#I want to be shocked and moved and saddened and given hope by it in the way cql did

[meichenxi]

ATTENTION: MXTX BOOKS ACQUIRED!!!!!

!!!! yes!!!!! you heard that correctly!!!!!  I now have copies of TGCF and MDZS in traditional chinese, vertically laid out, plus a whole bunch of other books!!

(I have just returned from taiwan; it was by far not my only purpose in going, but I also decided to stay four days extra at the end after my friend had left just so I could go a-hunting.)

I am. so unbelievably excited. and especially because, with never having a) looked at these books in chinese, b) never having read anything beyond a few lines in traditional, and c) never having read vertical formatting, they are....readable? not with a dictionary on kindle or pleco like I’ve done before to make sense of things, but readable cover-to-cover without a dictionary at all. 

that is a HUGE step for me. reading has always been a bit of a mental block and with the traditional especially and the formatting I was very much expecting it to be a strugglebus situation and don’t get me wrong, it requires a good fucking deal of mental concentration and yes, I do occasionally run my finger down the page to not lose my place like an old person, but...I’m reading them

in the last four? three? days, I’ve read, as of right now, 68 pages of tgcf volume one consecutively (as in, just from the beginning) and over 90 pages in total (+ the pages I read for the scenes I like and skipped to). and it’s so FUNNY!!! I had honestly forgotten. I’m laughing out loud at points!! I read extremely quickly in english, and also have a terrible memory, which combines into flying through books and never having any idea what happened in them - reading more slowly I feel like I can enjoy what is going on more, and appreciate just honestly how funny the writing is. it’s hilarious. xie lian is such a moron (affectionate). ‘next time, if you have to throw something, throw me and not the food, ok?’ what a loser!!!! what a guy!!!!! 

so, 68 pages in, now for an honest appraisal of where I’m at.

first, formatting. 

 the vertical layout - look, going to be honest, I kind of hate it. I’m not used to looking up and down and feel like I’m bobbing my head, and it makes scanning a line more time-consuming. on the other hand, I can feel a massive increase in speed and comfort from even when I started three or four days ago, so I think it’s a matter of practice. I noticed also that when I went to the bookstore I still have the completely hilarious and useless habit of tilting my head to look at the books. the titles of which are written vertically. 

second, traditional. 

I am reading a lot slower than I do in simplified and horizontal laid-out texts, which is not surprising. the traditional is the biggest stumbling block definitely - but it’s not as big actually as I would have thought. I’ve been picking up frequent very different characters with two or three repetitions; not enough to internalise them and read them as seamlessly as in simplified chinese, but enough to look at them, even when it’s a little jarring, and go ‘oh, that means this’ in my head. I have found that I tend to subvocalise more with a) the increase in very different traditional characters, and b) the difficulty of the text. when there are simple conversations or directions I don’t subvocalise at all, which I consider generally speaking to be a good thing as it improves your speed of reading. when there’s a lot of mid-frequency fairly different characters (i.e. ones that I have picked up in these few days but aren’t common enough to be every two lines, and that I still very much have to think about), I subvocalise a LOT. when the characters are ones that I think I probably don’t know in either traditional or simplified, or there are a lot of very confusing descriptions, I don’t subvocalise at all, even if I could by phonetic components. I just - vibe. which brings me onto the next part. 

reading traditional - the brain feeling. 

I CANNOT describe how strange it is to read traditional and how wonderful an organ the brain is. it honestly feels like magic. if you’re still reading at this point and I’m not just shouting into the void, you probably know that I can’t handwrite in chinese to save my life - what that means practically for character recognition is that you could ask me to name the components of a character I see 100000 times a day and I couldn’t do it. it’s all subconscious. I have NO memory or understanding of what radicals are used where at the best of times in simplified chinese, and it’s all done via The Vibe. 

this is EVEN stronger in traditional chinese. I have not really ever deliberately learnt or consumed any media in traditional apart from a few characters you commonly see written or appeared when I have done a little bit of Classical chinese, like 馬，為，無 etc. I also got up to about halfway through the hsk1 course on skritter for a while on one of my endless attempts to learn how to write - so that gave me characters like 歡，對，甚麼 and so forth. in total that’s....still not that much. the VIBES I get when reading, though - incredible!!!!! I see these characters (not just ones with components that are predictable in traditional forms, but fairly or very different ones) that I have no memory of ever seeing before in my life and go, oh, that feels vaguely like this one. and then I look it up and I’m right. 

some of these are things of course are not objectively difficult - if you know the two components, you can go, oh, those are the two traditional versions of the components and so stuck together is the traditional character. but since I don’t consciously know the component parts off the top of my head of more than about 12 simplified characters (rip), this feels like utter magic. I have also been guessing quite a lot based on context and radicals.

I also know I probably HAVE seen some of these characters before at some point, I just don’t remember. nevertheless. it feels amazing, especially with the ones that are not predictable and are totally different. it’s a very bizarre experience. the coolest part though is the ability to remember new characters without looking them up or ‘learning’ them - a large majority of the traditional characters I can know recognise have genuinely been learnt over the last three days. if I see them for a second or third time - they’re mine now. and that is very cool and comes with practice and NOT anything innate blah blah because when I first started, I remember looking at characters over 20 times and still not being able to remember if I had even SEEN them before, let alone what they mean. so that ability has improved a huge amount, and I think reading and learning new words within the context of that book is mostly to thank for that. 

(not really relevant to any of the above, but reading in a foreign language is so interesting, because you really notice the vocabulary the author uses again and again and again more than in your native language. for instance, mxtx is constantly saying 这下. also 莞尔 as a word for smile - xie lian is CONSTANTly 莞尔一笑 . those are the two I’ve noticed a lot so far.)

overall then:

there are plenty of individual words I don’t know, but it’s usually clear what they mean in context, and when I know I’m reading a description of someone’s elegant fingers that's all you really need to know. none of it has affected my reading experience enough to make me physically put down the book and open pleco. 

I haven’t needed the dictionary for anything so far that I can’t get from context or memory of what happens. this means that I am Reading It Reading It, as opposed to Pleco Reading It or Kindle Reading It. which feels like a huuuuuuuuge milestone and difference and you know,,,honestly tearing up a little bit!!!!! because it’s so cool and I never thought I’d get here!!!!!! 

----

with all of that in mind, my plan for reading these is just...go from cover to cover with the first volume of tgcf, but let myself - since I know the story - jump around to read and re-read the bits I like reading. I want to get at least through the first two books of tgcf before I try to tackle any of the other books that I have bought. I’m not stopping to learn vocab really without the dictionary as most of it hasn’t been necessary so far and would interrupt the reading flow, but sometimes if there is a word I have seen 238290 times I will. I have only done this a few times, however, so I think for pulling vocab from this book I will have to do it separately - i.e. choose a passage I like and write down all the vaguely useful / fun words I don’t know. 

I have also got mdzs. now. the thing here is that...I love tgcf, but I’m not as precious about it as I am about mdzs. I have also NEVER read mdzs in translation because I have hated all of them so much, so I want the first time I read it to be as smooth as I possibly can, and to get as much impact and beauty and *shakes fist* as I possibly can. so...I might put it off for a while, maybe another 6 months or so whilst I improve my reading and traditional recognition skills. we’ll see. I don’t want to dip into it in the same way, and I feel like I want to use tgcf as training wheels first. we will see!

updates soon!!! big excite!!!!!!

[starogeorgina]

Violent delights

Warnings: None (sunshine before the storm)

Pairings: Jacaerys Velaryon x oc

1.05

You sit in your large bed, waiting for your husband to join you, with your daughter Rhaenys tucked in beside you as she clutches a book to her chest with one hand while the other holds onto a thinned-out blanket that Lucerys gave her the day she was born in the other as her eyes slowly start to close over.

When Jacaerys finally steps into your shared bedchamber after bathing in a separate room, you smile and say, “Guess who’s fallen asleep without a bedtime story?”

Jace gives you a shocked look. “Really?”

You nod before carefully removing the book from her grasp and placing it on the ground beside the bed. Already dressed in his sleepwear, Jace removes his shoes and sits on the edge of the bed in front of you, his cold fingers heating up against your warm skin as he begins to massage your swollen feet. It was the first night in a long time that your daughter had fallen asleep with Jace reading her a story first, and it saddened you slightly. “Our little girl is growing up; soon she’ll be sleeping in her own bed.”

Giving your foot a squeeze, he says, “I doubt that; she’s insisting on being here to care for the new baby during the night.”

The next few moments pass in a comfortable silence until you feel the baby moving. You grab Jace’s hand and place it on your stomach, where the baby is kicking. The look of pride on his face fills your heart with warmth. All of your children meant the world to him. Over the years, Jace had been pushing himself to become the best swordsman and dragon rider possible, along with trying to learn the world of politics so he could protect his family the best he could.

“This baby is going to be wild,” you say quietly. “A fine knight, I suspect; all they do is wriggle about.”

“How long do you think it will be before they are here?”

“In a couple of weeks maybe, I just hope that everything that is happening doesn’t stress the baby out.”

Jace leans forward and presses a kiss on your bump, feeling the silky material of your nightgown press against his lips. “After tomorrow, all of this will be behind us, and we won’t need to return to King’s Landing again until our mother is crowned.”

—

“Lucerys will understand if you stay here; you don’t need to force yourself to travel given the circumstances,” your mother says softly.

The plans to travel to the Red keep didn’t go as hoped; the morning you intended to leave, your water broke, and two long days of labor began. Despite the fear of being alone, the feeling of guilt for giving the greens another thing to hold over your family was greater. You insisted continuously that they leave and go to King's Landing without you, but the mere suggestion of being apart for the first time since your wedding had sent Jacaerys head spinning, and he point blank refused to leave your side, as did your mother, Daemon, and Luke. All of them refused to leave until they knew you and the baby were safe.

“I will not stay here while Luke is subjected to the same treatment we have been. Jace and Aemma are going to fly on Vermax with Viserion beside them,” you clear your throat. “Do you think I could have a separate carriage? I don’t want the baby disturbing the children during the journey.”

Your mother sits in the chair placed beside your bed. Brushing hair out of your face, she smiles, “Of course, my girl, anything you need.”

“Thank you,” you glance at the door, hearing the knight knocking at it, “come in.”

The knight opens the door for one of your handmaidens to enter, carrying a delicious-smelling tray of food. After losing more blood than your previous labors, you were taking longer to recover and felt exhausted and weak. You hadn’t attempted to feed your newborn yourself yet, knowing you needed to rebuild your strength first. Luckily, Drangstone had amazing cooks who knew how important nutrition was to both mother and child.

Your mother moves the chair back as the handmaiden places the tray over you and says, “Thank you.”

“He looks just like Jace.”

You look up at your mother between mouthfuls of food and say, “I’m glad. All my children are beautiful, but I wanted at least one to have his features.”

“Have you thought of a name yet?”

“Jacaerys and I have decided on one, but we want to wait until we are with our grandsire before revealing it,” you smile, thinking about how the idea came around. “It was actually Joffrey’s idea that we keep it secret; he thought it would be a nice surprise after... everything.”

Your mother looks touched, “my kindhearted boy.”

—

Laughter fills the air as Jace twirls you in his arms before lowering you enough that your feet dip into the icy-cold water below.

“Jacaerys!” You giggle, trying to wrap your arms around his shoulder to hold yourself up. “Hold me up, it’s freezing!”

“Dragons are always warm,” he says before crashing his lips against your own.

He places his hands under your bum, pulling you up so you can wrap your legs around his waist. You deepen the kiss before playfully nipping his bottom lip with your teeth. Luckily, it was nighttime, and nobody would be able to see you acting like horny teenagers.

Pulling back from the kiss, you place your head against his shoulder and say, “Well, maybe I’m using up all my warmth growing another dragon.”

Jace is quiet as he slowly lowers you down, his hand resting against your stomach. “Are you with child again?”

“The maester confirmed it yesterday; I was going to tell you earlier, but this is the first time I’ve had you alone.”

Kissing your forehead, Jace pulls you in for a hug. When you were first married, he was genuinely content with only ever having one child, Aemma. Jace never wanted you to go through the pain you felt during your marriage to Aegon, but it now seemed as if the gods had blessed your relationships because you were pregnant for the third time with his child. He pulls you in closer, saying, “I love you.”

Panic surges through you as your eyes flutter open. Where was your baby? You had requested to be in a separate carriage so that your newborn's cries wouldn’t wake the other children while they slept through the trip, but then you remembered you weren’t alone. Daemon insisted on riding with you, as did your youngest daughter. Your blurry eyes finally adjust, and your panic ends when your eyes land on Daemon, who is sitting across from you, holding your son in his arms. You smile at Rhaenys, who clung to Daemon’s side as she sucked her thumb.

You look out the window as King's Landing comes into view, and the realization of what you’re returning to sinks in as the pleasant memory of your dream fades away. You couldn’t decide if it was good or bad that you were dreaming about events that had already taken place. You can't bring yourself to look at Rhaenys or your new baby; how could you bring them to such a place? You mentally try to psych yourself up.

No, you wouldn’t let the greens have this power over you.

Looking up, you face Daemon, who offers you a sympathetic smile on his face and says, “You don't have to go into the sham of a place if you don’t want to. I’ll have it that you can stay anywhere else in King's Landing that you wish.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m not parting from Luke once we arrive. I want to keep my eye on him and make sure he’s safe.”

A proud smile spreads across your stepfather's face. You watch as he places a kiss on the top of your baby's head, whom he was cradling ever so gently, before looking back to you and saying, “Alicent is scared of you; I suspect all the greens are.”

Chuckling, you shake your head and say, “I doubt that very much. They have no reason to fear me.”

“They have many reasons,” he says seriously. “Alicent cannot control you, not anymore. She has nothing to hold over you, and if either of her sons look at you the wrong way, I will personally feed them to Caraxes.”

Smiling softly, you sigh at his words. “Then that would start a war.”

“Oh little one, war has been brooding since my brother declared Rhaenyra his heir. This is just the beginning.” He strokes Rhaenys hair with his free hand as she repositions herself so her head is in his lap. “It was wise of you to bring your dragon,” he says quietly. “Never be afraid to show strength for your family; it may be the only thing that stands between them and the enemy.”

A sense of dread swirled around you as Daemon’s words sunk in. You had no idea what the future held, but you had an inkling things were about to get much worse before any kind of resolution.

[dontwantnoneunlessyougotmunson]

This site is draining me of my spoons and my will to live. It seems like everywhere I turn there is nothing but Eddie smut and most of it makes me ICK pretty bad and most of it's not even tagged correctly. I just want something cute and fluffy and reassuring with Eddie x a Reader who is uncomfortable with sex and Eddie reassures her (or them, up to you) that it isn't a big a deal to him and they can be together without it (maybe the Reader is Ace or not). I'm just at the end of my rope at this point.

I hope this is like a big hug to give you some spoons back. 🥺 I get where you're coming from. I like a good smut now and then, but there's nothing like a fluffy scene with your comfort character. As someone who is demisexual, I like this request a lot and I hope it's exactly what you want to read. 💙 Also writing this as gender neutral because everyone deserves love and care regardless of if they share their physical body.

Reassurance (Eddie x GN Reader)

Your hands twisted together. You spun the ring that Eddie had given you, moving it around your finger and rubbing your thumb over the stone. The music in the van surrounded you as Eddie drove you home from a graduation party at Robin's. He pulled to a stop outside his trailer and turned to you with a smile. He leaned in and pressed a yearning kiss to your lips.

You responded appropriately, your brain running overtime as you tried to make your lips move against his and push your heavy thoughts away at the same time. He sensed your discomfort and pulled back, reaching for your nervous hands and squeezing them with his.

"What's going on inside that head of yours?" he asked with a smile.

Your lips pursed, trying to keep back the emotions and overwhelming thoughts but a surge of emotion flew through you and you blurted, "Idon'twannahavesexwithyou."

He reeled back, a little alarmed.

"Hey, tell me slowly," he murmured.

You took a deep breath and steeled yourself, but your eyes darted everywhere but his, your heart pounding heavily.

"I don't want to have sex with you."

"Um, okay," he huffed a breath out of his nose, fighting a small smile.

You glanced at him, a little hurt and said, "You're making fun of me."

His eyes grew wide with panic as he squeezed your hands comfortingly.

"No, no. Absolutely not. I'm just a little shocked. It feels like that came out of nowhere. I just kissed you, I wasn't asking for sex."

Your lip trembled and you said, "Isn't that what kissing leads to? Everybody says that's what happens after. First base, second base, and all that."

His eyes saddened and he said, "Hold on."

He hopped out of the car and circled the van, opening your door. He signaled for you to get out and when you did, he held his arms open.

"Can I hug you?"

You rushed into his arms and tightened your grip around him. He rocked you slowly as tears started flowing down your cheeks. He pressed his cheek to yours and sighed softly.

"I don't.. I don't have have any expectations of you. I just like to be with you. If you don't want sex, we don't have to. I would never make you and I need you to know that you're always safe with me, okay?"

You nodded against him and held him even tighter, your words coming out in a sob.

"I don't know if I ever want to have sex with somebody."

He rubbed your back soothingly.

"That's completely okay. Relationships are about more than what you can give someone physically. I'd like a kiss every now and then if you're up for it. Ooh! And cuddles. But beyond that, if you don't want to, we won't."

"But won't you get tired of me not wanting to? Wouldn't you go somewhere else for it?"

He looked grief-stricken and held your face in his hands.

"Never. I love you for who you are and the love you give me. Everything else is just a bonus."

You nodded, sniffling as your tears slowed. He brushed them off of your cheeks with his thumbs and grabbed your hands, swinging them between you.

"Do you still wanna come in?"

You nodded and pulled his hand along behind you as you went up the steps to the door. He laughed at your response and helped you out of your jacket once you got inside. You both curled up on the couch, a movie playing on the tv in the background. Eddie shifted and put his head in your lap, smiling up at you. You braided little sections of his hair and he softened against you, mouth slackening as he drowsed, safe in your arms.

[lya-dustin]

All is bliss

Chapter 4

Cw: mentions of infertility, consensual infidelity, manipulation, surrogacy, spying

Gif by: @merlinaddams

Taglist: @mercedesdecorazon @aemondx @darylandbethfanforever9

“And this is a good thing how?” He asks her, because if there is no child they can’t usurp her mother that easily.

As much as Aegon is against it, it is going to happen.

Aemma was a valuable hostage and gave them legitimacy and a reason Rhaenyra wouldn’t rise against them.

House Velaryon would have no choice but to fall in line given she is Laenor’s only trueborn child after all.

Besides women needed children lest they be seen as failures even when the fault lies with the man.

“I never want to have his children, most women do not get that gods-given luxury.” She answered, moving away and sitting at a respectful distance.

Aemma had come so close she’d been half sitting on his lap. Really, she had been so happy to tell her the secret he already had guessed at, she hadn’t noticed her knee on his thigh as she clasped her hands on his shoulders in her joy.

Her perfume alone had reminded him of her wedding night, of that moment he saw her so beautiful and vulnerable in the candlelight he had to seek out a lady of dubious reputation to scratch that itch.

Gods, he might have to seek Lady Wylde out again.

His hand is no longer good enough for him.

“The entire purpose of your marriage is to prevent a war. What happens when he dies without issue?” he really hates bursting her bubble on this, had Aegon not been needed he would have been happy for her.

“You get to inherit his claim.

Although mine is much higher, so really, your brother dying without legitimate issue is more of a problem for the Greens than it is for the Blacks. I get to appoint an heir from those available or marry someone of my choosing and have my own.

I might even marry you if you’re still available and prevent your mother and grandfather from putting my family to the sword.” She answers, having thought all of this through already.

It is a tempting prospect, he could go ahead and skip the wait and just marry her.

Even if Aegon set her aside for being barren, one lucky man gets a crown and a chance to plough that fine fertile field of hers.

If he had been the one put forth to marry her, she’d be fat with his child already.

“How long have you been planning for this?” he is not shocked at her logic, and yet he couldn’t fathom when she’d have the time for this.

“For a while now, my scheme is fool-proof.” She grinned with pride.

Four moons pass and the court is afire with the gossip.

Someone ---possibly Aemma--- has let it be known what his true illness was.

She has her blood without fail no matter what they try and if Viserys’ health hadn’t had a turn for the worst nor Rhaenyra announced she is four moons pregnant, Alicent wouldn’t have told Aegon about it.

“You need an heir.” She said after pretending she is saddened by his plight.

He brought it upon himself and now he must live with the consequences of his follies.

Alicent had never been stern with him and now look where it got them.

“You heard the Maester, I cannot sire children anymore. His mercury ointment shriveled up my seed.” Her son said not seeing the forest and focused on his barren tree.

