#Sorry for a long speech.. I am a very nervous person today

[ebonytails]

Hey everyone! this is where the zebra is currently with the design.

It has knee braces!! I will most probably be drawing the zebra usually with them on, but it’s no requirement, for example if anyone else wants to draw the zebra :-]. I always like to make sure an animal design has official colors underneath any clothing and accessory anyway. I think this will be final! thank you everyone for your feedback!

As a reminder, aside from why the zebra was requested for this flag, this is also just a zebra with the disability pride flag on it. It’s just a deisgn to fit the flag, with input from other disabled people in our community. It doesn’t mean other animals can’t have designs with these colors, too! I don’t mean this design to be the only mascot for all disabled people. It’s just a silly series i do of pride animals, and at the time, during disability pride month, I wanted to see what everyone wanted me to start off with for this flag!

the goal with my pride animals is to take requests and make people feel happy and seen.. that’s all <:-)

[jasmyluv]

042. An end of another chapter with you

wc: 1075

Graduation.

A day most people either dread or dream of their whole high school life, you included.

A few weeks ago, you got called to the principal’s office for the first time, to everyone's surprise. It wasn’t long till a rumor of you doing something bad spread like wildfire. Were you expelled? Suspended? Caught doing who knows what?

Quite the opposite actually. You sit on the chair in front of the principal, nervously waiting for what he has to say.

“Ms. [Last name], I’m sorry if I excused you from your class, but I think you’re going to want to hear this.”

Huh?

“What is it, sir?” You ask eagerly. Is it what you think it is?

“I am proud to say that you, [Name] [Last name], is this batch’s valedictorian for Academic Year 2022 to 2023. Congratulations,” he says with a wide smile on his face.

Yes.

Finally, you achieved what you’ve been dreaming all your life, to hear your name with valedictorian is something that you have been waiting for. It is to this that the sleepless nights are worth it. You wanted to jump up and down and squeal, but you needed to keep your composure.

“I see! Thank you, sir! Now, if I may, I will need to go to class now,” You say hurriedly, standing up out of excitement.

“Well, alright. Please prepare your valedictorian speech for graduation. Congratulations again,” You smile at the words that came out of his mouth. You quickly speed-walked to class, entering it as if nothing happened.

Now, here you were, awaiting for your name to be called, your hands, shaking. You couldn’t explain how nervous you were, you forgot that you hated speaking in front of large crowds.

“Please welcome [Name] [Last name], your Academic Year 2022 to 2023 batch’s valedictorian,” the speaker called as everyone clapped and cheered. This was the moment you’ve been waiting for all your life. Holy shit, this is actually happening.

You walk to the podium, your speech in your hand and a mic in front of you.

“Hello everyone. Welcome to my batch’s graduation ceremony. I would first like to say that I am proud of each and every graduate here today. I can not express how I’m so happy to have been with every single one of you throughout my journey through high school. The only reason why I am here is because of the unrelenting support of my friends and family, I can not thank them enough. As they know, I’m not the best at speaking in front of large crowds, much less the parents and loved ones of many graduates. So, I will be using a trick that I learned from a show called “Young Sheldon”, to only deliver that speech to this one person.

To this person, I know you know who you are. You have taught me to be the best version of myself in the very short period of time that we have been together. You were there when I cried because there were times I couldn’t do it anymore. You were there when I was at my happiest. You were there when I was just there. We’ve competed with each other many times over grades, scores, and who can finish their research paper the fastest. But, I wouldn't trade it for even the most expensive diamond in the world. This person taught me to just be myself, to be happy. I know it’s such a silly phrase, cliché maybe. But, you taught me that to be happy is the best thing that you can do in this world full of unending consequences and the worst things you couldn’t even believe happens. You taught me to just be happy through it all because you can’t control fate, so you just let it happen.

To be happy is to be the best, your best, you said. Soon, if you just keep smiling and look at the better side of things, then you’ll be happier than you were before. Sure, you will cry, get angry, fear many things, but know that all of that is temporary. Soon, you will find that something that will make you smile. Soon, you will find that someone who you will giggle about just thinking about them. And, do not get me wrong, maybe it will take years until you find it, but when you will, you will be happier than you ever were before. So, if any one of my fellow graduates aren’t at your happiest right now, know that you will get through this feeling, know that you will feel better because I can’t even begin to think what every single one of us will be doing in the future. So, just as a very popular artist once said, as long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out (Swift, 2022). Believe me, we will get through it. Thank you and have a good day,” as you walked to the place where the graduates were, behind the podium, everyone stood up and clapped, some of the graduates even teared up at your speech. You look at the person who you dedicated your speech to, Scaramouche, you smile as your heart flutters with excitement.

After the graduation, you met up with your friends, exchanging “congratulations” with each other.

“Oh my God, [Name]! That was the best best speech I have ever heard in my entire life! It almost made me cry!” Yoimiya exclaims as she hugs you.

“Haha! Thanks, Yoi,”

“[Name], I have a question,” Ayaka says.

“Go for it,”

“Who did you dedicate your speech to?” She asks, everyone looking at you as they await your response.

“Well-“

“[Nameee],” a male voice cuts you off, you immediately recognize who it is. You turn around and smile at the sight. Scaramouche with a bouquet of roses in his hands, covering himself with them.

“Speak of the devil. Kunii! How are you, my love? Did you cry at my speech?” You ask as he gives you the flowers. You friends finally know who your speech was about. So, they leave you two alone.

“Cocky of you to think I’d cry. I’m alright, congratulations [Name],” he says. He most certainly did cry. You hug him tight. “Thanks, Kuni, love you,” your words were muffled, but he still heard it, nonetheless. He hugs you back, returning the “I love you.”

- College -

previous :: MASTERLIST

Of all people… - scaramouche x fem!reader smau

SYNOPSIS When you, a student who finds her best friend admits the terrors of high school. A best friend who’ve you’d hated ever since he left. Of all people, why was he the one to make you swoon, a person you swore to hate?

Fun facts!

Albedo was the salutatorian

yes that's trade L

[Name]'s pfp is my dog :))

The speech is inspired by young sheldon HUJEWUHAHA

Tag list;

@yourstrulykore @sakiimeo @ttoshiiroz @lxry-chxn @stopandget-help @r0ttenhearts @h-8chi @thenightsflower @killuixz @linn-a-a @vodkistt @raideneiari @yuyan @layla240 @barbatosfavouritenun @plinkuro @taikabae @beriiov @ghostxrism @rifran @elakari @kairxse @belovedxiao @alwaysmentallyill @mellowknightcolorfarm @xingyunclouds @scooofyaei @nambii @scaraapologist @samyayaya @kunikuzushisbeloved @dee-zbignuts @kaekazuha04 @monochromaticelliot @erosdevil @wisteriarain @kaoyamamegami @dazaiswifenicole @phoenix-eclipses @vivinsoul @vuvulia @r4yyyyy @cinnamontimecrunch @whatamidoing89 @aludicpoet @cindywasneverhere @vvasant @st0pthatsgay @kxr0mi @divinechicha @sketcheeee @wonderful-worlds

A/n:

the long awaited last chapter!!!! kinda sad it's ending since I've been doing this series since november 2022. Thank you to everyone who supported this series, I hope you loved it as much as I loved making it!! Get ready for more fics and Call you mine to come <3

[weirdmorefics]

Hi! Could you do a Derek Morgan! Daughter reader (maybe 5/6) where reader has a speech ampendament and one day Derek is on a case late so reader has to stay in day care longer and the unsub (let’s say he goes after people who suffer from speech problems because he also suffered from them) gets reader

Being Late Is Never Good

x Daughter!Reader

A/N- Fun Fact I use to have a speech impediment from talking around a pacifier until I was five.

Warnings- Kidnapping, drowning

Pronouns- She/Her

Word Count- 862

Summary- The reader waits for her Dad to pick her up from preschool like usual but he is late, leading to a series of bad events.

Tic Tok... Tic Tok... Tic Tok

Ugh, Dad is never this late he at least has Auntie Pen pick me up if he can’t come. I groan loudly and slump on the bench by the principal's office. My groan catches the attention of a teacher I’ve never seen.

“Why so blue?” he frowns.

“My Dad i-is is late, a-and I have spee-speech doc-doctor today.” I close my eyes tight trying to focus on my words so I stutter less but it is always worse with strangers.

“Let me check in with the principal and see if your Dad has called?” The teacher smiles.

I wait and kick my feet out of boredom but the teacher doesn’t take long at all. 

“Your Dad said he couldn’t make it and that he is on a case but I came up with a solution. I can just drive you home,” He says excitedly.

“Umm, my Dad said I can’t go w-with strangers,” I respond fiddling with my hands.

He bends down to my height and holds out his hand “My name is Mr. Smith and I am a substitute teacher. See now we are not strangers.”

“I guess we ar-aren't strangers now,” I nod, jump off the bench, and grab his hand.

I follow him to the car and he buckles me up in the backseat in a booster seat. 

“Do you h-h-ave any kids?” I ask

He laughs very loud and it kinda creeps me out “ I would never have kids! Having kids is the cruelest thing you can do! I would never subject them to the torture of other children.”

“Um, that’s a lot of b-big w-words, Mister,”  I say getting more nervous by the second.

“Don’t worry, you will never have to go through the hell I went through.” He says determinedly.

“Um, my Dad s-said you a-are not su-su-supposed to say the H word,” I mutter.

“YOUR DAD KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE US!” He shouts. I reach for the car door handle but the doors all lock, “Don’t worry this will all be over soon.”

Third Person POV

“Hey Baby Girl where is Y/N,” Derek asks Penelope as he walks into her office.

Garcia quickly turns around in her chair, “You’re joking right?”

Derek gets a serious look on his face, “Baby doll you know I am not.”

Garcia stands up quickly “But the school called me and told me your plane got in early so I didn’t need to get her!”

“Did you recognize their voice or even their name! Penelope, how could you be so stupid? You know the kind of job we do you know we have to double-check everything!” Derek groans running his hands over his head.

Garcia looked almost in tears “I’m sorry Derek I wasn’t thinking! I was so busy with the case report that when the teacher called I was just grateful I didn’t have to pick her up and could finish my report on time.”

“So you are saying a report is more important than Y/N!” He shouts

“That’s not what I am saying at all you are just taking your stress out on me! Now is not the time for that though we have to find Y/N!” Garcia shouts to get Derek’s attention.

“You’re right you’re right. Let’s trace the number that called you.”

Your POV

“WHERE ARE Y-Y-YOU TAKING ME!” I shout as this man drags me out of the car. I bet his real name isn’t even Mr. Smith.

“We will cleanse you in the waters and then you no longer have to be stuck in this cruel world.” He says with joy on his face.

“No! L-le-let me gooo I-I don’t wa-want to leave my my dad!” I shout trying my best to get out of his grasp.

“You’re Dad will never understand us! He will beat you until you blend in with all the other kids!” He says as he tightens his grasp on me.

“MY MY DAD W-WOULD NA-NEVER HURT ME!”

“YOU ARE JUST FOOLING YOURSELF! I AM SAVING YOU! Now close your eyes and relax.” He yells and then turns his voice into a soothing one as he plunges me into the cold water.

I tried to hold my breath as long as I could but eventually, I had to give in and I took one big last breath as I feel the water enter my lungs someone pulls me out.

I am swallowed in darkness for what feels like forever but a nagging pressure on my chest keeps dragging me out. The darkness feels so warm but I don’t want to leave my Dad. I won’t leave my Dad. My eyes shoot and I wake up choking on water. I am surrounded by my family and Uncle Hotch is trying to tear Uncle Spence off of Mr. Smith. As soon as I stop choking on the water I am pulled into the tightest hug my dad has ever given me. 

“Starting tomorrow you are going to the best most secure private school.” He says with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. 

I smile and hug him back “Whatever you say, Dad.”

Support Me Here

[the-amazing-simp]

Heyy, I’d love to ask for your 500 follower celebration a speak now with Eduardo Saverin of Enemies to lovers trope

Thank you so much for requesting this! I'm sorry it took so long 😅 Also, I know this may not be my best work but school has been really exhausting so I tried my best

my 500 celebration is now over!

Heated Arguments | Eduardo Saverin

You heaved a sigh as you continuously tapped the pen at the edge of the desk you were sitting on.

You never knew that coming up with an argument for a debate would be this hard. What makes it worse? You were up against your public enemy number one (and probably crush): Eduardo Saverin.

Aside from the fact that this debate contributed to 40% of your final grade, you also wanted to win this so you could rub it in his smug face. 

“So,” You didn’t notice your best friend walking into the dorm, “how’s the speech going?” 

Not looking up at her, you continued to jot down notes, “Good so far, hopefully it’ll be enough for tomorrow.” 

“How’re you feeling?” Y/B/F/N then asked, giving you a look that meant she already knew the answer. 

“Honestly?” You asked to which she nodded, “A bit nervous. What if I can’t answer any POIs or rebuttals?” 

“It’s okay to feel nervous, that’s natural. But I’m sure that you’ll do amazing!” Y/B/F/N reassured you.

“Really?” You asked. 

She nodded, “Positive.” 

You sighed, glancing at your speech, “Do you think I’ll be able to win against Eduardo?” 

“You can.” She said, “The two of you are both smart and top of our class. But, I believe in you. Besides, you’re scary when you’re trying to argue about something. I don’t think Eduardo would stand a chance.” 

The two of you laughed, “I’m not that scary. You’re just exaggerating.” 

She rolled her eyes, “I’m not! If you don’t believe me then feel free to ask any other person in our class.” 

“Whatever.” You countered, turning your attention back to your speech.

–

Today was the day. Six chairs were placed in front of the room, two on each side of the teacher’s desk.

“Ready to lose, L/N?” A voice asked, making you turn around. 

Eduardo stood behind you the smuggest grin he could muster, making you more motivated to slap that grin off his face and bring him down.

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same.” You retorted, returning the smile.

“In your dreams.” Eduardo tsked, “I have the winning side, you’ll have a hard time defending yours.”

“Please,” you gave a humorless laugh, “once we’re done I’m pretty sure you’d wish I’d just gone to law school instead.”

“You wish.” He said before the two found their way to their seats as the debate began

—

“May the two houses now cross the line and shake hands?” Your professor, also the adjudicator, had spoken once the opposition whip had given his speech.

You and Eduardo met in the middle of the imaginary line, a silent challenge passing between the two of you as you gripped each other’s hand tightly before returning to your seats to receive the feedback.

“Now, where to begin.” Your Professor mused as she shuffled through her notes, “Okay so, first of all, both sides gave very solid and convincing arguments, and I am honestly having a hard time deciding the winner.”

She then proceeded to give individual feedback to each of the speakers present before clearing her throat to announce the winner.

“Like I said earlier, this is a really hard decision but I have to give the win to the Government side.”

Your team erupted in cheers while you looked over at Eduardo with a triumphant smile, to which he just rolled his eyes.

—

Your idea of celebrating your win only consisted of microwave ramen and a good book but your roommate/best friend obviously had other plans.

“Was this really necessary?” You asked as she downed her drink.

“Of course it is.” She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Any time you beat Eduardo is worth celebrating.”

“Mhm.” You replied as you went to grab your coat.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

Giving her a small smile, you answered, “Just out for a walk.”

The winter air of December met you as soon as you opened the door exiting the dormitories. 

“Leaving your own party so soon?” The voice of the person who sent butterflies to your stomach reached your ears.

Turning around, Eduardo was leaning against the wall, familiar black coat protecting him from the cold.

“That surprised?” You questioned, walking towards him.

A small smile formed on his lips, “Knowing you? Not really.”

“How about you?” You said, “Shouldn’t you be somewhere with Mark doing whatever you two do on a daily basis.” 

“And what if I wanted to spend time with you?” He countered. 

“Then what’s stopping you?” You stopped, both your faces inches away from each other.

“The fear of rejection when I want to kiss you.” He answered so nonchalantly it made you wonder whether he was joking or not.

Eduardo’s cheeks suddenly turned a pinkish hue as he stuttered over his words, “I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Not that I would be opposed to kissing you and all but-”

Whatever he would’ve said next was interrupted when you tiptoed and pressed your lips to his.

“Wow.” He breathed out afterwards with a smile, “Always trying to oneup me aren’t you?” 

General:

@rogueharrington, @hunnybunimdun, @andrewgarfield2022, @jasmin7813, @andrewgarfieldsbae, @spxiiee, @shaded-echoes, @holy-macncheese-balls, @mcugeekposts, @dwindlinghaze, @anonyymoouussssss

[tadahoni]

Seeing Scales, Part 7 MASTERLIST

Heyyyy everyone! I first want to express how sorry I am for not updating this story in months. I’ve been at school, and I just recently got my life to calm down, and I’m starting to enjoy writing again. I reread the previous parts to this story and it made me a little giddy inside, and I realized that if I were a reader I’d want an update ASAP. so here goes! I hope to finish this story in the summer, so stay tuned! I am ALSO sorry that this chapter is so quick, but it's very important to the story ;)

Warnings: angst....

YOUR POV

Breakfast was exhilarating, to say the least.

You and Bruno had been purposefully seated next to each other at the long table, and it was during the speech that the newlyweds gave where you realized that the entire Madrigal family was in on this thing with you and Bruno.

Every time the couple would mention something about being in love or happy together, you’d catch a glance from one or more of the family members. Even later on when the table joked over breakfast about consummating the marriage, Isabela nudged you slightly.

All the while, Bruno seemed to be oblivious to the digs made at the two of you. He also seemed to be oblivious on how to act subtle.

He seemed a bit more confident today, maybe it was dance you two shared last night, but he asked how you slept and how you were doing. When he stood up to get something from the table he asked you, and only you, if you needed anything. As he walked away from the table, all eyes were on you.

After breakfast, Alma told her family that a day off would do them well. You thought it might have been since about half of the family was hungover, including the matriarch herself, but you were glad to see the family get a chance to relax.

The Sobrinas agreed to leave you alone about Bruno for today, but only if you promised to take at least one step further. You hated making a possibly empty promise, but you agreed.

After a quick soak in the tub, you dried off and got changed for the day, and as if on cue, a knock made Bruno’s presence known.

“Hola, Y/N,” he spoke shyly, as if he were a child that did something wrong.

“Hey, Bruno,” you replied, closing your dresser doors. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if… uh…” he scratched the back of his neck, and you could tell he was struggling with his words. “If… there’s this place.. it’s uh… would you want to…?”

“Wherever it is, I’d love to go,” you finished for him, placing a hand on his shoulder. His cheeks got a bit dark, yet he smiled and turned to leave, but not before offering his hand for you to hold, to which you gladly accepted.

BRUNO’S POV

Either Y/N had decided to ignore it, or she didn’t notice at all, but Bruno was off the walls nervous. He had to assume the former, because there was no way that she wouldn’t have been able to notice.

Bruno had been planning this trip since after the dance they shared. How he would ask her, how he would go about taking her, and what he would do when he arrived at the river. He was up for most of the night, even practicing how he would ask with his rats.

But all of the meticulous planning was thrown out the window when he saw the look on her face as the two approached the Guayabera.

He watched Y/N’s eyes sparkle as the sun appeared out from the curtains of tree leaves, and he saw her smile in awe at the colors of the flora surrounding the rushing stream. He knew Y/N would love this. As a fisherman’s daughter, she had to love water, and this was the most beautiful water he had ever encountered. Just as she were the most beautiful person he had ever encountered.

