#I have some new furniture arriving early next week to help me organize my room better

[theamazingannie]

Bought myself a planner and some colored pens so this semester better fucking go well

[theharrowing]

Boy Blue 💙 26: Howdy, partner

While going through a painful but necessary breakup, you meet someone who is patient, kind, and understanding; everything your last ex was not.

Or is he?

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💙 Taehyung x Female Reader

💙 word count: 1.9 k+ images of text conversations

💙 college au, text message au, strangers to lovers, yandere, hurt/comfort, smut, fluff, angst, slow burn, slash, poly, major character injury & death, graphic violence, nsfw, 21+

💙 warnings: mostly fluff and confusion uwu

💙 written parts beta read by @neoneunnajimin

💙 posted nov. 2021 | read on ao3

The week flies by with helping Taehyung unpack and organize his belongings into the house. Although he requests that you only help with the kitchen and living room, insisting that he'll take care of the rest of the rooms on his own because he'll be much more particular about where everything goes, there is still a lot you manage to help with. 

You do find it a little odd, since he is trusting you to hang his photos and artwork onto the walls wherever you see fit, and you expect this would be something he'd be way more concerned with. But, for the most part, he just smiles, nods at your choices, and encourages you to keep going. 

By Saturday, you hadn't heard from Hana or Jungkook since Monday, only seeing Jungkook during your Tuesday morning class. And, although it breaks your heart to feel like you're losing your best friend, you hope that she will come around when she is ready. In the meantime, you keep yourself distracted by spending as much time with Taehyung as possible. However, when Monday rolls back around, and Hana is still nowhere to be seen, you begin to worry.

Class for the day is over, and you stand in the hallway, unsure of what to do. Ordinarily, you would follow Taehyung and do whatever he had planned, going to the new house or to a café to work on some assignments over a nice hot cup of coffee, or maybe going to your apartment, but never alone. Always together. But today he left early to go to a photoshoot, and you feel...lost.

You consider going home. After all, you have been going home as if it was no problem, often spending time alone, since your breakup with Jungkook. So why does it feel like such a big deal now? 

Your hands feel sweaty, and your chest feels tight. You wonder if it could be anxiety, and where it could suddenly be coming from. You ask yourself why you feel so lonely and so dependent on your need to be with Taehyung all of a sudden. This feels so strange, and you hope it will pass soon, thinking it must be merely a product of losing touch with Hana and not allowing yourself to process everything that may have happened with her, just yet.

You feel on the absolute brink of a spiral when your phone lights up, and you see “Boy Blue 💙” causing your heart to pound in your chest. Suddenly, your blood is flowing and your oxygen is regulating, and you feel like you are able to think clearly again, even from just having a sliver of hope that Taehyung may not have to work after all, and you won’t have to be stuck sitting at home alone. And, for the time being, you refuse to process how pathetic it makes you feel.

It takes Taehyung no time at all to arrive, and you climb into his car and head to the apartment for one last walk-through and to pick up an item that needs to be taken to his new home. 

"It's too important to be handled by the movers," Taehyung muses as he opens the door to the now cleaned-out apartment. 

You are shocked by how small and empty the space looks without any of his furniture or art, looking around as if you are seeing the apartment for the first time. A noise from the bedroom startles you, and you both whip around to find a man peeking his head through the doorway, appearing nervous.

"What are you still doing here?" Taehyung asks, clenching his jaw and visibly annoyed.

"S-sorry, sir," the man stammers, "the final item on my list was too heavy for me to take on my own, and I had to wait for my partner to come back from his lunch break."

Taehyung squints his eyes and exhales loudly. "It's fine," he bites, though his tone is far from anything that may indicate it is remotely close to fine. "Just get it out of here."

The man nods and exits the bedroom backward, holding onto a large telescope, followed by a second man, who is helping him carry it. And suddenly, you are confused. You have definitely never seen a telescope here before; where on earth could he have been keeping it?

"W-what is that?" you ask; although you know what it is, you can't seem to find the words to form the actual question on the tip of your tongue. 

Taehyung wraps his arm around your waist. "That's a telescope, silly."

"When did you get that?"

He thinks for a moment, turning his face toward the ceiling. "Gosh...before I moved to America, I think?"

What?

"Where has it been?"

Taehyung chuckles and shrugs. "Mostly kept in my closet. I haven't had much use for it, living in the middle of the city. Even though light pollution has no effect on its ability to look at the skies, I found I wasn't inspired here. But in the new house, I can look out in any direction I like." Taehyung has a hopeful lilt to his tone, and he pulls you close to his side.   

That big thing was just sitting in his closet this whole time? 

You think back to when he would excuse himself to his room, coming out sweaty and worn out. But no...why would he have to hide something from you?  

Once the movers exit the apartment, Taehyung walks into the bedroom. You follow behind, noticing as he picks up the little brown box that had been sitting under his bed, still in the same space on the floor despite the bed, and everything else gone. It is held shut with a series of large colorful rubber bands, and he tucks it under his arm, sighing as the contents inside shift around, sounding like photographs or postcards. Taehyung looks around the empty room one last time.   

His eyes land on the carpet in front of the window and widen before he wraps his free arm around you, tugging you with him out of the room. Although you only sneak a glance, you notice three indents left behind on the plush surface that look as if they could have been made by the legs of the telescope. Although you get a weird, unexplained feeling in your gut, it's quickly dispersed by Taehyung, who starts asking what you'd like for dinner, offering to make you something in his fancy new kitchen. 

"Hmm, I don't know," you say, turning your face toward his.

"Kimchi fried rice?" Taehyung asks, and as he does, you feel your stomach growl. The sound isn't lost on Taehyung, who chuckles and says, "It's settled."

After a short drive, you arrive at Taehyung's house, and he excuses himself, scaling the stairs two at a time to put the box into his room. You look around at the same photographs you have seen many times before, studying the portraits and wondering if they might be of Seokjin. In some of the pictures, he almost looks similar to Jungkook, which you only just realize, and it takes you by surprise. Jungkook, you think. What an asshole. 

From upstairs, you hear some rustling around and Taehyung's voice talking softly. It takes you by surprise, and you turn to face the second level. Taehyung emerges from the furthest room on the left, holding his phone to his ear, and saying goodbye to whoever is on the other line. 

"I thought you went into your room," you call with an amused smile, wondering how he'd moved around from room to room so quietly. 

"You're so curious, my little kitten," Taehyung muses as he descends the stairs, taking you by the hand and making his way into the kitchen. "Grab us a bottle of soju from the storage room? We'll chill it for dinner."

You nod and walk past the kitchen and into the storage area that sits full of groceries, wine, liquor, and various kitchen appliances. Now that you are in here, you remember what Taehyung said about the hidden wine cellar and wonder where it might be and why he kept the wine out here, instead, as you reach for a bottle of soju and turn to take it into the kitchen. 

Taehyung's presence in the doorway startles you, and you jump, inhaling sharply before laughing, causing Taehyung to chuckle and shake his head as he reaches for you. As you exit, you notice to the right, just past a table that holds a few stray boxes waiting to be unpacked, a wall panel that has a gap between it and another panel. 

That must be where the room is, you think, tucking the information away until later when you can ask to have a tour of the basement.

Another week passes, and you still haven't heard from Hana. Jungkook, however, is in class, and he does not miss the opportunity to watch you through squinted eyes as you walk past, turning his body in your direction while you scale the risers, watching you squirm as you sit down. This is clearly amusing to him. 

Taehyung is out of class this week, working out of town once again, and you feel the crushing weight of both loneliness and worry, knowing that, if Jungkook were to do anything, you would be defenseless to let him. Once you realize what you've been thinking, you feel silly, silently talking yourself down from your anxiety. After all, what would Jungkook even do? Why do you suddenly feel so on edge all the time, like there's an imminent threat of danger looming overhead?

"...end of the semester class project," the professor's voice pulls you from your reverie. "I've drawn names at random, assigning you to a partner, so once class is over, be sure to check the list and meet with that partner to discuss what your topic will be."

You rest your head on your hands, wondering how this could be any worse, hoping against hope that you have been partnered with Taehyung, or even some random classmate who you have never met, knowing deep down that you are probably matched up with Jungkook because the universe is cold and unyielding and cruel.

Once class is over, you reluctantly get to your feet, pushing your barely touched notebook into your bag and sighing heavily. When you look to the front of the class, however, Jungkook is smiling ear-to-ear with some boy you have never noticed before, indicating that you must not be assigned to him, after all. What a relief.

As you reach the bottom of the risers and lean forward to read the paper, you find your name followed by...Min Yoongi. 

The name does not ring a bell, and you glance around before finally, you meet the gaze of a man who you have noticed sitting in the far corner before. He is pale and somewhat thin, with dark brown hair hanging into dark cat-like eyes and clad in all black save for silver jewelry that dangles from each ear. 

Yoongi pulls his mouth into a straight line as he approaches before shrugging and saying, "Howdy, partner."

Yoongi really said 🤠

tag list: ​ @dasexydevitt13​, @girl8890​, @illnevertrustmyselfagain​, @mwitsmejk & @starlight-night0​​ ✨ unable to tag: @ffionatev, @giriiboyy

comment or dm to be added!  💜

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please don’t be a silent reader! comments & reblogs help so much (and likes are nice, too.)

Boy Blue is copyright 2021 theharrowing, all rights reserved. 

[nerdzzone]

Only For A Moment: August

Summary: A series of shorter one shots from Chris and Whitney’s life together throughout the pandemic. Some happy times, some harder times, some fluff and some things a little more sexy - they work through it all as they try to get settled in their new and blossoming relationship.

Chris Evans x OFC

Part of the Once Bitten/More Hearts series

Only For A Moment: July

Note: I’ve had a super busy day, but I wanted to get this posted so I edited it really quickly. Please forgive me if there’s any little mistakes!

Thank you to everyone who has liked, reblogged and commented! Hearing your thoughts really makes my day!

-----

August 2020

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who actually enjoys moving - especially if that move involves a three year old who feels the need to be very involved in the packing, but is also incredibly easily distracted. And even more so when that child's father is almost just as distractible and, despite his insistence that he'd stay focused, does more to hinder the whole operation than help.

That was the situation that I found myself in at the end of the first summer of the pandemic because we were moving in with Chris.

While I was hesitant at first, it made the most sense and neither Grayson nor I were particularly eager to return to our tiny little apartment. I still felt that it was pretty early in our relationship for us to be living together, but we'd survived so far and moving back seemed like it would do more harm than good. Grayson had settled in nicely at Chris' house and another big change - like making him go back to having two homes - seemed like it would be very disruptive.

But moving came with it's own challenges.

After our conversation a few months earlier, Chris had told all of his most trusted friends about our change in relationship status. That came in handy as a few of his buddies - who had trucks - had volunteered to help us move things the last weekend of August, but packing had me feeling overwhelmed. I'd managed to give most of the furniture away - between our friends and Chris' family - but we still had way too much stuff.

It was on that Saturday morning that I found myself sitting in the middle of Grayson's old bedroom almost in tears. I'd packed up his mountain of toys the night before only to find Chris and Grayson unpacking several boxes the next morning while I was trying to finish up in the living room. Apparently, Grayson had wanted a certain toy that I'd already packed and instead of telling him to wait because he had several other things to play with that weren't boxed up, Chris helped him look for it.

He was trying to be helpful, thinking that repacking a few things would be easier to deal with than a meltdown from Grayson, but it had been a long, tiring week as I tried to get everything organized and their actions almost pushed me to my breaking point. I scolded them both and banished them to the little playground just outside the building while I set to work cleaning up their mess.

Almost twenty minutes later, I heard a knock on the front door as it creaked open. I poked my head out of the room I was in - ready to send the boys straight back outside - only to see Chris' oldest and closest friend, Tara. She was masked up for safety and knowing how sweet and helpful she was, she was a refreshing sight. I'd met her several times, mostly when Grayson was a baby and I lived with Chris, and she'd been a calming and encouraging presence back then so I was definitely relieved to see her during another time of high stress.

"Hey," I smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought supplies," she informed me, holding up a tray of iced coffees. "Chris called and said that he thought you could use some help."

"You're a lifesaver," I groaned with pleasure as she put down the tray and handed me one of the drinks. "I need this, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she returned my smile. "How's the packing going?"

"Not bad now that the boys are outside," I laughed. "It's pretty much all done, I think. You never realize how much junk you have until you have to pack it all up."

"Oh my god, I know. We moved last year and it felt like the piles of things we had to take was never ending."

"It's crazy," I agreed. "Especially with all Gray's stuff. I thought we did a good job of not spoiling him, but he has an insane amount of toys."

"I can imagine," she cringed. "But I have no plans all day so just tell me what you need help with and I'm all yours."

I thought for a moment as I sipped the coffee she'd brought me until I had an idea.

"Actually..." I started, feeling a bit sheepish. "Would you be willing to take Grayson for a bit? I know it's a big ask, especially while he's so excited, so feel free to say no."

"Are you kidding? I'd love to take him!"

I let out a breath of relief as I felt my body relax.

"Thank you so much. I really need Chris to help me carry these boxes and he's been so preoccupied with Grayson that he's been no use at all," I explained. "It's a big change and he's worried about him being freaked out by it all, which I totally get, but I need him to focus a bit too."

Tara laughed and shook her head.

"I get it, don't worry. I know what he can be like," she assured me. "I'll go down and get Gray now and send Chris up here."

"Thank you. You're the best, Tara."

She waved off my gratitude and insisted it was no problem before leaving me to turn my attention back to what I'd been doing before she arrived.

-

Once Grayson was in the safe care of Tara, Chris was much more useful. We were packing things with impressive speed and when it was almost time for his friends to show up with their trucks, we started moving things down to the lobby of the building to make the loading process quicker.

I was a tad nervous about the whole situation as I hadn't spent much time with most of Chris' friends and I didn't really know what they thought of me. I hoped they'd be understanding of our situation and give me a chance, but if he really had been pining away for me all these years - thinking that I didn't want to be with him - I worried that they'd think I was selfish and heartless.

Those worries, combined with my stress about getting everything organized, had me still feeling rather on edge. It didn't help that the creepy maintenance man that I'd warned Chris about was watching us like a hawk. I could feel his eyes on me every time I stepped foot in the lobby and the sensation made my skin crawl. I just wanted to get it all done and over with as fast as possible so we could get away from him, but Chris had clearly noticed him too and I could feel his annoyance rising as well.

He held it together until our last trip down when our spectator really crossed a line. I was bending over to place some boxes on the ground when I could have sworn I heard a groan of pleasure from behind me. I snapped back up to standing and looked over my shoulder to see the man with a smirk on his face and his eyes fixed on me. It made my stomach churn, but Chris was immediately by my side, his arm sliding around my waist. Before I could even question what he was doing, he pulled down his mask and then my own, cupped my jaw with his hand and pulled me in for a kiss.

It was a rather passionate embrace and I was surprised as he usually wasn't one for public displays of affection. Then it hit me why he was doing it and I felt a flash of annoyance run through me as he pulled away. There was a smirk on his face as he rested his forehead against mine, but all I could muster was a frown.

"Do you think he got the hint?"

I scoffed at his question.

"I think he got enough pictures to pay his bills for the next few months," I huffed, keeping my voice low so we wouldn't be overheard. "Are you done marking your territory now?"

Chris looked taken aback by my harsh tone and I sighed as I slipped out of his grasp and headed to the door. I wanted to see if his friends had arrived yet and get away from the creep, but Chris followed and wasn't prepared to let our conversation drop.

"What, so I'm not allowed to kiss you in public in case someone sees?" He asked once we got outside, his own annoyance coming through. "I thought you didn't care if people found out about us?"

I stopped walking and spun around to face him.

"I don't care," I snapped. "But I'd rather not give some pervert the chance to profit off of us just to save your wounded pride."

Even with his mask pulled back up, I could see Chris' jaw clench with frustration.

"He was being disrespectful. I was standing right there and he moans while staring at your ass? C'mon, he's a fuckin' asshole."

Another flare of anger washed over me as I fought to keep myself calm enough to explain to him why what he'd just said was almost as frustrating as the actions of the man who'd been ogling me.

"He was being disrespectful," I agreed, my voice steady despite my rising temper. "But to me, not to you! It doesn't matter if I have a boyfriend or not, he shouldn't behave like that towards any woman! I don't deserve to be respected because of you, I deserve to be respected because I'm a human being who has a right to feel safe in their own apartment building."

Chris' shoulders dropped as he took in my words and visibly calmed down, but I was still feeling wound up.

"Shit, Winnie, you're right," he relented. "I don't want anyone to treat you like that ever, not just because you're my girlfriend. It just pissed me off that he had the balls to do that even in front of me."

"So kissing me like that to send him a message was the best solution you could think of? Like, 'don't touch this one, she's mine'. It made me feel gross. I don't need you claiming me in public to scare off creeps, thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that," Chris insisted, looking slightly wounded by my scolding. "I'm sorry, I was being an idiot."

"Okay," I shrugged, somewhat blowing off his apology. "We should go to the parking lot. Your friends might be here."

"Are we good, Win?" He asked, clearly not as eager to let the subject drop. "I want to make this right if you're upset..."

"I'm fine," I sighed, knowing that was only half true. It was only half his fault though, the stress of the day overall was more to blame and, at that point, I just wanted it to be over so I could have a nice big glass of wine. "Let's just go see where your friends are."

He didn't argue as I walked off and when we turned the corner into the parking lot, his friends were all there lined up in the visitor's spots. I forced a smile despite the fact that it was hidden by my mask and waved as we walked over.

"Hey!" I greeted them. "Thanks so much for doing this. We really appreciate it."

"Ah, no worries!" Jon assured me. "But, are you really sure you want to move in with this guy?"

"Yeah, we were just talking," Zach continued. "And it feels a bit Stockholm syndrome-y. He confines you to a house and suddenly you fall in love? Seems a bit suspicious."

"Wow, guys, glad you're on my side," Chris laughed. "I wouldn't have asked you to help out if I knew you'd try and change her mind!"

"We just want to make sure we're not committing any crimes here," Luke insisted. "I don't want to be an accomplice to anything and we're all scratching our heads about what she could see in you."

Chris shook his head at their teasing and I tried to push our earlier discussion from my mind as I giggled and slid my hand into his. I felt him tense up in surprise at the gesture, but he relaxed as I squeezed it and leaned against his arm.

"There's no Stockholm syndrome here," I assured them. "It just took a pandemic and the constant threat of impending doom for me to come to my senses. I'm just lucky Chris was silly enough to wait for me."

Chris chuckled and leaned over to place a kiss on the top of my head as his friends rolled their eyes.

We quickly went over the game plan for the day once the initial greeting was over and as soon as his friends turned to head towards the building, I dropped my hand from Chris'. I knew I was being petty and sulky and from the sigh that fell from Chris' lips, he did too, but I couldn't help it - I needed some space to work through my cranky mood on my own. Luckily, Chris seemed to figure that out pretty fast and left me to my brooding as we followed his friends and got to work.

-

It didn't take us as long as I expected to load all the boxes into the trucks, but that was probably the benefit to having a team of strong men helping you move. Once it was all unloaded into the spare bedroom at Chris' place where I had been sleeping at the start of the pandemic, Chris broke out a few beers for his friends and fired up the grill while we waited for Tara and Gray to arrive. It was a beautiful, warm evening and perfect for an impromptu barbecue to thank all Chris' friends and it was a great opportunity for me to bond a bit more with some of the most important people in Chris' life.

Grayson knew them all better than I did, but we had some concerns that the lack of socialization would make him nervous around the now somewhat unfamiliar faces. But he put those worries to bed almost as soon as he arrived as he was the life of the party. He was thrilled to see the three men who were sitting in the lawn chairs dotted around our yard - in an effort to keep everyone somewhat distant from each other - and the cheer they let out as soon as they saw him made me think they were just as excited. They seemed to really adore him and he thrived on the attention. It warmed my heart to see the genuine care they all had for Grayson - it was wonderful to know he had so many people in his corner - and I was relieved when that care was extended to me.

Any doubts that I'd had about them accepting me were quickly pushed from my mind as they seemed to be just as eager to get to know me as I was to get to know them. They were all lovely, kind people and I wondered why I ever expected anything else from the people in Chris' inner circle.

They left as soon as Grayson's bedtime rolled around - partially because we were all tired from our long day of moving boxes and partially because we all knew there was no way that Gray was going to agree to go to bed while the party was still going. Once they were gone, he demanded Chris tuck him in so I tidied up in the kitchen while he handled bedtime.

As soon as I'd finished putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher, I felt his arms around my waist.

"Hey," he whispered in my ear, his chin resting on my shoulder. "Thanks for cleaning up."

"You don't need to thank me," I smiled, turning in his arms so we were face to face. "It's my house to keep clean too now, even if that's still weird to think about."

"Weird in a good way?"

"Definitely," I nodded. "It's felt like home here for a while now. It would have been awful to go back to that little apartment."

"It would have been weird for me too," Chris agreed. "I can't imagine being in this big house without you guys anymore."

"You'd have to move all your friends in," I teased, using it as a segue. "Who, by the way, are all very nice."

"Yeah?" Chris grinned. "You think so?"

"I do. I was a bit nervous about it," I admitted. "In case they resented me for how our relationship unfolded, but they're great."

"They never resented you at all," Chris chuckled. "Pretty much everyone who knows about our first night together was on your side about that and they've been pushing me to make a move ever since."

"Well, that's good to know."

Chris nodded and continued.

"They all really like you. Jon gave me clear instructions to not fuck it up."

I laughed at that, but felt a wave of relief.

"I appreciate their support."

"Well, you definitely have it."

Chris leaned down to press his lips against mine and I melted into his body, feeling the exhaustion from the stress of the day start to hit me. We stayed like that, just holding each other for a few minutes until Chris broke the silence around us.

"Can we talk about earlier?"

My stomach churned with embarrassment at the memory, but I nodded.

"Of course, we can. I'll start by saying that I'm sorry."

Chris leaned back slightly, just enough to look down at me with his confusion written all over his face.

"You're sorry? Why are you sorry?" He asked. "I brought it up so that I could apologize to you."

"You don't need to," I assured him. "I get why you did what you did. I just don't deal with stress very well and the whole day was overwhelming me. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"You don't deal with stress very well? I never would have known!" His words were laced with sarcasm as he smiled down at me and I laughed, gently smacking his chest in protest. "But seriously, I deserved a good scolding. You were absolutely right with what you said, I shouldn't have handled the situation like that."

"I appreciate that you can see where I was coming from," I sighed. "But there is no perfect way to handle a situation like that, really. It's best just to ignore it, but then it feels like you're letting the gross guy win."

"Well, if we're ever in a situation like that again, I'll follow your lead," he insisted. "But I can't say that I'll just ignore it. I might just punch the guy out for being a creep."

I laughed again before shaking my head.

"And then whoever is watching will have a different kind of picture to sell to the trashy magazines."

Chris cringed at that comment.

"I'm sorry. Do you really think he took pictures?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "But if he recognized you then I'd be surprised if he didn't."

Chris nodded, clearly getting lost in thought for a moment before he spoke again.

"And you really don't care if proof gets out that we're together?"

"I don't," I insisted. "I don't like the idea of some pervert making money off of us, but I don't care if people know we're together. It might be good for people to get used to the idea now, when we're hiding at home all the time anyway. By the time we can go outside again, no one will care enough to take pictures of us."

"That might be wishful thinking," Chris smiled. "But I'll do my best to keep you out of the spotlight."

I matched his smile and stretched up to place a kiss on his lips.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

As I predicted, the creepy maintenance man did take pictures of us and he did sell them to some trashy magazine. The internet was horrified, the hearts of fangirls all over the world were broken and I was called every cruel name under the sun. There were rumours that I trapped him with another baby and rumours that I was a gold digger - just using Chris for his money so I didn't have to work during the pandemic. The general reception to the forced confirmation of our relationship was pretty abysmal, but nothing worse than we expected and at the end of the day we didn't care.

All the people who truly cared about us were happy for us and that was the most important thing.

-

September

Tags: @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink @zaylaugh @flowery-mess @flowerjewels @njrronaldo7 @hockeychick10 @partypoison00 @theladybiers @sidepieces @firoozehmoon @patzammit @sparkledfirecracker @mytbel0st @chvntelle-99

[janicho88]

Falling For You -Part 3

November

Pairing- Eventual Dean x Female!Reader,  

Word Count-3546

Warning- Fluff. Mention of serial killers. Still burning slow. 

A/N- I had an idea for a one shot, and giving a little backstory to Dean and the Reader meeting took on a life of its own. We should hit the one shot part around chapter 20, oops?  This story is AU, and un beta’d.  Thank you @waywardbeanie​ and @whatareyousearchingfordean​ for helping me keep these 2 characters in line and letting me bounce ideas off of you. 

 Summary- After being burned before you had sworn off finding love for now. Coming home from work one night there is a strange man pounding on your door.  Neither of you knew what this meeting would lead to.

Series Masterlist

Do you ever notice how quickly time goes once October hits?  In a blink November is over and suddenly Christmas is here and then we are ringing in the new year.   You aren’t even sure you remember much of the first two weeks of November this year. You did remember you had been out helping Dean a number of nights.  Work was finally back under control , but you needed to get a list around to start on your Holiday baking for the first weekend of December, Thanksgiving was next week. It seemed like you couldn’t figure out which direction to go in. 

Dean had gone to see a few houses and asked you to go with him for another opinion.  Both of you fell in love with the sixth house.  It was a two story single family home, you would have killed for the kitchen.  So much counter space for baking or cooking.  It only needed a few touch ups here or there, maybe some new paint in some of the rooms eventually, but it was move-in ready.  The previous owners already moved out of town and took all their belongings with them.  Dean had been working with a bank to be approved for a loan before finding the house, plus he had saved what he had when his house sold.  The closing was done by Friday the end of the second week.

While Dean was busy finalizing paperwork on his house, you were at your desk on your lunch hour looking through pinterest for new cookie or bar ideas. A familiar voice sounded behind you.  

“I’m back bitches!”  Turning around you saw the fiery redhead who was in charge of IT for the company.  Charlie used to work out of this office, but they had moved her to the new clinic that had opened an hour away for the last two months.  

“Things are running smoothly over there, two weeks without any problems, I get to come back to you guys now.”  She walked over to her familiar work area and tapped the Hermione figure sitting by her monitor and asked if she missed her.  “So what have I missed here?”  You and Monica filled her in, and introduced her to Anna when she came back.  The rest of the day passing fairly quickly. 

