#Senior Family Bundle

[honeydesignshopco]

[sweetbans29]

Varsity Jacket - CC

Pairing: Caitlin Clark x Reader

Summary: You and Caitlin keep it light and playful at a game (based on THIS request)

Warnings: fluff

Word Count: 2.4k

Sweetbans Masterlist

AN: Is this not everyones dream?

It's the first time in the state's history of WBB that they decided to play basketball in a football stadium. A piece of history that has been led by one girl allowing thousands to benefit.

The game was chosen to be an exhibition game, a kick-off to the season, naming it the Crossover at Kinnick. They laid the Iowa WBB court within the confines of the outdoor football stadium, drawing a near 55,000 fans to be a part of the first game in Caitlin Clark's senior year. A NCAA record-breaking 55,000 fans. The first of many records Clark would break this upcoming season.

The game followed a lot of football Saturday traditions. The way the team was called out, a stadium flyover, and your favorite part - the Hawkeye Wave over to the kids in the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. You had done it before when your team had danced at football games and were excited to be a part of it today.

You are proud to be part of the Iowa Hawkeye dance team - have been for the past three years now. It is what brought you to IU in the first place.

Growing up dance had always been something you enjoyed. Unlike most of the other girls on the dance team, you didn't start taking dance classes until halfway through middle school. When you learned you had a natural talent for it, you started taking it more seriously. You joined your high school's dance team and decided it was something you wanted to try your hand at in college. When you auditioned going into your freshman year, you were one of two freshmen to make the team.

Since then you have captained the team for two football seasons, going into your third. Yet here you are, freezing your azz off because you forgot your damn coat.

Upon arriving at the stadium, you should have been prepared. You should have thought through how it is November in Iowa and how it is about to be winter but that doesn't cross your mind until you are shaking courtside.

"Didn't you bring a coat?" One of your teammates asks. She is currently bundled up in two jackets, ear muffs, and hand warmers.

"If I did, don't you think I would be wearing it?" You snap and immediately realize. "I'm sorry babe, I am just freezing."

You are trying to hide your shaking body and keep moving around to generate any sort of heat that you can.

A part of being on the dance team was being visible during the whole game. You weren't the cheer squad but your team had to be posted up next to them every game. It wasn't bad, it was just cold.

As halftime approached you directed your team to stretch out again, not wanting them to pull anything while dancing. You did the same, as you watched your basketball continue to do what they do best.

Once everyone was stretched, you all bunched together ready to take the court.

"I am still freezing my ass off," you say rubbing your hands together and huddle close to your friend. "I can't believe I didn't bring my freaking overcoat."

The team was coming off when someone bumped your shoulder causing you to take a few steps back.

"Hey! Watch it," you tell the 6-foot frame.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry," the girl says. You pull down your skirt and smooth it over. Once you are satisfied with your outfit adjustment you look up.

'Of-freaking-course', you think to yourself as you make eye contact with none other than Caitlin Clark.

"I didn't see you there," she says, the slightest smirk peaking out.

"Very funny Clark," you say trying to hide your own smile and keep it serious.

"Oh, keeping it professional now are we?" She says. "It's cute, but you can call me Caitlin."

"That is so kind of you," you say, kind of surprised she is still there talking to you. You finish your sentence with, "Clark."

She just smiles and shakes her head. You hear the music come on and you know it's your cue. Caitlin doesn't follow the rest of the team back through the tunnel, rather stands to the side and watches you and your team take the court.

Caitlin knows she should be back with her team. More so to warm up but she couldn't nor wanted to take her eyes off you. She stood there watching you and your team keep everyone entertained during halftime. A smile resting on her lips the entire time.

She has seen you around before. How could she not, you were at practically every sports game. Caitlin would frequent the Hawkeye's football games but never really got close enough to see you perform (something she will probably never admit to you). If it wasn't seeing you in passing there, she noticed you would go and watch other sports just for fun. She has to think about it but if she remembers correctly she has seen you at both the men's and women's volleyball matches, women's soccer, and even some track and even the women's swim and dive meets.

Caitlin cheers on your team as you finish your routine and runoff, making way for the cheer squad to perform their routine next. As you make your way back you see Cait standing in the same spot she bumped you in. She is smiling at you and clapping as you make your way over. You walk up to her despite the murmurs you hear from your team, only making out your name and Caitlin's in their muffled conversations.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere, Clark?" You ask as you cross your arms over your chest. You may have just performed a 6-minute dance routine but the chilled air was unforgiving.

"Wanted to stay out here and watch - making sure your little frozen ass doesn't fall off," she says, her eyes never leaving yours.

"The team is great," you say with a smile choosing to ignore the second part of her statement and refusing to be the first one to break eye contact.

"I wasn't watching the team," she says, that stupid smirk playing on her lips again. You could feel yourself losing this battle.

"That's a shame, they are great," you say trying to regain any part of this conversation.

"Maybe, but not as great as who I had my eyes on," she says. You blush and look away. You felt like you were being interrogated by the freaking CIA not flirting with your school's superstar.

"Okay, Clark, you win," you say as you crumble under her gaze.

She rubs the back of your arm, letting her hand linger on you. You look back up at her.

"I should get back," she says not wanting to leave you but knowing her job isn't done.

"You should," you say, agreeing for her - the first time since this conversation has started.

"Thanks for umm, thanks for watching," you say, your nerves peaking out. She nods and heads in the direction of her team.

What the hell was that? You make your way over to your team and they are all chattering about the interaction. You take your seat next to your co-captain who is just looking at you.

You keep your head forward still processing it all. Caitlin Clark was just talking to you. Not only that, but she waited and watched you perform then proceeded to flirt with you about it. Her hand was on your arm. You were thankful it wasn't skin-to-skin contact because you probably would have never let her walk away. She was teasing you.

You are too caught up in your own thoughts to see when someone had walked up to you. Your co-cap tapping your leg and nodding at the woman who was standing in front of you.

"Oh hi," you say and stand.

"I was told to bring this over to you," she says holding something, you look down and it's a jacket.

"Oh thank you," you say grabbing it.

"She wanted me to say it is from Caitlin," she says, emphasizing the name. "Told me I had to emphasize the name."

The woman walks away and you unfold the jacket to see 'CLARK' on the back right above the number 22. This girl is not serious right now. If you were under any other circumstance, you would not be putting it on but since the only time you have stopped shaking was while you were performing you decide to put the jacket on.

If your team was whispering about your interaction with Caitlin before, they are shouting from the rooftops now.

The basketball team comes back out and you find yourself looking for a particular someone. To your delight, she is making her way over to you.

"You got it, good," she says, wrapped in an Iowa jacket of her own.

"You didn't need to do this," you say but make no move to try and hand it back to her. It has been the warmest you have been the whole game. She lets out a little laugh.

"Sure, says the one who was shaking like a chihuahua," she says taking in the sight of you in her clothing. She could get used to this.

"I appreciate it, Clark," you say and she groans.

"Caitlin," she says.

"Clark," you retort.

"Cait," she responds.

"Clark," you are not giving in.

"CC, Caity, C - anything but Clark," she says frustrated.

"Why does it bother you so much that I call you by your last name?" You ask now the one who has the slight edge in the conversation.

"Clark, get your butt over here," one of her coaches yells at her.

"That's why," she mumbles and gives you one last look before running back over to the team.

"Get it Clark!" You yell after her, earning some whistles and shouts from your team.

You're thankful it is still cold out because the redness on your cheeks can easily be taken as cold, hiding your blush.

Your team doesn't shut up about the fact that you had talked to Caitlin but she gave her varsity jacket to you to wear. All the girls were staring at you and taking in the sight of the player's jacket.

A ball gets swatted out of bounds and you catch it before it can hit anyone on your team. Caitlin sees where it goes and books it to grab it from you.

Here is the thing about Caitlin, she is the last person to go and catch a ball that has been hit out of bounds. Her whole team was aware of this. So it is to everyone's surprise when she is the first one to hustle after the ball when the whistle is blown.

You hold up the ball for her.

"Careful there Clark, could have hurt someone," you say.

She laughs, "Ya right."

"Since when are you the first one to run after a loose ball," you say exposing that you may have watched her more than a few times. Could anyone blame you? Caitlin has been drawing the attention of the whole nation.

"Didn't want to miss the opportunity to come talk to the pretty girl," she says with that damn smirk.

"You are too kind Clark," you say faking flattery.

"Oh, I was talking about the girl next to you," she says teasing you.

You sit there speechless as Caitlin finally takes the ball.

"I'm kidding, but you should see the look on your face. It's priceless," she says winking at you before heading back over to inbound the ball.

'Oh it is on Clark' you think as you watch them finish up the last quarter.

Caitlin, of course, plays amazing. She finishes the game off with her first triple-double of the season. You watch as she celebrates with her team - all of who were excited to start the season on a high note. You are celebrating with your team when they all go quite in front of you and stare at something behind you. You turn around before Caitlin can tap your shoulder.

"Ahh, so we meet again," you say with a smile. "Well done Clark."

"Okay, enough with the Clark. You are wearing my jacket for goodness sake," she says and shakes her head.

"Oh, ya, thank you for this," you say and begin to take it off. She stops you by putting her hand on your arm - the second time today you note.

"Hold on to it, if you take it off now you will start shaking again and I don't really care to see you looking like a little chihuahua," she says and scratches the back of her neck. You raise your eyebrow at her. If you don't give her the jacket back now, that means you will need to see her again to return it.

"And who exactly am I supposed to get this back to you?" You ask.

"Well that is actually why I came over here," she says and you can tell she is a little more nervous than she had been before. You don't notice but both of your teams are watching the interaction between you.

"Okay," you say encouraging her to continue.

"How would you feel about going out with me this weekend?" Caitlin says as she has to mentally remind herself to keep her breathing steady and to not rush her words.

"I don't know..." you start. "I was thinking I could just have someone swing the jacket by one of your practices."

Caitlin's face looks mortified and you immediately bring your hand up to hers to ease her, your joke being taken a little too serious.

"I'm kidding Clark," you say and give her hand a squeeze. "I would love to go out with you this weekend."

She smiles widely.

"Great," she says. "I'll text you details," she begins walking backward.

"And how are you going to do that without my number?" You say as she is now just out of reach.

"You're cute," she says, now back in control of the conversation. "I've had your number for a while, now I just get to use it."

You stare at her, mouth agape. You don't know how to get the last word in so she does.

"Talk to you soon babe!" Caitlin says and runs back towards her team.

AN: This was a cutie. Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think! And as always, thank you for the love and support 🤍

[metalhoops]

Steve was used to climbing out windows. Before his junior year, he’d made a habit of entering through and escaping from girls' houses unnoticed. He was stealthy. He’d learned how to scale trees and tread lightly across roof shingles with the deftness of a nocturnal animal. Yet, for the first time, he found himself escaping his own home. There was a first time for everything, right? 

Steve’s parents were home. The second Steve saw the familiar BMW pull into the Harrington’s driveway, he knew he wanted to be anywhere but home. His parents were only palatable when he had good news, but all he had to tell them was that after their last visit, The Mall had burnt down and he’d gotten a new job at a video store. He really was doing the family proud. He didn’t want to deal with it, not today. 

That’s how he found himself crawling out his bedroom window, shimmying across the guttering and trying not to sprain his ankles as he dropped onto the lawn. He headed out back, past his pool and into the woods. Usually, it was the last place you’d find Steve. He kept expecting to run into a Demogorgon or something equally as nasty. 

He walked for a while without direction, trudging through the underbrush until the rustling of leaves behind him set his teeth on edge. His body moved before his mind had time to keep up. He spun on his heels, hand scrabbling to the forest floor in search of a weapon. It supplied him with a fallen tree branch, almost too large to heft comfortably, but he did it, running on adrenaline. He came face to face with a familiar, wide-eyed boy. 

“Holy shit, Harrington. Take it down like ten notches,” the boy grumbled, showing his upturned hands as though trying to calm a startled animal. 

Hawkins was a small town, the kind of place where everybody knew everybody. Steve knew the boy with deep brown eyes and dark hair, halloed by fallen leaves, was none other than Eddie Munson, or as he was colloquially known, ‘The Freak’. They’d gone to high school together. He thought the guy was due to repeat his senior year, again. He didn’t know what he was doing alone in the woods. 

“What are you doing?” Steve asked.

You couldn’t blame him for being on high alert. Even if Eddie was someone he’d grown up with, that didn’t make him safe. Steve was still riled up after running down Billy Hargrove with his car. He was paranoid. He’d had a rough couple of years. 

“Collecting sticks,” Eddie breathed, indicating the large bundle in his hand. 

“Collecting sticks?” Steve echoed. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe him. He couldn’t fathom why the guy was doing it.

“Yeah, I’m making a miniature log cabin for my D&D campaign, and you know, miniature logs are just... sticks—you don’t care, anyway. Sorry for startling you, my liege.” Steve tilted his head, thinking the acronym was familiar. 

“Is that the dragon game, with the Demogorgon and junk?” Eddie looked at Steve like he’d sprouted a third head.

“How the hell do you, Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington, know what D&D is?” 

Steve wished people would stop calling him that. Every time he heard the stupid nickname it felt like someone was rubbing chunks of asphalt into his gravel rash. He wondered if Eddie felt the same about his title. 

The old Steve would’ve used it just to spite the guy, to see what buttons he could push, not because he wanted to but because it was expected of him. It wasn’t an excuse. He knew that. Instead, Steve shrugged his shoulders and told the truth, something the old Steve never would’ve done.

“I babysit some nerds who play it,” he confessed. 

Eddie looked at Steve in wonder. He was puzzled, amazed and, for once, a little intrigued. He’d never looked at Steve like that back in high school. The two rarely crossed paths and when they did, they never spoke. Sure, Eddie ranted about ‘jocks’ as a whole, but Steve had always just been one piece of a puzzle. It would seem redundant to yell at a patch of blue and grey for being a picture of the sky. 

“Why did you need to take up a babysitting gig?” 

To answer that, Steve had to embellish a little. Maybe he no longer liked lying about who he was, but he couldn’t exactly dump the cosmic mind fuck that was The Upside Down on some unsuspecting guy. 

“I needed money.” 

“You needed money? What, did you get cut off?” Steve shrugged in response. 

“Christ, what did you do? Piss in a family urn? Trash the house? Get a girl pregnant?” Eddie questioned.

“I think generally existing was enough to do it,” Steve mumbled, kicking at the dirt beneath his shoes. 

Eddie let out a low whistle. 

“Hey Harrington, think fast,” Eddie called, throwing the bundle of twigs in his direction. Steve dropped the branch and grabbed the bundle with wide eyes. 

“What was that for?” Steve choked. 

“What are you doing in this neck of the woods, anyway?” Eddie asked instead of responding. Steve shrugged, still cradling the bundle to his chest. 

“Avoiding my parents.” 

“You got any plans for the rest of the day?” Eddie spoke. Steve responded with a shake of his head. 

“Well, you know, this really is a two-person job, so if you wanted to come back to my place, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.” 

For some reason, Steve agreed. 

Eddie had a habit of collecting strays. 

There was the cat he’d kept under the bed when he was six and the gathering of stray dogs that hung around the back of the trailer park that he’d been feeding for as long as he could remember. The same theory applied to people. He made friends with the loners, the weird kids, the ones with wide eyes and nowhere to go. He was a bleeding heart, so sue him. However, he’d never expected Steve Harrington to trigger his urge to protect and befriend. That really hit Eddie out of left field. 

Never in Eddie’s wildest dreams did he imagine he and Steve would be sitting across from each other at his small dining table, Steve’s knee pressed on the inside of Eddie’s thigh. The jock’s still hands held small bits of twigs in place as Eddie worked around him with his hot glue gun. The guy had seemed so lost, back in the woods, so unlike how Eddie remembered him. He knew about D&D for Christ’s sake. Eddie wondered if he’d woken up in an alternate universe because it seemed like Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. 

He asked Eddie about his goddamn log cabin, tavern. Then he’d pushed deeper. ‘Why do you need a bar in a game about dragons’? To which Eddie explained, of course, you do more than just fight dragons, which appeared to be news to Steve. Besides his friends, no one showed interest in Eddie’s ‘stupid little fantasy game’. With Steve, questions came thick and fast. Eddie loved every second of it. When he’d asked why Steve cared so much, the guy had shrugged his shoulders and muttered,

“I might be able to impress the kids.” 

Eddie decided to ask about ‘the kids’. He and Steve didn’t have much in common. Sure, the two could commiserate about high school together, but neither man was in the mood to do that. And god, Steve could talk about ‘the kids’. 

“I run a D&D club called Hellfire. If they’re starting high school this year, send ‘em my way. I’ll tuck your little ducklings under my wing. Keep the big scary jocks away from ‘em,” Eddie noted, feeling comfortable enough with Steve to take a jab at him. Steve surprised him again by snorting out a laugh.

“Make sure you do. That Jason kid’s a senior, right? Total psychopath. The kid would peg basketballs at pigeons.” 

By the time the sun set, the boys were in stitches and had a fairly decent log cabin to show for a day’s work. Eddie was surprised that the idea of Steve leaving set a pit in his stomach.

“Hey, Steve? We should do this again,” Eddie proposed, and Steve was too quick to agree. 

“I have work tomorrow morning, but how about the afternoon?” 

Eddie hadn’t expected the guy to be as keen as he felt. 

“It’s a date,” Eddie agreed, before promptly wanting to shove his head through a miniature log cabin. A date? Really, Munson? 

A flicker of amusement crossed Steve’s face as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his too-tight jeans. Mind out of the gutter, Munson. You were doing so well. 

“You’re weird, you know that?” Steve remarked, running his hand through his trademark hair, and yeah, Eddie should’ve expected that. 

Now Steve was going to call him a Freak, the ‘King Steve’, he’d heard about would make an appearance and Eddie would be glad he dodged a bullet by cutting his crush off at the knees before it had the chance to grow legs. 

“Weird is good,” Steve corrected, seeming aware of Eddie’s inner turmoil. 

“One thing I’ve learnt about myself since high school is that I like weird.”

Oh, no. Eddie was so gone for Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington. 

Read Part 2

[gotham--fc]

UCLA Love - A Jessie Fleming Imagine

Request: Jessie and R both go to UCLA and have a great connection on the field. They both like each other but are too shy to say anything until R has a bad game and while Jessie comforts her it slips out that Jessie likes her

This request was from probably like three years ago at least sorry about that besties..... let me know what you think!

It’s hard not to be intimidated by Jessie Fleming, or, at least that’s what Y/N tells herself.

In truth, Jessie’s probably the least intimidating person. She’s quiet, bookish, nice to a fault, really all the qualities of a non-intimidating person. But that doesn’t stop the way Y/N’s palms start to sweat whenever she’s near Jessie. Ever since Y/N started at UCLA, she finds herself inexplicably nervous around the Canadian midfielder.

She doesn’t know why, at first, why her heart pounds when Jessie’s nearby, why her palms get clammy, and why she’s suddenly aware of every part of her body. At first, she chalks it up to the fact that Jessie is, like, a legend on the field already even as an 18-year-old. She made her senior debut at fifteen! Y/N hasn’t even been invited to one camp yet. So of course, it’s natural to be nervous around someone who literally has already played at a World Cup and an Olympics. She has a bronze medal! Of course that’s intimidating.