“So… this is where I come to think sometimes,” he finally explained, motioning to a boulder nearby that had withered itself away to a flat slab of rock. Y/N took this as an invitation to sit, and Bruno followed.

“It’s beautiful,” she noted, cris-crossing your legs and taking in the sights of the water. “I guess I never really got a good look at it before.”

“You’ve been here before?”

Y/N cleared her throat quickly. “Yeah, I saw it on my way in.”

Bruno nodded. He knew that if she wanted to share anything about her journey, she would, and that he had no business to pry, but he was still a bit curious on how she ended up here.

"I'm really glad I ran into your family," Y/N's voice brought Bruno out of his thoughts and drove his focus towards her. He was bashful to see that she was doing the same to him.

"I'm glad you came to us as well," he replied, deciding to make a move. He went to take both of her hands, but noticed the amount of sweat that had gathered there. He nonchalantly wiped them on his ruana, then took hold of her hands.

"Y/N, I know we haven't known each other for long, but I feel as if there's something... that's vague... sorry I- ahem." Bruno looked nervous on the outside, yes, but on the inside it was much worse, as if a fire had gone off in his brain and all of his brain cells were running for cover.

"Okay, let me try again." He gained his composure, sat up straight, and looked at Y/N. He was eternally grateful that she didn't act like she saw a crazy, sweating mess. She was so patient with him, allowing him to gather himself, and that's just one more thing that Bruno was falling for her over.

"Y/N, you have completely changed the way I see things. I used to see everything as a threat, a worst case scenario, and I would just spiral, and that wasn't the way I wanted to live. But then I met you, and I realized that I was myself most often when I was with you. And I know we haven't known each other for long, but I was wondering, if you'd want to go on a date sometime?"

Y/N's eyes reflected off of the beautiful river. She looked like an angel, and Bruno was so confident that he had done well based on her expression.

But...

"Bruno, I really appreciate you, and I've been feeling the best I ever have felt in these days with you... But I haven't... ugh... I..."

Bruno's brow furrowed. His heart broke in two. She looked like she was struggling to choose.

But whatever decision had entered her mind involved getting up from the rock and running back in the direction of the Casita.

~~

Bruno stayed on that rock for the rest of the day and into night, watching the fish pass by in the stream and the butterflies flutter across his vision.

How could someplace so beautiful be ruined for him? Bruno was almost certain that he had made an impression on her, or at least grabbed her attention in some way. The same way that she grabbed his. But he realized that it was just the norm- he was Bad Luck Bruno, and she didn't see him any differently.

Moping around in the dark wouldn't do Bruno any good, so he decided to head back to Casita. The path back to his room seemed longer this time, especially as some townfolk tried to talk to him before seeing the life drained from his eyes and leaving his negative energy to keep trudging up the hill.

He walked up the stairs to his home, continued to the door of his room, then stopped. He wondered if he should go to Y/N's room and apologize for any abruptness or awkwardness he had caused today. He took a look behind him, but then decided to let it be.

Or, rather, Casita decided to let it be, because a tile rattled underneath his feet and pushed him straight into his door with a thunk.

"Aye, alright, Casita."

He opened the door to his room, stepped through the sand falling softly to the ground, and looked up.

Now, he lived in quite the oasis, a beautiful waterfall with wildlife teeming at the moat around it.

But something was off, and it wasn't hard for Bruno to put together that he had never, ever seen a fish person standing in his room before.

taglist: @eevee-133 @janora00 @alexloveskil @confusedparticle @prefesro @ihavenoideawhatiamdoinghelp @lunar-archangel @lostgirl-28 @willowtree42095 @jessicarosequinzelfleck @thatawkwardmadrigal @dos-oroguitas @zavagebaby @humblechumbble @octo-octopie

[zombies-aliens]

So today at work got me thinking about myself. I was being helped by a funny coworker and she likes to have fun on the job and laugh and it's cool and all with me, I don't mind that whatsoever who doesn't like to have fun and laugh, but it kind of held a mirror to me of how tense I am. All I can do is smile and laugh and make a few comments and ask questions. But I don't joke back. You would think I didn't like her very much. I hope not though because it's not that I dislike my coworker it's just that I'm very tense and do not know how to relax. And it's kind of hard to relax at a stressful place like work where your brain and body have to be switched "on" all the time for hours on end. Even with two 15-minute breaks and an hour's lunch, it can be taxing. At least for me and what I have to do.*

But I feel like I'm too tense by default whenever I'm interacting with people even just one. I'm terrible with crowds too. All it takes is for a 3rd person to show up and it's a wrap for me I'm quiet you won't hear a peep out of me. Im just gonna be the guy who smiles, listens, and laughs at anything funny. I will not joke with them because I'm too tense to do it. I think I'm so tense that it effects my speech dude. Like I stutter a lot. I can still help people but man do I stutter. Some days it's worse than others and I keep tripping over my words and I sound like a nervous wreck. I get so embarassed and I can't even take a break I have to keep working. Sometimes the stress makes me wanna cry but I don't. A lot happens in a day at work like all that bullshit I have to go through but at the end of my shift I'm more calm (still tense but less) and by the time I'm in my car alone I can feel myself slowly relaxing and when I'm home I just can't wait to talk all about it to myself as I shower. Dude I'm so stressed I usually sing in the shower but instead I talk to myself about my day. I imagine I'm talking to someone who's listening. I'm sorry dude but at home I'm not good at being vulnerable because I'm a happy go lucky persona you could say, unless of course theres someone else in the house im not familiar with. I'm the type that doesn't really get sad I get quiet. I keep my pain to myself just because I don't know how to open. The fuck. up. I don't know how to DO IT. I've done it in therapy only once where I truly opened up and that was when I cried. I spoke from my emotions. And even tho I look back and wonder if what I said was off, I felt damn good that I did. But still, it wasn't about what I said it was about coming alive through my emotions which make me human. I felt like I ripped the band aid of figuratively speaking and let myself spill. I'd say the furthest I can get to opening up like that again is by talking but I'll filter my emotions through logic. It feels good too but it's not the same kind of release as that one time. It wouldn't need to be crying as long as it is an emotion I'm expressing. Honestly I feel like I'm dying or worse I feel like I'm suffocating when I'm not expressing my true self and my true thoughts and feelings. I'll say this: I can go through hell and I promise I'll live as long as I can talk about my experiences. Expressing myself is key. It's got to be. It just has to be. Because I just had a shit day today and I feel better now talking than I did when I left work FUCK YES THAT FELT GOOD AHHHHHHHHHH I GOT A LITTLE SMILE NOW

*( I have a new position at work where I'm running cases. That means I'm the only guy with keys who's opening cases for people to get their baby formula, their deodorant, their shampoo, their shaving stuff, energy drinks and coffee, and alcohol. And I think I missed one more but yeah. Other people help too but they have their own thing to do so help isn't available for the most part. It sounds easy on paper, but when the store is packed I am getting calls on my radio where I need to be everywhere at the same time, and I have to be there within 30 seconds or a minute - it's a medium-sized store. That's the part that stresses me out. It gets easier tho when it starts getting dark and fewer people show up so that's good. It's not pure stress all day. And I hate to sound like I'm complaining but I'm just telling you what goes on and that it gets hectic at times and then I got people who walk slowly and there's crowds I have to get through to get to another customer who needs my assistance. The customers are always patient tho. But I have to still be on time so I'm fast walking taking big steps. And coworkers could probably tell I'm stressed but then again I can't imagine what type of stress the people at customer service go through or the cashiers too. I've heard some of their stories in the breakroom and it's not pretty)

[hrh-prince-butt]

okay fine, guys! i wrote the fic (based on this post)

-

Oscar Diaz didn’t know who he had expected to find at his doorstep at 10 in the morning, but it probably wasn’t the prince of England. 

“Henry! What the hell are you doing here?”

He looked like he was about to throw up. Or shit himself. Either way, he definitely looked like someone whose nerves were about to manifest through one hole or another. 

“Mr. Diaz.” Henry’s tone was weirdly formal. He took a deep breath, and thankfully no shit or vomit came. “I’m here to ask for your blessing to marry your son.” 

-

Oh God, this was a terrible idea. Henry was in half the mind to just turn around and run. He should not have done this. Why had he done this? It wasn’t like he needed anyone’s blessing to marry Alex. 

Mr. Diaz didn’t say anything, which made it all worse. He just crossed his arms and regarded Henry with an utterly unreadable look. Oh, Henry felt like he was going to faint. Desperate to fill the silence, he kept talking: 

“I, er… I have been planning to propose for a while. Bought the ring a few weeks ago. I’m either going to do it in the garden by the White House where we had our first kiss, or at this really romantic spot we both like. Obviously the first option is more sentimental, but the other place is sort of secluded and there’s this beautiful lake and…” He was well aware that he was rambling like an idiot, but he wasn’t sure he could stop himself. “I know that asking for the father’s blessing is quite old fashioned, and also it’s usually the father of the future bride, but-”

“Ay, it’s too early in the day for this many words,” Mr. Diaz said, interrupting Henry’s mortifying ramblings. “You’re going to run out of air.” 

Henry nodded, weirdly grateful for the intervention, and nervously waited for whatever would come next. 

“You know, Henry… I just don’t know if I can give you my blessing.” 

Oh no. Oh dear. This was going even worse than Henry had imagined. He should just run. Maybe they didn’t have to invite Mr. Diaz to the wedding. No, was absurd. They couldn’t just not invite Alex’s dad. No, Henry would just have to avoid him, at the wedding and for the rest of his life. 

“Why don’t you come in and have a beer with me?”

That was the last thing Henry wanted right now but, in spite of his own wishes, his legs started moving, forcing him into Mr. Diaz’s living room. 

-

Oscar set two beers down on the table and sat down facing Henry, who looked like he was actually about to faint. 

Was he taking this too far? He had thought it would be fun to mess with the prince, but the poor guy looked ready to get up and bolt from here.

Ah, what the hell, he thought. You only have the fun you make for yourself. 

“So,” he said. “What makes you think you’re good enough to marry my son?”

Oscar did almost feel bad, seeing the look on Henry’s face. To his credit, Henry quickly recovered, and met Oscar’s eyes with regained resolution. 

“I don’t know if I am,” he said. “But I love Alex. I love him so much. And if he wants to marry me, I will do everything I can, every day, to be someone who is good enough for him.” 

Well, damn. “Yeah, well, you know what I think, Henry?”

Oscar leaned back in his seat and took a long swig of his beer. There was something almost satisfying about keeping Henry practically vibrating with anticipation. Just for dramatic effect, and to really drive the performance home, he set the beer down as slowly as humanly possible, before finally looking back at Henry. 

“I can’t wait to get the wedding invitation.”

-

Henry’s brain was definitely not processing whatever was happening, but Mr. Diaz held up his beer and gestured for him to do the same. He had seemed dead serious just a moment ago, but now he was… grinning? Henry’s hands caught up faster than his mind, and he held up his own beer, more as a reflex than because he actually understood what was happening, and Mr. Diaz clinked his bottle against Henry’s.

��Er… sorry?”

“You have my blessing, Henry!” Mr. Diaz said, as though it was obvious. As though that’s what he had been telling him all along. “Of course you do.”

Henry blinked, slowly. “But… But I thought you said…?”

Mr. Diaz laughed heartily. “I was messing with you. Jesus, you’re a bit slow today, eh?”

Henry could feel the embarrassment colour his face a bright shade of red. “RIght. Yeah, I… Sorry.” 

He went to take a sip of his beer, at the same time as Mr. Diaz went for a friendly - but strong - clap on his back, which resulted in Henry’s beer spilling down his own shirt. Christ, this was the most embarrassing day of his life. When would his suffering end?

“Listen, mijo.” Mr. Diaz put a hand on his shoulder, and Henry really tried not to tense up and make even more of a fool of himself. “I can’t think of a better person marrying my son. Ah, well, maybe a few. But my point is, I’m happy it’s you, because I know Alex will be happy with you. And I guess you’re not the worst son-in-law I could ask for, either.”

Henry smiled, finally allowing himself to be relieved. “Thank you, sir.”

“I mean, you are so much fun to mess with. Seriously, that was great. You should’ve seen your face.” He laughed, leaning back in his chair a little. His laugh reminded Henry of Alex’s, full and genuine, and quite infectious. “Honestly, this’ll be great stuff for my speech at the wedding. Maybe even a story for the grandkids, eh?” 

God, Henry was never going to live this down. He could already picture Alex laughing at him when he heard the story. Even without the part where Mr. Diaz had been messing with him, Alex would find it hilarious that Henry had even asked for his blessing in the first place. 

He was going to propose to Alex. Suddenly, it felt very real. Much more real than it had, even when he bought the ring. Perhaps even a little too real for Henry’s liking. 

“You’re making that face again, like you’re about to faint or something. Everything okay?” Mr. Diaz asked.

Henry swallowed nervously. “Do you think he’ll say yes?”

He didn’t know what kind of response he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for Mr. Diaz to burst out laughing. “Do I think Alex is gonna say yes when you propose to him? Jesus, Henry, do you even know the guy you’re marrying? Of course he is gonna say yes!”

When Henry still looked nervous, Mr. Diaz continued: “Alex loves you. It’s almost annoying. Whenever I speak to him it’s Henry this, Henry that. If you seriously think he might not want to marry you, you are an idiot.” 

Henry nodded, taking a deep breath. Yeah, he probably was an idiot, wasn’t he? “Mh. I think you’re right.”

“Yes, obviously. Now, c’mon, let’s have another toast.” Mr. Diaz raised his bottle again with a big smile. “To you and Alex. And to me, for blessing your union or whatever.” 

Henry grinned back. “To a very blessed union.”

[mendesblurb]

Rumour Has It

Shawn Mendes x female reader

Warning: fluff, maybe grammar error and maybe some punctuation errors.

Note: did not proofread this, so sorry about that. Hope you like it anon. Thank you so much for requesting ❤️😆….

It was your last day in Mallorca. The two of you were at a boat with some close friends to flim the last few scenes of the SOL music video.

As the filming wrapped up, Shawn suddenly asked for the whole boat’s attention as he pulled you to stand up, reaching into his pocket and feeling for something, before quickly grabbing your hand again. You look at him with a confused expression, but the look he sent you told you to not worry.

“Okay, dare I say I still get a little bit nervous around you. Get a little bit stressed out when I think about this moment but mostly get too excited. Y/N, I’m falling all in you. So there's nothing holdin' me back right now.”

Your friends chuckled lightly as he say the words, and taking a deep breath.

“Y/n, I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember. I can’t seem to write one song that’s not about you or for you. However, no song can ever justify how amazing you are and how in love I am with you but mostly I just can't imagine what my world would be like without you in it.”

Everyone couldn’t help but stare with teary eyes this time, but all you could let out was a small chuckle. You were smiling and tearing up as he continued talking.

“I knew that I just wanna be a part of your life whether as your friend or lover because I will never be able to forgive myself if I let someone like you walked out of my life. They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. I can safely say that I got all that and I am currently living the dream with you by my side.” He stopped for a second, taking a deep breath and trying his best not to tear up.

“After our third month anniversary I remember calling my Dad at around midnight and I said that I really wanna marry you. He said that it was too soon and he said I have to rethink everything, but I meant every word and until today I am still very much in love with you if not more. And I want to spend every single day of the rest of my life with you. So will you make me even happier than I already am and marry me?”

As Shawn finished his speech, he got down on one knee and got the ring out of his pocket, looking up at you with a smile. As tears stream down your face, you smile, nodding your head as he stands, bringing you into a hug.

As you pull apart, he slips the ring onto your finger before he reaches up and wipes your tears. You laugh, sniffling as he leans down and kisses you.

———————-

“I want you to clear something up for me because there’s all sorts of rumours flying around about Y/N’s recent TikTok video.” Jimmy said as he bring out a small black cupboard cut out your recent TikTok video.

So after what happened at Mallorca, aka your engagement; the news was kept a secret and neither of you confirm or deny the rumours. Of course your friends and Family knew the truth about the happy news but the two of you simply weren’t ready to tell the whole world.

Well, maybe until SOL was released and you wanted to show support via your TikTok account. But, that day you were less cautious so you forgot to take off your ring. Neither of you thought people would notice, but they did.

Shawn never thought of making a clarification here at the Fallon Show, while promoting his new song but here goes nothing.

It’s now or never. Deep down, he is so happy that he can finally brag about it to the whole world because he was always just one post away from sharing it to his social media while you were always the cautious one in the relationship. Not because you were ashamed or anything but more of keeping things private.

“So, Y/N did this TikTok video right?” Jimmy questions.

“Yep, TikTok is kinda like her thing now since the pandemic.” He giggled.

“Her dance was fabulous, but then look here. Looks like there’s a ring on that finger.” Jimmy continued as the camera zoomed on the cupboard cut out and bunch of ooohh was heard from the audience.

“Yeah, both of us are just excited to finally share the music.” He giggled as he try to deflect the question.

“Shawn…”

“Yes, jimmy?”

“You know, I gotta ask my friend.” Jimmy replied trying to hold back his laughter.

“I know what you’re gonna ask.” Shawn smiled shyly.

“So… did you asked Y/N Y/L/N to marry you?”

“Yeah, I did! And she said yes!” He blurred out quickly.

“Oh my god!! Please tell me more, I need details.”

“So, I have to say it was kinda hard to convince her that she should come to Mallorca too. Of course she wants to be there but it was the same time with her press tour. And so I had to call her manager and bunch of other people to make it possible.” He grinned before continuing.

“So if you guys saw the music video, there were a couple of scenes where we were all at a boat, and so it actually was a last minute arrangement so Y/N wouldn’t be suspicious. And so we flimed that first then I proposed after that. Lots of thing happened man, I mean I even almost lost the ring too and I somehow got bitten by a sea lice.”

The audience exclaimed a bunch of oohhh and sweet 'aw’ when they saw Shawn proudly showing the pictures on his phone and Jimmy was just widely smiling.

“I feel like time flew by so fast, last time both of you were here you were denying all dating rumours.” Jimmy said, “and now you are getting married to each other, this is the best news ever!”

“Yeah I was already so in love with her back then, now I just can’t wait to marry her,” He commented and nodding his head slowly.

“Do you know the wedding date?” Jimmy asked hesitantly, to which Shawn took another breath before replying.

“Yeah, we do,” he laughed nervously. “We are going to do it somewhere next year after Wonder tour ends.”

 “I’m so happy for both of you right now! I can only hope I will get an invitation.”

“Of course man, it would be great to have you.” Shawn smiled.

The rest of the interview was great. He talked more about both KESI and SOL, learning Spanish with you, how proud he is that your movie will be out soon, and how both of you have been quite busy with all the wedding planning.

Thank you for reading guys... feel free to like, reblog, follow my account, leave a comment and my chat is always open for random chats or requests... appreciate every single one of you... ❤️

Taglist: @monikamendes @holland-styles @bvttercupbby @lonelyreputation @badreputationlove @shawn-is-my-giant-jellybean @benito-mi-vida @swiftmendeshoran @yournameoneverypage @shawn-is-bruh @mendesbhraanth @perfectlywrongsm @imaginashawnns @smendes-forever @nervousmendes @whenyoureadyholland @shawn-youth @myboyshawn @camilalewiss @camilalewisss @theregoesmyherojd @nanijaac1 @shawnieeboyy @silverswallow @judeduarteripoff

[nashibirne]

Gimme Shelter - 7

Here it is, the last chapter of Gimme Shelter. It took me a while to write it, I kinda had a hard time to let Kat and Henry go... I'm going to miss them. I hope you like the ending I chose for these two. If so, please let me know by leaving a comment, reblog or like. Feedback is much appreciated. 💜

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC (Kat Spencer)

Words: ~ 4.5 k

Summary: Henry has to deal with a personal crisis and he finds shelter with his old rugby mate Sam and his sister Kat. She used to be Henry’s best friend a very long time ago. Will they be able to become friends again or maybe even more? Chapter 7: An important conversation, a celebration and lots of love.