“Your wife needs a lover. I hate this as much as you do, but the only way to keep her claim with us is by making her owe us her life and that of her heirs.” They could claim the child as Laenor claimed Rhaenyra’s sons, and use that as leverage to keep her loyal to their cause.

A mother would do anything for their child, even become a kinslayer if need be.

“Do I get to choose who my little wife cuckolds me with or have you decided for me?” He asked morosely.

“You may choose. Just remember they must be discreet and that it won’t be a man who goes against you.” She said hoping he exercises that unused organ of his.

He'd be an idiot not to see it.

Aemond has never looked at a lady that way unless you really knew him.

His one eye allows him a good cover for when people rightly guess where he was looking.

Aemma was fond of swimming, wearing breeches and a shirt and sometimes only the knee length shift she wears under her clothes .

Like today.

Aemma thinks no one can see her from here, but Aegon ---and Aemond and sometimes even mother--- have come and seen the show she puts on.

She is a long legged beauty, even if her figure isn’t close to full like Rhaenyra’s or Helaena’s.

But the way the wet fabric clings to her like a second skin is enough to make any man’s prick stand at attention.

Aemond is no exception.

“You can admit it, little brother, you desire her.” Aegon had the perfect man in mind. “Everyone does, even Cole

He was loyal, looked close enough to them to cast no obvious doubts like Harwin had and was on good enough terms with Aemma not to be rejected.

Aemond freezes and yet Aegon knows his younger brother has always envied him for everything.

“If she wasn’t such a shrew and a terrible lay, I’d say she was perfect.” He adds knowing how much Aemond dislikes him speaking ill of her.

They were evenly matched, Aemond was as dull and bookish as her.

Once Aemond had been invited to dinner and Aegon had tried his best to find common ground but he felt stupid and resorted to drinking the night away.

It wasn’t that he an idiot, he just didn’t care for things beyond the simple pleasures of life like eating good food, drinking great wine, flying Sunfyre and fucking any woman that said yes.

Aemma liked reading, having opinions on everything most men agree women are too weak and emotional to grasp, music and worse, taking an active role in governing.

He will be happy to leave the Seven Kingdoms in her hands one day.

And for that to happen, Aemond needs to fuck his wife.

Mother will be so proud of him.

“You shouldn’t speak so ill of your wife.” Aemond begins.

Aegon waits for him to be drinking from his wine skin to say this, “Which is why you would make a perfect lover for her.”

“Crone’s sagging teats, Aegon, don’t joke like that.” Aemond coughs and Aegon hits his back a bit more forcefully than required.

“It’s not a jape, little brother. I need you to fuck her.”

Aegon then explains his predicament and wisely keeps their mother’s involvement a secret.

[coffeeheartaddict2]

Everybody hurts sometimes (12/18)

Crash

Book: Open Heart (AU)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC a Casey Valentine

Featuring: Naveen Banerji, Alan Ramsey, Tobias Carrick.

Warnings: Language, alcohol consumption

*****trigger warning- this series deals with issues of abandonment and addiction*****

Category: Angst

Rating: Mature

Word count: 1841

Summary: Ethan is still haunted by Louise’s overdose and his self destructive behaviours continue, not only harming him but others. Casey makes a decision that adds to Ethan’s self doubt.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry

Authors note: have your comfort food ready pretty much from here to chapter 16. It will be confronting and quite the spiral that Ethan goes through.

🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

It has been a week since Louise left Edenbrook and Ethan was still confronted. Everyone seemed convinced that he should have spoken to her and see what she had to say for herself, even after all this time but he did not want to know, with her actions, to him anyway speaking louder than any words could.

Ethan’s life fast became a cycle of work, drink, sleep. The only variation being when Casey came over in which the heavier drinking moved until after she was asleep.

He managed to successfully hide it for a few weeks but after a month and a bit of this cycle, those who cared and loved him the most were concerned.

Naveen recognised the signs quickly but gave Ethan time to sort things out himself. When that did not occur he came over, on a day when he knew Casey was not there.

“What is wrong Ethan?”

Nothing is wrong?”

“You can not fool me Ethan, I remember how wracked with grief I was when Priya passed.”

“I am fine Naveen!” As Ethan took another drink of scotch.

“No, you are not. I know you have always been work focussed but lately you have been more possessed than normal and I am sorry but you are also not doing a good job of hiding your drinking as you think. You looked less disheveled when you were putting in the long hours whilst I was dying.”

“I’m fine” said Ethan, voiced laced with emotion.

“Don’t go pushing people away Ethan, it is exactly what she did. Me, your father, Casey. We all love you and want to see you healed.”

“I wish people would accept my decisions. If you are not going to then please leave me be.”

Naveen was affronted. He had never seen Ethan like this and he knew that Ethan was indeed lying to himself but he left.

When Naveen arrived home he called Alan and told him of his meeting with Ethan. Alan was saddened. Alan confided that he had been on the outer with Ethan since Louise first made contact. Naveen asked Alan if Louise had given any indication as to why she left or did not reach out herself. Alan stated that she had not, she understood why I was leaving the ball in Ethan’s court. I mean I was shocked that she reached out after all this time and also shocked she was an addict.

“Was she not addicted to anything?”

“Work, she loved her job and she worked really hard, Louise is who Ethan got his workaholic tendencies from.”

“Well if his level of drinking recently is anything to go by then it is not the only addictive behaviour he has picked up.

Alan shook his head, well let’s hope history does not repeat.”

Naveen nodded in agreement.

Ethan’s relationship with Naveen was not the only casualty. Ethan had not been able to say I love you to Casey since Louise. It did not bother Casey at first, she knew that Ethan much preferred to show her he loved her in other ways but the lack of verbal confirmation was starting to bug her. He still refused to talk about what happened and how it was impacting him now. Even though he appeared to not drink excessively when he was awake, she would feel him leave the bed and come back smelling like a distillery. She knew drinking and even avoiding via sex was unhealthy but she was not sure how to even begin broaching the topic.

It was a week later after his chat with Alan that Naveen met with Casey in his office. The last time Casey was here she was requesting an Ethics Hearing after admitting to Harper that she gave the medication to Mrs Martinez.

“You are not in trouble Casey, please come in.”

“Thank you Naveen.” Said Casey, feeling a little more at ease.

“I am worried about Ethan, Casey”

“I am too Naveen. He has not been able to say I love you since Louise left the hospital, he does not drink to excess when I am awake but I know he gets up during the night.”

Naveen was saddened to hear this.

“I know he was hurt badly by her actions, I get not wanting to reach out but he was so confronted with her here and clearly he never healed from the trauma. I know he feels like he is unlovable but he is just self fulfilling a prophecy right now.”

“I understand, when my sister Priya died, I was a mess, she had cancer, I did get to say goodbye to her in person and it hurt. Deep down I knew she understood and we did speak before she passed but not seeing her, not being able to do much from afar…”

“I wish he would talk about it but I do not know how to broach the subject with him, Naveen. I have always known there was anger there but this is a whole new level.”

Naveen nodded, “Ethan has always kept Alan at arms length but even he has been pushed further away.”

“I feel for Alan, not only been pushed away but after all this time, your wife finally reaches out and all she wants is to speak to Ethan.”

“Did you speak to her whilst she was here?”

“No, out of respect for Ethan’s privacy though I wish I did.”

“You have been good for him Casey. I hope he does not push you away.”

“Me too” said Casey sadly. Casey left, saddened that Naveen appeared to be on the outer. Then she thought about how Ethan had been with her especially lately and she wondered too if she was indeed been pushed away.

She had late shifts the next few days then a day off. She decided that on the night before her day off she would see Ethan. It was late and possibly not the best time to have this conversation but the longer she left it the harder it was going to be.

She let herself into the building and made her way to his apartment. She used her key to let herself into his apartment. Ethan was awake but not sobre. He was not expecting the door to open and he was confused and became surprised quickly when he saw Casey.

“I did not expect to see you” slurred Ethan.

“You are drunk” stated Casey.

“I am fine…”

“No Ethan you are not.” Casey took a deep breath. “You have not been fine since she came into the ED.”

“Casey…”he walks over to kiss her but Casey takes a step back.

“No Ethan, we are going talk.”

“There is nothing to talk about!” Exclaimed Ethan

“Nothing too…” Casey throws her hands in the air in disbelief.

“The fact you think there is nothing to talk about is the issue.” Casey takes a few breaths . “I get the anger, if someone walked out for no reason and did not contact me again I would be upset too, but how is pushing those who love you and care about you helpful?”

“I am not pushing anyone…”

“Yes you are Ethan, ever since she has left you have pushed not only Naveen but also me away”

“No I have not pushed you…”

“How have you not pushed me away? Tell me. You can not even say I love you, or I care about you, I have started to feel used after we have sex, you sneak out of bed to drink…again Ethan, how have you not pushed me away?”

“I am not feeling loved Casey, how do you expect me to say I love you?”

“Therapy, I don’t know, confront Louise, find out why she left you, the answers are not in scotch and sex, you went through trauma Ethan.”

“That woman left me for drugs,pure and simple…”

“You do not know for sure Ethan, the addiction could have come later.”

“It does not negate the fact that she fucking walked out that door with no explanation no nothing!”

“That is on her, not you, you rose above it then but you aren’t now and it is killing the relationships that I know mean more than anything to you.”

“I am not ruining…”

“Yes you are Ethan, the longer you don’t properly address the issues, the more damage you are doing. I want to be here for you truly but if you can not accept the help and love from me, Naveen, hell even your own father then I can not stay. I’m sorry Ethan but I can not do us anymore if you keep down this self destruction.”

Ethan is a tumult of emotions but anger wins out.

“Then get the fuck out of my apartment.”

Casey tosses her key on the bench and walks out.

When Casey shuts the door, his anger turns to sorrow.

“Fuck” he tells as he throws a tumbler across the room. He collapses onto the floor and cries. He eventually gets up and gets another drink to numb the extra pain he is in.

Casey manages to make it to the lift before letting her tears loose. She knew deep down she loved him but she knew that she was going to get hurt more if she stayed. She made her way to her apartment. Aurora came home at the same time, surprised to see Casey. They head up. Casey telling Aurora the gist of what has been happening. Aurora asked what she was going to do about her residency. Casey said she did not know right now.

Casey went to bed and Aurora messaged Tobias stating Casey is wanting to look for a new residency, can we fit her in at Kenmore.

Tobias had to do a double take.

“What the fuck did you do Ethan” he muttered to himself.

Tobias then messaged Aurora that he would speak to the chief first thing.

Later that morning Aurora got a text from Tobias stating to come in early and bring Casey to meet with Dr McRae.

Aurora told Casey and she was appreciative. They met with Dr McRae and she was impressed. Casey was to continue her residency at Mass Kenmore. She was to start the following Monday and even said she would get the ball rolling with Naveen.Casey was appreciative.

Later that evening Naveen contacted Casey. He expressed sadness at her leaving. Casey said she had to, she explained how she confronted Ethan and how he was in denial of everything and how she ended it. Naveen was saddened but understood.

Naveen then sent an email to the team advising of Casey’s transfer. Ethan received the email. He read it but he was too numb. On a base level he knew Casey was right, he was pushing people away but he was scared of that fact that they may not indeed be there at the end of the healing so he did what he did to cope and that was to have another drink.

——-

Authors note: do we hate me yet???? Those who have seen my outline know that this is not the end of the spiral. But again happy ending. Next chapter there is a slight reprieve.

For those who have endured thank you

Tagging: @jerzwriter @jamespotterthefirst @cariantha @genevievemd @alj4890 @tessa-liam @potionsprefect @youlookappropriate @trappedinfanfiction @bex-la-get @crazy-loca-blog @a-crepusculo @ofmischiefandmedicine @liaromancewriter @schnitzelbutterfingers @binny1985 @lucy-268

@openheartfanfics

@choicesficwriterscreations

[commenter2]

Imagine Chaz and Helsa interacting

Chaz was an interesting new character as along with being the acquatic demon version of Blitzo, it was nice that we got to learn more about Moxxie's past through him and how him ditching Moxxie actually led to Moxxie meeting Blitzo. Heck we even learn that Millie dated him which was a big twist for me, and I love it when the Helluva Boss writers alter/move away from the usual tropes and cliches in shows. That is why I am shocked that the writers killed him off.

Though I do like how this means the writers are willing to kill off characters with connections to the main cast, I'm surprised they didn't save him for a possible future story as I could have seen him returning in a Hazbin Hotel episode where he is involved with Helsa von Eldrtich. Admittedly though his role and goal in the ideas I have would be similar as in "Exes and Oohs" it would still lead to some interesting character development and growth while possibly adding to the series main plot, not to mention that hasn't stopped the writers before like how "Seeing Stars" is a bit similar to "Loo Loo Land". I could picture an episode where the two are shown to be engaged and Helsa, in another attempt to annoy Charlie, ask her to help plan her wedding as since she is a princess, I could see Charlie having the power to marry people. Obviously Charlie doesn't want to do this but she changes her mind because of something, like Helsa offers her info on something that is effecting the hotel or (based on my Hazbin Hotel season 1 premiere theory) Charlie thinks helping her rival could in turn get her the support of another one of her angelic uncles/aunts that she needs to get her redemption plan approved by Heaven. Though we see that the Helsa and Chaz are compatible and seem like a fitting couple, along with how Chaz got rich offscreen, Charlie and the others realize that they are also getting married for selfish reasons which some of the characters have a problem with, especially Charlie. I could see Charlie trying to persuade Helsa to not go through with the marriage right now until they properly want to be together but Chaz and Helsa, espeically Helsa ignore that. Though Charlie wants to fight more about this, she lets it go after realizing that she has to accept other peoples decisions but is proud that she at least tried to do good and hopes for the best for Helsa and Chaz. At least she can make this a wedding both can be happy about. Luckily (if you could call it that) Charlie's hope works as someone crashes the wedding to attack Chaz, either the people he stole the money that got him rich or someone like my OC Ratchet who along with having a grudge for the von Eldrtich, is mad that Chaz stole his robotic best friend which Chaz thought was a toy he could give to Helsa. During the fight Chaz ditches Helsa to almost perish in an accident to save himself, but luckily Charlie saves Helsa while Alastor and the others capture Chaz and Helsa calls off the wedding, he is given to the attackers. Though saddened by what just happened, Helsa thanks Charlie for all she did and tried to do for her and we see them show some respect for each other before quickly going back to hating each other. Then when Charlie thinks that this was just another crazy day for her and the others, Charlie gets the reward she was promised/hoping for and starts to focus on what to do next to aid the hotel and her redemption plan. I also could see a funny ship moment when after Helsa throws the bouquet, since she no longer needs them, someone accidentally catches it which causes them and their love interest to blush. What could you see happening if Chaz and Helsa interacted? Characters are owned by Vivziepop base by Cindyter

[improvingmym1nd]

My apology to anyone I've hurt

Here is the beginning of my promise to do better. I want to start off by saying that I am extremely and sincerely sorry to the people who I've hurt with my words and actions. To Jewish people, non-Jewish people, Zionists, and anyone in between, I am sorry. The hurtful things I said were only a few short years ago, yes, but I have grown. I was in a dark place myself and not doing well. I resorted to hate, anger, and believing in violence was the answer. I also was simply just uninformed and not properly educated on the happenings in Israel. This all summed up to me becoming such a terrible version of myself, someone who I now try to forget and work past from returning to being that person. I was very shocked to read back on the negative statements I had made in that time period of my life, one reason is that I no longer had access to the account I used to make those statements. It was saddening to see the things I was spewing whilst being so uneducated. To be honest, I had put that time of my life behind me due to how rough it just all was. The pandemic, numerous life issues, countless social justice problems and news, it was overwhelming. And now that it's coming back up, it hurts to see that I was that kind of person, especially on social media.

Being an immigrant myself, I know how it feels to be unwelcome. Especially in a land I call home. I know how it feels to be shunned, excluded, disrespected, and bullied. I understand how disrespectful I was in the statements I made. To know that I may have given that same feeling to someone disappoints me.

It's unfortunately very easy to follow a crowd. Especially as a child. I was very prone to listening to other people and letting others influence my own decisions and actions. I did not have a backbone and hardly did my own research. I was made to believe that it was right to ostracize Israelis and Zionists alike from society when in reality it's not right to do that to anyone at all.

Putting myself in the shoes of an Israeli or a Zionist... Imagining hundreds upon thousands of people on social media pouring out statements of negativity, violence, and abhorrence... Protesting the existence of your home and/or country... and knowing that I was one of those people? It is the biggest regret that I have in this life. I hate that I have made people feel that way.

There's no one that I can really blame but myself. As much as other people and groups influenced me to think that Israelis and Zionists don't belong, it was my entire fault for believing in anything but the truth. To support peace in the state of Israel.

Here are things that I can promise and will work on moving forward:

Educate yourself.

Do your own research.

Believe in what is right, not just because it's trendy.

Form an opinion based on facts, not assumptions.

Do not spew hatred or negative statements.

Do not join hateful groups or align yourself with people who support violence and hate.

Respect all people, no matter who they are, what they are, or where they come from.

To this day, I am continuously doing my own research. I refuse to let other people influence my belief system like that ever again, to the point where I am pouring out statements of animosity and violence about something I thought I agreed with. I hope that one glorious day, I'll be able to visit the beautiful country of Israel in hopes of seeing what the country, the culture, and the people all have to offer.

With each day that passes, I am still learning and growing. Obviously, I was not perfect then, and I am not now and never will be. But I am simply just a person. Trying to do better each day. I no longer have hate in my heart for Israelis and Zionists, and I am extremely disappointed in myself for even having those thoughts and feelings in the first place. There is room for everyone on this Earth. From the bottom of my heart, please accept my apology if you have been affected by my negative statements and know that I am regretful. Thank you for reading.

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Prom Blues- Eddie Munson x OC

Eddie Munson x Misty Hawthorne

Description: Prom is just around the corner, but Eddie hasn’t asked Misty. After she confides in Dustin about it, she receives quite the surprise the night that prom rolls around.

Word Count: 2.3k

Senior prom was just around the corner. Almost every day for the last two weeks Misty watched as boys either nervously and confidently asked a girl to prom. Whether it be by a small gesture or something huge, it was exciting to watch. Even when the girl didn’t say yes (which actually happened a few times), it was still fun to watch how far people would go to attend prom with the person of their choosing. 

So far Misty had rejected a total of three promposals. It wasn’t even that she didn’t want to go either. On the contrary she was arguably one of the most excited for prom. But, she was also waiting for the very off chance that her boyfriend Eddie would ask her. She was more than aware that this would technically be his third senior prom, but it wasn’t like he ever attended them. According to him, they were “a big scam for the school to make money from naive teenager’s dreams just so they could just donate it all to the sports teams the very next day, leaving everyone else with some crappy pictures and an old dress/suit they would probably never be able to wear again.” 

And sure, she could always go with someone else. In fact she’d heard around school that Johnny Rodham wanted to ask her. But, she knew without having to think about it that it wouldn’t be as fun. It was supposed to be the best night of a senior’s life, so it should be with someone that she wanted to go with. She wanted to go with her boyfriend, but she already knew that he would probably just shrug it off. He wouldn’t want to go, he hadn’t gone once in the other two years that he’d been a senior. 

At the same time she was hoping it’d be different because he had a girlfriend to ask this year. Every day, between watching people ask each other to prom, she would wait with the slightest hope that that was the day Eddie would ask her. It never came though, and now prom was only a few days away. 

By that point she’d given up on him asking her, but she was still saddened by it. She tried not to let it affect her, but she knew that the rest of the Hellfire Club was beginning to catch on that she hadn’t been her usual happy self the last few days. She hadn’t realized that it was so obvious until Dustin came up to her one day after school. 

“Hey Misty, wait up” he called, jogging to catch up with her as she made her way to the theater’s basement. The girl stopped and turned just in time for him to catch up to her. 

“Hey Dustin,” she greeted. “You excited for the session tonight?” 

“Always,” he answered immediately, a toothy smile on his face. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” Misty’s brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Oh, okay. What’s up?” 

“Is everything?” He questioned, which surprised the girl. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you’ve been pretty quiet the last few days. Like, you haven’t been interacting with anyone really,” he explained, then his expression became sympathetic. “It’s because of prom, isn’t it?” The older girl’s eyes widened, panic shooting through her. 

“You… I- what-” 

“You don’t hide it as well as you think.” Dustin was obviously amused by her shock that she’d been caught. Once she gathered her bearings, a small huff left her lips, then she shook her head with a weak smile. 