When they first met, at the first team meeting, Y/N didn’t know what to expect. She thought Jessie could be a little stuck up. Maybe cocky. She was arguably the best player in the room and Y/N wouldn’t have blamed her if she acted like it. But instead, she sat near the back of the room and didn’t speak up until Coach called on her. At their first practice, she tried harder than anyone else on the field and stayed late. Y/N was in awe. How was this highly accomplished player so… shy? Quiet? How could she act like everyone on the team was of equal standing? Y/N admired her from the start, her personality, how she played, but the way Jessie makes her feel is more than simple admiration.

***

Jessie is always nervous doing new things.

One would think that after making her national team debut at 15, then less than two years later moving across the country from her family to train with the team full time, playing in the World Cup at 17 and the Olympics the following year, that she wouldn’t be nervous about anything soccer related anymore. That couldn’t be further from the truth. She is still nervous that her team won’t like her, that she’s going to suck so hard and get cut from the team, or be benched forever. She chooses UCLA because she loves the school, and the campus, and the coaches, and it’s where she wants to be. She has no idea what college soccer looks like and while she knows, logically, that if she can handle herself against full adult pro players, she can handle herself against college players, or how many of her national team teammates tell her that she’ll be fine, better than fine, she’s still a bundle of nerves getting off the plane in LA.

In the end, she has nothing to worry about. She fits into the team immediately, even if they tease her for being a bookworm, or a huge introvert. They love to bother her, beg her to go to parties or to get drunk or hookup with the guys on the baseball team (ew). She plays well, she builds her chemistry with the team over the season and Jessie herself will tell anyone who asks that she’s only as good as her team makes her, but if you ask anyone else, they would tell you that Jessie is a phenom on the pitch and the team is just there to watch her greatness.

***

It's a Friday night, and the team is out at another party. Jessie opted out, because she has a test on Monday and they have a game this weekend, so she knows she won’t get much studying done after tonight. They tried to convince her to come, but eventually gave up when they realized that convincing her to come might take all night.

Usually Jessie is content with a night alone to study, but a little while after the team left, there’s a knock at the door. Jessie rolls her eyes as she gets up from her desk, preparing to tell whoever was there that no, she didn’t change her mind, and she still wasn’t coming out. Instead, she opens the door to Y/N, standing shyly in the hallway.

“Hey,” Y/N says, “I heard you were staying in to study tonight, mind if I join?” Y/N raises her own books.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Jessie says, “Come in.”

Jessie wills her cheeks to not turn red as she hastily clears off space on her bed. She tries to inconspicuously put her dirty laundry into her hamper. She can’t explain it, but Y/N makes her nervous, and she doesn’t quite know how to handle it.

“Sorry, it’s a little messy, I haven’t had a lot of time to clean,” Jessie says.

“You’re good,” Y/N says, “My room is even worse.”

“I-I only have one desk, sorry,” Jessie says, “I can sit on my bed if you want the desk.”

“If I didn’t already know you were Canadian, how often you say sorry would give it away,” Y/N smiles, “I’m fine with the bed, I just have to read articles and stuff, nothing too crazy.”

Jessie sits back at the desk while Y/N settles onto the bed – Jessie’s bed. Jessie swallows and tries to focus on her textbook in front of her. After a few moments of trying and failing to read the problem she was trying to solve, Jessie glances over at Y/N, textbook in hand, highlighter twirling in her fingers. Y/N looks up as if she could feel Jessie’s staring.

“Sorry,” Jessie says as she feels herself grow red, “I, uh, I should’ve asked if you wanted a drink or anything. I have water or Gatorade or pop if you want.”

“Water’s good, thanks,” Y/N says.

Jessie hands Y/N a water bottle from her mini-fridge and their fingers touch. Jessie pulls her hand back quickly.

“Uh, let me know if you need anything else.”

Jessie goes back to the desk and tries to work again. She mostly succeeds, getting through a decent chunk of the physics problems on the test prep. She’s struggling through one of the harder problems when Y/N lets out a loud sigh.

“I think if I read another word my brain will explode,” Y/N says.

“We can’t have that,” Jessie says, “Who else is going to assist all my goals?” Y/N barks out a laugh.

“I see, that’s all I’m good for to you,” Y/N says.

“You want to watch a movie or something?” Jessie asks, closing her textbook. “Here,” Jessie opens Netflix on her laptop and hands it to Y/N, “Pick something.”

Jessie realizes, too late, that her bed is not exactly big enough for two people. There’s no way for her to sit unless she was pressed up against Y/N, or half hanging off the bed. Y/N doesn’t seem to mind though, patting the spot beside her. Jessie sits and tries not to think about anything except the movie playing. A little bit into the movie, Y/N shifts, and Jessie thinks for a moment that Y/N actually doesn’t like being this close to Jessie, and is trying to get away from her, until Y/N’s head lands on her chest.

“Is this okay?” Y/N asks, “I’m so tired.”

“Y-Yeah,” Jessie says. It’s a little uncomfortable, so Jessie moves her own arm until it’s around Y/N’s back. Jessie keeps an eye on Y/N, looking for any sign of discomfort, but she finds none. She tries to focus back on the movie, but she’s so lost now on what’s going on.

Jessie stares resolutely at the screen, even though her mind is elsewhere. All she can think about is Y/N. Y/N’s head on her chest, Y/N’s hand resting on her thigh, Y/N’s scent hitting her nose. Jessie feels like she’s never been so red. Jessie doesn’t know how much time has passed when Y/N lifts her head slightly and looks up at Jessie.

“Are you okay?” Y/N whispers, “Your heart is beating like, so fast.”

“Wh-Ye-Um,” Jessie mumbles something that she doesn’t even understand. Y/N won’t stop looking at her.

“Do you want me to leave?” Y/N asks. Jessie shakes her head. Y/N is still looking at her and Jessie feels like she can’t breathe, that any slight moment of her muscles will break whatever spell they’re under. For half a second, Jessie thinks Y/N is going to kiss her. Then, Y/N nods, and lays her head back down. Jessie swallows and leans her head back against the headboard, closing her eyes.

***

They don’t talk about it. Jessie wants to say nothing changes, and things don’t change on the field at least. Y/N still finds her and still plays perfect passes in the box for her, and Jessie still knows exactly where to go when Y/N has the ball. That doesn’t change. Off the field, however…

They don’t talk about it, so Jessie isn’t really sure if anything really changes, or if she’s just hyperaware of every interaction they have. It feels to Jessie like Y/N seeks her out more, that Y/N’s eyes find hers in a crowd on purpose, that Y/N touches her arm or her shoulder or her hand on purpose.

Almost every night, Jessie dreams of that moment in her room, when Y/N stared at her and Jessie thought they would kiss. In her dreams, Y/N does kiss her, and Jessie wakes herself up almost immediately every time.

***

It’s supposed to be an easy game. The team they’re playing is so far below them in the standings, and it should be an easy win. They’ve bowled over teams better than this one, and they’re going into the game with all the confidence in the world.

Y/N doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. She feels like that scene in She’s The Man where Viola plays soccer in her debutante dress and she falls flat on her face. Every time she gets the ball, it feels like it gets taken from her before she can even think of what to do with it. When she tries to defend, it feels like the opposing players whip past her before she can blink. She feels in over her head and it’s not something she’s felt in years and she hates it. It’s no surprised her coach subs her off at halftime.

She spends the rest of the game on the bench, watching her team play. No one else seems to experience what she did. Everyone else plays the way they should, and they do roll over this team like they expected. But Y/N had no part in it.

On the bus back to campus, the team is celebrating, and Y/N seats herself in the very back away from everyone and pulls her hood up. She’s not in the mood to celebrate. She’s in the mood to sulk.

When they get back to campus, everyone tries to plan where they’re going to meet up to continue the celebration, but Y/N walks away before they decide. She’s not celebrating the worst game she’s ever played. She has her headphones in, volume turned up, so she doesn’t hear Jessie calling after her, she only stops when Jessie grabs her arm.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Jessie asks.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Y/N says.

Normally, Y/N loves spending time with Jessie, and on a normal day, she wouldn’t think twice about walking with Jessie to her dorm, or telling Jessie what’s on her mind. Today is not a normal day, and Y/N can’t help but think that after her performance today that Jessie probably wants nothing to do with her. Y/N’s clearly not at the level of the rest of the team, and she doesn’t know why Jessie would want to bother with a player who will probably only see the bench for the rest of the season.

“You know you can tell me anything Y/N,” Jessie says, “I want to help you.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“At least let me walk you home,” Jessie says, “Please?”

Y/N agrees, because she hates seeing Jessie upset. They walk in silence most of the way. About halfway to her dorm, Y/N realizes all she wants to do right now is cry. She also realizes that it’s more than a want, that she is crying whether she likes it or not. Jessie realizes after the third sniffle.

“Oh, Y/N, please tell me what’s wrong,” Jessie begs.

“Like you don’t know,” Y/N wipes her nose on her sleeve, “You all saw me during the game. I played like shit. I sucked out there.”

“You didn’t play like shit,” Jessie says. Y/N scoffs. “You didn’t! You were triple teamed every time we could get you the ball. And they were definitely fouling you a lot and that ref was blind.”

“You don’t have to pretend to be nice to me,” Y/N says, “Team chemistry won’t collapse. You don’t have to pretend to like me.”

“I’m not pretending!” Jessie says, “I’m…” Jessie grabs Y/N so she stops walking. She pulls Y/N hood back so she can look Y/N in the eyes. “I do like you, I like you a lot. I like you more than… more than I’ve ever liked anyone before. I’m not… None of it is for the team and I’m not going to stop because you had an off game.” Y/N isn’t sure what to say, so she doesn’t say anything. Jessie sighs in frustration. “Can I kiss you?”

“What?” Y/N says.

“I really like you,” Jessie says, “Can I kiss you?”

Y/N sniffles one more time, wipes her face on her sleeves.

“I’m pretty gross, like I’ve crying and I’m all snotty–”

“I don’t care,” Jessie says, “I don’t care about that. I care about you.”

Y/N decides to stop thinking. She leans forward and presses her lips to Jessie’s. It’s a chaste kiss, lasting for only a few seconds, but it’s perfect for Y/N.

“Can I take you on a date?” Jessie asks. Y/N nods. Jessie smiles wider than Y/N’s ever seen.

They keep walking to Y/N’s dorm, their hands brushing every few steps. They steal glances at each other, blushing and giggling when they catch each other’s eyes. When Jessie drops Y/N off at her dorm, the bad game is completely forgotten. Jessie shifts on her feet, not making eye contact with Y/N. She whispers a goodbye, then kisses Y/N’s cheek quickly, before rushing off. Y/N closes the door and leans against it, hiding her blushing face in her hoodie.

[inuyashaluver]

Queen! Ur writing is always so perfect 💋 would u consider writing something for Mearps?

tiktok exposure - mary earps

mary earps x reader

description: in which your secret girlfriend exposes your relationship on her tiktok

warnings: reader gets slapped with a tortilla - funniest warning i’ve ever written in my life, little swearing, unhinged but so am i

a/n: omg, lovely, you’re so sweet! thank you for the kindness and the request, hope you enjoy ❤️

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

you and your girlfriend, mary were in a relatively ‘secret’ relationship. your friends, family and teammates all knew about it, the only people really left in the dark was the media.

there wasn’t any specific reason for it, you and mary just thought it would be better this way in the beginning stages of your relationship. but the thing is, you’ve been dating for over 5 years and people still think that you and mary are just affectionate best friends. slowly but surely, you both didn’t want to hide it any longer.

—

you met mary in the england youth teams. originally, she didn’t like you at first. you were a forward and she was a keeper, and even though you were on the same team, her body would burn in anger when the ball you sent to the back of the net would graze her fingertips everytime.

you were always labelled a sweetheart, one of the nicest girls on the team by a long shot and no one could deny it, not even mary.

she always claimed she didn’t like you but as the time progressed, she began to admire you. mistaking her ‘dislike’ for intrigue.

to ‘settle your differences’, you and mary were forced to room together at every camp, meaning the two of you would talk and goof off together. it was clear to your teammates that you both liked each other, so with a gentle push, mary made the first move and asked you out. and ever since then, you’d been inseparable.

—

you and mary ended up playing together at all the same clubs, labelling the two of you as the unstoppable best friends, something that the two of you would laugh about.

—

it was the women’s world cup, you and mary getting called up for the senior team at the same time in your shared flat. it was nerve wracking, yet exciting, as everyone had good feelings about the tournament.

during this time, your girlfriend had grown quite a love for frequently posting on tiktok, making random videos with your teammates everyday. occasionally she would vlog and get you to say “hi” the comments always saying how cute your friendship was.

“hello, everyone! millie and mary here,” mary holds the phone while she sits on the plane next to millie, you’re sitting behind her. “we’re gonna play around with this guess the country filter while everyone is sleeping” mary says in a lame attempt of a whisper while her and millie cackle.

millie glances around the plane until her eyes fall on your sleeping figure. “literally everyone is sleeping right now, look at your girl over here” millie gestures to you and mary’s face lights up, she lifts up her phone to show you sleeping next to maya, both of you bundled up in hoodies. though what mary didn’t realise, was that you were wearing her hoodie.

“sleepy girls” mary coos before laughing and propping the phone up so they could continue the video.

“what’s that?” millie asks

“jaw, teeth? mail teeth?” mary says in full confusion

you woke up to the loud laughs of mary and millie with a groan, you peer over the front of your seat to see the two of them goofing off on mary’s phone. you’re visible in the camera, your tired eyes evident on your face.

you slap them both on the back of the head and they both let out a gasp in surprise, snapping their heads to see a very grumpy you staring down at them.

“too loud” you grit out and mary smiles up at you affectionately, moving her hand to pinch your cheek gently. “sorry, love” she laughs, millie blows you a kiss in apology and you couldn’t help but smile. before you sit down, you wave at the camera, “it’s india” you say simply before sitting back down, hearing the excited yells of astonishment at your correct answer.

the video blows up, specifically the comments saying how funny you all were. there were some comments saying how you were wearing mary’s clothes and some saying the way mary looked at you was anything but friendly but fans were quickly shutting them down.

everyone truly believed the two of you were best friends but the video began to decay those opinions. the speculations were growing and you and mary honestly found it quite funny.

—

you and mary room together, forcing you to film as many videos as she could with you. her tiktok page filling up completely with random videos during the day or challenges she would do with different teammates.

the social media admin was also having a field day with all the content being released from mary, they’d also been releasing their own. one that sparked a lot of interest in particular, was one of you and mary arriving to a game.

she’d gotten off the bus first and waved to the camera, grabbing your hand and helping you walk down the stairs. when you reach the ground, you look up at her and smile affectionately before she bends down slightly, showing you her back.

you instantly take the invitation and she piggybacks you while you wave to the camera.

“i only arrive in style” you joke at the camera, throwing it a wink as you rest your cheek against mary’s. “what about me?” mary mocks, you just smile and nuzzle into her.

in the distance, ella is speaking to alessia, “i wish my partner was here so i didn’t have to walk” she jokes, it’s barely audible but fans picked it up right away. at this point, you and mary didn’t really care, you were just being you and having fun and that’s all that mattered for the both of you.

—

though, a video that fully confirmed your relationship was made by mary. she’d begged you to join her on a challenge and claimed it would be extremely funny.

“baby, please, it’ll be so good!” she pleads, hugging you from behind while you brush your teeth. “can’t you ask me later?” you muffle out, mouth full of toothpaste and she laughs affectionately. kissing your cheek repeatedly as she squeezed your waist gently. she stares at you in the mirror and you give in easily, “fine” you groan, finishing up brushing your teeth as she squeals excitedly.

you had training today, both of you agreed to film the video at the training facility as it involved water.

she’d clearly already organised this, when she walked you in the room, the entire team was there and had brought all the materials.

you laugh in disbelief as your water bottle and tortillas are thrusted in your hands. “what are we doing again?” you smile at mary while she gives the phone to another tiktok expert, esme to film. “so we fill our mouths with water and then do scissors, paper, rock and then whoever wins slaps the other person with the tortilla” mary explains, all the girls are in fits of giggles excited to see the video happen right in front of them.

you shake your head amusingly but agree, laughing when mary gives you your tortilla. she does a quick intro with her arm slung around your shoulder. “hello everyone, me and this hottie over here have a great video for you today, enjoy!” she says cheekily, you roll your eyes at the pet name and ignore the teasing coming from behind the phone.

you fill your mouth up with water and try not to laugh at mary’s appearance, she was clearly trying to make you laugh and it took everything in you to hold it in. you send her a warning glare before holding your hands up for scissors, paper, rock.

you win the first one and gently slap mary’s cheek with the tortilla, clearly missing the challenge. people awe at you from behind the camera and you look at them confused, mary swallows her water and laughs. “you’re so cute, (y/n/n)!” millie yells and you try not to laugh at her.

“you need to slap hard!” mary exclaims, your eyes widen but you nod, gesturing for her to continue. you win again and look at mary trying not to laugh. you slap a little harder but still quite gentle and mary smiles at you, swallowing her water and pulling you into a little hug.

“i’ve picked the wrong person to do this with” she coos, you swallow your water and laugh when she cradles your head to her chest. “you’ve gotta slap me really hard with it, love, don’t hold back!” mary smiles at you before separating again.

you get back into position and do scissors, paper, rock again, this time mary wins and you look at her nervously. she smirks and lines the tortilla up next to your face. you let out a little squeal in fear as she pretends to slap you but doesn’t. the team laughs brightly at the interaction, some of them a little scared for your cheek.

mary finally slaps you with the tortilla and your eyes widen in shock and you spit out a little water in the process. the slap was hard, so hard that she broke the tortilla in the process. people let out shocked gasps and laughs as they watch you recover. you were trying not to spit out your water from laughter but failing completely, you keep laughing with little spits of water coming out of your mouth while you hold your cheek.

mary looks at you in shock, swallowing the water and cradling your face between her hands. “baby! oh my god, i’m so sorry” she looks into your eyes and smiles when she sees you laughing.

“shit, mearps, the gym is working out for you” you joke, she kisses your slapped cheek repeatedly as an apology and you can feel yourself growing warm. “i’m so sorry, my love” mary says earnestly, you kiss her cheek back and tell her not to worry about it.

you walk up to the camera with a big grin, showing them your cheek with a laugh. “confirmed, mary earps is a tortilla abuser, slapped her own girlfriend” you joke, mary laughs brightly from behind you, “oi!” she hoists you over her shoulder and you let out a gleeful laugh, she playfully slaps your behind and runs off. esme stops the camera and the girls watch it back together, pissing themselves laughing at it.

mary takes you to a hidden corner of the room and pulls you into a loving kiss, it lasts for a couple seconds before she pulls back and inspects your cheek. “i’m so sorry, baby, i overestimated the strength of the tortilla” she laughs, “it’s okay, babe, now i can say mary earps slapped me with a tortilla, big achievement” you shrug, she smirks and closes the gap, kissing you again quickly before walking towards the girls again.

—

the video blows up, becoming one of the most popular world cup videos as well as the confirmation of your relationship. everyone claims “they knew it” on the video and sending the two of you support. now that everyone knows, mary will make couple tiktoks with you and feeds everyone in the woso community their favourite couple content.

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

you know the drill!!! - just pretend it’s you xx ily chlo

liked by mayaletissier and 44,232 others

1maryearps: when she confirms the relationship 🫦

view all comments

yourname: mary earps slapped her own girlfriend with a tortilla

↳ 1maryearps: i said i was sorry!

