#I love Addy's college years

[1d1195]

Most V

Read Most here | ~5.8k words

From me: I've been waiting for this part for a REALLY long time.

Warnings: *drum roll* SMUT, semi-public, unprotected, really needy 18+ also, some pretty angsty chats (and more Lauren)

Summary: Harry has been dying for this date for three years. And all the answers it comes with. Even if he doesn't like some of them. She missed Harry. Plain and simple.

With Addie off the phone, she gazed at her reflection for a moment. The girls did an amazing job with her hair and makeup. She felt beautiful. Beautiful enough to be on a date with Harry. He was one of the only people she had ever been on a date with (as much as she did it, she didn’t consider third-wheeling with Addie and Carter actually dating; and knowing Harry was her soulmate put a damper on the memory of her dates with one of the only other guys she dated, Beau, in the ninth grade). It was simultaneously terrifying and wonderful.

The thought of him made the nerves return. Closing her eyes, she smoothed down the skirt of her dress. It was light green. Nearly matched Harry’s eyes, which was why she selected it. There was a slight V-cut at her neck and had fluttery sleeves at the top of her shoulders. Eleanor insisted it looked beautiful against her skin and the skirt cinched slightly at her waist accentuating her curves and then came to a ruffled hem that hit just above her knee. With a pair of wedged nude sandals, she tried to create the effect that her legs were longer, but she slightly felt like she was playing dress up and this was not a date she was meant to go on.

“I just need to jump,” she whispered to herself encouragingly.

The full effect had Harry’s jaw nearly unhinged to the floor as she entered the kitchen. Eleanor punched him in the arm to keep him from drooling. Sarah smiled excitedly. “You look beautiful.”

“Extremely,” Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes scanning her in a way that made her feel naked, but in a really good way. She blushed so cutely. It made Harry’s heart skip a beat.  “Ready?” He asked.

She nodded. Because for the first time in ages she felt so ready to go on a date. Eager. Utterly excited to be alone with someone. “Yes,” she smiled.

*

Dinner passed in a blur. Truly, he was only thinking about the way her smile looked so nice on her lips. How soft her hair framed around her face. The way her skin practically glowed and it was only amplified by the makeup that she decidedly did not need but it looked like she was doing the products a favor by wearing them on her beautiful face. He was only pretty sure they spoke. Chatted about a variety of things but he wasn’t sure he could recall them in detail if asked because he was so overwhelmed by the fact that he was with her, on a date. After all that time.

He suspected there was stuff about work and college. He did remember he told her at least twenty stories about Mrs. Peterson and seriously worried she was one of his best friends, now. She talked about Carter and Addie. Gave an update on her mum and how she enjoyed living closer to her aunt.

But all those details disappeared. He was on a date with her. A date with the love of his life after three years of not seeing her and it was so goddamn effortless to talk to her, make her laugh, and smile with her.

It felt so good he could have cried.

“What are y’going t’do when y’finish your degree?”

“Uh,” she sighed, and Harry sensed her worry almost immediately. Wished he hadn’t made her feel uneasy even a little. Even if it was natural to feel that way.

A little anxiety about her future career was new for her. For the first time in so many years, nervousness that wasn’t because she was worried about him or her love for Harry was a bit of a curve ball. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted it badly, but didn’t know if it would pan out the way she saw it in her mind. “I’m not totally sure, actually,” she admitted. “I’ve got an online portfolio of my work, and I’ve sent it to a ton of publishers, magazines, et cetera,” she took a deep breath. “I could be really stereotypical and just continue waitressing by night and writing by day,” she shrugged. It wasn’t a bad gig. But it wasn’t what she hoped for exactly.

“Someone is going t’pick you up. You are too brilliant t’not be,” he sounded so sure—because he was. If there was anything he believed in, it was her, her dreams, and ambitions. “S’nice it can be... remote, yeah? Let you travel and visit your mum and whatnot,” stay here. With me. He thought silently to himself.

She nodded. “Yeah... I guess. But... I think I’d want to stay here.”

For three years, his heart was not inside his chest. But now it was back, the veins and arteries reconnecting to the rest of his body. Literally putting life back in him. It thudded so loudly he could barely make out the sound of the restaurant around them as he smiled at her. “Good,” he nodded. “Good,” he repeated quietly, relief heavier in his tone.

After a brief protest from her, (and for the first time since she arrived home, he didn’t even look at her as he pushed her hand away) Harry paid and signed the receipt for their meal. Once her glass was nothing but ice, he looked at her expectantly. “D’you want t’get coffee?” He asked, his voice full of hope because he didn’t want the night to end. Not even a little.

She nodded. If the night never ended, she would be glad.

Harry ushered her out of the restaurant, and she held her hand out for his. He took it eagerly and marveled at how her fingers fit the spaces between his; it felt like they were supposed to be there, and his hand was empty, not complete without hers attached to it.

They made their way toward the coffee shop up the road. Holding hands like they had done hundreds of times before. They chatted about the weather. He complimented the way her hair had lighter streaks throughout. She looked good. So good. “Louis and I have been running in the morning,” she told him with a shrug. “I think the sun hits different parts of my hair when it’s up and gives me this highlight effect.”

Harry had no idea he had been running with her. “You have?” He asked. Jealousy flooded him. It wasn’t fair to either of them. It was stupid. But the surprise was genuine.

“Yeah... the first time I went out and I saw him, I chased after him because he didn’t want to talk to me. But I buttered him up with those muffins I—”

“Holy shit, y’made the oat muffins?” He asked in shock. Forget what he said. The jealousy was real. She blushed, feeling bad she let Louis’ secret slip.

“You hate him now, don’t you?”

“Immensely,” he squeezed her hand as she giggled. “Did y’make the blueberry ones or the cranberry ones?”

“Do you actually want that answer?”

“No,” he shook his head quickly. “You’re right.”

“I’ll make some extra,” she offered.

Harry was about to ask her about breakfast tomorrow, but his phone began vibrating in his pocket. It was a great effort and made him feel awful, but he looked at it because he had to. As expected, it was his boss. “M’sorry kitten. S’work. Do y’want t’go in and order?” She smiled, nodding encouragingly. “Tell Lauren I said hi,” he said pressing the phone to his ear and stepping away from the shop a few paces.

Of course, someone was having a family emergency and without a family of his own, Harry was always the first call for overtime and help. There were still hours before he would need to go in. It wasn’t ideal, but still gave him plenty of time to finish his date.

It was well worth getting no sleep if it meant he could spend more precious time with her. It was one thing he was never going to take advantage of ever again. Time with her was the most invaluable thing he had.

“Everything okay?” She asked, holding out a cup to him.

“Thank you. Yeah... jus’... gotta do the overnight at midnight.”

“Oof,” she frowned. Then, much to his delight and surprise, she slipped her hand right back into his, like three years of nothingness didn’t stretch between them. Like they held hands for the last eleven-hundred odd days, every day. “Is that hard?”

For a moment, Harry was speechless, breathless, unable to remember what her question was asking. But then he brought himself back to reality. Harry didn’t like sleeping much. It was where he saw her most. All those dreams of what could have been... so no. It wasn’t hard to do overnights because at least when he was dead tired in the mornings after his shift, he didn’t dream. Didn’t see her. But he didn’t want to make her feel bad. “M’used to it.”

“Well, we can head home if you want to get a couple hours of sleep in before—”

“Do y’want t’go home?” He asked immediately, cutting her off, frowning at the idea of ending their night so quickly.

“No!” She answered just as immediately. Then, with a pink color painting her cheeks, she cleared her throat. “Just... want to make sure you’re... okay.”

Now he dreaded it. The couple of hours that he had seemed like nothing. There was no way he would get all the questions he wanted answered out in the open. But he had to start somewhere. “M’fine. Promise. Do y’want t’jus’ drive around for a bit?”

Silently, she nodded. “Please.”

*

Something shifted as they got back in his car. He wasn’t sure what, but it was a feeling like something had changed in the short time he was on the phone. It was in her eyes, the spiral of anxiety that was beginning to surface from inside her.

It seemed utterly unfair, and he silently hoped she wouldn’t retreat into herself. The thoughts of her leaving like she did three years ago rolled in his head so frequently now that she was home, he had a whole new set of nightmares to keep him company when he did sleep at night.

But right now, she was still in his car, and he had questions to ask.

For the time being, he pointed out new details on road signs that had been fixed and renovations to things in town she couldn’t see from the outside. She asked polite questions but really, he was just wasting time. So finally, Harry went to the next town over. He pulled into a little spot off the side of the road that fit exactly one car and gave a great view of the town. It wasn’t a mountain by any stretch, but high enough to make them feel tall and important.

He imagined it was a popular spot for teens with new licenses to make out as well.

Not that that was his intention.

There was a pause in their conversation. Comfortable and quiet. Then as Harry was about to ask her another question, she bounced in surprise at the sound of fireworks decorating the sky in front of them. “Wow,” she laughed. “All for me?” She winked at him.

He laughed and nodded. “M-hmm, had it all planned,” he watched the sky for a bit but the most beautiful thing he had the pleasure of looking at was her. So, he turned to watch her enjoy the display. She looked so pretty, her face illuminating every few seconds with a different color from the sky. He missed her so viscerally. Like even the freckles on his skin missed her. Every inch of him was plagued with wanting her even though she was right next to him.

If she went silent on him, he was going to lose his mind.

It was now, or never.

“Why did y’do it?” He whispered.

“Do what?” She asked, frowning at his quiet tone.

He closed his eyes, gripped the steering wheel tight. She had to know what he was talking about. “Why did you leave?”

Her breath caught and Harry felt bad for catching her off guard. But she had to know this needed to be said, needed to be dealt with. “Harry,” she sighed, swallowed hard. She looked out the passenger window avoiding the fireworks. “You should just... enjoy the fireworks. This isn’t—”

“Kitten, I need t’know.”

“I know,” her head knocked against the glass. He could just make out her reflection, her pained expression. It was rude of him to press. But he had to keep going. “But we—”

He pressed anyway. “You have t’tell me. Y’jus’ show up after three years of nothing. It killed me.”

“I know,” she croaked. “God, Harry, I know.”

“So tell me,” he was practically begging. “Don’t y’think I deserve t’know? You were m’whole world, kitten. S’not fair of you—”

“Harry, I fucking know!” She clenched her hands into fists in her lap. He was being unfair. In the time they were together they never fought. What did sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds have to fight about? When she left it was just sad. They never argued. So asking her to do this in his car on their first date after so many years, so many days of sadness and heartache, was completely unfair of him.

“I was so lost, kitten,” he wasn’t fighting fair at all. Coaxing her to breaking even though he had every right to know. She didn’t want the night to end and she feared it would if she told him.

“Harry—”

“Please, kitten. Baby, I just want t’understand—”

She choked out an involuntary sob the moment he said baby. “Because you deserved more than me! Okay? You deserved so much more than me and you wouldn’t have let me go so I just left, alright? You deserved more. So much more than me.”

The fireworks seemed quiet after her explosion.

But it didn’t make any more sense to Harry than the very day she first said it. “What does that even mean?”

Clearly, he broke something in her. She cried, hard. Breaking his heart further. He felt like an asshole, but he desperately needed to know. Her pretty makeup was going to be ruined thanks to him. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” she covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed into the window.

At least he had an answer.

Now for the next question. “Why did y’come back?” There was no answer for that. Just her quiet sniffles filled the car. She dug into his glove compartment for a napkin to wipe her face. If Harry wasn't so upset, he would have marveled at how she knew where everything was; some things didn't change even if they had. “Kitten, tell me.”

“Harry,” she whimpered. “Please...”

But he was desperate for answers. Desperate to put his heart back together. “I needed to see...” she croaked, her voice dying part way through the sentence.

“See what?” He was exasperated.

“That you had...” she swallowed. “That you had moved on.”

He turned away from her briefly, face twisting in anguish. He shook his head then turned back to her. He put his hand on her shoulder, asking her to face him and look at him when he said the next part. “Moved on?” He repeated. The words didn’t make sense. “How was I supposed t’move on, exactly?”

She sobbed and Harry wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Hold her and kiss her. He wanted to promise it was going to be okay. The way he always did when she cried. But he couldn’t. He needed to know how she thought that it was possible to exist without her. “I thought if I—”

“You are my soulmate, kitten. You know that.”

She whimpered, cheeks flushed, and tears streamed down her face. It pained him to look at her so upset but he had to finish this. Now. “You don’t believe in soulmates,” she whispered. Almost as if she wasn’t talking to him.

“But you told me we were,” his voice was crystal clear, definitive. No room to persuade him of anything else. She was his soulmate. She believed in them, so it had to be true. He believed in her. So that was enough. Harry gripped the steering wheel for all he was worth. Gritted his teeth as he asked his next question. “Did you move on?” The question was lost to the fireworks and the sound of her cries. But she clearly caught some of it.

“...What?” She whispered, tilting her head at him at a strange angle. Like he just told her that the grass was orange and it rained flower petals.

He inhaled sharply realizing he was agonizing over the thought. How long had he been holding that question in his head? Why didn’t he ask it sooner? Well, he knew why he didn’t ask it sooner. A large part of him never wanted to know the answer. “Do you have a boyfriend? Or... a fiancé?”

“Harry,” she rubbed her hands into her eyes.

“Goddammit," he sucked in a deep breath. "Tell me!” His heart was breaking.

“I didn’t date anyone while I was gone. I told people that I, and my heart, were happily taken. It never even crossed my mind, Harry,” she looked at her lap and swallowed nervously.

The fireworks complimented their evening perfectly. He released the breath he was holding and the grip he had on the steering wheel. The feeling came back to his fingers. His knuckles returned to the right color. “You said y’were taken?” He asked, thinking of the same notion he told Mrs. Peterson whenever she wanted to set him up on a blind date. Her gaze returned to his, and she held it for a moment, still in complete silence. Then she nodded. Her sniffles subsided.

Then she snorted, shaking her head with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “A fiancé, Harry? That’s ridiculous.”

“S’not,” he didn’t smile like she did. It was so serious to him. Felt it in his bones how serious it was. “Because if y’thought I was going t’move on from you... I don’t know, kitten,” he shook his head.

“No,” she repeated. Relief flooded him further. “I couldn’t... I took this first aid class,” she swallowed. “You would be really proud of me,” she smiled more genuinely through tears that filled her lash line. “I thought about all the things you taught me yourself when you practiced first aid and whatnot. I knew so much stuff. I was the class pet—”

“Course y’were.”

“—but we practiced taping wrists and ankles and I had to work with this guy, and I thought he was going to kill me,” she sniffed but that smile never left her lips. “I flinched every time his hand touched mine. He probably thought I was in a horrible relationship and that’s why I was learning how to tape injuries. I couldn’t even tell him that it was the exact opposite because I couldn’t tell him about you.”

Harry was silent, watching the explosion of color against the dark sky.

“I thought you would have moved on,” she whispered.

“Y’got your mom t’leave. I couldn’t even ask ‘bout you. You stopped talking to all of us.”

“If it helps at all, it was really lonely. Even with Addie and Carter...” she shrugged.

It didn’t. The thought of her being sad and lonely felt about as painful as her leaving. He was so grateful she had a friend to look after her. Someone to confide in. Because she left a lot of people behind who loved her, but at least Harry had them to comfort him as best they could.

“I thought about you every day,” she whispered. “I’ve been thinking about writing our story. I’ve been outlining it... reliving every memory through it. Every painful thing. I think it’ll be a series and honestly, I think it will be really good because the ending will be sad, and no one will see it coming because we didn’t see it coming and—”

“Our book?”

She paused. “You were my favorite thing to write about.”

He shook his head. He knew that. It wasn’t a conceited kind of thing. She said it all the time and he knew it. “What do you mean a sad ending?”

Another pause. She closed her eyes and sighed. “You can’t possibly want me back.”

Another long pause. Harry mulled it over and he realized just how angry he was. What had he done wrong that she didn’t feel adored by him? Where had he messed up and not made her feel safe? Did he let go of her hand like when they were on the balcony the other day? It was too much for him. His grip tightened on the steering wheel again. “What is the matter with you?” He put his head on the steering wheel against his hands as he spit the words out. He hated arguing with her. He felt pulled in two directions to have this conversation and comfort her. It seemed impossible to do them both at the same time.

“Harry,” she frowned. “I’m—”

He shook his head and smacked his hands against the wheel as he sat back. “I am never going t’stop wanting you. Don’t you get that? There is no ending with us. There can’t be. I have been waiting for three years for you t’come back t’me. You’re here and y’think I’m jus’ supposed t’have move—”

She was kissing him.

Her lips covered his in a hungry kind of way. Raw, achy, and hot. She pulled away briefly, her breath short pants. Her hand at the back of his head, her fingers pulled and tightened snuggly against locks of his hair. Poor Harry was so surprised he didn’t fully grasp what was happening and forgot to kiss her back.

He hoped she didn’t think it was too late. Or too soon, maybe, for him to agree to this kind of thing. But he only let one additional second pass before his lips were back on hers. His hands held each side of her face pulling her close to him, awkwardly around the console.

She seemed to melt into the kiss, her whole body releasing a long breath that made her shoulders fall, her body sinking forward. Harry moaned quietly into her mouth. One hand slid from her face into the back of her perfectly styled hair. Within five more seconds he started to pull her over the console separating them. He heard the clunk of one of her shoes falling onto the floor. With one hand on the small of her back, he used his free hand to push the seat back to give her more room between his body and the steering wheel.

Harry wasn’t her first kiss. But the way it felt, he may as well have been. She wished he was. There was nothing better than kissing him. There was a familiar possessiveness in the mix of their lips and breath. It was like he was saying no one else was ever going to kiss her as well as he did. Softly, his tongue slid across the seam of her lips to get her to open further.

Harry knew she didn’t like lots of tongue in her kisses. Which was fine with Harry, a quick brush of her tongue against his was plenty and not the part he cared about much anyway. The way she sucked his lower lip into her mouth and traced it with her tongue nearly made him finish in his pants. Her lips were so sweet. Just like her. It was the most natural feeling in the world to kiss her. Like he kissed her yesterday, the day before, all last year, and every other day succeeding her departure. “God,” she whispered against his mouth.

“Hmm,” he hummed. His hands touched everywhere. Roamed along her sides and around her back, up her arms and cupped the sides of her neck. He wanted to touch her everywhere. It felt so good to hold her and the way she moaned made him assume she was enjoying it just as much. It had been ages since she had been touched and that was fine because she didn’t want anyone to touch her but Harry. His hands were warm and felt so good on her back. Even through her dress. Even though it was summer and very warm, she shivered and nuzzled closer. The car was too small and the space between them was too big. “Baby, can we—”

“Yes,” she whispered. It didn’t matter what he asked. She was a yes to anything he said. He groaned into her mouth and slid his hands between them, lifting the skirt of her dress just above her hips so everything was covered but easier to access.