You can find the previous chapters and my other fics on my masterlist!

Warnings: RPF, mention of mental health issues, smut, sex (p in v), vanilla, unprotected sex, nsfw, 18+, fluff

UNBETA'ED! English is not my mother tongue, so expect bad grammar, wrong spelling, chaotic punctuation and clumsy language. All mistakes are mine…

I got a little help with a certain paragraph, thank you so much @sillyrabbit81 for your advice and your support. Love ya 💕

Credits: Pics for the moodboard from Pinterest. Face claims: Kat = Jennifer Connelly

Disclaimer: I don’t know the real Henry Cavill or anyone who's related to him in any way, this is pure fiction and a lot of wishful thinking.

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen @a-little-counter-esperanto @starstruckkittyangel @mary-ann84 @sillyrabbit81 @emelinelovesjc @wheretheriversrunintothesea @lam0ureuxq @kingliam2019

Let the grand finale begin....

***********

"There's no need to be nervous, Kat."

Henry gave her a smile before taking a sip of his coffee.

They were sitting at their gate, waiting to board the plane that was going to fly them to Jersey.

"I know", Kat sighed, shaking her head slowly, "but I still am. I haven't seen your family in years, there will be so many people I don't know…"

"And they will love you. Look, Kitty, today is gonna be relaxed. You'll meet my parents, my brothers and their families and that's it. Just a casual dinner. Tomorrow there will be the celebration and I promise you it's gonna be great. My folks know how to party," he winked at her with a grin, "and on Sunday everyone except for my parents will be gone and we have a whole week to relax and just enjoy the island and our time together. Okay?"

"Okay," she smiled at him and took a bite of the muffin she had bought at one of the airport cafes, "I'll try to relax. Just distract me, tell me something... anything."

"That's the text for Instagram. The open letter to my fans and followers."

"Well, actually there's really something I want to talk to you about", Henry said reluctantly. He grabbed his phone and opened his google docs. "I need your opinion on this." He gave her his mobile.

Kat saw that the display showed a long text. "What's that?"

"I see," Kat chewed on her lip, looking him in the eyes, "and you want me to proofread it?"

"I want to know what you think about it."

"Alright. Let's see."

She stared at the words on the screen with a beating heart. Henry had been working on this statement quite a while now and she knew it would include his plans for the future. They had talked about different scenarios but she didn't know what he'd finally decided to do with his life and his work. She was curious but at the same time she was scared because many of these scenarios meant that he was going to leave St. Ives and her life. She took a deep breath and started to read.

The statement was deep and of unabashed openness. The way Henry described what he had gone through in the past year was very touching and she had to fight back tears several times. Relief flooded her when she read that he was asking his fans to give him a little more time to reorientate and that he intended to remain in the background for a little longer, stating that he was very happy at the sanctuary he had found and that good friends had given him shelter. What left her completely amazed was the last paragraph.

"Kal is going to take over your Instagram?"

Henry grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah. For a while. I think it's a good solution. I'm going to post pictures of him with captions that let people know what I'm doing without giving up my privacy until I'm ready to return and face the public again. It's my way of letting my fans be a part of my life although I'm not really present. I want to share what I'm up to but not the way I used to do it. I want to do more than promotion and I want to be more than a thirst trap, Kitty."

"You're much more than that, Hen", she took his hands in hers, looking at him with a frown, "so much more."

He gave her a grateful smile.

"I know that but many people don't and that's my own fault. The way I've presented myself on social media was very one-sided in the last year and it will be interesting to find out how many of my 17 Mio followers still like me when all they'll get to see in the next weeks is my dog. The ones that remain are the ones that count and in the future I want them to see who I am and what's important to me. I have picked three topics I want to concentrate on. First: conversation and protection of species in cooperation with Durrell. Second: mental health, focusing on problems men often face. I want to found a charitable trust that helps and supports men with mental health issues and that raises awareness of that topic. Thirdly: Fitness, because it's such an important part of my life. I want to show how good moving can make you feel but I also want to show the risks of overdoing it and that even very fit people can still have body issues and how I deal with these issues myself."

"First of all I think the statement you want to post is great. It's so sincere and you open up so much... It's a risk because you expose yourself but I think people will appreciate your honesty and I'm sure many can identify with what you've been through. And your plans sound fantastic, Henry. I know how important these topics are to you and you're going to be a great ambassador for all of this because it's authentic. This is you, people will notice and appreciate that." She couldn't help but give him a spontaneous hug. "God, Henry, I'm so happy for you."

Henry let out a sigh and shrugged, looking at Kat with an expression full of doubt and insecurity.

"What do you think?"

He hugged her back, pulling her into a tight embrace. "That's such a relief, Kat. I was worried it might sound stupid."

"Not a bit! It sounds perfect. But what about work? Do you already know where to go with your job?"

He took a deep breath.

"Yes. I want to return to filming but I want to leave my comfort zone a bit and try to get different kinds of roles. I'll have to talk to my agent and hope that he can find some interesting projects for me. I also thought about going on the stage again. Back to the roots, maybe I will find a theater that is willing to give me a chance. But that's just an idea, I'm open to anything. I just know for sure that I love my job. I want to be an actor and I'm ready to work again."

"And you will work again. I'm sure. Are you going to tell your family about your plans?"

"Sure. It will be a great relief for them to see that I'm back on track."

"Of course. It's a relief for me too."

"I know…"

They were interrupted by the announcement that boarding was about to start and so they got on the plane, heading to Jersey with a pretty good feeling.

****

36 hours later Kat was still feeling pretty good. The garden party was in full swing and she really enjoyed the jolly atmosphere, the food, the drinks and most of all Henry's company. His family had given her a very warm welcome and so she had a very good time. The garden was beautifully decorated and lit by countless torches, candles and chinese lanterns. A local band was playing cover songs on a little stage and a clown was entertaining the children.

It was almost midnight when Henry turned to her with a smile.

"Time for the big surprise."

"Can't wait. You've been such a mystery-monger lately."

"I know, but you'll soon know why."

"Well, you want to surprise your mum. Isn't that the reason?" Kat was visibly confused and Henry gave her one of his perfectly imperfect winks.

"My mum and...you. Maybe?"

He went away with a grin and left Kat with a beating heart. What kind of surprise could he possibly have for her? On his mother's birthday? She smoothened out her plain black dress with a nervous gesture before she followed Henry with her eyes, her arms resting on the cocktail table right in front of the stage. When he grabbed the microphone, Kat assumed he wanted to hold a speech, maybe telling his family and friends about his future plans but when he turned to the band leader for a whispered exchange she knew there was more to it. Henry nodded at each of the band members and Kat could tell he was nervous by his body language.

"Hello everyone," his deep voice echoed through the speakers, "I'm sorry to interrupt, I know everyone is having a great time and don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with a speech, but I still have prepared a little something. A surprise."

He flashed a bright smile at his mother, ignoring the teasing cheers and whistles coming from his brothers.

"Mum, I racked my brain over a special present for weeks. What would make you happy? What would surprise you? Eventually I had this idea I knew you'd love but that really got me out of my comfort zone. I worked hard on it and I hope you and everybody else will like the result." Henry cleared his throat with a sheepish smile.

"Come on man, spill it." That was Henry's younger brother Charlie and Kat couldn't help but chuckle when his older brother Simon joined in.

"Yeah, Hen, the suspense is killing us."

Henry shook his head, laughing and Marianne Cavill shushed her sons with an amused smile.

"Okay, well... I'm going to sing for you."

"Oh please, spare us. You can't sing." Charlie again, he'd always been a cheeky guy and obviously he hadn't changed a bit. Henry laughed out loud, pointing his finger at Charles.

"Right, brother, that's why I took lessons. I spent many, many hours at our neighbour's who is a vocal coach. Kat is my witness."

All eyes turned on her now and she couldn't give them much more than a shrug, a nod and a smile to confirm his words. She wasn't able to say anything, but her mind was racing. He had been taking singing lessons with Mel, who had been a music teacher and vocal coach before her marriage. The revelation hit her hard and unexpected, flooding her with relief and a hint of shame. She had been so suspicious all this time without a reason. Nothing had been going on between Hen and Mel, nothing inappropriate, nothing intimate. He had been telling the truth.

Henry's voice interrupted her thoughts and she took a deep breath, turning her attention to what was happening on stage.

The band started to play and Kat immediately recognized the song, Green, Green Grass of Home, and when Henry began to sing she was completely captivated by his full, warm and dark voice. He did great up there and it didn't take people long to pull out lighters and smartphones to wave them in the air to the slow rhythm of the song, creating a sea of lights that illuminated the garden.

"Well...I better get started before I chicken out and change my mind." He nodded at the band with a grateful smile.

"We only had the chance to rehearse two times so please be lenient with me. Thanks guys for playing along and allowing me to take over... Anyway, I've prepared three songs. Enjoy."

Kat looked at Mrs Cavill, no, at Marianne -it still felt strange to call her by her first name- and she was beaming, tears of pride and joy sparkling in her eyes. Kat was incredibly happy and proud too, it just felt so good to see Henry perform, completely at ease with himself, confident and charming as ever.

The next song seemed to be some kind of family hymn. After only a few lines of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline everybody was singing along, even the kids, and Kat joined in, soaking up the jolly atmosphere and the good mood that was so infectious. Henry obviously had a great time too. He was smiling all over his face and it made Kat glad to see him so relaxed and happy. Before he began singing the last song, he spoke softly into the microphone.

"The next one is for everyone who's in love. Grab your loved ones and get on the dancefloor, it's time for slow-dancing", and after a little pause he added, "this one's for you, Kat."

I know that you've been hurt before

He looked her straight in the eyes and his words sent shivers down her spine. She noticed the curious glances people gave her and she knew she was blushing but she did her best to pretend to be cool, calm and collected, taking a sip of her red wine. When the music set in, Kat easily recognized the song. It was a slow version -Henry's version- of a Curtis Stigers song and she already loved it after the first few words. She knew the lyrics by heart and thinking about them awoke the butterflies in her belly.

Happy couples filled the dancefloor looking lovingly at each other, dancing slowly to the music. Henry's full voice was perfect for the song and he kept looking at Kat. Their eyes were locked and to her it felt like no one else was around, like Henry was singing just for her.

But that won't happen anymore, no no

Just give your heart to me

And I'll guard it with my life

I don't know what I'd do

Baby, without you

His words found their way right into her heart and for the first time in 22 years she felt ready to finally let go of the past, to completely trust him again, to believe him and to forgive him.

You're all that matters to me

The ground that you walk

The air that you breathe

Someday you'll discover

I don't want no other, believe me

You're all that matters, baby

All that matters to me

She realized that a teardrop was rolling down her cheek and she wiped it away hastily. Concern was showing in Henry's eyes when he saw that she was crying but the smile she gave him showed him it was a tear of joy and relief flooded him. He couldn't wait to finish the song now, couldn't wait to dance with Kat, to hold her in his arms.

Loud applause followed his performance, accompanied by calls for an encore that he declined politely with a shy smile. Henry made sure to tell the band to continue with some ballads and after receiving some very tight hugs and kisses from his extremely happy and proud mother he finally joined Kat at their table.

"Fancy a dance?" He offered her his hand with a charming smirk.

She nodded and took his hand, following him to the dance floor where he pulled her close. They swayed slowly to "You Are The Sunshine of my life" for a while without saying anything, content with just looking at each other, before Kat broke the silence.

"You were great up there."

"You liked it?"

"I loved it, Hen. You have a wonderful voice. Mel seems to be a good coach." Kat gave him a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, she is. Once she'd realized that I wasn't interested in more than singing lessons she was very professional and pretty strict."

Henry grinned at her, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise and I wanted you to trust me." He shrugged, giving her a tender smile.

"And I didn't. I let you down. I was such an idiot, Henry. I should have believed you, I am so sor…"

"No, Kitty, please... don't apologize, okay?" He looked at her with a frown, seriousness showing in his eyes. "You had every right to be mistrustful, I understand that. Just tell me that you think you will be able to trust me again some day."

"I already do. I…"

They bumped into another couple and it wasn't the first time. The dance floor was crowded and everyone was keen on congratulating Henry on his performance. It felt like every single party guest was watching them.

"Wanna leave?"

"Yes," Kat nodded with a smile.

****

"It's so peaceful, isn't it?"

"It is. It's beautiful." Kat squeezed Henry's hand before resting her head against his shoulder. They were walking down the beach along the dark shore, that was romantically enlightened by a bright full moon hand, in hand. The sea was calm, just giving off its soothing sounds and a cool breeze that made Kat shiver. Henry took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks", Kat said with a smile, "not only for the jacket but for bringing me here and for this wonderful night."

"Did you enjoy the party?"

"Of course, it was so much fun and I loved your performance. Especially the third song."

Henry stopped walking and turned to her, taking both of her hands in his, looking her deep in the eyes.

"Every single word was true, Kat. I meant it. I'd never hurt you again. You're really all that matters to me. I know you find it hard to believe me, but…"

"I believe you," Kat cut in, "I felt it. I feel it now."

Henry stared at her. "You do?"

"Fuck, yes, I do!" Kat threw her head back, laughing out loud, feeling incredibly happy and light-hearted all of the sudden. "And I feel the same, Hen. Exactly the same."

She cupped his face with her hands and did what she had been longing to do for so long. She kissed him. It was a gentle kiss, almost shy and when Henry felt her mouth on his, her soft lips united with his, skin on skin, no tongue, just tenderness and love, he was beyond happy and savoured every single second.

When Kat pulled away reluctantly he rested his forehead against hers taking a deep breath.

"I feel like 17 again", he whispered.

Kat laughed softly at his words. "So do I. It feels great."

The next kiss started off just like the previous one, innocent and sweet, but when Henry pulled Kat close to deepen the kiss all the bottled-up sexual tension and energy, all the suppressed passion and desire of more than 20 years erupted and they started to make out hungrily, starving for love and intimacy. After a while things really heated up and Henry was the one to put the brakes on when Kat started to fumble with his fly.

"If you don't want me to take you right here we better take it to the bedroom, Kitty", Henry sighed, his voice thick with arousal and desire.

"Well, I've never done it on the beach…", Kat smirked, biting her lower lip.

"Seriously? Here?" Henry took a look around checking if the coast was clear.

"I was joking, Hen. I hate having sand in every pore." Kat nudged him with a grin. "Just take me home."

They made it to the cottage in record time and started to undress each other right in the little hallway, kissing and fumbling like teenagers. While Kat was unzipping Henry's trousers, he was unsuccessfully trying to open her bra.

"Front clasp, Hen", Kat explained to him breathlessly.

"Fuck", Henry chuckled, "I swear I'm not gonna be that clueless once I'll have you naked."

"Good," she answered with a lewd smile, stripping off her bra when he'd finally managed to open it, standing in front of him in just her panties.

"God, you're beautiful, Kitty." Henry let his eyes wander all over her body while stepping out of his pants. He took off his socks and now he was facing her naked too, except for his briefs.

"You don't look so bad yourself, pop."

She grabbed him by the hem of his underwear, pulling him close for another kiss. Kat gasped when he lifted her up effortlessly, wrapping her legs around his waist, feeling his hard-on pressing against her wet panties. She moaned into his mouth when he moved his hips, dry humping her teasingly. Henry carried Kat to his bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He stripped off her pants before he did the same with his and when they finally were both naked he climbed on top of her, looking her deep in the eyes, before kissing her again. It was a long, slow kiss and Kat let her fingers run over his back till they reached his butt. She squeezed his ass and pulled him close, sighing with lust when Henry started to kiss her tits and to suck her nipples. She reached between her legs and grabbed his dick that was pretty impressive, giving it a few strokes that made him moan loudly.

"Fuck, Kat...I need you…I need to feel you...now."

She brought the tip of his cock to her entrance, bucking her hips, inviting him in.

"Take me. I'm yours, Henry."

"Are you on birth control?"

"I am, don't worry. Just go for it. Please."

Her words weren't more than a hoarse whisper but Henry heard them crystal clear. He moaned again when he realized that it was finally going to happen. He was about to make love to Kat and it was like a dream come true. A hot, sexy, wet dream and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He penetrated Kat slowly, gently, enjoying the moment that marked the beginning of their first time.

"God, Hen…", Kat moaned softly as he stretched her pussy, kneading his ass and lifting her hips to meet him halfway, "you feel great."

"I love you, Henry," she whispered before she came with a loud moan. She arched her back and Henry felt the shiver that ran through her body and the contraction of her pussy that tightened around his cock. The feelings that flooded him were more than Henry could take and he cried her name out loud when he got off, releasing an enormous amount of cum and the thought of filling her up like this made him thrust into her cunt hard and deep one last time. "Fuck...Kitty." He collapsed on top of her, gasping and panting, holding her tight, pressing a kiss on her lips. Henry looked her in the eyes with a loving smile.

He started to move slowly once he filled her completely, looking her in the eyes. It was impossible to turn back time. He wasn't her first, she wasn't his first but he still intended to make their first time together feel special, he didn't want to fuck her mindless, he wanted to make tender love to her. He thrusted a little faster and deeper now and Kat followed his rhythm, her gaze resting on his face. They shared another sensual kiss, moving in sync for a wonderful long time, prolonging the intimate moment as much as possible, enjoying the sensation of closeness, their bodies and souls connected.

Henry's moans got louder, turning into raspy grunts which was a great turn on for Kat, who was a panting mess. Breathing heavily she was getting closer to cumming with every thrust that hit her cervix, with every stroke, brushing against her g-spot, with his lower body pressing and rubbing against her clit. She watched Henry, who had his head bent back now, eyes half closed, his upper body propped up on his elbows that were placed left and right of her torso. She wrapped her legs around him, making him go even deeper before she grabbed his head and pulled him in for a sweet kiss. They locked eyes and his gaze was full of tenderness, his pupils tinted black and filled with lust.

"I love you too, Kat."

A few minutes later they were lying side by side, holding hands, their faces turned to each other.

"We should have done that 22 years ago."

Henry grinned at Kat, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"I doubt it would have been so good. Teenage Kat was very self-conscious and a little prude and I guess teenage Henry wasn't a pro at handling this weapon right from the start." Kat touched his dick and gave him a teasing wink that made Henry chuckle.

"Right. We've come a long way. It just feels like we've wasted so much time...all these years."

"We can't change that, Hen", Kat said, "but we can make the most of the time that's still to come. Let's just be happy together from now on. Let's spend as much time together as possible, let's have lots and lots of fucking great sex, let's have fun, let's share our joys and sorrows, let's share our lives."

****

Epilogue

Two years later.

