching Yeosang. You and he both listened to Yeosang sing; you were thoroughly impressed with his raw vocals. You may have had a thing for deep voices. Once Yeosang finished he stepped out of the booth and started speaking to the camera above your head. He nodded his head at the both of you and walked out to presumably go to the cafeteria. Yunho separated himself from you and you pouted at the loss of warmth. You wrapped your cardigan around you a little tighter and grabbed the small blanket that was laying over the back of the couch. Hongjoong turned to look at you and smiled, he loved that the small blanket had come in handy for you. One of the staff members had gotten the Aniteez blanket for them as a joke but they had put it in their studio to use whenever they needed. Most of the boys were space heaters so they did not tend to use it very often. You were so focused on watching the recordings that you hadn't noticed him staring at you but you did feel it. You looked up over your laptop and smiled back at him. He quickly turned his head back forward to hide the growing blush on his face. You laughed as one of the directors went in to fix the height of the mic for Yunho. You put a small bookmark on that spot, knowing Atiny would love it. Once they were all satisfied with the height Yunho began his recording. You watched as he was bopping, you found yourself doing the same thing without realizing it. While they were cutting things together you giggled at the scissor motions he was making. He continued on for a little while making sure that it was perfect.

“Lunch break time!” Hongjoong said as he lifted himself off of his chair. You looked up from over your monitors as your stomach growled. He laughed at you and shook his head. You looked at him and shrugged.

“Is it okay that I leave my things here?”

“Yeah, we will be back in here to finish up recording anyway.” He held out a hand to help you up off the couch.

“Perfect, thanks Joongie.” taking his hand you stood up and stretched; you leaned back to pop your spine which let out a loud series of cracks. Hongjoong looked at you with slight horror. “Being curled up on the couch while hunched over my computer always does a number on me.” He nodded and started ushering you out the door with a hand on your lower back. You looked at him with a smile. He had taken to escorting you around like this a couple of days after you started. It was sweet; he was so gentle with you and knew that you had a hard time navigating still. You turned and saw Yunho following you looking at his phone. He looked up briefly and smiled at you before returning to it. He must have been texting everyone that you were taking a lunch break. Once you got to the cafeteria you saw Yeosang, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa sitting at a table. You went to the counter to order and waited to get your food before heading over. As you approached you took everyone in, Yeosang had unsurprisingly gotten chicken; Wooyoung and Seonghwa were silently eating.

“Yeo, your chicken smells so good! Whoever made it did an excellent job.” You said as you sat next to him. He smiled at you with a closed smile. He picked up a piece and offered it to you with a hand under the chopsticks. Your eyes widened, you had never expected him to share chicken with anyone, let alone you who had only been around them for a week. You opened your mouth while he gently put the piece of chicken in your mouth. You covered your mouth as you said “thank you,” with a small bow.

“Hi Y/n!” Wooyoung said with a smile to you and then he immediately turned to Yeosang. “Sangie, why didn't I get a piece when I said the same thing earlier?” he whined pouting. That switch up was absolutely crazy.

“Hi Woo!” You responded after finishing your bite of chicken.

“You aren’t Y/n.” Yeosang said with a deadpan look and a monotone voice. Your eyes widened at his response, nonetheless you stuck your tongue out at Wooyoung before you took a bite of your ramyeon. He let out a noise of protest at the both of you before crossing his arms and pouting. He was such a child.

“What’s going on over here? Why is Wooyoung pouting again?” Hongjoong asked, taking the seat next to you at the head of the table. Yunho sat at the opposite end of the table on the other side Yeosang.

“Y/n is Yeosang’s favorite and he is mad," Seonghwa said with a smirk. Hongjoong and Yunho let out a chuckle at that fact. You could see the mischief in all of their eyes. You shook your head at their banter and continued to eat. This is one of the few reasons you have started to feel at home with these men.