Making a quick dinner that night you received a phone call from your mom.  Her older sister had fallen and hurt her hip.  She wasn’t going to be able to travel down for Thanksgiving, so your parents were going up there.  This way your mom could help her around the house and with the meal.  Your cousins were a bit lazy, they weren’t going to do it.  She asked if you wanted to go with them, and after thinking about it for a moment, told her not to worry about you.  Your aunt's house wasn’t very big, and some other family was going up also.  That was going to be too much close family togetherness for you.

 Wiping down your counter you heard a tap at the door, slipping on shoes and grabbing your purse you headed out.  Jess and Dean were out in the hall waiting for you, the two of you offered to help Dean clean tonight before things were moved in tomorrow.  Sam was working a big case and stuck at work this evening.  The house was in good shape, it just needed a good pre move in clean.

“So Dean,” Jess started talking when you got in the car.  “Since you are going to have the most room, how about you host Thanksgiving next week?”

“What?”  He was a bit caught off guard by that.

“Your parents are coming up, so are mine, that’s seven of us in our apartment trying to cook a big dinner, you have a huge new kitchen and a dining room.”

“One, do you really trust me to make Thanksgiving dinner?”

“I didn’t say you had to make it all, we’ll help, you just have the space to have it at.”

Sitting at a red light Dean closed his eyes and let out a sigh, “If we can have the house usable by Tuesday, fine.”

“Good, Sam also told your parents they were staying at your house.”  Rolling his eyes Dean knew it was pointless to respond.  Jess turned in her seat to see you in the back, “What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Y/N?”

“Usually we go to my grandparents, but my mom called tonight and my aunt got hurt so they are all going up to her house.  I’m just going to hang out at home, watch the parade, and be lazy.”

“Apparently I’m hosting Thanksgiving, come join us.”  Dean offered, glancing at you in the back.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to intrude.”

“You won’t be, Sam already did that when he has people staying at my house that I’m not even living in yet, without telling me.”

“Okay, if you are sure, thanks.  Just let me know what I can bring.”

“Pie, lots of pie,”

Dean had already taken cleaning supplies over to the house and the three of you decided to divide and conquer.  You took the kitchen and dining room, Jess and Dean split up the two upstairs bathrooms and the master bedroom and one of the guest rooms. Whoever finishes first would start in the living room.  These rooms would be used for his parents' visit and Thanksgiving, the other rooms would be tackled if there was time.  Walls, windows, doors all scrubbed down, floors vacuumed and mopped, kitchen cupboards all wiped out.  It took you guys a few hours and everyone was beat when you headed back to the apartment building.  Sam and Dean were renting a uhaul in the morning to get Dean’s stuff from storage, you made plans to ride over with Jess to help unpack. 

Back in your apartment you looked to see what you could whip up to take with you for breakfast.  Normal cinnamon rolls would take too long, and you didn’t have the energy, but cinnamon biscuits were doable.  You made a double batch, and prepped the icing.  Figuring you would warm them in the morning and top them then.  

Dressed in a comfy old t-shirt and worn jeans sweatshirt sitting with the biscuits,  you were ready when Jess came to get you.  “Oh my, what is that smell?”

“I figured we would be working up an appetite today, so I brought breakfast rolls. Do you want one for the road?”

“Uh, yes please.”  Both of you laughing, she grabbed one out of the container while waiting for the elevator.

“Yep, Dean’s right.  Girl you can bake.”

The guys pulled up with the uhaul just as you were getting out of the car.  “Ready to start,” she asked.

“Not really, you?”

“I wish I was back in bed.”

“What are you two laughing at?” Sam inquired leaning down to give Jess a quick kiss.

“Just wishful dreams,” she told him.

Dean unlocked the house while Sam opened the truck.  They let you and Jess take some boxes, while they moved some of the furniture that came on this load.  Thankfully Dean had somewhat labeled the boxes as he packed so you knew where to drop what.  His labels gave you an idea on what was important to the man: kitchen crap, bathroom junk, living room stuff, bed things, other room bed things, you just didn’t know what was in each of those boxes, but clearly knew what was in the VINYLS, TOOLS, and MOVIES boxes.

Dean had kept most of the furniture from his old place, but did have a few new things coming.  Such as a master bedroom set, and new couch and dining room table. Those were going to be delivered Tuesday.  Jess told you he didn’t want things that reminded him of Lisa, so he sold anything that did when he moved.  

Cas came over to help in the early afternoon, bring some pizzas as an apology for missing the morning work.  The biscuits you made long gone.  Things were coming along nicely, Dean wasn’t super picky on where things went right now.  Dean gave you the job on organizing the kitchen, he said you would know best.  His only request being the coffee items were close to each other and easy to get too.  He would figure out where you put anything else later.  Placing his old coffee maker next to the plug between the sink and refrigerator, the glasses and mugs in the cabinet next to the sink and and coffee and filters above the machine. 

Jess was helping Sam set up the guest bedroom and washing the sheets for that room and Dean’s once his bed arrives.  Cas and Dean ran the wires for his tv and speakers for his record player.  Dean deemed those two things most important.  Everything was out of storage and into the house Saturday evening, put away was another story.  You offered to help on Sunday, but Dean said he wasn’t going to work on it then, taking one day of the weekend not to work and unwind a little.  He still had a few things at Sam and Jess’ place to get packed up at some point.

Thanksgiving week was always a nice work week since you were only open 3 days.  Monday and Tuesday evening you had helped at Dean’s and it was ready for Thanksgiving, his parents were arriving sometime Wednesday. 

When you left his place Tuesday night you headed home alone.  Dean was all moved in, he was out of the apartment across the hall.  It made you kinda sad to think about.  It’s going to be weird not running into him in the hall, or have him randomly come over when he was giving his brother some space.  

You opted for staying home Wednesday night instead of hitting the bar with Charlie and her friends, and decided to get the pies made.  You went with two traditional pumpkin, and one apple since Dean liked the last one so much.  When you were at the store you also picked up the ingredients to make a strawberry pretzel jello.   

Thursday morning you watched the parade in comfy pj’s on your couch with a glass of hot chocolate.  Unlike Dean coffee wasn’t your thing.  But with the chilly weather you liked something hot in the mornings. When it was warmer you would enjoy your weekend morning drinks on your balcony.

Dinner was supposed to be at two, but you headed over before noon to help with the preparations.  You put on leggings and a long sweater, Jess had told you it was more about comfort than fashion today. 

It was your turn to knock on Dean’s door for once, a pretty blonde woman answering the door.  She had a big smile on her face that turned to surprise when she saw you.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Y/N.  Dean and Jess invited me, I came over early to help with dinner.”

“Hey Y/N!”  Dean came up behind her with a big smile on his face.  “Come on in.”

“Hi Dean, I came to help, brought pies, pumpkin, apple, and a jello”  

“You don’t have to help,” he said while ushering you inside, “you did that enough with moving this week.  Y/N this is my mom Mary, mom this is Y/N.  She actually lives in the apartment across from Sam.”

“Nice to meet you dear.  I’m sorry, I was expecting Sam at the door, I didn’t know anyone else was coming.”

Getting to the kitchen Dean opened up the pies and you saw him hide one of them in the cupboard.  Shaking your head, you look around at the food out on the counters.  

“What kind of jello is this?”  Dean asked looking at the cake pan you set down.

“It’s a pretzel strawberry jello or some people call it a salad.  I didn’t think you would be too fond of that term though.”

Dean looked at you before looking back down, “Pretzel jello?  I see the jello and strawberries, and something solid under that but it doesn’t look like pretzels.  Where’s the salad part? What are you trying to feed me sweetheart?”

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head “There isn’t actual lettuce in it Dean, this time salad is referring to a side.  The solid layer is cream cheese cool whip mix, the Pretzel is the baked crust.  It’s a combination of salty and sweet.  Just try a bite, I’m not trying to sneak anything past you.  I promise it won't hurt you as much as Sam's veggie bacon.” 

Dean's face grew serious, “I thought we agreed that we don't speak of that fraud, it's not bacon. I need actual meat.”

Laughing you pat his back, “I know, I'm sorry. Now you have your own kitchen to cook real bacon.”

“Yeah or I could come to yours and let you do the work.”  He said with a smile your way

“You are always welcome at my place.”

“Now that we are done discussing the jello, what do you need me to do?”

“Y/N, seriously you don’t have to help.”

“I want to, I like cooking almost as much as baking.”

Dean moved over to the list of food Jess had made up the other day, “Turkey is stuffed and in the oven, potatoes are boiling,  the corncake hasn’t been started yet, neither has the salad, rolls are just waiting to bake.”

“Well Sam wanted the salad so he can do that, I’ll get the corncake going and in the oven.”

Sam, Jess, and her parents arrived a short time later.  The guys all ended up in the living room watching football and left you four ladies in the kitchen.  Mary started to ask Dean where his mixer was, but he told her to talk to you since you organized the kitchen.  While working on last minute touches Mary turned and looked at you.

“How long have you and Dean been dating?”

Jess started laughing while you stuttered out an answer, “Oh, uh no we, we aren’t, we’re just friends.”

“They are both in denial about having any feelings for each other.”

“Jess!  There are no feelings to be in denial about, we’re just friends, that’s it.”

“I’ll let you know when they catch up with what the rest of us know, Mary.” You turned back to setting the table shaking your head at her.

Dinner was great, and the conversation was even better.  Dean’s dad was a little intimidating at first, but grew on you as the meal progressed.  Dean sat next to you and before he took a bite of his jello he picked up the bowl and looked it over and made you promise him he wouldn’t regret it.  He took his time chewing, bobbing his head around while you awaited the final verdict.

“It’s actually pretty good.” You just gave him a little nod, holding back your laugh at his behavior before going back to your own food.  

The guys migrated back to the television after a while, and the four of you cleaned up.  Dean came in a few times, but you sent him back out.  When the first game ended the men came back for dessert.   Jess brought out pumpkin bread and apple crisp her and her mom made and Dean carried the pies over.

“Y/N made pumpkin pie,”  Dean told the others.

Leaning over to whisper in his ear, “You keeping the apple for yourself?”

Giving you a little grin he nodded,  “You know it sweetheart.”  Laughing you didn’t notice Mary watching your exchange across the table. 

 Looking through the ads with Jess you made plans to go out with her and her mom the next morning.  Mary was watching the two of you, and you asked if she wanted to join. Jess quickly looked up and told Mary how much fun it would be if the four of you went together.

Sam tried to talk everyone into playing a new game he picked up. When he finally got everyone, even Dean to agree to join he went out to the car to retrieve it.  Coming back in empty handed swearing he put it in the car, but unable to find it.  He went looking through some of Dean’s things for the deck of cards he swore he didn’t have striking out again.  Dean told him if he wanted to play games he needed to host Thanksgiving and went back to watching the football game.  Jess was sitting beside you unusually quiet the whole time.

“Did you know he forgot the game?” You whispered to her.

“He didn’t forget it, who do you think took it out of the car?”  Quickly covering your laugh with a cough she continued. “It was a trivia game about serial killers that used a courtroom type setup.  The box said something about cross examining, objecting and redirecting.  It seriously wasn’t happening, I get enough lawyer talk at home.”   

At five am the next morning you decided Jess had too much energy.  She had you leaving the apartment building by 3:30, then picked up Mary before hitting the mall.  You drove the 40 minutes to Ann Arbor because Jess wanted to go to the bigger mall.  Luckily the temperature was in the high 30’s this morning and you didn’t have to wait outside long.  There are years you have stood outside in the snow waiting to get in a store.

You had a few things on your list, but no clue for some people.  You weren't great at coming up with gifts, especially at this hour. You walked past one store front before stopping abruptly, and Jess walked into your back.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking.  I’m going to run in here real quick, I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute.”  The display in the window made you think of Dean and you went into get him a house warming present.

Stopping in the food court for a break later, Mary had a question for you, “Call me crazy, but didn’t you say something about apple pie yesterday when you arrived?”

You started laughing, “ I did, Dean apparently hid it when he took it to the kitchen.  He had some last time I made one and decided he didn’t want to share this one.”

Mary was talking to you more about Dean.  “He seems so much happier now than when he left.  He was in a dark place for a while, that girl hurt him bad.  I ran into her in town, and she had the nerve to talk to me like everything was fine.  I gave her a piece of my mind and John had to pull me away.”  She paused for a minute before continuing, “Dean has mentioned hanging out with a new friend a number of times I’ve talked to him.  I think that person has made a big difference in his happiness, and I hope they stick around for a long time.” 

You weren’t really sure what to say, you gave her a little smile, and told her Dean was an amazing guy who didn’t deserve to be treated like he had been. 

After running errands on Saturday you stopped over at Dean’s.  He was surprised to see you at the door and invited you into the living room where he was talking with his parents.

“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to drop something off.”

“You’re fine sweetie, you aren’t interrupting anything.  We were just chit chatting, but we should actually start to get some of our things around.  We fly out tomorrow morning.  John, we should go pick up the room, and pack what we don’t need tonight.”

“I did that earlier.’

“Well you should double check it, just in case.  You two talk, we’ll be back later.”  Pushing John out of the room they headed upstairs.

“I didn’t mean to chase them away, I just wanted to drop off your house warming gift.”

“Thank you, you really didn’t have to get me anything.  Your help was a huge present,”  Dean told you, taking the wrapped box out of your hands.

“I wanted to, just open it.”

“Oh Sweetheart, she is a beauty.”  You had gotten him a new Keurig coffee maker, this one could make a whole pot, or a single pod.  He mentioned he had been fighting with his old one, and you knew how important coffee was to him, especially in the morning.  

“This way, you can make yourself a single cup if you just can’t wait for the whole pot to finish, or if you want one later.”

“This is great, thanks Y/N.  You did well, especially for a non-coffee drinker,”  he finished with a teasing grin. 

“I should get going, let you enjoy your last night with your parents.”

“You don’t have to, Sam and Jess should be over soon, her parents left today.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to interfere with family time.  Tell your parents it was nice meeting them, I hope they have a safe trip back.  I’ll see you around Dean.”

Part 4 

Thank you for reading!

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[thevoiceiskillingme]

Time for people

Wow, it's been a few days. Time flies so fast. It's funny, right? Every day feels agonizingly long and dreadful, but then suddenly it's been almost 5 months. In about 7 months I'll be 25, whaaat! This is going to be a long post, so I'll put this on here to avoid spamming.

Anyway, I've been having some urgent sessions with my psychologist, which have helped. I also saw my doctor last Thursday, which I've been waiting for, for like 2 months. She couldn't do much though, which I guess I already knew. I have to wait until I've taken the MRI, which is tomorrow. I've waited over 2 months for that as well. Thankfully my doctor wants to see me again in a week, so it feels like she takes me seriously. She had me take an EKG as well, which showed that my heart is perfectly fine - and that was exactly what I needed. I've barely (if at all) had issues with panic since then. Which, oh my god, is such a relief. I still feel myself being unable to go anywhere without my pill box of benzos. But right now I don't mind. I've always thought of them as a comfort, you know? I don't take them just to take them (sometimes I do, but rarely), I rather have them as an emergency solution if my situation gets unbearable.

This weekend we've been extremely busy. We packed half our stuff (stress) and drove to my hometown (where we're moving), and got the keys to our new house. Which I'd been dreading a little, as I get anxious and stressed easily and imagined it involving a lot of talking and practical stuff. But it went rather quickly! We just had a look around to check that they'd cleaned well, and so on. The seller also gave us gifts, which was really nice. THEN the rest of the day was rather eventful.

My family brought a lot of our new furniture (which we'd stored at theirs) and oh my god, my family is so great and extremely helpful. While getting things into the house and organizing, our next-door neighbour came around the corner with her 15-month old son. We talked a little, and she was really nice. She did, however, ask about my occupation regarding work etc. I answered vaguely, but said that I wasn't working right now. I don't have a problem telling people I'm on disability, I just casually focus more on the fact that I have prolapse in my lower back, instead of the fact that I have a severe psychiatric diagnosis. We'll talk more in the future.

My dad and I drove and picked up the big furniture, and I was a little stressed about it, but it went really well. The rest of the day we just put together furniture and it took a long time. I took a few breaks here and there, but it didn't drain me like it did when we moved last time (mostly because of the fact that I was on antipsychotics at the time). The neighbour across from us from our terrace knocked and said hi, which was very nice! I have been a little anxious about it afterwards though, because I fear that I might have appeared rude and/or not welcoming, but my partner assured me I was fine. We went home at around 9.30 pm I think, after starting the whole ordeal at about 4 pm. However, right when we were about to leave the house, the neighbours across the street said hi. They're a couple our age, and I sorta know her from before; mutual friends. They were super nice, and I have a feeling we'll be good friends. They also have such a cute dog.

I took sleeping pills (not addictive at all), and one benzo before bed, and slept well. The next day we started early, but that day my brother (who was super helpful) had to work. We got so much done, so much more than I expected! We also went to stores and bought some more detail-oriented stuff, and practical stuff. Curtains, towels etc. Oh, and the coolest book-shelf ever. We also bought all the tecnhical stuff; fridge, washer, dryer, which will arrive on Monday (thanks for picking it up, mom!) While my partner and I sat outside and put up our outdoor furniture, our next-door neighbours came around. The little boy was so very fascinated with the screws and building, and slowly came closer and closer. It's nice that he feels safe around us. He did not want to go back home at all. It was so very cute.

We finished most of the living room, bathroom, bedroom (it's amazing), terrace, kitchen etc. My partner and I stayed a little longer and packed out and organized some of the stuff we brought from our current apartment, but we were exhausted and didn't do all of it. We went back to my parents' earlier that day, and just had a nice dinner and relaxing evening with talking and TV. We also bought a few nice things for them (and my brother) to thank them for all the help. I took the same cocktail, and slept well.

On Sunday we just chilled, looked at lamps and stuff online. We drove back to our apartment at around 2 pm. Did just about nothing productive the rest of the day. I only took the non-addictive sleeping pills before bed, but slept really well. I was also barely dizzy last night (and the weekend in general), which felt amazing. Maybe my psychologist is right, and it's caused because of stress? I really fucking hope so. The next few days we're just packing up, having some of my family picking up the big furniture from here, and then we're moving. Apart from a few appointments tomorrow and Thursday, I have a lot of time for packing.

I dreaded the thought of being awfully stressed and the whole shabang, but I feel eerily calm. I'm also so fucking excited to actually move in properly. Not everything is ready, but we have all we need to live there. It's just a few things we need to get in order, but there's no rush. The only thing I'm afraid of, is that the neighbours won't like me, but hey - I'll just do my best and be myself, and we'll take it from there. I'm definitely gonna be approachable, because that is actually the way I am. I love our neighbours, and I'm 100% sure this is a great thing.

I don't know if I've written about it here, but I go to treatment at a specialized place for people with severe diagnoses (schizophrenia, bipolar etc), and I will continue to go there. Which means travelling back and forth every two weeks (about 3 hours travel time both ways), but it's worth it.

I can't begin to describe how excited I am to begin this new chapter. We officially move in on Friday, and I hope the days fly by fast. I hope to make some good friends (which I really think will happen), and just... relax, I guess. I feel safe and calm there.

Anyway, this has been a super long post. If you've read everything - you deserve a golden star! I need to go pack a little now, but I'll be back soon enough.

[kpopsinsandwins]

Sharing is Caring Pt. 4

Pt. 1 , Pt. 2 , Pt. 3

Member: Jeno

Genre: Smut

Word count: 4k

Summary: Jeno had been watching you for a while now. Ever since Renjun and Jaemin got their turn with you, he’s been wanting to some of you to himself as well. You happened to notice this, only because he wasn’t as sneaky at looking at you as he though he was. You teased him and made him want you even more so, what happens now that you and your four friends throw a party in your shared apartment? Jeno can’t seem to keep his eyes off of you and you don’t think you want him to. You think you want more, actually, and that’s exactly what he gives you.

A/N: His blond hair is a BIG factor in this, just letting y’all know. When I first saw those pictures of him with his new blond hair and hairdo with the pink silk suit I died a little so obviously I’ve been waiting to write about it. It just makes me feel some type of way. 

It had been some time since you and the boys had a party in the apartment. This was mostly due to the fact that Hyuck could never control how much he drank and he always ended up fucking a random person in someone else’s bed. This was sure to happen the next time you threw a party but then you remembered, Hyuck has been all over you for the past month trying to get into your pants so this would mean he’d try to get with you during the party, meaning no mystery fuck in someone else’s bed. You pulled the boys aside one night while Hyuck was in the shower doing God knows what, to tell them of this brilliant plan of yours. 

“So what you’re saying,” Jeno began, “is now that Hyuck wants a piece of you, there’s no way he’s going to go after a rando when we throw our next party and fuck them in my bed for the billionth time?”

“Exactly!” you said to the boy, happy that he understood your plan so fast. Or so you thought.

“So, you’re gonna fuck him in order to have a party?” he said, not believing the words that just came out of his mouth.

“God, no,” you said. “I just don’t want him making a sticky mess in someone else’s sheets again and I think this is the perfect opportunity to have a party and not let that happen.”

“I mean, it is a pretty solid plan,” Jaemin said to Jeno.

“I guess we could throw a party,” Jeno said with a sigh. You gave him a big smile and hugged him tightly as a thank you for agreeing to the plan.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” you said fast while squeezing him in a hug full of love.

“Yeah, no problem, but, if he does end up in someone else’s bed, you’re cleaning it up,” he said sternly.

“Yeah, yeah, no problem cause it won’t happen,” you said back to him, already losing interest in what he was saying.

“I guess we better buy the drinks and snacks,” Renjun said.

“And set a date,” Jaemin added.

“And tell Hyuck,” you sighed.

You all collectively agreed to have the party the following weekend, giving everyone you were inviting enough time to make up an excuse as to why they wouldn’t be going into work or class the following Monday. It was 10 PM and the five of you sat in the living room, thinking of things you’d need to buy during the week to get ready for the party. Everyone was in their pajamas, ready to let the sweet waves of slumber consume them but you knew that if you didn’t set up a group meeting to discuss the party, nothing would get done. You were wearing your usual pajamas, a long baggy shirt and shorts that barely showed at the bottom hem of your shirt. Nothing special, really, but you knew it drove them wild. You couldn’t help but notice a pair of eyes following your every move as the discussion went on. 

Jeno was sitting in the lounge chair across from your seat on the couch, just reclined enough to see down your shirt as you leaned over to grab your cup off the coffee table. You hadn’t noticed this at first, but as time went on you could feel your skin burn as if someone was watching you, and you were right. You had caught Jeno staring at you when the discussion went to him but he hadn’t said anything. You, being the organized person you are, looked over at Jeno to let him know it was his turn to speak, only to find a very concentrated face. His eyebrows were up, his bottom lip stuck between his teeth, and his eyes glued to your body. You looked down to see just exactly he was looking at and you couldn’t help but notice the dip in your shirt, showing him your bra less chest. Your eyes went wide and your face turned red but you tried to act cool as you yelled to get his attention.

“Hey, Jeno,” you said to him, snapping your fingers at him as well. He quickly left his daydream and was back to reality.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he said, a little too loud and obviously lost.

“It’s your turn to talk,” you said back to him.

“Ah, right. Sorry about that,” he said softly. As he spoke, you couldn’t help but think of a way to punish him for eyeing you the way he did. By the time he was done talking and the next person began on their subject, you had thought of something that would really rile him up. 

You looked over to Jeno, trying to get his attention away from Renjun and his concern for rings on the wooden furniture, and not too long after you looked at him he looked right back. You gave him a smirk and made sure he saw your hand run along the inside of your thigh, getting close but not directly to the spot he wanted to be at the most in that moment. He lifted his eyebrow to you and tilted his head while smirking, obviously picking up what he thought you were putting down. You trailed your hand up from your leg over your chest, making sure to give your breast a quick squeeze before moving your hand up to your neck. As you slowly wrapped your fingers around you neck, you saw Jeno having a difficult time sitting still in his seat. You had him right where you wanted him, hard and needy. Just as you were about to tease him even more, Renjun brought you back to the conversation regarding the party.

“Anything else you want to add, Y/n?” he asked. All eyes were now on you so you played off the whole choking yourself by scratching your neck.

“Uh, nothing in particular,” you said back.

“Alright, I guess we’re done here,” Renjun said, getting up from his seat and heading off to bed. You looked over to Jeno who had his head in his hands, probably thinking about how he was going to get up without everyone seeing how excruciatingly hard he was. You got up from your seat and said goodnight to everyone while you headed to your room, leaving a frustrated Jeno to himself in the process. 

The weekend was finally upon you all and the only thing on your mind was the party going down in less than 1 hour. The apartment was all set up and ready for a bunch of college students who could possibly destroy anything unattended or left out by accident. You had been waiting to wear a specific outfit and you couldn’t think of a better time to wear it than tonight, the night that will have tons of boys to appreciate it. As you got ready in your room you heard a knock on your door.

“Yeah, who is it?” you asked from the other side of the room.

“It’s Jeamin. Do you know where Renjun and Jeno are?” he asked you, obviously worried with their whereabouts because there could be people knocking on your door any minute. 

“Uh, yeah. They said they were doing some last minute stuff and that they might be late,” you yelled back to him, too distracted with putting your mascara on to go into more depth with the conversation. You took a step back from the mirror and admired your reflection, looking yourself up and down and wondering how anyone would be able to resist you. Your tight, low cut, navy blue dress was sure to catch a few eyes and you couldn’t wait to see whose eyes these were. You exited your room, closing the door and putting a do not disturb sign on it as you made your way into the living room. 

“Damn, Y/n,” Jaemin said from the lounge chair, “you look really good. Why don’t we just start the party shenanigans a little early,” he said with a wink.

“Ay, man, you had a round already if anyone’s getting into any shenanigans with her right now, it’s me,” Hyuck said back to him.

Just as you were about to tell both boys you wouldn’t be doing anything of the sort this early in the night, you heard a lot of loud talking down the hall outside your front door. 

“As much as I would love to fuck both of you right now,” you said sarcastically while rolling your eyes, “we have party guests to let in.” You turned towards the door as you heard a knock and made your way to open it. As you let everyone in, one of the boys turned the volume of the music up, signalling that the party had begun. 