“Kitten,” he moaned when she reached between them as well and fiddled with the button of his jeans. Why on earth would he have a condom? The thought of being with anyone else so intimately was laughable. “I don’t have—”

“I don’t care.”

He groaned again and kissed down the length of her neck, his tongue poking out to lick at the spots he kissed. She thought she was going to pass out, but she didn’t want to miss a second of this feeling. So, she refused to pass out. “I forgot,” he was breathless as he shifted trying to make space between them so he could pull his pants down just a little more, just enough. “Forgot how much I missed this.”

“What did you miss?” She whispered just as breathlessly, her lips against his neck as he reached between the two of them, slid his fingers against her underwear and pushed it to the side. She whimpered at the light friction of his knuckle barely grazing her clit even though it wasn’t his intention.

Harry’s moans were nearly obscene. They turned her to jelly. “I missed everything, kitten. Everything.”

She shivered again at his response. When she felt him lining himself up, pressing through her folds so easily because she was already an aching wet mess for him, she cried out again. The electric feeling coursed through her and it wasn’t fair that she made him lose this feeling for three years. “Oh,” she tucked her face into his neck.

“I’m... fuck, baby,” he whispered as the head of his cock slipped deeper inside her. He didn’t want to know if she had sex while he was gone. In his mind he was the only person that got to be inside her like this—to feel her like this. His voice was raspy. Not even a whisper really. “I’m not...” his other hand that wasn’t helping her slip further down on him cupped the back of her neck. “S’not going t’last...” He couldn’t even give a time frame because he was so far gone. “S’been...”

She didn’t want to know how long it had been for him. The idea he had sex with someone else would probably make her inconsolable while he was inside her and it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own. She shook her head and kissed the space just below his ear that used to drive him crazy. “I don’t mind,” she promised.

“God,” he closed his eyes and pressed his face to the front of her chest. Her dress was still in the way, but he wanted to rip it off her. He couldn’t because as much as he was enjoying this—and yes, he would have loved to feel her nipples in his mouth—he refused the risk of anyone seeing her naked like that. This was already bolder than anything they had ever done before—and the intimacy of seeing her fall apart was for him only. A possessive stance he would never let go of.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. It was too hot in the car; her skin was damp with sweat from pressing so close to Harry and the exertion of fitting in the small space between him and the steering wheel. She wanted nothing more than to stay glued to Harry like that, his dick deep inside her for as long as she lived. They really were two puzzle pieces just meant to fit together. For a brief moment she paused the way she was moving slowly up and down his cock; hoping that maybe she would just die in that car because at least this would be the last thing she ever did. Their breathing stilled, quieted. He tilted his neck back, smiled as he gazed up at her.

“You’re so beautiful, kitten,” he whispered.

It was embarrassing that she could come that quickly and that hard from just his compliment and he wasn’t even moving inside her.

She gasped so loudly. Her whines and moans releasing from her without warning. She felt distraught and whole. It was practically primal the way she started to bounce up and down again, only ever so slightly, her legs shaking to find purchase on the side of his seat near the door and dodging the seatbelt holder with her knee. It wasn’t conducive to do this here but what choice did they have when they couldn’t wait a second longer?

“Oh my God, fuck, kitten,” he groaned, wrapping his arms tight around her waist, kissing at her throat and the exposed cleavage he did have access too. He met her greedy little bounces to prolong the euphoria that was coursing through her, making her clench around his cock so hard he thought he was going to exist outside of his body. “Baby, I can’t pull out,” he warned her.

They were young, but not in high school young anymore. Getting pregnant wasn’t their worst fear anymore as it was their first go around leading to her going to the doctor and asking for birth control. In fact, getting pregnant probably didn’t even crack the top ten. But even still... “Pill,” she rasped. “Please,” she begged.

“Oh fuck,” he moaned. His hand slid beneath her dress. He pressed the tip of his finger directly on her clit and rubbed perfect little circles on it.

So perfectly, she was going to explode again. The fireworks had nothing on her. “Oh my God, please,” she cried. The plead, the feel of her squeezing around him again, the heat of her and the car... all of it was a heady combination that left Harry completely useless as he finished inside her at the exact moment that she dropped her face to his shoulder again and fluttered around him. As Harry finally released a breath, he had been holding for three years it seemed, he found she was still trying to squeeze her thighs around him to savor the pleasure. He couldn’t blame her. All he wanted to do was make her come over and over.

There were a lot of firsts they shared over their relationship, and Harry was so grateful to have another even after all the time between them. His body twitched as she stayed in place, her breathing finally slowing. Harry felt hot, too hot but didn’t dare remove her from his body. He held her to him as he shifted more, her bum bumped into the car horn. She giggled once and Harry smiled. His breathing slowed, following hers.

The car was silent except for their labored breathing. They were young when they had sex back then. They thought it was good back then. But it didn’t compare to that. She felt a wave of worry that he had practiced all while she was gone. The same worry went right through him nearly at the same time. Maybe she sensed it because he relieved her with one sentence. “I read an embarrassing number of books with scenes like the one we just reenacted.”

Harry sighed with relief; his nose pressed to her ear. His lips brushed her temple and he spoke quietly. “Send me every single page y’read, kitten.”

She giggled making her clench around him as he softened. He groaned involuntarily. He didn’t want to leave her body. Terrified it would never be like this again. As he started to move, she stopped him. “Um... Do you have a towel?” She whispered; her cheeks probably would have flushed asking the question, but it was impossible to tell with the endorphins that flooded her blood doing most of the work now.

Harry felt a little stupid at the moment, so he nodded, then shook his head. He didn’t fully understand her question but wanted to try for her.

“Uhh... here,” he reached in the backseat for a T-shirt with the station’s logo on it. As he shifted, she whimpered at the feeling of him moving inside her again. He kept a hand on her dress, right at her hip and rubbed his thumb soothingly against her.

“I can’t use this and then have you wear it around town,” she frowned.

“Baby,” he snickered. “I wouldn’t wear it... in public," he teased. She lightly hit his chest with the back of her hand.

She slowly pulled off him, falling back into the passenger seat, the T-shirt between her legs. She finger-combed her hair as best she could and checked her makeup for obvious smudges. Harry mussed with his hair quickly and then placed his hand on her knee. She held it with both hands, brought his fingers to her lips and kissed his knuckles no less than ten times.

“That was perfect,” she whispered.

Forget her writing, she was her very own poem. He smiled. “Always, kitten.”

*

Harry took the long way back to her apartment. Her grip didn’t loosen around his hand. Not even when he needed to take a turn. When he finally parked, she looked at him expectantly. “I don’t want t’go,” he whispered. “I would quit right now, if I could. I want t’talk all night and tell y’everything and know everything, kitten. M’so...” he shook his head terrified that if he left right now all the progress, everything would be gone. “I missed you so completely baby. I need t’know everything there is t’know ‘bout you and the last three years and all the thoughts y’had. S’not fair and m’so—”

“Harry,” she smiled, squeezed his hand encouragingly. She brought a hand to his chin and rested her forehead against his. “I’ll see you tomorrow; right after your shift, okay?” she kissed him gently on the lips. A soft brush of promising more.

Relief flooded him. “Yeah?” Their mouths were so close as he spoke, his lips touched hers the entire time.

“I’ll be here,” she promised. That little saying, “it was music to his ears,” never really made much sense to him. But right then it did. It made so much sense. She was music. She was the sun. She was fireworks. “Good night, Harry. Have a good shift,” she whispered and pressed her lips solidly against his once more making him feel like he could do anything.

--

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@kissitnhekitchen @kittenhere @stylesfever @indierockgirrl @michellekstyles

@just-another-reader1098 @hermionelove @tiredinwinter @whimsy-willows @hannah9921

@fangirl7060 @triski73 @vikiii07 @prettygurl-2009 @madstyles3204

@angeldavis777

most: @harryspirate

I'm sorry if I missed anyone in the taglist. Please let me know if you'd like to join, if it didn't work, if you no longer want to be included, etc. :)

If you like this, check out my masterlist here

[peachsukii]

𝓲𝓷𝓴 & 𝓻𝓱𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓶 𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 『 band au | strangers to lovers | slow burn 』

pairing // artist!reader x drummer!bakugo status // in progress rating // explicit (18+ themes) #✩.ink&rhythm + crossposted to AO3

✩ summary // Distortion is the hottest band in town, making waves in the underground scene with their unique sound. Led by your college best friend and music prodigy, Kyoka Jiro, alongside her misfit group of friends, they've been playing shows every weekend for the last few months and have gathered a decent following. You're whisked into the whirlwind of their rockstar lives when Jiro commissions you to design a band logo for their merch, reconnecting with her and meeting the members of the band. Your eyes immediately gravitate to their powerful drummer, Katsuki Bakugo. Fresh out of a nasty three year on/off relationship, he's not looking for anything or anyone while shutting out the world around him. He's focused on the one thing that keeps him sane; music. You're six months free of a breakup as well, looking to repaint your world with new colors and experiences, but turns out it's more tumultuous than anticipated. Explosive fights, newfound fame, clashing egos, dive bars, stolen kisses, black out dreams, messy exes and hard lessons; but somehow, love finds a way to bloom like a flower in the desert - deep in the hottest, driest wasteland of two broken hearts.

✩ tags & warnings // rock/punk/alt band au, slow burn, meet cute, strangers to lovers, various smut, smoking/drugs/alcohol consumption, talks of emotional & physical abuse from past partners, angst with a happy ending, emotional hurt/comfort, mild violence, mentions of cheating from past partners, miscommunications, jealousy, long distance, stalking, attempted sexual assault (not from bakugo or the bakusquad!), bakugo & reader suffer from relationship traumas (Camie & dabi are nasty exes), bakusquad are in a band, friend breakups & makeups

꒰ track list ꒱ ✩ Prelude: Holding onto Hope is a Different Kind of Pain ✩ Track One: Shine a Light into the Wreckage ✩ Track Two: Flowers Filled with Vitriol ✩ Track Three: Boulevard of (Broken?) Dreams ✩ Track Four: You Can Throw Me in the Deep End ✩ Track Five: Every Canvas that I Paint is a Masterpiece (of My Mistakes) ✩ Track Six: Band-Aids Don't Fix Bullet Holes ✩ Track Seven: Good Girls Stay Alive ✩ Track Eight: The End of Me, The End of Me ✩ Track Nine: If It Means A Lot To You ✩ Track Ten: Hand on the Throttle ✩ Bonus Track: We Are Distortion, 1-2-3-go!!

꒰ info ꒱ ✩ all characters are 24/25 years old ✩ reader co-owns an art gallery and has a BFA ✩ reader's artist alias is "glxtch" (glitch) ✩ bakugo drives a custom built orange & black Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R ✩ relationships: momojiro, kirimina, ex-bakucamie, ex-dabi/reader

✩ band name: Distortion ✧ Kyoka Jiro | lead singer, electric guitar (Barista - Degree in Music Production) ✧ Denki Kaminari | electric guitar, backup vocals (Waiter) ✧ Eijiro Kirishima | bass, backup vocals (Bartender) ✧ Katsuki Bakugo | drummer, backup vocals (Bike Mechanic) ✧ Mina Ashido | keyboard, backup vocals (Makeup artist) ✧ Momo Yaoyorozu | band manager (Marketing assistant)

✩ vocal inspirations ✧ Kyoka Jiro ⇢  addie amick (halocene) ✧ Denki Kaminari ⇢  rory rodriguez (dayseeker) ✧ Eijiro Kirishima ⇢  tim mcilrath (rise against) ✧ Katsuki Bakugo ⇢  eric vanlerberghe & acoustic (i prevail - harsh vocals) ✧ Mina Ashido ⇢  maggie lindemann

꒰ mood board ꒱

✩ pinterest board ✩

꒰ playlist ꒱

⇢  tag list ; @/bells-28 @/simp-plague @/nemisimp @/hotttamalee @/mymysenpai @/ttulipwritezz @/bakunianadecorazon @/yoyolovesdaiki @/eeeeeevesstuff @/alloueate @/dollukisposts @/Rikakhai @/blazedbakugou @/lillizxzz ♡ last updated // 08.09.24 dividers, banners & moodboard by taurus-magicka

[anthonys237thfreckle]

Do you have any Javi headcanons? (Just about him as a character)

Javier ‘Javi’ Rivera - Headcanons

TW: mentions of death and mild bullying

🌪- Javi def grew up being called ‘Javier’ a lot in elementary school. He only transitioned to the nickname ‘Javi’ in late middle school/ high school.

🌪- Speaking of growing up, his freckles were made fun of, so he grew up being insecure about them. He doesn’t give a shit now, though, since the ladies liked it in college

🌪- He was always a fun kid to be around - very smiley when he was a young boy. In his teen years, he started discovering himself more, and in high school hooked up with both guys and girls.

🌪- He probably had his bi awakening through watching a movie and finding a male character hot, then being jealous of the female love interest.

🌪- Of course he was a little anxious about coming out, but he didn’t really care as much what people thought of him. If they asked, he’d tell them but he wouldn’t go around announcing to the school he’s bi or whatever.

🌪- He never really found an interest in subjects like art or music in school. He was really good in science, obviously. In elementary, his favourite topic was the water cycle.

🌪- In college, he was surprisingly good at what he did. He put a lot of effort into coursework AND balanced his hookups.

🌪- He found his group of friends: Jeb, Kate, Addy and Praveen - and he fit right in. The perfect balance of nerdy, ambitious and troublemaking.

🌪- His best assets in college were his holy trinity - hair, freckles and body. He did work out a lot in high school and maintained his figure in college, so that made him attractive. Those god-damned freckles made him eye catching and unforgettable, and his hair - a brown mop of curls, shoulder length and he rarely ever had a bad hair day (and as someone with curls myself, i need his routine.)

🌪- Javi’s lively personality was mostly squandered by two major events in his life. The EF5 accompanied by the loss of his friends and joining the military.

🌪- He still holds onto the grief of not being able to guide them through the storm, of being picked by the universe to live when three of his best friends died.

🌪- Part of him died too that day.

🌪- The military gave him a tough skin. Lots of physical training and whatnot - he still got to pursue and use his knowledge in meteorology, but more professional and safe this time.

🌪- To him it doesn’t feel the same.

🌪- Once he was done with the military, he started dating Scott mostly because he just wanted to feel something, and Scott made him feel things. However, the two of them didn’t mix and split up.

🌪- He’s a logical thinker, but under the influence of emotions, he’ll say whatever’s on his mind, no matter how hurtful it can be.

🌪- That’s why he’s a little afraid to get too riled up or to let his emotions free because he’s afraid of losing someone from saying something shitty.

🌪- However, after Kate talked some sense into him, he found a new purpose in life - to help people in danger. To save lives and communities, and he’s determined not to let anyone suffer the same fate as his friends on his watch.

[writing-until-i-drop]

What's In A Name? Chapter One

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

AO3 Link

Masterlist

“Well don’t you two look like a couple of city slickers,” Meg teased two of her oldest friends. Javi, who always preferred to be half dressed was in khakis and a wrinkle-free polo, and Kate, who had never been much of a fashionista, was in a turtleneck and a button-down despite the heat of an Oklahoma summer. Meg was dressed in comfortable jeans and an old New Orleans EMS shirt with the sleeves cut off, her style being the only one that apparently hadn’t changed since college. The only thing new about her were the tattoos covering both her arms and her back.

“You’ve spent too much time in Louisiana, your accent’s startin’ to go sour,” Kate teased, pulling her in for a tight hug. “I missed you Mud Bug.” 

“Bite me, Katie my Lady.” Addy had always called them two shades of the same color, a dynamic duo, who had been inseparable from the first day of freshman orientation until their friend’s funerals. It felt like slotting two puzzle pieces together standing side by side again.

“Don’t I get any love?” Javi asked, mock offense filling his voice. Kate and Meg shared a look before each pinching one of Javi’s cheeks, making him wince. “Okay, okay,”

“We missed you too, Jav.” 

“A little bit,” Kate patted him on the cheek. Javi pulled both of the women in for a quick hug before pushing them towards the truck.

“Are you two ready to work your weather magic for me? If I’ve only got you two for a week, I don’t want to waste a second of it.” 

“We’re going to need two sweet teas before we work any magic, Kate’s been in the city far too long.”

“Two sweet teas, coming up. Now get in, get in, we’ve got two cells forming and my team’s waiting for us.” Kate took the passenger seat and Meg climbed into the back, relaxing into the leather upholstery. Javi and Kate kept casual conversation but the tension between the three of them was palpable. Meg sighed, pain in her wrist sparking up, it never used to get this quiet. 

Meg wasn’t paying attention at all when Javi introduced her and Kate to the Storm PAR team, getting weird vibes off of them. They reminded her of how her parents described Jonas’ Nightcrawler team from back in the day. What brought her attention back was the sounds of cheering, loud country music, and honking. Kate looked confused but Meg couldn’t help but smile, it was the Tornado Wranglers. Her dad was obsessed with the channel, watching all of their live streams. Sometimes the old crew would gather at the house and watch the live streams together, cheering and booing like it was a football game.

“Hey, Storm PAR, we’re live on YouTube, say something.” Meg waved at the camera, grinning as she felt her phone buzz, probably her dad having caught sight of her. 

“Blow me,” One of the Storm PAR guys shouted and Scott admonished him. Meg rolled her eyes at their antics, were they grown men or schoolchildren?

“Come on now, guys, science is fun,” Boone shouted as they drove off. Kate’s brows were scrunched in confusion,

“Who are they?”

“Chasers out of Arkansas,” Javi answered at the same time as Scott, who with a lot more venom denounced the group as hillbillies with a YouTube Channel. Meg glanced over at where the red truck was now swarmed with chasers, smiling at the whole situation. Tyler Owens was leaning out of the truck, shouting his silly little catchphrase to get the crowd riled up. Meg glanced at her phone,

Dad: You’re in Oklahoma?!?

Meg: Only for a week

Dad: With Kate and Javi???

Meg: I’ll call you later and explain

Dad: Get me a mug!!

Meg rolled her eyes, she would most certainly not be buying her dad a Tornado Wrangler mug, especially not in front of the entire Storm PAR team that seemed to hate them. Tyler looked over, catching Meg’s eye and tipping his hat. Meg stuck her tongue out, laughing and hoping she got picked up on Boone’s wide shot so that her dad would see her.

“That’s Tyler Owens, he calls himself a tornado wrangler.” 

“What does that even mean?” Kate scoffed like she didn’t used to call herself a tornado tamer on a regular basis. 