Kat sat at her desk in her office with a happy smile on her face. Mr. Darcy was sleeping on her lap and she held a letter in her hands. Bringing it close to her nose she took a deep breath, smelling Henry's scent, his tangy, musky cologne. It was a habit they had established in the last years. Whenever Henry and Kat were separated for more than a few days they sent each other love letters. Handwritten in ink, the exclusive, handmade writing paper perfumed with their odours, the lines filled with their love. The letters usually weren't long, most of the time they shared just short poems or simply a few sentences about how their days had been without each other. It was their old fashioned way of showing their affection and of staying in touch in addition to their conversations via phone or facetime.

"A letter from daddy", Kat whispered, stroking her round belly tenderly. Eight weeks to go until they would welcome their first child and a little more than half a year until their wedding. "Let's see what it's saying."

Kat opened the letter carefully and pulled out the thick paper to unfold it.

"My darling Kitty,

Only three days to go until I finally can take you in my arms again. I can't wait to kiss your lips and your belly to greet you and our little bean. I don't have much time, you know how tight my schedule is, but I needed to write down this poem for you. It would make a great wedding vow, don't you think? Just read it and let me know how you feel about it when I'm back.

"Mouthful Of Forevers

I am not the first person you loved. You are not the first person I looked at with a mouthful of forevers. We have both known loss like the sharp edges of a knife. We have both lived with lips more scar tissue than skin.

Our love came unannounced in the middle of the night. Our love came when we’d given up on asking love to come. I think that has to be part of its miracle. This is how we heal.

I will kiss you like forgiveness. You will hold me like I’m hope. Our arms will bandage and we will press promises between us like flowers in a book.

I will write sonnets to the salt of sweat on your skin. I will write novels to the scar of your nose. I will write a dictionary of all the words I have used trying to describe the way it feels to have finally, finally found you.

And I will not be afraid of your scars. I know sometimes it’s still hard to let me see you in all your cracked perfection, but please know: whether it’s the days you burn more brilliant than the sun or the nights you collapse into my lap your body broken into a thousand questions, you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

I will love you when you are a still day. I will love you when you are a hurricane."

Isn't it perfect for us?

by Clementine von Radics

I love you!

Forever yours,

Henry"

***********

The End

[machinegunbun]

PETE ACDS

A/N: The long awaited (about two months) fic! It hasn’t been proofread but I wanted to get it out so I could go get dinner. I’ll fix any problems when I get back.

Word count: 2,973 but Imma round it up and say 3k for my ego

If there's one thing you know, it’s that there’s nothing like a good game of dress up to boost your confidence. you’d been staring at yourself in the mirror for the last half hour, admiring the way your body looked in the new lingerie.

Let's make one thing clear. You are not, for the most part, a very confident person, but it’s hard not to be confident when you look this fucking good. There would be vigorous debates between multiple world leaders on the topic of what was more poppin’, your highlight or that ass, and after years of deliberation and consulting multiple experts top in their field, it would be determined that they both excelled in different ways, coming together to create the hottest bitch on planet earth. God damn, I am that bitch, you thought.

When you’re feeling this confident, there's only one thing to do. Show your man what he's got. Reaching over, you grab your phone from the bed before returning to the mirror. Clicking it on, you swipe over to open the camera while posing in front of the mirror.

It wasn’t until you looked back on your photoshoot that you realized you’d been giving yourself fuck me eyes in almost every picture. In need of validation and praise for your hard work, you click Pete’s contact and send him a few.

The next few minutes were full of you admiring yourself, imagining in detail the things you would do to yourself if you were Pete.

Pete, on the other hand, was doing the exact same thing. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the photo since he’d received it, taking his time raking his eyes over every inch of your body. Pete was very lucky to have a job doing something he enjoyed, meaning he was never in a big rush to get home, but today he definitely would be.

When Pete finally walked through the door he was more than ready for what tonight would hold, but his excitement was cut short as he was met with a room of your friends. They had shown up unexpectedly and you’d been trying to get them to leave ever since you’d gotten his text,

“I’m on my way home. If you aren’t in that lingerie on the bed ass up by the time I get home you’re gonna be in so much fucking trouble.”

but, they wouldn’t take the hint. You loved them, but they were shitty at taking hints. When you heard him walk through the door your mind began racing, knowing if you didn’t find a way to shoo your friends out early you would be in deep, deep-

“No, no it’s okay. Stay for a little, I could use it. How have you guys been?” Pete says as one of your friends stands to leave, finally understanding that it must have something to do with Pete coming home. You can see the warning in his eyes when they meet your own, his back turned to your friends as he eyed you, wearing nothing but his shirt, practically swimming in the material.

He listens absentmindedly as your friend fills him in on the conversation about her boyfriend- Er, ex-boyfriend, you all were having before he arrived, making his way into the kitchen where you were making snacks.

“Right, right.” He says, giving your friend a vague response to show he was listening before leaning down to whisper in your ear “What the fuck do you think you’re doing inviting your friends over when you know you’re in trouble?”

“I didn’t-”

“I should take you into the bathroom and fuck your brains out just to teach you a lesson, but I think you’d like that a little too much, wouldn’t you, slut.” He whispers, turning to acknowledge your friend entering the kitchen

“Do you guys have any alcohol? I just really wanna get drunk.” She says.

It took around an hour for your friends to finally leave. You had a good time, and for a moment you even forgot you were in trouble with Pete. You almost thought he had aswell, until he approached you after shutting and locking the door behind them for the night.

“You wanna explain yourself?”

“I’m sorry, I was ju-”

“I just- I was only- What? You just knew you were in trouble so you invited your friends over to get out of it?”

“No! I didn’t even know they were coming over! My phone was dead.”

“I guess that’s why you read my text and still disobeyed me then, huh?”

“Well- No, my phone was charged at that point.”

“That’s okay, you’re gonna make it up to me. Instead of just being punished for trying to distract me at work, you can-” as the words were leaving his mouth, your phone dings. Speak of the devil. Your breath catches in your throat as the tension in the room grows. Seriously? You think, Right now? Could the timing have possibly been worse?

“Check it.” He challenged, glaring down at you. Your eyes flicked over to your phone, memories of what you had done just hours before to get yourself into this flooding your mind, your gaze quickly returning to his, unsure if it was rhetorical “Go ahead, you’re already in trouble.”

“It’s Casey,” you gulp “dinners ready.” Pete looked mildly inconvenienced by this, maintaining a silent eye contact momentarily before motioning you up the stairs with a look on his face that said ‘What are you waiting for?’

It wasn’t every night that you would have dinner as a family, but Casey had just gotten back from a vacation with friends, so Amy wanted to take the opportunity to have everyone together.

You walked in front of him, taking one step at a time, holding your breath. The anxiety- no, anticipation was overwhelming. You’d waited so long just for him to get home, and now you’d have to wait again.

Casey had cut him off mid sentence, You began to wonder what he would’ve said if she hadn’t. Your leg twitches as you realize you’d only find out in the moment. No time left for warnings, when you finally got back downstairs there would be so much build up you doubt he’d take the time to write a speech.

Ma sat opposite Pete and you at the table, an empty chair next to Ma for Casey who was currently fixing herself a plate, your own full plates sitting in front of you. Dinner for tonight was steak and potatoes with cooked asparagus. It was hard to focus on food. Instead, you dragged the tongs of your fork through your potatoes, hoeing the mashy farmland that was your dinner, when you felt a hand grip your thigh.

You were feeling quite the range of emotions now, a hard contrast to how you were feeling when you got yourself into this mess. You’re scared, but excited, submissive, but bratty, nervous, but wet. The anxiety of it all is killing you, wanting nothing more than to go back downstairs and make it up to him.

“Hey, stupid.” Casey says, smacking Pete on the back of the head as she makes her way to her seat.

“I’m not stupid, you are. Stupid.” Pete replies, Amy scoffing at their sibling banter.

“That’s enough, she just got back. Be nice to each other. How was everyone's day?” Amy asks, trying to motivate some decent dinner conversation.

When you made it back downstairs Pete gave you a glare that said you were on very thin ice tonight. He made his way over to the couch, taking a seat, his legs slightly spread with his feet planted on the ground.

“Do you want me-”

“Get on your fucking knees and suck. My. Dick.” He demands, making it obvious that tonight would not be the night to disobey.

Your hands worked quickly, unbuckling his pants and pulling them not halfway down his thighs before pulling his underwear down just enough for his thick member to spring out. You quickly got to work teasing him, swirling your tongue around his tip before taking it in your mouth and hollowing out your cheeks, moving down a bit before coming back up and repeating, taking your time with him.

“Seriously? You’re gonna tease me? You wanna play that game right now?” Pete says, you toss the words around in your head for a moment before deciding that you had probably gotten yourself in enough trouble for tonight. You began bobbing your head slowly, letting his hand on the back of your head set the pace.

“Hmm, that's right,” he groaned “apologize to daddy.”

Every once in a while he would push down unexpectedly and you’d gag, on the other hand sometimes you’d go too far down for his liking and he’d pull you back by your hair. He was making sure that you knew every aspect of tonight was going to be for his pleasure, down to how you sucked his dick. It was so hot.

By the time he pulled you off you were wet in more ways than one, both your face and his lower half covered in your spit.

“Such a good girl for me, huh?” He says, reaching down to slip his fingers between your legs, sliding his digits against your core, sliding one in slowly before immediately removing it.

“So wet too, barely even touched you,” He slips his finger into his mouth, moaning at the taste “I need to taste you.” He groans, his grip on your hair not faltering as he pulls you up to lean against the arm of the couch, burying his tongue deep inside your soaking wet cunt. Desperate moans and words of encouragement slip past your lips as he works you with his tongue, his hand slipping under your, well, his shirt, massaging your breast. You whine as he sits up to take it completely off, the moment over before it really began.

“Stay here,” He says, walking into the other room.

You sat patiently for what was beginning to feel like forever, facing the couch as you wondered what he was doing. You could hear him shuffling around in the other room, presumably looking for something. 

What was taking him so long? You’d both been waiting the same amount of time for this, you arguably longer than him, and he had barely even touched you yet.  It was only fair, you thought, that since you’d helped him out a bit that you help yourself.

You check that he isn’t walking back into the room as you slip your hand between your legs, letting out a small breath through parted lips as you rub yourself through your underwear. You didn’t realize how badly you needed this until your hips were rocking against your hand, trying desperately to give yourself what Pete could so effortlessly. Your mind wandered back to you on the bed, moments before your friends arrived, your orgasm slowly approaching when

There was a knock on the door.

Pete must’ve forgotten his keys, you thought. You scanned the room for something to cover up with, quickly grabbing one of Pete’s shirts he had lazily discarded on the couch the night prior.

The metal of the door handle was cool as you wrapped your hand around it, a stark contrast to that of your skin, pulling the door open. A moment of shock washing over you as you’re met with the sight of three of your bestfriends standing in front of you in the cool, dark night. You stutter out a quick invitation inside from the cold and a question of what they’re doing here.

You shook the thought away, returning to what you had been thinking of before they arrived.

The kiss was messy and desperate, a perfect representation of the way you both were feeling. His hands were all over you, slipping your shirt over your head while you worked on unbuttoning his pants. You needed him so badly, and from the looks of the bulge protruding from his underwear, he needed you just as much. Your lips were on his neck while his hand made its way around to grope your ass, love bites joining his circle of tattoos as he squeezed, your flushed skin warming his cold hands.

“I don’t remember asking you to touch yourself.”

Your eyes snapped open as you felt a hand around your neck, a newfound confidence washing over you now that your mind wasn’t so clouded by need.

“I don’t remember you touching me.” You quip, your eyes meeting as he uses his grip on your neck to force your gaze up to him. He tilts his head, looking down at you

“I suggest you shut the fuck up before you land yourself in a situation you don’t want to be in.” He says, his voice stern

“I suggest you fucking make me.” You say, his hand quickly coming behind your head to wrap your hair in a makeshift ponytail, his other grabbing his dick and shoving it down your throat, causing you to gag. Your eyes water as he roughly fucks your throat, cautious to keep your mouth open as to not hurt him. There’s a string of spit from your mouth to his tip when he pulls away, leaving your throat burning.

He returns to his place on the couch and you begin positioning yourself back between his legs, assuming he wants you to continue.

“No. On my lap.” He says, glaring down at you. You stand, confused, as you take your seat on his thigh, your eyes not leaving his. He rolls his eyes, readjusting you so you’re laying on your stomach, flat across his lap.

“I know you don’t know how to listen, but I know for a fact you know how to count.” He says, delivering a harsh smack to your ass. You lay silently, waiting for the next when he continues in a rather condescending tone.

“One.” another harsh smack

“One.” You repeat, unsure of yourself.

“Was that one or was it two?” He asks,

“It was three.” You whisper

“Restart.” He says, his hand colliding harshly as ever.

By the time you count out fifteen your ass is red and your eyes prickling with tears. You begin pathetically begging him to leave it there,

“I’ll be a good girl daddy, I promise.” You whine.

“Hm, should’ve thought about that a little sooner.” He hummed, motioning for you to sit up.

He positions himself so he’s leaning against the arm of the couch, reaching to the side and grabbing the bottle of lube he had left the room for. It makes a clicking sound as he opens it, pouring a small amount on his hand. When he’s satisfied he motions for you to come over, your legs spread as you stand on your knees overtop him. He pulls you down into a kiss, his hands reaching behind you and spreading the lube in and around your tight hole. You sit back up when he’s done, watching as he strokes his hard dick, distributing what was left of the lube onto the red and swollen member.

Pete sits up, moving behind you and pushing your face into the couch cushion, pulling your hips into the air. You pull your lip between your teeth as he lines himself up with your ass, his eyes focused on where you’re about to meet as he slowly sinks himself into you, A whimper falling from your mouth as you struggle to take him. He stalls his actions, waiting for you to feel comfortable enough to move back against him before he continues.

Pete can’t help the groan that erupts from his throat when he begins pumping in and out of you, mesmerized by the moans that are slipping past your lips as he finds his rhythm, his hand snaking around your waist to play with your clit.

Pete was always big, no matter how you were taking him, whether it was your mouth or your wet pussy or your ass, but his length and girth were much more noticeable during anal. It still felt good, of course, just different.

You feel the hand that was resting on your ass make its way up your back, wrapping itself around your neck and pulling you up so your back was pressed flush against his chest. You could feel the sweat building between you two, acting as encouragement and lubrication as you moved against one another. You struggled to catch your breath as his grip tightened, choking you and tilting your head up.

“Open your mouth.” He growls, spitting in your mouth, his spit tasting of you, his hands working magic on your clit as he pounds harshly at your ass all swirling together into one feeling deep in the pit of your stomach.

“Fuck, i’m gonna cum.” You manage to slur out, your head being pulled back by your makeshift ponytail

“Excuse me? You aren’t gonna do shit without asking me first.”

“Sorry, p-please, can I please cum daddy, please.” you beg, quick to cover up your mistake in fear that he’ll deny your orgasm. By some stroke of miracle, Pete was in a good mood, so he decides to take your pleas to heart and continues until you’re unravelling around him, your legs giving out as he mercilessly pounds you into the couch. He follows soon after, pulling out and unloading himself on your back.

You both take a moment to catch your breath, his hand lovingly stroking your thigh as he sits on your legs. You turn over a bit once you’ve calmed down, careful not to get any of his cum on the couch.

“Ah, shit. Sorry. Here.” He says, reaching over to grab his shirt and wipe it up for you.

“Wow, you're such a romantic.” You remark.

[snlhostharry]

try try again

harry x reader

2.2k words 

summary: harry wants to propose, but life keeps getting in the way 

a/n: first off... I suck at titles... why am I like this.... second off this is my secret santa gift for @jambrosemc ! happy holidays em! hope you like this, you are a super talented writer I just binged all your pieces and I am obsessed. and thank you to @peeterparkr for hosting 

The first time he tries is after the first concert he does for Fine Line. 

Fine Line at the Forum is a success in all the ways that matter, and Harry is so happy coming off the stage that he almost forgets about his plan to propose all together. When you barge into his dressing room after the show is over, smiling and ecstatic for him he suddenly sees the ring box on the counter and rushes to shove it in his pocket before you can see it. 

“That was insane, love,” You say wrapping him into a hug. “I think they really liked it.” 

He gives you a cheeky smile, “You think?” You roll your eyes in response, “What gave it away?” He asks, “The frantic screaming or the bra’s that were thrown onto the stage?” 

“You should’ve kept a couple,” You tease, “They could’ve been my size.” 

He laughs, “If you want one that bad I will buy it for you.” 

“I’m holding you to that,” You say, taking a seat on top of the counter. He runs a hand through his hair, knowing that this would be the perfect moment to just get down on one knee. He can see himself doing it, simply bending down and saying the words he’s wanted to say for what feels like forever. “You okay?” You ask him, seeing the look on his face and supposing that he’s thinking about something that happened during the concert. “You did a great job out there, seriously. Everyone really loved it H, the album is spectacular.” 

He shakes himself back into the moment, “I know, I know.” He says, and it comes off a little sharper than he means it too, he’s just very much in his own head about this whole thing now. What felt like it would be the perfect moment now feels wrong, like doing it now would cheapen the entire thing. He sighs, “Sorry,” He says, planting himself down on the floor dramatically, “Thank you.” 

“We don’t have to go out if you don’t want to,” You tell him, guessing that he’s just tired from a long night. “Let’s get takeout and go home, or go home and get takeout whichever order.” 

He smiles, “You ate before the show.” 

“That was like three hours ago, and it was a snack, I always planned on eating again, and you were too nervous to eat before the show.” 

He hugs his knees to his chest, “Watching you eat an entire kids meal in under five minutes actually helped with the nerves.” 

You shrug, “What can I say? I have my moments.” 

He stands and presses a kiss to your forehead as you swing your legs over the side of the counter. “You have a lot of moments, I love you.” 

“Love you too,” You wait a second before asking, “So home then?” 

He thinks about it for a minute, “Yeah.” 

“When you call in the food order make sure you put it under my name,” You tell him and he collects his things from the room, “People are beginning to get suspicious when I go into the restaurant to pick up an order for Harry.” 

He nods, and gently grabs your hand as the two of you leave. Maybe he’s not going to do it tonight, but he’s more resolved to actually pop the question than ever. He’s just so in love with you that he wants the whole thing to be perfect, and for some reason he has it all in his head that it needs to be a story that the two of you can tell in the future, something meaningful, he just has absolutely no idea what that is. 

The second planned attempt is a lot more off the cuff. 

You insist on throwing him a birthday party at the house, saying something about wanting to one up your sister who threw a very tasteful christmas party that the two of you went to. Not that your sister was invited seeing as the party was in London, but you knew that there would be enough pictures that she would see that you’re just as good as she is. Harry doesn’t understand it at all, but he decides that he doesn't even want to know how a rivalry like that can develop and leaves it alone. 

Objectively, you throw a very nice party. Of course Harry makes it a point to tell you this as often as possible without seeming overly invested in it, because he loves you and he wants you to be proud of your own work just like you want him to be proud of his. It’s hard for him to leave your side at all because he loves to see you talk to his friends and family and seem so happy to do it. You fit right in with everyone and he’s so grateful for that, and it’s as he’s standing there watching you talk to people that it hits him that this could be his moment. 

Not in front of everyone because that would be so much more pressure than he needs, but he thinks that after when everyone has finally left the house that he could catch you in the middle of cleaning or something and gently ask you to marry him. He decides that tonight, that’s the plan and he spends the rest of the night just thinking about that. It really is a great party, full of all his favorite things and people, it’s one of those nights where he feels like he loves you so much that his heart might just burst out of his chest. 