It was probably an hour since people started arriving but there was still no sign of Renjun or Jeno. You asked Jaemin to call them and he said they were on their way but that was 45 minutes ago. You didn’t want to worry about them the whole night so instead you went to the kitchen and grabbed yourself a drink. You let your body rest against the cold kitchen counter and watched the people dancing and hanging out. Just as you were finally letting your mind drift to somewhere that didn’t involve Jeno, the front door swung open, revealing a very well dressed Renjun and Jeno. Not only were they dressed well but they also had new hairdos. Renjun’s was a light brown, not too different from his dark brown from the day before. Jeno, on the other hand, had his natural black hair the last time you saw him so it was a big surprise seeing him walking through the door with blond hair. You couldn’t help but hold your breath as he made his way deeper into the apartment. He was saying hi to people and thanking people for making it when he saw you alone in the kitchen. His concentration was pulled away from the conversation he was having as he stared at you from across the room, taking his bottom lip between his teeth as he admired your choice of outfit. You couldn’t help but notice how he excused himself from his conversation and made his way through the crowd to get to the kitchen. 

“What’s a pretty lady like you doing all alone, huh?” he asked, taking this time to properly look you up and down, taking in the beauty that was your body. 

“Waiting for someone who’s worth talking to,” you said flatly. You weren’t going to let him know just how crazy he was making you feel with that pink silk suit and his new blond undercut. Not just yet.

“Am I worth talking to?” he asked while leaning his body against the counter beside you. You turned your head to look at him. His head was cocked to one side and his eyebrow was raised with curiosity. His face was just a few inches from yours and you could smell his cologne, intoxicating you more than the drink in your hand ever could have. All ability you had of hiding your desires was now gone and you knew this is exactly what he wanted based on the smirk that was growing on his lips. Your eyes flicked back and forth from his lips to his eyes, not knowing if you were going to lean in first or him. 

“Talking with you wasn’t really what I had in mind,” you said to him, “Maybe we could do something more fun with our mouths.” you winked at him before pushing your body off the counter and making your way through the crowd of people surrounding the kitchen entrance. You made your way to the closest door, not wanting to waste any time with this. Unfortunately for you, the closest door was to the bathroom. This didn’t seem like it bothered Jeno though as he quickly shoved you through the door and closed it behind him, locking it before grabbing your body and pushing it up against the wall. 

His lips quickly found their way to yours and his hands didn’t hesitate to harshly grab at your hips, pushing his into yours. As the room got hot from both of your heavy breaths, Jeno’s hands found their way to the lower part of your body, gripping it tightly in his arms as he lifted you up and turned you around to set you down on the sink. Your tight dress was riding up your thighs, leaving little to Jeno’s imagination. The sight was driving him crazy and you could tell by the way his hard member was poking at your thigh as he nibbled at your neck. The loud music made it easy to hide your moans and whimpers from those outside as Jeno’s lips sucked on the soft skin of your neck, leaving marks that were sure to be noticed by everyone once you two were done fooling around. That thought quickly left your mind as you felt Jeno’s hand run up the side of your thigh, pushing your dress up even more, exposing your lace underwear to him. The sight of this caused him to groan and bite his lip. His eyes were full of lust as they made contact with yours. His gaze told you just how much he wanted you in that moment, so strong it had you whining and begging him to touch you. 

“Please, Jeno,” you whispered to him, grabbing the hand that laid on your thigh and guiding it closer to the place between your legs that ached for his touch. 

“Fuck, you’re so hot when you beg,” he whispered back to you before reattaching his lips to yours and happily pushing his hand further up your leg to hook his fingers under your lace underwear. He pulled them down your legs not caring if he ripped the delicate fabric, but just as he was about to glide his fingers through your glistening folds there was a pounding at the bathroom door, startling the both of you. You quickly jumped down from the sink and shot Jeno a look to ask who should ask who was there. He hesitated as he talked to the person on the other side.

“W-whose there?” he said.

“It’s Hyuck. I don’t feel too good so it would be really great if you got out so I could throw up in the toilet and not on your bed,” he said, threatening to ruin perfectly good sheets if he didn’t get his way. Jeno gave you an apologetic look to you as his hand went for the door knob, letting Hyuck in so he wouldn’t have to throw away another brand new set of bed sheets. As soon as he opened the door, Hyuck ran towards the toilet lifting the lid and waiting for the poison he so happily put in his body fight its way out of him. 

“I’m just gonna- I’m gonna go back to the party,” you awkwardly said to Jeno. “You good to take care of him?” you asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about it. I’ll put him to bed when he’s done,” he said squatting down to pat Hyuck’s back. You turned to leave the bathroom and closed the door as you made your way back to the party. The rest of the night was not nearly as fun as the small time you spent with Jeno but you had a couple drinks and tried to have fun despite not seeing Jeno for the rest of the night. As soon as the last few people walked out the door, you made your way to your room, pulling off your dress as soon as you walked in and grabbing a big shirt off the floor, not caring whose it was or if it was clean. You dropped onto your bed and let your heavy eyelids close. You didn’t think you had gone to sleep but the next thing you remember is waking up at 4 AM with a mouth drier than the desert. You got out of bed and made your way to the kitchen to get a glass of water, trying your best not to make too much noise. 

You tiptoed down the hall, trying your best not to step on the creaky floorboards. You grabbed your water and chugged it like you had just gotten back from being stranded in the driest part of the world. You let out a sigh and as you turned around to go back to bed you saw Jeno leaning against the wall across from the kitchen.

“Jesus, don’t sneak up on me like that,” you whispered to him.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t sleep and I heard you get up so I thought I’d bug you until I felt tired, if your not tired,” he said in a way that was like a question, asking you if it was alright to keep you up with his company. 

“Sure, why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do at 4 AM,” you said while jumping up on the counter to sit. He walked closer to you but still kept to the wall, leaning against it like if he were to stop touching it he wouldn’t be able to stand up on his own. His eyes stayed glued to your body and neither one of you said a word. You sipped on your water and watched as he pushed himself off the wall and over to the counter. He leaned on the counter with his elbow and faced you. You put your cup down and cleared your throat, ready to talk about the elephant in the room. 

“So,” you both said at the same time. Jeno smiled at this and you smiled because there’s no one on the planet that wouldn’t smile after seeing Jeno Lee smile. You looked into his eyes and nodded your head, giving him permission to speak before you. 

“About earlier, I’m sorry I just left you to take care of Hyuck,” he said. That was not what you were expecting to hear at all. You would’ve done the same thing if it was the other way around. 

“It’s all good. I mean, I would’ve done the same thing so I can’t be too mad,” you said to him, looking at the floor below you. Your eyes drifted off the floor to your exposed legs. You had forgotten that you were sitting up on the counter with just a shirt and underwear on. You became self conscious and aware so you tried to pull them hem down your thighs as much as it would go. Jeno hadn’t said anything in return so you turned to look at him and he was just staring at you with a smile on his face.

“You’re really worried about if I can see your underwear when we were about to fuck in the bathroom earlier?” he laughed, suddenly not scared to bring up what had happened. You felt the heat rise in your face as you became embarrassed at the realization of what he said. You gripped the hem of your shirt tightly and looked back to the floor to avoid his eyes.

“I guess you have a point,” you said with a small laugh. You looked back up to him and he was looking back at you. The silence between you two was a little awkward now so you decided to look away and let yourself slide off the counter to go back to bed but before your feet touched the floor Jeno quickly made his way to you and held your hips down to have you stay where you were.

“Please don’t leave yet,” he whispered. Your could feel your heart beating out of your chest as he held your hips in place and from how you knew this was his way of asking for a second chance with you. You just lightly nodded your head and ran your hand up his arm. The next thing you knew Jeno was leaning in and kissing you. His lips moved slower than earlier like he didn’t want to fuck up this time. Your lips moved with his as you felt his hand slide down from your hip to your thigh and slowly making its way up your long shirt. You didn’t mind how slow he was taking it this time but you just really wanted him already so you brought your hands to the front of his sweats and did what you knew would get him to fuck you already. You heard a hard inhale from him as your hand came into contact with his hardening member. His breathing got heavy and his lips started moving faster, letting you know you were right about this getting him needier for you. His hand slid up your thigh and under the fabric of your underwear on your hip, pulling it down and off your body. You took it upon yourself to pull his sweats down and release his hardened member, giving him the opportunity to make the move he couldn’t earlier in the night. He grabbed himself and closed his eyes for a second, bringing his head down. He looked up at you and you nodded your head to tell him you wanted him just as much as he wanted you and for him to do what he wanted with you already. He brought his member to your entrance and slowly pushed in. Both of you exhaled the breath you had been holding in as you both finally felt pleasure. His hips started moving fast so you hooked your legs around his hips and let yourself fall back to the cold counter. His body was now leaning over yours and his lips were traveling wherever they found uncovered skin. Your hands were gripping his hair tight and you were biting your lip, trying hard not to make too much noise since the others were still sleeping. Jeno’s mouth on your neck wasn’t making his grunts and low moans quiet enough as he continuously rocked his hips into you so you brought your hands to his face and lifted it to yours, connecting your lips to his. Both of your breathing was heavy and you were getting closer with every passing second, causing your walls to tighten and make Jeno moan more. His small noises brought you pleasure knowing you were making him feel this good. Soon enough your walls tightened to their limit as you were brought to your climax, causing Jeno to reach his high as well. His hips slowed down as his took your lip between your teeth, exhaling with a low groan. Your lips parted with one last kiss as he brought his face away from yours to look in your eyes.

“You don’t know how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. You smiled and rolled your eyes playfully as you pulled your back from the counter. Jeno pulled his sweats back up and picked you up off the counter. Your legs were still wrapped around him as he turned to the hallway and carried you to his room. You left kisses on his neck as he laid you down on his bed and he wrapped you in his arms. The both of you drifted off into sleep and didn’t wake up until there was a loud banging on the door and the voice of none other than Jaemin yelling Jeno’s name. 

“Jeno Lee, you piece of shit! I said NO FUCKING IN THE KITCHEN!” Jeno laughed and rolled his eyes as he got out of bed, fully aware of the consequences of his and yours actions but not caring too much because all he said as he opened the door to Jaemin’s angry face was, “Worth it.”

A/N: Sorry this took so long to finish. I’ve been so busy with work and before it was work and school so I was just always dead and never wanted to write but I finally finished it and I hope you guys can forgive me for torturing you with waiting so long. 

[rohobi]

Serendipity 10 | (m)

Story Description: After you reveal your inexperienced sexual status to your bestfriend, Jungkook grapples with the news, startled by the idea that the girl he always thought could get anyone, is a virgin. After finding his porn at 3AM, you decide that maybe it’s about time to stain the white sheets of your world with the colors of a forbidden fruit Jungkook seems to have in the palm of his hands. 

PAIRING— jeon jungkook x reader, friendwithbenefitsAU

GENRE/WARNINGS— smut, fluff, humour

← CHAPTERS → CHAPTER 11

It's 3 pm on a Monday.

You're in a soundproof meeting room in the library. It's one of those meeting rooms where the walls are completely glass; you can see out but people can't see in. It's horribly distracting but wonderful for those who love to people watch. You, however, dislike people watching and wish you were in bed instead.

There's a big white table in the middle of the room with eight white plastic seats around it. Some of us have come straight from lectures with fresh hot coffees held close to chests. Some of us have come before going to lectures or like you and Claudia, before going to the student council office.

The room is only meant to fit 8 or 9 people but in this particular case, we've fit about 12 people.

You came early with Claudia to grab the unbooked room, so you're in a chair comfortably waiting for everyone to arrive, nervously at your fingernails. People like Yoongi and Hoseok and Mabel are packed like sardines up against the wall.

And Jungkook has obviously come from the gym, his hair still damp from the shower he likes to have when he's finished working out. You haven't met eye contact with him but you checked him out when he was on his phone in front of you.

You sigh, as you think about how delicious he looks in his white cotton button-up. It wasn't fair.

That bastard.

"Sorry, I'm late," Wendy whispers, closing the glass door behind her, standing in front of it next to Yoongi. "The health department are having an influenza talk, wanted to make sure I had enough information."

"That's wise," you smile, swallowing the lump in your throat. "Is that everyone?"

Claudia does a headcount before finally smiling.

It was glamping season and Claudia had pulled Yoongi, Hoseok, Jungkook, the girls and you into a meeting to discuss how we'd utilize it. Apparently, this is an important part of university culture that you had blissfully ignored prior.

Ever since Halloween, you've been throwing yourself into group activities with the girls. It's actually been so nice just to be apart of a group of girls who are positive and optimistic while being study focused and career-driven. You've been blessed.

But you miss Jungkook.

It's been two weeks of discomfort with the way things were left last time.

He's been busy and you've been busy with study.

You feel on the edge.

Maybe a holiday is exactly what you need. You'll be refreshed by the fresh air, you'll be around more people, you'll have fun talking about non-Jungkook and non-law study things. You'll be comfortable and fed and warm and loved.

Whatever Claudia organizes, hell, you're in.

The excitement pulsed through you as you fantasized making smores with the girls, playing truth or dare, drinking and having fun.

As you daydream, the fantasy shifts to camping with Jungkook and you're eternally grateful to be pulled out of your thoughts as your phone buzzes in your pocket because hell, it was getting romantic all up in your brain.

Shaking your head, you pull out your phone and read the message.

Jungkook: Hey, you look nice today

You gape down at the plain blue jeans and Harvard grey hoodie. Your attire wasn't exactly aimed to impress.

You: I'm not dressing to impress but thanks

Jungkook: You're finally responding to me? Woohoo Jungkook: Hi

You: Focus

Sighing, you slip your phone back into your pocket. To be honest, you haven't spoken to or spent time with Jungkook in a while. The embarrassment of what happened on Halloween plagued your thoughts and you couldn't bare confronting those feelings around him.

So embarrassing.

And it's not like you're his girlfriend or anything, this was okay.

Jungkook leans on his chair to meet your eyes. You blush when he smiles. That stupid smile, making your heart flutter.

"Y/N," Claudia claps her hands, "I know Jungkook can be distracting but are you even listening."

You startle, looking away from him to Claudia. "Sorry, carry on."

"My fault, she's still not talking to me," Jungkook laughs, stretching his hands behind his head. You can tell he has more to say with words hanging off the tip of his tongue. "Do me a favor Claudia and put her tent next to mine. She can't run away from me then."

Everyone in the room groans.

"Excuse me?" Frowning at Jungkook, you raise your voice. "You ugly ass noodlehead. Imma make sure I'll be in the tent furthest away from you!"

"Oh yeah," Jungkook chuckles, leaning forward, he places his fists underneath his chin. "With who? You'll just end up in my tent anyway, who are you kidding here?"  

Heat dusts your cheeks. "That's not true! I'll just stay with Seulgi!"

"Oh hello," Seulgi winks, licking her lips at you. "You can stay with me in my tent any time."

Sinking in your chair, you cover your face with your hands. "Oh god. Seulgi, shut up."

"Don't worry babe, unlike Jungkook, I'll keep it in my pants."

Wendy laughs loudly, interrupting any opportunity to clap back. "Oh my god, this suddenly got way more fun. I'm coming!"

"Of course it did," Mabel adds, fanning herself with her book, "You're all a bunch of whores we get it. Will we have to sleep on air beds and is there an option to sleep somewhere else if we have to. I can't stand those things."

Jungkook agrees. "They make too much noise when you move."

"See? Thanks, Jungkook," Mabel smiles. "And they bloody deflate in the middle of the night. I don't want rocks in my ass."

"Mabel, we're on beds." Claudia groans, flicking her hair over her should as she takes out her computer. Connecting her MacBook with the big screen, she opens her prepared PowerPoint slideshow.

The first slide shows a glamping location in Busan that she liked. "Alright, my Busan babes in the room. Welcome to camp cozy."

To say the campsite was beautiful was an understatement.

There were four big khaki tents and they were already set up at the site with large beds and furniture within. Fairy lights all over the place, fluffy blankets, fluffy pillows, big bean bags. Christ. It was perfect. "From my expert research and communication skills, each tent comes with a double bed, so we have beds for 8 people."

Yoongi raises his hand. "I have a question."

Claudia nods.

"I don't want to share a tent with anyone else because I plan on having a lot of sex in my tent, where do I go?"

Everyone in the room snorts.

"What? I'm asking what you're all thinking?"

Wendy walks across the room to slap his back. She chuckles madly. "I agree."

"I'm not bumping uglies with you Wendy, don't act like we're on the same team," Yoongi shakes her hand off his back. "Although if my date doesn't turn up, I'm happy to cuddle and stroke your hair and talk about our boy problems."

She stands in front of him, blinking in confusion. "Are you being serious because that actually sounds so fucking nice."

He laughs loudly at her. "Of course I'm not."

Wendy pouts, raising her shoulders to her cheeks as she walks back to her side of the room. "Asshole."

Claudia clicks next on the slideshow, showing alternative options. "Our options are 4 big tents for 8 people or 10 if you're little, and if you want privacy, don't come," pointing to the beach she cheekily adds, "I hear the sand is a nice mattress, why don't you find out Yoongi?"

"I've never had sex on a beach before," Yoongi deflates, "Am I okay to bring my own tent then? I'll pitch it myself, I'll even drive down myself?"

"Sure," clicking onto the next slides, she goes through items we'll need and an estimate of the cost. "If anyone wants to help organize this?"

You're acutely aware your phone is buzzing in your pocket but you're also aware that it's Jungkook because he's on his phone and he's aiming it at you. Biting your bottom lip, you raise out of your seat.

"Should we split up into groups to help organize this? Transport, Food, Cleaning, Finance, Activities?"

Claudia beams, finally happy someone was contributing to the organization of it. "That's a beautiful idea, oh bless your little cotton socks."

Everyone mutters between themselves as Claudia opens up her google document. You watch as she types your name under food and Jungkook's under transport.

"Is Y/N a good cook?" Hoseok asks Yoongi, crossing his arms across his chest. "I bet she is. She can cook for me any day. We love a kitchen bitch."

"She can like totally hear you," Mabel says, rolling her eyes. "And she is like 100% taken you giant ass."

"No, she isn't," Hoseok holds his hands up in surrender. "Last time I checked, she was single."

"Ugh, who even invited you," she stands up, walking over to him. "You're lucky I find you attractive otherwise, you'd be blOCKED from coming. Aren't you studying sociology or something."

You don't need to look at Jungkook to know that he's beaming in delight and is now a big fan of Mabel. The tension in the air between Jungkook and Hoseok makes you uncomfortable. You've never been put in a position like this before giving you were just a virgin like a couple of months ago and had no idea what a peen actually looked like.

"Looks like I have a fan." Hoseok steps closer to Mabel and whispers into her ear. No one knows what he says but she blushes and rushes out of the room.

"What'd you say to Mabel?" You ask concerned, she's never run off so fast.

"I have seduction superpowers," Hoseok winks at me. "Want me to come over and whisper in your ear too? Bet I can seduce you in less than a second."

"No thank you," You gulp, unsure what to say to that. Jungkook stands out of his chair, glaring at Hoseok. "Leave her alone bro."

"What?" Hoseok chuckles, winking at you again. "I'm just having a bit of fun with her. She's so kitten-like, makes me want to get to know her a bit more."

There's a possessive tone to Jungkook's defense that's both intimidating and sexy. "Well, don't. Shut the fuck up. Leave the girls alone."

"Am I not allowed to? She looks like she's enjoying it?

Seulgi sinks into her seat next to you.

"No, you aren't allowed to," You've never seen Jungkook so angry before. "She's mine, back off."

The whole room goes silent at that.

The tension in the room is palpable.

And your heart is pounding against your chest.

"Is that true," he asks you, goading you to speak up with his eyebrows. "Are you Jungkook's girlfriend?"

Your heart is pounding so hard against your chest that it's deafening in your eats.

What am I supposed to say to that because I honestly am not his girlfriend officially, although it would be nice? This is not how I thought this meeting would go at all and quite frankly, I'm pissed. Jungkook's face is pink. It's the only thing I can focus on. I can't even remember what he asked me. He seems to want to know the answer to Hoseok's question as well, as though he doesn't know the answer either. Dumbass. They're all dummies. Who are these people and why are they putting me on the spot like this. I didn't ask for any of this, I'm just simple girl-

"Ooh, Jimin wants to get coffee," Yoongi giggles, interrupting your thoughts, softening the tension in the room as he gapes at his phone. "There's too much testosterone in this room, why not you both just fuck each other and get over it."

For a second you think Yoongi is referring to you and Jungkook.

Anger dissipates when Yoongi slaps Hoseoks ass. "Sounds like you both need to relieve some tension and normally, I enjoy a bit of torture but this is horrible. Claudia, message me with details, I'd love to come. It okay if I bring Jimin?"

She nods.

Yoongi doesn't say anything after that. He simply picks up his backpack, nods at Claudia before leaving the room. You wish you had the guts to do the same but you feel frozen and Claudia looks desperate for help now.

Hoseok sighs. "Looks like she's single my bro."

Jungkook says nothing to this.

He simply stares at you in an unreadable expression as you stand and walk towards him.

Gesturing for him to sit down, you pat his back to calm him, he leans into your touch like a kitten being scratched behind its ear. "Sit down and calm down, I don't know why you boys get off on tormenting girls but cut it out or I'll cut YOU out."

Jungkook apologizes while taking his seat.

"And you," Pointing at Hoseok, you scoff. "Who even are you? You don't get to speak to me or about me like that. Women aren't pieces of meat, we're human beings. Now, shut the hell up and keep your dick in your skirt and your tongue in your mouth."

The girls laugh behind you.

Claudia thanks you.

Fucking Hoseok.

You decide then and there, that when you go glamping, you'll piss in his shampoo.

Little bitch.

"Now that everyone's finished their periods. Jungkook, you're the team captain for transport, liaise with me so we can try and get a discount or something," she writes Seulgi's name underneath his, "Hoseok, how do you feel about organizing activities?"

He picks up his laptop bag. "I'm fine with any job you give me Claudia. As long as people aren't afraid of drinking games, we should be A-okay," he lifts his wrist, staring at his watch. "Naeun is pretty fun as well, can she work with me since Y/N can't?"

"Be careful Hoseok," Claudia warns, adding her name to the list, she finishes. "Anyone who isn't in a group by the end of the day will be on cleaning duties."

She then re-opens the map, showing us the trip location. You stare at the pictures as she flicks through them. There's something so nice about camping by the beach, a nice dip when it's too hot, a bonfire at night with the sound of cascading waves.

Your phone buzzes once more in your pocket. You pull it out, knowing it's going to be a message from the mousy brunette still huffing in anger.

Jungkook: Can we talk after this?

Looking above your phone, Jungkook tilts his head at you, a worried expression sits between his brows.

Taking a deep breath, you respond.

You: I'm hungry, want to get something to eat?

Jungkook: Can we go now?

You: When Claudia is finished.

"Claudia, are you done?" Jungkook asks, placing his hands together in prayer. "Please be done. I'm so hungry."

Seulgi frowns. "Is that what it is, hanger?"

Hoseok winks at Seulgi.

"Ugh, can someone fucking uninvite him," she gags loudly, "He might give us all ear chlamydia."

You watch the cocky little shit deflate. A bit of you feels sorry for him but after what he just pulled with you and Jungkook, hall hath no fury like a scorched betch.

"I guess this meeting is over then," Claudia sighs, closing her computer down as well. "I'll make us a group chat to discuss it."

Jungook loudly jumps out of his seat, the gloom worried appearance he previously wore, now replaced with pure happiness. "Yes, let's go eat Y/N!" He rushes over to your side of the table to help you pack up.

"Ooh, can I come?" Wendy and Seulgi both ask.

"No, "Jungkook pulls you out of your chair, patting your bum as you leave the meeting room. "We need to talk and eat, you guys can go eat and talk with someone else."

You don't even have enough time to say goodbye or apologies or tell Claudia you won't be coming to the council office because Jungkook is rushing you out of the room, down the aisles of the library and into the darkest parts of the university library.

You're going in the opposite direction to food as he takes you within the deep depths of the math and science department.

"Jungkook, where are you taking me?"

He hushes you. "We gotta talk."

Irritated, you stop. "Jungkook, I don't really want to talk, I wanna eat," turning around to face him, he grabs your shoulders, pushing you down the aisle backward. "JUNGKOOK!"

"You have no choice, we need to talk," He stops, then he looks left and right before softly pushing you up against the wall. It's clumsy and not at all sexy when Jungkook tries to bypass the big ass fake plant next to you and you slightly trip as he pushes you back up against the wall. His hold on you is strong, as he quite literally picks you up by the shoulders to help you stand.

"Now, You." he starts.

"No, you let me talk," You harshly whisper, "You gotta give a girl a warning and I'm starving so let's do this later."

Dropping his hands from your shoulders. He stares deeply into your eyes. "Shut up for a second will you? Or I'll make you shut up. I have that power you know."

"Jungkook, what the hell," you whisper, pushing his chest away from yours. "You could've just asked me to follow you, you didn't need to push me up against the damn wa-

You don't get to finish what you were saying because Jungkook slams his lips against yours, stopping the words from leaving your mouth. The kiss is startling but not unwelcome as you close your eyes and melt once again into him.

Moving his hand up against your body, he cups the back of your neck. He's unexpectedly rough as he grips on your hair, pulling your body against his. Your hands rest on his waist as you easily fall back into the rhythm.  

He kisses you like he's starving like he hasn't had food in days.

Oh man, this boy.

Raising your hands, you hold his face tenderly, hoping he gets the point to soften the kiss. Kisses with Jungkook are always magical but this one had so much feeling. Each movement of his lips and his tongue were filled with unspoken words, fears, and anxieties. It was startling how much a kiss could say and how much this kiss overwhelmed you.

He holds you close, not wanting to let you go.

Your body shivers, sensitive to his touch as his warm hands continue touching you.

He loosens his grip on your hair, resting his warm palm on the back of your neck. It's a feeling you're familiar with, being held so tenderly.

Pulling away from the kiss, Jungkook leans his forehead on yours.

You both pant from the intensity of the emotions, your eyes still closed.

"It's been hell without you, Y/N," he catches his breath, his voice a soft whisper. "I can't take this anymore. I've reached my limit."

"What?" Opening your eyes in panic, your heart stops as you stare into his gentle brown eyes. Is he ...is he dumping you. "Wait, what do you mean by that Jungkook?"