“Mean’s our world is going to shit,” Javi sighed. “Alright, let’s figure out which storm we’re going after. Kate, Meg?” He passed them Scott’s tablet. “What do y’all think?” Kate took it, studying it while Meg left her side, going to the open grass where she could stare up at the sky. It didn’t take long for Kate to join her, abandoning the tablet in favor of a dandelion. Meg leaned down, scooping up a handful of dirt. Different shades, same color, doing the same thing in different ways.

“Old school, I like it,” A southern drawl filled with humor called out behind them. Kate turned to look but Meg couldn’t take her blue eyes off of the sky, feeling the instability of the atmosphere in her bones. The storms brewing were pulling her mind in different directions but they couldn’t chase both. She took one last look towards the east and it didn’t feel right, there was no tingling in her fingertips or twist in her gut. It wasn’t the right cell. “Where did you ladies come from?”

“New York,” Kate answered. Meg brushed the dirt off her hands, glancing to the west, the familiar sensations of her undeniable instinct confirming her decision on which way to go. “Mud Mug, mind your manners,” Kate chided, pulling her out of her head. The cowboy was giving both of them an appraising look at Meg and had to admit, he was handsome. Tall, broad-shouldered, obviously strong with the way his muscles filled out his flannel shirt. Maybe she would have to become a subscriber to his channel alongside her dad.

“Sorry, Sweetie Pie. Jav dragged me out here from New Orleans,” After five years, Meg spoke like a local, pronouncing the city with only one syllable. Kate chuckled, “Nice to meet you.” 

“Good to meet you ma’am. So, how are you liking working for Storm PAR?” There was something about the way he asked it that made Meg’s skin crawl like he was asking how she liked working for a sweatshop.

“Tyler!” A clean-cut British man with glasses came jogging up before Meg could question him. “Have you figured out which storm we’re going after?”

“Why don’t we ask-” He pointed between the women.

“Kate,”

“Meg.” Tyler grinned, eager for attention like a golden retriever. Meg smiled back, liking the feeling of his attention.

“I’m Tyler,” 

“And I’m Ben,” The man shook both their hands. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m a reporter here to do a piece on American storm chasing. Tyler here has been kind enough to let me tag along.” Tyler patted Ben on the chest, still grinning like an idiot. Meg wondered if his cheeks ever hurt from smiling so much.

“All Ben here had to do was promise to write nothing but good things.” Kate caught Meg’s eyes, looking towards the sky. Meg nodded curtly, letting her know she was on the same page.

“Well, good luck with that,” Kate sassed, pulling Meg away. “West?” Kate whispered,

“100%,” Meg confirmed.

“Now hold on,” Tyler called out, stopping them in their tracks. He had his hands on his hips, playing the role of the unserious cowboy to a T, but his green eyes were studying them like precipitation charts. “Y’all didn’t say which storm we should be going after. The way I see it, west we double our chances, to the east it’s high-risk, high reward.” Was he testing them? Or was he really that bad at chasing?

“You best go for the reward, Sweetie Pie,” Meg kind of hoped he knew she was trying to play him. Kate caught onto her game quickly, 

“Don’t want Ben here to think you’re boring,” Kate traced a W onto Meg’s back, confirming her gut feeling. Tyler licked his lips, looking between the two of them with a pensive expression.

“Being boring is never an issue with me, Kate.” Kate huffed with laughter, mumbling I bet under her breath.

“The two to the west are fighting over the same inflow, they’ll choke each other out. The one to the east has the sky all to herself. Precipitation, wind shear, instability, she’s got everything you need to give Ben here a good show.” Damn, she was laying it on thick. 

“Don’t you feel it in your bones, Tyler?” Meg teased, turning on her heel. After a few steps she looked over her shoulder to see him watching them with a small smile, “And if you feel it, well, you know.” 

Meg’s dad would be fangirling knowing that she had just had a full conversation with Tyler Owens and she knew that if Tyler found out whose daughter she was, he’d be doing some fangirling of his own. Kate excitedly got Javi into the truck, telling him which storm to chase and he didn’t even hesitate to throw all Scott’s data aside to listen to her. 

Meg’s heart was pounding with excitement, it felt a little bit like old times as she slid into the back seat of the truck. Out of the window she caught sight of Ben and Tyler watching them, Ben looked confused but Tyler on the other hand was smiling. He must have known they had been playing him, which made Meg all the more excited, he was fun and hopefully could take a joke. When he caught her eye as they drove past, Meg made the tornado motion with her fingers and blew a kiss, grinning from ear to ear when Tyler doubled over with laughter. 

“What’s so funny, Mud Bug?” 

“Nothing, nothing at all.”

Next Chapter

A/N: All three of the original tornado tamers needs a really long hug and a cup of hot cocoa. Meg's got her dad's instincts, her mom's need for adrenaline, and has probably made more progress on processing her emotions than Javi and Kate combined. Probably.

I don't plan on taking this story anywhere above a T rating but if there's interest, I might make a collection of post-canon one shots later on that include some smut. Who knows.

Taglist: @writtingrose

Let me know if you want to join the taglist!

[autisticrosewilson]

What do the other Wilson family members think of Jason?

I assume you're talking about in the context of him being shipped with one of them, I've shipped him with all of them at least once so I'll go down the list! Tell me if you want specifics on a particular ship or au though.

Suggestive content ahead, the Wilson's aren't exactly known for being normal sex havers

If he's dating Slade:

Grant (if he's alive) - Frothing at the mouth mad. He thought Slade was homophobic this whole time. Particularly upset it's Graysons brother. Sidenote: I don't see Slade fighting the Titans without Grant's death as a factor, so Dick would be Grant's nemesis.

Joey (if he's alive) - dating his ex boyfriends brother should be illegal. He used to babysit that little gremlin. Calling his mom to complain. Shaking crying throwing up. Keeps trying to get Jason to find someone else, anyone else.

Rose - HER EX BOYFRIEND ARE YOU BEING REAL. Betrayal on all sides. She gets over it eventually but that doesn't mean she's happy about it. Her brothers - if they're alive - being horrified by it make her warm up to it. She's a menace first and a person second. She's working closely with Dick to break it up though.

Adeline (if she's alive) - Heard about it from Joey, disappointed but not surprised. Sneers at it being a college boy, but after learning more about Red Hood she's mildly interested. She's impressed that anyone would choose to put up with Slade, but as long as he STOPS FUCKING CALLING HER she'll let it be. Could be persuaded into a threesome far, FAR in the future after a couple years with Jason has made Slade more tolerable.

Billy - smug, he TOLD Slade it would be more than just sex but no one ever listens to him. Also extremely tired, part of Slade being more tolerable is that the jobs he's willing to take slim dramatically. He gets huffy about it but he's definitely lowkey salty they haven't asked him to join yet.

If he's dating Rose -

Slade - Canonically their biggest fan. Jason has barely started flirting back with Rose before Slade is acting like he's already Jason's father in law. 50/50 on whether he's genuine or doing it to fuck with people. Shows his approval by challenging Jason to armed combat routinely and inviting him on jobs. Keeps asking when he's getting grandkids.

Grant - over protective but pretends he's not. GRAYSONS LITTLE BROTHER?!? Abhorrent. Is reluctantly bribed by Jason's cooking. Only starts warming up to Jason when he realizes that Jason is like, made of house husband stay at home dad material. Like an hour into a house call informed him that Jason is so hopelessly in love with Rose it's almost pathetic.

Joey - FUCKING FINALLY!! He's been here since day one, plotting, scheming. Carefully manufactured scenarios for them to spend more time together. Best man at the wedding, he wrestled Grant on the ground for it. Video called Dick with TEARS IN HIS EYES to tell him the news.

Billy - Normal father in law. Takes Jason on fishing and hunting trips. Reconnected with Alfred at the wedding and they're both ecstatic. You'd think it would be Slade who'd be gunning for the number one grandpa title and you'd be wrong, Billy is clawing his way to the top of that list.

Addie - Who? What? Oh. Fine. Reluctantly showed up to the wedding. Admittedly charmed by their dynamic. Mildly jealous at the sight of a non failing marriage but she's got enough self awareness not to be upset over it. Leaves the best gift by far, and she does end up trading recipes with Alfred by the end of the night.

If he's dating Grant:

Slade - Not exactly mad, but he is annoyed. He rolls his eyes but looks away when Red X is chasing the second Robin around Gotham, but he draws the LINE at his son giving up mercenary work to be Red Hood's lieutenant. Especially because it looks,,, serious, and serious means he'll be related to the bat sooner rather than later. 98% sure they're doing it to upset him specifically (he's wrong it's only like 25% for that)

Joey - In counter to Dick and Rose, he's actually pretty supportive. He thinks it's cute and he's glad that Grant has a good influence, but he'll be near the front of the line if Grant fucks it up. He's not as supportive about the pining stage they go through, mostly because he's the first person Grant laments to.

Rose - her bestie dating her BROTHER. Disgusted, betrayed, plotting their downfall. Absolutely thinks Jason can do better. She comes around to it faster than Dick only when she's entirely sure she can't do anything about it. Still bullies them both though.

Addie - Well. There are worse options. The real bonus here is her newfound connection with Talia. World's most controlling mother in law, loves Jason like one of her own sons though. Unfortunately that means he gets treated just like her other sons... Quality of the treatment is debatable.

If he's dating Joey -

Slade - Definitely the most upset in this scenario. That's undeniably his favorite kid and Jason... isn't the kind of person he thinks is good enough. Not that he thinks anyone would be. He doesn't go out of his way to drive Jason away per se, but he does put him through the most vigorous "tests". Begrudgingly respects Jason for passing most of them with flying colors.

Addie - Mother hen in law. Planning the wedding since day ONE. What's the equivalent of like, a sister in law but for the mom's of the spouses? Is that a thing? Regardless, she gets very close with Talia very quickly. Bruce Wayne's third biggest hater, she makes his life HELL.

Rose - Better than Grant. Still not happy, but she accepts it more easily. Maid of honor but she swears up and down they're cringe and she hates it. Complains to Dick about it but they're both secretly fond.

Billy - Never booking a hotel without soundproof walls with them again.

[simonsrosebud]

ik I'm late to the party but omg.... abram boyd.... I'm sobbing that's so sweet 😭😭 pls tell me more about them

AHHH THANK YOU I LOVE HIM

Abram has certified protective big brother energy, but since he isn’t a big brother this goes to his girl friends at college instead. Palmetto is a safe campus, but he (and Elliot by association) still always end up getting their girl friends back to the dorms safely no matter what. I’m talking if two of their friends are fucked up before he even gets there he will leave the bar 10 minutes in just to get them home and then come BACK. (this is based on my sisters friend at lsu and it’s so wholesome)

Abram’s relationship with Neil is interesting bc he’s growing up as Neil is traveling in the pros in his late 20’s. However, Neil visits whenever it’s convenient and once he gets in the groove of this whole godfather thing he treats Abram like he’s his uncle bc he sees how Andrew is with Aaron’s girls. He keeps up with his schedule when he starts playing little leagues and makes Dan send pictures. She sends first day of school updates and a picture of a little Abram missing his two front teeth.

Abram gets a Josten Court jersey and wears it until it stinks. He gets new ones when he outgrows them. By his third one Matt gets him a huge one to grow into as a grown man. He does indeed grow into it.

Neil sends him post cards with a little letters written inside when he’s 4 and Abram loves it so much that Dan facetime’s Neil like 2 weeks after he got the first one but it’s just Abram’s face all up in the camera. “When will I get anover wetter, uncle Neil?” “Oh!” instant delight “It must still be in the mail, buddy, but just keep an eye on the mailbox, okay?” “Okay… do you wanna see your wetter?! I put it on my wall, uncle Neil!”

Neil is the first to start calling him B, firstly bc calling someone else Abram is something he has to get used to. Secondly because Abram acknowledges it as Neil’s nickname and stubbornly doesn’t let anyone else call him it.

Matt retires from exy at like 32 when Abram is 3. Matt’s exy team loyalties lie where his friends are at, so Matt, Jace, and Abram make it a thing to watch every game. Abram can’t keep track of Neil is and gets frustrated by it. Matt mentions it while laughing, two games later Neil has the butt of his stick wrapped in orange. After that Abram keeps saying, “Ope, there’s uncle Neil again …. There’s- I see orange, Daddy! …. There he goes again! …. Look! Uncle Neil!!”

Andrew may have been the one humanizing Neil, but Abram is the one who softens him.

Abram used to hold onto Addie or Annie’s hands and just follow them around at Fox reunions, which got more frequent throughout the years and is why/how the fox kids all got close.

Abram plays minecraft but just creative mode. He likes adventure or sports videogames while his brother likes Call of Duty and whatnot.

BIG lego kid until he’s like 14.

As a teenager, Abram and Neil text so much and talk on the phone a lot. About exy, about French help bc he’s learning it in school, about some fantasy show that Abram somehow got Neil into, about sports and college applications and when he can come visit again. And then about who these new kids in Neil’s house are and are they gonna stay a while? should we add them to the cousin gc? hey how’s elliot doing? and hey can you send me elliot’s number? and if i’m doing all this hard work to keep the strikers away the least our strikers could do is do something with the ball i keep getting to them, anyway, are you guys bringing blake and elliot to thanksgiving? i’m excited to meet them. and i know ur gonna be weird if i ask you about guys but im pretty sure i have a crush on one and im kinda freaking out and im scared to tell my parents and-

Matt is so loving when he comes out to him and Dan, hugging Abram really tight and just telling him he loves him and he’s so proud of him and Abram cries a little.

The first time he kisses a boy (bc crushes are only from afar) it’s freshman year of college and it’s because he starts looking at Elliot too often for too long and needs to get that shit out of his head bc that’s his best friend.

Abram has lunch with Dan like twice a month because she tries to stay out of his hair since she’s the exy coach at PSU.

When he and Elliot get together he finds he loves to wrap Elliot up in his clothes.

Elliot goes to all of his home games with their friends and cheers obnoxiously. Abram loves it. He also… fucks Elliot while he wears his soccer jersey.

He is definitely a gentle giant, but once he and Elliot get together he throws that boy AROUND in the bedroom.

there’s a lot more about him but i hope that’s good for tonight hehe

[fingerless-glovez]

aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA COLLEGE AU WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE

Here's what I've got so far

Toa

• Majoring in political science and government

• Works at a library

• Absolutely hates his major and would rather be in a music course, but he isn't going to defy Gilbert's wish for him to become a politician

• Gilbert and Roc have a political rivalry and are constantly spying on each other, so when Gilbert found out Guy was being raised to succeed Roc, he felt there was no other choice than to do the same with Toa

• Keep in mind, both Guy and Toa were both extremely young when this was decided

• Adopted Knight and brought him to college with him

• He found Knight during his freshman year knocked out in an alley next to a cat that had unfortunately passed away. Toa took him to the hospital and visited him when he woke up, only to discover he was homeless and has no memory. When Knight recovered, Toa snuck him into his house to live in his closet and receive basic education until college

Fenn

• Majoring in creative writing

• Got disowned, kicked out, and cut off immediately after turning 18

• Joke's on Louis, Fenn set up his own bank accounts and has been saving money since he started his first job at 14

• Throws the best parties

• Regular at Lance and Jasper's bar

Lynt

• Majoring in psychology

• Empath that just wants everyone to be happy

• As his course goes on, he starts to notice the signs that his friends have some serious problems

• Resident peacekeeper

• Cuddles with everyone

Roy

• Majoring in liberal arts

• Wants to be a college professor

• Helps Guy with whatever he needs

• Put on a perfect facade every day

• Klaus works for Roc and Roy is terrified of ruining their working relationship and embarrassing his father, so he basically does everything Guy tells him to

• Sherry, Grayson, MC and Lynt are very concerned

Rio

• Majoring in culinary arts

• Works at his family's restaurant, Voleri Gold Eatery

• Wants to own his own restaurant

• Is the academy's support animal

• Probably got shoved into his locker in high school

• That's what he gets for trying to be a decent person in a fucking high school

Lance

• Majoring in animal sciences

• Works at the same bar as Jasper

• Wants to be a wildlife biologist

• Addis wanted him to go into politics, but y'know what, fuck Addis

• Almost didn't get in because of his shitty permanent record from school, but his test scores were actually really good

• Plus, Lou seemed to sense his potential and passion for animals, so he let him in

• He got a dorm all to himself so he could sneak Christoph in with him. He allows Christoph the top bunk

• Takes care of Nox when Grayson is busy

Knight

• Majoring in animal health

• Toa paid for the bulk of his course, but Knight is working to pay him back

• Works at an animal shelter

• Wants to be a vet

• Secretly lived in Toa's closet before moving out with him to attend the academy

• Has post traumatic amnesia from his past head injury, but neither he nor Toa can afford actual treatment

• Buuuut he starts remembering bits and pieces of his life from constant nightmares and hallucinations

Grayson

• Majoring in criminal justice and police science

• Wants to be a detective

• Wants to investigate his uncle and bring him to justice

• Loves his horse, Nox

• Traumatized by that one scene in The Godfather

• More scared of you than you are of him

• Unless you wanna talk about horses, Nox specifically

(That’s all I got. Still figuring everyone else's antics out)

[justfandomwritings]

This Moment (Hangman)

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader (Addie)

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: idk pining? cute shit? a final line that will leave you screaming at your computer in a good way?

Summary: She was his everything, his life, his love, his reason. And one night, on a deserted Texas highway she asked him if he would be there for her too.

Notes: You do not need to have read anything else for this story to make sense. But this story is part of the Only Thing Universe and is a prequel to the original series set during Addie and Jake's time in college so picture college-age Jake and Addie.

This prequel will be two parts, the second part will be smutty... very very smutty.

This is my magnum opus. If this isn't a hit I'm retiring from fanfiction forever cause I've fully peaked.

The Only Thing Masterlist

“Jake,” Addie broke the silence, “Can I ask you something personal?”

Jake raised an eyebrow but didn’t open his eyes. “You know you can ask me anything, Addie.”

They were both lying down perpendicular to each other in the back of his old pickup truck. Jake was using Addie’s thighs as a pillow, and despite the unseasonable chill in the night air Jake had sacrificed his jacket to go under Addie’s head.

They’d driven way out into the middle of nowhere and pulled off the road on an otherwise deserted highway to look up at the stars. 

They’d been parked there for over an hour, and still no one else had driven by. It was the night of the biggest football game of the season, so everyone else in Texas was huddled up in their homes around their televisions anxiously awaiting touchdowns and field goals, but Addie hadn’t been in the mood. 

Jake and Addie were regulars at his friend Stephen’s game day parties. The parties were absolute ragers no matter who Texas was playing. In the world of game day parties, an invite to Stephen’s was an invite to the Oscars, and Jake and Addie were practically voting members of the Academy. They didn’t even get invited anymore; it was a foregone conclusion they would be there. Neither had missed a game all season. 