You made your way back to the recording studio with Hongjoong and Seonghwa. The other three were off to do their own things. Hongjoong’s hand was at the small of your back and Seonghwa walked a couple of steps ahead of you. You saw Seonghwa stop to speak to the directors who were just coming out of the recording studio. Once you got to the room you took your spot on the couch, you could feel your eyes drooping and your mind slowing. Now was not the time to fall asleep. You shook your head in an attempt to focus but that didn't help as your head was still hurting and starting to get foggy; hunger hadn't been the reason for it then. Maybe caffeine would help. You looked toward the door when San came in. He looked at you with a raised eyebrow like he was wondering if you were going to pull your shit again. You smiled innocently at him before turning and addressing the room. “I need caffeine or sugar, is there somewhere I can get some?”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa looked at you and went to speak but before they could, San spoke up.“I can show you where you can get some, I think there are some in vending machines in the cafeteria.”

“You're an angel,” you said, grabbing your wallet and getting up to make your way toward him. “Lead the way Mountain Choi," you said, throwing your hand out to motion to the door. Even though you weren't directly looking at him you could feel his eye roll. He linked his arm around yours and practically dragged you out of the room back toward the cafeteria.

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

“She fits in so well with us.”

“She does. I have actually discussed that with a few of the other boys and they had said the same thing. Some of them even admitted to having a crush on her or developing more than friend feelings toward her.”

“I think I can add to that statement. Wooyoung has been adamantly trying to get her attention with his flirting but because she knows that he is flirty by nature, she hasn't realized his advances. She hasn't realized any of our advances really.”

“She is so smart, but kind of oblivious.”

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

“Either that or we aren’t being forward enough.”

You smiled at San who had brought you to the energy drinks in the cafeteria. You got a Monster and proceeded to chug it down. San looked at you with wide eyes. “I have never seen someone chug down an energy drink that fast.”

“Honestly it doesn't quite affect me like it does others, but if I don't drink something with sugar or caffeine I will fall asleep and I have too much shit I need to get done.” You said with a sheepish look at him.

“You sound like Hongjoong hyung. You both need to get better sleep. In fact I think you need a nap before you hardcore crash.” He said as he started walking back toward the studio.

“It is not my fault that my body and mind hate me and don't let me sleep.” You whined.

“You just made my point whiney,” he said, giving you a halfhearted glare. You could see right through him, he was worried about you like your team got when you really struggled to sleep. You heard his phone ping and he quickly checked it and responded before putting it back in his pocket. He opened the door for you and you stepped in the room to see Wooyoung sitting on the couch.

“Hi Noona, Hongjoong hyung and Seonghwa hyung just went to take care of something.” Wooyoung said as he smiled at you and grabbed your hand to pull you down next to him.

“We have a bit of a break, I think you should utilize this time to nap even for a short time.” San said from his spot on the other side of Wooyoung.

“Noona are you not sleeping well again? You can take a nap here, we don't mind. In fact most of us have napped on this couch.” Wooyoung rambled. He had been calling you that on and off, and you couldn't help but to accept it as he was just too cute to say no to.

“I never sleep well Woo, I have things I need to monitor otherwise I would.” You said leaning away from him to wake your computer back up.

“How about I make you a deal?" Wooyoung started. “You can nap on me and when they get back from their errand I will wake you.” You could feel both pairs of eyes on you basically searing through you as you internally debated the pros and cons of a nap. Maybe it would get rid of the headache that was starting to bloom near your temples, if you didn't get this headache under control you would wake up with a migraine tomorrow. But you wanted to seem professional in front of the directors.

You sighed. “Fine, but if any of you hooligans touch my setup I will personally kill each and every one of you in your sleep.”

“Okay, whatever you say, grumpy.” Wooyoung said as he reached up to your face to take off your glasses and place them on the table. He then helped you maneuver to lay your head on his lap. Once he was sure you were comfortable he threw the small blanket over you. He proceeded to card his fingers through your hair giving you a slight scalp massage making sure to gently detangle it as he went. You turned up to look at his blurry form, you could swear that he was looking at you with love, but you chalk that up to you being half awake and practically blind.

“Thank you two for putting up with me, I know I am a handful,” you murmured as you snuggled up under the blanket. You were out like a light in just a few minutes.

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

“Why did you make her a deal and insist on her taking a nap?” San asked in a whisper looking down at the two of you.