“It’s really okay, Dustin,” she reassured him. “Proms are grossly overrated anyway.” Both she and the boy knew that she didn’t actually mean that. It was obvious, despite how much she tried to hide it. But, Dustin merely offered her a smile and nodded before they continued on to the Hellfire room. 

Misty assumed that Dustin would drop the subject and move on, and it seemed that he did because she wasn’t questioned anymore after that. The rest of the week went by without any problems, then the night of prom came. Rather than being at the school, Misty was laying on the couch in her living room, eyes focused on the movie playing despite her mind being far away from it. 

She was only brought back from her thoughts by a loud knock on her front door. Her parents were out of the house, so that meant it was up to her to answer it. So, as much as she was content to just stay on the couch for the rest of eternity, she begrudgingly stood up and walked over to the door. Upon looking through the peephole, she was surprised to see Eddie standing on the other side of it with a nervous look on his face. 

“Eddie?” She greeted confusedly after opening the door. “I thought Hellfire was having a session at the Wheeler’s place tonight?” He shot her an awkward grin then shrugged. 

“Uh, we did. But I rescheduled it for tomorrow because I had to ask you something,” he answered. Misty’s brows furrowed in confusion, and she couldn’t help but laugh. 

“You canceled your coveted D&D session just to ask me a question?” She clarified, voice dripping with amusement. The repetition made Eddie chuckle with her, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.” It was at that moment that she realized that one of his hands was behind his back. Just as she opened her mouth to question him, he spoke again. 

“Uh, so anyways, the question I wanted to ask,” he said, nerves now more prominent in his tone. “You- um… Shit, sorry.” He laughed again, but Misty could tell that it was a way to break the tension this time. 

“Take your time, Eds,” she comforted with a patient smile. Her arms crossed as she leaned against her doorway. 

“I’ve uh… I’ve never done this before,” he admitted. “I never realized how nerve wracking a stupid little question could be.” Despite trying to be patient with him, Misty realized that her curiosity was beginning to get the best of her. She had a feeling that he knew that as well. 

“Alright, let’s just get it over with,” he muttered more to himself than to her before looking at her once again. “Misty Hawthorne, will you do me the honor of going to senior prom with me?” He said it all very quickly and in one breath, but Misty understood every word. Her eyes widened in shock, a bright smile forming on her face. 

“Wait, are you serious?” She asked, trying to suppress her excitement. 

“I am totally a hundred percent serious,” Eddie answered, finally showing her what was behind his back. It was an ivory and cream corsage, which was all the proof she needed to know that he wasn’t joking. The girl bit her lip to contain an excited squeal as she nodded enthusiastically, but then her excitement wore off. 

“Wait, I can’t,” she said softly, surprising Eddie. “I don’t have a dress. None of my dresses are prom appropriate.” Upon hearing her reasoning, the boy grinned. He wasn’t as upset as she expected him to be. 

“Don’t you worry about that, beautiful. I brought backup.” Before Misty could question what he meant, Ella, Steve, Dustin and Robin appeared from seemingly nowhere. Ella held a large bag in her hand, one that dry cleaners would use, while Robin held what looked to be a makeup bag and a curling iron. Steve also held a dry cleaner’s bag, but this one was partially unzipped so she could see what seemed to be a suit jacket. A smile broke out on Misty’s face as she stepped back inside. 

“Let’s do it then!” 

Once Misty was out of the shower, Robin and Ella got to work. While Robin’s specialty lay in makeup, Ella worked on the girl’s hair. All Misty had to do was sit there at her vanity, humming along to the music playing from her radio. Ella was the first one to finish since all she really did was give her beach waves and pull half of it up in a bun. Once she’d finished, she walked over to Misty’s dresser, where the dress hung up. 

“I’m pretty sure I got you the right size,” she muttered as she unzipped the bag and pulled out a dress. It was a long satin green maxi dress. When Ella held it up Misty realized that it was backless as well, though it had strings crossing over the back three times that ended in a bow just an inch or so above the butt. It was absolutely gorgeous and exactly Misty’s bohemian style. A wide smile appeared on the girl’s face as she examined it, though Robin turned her head to face her so she could finish her makeup almost immediately. 

“It’s gorgeous, Ella,” she said softly. “I can’t imagine how much it cost, but I can pay you back for it.” 

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” the girl shrugged as she slipped the dress off the cushioned wire hanger it was on. “They were having a sale at that shop Jenna works at. She also used her employee discount so it cost basically nothing.” 

It only took Robin another minute to finish up and she helped Misty stand. The girl slipped the dress on and while Ella tied the back of the dress, Robin pulled out a pair of three inch nude heels. Misty took her hand when she held it out and stepped into them with her friend’s help, watching as Robin knelt down and buckled them for her. Once they were done, the girls stepped back to look at her, wide smiles on their faces. 

“Wow, we’re miracle workers,” Ella joked, making Misty jokingly roll her eyes and herself giggle. “Seriously though, you look amazing.” 

“Yeah, you look hot,” Robin added jokingly. The girls shared another laugh then they began ushering Misty out of the room. 

“Okay, now it’s time for your grand entrance. Robin and I will go downstairs and present you while you wait at the top of the stairs and wait for the call,” Ella instructed as they reached the stairs. Misty nodded and threw her hair behind her shoulder, letting out a nervous breath as Robin and Ella began their descent downstairs. 

“Wow, Eddie, you actually look nice,” she heard Robin say from the living room, where she assumed the guys were. 

“I’m gonna ignore your surprise and just thank you for the compliment,” her boyfriend retorted, which made her giggle. She didn’t even have to be looking at him to know that he took offense for the backhanded compliment. 

“Anyways,” Ella cut in pointedly. “Are you ready to see your prom date?” Immediately she could feel the air shift to excitement, earning a smile from the girl. 

“More than anything.” Misty’s heart soared at how sincere he sounded. 

“Alright then, if you all will direct your attention towards the stairs, I will now present to you: the Queen, Misty Hawthorne!” The girl took that as her cue, and so she descended the staircase as carefully as she could in her heels. Just before she came into view she put on her most dazzling smile. Robin stood in front of the front door in the foyer with a camera in her hands. She snapped a few pictures of Misty with a small smile before directing her camera in Eddie’s direction. 

When Misty’s gaze focused on Eddie, she was pleasantly surprised to actually see him in a suit. Sure, she’d seen it when the others showed up, but a part of her was expecting him to end up forgoing it in favor of his everyday clothes. He looked amazing though. The suit was all black with a white shirt under it. He didn’t wear a tie of any sort, but that wasn’t something she worried over. His hair seemed to have been tamed a bit, but it looked normal for the most part (which she was more than happy with). 

She couldn’t begin to imagine what she looked like to Eddie, but she knew that she didn’t look as surprised by him. He looked utterly entranced by her mere presence, like he was gazing at some sort of angel. His jaw had dropped a bit and his eyes were as wide as saucers, which actually earned a giggle from her. 

“Careful Eds, you’re gonna catch flies,” she joked as she reached the last stair. That seemed to snap him out of his captivated stupor and he matched her smile. 

“When I see someone as beautiful as you, how can I not stop and stare?” He shot back, which actually made the girl blush. 

“Alright guys, we need pictures,” Ella instructs. 

So, Robin took pictures of Eddie wrapping the corsage around Misty’s wrist, then her pinning the boutonniere to his jacket. Afterwards they did a few group pictures since their friends did so much to help them get ready for tonight. Finally, they took a few pictures with each other for future memories. They took a few general prom pictures, then came the ‘funny’ ones. There were a few funny faces and poses, but Misty’s favorite would always be when they both did the rock and roll salute and struck out their tongues. Finally, when they took enough pictures to satisfy Ella, she smiled. 

“Alright, I think I’ve tortured you guys enough,” she said, opening the door and holding up Eddie’s van keys. “Go have fun.” 

Eddie grabbed the keys and then the couple walked out hand in hand with wide smiles on their faces. And it was quite possibly one of the best nights of their lives. Even Eddie, who loathed school functions, had fun. Of course they didn’t win prom King and/or Queen, they still danced and sang along to the music (probably a little too loudly). Misty had no idea if Dustin had any part in Eddie’s sudden promposal, but she was happy nonetheless.

[watchmegetobsessed]

TO LOVE AND BE LOVED - Part One (Harry Styles)

a/n: oh my god i am sooo thankful for the love the masterlist got with just so little info about the story! it means so much to me and i really hope i won’t disappoint you with this story! i was planning to post the first part on tuesday but i got excited bc of all the feedback and reactions and decided to start earlier, so here it is, part one of TLABL, a story im kind of proud of and very happy to share! please drop by my ask box or leave your thoughts on the story, i would love to hear everything from you guys!

pairing: CEO!Dad!Harry X Reader

warning: mentions of death, cheating and divorce

word count: 11.2k

SERIES MASTERPOST masterlist

“I hope you realize this holds nothing against you, we all love and appreciate you and your work, but we had to face some unexpected problems this past year.”

You sit in front of Claire, your boss completely dumbfounded, not even comprehending what she is saying completely. You came to work this morning absolutely oblivious that today is going to be your last day of work at the daycare you’ve been working at for over two years now.

“I’m sorry, but last time you let us in on the budget you didn’t bring up any complication that might have indicated someone could lose their job, so what possible problem could have come up so abruptly?” you ask with a shocked and nervous chuckle. Part of you kind of hopes this is just some stupid joke she is playing on you, but Claire is not one to make games out of such serious things. Letting out a tired sigh she pushes her reading glasses up to the top of her head into her carefully curled hair.

“Look, I’m really trying not to make a big deal out of it, but we had to make some cuts on the budget. The kitchen and gymnasium renovation was completely unplanned and it kicked us in the butt. We are making some changes about the groups this year and it was made that it can be solved with one less person on the team. I’m sorry it had to be you, but the decision had to be made.”

“But why me?” you press. “There are two people who have been working for a shorter period of time here, didn’t I earn your trust during my time here?”

“It’s not about that, Y/N,” Claire shakes her head.

“Then what is this about?”

“If you are so keen on knowing, we’ve… received a few… complaints.” Your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline, this is the first time you’re hearing about it.

“Complaints?”

“Yes. Some parents are not quite the fan of the kind of mentality you are using while teaching the kids.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask, feeling all the blood rushing out of your face. This is starting to get way too nasty. Claire pinches the bridge of her nose before leaning onto her desk, clasping her hands together.

“I know that you are quite the free spirit and want to teach the kids about openness and acceptance, but not everyone is as rainbow as you are. Some kids brought the word home about what kind of books you’ve been reading and we’ve gotten a few concerns about you basically promoting the LGBTQ community for the kids.”

“I’m not promoting, I’m trying to teach them to accept everyone just the way they are, how can that upset anyone?!”

“Well, it does. The committee had to make a decision on who we should let go and many agreed that it might be the safest decision to make it be… you.”

You’re about to faint. You are sure you are about to fall off this chair and just black out. How can someone get mad about you reading stories about acceptance and treating everyone equally? What kind of monster can see it as a bad thing? And now you are losing your job over such a stupid thing that you don’t even feel responsible for.

Though you’d love to stay and try to convince Claire to not let you go, you know the decision has been made and if you’re being honest, you don’t feel comfortable anymore working at a place where parents tell you off for teaching important values for their kids. Sadly, but you sign all paperwork about your immediate parting and you leave Claire’s office to pack your stuff.

“Miss Y/N! Miss Y/N!” Izzy, one of the sweetest girls in your group basically launches herself at you, smashing against your legs as she hugs you happily. “Do you want to see what I just painted?” She blinks up at you with her gorgeous green eyes and your heart breaks that you won’t get to see her again.

“Oh, Sweetie. I have to—you know what? Sure. Show me your painting,” you smile at her warmly. You can’t say no to her, not when this is the last time you get to see her.

As you’re cleaning out your locker in the break room, Heather walks in and stops in her tracks, seeing you with your gloomy face as you pack everything into a cardboard box.

“What the hell are you doing?” she questions right away. The two of you have known each other for years now, you did the same master’s programme and somehow ended up working here together, carrying on the friendship you’ve formed through your school years.

“I was… fired,” you sigh, wincing at the words.

“What?! Why?”

“Apparently, we are having some budget problems with all the renovations that was made recently and unbeknownst to me, some parents have been complaining about my openness with kids so I was the lucky one to part ways with.”

“That’s fucking bullshit! The kids adore you, how can someone complain about something like that?”

“Don’t know, ask them if you ever find out who they are,” you mumble under your breath as you shut the now empty locker closed. “I’m sorry we can’t carpool anymore,” you pout at her.

“No fucks given about that, what are you gonna do now?” she asks, seemingly very bummed at the news that you won’t be working at the same place now.

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “I guess I’ll have to find something new if I don’t want to end up on the streets,” you mumble.

“Oh girl, I’m so sorry,” Heather sighs pulling you into a hug. “Why don’t we go out for drinks on Friday? Everything is on me!”

“Don’t act like I’m already broke, makes me feel like a loser.”

“Sorry,” she scowls. “Just want to brighten you up a little. Meet me at seven at that Mexican place, how does that sound?”

“Stuffing my face with nachos and tequila? Sounds like the best plan I could wish for.”

You waste no time arriving home after your worst day at work. You jump right into the job ads, looking for basically anything that might help you out of this impossible situation. Sending your resume to as many places as possible, you get a few callbacks the next few days, but you only make it to one interview on Friday and that doesn’t go well either. The man who calls in for an open position at a private kindergarten turns out to be a total snob and he doesn’t find your free spirit too fitting with the profile of his institution so you get rejected at the end of the interview.

You head out to meet Heather feeling like shit. You’ve been unemployed for four days, but it’s already breaking your spirits.

“You know what? Clair is a bitch for giving in to the complaints,” Heather slams her fourth shot glass on the table with a grimace. “She should have defended you!”

“I’m sure she just didn’t want to get into any disagreement. Some of the parents donate great amounts to the school and Claire would never risk losing that money,” you sigh rolling your eyes.

“Okay, but she is being very… not inclusive,” she narrows her eyes. “Firing someone for teaching the kids openness? Bullshit.”

“I’m just sad I don’t get to see the kids anymore. They really grew close to my heart.”

“The little fuckers can be so damn cute, almost make me want to have one.” Heather sighs, downing another shot before pulling the nachos closer to her. You laugh at her vulgar reaction, she has always had quite a dirty mouth but somehow she controls herself well around the kids. “How has the job hunting been?”

“Horrible,” you growl in frustration. There are not many that offer a good paycheck and the few that does are these posh places that expect you to treat the kids like they are made out of gold which is ridiculous. That’s not how you raise a kid!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sure something will come up soon. Why don’t you look into nanny jobs, have you thought about that?”

“What do you mean?” you furrow your eyebrows, popping some chips into your mouth.

“A lot of people prefer having nannies for their little children, some even want them to move in. My brother’s ex-girlfriend was a live-in nanny for about two years and she earned a shit ton of money, because she didn’t have to pay rent and a good chunk of the food, because the parents just treated her like part of the family and bought groceries for five people instead of four.”

“I’m not sure I’m cut out for that kind of stuff.”

“What, earning money?” Heather scoffs.

“No, living with a stranger.”

“Most of the time the nanny gets like a separated place so it wouldn’t be that bad, but you know what’s good for you. It was just an idea,” she shrugs.

Soon enough you drop any work talk not wanting to ruin the mood. You enjoy some time away from the stress of job hunting and you’re just trying to have fun with your best friend. You start talking about nostalgic memories from college and end up looking up people you graduated with on social media, checking out what they’ve been up to in the past years.

“Alright, I’m gonna go to the restroom quickly, watch out for my drink,” you announce pushing your drink closer to Heather as you head towards the restrooms.

There’s a bit of a line so you stand behind two girls chatting about some cute guy they just met and leaning against the wall you close your eyes for a moment, feeling the drinks hitting you in the head. You’re not used to drinking, haven’t really had the time to get drunk too much lately and it’s saddening to think that now that you’re unemployed, you could black out every day, you wouldn’t have anywhere to show up in the morning.

Getting deep in your thoughts you almost don’t even notice that your phone is buzzing in your pocket. When you finally realize you pull it out of your back pocket and look down at the unknown number with a scowl. You quickly leave your spot in the line and rush out to hear something as you answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, I hope I’m not calling at an inconvenient time, I’m Harry Styles and I’m looking to talk to Y/N Y/L/N?” you hear a thick British accent on the other end of the line.

“This is her.”

“Great. Sorry for the late call, I’m Isabelle’s father.”

“Isabelle?” you ask in confusion, the names not really clicking in your head thanks to the shots you’ve been taking.

“Isabelle Styles? Izzy?”

“Oh! Yes! Sorry, yeah. Mr. Styles, what can I help you with?” you ask, not sure why Izzy’s dad would be calling you.

“Well I just recently learned from my daughter that you’re not working at the daycare any longer?” “Uh, yeah. Unfortunately I was fired this Monday…” you awkwardly answer.

“I’m sorry about that. Izzy has been really sad about it, I wanted to ask if you’ve found a new job already?”

“Not yet, I’ve been looking but I haven’t had much luck yet,” you confess.

“In that case I have an offer to make,” he firmly continues and you perk up at his words. “I’ve been thinking about pulling Izzy out of daycare, but I didn’t want to do it until I found someone to take good care of her. You’ve been her absolute favorite and she’s been devastated since you’ve been gone. If you’re up for a job of this kind, I would like to offer you a spot as Izzy’s nanny.”

“Oh!” is all you react, completely not expecting this call.

“I know there are a lot to discuss, but if you’re interested, I would be more than happy to have a chat with you sometime this weekend? To go over the details and see if we can make it work.”

“I, uh… Um, yeah. We can meet, that sounds good. When would it be good for you?”

“How about tomorrow afternoon?”

“That can work.”

“Amazing!” he beams. “I’ll send you the address through text if that’s alright for you.”

“Yeah, of course. When should I be there?”

“Would three o’clock suit you?”

“Absolutely,” you nod, stunned at the turn of events.

“Great, thank you so much, and once again, sorry to bother you on your Friday evening. Looking forward to see you tomorrow!”

“Thank you, Mr. Styles, see you soon!”

You get back in line at the bathroom and then make your way back to the table where Heather gives you a puzzled look.

“Did you take a massive shit or something?” she jokes as you take your seat and stare back at her, still in shock.

“No, I had a very interesting call, actually.”

“With who?”

“Um, Izzy Styles’ dad just called and offered me a job as her nanny.”

Heather almost chokes on her drink, coughing at the news. You hand her a napkin as she dries her chin off from her cocktail.

“Harry Styles wants you to be the nanny of his daughter?” she gasps.

“You know Izzy’s dad?”

“Y/N, everyone knows him! He is the sexiest man to walk this planet and not to mention that he is like stupidly rich! Have you not seen him yet?”

“Not really,” you shrug. “Izzy was picked up by an old woman most of the times, I guess I never worked when her dad came for her.”

“That explains why you’re not squirming already,” she scoffs. “That man is like… crazy hot, I’m telling you. I bumped into him one morning when I guess he was dropping Izzy off, the way he said ‘Pardon me, Darling’ made my knees shake,” she tells you, faking an accent that’s nowhere near what Mr. Styles sounded like on the phone.

“Well, I guess I’ll see him for myself. I’m meeting him tomorrow to discuss details,” you shrug and Heather slams her hand on the table.

“Oh my God! You’re gonna work for Harry Fucking Styles! Get ready because your panties will be soaking wet all the time,” she laughs like a hyena.

“Heather, stop!” you shake your head laughing too.

Following Mr. Styles’ call you decide to cut the night shorter than you intended, not wanting to look absolutely wasted when you meet him. Arriving home to your small, one bedroom apartment you take a quick shower before climbing to bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to collect your thoughts. You told Heather you’re not willing to do the whole live-in nanny thing and Mr. Styles might not even want you to live with them, but now that the option is there, you realize it might not be the worst case scenario. Especially since you’re not really swimming in other job offers and you are in desperate need of anything at this point.

Despite having consumed quite some alcohol the previous night, you wake up at a reasonable hour in the morning, finding a text from Mr. Styles about the address you’d have to be going in the afternoon. You make a quick trip to the grocery store and do some chores before you start getting ready for the meeting. You opt for a simple black dress that reaches your knees and pair it with a little funkier, flower printed blazer to bring some color into the outfit.

Punching the address into the GPS you see that it’s taking you to the outer skirt of the city to the neighborhood that’s known to have some quite luxurious estates and you immediately think back to what Heather said about him being ridiculously rich. Driving down the streets in your old Volkswagen you couldn’t stand out more at a place where at least three cars park on the driveways and one of them is a Ferrari or a Porsche.