Normally they carpooled to Stephen’s house so one of them could drink, but when Addie had called and said she would have to follow behind later and meet Jake there, he immediately knew something was wrong. It was in her tone, practically dripping with melancholy. 

And when she pulled up, he was standing in the driveway, already ready to leave before the game even began. Jake liked college football as much as the next man from Texas, which was a lot, but he liked Addie more. He’d immediately pulled her out of her car and helped her into his passenger seat and taken off. 

They hadn’t exchanged words, and she hadn’t protested. She would talk when she was ready, and he would never pressure her. Instead, he turned the game on the radio and drove straight out of town for the entire first half until the city lights were a distant memory. 

Even while they lay in the back, the windows of the truck were rolled down, and the radio inside was blasting the game’s broadcast on the university radio station loud enough for him to hear. 

It kept the moment just on the right side of silence. Not too awkward, not too quiet, not too tense. A drone of noise to keep her sane and keep his mind off of whatever she was trying to muster herself up to asking him. 

Addie swallowed hard around a lump forming in her throat. “Marie Leonard?”

Jake’s eyes opened. He hadn’t heard that name since junior year of high school. “What about Marie?” 

“How did you know you wanted… that you wanted her to be… you know… your first?”

Jake shrugged, as much as he could shrug lying down in a truck bed. It was enough to get the message across when his shoulders bumped into Addie’s legs.

In all honesty, he wasn’t sure he had an answer for her. He hadn’t thought about Marie since maybe a couple weeks after that night, and he'd barely ever thought of her before it. She was pretty, nice, smart; Jake was sure she’d make someone very happy. That someone just wasn’t him. 

She wasn’t the woman who plagued his every thought, who influenced his every decision, who informed his every action. When he had good news, Marie wasn’t the person his fingers were itching to call. When he was sad or lonely, holed up in his room incapable of talking to anyone, Marie never knocked on his door because she just knew something was wrong from a nondescript text message.

“I guess I didn’t really. You know my first time didn’t really mean anything to me. I was a horny teenager at a house party; I guess I got caught up in the moment. I didn’t have any feelings for her, and she definitely didn’t have any for me. We both just wanted to have sex with someone and didn’t mind each other.” 

“Huh.”

“Why’d you ask?” 

Marie Leonard couldn’t be what was bothering her. There were nights in high school when a toxic thought or two had slipped into Jake’s mind, and he’d hoped that Addie would storm into his room, propelled by jealousy of Marie, and declare her love for him. But those thoughts were always gone by morning. He knew, always knew, Addie wasn’t that type of person. She felt jealousy as much as the next person, but Addie would never let something like that fester. She would come to him about it. She always came to him about it. Even if he was the cause of it. And even in those moments in the darkness when the thought crept into his mind, he knew he didn’t actually want that from her, for her. It would mean he caused her pain. He couldn’t have that. 

“You know how I told you Paul dumped me last week?”

That was not the turn in the conversation that Jake had been expecting.

Jake shot up, completely abandoning even the pretense of stargazing. The peace of the night shattered around him like she’d hit a pane of glass overhead with the shards cutting into his skin as they fell. “Did that fucker try something? I swear to fucking god, (Y/n).” 

His mind had turned. He’d been coasting through thoughts of high school and Addie’s awkward phase. He’d been thinking about Marie and cliques and hometowns. Even though Addie was asking about it, he hadn’t for a second been thinking about sex and first times… pressure…

Jake looked ready to kill. 

Addie’s mouth fell open, and she scrambled to sit up as well. Her arms flew out, gripping both of Jake’s shoulders. “No! No, he didn’t do anything like that.” 

Jake’s face, drawn tight with rage, softened, but the rest of his body was wrought with tension. “What did he do?” 

Paul had to have done something, something heinous if it made Addie too upset for the biggest party of the year, too upset to talk with him about it immediately. Addie never hesitated to talk to him.

Jake was livid with Paul. He was ready to jump out of the truck, run all the way to Paul’s, kick in the door, and beat the shit out of him no matter who was there to watch.

“He didn’t do anything. It wasn’t like that,” Addie reassured Jake. She scooted herself closer so she was right next to Jake, facing him. Her hands, still holding onto him like they were the only thing keeping him in the truck, began to slowly work at his shoulders.

Her fingers pressed into his muscles and meaded them under her touch, trying to to loosen up the tension lurking beneath his skin. It worked like a charm. It always worked like a charm. 

“He asked me to… you know.” 

“Did he pressure you?” Jake was still on the warpath, but the fire was dying in his eyes as Addie seemed to slowly massage his anger away. 

“No, He was ready; I said I wasn’t sure.”

“And he dumped you for that?”

“Sort of…” She hedged, and it was putting Jake back on edge, not knowing if she was trying to think of the right words or trying to downplay what he’d done. “He was nice about it. We were two different people in two different places. I knew that going into it. He was just more honest about it. He wasn’t going to pressure me, but he couldn’t move at my pace. We both would’ve been miserable.”

It was a sad realization. Or rather it should’ve been. Addie certainly looked sad, but it didn’t seem to be about Paul. 

Jake could see it, could read it in her eyes. In the way her gaze flitted away from reassuring him, in the way her hands stilled on his shoulders and clenched against his shirt. 

“If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. That’s not your fault, Addie.”

Jake called it, and the frown that etched itself into her face told him as much. She wasn’t unhappy with Paul. She was unhappy with herself. 

“But that’s just it Jake. I am ready. I mean, I want to be. I just…”

“Just what, Addie?”

A thought washed over Addie. Jake saw it run down over her like water as it washed away first the look in her eyes then the expression on her face and the frown on her lips. It interrupted whatever she was planning to say. Her mouth hung half open, formed around a word that her brain simply could no longer communicate. 

“Addie?” Jake reached out a hand and gently rested it on her leg, giving her knee a reassuring squeeze. 

“Jake, am I hot?” 

It wasn’t a question Addie had ever asked before, and for a moment it stunned Jake into silence. 

He knew the answer. He knew the answer as her lips formed the question. He knew the answer before she even asked. He had told her a million times before.

“Addie, I’ve already told you you’re beautiful…”

“No,” Addie emphatically shook her head. Jake told her that all the time. While he watched her get ready for a date, while she nervously waited for one of her painstaking family dinners she dragged him along to, when she ran through the rain to his car without an umbrella and looked like a drowned cat… pretty much every time she got in his car now that she thought about it. But that wasn’t what she asked. “I asked am I hot?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Jake’s eyes were staring into hers with an intensity he was rarely capable of. He was normally too cocky, too chill, too much of a good time to look at anyone like that. It was a serious side of Jake that even she rarely saw, that was rarely necessary. 

“Cause,” his state made her hesitant to ask, hesitant to explain herself. But this was still Jake she was talking to, and she could tell him anything.  “It’s different than being beautiful. Like if we were at a bar, and you didn’t know who I was, would you notice me?”

It was the easiest question she’d ever asked him, maybe the second easiest. Behind every time she’d ever donned a dress and twirled around asking him how she looked. 

There was something about her that night that was screaming with the need to hear what he had been dying to say for years. 

“Addie,” Jake sighed heavily, “I wouldn’t be able to notice anyone else.” 

Several minutes passed in silence, only the mindless drone of the game coming to an end filled the scene with any noise, but neither could make out a word of what was being said.

“Will you do it then?” Addie finally whispered to him.

“Do what?” Jake asked in an equally quiet tone.

“H-have sex with me…”

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

Making it official: ⚡🩹🔞(<- always i just can't help myself) Feel free to use this if you want to, or write anything else really. I'm sure I'll love it regardless, Lightning has already taken root in my heart.

You Light The Sky, I'll Bring The Rain - Lightning/Reader

Warnings: No use of Y/N, gender-neutral reader, semi-spoilers for the movie but nothing actually main plot related, friends with benefits, one-sided pining (or is it?), lots of heavy talk, blowjobs, smut.

Wordcount: 8060

Summary: You've never liked Lightning. He was a bit of a snob, acted like he was too good for you, and always ever called when he needed something. No, you've never ever liked Lighting. But it was the man he used to be that always made you come when he called.

Notes: Switching up my queue just once because if I don't write for this man asap I'll explode. I fell in love with him at once, DD did such an amazing job as usual, I was smitten in the theatre once again and I can't stop thinking about him so here's a filled request for those who already love him~ I do plan on writing him a longer fic, but I need to settle on that plot first since I apparently love him enough to ship with /)w(\ so I gave that original idea to Addy, but I hope you enjoy this in the meantime 💗💗💗

You didn't know why you kept coming back to him. He was different now, much different than the man you knew back in college when you were stuck next to each other in your programming class, from his contacts to his clothes to even his haircut. He still painted his nails, that never changed, and he kept the ring you gave him the night you were walking around town and randomly found it on the ground. You still remember picking it up and trying it on, it was unwanted trash you could turn into something loved again; he seemed to latch on to what you said about it, and he'd gone quiet when you’d slipped it onto his finger and it'd fit him better than you.

That was years ago, he had a high paying job now and little time for you as a result, always busy with the meetings and parties and people surrounding him, so when he called you up one Friday night you expected it to be just another simple ‘hello,’ ‘I miss the old days,’ and maybe, ‘I miss you.’

‘Everyone's busy tonight, you wanna hang out or something? I know this new age tea place just around the corner from where I work, great vibes, you'll love their blends,’ came his soft voice from the other side, much softer than it used to be when you knew him before; he was too old to be talking like this, but you guessed this was another fake thing about him now, something calm and cool and easily approachable so his true self underneath wouldn't scare anyone else away.

‘Hey, Leo,’ you said instead of answering him, your phone placed on your desk while you typed away at your current project, which was honestly taking much longer than it needed to because your boss refused to listen to some nerdy coder trying to fix his company's website.

‘That's not my name.’

‘I'm not calling you Lightning,’ you replied flatly, you'd already had this conversation a million times before ever since he started his job and changed everything about himself. ‘If you’d just go ahead and give me literally any reason why I should other than, “AIA says all the kids nowadays are doing it,” then maybe I would, but I’m not calling a grown man Lightning because his artificial intelligence wants to brand him as cool, not because it’s something you actually chose for yourself.’

‘Can you at least call me that around my friends? I don't want anyone to be confused, or start calling me that too,’ he muttered, just a hint of his old self slipping through the cracks for a moment.

‘Fine, so did you actually wanna hang out or do you just want someone to get new age tea with you tonight?’ He'd done this before, on slow nights when there was no one else to turn to, there you always were, like a lighthouse in his storm of a life; maybe he was a Lightning, after all.

He went silent at your question, but this was all part of the conversation now, the casual exchange between you two that always happened whenever he needed you, and he took no offense to your tone anymore, just as you stopped hurting when you became the last resort instead of the first. ‘I… want someone with me,’ he admitted, he was getting faster with it since you started calling him out, but there was sadness in his words, it was another bad night, something his so-called new friends wouldn't know about. ‘I visited the hospital again today.’

You saved your project and picked up your phone, already heading to the bedroom to get changed. ‘Was it bad?’ you asked as you raided your closet, needing something to match his new style so he could at least feel comfortable, you wouldn't embarrass him by dressing the same way he used to this time, not tonight.

‘The job helps, you know the paycheck pays for all of it now,’ he started, not wanting to get to the hard part, and you didn't rush him as you found your nicest, hippest shirt you'd bought for work. ‘It's still progressing, AIA said the new treatment would help but she warned me-’

‘You're following the advice of an AI, remember that,’ you murmured so softly you weren't sure if he'd even hear it, but he did anyway, and you heard him clear his throat almost uncomfortably. 

‘She did the calculations, she’s smart, so much smarter than you know, it’s so much more advanced than everything we learned in class,’ he told you yet again, but you’d believe it when you stopped seeing posts online about AIs saying human things just because that’s what they were taught to do. ‘The meds help, but… it’s gotten to the point where I can’t leave the house without it.’

‘Please, just come with me to the oncologist who helped my uncle.’

‘AIA said Dr. Krill was the best in the field.’

‘AIA isn’t real, she can look online and give you all the answers you want, but this is a human being I know who helped someone close to me, he can give you more answers than she ever could-’

‘Can you please just get some fucking tea with me?’ he snapped, stopping you in the middle of pulling on a pair of too tight jeans because that’s what the kids today loved to wear; his voice was loud, brash, emotional, this was the real him again, the one only you saw nowadays, and you sighed and walked over to where your phone sat on your bed. ‘Please, I’m sorry I just… I don’t wanna be alone tonight…’

‘You know I’ll be there soon,’ you said softly, just as quiet as him, and you heard his sigh of relief. ‘Do you want me to meet you at your place, or at the shop?’

‘Work, I’m still there finishing something up, we can walk over when you get here.’ He hung up immediately, no more time to talk, but you couldn’t get annoyed when you couldn’t imagine what he was going through. This was something that’d started right at the end of college, you’d been there since the beginning, and whenever he got an update you were the only one he could tell. After he got his job he’d paid off his family’s home, he was stuck living with his parents because of all this, and now took care of them from afar, the both of you moving to Silicon Valley at his urging because of the job opportunities.

It’d only worked out for him, you thought bitterly as you finished getting ready, your phone in your pocket and your keys in your hand as you headed for your car. He’d been picked randomly out of a group of 50 to participate in a foundling company’s new alternative to Siri and Alexa, but you hadn’t, whatever you’d presented to them they hadn’t liked once they saw him. You hated him for a while after that, but you didn’t now, not when you knew this job was the only thing keeping him alive. You’d talked about it once, what you would’ve done if your positions were reversed and you’d been the one picked, but he’d gone silent when it came to him imagining you in his place.

You thought it’d been jealousy even though he was the winner, the idea of you having everything he had so unfair after a lifetime of being overlooked, so terrifying even in its fantasy, that he never even entertained the idea for fun. ‘Never change, just be happy where you are,’ he’d told you that night as you lay on the roof of his building, the thing a giant, sprawling cage where you were only allowed to enter the stairwell, that was it. You turned your head to face him, and when he did the same back, you realized that you didn’t recognize him anymore.

You pulled up to that same building, needing to pay the meter since you had no access to the lot as a visitor after closing, and you saw him waiting by the door for you; he was talking to someone else on the phone, his back slouched against the wall and his free hand waving around as he spoke, but his voice was still soft even in his apparent distress, enough so that you couldn’t make out a word he said. You waved to get his attention when he started to pace, and he quickly said goodbye to his caller before readjusting his earpiece and walking calmly over to you.

‘Partner troubles?’ you joked only because you knew he was single, he always made sure to let you know whenever he was sleeping with someone again.

‘Doctor,’ he answered stiffly, and your laugh died in your throat with a rough cough. ‘C’mon, they’re open late but they stop serving food around 10, I haven’t eaten today.’

‘Old habits die hard, even with all the money in the world,’ you sighed as he fixed his collar and made sure he looked presentable again, but he had nothing to say to that one. ‘I see you’re wearing glasses again?’

He looked down at his detachable glasses where they hung against his chest, and he lifted them up and reattached them so they sat on the bridge of his nose. ‘Got the surgery a while back, these are fake,’ he admitted, but he at least looked a bit more like his old self with them on, as dumb as they looked.

‘Now all you need to do is fix your bangs, then you’ll be recognizable again,’ you teased, reaching up to mess with his hair, but he leaned away seriously, he wouldn't let you make him look disheveled when he was out and about. It killed the mood a bit, and his glasses were placed against his chest again as you walked, the tea shop just a few blocks away like he promised but not nearly close enough all the same. You weren’t fond of places like this, everything was always way too expensive and bragged too much about their superior blends compared to other chain businesses, but they were always the same in the end. 

He gave the barista a small wave as he approached the counter, and she did the same to him, but there was no comfortable familiarity in their actions, just them going through the motions. You didn’t hear what he ordered, there were too many words and he wanted it way too specific for someone who used to down cup after cup of black coffee like it was water, so by the time it was your turn you weren’t sure if you should ask for the same and just accept whatever it was, or attempt to come up with something yourself. He gave you a nudge when you took too long, and you just smiled and glanced at the menu again.

‘I’ll just have a water for now, I’ll decide in a bit,’ you told her, and she rolled her eyes and got started on his order all the same. He wasn't happy with that, but you weren’t going to pretend you could understand the gibberish hanging above you. You examined it more closely, you were never much of a tea drinker to begin with, but he wanted the company, so by the time your small cup of overpriced and outsourced mineral water was placed in front of you, you downed it and asked for the only kind of tea you recognized. She rolled her eyes again at your simplicity, but you were there for him, by the time you came back she’d probably be working somewhere else, none of this mattered.

You took your order and grabbed a corner booth while his sandwich was being made, he never liked to sit near windows, and he surprised you again when he walked right past you and grabbed the empty table by the door. You let out a small breath and joined him without a word, and even though he picked his seat he still looked uncomfortable as he popped open the tab and took a sip. Your tea was still too hot so you just let it sit, preferring to watch him and take in all the other things he’d changed now that he was in front of you. 

You already knew it’d be weird to get used to him just never wearing glasses anymore, he usually wore them when he was around you to save a pair of contacts, the only piece of that part of him the fake ones hanging around his neck. You reached across the table and took them while he ate, knowing he’d be unable to stop you lest he risk wrecking his sandwich, and you put them on and stared through slightly smudged plastic lenses at him. ‘Give them back,’ he said softly once he’d swallowed, but he didn't look too in a rush when he saw the way they looked on you.

‘These are the same frames from before,’ you noted, taking them off to pull them apart and put them back together a few times to test the magnets within, ‘the ones you wore when we graduated.’

‘They looked vintage, it makes for a good accessory,’ he simply said before he took another bite, a small sip of tea just barely washing it down; maybe he didn’t even like the taste, like it was something else AIA had recommended to him as part of his cleanse to keep him as healthy as possible.

‘Well, you did graduate what, two decades ago? Pretty vintage now if you ask me,’ you stated, his age making him wince even though it was a testament to how he was still here, still breathing. ‘So, how much did the surgery set you back this time?’

‘The company paid for it, actually, I just had to fill out a few forms and explain why it was beneficial for me to be able to see without assistance, and I was booked the next day,’ he said as he finished eating, a slightly larger sip this time making the wince return, he truly didn’t like it.

‘Sounds nice, you know how long it took me to even see a doctor to fix my carpal tunnel.’ You weren’t bitter about it anymore, but he glanced at you all the same.

‘You know I would’ve been able to help had you come to me,’ he reminded you, he always did when you brought it up, and again you declined it even though it was long over and done with.

‘And you know I never would’ve been able to pay you back if you’d taken me to one of those fancy doctors who charge by the minute.’ You tried your own tea but it was still a bit too hot, it burning your tongue a little, and even then you could taste that it was more water than tea, flavourless drivel.