↳ yourname: YOU. SLAPPED. YOUR. GIRLFRIEND. WITH. A. TORTILLA

↳ 1maryearps: I’M. SORRY.

↳ yourname: you’re lucky you’re cute

↳ mbrighty04: you’re the cutest (y/n/n)!

↳ yourname: no you mills!!

↳ 1maryearps: i’m sorry, am i missing something here?

↳ mbrighty04: mind your business

[uniquedinosaurdreamland]

Lionesses x Reader

-Spiderman and Cinderella-

Cute little start to a maybe series xx

Lionesses x Reader, Lionesses x R!Children!

🌷

Your whole life was flipped upside down at sixteen. You were on your way to become an amazing football player, playing the the U17’s Lionesses as well as in the Liverpool Academy and were deemed one of the best upcoming players. But It all went down hill when one night at a party you got drunk, slept with a guy and before you knew it, you were standing in a bathroom with a positive pregnancy test staring right back at you.

Conversation after conversation followed with family, friends and staff about what to do next. You had managed to contact the boy from that night only to get ghosted and to find out he had left town the next week with his family.

You support system was made up of the best people in your life, being there with you through everything even when learning that it wasn’t just one baby but two. Nine months later your beautiful twins were born, Theo Luka Y/L/N coming out first followed by his sister Maisie Luna Y/LN. Your heart was full from the moment your babies were placed into your arms and you knew you would give them the world and more.

Nobody expected you to return back to football but just four months later your were back in the academy, juggling school, football and your twins but in the end you made it work. Now fast forward three years with your two bundles of joy now being three years old you were on your way to your first senior call up for the England National team.

You were the last to arrive at St George's Park due to having two bubbly, energy filled toddlers who refused to wear anything beside a Spiderman costume for Theo and a Cinderella dress for Maisie. Arriving just in time for dinner, you left your bags as you were notified someone would take up to your room that only held you and the twins.

There was no time to be nervous when entering the dining hall, having two of the most extroverted toddlers ever they didn’t waste anytime in rushing through the doors and towards the food. Taking no notice of the many eyes that snapped to the two toddlers, like always in their own little worlds.

“Slow down guys, I will get your food. Be patient please.” You ran in after them, smiling apologetically at the chef who didn’t know what to do with two kids babbling at him in a toddler language he couldn’t quite understand.

“You got some energetic kids there.” You turned around to the voice of Sarina, smiling as she pulled you into a hug before bending down to the twins levels. “Hi, my name is Sarina. What are your names?”

Maisie and Theo looked up at you simultaneously, making sure to give them a small nod to tell Sarina their names. “Spiderman” Sarina let out a laugh at Theo’s answer.

“Well nice to meet you Spiderman, and I am guessing you are a princess.” Sarina turned to Maisie after shaking Theo’s hand gently.

“I am Cinderella.” Maisie said poking out her chest in pride, you couldn’t help but smile as your new coach stood a curtsied to Maisie, the toddler letting out her tiny giggles that never failed to melt your heart.

Sarina stood with you as you grabbed plates and filled them with food you knew Theo and Maisie would like, lucky for you they were absolutely angles when it came to eating, when they were younger both of them even ate dog food for you childhood dog that was set out at your parents home.

“Two hands.” Placing the tray carefully into Maisie’s hand. Unbeknownst to you Leah and Lucy had stood from their respective tables and made their way towards the group of you.

“Need a little help there mister?” Leah bent down grabbing the tray from Theo’s hands to her own as he saw the young boy struggling. “You wanna come sit with me, I’m Leah.” Theo once again looked warily at the blonde stranger reaching behind him to tug you shirt, causing you to turn around.

“Hi.” You couldn’t help but be awestruck at the two world class defenders in front of you, managing only a small greeting.

“Hi, I’m Leah I can take this little guy to come sit with me.” The blonde greeted showing off her trademark smile.

“Oh god, you really don’t have to.” You said shaking your head knowing Theo was in his most energetic mood and he was eating his dinner which meant he was very messy.

“Mummy I want to go.” You looked down surprise at Theo.

“Okay then off you go, I want all the veggies gone when I come check.” Not another word was uttered from your three year old as he happily took Leah’s hand as she led him to her table that sat Keira, Georgia, Beth, Jordan and Katie. You didn’t even notice Maisie was already sat at a table with Lucy, Rachel, Millie, Mary and Alex.

“What just happened?” You said to no one in particular, Sarina laughing and patting your back.

“You got free babysitting, just go with it.” Sarina smiled before making her way back to the staff tables.

You didn’t have to worry about where to sit cause as soon as you turned around from grabbing your plate the loud voice of Ella Toone rang out calling you over to sit down at a table that held herself, Alessia, Lotte, Esme, Lauren and Chloe. Your nerves shattered away as you fell into a comfortable conversation with the group of girls, not taking any note to the conversations your twins were having with some of Englands best.

“Is your Mummy good at football?” Rachel asked Maisie who was stuffing her face with food, sat comfortably in her chair that had four cushions stacked to keep her in level with the table.

“My Mummy is the best, she gets all the balls in the net.” Maisie smiled at Rachel who she had now named Ra-Ra, the three year old having a nick for coming up with nicknames for people with names she deemed to hard or long to say.

“She sounds pretty good.” Millie smiled at the little girl across the table.

Back at the table Theo was sitting in he was telling a long story about how he was going to be the best football player ever. “What position?” Keira asked the boy, who thought about his answer for a sec.

“Keeper like Jordan Pickford and Mary Earps.” Theo replied with a big smile on his face.

“Yo, Mary you’ve got a future keeper here, says he wants to be like you and Pickford.��� Georgia yelled to the table Mary was sitting at, she caught Theo’s eye giving him a big smile and thumbs up.

“Theo what happened to becoming a striker like your mum.” You said to Theo having caught wind of the conversation that was happening across the room.

“Keepers at the unseen hero’s of the game.” You jaw dropped as the three keepers around the room cheered at your son’s words.

“Who told you that? also your veggies better be done.” Your son’s face dropped from his sly smirk into a annoyed face as he looked down at the broccoli and carrots on his plate that you knew for a fact he did like but just didn’t eat it straight away to annoy you.

Having lost track of the time as everyone sat and talked you looked down at your phone to see it was the just about time to put the twins to bed, knowing they were bound to crash soon you knew it was time to get them to bed.

What you hadn’t expected to see when you stood up to grab the two toddlers were both of them fast asleep Theo in the arms of Beth and Maisie asleep in the lap of Millie, looking tiny in comparison to the brick wall.

“It will never seize to amaze me how they always fall asleep with everyone else but me.” You smiled at Beth who gently passed Theo into your arms.

“You’ll be back down right we are all just hanging out down in the team room.” Leah asked before you could step away from the table.

“As soon as these two are settled I will be back, by the looks of things I will be back very quickly.” You smiled at the table walked over to the other table where Maisie was cured into Millie’s chest.

“I can bring her up.” Millie immediately offered, making your heart melt at the kindness from all these women just on your first night.

Soon enough with Theo in your arms, Maisie in Millies as well as Rachel tagging along for the ride you made it up to your room without any toddlers waking up. “Was it hard to come back from giving birth?” The question came out of no where from Millie as you placed Theo into bed.

“I though about not doing football and just giving up all together, I was sixteen, still in school with twins it was almost impossible to do it. But football is everything to me and I really wanted to come back and I knew if I worked hard enough I could make it my career. It was hard, but even getting this call up makes it feel all worth it.” Millie and Rachel nodded along to your words as you placed both twins on one of the beds, making sure to set up a baby monitor in case they woke up.

“They’ll be fine in there?” Rachel asked.

“They’ve had a long day i’ll be very surprised if they wake up before I come back to the room, they somehow always wake up when they feel my presence come back.”

Coming back to one of the team common room everyone was sitting around in their different groups. You decided to join a group of the younger girls who were playing a game of uno.

“I’ll deal you in.” Alessia said smiling up and giving you seven cards to play the game.

You were able to play about two rounds with Niamh taking the win for one round while you took the win for the other. Most of the girls also had a big travel day so everyone headed to bed early including you, waving goodnight to Esme and Lauren who took the room beside you. You quickly entered the room quickly checking on the twins, getting ready for bed and falling straight asleep.

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Lovely Lady May

Happy Sunday everyone! Shout out to the anon who asked for this, sorry it took me so long I am terrible at writing endings… Hope you enjoy!

Pairings: Danny Wagner X fem!reader

Warnings: 18+ only!! Minors you don’t even want to look this direction. Breeding kink, unprotected p in v sex, fingering, oral (fem rec), lotsa dirty talk, food play, some persuasion if you see it that way, some plot, little editing

Word count: 6k

Danny Wagner. You’d had your eye on him for quite some time. He was perfect; thick head of hair, broad and sturdy frame, good facial bone structure. Yeah, he would do. Once you had decided it was him all that was left was to figure out how to approach him, win over his favor, get him to agree to what you wanted.

You knew Danny Wagner, had known him for years much like everyone knew everybody in this tiny Midwest town you’d all grown up in. He was a funny kid in high school, you never paid him much attention though admittedly you often had too much preoccupying your time back then.

In present time much of that distraction was gone. The youth did tend to leave this town while they could, leaving behind only those who had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but stay home and find work. That’s exactly what you had done, in the years after high school you had opened a bakery in the tiny square downtown where all the wandering tourists from the next town over stopped for some gas along the way or found a cheaper place to stay.

Rent in town was cheap, that’s how you’d managed to secure your loft just above the bakery. It was small, quaint, but you had spent the last six years happily alone here making it your home. Happily that was until about a year ago when you decided that all you had in life just wasn’t enough anymore.

It started with seeing old friends finally coming back to visit family after settling down. Most of them had gotten married, and more than a few were already having kids.

It was the holiday season and you were up to your elbows in flour and sugar, scrambling to get all your orders done while also keeping the bakery itself stocked for the walk-in customers. Your high school best friend was in town, you’d almost forgotten until she walked through the door of the shop, one arm pushing the heavy glass door open while the other cradled a small bundle.

She had a baby, not even six weeks old yet, still wrinkly and warm and smelling like the sweet treats you made day in and day out. You spent the next three days visiting with her while she was in town, each time immediately plucking the babe from where it slept and placing it right in your arms. That’s when the baby fever started.

You thought it would go away, wanting a baby wasn’t exactly in the cards for you right now considering your last relationship ended the summer after senior year. As the months passed on though, you found yourself staring longingly at each little child that walked into your shop, eyes round and wide with excitement as they peered through the display cases of cookies and cakes.

It had only been a couple of months since you actually decided on going through with your plan. In fact you nearly considered forgetting it all together until you found the right person for the job.

Danny Wagner. He never left town either, opting to stay home and help his family with their business. An apple orchard right at the edge of the city limits.

You knew the place well since opening your shop, preferring to purchase local, organic, ingredients whenever you could.

At this time of year, weekly with the orders you placed from the orchard, your crates of freshly picked apples in their vibrant green, shades of red and orange, and yellows came delivered by Danny.

“A slice of apple pie today?” You called from over your shoulder as you transferred the dozen of honeycrips from their wooden crate to the large stainless sink in the back of the bakery to be washed and prepped later.

“If you’re offering” Danny replied with a smile on his face, a smile you’d grown quite accustomed to seeing when you started giving out a slice of apple pie after every delivery. It only seemed fair he got a piece considering it was his apples you used, and they really did make a difference.

With the crate cleared you pulled the wash towel from your apron and gave your hands a good drying before untying the cotton cloth from around your waist and setting it aside. “Do you have a minute?”

“Umm sure” Danny set the extra boxes of things you’d ordered on the counter next to your apron, curious about what you had in mind.

“I’m actually tweaking the recipe a little bit. Was wondering if you wanted to come upstairs and try it out for me?” You voice sounded calm and resolved, but you hoped Danny couldn’t see the slight tremble in your hands as you waved him over to the unassuming stairs that lead directly up to your loft.

Danny followed quietly, he had obviously never been up here before so he was busy taking in the surroundings when you reached the top. It gave you a bit of relief that he wasn’t paying too much attention to how you anxiously fluttered around the small kitchenette.

“I never realized you lived up here” Danny mentioned as his eyes scanned the open space, the only privacy it offered was a door to your bedroom and a door to the bathroom, everything else was right in sight from where he sat.

“What? You thought I could afford a business and my own place all on my own?” You joked. That was the normal atmosphere between you two, a lot of joking, a little flirting maybe if you squinted, but mostly just kindness.

“Well I’d say you’re doing pretty well for yourself regardless” Danny replied, finally turning his attention to you alone when he heard the sound of a knife cutting against a porcelain pie dish.

“Thanks”. You set the plate down in front of him, letting your hand brush across the top of his shoulders as you went back for the fork, waiting patiently as he took the first bite.

“Wow, if I didn’t already think you made the best damn apple pies I’ve ever had in my life, I sure do now”. He tried another larger taste, turning the fork sideways to slide through the flakey crust and scoop some of the filling into the perfect bite. A look of pure satisfaction washed over his face as he chewed. No matter how often he had your pies he did always seem to really enjoy them and it always made your day.

“So Danny…” you trailed off, trying to maintain your resolve to your goal as he continued on eating. “You would say we’re friends right?”

“Of course” he quickly replied after swallowing.

“So I can ask you something in confidence? Well, it’s a favor really”.

The corner of his mouth pulled up into a charming half smile, one that made you swoon just a little if you were completely honest with yourself. That was besides the point though, you had him here right where you wanted him and now you needed to focus. “Have you ever thought about having kids?”

Danny’s smile faded, though he didn’t seem upset, just curious again about where exactly this was going. “Sure, I have a little” he answered truthfully, adding more after a bit of consideration “I do want some, yeah”.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently” you admit, leaning against the counter so your still unsteady hands would have something to grip onto. You knew this was a big ask and it could go over very badly, but you had to try. “I want one, sooner rather than later. Problem is I’ve looked into IVF, it’s hella expensive and I don’t know if you know but owning a business doesn’t come with very good health insurance”.

It had all made sense in your head when you planned it out, finding a man to ask to be willing to make a baby with you, but when you tried to explain your thoughts out loud they started to sound less and less rational. Still, you pursued since you seemed to have kept his attention for this long. “I’ve been saving up for almost a year, and I have a friend that’s going to give her used baby stuff to me. All I need is someone willing to help me out…”

Danny was quiet again, his eyes falling to the crumbs on his plate for a moment as he thought. “Are you saying you want me to get you pregnant?”

You pressed your thighs together as you clenched around nothing. It wasn’t besides either of you exactly how that would have to come about, but even though the sex would be purely transactional it didn’t help that you’d come to find Danny extremely attractive and the way he spoke was already doing things to you that you weren’t prepared for.

“Yes, that is what I’m asking”. It was getting harder and harder to sound confident, your nerves finally taking completely over as you scrambled to plead your case. “I wouldn’t expect anything from you obviously. I’ll have plenty of support from my family and I’m looking at getting a bigger place soon. No one will ever have to know you’re the biological father”.

Danny stood slowly and your heart sank, expecting he was preparing to leave because your idea was actually crazy. Instead he only stood there, his height exceeding yours by a few inches but the way he awkwardly slouched a little and rubbed at his bare upper arms made him seem less intimidating and more approachable.

You took the step forward, reaching out for one of his hands to cradle in your own, a simple touch you hoped would show him how grateful you were for his consideration. “You don’t have to give me an answer now, but would you think about it? For me?”

With the closer distance between you two now you could see the way Danny’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out. His eyes fell down your body for a moment as a shuddering breath escaped him. “When,” he began, shaking his head softly and bringing his gaze back up to meet yours dead on, “when do you want to try this?”

Your heart felt like it stopped, was he seriously agreeing? Danny was always a nice guy, a people pleaser, a hard worker, and an all around joy, but even then a part of you still expected him to at least politely decline.

“I’m ovulating right now actually” you blurted out. Yeah, that was a real mood setter.

Danny chuckled, the sweet sound jumpstarting your drive. “Right now?” His dark brows raised in playful question, his hand in yours turning over to sneak up your arm and pull you closer. “Are there any rules in this agreement?”

“Rules?” You mumbled, the feeling of his fingers gripping into your waist making your knees already feel weak.

“I mean is this just a one time thing and if it works it works, if it doesn’t it doesn’t? I’m not going to stand here and lie to you by saying I haven’t thought about being with you like this”. Danny seemed a little shy to admit his secret, but it only ignited a fire in the pit of your stomach. “I mean maybe not exactly like this, but you know what I mean”.

“Really?” You breathed, allowing your hands now to come up and rest on his shoulders, playing with the torn up hem of his cut off sleeves. “I never knew”.

“Well now you do” he smiled again, dipping his head down so that the very tip of his nose brushed against your cheekbone. Your eyes fluttered closed, preparing for the kiss you expected, but Danny only moved to whisper into your ear. “So I ask again, are there any rules?”

You thought about it for a moment, coming up with something on the spot since, surprisingly, you’d seemed to have thought of everything else but this. “For now this stays between us, we act perfectly casual around each other”. Danny nodded, finally pressing a warm plush lipped kiss to the spot behind your ear. You tilted your head back, giving him more access to roam across your neck. “While we’re doing this, no one else”.

“There is no one else” Danny mumbled against your pulse point, his other hand coming up to thread his fingers through your hair.

“Good. And most importantly, no pulling out”.

In one swift blurry motion, Danny grabbed you by the hips and lifted you up, walking back to the counter where he plopped you back down and immediately connected his lips to yours. You instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him in closer as you kissed him back hungrily and desperately.

“Did you wear this for me then?” Danny asked as he slipped a hand between your bodies, sliding his palm up your inner thigh and underneath the hem of your floral dress. You nodded, biting your bottom lip as you leaned back to watch him explore.

“Easy access” he grinned as the tips of his fingers found the lace trim of your panties, and you gasped when he suddenly pressed his thumb to your heat, smirking at how wet you already were.

“Danny” you whined at how delicious the friction was even with the thin layer of cotton still in the way. “Are you going to play with me or are you going to give me what I want?”

“Oh I’m going to play with you” he chuckled again, his fingers pulling your panties aside to gather up your slick. “If we’re going to do this it might as well be fun right?”

Your brows furrowed, on one hand you wanted him to take this seriously. Having a baby was all you wanted right now and you were clearly prepared to do whatever it took. On the other hand, you thought he was right. You were sure you had read somewhere that the better the quality of the sex was, the higher the chances of conception were. So what was the harm?

With Danny still smirking at you as he circled his fingers around everywhere but where you really wanted him, you grabbed a fist full of his shirt and pulled him back into a searing kiss. Danny groaned against your mouth and finally plunged two of his fingers inside, making your mouth fall open with a moan at the unexpected stretch.

“Yeah? That feel good?” Danny questioned in a faintly demeaning tone that made your brain go fuzzy for a few seconds.

You held onto his bicep tightly, the shiny polish coincidentally named ‘apple red’ on your nails contrasting with the way his skin turned pearly white under your grip. “Fuck, yeah that does feel good” you agreed with the breath in your lungs slipping away with each thrust of his fingers deeper into you. “But I bet you’d feel even better”.

“Patience sweetheart” Danny smiled, slowing his movements to give you room to breathe. “In time. But first…” he glanced around the counter you were still spread out on, his eyes zeroing in on a bowl covered in plastic wrap right within reach.