When finally every last guest has left the house, and things are a bit messy, he can’t seem to find you anywhere. He locks the door behind him, and starts walking through the house calling your name. He checks upstairs, in the kitchen, in all the bathrooms, and nothing. Until finally he walks into the living room and finds you sound asleep on the couch, snoring loudly enough that he’s surprised he didn’t hear it while he was looking. He looks at you and just smiles, suddenly completely fine with the fact that another plan has been ruined. He simply picks you up and takes you to bed, well aware he’s going to have to move onto plan C if he ever wants to get this done. 

The next time he tries, you end up surprising him. 

Plan C is a nice candlelight dinner at the house, which Harry tried to cook but ended up burning so eventually he relented and ordered food before putting it all together. Of all the plans he had come up with thus far, this one seemed the most foolproof. Everything was already planned: he knew you were going to come home from work at a certain time, he knew that there wouldn't be any distractions, and he had psyched himself up enough that he wasn’t just going to forget about the whole thing like he did the first time.

When the entire table is set up and the ring is in his pocket, he sits waiting for you to come home. He thinks about getting up to change some of the place settings just a little, but when he does he hears the clicking sound of your key in the door and sits back in his seat. After you walk into the house and set your stuff down in the entryway, Harry hears the sound of your shoes on the floor as you excitedly run into the kitchen. When you make it to where he can see you, he sees that you have a megawatt smile on your face and a large box in your hands. 

“I have a surprise,” You say, keeping a firm hold of the box. 

“I suppose it’s in that box,” He says, leaning over the chair so that he can see. 

You roll your eyes but keep smiling, “Yeah, obviously.” 

“Do you want me to guess?”

“God no,” You say, “That would take way too long. Basically I was at work today, and Mark has been producing this piece about a no kill animal shelter for a new segment about everyday heroes or whatever which is gross because puff pieces but when the woman came in to do the interview she brought in all these cats, no dogs for some reason, but anyway so we were all playing with the cats because our job is stressful and cats, and then she was like ‘you guys seem so good with these cats, they are looking for homes and-” 

He looks at you with a wide eyed expression, “You didn’t.” 

You ceremoniously walk over to the table, open the box and pull a small orange cat into your arms, “You bet your ass I did.” You gently pet the cat, which mews quietly from your arms, “She does not have a name mostly because I couldn’t think of any.” 

“We talked about pets like a week ago, briefly.” 

You give a guilty smile, “Yeah but I felt like I really needed this cat. I live here now, we live here, and I finally feel like I’m settled-” You sit down at the table and sigh, “I think I might be nesting, which is kind of gross but I don't know. I love you, and I love being here and I finally feel stable enough to get a freaking cat so that’s the explanation I have.” 

He can’t stop himself from breaking into a smile, even though he knows his plans have been thwarted again. (He thinks later, after the moment has already passed that he very well could’ve done it right then and there after you’d given a whole speech about the two of you being stable). He shakes his head after looking at you making funny faces at the cat like it’s a child, “Okay hand her over.” 

You hand her over and say, “I will not accept any names that have to go with the fact that she’s a ginger, because that’s just lame.” 

“Well seeing as those were my only ideas-”

You sigh, “We will think of something, just not now because you got dinner and I’m starving.” 

“What’s she going to eat?”

“I got food and a bowl, and a bunch more things being delivered within the next week or two.” 

“Did you go out and buy a box just for the dramatic reveal?”

“Yes, I did and it was totally worth it.” 

The cat’s name ends up being Hillary, after you discover an affinity for pet names that are usually person names. Something about the way you’ll end up talking about Hillary in polite conversation and someone will have to ask you who that is makes you want to choose it overall. Even though Harry is not sure about the sudden change at first, he soon becomes best friends with Hillary, and you often find the two of them cuddled up together on the couch. She likes to listen to him play music just as much as you do as it turns out. 

Harry is still trying to think of a way to propose. So much time has passed since he bought the ring, and the first time that he planned to pop the question that he wonders if he’ll ever find the right time to do it or if you’ll just end up asking him one day because it’s all gone too far. One afternoon when the two of you are relishing a rare shared day off, he watches you cook lunch in the kitchen and decides that now is the time to do it. No more excuses, no more surprises, just him and you and the question on the tip of his tongue for too long. 

When you put all of the food on plates, and set them out on the counter he walks over and just looks at you. It weirds you out at first so you ask, “What? Is there something on my face?” 

He gets down on one knee and you still are very confused about what he’s doing. You open your mouth to ask him, but the realization suddenly hits you and you cover your mouth with your hands. 

“y/n,” He says, “I have been waiting to ask you this for what feels like forever. And everytime that the plan fell through you somehow managed to make me want to marry you even more. I love you so much, I love everything about you, how excited you get about your work, how much you love Hillary and how supportive you are whenever I do anything. I love our life here, and I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?” 

You don’t say anything for a second, still shocked, “Yes of course.” He stands and kisses you, slipping the ring onto your finger. “I was wondering when you would ask me.” 

“You knew?”

“I saw it that night after the forum,” You say, “I figured you got nervous.” 

“And you just let me flounder here for almost six months?” 

“Yes,” You smile, “I figured you wanted to do it on your own terms.” 

“Next time just call me out love, because I sat on this for too long.” 

[trumpkinhotboy]

All in good time

Pairing: Jacob Black x f!reader

Type: Not requested

Genre: Kinda fluffy i'd say

Warnings: None!

Rating: g

Requests: Open (for Narnia and Twilight, maybe?😳)

A/n: Alright, alright, I know I said this blog was going to be centralized on Narnia stuff, but lately I've really gotten back in my Twilight phase🥴 Plus, I had a really shitty week and needed a pick me up. Jacob is one of my biggest comfort characters so I felt it was only suiting. I hope you'll enjoy it😬 I suggest reading this while listening to any kind of Twilight ambiance playlist.☺Also, I know my title sucks HAHA. Couldn't think of anything better so yea, I'm sorry, but this is what you get

Update: changed my title huhu!

* gif is not mine!!

There were days that just deeply and inherently... sucked. Days where everything seemed out of rhythm, where no matter how hard you tried, it all seemed wrong; it all fell apart.

Today was one of those days. When your dad jokingly said: "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." you did not think it the tiniest of bit funny. When you opened one of the kitchen cabinets to get your favorite brand of cereals and found an empty box, you almost threw a full-on seven-year-old crying on the floor tantrum. Especially when you saw the half-emptied bowl sitting in the sink. Too bad, no breakfast for you this morning. Ridiculous, immature, and not changing anything? Yes, of course, but you still did it out of pure spite. As if that would punish anyone else than you.

Like any other day in Forks, it was raining, nothing awful here, if it was not for the fact that the window on the driver’s side hadn’t been properly closed. Your seat was by now totally drenched. With your pants completely soaked you rode to school, your knuckles turning white from angrily gripping the wheel. Once you arrived, it seemed that everyone was annoyingly happy and enthusiastic while you just couldn’t get out of your personal, unchangeable, black cloud. Not to help, your friends only kept making fun of your moody behavior. Could you not be taken seriously on one of your worst days?

In your least favorite class, you were horrified to see written in big letters on the board:

“20% exam!! Leave your personal effects in front of the class.”

You would have run away if it wasn’t for the flow of students coming in to push you further in the classroom. Convinced the exam was for the next week, you did not even open the pages of your manual concerning the subject. It is with panic and exasperation that you sat at your desk waiting for your doom. Did you need to add that along with all that bull crap of a day, the only person who could have made your day a little less annoying was, once again missing. No calls, no texts, no news, nothing. Probably on another mission with the rest of his mutant gang. You got to the Rez after school, hoping you would see him, but were only welcomed by Leah and Seth. It almost felt like they were waiting for you as they were sitting outside of Billy’s house. Why they were the only ones left here was a mystery for you. The pack usually always stayed together.

- “Where are the others?”

- “On some kind of mission around the lands.”

- “Is everything alright?” They nodded nonchalantly. “Then why are you two here?”

The answer Seth gave you while chewing loudly on yet, another snack, made you grith your teeth so hard he thought they were going to fall out of your mouth.

- “To protect you.”

- “I thought it was nothing, so why would I need protection?”.

- “You should talk about it with Black. He’s the one who ordered us to stay to watch over you or something.”

- “I am PERFECTLY capable of WATCHING OVER MYSELF.” you answered a little louder than expected, anger rumbling in your chest. That earned you some awkward looks from your two friends, but at this point, it didn’t even matter, you were seeing red.

Leah, never intimated by you, shrugged her shoulders. Seth looking a little bit more nervous still laughed at your display of anger. Jacob was the one assigning babysitters over you? Of course, you and he would have a little discussion, that mutt would not see it coming.

When you got back home, you called your father to warn him; there was no way you would be cooking dinner. With your luck, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you burnt the whole house down. Fortunately, he was in good mood (unfair) and answered there was no problem; he would get pizza. He got home with the box in hand and a “Hey sweet...heart”. One quick look at your rough appearance and frustrated expression and his mouth closed shut. He dropped politely, almost carefully, a plate with a slice of pizza before quickly leaving for the couch. You mostly played with the food, incapable of swallowing it down, looking at the forest many times, waiting, expecting to see a tall figure appear on its verge but nothing. Time passed, still no sign of life. There was no way that by now Leah or Seth didn’t give him your message. You had time to wash the dishes, do some homework, and get in your sweats. At 7:30 pm you gave up; he wasn’t coming. Your father was still watching TV, completely oblivious to your growing anger. You picked up his plate to put it in the sink but tripped and dropped it, the delicate plate exploded into a thousand pieces.

- “Y/n? Everything okay?”

- “Y..ea.. an accident. I’ll pick it up.”

There was a slight tremolo in your voice. That was it. Your day had been terrible with no sign of sun, and this broken plate would be your breaking point as ridiculous as it sounded. You leaned on the counter, head hanging low, feeling tears of frustration swelling up in your eyes. Taking a deep breath, you looked up; in a second you were out the back door.

- “Where you going?” you heard your father ask.

- “Getting the trash out.”

The figure backed in the woods as you rushed into them without hesitation. You smacked against something big and warm, warmer than it was normal to be, yet you had become quite accustomed to it.

- “You little piece of shit.” your index finger digging in his chest. “You weren’t even here today, and it was terrible, and you can’t do this. I do not need any PROTECTION. Oh my god, do you really think I am weak and helpless without you or Leah or Seth or ANY werewolf to protect me?!”

He didn’t interrupt your monologue, only looking at you spitting your anger out.

- “You are SO annoying. Honestly who- who do you think you- are?! I’m- I am not, I can DEFINITELY, I don’t ne-eed any-one.” Your speech was becoming less and less coherent, your emotions taking control of your mind.

Without waiting any longer for you to finish your incoherent thought, he pulled you in for one of his signature bear hugs.

- “You can’t do this to me I’m an-ang-angry...”.

- “Shhh, it’s okay.”

- “You-you weren’t there.” you gave up fighting him, wrapping your arms around his waist.

- “I’m sorry, Leah told me.”

- “Wh- why didn’t you come sooner?” you continued, sobbing.

- “Some wolf things, Paul got in trouble.“ you backed off, immediately lifting your head at the mention of one of your friends in trouble.

- “Is he okay?”

- “Of course, he is, but Sam was very upset this time.” he stroked the side of your face with a small smile. “Enough with the boys, tell me what's wrong.”

- “Everything. I left my car window opened my seat was drenched. At school, everyone was disgustingly happy and in a good mood. I did not know I had an exam, I didn’t even study the subject. And this morning, my dad half ate the rest of my favorites cereals, and then I didn’t eat anything else as a silent protest, I know that’s stupid, but”

- “You didn’t eat anything else?”

- “Yeah, but I…” you lifted your gaze to meet his disapproving one. “I mean, I must have eaten a snack at lunch today…”

- “Must have?” he looked angrier.

- “Y/n??? Where are you??”

The calling of your father interrupted your conversation; he looked in its direction.

- “You should go back inside before your dad comes out.”

- “What? No, please. Can’t you kidnap me for tonight?” he chuckled lightly.

- “Trust me, go back in, okay?”

You looked at him unsure, even though you knew he was worthy of your trust. You finally nodded before running back inside.

- “What took you so long?”

- “Oh, uh, I thought I saw something and got a little carried away.”

- “Mokay, I don’t like you being so close to the woods. We’ve still had a few complaints about some trekkers finding traces of big animals in the woods. I’d prefer you be careful, alright?” You held up a smile, thinking about your friend just outside.

- “Sure.”

You stayed in the middle of the living room, expecting, waiting to see Jacob’s next move. You expected something quick, but when ten minutes later, there were still no signs of him, you felt frustration rising again. Not sure what to do now, you sat next to your father, half paying attention to what was happening on the screen. If he just left you, he was going to pay for it. You needed him, and just like that, he was gone? Probably, got called away by Sam again. Maybe it wasn’t in his control? But if it was…

Knock. Knock.

You looked up, surprised. The door opened with a creaking sound.

- “Oh, Jacob. Hi, what are you doing here?”

- “Hi Charlie, I heard Y/n had a pretty bad day. Came to kidnap her, if that's okay?”

- “Bad day? That’s an understatement. I swear, at one point, I thought she was going to scream at me. I ate her last bowl of cereal this morning; the thing was disgusting, I only ate half of it. I don’t think that helped.” You heard your friend’s low chuckle. Your dad seemed to feel pretty guilty about his crime, which did make you feel a tad bit better. “But yeah sure. Y/n! You have a visitor.”

You walked to them, Jacob awkwardly fitting in your small house; he seemed so disproportionate with his imposing size. For once, he was wearing actual clothes, a shirt and a pair of jeans, a sign he wasn’t planning on having to transform tonight. A sign that he was planning on being entirely dedicated to you.

- “Ready to go? I’m kidnaping you.” He said that last part with a smirk, a hint to your previous request.

- “Sure.” You grabbed your coat, said goodbye to your dad, and left without waiting any longer.

First, he took you away to get some food in you. It wasn’t until your teeth were digging inside a delicious burger that you realized just how hungry you were. Jacob being the glutton that he is, ordered two cheeseburgers along with a pack of large fries. You went for a milkshake, the perfect dessert for a night like this, and took your victuals to the La Push beach. It was empty and peaceful; the sun was slowly going down, the wind just a whisper in the night. It wasn’t even that cold, but the excuse to snuggle into Jake’s wolfish warmth was too good to pass.

- “Feeling better?” he asked while wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

- “Yes. Thanks, Jake.”

- “Kidnapping mission was a success?”

- “Yes, it was.” You answered with a smile.

- “Alright.” He muttered under his breath, looking in the distance.

You stayed for a while in comfortable silence, simply enjoying the other’s presence.

- “So, what were you saying about me not being there today, like that made your day worst?”

His question took you by surprise. A look at his cocky expression was all it took you to punch him in the ribs as hard as you could.

- “You wish idiot.”

He laughed at your attack, he probably didn't even feel a thing but leveled his face with yours in all seriousness.

- “You can avoid this conversation for now since you had a shit day and all, but keep in mind, it’s not over.”

- “And you keep in mind that our discussion about you ordering werewolves to stay behind to protect me, is not over. You won’t get away easily with that one Black.”

He laughed again, visibly amused with your threat. You laughed too but were slightly less amused. These two conversations were important ones, although one you apprehended way more. You looked at Jacob's happy expression and felt a fuzzy feeling warming your body. No, right now was not the time for such serious topics.

All in good time, right?

...

Tagging my two gals because they know how nervous I was����...@imjustdreamingig @gonzalezyon I did it gals🥺 I hope you'll like it, thank you so much for your support💕💕

[pure-kirarin]

Slow & Steady [P6] [Sabo x f!reader] (+18)

A/N : Hello ! I wanted to start by thanking you guys for the AMAZING responses on chapter 5. This makes me want to continue investing in this story !! I read all of your messages and I cherish them, they make me want to continue. I'd also like to thank my beta reader for her hard work. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter as much as the others.

Please always tell me your opinion as it’s my kryptonite ! Also feel free to ask to get tagged.

Synopsis : Isn’t love a matter of timing after all ?  That’s what Sabo has always thought. It was about finding the right tempo, making the right moves and hitting the right spot. Patience is a virtue after all, and he had a lot of it. It all started when your ex cheated on you. You were heartbroken, you needed someone and he was there. Was he always that hot ? You didn’t know. But after that night you have never seen him in the same way. Chapter Warning : Smoking (cigarettes) - mention of ex relationships AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/31877203/chapters/81748033

P I - P2 - P3 - P4 - P5 - P6

I made a playlist for this chapter but I suggest you listen to it after ! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3posJHlUg1XFJzQbPkjF0J

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The crimson-haired man ceased to look at you, as if it hurt to do so. Your lack of response discouraged him. How could it be otherwise? You had created a narrative where he was a cheater, believed in it, ended the relationship - all of this without him knowing; without him even doubting it. It was ironic enough that he who saw so clearly in the future, he who knew how to read people’s moves so easily was totally blind when it came to love. Or maybe had he tried to blind himself? To overlook the fact that you weren’t answering your phone anymore? To find excuses upon excuses for you? He had always been that type of person after all. As a big brother, as a “responsible” person, it was second nature to him to bottle up his feelings and to never lose composure. And even in this moment, he couldn’t tell you how much your actions hurt him.

But for once, he accepted the fact that he saw a future that you weren’t a part of. Deep down, he knew that by overlooking the signs and hints, he has also played a role in the downfall of your relationship.

He saw it too clearly: you weren’t his anymore. Just like when you excluded him from the decision making, choosing to put an end to your relationship on your own - you didn’t even have the courage to tell him that yourself. He had to do the same: fill in the gaps and read between the lines. He remained silent for a moment. He got up from his seat when he gave up on you saying anything.

He moved towards the door, ready to leave all your shared memories behind his back.

People don’t always get the closure they need in order to move on, he knew that too well.

“Katakuri,” you called for his name weakly. He didn’t know if it was his imagination or if you had really pronounced his name. He turned his head towards you, unimpressed.

Your heart was pounding hard in your chest. You knew that if you let him go now you would regret it forever. You knew that you had to tell him about everything. He deserved it, after all. It was hard to be the bad guy of the story. But you had been a bitch and you had to face the consequences of your behavior. Wasn’t that what being an adult meant?

“There is something else that I think you need to know,” He seemed interested now. He was listening to you without turning your way.

“I apologize for everything that I have done and I know that you will probably not forgive me and honestly, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't either.” You took a deep breath before going on. “What I am going to say might be hard to hear, but I feel like you need to know it.”

You don’t know exactly how the rest followed, nor how you found the courage to tell him about everything. You didn’t get to any details, it would have been too cruel, but you told him what he needed to know.

“I am really sorry, but I think that it’s best for us to split up. My feelings have changed, I have caused enough damage as it is. I think that it’s better for both of us. I am really sorry I hurt you.”

You looked down and from this angle you couldn’t see his smile. It was bitter, the smile of someone that had seen all of this coming. And yet, he was relieved that you confided in him. It was the closure he needed after all. At least now, he could move on.