‘I’ve never once asked you to pay me back,’ he said seriously as he sat up, his relaxed posture changing into something more stiff until the wince returned and he sat back again, his hand going to his stomach. ‘Sorry- I apologize for raising my voice, that was rude,’ he corrected himself quickly, and it was almost frustrating to see him like this, maybe this would be the last time, for real. ‘But you know I wouldn’t have asked it from you, just like you never did from me.’

‘So that’s what this is, one big payback for all the times I flipped the bill, drove you into town for every appointment when you could barely stand, sat by you until they kicked me out for the night, is that it?’ His eyes met yours, and you saw him again in them as he reached for your hand; you didn’t move away, just waited for him to touch you when he stopped, glanced towards the counter like he was afraid of anyone seeing him be an actual person again.

He made the motion to push his hair behind his left ear even though it was so short now, his earpiece blinking to signal a call that he then silenced, and he distracted himself with more bad tea until he was ready to answer you. ‘It was never about that,’ he began, but he was looking at the table instead of at you, ‘you know I never kept tabs on any of it, so neither should you.’

‘Then why do we keep doing this, Le- fuck, Lighting? You’ve got a great life now, new job, new friends, new you, why am I still the one thing you hang on to? Because you can tell me the truth? Because I know the real you, and you know that I keep coming back whenever you need someone to talk to about the bad days? I thought AIA could do all that for you now, be your new therapist you can let all that bullshit onto, so unless you tell me why, I’m outta here.’ He was silent while you talked, just listening, and when he didn’t speak you just sighed and stood until he was babbling and reaching for you.

‘Stop, alright, just wait, can we- can I go back to your place tonight? We can talk there, just… not here, not where she can hear us,’ he muttered lowly, his hand covering his face and blocking him from view of the only other person, and you let out another sigh before picking up your tea and motioning for him to get up. He did, his tea brought with him even though he didn’t like it, and you switched with him and headed for the door before he could protest. It was awful, whatever blend he was praising was certainly not this one, but you drank it all the same for him as he caught up to you.

You didn’t speak on the way back to your car, and for a moment you wondered if maybe he’d follow you home when he sat down next to you, his earpiece off and tossed among the change on your dash when your teas filled up the cupholders. This was serious, he always had that stupid thing with him in case of any emergencies, and you didn’t comment on it as you drove back to your apartment. It was nothing fancy like where he probably lived, you still hadn’t gotten to visit him, that was yet another part of his new life you weren’t allowed into, but it was still decent and had a nice view of the water if you did say so yourself. 

You parked and he didn’t bring his earpiece with him, even his phone left behind on his seat when you got up to leave. ‘Hey, don’t you need that?’ you asked him before his door could close, and he checked the time before shaking his head and setting it back down. You weren’t going to argue, if someone decided to break into your car you wouldn’t lose much aside from the vehicle compared to his phone full of precious information, but maybe AIA really was that good, maybe she - it - would be able to save it all before anything got leaked. 

You pursed your lips and grabbed it after all, just in case, at least the headset would be ignored amongst the change.

He already knew the code to get inside and wasted no time in getting to the elevator, he was in an actual hurry this time, and you felt his phone vibrate in your pocket as soon as you approached him. ‘Oh, here, don’t want you losing your job over something stupid like a data breach if this gets stolen,’ you said as you tossed it to him, no photo under the caller ID as someone called Melody tried to get a hold of him, and he stared at it before hanging up on her.

‘I don’t want to talk to anyone else tonight,’ he whispered as he shut off his phone entirely and shoved it into his pockets, and by the time you reached your floor he’d asked you to do the same. Something felt wrong as you approached your door, he was never this disconnected anymore, and you only had a second to open your mouth to ask what was wrong when he pressed you against your door and kissed you urgently as soon as you shut it. 

You were used to this, every time it got bad he came to you for something no one else could give him no matter how much time passed, but you couldn’t ignore that pit in your stomach as you groaned uncomfortably against him and pushed him gently away.

‘Not tonight,’ you told him firmly, and he whimpered before trying again anyway, mouthing along your jaw in order to convince you. ‘Leo, please, I’m tired of this…’

‘Just once more, and if you hate me that much I’ll never come back again,’ he whispered desperately against you, the old him showing again and making your chest hurt; this was a part of him you didn’t miss, this part that said this to everyone who didn’t return his feelings, guilted them into a pity trap outside of his sickness, and you ran your hand along the back of his neck before taking him by the hand and leading him to your bedroom as you always did. He made sure to leave his phone and yours by the door though, he didn’t want to be disturbed, and honestly neither did you.

You didn’t let him start up again once your door was shut, but you did start to strip away everything that wasn't him, from his glasses to the fashionable scarf he didn’t need to the necklaces he’d bought at some local craft market because the gems promoted healing, all of these things not the Leo you knew and chipped off one by one until he was just in his shirt and pants. You went for the former next but he stopped you, instead helped you do the same, and when you both had trouble getting out of your too tight pants the mood was lightened when you collapsed onto the bed with them tangled around your legs.

He kissed you again while you laughed, and this time you didn’t argue against it, needing him just as much as he needed this, you always did, which is why you had yet to say no to him before tonight. His kisses felt easier again, this wasn't love but it was still something strong between you, something that he had yet to find a way to replace. His weight was comfortable over you as it always was, your legs wrapped around each other until you were pressed together again, and your fingers ran through his short hair as you let out a dissatisfied moan.

‘I miss your long hair,’ you whispered when you took a breath, and he sighed as he always did when you brought it up. 

‘AIA likes it short, says it suits me better based on my face shape,’ he finally explained after many years and many more excuses as to why he supposedly liked it better.

‘AIA doesn't see you like I do.’ He stilled in the middle of kissing from your jaw to your earlobe, and you saw the way his eyes shifted the way they always did when he was doing calculations in his head; you were getting too honest, you hadn’t been able to keep him back then and you knew you could never keep him now, but something about tonight was making you want to try. You played with the hair at the nape of his neck when he looked at you, just waited for him to say something to make this nothing but a mutually beneficial transaction again, just like it'd been that first time years and years ago, and he looked ready to speak when he instead sat up and turned away from you. ‘I'm sorry, alright? I know this isn't anything, I didn't mean to-’

‘They've got me on a stent now,’ he said to the comforter as he played with it, and you sat up next to him and just waited. ‘That's what I saw her about this morning, they just put it in today.’ He lifted up his shirt to show you, and you followed the tube until it disappeared back under the dark fabric. ‘There's a lot I can hide from other partners, but I can't hide this, now that it's this bad I need to do injections every day…’ He gripped his shirt until he pulled it back down, his expression contorting into one of anger instead of misery. ‘I don't get it, I'm better off now, I was able to take care of everyone but myself, why can't I fix myself?’

‘Because you're not broken,’ you insisted firmly, your hands finding his even when he pulled away.

‘Termical fucking cancer sounds pretty broken to me,’ he sneered, disgusted with himself for still being sick after so much money tossed at too many doctors to name over too many years. 

‘No, stop it, alright? Just stop, you know I-’ 

‘What? You what?’

You shoved him onto his back, your hands trembling over his shoulders as you stared down at the slight lift of his shirt where the tube traveled over his skin. ‘You know I've never seen you that way,’ you confessed to him, your honesty finally building up against the dam until it began to overflow, and for once you had his undivided attention without his phone or other people around to interrupt you. ‘Not even at the beginning, before you knew, back when it was just us barely passing that class; we always said it was gunna be us against the world, that if one of us got a job we'd help the other out since it was all so new, and then you… 

‘You just had to come out here, and start working for them, and I was so happy for you even when you couldn't get me in cause I knew you were being taken care of. But then, the haircut, and the outfits, and those fucking glasses- who are you? "Lightning”? Who even is that? Because it's not you, I'm the only one who still knows you, Galileo, and I never wanted you to change out here, you never should've had to just to get these people to look at you, because I always have, I always have…’

There it was, everything was laid bare and out in the open for him now, and you shifted so you wouldn't put too much pressure on him knowing that he was hooked up. He didn't speak for the longest time, still doing those calculations before finally he sighed, looked away. You felt cold, and you sat back fully to give him room to sit up again, Leo finding your floor quite interesting as he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts. ‘Changing into this is what's kept me alive for so long,’ he said after what felt like an eternity, and your fists clenched over your knees. ‘You might not like it, and think that I'm different, but ever since AIA helped me fix everything about myself I didn't like I've been happier, healthier, more social. 

‘I don't sit around alone anymore, waiting for you to pick up your phone because you've always been miles ahead of me, and I tried, I tried really fucking hard to get them to let you come with me, but you don't want to be where I am, not now that I know what this place is.’ He went silent a moment, gave you a small glance before returning his eyes back to the floor. ‘I know you don't like me anymore, I know it because I'm not stupid, but I never needed you to like me, not as long as you kept- we kept doing…’

His voice went quiet but in a new way, one that wasn't Lightning, but Galileo again, your Leo, and underneath it all you saw that he was still there, still waiting for you just like you'd always been waiting for him. ‘Why did you never say anything?’ you asked carefully, you couldn't mess this up now, and his hand rested over his stomach as he met your eye.

‘Why didn't you?’

You could only stare, he knew why you couldn't, and you knew why he didn't. 

‘What do we do now? Can AIA solve this one?’ you tried to joke, but at the mention of her name he steeled; his hands found your wrists as he pulled you back overtop of him, this was new, and your cheeks flushed as you both adjusted until you were sat on his lap for once. 

‘She can't solve everything,’ he whispered like he knew something, this was no joke to him, and you linked your fingers with his just so he'd stop frowning like that.

‘Then what do we do? Because if you're content with this, if we do this again, and then tomorrow I'm back to just being the last one you call when the party's over, then… I don't think I can do this anymore, not after what you said.’ You held him hard so he'd know you were serious this time, you'd almost ended it so many times before but it'd never stuck, but you both knew that this time it would if he just said the word. 

‘You were never the last one I called, not even tonight,’ he told you, and you felt your heart clench in time with your hands over his.

‘You didn't make that clear enough, y'know,’ you laughed with a small sob, and he reached up to bring your mouth back down to his. This kiss felt different from the rest, it was honest, not just desperate for whatever you had before, and you cherished it deeply as you started to rut against him, ready to continue what you'd started a little less miserably now. He groaned against your mouth until you moved a little too hard, the groan turning from something pleasurable to pained as he broke away to gasp. ‘Sorry, guess we might have to be careful for a while,’ you cringed as he rubbed his stomach with a wince.

‘Just until I'm used to it, they told me that it shouldn't be too obstructive in my daily life,’ he hissed, and you watched him before shifting down until you were parting his legs and finding a comfortable place between them. He watched you back as you toyed with the drawstring of his pants, your eyes fond of what you found as he lifted his shirt with one hand and threaded his fingers through your hair with the other.

‘I've always liked your tummy, but I thought it was too personal to say,’ you confessed as you kissed him just under his belly button, the soft hair there tickling your chin as he let out a nervous chuckle.

‘I know I'm not getting abs anytime soon with this,’ he muttered, he was always so self-conscious about the way he looked back then too, and you gave him another kiss before placing your hand over the one in your hair.

‘Good, lemme keep just this, at least,’ you pleaded so gently that he had no choice but to agree, and when he nodded you took the drawstring between your teeth and pulled it until the small bow was no more. He sighed as you started to strip him in return, his clothes much more loose and relaxed than the outfit you'd chosen, and it was nothing but easy as you freed him of everything until he was bare before you. You got to see the full extent of his chemo like this, and it did hurt to see him still sick after everything he'd been doing to prevent this, but this had to be the final step, didn't it? You'd trust that AI if she was right about this, if her smart algorithmic brain really did do the calculations and found the exact path to the end of all this, because, as you pressed kiss after kiss to his thighs until he was a whimpering mess against your pillows, you didn’t want to imagine life without him.

He wasn't used to being loved, even when this started it'd been hot and heavy and fast until you were sweating in the backseat of his old car; there had been no passion there, just the two of you laying there in fear that you'd just ruined everything if the other didn't feel the same. To avoid that outcome entirely you'd just played it off, made it seem like this was just some drunken fun between two friends, and instead of an afterglow you'd slowly gotten used to him just smoking beside you while you held yourself under the covers and pretended it was his arms around you. You wouldn't let that happen again, not tonight, not tomorrow, not any other night you decided, he was always yours and you were going to make sure that Silicon Valley kept Lightning, because you were going to keep Leo.

You took him into your mouth and started to bob, careful to keep him pressed into the sheets so he wouldn't move around too much, and you enjoyed the view as you glanced up and saw the way his back slightly arched, his eyes shut tight in bliss. It was rare you got to do any kind of foreplay, he was always so busy you tended to get the call, go find him at work, or wait for him to show up so you could quickly fuck and get back to your lives. Only sometimes, when the night was late and his slight touches were getting addicting, did he let you take your time, but never like this. 

You'd jerk him off while you watched a movie, and he'd grind against you until you were panting and ready for more, but stuff like this? Where you could worship him slowly and really convey how much you wanted him through your touch, it was almost forbidden. You'd done it only once before, right after he'd gotten the job and you spent the night together to celebrate; he still drank back then, and you'd had too much as you got down on your knees and let him fuck your mouth until it almost came out, the only instance of, ‘I love you,’ that either of you had ever come that close to saying as he painted your tongue and smiling lips white. When he woke up the next morning not remembering the way he'd looked down at you with nothing but love in his eyes, you'd just rolled with it and pretended that you didn't remember either, just another fun night between friends, nothing more had hppened.

You moaned around him until he gripped your hair a little harder, his thighs tensing as he tried not to trap you between his writhing legs, and you lightly dragged your nails over goosebumped skin until his sighs grew louder. If this was really happening, if he was really going to stay instead of going back to his apartment to talk to AIA like she really knew him, then you'd make up for every second you pretended like this wasn't everything to you. You waited until he was just about to come, he was always easy to read in the way his hips would speed up and he'd hold you until you bruised, the only time he left his mark on you because everything else was too intimate, and you dragged your tongue up the underside of his twitching dick before pulling off with a pop. 

‘Wh-why’d you stop?’ he moaned as his hips jutted the air to find you again, and you smiled at him before pulling your underwear down your legs and going for the bottle of lube you kept in your bedside dresser. You didn't answer him with words, his hands kept at bay as you placed them on your hips and made him watch as you stretched yourself open, giving him a proper show so he'd really know how badly you wanted him. His eyes started to lid as he thrusted against your inner thigh, just enough to keep him hard, and you got ready to line him up when he stopped you. ‘The condom’s in my wallet, should still be in my pants,’ he let you know, and you just shook your head before sinking down on him until he was almost crying out. 

‘Tonight, you're mine, I wanna feel you,’ you whispered as you adjusted to his size, and he desperately clung to you as he felt your tight heat for the first time without the familiar barrier to keep you apart. The stent was still new, you couldn't take him apart the way you always imagined in your wildest fantasies where you'd been able to confess, and he couldn't fuck you as hard as he preferred thanks to the stress of work and pretending to be someone so soft and quiet in order to keep selling himself, but this would be perfect all the same you decided as you chose a spot on his shoulders and started to move. Your nails dug into his skin as you braced yourself on him, matching lines of red spreading out under his own hands on you, your breathing wild until you found a steady pace. 

Each time he tried to thrust up you'd slow until he stopped again, a silent warning that was just as torturous on you as it was on him, but no matter what he wouldn't stop to the point where it was making your knees burn from the effort not to move. You begged him to be careful, your voice giving out as he held you a little tighter and got you to slam down a little harder against him, but he just shook his head just like you'd done. ‘You really think… I'm gunna stop now… that I know you're mine?’ he asked directly into your ear when your head dropped down beside his, and any other time you would've shivered from his words but the feeling of the tube brushing against your own stomach was making you nervous.

‘I don't wanna hurt you,’ you whined, but one sweet kiss to your neck shut you up so fast it made your head spin.

‘You've never treated me like I'm fragile before, don't start tonight,’ he implored of you before kissing you again, and only when he sucked a mark that everyone would be able to see did you answer him. You felt him smile against your neck before one arm came up to wrap around your back, his hand sprayed over your neck and trapping you in place as he took a deep breath and started fucking you in earnest, his other hand guiding your hips when you couldn't move at all. You had to fight to keep yourself from laying flat against him, just the bare amount of space between you so you wouldn't shift anything or worse, force the tape to lift right now of all times, and you let him show you just how much he wanted you right back until his hips were speeding up and he was gripping you so hard it was making you keen.

‘Don't pull out, I want everything from you,’ you panted when you felt him slow just a little, he was thinking about it, and he let out the most delectable noise you'd ever heard him make in your life. He sounded like he wanted to argue against it, maybe AIA had filled his head with so much sex ed. that the thought of sleeping with you like this had given him pause, and you sucked in your own deep breath before grabbing on tight and using all your weight to drag him onto his side. This was more like it, you knew he couldn't resist being on top of you especially after your dual confession, and you wrapped your legs around him and forced him to face the fact that he was also starving for this just as you were. You grinned cheekily up at him before he hunched down to kiss your neck again, his stent safe and his core working hard while he finished fucking you.

His hips stuttered to a hard stop as he came inside of you, your entire body shifted up with each final jut of his hips until he was finished, the feeling of his warmth spreading through you while he held you like you were the only thing keeping him grounded enough to push you over the edge. Your fingers curled over his short hair as he shakily lowered himself onto you, your legs unhooking but not letting him go as you wrapped them around his own instead, a silent plea to not get up and start his usual ritual of pulling out his vape now that he also stopped smoking. He obliged not because of you but because he wanted to, his voice soft again as he pushed your bangs out of your eyes and whispered sweet nothings that didn't feel like Leo or Lightning as he said them, maybe there was more of him that he’d never let you see before.

‘Y'know, AIA told me never to tell you, she thought that I'd ruin things,’ he said so quietly you almost couldn’t hear even though you were so close. 

‘This is why I know you better than an AI, like how that tea you got tonight sucked ass,’ you finally told him, said tea now long cold on your counter, ‘so maybe you guys should work on making her a mouth so she knows what taste buds are.’

‘It's supposed to be great for my immune system now that I've switched meds,’ he explained, but you waved it off with a grimace. 

‘Start injecting it too then, cause I saw your face every time you took a drink,’ you grumbled on his behalf, and he actually laughed a little before he attempted to sit up. ‘No, please, not yet.’

‘It's almost 10, I'm gunna miss my dose,’ was all he had to say to get you to let go, and the feeling of his come running down your thighs was a little less appreciated than you wanted as he walked back to the kitchen. You wiped yourself off on the closet piece of clothing you could find before joining him, the two of you naked and waiting as he took out his meds from his coat pocket. You hesitated before walking over to him, and he looked self-conscious again before allowing you to see what he had to do from now on; you weren't put off in the least, you'd seen him inject himself with worse to numb the pain as his illness got worse and his self-isolation took hold, and when he was done you brushed your fingertips over the spot where skin turned to tape.