There’s a massive security gate under the address that’s your destination and it’s left open so you can pull up to the driveway easily. You park next to a fucking Tesla, finding it extremely funny to see your car next to it, but it is what it is. Walking up to the front door you ring the bell as you take a look at the house that can easily considered to be a mansion. Guessing from the outside there are at least about five bedrooms in it and you can only imagine what other luxurious units are squeezed into it.

Soon enough the front door opens and you find yourself staring back at a breathtakingly gorgeous man, wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black suit pants, his chocolate curls falling to his forehead as his emerald eyes fall on you, a warm smile tugging on his lips.

Shit. Heather was fucking right, you think to yourself swallowing hard.

“Miss Y/L/N, it’s so nice to see you. I’m Harry, Izzy’s dad, come on in!” he invites you inside before a short handshake.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Styles.”

“Please, just call me Harry. I don’t like formalities at home,” he asks you as the two of you walk further inside until you arrive to what looks like a living room, but it’s actually the size of your apartment.

“Only if you call me Y/N,” you smile at him and he nods right away.

“Miss Y/N!” you hear a small voice call out and turning around you see Izzy running down the hallway until she throws herself against your legs.

“Oh, hello Sunshine!” you hum, squatting down so you can hug her.

“I missed you!” she pouts, rubbing her eyes.

“I missed you too,” you smile at her, caressing her soft cheeks before standing up. An older lady walks in, the one you’ve seen picking up Izzy. She approaches you with a friendly smile as she extends a hand towards you.

“Hi, I’m Ruth, it’s nice to meet you.” “Y/N, nice to meet you too.”

“Ruth, would you take Izzy outside while I talk to Miss—erm, Y/N here?” Harry requests. Ruth nods and taking Izzy’s hand she lures her outside to look for ladybugs in the backyard and that immediately catches her attention. The two of them leave through the sliding door, giving you and Harry privacy.

“Please, have a seat,” he gestures towards the sectional couch. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I’m good, thank you,” you smile at him as he sits in an armchair across you.

The interior of the house is quite cozy, kind of modern with a hint of vintage touches that make it less rigid, a pop of color showing at most corners so it’s not too monochrome. You quite like it.

“Y/N, I once again apologize for calling you at such an inappropriate hour, but I often work late and I wanted to get in touch with you as soon as possible upon hearing the news.”

“Don’t worry about it, I understand.”

“Isabelle mentioned it to me on Thursday that the other workers told her you no longer work at the daycare so I asked around a little yesterday and was informed that they let you go earlier in the week.”

“It was quite sudden for me as well,” you chuckle lightly, feeling a little anxious to talk about it.

“I know it’s not too appropriate, but I asked why they chose you to part ways with and I have to say it’s outraging that some parents are so ignorant and wayward. I’m really sorry this had to be the reason out of everything.”

“Thank you.” It actually feels nice that he thinks the same, this whole firing was ridiculous and you were losing hope in humanity, but Harry is now very much restoring it.

“Let me walk you through what the situation is here and what I was thinking about.” You nod and listen carefully. “I’m president of a record label and it consumes most of my time, I sometimes work sixty hours a week which I know is not ideal and healthy and I’m trying to change it, but it’s not an easy situation. I thought that putting Izzy into daycare was a good idea, but it’s been getting harder to work around her schedule as a single parent with so much work on my hands. Ruth is a family friend who has been helping tremendously with Izzy, but she is not getting any younger and she would like to retire fully and spend more time with her own grandkids. So I’ve been thinking about hiring a nanny for Izzy and try to make her days work around mine while I’m able to do that. She is going to start preschool in little over a year and I want to spend as much time with her as possible, but it’s not easy when the schedule depends on an institution. When she told me about your firing I had the thought that you might be interested in taking the spot as her nanny. She is obsessed with you, wouldn’t stop talking about what you do every day, and I might have also looked into your professional background. I like what I’ve seen and I’m very much into the way you’ve been dealing with the kids at the daycare. Openness is really important and I want Izzy to grow up in an environment that teaches her about being equal and supportive towards each other. I would be more than happy if you’d be the one taking care of Izzy while I’m not available.”

To say the east you’re stunned at how forward and open he was about the offer and his compliment about your professional background is quite flattering. You can tell he is doing an amazing job at raising Izzy as an open and accepting human, she was always one of the nicest and sweetest kids who always made sure to include all her peers in the games you played. And it’s obvious Harry is not just being a hypocrite, his tattooed arm, painted nails and ring clad fingers are not quite what you’d traditionally imagine a man like him wear, but he does it well and clearly doesn’t give a fuck what others might think about it.

Harry continues with how much he thought you’d be earning for the job and you almost choke on your own saliva. It’s almost three times as much as you’ve been earning at the daycare and you’d be able to save a good chunk every month which is quite amazing.

“I have to ask, were you thinking about a situation where I live with you or I’d have to be coming here every day?”

“Well, essentially it would be the easiest for everyone if you moved in. I have plenty of rooms you could choose from and you’d have access to everything else as well, of course, including the home gym, the pool, the sauna and the entertainment room. But I understand if you are not willing to make that commitment. If you choose to live here you wouldn’t be charged anything, naturally.”

This actually sounds like a dream, moving into this luxury mansion from your cramped little apartment and being able to save the money you’ve been paying on rent.

“And what would be the time management? If I moved in it would easily make me fall into a habit of always working, which is not quite ideal,” you point it out.

“Of course,” he nods. “I like to take care of her morning routine so you’d have to start around nine when I leave to the office. If we can make this deal working I’d like her to start taking some extra classes during the day, moving her activities earlier in the day so her afternoons would be free. She takes piano lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, a swimming instructor comes here on Thursdays and she is taking French lessons every Tuesday and Friday. Everything takes place here, I would reschedule her activities to take place between nine and twelve. You wouldn’t have to worry about her during those times. You’d cover lunch time and then the afternoons. I try to get home between four and six and just work from home if it’s possible so I can be around her. You’d have to only help out whenever I can’t make it home in time I have urgent works that have to be done from home. We could have dinner time together and then her night time routine is my duty again. Ruth is willing to help me out on Saturdays and I spend Sundays with her strictly without any work distraction so you’d have the weekends off unless something comes up. In those cases I would check in with you beforehand and arrange it however it works best for you.”

You’re speechless for a moment. What he just shared doesn’t seem too bad, you might have to work a lot more, but being one on one with just one kid is much easier than dealing with fifteen of them at once. Not to mention that the money is still amazing compared to what you’d have to be doing.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, it’s an amazing offer. Izzy is such a sweet girl, I would be more than happy to take care of her.”

Harry smiles at you warmly, clearly proud of his daughter, as he should be.

“Can I ask for some time to think about it? It would be a huge commitment.” “Of course. Take your time and let me know whatever your decision is.”

“Thank you.”

Harry offers a quick tour in the house regardless, the kitchen is massive, they have a nice dining area with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to the green slopes of the backyard that seems to be Izzy’s kingdom. She has a playhouse that could almost function as a real one, the pool is filled with floaties for her and she has her own playground further in the back with slides, monkey bars and a swing set. Your assumptions were almost right about the number of bedrooms. Beside Harry’s master and Izzy’s own room there’s one that’s been used by Ruth, one that’s for Harry’s mother and sister for whenever they are staying over and there are three additional rooms now serving as guest bedrooms, one of those would be turned into your room if you chose to move in. The gym seems better than the one you’ve been going whenever you felt like being a little active, the entertainment room has everything you could ever think about for a room this sort of and the sauna is already calling your name. Living and working here might actually feel like a vacation.

“Miss Y/N! Look what I found!” Izzy runs up to you when you and Harry step out to the backyard, holding her pointing finger up. A ladybug is wandering around her tiny finger, not even bothering with the amazed girl that’s inspecting it.

“Wow! How many dots do you see on it?” you ask and she knits her eyebrows together, counting the black dots.

“Five!”

“Yes, good job!” you ruffle her curls as she smiles up at you proudly. She really is an angel, you’ve grown to like her a lot and you would be lying if you said you didn’t get emotional over thinking about never seeing her again. Being able to take care of her and give her the best possible childhood would be such a dream and the chance to do that is right in front of you.

“I’ll be waiting for your call, Y/N,” Harry smiles at you walking you towards the front door.

“Harry, I don’t think you need to do that,” you speak up and see his face fall, he obviously took it the wrong way, thinking that you want to say no to his offer.

“Oh…”

“It’s not that,” you chuckle softly. “I would love to take the job. And if you’re still okay with that, I’d like to move in, it would make everything just so much easier.”

You watch as his expression changes from disappointed to hopeful as he cracks a smile nodding.

“Yeah, the offer is still there. When do you think you can start?”

“How soon do you want to pull Izzy out of daycare?”

“As soon as possible. If I have to I can go in on Monday and do all the paperwork. You could move in sometime during the week maybe?”

“I have to talk to my landlord about my lease, but I’m fine with moving in during the week,” you nod smiling and you can’t help but feel excited.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

You discuss a few more details and then you head out, thinking about how the next time you’ll be coming here, you’ll be moving in.

“If this one doesn’t go to the donate box, I’m leaving right now.”

Heather holds up a pair of denim shorts, painted in the colors of the flag of the States. She holds it pinched between her index finger and thumb as if it was something nasty and disgusting

“You know I only bought that for that stupid frat party. I never wore that anywhere else, so you can put it into the donate box.”

“Thank God!” she groans and throws the shorts into said box.

It’s Sunday evening and your place looks like a warzone, boxes taking up the place everywhere as you’re packing your life up to officially move into the Styles mansion. You agreed with Harry to bring over a good chunk of your stuff on Monday and then settle in for real on Tuesday. He is pulling Izzy out of daycare first thing on Monday and you’d stay at home with her for the first time on Wednesday. It’s been a fast paced change, but you couldn’t care less. With the amount Harry is gonna pay you, you’ll be able to save up a good chunk every month, like you always wanted to.

As you finish putting your books away you reach the shelves that contain all your photo albums. Photography has been your passion for a long time. It started as a simple hobby sometime through your freshman year in high school, but in senior year, your photos filled the yearbook and you even did the design of it too. You’ve had a few gigs since then, some weddings and pregnancy shoots and you like to sell your photos individually as well. You wouldn’t have imagined how much a simple nature photo costs.

Flipping through the one on the top, you can’t help the bitter smile on your face as you see the photos from your brother’s 14th birthday three years ago. There are tons of family pictures with you, your brother Trevor and your parents, seemingly being all happy and joyful. Things were different back then and you didn’t see anything coming.

It’s past midnight by the time you more or less finish packing, you’ve filled three big boxes with things to donate so you have significantly less stuff to move to the Styles mansion in the morning. Heather spends the night, but leaves early in the morning since she needs to go to work. The moving van you rented out arrives a little after eleven and the two guys from the moving company helps you load it with about two thirds of your stuff. Harry is at work when you arrive and Izzy is still at the daycare, Ruth is the only one at home, she helps you out even though you tell her not to break a sweat over it.

“Let me help, makes me feel needed,” she chuckles sweetly when you try to get her to stop, but she insists on bringing in some smaller bags and boxes.

You’re still unpacking when Ruth arrives back with Izzy a little after four. You hear her little feet tapping against the floor as she runs down the hallway, bursting into your future room.

“Miss Y/N! You’re here!” she cheers, throwing herself into your arms as you sit on the floor, being the perfect level for the little girl.

“I am! How was your day, little Sunshine?”

“We finger painted and I made a painting for daddy, do you want to see it?”

“Of course!”

Izzy disappears to get her backpack from Ruth who is making her some snacks in the kitchen. She soon returns with her painting, presenting it to you proudly.

“Look! This is me and this is daddy!” she points at the two human-like figures, the only thing giving away who is who is that one of them is bigger than the other one. “And then this is mommy!” she then adds, pointing at a star in the upper corner of the painting and you freeze.

In the midst of everything, you didn’t even have the time to question why Harry is a single parent. To be honest your first guess would have been divorce, but Izzy’s painting is telling you something a lot more tragic.

“It’s beautiful,” you smile at her, trying to hide your surprise at the new information. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

Ruth makes sure Izzy is busy while you finish up unpacking and when you’re about to be done, Harry arrives home. Approaching your room even though the door is open he knocks on the doorframe, catching your attention.

“Hello, just wanted to see how things are going. Do you need help with anything? I’m sorry I couldn’t be here to help with the boxes and all…”

“Hi! Oh don’t worry about that, I had plenty of help,” you shrug smiling. “Everything is going fine, thank you.”

“Great. I did all the paperwork today, tomorrow is going to be Izzy’s last day at daycare. You’re still up to start on Wednesday, right?”

“Yeah, of course. I only have a few things left at home so I’ll be all set by tomorrow.”

“Thank you so much,” he smiles warmly. “And thank you for being so quick about everything. It means a lot to me that I can spend more time with Izzy thanks to you. I really appreciate it.”

“I should be thanking you the opportunity. I wasn’t really drowning in the job offers,” you chuckle making him smile as well. “Please let me know if you want me to change anything, I have a plan I would like to go around with Izzy’s days, but of course, your word is the most important.”

“I trust you to take good care of her during the day. The only thing I want is to have her home when I get home. Ruth couldn’t always pick her up before and I really hated to do the extra trip and pick her up from daycare instead of coming straight home to be with her.”

“Understandable. I’ll make sure to plan accordingly,” you nod smiling.

“Y/N, I want you to feel home as much as possible. This is your place just as much as it is ours now. Izzy and I go grocery shopping every Sunday, it’s kind of a father-daughter thing we do every week. We keep a list on the fridge, feel free to add whatever you need and we’ll get it.”

You can’t help the smile that stretches across your lips, because this is such a sweet thing to do, when Harry could easily afford someone to do the work for him. Yet he still uses this time to be with his daughter.

“Yeah, sure, thank you!”

“I’ll get out of your hair now. Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“Oh, no, but thank you. I still have some things to take care of before tomorrow.”

“Alright,” he nods before walking out. He leaves you thinking hard about him. You wonder what really happened to Izzy’s mom and if he is dating someone right now. A man like him is basically a dream to any woman, you doubt he is having a hard time finding a partner, but you haven’t seen any sign of another woman around the house. Guess you’ll have to wait and figure it out yourself.

The apartment is awfully empty on your last night here. When you moved in about a year ago you didn’t think you’d be moving into a mansion from here. You spend the evening cleaning out a bit so you leave the place in good condition. Your landlord was terribly nice about your early leave, you could easily agree that you’d pay for the two more weeks that’s left from the month and that would be all, no extra costs for moving out before your lease was up.

You’re cleaning off the kitchen counter when your phone starts ringing, it’s a video call from your brother.

“Hey there! What’s up?” you ask, propping up the phone on top of the microwave while you move around, doing your thing. Trevor seems to be lying in bed, a black hoodie covering his upper body.

“Hello, just wanted to see how the moving has gone today.”

Despite the ten year age gap between you and Trevor, your relationship couldn’t be better. Probably because you were old enough to see what a blessing a sibling really is when he was born.

“Everything went smoothly. I only have a few stuff to bring over, that can fit into my car tomorrow, so it’s fine.”

“Cool. How is the dude? What was his name again?”

“Harry. Harry Styles.” You see him pull his laptop to his lap and probably searches up Harry’s name before his eyes widen at the screen.

“This dude is big! He is the president of HES Records, they run some of the most popular singers these days.”

“Yeah? I was sure he is a big name judging from his mansion,” you chuckle.

“Have you looked him up yet?”

“Not really.” “Want me to read what’s here about him?”

“Sure,” you hum, continuing to clean while you listen to Trevor.

“Alright. Apparently he is thirty-one, took over the record company when he was just twenty-five because his father wanted to retire early. The number of talents working under the label has doubled since he has taken over and many of his clients have won Grammy Awards. Impressive,” he hums, scrolling down on whatever site he has just found. “He is known to be a private person, the last time he made an appearance… Oh shit…” Trevor breathes out and you turn to your phone with furrowed eyebrows.

“What?”

“Wow, this shit is heavy. It says the last time he made a public appearance was in 2017, not long before his wife was killed in a car accident.”

You freeze, feeling your stomach drop to the floor, immediately thinking back at Izzy’s painting of her family. It very much makes sense why she said the star was her mother, it must be the way Harry explained to her what happened to her mother.

“It happened in 2018, she wasn’t in the fault, a drunk driver ignored the red light and ran into her car at a crossroad. This is terrible, oh God.”

“Poor Izzy, she probably doesn’t even know what really happened.”

“Must have been hard on him, there’s not much about him since then.”

“Can’t blame him for not wanting to be in the spotlight after losing his wife.”

“Yeah.”

Trevor shows you a few pictures of him from years ago, he has always been handsome, but your favorites are the few from the times when he had long hair. He looked so different, like a whole other person, but still, he rocked it perfectly.

Then you show Trevor around in the empty apartment before loving to the couch, turning all your attention to him.

“How have things been?” you ask with a sigh. Trevor purses his lips and shrugs.

“Other than the constant screaming matches on the phone and endless fights every time dad comes over for more of his stuff? Everything is rainbows and butterflies.”

“Is it really that bad?” you scowl.

“It’s like they never run out of stuff to throw at each other, but I feel like this much couldn’t happen even in their twenty-eight years together,” he scoffs making you chuckle.

“I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of all that.”

“It’s like payback,” he hums and you give him a puzzled look. “You had it bad growing up for being the surprise baby, making them teen parents. Then I came at a reasonable time, they already knew the drill, but now that you’re out of the house I’m getting all the shit, having to deal with their divorce.”

“I’m really sorry, Trev,” you sigh, feeling guilty that he is all alone at home.

“It’s fine, I don’t blame you,” he shrugs. “But you could make it better if you asked your millionaire boss if I could hang out at his house sometimes.” He grins at you slyly and you roll your eyes. Of course he is already thinking about using you for his own good!

“I don’t want to push the boundaries just yet, but I’ll see what I can do.”

You talk a little more about school and what he’s been up to with his friends before ending the call. You take a shower and go to bed right away, feeling extremely worn out from all the packing you’ve done through the day.

The next day you pack the remainder of your stuff into your car and then your landlord comes over to do a checkup, though he fully trusts you took good care of the place.

“Again, thank you for your understanding, I didn’t plan to leave so early, but it just kinda came up,” you tell him, handing him over your keys.

“Don’t worry about it. I hope your new place will treat you right,” he smiles kindly at you.

You chat a little longer before you leave and head over to your new home. Once again, Ruth is the only one home and being the angel that she is, she helps you to carry your stuff up from the car before leaving to get Izzy from daycare. Since there’s not much left to unpack you finish quite fast, leaving you some extra time alone in the house. Walking around you try to learn your way around, still finding it a bit of a maze. You find Harry’s home office’s door open and after a bit of hesitation you step inside, just taking a look around. Yeah, it’s kind of a nosy thing to do, but you couldn’t help yourself.

His space is quite clear, he keeps his stuff neatly organized. Certificates and plaques are hung up on the wall, showing off his many successes in the business. There’s a huge bookcase near his desk and there you see some family photos… ones that include his late wife as well.

She was beautiful. There’s a picture of the three of them in the hospital from the day Izzy was born, Harry has an arm around his wife’s shoulders who is holding baby Izzy, both of them radiating happiness as they just become parents. Your heart breaks when you see the photo next to it, it’s just Harry and her in Paris, the Eiffel tower standing tall behind them as they are grinning widely at each other, foreheads touching. Harry has his arms wrapped around her slim figure while she is hugging his neck. They look so happy and in love, like they were always meant to be with each other. Knowing what tragedy hit them is just hard to process even for you, who never even met the woman.

You hear the front door open and Izzy is laughing at something, so you rush out before anyone could catch you snooping around.

“Hi Miss Y/N!” she chirps upon seeing you when you meet them in the living room.

“Izzy, you don’t have to call me Miss Y/N, Y/N is perfectly fine,” you smile at her, caressing her rosy cheeks.

“Okay. Ruth, can I please have some ice-cream?”

“I’m afraid we ran out of ice-cream, but I’ll put it on your grocery list,” Ruth tells her, a pout tugging on Izzy’s lips.

“How about this: I’m gonna make a delicious smoothie, that’s almost like melted ice-cream, would you like some?” you offer and her eyes brighten up immediately, nodding right away.

While Ruth puts away Izzy’s things they brought home from daycare, while the two of you move to the kitchen to make the smoothie together. You find some frozen berries in the freezer and pair them with bananas, putting them all into the blender with oatmilk, blending it all together.

“How is it?” you ask Izzy, who is sitting on top of the counter, tasting the pink smoothie that leaves a cute little mustache above her cherry lips.

“I like it!” she smiles, scrunching her nose.

“We can make it some other time then,” you smile, drinking up your portion.