“She needs the sleep and I knew it was the only way to get her to agree," Wooyoung said, leaning his head on San’s shoulder. San placed a gentle kiss on Wooyoung’s forehead and wrapped his arm around him.

“Isn't this a sight to come back to, how did you get her to agree to that?”

“She is going to be pissed at you when she wakes up.”

“I think I can handle her, she's just a dark scary teddy bear just like Jjong but with better style.”

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

After what felt like only a few minutes you woke up with Woo gently shaking you. “Hi Noona, everyone just got back, you have been out for about an hour.”

“What?” You asked groggily, sitting up and reaching for your glasses on the table. You finally smacked into them and grabbed them to put them back on so you could actually see. You looked at the clock on your monitors and it read well past when you expected to sleep.

“You sly bastard. You knew they would be gone for a while didn't you? ” You said as you poked him in the sides. He leaned away from your poking and into San.

“Hi sleepy,” Hongjoong said, looking at you with a soft smile. You waved at him with one hand and covered your yawn with the other. Your head had actually felt better.

“Hi, sorry I slept so long.”

“Don't be sorry, you needed it.” He looked at the door as Seonghwa entered the room. Seonghwa moved toward the booth and started checking himself out in the camera. You and WooSan watched with giggles as he said "Appearance Check!” He continued on as if nothing had happened. As the time went on he was chattering with the directors.

“I wanted to seem hip today so I wore a watch.” Everyone burst into laughter as he showed the watch to the camera. You moved forward to put a small bookmark on the shot so you knew where it was later. After a little while Seonghwa finished up and San got up off the couch which shifted both you and Wooyoung. You giggled lightly as Wooyoung almost fell over from the shift of weight; which in turn made you almost fall because you were leaning on him. You sat up and leaned over to the arm of the couch. Once you were settled you opened your arm up to let him lean against you; that way you both would not topple over again. He gratefully leaned into you and kept an eye on your monitors. You could tell he was enraptured with San. The both of you were listening as San was explaining how he wanted his part to sound like the Prince. You could envision what he was saying and were thoroughly impressed that he had made his idea come to life through his singing. Woo had grabbed onto your hand that was over his shoulder and started messing with your fingers.

San had finished his recording and asked if you would be willing to film their goodbye. You nodded and let Wooyoung resituate himself before getting up. You grabbed your camera and followed them out into the hallway. You got the camera set up with a tripod and flipped the viewfinder to them so they could check their appearance before they started speaking. They both leaned in and were checking themselves out, San had snuck a kiss to Seonghwa’s cheek. Seonghwa looked at him with mild disgust but eventually smiled at him. You watched the whole interaction with a smile. You had almost wished you were a part of their relationship, alas that was never going to happen. Could you imagine even being in a relationship with eight men? Especially these eight gorgeous men who had such amazing chemistry on and off stage. They gave you a thumbs up and you started recording, you signaled them in with a wave of your hand. Both of them took turns talking about their parts and the ones they wanted. You listened to them discuss and wondered how the process went for them to be picked for the parts. Maybe that was something you would eventually find out. You tuned back into their conversation as they were waving at the camera. You turned it off after they wandered a little ways from it. After the camera was off they approached you, San gave you a large hug that trapped your arms down by your sides and lifted you up off your feet. Almost as soon as he put you down Hwa swept you into a gentle hug. You could actually react and wrap your arms around his middle. He sighed as he laid his head on your shoulder. You gently patted the back of his head over his hood. After a couple of seconds he pulled away from you and waved his goodbye as he was walking away with San.

You went back into the recording room sadly your cuddlebug Wooyoung had left. Mingi had shown up shortly after you went back in. You watched your monitors with a smile as he took a picture and introduced himself to your camera. This man was so cute. It's always the cute ones that are the crazies though you thought as he started recording his parts. Throughout the recording you snickered to yourself as you watched him raise his hands while recording. Hongjoong turned to look at you with curiosity. You cocked your head to the side and threw your hands up in the air. He snickered at you and shook his head trying to stay fairly quiet for the directors. You felt a dip in the couch, you turned to look who it was. Jongho smiled at you with a large gummy smile.