‘Don't be ashamed of this, I wanna see you get better,’ you said without looking up, and he let out a shaky sigh that sounded like he might be holding in more than shame. 

‘I'll have to get used to doing this at work, people will talk,’ he already dreaded, and you let your hands slide over his waist to his back as you pulled him even closer.

‘Then lie, say it's something new age that they'll easily believe, what's that dumbass thing people are saying now? Where they take like supplements and stuff and call it something stupid.’

‘Biohacking?’

‘Fuck that's so pretentious, just say that shit to anyone who asks and they'll buy it with that haircut, trust me,’ you promised dismissively, but instead of berating you for not only making fun of the people he knew but his hair again, or laughing because he knew it'd be true, he just remained silent. ‘Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to-’

‘You're the only one who's ever honest with me,’ he thought aloud then, and you looked up at him in surprise; for a second you swore you were staring up at the man you knew in college, one blink and he was gone again, but he wasn't gone, he was just older, and looked a little different, but he was still there.

‘It's LA, someone's gotta be a real person down here,’ you joked when you felt yourself get choked up, and you swallowed when his hand cupped your cheek and stopped you from looking away. He kissed you again, and there was no more desperation, no more lies, no more secrets apart from one, one you couldn't find the answer to on his tongue even though you could taste it, and when you heard a small ahem you jumped and covered yourself in a panic from the intruder. ‘The hell-?’

‘Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to remind you that you have an early day ahead, so staying up too late doing strenuous activities will only delay your sleep and risk you injuring yourself in a most unfortunate manner,’ a stranger's voice from nowhere told you, and you looked wildly around before he walked over to his phone, covered the camera with his finger, and motioned for you to stay back. 

‘Thank you, AIA, we were just saying goodnight,’ he told his phone, and your eyes snapped to the device in confusion, hadn't he turned it off? ‘I should be getting home, we're meeting with new potential clients tomorrow and we need to make sure she's fully charged for the trip.’

‘What, no time for a vape session with me out on the balcony?’ You tried not to let your voice waver but of course you failed, of course something would steal him away again now that he was yours.

‘Lightning has actually quit vaping, as the toxins inside do more harm than good based on-’

‘Yes, thank you, I was just gunna say that,’ he cut in before his phone could teach you all about the health hazards of something you didn't even do, and you could see the apology on his face as he kept hiding himself from the camera like she was… watching. ‘Yeah, I don't… I don't do that kinda thing anymore, just drink shitty tea if I feel like torturing myself.’

You laughed, which made him laugh, and for a moment you forgot about his phone until AIA reminded him of the time in case he had no clocks nearby. ‘Y'know, you can always just, spend the night like you used to do, and then we can get up early, maybe grab breakfast at that greasy diner that always manages to make the most perfect bacon while still burning the hell outta their toast,’ you suggested nervously, and he looked down at his phone before shutting it off again, no goodbye to AIA.

‘I haven't had actual bacon in months,’ he revealed as he walked back over to you, and you patted his stomach and started to lead him back to your bedroom.

‘Sounds like you're due, I'll set the alarm, okay? No wakeup calls from nosy AIs needed tomorrow.’ You left him just a moment to grab your own phone, and he frowned at it before nodding, letting you set the alarm so you'd have time to get that breakfast even though the drive was long and he was bound to regret it later when all that grease met the abundance of healthy foods he'd been choking down. You were already looking forward to it, and you didn't notice the way your phone switched to your contacts for just a moment when you set it down, a new name adding itself before it went back to your home screen, your focus only on him as he finally held you under the sheets just the way you'd always wanted.

[verdemoun]

Truelly intrested in how Jack is doing in the timewrap, like his relationship with the gang, whats his favorite thing in this era. I know in this AU he past away just 3 years after abgail, but in some datas in the game and other theories said he lived enough to write a book; in my headcanons he should have had a friend who fought in WWI who also get very traumatised, and probably being part of one this early mafia gangs from the 1920s. When John argue with Jack about him becameing an outlaw he would just reply " at least i didn't had to go to the army and dying in a horrible way some random battlefield in a senseless war, or surviving and get traumatised for life" then Jack leave the room that got in silence, who heard that probably got curious about the war, hope they were intrested about knowing what heppended in this 100 years they were dead.

I know you said you got a lot of asks but I like to share this ❤

this ask has been haunting because i love jack so much. he is my boy like i just want him to be happy and get a chance to act his age and find fun and happiness. but boy his relationship with john in timewarp is so far away from good. accidentally wrote 1k words so below the cut

jack has almost no memories of the gang. he remembers being told they're not meant to discuss arthur because it upsets his father, and that if he sees 'uncle dutch' around he's meant to stay well away

it is a lot like meeting those long distance relatives who say 'wow i haven't seen you since you were 'this' tall!'

he gets along pretty well with most of them because a) he is a very polite young man and b) they're such a fun group to be around in modern era. damn straight at a cookout none of them care he is technically under modern era drinking age they see him as an adult and encourage him to be an adult in that rdr2 a quiet time style

he wishes arthur was his dad a little bit. he is constantly trying to inch his way into isaac and arthur's father son activities (which isaac encourages and arthur allows)

hosea getting to see how him teaching jack to read has become such a major part of his identity like jack is a nerdy little bookworm and how exciting they both find it when hosea ask about what jack's been reading and jack can talk to someone about books again

the silent assurance of getting to know lenny. lenny being an adult with a job and very settled into modern era with a life so far away from what he was in 1899 who died at the same age as jack. lenny is proof he can get used to modern era and settle and leave the mistakes and trauma of canon era behind in a healthy way

his favorite thing about modern era is without a doubt isaac morgan. having someone his own age who Gets It. even though they had wildly different experiences of timewarping and general lives, being the child of a VDL gang member is a very specific niche they both know too well

also just - time. not having a ranch or to hunt for food, with the gang still helping each other out so jack isn't expected to rush off and get a job all the hours that would have been spend doing ranch work jack can spend exploring his interests, reading, learning about modern era and getting into trouble with isaac but having the actual time of day required to be a kid (he is 19. he is a kid who never got to be a kid)

i think eventually they would have gotten into a screaming match. john getting sick of jack sulking in his room reading and glaring at him like it was his fault he became what he is vs jack seeing how john changed over 3 years to raise addie alone when he timewarped and how quickly abigail runs back into his arms as if john didn't leave them ruined and with nothing when he died. in timewarp au, abigail died at the end of summer 1914 and jack didn't make it to christmas of the same year.

starts with john asking what happened to jack's college fund. jack had already applied to college and gotten rejected very politely on financial grounds prior to 1911, but with the assurance he was extremely intelligent for a young man who lacked formal education.

jack began corresponding with the literature professor regularly (simply because he still craved that paternal bond and quickly came to love having someone he could actually discuss books with instead of just talking at). john began saving every cent he could to have the money tucked away to get jack into college because he always wanted his son to be happy and better than what they were.

jack laughed and said they had to use that money to survive. he wouldn't have gotten in anyway, and even if he did he couldn't leave abigail on her own.

john, maybe drunk or just too frustrated to hold back, snapped he was too smart to be that much of an idiot, he could have gone to college after abigail died and lived a normal life

jack finally losing it. what did john expect? he was going to survive the great war, and then world war ii a few decades later? forget the first 19 years of his life, survive two wars that ended or ruined millions and millions of lives, settle down with a nice wife and be old enough to watch the moon landing on a boxy black and white tv?

he only made it to 1914 and was still devastated by the war - because the literature professor, his one escape from what life was after john died, a canadian who volunteered to go fight because it was a noble cause, didn't even make it to the front line. the ship he was on sank. there wasn't a funeral or burial, just a letter that might as well have read 'any chance of salvation for you is gone'. jack learning that dying for a noble cause was just as stupid as dying for revenge, because once you're dead you're dead

jack admitting he was planning on dying anyway because what else was there the only thing killing edgar ross did was give jack the satisfaction of knowing at least one of them outlived the bastard

john not actually having the words to express he's been there and he knows what that's like, the survivor's guilt he felt over arthur's death and needing to kill micah and how sorry he is jack had to experience the exact same thing

jack still did have a book published and when he found out he was mortified. in writing to the professor over 3-4 years he'd started sending him drafts of a biographical novel heavily based on his childhood memories of the van der linde gangs and sneaking into john's room to read arthur's journal (which john held all those years). when the manuscript was found in the professor's desk, the university was impressed enough to have it published on a very small scale.

isaac morgan, who had a very bizarre morbid fascination with the idea of jack, the little cousin he never got to meet, who exists somewhere across time as simultaneously younger than him but has already reached 19 and killed edgar ross and been executed for it, stole a copy of it from the university's library when he was only 12 and has read it over a dozen times by the time jack timewarps.

jack is horrified because it was a draft and he started writing it at 15 imagine jumping 100 years into the future and finding out something you wrote unedited at 15 was not only published but considered a valuable and significant part of narrative history.

when jack is in a mood, isaac with read excerpts to him and jack will be so overtaken by cringe and trying to snatch the book off him he will forget whatever passing thought was making him depressed

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Here You Come Again [Epilogue]

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF, American Actor

Pairing: Elvis Presley × Original Female Character

Characters: Elvis Presley, Addison Goodwin, Original Female Characters, Priscilla Presley, Colonel Tom Parker, Vernon Presley, Gladys Presley, Minnie Mae Presley, Marci Cunningham, Jerry Schilling, Red West, Sonny West, Marty Lacker, Joe Esposito, Charlie Hodge, Lamar Fike, Alan Fortas, George Klein, Memphis Mafia

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3120

Summary: When Addison Goodwin was seventeen years old her life was turned inside out after a chance encounter with her past.

Now, fifteen years later her life is the best it's ever been. She has a home, a good job and a daughter she loves more than anything in the world but will all that remain when an old familiar face rolls into town.

Tags: Angst, Fluff, Graceland, Las Vegas, The International Hotel, Elvis In Vegas, 1970s, 1970s Elvis, Friends To Lovers, Rekindled Romance, Parenting, Time Line is Sketchy, Guilt, Betrayal, Teenage Pregnancy, Hawaii, Hidden Pregnancy, Jealousy, Sex, Absence of Parent, Single Motherhood, Trauma, Oral Sex, Tension

Notes: Well here it is the end of the series! I have absolutely loved writing this and I have loved how much you have loved reading it! So much so that even though my second part of the series is done I intend to keep writing for Addie and Elvis as there’s more to this story I wanna explore. So if there’s anything you want to see at any part of the timeline feel free to ask me! 💕

LINK TO ALL PARTS // LINK TO A03 // LINK TO PINTEREST

Addison stared at the baby in her arms, marvelling at how his long lashes danced along his plump cheeks before fluttering open, his sleepy blue eyes meeting hers as he stared up at her. He wriggled, offering her a yawn before his mouth fell into a toothless grin which she elected to believe was a similar feeling of adoration rather than gas.

‘That’s it,’ she smiled, ‘I’m in love.’

‘He is pretty cute,’ Elvis chuckled as he slipped onto the chair arm beside her offering his finger to the boy in his wife’s arms who took it, all five of his tiny fingers wrapping around his large one as he curled it under a slightly drool dampened chin. He didn’t really do babies, the last one he’d been around being his own daughter, but he couldn’t deny that the little boy in front of him was quite a cutie though he figured that was more to do with Marci’s looks than her husbands.

‘Isn’t he?’ Addison cooed, ‘look at those eyes. His little fingers. Oh E, he’s so cute.’

‘Almost makes you wanna do it all over again doesn’t it?’ Elvis chuckled leaning in to press a kiss on her temple. His words took her by surprise but she took it in her stride as she looked up at him, an eyebrow raised as she said, ‘oh yeah? Reckon you’re up to the job sailor?’

‘I think I could give it the old college try,’ Elvis said, his signature smirk splayed across his face as his hand moved to dance along the back of her neck causing a shiver to run down her spine so much so that she had to deflect that feeling by teasing him.

‘I don’t know,’ she mused smiling as he eyed her closely, ‘you are getting up there.’

‘Jerrys just had a baby,’ he countered making her smirk that he’d took her bait.

‘Jerrys seven years younger than you,’ Addison quipped.

‘You don’t think I could?’ he said his fingers tracing the back of her neck as she shrugged before he leaned in, his bright blue eyes darkening as he said, ‘maybe I’ll just have to show ya then.’

Addison was going to retort, match his banter toe for toe like she normally did, but her quipping was cut short as she heard a repulsed grumble from the couch next to them and found Lisa watching them with disgust as she said, ‘ugh you two are disgusting.’

‘Oh come on button head you should be thankful we’re still interested in one another,’ Elvis chuckled which grew louder as Lisa’s face grew more annoyed at the nickname. It had been something she had been insisting Elvis stopped calling her given she was nearly in double figures though given she’d spent years tormenting him with her own play on his moniker he had yet to yield to her wants.

‘No she’s right,’ Jess said as she joined her sister’s protests, ‘you two are disgusting.’

‘Oh calm down you two it’s not as though we’re serious,’ Addison said rolling her eyes as she shuffled the now wriggling baby into an upright position, his head nestling onto the shoulder opposite Elvis as he settled back to sleep.

‘We aren’t?’ Elvis asked though it escaped his lips without him meaning to. He hadn’t been serious, not initially, but seeing the way she handled the little bundle of joy in her arms had made something flutter inside him in a way he hadn’t felt before.

He watched as shock danced across her features though it was pushed away quickly as she took a deep breath and said, ‘well of course not? I mean I don’t know how you guys are handling it!’

‘At our old age you mean,’ Marci giggled from where she was sitting next to Jess and Addison thanked God she could look towards them instead of at Elvis who’s gaze she could feel watching her. She hadn’t anticipated him bringing up them having a baby and she certainly didn’t want to discuss it in front of anyone, so she clung to Marci’s offered sentiments and replied, ‘oh you know what I mean! I mean it was hard enough at seventeen and that was when I didn’t get tired at eight pm.’

‘Why do ya think we’ve invited you two to stay?’ Jerry smirked.

‘Oh don’t worry we’ll happy to help as much as we can,’ she said looking to Elvis who still appeared to be in his thoughts though he pulled out of them as she said, ‘right E?’

‘Do I have a choice?’ he teased making her roll her eyes.

‘Hey now,’ Marci chuckled, ‘that’s no way for a God father to act, is it?’

‘I’m God father?’ Elvis asked looking at Jerry as he moved to put his hand on Marci’s shoulder. It made his heart swell and it was enough to pull him out of the funk he had been falling into.

‘Like we’d ask anyone else but you two,’ Jerry said.

‘Thanks man,’ Elvis said moving to hug each of them in turn as Addison offered them a smile, choosing to remain seated so that her newborn godson wouldn’t disturb.

After the celebrations were offered out the day continued on at a relaxing pace. Whilst the girls fussed and fawned over the baby Elvis spent some time with his friend, assuring the new father about all of the worries he’d been too nervous to broach with anyone else. He didn’t need much convincing after all he’d been the one to get Elvis through his early steps of fatherhood himself and took care of his girls better than most blood-relatives ever could. Still as he thought about his friend embarking on this new chapter of his life he couldn’t help but think of the many chapters in his own, wondering if their next one might include their own bundle of joy.

It hadn’t been something they’d discussed. It had been hard enough to get to where they were today and the pair of them just seemed content with their family as it is. Yet he couldn’t help but wonder. He couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to share that with Addison, the way he hadn’t gotten to last time. He was still pondering it when he came into the guest bedroom finding Addison just finishing getting changed.

‘Hey,’ she said as he came into the room moving towards her in an instant as he wrapped his arms around her watching her face break into a smile as he nuzzled into her neck, the scent of her freshly spritzed perfume tickling his nostrils.

‘Hi,’ he said, feeling as though he had barely seen her in weeks though it had been less than an hour. As her hands rested on top of his arms he revelled in the feel of her. Lisa had been right to be disgusted. The way he longed to be consumed by every inch of her all the time surely couldn’t have been normal and yet he couldn’t help himself. Since the moment she had walked into his life he had felt tethered to her, only happy whenever she was within proximity, their love and adoration for one another not dimming over the years they had been together.

She tapped his arms, making him loosen his grip as she turned around allowing him to keep her close as she put her hands on his chest, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket.

‘I said we’d go out to eat our treat,’ she said, enjoying the soothing circles he was rubbing on her back.

‘Oh ya did huh?’ Elvis chuckled, ‘big shot Schilling can’t spring for a nice dinner?’

‘Oh hush,’ Addison chastised making him roll his eyes. She knew he was only kidding but ever since the happy couple had chosen to relocate to California in an effort to help both their careers Jerry had found himself the butt of his friend’s jokes though she knew that was only because he had been sad to lose his friend. In fact he’d probably been more put out at Jerry moving on than Addison had to lose Marci a second time around.

‘I’m just kiddin’,’ Elvis said.

‘I know but don’t you go making any jokes at dinner. I don’t want Mar feeling bad about it, hell, I only suggested it because she looked so frazzled at the idea of catering for our rabble and seeing to Billy,’ Addison admitted.

‘Aw you old softy,’ Elvis chuckled.

‘I’m not soft,’ Addison protested making him raise an eyebrow, ‘I just remember how hectic it can all be and without Mar I wouldn’t have got through so, I’m here to help.’

At her words Elvis’ smile dimmed, his eyes growing stormier as she observed him. It was the look he had been sporting before, the one she had only peeked at for fear of getting onto a topic she didn’t know she was ready for but seeing him lost in his thoughts she figured there was no time like the present.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked pulling him back to reality as his brows knitted together and he said, ‘yeah why?’

‘You seemed upset…’ she said dropping her gaze as she mumbled, ‘before…when I said I didn’t want another baby.’

‘Oh yeah I guess,’ Elvis said, the evenness in his tone making her feel more secure in broaching the subject and she looked back up to find him watching her, ‘I suppose I hadn’t really thought about having another one until now…well not properly at least.’

‘And? What do you think?’ she said chewing on her lip nervously.

‘I dunno,’ he said honestly, ‘I guess having a baby around would be nice.’

‘Well Jess is seventeen you never know,’ Addison joked attempting to lighten the mood though Elvis’ face went deathly serious making her nerves turn to amusement as he said, ‘not funny.’

‘I had a baby at seventeen,’ she challenged giggling as he pulled her towards the bed, sitting her on his lap, his arms still looped around her as he said, ‘you’re the exception.’

They were quiet for a moment the pair of them pondering what they wanted to say though Elvis seemed to get his thoughts into line quickest as he said, ‘so no baby?’