Izzy is dancing around the kitchen, babbling about her last day at daycare while you clean the glasses and the blender when Harry arrives. He is wearing a baby blue suit with a crispy dress shirt underneath, looking fashionable but still business appropriate at the same time.

“Daddy!” Izzy launches towards her daddy, who catches her, throwing her into the air before holding her in his arms, joining you in the kitchen.

“Hey baby. How was your day?”

“Good, all my friends hugged me but I told them we would meet in the park.”

“That’s right, and I have the number of all your friends’ parents, we can have playdates with them whenever you want to,” he smiles before his eyes meet yours. “Hi Y/N, everything went well with the rest of your moving?”

“Yeah, I’m all set,” you smile back at him.

“That’s great. I have a few calls to make, but I’ll be done in thirty probably. Would you mind looking out for Izzy in the meanwhile?”

“Of course. She promised me to take me around her room, so we could do that, what do you say?” you ask the little girl who nods in excitement.

Harry disappears in his office and Izzy pulls you to her room, showing you just about every toy she owns. Her room is a typical girl’s room, the walls are painted a light pink color, her bedframe resembles a castle and she has a dollhouse as big as your previous bathroom. Harry clearly spoils her rotten, but what you noticed is that she is not one of those annoying bratty only children who can’t take no. She was clearly taught how to behave and always listen to the adults.

While Izzy is putting her stuffed animals away after introducing you to all of them, you spot a photo frame near her bed, decorated with macaroni. You remember when you all did that together at daycare and now you get to see the photo that ended up behind the glass.

It’s a photo of Izzy and her mother, she was just a baby and doing quick math in your head you realize it must have been not long before her accident, might even be the last picture taken of the two of them. Her mom is smiling at the camera while Izzy is sleeping in her arms peacefully. Izzy looked a lot like her when she was a baby, the bridge of her nose and her lips resembled her mother’s, though now she appears to take more after her dad with her chocolate curls and piercing green eyes.

“That’s my mommy,” she tells you when she sees you looking at the photo.

“It’s a nice picture,” you smile at her, trying your best to hide how heartbroken you feel even just looking at the photo.

“Daddy said she had to go up to the sky, but she is watching me from there,” she explains, clearly not entirely sure what it means, but you can tell she misses her. “Daddy said she is living between the stars now and that she loves me very much.” You need to fight your tears back at her words.

“I’m sure of that too,” you breathe out smiling at her.

“Izzy, do you want to help me make dinner?” Harry walks in smiling, though it disappears for a moment when he sees the two of you looking at the photo of his wife, but he is quick to control himself.

“Yes! What are we making?” she runs over to him, jumping up and down.

“Uh, chicken and veggies.”

You step away from the photo, pretending like nothing just happened. You’re dying to discuss it with Harry, hear him talk about it, but you won’t push him. If he wants to share it, he’ll come to you.

“Alright, come on then,” he smiles down at her. “Thank you for watching her, I’ll take over from here. Food will be ready in about an hour, Ruth is staying with us as well,” he informs you.

“Great, I’ll… I’ll be in my room,” you nod.

The first two weeks on the job brush past smoothly. It takes you some time to get used to your new home, but taking care of Izzy doesn’t feel like work, so you’re feeling amazing in your new job. You easily fall into a schedule with her.

The mornings are always Harry’s duty. He wakes her up around seven-thirty, makes her breakfast and dresses her for the day before he leaves around nine. Thanks to this habit of his, you’re able to sleep in until eight, leaving you plenty of time to get ready for your day with Izzy before Harry has to leave. Depending on the weather, the two of you then either take over the back yard or move to her room for some play time before her class of the day starts in the noon. Piano with Rosaline on Mondays and Wednesdays, French lesson with Lyon on Tuesdays and Fridays and then Izzy’s favorite on Thursdays, swimming class with Kitty.

Izzy loves to help in the kitchen so you usually make lunch together. Once her tummy is full she takes a nap before you sit down to learn something new every day. You’ve been teaching her the numbers and the alphabet, or some days you just talk about anything that interests her and learn at least two things she hasn’t know yet, all through games so she doesn’t even realize what you’re doing. You’re usually done by around three, leaving you time to take a visit to the park, if Harry is not planning to take her himself later that day.

You’re strictly home by four, unless it’s Tuesday when she has her dance class until five. Those days you drive her to her class, run some quick errands and pick her up. Harry usually uses his extra time in the office on these days, but he is always home by six to have dinner together with his daughter.

Once Harry is home you’re off duty, though you like to stay close, not just in case something comes up for Harry, but because you genuinely like spending time with Izzy and Harry, seeing them interacting.

Harry sometimes has to work on Saturdays as well, but just as he promised Ruth is always here to take over duty on those days, leaving you free for the whole weekend. It’s been working perfectly for you and those very few concerns you had about moving in dissolve quite fast as soon as you start working.

Though it’s been pretty clear to you before, you now one hundred percent sure that Harry is living for his daughter. She is always a priority, he doesn’t hesitate to decline any work calls he gets in the evenings if Izzy needs him, if she is a little fussy and wants her daddy’s attention or when they are in the middle of a game. He is clearly trying to keep a balance between his work and role as a father and from what you’ve seen, it seems like he is doing an amazing job in that. However you haven’t learned much else about him. He is all friendly towards you, but makes sure to keep it business casual, not quite keen on getting to know each other better as just friends, maybe.

A Friday afternoon you’re having a little tea party in the backyard with Izzy when Harry arrives home, but this time, he is not alone. Through the sliding door you spot him with a blonde guy who is talking very articulately as Harry is typing on his phone. The man looks about Harry’s age, but you can’t tell if he is a friend or a business partner, but if Harry brought him home, he is more likely to be a friend of his.

“Uncle Niall!” Izzy gasps when he spots the man through the glass and abandoning the tea party, she starts running towards the door. The man spots her and slides the door open grinning widely before she jumps into his arms.

“Little bugger! How are ya?” the man laughs, holding Izzy in a tight hug before leaning back to take a good look at her. You notice his thick Irish accent and it suits his appearance quite well. You head inside as well, in case Harry needs Izzy busy for a little longer, though he doesn’t mind having her around, kissing the top of her head before finishing up whatever he was doing on his phone, watching Niall and Izzy smiling.

“I’m having a tea party with Y/N, wanna join?” Izzy invites the man, who then looks at you for the first time, smiling widely.

“Hi, I’m Y/N, Izzy’s new nanny,” you introduce yourself, holding out a hand that he shakes, keeping Izzy in his other arm without a problem.

“Nice to meet ya, I’m Niall.”

“Y/N, Niall is an old friend of mine. He is joining us for dinner, hope you don’t mind,” Harry informs you and you find it funny how he is kind of asking for your approval when it’s his house.

“Not at all.”

“Harry has told me he hired a pair of new hands to help, but he didn’t mention it’s a stunning young woman!” Niall beams, making you blush right away.

“Ni, I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to pick up my daughter’s new nanny,” Harry warns him lightly, though there’s some firmness in his tone, not that it scares Niall in any way, he even winks at you.

“Oh come on, you can’t expect me not to flirt when you surround yourself with so many pretty women! First Ruth and now Y/N!”

You smile at him, something is telling you he wasn’t joking and he tried to flirt with Ruth as well. Harry just rolls his eyes at his friend, taking Izzy from him.

“Keep it in your pants, Niall,” Harry tells him and though it’s nothing vulgar, it catches Izzy’s attention.

“What should he keep in his pants?” she questions, making your and Harry’s eyes grow big right away. Luckily, Niall keeps his cool and takes care of the situation.

“My attitude, Sweetie. Your daddy is just jealous because I’m more handsome than he is,” he smirks at the little girl, successfully avoiding an awkward conversation about what it is that Niall should keep in his pants.

You smile at his reply, even though you are not that sure about the comparison he just made between himself and Harry.

“Izzy, do you want to continue the tea party?” you ask her and even though just a minute ago she was inviting Niall to join her, now she shakes her head no. “Alright, I’ll pack it up then.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We’ll do it, right Izzy? She brought it all out, she is going to be the one packing it up,” Harry reminds her and she nods.

The two of them move outside to put her little tea set back into the basket she keeps it in, leaving you and Niall alone.

“So Y/N, how did you end up here?”

“I was working at Izzy’s daycare, but they sent me away not long ago. Then Harry contacted me and offered the job which was a lifesaver, truly.”

“That’s great! Well, not that you got fired, but that you ended up here. I know it means a lot for Harry that he can spend more time with Izzy, you’re making everything a lot easier for him.” Niall walks over into the kitchen and grabs a water for himself as he leans against the counter. “I can see that he is a lot more relaxed now already.”

“Really?” you ask, surprised.

“Yeah. I know he always used to stress about picking Izzy up, or forgetting something the daycare asked for. Now he can make it all work just how he wants to, that fits him a lot more. It hasn’t been easy on him since Maggie’s death.”

This is the first time you hear anyone talk about Harry’s wife and now you just learned her name. Maggie.

“Being a single parents is never easy,” you add with a soft smile, not wanting to interrogate Niall about Maggie. It’s Harry’s place to tell you about her, if he wants to, of course.

Soon enough Izzy and Harry take over the kitchen, Niall helping them this time and you leave them alone, taking some time for yourself in your room. Later you go out to check if there’s anything you could help with, Harry asks you to set the table as he finishes up the cooking.

“So, Y/N. Tell me a little bit about yourself!” Niall asks you over dinner.

“Um, what do you want to know?” you ask, feeling a little flustered to be in the spotlight.

“I don’t know, family, friends, hobbies?”

“Well, I have a younger brother, Trevor. He is seventeen and already taller than me.”

“Oh, that seems like a big age gap.”

“Ten years, to be exact,” you nod. “He was planned, I wasn’t,” you add with a soft chuckle. “But we have a great relationship, so it’s all good. We talk almost every day.”

“I’m sure you’ll get well along with Gemma then!” Niall beams, glancing at Harry.

“Gemma is my sister,” Harry explains. “Though she is not that much older than me.”

“But you can bond over being stuck with a younger brother who outgrew you,” Niall jokes making all three of you laugh.

All through dinner you realize how different Niall is from Harry, but in a good way. While Harry is more quiet and calm, Niall is kind of all over the place, buzzing and chatting every chance he got, but the two of them make a great pair, bringing what the other doesn’t have to the table.

After dinner you attempt to leave them again, but Niall makes you stay as they open a glass of wine. Harry puts on a movie for Izzy to keep her busy, giving the three of you a chance to sit out at the terrace from where you still can keep an eye on the little girl inside.

“Alright, Y/N. When are we going on our first date then?” Niall asks out of the blue, a cocky smile tugging on his lips.

“Niall, for fuck’s sake,” Harry breathes out as you let out an awkward chuckle.

“What? I think there’s some electricity going on between us.”

“I, uhh—I don’t…”

“Please don’t turn me down!” he sighs dramatically, making you smile.

“You’ve been great company, but I’m not sure we should go out,” you tell him. He huffs in disappointment, but it’s clear he didn’t take it to his heart.

“Is it because you’re taken? I didn’t even ask, are you dating anyone? You can’t be engaged, because I don’t see any rings,” he points out, nodding towards your naked fingers, however his words make you suck on your breath.

“I’m not engaged. Not anymore,” you admit and you watch their eyes go wide at the information.

“Wait, you’ve been engaged before?” Harry asks, clearly surprised, if not shocked.

“Yeah. For about four months,” you nod, running your tongue over your lips as you reach for your wine, taking a few large gulps.

“And what did the fucker do?” Niall bluntly questions, earning a look from Harry. “What? I’m just curious what twat it takes to lose a woman like her!”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about that,” Harry presses, but you shrug.

“It’s not a secret. We dated for about two years before he proposed. I said yes, started planning the wedding and everything, then found out that he had been cheating on me with his assistant for about a year. We broke up, simple as that. It’s in the past, happened a year ago.”

“That’s some next level asshole bullshit,” Niall shakes his head while Harry is just staring at you with an unreadable look before he turns his attention at his glass, still clearly deep in his thoughts and you wonder what he thinks of you now. Here is the loser who not only got cheated on, but lost her job, all of that just in one year.

Harry doesn’t react, and a moment later Izzy comes out because she is thirsty, so daddy duties call him away. Niall stays a little, but heads home soon as well.

“It was nice meeting you, Y/N. The date still stands though,” he smirks when he pulls back from the short hug he enveloped you in.

“Alright,” you chuckle, slowly getting used to his flirty act.

You was the wine glasses and head back to your room while Harry walks Niall out and then takes Izzy upstairs to give her a bath. You don’t cross paths until later when you leave your room, already in your pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt to grab some water for yourself and he walks out of Izzy’s room just then, probably done with putting her to sleep.

“I’m sorry if Niall made you uncomfortable, he didn’t mean to be rude or anything,” he apologizes as the two of you walk together.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” you chuckle softly. “It was kind of a boost to my ego, if I’m being honest.”

Harry huffs with a smile and stops at the kitchen island, his fingers tapping on his lips as you grab yourself a bottled water.

“I’m… I’m sorry about… about what you told us earlier.”

Closing the fridge you look at him, seeing that he is kind of hesitant, like he is not sure he should have spoken up, but you appreciate the thought.

“It’s alright. Just water under the bridge,” you shrug.

“I just feel bad you had to go through that.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” you chuckle softly. “It sucked, yeah. I really thought I would live happily ever after with Keith, but instead I got a lesson.”

“A lesson?”

“When we broke up I was obviously on the floor, both literal and theoretical way. I thought it was my fault, that I did something wrong and that’s why he did what he did. I even thought that I’m not worthy of being loved and being in love again. Took me time to realize that no matter what happened, I still deserve to be happy and to find someone to love and who can love me back.”

It appears that your words touch him deep, staring back at you, he just nods shortly, not replying to anything you just said. You’re not sure he is so silent because he doesn’t really understand what you just talked about or if it hit too close to home. Whatever it is, he keeps it to himself.

“Good night, Harry,” you smile at him before walking out of the kitchen and up into your room.

You’re lying in bed already when you hear him open his room’s door and then close it and suddenly he is all you can think about. The way his eyes sometimes pierce down on you, the way he taps his fingers against his lips when he is thinking hard or the proud smile that always plasters across his face whenever he is watching Izzy do basically anything. But you do see some pain in those beautiful green eyes of his and your desire to take just the smallest fracture of it away grows, even though he is not showing any sign that he is willing to share it with you.

The next morning, despite having the day off, you wake up quite early. You toss and turn, try to fall back asleep a little longer, but you just can’t. It’s a nice, warm morning and you decide to take advantage of the little balcony attached to your room. Wrapping yourself in your fluffy robe you grab the book you started reading a few days ago and sit out, enjoying the morning Sun that’s shining right at you on the balcony.

You don’t even realize for a while that you’re not the only early riser. When your eyes wander down to the big oak tree that’s near Izzy’s playground, you spot Harry doing what appears to be yoga on a green mattress, wearing nothing else, just a pair of black shorts. No shirt.

For a moment you think about going inside, feeling like you’re invading his privacy in a way, but you have the right to enjoy the morning Sun on your balcony, it’s not your fault he decided to have yoga at the exact same time. And it’s just hard not to look at his shirtless body stretching in all directions, twisting and turning as he goes through the motions, his tattooed body on full display.

It’s been clear since the moment you laid eyes on him for the first time that Harry is probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever met and that includes all your exes. Paired with his kind of mysterious charisma and the way he takes care of his daughter, he is the whole package, but you have been busy with Izzy to dwell too long on how attractive he really is. But right now, you are not working and he is very much shirtless in the backyard, teasing you with thoughts you definitely shouldn’t be thinking about when it comes to your boss.

A shaky breath leaves your mouth as you let yourself watch him just for a few more minutes before heading back inside, not wanting to get busted for being a stalker and also not wanting to see him in more positions and have even more unholy thoughts about him.

But what you don’t know is that just as you step inside, Harry catches your figure disappearing in your room, knowing well you saw him too.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

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[slasherhaven]

The request about pregnant s/o escaping from the abusive ex was so so good!! Could you please do one for Thomas Hewitt? Thank you and hope you're having a good day 💕

Warnings: mentions of past abuse.

Thomas Hewitt x Pregnant S/O 

Running away from an abusive ex and meeting the Hewitt Family:

All you could think about was driving, getting as far away from your past life as possible. You figured that leaving the state, moving across the country even, might deter your ex from ever tracking you down.

But nothing had been going your way, and your car broke down in the middle of nowhere, on some endless empty road in Texas.

After trying and failing to get the car to start again, you noticed a faded sign alerting you to gas station not too far up the road.

Thankfully you were relatively early on in your pregnancy, so the walk wasn’t too harsh for you.

Eventually you arrived at the rundown gas station, heading inside. The only person around seemed to be the older woman behind the counter.

You greeted her politely and explained that your car broke down, asking her if there was somebody you could call and if she had a phone for you to use.

Luda May is suspicious of anyone who comes by, but she must have saw something in you. Some sort of tragedy or brokenness. Maybe it was the way your eyes dimmed and face fell when you thought she wasn’t looking, but mainly how your hand rested on the slightly bump on your belly.

She offered to call somebody she knew, explaining that the town was pretty much deserted these days. You thought her offer was kind and waited for the assistance, sitting on the chair that she offered you.

During your wait, which was longer than it should have taken, Luda May distracted you with some conversation, trying to get some information out of you.

You never bluntly told her the fully story but you must have given enough information for her to get a general idea. 

An abusive ex-partner, a baby on the way, and nowhere to go.

Your kind and sweet demeanour made her warm up to you some more as well.

She explained that there was no mechanic or anything in town, but told you that her son would have a look and see what he could do. In the mean time, you could stay with them. After all, she couldn’t leave a pregnant woman with nowhere to go.

You told her that you didn’t want to intrude but the truth was that you had no option, and so you accepted with a little more persuasion.

Soon Hoyt arrived, taking you both back to the house.

Arriving at the place you would soon call home, Luda May took you inside and you met Monty. So far the men of the family didn’t seem too friendly but Luda May made up for them.

She fussed over you a little and you understood that she was looking out for your unborn child.

Setting you up with a drink, she asked if you had any belongings with you, and you told her that you had some bags in the car but not much. You had left in a hurry.

Instantly she insisted that her son would get them for you, telling you that ‘Tommy’ was a good boy.

Of course, her fond description didn’t quite prepare you for the behemoth of a man that walked into the kitchen. But, even with only having just met him, you could tell that there was something gentle about him. Perhaps it was his eyes, which managed to distract you momentarily from his mask.

Luda May insisted on you staying with them while Hoyt worked on your car.

During your time there, Thomas attempted to keep his distance from you but Luda May seemed determined to get you closer.

She had noticed how kind you were of him and how protective he had already become of you.

One day Hoyt had grown frustrated with Monty and that put him in a bad mood, causing him to snap and shout and slam things. Thomas instantly noticed how you reacted to the aggression and it both infuriated and saddened him. It was clear that somebody had hurt you in the past. 

And Luda May noticed how he placed himself between you and Hoyt (despite the older man not attempting to harm you anyway), and how you subconsciously moved towards him for safety.

From that moment forward, Thomas did find himself hovering around you some more. And since he was around so much more, you would talk to him and enjoy his company.

Your car was fixed but Luda May had asked you to stay, bluntly telling you that she knew you had nowhere to go but promising you that you had a family here. You had cried had her kindness, and she welcomed you to the family, still determined to get you and Thomas closer to each other.

And so you moved in with the Hewitts for the foreseeable future.

Everyone in the house had a pretty good idea of what you were running from but none of them either mentioned it, whether it was to not upset you or just because they didn’t really care that much.

Thomas cared though, he cared a whole lot. He knew somebody had hurt you, having a pretty good idea of what you went through, but part of him hoped that you would talk to him about it. He just hoped you would open up in your own time.

The two of you grew very close during your stay in the house, and your bump had grown quite significantly since you met, making him all the more protective over you.

Eventually you wanted to open up a little about your past and Thomas was the person you wanted to talk to. So, while you were sitting together one evening, you told him everything.

As you told him your story through teary eyes, Thomas gently placed a large hand on your round stomach.

“As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I knew I had to leave. I couldn’t bring a baby into that environment...around him...I could never forgive myself”

Thomas looked away, ashamed. This wasn’t any environment for a child either and he knew that, and you knew it too, ever since you discovered their secret. He still didn’t know why you hadn’t disappeared in the night like you had with your ex. He began to retract his hand in shame.