One hand with his fingers still buried deep inside you, Danny pulled the bowl closer to look at what was inside. “Is this the new recipe?” He questioned, seeing the thick caramel colored filling.

It was ridiculous he was concerned with that at this moment, but you played along anyway, taking the break to regain your composure so that you could continue to rival his attitude. “It is, did you like it? Though I have to admit it was mostly part of the plot to get you up here”

“Figured” Danny chuckled, shaking his head again. “I did, but do you mind if I ruin this batch?”

“What?” You were confused, not following his train of thought at all. “No, I don’t mind?”

Without another word he retreated his fingers only to lift the plastic off the bowl and dip inside. The look of pure shock you had on your face when he licked his fingers clean of both the pie filling and your juices mixed together had to be entertaining, because he chuckled even harder and leaned in to give you a taste.

While he kissed you, tongue lapping into your mouth, Danny found the buttons to the front of your dress and slowly undid them one by one, allowing the flowy fabric to slip open and expose your chest. “No bra? You’re making this too easy”.

“You prefer a challenge?” You giggled in return.

“No, this is good”. Danny leaned back, admiring your tits from a little distance before sticking his fingers back into the bowl beside you and smearing some of the filling onto your left nipple.

When his mouth connected with your chest you grabbed at his hair. Before you had always wondered how soft it would be, and now with your fingers weaving tightly through dense curls you were glad to say it was indeed very soft and smelled woodsy-sweet.

Once he had you nice and clean, your nipple now perky and covered in a sheen of saliva, Danny lathered up the right side with enough filling this time that it was dripping down your breast and onto your stomach. Danny held eye contact with you as he lowered himself, his tongue coming out to lick up the mess he’d made and then latched onto your nipple again, humming in satisfaction as it hardened up just as the other had.

Content with getting you cleaned off again, Danny lowered himself even further until he was on his knees before you, his hands diving back up your dress to find the waistband of your panties so that he could pull them off this time.

You braced yourself on your hands against the countertop and lifted your hips slightly to help, but before you could fully sit back down Danny wrapped his hand around your hip and pulled you right to the very edge. For extra support he let your legs come to rest on his shoulders, his face disappearing between your thighs as his mouth met your center.

Your back arched and your head met the cabinets with a dull thud as you held your moan in this time. Just like with his fingers, Danny didn’t waste any time in letting his tongue enter you, it’s pointed tip reaching as far as it could go. His nose pressed against the hood of your clit and you couldn’t help the groan that did come out when he started to shake his head side to side.

“Danny you’re gonna make me cum like that” you whined, sure that he could feel the way your legs started to shake and threatened to clamp shut around him.

Danny spoke quickly so that he wasn’t parted from you long enough to lose how close you were to your high. “Give it to me. I want to taste how sweet you are before I fill you up”.

“Ah fuck!” you cried out just as the band that had been tightening in the pit of your stomach snapped. You were unsure what had ultimately done it, the way he worked harder to get you there, or the salacious words spilled so freely from his dirty mouth. Either way your mind was still spinning with the after effects of your orgasm when he stood up and started unbuttoning his pants.

“Are you ready for me then?” He asked as you watched him through hooded eyes while he pulled himself from his boxers, stroking his hardened length a few times to smear his precum- not that he needed the extra lubricant, you were dripping at this point.

“Get over here and give it to me already”.

Danny clicked his tongue, but he moved back between your legs anyways, using the grip on his shaft to run the tip of his cock through your slick folds. “Still impatient. I’ll put a baby in you sweetheart don’t you worry”.

Before you could say anything else to counter his cheeky remark, Danny thrust his hips up into you until his base met your entrance. You thought you might have cum again just then by how wet you were around him, but you knew it was only because he turned you on more than you’d ever been before.

“God! Right there!” You threw one arm around his shoulders, your legs hooking back around his waist as his hips snapped back and forth knocking you against the cabinets. It was a good thing you’d flipped the sign in the window downstairs from ‘open’ to ‘closed’ when Danny arrived today, otherwise you were sure any customers who had stumbled in at this time would’ve heard you getting your world rocked above them.

“It’s gonna feel so good to cum in you” Danny groaned. You were unsure if he was still speaking to you, or if he was just rambling on to himself now by the way his voice came out breathy and strained. He had hands on your thighs, using his grip as leverage to keep his upwards thrusts just hard enough that you were seeing stars as you closed your eyes and let your head fall back.

Before long you were feeling like you were going to let go again, and he could feel the way your walls fluttered and clenched around him. Danny came first, slamming into you once more and then you felt the flood of warmth, the wild twitching of his length buried deep inside as he unloaded in you just like you’d asked.

“Hold on, let me look at you”. Danny hooked his thumbs under your dress and bunched it up at your waist then leaned back as he slowly began to slide out, still hard and throbbing. He watched in awe as his release started to dribble down, a sight he’d never had the pleasure of seeing before.

“Danny” you whimpered, still wound up from being so close to cumming yourself again.

He knew exactly what you wanted, and he could have teased you about it, but he wanted to make sure you were taken care of. Pushing in again, he fucked his cum back into you a few times until you were shaking as your second orgasm rocked through you.

“How are you doing?” The kindness in Danny’s voice returned and he helped tuck your tousled hair behind your ears as he kissed gently at your cheeks.

“Good…” you sighed, your body starting to relax again, “I’m doing good, thanks”.

“So do you think it’s gonna work?”

You thought maybe you could hear a bit of hopefulness, but you shook it off as your own will manifesting. “I guess we will find out in a couple of weeks”.

“You’ll let me know?” He was genuine when he asked, almost like he was afraid you’d choose to go through this alone even though you’d assured him you’d have plenty help.

“Sure” you nod your head and he helped you off the counter before retrieving your underwear from the floor. You didn’t even bother putting them back on, a shower was definitely within order before getting back to work.

“Well, see you around then?” He lingered by the door to the stairs, glancing around your apartment a few more times.

“Yeah Danny, I’ll see you around”. You held the door open for him, confident he could make his way back down to the large kitchen at the back of the bakery and out the way he always came in. “Again, thank you”.

He offered one last smile that warmed your heart to the core, “don’t mention it”.

Three days passed and you went about your life like normal. Of course you wanted to believe that it had worked, that you were cooking up your own little bun in the oven as you loaded trays of cookies into the ones at the shop.

Danny was always around, he made deliveries in town nearly everyday, usually always about noon, but today it was nearly six in the evening when the bell to the front door rang. You turned around, your face lighting up when you saw it was Danny paying you a visit.

“Closing soon?” He asked as he watched you cleaning up, broom in hand and a damp rag around your shoulder with glass cleaner stuffed in your pocket.

“In a little while. What can I do for you?” You set the broom aside, but finished buffing off the tiny fingerprints on the display case, smiling at the memory of the little boy who had excitedly picked out a chocolate muffin. If you had a boy would he like chocolate as much as this little one had? Or maybe a girl who liked strawberry.

“My dad said you hadn’t placed an order for next week yet. He wanted to know if he needed to set anything aside for you”.

“Oh, right”. A part of you had wished Danny was stopping by specifically to check in on you, but even if he was just here on business it was nice to see him. “Sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind recently. Let me go check in the back, I’m sure I can make a list right quick”.

Danny had shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling a little out of place in your shop now even though he’d been here half a million times over the last few years.

You sensed his trepidation and exhaled through your nose. “Hey, I made some lemonade this morning. Want some?”

A bit of his awkwardness subsided, his charmful half smile returning as he followed you into the bakery kitchen. You finished off the picture of lemonade with two glasses, one for you and one for him, and started the search through your cabinets. Honestly you really already knew what you needed to order, same as usual a dozen of honeycrisps, a dozen granny smith, a dozen gala, two pounds of walnuts, peaches and blackberries were about to be done for the season so you’d get whatever you could, and it was about to be that time of year to start harvesting some beautiful pumpkin for bread and pie and even roasted seeds. Even so you fiddled around just to keep Danny here for a bit longer, at least so he could enjoy his refreshment.

“How have things been up there at the orchard?” You asked, trying to make polite conversation as you took out a pen and paper and scribbled your order.

“Busy as always, weathers been beautiful this week though so I can’t complain much”. He took another sip of his lemonade. Looked like maybe he was trying to make it last as well.

We’re talking about the weather… you shook your head and he raised a questioning brow. “Actually,” Danny moved closer to where you stood, glancing at your paper like he hadn’t delivered that order to you plenty of times and had it practically memorized. “I wanted to ask if maybe you wanted to come over for dinner?”

“Dinner at the orchard? Like with your parents or something” you scoffed a little. You ask a man to creampie you one time and he wants to take you home to mom and dad.

“I mean we can invite them if you want” he chuckled himself, “but umm, no I was thinking it would just be us. I live in a townhouse not far away. Then maybe afterwards I can give you a little tour of the place”.

Danny’s hand boldly graced your lower back as he leaned in closer, his chest nearly making context with your shoulders. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been thinking about you nonstop”.

“Thinking about me? Or about our last visit?” You countered, arching your back so that your ass pressed up against his front.

“Both” he sucked in a breath, his hand coming around to grip your hip, but he didn’t pull you any closer, just dug his fingers into the waistband of your skirt. How convenient you’d planned on wearing it today without even knowing he’d be stopping by.

“Well, I’ve got another half an hour before closing. I suppose I can meet you there”. Danny had agreed to your favor, the least you could do was accept a dinner invitation.

Danny lowered his head and placed a kiss at the nape of your neck before taking a step back and composing himself. “I don’t mind waiting”.

“Suit yourself” you shrugged, tearing the page you had written on out of your notebook and folding it in half a few times. You turned around and approached him yourself and he looked excitedly expecting as you came chest to chest with him. “You’re going to help me close up then”.

Reaching around you stuffed the list into his back pocket then placed a chaste kiss to his cheek before returning to cleaning up.

With your belly full of dinner you stepped out of Danny’s truck, the kitten heel of your shoe coming into contact with gravel that broke way to lush grass as far as the eye could see becoming covered in a layer of leaves with the beginnings of the changing season. The air smelled crisp out here, earthy and sweet just like Danny’s beautiful curls.

You tried not to think of that now as he delightedly took your hand, guiding you off into the rows of apple trees that the property had earned its namesake for.

Danny whisked you around the place he’d called home his entire life, explaining to you exactly how growing apple trees worked, the science behind it, and even shared a few stories that had you giggling and taking his hand for more.

“Thanks for coming” he finished his tour with a walk through the barn that held all their order packing supplies. Crates that were easily recognizable as the ones Danny carried over his shoulder from his truck bed to your shop door, and piles of straw to stuff them with to keep the apples from bruising. A large table next to boxes stacked on boxes of mason jars ready to be filled and sent off to their eager recipients.

“Thanks for inviting me” you replied, moving to rest against the table. It was still early in the night, but you’d been up since six baking away before the shop opened, and you’d definitely worn the wrong shoes for this excursion. “Can I tell you something?”

“Always” Danny replied, keeping his distance for now, but staring longingly at you from across the open room.

“I’ve been thinking about you too. I quite enjoyed the last time I saw you”. The lights that were strung up in the pillars reflected in his eyes and you could’ve sworn you saw blush pinken his cheeks.

“That so?” He smirked, pushing off the pillar he had chosen to lean on.

“Was it not obvious?” You added, smiling as he made his way over to you again. “I mean I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I asked you for that, but you definitely delivered”.

“So,” He was right in front of you now, his eyes scanning over the length of your body as you tried to take some weight off your feet, “I know it’s only been a few days, but do you feel any different?”

You giggled, finding it cute that he wanted to know already. He seemed even more restless than you were to know if the fruits of your labor had produced. “No, nothing yet”.

“Well, maybe, if you want I mean, we could try again? For good measure?”

“Yeah?” You raised your brows and bit your lip, looking around to see if there was anything you should be weary of in the quiet barn. “Right now?” You matched the state of surprise he had when you’d asked him the same thing up in your apartment a few days ago.

“Everyone’s gone home for the night. The only thing left to worry about is how I’m going to focus at work when I remember fucking you on this table”.

“You’ll have to fuck me on this table first for that to happen Danny”.

He breached the last gap between you, cupping your face as your lips smashed together. Both of your hands went to work riding each other of as much clothing as possible, breaking the kiss only for your shirts to be peeled off and tossed somewhere to be retrieved later. Danny pulled you from your lounging position, hooking his thumbs into your skirt and panties together and pulling them down for you to step out of before lifting you back onto the table and connecting your mouths again.

You groaned as he worked to unbutton his pants, already aching to feel him inside you again. Danny parted from you to get his pants off, and when he returned he gripped your breasts, actually covered with a thin lacy bra this time, and pushed you back to lay against the polished wood.

“You’re going to be beautiful pregnant” Danny mused as he pressed kisses to your clavicle and chest.

“Danny please” you whined, reaching around to grab at his bottom, digging your blunt nails into the round of his asscheek.

“You want me to cum in you again?” He muttered against your neck, making his way up to tickle your ear with his nose and nip at your jaw. “Make sure you have my baby, hmm?”

You pulled him down, connecting your lips to his shoulder and then biting down to encourage him to hurry up already. When he entered you again the moan that ripped through you was muffled into his skin, but his voice echoed through the rafters as he quickly set a rough pace.

Danny pried your arms from him so that he could straighten up and get a good look at you from the way your tits bounced in time with his thrusts, to the way he disappeared so easily completely inside you. “Look at this pretty pussy, crying so sweetly for me”.

Your words were beside you, lost in a jumble in your head as the pleasure took over, but you held eye contact with him and nodded vigorously. Danny slowed for just a moment, spitting into his hand and easily finding your swollen sensitive clit with his fingers.

Your back arched off the table and you couldn’t hold back your cries anymore as Danny continued pounding into you and working his fingers at the same time. So close already, but it felt like long enough since the last time you’d had him.

With a newfound burst of energy, you gripped your chest, pinching your hardened nipples through the lace of your bra as your eyes fell shut and you felt your impending release building tight in your stomach. “Fuck Danny, I want to cum together. Please, I need to feel it!”

“Here it is sweetheart, just for you. Take it” he grunted as his hips staggered, and you whined his name one more time as your legs held him in place until both your orgsams were over.

“It definitely worked that time, had to” Danny chuckled as he helped you clean up as best he could.

“Danny?” You turned to him, your chest still feeling tight despite the rest of your body being weakened and wobbly as you stood from the table. “Do you think I’ll be a good mom?”

Danny looked surprised by your question, not that you had asked him of all people, but because there was still any doubt within you. He swallowed hard, trying to decide if what he wanted to say would be taking things too far, but ultimately deciding you guys had been so intimate already, what was a little feelings being added to the mix? “I think I wouldn’t want anyone else to mother one of my children”.

You blushed hard, moving to give him another grateful kiss. “You know, I think you’d make a great Dad too”.

@musicislove3389

[spatialwave]

I can’t stop thinking about Angus with a childhood best friend!reader. (I imagine she would go to a different private school so they could only see each other over the summer and talk through letters and calls)

oh my god this is soooo good! you, my dear anon, have a beautiful mind. 🤍

𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐰.

notes: angus tully x fem!reader || 3.1k words || dividers by @cafekitsune

you and angus had been best friends since kindergarten, inseparable through hundreds of playdates from the ages of five to fifteen. you two were attached to the hip and anyone could see the bond that blossomed between the two of you. he was everything to you and you were everything to him.

you remember the first day you met, early november and a chilly day on the playground. you were bundled up with a big coat and mittens while poking and prodding at some flowers that were slowly dying—signalling the freezing weather that would arrive at any moment.

"my mom told me those kinds of flowers are weeds." a voice spoke from beside you, a boy your age with wildly, curly hair and big brown eyes. he wasn't looking at you, but at the wilting flower.

"pretty weeds," you murmured as your gaze turned back to the same flower.

"yup," he replied, the two of you kneeling there in silence as the school bell rang. neither of you moved until one of the teachers found you both and ushered you inside—you sat next to each other for the rest of the year; the history of your friendship.

angus was there when you were twelve years old and experienced your first adolescent heartbreak. a boy one year older who had kissed you and told you he loved you; then kissed one of your other so-called friends the same day with the same words. back then it shattered your entire being and angus was there to help you pick up the pieces and put your poor little heart back together until it was beating again.

and whenever he was feeling sad, which happened a lot after his dad was put in a sanitarium, you were there at his house with some popcorn and ready to watch whatever movie would air that evening. sometimes you two would listen to a record and simply exist together—being near each other made him feel better.

hell, he was even there when you got your first period when you were visiting his family. you remember how both of you started screaming when you told him you were bleeding, crying as you convinced yourself you were dying until his mom came to the rescue. she had to explain biology more thoroughly than your health teacher did, which only embarrassed you and made angus start asking a flurry of questions about it. from then on, once a month, he'd be there with whatever you needed; junk food, chocolate, and a hot water bottle.

your lives were so intertwined that you knew every little detail about each other. well, mostly. there was one moment that you kept from him in the vastness of your relationship, how his first kiss made you boil with jealousy.

you pushed that feeling far away and focused on the positives of your friendship as years passed and life slowly felt more and more complicated.

it was in your freshman year of high school when he first started acting out, even when you offered all the support you could muster up. he was kicked out of your school at fifteen, then another in the same year. the following year he almost made it the entire schooling term before he was finally sent off to a private boarding school—completely uprooted from the friendship you two had together.

that was your first real heartbreak.

his too.

angus beat himself up about it during the sleepless nights at barton, devastated that he couldn't even see you on weekends like he used to. knowing that you were in your senior year and he was lagging behind as a junior because of his expulsions. there was a drift happening in your friendship and it was because of him. all because he couldn't keep his emotions in check.

you couldn't blame him and you wouldn't, you made that apparent with the letters you sent him. making sure he never once felt alone in his struggles.

"𝙷𝚒 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚜,

𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕. 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚝𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢. 𝙳𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚝? 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚗, 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝙲+. 𝙸 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝, 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝙺𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢?

𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚈/𝙽."

it was these letters that kept him afloat during those days in the week that made him want to give up and run away, or worse, get expelled and sent to fork union. he kept every single letter from you and hid them underneath his mattress. if kountze were to see them that would be the end of it, so he made sure to read them only when everyone was asleep—he always had the best dreams after.

"𝙷𝚒, 𝚈/𝙽,

𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚝𝚝, 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙. 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝙾𝙺, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝙸 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝙺𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚜. 𝙼𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚎'𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚗, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜. 𝙸 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘.

𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚜."

hearing from him always made your stomach flutter and left your heart aching deeply for him. it was melancholic, wishing more than he could be back by your side while trying to be content with a letter from your love... your love?

those feelings had been building up inside you for months—years.

it left you awake at night, wondering if angus felt the same or if you would remain nothing more than friends for the rest of your life. you couldn't be upset with the latter, angus was your best friend and you would never let yourself lose that.

yet, you yearned for him. for the possibility of something more. you dreamt of what it would be like to kiss him, but those thoughts diminished quickly because you felt guilty. you shouldn't have those feelings for a boy who's only your best friend.

a few weeks had passed and you hadn't written a letter back because school was hectic and the gloominess of winter had left you with little energy. you and angus could sometimes go weeks without hearing from each other, but it was never intentional. it wasn't until your first night home during the christmas holidays that you realized you'd never written him back. you had only started scribbling a letter when the phone rang.

"it's angus!" your mother called from the kitchen on the first floor. that's when you remembered the promise he made in your letters. he'd be visiting soon!