* * *

The cigarette trembled between your index and middle finger. Your head was clouded. It took too much effort to try and empty your head, to try not to think of what was going to happen. You had lost so much already and what you were going to lose was beyond repair. With every breath you took, you felt your stomach contract and your legs get weaker. It was one of those days when you wished you hadn't woken up. Despite all of this, a feeling of peace submerged you. Peace? Maybe because you had been honest to your ex, maybe because you were trying to be honest to yourself. What got you into this situation was your indecision after all. You didn’t want to hide anymore.

If you can’t see it, then it doesn’t exist. This mentality of yours had to change and you were going to change it tonight. It was the best opportunity, it had to happen, you had to grow. Maybe to some extent, your “romantic” failures weren’t all to blame on others, maybe you also played a role, maybe you weren’t ready yet. Didn’t Sabo say the same thing?

“I thought that you stopped a long time ago.”

A firm voice broke your trance. His hand snitched the cigarette from your lips before putting it out with the sole of his shoe.

“Hey!” You whined in protest, features softening when you were met with his dark eyes.

“I did quit. But I was stressed,” you tried to justify yourself. “I needed it.” You mumbled.

“Bullshit. You always have the choice.” He shrugged and took place next to you on the sidewalk.

Choices, decisions, you were already done with all of this. An awkward silence swallowed the atmosphere, but it seemed as if it was only awkward for you.

Now that you had nothing to do with your fingers and mouth, you started scratching at your wrist slightly - a nervous tic.

The ambience of the park offered you, however, a feeling of safety. The darkness hid your embarrassment. He was now sitting next to you and it was as if words deserted your mind. He didn’t want to pressure you, he didn’t say anything. Under the moonlight, his blond hair took on a silvery shade. He kept looking in front of him, hands in his pockets. Silence didn’t bother him, he knew that something was wrong, otherwise you wouldn’t have texted him to come to the park at around midnight.

Truth is, you couldn’t calm down, you felt like you had to come clear about this whole situation, you felt like you had to make a decision. You felt that if you let today pass, then you would find one hundred excuses and hide again.

It was now or never.

“Sabo,” you started.

“Y/N,” he mirrored your answer.

“I’m going to tell you something... But please don’t judge me, alright?”

“Have I ever judged you?” He arched an eyebrow, his eyes meeting yours, making you switch your gaze almost instantly.

“Well... You have... Like that time I used the microwave at your place…”

“Y/N, you microwaved a fork…” You fake pouted as you playfully punched his arm.

“Well, the fork was in the bowl and Ace was there and he didn’t say anything! Not my fault.”

“And you trusted Ace?” he smiled and held your wrist to stop you. “He’s a living disaster. You guys can’t do anything without me, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah. What would I do without my Mr. know-it-all of a best friend?” you laughed it off.

Best friend. That word reminded you of the reason why you contacted him so late. You coughed two times, trying to switch his attention to you. Laughing things off helped ease the atmosphere. You twirled a hair strand around your finger then started as if you were going to give a speech.

“Hey, I’m gonna try to... be decisive…”

“That’s some character development.”

“Sabo!”

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself,” he said with a sweet smile. You sighed and started bouncing your leg nervously.

“So If I called you tonight it’s not to have the pleasure of your company… and it’s not to rip you off your precious hours of sleep... It’s also not to... ”

Noticing that you were starting to diverge from the topic, he held your hand in his softly and gave you an encouraging look. Honestly speaking, he didn’t have much patience around others but he had loads of it with you.

“I called you for something else. And don’t you dare hang up on me next time! I want to have a serious conversation about…everything, about us, and most importantly about…” you sighed before continuing “About my ex situation.”

He took his hand off yours now that you seemed calmer. He was surprised by your willingness to talk about such matters. It was a pleasant surprise to him, it meant that you wanted to take things in hand, that you were growing.

“I’m listening to you.”

“I thought that it was only fair for you to know as well... that I fucked up pretty badly. I assumed that my ex cheated on me and as it turns out, he didn’t. I just learned it this evening so I feel very confused and bad. It’s a long story. It was just me, assuming things because I was scared and because I feared confrontation. Then everything happened so fast between you and me... I shouldn’t have... I feel very ashamed. For him, for you, for acting so immature.”

Your voice cracked and you couldn’t hold your tears any more. You looked down and started wiping your tears with both hands on your face. You didn’t want to cry in front of him because you had caused him pain as well. Sometimes not taking action is also an action and it has consequences.

You didn’t dare look at him, did he look disappointed? Did he stop loving you? After all, you didn’t even know the reason behind his love. Maybe he was “playing games” too as that anon suggested on Reddit. No, you couldn’t afford to assume things again now. You had to be honest, raw, vulnerable. You couldn’t see his reaction through your tears, but you felt his hand on the top of your head, gently bringing you towards him, resting your head on his shoulder.

“Wow, this really sucks.” You were surprised by his reaction, but the fact that it wasn’t one of disappointment as well as his easy-going demeanour released your stress. You started sobbing, shoulders shaking. He didn’t know how to react at first, but one thing he knew for sure: you came first, and he hated to see you cry.

“Shh... Here, here... It’s okay to cry... Let it all out...” He then continued “It’s going to turn out just fine. You can count on me, okay?”

“I was a really bad person. I should’ve acted differently. I should’ve at least told you... or Nami or someone... but I just... assumed things... I was so scared that you’d stop... that you’d stop being my... friend... And stop loving me…”

His grip tightened around your shoulder as he pressed you a bit closer to him. He offered you a warm smile as he spoke in the same light note.

“Well, whatever happened, happened. I don’t think that you are a bad person. You’re human and you made a mistake that you’re now aware of. I know that you had no ill intentions. At least you learned something, hm? And about me... Aren’t you underestimating me a bit?” He smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Did you forget that I’m Luffy and Ace’s brother? I’m tough, you know.”

You were overwhelmed by his kindness, and this just made you realize that it wasn’t only about your feelings, you couldn’t count on everyone else to put up with you and clear up your mess.

“Sabo, you’re so kind.” Despite your mascara running under your eyes and you looking like a total mess, he found you incredibly beautiful. He felt proud, he knew how hard it was for you to go through all of this. He felt like it was worth it that he had loved you for this long, you were honest and strong, even if you weren’t aware of that strength, you had proven it in this moment.

“I’m not being kind.” He meant it; after all, his intentions weren’t all that innocent towards you, he had wanted you from the start. “I’m just being truthful, as your best friend.”

Maybe he wanted more, but he was content being your friend as well. Since for him everything needed time, he had no right to rush you.

Love is a matter of timing after all. Too fast and all of his subtle efforts would go to waste.

“About that... I mean... The “best friends” part...” He could easily see your chest heaving with your breath. Your heartbeat raising little by little until it was unbearable, your lower lip slightly trembling as you dreaded the weight of the words you were going to pronounce. He looked at you with genuine interest and curiosity; he laid off a bit, turning your way.

“I don’t think that we could act this way anymore...” You dug your nails into the palm of your hand nervously.

“I... told Katakuri about everything. I told him that I couldn’t be with him anymore because of how things have changed. I can’t be here and pretend that nothing happened when so much did…”

“Nothing has changed for me.” He said in a stable voice, trying to anticipate your reaction. Despite being sure of himself, of every step he had taken till now, he felt a hint of uncertainty, for this was a variable that he hadn’t taken into consideration.

“But everything changed for me, and I can’t ignore it. I can’t continue to play pretend... Of course it was convenient for me... And I didn’t wanna lose... Whatever it is that we have. But I didn’t realize that it had already changed. I can’t be your friend anymore, Sabo. Not like this. Not with these thoughts in mind. Not after…” Y our eyes flicked from his lips to his eyes and back. “After... everything we did.”

You didn’t give more reasons, but your eyes gave one hundred more.

We can’t be friends because I touched myself to the thought of you. Because I can’t help but think about being with you. Because I don’t stand the thought of you being with someone else. Because I love the way your arms fit around me. Because I love everything about you, from the way you say my name to these stupid blond eyelashes that reflect the light everytime you blink. And most importantly... because I love your way of loving me unconditionally.

As much as I want you...

As much as you want me back...

I can’t be with you, not now, because it would hurt me and hurt you even more, because I have to make a decision, because I can’t draw the line between love and lust and because I am afraid to wrong you in the way I was wronged.

But just for a moment, just for this time, you wanted to kiss him just one last time. You wanted to get intoxicated by that mint smell that you have grown addicted to. He looked at you as he drank your words, eyes reflecting the darkness of the sky. His piercing gaze seemed to understand your dilemma. Suddenly, the emptiness of the park felt too weighty and the air too heavy.

“Say something,” you pleaded, almost begging him to break the silence.

To words, he preferred actions. Before you even realized, he captured your lips into the kiss you were longing for. His hand was fast to encircle your back, pressing your upper body against his. Your fingers instinctively reached for the fabric of his shirt, tugging on it as to pull him closer. For him to kiss you so passionately, it only made you realize his burning desire for you. The more you kissed in an attempt to ease your craving, the hungrier you got for his lips, for his stupid minty taste. But it wasn’t nearly enough for you, the growing warmth and tingles created a desire that you were unable to appease yet. You pressed your legs together when his free hand gently rubbed your thigh. He kissed you deeply, almost willing you into giving up on your decision to give in to his embrace. He was indeed that good of a kisser, making you want to shift into his lap and have him inside of you. You whined at this thought growing more eager, tongue chasing his, teeth nibbling on his lips. But you eventually had to break the kiss, even when you prayed for the seconds to last for hours, it was bound to end. You took a moment to collect your breath again. His eyes were demanding, pupils dilated and greedy, yours were more modest, shifty.

“Looked like you were dying for it.”

He broke the silence, finger tracing your neck before lifting up your chin, making you lose composure as you looked into his deep gaze. It was too late to deny it, you were indeed dying for it. But instead of satiating you, that kiss felt like the promise of something forbidden. You only groaned meekly as an answer, feeling too weak to actively protest. You indulged in his embrace, resting your head in the crease of his neck. You breathed in his scent, even his hair smelled fresh like mint. As you took in a bigger gulp of air, you could inhale the subtleties of a thyme or violet underlying smell. What shampoo did he use? Another diverging thought that you discarded.

You closed your eyes. “Can we stay like this for a little longer?” you asked, and who was he to deny you so little? He revelled in your desperate need for his touch. He felt needed, wanted, but he knew that he shouldn’t get carried away, he knew that it wasn’t the right timing yet. So he just let you sink into his warmth. For now.

You peeled yourself off of him reluctantly. Your eyes avoided his. Nice progress ,he thought, but there was still need for improvement.

“I can’t be selfish, not anymore. I have to make a decision. I am sorry I can’t make up my mind yet.” Your voice cut through the silence, firm, yet not devoid of sensitivity.

You needed time, it was clear, but he was nothing if not patient with you. He was ready to settle for your friendship for now while he worked for your love, but he liked your idea more. He wasn’t one to push his emotions onto you, he was there to lead the dance, to toss a bottle into the sea. If good news came then good for him, if nothing came out then he had gambled and lost. But he wasn’t as detached and passive as things might have seemed, as he took multiple variables into consideration to place his best bet.

“Take all the time you need.” Not an ounce of annoyance was to be detected in his voice. It was steady, a rock that couldn’t be moved. He had what it took, he knew what he wanted and he was ready to wait for it because he had the deep belief that you were worth the wait.

“Why are you so patient? Don’t you think you’re too confident? Aren’t you scared? ” It was genuine curiosity, but you bit your tongue realizing that your words might’ve seemed cocky or doubting. His lips stretched into a roguish smile, making him devastatingly handsome. And here he was, a Sabo that you had encountered a few times between two eyelash beats. It was so destabilizing, the way he morphed into a totally different person from one second to another, giving you a strange feeling. It was something that you couldn’t fully place yet. He kept escaping from your grip while being totally still. He was like sand between your fingers and you were fascinated by the prospect of catching him.

“I thought that it was obvious, doll.” Here he goes again, calling you sweet names and raising the rhythm of your heartbeats. How did he make everything sound good? You would’ve scoffed at anyone else calling you ‘doll’, but that voice of his made it sound oh so appealing. Or maybe it was the seed of desire that he had planted in your core, that was now growing and blossoming, vines intertwining with your lungs.

He got closer again, black eyes scrutinizing yours.

“You can have all the time you need. What I want is simple, non-negotiable, immutable.”

At first he was startled; your ex appearing out of nowhere seemed like an inconvenience, but after giving it some thought, he realized that he was in luck. He didn’t have to make you choose, the choice was there for you to make.

“And what is it that you want?”

“You. But all of you.” He looked you up and down as he said this then got up. He wasn’t the type to settle for less. He wanted no compromises, no half-open doors, no half assed answers. If he wanted something then it was all of it, out of respect for you and for himself. Another reason was probably that he knew: the longer the chase, the bigger the prize.

He got up since he considered that the conversation was over now and it was also getting late. You looked at him, eyes wide open, cheeks aflame. His voice trailed off, cutting through the silence.

“No rush, I think that it’s better for you to focus on your exams for now. Will you manage without my help?” Another charming smile, shifting back to that playful Sabo you have always known. The mood felt less serious now.

“I think I’ll do just fine this time…” you smiled gently, following his lead.

“Good, then. Good night.” He put his hand on your head, softly ruffling your hair before turning back. He seemed a bit more distant now, like he was plunged into some deep reverie. You instinctively got up, looking intensely at his back slowly fading into the darkness. Before his silhouette got completely enveloped, you shouted.

“Sabo!”

He turned back instantly and you threw something in the air towards him. He was quick to catch it.

“I don’t think I need these anymore. Take them!”

He opened his hands, looking at the packet of menthol cigarettes and a blue lighter. He put it into his back pocket prior to giving you a proud smile. He then continued his way back home, leaving you behind. You felt both relieved because things had gotten a bit clearer, yet apprehensive since your feelings were still very much unclear. But maybe what you felt above all was exhaustion. You looked for a moment at your empty hands. Did you make the right choice? Whether it was good or bad, you couldn’t care less. At least you had acted true to yourself.

tag list : @chloenanami @mwls-garden @soanywaysistartedsimping @portgaslari @lofi-coffee @donvampiro @fishandfuck @vemuabhi @gabrielasalazar18 @kiriechanx

[adorethedistance]

9 P.M. - Alive!Luke Patterson x Reader Modern Day!AU

JATP masterlist

Warnings: swearing, mentions of suicide, painful breakup, and angst.

Words: 1991

Summary: Luke breaking up with you made your world stop turning, and when it finally starts moving again after four long months, Luke is back in typical agitator fashion.

A/N: Not requested, and I wrote this in about two hours so bear that in mind. I’ve been toying with an angst idea for a little bit now, and because all of my requests rn are fluff, I decided why not give Luke a little love since it’s been a minute since my last Luke fic. This isn’t proofread so proceed with caution.

“What are you doing here, Luke?” Dana’s voice cuts clear over the mindless chatter in the busy diner. She tucks a stack of menus under her arm to brush a loose strand of sandy blonde hair out of her face.

“I’m here to talk to Y/n. She isn’t returning my calls and she only has her phone on silent when she’s working.”

A solid four months ago, Luke Patterson had broken Y/n Y/l/n’s heart into a couple billion pieces in this very diner. After Luke requested to meet up as soon as possible, Y/n told him she’d be clocking out for the night around 9 PM, and true to his previous request Luke had arrived at 9 on the dot. He considered taking her to his car for more privacy but in fear of forgetting his long, crafted speech, he opted for a secluded booth in the very back corner of her diner.

He still remembers the evening, clear as day. They sat down across from one another on the red vinyl seats with nervous tension exponentially rising between them. He remembers the way she ruffled her loose hair after having it pulled back for an 8-hour shift. He remembers the way she rested her right ankle on her left knee to massage away the calf pain from 8 hours of waiting tables. And he remembers the way her warm smile disappeared after he uttered the words “I think we should break up.”

Y/n was so shocked she couldn’t respond. Everything seemed to be going well between them. They had said their first ‘I love you’s and she had even opened up to the possibility of giving him her virginity. And here he was, a mere week later, claiming that he had fallen out of love with her over the span of a month.

Tears clouded her vision. She was quick to wipe them away before they fell, something Luke noticed that she only did when she was crying out of anger. With her normal sadness or even stress she just lets her emotions run their course. But the anger swelling inside of her at that moment, she so desperately wanted to hide. As a result, she brushed them away. She bit her tongue. She saved face, not wanting to let Luke know just how much he had hurt her.

Luke expected a full-on interrogation. He knew Y/n’s mind was one of insatiable curiosity and she had to have at least a million questions. However, if she did, she didn’t show it. The only question she asked, “Is this really what you want?” Her voice was steady, but Luke knew how badly she wanted to tear him apart, to ravage him right then and there. But after losing such a huge part of herself, Luke, she held onto her dignity so tight it nearly crumbled into dust and blew out of her clenched fingers. Without asking for any more information, she slipped out of the booth and hurried to her car as fast as her walk could take her.

At the time, Luke felt guilty for making her cry. Now he feels guilty for ever having let her believe she wasn’t good enough for him. The only problem is she wouldn’t give him the chance. And her best friend, Dana, didn’t seem like she would give him one either.

“Well, she’s not here. Have you ever considered she’s not returning your calls when she’s off of work, too?”

“Dana, I need to talk to her-”

“What could you possibly have left to say, Luke? Whatever you said to her that night broke her, it absolutely destroyed her. She hasn’t been the same since.” Luke had no trouble believing that was true, which is why it hurt so bad to hear, granted it didn’t hurt as bad as how Y/n felt that night.

“What? No- I-I really need to talk to her.”

“You really don’t.”

“I have to get her back, Dana!” A tornado of shock and anger consumes Dana to the point where all she can do is let out a bitter laugh. The look in Luke’s eyes indicates how hurt he is by her laughter, and Dana’s desire for vengeance has never been so strong. So, she continues to tell the truth. The ferocious, unabridged, hurtful truth,

“You don’t deserve a second chance. You don’t even deserve an attempt at a second chance. Knowing her, Y/n would never tell you this, but I will: you fucked up so bad, you made her almost make the biggest mistake of her life.”

“What?” Luke almost hesitates to ask, knowing he won’t like the answer.

“That night, she came to my place and cried so hard for three hours before she could even get a coherent word out. She stayed with me for three days and, had my shift not ended early that Tuesday, she wouldn’t be alive today.” The dumbstruck look on Luke’s face is only more motivation for Dana to twist the knife, “She almost didn’t survive losing you, Luke. And god forbid she gives you a second chance because she won’t survive losing you again.”

The diner is just crowded enough that no one is paying the two of them any mind as they faceoff by the hostess stand. Dana spent four long months consoling her best friend back to life, and she was not about to let Luke destroy all the hard work Y/n had put into healing.

“I can make this right.”

“How could you possibly make this right?”

“I know more now than I did before. I’ve changed!”

“So has she.” Dana’s biting words render Luke speechless. Once she realizes her work here is done, she continues setting up tables as they’re disinfected.

__________________________

Luke’s conversation with Dana in the diner left him shellshocked, but it also lit a fire under his ass that he needed to move forward. Rather than discouraging him, Dana’s words gave him a greater incentive to win her back: proof that he was willing to do what he said he would. At least, that’s what Luke told himself. Rather than stepping into the future with greater clarity, Luke went into the world with confidence so large and blinding, his actions may sabotage his true intentions.