“No, Thomas” you spoke gently, placing your hand over his and pressing it to your bump again. “I know what you’re thinking, this isn’t a home for a child either but...you would never hurt me, none of you would. He...he would have hurt my child just like he hurt me, I know my baby will be safe and loved here. You wouldn’t let anything harm them...or me”

You were right, Thomas would never let anything hurt you or your child. He looked down at his hand on your stomach, and how your smaller hand rested over his. The two of you truly had grown close, and he was well aware that he had developed some deeper feelings for you. 

Thomas lifted his other hand and gently wiped away your tears. That night ended with Thomas holding you as you cried and calmed down, having finally told somebody all the details about the abuse you had experienced. 

A few months passed since you arrived at the Hewitt residence and you were now heavily pregnant. Thomas rarely ever left your side, looking out for you and fussing over you. If he could do something for you, he would insist on doing it.

You did not consider your ex to be the father of your child, he was no father. Thomas was more of a father to your unborn baby than that man could have ever been. 

Before you knew it, it was time for you to have your baby.

The process was as smooth as it could have been considering your circumstances, Luda May and Thomas being there for you the whole time.

Finally everything had settled and Luda May left to get you a drink and anything else you needed, while Thomas stayed with you.

Thomas sat beside you, looking at the infant in your arms. So small and fragile, so perfect. He was in awe.

“Thomas” you spoke softly, getting his attention back on you. “Do you want to hold them?” you asked.

Thomas was a little shocked by your offer, even though he shouldn’t have been, of course you wanted him to be a part of your child’s life.

He nodded, cautiously taking the infant from you as you passed them over to him. The baby fit in his hands perfectly, he could only look at them with so much love as he cradled them to his chest.

The baby woke up slightly, cooing and reaching their arm out aimlessly.

Thomas smiled and brought one hand to theirs, his heart melting as they attempted to wrap a tiny hand around one of his fingers.

“They like you” you commented, smiling at the sight.

You moved over to one side of the bed, patting the space beside you so that Thomas could join you. He didn’t even question it this time, joining you on the bed and making himself comfortable.

You lent over, running a hand over your child’s head and making them coo up at you.

Thomas’ heart had never felt so full, holding your child and watching you interact with them.

The last few months had been life changing for you. Here you sat with your new born child, beside a man that you knew would protect you both against anything. Things weren’t idealistic but they were certainly looking up for you.

When Luda May next entered the room to check on you, she would see you sleeping against Thomas’ shoulder, rightly exhausted, as he cradles your sleeping new born, not wanting to disturb either of you. She couldn’t help but smile as she left the room, leaving the three of you be.

[cryoaquila]

spin the bottle pt. 3

prompt: you play spin the bottle, part 3. pairings: albedo x gn!reader, mona x gn!reader, keqing x gn!reader  word count: ~1.5k tags: kissing, very suggestive themes, light teasing a/n: you can find part one here and part two here!

minors dni.

you spin the bottle at a party. it lands on...

albedo

he wasn’t even paying attention. instead, he had a pen and notebook and was sketching something. you tap his arm to get him to notice the bottle.

“oh right, the game,” he replies simply before leaning toward you, giving you a small peck on the cheek before going back to his drawing.

wait, what? you weren’t expecting a small peck like that. no way, you wanted more of a kiss than that from such a cute guy! you whine and pout, uncaring how selfish you were sounding - you wanted a kiss on the lips from him and you were going to get it!

he can’t hide his little smirk and snicker, “oh you were hoping for more? how interesting.” he closes his notebook, taking your chin in his hands as he looks at you with a gleam in his eyes, “i guess i’ll give you what you want then, greedy little thing.”

now that he got his results from a little peck on the cheek, it was time to get results from a longer, more passionate kiss. he leans in to initiate but stops before your lips meet, analyzing your expression. you scowl, pressing your lips to his and he chuckles at your impatience.

he hums against you, eyes watching you carefully as he slips his tongue into your mouth. his taste, well, you can’t quite put your finger on it, it’s a very intricate taste that you’ve never had in your mouth before.

his tongue prods around, exploring every little inch of what it was given, and you couldn’t help but wonder if his tongue would do the same in... other areas.

when the kiss finishes, he flips to a new page in his notebook, writing something.

“what are you writing down?” you can’t help but wonder out loud.

“your reaction to kissing and how naughty you are, wanting more.” you felt your cheeks heat up, but he wasn’t wrong, you did want a kiss on the lips. yet, you still wanted more than that with the thought of his tongue exploring your body still on your mind...

after the game finishes, he shows you his notebook and what he was working on. it’s a drawing of you. 

he says as soon as he laid eyes on you he couldn’t help but draw you for you were far too beautiful to not be a part of his sketchbook. you blusha at the kind sentiment and tell him you enjoyed his kiss, even the little bit of teasing that was involved.

he chuckles, saying he enjoyed the kissing experiment you both partook in as well. he added in a low tone that he wouldn’t mind conducting more experiments later with you, but fewer clothes would be required for what he had in mind. you know. for science.

you would never do something to harm the progress of science so of course you quickly agree to his request.

you don’t even recall how many experiments you end up helping him with that night in his room.

mona

mona recites something about how the stars showed her that when you spun the bottle it would pick her but that kissing you wouldn’t be a good idea because of your conflicting signs along with other excuses including, “the stars. can’t do it. not today.”

but when she glances at you and sees your saddened look she quickly stammers over her words before admitting defeat and agreeing to the kiss. she looks very embarrassed, her cheeks turning red and her hands, which were resting on her lap, were clenched into fists. 

feeling bad for her, you decide to only give her a small kiss and move on, but when you try to pull away she pushes forward, locking your lips once more in a sloppy, wet kiss.

you’ve never had a messier kiss. your lips would part to allow her inside your mouth and then she’d let you into hers, both of you eager for a taste. gasps of air were the only other sound besides a few soft, muffled moans as neither you nor she would let the other pull away.

eventually, you both end up on the floor, her on top of you. she ran a hand through your hair as you wrap your hands around her waist before bringing them down to her ass for a squeeze, causing her to smirk against your mouth.

finally, you end the kiss, the need for oxygen too grand, a string of saliva still connecting you both before it broke. that’s when you realize the other two that agreed to play had left you and her alone.

well, now that the game was apparently over, you ask if she’d like to leave and get some better food elsewhere together.

she looks a little sad suddenly and mutters that she doesn’t have any money on her.

you pause for a moment, taken by surprise, and you tell her that her company is more than any amount of money and that you’d pay for her and she didn’t have to worry about paying you back.

she suddenly looks like she’s about to burst into tears from your offer. you worry that you were too forward.

she jumps off you and, before you even realize what’s happening, she starts dragging you by your hand out of the party, talking about what food she’s going to order.

while out eating she admits that she was really lying earlier and the readings she conducted said you and her would meet at the party and be completely compatible and a perfect match but she was nervous since she hadn’t kissed nor been with anyone in a long time.

she then starts talking about tomorrow’s date, which you hadn’t even realized was happening until now. 

she says she’s glad the stars like you because she’s enjoying her time with you a lot.

and you’re glad both she and the stars like you, too.

keqing

the fact she’s even at the party still boggles everyone’s mind since her high-profile job never allowed her any free time. yet here she was, a rare break in her schedule allowing her to attend.

but you noticed she didn’t seem very comfortable in such a setting. a few times she tried to recite rules to the partygoers, things like you can’t be too loud after a certain time and how it’s important to not leave litter lying about, etc. this caused them to whisper behind her back in quiet mocks. she was actually about to leave before you asked her to play spin the bottle, and she decided a quick party game before she left would be alright for memories.

as the bottle comes to a stop, pointing towards her, a shocked expression crosses her face before she glances away, her cheeks pinkening. 

little did you know, she had already planned exactly how the kiss would go should the bottle land on her. she knew what she would do, right down to her hand position and tongue placement. she had seen others make out before and read books a few times involving couples, so she felt confident.

she doesn’t waste any time, per usual for her since she’s so efficient. 

she takes your hand in hers and pulls you toward her, your lips crashing together.

but, as soon as your lips touch a little shock zaps you both, causing you to yank back in surprise. she bites the bottom of her lip, wide-eyed.

the stress of the party and the many, many people, all surprised by her appearance, all watching her, talking about her, along with the kiss not ending up how she wanted, all of it causes her confident façade to crumble. her lip quivers as she mumbles an apology, upset that, since she’s arrived, all she’s done is mess things up. she tries to leave, but you take her hand in yours and ask her to not go just yet, that’d you miss her company. 

she pauses for a moment before sitting back down, hiding her face in her hands.

you gently rub the tight, overworked muscles in the back of her neck, and she looks at you with appreciation. your hand slides to the side of her face where you caress her, your thumb gently wiping away a few tears. she was so beautiful, even with such a sorrowful look.

she sniffs, still smiling, and asks in a quiet tone, “can we try again?”

the second time around, everything went right. the kiss was just a small, sweet kiss, yet it was special in its own, simple way.

once your lips part from each other, she presses her forehead against yours happily and the crazy environment surrounding you two seems to disappear for a few moments.

afterward, she rests her head on your shoulder and you wrap an arm around her. you two stay like that for a while, the sounds of the chaotic party dulled by the comfort of one another.

“want to come see the work i do for the city tomorrow?” she asks you.

“sure, i’m free. is it... a date?”

she smiles up at you with a flushed expression but doesn’t answer you. guess you’d just have to wait and see what tomorrow brought.

[daniyanii]

I POSTED THIS ON MY WATTPAD (melaninanimez) FIRST

Soft Yandere Dabi

You remember the exact day you met him. You were just doing your day to day job as a florist. You loved your little shop with everything you had left, because well....it was all you had left.

Many years ago your shop was actually your fathers. You used to run around smelling the flowers and playing with the petals in your own world while he worked to give you everything he could. Life was good...until it wasn't.

One day while you were playing in the back room, your father was being robbed. He was always a prideful man and would refuse to give up, but that was his downfall. He refused to give the money not because he was greedy, but because he was saving up to give you a real christmas that year.

After he refused the money the robber was fed up. Your little dream world was interrupted by a single gunshot, something heavy dropping to the floor, and rummaging through the cash register.

You heard the bell on the front door ring quickly as whoever committed this crime ran off. You were completely frozen with fear, but you slowly inched yourself out the room. Once you hit the main room you were horrified to see blood spilling down the small steps that lead behind the counter.

"Daddy?" your high voice whispered out

But you got not response, the only sound that filled the room was the spilling of blood and your jagged breaths.

You had to no choice but to walk up the steps since that was the only way to get behind the counter. You always used to run around barefoot so you had to step directly in the warm trailing blood. When you peeked behind the counter it confirmed your worst nightmare.

Your father had been shot dead.

You remember running to his body and screaming. Begging him to move or talk, asking him not to leave you. But after a few minutes of crying and pleading you knew it was over, he was gone.

He wasn't the first parent you had seen dead either. Your mother killed herself by overdosing a year prior. It took you hours to realize she wasn't just sleep. You remember bouncing on her chest laughing, and begging her to get up. But after your poured water on her hand and when she didn't move you knew something was wrong.

You always tried not to think about it but without fail it remained a constant replaying memory. It was like an annoying fly who just wouldn't go away no matter how many windows you open. You took the pain and trauma from both of those situations and pushed it all the way down to your feet. Whenever you thought about it in public you would just put a smile on your face like always and keep moving.

One day a young man came in staring at the ground, refusing to look up at you. Nevertheless, you still smiled and greeted him like all your other customers.

"Do you have any sunflowers?" He mumbled out still looking as far down as he could.

"Of course I do! Let me show you." You spoke with enthusiasm since surprisingly no one ever asked for sunflowers. Plus....they were your dad's favorite.

You stepped down the steps, and lightly grabbed his hand to lead him to the flowers. He seemed to tense at this but didn't pull away.

"Theyre all the way back here since people aren't usually big fans of them." You explained but quickly shut up, feeling like he wasn't one for small talk. You let go of his hand when the sunflowers came in view.

"There they are, beautiful as ever. I'll leave you to it, any other questions you have I'd be glad to answer." Since his head was slightly up now he could see you but you couldn't really see him, you still gave him your warmest smile and began to walk back to the counter.

"Um, can you actually help me pick one? I'm not very good at this." He spoke deeply, he knew that any other day he would have wordlessly walked in and wandered till he found what he needed, grabbed the first one he saw and left. But something about this woman made him have to talk to her. She radiated this warmth that even he couldn't make.

"Of course! It's not like there's anyone else in here." She turned around smiling again

She began asking him simple questions only flower related. She could tell he was a private man due to his lack of responses and she would respect that. After they picked which ones he wanted they traveled back up to the counter. He had subconsciously fully lifted his head up, displaying scorched skin and stitches. He didn't even realize until she spoke again.

"I'm sorry but your eyes are just beautiful." She confessed to him which made his eyes widen

Half of my face is burnt to a crisp but she noticed my eyes first? And complimented me...she must be joking

"I'm sorry again, I didn't mean to upset you and overstep. Here you go, free of charge." She quickly recanted once she saw his face frown

When he went to grab the flowers his hands grazed hers. He expected her to snatch her hand back after feeling the scorched skin, but she gently let go once she was sure the flowers were in his grip.

"It's alright. Thankyou for the flowers and helping me but I must pay you." He reached to his pocket but she pulled his hand out, holding it for a second.

"No need. It's nice to actually have a customer on the weekdays. Consider it a gift!" beaming brightly and the dark man

That damn smile again, why is it so enchanting? Is that her quirk?

"What's your name?" He blurted out before he could stop himself, and subconsciously tightened the hold on her hand

"Y/n L/n. What about you stranger?" Her smile never once faltered and she didn't even think about pulling her hand away

Why isn't she scared of me? Or is she just good at acting?

"Dabi. My name is Dabi." He bluntly responded

"Well Dabi, I hope to see you again. You seem like a good man." Y/n had always been like this, her kindness knew no limits. Anyone else would’ve immediately labeled Dabi dangerous…which he was

"I- Okay." For once Dabi didn't know what to say

After that day he stalked her non stop. It was such a surprise to see that once she was in the "safe" confines of her home how fast her smile dropped. How on most days her eyes would immediately begin to water as she scolded herself about being weak.

It saddened him to see how draining it was for her to act so nice. She wasted her kindness on anyone and everyone, and it took a lot out of her.

He had finally worked the courage up to go back. This time he knew he'd have to have her forever.

"Hey Dabi! Nice to see you again." she exclaimed

She remembers my name?

"Hi Y/n." He spoke lowly trying to avoid eye contact since he knew she was probably disgusting by his burnt skin and stitches

"More sunflowers?" she questioned since most people always got the same flowers

"Um, I guess you could say that." He answered knowing she wouldn't get it, but he knew that whenever he saw sunflowers (or any flower for the most part) he couldn't help but see her smile.

He considered her a flower, more specifically a sunflower.

"Well you know where they are. Need any help picking them out?" She questioned while he just nodded in response

She took a deep breath and walked down the very steps that haunted her. Almost as if she could still feel the warm blood between her toes She refused to show her pain so she did what she always did....smile the pain away.

When they got to the very back where no one could see them, he grabbed her hand. Not forcefully, but he had a good grip on her, scared that she would snatch away.

but she didn't

and in that moment he knew

she was his and his only

"Dabi are you okay?" She asked smile slowly dropped as she saw his nervous face

"Why aren't you scared of me?" He blurted out, needing to know the reason.

Her warm smile came back as she grabbed his hand a little tighter

"Well, you haven't given me a reason to be. You're really nice, and I have no room to judge anyone."

Dabi's heart was beating so fast he could hear it. He no longer could live without her, what was to come next had to be done.

"W-Would you mind taking a walk with me?" He asked nervously, knowing that any normal person would practically scream no

"Of course, the shop is slow today anyways. Come on." She took their hands and intertwined their fingers

Dabi could feel all the blood rushing to his cheeks. He never had a woman, or anyone touch him like this so willingly.

She let Dabi lead and after quite some time she realized he was walking her out of town.

"Dabi where are we going? Town is back that way." She questioned

"I-I'm selfish. I need you, I want you, and so I'll have you. You'll learn to lik-." Dabi was cut off by lips touching his

His heart damn near stopped

He had never been kissed before

He'd never even had a hug

And here she was kissing him first

"Dabi I already like you. I'll go anywhere you want, but what about my shop? It's been in my family for generations." She replied softly

I'm fucking dreaming arent I?

"W-We can arrange t-to have it looked after." He was in such shock he could barely talk

"Okie Dokie. Then lets go!"

"Are you serious? You're not gonna run or scream and call me a monster? You'll just come with me willingly?" He stared at her with udder disbelief, expecting her to kill me

"Will you protect me?" She ignored his questions and dropped her smile to know she was serious

"With my life. You'll never be hurt again." He didn't even hesitate, wrapping arms around her waist, not pulling her in for a hug because he didn't wanna scare her.

"Will you give me your loyalty?"

"There is no one else I could ever feel like this for. Only you." He confessed truthfully

"And you promise not to leave?" She was tired of everything in her life leaving

So what if Dabi wasn't "normal"?

So what if she would never leave his sight?

She finally had someone again, and she didn't wanna have to let go again.

And he wasn't letting her go

So it would all workout

"I will never leave you. And you can't leave me. I-I love you." Dabi couldn't believe he just said that but he really couldn't believe what happened next after that

"Then what are we still here for. I'm ready to go home with you." she said while pulling him in for a deep hug

He just inhaled her scent, she smelled so floral and ethereal.

He couldn't believe she wanted to be with him.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝓤𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓵 𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓽𝔂 (𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓢𝓪𝓷)

𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝐶ℎ𝑜𝑖 𝑆𝑎𝑛 (𝐴𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑧)× 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 (𝐹𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒)

𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑒: 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐴𝑈, 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝐸𝑟𝑎 𝐴𝑈.

𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: "𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑐𝑒. 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑒, 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑: 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒."- 𝑈𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝐸𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦: 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑟

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡: 4.4+𝐾

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑀𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡, 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑢𝑛𝑠, 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡: @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers @multidreams-and-desires @brie02 @deja-vux @galaxteez @yunhoiseyecandy @rvse-miingi @couchpotatoaniki @daniblogs164 @a-soft-hornytiny

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

~May 17th, 1859~

When their eyes met it was as if time had effectively stopped moving. The sharply dressed male stood immobile by one of the pillars across the ballroom, feet glued to the floor and unable to pick themselves off it. Likewise, the elegant and ethereal lady sitting at one of the tables looked just as mesmerized by him as he was enchanted by her. For a while both of them just stood there, admiring one another as they tried to comprehend what was that tugging sensation they began to feel in the middle of their chests. The chatter and music in the background faded, their ears no longer registering any sound, scent, or object around them. Even their vision blurred everyone else, the only clear image they saw was the person they were currently fixated on.

As if he was in a trance, the male managed to regain his sense of control and began walking towards where she was. As their distance started to get smaller, the pounding in their hearts became more agitated and rapid, their lungs desperately trying to grasp air. When he stood right in front of her, a sense of calmness fell upon them that was even more strange to them given that they had never been acquainted with each other nor had any connections between them. Placing one arm behind him while the other came up just below his chest, he bowed to her, letting her glimpse and admire the top of his head, his hair as golden as the rays of the sun that would shine through her slightly parted curtains during the sunrises. Since she was sitting down, she acknowledged his greeting by lowering her head in a respectful manner. Coming back up, the hand that was placed behind him outstretched towards her.

"If my lady is not otherwise engaged, may I be so bold as to claim the next two dances?"

Unable to reject him, partly due to etiquette but mostly because something pushed her to accept, she smiled sweetly at him.

"You may kind Sir."

As soon as their hands connected, a rush of sparks flowed through their bodies, the feeling so electrifying and magnetic, it became more intense when he placed one arm around her waist while hers found a resting spot on his shoulder. Their other hands intertwined themselves together, their fingers perfectly molding against one another, a rather improper gesture to do at a ball especially between two individuals who had absolutely nothing to tie them together, but neither of them cared. It felt proper and necessary, even more so as their bodies glided across the floor, dancing in tune to the orchestra's music.

"I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of seeing you before my lady." He suddenly spoke up, voice slightly buffering with nervousness.

Luckily she either didn't notice or chose not to care about it.

"No I'm afraid not. Such a pity if you ask me, you seem like a lively and agreeable person to be around." Although she had always been encouraged not to judge by outward appearances, she could not fathom the gentleman right in front of her to have any sort of evil or fault in him. He was beautiful, his features so sharp and his eyes although looking so mysterious and deadly seemed to hold so much tenderness and frailty in them. Despite his strong and bold looking frame, she could tell he was a man of delicate emotions and gentle feelings. No alarms or voice in the back of her head were warning against him, instead they were silenced as her heart urged her to stay by him and with him.

"And you seem like a lady seeking adventure and freedom." He boldly stated.

She quirked an eyebrow up, puzzled at how he could possibly ascertain such a theory.