"coming!" you called back as you rushed down the stairs so fast your mother had chastised you for nearly running your little brother over. you pressed the phone against your ear, lips curved into a big smile as you caught your breath, "angus, when are yo—"

"i won't be visiting," his voice said quietly, a bit crackly through the phone and deeper than you remembered it being when you last spoke. your brows furrowed together at his words and you were filled with nothing short of confusion and disappointment, hand clutching tight the phone in your hand as your other absently fidgeted with the cord.

"what do you mean? you promised me you would, angus." you said to him, your voice sharper than you meant for it to sound, "is saint kitts really that much more important?"

silence.

"my mom and stanley are going without me," he replied and it was then you could hear in his voice that he was fighting back tears. his heart was broken and you weren't there to pick up the pieces. you filled with dread and guilt for your snappy words, feeling the aching of his heart in your own.

"what?" you questioned, leaning back against the wall and tilting your head up, eyes fixating on the ceiling where you could see a water spot forming from the old piping in your home.

"yeah, they decided now was the fucking time to take their honeymoon. can you believe that? they ditched me and went to saint kitts without me and left me at barton," he said, his voice growing angrier with each passing second, "the worst part is that i didn't care about saint kitts, i just needed to see you," his voice cracked again.

tears pricked at your eyes and your mom, who had been eavesdropping, had decided to let you have privacy in the kitchen as she escorted your brother to the playroom. you sniffled and wiped away the tears with the sleeve of your sweater, shaking your head in disbelief.

"i miss you so much, angus, it physically hurts," you whimpered into the phone and it was then you couldn't help but start crying. the sounds made his heart ache.

"i know, i'm so sorry."

the two of you were only on the phone for a few more minutes because angus had heard one of the other holdovers coming down the hall. you didn't question it, a school full of boys meant that crying around others was asking for a death wish.

when all you could was hear the dial tone, a quiet 'i love you' escaped your lips.

pathetic.

four days passed and tomorrow was christmas eve; you'd never felt so empty in your entire life. you hadn't heard from angus since your last phone call and it was like all joy and happiness had been sucked out of your soul. your mother, who often liked to call you dramatic, didn't dare say a peep.

you had been laying in bed all morning, doing nothing except falling back asleep or staring out your bedroom window and watching a soft flurry of snow falling. you promised yourself to write angus a letter today, but you weren't entirely sure that you would be able to without breaking down and sobbing. your eyes were already puffy from crying yourself to sleep, you couldn't risk them hurting anymore.

"sweetie?" the voice came with a knock on your door. your mother, her voice as sweet as cinnamon. you didn't answer as the door creaked open.

"i'd like for you to come for a drive with me, if that's alright."

"no."

"i'm not leaving until you come with me."

"fine."

you were bundled up in a big coat as you sat in the passenger seat of your mother's station wagon, your forehead pressed against the window as you watched the snowfall. you hadn't really been paying much attention to where you two were going or how long you'd been driving, figuring that sooner or later your mother would pipe up and ask about you. this was always her way of understanding your emotions, it always worked. you always managed to spill your guts to her while in the passenger seat.

"do you love him?" she asked quietly, her eyes flickering toward you.

"what?" you became defensive, sitting upright and glaring daggers at her, "no. i mean yeah. of course i love him he's my best friend. just... nothing more. nothing like that!"

"so you do." she smiled, admiring you as she focused her attention back ahead, fingers gently tapping against the steering wheel as she hummed softly, "i'm taking you to barton."

"what?!" you screeched, your heart pounding hard in your chest, "you're telling me that now? you should've let me get ready! god, he's going to think i'm a mess!" you grumbled as you pulled down the visor and looked into the mirror, trying desperately to make your hair behave and wipe away the tiredness from your eyes.

"he's not going to care what you look like, darling." your mother said with a sigh.

"okay, well i care what i look like!"

"stop being so dramatic."

—

on the way to barton, your mother told you what she had planned behind your back, she called the school and managed to speak with a lady named miss lamb and explained the situation. according to your mother she sounded very excited that you would be visiting angus—it was likely that he was being just as pouty and sad as you were, if not more.

it made you wonder how lonely he'd been. should you have called more?

your hands were shaking as you pulled up to the school, your entire body nearly vibrating as you stepped out of the car and did one more fix on your hair. you were excited to see him, but why were you nervous? you had never been nervous about seeing him, why was this different?

an older woman who you could only presume was miss lamb greeted you at the main entrance, ushering you in quickly. you sighed softly when the cold air was no longer nipping at your skin, but instead, you were filled with that familiar feeling of nervousness once again.

"i think angus is up in one of the classrooms right now. he's been hiding himself away since he's been here with just me and mr. hunham. the poor boy got left behind here while the other boys were able to go spend the holidays at a ski hill," she said, glancing at you a few times as you followed her, fidgeting with your hands nervously. you hadn't realized until now that your mother had stayed in the foyer. miss lamb spoke up again, disturbing your thoughts, "he mentioned you the other day at dinner. was complaining to us about his situation and how he was supposed to visit his best friend... you know, i expected you to be a boy."

"yeah," you murmur as you ascend a staircase, "people always say that. a girl and a boy could never be just friends."

"mhm, it's hard for people to think that when they know what young love looks like," she hummed, avoiding your piercing gaze as she led you through the halls, "angus!" she called out as you two reached a hallway on the second floor, "where are you?"

"what do you need, mary?" his voice echoed from the last classroom on the right, his voice whiny and pouty.

you hadn’t moved so fast in your life. your legs picked up speed and mary turned the other way, satisfied with what she'd seen so far. she wasn't going to impose on a special moment. this was the happiest she'd felt in a long time, too.

"angus!" you called out as you sprinted ahead, nearly missing the door as you made a full stop under the door frame. you watched him as he turned his gaze, eyes moving from the window he'd been peering out of and over at you. you were blessed with the sight of seeing his big brown eyes soften and how a weight eased on his shoulders. he was gorgeous, the most beautiful man in the world and you weren’t going to leave barton until he knew that.

"what the hell are you doing here?" he asked, blinking a few times, as though he was hallucinating and afraid you weren't real, "christ–get over here."

he met you halfway as you bolted toward him, arms outstretched and wrapping around his waist as you buried your face into his chest. “i missed you so fucking much,” you whimpered, fingers tightening into fists as they gripped the back of his jacket. he smelled nice, like the cheap cologne you bought him last christmas; musk, cedar & notes of vanilla.

his own arms were around your shoulders, his face nuzzling against the top of your head as you two relished in each other’s presence.

it had been months. months that felt like a millennium.

“i missed you too,” he whispered against your hair, arms tightening around you briefly before easing up, “you look so pretty.”

you tilted your head back to look at him, your eyes glossy from the tears that spilled down your cheeks. you had parted your lips to say something back as your cheeks reddened from his compliment, but he didn’t give you the chance—rightly shutting you up with his lips.

it was then you fully understood how much you loved angus tully, less as a friend and more as a partner. a soulmate.

your lips moved together in desperation and need, kissing each other like you were lovers that had been separated for years. one of his hands had moved up to the back of your hair, fingers tangling, while the other gripped at your hip. both of your arms snaked around he neck, pulling him down so you didn’t have to stand on the tips of your toes to meet his lips.

this lasted for awhile, stopping only when you two had ran out of breath and were panting together.

“i love you,” you said first, your forehead pressing against angus’ as you looked deep into his brown eyes, “i’ve loved you for a very long time... too long.”

“me too,” he murmured in returned, the hand that was on your hip now caressing your cheek, his thumb gently grazing over your soft skin, “you’re the only reason it’s lonely here. seriously, i think i’m going mad without you,” he laughed breathily, bumping his nose playfully against yours.

“then i’ll make sure you don’t have to go without me too long,” your voice was soft as you spoke, unable to rid yourself of the big smile that plastered your lips, “maybe we can convince your teacher to let me stay for a night… or maybe you can spend christmas with us.”

“i want to go to boston with you,” he said quick, like he’d been waiting to say it.

you knew exactly what he meant. you knew everything about boston—you knew who was waiting in boston.

“okay,” you murmured, “let’s go to boston.”

you couldn’t promise that it would actually happen, how on earth would a chaperone let their student travel miles away to a city without them? you didn’t care about that right now. all you cared about was making sure that angus knew he had your support. that’s how being best friends worked.

you were there for each other. you were always going to help pick up each other’s pieces.

“kiss me again, angus.”

[unholyhelbig]

Would love some Kate Bishop angst

Title: Past Tense

Ship: Female!Reader x Kate Bishop

Wordcount: 4027

Summary: Kate Bishop returns to her hometown unexpectedly following some bad news. She's shocked when she runs into you and struggles to grapple with her past choices.

Warnings: Funerals, hurt/comfort, drinking, work injury/ burns, spelling mistakes and grammar issues (I'm sure)

[A/n: Hello! Just a little disclaimer, this is probably going to be the last thing I can publish for the rest of the month. I've got a massive work project, I move this coming weekend, and it's my birthday at the end of the month so my time is quite limited. But things will pick up again next month]

Main Masterlist | Read my stuff on AO3 | Leave Requests

Day had barely broken over the horizon, but the world around you was impossible to ignore. There had been snow the night before, something that everyone believed was too cold to be possible. A thin layer of ice had encrusted each car before the soft, powdery type had built up on windshields and culminated under tires.

Large, wet flakes swirled around you and despite the gloves that clung to your skin, they didn’t do much for the numbness in your fingers as you fumbled with the keys to the coffee shop. Moisture had wicked through the fabric, and you hastily took them off before flicking on the house lights.

It was just past 5am and the usual crowd of early risers were soon to arrive. You made quick work of starting all the machines, the cooling cases and the manual grinder. Your baker had been in earlier, filling the displays with various muffins, baked goods, and sweets. A smooth cinnamon scent filled the air and warmed you all over.

“Son of a bitch!” the muffled exclamation formed a smile against your lips.

MJ was bundled up in a sweatshirt, a flannel, and a heavy winter coat over that. Her boots were caked in dry snow. There was a deep red blush against her nose and her cheeks that accompanied her scowl.

“Language, there are children present.”

“We’re the same age!” Peter protested as he pulled himself through the back door. He was dressed in less layers but sported the same winter complexion. He shook the large flakes of snow from his sweater, mumbling “Son of a bitch.”

It was cold enough to warrant you closing the shop. Most of the schools and the businesses in town had called for a snow day, something that didn’t happen often in Connecticut. Frigid temperatures were expected. Below freezing was a way of life and the world didn’t stop craving warm coffee to thaw them out.

This fact was proven when you flipped the open sign and the typical crowd of tired eyes started to line up at the counter. Peter typically had too much energy, so MJ took up the register while her counterpart flitted around and filled the orders. Most were to-go.

You’d known these people for years. They’d come in with a habit that was unmatched by the weather and the any other obstacles thrown at them. Before you opened up ‘The Grindhouse’ you’d gone to high school with them.

Through all the proms, and the homecomings, and the house parties that left you vomiting in the yard amongst their parents’ flowerbeds. Since then, you’d grown up and couldn’t stomach more than a few shots or two glasses of wine, tops.

They’d grown up too, those who had stuck around town. They had families and businesses much like yours. You had homeroom with the accountant that had helped you hedge your money in the correct places, and you made the same bacon, egg, and cheese English muffin for the star football player that blew out his knee senior year.

“Welcome to Grindhouse,” you said distractedly at the sound of the bell above the door, working on clearing the fallen grounds from under the espresso machine. The rag was damp and the floor was already coated in little brown specs that needed to be swept up during a lull.

“What can I get started for you?” MJ asked in her usual cadence.

“Just a plain black coffee, please.”

Your body froze at the sound of the voice, hair falling into the gaze that you refused to lift. There was a strange mix of emotions in the pit of your stomach. That voice, with it’s familiar rasp was one you hadn’t heard for years. Nearly a decade. But it couldn’t be her, could it?

She’d left for New York right after high school. The last you heard, she’d become a doctor. An unrivaled cardiothoracic surgeon that flitted around the world wherever she was needed. There was no reason for her to be back in this small, freezing, end-of-the-earth town.

“That’ll be 2.25, we have cream and sugar on the far wall, but if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you.”

It was her. It was most definitely her. There was a crispness to her voice that you’d recognize anywhere. The last you remembered; it was whispered with a quickness that rivaled her hands. Her hands were everywhere. They were warm and calloused and gentle.

There was a sudden bubbling heat against the side of your hand. You hissed through your teeth and pulled back from the espresso machine. There was a large bubbling welt on your skin and a string of curses ready at your lips.

“Jesus, y/n are you alright?” Peter was at your side in a moment with a wet, clean cloth that he had run under cold water. “Do you need the burn kit?”

“No, no. I’ll be alright. Thanks Pete”

He was so attentive and clocked you with a worried stare but you reassured him with the squeeze of his shoulder with your good hand. If you were going to fly under the radar before, it would be impossible now.

You glanced over the counter, pressing the cloth even closer. Your suspicions had been confirmed by the tepid gray stare that met yours. Shock simmered behind Kate Bishops gaze, a steaming cup of coffee in her hand.

Suddenly, you felt dizzy. She looked a bit older in the face, more experienced. There was life there, a form of living that had lowered her shoulders and sealed her lips. The Kate you knew was a bumbling mess- but med school had effectively changed that.

“y/n,” She regarded you.

“Hi, Katie.”

That lopsided, sloppy grin was still the same. It reached her eyes and brightened them. You cradled your hand and reveled in the silence. Peter and MJ had frozen in place, flicking their eyes from you and then back to her.

“Want me to take a look at that hand?”

“What are you doing back in town?”

The two of you spoke at the same time and dissolved into nervous laughter. You shook your head. “I thought you were a surgeon?”

“I know how to treat a burn, y/n, don’t insult me.”

You often prided yourself on your strong will. If you had a weak one, it would have been impossible to build this coffee shop up from the rubble that it once was. Kate Bishop, Doctor Kate Bishop, had a way of melting your resolve.

Peter shoved the small plastic first aide kit into your hands and shoved you forward. There was no choice to hide your stumble other than a confident stride towards her. She led you to one of the tables that spanned the windows at the storefront. They were lined with frost, a biting cold fighting to get its way in.

Kate had about a half-inch on you and radiated a type of warmth that was unmatched. When she grabbed your sleeve and dragged you to a sitting position right across from her, you were practically putty in her hands.

“I’ve been keeping tabs on you.” She spoke without looking at you, unlatching the kit and pulling on the blue latex gloves with practiced ease. She couldn’t see the look of shock on your face. “This place is beautiful. I remember when it was that pizza place.”

“Ah, pizzapocalypse. Who would have thought that a combination shooting range and Italian restaurant would fail?”

Kate chuckled and tenderly pulled your hand closer. Her touch was barely a whisper against your skin, strands of black hair falling into her eyes. She examined the angry red mark. It had already started to blister. The espresso machine was kept at unbelievable levels of heat.

She grabbed one of the wrapped applicators, using her teeth to tear away at the wax paper. Kate squeezed a small dollop of burn cream onto the end. You hated the cloudy clearness of the substance.

“I’ve been keeping tabs on you too, you know?”

“Have you? This might sting a little bit. Do you want a countdown?”

“No, just do it I’m a brave- Fuck!” She’d already started, and you gave her a vicious glare. She shrugged with that infuriatingly perfect grin of hers. “I thought you were in New Zealand for some medical internship.”

“New Hampshire, actually. Not as exciting, I know. It was going well, but Eleanor died.”

There was a tightness to her voice. Typically, you looked away from anything involving wound care. If you were to get a shot, you’d stare at a small spot on the wall that interested you. Drawing blood was more of the same, it was just harder to ignore the needle in your arm.

Kate was working hard at the bandage in her hand and finally pulled it apart. Despite the frustration etched into her features, she applied it with a certain level of care. You didn’t’ say anything. Your hand was throbbing uncomfortably.

“She was old, we knew it was coming and pancreatic cancer, well, it’s a bitch by the end and Susan asked me to fly in for the funeral. How could I say no to that? Flying in for my mothers funeral when I was too busy working to witness her descent?”

“Katie,” You breathed out.

“That should be healed up in a few days. Make sure you change out the bandage.”

You couldn’t’ get a word in edgewise before she started to shove the contents of the case back into their proper places. The chair made a horrible scraping sound that you felt in your teeth. Kate grasped her coffee, colder than it was a few moments ago.

“Thank you for… this. I’m sure it’s delicious.” She had her hand on the door. Her quickness was unmatched. Both in and out of the OR, from what you had read. But she paused, looking at you for a moment. “I’m proud of you, y/n. This place is great. Really.”

Kate had vanished into the whiteness of the blistering day. You watched her navigate the snow with ease. Eleanor had died. How could you live in such a small town and not have heard about the woman’s passing?

The Bishop family was always a private bunch, and with Kate moving right after high school graduation, you hadn’t any reason to go past those wrought iron gates. Kate’s older sister would stop by for a hot drink once every other month or so, but you saw her coming from a mile away and selfishly hid in the back.

Eleanor had died.

There was a softness to her that you remembered fondly, a memory of Kate and you as children in the heat of summer. You’d been stung by a wasp and cried and cried until Eleanor rushed into the yard and scooped you into her arms.

Much like Kate had just done with her soft ministrations, she fixed you right up by applying a mix of warm water and baking soda. An old family remedy, she said. The venom had stopped screaming and the tears eventually stopped for both you and Kate.

Eleanor was a kind, if not private, woman. One that you thought of daily when you clocked the photo of High School Graduation on the dusty bookshelves in your living room. Your own mother hadn’t attended, but Eleanor was right there. She was right there.

“Who’s the girl?” MJ drawled out, leaning heavily on her hands, a goofy look on her face. Peter was next to her, doing the same, both eyebrows raised.

“Kate… She” You picked up the plastic first aide kit. The two of you had a habit of not sitting still and it was better to move to replace the supplies then let them sit out here. Besides, a customer could walk in at any moment. “We were engaged.”

Peter shot up “What?”

“It was a long time ago, it’s not important.”

“You were engaged, I think that’s important. How old are you?”

“First, rude, second; old enough. And really, guys it’s not a big deal. Both of us moved on. Life happened.”

They exchanged a look that, in the past, had never meant anything good. MJ had her arms crossed over her chest and Peter leaned heavily on a broom he had grabbed, hugging it lose to his chest. You rolled your eyes, attempting to ignore them both was impossible in a place this retrospectively small.

“I don’t know, boss. The way she was looking at you… maybe neither of you really moved on.”

“I write your paychecks; you understand that right?” You turned to face them. “Kate and I are done. We have been for a long time. She made that very clear when she gave the ring back and I refuse to push the matter.”

It was collecting dust on your bookshelf next to the photo of your graduation. It was a small emerald, green box that you hadn’t opened since you resituated the diamond ring. It had been stupid to propose, a last-ditch effort to get Kate to stay. She’d said yes. And then she said no.

The baker’s old Subaru wouldn’t start because of the bitter cold. It sounded like an old wife’s tale that made you chuckle to yourself while reading the text that popped across your screen.

Before you had hired him for the long nights, you’d done the baking yourself and it wasn’t a horrible chore. You’d just have to down some caffeine and slam it out; trays filled with mini cakes, with quiches, donuts and cheese tarts. It was like a methodical science project with the bonus of eating the food that didn’t look edible.