‘Do you want one?’ Addison asked. It had been the first direct question she’d uttered, enjoying skirting around the idea just in case he told her something she wasn’t ready for. If somehow the past few years he’d managed to sneak his long-standing yearning to add to their brood past her.

‘I don’t know,’ he shrugged, ‘it might be nice.’

‘You’re not the one pushing it out,’ Addison said trying to keep the tone light once more but Elvis noticed she was deflecting and gave her a pointed look which made her sigh, ‘I guess I hadn’t really thought about it.’

‘You’d thought about it more than me,’ he challenged given the way she’d been so quick to brush his suggestion off.

‘Like I said you’re not the one pushing it out,’ she said hoping he’d see she hadn’t been harbouring something from him but rather it was always more present in her mind whether because she was a woman or because she’d already had an unexpected pregnancy she didn’t know. Elvis’ grip tightened on her hip, holding her steady as he expected her to continued. She paused before she spoke, her fingers playing with the hair on the nape of his neck nervously.

‘There’s just such a big age difference,’ she said feeling a touch lighter as her first concern floated out between them.

‘There’s ten years between Jess and Lisa,’ he challenged.

‘I know, I know,’ she said, ‘but we lucked out with them. I mean they both had time to be only children. Who knows how they’d react to a baby. Hell who knows how we’d react to a baby. I mean we’re older now.’

‘Yeah I guess you’re right,’ Elvis said seeing the point she was making. Both his girls had gotten time to enjoy their childhoods, it had made them appreciate gaining a sibling along the way, and though he knew they probably wouldn’t mind he couldn’t attest to it. And he understood what she meant about being older. He was by no means an old man but he couldn’t deny chasing his daughters around Graceland had been significantly easier when he was in his thirties.

‘But?’ Addison asked sensing there was still more to his expression.

‘I dunno,’ he shrugged, ‘I guess I just feel left out.’

‘How do you figure?’ she asked with genuine confusion.

‘Well I know I got the baby thing with Lisa and you got it with Jess but you said that was hard-’

‘I was a clueless kid,’ Addison said remembering how she’d muddle through the best she could.

‘Exactly. And I could’ve been around more when Lisa was little. I guess what I’m getting at is that it would be nice to do it again and enjoy all those bits we missed first time around you know?’ he said looking at her with a smile, ‘to get to do it with you.’

‘I get that,’ she said earnestly.

‘But?’ Elvis asked using her own tactic against her. If she could read his expressions well there was no doubt he could do the same and he could tell from the way she was gnawing on her lip there was more to what she was saying.

‘But I just feel like we put our lives on hold you know and now we get to have each other I’m not sure I’m willing to do it again…is that selfish?’ she asked.

‘No, it’s not selfish. I get it,’ he said as his hand moved up from her hip to her neck, his thumb dancing along her jawline making her swallow. It was a comfort though it didn’t quell the feeling inside her much. To feel those things was one thing, to openly admit a baby would be a hinderance was another.

‘I love our girls you know I do,’ she said feeling the overwhelming need to explain even though he’d already given her a pardon.

‘I know,’ he murmured.

‘But I don’t want to put our lives on hold for another eighteen, twenty years you know? I mean do you wanna be sixty when our baby goes off to college?’ she reasoned making him think. Of course he had thought about all the nice things that went with a child, the cuddles, the adoration, the laughter but he hadn’t given much thought to the other stuff. The screaming, the crying, the constant worrying you were doing it all right. Not to mention this time he’d be doing it with two other kids in tow. Jess was soon to be headed into a new phase in her life, one they had no blue print for, and though he and Addison were well versed in teenagers he doubted his little Lisa would be quite as easy to handle as her predecessor. Throw in a screaming baby and suddenly the idea didn’t seem as appealing as it once had.

‘You know I hadn’t really thought about it like that,’ he admitted.

‘I thought not…but it’s not just that. I mean we already have plenty of things with the kids left to look forward to,’ she said.

‘You think?’ he asked, again unlike his wife he didn’t really contemplate these things though he could tell from the smile on her face she had.

‘Yeah, but at least with that stuff we’ll still be able to have moments to ourselves,’ she said.

‘Yeah? What kind of things?’ he asked genuinely intrigued at what had been rattling around that pretty little head of hers.

‘Just stuff you know? Like I wanna drop Jess off at college but then I want to be able to go on vacation immediately after it so we can try and forget how much we miss her,’ she said making him smile, ‘and I wanna take Lisa to her first school dance and watch you have a heart attack when she meets a boy she likes.’

‘No thanks, been there with Jess,’ he grumbled making her roll her eyes before she placed her forehead against his, her voice dropping to a whisper as she said, ‘and I want to wake up at two in the afternoon and spend the entire day with you...makin’ babies.’

‘Yeah?’ he said with a breathy chuckle.

‘Yeah,’ she confirmed, ‘I just want to enjoy our time together…we missed enough already.’

‘I know,’ he nodded softly against her.

He could see it now, her reluctance. More to the point after what she had explained he was feeling it himself. He had no doubt that if a baby was the way their life panned out they’d not mind it that much. But if he had to choose, if he had to make a decision about what he wanted out of this life, it’d be her. He’d always choose her. She seemed to notice he’d accepted her views and adopted them as his own as she pulled back, her worry melting from her face as she looked at him.

‘Besides how are we going to find the time to have a baby when you promised me a round the world trip?’ she said, leaning back as she clung onto him by his neck, his hands moving to hold her steady.

‘We’ve already been to Europe and South America how much more of the world do you wanna see?’ he mused.

‘That was touring it doesn’t count,’ she said dismissively.

‘Oh so I’ve gotta take you again?’ he asked unable to stop himself from smiling at her. He loved her when she was like this. Though their relationship had grown leaps and bounds over the past few years, finally being allowed the chance to, deep down it was always just this. A simple thing, two best friends in love.

‘Yep,’ she said with a giggle as he pulled her in for a kiss. It was short and sweet though when she pulled back the mirth that had adorned her face was gone.

‘You okay?’ he asked.

‘You’re sure right? I mean ten, fifteen years down the line you aren’t going to decide we should’ve and regret it right.’

‘Addie, I love our family and I’d love anyone else that came along just as much,’ he said, his hand cupping her jaw as his thumb stroked the soft skin of her cheek, ‘but I choose us.’

‘Promise?’ she asked.

‘Promise,’ he confirmed, ‘Addie, I’d choose us every damn time.’

‘Me too.’

SERIES TAGS

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[in-pleasant-company]

Hello new friend,

I'm a 41-year-old white queer femme who has just recently retrieved my three AG dolls from the attic where I put them away before I went to college. I have Kirsten, and the original release Felicity and Addy. I brought them out to clean up and give to my daughter, but have found they have released a great deal of stored up energy, and I have been deep diving into the world of AG since I put it down in 2001. I have been working my way backwards in your Tumblr, and am in 2020 now. I want to thank you for your clear love of and dedication to American Girl, and I really appreciate your various thoughtful perspectives, especially as it relates to the historical PC and current Mattel relationship with race and ethnicity. As an Elder Millennial, I don't really know how to Tumblr, but you can find me on IG as quiltereina (my public account), so you can see that I'm not a total weirdo-in-a-bad-way - just a domesticated rebel with grandma hobbies living in a hippie suburb of my hometown of Washington, D.C.

I found my dolls, but not their clothes or accessories yet, which is a devastating. I received the dolls as gifts, but I earned all of their clothes through chores. I have already sewed more clothes for my girls (plus the three new ones I have purchased since Jan 1) than I had the entirety of my childhood, having leaned to sew in the intervening years. I am balancing the desire to recreate all of the clothes I had, using time-period appropriate prints and patterns, but in my own preferred color schemes (mostly pinks and purples), a sort of alternative history recreation for my own inner child, plus the desire to make fun and frilly costumes for my five-year-old's enjoyment. In these pursuits, I have not only saved the Pretty Dresses PDF from AGPlaythings, but have been searching for patterns that will as closely as possible replicate the Meet outfits for my girls; I have found Addy's from doll-princesse, and think I can wing Kirsten's from her school dress, but Felicity? Still searching.

So I have one very specific question - a woman in a 18" doll facebook sewing group claims that there was 1992 Pleasant Company book of patterns released, which included Felicity's Meet Dress. I have searched the ends of the internet; she is not referring to the PC Pretty Dresses Patterns; there is no record in the AG Wiki or in the Library of Congress for this book. She said someone on Etsy was selling copies of the book and the FB poster got blocked for harassing the Etsy seller for selling a book still under copyright, but I cannot find the like on Etsy or Ebay. Have you ever heard of such a book? Or is _someone_ -lying- on the internet? And if you have any other deep-dive pattern suggestions (I've seen everything on Etsy, PixieFaire, Pemberly, etc), I'd be grateful, and also happy to compensate pattern makers/recreators.

If you've made it this far, thanks for your time reading this, and again for your insightful and informative Tumblr-blog.

Best,

LaLa

Hi, welcome! It's wonderful that you're giving some love to these old dolls once again!

As for the book with Felicity's pattern, it sounds fascinating. I will keep a lookout for it. It's possible the book was an internal, company only creation that was meant for creating the mockups before the doll clothes went into production in West Germany (and later in China). I will say that there was a set of doll patterns (or possibly multiple sets?) that were briefly available from Colonial Williamsburg that the person may have been remembering as Felicity patterns. It could also have been a pattern that was made available for special events at places like the Madison Children's Museum. I know of a pattern for Felicity's Bedding that is associated with the Madison Children's Museum.

The patterns available from Colonial Williamsburg were from Past Crafts patterns (labelled Evoking Period Style for Dolls), and I'm almost positive that there was a set of doll clothes patterns designed by someone who worked in the textiles department of Colonial Williamsburg, but I haven't been successful in tracking them down.

Edit: Could it be they were talking about the GIRL sized pattern for Felicity's Meet Outfit? It wasn't in a book but a paper envelope like commercial patterns.

Edit 2: I reached out on the AG Playthings message board and got some answers. Yes, the pattern does exist but it was never available for sale from Pleasant Company. I imagine it was an internal document that was somehow leaked/stolen. Mystery solved!

[anthonys237thfreckle]

‘Let You Break My Heart Again’ - Javier ‘Javi’ x Kate Carter & F! reader (angst songfic)

I WAS LISTENING TO LAUFEY ON REPEAT AND REMINDED OF MY HIGH SCHOOL LOVE TRIANGLE SO WHY NOT WRITE A FIC ABOUT IT!!! HERE YOU GO!

part two

prompt: your heart belonged to javi, but his belonged to kate.

TW: unrequited love, angst, crying, swearing, mentions of death, suicidal thoughts (happens thrice), loss of appetite more than once, breakdowns, mention of throwing up.

Feeling kind of sick tonight

All I've had is coffee and leftover pie..

Today was just the worst. Shitty day at work, your in-charge was being a sweetheart to everyone except you, it’s like the whole world was playing a cruel joke on you today.

With no will to eat, you mindlessly looked in your fridge, the cool air and cool glow hitting your skin. Your eyes skimmed through something to hopefully make your feel better, and your eyes landed on a small glass Tupperware.

Peach cobbler pie.

You sighed, taking it out of the fridge and setting it on the counter, brewing some black coffee. The paperwork you had been procrastinating on started to pile up, and you had some weather reports due tomorrow. You needed the bitter drug, the pie there to balance the taste with its tender sweetness.

You were tender once; you were sweet once…

It’s no wonder why…

Life became hard and bitter once you moved away.

Well, did you have a reason to stay?

After that EF5, after holding onto Kate in that underpass for dear life, making sure she didn’t get sucked into that twister, Javi found you two and called the cops to help you both out.

Thing is, you always knew Javi had a thing for Kate. Even when she was dating Jeb, you saw the way he looked at her, the same way you’d look at him. And Kate didn’t ignore those looks of his, nor did she not notice them…

Ooh, still you take up all my mind…

You almost confided in Addy or Praveen about your feelings. You loved Javier. Ever since you both got super close in college. Ever since he’d always treat you like a good friend would. You ran on this high, you chased to be in his line of sight, craved his attention… You were soft, you were tender, you were sweet. You wanted to be it all, for him.

I don't even think that you care like I do

You were known as the ‘ray of sunshine’ or the ‘sweetheart’ in your friend group because you were just so nice. Mostly in the hopes of wooing Javier whenever you could. Make him think what it would be like to date you. Part of you loved to see his smile, loved the ‘thank you’s he’d give you, collecting them like shiny rocks. You usually found them on your morning walks, giving one to Javi whenever you thought he’d like them. But he just put them in his bag and forgot about them a few days later.

I should stop, heaven knows I've tried…

Days in college were spent fantasizing about him; about the way his arms would feel around you. He rarely hugged you. 3 times, to be exact - on his birthday, the day you both passed your finals, and when he found you were okay after the EF5. You couldn’t help but want to call him, text him, but what would you say?

And if he really wanted to talk to you, why didn’t he already? It’s been 5 years since you both have exchanged a word. 5 years since you two have seen each other’s faces. you had changed since college, no doubt. your hair was different; layered. Your style changed a little bit too, you wore makeup to work, in the hopes of being treated differently. You looked prettier with makeup on, anyways. Just a little highlighter, mascara, blush… nothing too overboard. Part of you dolled yourself up in the hopes of running into Javi in the streets somehow.

‘I should stop’ you thought to yourself as you got ready one day for work. You stared at your reflection, not knowing what you were looking for. Sighing, you finished up your makeup, surrendering to beautification, heading off to work.

“Someone’s here for you in the conference room” a co-worker told you. You gave them a confused look, walking to the conference room, to meet a familiar mop of curly hair - a lot shorter now, and the man you loved in a suit. Javier Rivera.

Of course he convinced you to come back to chasing storms. Of course he said it’ll be almost like the old times. Of course Kate was coming too.

You wanted to say no, you wanted to say you couldn’t, but he came all the way to look for you; once tender and sweet. The prospect of someone looking for you was something you dreamed of since you were an angsty teen. The prospect of someone caring about you enough to come back…

At least you tried to decline.

One day, I will stop falling in love with you

Some day, someone will like me like I like you…

The drive to Oklahoma was meant to be awkward. It meant to be tense. It meant to be hard on Javi. To make him feel bad. For you to act all pouty and mean just because you could. Just so you could if not tell, show him how hurt you were when he just disappeared.

But when he started to smile, crack jokes, retell stories, you couldn’t help but be nice in return. The rushing feelings came back, and for a moment, you forgot about Kate. You forgot about life being bitter and hard. All you remembered was being sweet and tender, because with Javi, it was familiar. It was natural. It felt like home.

Every soft look from Javi made you fall harder for him. To be treated like he once did to you. Friends. Best friends.

You both drove to Oklahoma, which wasn’t too far exactly, and he offered if you wanted to go out for dinner with him and Kate.

You wanted to be hard and bitter again.

As you and Javi went into a local diner near a motel, you both saw Kate sitting in a booth, waving to you. Or so you thought - she was looking Javi in the eye, who had a grin on his face. He sat in the booth with Kate, opposite to you. They both smiled at each other, and you wanted to be swallowed by the same EF5 your friends left in, because maybe, just maybe, Javi would have cared more about you if you were dead.

Until then, I'll drink my coffee, eat my pie

Pretend that we are more than friends…

“… just some coffee and peach cobbler pie, please” you flashed the waiter a warm, tired smile. You didn’t look at Javi or Kate, rather traced the wooden table, stared out the window, faked a yawn, bounced your leg.. of course they didn’t say anything to you. They had their little side conversation.

As your face was turned a 90 degree angle from the two, from the corner of your eye, you saw Kate squeeze Javi’s bicep. You downed a mouthful of coffee, coughing after. Javi handed you a tissue, not sparing you a glance as he laughed at something Kate said.

Suddenly you have no appetite.

Then, of course, I'll let you break my heart again

You put your head down on the table, Kate glanced at the mop of hair on the table

“Hey, you doin’ okay?” she asked softly, Javi looked at you for the first time during dinner.

“Do you feel sick?” He asked brows knitting in concern.

You shot up, rubbing your eyes. “Yeah, this coffee made me feel sick.” Javi looked at your basically untouched pie, but empty cup of coffee, and back into your rosy eyes.

“Get some rest, yeah?” Kate suggested. Javi nodded. You sighed.

“Yeah, okay. Goodnight, you two” you rubbed your face, giving them a small wave. They both smiled softly, waving back.

As you reached the exit, you looked over your shoulder as much as you didn’t want to, and saw the two smiling and laughing again.

With a heavy heart, you checked into your motel, took a sip of water to calm your body down, and with one glance in the mirror, you broke down; crying yourself to sleep, with tears staining your face and your pillows, the land of rest took you in for the night.

I'm just tryna understand what I am to you

More than songs, we've exchanged

Midnight calls, sunset views

Over the next few days, you spent them chasing with Storm Par. Of couse Javi went with Kate. She had more genius than you did, apparently, even though you two were both equally smart.

Javi talked to you that morning, his charming grin greeting you along with the early morning sun.

“Dandy weather, yeah?” he nudged you, trying to get you to cheer up. You rewarded his efforts with a small, half hearted smile.

You both had a pretty genuine chat, just like in college, until Kate joined you two. Then again, you were invisible. And the tension between the two was as strong as a supercell. You were obviously hurt, because your time in college was so much… richer. Late at night after curfew, you two would sneak out because you two were the only ones up for that kinda stuff. You’d go to the roof, stay up there talking all night then watch the sunrise together. Now, the only one he orbited was Kate, Kate, Kate.

Then, it was time to chase.

You paired up with Scott instead, being a little emotionless that day, and gave him a respectful nod of acknowledgement. The chase was silent apart from the orders coming from the radio. No conversation was initiated - you didn’t wanna have another breakdown.

For the first chase, which failed because Kate had a PTSD attack, you saw Javi comfort her after they got back to the motel; The sky was now dark, every storm chaser had a bonfire up, the atmosphere was enough to heal Kate alone, but of course, Javi was there for her too.

Your heart clenched. You remembered how hard you cried last night, almost suffocating against the sheets many times. The room was dull, taunting, and the only thing who could have helped you in that moment was Javi. But why would he see your pain and not Kate’s first?

You all gathered around the bonfire - the Storm Par crew, some other group called the Tornado Wranglers, some local chasers and what not. You saw the tall, orange fire. It looked inviting. Your breathing stilled, your body relaxed, your mind wandered.