He steps back, unable to meet you in the eyes. "I can't do this anymore. I can't hold myself back anymore. I'm getting jealous. I want to have you around all the time. I want you to study with me. I want you to call me in the morning and before you go to bed. I want to hold your hand when we walk around campus. I want people to know that you're mine and that I'm yours. I want to kiss you. I want to fuck you. I want to hold you as you cum. I want all of it. "

You're confused. "What? Jungkook, I-

He presses his hand up against your mouth.

"I don't like this uncertainty of who I am to you, I'm creating a boundary right here and I want it around us," He releases his finger to let you respond, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

...

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

Share a Lair 07 || Share a Char

Henry shook his head slowly, his arms folded and hair pulled into a small little curly tail. Jasper licked his lips, nodded in appreciation, and took a sip of water. Charlotte approached them and asked, “What are you two doing?”

Henry said, “Training,” but Jasper said, “Looking at Max,” which Charlotte now saw was the more honest answer, and she looked and understood why. He had on a VR helmet and was apparently either training or playing a very intense fighting game. Either way, the drool about to drop from Jasper’s mouth - relatable. Charlotte blinked out of it though. “Umm, are you going to train today?”

“Just got finished running around the track,” Henry said. “Waiting on Max to finish up here.”

“I thought you two had very different training schedules as to not overlap,” she said.

“Char. Shh! What if you distract him?” Jasper said. “We want him to be able to get all of the training he needs to keep the world safe!” Then, after a little while, more to himself, he said softly, “Look at that… bulge…”

“GROSS!” Char practically squealed. Max turned in that direction at the sound of her voice and lifted his helmet. He checked his watch and realized that he had run over his time. He deactivated the training helmet, summoned his bag, water and towel to himself and began to walk in their direction.

“You’re lucky,” Jasper said to her.

“For what?” She asked.

Henry laughed, “That bulge!”

She cringed and shook her head and hands, “I have nothing to do with that!” She accidentally glanced at it, though, thanks to Jasper mentioning it in the first place! “Stop pointing it out!” Her voice was high pitched and anxious.

Max practically vacuumed a jug of water into his mouth, but paused to say, “Didn’t mean to go over. There’s a button on the post for when that happens, or you can just get Charlotte to yelp. That worked too.” Jasper looked at the post in front of him and pressed the button.

“Alert. You have succeeded your training time. Please be courteous and vacate the training field.” Max narrowed his eyes at him.

“I wanted to see how it worked,” Jasper explained.

Max wiped his face and hung the towel around his neck, “Hello, Miss Page.” He was twinkling with perspiration and breathing kind of hard, but was… still everything and that smile always tripped her up.

“Are we… doing last names, now, Mr. Thunderman? No. I hate it. That didn’t feel right.” They started walking away while Jasper watched and Henry went onto the training field.

“Jasper! Come on, Dude. He’s not THAT good looking.”

“First off, he definitely IS. Second off, where is Charlotte going? I thought she was helping with training.”

“I’m coming back!” she called over her shoulder and shook her head. “Nosy..” Max smiled. Charlotte huffed and said, “Okay, SO - I am here, as, I guess a liaison.”

“What’s Henry’s problem now?” He asked.

“He’s really feeling like you treat him like an outsider, in what is supposed to feel like his own home. He’s ready to file a request for a new placement.” Charlotte said. Max furrowed his eyebrows, scoffed, and shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You don’t like Henry. You don’t care about him.”

“It’s not even that. I don’t dislike him and, well, yeah, I don’t care about him. Honestly, I feel like I don’t do anything to make Henry uncomfortable.”

“The snide comments? The nasty looks? The house rules reminders?”

Max rolled his eyes, “He should man up.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you could give him a little break?” She rubbed his arm and for that reason, he began to consider it. He didn’t feel like he gave Henry a hard time, but maybe he could put just a little more effort into it. Charlotte was tracing his muscles and got a little bit lost in the definition of them. He watched her eyes follow the tracks her fingers made and stopped walking. She stopped too and looked at him. He was… amused. She realized that she was being kind of touchy.

“Should I flex them for you?” He teased.

“Don’t be silly,” she said, laughing and folded her arms, then thought for a moment and said, “I mean, go ahead, if you want, but that’s not important.What’s important is…”

He smiled and flexed his arms, “I’m getting more solid!” he practically cheered. She rubbed on his arm, squeezed the bicep, nodded in agreement. He was slightly bigger than he had been when they moved in, but only someone who was paying extremely close attention might notice that. She pulled her hand back and snapped out of it, “Focus, Charlotte!”

“It is perfectly fine if you focus on these. This is my DREAM, having a really hot girl openly fawn over my muscles. It’s what I deserve.”

Back on task, and ignoring all of what he said, she resumed her concerns, with her hands clasped together to keep from touching him again, “If he files for a new placement, it’ll be paperwork, interviews, and all of that, and a bunch of bull… and if they grant it to him, who knows where we’ll wind up next…”

“We,” he said, dropping his flexed arms to his sides and slumping his shoulders, like he had just realized that Charlotte would definitely be part of an exit made by Henry. She was one third of the Henry Hart package. “Ugh. Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Well, I was thinking that we could start with a little morale booster. He wanted to do the video game tournament, but I told him that you’ve already got the living room for that… What if you let our friends come too, and hang out with your friends for a night?”

Max looked very not pleased with that idea. She thought out loud, “Of course, I’ll have less than a week to Ray and Schwoz proof the house, but I’ve done more in less time, before.”

“If either of them gets out of line, I will freeze the entire room, I swear to God.”

She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, “Thank you! Henry’s gonna feel a lot better knowing that you’re gonna do this for him.”

His hands held her waist and he looked down at her, “Not doing it for him.” They stared at each other for a while. Charlotte felt… like she was in some type of trance. She was tempted to kiss him again, and that was what broke it!

She smiled and removed his hands and said, “Well, thank you anyway, I mean. Thank you… Just thank you, please. Not please. JUST thank you. Okay, bye.” She wrung her hands and practically ran back to the training field.

.

Ray and Schwoz arrived earlier than any of Max’s friends. Charlotte told them to come through the tower entrance, but Ray decided that to establish dominance, he needed to barge in through the front door. So, he tried it and got zapped. Max first heard “Alert, Dumbest Hero Alive and his unfortunate science slave approaching,” from his monitor watch. His parents had a big one in their home. He had a small one in his chambers and he connected a system to the front entrance, but instead of a monitor, he simply programmed it to his watch. He was about to disarm the alarms when he heard the zapping noise and Ray scream. He laughed and disarmed them before the poor little science guy got hurt.

Max opened the door and Schwoz looked absolutely terrified, but also intrigued. What might happen next? Max said, “So, you guys must be Henry’s friends. Charlotte said you’d be coming in through the tower, and also, you’re like 2 hours early. This is how you wound up electrocuted.”

“What type of security system is this?’ Schwoz asked curiously.

“Kidding me? So that you can hack into it? No. You’ll have to work hard like Charlotte did,” Max said, with a smile as he texted her to let her know that they were here, in case she didn’t already. He resumed setting up the living room to accommodate everyone.

“Is… is that a pit couch?” Ray asked.

“Yeah. Had it transported it from my T Force office for tonight. Trying to organize our sectionals around it. There’s gonna be quite a few people here tonight. Exceeding my 9 person maximum for comfort, but… morale.”

“This is something that Charlotte forced on you, isn’t it?” Ray asked.

“Charlotte asked me to allow Henry’s friends to partake tonight.”

“She’s the worst,” Ray said, shaking his head. Max paused and looked at him with the most disdainful expression that he could muster. Ray stared back at him, confused, then glanced at Schwoz to see if he saw it too. Schwoz was inspecting different things in the room, though. Trying to determine what was simply furniture and what served as one of Max’s things.

“You realize that she’s the only reason that you’re here tonight, right?” Max asked.

Ray scoffed, “I was comin’ whether or not you wanted me to. I’m indestructible. Nothing scares me. Least of all some kid… with… hair that I have to admit is very nice.”

Max smiled, “Nothing scares you. Cool. Tonight’s not about fear. It’s about respecting others. Umm… Everybody is gonna respect Charlotte tonight. That’s a house rule. Non-negotiable.”

“You have a house rule that everyone has to respect everyone on the night of a video game tournament?” Schwoz asked, from near Max’s hammock.

“I have an everybody respect Charlotte house rule on every night.”

Ray laughed, “What is she like… your girlfriend or something?”

“Just. Heed the rule. Thanks,” Max said. He didn’t add for your own benefit. He wasn’t going to explain himself to this man, especially after saying something mean about his… friend… less than 10 minutes of being here.

She came into the living room and shook her head, “Sorry. Max. Hope they haven’t been bothering you.” Then, to the two of them, “Umm, why aren’t you in the tower? We’re pregaming up there. Come on. Max has a lot to do here.”

“He’s just rearranging furniture!” Ray pouted and she took him by the elbow and waved Schwoz along too.

Schwoz cheered to Max, “See you soon!” Then, whenever he followed Charlotte, he said, “Good job, Charlotte. He’s very skilled with technology.”

“What do you mean, ‘good job’?” she asked. Max smirked. He knew what he meant. He always knew what they meant. Every single friend that she had now had tried to let her in on the facts. She was still in denial obviously, and he wouldn’t make it difficult for her. But… That was his lady. He knew it. They knew it. She was the only person who didn’t know it yet. He’d had a similar sort of ignorance whenever he first fell into feelings with his first serious girlfriend. Technically, no… they weren’t “together.” Nobody had officially made any declaration or asked the other for a title or anything like that, but… he knew how he felt and he was pretty sure she was somewhere along the same lines. It was nice to not have to really acknowledge it, though. It made it easy to avoid the deeper topics and to bond through interests and stuff while she figured out her emotions on her own. No pressure. As for him… He was taken and he knew that, and he wasn’t necessarily patient, but smart enough to know that rushing someone as reserved as she was would be a terrible route to winning her over.

.

Max had Oyster, Gideon, Wolfgang, someone named Angus, who Charlotte hadn’t met before, Billy and Nora (who she had only sort of met), and he was unsure if girlfriends were going to be stopping by sporadically. Henry had his usual - Jasper, Ray, Schwoz, and Char, but said that Piper might stop by. Max got in front of everyone and said, “Okay, listen up! This tournament goes on for the entire weekend. You all know those deets, I’m sure. What you will have to understand about this gaming site - Henry and I live here, but our chambers are off limits, unless permission is given. I will be giving none, so bathrooms this weekend are,” he pointed, “The one in the laundry room, or if Henry lets you into the tower.” Henry scoffed. But… his guests were welcome to go to his bathroom, though.

“Charlotte has been gracious and kind enough to make sure that there are little hygiene favors for everyone and set us up a nacho bar.”

“Charlotte’s the best!” Oyster roared in excitement.

“Awww,” she said with her hand over her heart. Ray rolled his eyes and laughed a little. Max heard it and turned very suddenly to glare at him.

“I cannot stress this enough - Charlotte gets respect in this house. I expect everyone to respect her, whether or not I’m there to see it.”

“What kind of a MONSTER would disrespect Charlotte?” Gideon wondered. She crossed both hands over her chest and let out a little squeal.

Ray asked, “Is this one of your pranks that I hear tell of?”

“I… don’t play about that. Charlotte is a valued member of this house’s wellbeing. She works hard and takes care of a lot. We respect her here, and you will too. Invitations will be rescinded if I catch on to any disrespect.”

She stood up and walked over to him, with her finger raised, “If I might… Say something?”

“Of course.”

“Okay… He’s not talking about if we’re playing against each other. That’s understandable trash talk and I dish it out, too. He’s talking… rolling your eyes and laughing if someone pays me a compliment when you can just shut your old head ass up.”

“WAIT! Does SHE get to talk to us like that?” Ray asked.

Max said, “I think she was just giving an example,” very innocently, pretending not to realize that was directed, rightfully at Ray.

Ray pouted and said, “Can we get on with the games?”

“Last few rules and concerns,” Max said, then saw two bunnies walking to the couch and made a gesture at them to Charlotte, then mouthed Thank You when she went to collect Colosso and Balfour. “Um, last few things - My 19 year old brother and 17 year old sister are here. Neither of them can have alcohol, because this is mixed company. If you have given them alcohol in the past. Don’t try that this weekend. Oyster… no matter WHAT Nora says, give her zero alcohol.” Oyster nodded his head. “You know what… if Nora asks you for anything, check with me, to see if it’s okay.”

“COME ON!” Nora cried out.

Henry noticed that Charlotte had vanished, but as Max was wrapping up, she came out of his restricted area. Oh. So he WAS allowing access, just to her. She came to sit in between Jasper and Schwoz and Henry asked, “Hey, where did you go?”

“The rabbits were loose,” she said.

“What… rabbits?” He asked. There were rabbits in this house??? Max was done talking, so his friends rushed to the nacho bar while Nora and Billy made sure they staked their claim on the pit couch and Charlotte got up to talk to Max. Henry let out a frustrated groan and threw his head back. “She acts like I don’t even exist anymore,” he said, shaking his head.

“Hey. So… Balfour really wanted to watch the game tournament. He was like crying. So, I told him that I’d ask you about some way that could possibly happen?”

Max folded his arms and said, “I guess we could link a signal into Penelope and let her put it on her projector in real time? They can’t come up here, though. They’ll start trouble.”

“I really wanted Penelope here with me tonight. What if ONLY Balfour comes up and…”

“No. He’s the worse one.” Max said, chuckling. “Char, these are supervillains. They aren’t innocent bystanders who became bunnies.”

“He loved video games and he can’t play anymore. He just wants to watch. I believe him,” she said, playing with his pocket. Henry watched them.

Max sighed and pointed at her nose, “Anything that goes wrong as a result of him being up here will be on you.”

“I accept,” she said and bit at his finger, “Get that out of my face!” She laughed. He moved it around her face until she swatted it away and took hold of his hand, playing with his fingers. “I’ll go get him.” Max watched her disappear through his chamber door again and Henry narrowed his eyes at the entire thing. Whenever Charlotte returned carrying a white bunny with glasses, he was confused. She sat him next to Penelope as she took her seat again.

.

Charlotte began the night cozied with her friends, but wound up by Max, with the bunnies and Billy… closer to where Max’s friends were. Billy and Max were the only ones currently awake. Oyster was in a nacho eating food coma. Angus and Gideon were resting until their next matches, and Gideon had already been eliminated. Ray and Nora had somehow began a rivalry and were trash talking as they played against each other. Henry and Jasper were watching in entertainment that this was the second teenaged girl that he couldn’t beat in a video game. Henry was going to point this out to Char, but whenever he looked over, she was talking to Max again. Their faces were close together and he was looking all soft at her like he often did. She looked exhausted. “Hey, Char!” Henry called. She jumped. Max frowned as she pulled her face away from him to turn to Henry. “This girl’s giving your old records quite a run!”

“I never even played this game,” Charlotte said, shaking her head.

“FINISH HIM!” Jasper yelled and then moments later Nora jumped up and got into Ray’s face, “That’s what I’m talking about, MAGGOTCHESTER!” A few of the sleeping ones stirred, but remained sleeping. They either had ear muffs or plugs, for such scenarios.

Charlotte began talking to Max while Nora was screaming, so that whenever she stopped everyone heard her say, “So, I’m just gonna be in your bed…” Her eyes grew wide and she looked around the room. Billy, Nora, Henry, Jasper and Ray all turned and looked right back at her. “Not like that!” She said and shook her head.

“Where’s Balfour?” Max wondered. She gasped and began to frantically look around.

“Where’s Schwoz?” Ray wondered. Schwoz came from the bathroom, holding Balfour.

“Schwoz! What were you doing with him?” Charlotte asked and took the bunny off of his hands.

“He needed to go to the bathroom and you hadn’t brought any of his papers out,” Schwoz explained.

Max collected him and told Charlotte, “I’ve got him. Go on and get some rest. I’ll bring him whenever I come down.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek, but the others were already watching them kinda closely. He didn’t care about that obviously, because he gave her one and told her goodnight. She was all fluttery inside as she headed for his chambers.

She was asleep when he did retire for the evening. Billy and Nora came down to wash up and took their sleeping bags to the landing mat. Max climbed into bed and figured he could stay on one side with Charlotte on the other. She definitely woke up wrapped completely around him from behind.

Charlotte gasped and sat up. Of course, he needed to sleep in his own bed tonight. He had two siblings staying over and friends sprawled all over the couch. She went into the bathroom to wash up and get ready for today, then crept out to get started on at least ordering breakfast to be delivered.

Jasper and Henry had retired to the tower, while Ray and Schwoz camped out in the van. Angus was the only person awake whenever Char surfaced. “Hi… Angus, right?”

“Right,” he said, with a smile. He was doing some stretches.

“I’m gonna order a bunch of breakfast stuff. I’m more familiar with Max and my friends’ stuff, but do you know about those guys?” She pointed to the sleeping men on the couch.

“Haven’t been around them a huge amount recently, but I’m almost certain that Oyster still will eat just about anything,” he laughed.

“Bless him. He’s such a sweetheart.” She began to make an online order and also to start on fruit prep, for juice and/or smoothies.

Henry came, groggily through the double doors, being pushed from behind by Jasper and yawning. Charlotte hoped that they had brushed their teeth. “I’ve got breakfast on the way and at least one of you needs a smoothie, doesn’t he?” She smiled at Henry.

“Is she speaking to me? Does Charlotte Page see Henry Hart standing here?” He asked, sarcastically. She looked confused as she threw in the ingredients for a wake up smoothie into the blender for him. “Oh, right… Max isn’t around. So, I’m visible. Cool!” She turned off the blender, rolled her eyes and poured his smoothie. “Wonder how much time I have before my nemesis appears and my best friend loses knowledge of my existence.”

Angus asked Jasper, “Is… this awkward for you, as well?”

“It is,” Jasper said.

“Wanna go for a walk with me?”

“No, but I surely don’t wanna stay here for this,” Jasper said and they both headed out of the front door.

“Got it out of your system?” Charlotte asked, handing Henry the smoothie.

“He’s not even that good looking,” he said and nodded once, “Now, it’s out of my system.”

“Okay. Now that it is, let me say this… Whenever you don’t want to have to hang out with me, you think Max is the perfect candidate to take up my time. Whenever you don’t want to listen to me, I have to talk to Max. Whenever you can’t help me out with something, Max does. But, the moment that you have a want or a need and I’m occupied with Max, then you feel a way. Henry, I don’t know how else to tell you this, but Max and I get each other. I know you and me have been friends a long time, but those parts that didn’t make sense, they never started to. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t friends anymore, or that I don’t care about you, hence the reason you are drinking a smoothie from my heart. Thank you for giving me the push that I needed to find another friend. Max was a great choice. You did this, and you did well. Now, appreciate and respect that.”

“It’s not just Max, Dude. I mean, he’s your… cool half or whatever…”

“Wow…”

“But, like… You’re not even hardly chilling with us at this thing. You’re hanging out with his friends and his siblings. You slept in his bed? And.. that didn’t sound like the first time.”

“Probably like the 4th time these past couple of weeks. Usually, he sleeps elsewhere, but his siblings took that, so my options were out here on this super couch with those strangers or in a bed that I’m welcome and comfortable in.”

“You are comfortable in my bed? Me, you and Jasp used to do this all the time.”

“Henry!” She said it snappier than she intended. “You started this year out wanting a little bit less of me, and that’s what you’ve gotten. I would’ve thought you’d be relieved to be able to escape me.” She didn’t want to bring up NYE, because it still hurt, but she had been less engaging with him since then, with both he and Jasper, quite frankly.

“Nobody wanted to escape you, Charlotte. One night, was all it was and I’m sorry we handled it the way that we did. But, we got karma, remember? We got deserted.”

“And I rescued you. Henry, maybe the reason that it’s hard for you to share your friend is because your friend has always been a major resource to you. And maybe the reason it hasn’t been as hard for me to branch out is because my friend hasn’t always been a major resource.”

“You think I… don’t deserve your friendship?”

“I didn’t say that. I think that our friendship has positively impacted your day to day a little more vigorously than mine.”

“So, really it’s you escaping me.”

She frowned and sighed. “This is me getting comfortable with another friend, Henry. I’m still here for you. You only feel like I’m not because I was giving you WAY too much energy before now. I’ve been really happy,” she said, with a guilty look in her eyes, “And I thought that you had been too. This… event is supposed to bring us together. That’s why I was talking to other friends. You can try it too. You and Max should be trying it, because you live together. You share this space, and your both my friend. I’m not… picking. I don’t have to, because I know that I enrich both your lives, so I don’t believe either of you are cutting me off.”

Max came into the room, strutting, shirtless, carrying a shirt in his hands and preparing to put it on. Charlotte was relieved to see him. She thought she’d be awkward after how she woke up, but this talk with Henry had just rocked her and fortunately, as unpredictable as he was, Max was a calming presence for her. “Morning, Max,” she said, with a smile. He threw the shirt on, noticed her eyes, looked at a moping Henry and moved closer to Charlotte to give her a hug.

“Good morning. You okay?” he asked softly. She nodded, with her head against his chest. “What about you, Henry? You alright?” Max asked. Henry shrugged his shoulders. He hated seeing them… like that. She keeps insisting that they’re friends, but they keep doing… this kind of stuff. The doorbell rang and Charlotte went to go answer it. Probably the breakfast. “How are your friends enjoying the tournament?”

“Pretty good. I think you and me are up against each other tonight.”

“That should be fun for me… embarrassing for you.”

“You can’t beat me in everything,” Henry declared.

Max laughed. “That’s absolutely false. Of course I can.”

[neshabeingchildish]

Share a Char

This turned out longer than I expected. I wrote it in two long sittings, before and after I banged my head hard enough to leave a freakin’ knot on it. There’s some domestic kinda stuff here, but there is also a little angst. I’m sorry. I just got it in me, friends. I go back to work tomorrow, so I had to push out whatever I could get to my loves. @chenoahchantel @adorkable-blackgirl @kiddangers @henryhearts I have no idea if y’all will get your notifications or why you haven’t been. Sorry and hope that eventually y’all find it. I still only got one review and a a one sentence message about the last PW chapter. I don’t know what’s being read and what’s not until y’all tell me.

Share-a-Lair 7

Henry shook his head slowly, his arms folded and hair pulled into a small little curly tail. Jasper licked his lips, nodded in appreciation, and took a sip of water. Charlotte approached them and asked, “What are you two doing?”

Henry said, “Training,” but Jasper said, “Looking at Max,” which Charlotte now saw was the more honest answer, and she looked and understood why. He had on a VR helmet and was apparently either training or playing a very intense fighting game. Either way, the drool about to drop from Jasper’s mouth - relatable. Charlotte blinked out of it though. “Umm, are you going to train today?”

“Just got finished running around the track,” Henry said. “Waiting on Max to finish up here.”

“I thought you two had very different training schedules as to not overlap,” she said.

“Char. Shh! What if you distract him?” Jasper said. “We want him to be able to get all of the training he needs to keep the world safe!” Then, after a little while, more to himself, he said softly, “Look at that… bulge…”

“GROSS!” Char practically squealed. Max turned in that direction at the sound of her voice and lifted his helmet. He checked his watch and realized that he had run over his time. He deactivated the training helmet, summoned his bag, water and towel to himself and began to walk in their direction. 

“You’re lucky,” Jasper said to her.

“For what?” She asked.

Henry laughed, “That bulge!” 

She cringed and shook her head and hands, “I have nothing to do with that!” She accidentally glanced at it, though, thanks to Jasper mentioning it in the first place! “Stop pointing it out!” Her voice was high pitched and anxious. 

Max practically vacuumed a jug of water into his mouth, but paused to say, “Didn’t mean to go over. There’s a button on the post for when that happens, or you can just get Charlotte to yelp. That worked too.” Jasper looked at the post in front of him and pressed the button.

“Alert. You have succeeded your training time. Please be courteous and vacate the training field.” Max narrowed his eyes at him. 

“I wanted to see how it worked,” Jasper explained. 

Max wiped his face and hung the towel around his neck, “Hello, Miss Page.” He was twinkling with perspiration and breathing kind of hard, but was… still everything and that smile always tripped her up.

“Are we… doing last names, now, Mr. Thunderman? No. I hate it. That didn’t feel right.” They started walking away while Jasper watched and Henry went onto the training field.

“Jasper! Come on, Dude. He’s not THAT good looking.”

“First off, he definitely IS. Second off, where is Charlotte going? I thought she was helping with training.”

“I’m coming back!” she called over her shoulder and shook her head. “Nosy..” Max smiled. Charlotte huffed and said, “Okay, SO - I am here, as, I guess a liaison.”

“What’s Henry’s problem now?” He asked.

“He’s really feeling like you treat him like an outsider, in what is supposed to feel like his own home. He’s ready to file a request for a new placement.” Charlotte said. Max furrowed his eyebrows, scoffed, and shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You don’t like Henry. You don’t care about him.”

“It’s not even that. I don’t dislike him and, well, yeah, I don’t care about him. Honestly, I feel like I don’t do anything to make Henry uncomfortable.”

“The snide comments? The nasty looks? The house rules reminders?” 

Max rolled his eyes, “He should man up.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you could give him a little break?” She rubbed his arm and for that reason, he began to consider it. He didn’t feel like he gave Henry a hard time, but maybe he could put just a little more effort into it. Charlotte was tracing his muscles and got a little bit lost in the definition of them. He watched her eyes follow the tracks her fingers made and stopped walking. She stopped too and looked at him. He was… amused. She realized that she was being kind of touchy. 

“Should I flex them for you?” He teased. 

“Don’t be silly,” she said, laughing and folded her arms, then thought for a moment and said, “I mean, go ahead, if you want, but that’s not important.What’s important is…” 

He smiled and flexed his arms, “I’m getting more solid!” he practically cheered. She rubbed on his arm, squeezed the bicep, nodded in agreement. He was slightly bigger than he had been when they moved in, but only someone who was paying extremely close attention might notice that. She pulled her hand back and snapped out of it, “Focus, Charlotte!”

“It is perfectly fine if you focus on these. This is my DREAM, having a really hot girl openly fawn over my muscles. It’s what I deserve.”

Back on task, and ignoring all of what he said, she resumed her concerns, with her hands clasped together to keep from touching him again, “If he files for a new placement, it’ll be paperwork, interviews, and all of that, and a bunch of bull… and if they grant it to him, who knows where we’ll wind up next…”

“We,” he said, dropping his flexed arms to his sides and slumping his shoulders, like he had just realized that Charlotte would definitely be part of an exit made by Henry. She was one third of the Henry Hart package. “Ugh. Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Well, I was thinking that we could start with a little morale booster. He wanted to do the video game tournament, but I told him that you’ve already got the living room for that… What if you let our friends come too, and hang out with your friends for a night?”