It was midnight by the time you’d pulled the first couple trays from the large industrial oven and exhaustion was starting to bay its head. You weighed the option of going home and just spreading out the pastries in the case.

All thoughts of sleep left your mind when a rapid banging filled the store. The front glass doors were being tugged upon. And while you were more than willing to die in this coffee shop, being robbed was not the way you wanted to go. There was less than three hundred dollars in the register.

You grasped at the broom, your hands covered in flower and caked on the bandage that was applied earlier. Another round of bangs as you tried to stay low and reach for the cordless phone. There was a silhouette outlined by the gray white of the snow.

Doctor Kate Bishop.

She’d given up on her breaking and entering and pressed her forehead against the glass, her breath fogging it up. It was hard to tell, but you were sure her eyes were clenched shut. There was a brown paper bag in one hand that looked suspiciously like a large bottle of alcohol.

Your grip was tight on the broom, even as you felt confident, and a little sad, about opening the door. Kate fell forward and a blast of cold enveloped you. She made a small noise at the back of her throat, regaining her posture.

“Were you going to sweep me to death?” Kate asked, “I brought whiskey.”

“Here I thought you weren’t going to come back here with the way you ran out earlier, and now you arrive with gifts?”

It was a low blow, but she had shrugged her shoulders with her goofy grin and snow in her messy hair. “Come drink with me, just for a little bit in our old spot. Don’t make me play the dead mom card.”

Saying no to Kate had always been hard for you. It had been hard when you were children and she dared you to jump from high places, always stopping you by the collar of your shirt before either of you got hurt. And it was especially hard to say no to Kate in your teens when she would kiss hot trails against your throat, marking them with bruises. Not that you were rushing to deny her.

“Really?” You asked, “Aren’t we a little old to be caught sneaking booze in the gym?”

Both of you knew for a fact that the side doors leading into the school would always be open. There were no alarms, or flood lights, because it was a small town and nothing bad ever happens in a small town.

She jutted out her bottom lip into a pout “Y/n, my mom died.”

“Okay, alright. Let me lock up.”

Kate stayed quiet on the three-block walk to the school. It was shrouded in darkness, an inky black despite the swirling gray of the night sky. Your high school had been the largest in the county; two floors filled with classrooms. You’d stuck to the same ones and Kate was the life of the party wherever she went, the bright spot in an otherwise dingy room.

The bottle of alcohol dangled by her side as your footfalls crunched over ice and an ugly brown slush of snow. It felt normal, almost, walking with her. Being with her. Staying in town was a brave choice after being dumped and equivocally left at the alter. You had powered through the looks and the whispered accusations. But some part of you was relieved she’d chosen this interaction to take place in the middle of the night.

When you’d gotten to the double doors of the large gymnasium, Kate’s boot slipped on a particularly nasty spot of ice. Instinctively you grasped her arm and righted her. She thanked you silently before pushing into the warmth of the space. The motion censor lights flicked on and you squinted against them.

“They built a new one, you know? A gym. I think they still use this for craft fairs. Fundraisers. But all the big stuff is off site in this state-of-the-art center.”

Kate blew out a breath, shaking her head. “Remember when Tommy Shepard broke your nose with a basketball?”

“Yeah, I do. I also remember sneezing right after and spraying him in blood. Everyone else was grossed out except for you.”

Kate dropped onto the large eagle in the center of the floor. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, and the bottle was idling between them. You let out a small groan as you joined her. Neither of you had ever been bold enough to inebriate yourselves in the crest. Instead, you’d hide behind the fold-out bleachers that were pushed against the walls, but this would do.

“That stupid EMT wouldn’t let me get on the ambulance with you.” The seal on the bottle cracked viciously, much like your nose, as she unscrewed the cap.

“And I told you I didn’t need to go the hospital. I think I was a liability, though.”

Kate laughed, taking a deep gulp from the bottle. It hit the back of her throat and she hissed in response before thrusting the whiskey your way. You took a smaller sip, let it coat your tongue and burn your stomach.

The mood had stilled, and she took another swallow before setting the bottle between the both of you like a vice or a buffer. You couldn’t decide what.

“Eleanor had very specific instructions in her will. She… shit, she planned her whole funeral out before she died in her morbid meticulousness. She picked white lilies, and a beautiful black casket. She already had a plot of land picked out in her family plot. Music picked out. A fucking guest list.”

You fought the urge to reach out and comfort her. So, you grabbed the bottle instead and gulped down a bigger heaping than before. The amber liquid was dipping down behind the black wrapper.

“The only thing she didn’t do was write her eulogy. No, she left that up to me as one last fuck you because that’s how she operates. She didn’t’ ask Susan to write it, or my dad. She asked me because I’m the one that left home. I’m the one that left her.”

The worst thing you could do was agree with Kate Bishops dead mother. And you didn’t, really. You’d always been happy for Kate. This town was too small for her and the lives that she saved were plentiful. But some selfish part of you understood where Eleanor was coming from.

You were possibly the worst person she could go to with this issue and by the frown on her face, she knew it too. For the longest time, you were there for each other. And if Kate had called out of the blue and asked you to go to New Zealand or New Hampshire, or whatever; you would go.

She’d do the same, you were sure. One call, one letter and she’d be here. But neither of you were brave enough to reach out and heal the wound that festered between you. You pulled your knees up to your chest, rested your chin against them with a quiet breath.

“Maybe you don’t need to write anything. Maybe you can just… say how you feel.”

“Yes, because that has worked out so well for me in the past.”

“Fair point, but she was your mother, not a fling. Even if you don’t have a script planned out, it’s worth just feeling the moment. No matter how shitty that moment is.”

Kate inhaled and held that breath in her chest for a few seconds before pushing it out. Her eyes searched you in a probing way that made your skin prickle. Blush started to claw its way up your throat. You’d blame that on the alcohol, you always were a light weight and it showed in your complexion.

“Is that what you think you were?” her voice was a low and raspy whisper “a fling?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You never say anything you don’t mean. All you’ve ever done is calculated and well thought out. You’ve always had a plan.” She looked down at the frayed edges of her jeans, playing with the strings to avoid looking at you. “You were my everything.”  

Your voice was a quiet murmur. “Katie,”

She reached out, her warm hand wrapped around your wrist in a tender display of affection. Her eyes met yours and it was the longest the two of you had stared at one another without breaking eye contact. Your stomach was a pit of nerves and heat.

“That scared me when we were young. It fucking scared me out of my mind how content I was with you. I was ready to risk everything, to settle down in a small house and wake up every single morning next to you.” She drew in a sharp and shuddering breath “But we were young, and I hadn’t lived life and that scared me even more.”

“I know, Kate, I know. I shouldn’t have proposed, and I certainly shouldn’t have put either of us in that position. You were right to turn me down. You were right to move on and fight for the future that you deserve.”

Kate sniffed, using her free hand to wipe away the few crystalline tears that dripped across her cheeks. You found yourself pulling her close, letting her sob into the crook of your neck as you held her, your arm wrapped around her center to stabilize her.

Things were boiling over and the tension that had been weighing on her shoulders since she’d first shown up in town started to slowly drain. She missed her mother, she missed you, and that wasn’t something you were willing to process on the crest of the school’s gymnasium.

Kate’s fingers were curled into the fabric of your shirt, and eventually, she settled. Her nose was cold against your pulse point and the bottle of whiskey had been long forgotten. As self-centered as it was, you wished you could hold her forever. Feel her touch on yours for something other than a reminisced sadness.

“If you asked again,” Kate mumbled into the collar of your shirt “If you asked me again, I would say yes.”

“I know, Katie. I know.”

[iicomet]

(pre-reincarnation!chung myung & reader)

(In which you meet him for several times.)

The first time you met him, you remember thinking one thing.

‘What a small child.’

Cold autumn air pricks at your skin, puffs of condensed air surrounding your lips, your warmth sourced from the bundles of scarves you had wrapped around yourself. Curious eyes watched the wrapped child being held in your elder’s arms; small hands, already so beaten and bruised at a young age, held back the temptation to hold him and fascinate in awe over the smaller being.

Despite being one of the older children, bearing witness to the numerous people who had joined the sect, you were still so fascinated at the younger ones being brought in. Even as you grew up in the walls of the esteemed sect, hearing people come and go through the wide doors, red painted wood opening and closing with a loud creak— You always seemed to miss the exact moment of their entry and departure, always so caught up in the swings of your wooden sword; each swing harsher than the rest, each stroke softer than before. Gaze boring into the tip of the blunt weapon as if it had wronged your entire bloodline; your mind dazed as you watched your own body be controlled by the memories of a practiced dance, over and over again. It was like you only had eyes for the sword, and nothing else. 

Yet this time, you caught a sight of something else for the first time.

And that just so happens to be the first time you met that child, on October 10. Blue skies tinted with a yellowish hue, the clouds passing through the gates of the sect, watching the newest addition to the family you had grown to love over the years. Hiding above the tall pink trees that decorated the grounds, you didn’t dare to reveal yourself despite the waging curiosity and interest in your heart.

Perhaps you were afraid of dealing with a younger child, afraid of hearing it cry so suddenly in your presence; or perhaps you were afraid of being found by your seniors for slacking off, the height of your rebellious stage beginning to peek through the cracks of your innocent exterior despite being years away from reaching the peak of your adolescent adventures. They had always said that the quieter ones were the most unexpected ones, after all.

So, you continued to watch from afar, the scent of plum blossoms beginning to feel overwhelming as you surrounded yourself in it, drowning your shadows in a pink sea.

–

The second time you had met him, it was when you were assigned to take care of him, when he could barely even walk. You had wondered what kind of person he will grow into, holding chubby little hands in your bigger ones, squishing the flesh with an amused smile. He was so weak, so defenseless. Even though you were the same, merely a few years difference between the both of you, you still felt a sense of protectiveness over the boy, wanting to shield him from the harm the world could ever bring him.

At that moment, you allowed a promise to be made, to swear by a self-inflicted oath to protect the child before you. Why would you do something for someone you had just met? A child, whose only life was behind the guarded walls of the sect and surrounded with the warmth of a family, had no idea how valuable a life was.

Even so, you gave yours to him. 

You gave yours to them.

A sudden tight pinch alerts you from your thoughts, flinching slightly from the death grip this child has. You tried prying off your fingers, fearing it might break, but his grip was too strong, and you didn’t want to hurt the child.

You sighed. You were never expecting a younger child to have such a monstrocious grip strength. 

Maybe, you didn’t need to protect him after all. Maybe, this child was someone who might be the one to protect you in the future, instead. 

You chuckled. 

As if. 

Even if this child grows up to be the savior of the world, you were still his senior. As his older senior, you would do your best to accompany him, so he wouldn’t be lonely. As his older senior, you had a duty to guide and protect your younger sect members. Just like how your seniors did to you, and just like how their seniors did to them.

You were his senior. You had a duty to fulfill.

–

The one hundred sixty-eighth time you had met him, he was running from his sect brother. You, who remained diligent in your training, bumped into him after a long time. Or, well, he bumped into you, causing the little findings in his hands to drop and spill onto the ground.

“Ah– There you are.”

You picked him up like a stray cat, his expression morphing from a mischievous glee to a nervous smile. He still greeted you as always, his voice abnormally innocent and kind. Cheeky little one, you bemused. As an expert is able to discern an amateur's lies, you weren’t a fool to trust his facade, having experienced the same scene that played before them over and over again while still in their youth.

It was like you could hear the sighs of your fellow sect members, shaking their heads as they hear you speak like an elder despite your young age. They would joke that perhaps an older spirit had possessed your body, causing you to act like a matured grandpa whilst adorning a teenage face. You, in turn would just solemnly nod and bemoan out loud whenever it rains, complaining about your aching knees and tired back to run from training. At first, it would work, but people soon stopped believing your act of compliance towards their jokes and forced you to return to sword swingings. What a pity.

Of course, as the kind and mature senior you were, you were about to give him advice on how to act better and let him off if he were to share with you his findings, but was unfortunately disrupted by the voice of another sect brother who came running towards the both of you, obviously exhausted. You pitied him, for a moment, deciding to continue your mask as the reliable senior instead.

To be honest, you pitied yourself more; for losing the opportunity to share a drink underneath the moonlight with your fellow disciples. 

You smiled at him as he spoke words that flew from one ear to another, your mind too occupied with the devastating fates that separated you and your beloved wine. Disappointment leaks through your expression, causing your juniors to freeze.

Chung Myung-ah, you should’ve ran faster.

Placing him down, you acted as nonchalant as possible, seeing another opportunity to grab and pick up the bottles, leaving the both of them behind. You silently applauded yourself for the genius idea that appeared in your mind in the spur of the moment as you walked away, promising yourself to pay your junior back for giving you such a wonderful chance.

–

The five hundred and twelfth time you had met him, he was working hard in the training grounds you once found yourself in nearly every day, taking your place in his diligent training. You were merely passing through, taking a break from your own practices when your eyes caught the familiar tuff of black hair, standing amidst the neatly arranged crowd of disciples. Wooden sword in his hand, it reminds you of the ones you broke countless times during your past, before you were sentenced to cleaning the halls because of one too many losses.

It’s not your fault the wooden sword couldn’t handle your strength, you thought, pouting slightly as you mopped the floors clean. Unfortunately for you, the elders thought otherwise. Maybe that’s why they had you banned from using the wooden swords for a short period of time, and why they decided to exclude you from the practices right now.

…No, that’s not it. You were clearly just slacking off by telling your instructor that you had to grab the specialized sword that the sect elders made for you just to stop you from continuing to cause any more losses to their savings. Obviously, you did grab it, but you just went for the longer route to go back to your training. If they asked, you would just blame it on your weak knees.

Your attention returned to the shouts of your junior brothers as they swung their swords, eyes filled with determination to perform the best in their group. You smiled, watching the younger ones repeat the same dance you had forced yourself to do a few years back, the same fire burning their limbs underneath the sun after hours and hours of non-stop swinging.

As you walked away, footsteps softly resounding across the cobblestone pathway, the already quiet paddings underneath your feet deafened by the passionate yells from your juniors, you wondered how long it would take for him to grow stronger and become like you. 

You silently hoped that it would never come. 

—

The five hundred twentieth time you had met him, it was night. The moon shone above the both of you, the birds long returned to their homes and quietly entered their slumber, just like everyone else in the sect. So, why were the both of you staring at each other wide-eyed, hands holding something the both of you shouldn’t be holding?

A look of recognition was passed between the two, a silent nod and approval of each other’s action. Who would’ve thought that the senior that everyone thought was a stickler for rules was such a troublemaker? Who would’ve thought that the growing prodigy in the sect was such a troublemaker? (The latter was quite a known case, but the former was still quite a surprise to those who were not of the same generation. What a well-kept secret, indeed.)

Before the two could even do anything, a sudden flicker of light appeared from a corner, causing them to bolt into different directions, the shouts of an elder close behind them. The younger one, who was nearly caught, found himself being grabbed by the back of his neck and pulled towards a secluded place, where another senior looked at him in surprise.

Three of them stayed quiet behind the walls, their breathing soft and quiet despite the harsh beatings in their heart, the bottles in their hands nearly breaking from the sheer pressure. The seconds felt like years, the stress from being caught causing them to age several years, but it was by luck that the elder was too tired to look closer. Perhaps if he did, he would catch three delinquents with one too many bottles of wine in their possessions, staring right back at him.

‘Maybe this is why senior was always complaining about having grey hair,’ Chung Myung thought.

A soft sigh escapes your lips, the feeling of relief flooding your veins as you slowly slide down the walls and sit on the floor. Nervous hearts pounded with blood, before the adrenaline rush dies down and you find yourself chuckling, giggling softly at the excitement this brings.

It’s true when they said that laughter was contagious, for the small corner was soon filled with childish sniggerings, three unruly disciples enjoying the stolen fruits of their labor in the night together. Underneath the moonlit gleam, you shared a drink with your fellow disciples, raising your glass high in the air, cheeks red from both the alcohol and joy.

-

[letsgetrowdy43]

Introduction—

Adam Fantilli x Hughes!sister

Au Masterlist!!

Sunny is just over a year younger than Luke. Ellen and Jim wanted to try one last time for a babygirl, after ending up with three boys.

The moment Jim holds her in his hands, he's absolutely enamoured with her, calling her his 'little sunshine' as he cries in the corner of the delivery room. And from that first moment, her name was Sunny, and would always be some sort of variation of it.

When Quinn and Jack (Luke was at home cause he was too little to visit) were in the hospital, Ellen placed the little bundle of pink blankets in their laps and introduced her as Sunny. Little Jack just looked up with rosy cheeks and whispered "sunshine" before singing a very out-of-tune version of the lullaby as Quinn joined in

That being said she is very much the baby of the family (she has three older brothers, it's to be expected!!)

Obviously was raised very involved in the hockey world, the boys practically ate, slept, and breathed hockey.

Her break from that competitive reality was dance. After many failed attempts at playing hockey, Ellen finally put her in a Jazz class to see if maybe that was her creative channel (it was)

She started out doing little competitions in different dance genres around Toronto, but as she matures she realizes that ballet was her real passion.

She would deny it till the day she dies, cause obviously her brothers all hold a special spot in her heart, but Quinn is by far her favourite. He’s the oldest, so by proxy he is much more mature than the rest of them, so when Sunny has a problem or any sort of minor inconvenience, she goes straight to Quinn. And Quinn is just the sweetest to her, cause she is his little sister, and he just wants her to know how she loved is.

Sunny is Jack's biggest, but most loving, enemy She doesn’t let him get away with any, ever. If Jack is being a dick, she is calling his ass on it, he gets to much pretty boy attention as it is to be as stupid as he is

She and Luke were inseparable up until her senior year of high school, and his frosh year at Umich. People definitely treated her and Luke like twins growing up (due to their close age). But to be truthful Luke was her best friend, it was always hard moving around as often as they did to make life-long friends, so Luke was that best friend for her.

Her university route looked a bit different from the boys, while they had hockey scholarships, she was receiving art scholarships from all over North America.

Her plan was originally to look into art schools in Vancouver, wanting to pursue a life of Dance and Technical theatre. But she opted out of those dreams in order to pursue a life career in journalism, knowing that there were greater chances of a steady income in a life of communications and articles rather than ballet and light design

She met Adam in a class she actually intended on transferring out of, public speaking was not something she was interested in studying. But the moment Adam sat down in the empty seat a few seats down from her, the two of them were paired up.

The moment he laughed she knew there was no way she was going to switch out of the course. Sunny was a goner.

Adam was refreshing, a boy with such an unclouded judgement on her, smiling at her with such kind eyes. It was a breath of fresh air to be around someone who didn't know about her brothers, or ask about their success.

On her first day of classes, meeting this cute guy who knows nothing about her and looks at her like she is just some regular person, not the sister of a hockey legacy

And that's of course all good up until Sunny finds out that Adam Fantilli is in fact just as entwined in her brothers life as she wishes he was in hers.