That’s how he found himself so determined to win Y/n back. And that’s how he found himself face to face with the front door of her home. It’s 9 PM, just early enough to where she’d be home for the day, just early enough to where she wouldn’t be asleep, and hauntingly just the exact time he had broken her heart all those months ago. Before giving his conviction a chance to back out, he was raising a steady hand to ring the doorbell of her residence.

Y/n opened the door without much thought, expecting a food delivery; she was drastically off-put by Luke’s presence at her doorstep this late.

“Oh.” Was the only response manageable for the tired waitress.

“Hi. Can we talk?”

There it was. The phrase that was a paradoxical toss-up regarding her emotional state. Half of her has been waiting for this day for so long, dreaming of the boyfriend she once knew to come genuinely heartbroken and remorseful to win her back. The other half was terrified of this impending day as she realized she wasn’t nearly as emotionally strong enough to handle the situation as she thought. 

‘Oh’ was the only response manageable for the tired waitress.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please just give me five minutes and if you never want to hear from me for the rest of your life, I’ll never bother you again,” he rushes out, knowing his time is finite. For what short period of time he thought it over, Luke always imagined pouring his heart out on her front doorstep. That’s why her silent sidestep and opening of the door caught him so off guard. He hadn’t anticipated her to actually give him a decent chance. Why would she? He broke up with her in the very diner she works in full time and crushed her heart so completely, the only things left behind had to be contempt and resentment.

Luke crossed the threshold of her small, cramped LA home with his heart on his sleeve. Reluctantly closing the door behind him, Y/n walks to her living room and sits on the couch amidst a mess of popcorn, her favorite chocolates, used tissues, and a bottle of Advil. The night Luke broke up with Y/n was four months ago and she’s still spending her Friday nights alone crying on her couch with a rom-com on the tv. A sharp pang of guilt cuts through Luke’s chest like a machete and his previous confidence completely dissipates into sadness. Though, he can’t tell if it’s actually remorse or just general pity.

“What did you want to talk about?” Y/n asks as if she doesn’t know what conversation they’re about to have. Luke takes a deep breath to prepare himself as best as he can before explaining what’s been on his mind.

“I am so sorry, Y/n.” His hopes for any sort of reaction are crushed once her blank stare doesn’t waver. In spite of everything that’s happened thus far, this is the moment Luke realizes this would be a lot more difficult than he anticipated. “That night, you asked if taking a break from… us was what I really wanted.”

“I remember.”

“I said yes and you left right after that. I know you’ve blocked my socials, but you haven’t blocked my calls, you just don’t answer. I’m sure you’ve got to be interested in why, you’re a very curious person.”

Luke wasn’t wrong there, Y/n had been wondering why. She had been wondering why since the words left his mouth that night, but she repressed that curiosity. She repressed it because she knew that whatever the answer was, it didn’t make any difference. Luke wasn’t hers to have anymore and that was what really mattered.

“I did it because I thought I was falling out of love with you.”

“You thought?”

“I wasn’t actually falling out of love with you.”

“You weren’t?”

“No.”

“Then why’d you break it off?”

“I thought I was falling out of love with you but really my attraction was just changing. Instead of just spontaneous and passionate and exciting, I began to see our relationship as comforting and secure as well as those other things. I thought my comfortability was falling out of love, but really, I was falling in love. I was no longer just super infatuated with you, I was in love with you. Genuine love.”

“Luke…” Y/n trails off. She has no real idea of what it is she’s thinking so she opts to let Luke continue until she can figure it out.

“I love you, Y/n. And I broke things off because, before you, I didn’t understand love. Hell, with you I didn’t understand it was love, but now I do! I love you.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“So, what does this all mean?” Luke draws in a nervous breath, identical to the one he used to soothe his nerves as he stepped into the all-too-familiar house.

“I know I don’t deserve it because of what I put you through… but all I’m asking is for a chance to prove that I really do love you.” The looking shimmering across Y/n’s eyes tells Luke how her thoughts are running wild. She’s experiencing a new train of thought at a mile a minute and it terrifies both of them.

“You hurt me, Luke. And I want to hate you so much for everything that you put me through, but I don’t, and I hate myself for that. But, I’m sorry. I can’t give you a second chance.”

***

Taglist: @caitsymichelle13​ @kaitlyn2907​ @itz-jas​ @crybabyddl​ @kcd15​ @kinda-really-lost​ @calamitykaty​ @morganayennefertyrell @n0wornever​ @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ @mrstodorooki @vicesvsvirturesfanfic @curlybrownhairedboys​ @amazinggracy​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @asdfghjkl-fanfics​ @ghostlygreenbean​ @juliefromaustralia @merceret​ @jemimah-b99​ @ifilwtmfc​ @thesweetestsinner​ @imsydneywalker​ @lovesanimals​ @thebloodthirstyvampress​ @bumbleberry-pie​ @losers-club6​ @tefilovesreading​ @dmcfarland1​@joynerxmercer @kexrtiz​ @talk-on-the-street​ @phantompogues​ @konciousdreamer​ @sunsetcurvej​ @warmnesss0ul​

[stephspurs]

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

hi guys and gals! Part 7 sees friendship strengthened, decisions being made and love ultimately hurting. As always, please enjoy the next part and let me know what you think is going to happen in part eight! I actually love hearing from you all so please don't be too shy to reach out and message me - I love a good chat LOL Love always, Steph xx

Part 7 | settima parte

warnings; love sucks man. word count;  1850 writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter. next update; Monday 09/08 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)! Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven link to fic masterlist here

“bella amelia, cosa ho fatto per meritarmi questa telefonata?” (beautiful amelia, what did i do to deserve this phone call?) Jorginho spoke his second-native tongue down the line to the British girl, calling him way past her self-appointed bedtime of 9pm.

“Jorgi, ho bisogno del consiglio di un amico” (Jorgi, i need the advice of a friend). Amelia, almost desperately, pleaded down the line to the boy who became her therapist.

It had been a few days since Amelia & Jack’s facetime where they sat and listened to the countless offers the successful girl had waiting in her voice message inbox. Being the person that she is, Amelia needed to distract herself from obsessing over the messages so she threw herself into her job. Spending too many hours over her paid allocation at Juventus training ground, getting administrative work done for the season ahead.

Was this her way of nesting? Or empty-nesting? Was she subconsciously preparing the club and her boys for life without her? Getting them ready with a season's worth of set pieces and tactical plays that would secure them an outstanding 37th victory? On the flip side, was she preparing for her new role in England which she had yet to accept. There was no harm in her taking her intellectual property back over to the motherland. The two clubs did not compete in the same tournaments, perhaps only the Champions league - but who's to say that whatever club she does pick will make the Champions League? There was no doubt Juve would be there - all of her preparation would ensure they would be. Whoever took over her role simply just had to show up and keep the boys in line.

“ok tesoro, parlami.” (Ok darling, speak to me). The Italian settled onto his couch, espresso in hand, waiting to hear the younger girl's problem.

“So I've spoken with Kyle & Jack now, and have told them of my predicament. They both are very heavily favouring one side - but I need a voice of reason. If you happen to express the same sentiments that they both did, then maybe that's all of the reassurance I need to make this final decision.” Amelia switched back to her native tongue.

After spending the better part of an hour discussing in great depth the offers that she was receiving from the 5 english clubs, Amelia felt just as confused as she did before calling the Chelsea boy. No surprise that Jorgi was team Come to the Prem & Join Chelsea, but the italian midfield maestro had also brought her back down to earth from cloud nine and reminded her of what, or who, she was leaving behind.

“Now I don't like telling you what to do, but you need to discuss this with Fede, Amelia. He doesn’t deserve a lot of things, but this is something he does.”

So that's where Amelia found herself the next morning. Sunday’s in Italy were reserved for espresso and long walks in the sun. This particular Sunday must have been reflective of the internal turmoil she was facing, uncommon for the season, the sky above her was overcast and a light drizzle had started to set in on her walk to the charming Italian’s townhouse.

______________________________________________________________

“pensavo fosse un mito che gli inglesi portino con sé il tempo the” (i thought it was a myth that british people bring the weather with them) Fede said as he opened the door, and his arms, while looking down the two steps at me.

“Very funny” I said as I gave him a hug. He always was so good at hugs. I’m going to miss them. Snap out of it Amelia - you don’t even know if you’re going to go yet. Oh she knows she's going. She also knows what club she's going to. No she doesn't, you be quiet. I’m here rooting for her Italian romance. If I had an angel and devil on each shoulder, their conversation would speak my internal monologue as such.

Walking through to his kitchen, putting on a coffee and saying hello to his dogs, Fede stood in the doorway and watched me move around his kitchen as though it was my own.

“I’m convinced you got British bulldogs because you just can’t help but love the English” I cheekily smiled up at him from my crouched position in the middle of his kitchen, giving the two bullys the best head rubs.

“Sure, you keep thinking that Amelia” Oh, the way he says your name Amelia, so foreign, so romantic. He says it the same way any other Italian would say it, he’s nothing special. Be quiet, let them have their moment.

“Lets go and enjoy these out in the courtyard, is your sun shade still up? It should hold out the rain right?” Amelia spoke rushedly as she poured two espresso cups and walked towards his back door.

“Tesoro, why are you so unsteady today? Is something troubling you?” Fede spoke worriedly, noticing my little nervous habits coming out to play and speaking faster than my mind could comprehend. Better to just get this over with i think, for once we agree on something.

“Ok i need to tell you something, and i need you to let me get it all out before interrupting me. Can you do that? This is something i’ve been working up the courage to speak out loud, let alone speak it to you”

Fede took a sip of his espresso, holding my eye contact, before putting his cup back on its saucer and leaning forward, elbows on his knees. He thought he was ready for what i was about to say, expecting it to be yet another long winded speech as to why i want to put a label on our situationship. Oh boy, how wrong he was.

“After the success of the european tournament, i have received a lot of praise and recognition for my skills”

“And you deserve every bit of it amore, every bit and even more” Oh dear, could my heart hurt anymore?

“Fede, I asked you not to interrupt me…”

“Ok ok, sorry, continue”

“So, I have received a lot of recognition both here in Italy as well as from my home country of England. In saying that, I have received a few offers from clubs in the premier league that want me to bring my approach, the italian approach, to the english game. It's a real step up in my career and it's something I am seriously considering. I’ve spoken with some of the boys back home and also Jorgi, they all think that this is the next step for me. I’m far too comfortable here, I can't grow in my comfort zone. I think I'm ready for a new challenge.”

I held eye contact with the 27 year old, I wasn’t about to let him know just how vulnerable I was feeling here in front of him. Something Fede could always do was read me, and read my emotions. If he knew how exposed I felt, how easily I could be swayed over this decision, then he would make it his life's mission to do so. I had made my mind up that I was going, but there was also a part of me that decided if he was to give me what I was after I would be open to the possibility of staying.

“So it seems that you have asked for the opinion of everyone else in your life, and made your decision, before even considering mine.” He slumped back in his chair, and rubbed two fingers over his lips while looking off into the small courtyard garden.

“Fede, I have made my decision. But I wanted to talk to you about it, I owe that to you. You have made my time here so memorable, so fantastic, so filled with love that I wouldn't even consider not including you in this.”

“Is there anything I can do to make you stay? Do you want me to ask you to be my girlfriend? To tell you I love you? To move in with me? Let me know what you need from me to reconsider this decision” He began to get frustrated with me, pulling the cap off of his head and running his fingers through his hair.

“That’s exactly it Fede! I don’t want to ask you to do that, you should ask me to be your girlfriend on your own! I don't want you to tell me you love me if you think that's what I want to hear - I want you to feel like you love me! I don’t need anyone to tell me what I want to hear, what I want to hear is what you truly feel. And if there is something i have learnt about you in the last few years is that you can’t hold back your feelings with anything! If you were in love with me it would have burst from you a long time ago. I think that you do love me Fede, but as someone to come home to instead of no one at all.”

“You know Fede, i don’t have any regrets over this. You mean just as much to me now as you did the very first time we crossed that boundary and blurred the lines. You’re just my type, you only call me late at night, you can’t decide if you’ll be your own man or mine. I hate to say it, but you really are just my type. This decision has nothing to do with you, it’s something i have come to make all on my own.”

I had stood up now, looking down at the 27 year old. I needed him to understand exactly what I was saying, how serious I was. This was the moment I could get it all off my chest, instead of just letting the relationship play out on his terms.

“I leave on Friday, I let the club know this morning. There's nothing that can be done now Fede, this is my decision. Please respect it, and me”

He stood up, his almost 6’1” frame towering over me. Looking down, face of steel, I could see everything I needed behind his eyes.

“hai ragione ti amo Solo non nel modo in cui meriti di essere amato” (you're right, i do love you. Just not in the way you deserve to be loved). He pulled me into his chest, both arms wrapping around the back of my shoulders, left hand holding my head in the crook of his neck. My arms wrapped around his back from below his arms, holding him tight enough that they crossed over and I could grab the sides of his rib cage. This was the closure I needed.

“I’ll give Jorginho a call and make sure he looks out for you”

“How do you know what club I'm going to?”

“I saw the way your eyes sparkled when you mentioned its name, it was the same sparkle that used to come out when you said mine…”

Part 8. | parte otto

[wizkiddx]

a friendly face

a lil one inspired from seeing the recent interviews abt cherry - yes im a couple days late but am very slow. This is basically stolen and adapted from another of my stories so I don't think there's any bits left over by my dyslexic proof reading isnt that great so apologies!!! very speech heavy so sorry am trying to balance my writing more

Summary: Tom is having a hard time filming Cherry and dealing with the emotional baggage of it, so Harry recruits someone to make everything that little bit better.

tomhollandxreader

fluff and a little angst I guess?

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Harry, Tom and their driver Sian where all sitting in the car having left the set 20 minutes ago, heading back to their accommodation. Or more precisely, Harry and Sian sat in the two front seats- Harry only in the front as to allow Tom to lie down across the three back seats. He was asleep, or at least looked asleep, but Harry knowing his brother so well knew he was just wishing he was. The day had been torturous for Tom, they’d been filming a hospital sequence in which his character was heart broken. The sequence had involved him being thrown onto the floor multiple times, by a heavy handed stunt double who was not nearly as precise as those he’d worked with at ‘marvel’. Furthermore, there was also multiple scenes of him having to properly cry on camera, which although it sounds tame, is one of the hardest things you can ever ask an actor to do. At least, someone who commits half as much as Tom. For him to show that emotion, he had to go back to a place in his life where he didn’t really ever want to venture again. But even then, this character was such a fuck up, he had to do deeper.  He felt completely drained, emotionless and cold. But he couldn’t sleep, not for the guilt he felt for being short with everyone on set- he had never been like that before, he just felt like no one was respecting or understanding what he was going through. So instead he just lay on his side, facing the backs of the leather seats, arms folded in stubbornness- even if he had no idea why.

“Tom?…Tom, I know you’re awake… Look, we need to make a quick stop. You gotta come out.” Harry was actually slightly nervous his brother would just point blank refuse, even if he needed this so bad.

“I just need to get back to the apartment. Please Harry. Can’t we do it tommorrow?” The desperation dripping off Tom’s voice actually pained Harry to listen to. He knew Tom was having a crisis about how he treated everyone today, so chose to ignore his please in favour of some assurance.

“You know everyone understands… They just kept asking me if you were alright?” Harry could see the guilt radiating off Tom. It hurt him to see his big brother like this. 

“Please… I just need to get back” His small voice barely made it to the front of the car, but Harry heard it all. 

“It will take 2 minutes tops, I had a delivery but I need a hand carrying it, come on” Harry spoke as Sian turned on the indicator to pulled up next to the sidewalkpavement; the car slowing to a gentle halt. Tom didn’t reply, instead huffing as he used the head rest of the middle seat to pull himself up. Already out the car, Harry opened the door for him waiting patiently, because Harry knew he would be a hundred times better off in just a few moments. 

“What the hell have you even ordered that’s so big?” Tom sighed while ducking through the door into the cold Cleveland air, keeping his eyes on the sidewalk as Harry motioned for him to follow his feet. 

“Oh um don’t know, a good friend sent it actually” Harry tried to hide the grin that was spread over his face from showing in his voice, as he saw a very familiar head of hair running toward them.

“What friend?” Tom looked up sassily toward Harry, shortly questioning who would send Harry a parcel from England that was too big to be delivered or carried by himself. Only then, nearly 5 metres away from Sian in the car, did Tom look up to see where they were. It wasn’t the nearest post office or delivery warehouse - they were at the airport. “Harry what’s going on?” Tom questioned with a low and warning voice, skipping a step or two in order to catch up with his younger brother. 

“We’re collecting her” Harry smiled as he nodded forward. Following his gaze with eyes wide open, Tom turned forward just in time to see Y/h/c  flying over his face as he was engulfed by someones arms. Immediately sensing exactly who this was, Tom did not hesitate to wrap his arms around your waist and push his head into your neck. Smelling the familiar perfume, Tom couldn’t help but scoff, allowing a the jerky breath to leave his lungs as you arched away from the hug, cupping Tom’s face with both her hands. 

“I’ve been reliably informed you could use a friendly face” you smiled, noticing his raw emotions threatening to overtake him, so swiftly pressing just pressing your lips onto his. Seemingly frightened to move, Tom barely reacted to the kiss, so you pushed and deepened into it a little more- till you felt him relaxing against you. With that, you arched away again and smiled massaging his stubbly hair behind his left ear.

“How are you here?” He croaked staring deeply at her, switching between her left and right eye as if that somehow would confirm that this was real, not some cruel dream he was having. 

“Someone somewhere knew you were in need and bought me a plane ticket over… I’m coming home with you on monday” You grinned while  watching Tom’s eyes light up, he leaned in again to your lips instead of replying. 

“Er-cuh-huh” Harry loudly cleared his throat, causing the two to pull away from each other. “Sorry to interrupt, but Sian isn’t really allowed to stop there long sooo” They both nodded, before Tom lunged at his brother, holding him close and whispering thanks too. It was clear this was at least partly Harry’s doing, and he could never thank his brother enough.

“Umm.. as much as I’m enjoying this brotherly love we really do have to get back in the car” Harry awkwardly spoke as he almost pushed Tom off him. 

“Awww my favourite little brother being all mature” You giggled, taking your turn to hug Harry, admittedly a little shorter than Tom’s, but still with lots of gratitude.

“Please get stop loving me and get back into the car!” Harry yelled as he stormed off to Sian, leaving both you and Tom in fits of laughter. Grasping each others hand simultaneously the laughter continued as you followed Harry down the street to the car. 

Seeing you standing there; feeling your arms wrapped round his neck ; hearing your oh so sweet voice had Tom feeling…. Feeling lighter. It was as though your mere presence gave him the strength to carry all the things that were previously weighing him down like a truck. What was extraordinary though, was how it wasn’t just psychological. He literally felt his joints feel looser, he felt his body flood with warmth and he felt his heart calming down. When you’d first been getting close to each you’d had rather the opposite effect. Which was surprising because that was at the point Tom had never felt more confident - he had just returned form a avengers press tour, where naturally everyone had just loved him and played up to his every whim. He had legions of girls, some of them drop dead gorgeous where falling at his feet. And yet, when he met you it was as though he was transported back into his incredibly awkward teenage years. It was infuriating, he knew he could act cool and unbothered and smooth however as soon as you stood informant of his it was like his mind melted, filling it with utter gibberish and garble. In fact, he was plainly floored by you - how kind and pure hearted you were, how respectful and how you found hhis jilted flirting adorable and not to forget how drop dead gorgeous you are. 