Max looked very not pleased with that idea. She thought out loud, “Of course, I’ll have less than a week to Ray and Schwoz proof the house, but I’ve done more in less time, before.”

“If either of them gets out of line, I will freeze the entire room, I swear to God.”

She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, “Thank you! Henry’s gonna feel a lot better knowing that you’re gonna do this for him.”

His hands held her waist and he looked down at her, “Not doing it for him.” They stared at each other for a while. Charlotte felt… like she was in some type of trance. She was tempted to kiss him again, and that was what broke it! 

She smiled and removed his hands and said, “Well, thank you anyway, I mean. Thank you… Just thank you, please. Not please. JUST thank you. Okay, bye.” She wrung her hands and practically ran back to the training field.

.

Ray and Schwoz arrived earlier than any of Max’s friends. Charlotte told them to come through the tower entrance, but Ray decided that to establish dominance, he needed to barge in through the front door. So, he tried it and got zapped. Max first heard “Alert, Dumbest Hero Alive and his unfortunate science slave approaching,” from his monitor watch. His parents had a big one in their home. He had a small one in his chambers and he connected a system to the front entrance, but instead of a monitor, he simply programmed it to his watch. He was about to disarm the alarms when he heard the zapping noise and Ray scream. He laughed and disarmed them before the poor little science guy got hurt. 

Max opened the door and Schwoz looked absolutely terrified, but also intrigued. What might happen next? Max said, “So, you guys must be Henry’s friends. Charlotte said you’d be coming in through the tower, and also, you’re like 2 hours early. This is how you wound up electrocuted.”

“What type of security system is this?’ Schwoz asked curiously. 

“Kidding me? So that you can hack into it? No. You’ll have to work hard like Charlotte did,” Max said, with a smile as he texted her to let her know that they were here, in case she didn’t already. He resumed setting up the living room to accommodate everyone. 

“Is… is that a pit couch?” Ray asked. 

“Yeah. Had it transported it from my T Force office for tonight. Trying to organize our sectionals around it. There’s gonna be quite a few people here tonight. Exceeding my 9 person maximum for comfort, but… morale.”

“This is something that Charlotte forced on you, isn’t it?” Ray asked.

“Charlotte asked me to allow Henry’s friends to partake tonight.”

“She’s the worst,” Ray said, shaking his head. Max paused and looked at him with the most disdainful expression that he could muster. Ray stared back at him, confused, then glanced at Schwoz to see if he saw it too. Schwoz was inspecting different things in the room, though. Trying to determine what was simply furniture and what served as one of Max’s things. 

“You realize that she’s the only reason that you’re here tonight, right?” Max asked.

Ray scoffed, “I was comin’ whether or not you wanted me to. I’m indestructible. Nothing scares me. Least of all some kid… with… hair that I have to admit is very nice.”

Max smiled, “Nothing scares you. Cool. Tonight’s not about fear. It’s about respecting others. Umm… Everybody is gonna respect Charlotte tonight. That’s a house rule. Non-negotiable.”

“You have a house rule that everyone has to respect everyone on the night of a video game tournament?” Schwoz asked, from near Max’s hammock. 

“I have an everybody respect Charlotte house rule on every night.”

Ray laughed, “What is she like… your girlfriend or something?”

“Just. Heed the rule. Thanks,” Max said. He didn’t add for your own benefit. He wasn’t going to explain himself to this man, especially after saying something mean about his… friend… less than 10 minutes of being here. 

She came into the living room and shook her head, “Sorry. Max. Hope they haven’t been bothering you.” Then, to the two of them, “Umm, why aren’t you in the tower? We’re pregaming up there. Come on. Max has a lot to do here.”

“He’s just rearranging furniture!” Ray pouted and she took him by the elbow and waved Schwoz along too. 

Schwoz cheered to Max, “See you soon!” Then, whenever he followed Charlotte, he said, “Good job, Charlotte. He’s very skilled with technology.”

“What do you mean, ‘good job’?” she asked. Max smirked. He knew what he meant. He always knew what they meant. Every single friend that she had now had tried to let her in on the facts. She was still in denial obviously, and he wouldn’t make it difficult for her. But… That was his lady. He knew it. They knew it. She was the only person who didn’t know it yet. He’d had a similar sort of ignorance whenever he first fell into feelings with his first serious girlfriend. Technically, no… they weren’t “together.” Nobody had officially made any declaration or asked the other for a title or anything like that, but… he knew how he felt and he was pretty sure she was somewhere along the same lines. It was nice to not have to really acknowledge it, though. It made it easy to avoid the deeper topics and to bond through interests and stuff while she figured out her emotions on her own. No pressure. As for him… He was taken and he knew that, and he wasn’t necessarily patient, but smart enough to know that rushing someone as reserved as she was would be a terrible route to winning her over.

.

Max had Oyster, Gideon, Wolfgang, someone named Angus, who Charlotte hadn’t met before, Billy and Nora (who she had only sort of met), and he was unsure if girlfriends were going to be stopping by sporadically. Henry had his usual - Jasper, Ray, Schwoz, and Char, but said that Piper might stop by. Max got in front of everyone and said, “Okay, listen up! This tournament goes on for the entire weekend. You all know those deets, I’m sure. What you will have to understand about this gaming site - Henry and I live here, but our chambers are off limits, unless permission is given. I will be giving none, so bathrooms this weekend are,” he pointed, “The one in the laundry room, or if Henry lets you into the tower.” Henry scoffed. But… his guests were welcome to go to his bathroom, though.

“Charlotte has been gracious and kind enough to make sure that there are little hygiene favors for everyone and set us up a nacho bar.”

“Charlotte’s the best!” Oyster roared in excitement. 

“Awww,” she said with her hand over her heart. Ray rolled his eyes and laughed a little. Max heard it and turned very suddenly to glare at him. 

“I cannot stress this enough - Charlotte gets respect in this house. I expect everyone to respect her, whether or not I’m there to see it.”

“What kind of a MONSTER would disrespect Charlotte?” Gideon wondered. She crossed both hands over her chest and let out a little squeal. 

Ray asked, “Is this one of your pranks that I hear tell of?”

“I… don’t play about that. Charlotte is a valued member of this house’s wellbeing. She works hard and takes care of a lot. We respect her here, and you will too. Invitations will be rescinded if I catch on to any disrespect.” 

She stood up and walked over to him, with her finger raised, “If I might… Say something?”

“Of course.”

“Okay… He’s not talking about if we’re playing against each other. That’s understandable trash talk and I dish it out, too. He’s talking… rolling your eyes and laughing if someone pays me a compliment when you can just shut your old head ass up.” 

“WAIT! Does SHE get to talk to us like that?” Ray asked.

Max said, “I think she was just giving an example,” very innocently, pretending not to realize that was directed, rightfully at Ray.

Ray pouted and said, “Can we get on with the games?”

“Last few rules and concerns,” Max said, then saw two bunnies walking to the couch and made a gesture at them to Charlotte, then mouthed Thank You when she went to collect Colosso and Balfour. “Um, last few things - My 19 year old brother and 17 year old sister are here. Neither of them can have alcohol, because this is mixed company. If you have given them alcohol in the past. Don’t try that this weekend. Oyster… no matter WHAT Nora says, give her zero alcohol.” Oyster nodded his head. “You know what… if Nora asks you for anything, check with me, to see if it’s okay.”

“COME ON!” Nora cried out. 

Henry noticed that Charlotte had vanished, but as Max was wrapping up, she came out of his restricted area. Oh. So he WAS allowing access, just to her. She came to sit in between Jasper and Schwoz and Henry asked, “Hey, where did you go?”

“The rabbits were loose,” she said.

“What… rabbits?” He asked. There were rabbits in this house??? Max was done talking, so his friends rushed to the nacho bar while Nora and Billy made sure they staked their claim on the pit couch and Charlotte got up to talk to Max. Henry let out a frustrated groan and threw his head back. “She acts like I don’t even exist anymore,” he said, shaking his head. 

“Hey. So… Balfour really wanted to watch the game tournament. He was like crying. So, I told him that I’d ask you about some way that could possibly happen?”

Max folded his arms and said, “I guess we could link a signal into Penelope and let her put it on her projector in real time? They can’t come up here, though. They’ll start trouble.” 

“I really wanted Penelope here with me tonight. What if ONLY Balfour comes up and…”

“No. He’s the worse one.” Max said, chuckling. “Char, these are supervillains. They aren’t innocent bystanders who became bunnies.”

“He loved video games and he can’t play anymore. He just wants to watch. I believe him,” she said, playing with his pocket. Henry watched them. 

Max sighed and pointed at her nose, “Anything that goes wrong as a result of him being up here will be on you.”

“I accept,” she said and bit at his finger, “Get that out of my face!” She laughed. He moved it around her face until she swatted it away and took hold of his hand, playing with his fingers. “I’ll go get him.” Max watched her disappear through his chamber door again and Henry narrowed his eyes at the entire thing. Whenever Charlotte returned carrying a white bunny with glasses, he was confused. She sat him next to Penelope as she took her seat again.

.

Charlotte began the night cozied with her friends, but wound up by Max, with the bunnies and Billy… closer to where Max’s friends were. Billy and Max were the only ones currently awake. Oyster was in a nacho eating food coma. Angus and Gideon were resting until their next matches, and Gideon had already been eliminated. Ray and Nora had somehow began a rivalry and were trash talking as they played against each other. Henry and Jasper were watching in entertainment that this was the second teenaged girl that he couldn’t beat in a video game. Henry was going to point this out to Char, but whenever he looked over, she was talking to Max again. Their faces were close together and he was looking all soft at her like he often did. She looked exhausted. “Hey, Char!” Henry called. She jumped. Max frowned as she pulled her face away from him to turn to Henry. “This girl’s giving your old records quite a run!”

“I never even played this game,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. 

“FINISH HIM!” Jasper yelled and then moments later Nora jumped up and got into Ray’s face, “That’s what I’m talking about, MAGGOTCHESTER!” A few of the sleeping ones stirred, but remained sleeping. They either had ear muffs or plugs, for such scenarios.

Charlotte began talking to Max while Nora was screaming, so that whenever she stopped everyone heard her say, “So, I’m just gonna be in your bed…” Her eyes grew wide and she looked around the room. Billy, Nora, Henry, Jasper and Ray all turned and looked right back at her. “Not like that!” She said and shook her head. 

“Where’s Balfour?” Max wondered. She gasped and began to frantically look around.

“Where’s Schwoz?” Ray wondered. Schwoz came from the bathroom, holding Balfour. 

“Schwoz! What were you doing with him?” Charlotte asked and took the bunny off of his hands. 

“He needed to go to the bathroom and you hadn’t brought any of his papers out,” Schwoz explained. 

Max collected him and told Charlotte, “I’ve got him. Go on and get some rest. I’ll bring him whenever I come down.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek, but the others were already watching them kinda closely. He didn’t care about that obviously, because he gave her one and told her goodnight. She was all fluttery inside as she headed for his chambers. 

She was asleep when he did retire for the evening. Billy and Nora came down to wash up and took their sleeping bags to the landing mat. Max climbed into bed and figured he could stay on one side with Charlotte on the other. She definitely woke up wrapped completely around him from behind. 

Charlotte gasped and sat up. Of course, he needed to sleep in his own bed tonight. He had two siblings staying over and friends sprawled all over the couch. She went into the bathroom to wash up and get ready for today, then crept out to get started on at least ordering breakfast to be delivered. 

Jasper and Henry had retired to the tower, while Ray and Schwoz camped out in the van. Angus was the only person awake whenever Char surfaced. “Hi… Angus, right?”

“Right,” he said, with a smile. He was doing some stretches.

“I’m gonna order a bunch of breakfast stuff. I’m more familiar with Max and my friends’ stuff, but do you know about those guys?” She pointed to the sleeping men on the couch.

“Haven’t been around them a huge amount recently, but I’m almost certain that Oyster still will eat just about anything,” he laughed. 

“Bless him. He’s such a sweetheart.” She began to make an online order and also to start on fruit prep, for juice and/or smoothies. 

Henry came, groggily through the double doors, being pushed from behind by Jasper and yawning. Charlotte hoped that they had brushed their teeth. “I’ve got breakfast on the way and at least one of you needs a smoothie, doesn’t he?” She smiled at Henry. 

“Is she speaking to me? Does Charlotte Page see Henry Hart standing here?” He asked, sarcastically. She looked confused as she threw in the ingredients for a wake up smoothie into the blender for him. “Oh, right… Max isn’t around. So, I’m visible. Cool!” She turned off the blender, rolled her eyes and poured his smoothie. “Wonder how much time I have before my nemesis appears and my best friend loses knowledge of my existence.”

Angus asked Jasper, “Is… this awkward for you, as well?”

“It is,” Jasper said.

“Wanna go for a walk with me?”

“No, but I surely don’t wanna stay here for this,” Jasper said and they both headed out of the front door.

“Got it out of your system?” Charlotte asked, handing Henry the smoothie.

“He’s not even that good looking,” he said and nodded once, “Now, it’s out of my system.”

“Okay. Now that it is, let me say this… Whenever you don’t want to have to hang out with me, you think Max is the perfect candidate to take up my time. Whenever you don’t want to listen to me, I have to talk to Max. Whenever you can’t help me out with something, Max does. But, the moment that you have a want or a need and I’m occupied with Max, then you feel a way. Henry, I don’t know how else to tell you this, but Max and I get each other. I know you and me have been friends a long time, but those parts that didn’t make sense, they never started to. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t friends anymore, or that I don’t care about you, hence the reason you are drinking a smoothie from my heart. Thank you for giving me the push that I needed to find another friend. Max was a great choice. You did this, and you did well. Now, appreciate and respect that.”

“It’s not just Max, Dude. I mean, he’s your… cool half or whatever…”

“Wow…”

“But, like… You’re not even hardly chilling with us at this thing. You’re hanging out with his friends and his siblings. You slept in his bed? And.. that didn’t sound like the first time.”

“Probably like the 4th time these past couple of weeks. Usually, he sleeps elsewhere, but his siblings took that, so my options were out here on this super couch with those strangers or in a bed that I’m welcome and comfortable in.”

“You are comfortable in my bed? Me, you and Jasp used to do this all the time.”

“Henry!” She said it snappier than she intended. “You started this year out wanting a little bit less of me, and that’s what you’ve gotten. I would’ve thought you’d be relieved to be able to escape me.” She didn’t want to bring up NYE, because it still hurt, but she had been less engaging with him since then, with both he and Jasper, quite frankly.

“Nobody wanted to escape you, Charlotte. One night, was all it was and I’m sorry we handled it the way that we did. But, we got karma, remember? We got deserted.”

“And I rescued you. Henry, maybe the reason that it’s hard for you to share your friend is because your friend has always been a major resource to you. And maybe the reason it hasn’t been as hard for me to branch out is because my friend hasn’t always been a major resource.”

“You think I… don’t deserve your friendship?”

“I didn’t say that. I think that our friendship has positively impacted your day to day a little more vigorously than mine.”

“So, really it’s you escaping me.”

She frowned and sighed. “This is me getting comfortable with another friend, Henry. I’m still here for you. You only feel like I’m not because I was giving you WAY too much energy before now. I’ve been really happy,” she said, with a guilty look in her eyes, “And I thought that you had been too. This… event is supposed to bring us together. That’s why I was talking to other friends. You can try it too. You and Max should be trying it, because you live together. You share this space, and your both my friend. I’m not… picking. I don’t have to, because I know that I enrich both your lives, so I don’t believe either of you are cutting me off.”

Max came into the room, strutting, shirtless, carrying a shirt in his hands and preparing to put it on. Charlotte was relieved to see him. She thought she’d be awkward after how she woke up, but this talk with Henry had just rocked her and fortunately, as unpredictable as he was, Max was a calming presence for her. “Morning, Max,” she said, with a smile. He threw the shirt on, noticed her eyes, looked at a moping Henry and moved closer to Charlotte to give her a hug.

“Good morning. You okay?” he asked softly. She nodded, with her head against his chest. “What about you, Henry? You alright?” Max asked. Henry shrugged his shoulders. He hated seeing them… like that. She keeps insisting that they’re friends, but they keep doing… this kind of stuff. The doorbell rang and Charlotte went to go answer it. Probably the breakfast. “How are your friends enjoying the tournament?”

“Pretty good. I think you and me are up against each other tonight.”

“That should be fun for me… embarrassing for you.”

“You can’t beat me in everything,” Henry declared.

Max laughed. “That’s absolutely false. Of course I can.”

[dracjoonie]

BTS Reactions ~ Date Night~[Hyung Line]

I’m actually posting content!?!? ik, right?? And its a long one! This has taken me all month to finally finish, so I hope it turned out good <3  Now to see how long Maknae line takes me...

Links and m/l in my bio~ 

𝕊𝕖𝕠𝕜𝕛𝕚𝕟

Date nights are in stone for him. Every Thursday night his schedule was cleared for you and if something came up it’d better get cleared or he would have some words. Same goes for you. Oh, your friends thought it would be nice to go to a movie with you on a Thursday night? That’s cute, better pick a different day though. Oh, your boss needs you that night? Ya, no. They better get someone else. And if they have a problem they can take it up with him. 

Some weeks date nights would be the only time you both would have the chance to see each other, so that alone would make him very insistent about it. I think hes the type to really value time together, so he would cherish the nights you had and would do what he needed to to make every one special. In his own way of course. They would start out early, maybe 5pm or earlier if you were both free. He would bring you to his apartment so you both could deescalate from all the chaos of the week prier, he would have groceries delivered so the both of you wouldn’t even have to leave if you didn’t want to. Sometimes he would cook, or you both would cook together. Other nights you would splurge and he would take you out to dinner somewhere nice. Somewhere with a gorgeous view and expensive wine. I feel like he wouldn’t be insistent on “dressing for the occasion” if you were both tired. He’s Jin, he could wear sweatpants to a 5 star restaurant and no one would bat an eye. And he would still call you beautiful if you showed up in pajamas and messy hair. 

Whether  you decided to stay in or not he would make sure you had both eaten until you were full and content, wanting to take you back to curl up together on the couch. You would watch something silly together, maybe some bad horror movies, anything you didn’t have to pay too much attention to because you would most likely be talking through it anyway. Talking, wrestling, lots of tickle fights, with sweet kisses in between. Every moment would be carefree with him, every Thursday becoming your weekly getaway from the stresses of real life.  And he would make it a point to be like that, real life could start at midnight and you could talk and rant about your lives then, but Thursdays were vacation. 

I also don’t see him letting you leave until morning, whatever that entailed~

𝕐𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕚

I doubt he would even call it date night, but that’s what it would be. I see it being spur of the moment, never planned longer than a week in advance unless it was a special occasion. Or unless he planned something in secret. I see it being really casual as well. It could even be the both of you running some errands and grabbing a bite to eat, but you would be together. Whatever you could work into your busy schedules. Sometimes if it was an off day you both had he would want to just sit around and do nothing, but would be more than pleased if you were willing to sit around and do nothing with him. 

And I mean nothing. As soon as you were over you would just laze around in his room, never leaving it if you didn’t have to. You might curl up with a laptop on his bed in a pillow fort while he online shopped or something. Listening to a playlist you both put together, breaking away from your devices to chat occasionally. You would both order some delivery and just hope that someone else was home to bring the food to his room so you wouldn’t have to venture out and be social. Some time into the day you would have fallen asleep; all curled up by your laptop, and he would wake you by dragging you into his arms and playing with your hair.  He would tell you how much it meant to him to just be able to spend casual time together with you, even if you weren’t really doing anything.

But on a night out things would be different. You both would go somewhere classy ™.   Classy and quite, probably on an off day too. You’d both sit in a corner by a window so you could people watch in peace. You’d sit and gossip and throw shade for hours over several glasses of wine. He’d tell you about how the wines he was picking were made, or even about the furniture or architecture in the restaurant. I feel like it’d be mostly him talking on a night out, all with his hands (especial after the wine) and he would just be living off of your reactions, however small they might be. 

ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕠𝕜

(I just reallly wanted to use this gif, and I may have been overly inspired by it. Oops xD) 

I feel like he would be the most planed. If its gonna be a date, its gotta be a DATE. Any other night you two were together could be casual, but once he had time on an excuse to go all out that’s exactly what he would do. I could see him making reservations for some place that’s super difficult to get into (I mean not for him cuz hes J-fucking-HOPE but~) Some place you’ve gotta count the 0′s next to the prices to be sure you read that right. He’d already prepare for you freaking out about not owning anything nearly lavish enough to be seen in a place like that. He’d just tell you to go open your closet and once you did there would be this brand new outfit for you, shoes and all. It’d be something booshie like Versace, Gucci,  Yves Saint Laurent etc. He’d take the price tags off so you couldn’t freak out about how much he was spending too, probably also rummaged through your closet months ago just so he knew your sizes. I see him renting a car for him to drive you rather than a driver, something sporty. Once you parked; valley, He walk you down towards the front entrance, his hand at the small of your back. It’d be so godamn fancy that paparazzi would be snapping pictures, and there would be plenty of other celebrity’s around. Probably poses for the cameras, spins and dips you to show you off because he would be proud to be spotted with his s/o so publicly. 100% gonna check the headlines to see the pics of you two once you both ordered.

But most nights you two would just goof around, maybe go to a karaoke night, or go shopping together. Maybe grab some burgers and head over to the company building so he could show you some dances he had been working on. Probably scream with you being extra competitive in an arcade until they kick y’all out at closing xD

ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕛𝕠𝕠𝕟

Date nights? Nononono. Date Days. Most days I don’t really see him being that into planning either. Prefers to pick a general destination and lets things progress “organically” from there.  I see him showing up at your door on your day off with a couple of bicycles he rented. Maybe a cute bouquet of flowers he may or may not have dropped a couple of times on the way over.  You would usher him inside and ask him how he even got all the way to you with two bikes and one free hand. A story for the ages. After you put the flowers in a vase and kissed him thank you he would already be dragging you towards the door, not wanting to wast any time. He already would have a destination in mind, somewhere quite on the outskirts of town a few miles out. Somewhere you could sit and enjoy the scenery, but close by to some local shops and restaurants he would be excited to visit. You would take the long way there, biking side by side through back neighborhoods and parks, maybe stopping by a lake to chase the birds and goof around in the water while looking for fish. 

Once you arrived you would ditch the bikes and stroll around through town.You would shop around and find a bunch of unique jewelry and clothing you would both be dying to add to your collections. Might have to hold him back from buying too much. Mid afternoon he would take you to a nature sanctuary. You would sit out in the grass by a stream among all sorts of trees and flowers. He would hold your hands while you lay back and talked for hours, watching the clouds and just enjoying how peaceful it was. He would share his thoughts and feelings, probably spilling his heart out to you and letting it be known just how much he appreciates the time you had. Once it got dark you would go back into town and find a small restaurant to eat at before heading back home. The way back would be just as care free, basking in the moonlight and watching the stars and headlights passing by. Probably stays the night at your place, and asks for your help returning the bikes come morning~ 

[shireness-says]

If I Could See Your Face Once More (1/6)

Summary: This time, there's no celebration at Granny's when the latest crisis has been resolved. Instead, they're left to deal with the body of Killian Jones. A 5B canon divergence where Killian dies in Camelot, never becoming a Dark One. Rated T for language. Also on AO3. ~4.3K. 

Here it is - my contribution to @csmarchmadness! Thanks to @xemmaloveskillianx for organizing such a great event! I started writing this 2 years ago, before it got way out of hand and I ran out of steam. The next chapter will be posted on the 13th. 

If you guys have talked to me for any length of time, you know I hate 5B. Hate it. Why all this Zelena/Hades stuff? Isn’t this supposed to be about saving Killian? Wtf? So here’s my take on 5B, featuring Liam not being a murderer, no Gold at all, Robin not dying, and so many other corrections. I have a lot of feelings about this, guys. Title taken from the Kodaline song that gave me these feelings in the first place (”All I Want”).

Special thanks to my beta, @snidgetsafan, who’s been surprisingly happy to deal with all this angst and dragging me through the writing process. You’re the best, babe. 

Tagging: @thejollyroger-writer, @captainsjedi, @profdanglaisstuff, and @ultraluckycatnd. Shoot me a message if you want to be added to the list!

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!

This time, there’s no celebration at Granny’s when the latest crisis is has been resolved.

There’s just Emma, re-forging Excalibur with shaking hands to trap what’s left of the Dark One inside the blade, removing it from a human vessel once and for all.

Then, of course, they’re left to deal with the body of Killian Jones.

------

When Killian steps off the boat into the Underworld, it’s a small consolation to see Liam waiting at the docks for him.

It’s somehow fitting that the first words he hears from his brother in nearly three hundred years are “Little brother!” as he smiles sadly and pulls Killian into a fierce hug. And even if Killian tosses back a half-hearted “younger…”, he can’t help but squeeze even tighter, just to savor this reunion.

When the two finally break apart, it’s Liam who speaks first.

“I’ve been waiting so long for you, Killian. I can’t tell you how good it is to see your face again.”

“I know, believe me, I know,” he replies, before realizing something. “How did you know I was coming?”

Liam looks a bit sheepish and moves to scratch behind his ear in the same way Killian does (the same way Emma calls “adorable”). “Ah, well… you see, the captain’s log aboard the Jewel has kept me apprised of your life up above - the most painful moments, to be precise. A form of penance, I suppose. When the entries cut off abruptly after you got hurt in that swordfight, though, I got worried. So when a new house appeared down here... I couldn’t resist going to check it out, just in case it was yours.”

Killian knows immediately which one he’s talking about. “Grey Victorian? Tower room?”

“That’s the one. I walked in, saw pictures of you and your lovely wife, and figured one of you would be showing up in the next couple of days. Even if it was your lady instead of yourself, I thought I should still check in on her and find out how you were doing.”

Killian’s heart sinks as soon as he hears the word “wife”. He hates to disillusion Liam of this idea that he’s been living some idyllic life, but it will hurt too much in the long run to pretend, even for a little bit. So he forces himself to whisper back, regret coloring his voice, “I’m not married, brother.”

Liam frowns. “I’m sorry, I just thought… there was a picture of you two dancing. She was in a white dress, you looked dressed to the nines… I just assumed…”

Killian cuts him off before he can go any further. “It’s quite alright, we just… it was a maybe, someday.” He pauses. “I guess not anymore.”