[princesssmars]

in the darkened forest, i see you.

some stiles stilinski x witch reader headcanons

your whole life you knew you had a destiny to fulfill. its hard to juggle your magical heritage and your nosy best friends, but you wouldn't have it any other way.

wc: 1.328

contains : fluff. reader is a witch. mentions of some of season ones violence.

a/n : very self-indulgent and based on my very. very long and detailed teen wolf script. enjoy.

the name of your hometown always made you laugh inside your head. beacon hills, a sprawling town in northern california. by the title and looks you'd think the only things gravitating here would be families preparing for the future and seniors looking to settle down.

but there was so much hidden beneath the surface that almost every resident had no idea about.

when you were but seven years old you realized your family wasn't like other childrens.

where heathers dad worked in a home office, yours worked in a dingy but atmospheric antique shop selling various artifacts you've never seen before, ranging from "eye of newt" to "crushed cricket leg powder" to a bundle of weird-looking talismans.

where benjamins mom spoke english as her first language, you found out those funny words your mom would say when reading from her big book was her second language which was called latin. and how sometimes when she spoke it while cooking your food always came out tastier and you'd go to sleep feeling stronger than ever.

its on your 13th birthday when your parents sit you down and tell you the truth, how you've been born into a long line of witches from both your mother and father's side. how they can tell you've been curious as they were as kids, but they see something in you that pushed them to decide to let you in sooner to the lifestyle than other witchlings, who normally started learning before a witches becoming ceremony on their 16th.

"your magic can be a blessing and a curse," they said, sitting with you on the couch while your father showed you the family picturebook holding portraits of ancestors dating back hundreds of years. "but in our family, we've always put the greater good of witch kind before others. we protect our own and they protect us. you'll always have someone in your corner when things seem impossible. "

your parents were kidding, with you being introduced to some of the other witch kids in town. contrary to what you were thinking they were pretty popular, and welcomed you into their circle nearly immediately.

being popular means meeting many types of people though, and that's what led you to meet the one and only stiles stilinski.

he was a bit nerdy, and definitely less popular than you were but that didnt really matter. your first conversation was in english class freshman year, when you asked him for a pencil and he accidentally gave out four at once. you laughed at him and he told you that you had the prettiest smile he'd ever seen, and that since smiling made people live longer he hoped you live to be 110. it was weird but cute.

since that day you'd been friends, hanging out with stiles and scott often. you'd even show up to cheer at their lacrosse games even if they sucked. you tried giving them small luck charms before games which luckily seemed to work.

even if you found yourself growing close to them, you still kept the knowledge of your heritage close to your chest. even if stiles, being the mini detective he was, seemed to nearly figure it out multiple times.

but it's during the latter end of your sophomore year when things take a turn. stiles shows up to your house in the dead of night asking you to come with him to get some snacks and chill. figuring you had nothing else to do, you agreed and decided to walk the short trek with him to scott's house.

what he didnt tell you was that the three of you were going into the woods to find half of a damn dead body, the boys ignoring your complaints from behind them as they searched the forest floor. sure you could've gone home, but it'd be a lie to say you weren't just a bit interested yourself. and scared they'd get themselves killed.

the funs cut short when you and stiles are caught by his dad, who on the drive home awkwardly insinuates that he thought you two had snuck away to fool around in the woods, making the both of you loudly deny it. but after you get dropped off at home you start thinking if it'd be the worst thing in the world to date the stilnksi boy.

the next few weeks are chaos, with you finding out that not only are werewolves back in beacon hills but the newest addition is scott himself. you try to give him as much help as you can without seeming too suspicious.

but it's one afternoon when stiles comes up to you acting the calmest you've ever seen him and tells you he's taking you out for burgers, his treat. you agree because one free burgers and two alone time with your...best friend stiles. win-win situation, right?

wrong, because as soon as you're settled in the passenger seat and ready to eat a burger after the crappy school lunch, stiles turns in his seat and asks "are you supernatural too?"

you looked at him and knew you couldn't lie to his face, the truth spilling from your mouth faster than you could comprehend. he seemed more excited to hear about you being a witch than you did when you found out you were one.

you swear him and scott to secrecy, telling him it's already dangerous enough that they know. your secret is safe with them but god are they annoying about it.

what spells can you do? do you have a cauldron? do you have any family members who died in salem? could you put a curse on jackson? not a super serious one just so he...ok nevermind.

as irritating as it could be, you knew that they meant well.

sometimes when you're in your room studying your grimoire, stiles will ask you to translate the little latin notes on the sides to him. when you start to get annoyed you'll explain one to him and tell him that whatever you just said is a curse and because he asked you to say it its now on him. his face is priceless every time.

the day of your becoming ceremony is pure chaos to put it simply. your parents wake you up and give you your favorite breakfast foods which is always nice. the stiles picks you up from school while he and scott are acting completely suspicious about a surprise they have for you.

you find out what it is when you get to school and see a giant banner at the front of the school that reads "happy birthday y/n!". it's almost enough to make you cry.

once the school day is over you have to head home for the ceremony, but not before your best friends beg you to tag along, not knowing that you haven't exactly told your parents that you told them your secret.

its safe to say they were pissed off when you got home, but we're more understanding (and slightly shocked and scared) when you told them that scott was a werewolf. but the more supernatural the better!

the ceremony goes off without a problem, and by the end you already feel stronger. the new power surging through your veins gives you a boost of confidence.

you drive with stiles as he drops scott off, before he takes you up to your favorite spot overlooking the city. its one of your favorite ways to end a night, looking out at your home and talking to your favorite person in the world. with your newfound confidence, you admire stiles as he rants about something before grabbing his face and bringing him in for a kiss.

you pull away after a few seconds, looking at his dazed face to see if he reciprocates your feelings or not. when he gives you that signature dopy smile of his and kisses you, its more magical than you could've hoped for.

[love-strikes-thrice]

So I was touring my local county fairgrounds with my mother yesterday, as one does when one lives in rural Minnesota.

We were admiring all of the entries into the various competitions (vegetables, herbs, fiber arts, baking, jams, etc cetera).

I was bemoaning my terrible showing in the fine arts category (yes I know I went up a bracket, and now I'm up against people four decades older than me, and the bundle of red ribbons I won did contain some blues, and I did get two Reserve Champion ribbons, so I can't feel too bad, but oof I really could have used the prize money this year), and my mom was taking her time in the garden section.

Now, my mom is an amazing "amateur" gardener. She's been gardening and gardening well for almost her entire life, she has flower and vegetable beds all around our house, she was the President of our local garden club for years and only stepped down because she was too busy to run it, and last year she led our entire family in turning our front lawn into a native garden.

Normally, she enters a TON of flowers into the fair, not to mention vegetables, preserves, herbs, and sewing. But this year, for the first time in my memory, she didn't enter anything. In fact, I was the only one in our family that did.

It was an odd experience, but not as odd as the experience that prompted me to tell this story.

So my mom is someone who takes her time while looking at things. She stops, admires, contemplates, critiques, all that good stuff. So I'm used to her taking a Really Long Time looking at flowers.

But after a while, it seems like she's taking longer than usual. I wander over to where she is perusing the snapdragon entries and notice she is taking pictures of some of the plants.

So I sidle up and say "Perusing the competition?"

And she says, "Oh, no, A [one of her friends from the garden club] asked me to send her pictures of her ribbons."

I, who have already skimmed this whole section, and know that A has turned in dozens of entries, realize this is going to take a lot longer than I thought.

So I buckle in for some mild boredom and prepare myself to appreciate flowers for the next hour.

But then, my mom looks to the next entry of A's, and notices the blue ribbon attached, and says,

"Oh, good girl, A!"

My brain scratches to a halt. I can't believe what has just come out of my middle-aged white suburban mother's mouth. But I shake it off. I don't say anything. I think to myself, "surely, it was a fluke. A one-off, not-thought-out comment. My mother has no idea the connotations of that word that the Internet has given me. I'm just going to forget this and move on."

But then she looks at the next of A's entries.

It's a blue ribbon.

And she says it again.

I'm sweating now. "There's no way," I think, "I've literally never heard her say that phrase to a human being before. I have to be imagining this. A isn't even here to hear this! It has to be a coincidence, it won't happen again."

But then my mother turns to the next flower.

It's one of A's.

It has a blue ribbon.

"Good girl."

I'm losing my mind now. It's a battle to keep a straight face. What am I supposed to do? I can't explain praise kinks to my prudish white middle-class mother in the middle of this public building. It wouldn't be so bad if she just said it normally, but she wasn't saying it normally. She was crooning it.

And I was the only witness. My brother and dad, who were supposed to be there with us, had gotten bored ages ago and left to go listen to the country/classic rock cover band that was serenading fairgoers outside the building. There was no one to commiserate with, and certainly no one to save me from this frankly bizarre situation.

So I buckled in.

And listened to my mother.

Say "Good Girl"

To her absentee garden club friend

(who is very nearly a senior citizen)

Twenty

Four

Times.

[inuyashaluver]

could you please write something with grace clinton, maybe childhood friends to lovers?

unsure - grace clinton

grace clinton x reader

description: in which trying to figure out your relationship with your childhood best friend has you extremely confused, especially when everyone wants to meddle about in your business

warnings: a little long to fully capture the pining lmao

a/n: gracey girl! thank you for the request, i got a little carried away but enjoy!!!

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

everyone in the woso community found it completely mind-boggling that you and your best friend, grace, weren’t dating. you’d grown up together, being family friends almost all your lives. whatever grace did, you did and vice versa.

growing up with grace was truly a treat. the girl complimented you so well, both of you were inseparable ever since you were kids, an obvious factor when the two of you just knew what the other needed, something that was seen in both of your recent call ups to the senior lionesses.

you were talking to maya while waiting to board the bus when you feel a gentle hand on your shoulder stopping your conversation.

you turn to see your best friend bundled up in her puffer with slightly red cheeks from the brisk morning. “would you two like a coffee?” she offers sweetly, both you and maya nod with an appreciative smile.

maya tells grace what she wants and grace immediately walks away after receiving the information she wanted.

you look at her departing figure in slight disbelief, yelling out to her as she walks towards the hotel lobby coffee shop,

“aren’t you gonna ask me what i want, gracie?” you exclaim with a slight smirk. the girl you called to immediately turns at the sound of your voice, “i know what you want, love!” she shrugs while smirking at you.

maya looks at you with a cheeky grin, an expression you’ve received from almost every teammate whenever grace does something for you.

grace returns with the three drinks in her hand, you instantly rush forward to help the girl out, grabbing maya’s drink and giving it to her.

grace hands yours to you with a bright grin, “is it right?” grace already knew the answer as you take a quick sip, your cheeks turning slightly pink when it was exactly what you wanted.

you smile sheepishly at the girl, she reciprocates your shy grin. maya clears her throat at the interaction, claiming she heard ella and alessia calling for her. she rushes off to go tell them about the development of your relationship.

—

there were many instances like this, for instance, one that really stood out was the way you took care of grace.

“do you want me to do your hair for you?” you say to grace when she’s about to tie it up, she was having a rough day, unable to sleep last night (you kissed her on the cheek when she got a goal in training- she replayed the interaction in her head over and over). she looks at you through the mirror in your shared bathroom, “really?” she asks softly,

“of course” you respond with a loving grin, heart eyes evident on your face but grace didn’t think much of it, you always looked at her like that. (clueless)

you gently card your hands through her blond hair, she hums at your contact, noticeably relaxing into your touch. you smile and retrieve her brush, completing her signature slick ponytail with ease.

once complete, you wrap your arms around her waist and rest your head on her back. her hands instantly hold yours on her stomach, leaning into you gently. “i’ll always be here for you, gracie girl” you smile, giving her a quick kiss between her shoulder blades. she turns slightly red, gripping onto you tighter. “me too, love”

—

it was easy for you to admit to yourself that you have feelings for your best friend. you’d discovered it long ago when the both of you were 10. it was grace, it was always grace. your consistent fear of losing the girl caused you to bottle up all your feelings, there was no way she’d felt the same.

in reality, grace has always been crushing on you, ever since she could remember. being parted from you was torture, it was why she insisted the both of you couldn’t be separated, hence why you moved in together, went to the same club and never parted from each other. grace too had fears of losing you, also keeping her feelings under wraps. both you and grace couldn’t imagine a life without each other.

through the motivation and encouragement from one another, you pushed and pushed to be the best versions of yourselves that you could be. (how could the two of you be so clueless to your love?)

—

you were in the lioness change room, sat in your cubby next to grace. you and grace getting the call up to the senior team together was easily one of your greatest accomplishments, both of you cried for the other when the phone call arrived from sarina.

what you and grace didn’t know was that the lionesses had a group chat without you and grace just to meddle in your relationship. they made it their personal mission for the both of you to realise your relationship was anything but just friendship.

“oi, grace!” ella exclaims, throwing an arm over the girl’s shoulder, “i think it’s time we find you a lover” ella smirks. grace visibly tenses, glancing at you from the corner of her eye to see your reaction. you had a slight expression of hurt amongst your features.

“no, ella, i’m fine” grace tries to dismiss her but ella wouldn’t budge. “why? do you have a crush or something?” ella teases, everyone in the change room making suggestive noises and throwing kissy faces towards her, well…everyone except you.

grace could tell you were getting upset, she assumed you wouldn’t want her to be in a relationship in fear you wouldn’t spend as much time with each other - unaware that all you wanted was to be that special someone she called a lover, but both of you were just too clueless.

“alright, tooney, enough” alessia smiles at you sympathetically, pulling ella back to sit in her own cubby. grace moves slightly closer to you, your thighs lightly brushing against hers. “you okay?” she whispers, smiling at you so softly, you just nod at her gently, “yeah, gracie, i’m fine” you try to smile reassuringly but grace could see right through you, she needed to cheer you up.

—

it was time for training, grace was ready to walk up to you to partner up but you were instead stolen by alessia. her smiles slightly fell as you were dragged away from her by alessia.

“sorry, gracie, i need my child!” alessia exclaims, grace just waves her off, smiling at both of you before going to pair up with maya.

you were slightly confused as to why alessia partnered up with you, she’d always been a big sister figure towards you and grace, claiming she was your mother. alessia knew you always trained with grace without fail, why did she want to pair up with you today?

“listen, (y/n/n), do you like grace?” alessia speaks quietly, not wanting to blast your business out to the world, a true mvp. your eyes widen, were you that obvious? “what are you talking about, lessi?” your voice shakes throughout your words, not convincing anyone. “(y/n), please, i’m being serious here” alessia squeezes your shoulder for encouragement.

you let out a shaky sigh, giving her a hesitant nod and a quick “yes” escaping your lips, the first time you’ve ever said it out loud. she just smiles and nods at you, “why haven’t you said anything?” she says quietly, you give her a defeated smile.

“she doesn’t feel the same, i can’t afford to lose her” alessia looks at you in disbelief, “you don’t actually think that, do you? grace definitely likes you” you furrow your eyebrows together, not convinced.

“no, lessi, i think you’ve got it all wrong” you try to reason with her, finding it hard to believe that your best friend returned your feelings.

“really? look at your girl over there” alessia nods her head towards the opposite side of the pitch, you turn to see grace lightly stretching while looking at you with lovesick eyes, throwing you a shy smile and a little wave.

you smile back at her and look back at alessia, “listen, (y/n/n), you don’t see ella looking at me like that, do you?” alessia smiles at you, you shake your head in response, still slightly in disbelief that everyone could tell you were in love with your best friend.

“right, i think you should tell her, it wouldn’t hurt” alessia squeezes your upper arm reassuringly, you can’t help but pull the girl into a tight hug, she instantly returns your embrace to comfort you. “thank you, lessi” you say slightly tearfully, alessia pulls away from you to wipe your tears.

grace watched the whole interaction, her eyes widening when she saw alessia wipe your tears away. she quickly turns to maya apologetically and the girl waves her off immediately, grace immediately sprints to where you were.

alessia held your shoulders as you wipe your tears, the anxiety of losing your best friend eating you alive but also crying at the thought of her liking you back, it was all too much. alessia pulls away when another pair of arms wrap around your waist from the back, a head resting on your shoulder. you were engulfed with the scent of grace, leaning into her instantly.

alessia smiles at you quickly before running off to maya, leaving you two to partner up for the rest of training. “what’s wrong, lovie?” grace pouts, lightly turning you around so you face her, her hands holding you at arms length from her. you just shake your head in response, grace pulls you into a tight hug, soothingly running her hands over your back to calm you down.

“you don’t have to tell me now, but i’m here to talk whenever” she says softly in your ear, you hold onto her tighter, nodding into her neck as you hide your face there. you pull yourself together and continue with training, grace instantly cheering you up just by her presence. when she starts goofing off with you, the entire team watches you both endearingly, smiling so brightly at seeing you two.

—

it was game day, sarina had promised both you and grace that you would be playing today and grace was incredibly nervous. sure, she’s played all her life but there was something about playing with her idols and her crush, wanting to do well to impress both.

she sits in her cubby, decked out in the england kit as she tries to drown out any sounds with her headphones. all the girls were chatting in the change room, still plenty of time before you needed to head out to the pitch.

she’s in her own world until her favourite girl comes and sits next to her. at seeing your gentle smile, she instantly takes off her headphones and puts them to the side as she looks at you. you grab both of her hands in yours, rubbing soothing circles with your thumbs on the back of her hands.

it was an awkward position and grace could tell you were uncomfortable, she grabs both of your legs with her arm and drapes them over her thighs, both of you turning a light shade of pink in your cheeks.

“you okay, gracie girl?” you smile, grace huffs out a laugh, shaking her head lightly, you grip her hands slightly tighter.

she moves her hands upside down so her palms make contact with yours, moving them to interlace with yours and she held you tightly. “just a little nervous” you nod in response, you were nervous too. “what about?” you say softly and grace could have melted in a puddle.

“well, we’re playing today, that’s one thing” she lists and you nod along with her words, “there’s also this girl that’s been on my mind for a long time and i can’t get her out of my head” you slightly tense at that, “oh” you breathe out, “yeah, i really like her but i’m scared of losing her, you know?” you nod at her, unable to speak because you knew she was going to tell you about a girl that wasn’t you.

“she’s very pretty, and special, and smart” she looks right into your eyes when she speaks, surprised she’s not stumbling her words. “she’s an amazing player, great person and my best friend” you grow speechless, your grip on her hands loosens but she holds onto you tighter, not wanting you to slip away.

“i’ve been really freaking out because i love her but i’m scared to lose her, but i need to say something” you could feel yourself growing hot, she was being so forward, your best friend felt the same, you loved her and she loved you.

you quickly look around the change room, everyone was too engrossed with each other, they weren’t even looking at you and grace. you decided to bite the bullet, looking at the girl in front of you with blown out pupils and pink cheeks, her looking exactly the same.

you let go of one of her hands and place a gentle hand on her cheek, lightly running your thumb over the apple of her cheek. you lean forward to place a sweet kiss on her lips, the girl instantly kisses you back but gasps into your mouth, suddenly ripping her lips away from yours.

“oh, grace, i’m so sorry” you cover your mouth with your hands, moving to stand up but grace grips your wrist and pulls you back, you land on her lap, sitting sideways.

“i love you” she breathes out, “i can’t kiss you until i tell you directly, i love you” she watches as your embarrassed face turns into one full of affection, “i love you too” you reply instantly, the girl in front of you smiling and cradling your jaw with her hand, pulling you down into a kiss.

it’s experimental and gentle, your lips connecting with love as you move in sync, feeling like you’d done this before. grace hums into you when your hand goes to the back of her neck, keeping her close to you. the change room went eerily quiet, you pull away from grace and hear her whine as you do, she was ready to protest at the loss of your contact but both of you realise you’re being watched.

every. single. teammate. was watching the two of you with bright smiles, mainly alessia in the corner who was fangirling with ella.