"And may I ask what makes you say that?"

Lips curling into a smile, she swore she could melt when tiny dimples appeared on each of his cheeks, a true rare beauty that one hardly saw in those times and were very much admired.

"I look into your eyes and I see yearning, longing for something. As if you are searching for a hidden gem. And there's a hint of gloominess in them as well."

His description shocked her to the core. How could this perfect stranger, whose name she still had not known, possibly see all of that from just a few minutes of interaction?

"Do I look that forlorn?" She began to worry about anyone else being able to see what he saw.

"No...... I guess you could say I just...felt it." His eyes held a lively sparkle in them that just seemed to captivate her even more.

He hesitated to speak out what was on his mind, but seeing as the music was about to come to an end, he knew he had to say it before it was too late.

"If it's all right with you, would you mind if I came to call at your house and be introduced to your parents?" A faint pink hue spread across his cheeks and even his straight nose had a rosey tint at the tip of it.

Although she was no stranger to having young men call for her in hopes of establishing a courtship, it was the first time she was actually excited and looking forward to any future meetings with the man in front of her.

"I'd be delighted if you wished to do so." Her smile was more dazzling than all the glimmering chandeliers that decorated the ceiling and it made her dance partner feel more at ease to know she was just as jolly about a possible acquaintance as much as he was.

As soon as the music ended, they properly bowed to each other but the male, even himself unsure of what came over him, took hold of her hand and held it up to his lips, placing a feather light kiss to the tips of her fingers which left quite a few shocked faces on those who were close enough to witness the act.

"Consider this as our formal meeting my lady."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

August 23rd, 1859

The pair walked side by side across the pastured fields, bright and vivid dahlias acting as their chaperones, all arrayed in either red, yellow or purple coats that had already bud into full bloom. The river nearby had tiny ripples flowing through it due to the light breeze that was refreshing during a rather warm summer day. Behind them, her home was still bustling with excitement and anticipation of what was going to come, hence why they allowed the couple to wander outside by themselves, fully trusting them to maintain propriety. Ahead of them, a vast expanse of trees were to serve as witnesses for such a joyous occasion.

Gazing over at his loving companion whom he had learned to cherish and care about immensely in the short time they've spent together, he felt his hand shake as he touched the side of his pants, feeling the weight of the small black case he was hiding in his pocket.

"You are on edge." Her sudden statement startled him.

"Once more you hit the nail straight on the head." He chuckled, his hands going back to their previous position of staying behind him.

"Do you trust me enough to tell me about it or would you rather we pretend I didn't say anything?" She offered.

Hearing his footsteps suddenly halt, she too stopped walking. Facing over to him, she couldn't read his expression as he had lowered his face, no doubt thinking about how to proceed about with the conversation.

"May I ask......how do you feel about me?"

She was not prepared for that question and yet she had hoped to one day be asked just that. She didn't even need to think too hard, she knew the answer to that already.

"I believe you to be a very kindhearted, caring, and vibrant sort of fellow. And I am extremely grateful to be able to have you in my close circle of friends."

Although he was happy that she felt joy in his company, he felt a little saddened and worried about her use of the term 'friends'. But pushing past his fears, he gathered his courage to speak his next words.

"And have you ever wondered if there's a possibility of us becoming closer than just friends?" He looked at her with in a hopeful daze.

He could sense, feel her uneasiness. It seemed as if their emotions were so intertwined that whatever one was feeling, the other would soon get a notion of it. And right now, he could feel how she slightly panicked at his suggestion.

"If it displeases you, please just let me know right now and I swear I'll not make you uncomfortable with anymore talk of-"

"I would love for nothing more than to be more than friends with you." She didn't want to be rude and interrupt him like so, but she found she could not control herself. Her fingers fidgeted with the lace trimming of her dress, agitation clearly shown in her countenance.

"From the very first moment I saw you, I felt this strange and utterly overpowering attraction towards you, as ridiculous as it sounds. And having come to know you, I was ready to say yes the minute you asked for my hand if the moment ever came...."

She paused to collect her thoughts, taking in a deep breath.

"But at the same time I'm afraid. I know, because I was raised as such, that women are brought up to be good wives, be docile, pliant, obedient and stand behind their husbands and do what society expects of them. And I don't know if I can do that...no... I don't want that. To be locked up in some beautiful golden cage for the rest of my life, with no freedom and my liberty stripped away from me...... I'd go mad." She admitted, immediately turning away from him, not wanting to see his reaction to what some would consider her brazen speech.

"So if what you are seeking is a wife who will be content to sit at home and wait for your every command I suggest you go look somewhere else. I refuse to be that sort of woman, even if it means becoming a spinster for the rest of my life." Her last words got choked up due to tension rising in her voice as she fought back tears, not wanting to cry in front of him.

She felt him right behind her and did not flinch when one of his hands came forward to caress the smooth skin of her cheek.

"My pretty little dove....don't you know that's why I wanna marry you?"

She turned her head to look at him with incredulous eyes.

"Remember when we first met? When I talked about how you seemed to be searching for freedom? Adventure?"

She nodded, never able to forget how she felt the first time they glanced upon another nor the conversation they had. Taking a hold of her waist, he shifted her position so she could face him and see how in earnest he was.

"I'm willing to offer you all that and more. I don't want you walking behind me, I want you by my side as my equal. I won't ever lock you up in a cage. On the contrary, I want my little dove to spread her wings and soar up further than the heavens........ and I want to be by her side to see it."

Her hands came up to clasp around her mouth as she let out a sharp gasp when he suddenly dropped down on one knee. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a black velvet box that contained a stunning ring inside.

"I've already asked for your parent's permission, all I gotta ask now is if you'd make me the happiest man alive and accept to spend life by my side.... and love me?"

She allowed him to take her hand and slide the gem onto her ring finger, tears already pouring down her face. Sniffling softly, she took her hand off her mouth to reveal an emotional and awkward smile as a wave of emotions took over her.

"Yes!"

He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Sprinting back up, he picked her up and spun her around gleefully. Once he put her down, his hands cupped her face and he leaned in to give her a passionate kiss. Even after pulling away, he still kept her at a close distance.

"I love you.....from now until eternity."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

October 9th, 1861

"You sure you're going to be ok?"

Pushing her hat out of the way so she could look down at her doting husband who was standing right next to the open carriage, she couldn't help but give him a mischievous smirk.

"I'll be fine. I should be the one asking you that."

He gave her a puzzled look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"That I give you 10 minutes before you're moping by the fireplace, missing me to no end." She snorted softly at his pouty expression.

"You're actually wrong..."

Hopping on top of the step so it could be easier to reach her, he nuzzled his nose against hers.

"I'm already missing you and you haven't even left yet."

She giggled at his cheesiness, allowing him to press a tiny kiss on her lips, which was then followed by another one, then another, until she finally had to push him off before he delayed her trip any further by peppering more kisses across her face.

"All right all right, I get it. I'll be back before supper, it's not that long of a ride to my parents house. Think you can wait until then?"

He shook his head negatively, which made her roll her eyes.

"Well you're going to have to deal with it."

Bending down, she gently stroked some of the hairs that were tussled against his forehead.

"I love you." She smiled at him.

Taking her hand to place a kiss on top of it, her husband never took his eyes off her.

"I love you too. Please stay safe."

With longing eyes, he watched as the carriage was being hauled away in the direction of the woods that surrounded the estate. He didn't look away even minutes after the carriage was out of sight, watching as some of the white flowers fell from the immense trees, petals scattering across the pavement and on the freshly cut grass. Something about the way the flowers fell sent some sort of uneasy feeling in his stomach, but he chose to ignore it, thinking it was probably nothing.

Making his way back in the house, he suddenly stopped when the same feeling crept back up to him, this time more intense than the previous one. His palms which were tightly clenched behind him, were sweating profusely. His heartbeat making more agitated and there was an unusual pounding resonated in his head, that although didn't exactly hurt, it was sending off alarms. He could sense that something bad was going to happen, he could feel it.....

With a sharp intake of breath, he raced over towards the stables where all the horses were kept. Unlocking the door that held his personal horse, he didn't even bother to saddle up or even put a bridle on him. He simply jumped up and threw his leg over the horse, who stood in place to allow his trusted master to get properly seated.

"Go!" He exclaimed as he gently yet firmly kicked the horse on its side, the stallion immediately taking off in the direction that the carriage had gone, the rider hoping and praying that he was only being delusional about the strange sensation that was striking fear in him.

Meanwhile, not far off in the distance, the young lady quietly sat in the carriage, listening to the conversation her two drivers were having amongst themselves, sometimes even laughing at any jokes they cracked along the way. She looked very peaceful, looking forward to paying her parents a small visit, the presents she had purchased for them rattled against her side, all neatly wrapped in white with light blue ribbons decorating them. Her eyes would often drift away whenever she heard the rustling sounds the tiny woodland creatures would make or when a bird would start chirping a little tune.

She was startled abruptly by the sound of gunshots and before she could even ask what was going on, she watched in horror as the two men in front of her fell to ground, blood pouring out from their heads as their soulless eyes stared back into her. The horses were going berserk, letting out loud neighs while fretting about uncontrollably. Standing up, she carefully maneuvered herself and got off the carriage hoping to hop on the driver's seat and regain control of the horses, but she was stopped when a strong hand gripped her wrist and harshly tugged her back.

"You're a really pretty thing." She stared up into the cold eyes of a marauder who scanned her face before looking at his partner.

"How much do you think they'll give us for selling her off to a whorehouse?"

His accomplice shrugged nonchalantly.

"Beats me, but I guess we're going to find out."

Not backing down without a fight, she kicked her arms and legs as much as she could, putting up an intense struggle against her kidnappers. She made sure to scream at the top of her lungs, hoping it would reach someone's ears and come aid her. She nearly freed herself when she hit one of them right in the jaw and bit harshly down on the other's arm which was draped across her neck. She could only take two steps before she was being manhandled once more. She elbowed and kneed at the man, trying to break free from his grasp. Getting frustrated and fed up by her struggle, he took out the pistol he kept by his belt.

"You fucking bitch!"

Pressing the barrel against her stomach, the bullet pierced straight through her, making her choke on the scream she was about to release. Her senses went numb, all she could feel was pain as she felt her life being stripped out of her body.

"No!"

Arriving just as the bullet was fired, her husband swiftly yanked out his own gun. First he made sure to aim at the one who had just shot his beloved wife, the bullet striking him right on his forehead, giving him an instant death. When his partner tried producing his own weapon, the rider was already two steps ahead as he shot him straight through his throat, this time the death was more painful and elongated, but eventually he too met the same fate as his dead companion. Quickly getting off the horse, he ran over to his wife, tears already brimming down his face. Taking a hold of her hand, he first made sure that she still had a pulse and was conscious.

"Love. Darling. It's ok, you'll be ok. All right? Just stay with me, keep your eyes open."

She could feel him rip off a part of her dress and use it as makeshift gauze to press against her wound in an effort to stop some of the bleeding. She could not bring herself to cry, she had no strength left in her to do that. Still she managed to bring one of her hands up to clasp one of her husband's hands.

"I love you.......I always will..." Her voice came out rather raspy and strangled.

Knowing what was happening, her husband began to cry even harder, his arms desperately clutching onto her.

"No! Don't say that my little dove! You're going to be fine! Trust me." He seemed to be saying that more to himself than her, trying to convince himself that this was not real, that it was only a nightmare that they'd get through with together.

But she had already resigned herself to her fate. Knowing she had no time left, she reached up to cup one of his cheeks, her thumb stroking his skin softly.

"Remember.....we'll meet again someday..... I loved you now....and I'll love you in another life."

With one last faint smile, she held her final breath before her head fell back, eyes closing as her spirit left her body. Her lover's body trembled erratically, eyes scrunching tightly, teeth clenched so fiercely they could nearly break apart by his sheer strength. He clung his soul mate's lifeless body against his own, sobbing violently against her neck. Looking up, he let out a heartwrenching and agonizing scream that echoed across the forest.

Part of him died that day just like the love of his life.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

~April 15th, 2019: Present Day~

"Man...that is one sad, depressing story."

One of the members of the group sighed out as his other mate read out the history behind the beautiful and seemingly enchanting forest that they were currently touring across.

"I know right? To think that such a tragic love story occurred right here." One of the taller members said, stepping carefully around the branches that were scattered about the field.

"Enough of this romantic soulmate nonsense, how long is this trail anyways? I'm tired, I'm sweating, it's hot and I'm hungry. Which one of you guys decided it was a good idea to go into nature and explore it? Especially with all these bugs around." The nagging individual slapped his arm once more, killing off another mosquito that seemed to take a liking to his blood.

While all of them continued on ahead, forming pairs or simply admiring the view alone with their phones to capture memories, the lonely member all the way in the back kept his head down. His cat like eyes often looked around, taking in some small details that hardly anyone paid attention to. Brushing some of his black bangs away from his eyes, he felt some sort of nostalgic feeling as he walked along the semi even path laid out for tourists like them. He stopped in his tracks when he came to a particular spot. Looking to his right side, he saw a very narrow off trail that led into the more dense and deep part of the forest. Although his mind told him to stay on the trail so as to not get lost, he found some strange force pulling him in the opposite direction. Without even second guessing it, he wandered off, not caring about if his group mates saw him or not.

As he past all the trees, shrubs and even the tiny squirrels and butterflies that still inhabited those regions, he couldn't shake off the deja vu feeling that fell over him. He strangely felt familiar with his surroundings, even though he was kilometers away from his home country. As he made a sharp turn to avoid hitting against a wide tree, an image suddenly flashed in his head. A galloping horse, the rider, whose face he couldn't see, passing right by where he just past.

"Weird..." He brushed it off, thinking that perhaps the rays of the sun were starting to get to him.

As he came upon a more wider path, he stopped immediately at a certain spot. Another image seemed to pass through his mind, although more blurred, he could faintly make out a silhouette of a man holding onto the body of a woman. Just as soon as it came, it soon vanished. He didn't understand why, but standing right on that spot seemed to cause him pain. Indeed he could feel tears welling up in his eyes and he had absolutely no idea why.

"God what is wrong with me?" He thought as he wiped them away, perhaps he was being extra emotional or something, especially after hearing that story about the forest.

A snapping branch made him aware that someone else was approaching where he was. Looking up in the direction, he felt his breath being taken away as two [insert color] eyes were locked on him. He couldn't even blink, he just continued to stare at the figure standing mere feet away from him. The same energy that pulled him in that direction was suddenly making him pull his feet off the ground and make their way towards the person. He had never seen them before in his entire life and yet.....

He felt as if he knew them, his heart feeling some sort of longing and aching for them. And he could sense that the other person was feeling the exact way he was, for they too were taking careful steps toward him, keeping eye contact with him. Soon they both stood right in front of each other, both had mesmerized expressions as they studied the person in front of them. Without knowing what caused him to do that, the male reached a hand out towards his partner, which she did not hesitate to hold in her own. A wave of shock ran through both of their bodies when they touched, their emotions suddenly burning with passion and love that only grew stronger as their fingers clasped against each other. Swallowing hard, the male decided it was time to speak up.

"Hi..... my name is Choi San."

The woman smiled at hearing his voice. Even though it was the first time she heard it, she knew it, it was oddly familiar.

"I'm Y/N L/N." She responded.

Neither of them flinched away, they simply continued to stare at one another. Although strangers, they felt as if they knew each other for centuries. Unable to help himself, San lowered his face so he could press his forehead against hers.

"It sounds insane..... but I feel I love you." He confessed, his lips brushing against hers.

She let out a soft hum at his statement.

"Then I guess we're both insane, because I feel like I love you as well."

Closing the gap between them, San cupped one cheek with his hand, giving her the faintest whisper of a kiss. The feeling was so raw and so endearing that it sent a warm sensation to their hearts. When they pulled away, his arm snaked around to wrap around her waist.

"It's like we were destined to be."

She chuckled at his words before finishing his sentence.

"Yes....you and I.....

Until eternity."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

[evierena]

The Brothers eavesdropping to MC accidentally confessing their undying love for them. Part 2

INTRO

MC was having their monthly catch-up call with their best friend in the Human Realm. At first, their friend could not believe the situation MC was living, but after a few calls they had finally come to accept the whole "I was summoned to Hell, but it's called Devildom, and now I have to live with 7 hot demon brothers and they are actually kinda nice" situation (yeah, Levi would be proud of my naming skills). Anyhow, during this specific call MC was filling in their friend with the latest update on their newfound feelings for one of the brothers, not knowing that said brother was actually outside their room, eavesdropping! And then, their friend asks "What is it about him that you love so much?"

What did MC respond? How did that brother react and what did he do with that information? Well, let's see...

Asmodeus

- Impromptu spa night!

- That's what he was thinking when he headed to your room, wanting to test a few new products he just gotten his hands on.

- Of course, he had to stop for a second to fix his already perfect hair before going in your room, and that's how he got to listen to your friend through the phone asking:

- "Why do you love this Asmo guy so much?"

- Asmo's eyes went 👀 and he decided to stay a little longer just outside your door.

- "Well, that's easy. Because he's been so sweet and supportive of me, he always tries to bring a smile to my face, he also knows when to stop his innuendos and respect my physical boundaries. Everyone else just see the Avatar of Lust in him, sometimes I feel like even he just thinks of himself as just lust embodied, but I think he has a lot more to offer than just mind blowing sex. He's more fragile than he lets on, his sassy and mean façade are to cover up his insecurities and his vulnerability. He's the King of Self Care but that doesn't mean he loves himself as much as he proclaims, actually I think that the first is a way to make up for the lack of the latter. However, I see the way he craves non sexual affection, the sweet and soft sides of love that he's been denied for his sin. I see all of that and I think he's still the most beautiful being I've ever laid eyes upon, and I have already met another fallen angels, angels, demons and humans. Also, I've seen the way he can create something beautiful out of scraps, how he can redecorate and sew together clothes, accessories and a lot of other cute little trinkets, his creativity is really impressive and I'm so proud of him. I love Asmodeus like I've never loved anyone else in my life".

- Asmo let himself draw another breath in when he finished listening to your accidental confession.

- You loved him for himself. You saw beyond his mask, and still thought of him as the most beautiful being in your life.

- Asmodeus was crying, relieved and moved. He felt the familiar warm and fuzzy feeling he usually felt when he would catch you staring lovingly at him.

- The fifth born was no fool, he caught you multiple times sighing after him, but he was never sure what you meant. Were you desiring him just as much as he was for you? Was there something more? Would he be ready to accept it if it wasn't? Could he recover from being seen just as Lust by you of all people? He wasn't sure, which is why he hadn't acted on his feelings any more than the usual.

- But now, he had the words he longed to hear from you. He was trembling from happiness, he was ecstatic, he couldn't help himself from bursting into your room, catching you in your comfy pj's, hair pulled back and cellphone in front of your face while your best friend continued talking through the camera, but you were busy staring at the tearful pink haired demon.

- He knelt beside you in your bed, he hold your face toward him, skin products forgotten in the floor, and he started to pepper your face in kisses mumbling in between how much he loved you too, and how happy he was to have met you.

- In conclusion, hearing your thoughts about him eased his worries and encouraged him to finally claim the sweet love he's been craving from you.

Beelzebub

- Sweet hungry boy was in his way to the kitchen, and when he passed by your door, he started craving something other than food, something more like your company, so he decided to ask you if you wanted a late night snack with him.

- Of course, because this is how it works, just as he was going to knock on your door, he heard loud and clear.

- "So, you're saying you fell in love with Beelzebub"

- That wasn't your voice, actually, he remembered it from that time he was in your room watching a movie and you received a call from the human realm, it was your best friend from there, right? Then, what were they talking about?

- "Yes" you replied.

- "But why? Can you explain it to me?"

- Boi, did he forgot all about his cravings, all he wanted to hear was your response.

- "Beelzebub is the prime example of a gentle giant. He is so, so, so gentle with me, except for that one time, but still. I love how calm it is to be with him, how honest he is with his feelings for his brothers or in general, he isn't afraid to say he loves them, specially Belphie. I love how easily he welcomed me into his family, I love the way he earnestly tries to control his stomach, I'm saddened thinking that his sin consumes so much of him, but I'm amazed that even like that, he still has so many different thoughts and feelings aside from food and hunger. He is so soft and he works hard, he doesn't talk much but what he says, he means it completely, he protects me from everyone even himself. I'm completely smitten for him, honestly, if he asked me, I would let him eat me alive, but at the same time I know he would never hurt me. His presence has helped me go through so much. When I'm stressed he's always there to let me vent or to reassure me that I can keep going, to offer me his precious snacks when I'm tired, and his hugs when I'm feeling down. I... I love Beel."