“And the house?”

“We were planning on living there together. Building a future. But again…”

“Not anymore.” Liam nods. “Well, whatever would or wouldn’t have happened, the house appears to be for your use down here. Come along, I’ll take you there.”

------

The house Liam brings him to appears to be a perfect replica of the one Henry and he picked out back in Camelot, just more run down. What little furniture is present is covered in drop cloths and feels stiff and painful. Of course, those observations are secondary to how his attention is immediately drawn to the two photos in the entryway – the one from Camelot that Liam described, and the tiny instant photograph the Lady Snow took the night of their first date. Emma’s beautiful pink dress had made her look like an angel of some kind, and he can just see his temporarily-restored left hand resting on the small of her back. It’s a little bittersweet, seeing those images in this place that might have been home, but he’d rather they were here than not.

Liam, as it turns out, lives on the Jewel of the Realm (and it’s definitely the Jewel here, not the Jolly – beautiful and pristine and not marred by centuries of unintentional gouges from his hook) and runs the local bar, where he promptly offers his little brother (“Younger!”) a job. Turns out this was the only place at which he could find employment when he first arrived, and when the previous owner moved on, ownership transferred to Liam.

“And why have you never been able to move on? Go, be happy and at peace?”

Liam smiles sadly. “I was always worrying about you, wondering how you fared. Felt too guilty about not listening to you, I suppose, making you watch me die like that.”

Whether intentional or not, Killian can’t help but feel a pang of guilt at the fact that his brother has been trapped here because of him. Gods, will his list of sins never end?

But Liam breezes on. “Now that you’re here, though, I think I’ll be able to move on, just as soon as we sort your unfinished business. Any idea what that might be?”

That only twists the knife deeper. Of course he knows what his unfinished business is, and it’s nothing that can be sorted out in a few weeks. It’s promising Emma a happy ending and a future – hell, just promising her that he’d survive. “Ah, well, we’ll both be here for a while then.” Liam quirks a quizzical brow. “I made a vow I ended up not being able to keep. So until Emma either moves on or…” He can’t even speak the words, refuses to even contemplate Emma dying and joining him down here for many, many years yet. “… then I’m stuck here. Which apparently means so are you.”

That feels like the worst admission of all – that he’s somehow doomed everyone he cares about to a lifetime of misery. And when Liam pulls him into a hug that he’s sure is meant to be comforting, he can’t help but feel that he doesn’t deserve that kindness, not one bit.

------

Killian quickly settles into a routine, if only in an attempt to retain some semblance of sanity. Every evening, he joins Liam to work behind the bar at the Underworld’s version of the Rabbit Hole (though down here, the bar seems to cater to those drinking to forget, rather than serving as the social hub it was back in the real Storybrooke); every morning and early afternoon he tries to fix up their – his house a little more, straightening hinges and sanding floors as best as he can. A man learns a good bit of carpentry over years of maintaining a ship; the only thing holding Killian back oftentimes is his lack of proper tools. Liam’s assistance is often offered, but rarely accepted; somehow, Killian feels like this is a task he must accomplish on his own.

Besides being in a state of complete and utter disrepair, the house additionally seems to have a mind and a life of its own. Killian simultaneously loves and dreads the surprises the house conjures up for him. The metal table and chairs on the back porch are an exact match to the set outside of Granny’s where he and Emma shared their first real kiss; a constant smell of cinnamon lingers in the kitchen, despite there not being any of the spice in the house; Middlemist flowers wilt, half dead, in the front flowerbeds. The tower room upstairs must have been meant for Henry in another life, as all of the photographs that appear there are of the two of them or of him, the lad, and Emma. He even finds the Author’s pen in a drawer of the desk beneath the window. This is, oddly enough, the room that hurts the most – a vivid reminder of the life they all might have had. Yet he still finds himself checking the room nearly every day, sometimes twice a day, to see if any new memories have appeared of him and the young man he was looking forward to one day proudly calling his stepson.

------

Every few days, he allows himself to visit the red talking phone box to try and send a message to Emma. There’s no real knowing if any of it reaches her, but he repeats the same words over and over again anyways:

“I’m so sorry, Swan. I’m so very, very sorry to have left you, especially after I promised I wouldn’t. I’m so sorry and I love you so incredibly much, will love you as long as I have a soul to do so.”

(He can’t decide if it hurts more to talk to her or to stop.)

------

A few weeks after he arrives in the Underworld – he thinks three, but really, time runs together down here – there’s a persistently circulating murmur that the former Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin, had been brought here, brought to the Underworld to answer for his sins, before being taken back to the world above by Charon on the very same boat.

Killian knows it’s petty, and far too late anyhow, but he can’t help but feel like he deserves a second chance more than the Crocodile ever could.

Maybe that’s the reason – when given the option of a second chance, a shot to redeem himself, Killian grabbed it with both hands and made the most of every moment. He was satisfied. He was happy. Rumpelstiltskin hasn’t achieved any of that. Apparently, someone thinks he deserves all that just once.

Whatever the case, Killian knows he’d have given anything to be the one going home – back to his real home – on that boat.

------

Maybe a week after that, Killian is shocked one afternoon to feel a strange tingling all over his body, and when he looks back up, is stunned to see himself not in his kitchen, but in Storybrooke’s cemetery with Henry standing in front of him. In his joy, he rushes forward to embrace Henry… only to be devastated to see his arms pass right through his boy.

Henry looks just as crushed. “It’s only temporary,” he explains softly. “I got this ale stuff from Merida to talk to you.”

Killian nods. “That was very resourceful, lad.” A pause. “How are you doing?”

Henry shrugs noncommittally; Killian knows the feeling. “Ok, I guess. I miss you. We all do.”

“I miss you too, Henry, you and your mum. More than I can properly express.”

“She misses you like crazy, you know. Kinda just goes through the motions like she’s in a daze. I guess she imagines your voice sometimes, cus that’s what she always tells me when I walk in on her crying.”

(In that moment, Killian vows to stop visiting the talking phone box. It’s clearly hurting her more than it’s helping him.)

Henry looks worried for a second. “Are you doing alright? You’re not… it’s not like pits of fire down there, is it?”

Bless this wonderful boy for worrying about a man who can’t possibly deserve it. “I’m ok. I’m with my brother, get left alone most of the time. I wish I was up here with you lot but it’s not so bad, being dead.”

Henry nods, and Killian’s heart breaks a little more at the thought of having left this young man concerned about him for even a moment. Henry shouldn’t ever have to be in position where he has to think about what happens to the soul of one of his loved ones after they’re gone. He’s already had to do it with his father; the last thing he ever wanted was to put Henry through that pain again.

Henry seems to finally work up the courage to get to his point, the reason he summoned Killian. “Gold woke up the other day. We all thought he wouldn’t, and I think my moms kinda hoped he wouldn’t, but he did.”

Killian nods. “I know. I heard down in the Underworld.”

“It’s just so unfair, you know? That you don’t get another chance too. I know more people would want you back.”

“Ah, but we don’t get to decide these things, lad. You have to know that if it was up to me, I’d be back with you two in a heartbeat. I’d choose you every time.”

“I know.”

Another pause. It’s like there’s so much to say that neither even knows where to start.

Killian breaks it first. “I take it you’re back in Storybrooke then?”

“Yeah. Mom used…” His voice falters. “Mom used your heart to cast the Dark Curse. She and my other mom and the fairies and Merlin are trying to figure out how to send the Camelot folks back now.”

“Does she know you’re here?”

“No. I just thought…” Yet another pause. “I figured if this didn’t work, I didn’t want to get her hopes up. She’s already sad enough as it is.”

Selfishly, he wants to beg Henry to go bring her here as fast as possible, but he can feel whatever this spell is about to fade out, a tingling starting in his toes. Not to mention, the lad is right. No need to torture his love unnecessarily. He wants her to move on, be happy, and that’s just not possible if she’s coming to summon him every chance she gets.

“I think that’s smart, lad. Maybe we don’t tell her? Just keep this between us?”

He can tell Henry wants to object. “But –“

“It’ll be too hard otherwise. For both of us. I just want her to move on and be happy, yeah?” At least this time, Henry nods. “I think I have to go now, but I love and miss you both so much, ok? Try to be happy for me?”

He won’t lie – it hurts a lot that his last view of Henry before he reappears in his kitchen is of the lad sniffling and trying to hold back tears as he waves goodbye.

------

Not long after his talk with Henry, Killian is shocked to walk past a previously empty room of the house one day to discover a fully furnished nursery. Mostly, he hopes to any god that might be listening that this is just another trick of the house, another glimpse of what he could have and should have had, had he lived. He hopes Swan isn’t having to go through a pregnancy alone again.

(A selfish part of him likes to imagine she has a little someone to remember him by – a little lass or laddie with her hair and his eyes.)

(He can’t help but add that thought to the ever-expanding list of reasons to be disgusted with himself.)

------

About two months after his death, Killian is once again summoned by Henry, who is pacing and clearly furious when he rematerializes.

Internally, Killian can’t help but huff a sigh – Henry needs to move on, needs to let him go, needs to not try and contact him every time something goes wrong. “Henry…” he starts, intending to reprimand the boy, when the young man in question colorfully interrupts.

“That son of a bitch!”

“Henry, language! I know for a fact neither of your mothers tolerates that.”

“Well pardon me, but that asshat Gold separated Excalibur and took back the Darkness, so I think it might be warranted.”

“That son of a whore,” Killian can’t help but blurt out. So much for scolding Henry.

“See?”

This talk ends up being slightly longer than the last – Henry just needs to vent, but when it comes to the Crocodile, there’s always an awful lot to vent about. But right before he fades out, Henry fixes his full attention on Killian.

“I’m going to find a way to bring you back, okay? If he gets to live, so should you. You deserve it a million times over.”

(He knows he no longer has a heart, but somehow, it still feels warm anyways.)

------

The next few weeks, he can’t help but feel hopeful. It must be apparent, because Liam keeps commenting on how cheerful he seems, one day even (Gods help him) catching him whistling. Killian even finds himself making an effort to interact with the other souls living in the Underworld. In the end, that’s how he meets Milah again.

It’s bittersweet, really. Killian spent hundreds of years trying to avenge his first great love, only to see her again and realize how many of the finer details he had forgotten. He supposes that’s what happens when you finally move on.

At least he’s relieved to learn that Milah’s unfinished business has nothing to do with him (one less thing to carry on his conscience). In fact, it’s her guilt over leaving Bae that has kept her here all this time. It’s the very least he can do to tell her about all the times he and Bae – or Neal – interacted, how Bae had still fiercely loved his mother and forgiven her for leaving before he had died. That seems to be enough for her – to know that her son had ultimately been happy.

It’s a little awkward, telling Milah about how he had moved on with Emma (especially since he had been dating the former lover of his own former lover’s son), but she loves hearing his stories about Henry – how smart and down to Earth he is, how brave, how adventurous. It’s a pity, really, that the two will never meet – he sees so much of Milah in her grandson, and thinks the two would have gotten along famously.

“Thank you,” she tells him, as she kisses his cheek. “I’m happy you were able to find a family for yourself. You and your big heart deserve it, even if you want to pretend otherwise.”

Then she vanishes, off to hopefully meet her son in a better place.

------

Five weeks after Henry’s second visit (this time, Killian is counting carefully), he’s summoned for a third time to find Henry looking exhausted and disheveled.

“Gods above, lad, are you alright? What happened?”

“Don’t worry. Long story.”

“Well then summarize.”

“Uh… Belle found out about Gold taking back the darkness. Broke up with Gold. Found out she was pregnant. Then Gold found out she was pregnant, and tried to manipulate her to come back to him, but she didn’t. So he sped up Zelena’s pregnancy so we’d be distracted while he tried to kidnap Belle to another realm. And I’ve been researching all the while.”

“Is she alright? Is everyone alright?”

“Yeah, Belle’s fine. Mom and Mom figured out what was going on pretty quick and Mom – Regina and Gramps went after him while Mom held down the fort at the hospital. That’s what I’m here about actually – Merlin and I found a spell to get to the Underworld. It required the blood of someone who had already been but came back, but Gramps nicked Gold before he fell through the portal, so we’re all set now. Just have to wait a few days, six days, for the full moon and then we’re coming to get you.”

Killian knows he should be grateful, but his blood runs cold when he hears the words. “No, Henry, you can’t, I can’t let you put yourself in danger for me. I’m already dead, I can’t let you risk getting yourself killed to fix something that isn’t meant to be fixed.”

“I don’t care. I miss you, Mom’s miserable, so I’m going to get you back. End of discussion.”

And, well, who is he to argue with the young man who possesses the Heart of the Truest Believer?

------

Of course, it’s too much to hope that everything will run smoothly and he’ll be home in a week. Instead, Hades shows up in all his slimy glory. Apparently, Killian’s hope is a little too contagious - enough that the Lord of the Dead himself has noticed and deemed it a threat to his rule.

Instead of waiting in his house for his Swan and their boy to take him home, he gets taken to Hades’ underground cavern of a dungeon to have the hope beat out of him.

------

Briefly, through a haze of pain and a coating of blood, Killian thinks he feels himself being summoned again, thinks he catches a glimpse of Emma and all her – their – family, but he writes it off as a hallucination.

------

And then suddenly, he’s being lifted down from the chains he’s strung up in by a pair of small, gentle hands.

Emma.

He’s half delirious with pain, but he can’t help but try and grin when her face swims into focus (or at least as much focus as he can achieve with one eye swollen shut). She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, even in filthy jeans and an oversized sweater with a pale face and tears in her eyes.

It’s the very least he can do, after all he’s put her through, to work through the pain to try and wipe away her tears.

------

Somehow, Emma helps him hobble out of the chamber where he had been suspended to an outer landing where Liam is waiting with a boat, ready to return them both to the upper levels of the Underworld.

(There's some tension between the two, but it’s difficult to comment on that tension when he has to consciously focus on breathing properly and not falling over.)

Killian is more than happy to mask any physical pain, however, when upon re-emerging into the Underworld’s facsimile of a library, Henry rushes up to wrap him in an enormous hug. He may not be fully healed for a while, but this? This is a start.

He’s just as touched to see the small crowd assembled behind the lad – Emma’s parents are there, of course, and he’s not that shocked to see Regina, considering that it was her precious son that engineered the plan to find and retrieve him, but it’s something more of a surprise to see Belle and Robin as well. He shakes the men’s hands in turn, offers a nod to Regina, and hugs Belle as firmly as his injuries will allow (taking the chance to whisper a soft but deeply meant “congratulations” in her ear). Killian then does his best to console the lady Snow – who looks close to tears – with a mumbled “it’s not as bad as it looks” as she holds his face to kiss his cheek before Emma interrupts to say she needs to bring him home and clean him up. At that, the others disperse, either to the Charmings’ loft or the Mayor’s mansion, as his Swan slides her slender arm around his waist and tosses his arm over her shoulder in order to help him hobble the few blocks back to his – their house.

It’s only once she gets him inside and settled in a kitchen chair – “I know it’s unsanitary, but hey, better than getting bloodstains on the couch, right?” – that Killian starts to think something is off. He hadn’t been too surprised when Emma wasn’t clinging to him in front of her family; on the best of days, she isn’t much for public displays of affection (or “PDA”, as she and Henry insist on saying), and a time when he needs help holding himself up certainly isn’t the best of days. But they’re alone now, and he’s sitting down, and damn if he doesn’t want to hold her. Killian knows it’s not the blood that’s the issue – he may be covered in the stuff, but so is she after supporting his weight for the past forty-five minutes, and it doesn’t seem to be fazing her in the least. Maybe before, his lack of self-confidence would have insisted Emma didn’t actually want to be here, didn’t want to be with him, but the way she tries to touch his face or his hand every time she passes him as she scurries around his kitchen trying to clean off the worst of the blood seems to suggest otherwise. So why doesn’t Emma seem to want him to hold her? It could just be that she doesn’t want to hurt him further, aggravate his wounds, but something makes him think otherwise.

“Love?”

She hums in his general direction.

“What’s wrong?”

Emma shoots a quick, though tight smile his way before turning back to the sink, trying to wring out a rag that was surely as clean as it was going to get. “Nothing’s the matter babe, don’t worry about it.”

He wants to believe her, so badly, but he knows how to spot her avoidances. And this? This is one of the most obvious he’s seen. “Emma, love…”

Killian holds out his hand towards her, and even if she was trying to avoid him a moment ago, she takes it like their palms are connected by magnets. “I’m just so relieved to have found you, to see you again. That’s all.”

“Even if that’s true, I know that’s not all,” he replies, to her half-hearted scoff. “You don’t have to tell me right now, but just let me hold you, love, let me try and make it better for both of us, yeah?”

As he tugs her closer, Emma tries to protest, tries to tell him “Killian, I don’t think that’s a good —” but he’s even quicker to interrupt.

“If this is you worrying about my injuries, sod the injuries,” he dismisses as his hand and stump move to her waist in order to pull her closer, only to unexpectedly encounter firmness.

Now Emma has always been strong and well-muscled, certainly, but she’s also a tiny, petite thing, thanks to her mother’s genes. So to encounter her now, more filled out, is odd. And suddenly, Killian remembers –

Upstairs, there is a room, meant to be a nursery.

“Swan…” he murmurs, slowly pulling up her sweater as she sighs in defeat to reveal…

…The small beginnings of a bump.

“…Surprise?”

[lovemesomerafael]

EL AMOR TODO LO PUEDE Chapter 23:  Say Anything

I apologize; I didn’t keep track of who posted this fabulous pic, if it’s you, please let me know so I can give you credit. 

Chapters 1-20  Chapter 21  Chapter 22

As he waited for the elevator, Barba saw Laura Parker enter the apartment building.  This was a new experience; they had not run into one another here since they’d learned they both lived in this building.  Since there was nobody else on the elevator, he held it for her.

A little blinded by the difference between the late afternoon sun and the dim lobby of the building, she didn’t see him holding the elevator until she was close.

“Hey, thanks,” she greeted him, mentally kicking herself for sounding so stupidly cheerful.  

As they rode up toward their floors, she turned to him suddenly and asked, “Would you happen to have a socket wrench?”

“Socket wrench,” he repeated, a little thrown by the question. 

“Ikea cabinet.  I’ve already cried twice.”

Barba laughed, although he didn’t see the connection between a socket wrench and building anything from Ikea.  He was shocked to hear his own voice say, “I have a socket wrench.  I’ll bring it by.”  I’ll do what?  Where had that come from?

“8D.”  

“I remember.”

Half an hour later, Laura heard him knock.  It was disorienting to think that A.D.A. Barba could be standing outside her apartment door but, as she looked through the peephole, there he was, socket set in hand. Despite her nervousness, she tried to appear relaxed and welcoming as she opened the door.  Her smile faltered a little when she saw that he was wearing a soft-looking black T-shirt and black jeans.  He had a noticeable five O’clock shadow that added to the overall sexily casual picture.  He looked so good she was momentarily unable to speak.

“Socket wrench,” he said, holding the metal box out to her.  

“Thanks.”  She took it from him.  “Do you, um… want to come in?”

“And build your cabinet for you?  No, thanks.” Did she actually look disappointed? He realized the idea of disappointing her caused a pang in his heart.  Advertencia.  Peligro.[1]  Again he had the disconcerting experience of hearing his voice saying something his brain had not planned.  “But I’d be willing to watch and kibbutz.”

“You can watch.  No kibbutzing.”

“I can’t promise that.”

“Then I can’t promise I won’t make you build the cabinet.”  

Barba smiled crookedly, then said, “We gonna negotiate this in the hallway?”

Laura stepped aside so he could enter.  As he stepped by her, he looked down at her jeans, which had a large hole in the right knee, and a smaller one on the left.  The jeans were old Levi’s, the type made of real, thick denim, and were well broken in. The seams were nearly white, and the holes were obviously from wear, rather than part of the design of the jeans. Something about the way the jeans fit, and the tantalizing glimpse of her legs through the holes was disturbing to Barba.  The strip of skin that kept appearing between the waistband of her jeans and her fitted yellow T-shirt didn’t help.  

“Rabid wolverines?”  He asked, grinning down at the holes in her jeans.

“Funny,” she answered drily.

Her apartment still had boxes here and there, filled with books and other things she didn’t have a place to store yet.  As she’d said, there wasn’t much furniture, just a soft, comfortable-looking blue couch. He was interested in the keyboard and guitar in a corner.  

“You play?”

“About as well as I speak Spanish,” she answered, smirking.  

He rolled his eyes.  So she wasn’t done teasing him about that.

A long, torn cardboard box had been tossed into a corner, and piles of wooden planks sat in the center of the room.  The cabinet hardware was spread haphazardly, but at least each piece was visible.  The only two pieces of the cabinet hooked together so far were obviously incorrectly joined and sitting crookedly on the floor.  Barba looked at Laura with an eyebrow cocked questioningly.  

“What?”  Laura asked, holding up the instruction booklet.  “The instructions are in Swedish!”

Rafael took it from her. “The instructions are pictures.”

“Well, the pictures are in Swedish.”

“Detective.”  Rafael said, using his cross-examination voice. “Did you intentionally invite me down to your apartment on a pretext to get me to build your cabinet for you?”

“No,” she said.

He simply looked at her.

“I didn’t!  I just asked you for a socket wrench.”

“Which, by the way, would be of no use in building this cabinet.”

“Yes, it will.  There’s these little metal things and you have to twist them in.”

“With a wrench.  Which comes with the cabinet.”

“So that’s what the weird-shaped holes are for.  I wondered about that.”

His expressionless stare was both amusing and sexy.  How did he manage that?

“OK, fine, so I suck at Ikea! You found out my shameful secret. Feel free to mock me for the next 3 to 5 years.”

“I intend to,” he smirked.  The pleased, teasing expression in his eyes caused her to catch her breath for the second time in less than five minutes.

When she could speak, her voice was serious.  “Listen. I admit I’m pathetic at this stuff,” she gestured at the floor.  “But if I was going to ask you to help me, I’d have asked you straight up.  I’m not here for games like that.”

He just shrugged. “OK.  Tell you what.  You buy dinner, I’ll help with this masterpiece here.  Deal?”  ¿Por qué de repente no tengo control sobre lo que digo? Podría necesitar un médico.[2]

Laura looked skeptical. “Doesn’t that make me guilty of…”

“No.  I retract the accusation.  You didn’t lure me here to build your cabinet, and now I’m offering to do it for… souvlaki.  Do we have a deal?”

”We have a deal.”  The smile she gave him was worth building several pieces of furniture.   As she pulled menus from a drawer to order dinner, he began to organize the materials for the cabinet.  He looked over at her as she sifted through the handful of menus, again noticing the way her simple jeans and T-shirt accentuated her lithe, athletic frame.

Barba knelt on the floor and began to separate the pieces Laura had put together.  While his back was turned, Laura took the opportunity to appreciate the fit of his jeans.  Who knew Barba even owned jeans?  She found the menu for a nearby Greek restaurant and brought it to the couch where she read it to him and, for the next five minutes, they negotiated dinner. As Laura called in their order, she tried to absorb the fact that Rafael Barba was in her living room building an Ikea cabinet, and he had asked her to have dinner with him.  Hadn’t he?  Did that count as asking her to have dinner with him?  What the hell.  I’m not a kid.  Why am I actually nervous right now?

Once dinner was ordered, she went over to sit next to him on the floor.  “So, how is this gonna work?”

He glanced at her before picking up two pieces of the cabinet and lying them side by side.  “If I need any help, I’ll let you know.”

“So, what?  I just watch you build a cabinet?”

“Don’t take this personally, Detective, but I think that’s best for everyone.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “So what do I do?”

“Talk to me.  Tell me how an ER nurse in Chicago becomes a cop in New York.  You said it was a long story, and we appear to have some time.   Hand me that round thing over there.”

“Oh, boy.  Well, I, uh…  I’m a recovering alcoholic.  The ‘drive your life off a cliff and keep your foot on the gas’ kind.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

“Bring me that piece over there.  So… go on.”

Barba worked on the cabinet while Laura gave him the short version of her story.  The food arrived just as she was finishing, at which point Laura remembered that she didn’t have a table.  Of all the surprising things about that evening, the best was learning that Rafael Barba, urbane and eternally impeccable attorney, was perfectly happy eating dinner on the floor.

Looking for a topic of conversation as they sorted through the bags and Styrofoam containers, Laura said, “I heard a story about you winning a case by letting a guy choke you with a belt.”

He snorted.  “That was my first SVU case, as a matter of fact.” He told her about the crime, and the trial, and how he had ended up being desperate enough to resort to such a longshot tactic.  Not surprisingly for a man who told stories to juries for a living, he was a particularly entertaining storyteller.

“Where did you hear that story?”  

“A friend of mine.  You’ve actually met him, he works in your office. Peter Stone?”

Friend?

“Yes, I met him.  Didn’t you both just come from Chicago?”

“We did.  Together, as a matter of fact.  We’re old friends.”

Old friends. Barba wanted to ask about a hundred questions, but didn’t know how to do that without appearing… interested.  He was saved by Laura’s curiosity.  

Finishing a bite of lamb, she said, “I feel like that Incel we questioned last week, telling you boring stories about me.  What about you?”

“Tell you boring stories about me?” He grinned.

“I’d rather hear interesting ones, but if that’s the best you can do…”

For the rest of the time they ate dinner, Barba talked about growing up in the Bronx, telling sweet, funny stories about his childhood.  Most of them were charmingly self-deprecating, like the ones about being a Catholic schoolboy menaced by bullies from the public school down the street, and his disastrous first year in Little League.  

For the rest of the evening, they talked about nothing while Barba put the cabinet together, frequently asking Laura to hand him things or hold things.  The odd situation started to feel normal.  Comfortable.  Pleasant. Conversation was easy and lively, with Barba’s quick wit and tendency to purposely provoke her keeping Laura laughing and looking for ways to tease back.  

Were they… flirting with eachother?  Was that what was happening?  Laura was enchanted with him, she knew that.  He was even better looking up close, and somehow the early experience of feeling beneath Barba’s notice made it all the more special that he’d chosen to spend time alone with her.  And she really liked him.  Whether or not he might be interested – and with each passing moment, she hoped more that he might be – she really enjoyed hanging out with him.  