“i’ve never been so happy to watch a make out in my life” ella exclaims, the girls bursting into laughter at her words. you instantly look at grace with a humiliated grin but she just looks at you smugly, completely enthralled that she got to kiss the girl she’s loved for the majority of her life.

you hide your face in her neck out of embarrassment, the girl giggling when you wouldn’t move away from her, wanting to shield yourself from your teammates.

grace coos, rubbing comforting circles on your back and whispers in your ear, “aw, my girl, no need to be shy, baby” you lean into her further, groaning into her neck out of pure shame you got caught kissing her.

—

after dealing with the relentless teasing of your teammates and you and grace stealing loving glances at each other, by now all of you needed to head to the pitch.

both you grace couldn’t keep your hands to yourself. so many of the girls threw you suggestive smiles as grace held your hand or your waist, when was it going to end? you thought.

you were going to get subbed on and grace was starting in the match. before the both of you walked out to the pitch, you hold her back and give her an encouraging kiss on her lips. she smiles at your contact, her hands lightly squeezing your hips as she keeps you close to her.

you pull away but she pulls you back immediately. “one more” she mumbles clumsily against your lips, lightly slipping her tongue into your mouth causing you to gasp in surprise, spurring a smile in her kisses once more.

you place your hands on her chest and separate her from you, spinning her around and pushing her to walk out. instead, she just wraps her arm around your waist while yours slings over her shoulder, walking out together for warm ups before the match.

—

it was finally game time, grace was playing exceptionally well. in the second half, you get subbed on for alessia, the girl bounding over to you as you stand on the sidelines, pulling you into a tight hug. “make your girlfriend and your mum proud” she says cheekily, you can’t help but laugh and shake your head at her, running on the pitch. you were a forward while grace was a midfielder, both of you knew how to be a powerful duo, it’s time to do it again.

you smile shyly as you run on the pitch, running past grace who throws you a wink. england was in the lead by 2-0, you and grace had always said that if you were in a match for england together, it was your mission to get a goal.

and so, grace dominated the midfield in an assist to you, sending you the most perfect ball, all you had to do was swing your foot, landing in the bottom right of the net. the crowd roars when you get the goal and you throw your arms up in celebration, your first international goal for the senior england team.

you sprint to grace as quick as you could, jumping on the girl with a bright grin, she catches you by your thighs and holds you tightly. “that’s my girl!” she exclaims brightly, the rest of the girls running up to the both of you and clapping you on the back.

grace places you down and kisses your forehead, her face full of adoration. “thank you for the perfect assist, my gracie girl” you wink and she laughs, “anything for you, gorgeous” throwing you a wink back, pushing you lightly to your position.

the game concludes, 3-0. you smile when the whistle blows, holding your arms out to grace as she walks into your embrace, tucking her face in your neck as she lifts you up slightly from the ground. you laugh gleefully as your feet lift off the pitch. as she puts you down, she kisses your neck quickly before moving your lips to your ear.

“would you like to be my girlfriend, baby?” she whispers, your cheeks turn slightly pink as her lips graze your ear.

you pull your face away from her, smiling at her brightly, “yes please” you say cheekily, she smiles at you so brightly, one of her hands moving from your waist to your cheek.

“would you like to be my girlfriend?” you smile at her, “yes please” she says enthusiastically, giving you a quick kiss before pulling away at the cheers from the crowd. it was official, you and grace were finally together and put everyone out of their misery - you bought alessia a bunch of flowers as a thank you.

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

you know the drill - pretend it’s you!! ily g

liked by alessiarusso99 and 44,232 others

graceclinton_x: isn’t my girlfriend the cutest?

view all comments

yourname: my girlfriend is the cutest

↳ graceclinton_x: shut up, mine is

↳ yourname: no you shut up, my gracie girl

↳ graceclinton_x: come and shut me up then

↳ yourname: baby, this is public

↳ graceclinton_x: and?

alessiarusso99: my sloth and my baby

↳ yourname: milf

↳ graceclinton_x: milf 100%

↳ alessiarusso99: my goodness

[sunlightmurdock]

My Future in You | 0.2 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Masterlist

Synopsis: Bradley’s twenty-two years old and not where he’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be out of the academy by now. Instead, he’s retaking his senior year of college and praying to god that he gets into flight school. Mav’s gone, his mom’s gone. He’s mad at the world. Then, a hook up at a Halloween party changes his future even more than he could have imagined.

Warnings: accidental pregnancy, references to abortion in this chapter and a few to come, angst, drama etc etc, enemies to lovers if you wanna call it that, crying & early on pregnancy hormones, Bradley’s a dick

Special thanks to G @topguncortez for being the best wingman and listening to all my bad ideas + giving me all of her evil ideas in return 🥹

“Ma-ma!” The baby coos out. She claps her hands and receives a round of applause from an adoring family, giggling excitedly. She’s so loved. You snuggle softly and lock your phone. The video disappears from the screen. Is this what the next nine months would be like? — the next eighteen years? — Crying at videos of strangers’ babies on the internet?

You drop your phone onto the bed and let out a heavy breath. You grab your water bottle. You’re borderline dehydrated at this point. Your only symptoms of growing a tiny Bradshaw is that you’ve been having the worst cramps known to man without getting your period, and that you just can’t stop crying.

It’s ridiculous. Jake’s still the only person who knows, but last night your roommate mentioned in passing that she broke one of your cups — you had had to leave the room so that she wouldn’t see you cry. Before this, the only thing that had made you cry was calculus.

It’s December 12th. You’re due to go back to Texas next week for Christmas break. Roughly six weeks since Halloween.

Four days since you had taken two pregnancy tests on the bathroom floor in your college apartment. Half as a joke — literally only because one of your friends had made a joke about your period being later than usual.

You’ve had four extremely sleepless nights. Thinking about the apparently tadpole sized bundle of cells sitting in your womb, holding your future in its entirely theoretical and currently undeveloped palm.

You’ve googled just about everything about the fetus. Including all about drinking during pregnancy — you spent hours crying about that birthday party two weeks after Halloween. Apparently drinking at two weeks isn’t going to fundamentally alter the fetus’ life, but it still made you guilty.

This thing is just lucky it picked your exam season to start developing, otherwise there would’ve been plenty more alcohol involved.

You roll onto your back. You’ve been debating whether or not you even care, whether you should care. You graduate in a couple of months, you’ve already got a grad job secured — which you could easily defer starting for a year.

It isn’t like you’re in high school. You could get an apartment. You could have a baby that claps it’s hands and says mama, and does that screechy little baby giggle.

You sigh softly. You look down at your stomach. The tadpole hasn’t changed your physique at all yet. It’s there. You wonder what you would look like in nine months. Your graduation is in a little over five months. You would be six and a half months pregnant crossing the stage.

Your phone buzzes. Outside - J.

You push yourself up from your bed and put slip into some comfy shoes. Sunglasses are the only way to hide how puffy your eyes are right now. You head downstairs and shiver slightly as cold air hits you. You should’ve brought a coat.

If you have a kid, you have to remember to bring their coat places too. You swallow, willing yourself to keep it together as you cross the street and slide into the passenger seat of Jake’s car.

“Morning. How’s the tadpole doin’?” Jake greets, watching as you buckle your seatbelt. You’ve been texting him all week. Since no one else knows, Jake has had to put up with hearing every single detail. Not that he minds. If anything, it’s helping him warm up to the idea.

“It’s… we’re tired, I think. Didn’t sleep much.” You explain. The night before your appointment. You just keep thinking about your future. It doesn’t help that the night before you had a dream about holding a baby and it smiling up at you, curling it’s fist around your finger.

Jake nods, pulling away from the curb, “Still haven’t decided?” He asks.

You shake your head. You always thought this decision would be an easy one. Sure, you want kids. But you had always pictured that being much further down the line. You hadn’t ever pictured your kid being fathered by your brother’s best friend either.

“If you keep it, you have to tell Dad,” Jake points out, his eyes still pointed calmly towards the road. That’s not fair. Your Dad isn’t the calmest at the best of times. “He’ll know you had sex.”

“I think he knows his kids are sexually active, Jake. We’re not little kids anymore.” You rest your temple against your fist. It’s a pretty gloomy day. Makes sense.

“He wouldn’t let Lauren’s husband sleep in the same room as her for thanksgiving.” Jake points out. You’re screwed. Lauren’s your oldest sister, and your dad has always been most strict with her and you. Jake and Beth always get away with the most. You wish you were a middle child too.

“Do you think I’d be an idiot to keep it?” You fiddle with your hands. You can’t bare to look at Jake’s face, fearing that he might say yes. Jake glances across at his baby sister. Always so strong and capable. He purses his lips.

“I don’t think you’d be an idiot,” He decides eventually, you lift your head to look at him finally. He shrugs his shoulders, “But I do think it’s going to be harder than you realise.”

You nod. That makes sense.

“But, you’ve got me.” Jake promises. He shoots you a soft smile. “Whatever you decide, kid.”

You let out a breath.

That helps. You wonder if your parents will disown you over this. It’s a possibility. Your dad’s running for local council in Austin — it doesn’t look great to have a daughter in college having a kid with someone she barely knows.

Jake waits in the car for your appointment. You wish he could come in with you. Well, actually, you wish someone would just give you the right answer. Tell you what to do.

You don’t know what you’re so nervous about. This is just a consultation. Just to confirm your pregnancy and talk about your options.

Yet, here you are, stuttering your way through your medical history.

“Have you ever been pregnant before?” The nurse asks. You shake your head quickly.

“N-No.”

She’s nice, and friendly. She makes it as easy as it can be. But it’s still not easy. The consultation takes just over an hour. Jake sits and plays on his phone until the battery is almost dead.

He flinches as the car door opens, dropping his phone, losing his chance at beating his high score. He tilts his head, craning forwards to see your face as you slip into the passenger seat.

“So?” Jake prods. He sits up a little straighter and half turns to face you. “How did it go?”

“I’m definitely pregnant.” You breathe out. You rub your temples. Jake nods, he has already come to terms with this much. You bite your cheek, tapping your foot nervously.

He waits.

“I think I want to keep it.” You admit.

Jake claps his hands together. You look up and he’s smiling. Mostly so that he doesn’t freak out and scare you into changing your mind.

“Holy shit.” He breathes out. You truly can’t tell if he’s wincing or grinning but he sounds excited. “I’m going to be an uncle!”

He leans across the console and hugs you tight. You sigh softly, squeezing him. You don’t know what you would do without him.

“Holy shit,” This time he says it more quietly as he pulls back to look at you. “You’re going to be a mom.”

You will yourself not to start crying again.

“You’re going to have to let the dad know. Common courtesy to send a text if you’re bringing someone’s child into the world, I think.” Jake decides as he turns his attention to the road and pulls out of his parking space.

You sit back in the seat and realise you don’t even have Bradley’s number. You’re going to have his baby and you don’t have his phone number. Instagram.

You tilt your phone away from Jake and search. You have plenty of mutuals, including your older brother. You find him easily.

He’s not on private. It’s mostly pictures of game days, parties, pictures with his friends. Frat boy stuff. He has a story. You feel weird for a second about watching it — since you don’t follow him. You figure you’re probably past worrying about creeping him out by now.

You click on it. 3m ago. You recognise the view in the picture.

“Could you drop me off at the library?” You blurt out. Jake glances across at you and frowns.

“Our library? Like UVA’s library?” Jake asks.

“Yeah.” You don’t have an excuse yet. You squint. Jake watches you try to think of something, while he tries to maintain and eye on the road.

“Does he go to my school? — Do I know him?” Shit, he’s so on to you. You debate telling him now. He’ll have to find out one day.

“No, you don’t know him.” You lie. You hope he can’t tell. You remember the guy who wouldn’t leave you alone at the Halloween party, before Bradley. You know Jake saw you talking to him earlier in the night. “It was at your Halloween party. The tall guy. From the other frat.”

Jake’s jaw hangs open, “That guy?”

He makes a displeased face. You wince. This is going to be so much worse if he finds out the truth.

“My niece or nephew is going to be 50% that guy?” Jake complains. Your brows furrow. That’s what he’s worried about right now?

“Just — library. Please.” You sigh.

Jake doesn’t argue with you. He does, however, keep looking across at you and wondering what he did wrong in teaching you about guys for you to choose to reproduce with that guy.

“Should I come in with you?” Jake asks. You scoff, already half way out of the passenger side by the time he has put the handbrake on.

“No! I’ll walk back to your place. I’ll see you later!” You can’t risk him seeing you with Bradley. Especially not if this goes as badly as you’re expecting it to, you don’t want Jake trying to kill him in the history section.

You jog up the first three flights of stairs, then realise that you should make the most of being able to jog while you still can. In a couple of months, you’ll be waddling.

You’re having a crisis about that when you catch a glimpse of him. You crane your neck. He’s sitting at one of the desks, but his chair is pushed back really far. You lean forwards for a better look, craning your neck further.

Then you realise why his chair is pushed so far back. There’s a girl standing between his knees. He’s smiling at her, they’re talking about something you can’t hear.

No wonder he’s in the library all the time if this is what he calls studying. You debate just walking back down the stairs and leaving. Then, the girl smiles and turns away, nodding.

You wait for her to leave before you step out from behind the column and start towards him. Bradley’s already looking back down at his notes. He doesn’t notice you until you’re standing beside his desk.

He looks up and frowns immediately.

“Hi.” You say softly.

“Hey.” Bradley answers, confused and clearly not thrilled to see you. “How’s it going?”

“Can I talk to you about that, actually?” You push your hands into your pockets. Bradley glances around, half expecting Jake to rush him at any second.

“Well, um, I’m kinda busy, so…”

You bite your cheek and nod your head. So busy flirting with that pretty girl. “This’ll just take a sec. I promise.”

Bradley taps his pencil impatiently on his notebook and motions for you to sit down. “Alright. Shoot.”

You sit on the edge of the desk in front of him. You need to be close enough so that he can hear you without you having to raise your voice.

“You remember Halloween?”

“Vaguely.” He answers dully. You squint. His tone would suggest that he’s already mad at you — what does he have to be mad about?

“Okay, well,” You shake your head, trying to find the words to say. “Do you remember the conversation we had, right before, about the…”

You glance around and lower your voice to a whisper, “Condom?”

Bradley scrunches his brows closer together.

“Shit, careful.” You scolded, pushing yourself up onto your elbows and grabbing the foil package out of his hands. Bradley frowned, not understanding the issue.

The issue, being that he was trying to open the condom like a caveman and the latex just made a snapping sound. You inspect it. Bradley leans forwards and drops his mouth down to your neck, peppering kisses along your jaw, your throat, down onto your collarbones.

“It’s fine.” He says softly, reaching between the two of you and taking it from your hands. You close your eyes and hum softly as his mouth works at your neck. You nod your head.

Bradley squints.

“Well, I’m — fuck, this is scary.” You breathe out. “I’m pregnant. It’s yours.”

He stares at you. For too long.

He raises his eyebrows and looks around him. You’re confused.

“This is a joke, right?” He checks, still looking around him. “What, did Jake make you do it to fuck with me?”

Jake knows how weird Bradley is with family stuff. Bradley’s the only person who stays at the house during Christmases. He doesn’t ever talk about back home. Jake’s never heard him talk about anything to do with his future other than flight school.

“No, I’m serious,” You answer him sheepishly, fiddling with your hands. “I just got back from the doctor.”

You reach into your bag and pull out your paperwork copy, setting it down on the desk in front of him. He sits forward and looks down at the page. There’s today’s date. There’s your name. There it is. Pregnant. Approx six weeks.

He sits back again and goes back to staring at you. He scoffs. Shakes his head. Then laughs. You frown slightly. He laughs in your face.

“Look,” He leans forwards slightly and looks around, “I have no idea what you’re trying to pull right now — but whatever it is, I’m not interested. I’m not having a kid.”

You swallow, willing yourself not to cry. This bundle of nerves needs to stop playing with your emotions. You refuse to let him see you cry.

Bradley stares at you. His expression is cold.

“Figure your shit out,” He says softly, his tone deadly serious, “And leave me out of it.”

“B-But-“

“I’m done talking.” Bradley interrupts. He looks back down at his work. You push yourself up, grab your bag and take the paperwork back. You wonder if he’s as emotional as this kid seems to be because you’re just about to choke up.

He glances up at you. It’s clear in his expression that he finds you pathetic right now.

You swallow the lump in your throat and stand upright.

“I’m keeping it.” You say softly. You turn away before you start bawling in front of him. Bradley watches you head for the elevator, his gaze burning into your back.

He squeezes the pencil in his hand, biting the inside of his cheek. He sits there, seething, until the pencil gives under the pressure, wood splintering out onto the desk.

You walk all the way back to Jake’s place holding in tears. Your eyes burn from blinking them back. Your throat’s sore from trying not to sob.

Jake’s on the couch as you get inside. He turns and looks at you. Just one look at the look on your face and he knows that he’s got an ass to beat. You start crying, knowing that he can tell you just got your feelings hurt.

Jake’s getting used to the tears now, they don’t phase him as much as they did when he first found out. You’re glad, because you hate being fussed.

“Stay here,” Jake stands up and hops over the back of the couch. “I’ll handle this. Is he still there?”

You sniffle and grab his shirt, shaking your head, “Don’t. It’ll make it worse.” Plus, you can’t exactly let Jake go and beat up the wrong guy. You have half a mind to just tell Jake the truth, let Bradley suffer the consequences.

But you would have to suffer them too.

“He was such a dick.” You whimper softly. Jake sighs and hugs you gently. “He wants nothing to do with me, and- and-“

You whimper, trying not to break down completely.

“Let me kick his ass.” He responds. You smile, sniffling against his shoulder. You shake your head at him and wipe your eyes.

“Could you just drive me home please?” You say softly.

“You sure? You could stay here? — I’ll stay in Bradley’s room with him.” Jake notices the way your face hardens when he mentions Bradley, but let’s it go. It’s been a long day and he doesn’t have time to worry about the fact you find one of his friends hot.

“I need to be alone for a bit.” You breathe. Jake nods. He’s pretty sure he would be freaking out even more than you are right now. So, like a good big brother, he drives you home and makes sure you’re settled in and safe — he tells you that he’s always going to be here for you and tadpole, no matter what.

Then, on the drive home, he calls Bradley to tell him to grab some shoes because they have an ass to beat. It goes straight to voicemail. Jake figures he’s at the gym, he’ll catch him at home.

Then, when Jake makes it home, Bradley’s still not there. He considers rallying the other guys, but they always cause too much of a scene. Jake just needs someone to watch his back whilst he goes and explains to this kid that he needs to grow a pair and step up.

Jake tries Bradley’s number again. Voicemail. He shakes his head and walks up to his room. He waits, tossing a ball at the ceiling and catching it. His door is open so that he can see when Bradley arrives.

Jake heard him before he sees him. The front door slams. Heavy footsteps in the hall, on the stairs. Jake sits up, brows furrowed as he watches Bradley. Face stern, stomping towards his room.

“Hey, where’ve you been? — I tried calling you like—“

“Library.” Bradley answers, he shoves open the door to his room without looking at Jake. He can’t stand seeing that smug fucking smile.

“Oh, okay.” Jake answers, still confused about who pissed in his cornflakes. Bradley’s door slams behind him. Jake rolls his eyes. He lays back down and grabs his ball. He toys with it between his fingertips.

It hits him like a tonne of bricks. He shoots upright and looks across the hall at Bradley’s door.

…

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