- An unaware ear to ear smile was present in the orange haired demon, his heart and stomach agreeing that what he needed now was to hold your human form in his arms and treasure you for the rest of his immortal life.

- What was the best way to convey his feelings to you? He didn't want to upset you by admitting he had eavesdropped in your private conversation with your friend, but he wanted, craved and needed to express his own feelings.

- Of course, food and cuddles.

- So he continued to head toward the kitchen and he began to gather your favorite snacks, well, what he could gather given that the kitchen rather lacked all your human preferences but he managed somehow.

- And then, he went straight to your door, this time knocking before he heard anything else.

- When you opened and saw the huge and adorable demon, holding food and with an excitement you couldn't quite understand in his purpleish eyes, you let him right in.

- Your phone call was finished and so, Beel sat down in your bed and offer you the snacks.

- When you asked why he simply said "Because I love you"

- Damn this beautiful, smooth, adorable giant. Now you were blushing and your brain scrambled trying to find an answer for such a sudden confession.

- After that initial shock, you also responded to him with your own feelings, and he began to explain that both his heart and his hunger, although never truly satisfied, were now fuller thanks to you and your presence in his life. And that is as much of a romantic confession you'll get, because for him, that is honestly how he feels and he hopes you understand what he truly means.

- Of course you do, and you're about to cry because omg your crush just confessed to you.

- Then he gives you the snacks, and he said he was sorry for not being sorry for eavesdropping on you earlier.

- What can I say? You said you loved his honesty.

- In conclusion, Beel is more satisfied now that he listened to your confession, and is even more now that he also confessed. Now you both get to be full and satisfied with each other.

Belphegor

- In his defense, he technically wasn't eavesdropping, it was your fault for not realizing that he was also in the attic, under the covers in one recondite corner, half asleep.

- So, you were talking with your bestie, and your laughs and antics while updating them on your life, woke him up completely, but he was having fun listening to the way you retell your adventures with him and his brothers.

- And then, your friend asked: "Soo, MC, have you finally confessed to sleepy boi?"

- Well, well, what do we have here? Thought Belphie, even more invested in your conversation now that it had took a turn to his liking.

- "Of course not! These days I have been so conscious about him I can't look at him much less be alone with him to even think of confessing"

- Oh, so that's why it seemed like you were avoiding him.

- Honestly, Belphie thought you had finally come to your senses and realize you shouldn't involve yourself with him for your own good. He was hurt, it hurt him more than he was willing to admit, and he had isolated himself to also avoid you, so it wouldn't hurt as much. That was the reason he was in the attic that night.

- "Anyway, MC, just let me ask one more time, why is it that you love Belphegor so much?"

- He heard the hitch in your breath, he heard you inhale and exhale deeply, but he himself stopped breathing at all, an he stayed still trying to attract the least attention to himself in the corner. He felt a light blush paint his cheeks, sweat forming in his forehead.

- "Well, even though we started off badly, he has repent himself, he is still trying to earn my forgiveness, it doesn't matter how many times I tell him I already did. He understands me, he gives me a safe space to just sleep and let go of my stress, he listens when I want to vent, and I honestly find his humor hilarious and relatable. He is a bit bratty but I find it so cute. And he is hurting so deeply, he has been for so many years, so beyond our existence and just now he is starting to open up, to let go, and heal, it's just beautiful. Belphegor is so simply beautiful, his soft smile, his lazy eyes, his crazy bedhair, his low and raspy voice. I love everything about him, and I will give all that I own to know more, to see more, to be there when he realizes his own worth"

- The youngest brother was blushing, and his heart was beating fast and loud in his chest, he felt a warmth spread through his veins he had missed during the last days without you.

- Belphegor knew right there, he was done for, it wouldn't matter whatever happened, it wouldn't matter what anyone said, he was going to love you for all eternity, and he would spend every second he could with you, treassuring you and loving you.

- Starting now.

- Belphie got up from his spot in the corner, startling you, he gathered his blankets and pillows and brought them to you, ignoring the fact that you were a panicking, blushing, stuttering mess.

- "Belphie... I was... It's just... It isn't... I-I" he put a finger in your lips, effectively shutting you up, he took your phone, and pressed it against his ear.

- "It's bedtime, so excuse us" and hung up.

- His heterochromatic eyes never leaving your e/c ones, his finger still pressed against your mouth, pillows and blankets surrounding both of you, his scent flooding your senses.

- You saw a smile pulling his lips up, his eyes admiring you with such soft love. His hand moved to cup your face, and he brought you in for a small kiss.

- And then he fall in the sea of fluffly warm beneath him, dragging you along, and he made sure to find the most comfortable position for both, one that allowed him to hold you and the he whispered.

- "I love you too, dummy"

- In conclusion, when Belphegor accidentally finds out about your feelings for him; he basks in the most sweet and peaceful dream he's ever had, with you right in his arms.

I struggled for months to write Belphie's part, but I finally did it & I quite like it.

Again, if you find any mistake, please, kindly point it out for me, so I can get better.

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night!

Atte. Evie

Edit: Here’s Part 1

Tag list:

@katsukis-sad-angel

@anonymous-hq

@dawn-808

@monsoloooo

[gullveigheidhr]

When I was pregnant with Perun, my mother and sister at some point gave us a gift to celebrate. Copying a tradition from my late grandmother, they gave us a basket for the baby, filled with toys and clothes. Then, separate, I was given a gift. My husband was given nothing.

They gave me an expensive lotion meant to prevent stretchmarks, complete with instructions on how to rub it into the skin. And, frankly, I was insulted. Sure, a good hydration is a good idea when your body is rapidly growing. That wasn’t the issue.

The issue was that we hadn’t seen my family in months, over a year, due to their covid fears. And when they did come, they come bearing gifts: everything for Perun was sweet ad appropriate and I liked the nod to my nan, who I dearly miss especially in this phase of my life. She was the archetypal Mother in our family. And she would’ve laughed at the concerns for - gasp, shock, horror - scars from pregnancy. And that is where the insult creeps in.

They gave me something that was meant to prevent damage from growing my baby, to minimise his impact on me. To avoid my body from keeping the score of this wondrous accomplishment that is motherhood. AND THIS IS THE ONLY GIFT THEY HAVE GIVEN ME REGARDING THE BABY, to this day. Given to me, not Perun himself.

You may think I’m exaggerating, but these are the women who were shocked when I said we were planning for children at 25 years old, 5 years into a committed relationship. The women who laughed off my announcement of engagement. Who mocked me for wanting to move to the countryside to raise a family in peace. Who told me breastfeeding might be difficult and bothersome, so consider formula. Who think that if I don’t paint my nails or do my make-up I am neglecting myself for my baby. Who are repulsed by my choice to feed baby liver, because they hate the idea of organ meat and won’t even hear out my reasons. Who tell me not to carry and baby wear because he’s “not a little prince”.

In every conversation I have with them, they let slip something of their judgement, that I should not give myself up for motherhood - and that the responsibilities of motherhood apparently demand this of you. It’s a sentiment strongest with my mother. And it is evident in their present.

As well as in the fact that they ignored Roek in the whole process of pregnancy. Or in how easily they have dropped us out if family gatherings: christmas was cancelled, Sinterklaas forgotten, my birthday ignored by my sister and an afterthought to my mom (she only minded it because she realised I was getting her a gift as hers is 8 days after mine), and we’re being left out of easter.

I’m not sure what my point was, but let me tell you that I still got stretchmarks and I’m damn proud of them. Little Perunika is the light of my life and if we are blessed with a daughter she will be named after my grandmother.

Families are strange, blood can be the strongest bond, or worth less than ditchwater. Technically, my most loved grandmother was my grandfather’s second wife, and my true sister is one of the soul rather than blood. I’m saddened by the bond with my mother and sister crumbling before my eyes, having hoped that we meant more to them. Yet, if preserving that bond requires me to ignore some of Perun’s needs, I’ll gladly put both women out with the trash.

Perun’s first birthday is in four months. Roek’s family doesn’t really do big birthday celebrations and he isn’t close to them. My family does -or used to, at least. But as things are going, I don’t want them in our home. It’s time to sit down and make our own traditions. Roek’s gonna take that day off work. Perhaps we should go on an outing as family, the three of us.

[leylayilmazx]

UNVALENTINES

February 14th, 2022

@henrygarcia

HENRY It was a throwaway, Henry thought when he gave his rose. He was wise enough to know it wouldn’t lead to a match, yet to be proven correct wasn’t at all satisfying when a small part of him had hoped that maybe he’d be wrong. 

Friends and alcohol had kept him entertained in the evening so far. He could even say he was enjoying his night. Talking to strangers that found themselves in the party was more hit or miss, Henry having encountered those who were here to have a good time, others who were shocked to be there, and those who fell in between.

He had polished his latest drink and headed off to get another. When Henry reached there, however, he found himself standing beside a surprising figure. “Not gonna lie, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 LEYLA Leyla usually wasn’t one to ponder on the things that happened. The rose thing was meant to be as fun, like something out of the shows she had watched with Nora on a Saturday night. Besides, she should have been happy that she at least gone one rose, that her plate wasn’t empty. 

However, the feeling of having to go to the singles party still felt a bit awkward. Did she expect something else? No, not particularly, nor did she have the right to expect anything. But the moment was still bitter sweet. 

With a drink in hand, Leyla spotted Henry and smiled, watching him do his usual thing. Even if things had not ended in the way they both hoped with them, she still had so much care for the man. Besides, she’d be lying if she said her heart didn’t flutter when she saw him. Simply now, it fluttered in a different way, like an echo of butterfly wings. 

“Is it safe to assume we didn’t give each other roses?” A tease rolled off her tongue as Leyla went to stand beside him. “Because that would be really awkward. You8 could also just give me some flowers if you ever feel the need.” 

HENRY Leyla. Henry truly didn’t expect her at this party tonight, certain that she and the guy she had been interested in would be whisked off at whatever romantic date TWI planned. He should be so lucky. But somehow she was here, and it left Henry to wonder what happened. Did Leyla choose someone else? Or did the guy not choose Leyla? 

His loss, Henry thought–and sadly he could relate to that. Leyla was an amazing woman, as kind as she was beautiful, as smart as she was funny. Even if they weren’t in the same place as they were before, Henry still cared for Leyla, regardless of what she was in his life. And whilst he could be happy that she was here with him at the party, Henry wasn’t. Leyla deserved better than this; she deserved someone who would choose her.

“Yeah, I didn’t give you a rose,“ Henry affirmed, unsure whether to be relieved to have saved her an awkward moment or disheartened that he was no better than the man Leyla chose. “I really thought I wouldn’t see you here, otherwise I might have brought you some.” Instead, he reached inside his coat pocket and brought out a pack of jammie dodgers. “It’s not chocolates or candy, but it’s all I have on me.”

LEYLA This was perfect. Leyla didn’t exactly know why it was the way that it was, but it made her so happy that they were able to go back to what they were before the line was crossed. Now, as before, they were simply comfortable. Though what saddened her was the fact that she imagined the woman who he must have given the rose to… But the fact that he was here meant that just like she, it was unsuccessful.

Perhaps that was simply the wrong time.

“It’s okay. In fact, this is better. I wouldn’t want other women to get jealous.” Reaching out, she took one of the cookies and popped them in her mouth. “Mmm. maybe this is better than flowers.” Putting the rest in her mouth, she quickly patted him down all over his chest. “What else do you have in there? Is this your move for tonight? What are your secrets, oppa.”

Henry at least knew all about her new obsession, which made it easy for her - not having to explain herself. “Okay, so… Let’s say the perfect woman walked though the door right now… And now keep with the theme of today, okay? What would be your move?” This time, she leaned on her elbows as she curiously watched up at him. “Would you… Gaze? Or get the server to give her a drink for you? Tell me.” 

HENRY Henry could only laugh at Leyla’s implication as he opened the pack of biscuits for her. “Yes, all the women who sent me roses would fight to be in your place right now. How good are you at fighting air?” He let the sarcasm drip heavy in his tone, only softened by the amused smile on his face. “Maybe I should be more worried about whoever sent you roses.” Admittedly, part of him was. Despite how things had changed between them recently, what didn’t change was Leyla being someone Henry still held close and cared for most ardently. Regardless of his own feelings, Henry didn’t want someone to come in and sweep Leyla off her feet, only to let her fall on her own.

His train of thought broke however when Leyla patted him down. Nothing really had changed. “Hey,” he reacted reflexively as he caught her hands, letting his hold linger for a second before pushing them away from him. What awkwardness that could have arisen however was shattered at the mention of oppa, which prompted a snort from Henry. “You have been watching too much K-dramas during your free time,” Henry said matter-of-factly as he gently flicked Leyla’s forehead with his index finger and thumb—something he unfortunately also learned when Leyla insisted he watch some of them with her.

As Leyla set up her question, Henry turned his gaze towards the door before returning his eyes back to her. The corner of his lips quirked up ever so slightly. He never really did tell her, didn’t he? “My move?” Henry looked away as he pondered. “Well, you ate my best one,” he joked, mostly. “Since that’s out the picture, I’d probably get close and start with some small talk.” Honestly, the years he avoided getting too close to women (less Vanessa used it as a reason to lash out at him) set Henry back now that he was back in the pool. Running through what good experiences he did have with the women in his life, he added, “Then I’d ask if we can continue this outside where it’s a little more quiet. And when it gets chilly, I’ll offer them my jacket. Show them a little of what’s hiding underneath.” The last line, a throwaway line really, made Henry break his serious thought with a chuckle.

LEYLA More for me.

It was the initial thought that popped into her mind, but she was quick to chase it away. Leyla had no right to have these words pop into her mind, but somehow she felt constantly gravitating towards them. A natural order, which did not feel it was due to what had happened before. Yet, there should have been some feeling of guild there. For Oliver or for Henry - a mystery better left unresolved.

“I’ll have you know, my best skills come at fighting air.” She quickly did a few air punches, which were badly executed. “See, I am the only contestant left.” The words left her mouth as she blew on her fingers, pretending they were guns. “ On rose, not more. But I am happy for that, I wish it had a name so I could properly thank them. I don’t like being in the unknown or making someone else hurt.” Still, she had no idea who would have offered her a rose. None of the people at the party seemed to be too familiar to her. “Maybe it was misplaced and there is a sad woman waiting for that rose, thinking the love is now finished.” A small pout crossed her lips before she smiled again. 

Would it be okay for her to spend the rest of her time with him? 

Leyla reluctantly removed her hands from him and stood in place, grinning like a five-year-old child. This was Henry, any given situation, everything was just easy with him. “Hey–.” She was quickly cut off from the flick of his fingers, which only made her smirk more. “You’re learning. But careful otherwise you might make my heart beat fast.” To which she flicked him right back, stepping on her tiptoes only so she could reach his forehead. “But then again, it would take five months just to do this.” Leyla slipped her hand into his, offering a small squeeze before letting go. 

Never having seen Henry put a move on anyone before, Leyla was interested. Everything that had happened with them before was natural, maybe somewhat funny. She also knew that there was someone else in his heart, but the situation was different, even if she guessed who that person was. It was not on her to butt in. Instead, the woman took a step closer to him. “Like this?” She asked, a smile tugging the corners of her lips. “Since I already used up the first step of your move, why not give me the experience? I can then later be the judge and tell you if there is anything needed to be improved.” 

Instead of making the first step she usually did, Leyla allowed Henry to make the decision. Whatever it was, she knew it would be fine. There were enough beautiful women in the room for him to have his pick. He didn’t need to spend the time with his friend. Even if he may not have thought so, Henry was highly desirable by the women at this very party. 

HENRY Henry couldn’t help but laugh as Leyla took too seriously his play on words. How apt when she often took his breath away. “You’re crazy,” he could only say in between laughs, the grin on his face making it clear it hadn’t meant anything else other than a compliment. It was hard to believe how Leyla could have only gotten one rose, more so how she could have thought the one she did get was misplaced. “I’m sure it wasn’t misplaced, and whoever sent you their rose was just like the rest of us here, shooting their shot.” The rest of us—Henry could hardly imagine Leyla having her affections unreturned, could hardly keep his eyes off her when she was in the room. Unless—”Do you think your rose was misplaced?” Was she the sad woman she was referring to?

Henry had caught the echo of her pout but remained mindful not to mirror it, even if the thought of Leyla being sad pained him. More so as the woman still put on a smiling face and carried on as if this night was what she wanted. That he was what she wanted. Her laugh, her words, her hands in his, her smile—Leyla made it easy for Henry to want this, want her. And he tried to ignore the worst of his thoughts and played along with her flirtatious whims because he did want this, want her. Until Leyla passed him the ball to play now, and suddenly the weight of what they were doing hit him and grounded him.

The smirk Henry had on faded slowly as he looked at Leyla. “I don’t want to play games with you, Leyla. I like you.” I like you—the words felt foreign now that Henry had said them out loud. Words he had kept in chest since last year. Words he had never said to make them parting ways easier. Words he had never said because he didn’t want to lose her in his life. It had always worked for him, hadn’t it? 

“I like you,” Henry repeated, more serious to make his point clear. “I came here with an open mind and tried to talk to people, but I never expected to see you here and now all I want to do is spend the rest of the night with you.” A semblance of a smile returned on Henry’s face because what he said had been true. It was still true. But as fast as it appeared, it returned to his signature line. “Except I know you want to be with someone else tonight.” He looked down on the ground, hesitant, but Leyla probably knew his next words even before he could admit them. “As do I.” Their unpaired roses were proof of that. “I don’t want you to settle for me, nor do I want you to feel like I settled for you.”

Henry placed a hand on Leyla’s arm. “You don’t have to say anything back. You don’t even have to feel the same way.” His lips curled into a small smile, reassuring her that he was truly fine, and if he wasn’t, he will be eventually. “We’re headed in that direction again,” he echoed her words that seared into his memory. The fact that they were in the same position again made a small chuckle escape. “So I think I’ll head off so you can enjoy the rest of the party. I’m good anyway.” Henry offered a small smile, but—perhaps against better judgement—he leaned in and pressed his lips softly against her cheek before he headed for the exit.

LEYLA Shooting their shot. 

It was his words that echoed in her mind. The simple fact was - that both of their arrows seemed to have missed. But was it really a bad thing? As here she was, at a party that was filled with people, yet she had gravitated towards the one that made her feel most at ease. 

How long had the feeling been there? Somehow, she knew the answer was simple. From the very beginning.  “I think… I think, however the rose was placed, or where it ended up… I’m actually fine how it turned out.” There was not a single regret, though, before she really did feel sad and disappointed. But the moment Henry was there, in front of her, those thoughts simply faded away. He made her laugh, he made her feel as if she was right where she was supposed to be. Spending the evening with the person that was going to be the reason for a good night. 

Her hand was about to reach for the drink when he spoke again. As the words started to come out of him, she almost wanted to brush him off, think of it as one of their jokes that they played around with. Since December they barely touched the topic, since December they stayed away from each other, from the danger they could be if they crossed a line.

A line they both agreed was not for either of them to cross.

But her hand fell to her side as she looked up at him. If it were anyone else, those words would have scared her. Maybe for a moment she really was scared of what he had said, because in all the time when they were in bed with one another, when they shared kisses, when they played games or had dinner - even at those closest moments - those were the words they never said to one another. As if once spoken out loud, the magic would be gone. Maybe not the magic, but the bubble would burst, which would make them face each other. 

Face each other the way they were doing it at that moment. 

His words didn’t scare her, she realised. Because she felt them too. How could she not? Wasn’t Henry always the obvious choice? There was that saying that the person who you were supposed to be with was the one who made you feel calm, at ease. No chaos, no questions, and he was just that. 

She let him finish, though, because she knew he had more to say. That more was the same reason why they did not cross the line in December. The two people why they were here at the party, alone. The two people they shot their shot for yet didn’t end with. The two people who kept coming in between them, no matter where they stood. 

“Henry.” Her hand reached for his before he could leave, before he could say all that and disappear. “You do know I feel the same way, right?” No way would she have allowed for him to be the only one who said the words. “I like you, too. In that way. You’re so special to me and you always make me feel… Good. At peace. I know you should be the one who I should walk out here with. You’re the one person I know wouldn’t hurt me. You’re the person I can see it all with. But.” They were back there again, the same as December, except they weren’t alone in a room, they were surrounded by people. “At least now, we would hurt each other if we…” Because they still had other people they leaned towards, they still had other people they wanted to see things with. 

Leyla took a step closer to him, placing her hands around the back of his neck. “We’re still so close, yet so far away.” A small laugh escaped her. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” She pressed her lips to his, not as a goodbye kiss, nor as a hello kiss. Just a kiss from her to him, before he walked away from her once more.