Barba was having very similar thoughts.  In his case, however, the attraction was nowhere near as welcome.  Barba didn’t date.  That was that.  He liked women as much as the next guy, but he liked them from afar.  The price of getting involved, of opening his heart and making himself vulnerable, was just too high.  Besides, he didn’t even know if he could have a relationship anymore.  Maybe he had just lost that ability.  He hoped so.  But then what are you doing in this apartment letting yourself be captivated by this woman?  

Together, they stood up the finished cabinet and wrestled it to its place.  Laura looked a little dazzled.  “You never even looked at the pictures.”

“I didn’t need to.  It’s obvious how this stuff goes together.”

“Not to me.”

“Claro.”[3]

“You’re not gonna go all superior on me now, are you, Harvard?”

“About this?  Yes.”  That smirk again.  There was an eye twinkle now, too.  Laura felt lightheaded which, as a nurse, she understood resulted from all the blood in her body rushing south.  

Barba couldn’t understand how someone who was clearly intelligent and capable could have such a complete inability to conceptualize how build-it-yourself furniture goes together, even with instructions.  He found it fascinating and endearing, like a lot of things about her.  Cállate, Barba.  No esta pasando.[4]

As Laura began to clean up the bits of cardboard and torn little plastic bags from the floor, Barba prepared to leave.  It was actually something of a relief to him.  He needed to be alone, have a drink, and regain his senses.

“I need to get going,” he said, groaning and stretching out the kinks in his muscles from sitting on the floor for three hours.  “Feliz noche,[5] Detective.”

“Hey, thank you. Really.  I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Neither do I.  From a purely scientific point of view, it would’ve been fascinating to find out.”

She smiled the same small, adorable smile and rolled her eyes the same way she’d done all night when he’d made fun of her.  It was definitely time for him to go.

“’Night.  And thanks again.  I’ll… see you at work, I guess.”  

“Thanks for dinner.  Que tengas buena noche.”[6]

As the door closed between them, both Barba and Laura wore thoughtful expressions and smiles that were a little bit silly.  Both of them had thoroughly enjoyed the evening.  Laura was happily excited about what might happen next.  Rafael wasn’t.

[1] Warning.  Danger.

[2] Why do I suddenly have no control over what I say?  I may need a doctor.

[3] Clearly.

[4] Shut up, Barba.  It’s not happening.

[5] Good night

[6] Have a good night.

[harry-lloyd]

In the early episodes of the acclaimed science fiction-spy drama Counterpart, Harry Lloyd’s Peter Quayle epitomized the organization man, devoting himself to pushing papers as the deputy director of Strategy at the Office of Interchange, the bureaucratic headquarters overseeing the portal to a parallel dimension opened accidentally in East Berlin during the Cold War. Placed in his high-ranking position partly thanks to nepotism, he was largely ineffectual, overpowered by both his superiors and his underlings—including JK Simmons’s Howard Silk, whose counterpart from the other world is a ruthlessly effective spy—and betrayed by his wife, who was eventually revealed to be a double agent.

The new season, however, has forced Quayle to act boldly with increasingly high stakes, bringing new vigor to a character who feels compelled to hide his wife’s secret in order to protect his family, even if it means having to deadbolt the door between their rooms at home. This season’s action has energized Lloyd as well, requiring a new intensity in his performance. “He has to be a different person with everyone he speaks to,” the English actor explains. “He has to sell a different lie. This season, I was concentrating much more on winning as much as possible the individual scenes knowing the risk that he’s going to ultimately fail and seeing how smoothly he can get through.”

As if that duality weren’t complicated enough, Lloyd also had to contend with Quayle’s recently introduced counterpart (known as Quayle Prime) in the alternate universe, whose life path has diverged from Quayle Alpha’s since the world cleaved in two in 1987. Kept in a holding facility where his memories and secrets are extracted for use against Quayle Alpha, Quayle Prime is, as Lloyd points out, distinct enough from his mirror image as to effectively be a second role. “It felt like doing another job for a few weeks in a way with all the same crew and the same actor, JK,” he recalls. “I hadn’t had any scenes with that character for ages because he’d been on the other side, so it was nice to hang out with nice Howard, but it was also nice to use a whole different set of muscles.”

In his extensive free time, Quayle Prime obsesses over a taped rugby match, identifying it as a point of difference that separates his life from Quayle Alpha’s—the former got lost and caused a scene, perhaps distracting a player, while the latter didn’t—and perhaps explains why he is being kept in what is effectively a penal colony while his other enjoys his success. For all its spycraft and copious bloodletting, Counterpart touches on deep issues of nature vs. nurture and the innateness of individual potential, forcing characters to ask themselves if they are better or worse than their mirror selves. For Lloyd, the arrival of Quayle Prime has helped solidify the contours of his main character. “Through this Quayle, you learn a bit more about Quayle Alpha,” he offers, “that he’s ultimately a child and that the entitlement and the smugness don’t come from malice. It’s just that he’s not been challenged and he’s unequipped but is still trying to get by through some path of least resistance. He knows he’s lucky and he knows that it’s run out and he doesn’t really know what to replace that with. Actually, I think they’re quite similar, they’re just in very different circumstances.”

Apart from these larger existential questions, there is also no question that a large portion of Counterpart’s success comes from its relevance to our own circumstances when no one on the internet is who he seems and spies and secret agents are once again a topic of national importance. Although set in contemporary times, the show has what Lloyd calls a “Cold War palette” thanks to its wan coloring and the use of Eighties technology, which is the only way the two dimensions can continue to communicate. “There’s been quite a lot of Cold War drama of late,” Lloyd muses. “It does feel that it’s had a revival because of its relevance today with the lack of trust and the difficulty of believing the motives of people in charge. It’s an interesting period where there are wars of a kind going on, but the battleground is somewhere else, yet things are happening behind closed doors in civilian circumstances. Much has changed, but much has not.”

Counterpart can seem in some ways like a natural successor to Lloyd’s last series, Manhattan, which presaged the Cold War in recounting the Manhattan Project to develop atomic weapons, but the 35-year-old says he was not ready to return to television so quickly after two years in Santa Fe away from his native London. “I’d just move back to England—literally my furniture had just arrived,” he recalls about reading the script for Counterpart, “but it was something I felt I really wanted to be involved in straightway. You’ve got to sign away seven years of your life and they made it really easy.”

Lloyd may have spent a fair amount of his past few years on television, but like most English actors, he got his start on the stage, performing in school plays as a way to set himself apart. “I went off to boarding school when I was eight and that first term I got the main part in the junior play, I think because I was good at reading out loud,” he recalls. “Quite quickly, I found a thing that other people didn’t do at school and found my own little niche. It became a hobby but also my little escape and something where I had a bit of an identity suddenly in a school with a hundred kids.”

His “little escape” quickly turned into a passion and he continued performing on stage throughout his time studying English at Oxford. He credits his coursework with giving him a unique perspective on acting, even if he admits it did complicate things inside his head at times. “I noticed when I was at college that sometimes the two were pulling in different directions,” he explains. “In my studies, I was breaking down the text and putting it into little pieces and working out the science behind the art and then when I was doing the plays, it was the opposite. I was trying to take all these different fragments and build it up into something real. In some ways, I found that quite frustrating at times, but actually, I think the two experiences—if you can keep them in check—served me really well. Those are the two necessary parts I think you need.”

After graduating, Lloyd continued to act, even as he imagined his time was running out. “I always thought I’d have to go and do something proper,” he laughs—but that never came to pass. He had early roles in the BBC drama Robin Hood in 2006 and in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge on the West End and was part of the first season of Game of Thrones. Supporting roles in The Riot Cluband The Theory of Everything followed, along with Manhattan. He’s spent the last several years mixing film, television, and stage, but his natural curiosity continues to seek out even more. “I would like to get into other forms of stuff,” he enthuses. “I’ve done radio and audiobooks and I enjoy all the different sides of it. I’d like to do a video game, I’d like to get into VR. Nowadays there are more and more different platforms and I think they all require slightly different emphases from the performance and what the audience needs to believe. I’m definitely into what the next steps are, what actors will be doing in ten, twenty, thirty years time compared to what they were doing thirty years ago.”

But for now, Lloyd’s focus remains Peter Quayle—both of them. After last week’s midseason cliffhanger, which left Quayle Alpha splattered with blood and close to discovery, things promise to only get more complicated. Fortunately, all the added layers are exactly what drew Lloyd to the series in the first place, resulting in a show that does not offer easy solutions. “You start second-guessing people and you start exploring what lies people are telling,” Lloyd says of Counterpart’s continuing evolution. ”You’re not given the answer straight away, but it encourages you to try and piece together your own narrative. I find that really rewarding.”

Counterpart continues on Sundays on Starz and is available on the Starz app.

[astainedteamug]

Getting Rid of that Holiday Stress Ahead of Time

If you are finding yourself worried about the holidays, then you and I are in the same boat. And so is everybody else. Legitimately, everybody. Even the lady at work who always has a perfect party and she never has a hair out of place, she’s worried if her quiche will burn or if she will have enough decorations. Everybody has some kind of stress going on right now.

Some people are triple checking their travel plans to make sure everybody has a ticket and if they have a big enough budget. Some people are checking their list of people to give a gift to and realizing that they STILL don’t know what to get their mom for Christmas.

But whatever it is you are going through right now, you should take a minute off of your feet to read through this and see if one of these could help you.

1. The Clutter

It is amazingly easy to hold on to things in the modern world. And you don’t even know why. Especially after Halloween, there are candy wrappers, fairy wings, tiny toys, and just all around mess. The birthdays of the year have left you with gifts that you never wanted and you couldn’t return, so they wound up shoved in a corner to never be used or seen again.

But for some reason, you find yourself stressed out about it. That thing Jim gave you at your office party that was so ugly you didn’t even want it in your car. It’s bothering you that it’s still here, yet it has to take the back burner. And pretty soon, you start to feel like your house looks something like this:

Yeah, I know!

But between work and school and getting everything ready, you just don’t feel like you have the time to go through all of it.

Behold, my friends, the beauty of November. This is a beautiful grace period that most people will skip over to start putting up decorations for Christmas, thinking it will help them not be stressed about the decorations. But they are wasting perfectly good cleaning time. It’s time for a detox, and your house is begging you to do it, just this once.

Now wait just a minute, this isn’t an excuse to throw out your wife’s figurines that you hate but she loves, in fact I don’t recommend throwing much away at all. Go through your things first and donate what you can.

Old clothing, shoes, toys, books, purses or bags, and even movies. This is a great time of year to donate those things and let somebody else enjoy them. Old dishes can be sold or donated, dog and cat toys can get washed and de-stinkified. Candles that have been sitting around for years can get burned and help get any unpleasant smells out of your house while freeing up cabinet space for candles to come. Old mail and documents can get shredded and recycled, or even stocked up as fire starters for your fireplace. And those decorations that “complete the room” can be stowed away until they are needed again. Don’t let them jumble you up and stand in the way.

And this is an excellent way to see what you need around the house. Maybe you didn’t know the drill was broken, but now you know what to get your husband for Christmas. Or maybe the kids need new pjs. And that new coat would look great in place of your old one.

And once you’re done with the clutter aspect of all of this, then it’s time to move into phase two.

2. The Mess

It is entirely possible that the corner of your living room behind your television hasn’t been dusted in months, correct? It’s an easy thing to forget. It’s an easy thing to push aside, or to say to yourself “would anybody really notice?” Aunt Barbara might when she visits on thanksgiving with her specialty cranberry stuffing. And you would never hear the end of it. Okay, now punch your anxiety in the face and pick up a duster.

It really isn’t that big of a deal which corner is dusted and which one isn’t, but November is a wonderful time of peace before the holiday guests arrive, so why not make sure the house is nice so you aren’t worried about it. They’ll make a mess when they get there anyways, you may as well conquer what you can now. Get those expired bath products and cleaning concoctions out of your house before area 51 gets involved. Soap is NOT good forever!

Move around your furniture to sweep under it, dig out all of those coins and wrappers in the couch, dust off your movie and CD collection so you can pick out the holiday films for when everyone is over. You may as well put one on while you vacuum your floors, those corners and your ceiling fans and vents. Heck, you can even wash your carpets if your feeling REALLY festive!

There really isn’t any point to making the holidays harder on yourself than they already can be, so why not get a head start on all of that mess and just get rid of it? It can be a good excuse to have your kids wash the windows or clean their bathrooms, or even go through their clothes and toys and put everything they don’t use into one bag to donate. And with your mess all taken care of, you can take a breath and relax before you begin part three of this holiday mission.

3. The Food

This is the biggest time of year for food sales for home baking. Which also means the fire department is busy too. Please be careful whenever you are in the kitchen with loved ones and keep the heat down, your sockets dust free, and make sure all handles are out of reach of little ones. And remember, a falling knife has no handle.

All of those vegetables that are going into your casseroles and soups, or getting turned into a side, you know you can use your freezer, right? Chopping them up now and freezing them in the measurements that you need is an excellent time and mess saver for your holiday baking. Those fruits that you bought too early, go ahead and chop those up too and freeze them until the day you need them for your pies and fruit salads. And honestly, why did you buy SO MANY cranberries? Nobody eats them! Stop doing this to your wallet and to yourself.

Over spending on food and wasting it is another stupidly easy thing to do. Half of it rots away before it even sees the cutting board. You can stop yourself from doing this with a few easy tools, like shopping lists, dates, and coordination with the other cooks in your family.

Everybody should bring a dish to thanksgiving. Whether it’s a pie, some creamed corn, or even something to drink. You won’t be the only cook during the week leading up to thanksgiving. So coordinating with your relatives about who is bringing what will save everybody from making the same thing and will make sure nobody is confused about what they’re doing and keeps you from making too much of one thing if not everybody is able to come. Especially if Kenny is the only person who is vegan and gluten intolerant, then his special dish doesn’t need to be fussed over this year. And everyone can bring something, even if uncle Dave just brings the disposable cups so grandma doesn’t have to do a million dishes with the grandkids later. And yes, everybody needs to do their share of work after dinner. A good rule of thumb is to clean up dishes before dessert.

But before the baking even begins, you need to figure out what ingredients you will need to buy to make that food. And some ingredients can be nearly impossible to get your hands on. You would not believe how difficult it was for me to find rhubarb for my pie this year. I had to google where I could get it, and it took me a few hours to get ahold of it. So making that shopping list can save you lots of time and hassle when it gets down to the wire. And having the dates of parties and holidays next to you makes it easy to know when you’ll need to shop for that food and save space in your fridge.

Ah yes, the fridge. Your old pal, full of old take out containers, a few odds and ends when it comes to ingredients, expired dairy products, and an endless assortment of condiments. Why do we do this? The fridge looks full, yet there’s nothing to eat.

Clean it! That smell can be taken care of with a box of baking soda. Just leave it open in he back corner and it will absorb it for you. Take your trash can and have it ready for the avalanche of forgotten meals it will need to hold. The old products and empty cartons need to get thrown out now so you can have space for leftovers during the holidays, but you’re much less likely to forget about those. Once you’ve emptied out all of the rotten veggies and old yogurts, now is the time to wash the shelves and clean it up in there to get a head start on the dishes.

Bravo. You have earned another break. But you are so far from being done.

4. The Yard

This is an ongoing task, and I’m afraid not much can be done that will stay done. Especially if you live somewhere the leaves turn red and then fall every time the wind blows. Honestly, it can’t really all be done at once. But after it snows, it has to stay there. That stick could trip you if your boot snags it and you forgot it was there. Those leaves will kill your lawn if they stand as a frozen barrier between the grass and the snow. And the weeds will only populate while they can.

Head to a hardware store and grab some tools if you need them. And get some gloves too, those thorns can be vicious. Taking care of lawn maintenance before you decorate should be high on your list of to-do’s, yet many people skip it all together. Clean out your gutters and send your hubby on the roof with a broom before you send him up with lights and a fake santa. It’s safer and it can actually save your roof from too much damage all at once.

Mow the grass while you can, trim your bushes before they get lined with lights, and rake those leaves up before they have to stay put for the next four months.

And if you have a dog, this is your last chance to double check nothing was left behind when your kids last took them outside.

5. The Car

If you’re traveling with your family, you have to clean out your car now! The tissues, old receipts that need to be organized, wrappers, straws, socks, and crumbs all need to go.

Suitcases and crock pots will soon take their place as well as bored kiddos and grumpy adults just trying to drive through the traffic. Pack those CDs into the car, download some podcasts, or get some audio books to help pass the time. But make sure the smell is gone too. Get a new air freshener and some febreeze. It’s amazing how much smell can come from one toddlers sock.

6. Finances and Documents

That giant pile of papers in your room, on your desk, or in your coffee table? Yeah, it won’t take care of itself. And during the holidays. The last thing you want to worry about is knocking it over so it isn’t 'organized’ anymore. Go through it now.

This will give you the chance to get your finances in order before you spend three hundred dollars on lights for the tree when really you can only spend thirty. I found a paper I wrote in fifth grade the other day, and tossed it right out. Honestly, why do we cling to these things? It has been in my life for ten years, and it has served its purpose. Now it’s time to go. This frees up space not only in your desk, but in your mind as well. It was one of those little things that you had been worried about for far too long. And now it’s finally gone.

7. The Decorations

Now is the time, folks, to get your final affairs in order. We are now approaching the holidays so please prepare for landing.

Decorations are the easiest thing in the world to freak out over when you get down to the wire. You count the lights, you measure for garland, you buy the plates and the napkins and even special straws that are made of paper. Candy canes are beautiful on a tree, but the tree isn’t up yet. Not to worry though. Your shopping list is that much smaller because you already took care of it.

Buying what you can ahead of time is something I’ve been doing since April. Buying candles, drinks, and even some gifts before they’re at their holiday prices is something I do to avoid the crowds and the chaos. Yes, I’m on a budget and I know how to work the system to my favor. Buying discount wrapping paper and tinsel the year before is nothing to hide, and props to you if you make your own decorations.

That’s what I did. Wreaths can be up to $70 when they come pre decorated. I bought one for ten and put my own decorations and lights on it for less than forty dollars. And I’ll use it over and over again. Making decorations can also help tame that beast inside of you that is screaming at you to put up the lights now! It’s not even thanksgiving, calm down you little elf.

Once you’ve ticked all of these things off of your list, you’ll find it much easier to breathe while you wrap gifts or wade through the sea of people at the mall. Having your lists organized, your budget in mind, and the peace of mind that your house is organized and ready, you’ll be unstoppable this holiday season!

Happy holidays everybody!

[obviouslyelementary]

A new holiday - chapter 3

Hank’s house is a mess

--------

When Hank got home from the job late in the evening, he expected the usual: Connor cooking them some dinner (because the kid loved it and he felt as if it was healthier than the stuff Hank ate on the streets), playing with Sumo, watching some TV and then heading to bed early, as Connor's schedule told him to do.

When he opened his door, however, it was like a hurricane of dirt, glitter, cloth and plastic had invaded his house.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" he groaned out loud, through the music playing on the background. It was some type of hit from the 2010s, and suddenly Hank realized Connor may have hacked into his Spotify account. "God damn it Connor!"

"Did you call, Hank?" someone said out of nowhere, and he jumped with a groan, turning around to see Connor dressed in an old white shirt Hank had inside his closet, and some baggy jeans, both currently painted with splashes of all types of different colors. His hair was a mess, with a few splashes of blue and silver, and his face was decorated with freckles and moles that weren't inherent of his design.

It was a good look on the kid.

"Connor god damn it what the fuck is going on in my house?!" he complained loudly, and Connor looked into the living room. There were androids everywhere, pieces of cloth and plastic thrown all around the place, paint on the walls, floor, even on the ceiling. Sumo was barking in happiness with Alice dancing around him, and all furniture was moved away so they had space.

The place was a big, big mess.

"Don't worry Hank. I will clean everything up before you even notice" Connor answered calmly, paint and brush on his hands. "Now if you excuse us, your room is free of any mess, I moved the television over there and placed some sound proof cushions so the noise outside won't enter your room. Also, your dinner is over your bed" he nodded, before he turned around and headed towards Markus.

Hank was... amused, in a way. And by many other ways, he was pissed. And by even more ways, he was proud.

In the end, it made him feel very neutral about the whole situation, so he walked towards his room, brought Sumo with him (so he wouldn't get even more dirty), and then closed and locked the door.

Indeed, the silence was almost deadly.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about anything else around his house.

As he got himself ready to sleep after eating his delicious dinner, he continued to think about all those androids that now gathered in his living room had gone through those past months. Most of them were lost and scared before they found a cause to fight for. Some, like Kara and Markus and even Connor found something to fight for.

(It did not make him emotional that he was the reason Connor changed sides. It did not)

And some, like Alice, were just pushed into the ride. And, luckily, they had been able to adapt, specially after everything was finished.

After they were safe and sound.

But now it was no time to think. Hank still had the whole week of work ahead of him without Connor to help out, making his job actually easier, but still.

He needed to sleep and those androids needed to work.

 When he got up in the next morning, his house was still a mess.

Hank pretended not to see any of it and simply made himself coffee, wondering where all the androids were, Connor specifically. He knew the others had places to be but Connor didn't seem to be anywhere.

Until Hank saw the door outside opening through his side vision, and turned his head to see a snow covered connor walking inside the house.

"Good morning Hank" the android said, as calm as ever, as if he wasn't holding a shovel on his back, wasn't covered in snow and paint, and wasn't a complete mess of a human being.

Hank could just chuckle. He looked like a kid in art class.

"Good morning" he nodded, raising his cup of coffee and then sipping from it. "Where are you spending your day today?"

"We still have things to organize" Connor said, putting the shovel down and walking towards the kitchen. "We will meet in the part at 10 am. I am glad to see you woke up without me"

"You're rubbing off on me kid, I don't like it" Hank huffed, drinking his coffee and putting his bread to toast. "Also my house is still a mess"

"We couldn’t finish it all yesterday so they requested me not to move anything" Connor said, stepping away from a ripped apart cloth. "We will have to use the house for a while longer"

"Do what you gotta do kid" Hank waved him off, relaxed as he grabbed his now toasted bread and eating it raw. "I'm going to work"

"Be careful" Connor warned as he turned to go to the bathroom. "And remember that you are human and all your parts can be vital"

"I don't think I'm going to have a case today Connor, but don't worry. I'll be careful"

"Thank you Hank"

Hank rolled his eyes affectionally as he walked out, closing the door after himself and heading to his car.

He really was rubbing off Connor. That was bad.

But very good.

 Hank returned around 8pm, having spent the whole day just looking at files after files, shutting Gavin up for his bullshit talk and thinking about the whole mess in his house.

It had been a very boring day, luckily, for Connor's sake and Hank's own.

But he was half hoping he would finally have an organized and clean house when he returned that night.

Turns out, not only everything was still a mess, there were even more androids in his house.

"Hank arrived!" Alice squealed as soon as he walked inside, and the whole room turned to him.

Holy shit, he hadn't felt this nervous since his high school days.

"Hank. Let me introduce some helping hands we called" Connor said, standing up and stepping forward. All androids stood up, while Alice bounced excitedly next to Connor. From the crowd of androids, five approached Connor.

Four of them were exactly the same and one was... fucked up to say the least.

"hello! Our name is Jerry!" one of the four that looked exactly the same said, and all of them raised their hands to shake Hank's. He stared at them for a moment, before sighing and shaking each one of their hands.

"Hi" he huffed, even though they seemed very nice. "What you guys are again?"

"We are Kara's friends" another Jerry said. "Model EM400!"

"We used to work at an amusement park!" another one completed.

Hank sighed and hummed.

"Okay welcome to my humble house" he said, shrugging them off, and then he turned to the fucked up one. "What about you kid?"

"His name is Ralph" Alice said, rushing to him and taking one of his twitchy hands. "He... doesn't like or trust humans, but we told him you are a friend"

"Oh" Hank nodded, and the Ralph robot looked at him through the corner of his eyes. "Sorry then. I'll make sure to stay away from you"

Ralph just looked down, and Hank hummed, walking past the rest of the androids, saying hello and waving to some of them before he pulled Connor to the kitchen with him.

"yes Hank?"

"How long are you guys gonna use my living room?" he asked, sounding impatient but honestly kinda liking the whole mess of robots in his house.

Connor just raised his eyebrow.

"When we are finished"

"And how long that is going to last Connor?" he asked, annoyed, tilting his head and making Connor furrow his eyebrows, LED turning yellow for a moment.

"By my calculations... three more days" he nodded, and Hank sighed deeply, turning to the fridge. "Hank, what are you doing?"

"Grabbing a beer"

"You shouldn't drink"

"Shut uuuuuuuup" he groaned and grabbed the bottle, opening the lid and drinking it down as quick as he could. Connor kept watching him as he grabbed some frozen food and threw it inside the microwave.

"Do you wish to aid us?" Connor suggested, and Hank raised his eyebrow.

"Do I look like an artist to you? Hell no. I'm going to bed. You all have fun"

"Hank..."

He turned to connor, and frowned when he saw the android was actually concerned.

"What?"

"Are you angry I brought them here?"

Hank frowned and then sighed, shaking his head and tapping Connor's arm.

"Of course not kid. I'm just annoyed, but I like it" he smiled, and Connor relaxed considerably. "Go have fun and do your thing. I'll be in bed"

"Connor!"

The android turned towards the living room at his name being called, rushing towards Simon as he showed something. Hank rolled his eyes and smiled, grabbing his food and walking to his room, pulling Sumo inside and locking the door.

He was becoming too soft for his own good.

[prettyyoungtragedy]

You and I, Just the two of us - Chapter 4

You and I, just the two of us - (AU!) 4

James (Bucky) x reader,  – Steve x reader

Summary: The reader is reeling from a life changing event; a year later can she finally move on? Or will the past come tumbling down like an avalanche…

 A/N: I love this chapter so much! I hope you all enjoy it too!! Chapter 5 will be posted by tomorrow!

 Word Count: 5874

 Warnings: swearing? Smut.

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 New years came and went, and you had finally decided to take some time off work to dedicate a week to finding a new apartment. Apartment hunting in New York was surprisingly harder than you had anticipated with all the various neighborhoods and different layouts, you had no clue what you were looking for or what you even liked.

Natasha helped when she could but was otherwise preoccupied with work and planning her wedding which was taking up 90% of her time, so Bruce had stepped in to help you find a place. James had been spending more time with Sam now that he had moved back, and you hadn’t seen him in a while, although he had offered you a bedroom in his sprawling 4 bedroom Park Avenue apartment multiple times, to which you had declined several times because it was just weird living with him.