“Hi Apple Boy, how are you?” You asked, trying out the new nickname. You heard someone choke from the director's desk. You looked up in horror at Hongjoong who had just taken a sip of water. The director next to him patted his back. You covered your mouth to attempt to keep your laughter at bay.

“Apple boy?” Jongho was looking at you with raised eyebrows, his head was cocked to the side. You could tell he was trying to keep his smile at bay. You simply nodded, not trusting yourself to open your mouth without interrupting the recording. “It's because I split apples, isn't it?” He was almost hiding his smirk, you nodded again and he rolled his eyes at you. You could still hear Hongjoong struggling to keep it together. You took your hand away from your mouth when you were certain that you wouldn't laugh your ass off. You grabbed your phone quickly and changed his contact name from The Best Singer that he had originally put in your phone to Apple Boy. Shortly after it had finished updating you realized that you didn't have a contact picture for him.

“I need a contact photo for you. Want to take one for me or am I going to have to download one off of the internet?” you asked. He sighed like you just asked him the most complicated thing in the world. After pondering it for a second he threw his arm around your shoulders; which was very out of character for him. He pulled you close and offered his other hand to you in the shape of half a heart. You felt your heart stop.

Holy shit is this happening? Act NORMAL Y/N.

You completed the heart he offered to you and brought your phone up to take a selfie with him. What you didn't notice however was Hongjoong taking a picture of the two of you. You snapped a few and saved the best looking one as his contact photo. You made sure to send them to him just in case he wanted to do the same with you. Mingi walked out of the booth just as you sent the pictures to him. Jongho had gently helped you readjust and got up. You could feel the heat creeping up your face; what a big teddy bear. Mingi flopped down next to you and put his head in your lap.

“Hi Minki, you sounded really good in there” you said brushing some of the hair out of his eyes and starting to massage his scalp. He smiled up at you and closed his eyes before muttering a small thank you. A few minutes later you pulled your hand away from his hair and he made a small noise of protest. You looked at the man that was cuddled up in your lap who had reopened his eyes to stare into your soul. He grabbed your hand and put it back on his head. You chuckled at him and started massaging his scalp again; you made sure to comb your fingers down the rest of his hair to get some of the small tangles out. He hummed contentedly and promptly closed his eyes again. Returning to look back at your laptop you smiled at how Jongho had perfectly executed the high harmony to Yeosang’s part. You resisted the urge to clap animatedly at him. You were so proud of him. About thirty minutes passed by, Mingi had left; not before giving you a large sleepy smile and a half hug.

Jongho stepped out of the booth and you smiled at him. You stood up and got ready to film the ending segment. You stepped out into the hall and set up your camera with a tripod. Just like always you let him check himself out in the viewfinder before recording. Once he was satisfied you started the recording, you stepped back into the recording room and started the process of shutting things down. You moved over to your laptop and made sure to save the progress and started turning off the recordings and the cameras. Once you collected everything you started packing it up into the backpack. Hongjoong and the directors were talking as you went into the booth to take down the three cameras. Jongho stepped back into the room and waved at you from the doorway. You waved back with a camera in your hand, you set the last camera in the bag and zipped it up. Next as your laptop, you had gently taken off the extender before putting it in your laptop bag. Once you had deconstructed everything you threw your filming backpack on and your laptop bag over your shoulder.

“I am all set to go, I am going to drop the cameras off in the office and then head home. I will get the footage edited as soon as I can and we will wait to post the behind the production video until dance practice is finished” You said to the room. Thankfully as a part of your contract your team was in charge of their marketing and posting schedule too. Willow had taken up the head of that front, you were just her videographer and editor, she was the one who decided what to put out when. “Thank you for a productive day,” you bowed to everyone and walked out of the room. On the way you grabbed the camera you had left out for Jongho, as you were walking you turned off the recording and shut down the camera. You meandered the semi familiar route to your KQ office.