You were disassociating, looking at everything from the 3rd person POV, the chasers in a circle around the fire, Kate and Javi next to each other a few seats away from you, talking like normal. You kept saying Javi’s name, yelling it, screaming it, but no matter what you did, he didn’t even spare you a glance. So you looked behind, turning around, and saw the fire. Without a second glance at him, without thinking, you walked into the warm, welcoming flames, feeling it consume you, swallow you whole-

At the sound of everyone toasting to more twisters, you snapped out of your little morbid daydream. Looking over at Javi and Kate, you saw her leaning against his side, his arm around her waist, smiles on their faces. Kate whispered something into Javi’s ear, and he looked down at her with a grin. She cupped his cheek, your eyes stung, he leaned in, capturing her lips in a soft, romantic, kiss.

Promise I don't mean to cry

But I get overwhelmed and confused

If only you knew what I felt like

Your eyes stung, your bile rose in your throat, your lungs felt like they were collapsing and you wanted nothing more than to be disoriented, sedated, dead.

Breathing hard, you fled for the fields. Knocking over one of Javi’s beer bottles by accident, you speed walked, then ran to the backside of the motel, where there was a patch of grass. The surroundings were dark, the crickets seemed to taunt you, and your head was spinning. You needed more air than you could take in, your head had a dull, throbbing pain in it, you wanted to throw up, purge those feelings onto the soft grass.

You cried, covering your face and cried. Hard. Your whole body was stiff.

He kissed her

He kissed her. Oh he kissed her, he kissed her, he kissed her.

You didn’t even hear the footsteps behind you. You didn’t even register Javi running after you to check in on you.

“God damnit, are you okay? What’s wrong?!” He panicked, not touching you, though he knew you loved physical touch.

Why would he, anyway? He had a girlfriend-

Kate Carter.

“Leave… me a-alone” you wheezed, hiding your face, curling into a ball onto the dirt.

“Please” you begged, “I-I can’t be down here, I need to go ho-home” you cried “it- it’s a family emergency.” you lied through your teeth. Of course he wouldn’t question it. He didn’t care enough to even look at you. Why would he question a pretty good reason?

Javi looked at you, his face concerned. He nodded.

“I- Okay, alright. Take care, (Y/N)” he said softly. Genuinely.

It took all your willpower not to launch yourself into his arms. But the thought that Kate had been in them more often than you did sickened you.

One day, I will stop falling in love with you

Some day, someone will like me like I like you

So you ran through the fields, ran until your lungs burned, until you were going to faint, running on nothing but peach cobbler pie and coffee since almost 24 hours ago.

Your legs gave out, and your hands embraced the ground below, seeking comfort from Mother Nature which nobody could give you. Your body was folded and like a wounded animal, you let out guttural, gut wrenching sobs. You wanted to unsee it, to pour Javi’s beer over your eyes, to gouge them out for their sockets.

“Make it stop” you sobbed, choking on your saliva. “Please, make it stop” you prayed to the heavens above and the spirits below. You needed this to stop. The pain, the jealousy, the love to stop.

You fell asleep there in the field, Your breathing ragged, yet eventually even. You mumbled, whimpered, cried in your sleep. Seeing Javi kiss Kate. Seeing Javi hug Kate. Seeing Javi move in with Kate. Seeing Javi say ‘I love you’ to Kate, and Kate saying ‘I love you’ back. It was all Javi and Kate, Javi and Kate, Javi and Kate…

It wasn’t until one of the Wranglers found you that you woke up.

“Hey, it’s the girl from Storm Par!” The blonde man said to himself. You stirred, groaning.

“Tyler Owens?” you blinked your eyes open, he offered you a hand, which you ignored and got up.

“What’re you doin’ out here in the fields?” He asked, chewing some wheat between his teeth.

You hesitated. “Long story, but if you can drive me to the train station, I think we have enough time to go over it.” you asked with a pleading look. “Please, Tyler, one favour”

Tyler sighed, giving up “Sure. That’s what friends are for”. You smiled, thanking him.

Then you both disappeared off to the train station at 6:35 in the morning, where Tyler was so kind to lend you a ride. You went over the whole story, since college to now. 5 years worth of internalized drama, not sparing a single detail; He nodded along, gave his animated reactions, gave his input and advice where necessary. And soon enough, you were at the train station.

“Thanks for the ride, Tyler.” you thanked again, genuinely “and dont tell anyone about this” you said seriously, referring to the situation you described.

“Scout’s honour” He gave you his flashy smile “Take care out there, cowgirl” he chuckled. You nodded and smiled, grabbing your bag.

“You too”

Until then, I'll drink my coffee, eat my pie

Pretend that we are more than friends

Then, of course, I'll let you break my heart again

Back at home, you delved back into work, relieved to be away from the new couple. Life was bitter and hard, accompanied by your peach cobbler pie; you never really got over Javi and Kate, you just tried forgetting about them. Whenever you read a romance book or watched some rom-com, you imagined the couples to be you and Javi. Sometimes, you’d dream of you and Javi together, as a couple.

But as you dreamed of this, a few states away, Kate was living your wished reality.

—

taglist!!:

@urbexbat

[eg515]

since we have confirmation that these 3.5 seasons covered less than a year (because the pilot is set a few months after Kate's death), I wanted to sum up everything the crew went through

Nancy dated and broke up with Nick, dated Owen then lost him, was haunted by Dead Lucy, found out Lucy and Ryan are her bio parents, almost died multiple times, had a supernatural parasite attached to her, has two dads now, gave up on college and moved out from home, met and killed her ancestor, lost a great love she never got to have, is currently cursed.

Bess found out she really is a Marvin, then was disowned by them, almost died multiple times, became a Woman in White, became the Keeper of the Historical Society, dated Lisbeth, in a relationship with Addy, is a pro in all things supernatural.

George almost died multiple times and did die one time, she was possessed by a ghost for months, got engaged to then broke up with Nick, became co-owner of The Claw, found her bio dad, started law school.

Nick dated then broke up with Nancy, became a millionaire, got engaged to then broke up with George, became co-owner of The Claw, bought an apartment building, is kind of a supernatural engineer, ran for town council.

Ace almost died multiple times, was very briefly possesed by two ghosts two separate times, was kicked out of his home, got a new apartment and a new job, found his half-brother then had to say goodbye to him, lost a great love he never got to have, is currently cursed.

sooo.. a lot has happened to them in a short time, and they're still only 19-21yo

[simonsrosebud]

heyy I'm absolutely in love with ur foxes next gen socmed au like they're so funny and chaotic and thus I have a foxes next gen au living in my head rent free cause of it😭😭😭 anyways I'd love to know more about ur ocs or even get more content of them😞😞 (picture me holding out a cup to u begging for more of ur foxes next gen socmed au)

brb i’m falling in love with u rn😭🫶🏼 i love them w all my heart check the bottom for a gift

As mentioned in the socmed au, Elliot has ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety.

Abram helps Elliot’s ADHD a lot when they start living together freshman year of college because his patience is unrivaled. He doesn’t get bothered by Elliot losing track of his point mid-speech or excessive talking, or when he’s easily distracted.

When Elliot is unable to sit still or starts fiddling (aka picking at his nails) Abram will give him his hand to fiddle with instead (and it makes Abram’s chest flutter) and will actually limit him to 10 minutes when he gets hyper-focused on a task and says “one more minute” bc it’s never one more minute.

Amalia doesn’t always look indian to people (based off my google search that Muldani is an indian surname) and she gets pissed off when people ignorantly decide point it out. She likes jokingly pulling the brown skin card to the other fox kids as a power move: “Annie go grab the TV remote” “You grab it” “Is it because I’m brown? Are you being racist?”. She pulls it with Kevin too but he does not put up with it.

Annie is such a daddy’s girl that when Andrew babysits them as little girls she clings to him all day and follows him around with her little hand in his. It’s jarring for him the first time she does it.

Jace treats Elliot like a little brother and it’s very wholesome and needed. The Boyd’s only live 25 minutes from Andriel so Jace and Abram see a lot of Elliot and Blake once Andriel folds them into their lives.

It takes Blake a while to let go of her mother hen tendencies over Elliot bc of how they were raised.

It also takes Blake one single week living with them to realize that they are not only retired pro Exy athletes, but literal gold medalists. She does a deep dive on them on the internet and freaks out a bit when she reads the stuff about Neil’s past. Neil is very open with her about it and offers to have them housed somewhere else if she felt unsafe, but also that she arguably could not be more safe than with him and Andrew.

Jace has a peanut allergy. In 3rd grade he tried peanut butter at school bc good dammit he wanted to try it. It was very good but he immediately went over to the lunch aide to get his epipen. Matt picks him up from school and is in awe that no no, this was not an accident.

Due to being raised in Georgia (where Matt got drafted and Dan coached high school) and then South Carolina when Matt retired early, Jace & Abram have slight southern accents.

Naturally this makes Elliot shiver every time Abram calls him baby (or sugar in private).

When Sabrina is 19 her and Addie decide to take a break from their long distance queerplatonic relationship bc Addie didn’t know what she wanted, and Sabrina ends up dating Drew Barrymore’s daughter Olive for 6 months. Drew and Sabrina keep in contact amicably afterwards.

[aroseformyself]

Rent.

Summary: getting thrown out of your apartment for late bills while in LA, possibly the best place people come to get laid, isn’t what you had in mind, but a freaky twist comes into play when your “friend” Jack Howl reveals that someone has been staring at you for weeks. (yandere)

⚠️warnings; my English is horrible so possible mix of tense, horror?, implied stalking, implied nsfw/noncon, no magic, modern au, my first time writing an actually decent fic¿

readers sex not specified.

“It’s closing time already?” you question yourself, grabbing a ticket and placing it into the hole-puncher and sticking it to the wall. It’s your only way to clock out. It’s a little old-fashioned but it works and that’s all that matters.

“Finally I can get out of this greasy disaster.” you state, flipping the sign around to read closed outside.

You walk to a rack near the kitchen, throwing your apron and cap off and hanging it with the other employees.

When you turn around you see your “friend”, or more like companion, Jack, a strong but sensitive guy who works in the wreck of a fast-food place as well to support his younger siblings and basically entire family, not that it does much.

“It’s closing time already?” he has a deep husky voice that booms every time he speaks, no wonder all the girls have a crush on him.

“Yeah, you can go ahead and leave, I’ll clean up.” you stated as he clocked out.

He looked at you for a second, pondering his words, “No, no, I would hate to leave you here alone, and I’m sure you’re the same way,”

I don’t like how you’re right, Jack.

“if we both clean together we’ll get it done twice as fast and neither of us will have to stay later than needed.”

You sigh at his helpfulness, “Y’know you really should start thinking of yourself, Jack, but thank you anyway.” you say, grabbing the broom Jack had been cleaning the floor with earlier.

You start to sweep the dirty and mud-colored floor as Jack wiped down the counter, covered in grease, what looks like blood but is actually ketchup, salt from fries, and Karen’s tears.

Everyone has gone home for holiday break, but you and Jack were some of the few that worked here and actually had to, you couldn’t get another job because of low money and no interest in going to going to college, so here you were, stuck working in a fast-food joint, and all this as a 19-year-old. A 19-year-old who should be going out on Friday nights with friends, like Jack, and having fun, not working over-time just to pay bills that barely get by. Come to think of it, you don’t have enough money for your bills yet and you haven’t payed the landlord last week, you just hope they don’t throw you out.

And Jack doesn’t have it any better… You thought, Jack Howl, a guy who masks his insecurities with a tough exterior, a facade of strength. All to hide a sensitive guy who needs love, and a break. With him constantly taking care of his siblings because of gambling-addicted parents, and having to leave them because he can’t afford a babysitter, sometimes he’d even ask you to go over and watch them for a buck. But you always agreed without the money. For so long he’d have to deal with his parents coming home black-out drunk or just falling right on the door step, from getting too boozed up, of their small house. He’d drag them inside and let them puke their guts out and lay them down to sleep just so the cycle could continue. You genuinely felt bad for him, poor guy started doing odd jobs when he was just 11. And he’s only 16 right now.

“Hey, Jack.” you say after contemplating on your words for a while.

“Yeah, Y/n?” he asked, turning his head in your direction to see you looking at the floor while grinning wide.

“If your parents ever stop being black out drunk for a second and win, will you invite me over?” you finish with a little laugh too show you were joking.

He looked at you for a second before laughing, “Sure, Y/n, if I ever get rich from my parents addiction, you’d be the first I’d call.”

You both end the night laughing your asses off while making jokes that to anyone looking in are actually just based off miserable experiences.

But who’s going to stop you.

“Uhh, hey let me walk you home.” Jack said, trailing behind you.

“No, it’s fine, really. I can take care of myself, besides it’s just a little rain and you need to get back to your siblings, I bet my savings they’re waiting for you.” you comment quietly, strutting down the street in the direction of your apartment.

Jack looked uncomfortable for a second when you turn to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

“Uhm.. Don’t freak out or they’ll know,” he pauses before looking in the direction of a cafe, a ring of a bell signified that someone was leaving the place, “someone’s been watching you for a while… And they just left the cafe…”

Your heartbeat was suddenly in your throat and you felt your stomach churn, resisting the burning urge to turn your head around to see who this person is, “W-what? What do they look like?”

Jacks face twisted into confusion, “What are you scared of I’m with you, I won’t let them hurt you, and what do you plan to do if I describe them, keep track of them?” his sweat-dropped as soon as he finished his sentence, “I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to sound r-rude or anything!” he frantically waved his hands to show he was genuinely concerned for your well-being.

After a second he calmed down, “L-look. I’m just saying maybe you shouldn’t stay at you place tonight. I’ve seen the same person watching you about a week ago as well. Only I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t completely sure he was looking at you and I thought it could’ve been a coincidence.”

After you didn’t answer Jack stepped away a little, and the rain poured down on you reminding you of how you don’t want to go back to your cracked roof that lets the rain in without your consent.

“Okay.” you say, barely a whisper but Jack heard it.

Passing through the streets people, of all kinds where entering, and leaving the casino you work next to, you almost got swept up into the crowd, but Jack grabbed your hand and led your through without a single struggle.

When you got to his doorstep he reached for his key, abruptly, you yelled out, “Wait! I need to feed my cat; Grim! Oh no, I can’t jus leave him alone!!!” you panicked, running down the three steps and trying your best to run to your apartment without slipping on the wet ground.

Jack looked startled by your yell and spun around, “Y/n!” he shouted after you.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back right after I get my cat!” you say, your cat, Grim, was a stray you picked up and got treated at the vet, ever since you two were inseparably except when you went to work.

The vets said that he had been abused judging by the fact that he was scared around everything and had little cuts on his legs. It was obvious that Grim had paranoia, he waited by the door everyday, waiting for you to get home.

You ran through the streets, shoving people out of the way, until you finally made it. A run-down building with lights from all around making it light up as if it were supposed to be angelic, but it wasn’t in the slightest.

You rush up the stairs and make it to your door, but freezes in the middle of the hallway when you hear a rough voice call out to you, “Y/n L/n.” you turn, painfully slow, and open your tightly closed eyes to see the landlord.

“Ah, Uh… Hey?” you say, sweat-dropping from your cheek, “Is there something I can do for you?” you say, smiling as best you can.

“Yes, Y/n. You can pay now.” your face dropped, the landlord noticed this and replied with, “Or you can leave and your place becomes someone else’s.”

“Sir… Can I have one more-” you try to start but the landlord can see where this is going and shuts you up quickly.

“Y/n, you are not allowed back here in a million years! Pack your bags and go far away!”

“But sir!”

“No! This is the third time you’ve been late and I can’t keep letting you go for not paying!” he yelled, making you flinch.

Your widened eyes revert back to their half closed glare, “Fine…” you cave, walking back to your door and opening it to see Grim laying down at you feet.

You step in once you are sure the landlords gone, herring his steps fade away. You slide down the now closed door, alerting Grim that your back with all the ruckus that went on outside, “Oh, Grim…” you sigh, petting his head as he purred against your thigh.

The next day you packed, not that you had much belongings to pack, “Let’s go Grim, we’re leaving.”

You see Grim tilt his head as if to ask ‘where are we going?’ even though he couldn’t speak.

“I don’t know where. We’ll figure it out, together.” you say, trying your best to grin at him, but even he can tell this is not good.

As you walk down the stairs you pass the landlord, and glare at him as he does the same to you.

“Goodebye, hellhole.” you whisper as you exit through the doors, so now you’re officially homeless and have a scrawny cat by your side.

Grim mewled against your thigh and started needing it for comfort as you sat down on a bench, scrolling through your phone contacts as your box felt heavy on you lap.

It was around midnight and you couldn’t bring yourself to go to Jack looking so foolish and in need of a new place to stay.

“Huh?” you question, missing the texts and calls from Jack as soon as you see a “new” contact name.

“Floyd Leech…?” your eyes widened, Floyd Leech, your ex-boyfriend, was still in your contacts, you remember the day you broke up with him vividly.

You were at his house and his parents were planning on moving to LA, but you weren’t really that invested nor did you want to try long-distance. You ended up breaking up with a heart-broken Floyd who let his anger out on a wall, and how did he do that? By punching holes in it of course.

He ended up running out and that was the last you ever saw of him.

You shook your head and went back to Jack, you realize it’s your best bet at living, messaging to him that you were fine, but you got kicked out and didn’t know what to do.

He replied back with saying he could let you stay at his place but just for a little. He couldn’t allow another person to stay at his place for so long because of his money struggle.

You agreed and told him you were at west park, he texted okay I’ll come get you. Now all you had to do is wait.

But it was hard to wait when someone was sitting right next to you obviously side-eyeing you, “god… Do you need somethin’?!” you yelled after so long of staying silent, but you couldn’t help it, it was just to uncomfortable.

The man looked started and visibly flinched when you yelled at him, his dirty blond hair falling in front of his face with blue eyes widening as he saw you glaring at him, “Please don’t hurt me! I was sent here by Leech!”

Leech… Oh fuck. You vaguely remember that Floyd and his twin brother, Jade, are the heirs to a mafia type-thing their parents run.

You feel the sky to start sprinkling down, “I-I’m really sorry about this!”

“Huh?-”

And with that everything turned black.

When you awoke you couldn’t tel what time it was where you were or what was going on but you feel something very soft and comfy all around you. A very cozy bed your were placed in.

You grab onto the pillow you sleeping on and bury your face in. Not bothering yourself with anything else at the moment.

Well that was until you heard a voice and your pillow vibrated, “Fufufu~ Awake, are we?” a very deep and raspy voice asked, a hand coming up to pet your head.

“Wha?-” you can barely make out the silhouette of your ex, while you look up. A stinging pain shoots through your head and you can feel your heartbeat.

You make a strangled groan and the hand pushes you back down, “Shhh. Rest now, the pain will be gone in the morning.” What? What pain? Why are you back? Where’s Grim? Why am I here? Floyd? Jack? Anyone? Is all you can think before sleep slowly takes you.

But you don’t miss the hand sliding down your body before you black out.