It was a bright Saturday morning; You and Bruce had started the day of apartment hunting early. Seven AM breakfast at Bruce’s favorite Brooklyn bistro Five Leaves, and then the two of you headed out to the various apartment viewings Bruce had set up.

By the 3rd apartment you were getting slightly annoyed with the realtor, she kept showing you apartments that looked exactly like the one you already lived in.

“And it comes with granite top finishes in the kitchen,” The tall, brunette named Sasha said as you and Bruce walked through the apartment. “I’ll let you two look around, you can come find me when you’re ready,” she says then steps out into the hallway.

“Ugh this is so pointless, if see another apartment that looks like this , I am going to throw myself off its balcony.” You groaned, rubbing your face in annoyance

Bruce chuckled, “This is a process Y/N, let’s check out the last one and then we can take a break?” he suggested,

You sighed and agreed, then headed off to the next apartment the realtor seemed excited about this one. She kept going on about how you couldn’t find an apartment in Lower Manhattan for this price and this location. You exchanged a glace with Bruce as he knew you didn’t want to move out of Brooklyn, but he whispered to you to just give it a look before disregarding it.

The moment you pulled up to the building you were already in love with it. The face brick building looked like it had been a warehouse at some point which had been built on, Bruce saw your face and he immediately began asking more questions about the place, much to Sasha’s delight.

She led you to the top floor, the apartment was a loft apartment at the top of the building, and the moment she opened the door, you knew this was your new home.

The space was airy, and sprawling. The floors wooden and polished, there were weight beams across the room and it was open plan, in all the perfect colors. The apartment just screamed buy me. It looked expensive, so you did well to hide your excitement as you walked through the loft.

“So, it’s two bedrooms, two bathrooms and obviously the entire loft space.” Sasha said gesturing to the space, “What do you think?”

You looked at Bruce, and he asked the obvious question on both your minds. “What’s the catch?” He asked,

Sasha looked confused for a moment, “Why is it so cheap?” you asked again,

“Oh, the previous owner put it on the market for this price, he didn’t really state why.” Sasha replied, “I can find out if you ‘d like?”

“Yeah, I’d like to maybe speak to him if you can?” Bruce said, “Get a feel of what we are getting into, ya know?”

Sasha nodded understandingly, but you had already made up your mind on the space. You had to make this your home, and this was perfectly within your budget. In face it was perfect down to the last dollar. You were never one for being impulsive but in this moment, you couldn’t help it,

“I’ll take it!” you say suddenly, much to Bruce and Sasha’s surprise

“You will?” She almost exclaimed, “I mean, of course you will, this place is amazing.”

“Are you sure Y/N?” Bruce asked, trying to be the voice of reason,

“Yes, I am sure. It’s the perfect price range, perfect location for work, and I mean look at it Bruce, even Nat would approve of this!”

Bruce grinned and looked at Sasha, “Well then I guess let’s get this process started,” and Sasha heartily clapped her hands and set off making calls to make this place yours.

__________________________

The moving process happened quicker then you were expecting. The owner of the apartment, whom you still hadn’t met, was eager to get rid of the place. It took all of 3 days to sort out the paperwork, pay and sign the documents before you were handed the keys to your new apartment.

Tony had organized a whole team of people to help you move, much to your delight, so that you could still work on a project for him. Which in a way was selfish but you weren’t complaining because when you walked into your new home, all the furniture had been placed, tidied up and all that was left were the boxes of personal items. Tony even went as far as stocking up the grocery cupboards and the fridge for you, to which you made a mental note to thank him for next time you saw him.

A week after moving in, Natasha and James came through to see your new place.

The doorbell rang multiple times, the impatient buzzer ringing throughout the loft. You tossed the dishcloth in your hands, onto the kitchen counter and headed to open the door for them.

Natasha barely even got a hello out before she started spazzing about the apartment. “Oh my god, Y/N!” She squealed, “This place is stunning!”

“Thanks Nat,” you laughed, as you greeted James with a kiss on the cheek. He handed you two bottles of wine and then followed Natasha in,

“Holy shit, this is nice.” James agreed, flopping down onto the couch

“I can’t believe you got this place, Its such a steal!” Natasha continued as she walked around the apartment,

“Yeah, it’s great isn’t it. I am still getting used to all this space,” You replied handing her a glass of wine and James a beer,

“Yes, when is the house warming party?” James asked,

“I don’t know, when I get a free moment I guess,” you reply, taking a seat next to him on the couch, “Tony has been hard pressed at keeping me busy these days,”

“Does he ever take a break?” Natasha asked, twirling the wine glass in her hand,

“I don’t think he knows how to take a break.” You said,

“Anyway, I invited Sam as well,” James announced, changing the topic, “He should be here soon. “

“I can’t believe the four of us are actually going to hang out together,” Natasha mused, “Last time we spent this much time together we were in college,”

“Yeah and we were all much poorer than we are now,” You added,

“Except Bucky,” Nat pointed out,

“Well I funded our drunken rages, so it’s a good thing you kept me around,” He chuckled, you and Nat were always giving him shit for being a trust fund kid, but he didn’t seemed phased by it. In fact, he wholeheartedly embraced it, James had never been on to shy away from the truth.

Just then the doorbell rang again, it was Sam and you stood up to go and get it.

“Hey Sam,” You greet him cheerily, giving a hug,

“Hello Y/N,” he said, returning your affection as he stepped into the apartment,

He looked around and whistled, handing you a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, “Holy moly, this place is something else.” He said,

“Thanks Buddy,” you grin, “Come in, Nat and James are already here.”

You led him to the open plan area, where Natasha and James greeted him affectionately and you stood in the kitchen preparing the salad for the dinner you had made. The great thing about the space was how open it was, you could stand in the kitchen and have a full-scale conversation with everyone in the lounge without even raising your voice.

“Dinner is served,” You say, placing the spaghetti bolognaise, and salad on the table, “Nothing fancy, just some good old-fashioned pasta!”

The three of them too their seat around the table, “Smell’s fucking good,” James commented,

“I think I’m just glad to be eating something that doesn’t come out of a takeout box,” Sam said, dishing out some onto his plate, gratefully.

“You should really learn how to cook,” Natasha pointed out, “It’s not good for your health to eat takeout’s,”

You laughed at her comment, “You’re joking right, you’re the least healthiest person I know with the amount you drink,”

This got a laugh of agreement from James and Sam, Natasha rolled her eyes. “Okay first of all, I am done drinking, for a while, secondly, I do eat healthy…sometimes,” she grinned,

The conversation and laughs continued between the four of you throughout the course of dinner, it felt great having them all around you again. It felt like college again. once the dishes were cleared up and dinner was done, the four of you sat on the loft balcony and decided to open the whiskey Sam had brought.

You handed Natasha a glass, but as she took it you saw her wine glass was till full. You could have sworn she did not refill it,

“Nat, why are you not drinking?” You asked her questionably,

She shifted in her seat, acting nonchalant. “I am drinking, what do you mean?”

Both James and Sam now looked at her closely,

“You haven’t finished you glass of wine, since we arrived.” James pointed out,

“And I haven’t seen you refill it once, in fact the bottle is still full,” Sam said,

You looked between Sam, James and her, “Natasha Romanoff,” You said slowly, “Are you fucking pregnant?” ‘

Natasha suddenly sighed deeply, confirming your suspicions. “OHMYGOD NAT!” You screamed excited, startling both James and Sam,

You excitedly jump around giving her a tight hug, and she laughed. “Yes, yes I am pregnant!” she said sound excited finally,

“Congratulations!” Sam said standing up and giving her a hug,

James seemed dumbstruck, he was still in his seat, his face unreadable. You looked down at him, and kicked him in the foot slightly urging him to stand up and give Natasha a hug. He suddenly snapped out of his thought when you did so, and half heartedly congratulated her, then took a seat again.

“So, when did you find out?” You ask her enthusiastically, “And how am I only finding out about this now?!”

“Uhm.. I found out two weeks ago,” She replied,

“Oh my god, and why am I only finding out now?” You demanded,

“I only went to the doctor this week,” Natasha explained,

“How far along are you?”  Sam asked,

“six weeks,” and then Natasha suddenly burst into tears,

And beside you, you left James stiffen at the sight of Natasha crying.

“Hey, Nat what’s wrong?” you say gently, putting an arm around her shoulders,

“My wedding is in 4 weeks and I’m not going to fit into my dress and we can’t tell my family because my mother will have a heart attack if she knows I’m pregnant before marriage.” Natasha said through sobs,

Sam chuckled, “Natasha Romanoff, you are a resourceful, empowered woman. I don’t think you should let this get you down, it’s a silly wedding dress, just rip a few seams and you will be fine!” he said,

And you threw him a grateful glance, because that seemed to cheer Nat up a little.

“See, there’s always a plan, and I’ll help you fit into your dress I swear.” You tell her,

“Yeah, you’re beautiful Nat, either way this is a happy moment for you.” James finally added, as he had been quiet throughout the exchange

Natasha looked around at the three of you and then started crying again, “Why are you still crying Nat?”  you asked confused,

“Because I’m happy to have you all back in my life,” She said through tears and laughter.

You didn’t know whether to laugh or cry with her, in her emotional state. But all of them being here made you realize just how much you all needed each other.

______________________

You hadn’t seen Steve in almost a month, you continued to text each other on the regular but every time the two of you made a plan, it seemed to fall apart. So, it came as an utter surprise when you bumped into him at a book store in Manhattan. He was avidly trying to escape something outside when he bumped into you,

“Y/N,” he exclaimed, dragging you into a hug. “Just the person I was looking for,”

“Steve, what, how did you know where to find me?”  You asked confused,

“Natasha said I could find you here on Tuesdays,” he explained, “She kind of has your whole itinerary,”

“I swear to god, that woman needs a busier job,” You chuckled, “But I am glad you found me,” you say smiling up at the handsome blonde, he had grown a small beard in the time you hadn’t seen him. It was incredibly attractive.

“So am I,” Steve mumbled a little awkwardly,

“What can I do for you Steven?” You prompted him when he hadn’t told you why he was here,

“Please don’t think I only want to see you when I am not busy,” Steve began, “I want to see you every day if I could, So here I am hoping you will say yes to going on an actual date with me tonight?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, he had a puppy dog look on his gorgeous face and somehow you couldn’t say no to such an offer. “You tracked me down, just to ask me something you could have done over text?” You laughed,

Steve scratched the back of his, with a shy smile on his face, “This may sound silly, but I wanted to ask you out for the first time in person, doesn’t seem right to do it over text,” He explained,

“Alright, but only if I get to choose the place,” you responded, chuckling at how sweet he was.

“Yes, of course, anything you want!” Steve said enthusiastically,

Just then, there were the sounds of camera’s and flashes going off in the window of the book store and Steve groaned loudly. “Fuck, the found me,” he sighed and then stepped behind a bookshelf taking you with him,

“Paparazzi, I assume?” you say,

Steve nodded, “Can’t escape these guys,”

“Come on,” You say, “I’ll show you an escape route.”

Steve broke out into a grin at your offer and the two of you quietly slipped out the side of the bookstore unbeknownst to the eager paparazzi and fans waiting for him to exit through the front.

That evening, you sat in Natasha’s massive walk in closet as she went through an array of outfits for you to wear on your date with Steve. You had chosen a quiet little restaurant in Brooklyn but Natasha railroaded your plans and managed to organize a private dining dinner at Vaucluse in the upper east side, to which you complained saying you probably couldn’t afford a starter there to begin with.

“So, red or black ?” Nat asked you, holding up the two different dress options,

“Neither, they are so short and way too fancy for just a dinner.” You said shaking your head,

Natasha sighed and tossed the options onto the bed, and then went back to rummaging through the racks of clothes looking for something for you to wear. “You know, this is a 5-star restaurant and I am sure Steve is going to dress in a suit,” she said, holding up another option for you,

“Yes, but I am not making a big deal out of this, who knows if this is even going to work out” you say shaking your head, “And absolutely not, there is barely any coverage on that dress,”

“Can you just pick something, I can’t with you!” Nat exclaimed and then huffed and sat down on one of the chairs, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

You sighed, “Can’t I just wear my own clothes?” You say,

“No, because you dress like you’re in a biker gang,” Nat retorted, and you couldn’t help but laugh, she wasn’t wrong about your style of dress.

“Fine,” you grumbled and then got up, and went to look at the racks of clothing.

After what seemed like an eternity you had finally picked out an outfit, and gotten dressed.

“Ugh, you look like a homeless hippie!” Natasha exclaimed, “Of all the amazing Atelier Versace I have in my closet you choose to dress in an outfit from Topshop!”

“Shut up,” you laughed, “I am comfortable in this, and I think I look great.”

“He’s going to be so disappointed,” She sighed,

“Well he will have to like me for who I am, not what I wear,” you point out, and then take one last look at yourself in the mirror before you leave to go meet Steve at the restaurant.

When you arrived at the restaurant Steve was already there, sitting at the table looking exceedingly handsome, chatting to a waitress. You heart raced a little when you saw him,

As you walked up to the table, Steve immediately gets to his feet with a wide grin on his face,

“Hey you,” He says sweetly, giving you a kiss on the cheek

“Hey Steve,” you respond, smiling at him as he nervously fidgeted with his tie, “You look great,”

“Nothing compared to you,” was his response as the two of you sat down,

You felt yourself blush at his compliment, how was he always so sweet.

“Natasha said I look like a homeless hippie,” you joked,

“Well, then you are definitely the prettiest homeless hippie I have ever met,” Steve laughed,

Just then the waitress appeared again, with a bottle of expensive looking champagne,

“Shall I open it?” She asked you both,

Steve looked at you and you nodded, noting that the bottle was one of your favorite. Steve had obviously asked Natasha what you liked beforehand, and you thought that was so sweet.

After the waitress had taken your orders and left, Steve asked you how your day was,

“It was rather average, worked for most of the day. My boss is really amped about this project we are working on, he wants to make Stark industries a leader in clean energy, so he has us researching and developing around the clock. It’s great for me, because the developments are moving along great, but I have a whole team to manage now and ordering people around isn’t really my strong suit, I’m more of a do it myself type of person,” You stopped yourself, realizing you were rambling a little, “Sorry, I’m rambling,”

“Oh no, don’t apologize, I am enjoying hearing about your work,” Steve smiled,

“You say that now, and then I start speaking about nonmolecular cellular regeneration and you will wish you hadn’t said that,” You chuckled,

Steve grinned, “I could listen to you talk all day, you’re by far the most interesting thing to be around today,”

“I’m a thing?” You joke, feigning offense,

“No no, I mean person, I would never objectify you, I” he rapidly tried to correct himself,

“Steve relax, I’m joking,” You say laughing out loud at his panic,

He relaxed his shoulders and shook his head chuckling with you.

“So, how’s your job?” you asked him, taking a sip of your drink,

“Tiring, I am glad to finally have a break in the new year.” Steve said, “The jet set life can get tedious sometimes,”

“I can imagine, don’t you miss being home?”

He nodded, “All the time, But I can’t complain I am devastatingly lucky in my life, for everything that I have gotten but the fame doesn’t come without its downfalls,”

“Like the paparazzi,” you pointed out,

“Oh yes, they’re the worst, but nothing compared to the gossip websites,” Steve replied, “It’s easy to lose yourself in it all,”

“Well, it’s nice to walk outside and see your face on a billboard outside my apartment,” You jested,

Which earned you a hearty laugh from Steve, “I had to find some way to keep you interested in me.”

The rest of the evening went by faster than you had expected, You and Steve had lost track of time in the restaurant and only realized how late it was when the waitress came through with the bill saying they were closing.

“Is that the time, holy shit,” You half exclaim, it was 1:30 in the morning,

Steve insisted on paying the bill, even though numerous times you said you would pay it. He said it wouldn’t be a date if he made you pay for your dinner and that he wanted to treat you. It was a sweet gesture.

Once the two of you had left the restaurant, he offered to drop you off at home, saying he didn’t feel right letting you take a cab. Which you didn’t dispute. The car ride to your place was quick and as he pulled up to your apartment building, you found yourself wanting to invite him upstairs.

“Would you like to come upstairs?” You ask softly, a surprised look flits across his face

“Yeah, yeah, I would love to,” He replied, flashing his dazzling smile at you.

Steve followed you upstairs wordlessly, the two of you quietly making easy conversation between each other as you were in the lift. When the lift hit the landing and you exited it, you stopped dead in your tracks, your heart dropping to the floor.

Standing at your front door was Luke Charles, your ex-fiancé.

“Luke…” You whispered when you saw him, Luke looked at Steve for a moment then at you,

“What are you doing here?” you asked, your heart thundering in your chest,

“I needed to see you,” He replied, his voice sending a shiver down your spine, you hadn’t heard it in over a year and seeing him here now was like looking at a ghost. “Can we talk in private?”

You looked at Steve, by the look on Steve’s face he knew who Luke was, and you wanted to avoid any kind of drama to night. “I’m sorry Steve,” you apologized,

“No no, its okay, call me tomorrow okay?” he said smiling and then embracing you, you nodded at him, He gave you a kiss on the forehead before he left. For good measure you see him throw Luke a glare and then he left,

Your hands were shaking as you unlocked the front door, Luke stood behind you wordlessly. Once inside, you quickly dropped all your items on the kitchen counter and turned to face Luke, who stood near the door, looking around at your apartment.

You felt so exposed, having him look around at your new home. He still looked as handsome as ever, you averted your gaze as the memories with him came flooding back. You feel hot tears springing to your eyes, and you swallow the lump in your throat.

“Why are you here Luke?” You asked him quietly,

He walked to the kitchen, near where you stood and faced you, arms crossed over his broad chest. “Who’s the guy?” He asked,

“You don’t get to ask me that question,” you responded, trying to remain as aloof as possible,

“Can we sit?” Luke gestures to the chairs, as he takes a seat in one of them,

“I’d rather stand,” you replied, moving yourself behind the island counter, putting space between the two of you.

Luke sighed and then removed his jacket and scarf, he looked at you, observing you. “You changed your hair color,” he noted, “it looks lovely,”

You nervously twirled your hair with your index finger, feeling exposed at his comment, and remained quiet.

“I see you changed the way you dress too, this suits you,” Luke said gesturing to the outfit you had borrowed from Natasha for your date,

“Luke, what do you want? Because I know you didn’t come here to talk about my hair and my clothes,” you snap impatiently, on the outside you were trying to be tough but on the inside you were dying, you wanted to kick and scream and shout at him.

“I just needed to see you, Y/N. I wanted to know if you were okay…” Luke replied huskily, looking at you with intense eyes,

“Why…?” you whispered, pain evident in your voice, “Why after all this time,”

“Because I still love you,” He replied plainly,

The moment the words left his mouth, you felt as if your world was spinning. You had wished, begged, prayed for this moment, when Luke had left you. you spent countless hours sobbing to Natasha over those 3 words, but somehow in this moment it felt like he had just stabbed you in the heart. There was just pain in your chest when you looked at Luke, and you felt like you couldn’t breathe,

Suddenly all the memories and the pain from what he had caused you over the last year came rushing back, and it was like an avalanche of emotions. Mostly rage,

“How fucking dare, you!” You shouted at him, starling him.

Luke looked at you, mouth open in shock,

“How dare you come back to me, and tell me you still love me after everything you have done to me! How dare you think this is okay! How dare you sit there and even for a moment think that this is something you get to do to me!” You were screaming at this point, but you didn’t care, “I was suffering Luke, I was a shell of a person, you broke me! YOU BROKE MY SOUL AND NOW YOU COME TO MY HOME AND THINK YOU CAN JUST PULL THE THREAD THAT I HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO KEEP TIED UP!” You began to throw the plates and glasses at him, they were shattering across the kitchen and living room, Luke ducked out the way to avoid being hit with a plate,

You paused your chest heaving from anger,

“Y/N,” Luke began,

“No, you don’t get to say my name! you don’t have the right to even look at me, not after what you did Luke!” you cried, tears streaming down your face now, “How can you do this to me?! AGAIN?!”

“Baby please, just give me a chance to explain,” Luke begged,

But you cut him off, “No, get the fuck out of my house, get out of my life. I will never forgive you Luke Charles, you left me for another woman and If I ever see you again I will murder you with my bare hands,” you said icily,

Luke just looked at you, a dejected look on his face, he stood up and gathered his things then walked to the door, you followed him to let him out. “I won’t give up on you,” He said turning to you as he exited the apartment,

“You already did,” you replied frostily and then slammed the door in his face.

The moment the door shut, your legs buckled, and you collapsed to the floor, clutching your chest in pain. You couldn’t breathe, you were having a full-scale panic attack. You needed to get out of your apartment, Luke’s cologne clung to the air, and the memories were too painful. There was glass everywhere, and you had cuts on your hands from stray piece of glass that had hit you.

Grabbing your purse and phone, you ran out of the apartment barely locking it behind you in the pouring rain you hailed a cab. There was only one person you needed to see right now.

The cab had barely stopped when you were already jumping out, tossing two 20-dollar bills in the front seat and thanking him. You ran up to the doorman, who already knew who you were, and he politely opened the door for you. seeing your freaked faced he asked if you were okay, and quickly let you in to the elevator.

You pushed the button to the penthouse suite, your panic rising again, you couldn’t breath and your head was spinning. The second the elevator dinged on the landing, James was standing there, in just shorts. The doorman must have alerted him that you were on your way up. you flung yourself into his arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.

“Y/N,” James said, in a panicked voice, “What the fuck happened?!”

You couldn’t get the words out, your body racked with sobs and you held onto James like he was a lifeline.

“Sweetheart, talk to me! What happened?” he repeated holding you against his chest, “You’re bleeding!” he exclaimed,

“L-Luke,” was all you managed to say, and James knew what had happened. He led you inside, and ordered you to sit down in the lounge, while he got on the phone with someone.

You were numb, you sat on the edge of the couch, gazing listlessly at the floor. When James returned to the room, he had a cup of tea in his hand which he placed next to you then he sat beside you. he had pulled on a t-shirt while he was gone.  

“Tell me what he did, doll,” James said, brushing your hair out of your face,

“I came home,” You began, choking up again, “And he was just there, at my door, he didn’t say hello, he didn’t even ask me if I was okay, how I was, how I’d been after what he did. he just said he loved me and still wanted me. It was like he knew how to break me all over again,” a sob escapes your lips as you hear the words Luke had uttered to you, again and again.

“And then what? Did he lay a hand on you?” James asked, evidently angry,

“N-no,” you stuttered, “I threw the plates and the glasses at him,”

James looked at you for a moment, shocked. “I am going to fucking kill him,” James seethed, “Where is he now?”

“I don’t know, I kicked him out and came straight here,” You replied, holding your head in your hands,

James took a deep breath, evidently trying to calm himself down. “Come on sweetheart, Let me sort out those cuts,” he said, standing up and offering you a hand.

You silently followed James to the bathroom, and took a seat on the bathroom counter while he got out the first aid kit and got to work on cleaning bits of glass that were still stuck in the cuts on your arms and hands. When he was done he looked at your face, “You have a cut on your cheekbone,” he mentioned, and took a piece of cotton wool dipping in antiseptic and wiping the blood away.

You hissed as it stung, knowing that would probably leave a mark. “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes,” James said, once he was done applying a plaster to your cheek. You just nodded, not feeling like saying anything in that moment. Seeing Luke again and speaking to him had brought the passed tumbling down on you like an avalanche and you had retreated within yourself.

“I’ll go get you something to wear, do you want to shower?” He asked you,

When you didn’t answer, he walked over to you and cupped your face in his hands, “Y/N, I got you, you’re going to be okay.” He said softly,

“I just want to sleep,” you whispered,

He nodded, “Ok lets get you to sleep,”

James took you to one of the spare bedrooms and gave you a t-shirt to sleep in.

“Will you stay with me please?” you asked him quietly as you got into bed,

“Of course, doll,” He replied, getting into the bed beside you, and embracing you.

You lay in James’ embrace for almost an hour in silence, you were numb. The words Luke had said playing over and over in your head. Your frustration building up the more you thought about it.

“James,” you whispered,

“Hmm..?”

You looked up into his ice blue eyes, his face centimeters from yours and without hesitation you kissed him.

His reaction seemed tense at first but then he leaned into it. You linked your arms around his neck, fervently kissing him. Your mind was numb to what you were doing, all you knew is that you wanted to feel something.

James pulled you closer to him, not breaking the kiss. His arms wrapped tightly around your waist, you moved away slightly and in one swift motion, pulled off the t-shirt you wore. Revealing your naked body.

“Y/N,” James said softly, “You don’t want this,”

“I do,” you replied pulling him towards you,

“You’re upset, you’re going to regret doing this.” He said, as he kissed you,

“Bucky…please…” was all you said, before he was kissing you passionately again,

James took his shirt off, exposing his perfectly muscular body. Your hands roamed across his chiseled chest as he kissed your neck, he pulled back and looked at you, the lust in his eyes igniting a fire inside of you. James got between yours legs, pressing his body against yours. You could feel his arousal, as he pulled his shorts of. Your heart was racing, the adrenaline coursing through your veins made your arousal feel like fire.

His lips crashed against yours again, and he moved down to your neck, kissing, biting and sucking as he went across your bare breasts. A soft moan escaped your lips, and you just wanted to feel, that was it, in this moment you just wanted to feel something.

“need you…in me,” you panted,

And James hesitated for a second, and looked at you. “Protection,” you whispered, and he acknowledged pulling out protection from the drawer beside the bed. Wrapping your legs around his hips, you pull him in. You sighed lustfully at the feel and the fit, not thinking about anything but sex in that moment, you needed to take your mind of Luke. it was torturous.  James began to move languidly above you, setting the rhythm painstakingly slow but passionate.

“Bucky,” you moaned against his chest, feeling your pleasure building and the ecstasy of an orgasm approaching.

A few minutes later, you rake your nails across his back as you came ecstatically. Sighing his name as you did, James followed a few seconds later.

He rested his head on the crook of your neck, both of you gasping in post coital euphoria. James rolled over and lay beside you, and you cover up your nakedness with the bed-sheets. Your mind is calm, even with the calamitous, momentous weight the deed the two of you had just committed.  

Tags: @addictionmarvel @seargantbcky

Hope you all enjoy reading it! chapter was a little long, but i am kind of proud of it! SO LEAVE ME SOME FEEDBACK, I WOULD LOVE THAT!