“Y/n!” You heard someone shout behind you, you turned around and spotted Hongjoong almost jogging to catch up with you. You stopped in your tracks to let him catch up to you. He immediately put his hand on your back and started escorting you the rest of the way to your office. You smiled at his actions. This man, god he was so sweet and thoughtful. “I wanted to make sure you got to the office and your car safely, it is already semi-late out.”

“Thank you for thinking of me.” You replied as you got to the door to the KQ office. You opened the door and flicked the light on. You saw several things scattered about from when you and the team were here for an early meeting the other day. You gently stuck the bag of equipment next to your desk out of the way. Hongjoong had wandered in and started looking at all of the cameras that were on the shelves behind the desks.

“I didn't know that there were so many cameras or lenses. I've never seen some of these.” He gestured to some of the smaller, more vintage cameras.

“Those ones specifically are more for looks, I am a little bit of a collector of cameras. Some of them you cannot even buy the film for anymore unless you want to go somewhere ancient.” He nodded continuing to look at all of them, he was particularly enamored by a small vintage polaroid camera. You watched as he hesitated to touch it, he was being respectful of your cameras which you admired him for. You walked over to that one and took it off the shelf.

“Want to take a couple of pictures?” You asked him while making sure it still had film in it. You looked back up to him and smiled at his wonder.

“I would love that,” he responded. You stood close to him preparing to take the picture holding up a finger heart. He wrapped his arm around your waist and did the same pose as you. You felt the chill run up your spine at the unexpected contact, sure he had escorted you around with his hand on the small of your back but he was never this close. You snapped the picture and waited for it to finish before taking it out of the camera, you gently set it face down on the shelf while it developed.

“Aren't you supposed to shake them while they develop?" he tilted his head at you.

“That is actually a common misconception, if you do that you risk messing up some of the chemical processes that make the photo appear. It can cause uneven pictures and sometimes lead to blemishes. In fact, you are actually supposed to lay it face down on a flat surface to get the best result.” You motioned to the picture and how you set it.

He glanced at the photo and nodded, “Really? I didn't know that, I guess I won't be shaking my polaroid pictures now. Thank you for telling me about that Shutterbug. The last videographers we had would have scoffed at me and offered a half ass answer.” You could feel the heat creeping up the back of your neck at the new nickname. No one had ever really cared enough to come up with cute nicknames for you, other than your team.

“I'm glad I could help you learn something today Joongie, I am always open to help someone learn about what I love. Do you want to take another so each of us can have one?” He nodded yes and pulled you closer for the picture, he offered his hand to you with a half heart, much like Jongho had earlier. You laughed at the situation and snapped the picture. You followed the same routine with this one as you did with the last. Hongjoong gently grabbed the first picture and smiled at it, he showed it to you and you also smiled. It had come out perfect with the warm vintage tint. “I am so keeping this in my wallet,” you said as you dug into your computer bag to grab it. You gently took it from Hongjoong and put it in one of the picture slots. You turned around your wallet and showed it to Hongjoong. It was among several other pictures of you and your team.

“I am doing the same," he said as he took the other picture off the shelf. He showed it to you and you smiled at how well it took. Both of you were smiling like idiots at the camera. It came out more candid than the first did.

“Okay, it is getting late for you, we need to get you to your car.” He said, closing his wallet. You nodded and let him escort you out of the room. As you walked by you switched off the light and closed the door. He walked you to your car and made sure you got in and settled before closing the door. He took a step back and waved at you. You returned the gesture and started pulling out of the spot. As you were driving away you made sure to see if he made it back into the building. You knew that he would be here for another few hours at least.

It took you about forty five minutes to get back to your house. You parked in the garage and wandered in, you made sure to take off your shoes before heading directly up the stairs to your room. You messaged the groupchat you had with your team and Ateez that you made it home. You had created the group chat to effectively communicate with everyone and affectionately named it Ministry of Chaos. You were often tempted to change it to People I See Too Often but you knew at least two or three of them would throw a fit. Setting your phone down you started your nightly routine, once you finished you crashed onto the bed. Toothless was the first to get on the bed and snuggle with you. Beans and Mocha followed shortly after. You fell asleep with loud purrs drowning out everything else.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Next Chapter (Chapter 7)

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