It had taken a while and a hell of a lot of opening up, but over time he found the opposite happening. Your presence became something else entirely, not one that would put him on his toes and have his heart racing - more of a comfort. He slept better when you were beside him, his nerves never got the better of him if you were there to cheer him on. He could relax completely without any fear of judgement, any worry at all with you. What you had done is change the definition of something so fudemental and a given in life. You’d changed home from a place to something much more intangible. A person; a feeling; a connection. You were his home.

“Sian are we close?” You asked, turning your attention away from the two brothers annecdotes from filming, realising Sian must’ve been driving for about 30 minutes. 

“Yep just the next right I think” Sian replied gently while turning the wheel as the indicator clicked.

“Where are we going?” Tom asked, looking first at you then pleadingly at Harry- knowing he had more of a chance with his brother. 

“Well” You started and he whipped his head back round “I know it’s late and you’ve been working all day, but you have alater  10 o’clock call time tomorrow instead of 6, so this is the best night to do something. We found a driving range-with heaters” which was a very important factor since Cleveland was bloody freezing “- that we thought you’d like to play a game or two?” The massive smile in response meant you’d hit the nail on the head.

“And soz but I’m crashing the game otherwise- and no offence, but you would win waayyyy toooo easy Tom” Harry butted in and sniggered as he interrupted the lovey-dovey stares. You gasped at that in mock offence, holding your hand over your chest. 

“Oi you, Paddy has been teaching on the Holland boys days out you both missed- I’ll have you know I now am aware that you have to get the ball into the hole, not a goal as previously thought.”

The boys both groaned in unison and Y/n wiggled her eyebrow grinning, elbowing Tom slightly in the side. “Things might have changed since you left you know?”

Yet another thing Tom loved so completely about you, was how effortlessly you had fitted into his family. Honestly, none of the Hollands could imagine life without you anymore - especially Nikki, who had quite literally attempted adopting you so she officially wasnt the only female in the immediate family. Sam used you as an expert taster for all his marvellous culinary creations (even if your judgement was always the same, it was very good); Dom often ended up picking your brains about your work, he found you ‘actual proper’ job as a doctor simply amazing , where all his family had never been especially acadmeically gifted; and Paddy just plain saw you as his older sister. So it was hardly surprising at all that when two of their actual kids flew across the world , you’d been the obvious placeholder. Yes, golf was most definitely your forte - but you were enthusiastic, with a positive (if flightily misguided) give it a go attitude. 

The try-try-and-try-again attitude that never really worked … until Paddy taught you how to hit a clean drive.

“I am not joking, I am asking the lady at the desk there’s no way!” 

“Tom you are the worst looser I have ever met! I didn’t cheat, I’ve just taken up a new hobby”

“There is no way Tom… no way she can get that good” Harry huffed as he ran straight past you to catch up with Tom, making sure that you did see the harsh glare he shot him. The outrage that Y/n had beaten them both at the driving range was way worse than anything you could’ve predicted- now you sort of were wishing you’d let them win. Oh wait…. Of course you weren’t  - this was priceless. Especially their faces when you’d launched your first ball super accurately inn the centre of the second furthest away target. They had reacted as if you had just stripped butt naked, you thought; standing their jaws hanging with a look of almost fear in their eyes.

“You could see the balls land with your own eyes! Practice makes perfect!”

“Thats not fair though! It took you like 8 weeks to be like that?”

“I mean you were obviously just taught by the wrong Holland, Paddy’s a  pretty good teacher!” You smiled as your trio turned the corner and walked through reception, seeing Harry desperate to ask the receptionist but Tom just looking over his shoulder to give a hurt look to at you.

“I’m going to ban you from being closer to my brothers than me”

“I can’t help if he’s cuter then you alright?” You smirked and raised an eyebrow, as Tom stopped in his tracks and turned to face you.

“That’s it… your gonna get it” he spoke in a low voice, with a mischievous look in his eye, abruptly he launched himself at you -  barely having  time to swerve away from him and start a sprint towards the exit, giggling as you took a glance back to see Tom chasing you out, Harry quickly in tow too. 

“Your not allowed to beat me at golf!” In a jokey voice, you heard Tom yell, just as you reached the sleek black 4x4 and hurdling yourself into it. 

“I’m in the car it’s a no fight zone!” You cowered in the corner,back pressed up against the opposite door and  arms crossed to make an ‘x’ sign in front of her body. 

“That is not how it works” Tom and Harry grinned from the open door. As fast as lightning they both vaulted in and started tickling you, making you screech curses at the two of them.

“Alright alright kids, no fighting while I’m driving thats an order.” Sian calmly spoke, trying to hide the laughter from her voice, as the two men retreated and helped to pull you up from the position half on the floor that your squirming had gotten you to. 

“Get off my leg Tom… arghhh… thanks Sian, I’m sorry they’re so moody, I just whipped their asses at golf”

“You’re here to make me feel better right? Not doing a good job so far” Tom’s snide remark meant you scrunched up your nose while plugging her seatbelt in, making sure to jab Tom’s side hard as you did so.

“How did I end up sandwiched in between you two twats then?” You grinned from the middle seat as Harry just rolled his eyes looking out the window, and Tom gave you a loving smile- not able to hide his relief of your presence.

“Think it’s about a 40 minute drive you gotta enjoy” Sian smiled looking at you via the rear view mirror, to which Tom couldn’t quite stifle the yawn that escaped. 

After all he had done much more than the typical 9-5 hours work, and the golfing was an unexpected addition to the already long day. His excitement and just pure joy at having you here had made him forget about It all for a couple of hours - but now his exhaustion was catching up with him with a vengeance. Instinctively you wrapped you arm round Tom and in doing so pulled him into your side. 

“Get some rest huh?” You whispered into his forehead, and all Tom could do was reply with a weary nod, letting his eyes slip close to the constant beat of Ally’s heart. You immediately sensed Tom was properly out of it, and contented yourself looking out his window for a few minutes,  before you felt something heavy briefly whack your other shoulder. Jumping a little at the contact, you looked round to see Harry’s head bobbing side to side in a light slumber. In the midst of worry for Tom, you hadn’t realised the kid had been doing the same long hours as him. Plus dealing with Tom and being Tom’s support, which surely took it out of him. Harry had always been ‘the most important brother’ in your eyes. Just because Tom trusts him so implicitly and completely, they had an understanding only real brothers could get to but also extended far beyond blood. When you’d first been introduced Harry had been colder to you. It wasn’t personal though, he just wanted to be sure on you and your intentions with Tom because as he well knew often when people saw Tom they didn’t just see an opportunity for love. It was an opportunity for a lifestyle, for fame, for relevance. Harry took a while before he trusted you but now you were miles and miles beyond that point. So now, being at a stage with Harry where he was phoning you to come and fly out to save Tom (and him too). It was not to be taken lightly.  Therefore, you gently pressed your hand to Harrys face and pushed him to lean against her other shoulder too- hoping to cure the dark circles under his eyes a little bit too. 

You were quite content for the rest of the journey, feeling warmth radiate through your body as the two men breathed deeply and calmly either side of you. You sort of didn’t want the car journeyer to end - but sure enough it wasn’t long till Sian was pulling into the hotel entrance.

“Get you a girl that can do both, beat yo ass at golf and look after your family” Sian whispered as she handed the phone back to you, after having taken some of your favourite ever photos, the 2 boys asleep on your shoulders while you pulled a variety of different faces. Smiling back at Sian, you then sighed-knowing she had to wake the two up, given their exhaustion you didn’t really want to either. 

“Boys…boys… hey let’s get you both into bed yeh?” You spoke softly, gently raising your shoulders in order to disturb them both. Harry’s head immediately shot up, his eyes puffy and half open, but a sheepish look on his face as he realised how he was sleeping. Just responding with a smile that said it was all okay, before  you turned her attention to Tom- forever stubborn to wake up, at least nothing had changed there. 

“Come on Tom, can’t have you sleeping in the car all night” You pushed again, this time lifting Tom’s head, earning a very deep groan as his eyes slid open and he pushed against the movement. It was at this point Harry slammed the car door shut, making Tom jump out of his skin, you loosing the hope of any serene wakeup call. Rubbing Toms arm, relaxing the tension now present in his body you encouraged him once again. “Come on lets get inside mister” 

His hotel room was exactly what you’d expect for an a-lister and lead actor in a million pound film. Large, modern, squeaky clean and posh. It was almost too big to be filled by one person though, Tom had always found it a bit cold and just not cosy - why he opted to spend the majority of his down time either fast alseep or in somebody else’s company. Both of those also stopped him getting too much in his head - or more accurately in his characters head. Cherry was a weird character and from interviewing all the veterans and lengthy discussion of his past, Tom almost felt as if he had in some small way experienced what Cherry had. Felt what Cherry did. Thought like Cherry did. 

And that was a sure fire way to fuck yourself up.

Now, with you here in his room haphazardly digging through your case, if felt warmer. The cold but brilliant white lights seemed to have softened to a gently warm glow that bounced off your skin and made your figure look almost angelic to Tom. You were his home. 

“What are you waiting for?” You mused while turning away from your (now) inside out suitcase, proudly carrying her pyjamas which you had found hidden at the bottom the whole time- not the most practical packing in the world. All the while Tom sat on his bed, back leaning against the headboard and arm bent behind his head too.

“Just thinking that I need to go through all the scenes for tomorrow” A monotonous tone laced his voice, for he knew he couldn’t spend the night the way he really wanted to, safely wrapped up with you.

“Oh… well let’s go through it together then hey? We will be done in no time; but if you want we can go over them again tomorrow morning.” It was a practical suggestion, a helpful action you could implement - even if you had a feeling Tom wouldn’t just agree. Since his lines clearly weren’t the only thing on his mind this evening. 

“Yeh but everyone on set is already sick of me after today… I can’t be being shit as well as horrid” his voice was small as the memory of how he snapped at some of the extras had him cringing inwardly at himself. He shouldn’t have been that rude, shouldn’t have blurted it out, should of offered a solution rather than just critiquing.

“Hey would you kindly shut it? No one is sick of you, everyone is just ready for christmas and missing their families. Now get changed” Your soft tone turning into an imperative order, as you threw his pyjama bottoms at the him, smashing into his face before falling into his lap.

“Oi” he shouted, but followed instructions and stood up reaching round to pull his hoodie off. Stood shirtless, his side was exposed to the now changed you, the sight making you gasp and clamber over the bed to gently touch Tom’s back. You followed the outline of an impressive patch of bruising, stretching from the bottom edge of his shoulder blade all the way to his hip. 

“Tom, what the hell happened?” Whispering in fear, Tom turned round to face you, seeing your eyes watering up as you kept glancing at his back. He was littered in a variety of purple, yellow and slightly green marks on the whole of his left flank. It looked like a minor crush injury, not something a pampered actor gets after a day of filming infront of tens of people including an onset medic and health and safety risk assessor. 

“What?” Tom asked before turning to the mirror and looking back over his shoulder to see the bruises for himself. He hadn’t expected the ache to look that bad. “oh - I - er… Today the scene, I get smashed to the floor by someone and I kept doing it wrong so we had to do it lots I guess.” He looked away and down at your feet, not being able to meet his girlfriends eyes suddenly. You just nodded, trying to blink back the tears-  he had truly been broken by this role both physically and now mentally- he hadn’t even put a stop to the constant and clearly severe pain. 

“Put your stuff on” your  voice was muted, as you waited for Tom to get prepared. He turned around again and then replaced his trousers and quickly pulled a top on to hide the marks, suddenly embarrassed. In the silence the sound of his clothes dropping to the floor, then of him sitting on the bed again- throwing his legs over so now he mirrored your position - the sounds were pretty defeaning.

“I love you so much….” Barely whispering, you suddenly ripped the duvet out from under you both holding it over you as you swung a leg over Tom so you straddled him, slightly leaning over him and letting the blanket rest on top of your back.In your position you looked down in an almost scary way to his warm brown eyes. Tom swore you were literally reading his thoughts, your intense gaze absolutely crumbling any walls he thought he’d be able to hold up. Pressing a gentle peck to his lips you then whispered onto his lips, letting him feel your words as well as hear them. “ …So that’s why we are going to sleep right now and you can worry about all of that tomorrow”

“Y/n I-“

“Your safe with me.” You were not standing for his nexuses and arguments, as you slid down his body - ending with your head resting on his chest, you legs tangled with his. Once you’re properly rested you’ll learn them ten times faster than what you can now… Before you get ill I am telling you to take a break. I’m not going to let you not. So relax and-….Tom?” Ending with a whisper, you delicately lifted your head off his slowly rising chest to see your broken boyfriend already asleep; lips parted as soft snores crept through the silence. In reality as soon as you’d said that he was safe the exhaustion had completely over taken him. Desperately needing to recharge his batteries, no matter how much he had wanted to stay up and work late it could never really happen - at this point physically impossible.

“Sleep well Tom” she smiled, planting a kiss on his cheek with a sad smile.

///////////////////////////////////////////

The next day rolled around all too quickly, but the morning was much better than any of the past couple of months because you were together. Tom, having had a solid 7 hours of sleep compared to his normal 5, was for once ready for the day. He’d gone through the script with a certain someones help in record time, and now the three were just pulling up at the set. 

“You’ve been awful quiet this car ride…” you grinned as she clasped Tom’s hand across the empty seat, making Harry turn around and give you a warning glance. Oops. In a moment where Tom went to the loo at breakfast, Harry had fully disclosed everything that had happened on set yesterday- especially the  burst of anger. So naturally, Tom was feeling nervous and scared to face everyone. 

“It will be fine I promise… and if not tell them I’m your personal body guard- no one will be rude to you if me and Harry are ready to attack” Tom let out a breathy nervous laugh, only then meeting your eyes.

“ A fly wouldn’t be threatened by you two. Harry would just take a photo while you’d check their pulse or something”

“Errrm” Harry furrowed his eyebrows as he contorted round from the front seat so Tom could see his disapproving look, meanwhile Tom was dodging your affectionate fake-slaps.

“Children we’re here” Sian sighed as she brought the car to a steady halt “and if you could get through the day without killing each other I’d appreciate it, otherwise I’m out of the job”

“Not promising anything when I’ve got these pair to deal with” Tom grinned as he opened the car door, before anyone else could retaliate.You laughed before quickly following suit, joining Tom at the front of the car and interlocking your fingers with Tom’s. Hesitating for a moment Harry took a second before unplugging and leaning for the door handle.

“You see what I mean?” Turning his head to look at Sian “It’s sickening how happy they are.”

“Yeh but your glad about it don’t lie” she grinned, before practically shooing the poor boy out her car.

“But dont tell them!” Shouting in reply, as the car was already pulling out. 

Tom’s body seemed to tense more the closer you walked to the crew tent, you could feel the way he squeezed his shoulders back and his jaw tensed and untensed. There was little you could do apart from squeezing his hand that little bit tighter - further reiterating the fact you would always always be in his corner. Perhaps the most telling about Tom’s own character was how truly guilty he felt for the way he was with the crew. Normally, he was one of the most down to earth actors around - no trace of an ego or superiority complex. It didn’t matter if you were a cleaner or head of a multimillion dollar studio, Tom would pay both the same amount of respect. He always out that completely down to his upbringing and mum and dad, but even that was being humble. He was just a good person to the core, no one saw that more than you either. It’s part of love, you see the good and the bad parts of a person and promise to unashamedly love them all. 

Just before you both had made it into the main tent, Tom was pulled away. “Oh Tom we wanted to talk to you about yesterday!” The familiar voice of Joe Russo called, as he and Anthony  ran up to Tom from his left, giving a little nod of greeting to the actor, before falling in step with him.

“Morning, I-uh I wanted to apologise actually-“Tom was cut off while you hung back off to his right, not wanting to intrude on this conversation.

“No we should. The team were all being slow yesterday, and they were making some hard scenes harder on you. We really appreciate what you are putting yourself through for the sake of the film.”

“But still I acted like a brat and I’m sorry”

“Tom” Anthony spoke up for the first time. He was a man of limited words- but whenever he spoke everyone listened. “ You are one of the best, most-dedicated actors we’ve ever worked with. We’re all overtired, run down and ready for the holidays. You’re missing your family too. It’s already forgotten… So let’s just get on with the movie?” Tom smiled, pressing his lips together to stop their kindness overtaking his emotions. Tom always felt safe with the Russo’s. They’d dealt with him when he really just was a kid actor - overwhelmed and without a clue what was happening. They’d dealt with hiM adjusting to fame and the much bigger part Marvel seemed to want him to play in the future. They trusted him with this, most incredibly complex and also personal film for them. So when they spoke and they said it didn’t matter, Tom was much more likely to agree.  Then proceeded the bro-hugs, as the men all showed they were good with each other. 

“Well lets make a motherfucking movie!” Tom exclaimed once they broke the hug and the brothers laughed at him. “Oh where-d….” He muttered as he looked round before meeting your eyes, still standing rather awkwardly a couple of meters behind them. “ Joe, Anthony you remember Y/n?” Nodding and smiling the brothers beckoned you over; both greeting you with a warm handshake. 

“Good to see you again!” You grinned and the directors responded nodding.

“We didn’t know you were coming! I would’ve made a list of all my doctor question for you.” Joe winked, knowing your pet-peeve was people asking you all their gory body questions as soon as they found out she was a doctor. You didn’t need to know about you dentists acid reflux issue, you didn’t need to know about your granny’s friend’s constipation, and you really really didn’t need to know about an old friends erectile dysfunction.

“Ha ha ha “ You rolled your eyes sarcastically “ and no it was a bit of a spontaneous trip, I just landed last night.” Throughout the whole of the exchange Anthony had taken an aloof stance, just  observing you and Tom. Observing the bright smile Tom gave you, even when you were simply making small talk. The way he looked so much healthier, well rested and just happy, in the space of a single evening.

“I’m glad you’re here” Anthony basically interrupted the conversation, addressing you then immediately turning on his heel towards the set. 

“Uhh right- get to make up we’ll call a cast meeting in a bit” Joe stammered, giving his brother a funny look before addressing Tom “ and we’ll have to have a proper catch up later.” You nodded in response, as Joe turned and did a half jog to catch up with his brother. 

“That was weird!?” You frowned as you looked up at Tom. He explained the encounter in rather simplistic terms.

“That was Anthony.”

The morning was spent with Tom doing what he does best in front of the camera. They were shooting a larger scene for the army section of the movie, with at least 100 actual soldiers as extras, all geared up in full camo outfits. It was impressive, but also gave you a chance to meet Ciara - you’d been dying to meet her since Tom told you what a laugh she was. Fair to say you weren’t disappointed at all, you guys hitting it off instantly and you going as far as giving Ciara some embarrassing Tom stories that she could wind him up with in the future. Of course though, the main attraction was seeing Tom act first hand. Every time it astounded you, even though you knew that face so completely, in all his movies he fully had you believing he was someone else. It was mesmerising and you couldn’t be any prouder. 

“You’re amazing! I seriously forgot how good you are!” You ran over as Joe Russo called cut to the end of the morning shoot. 

“Well er thanks I guess” Tom furrowed his eyebrows as you wrapped him in a hug. He’d just canned a pretty hard scene and everyone was more than ready for a lunch break. You’s been watching from behind the cameras with Harry the whole time, after Tom gave you permission to sit in his special set chair.

“Seriously I’m very…. “ Her speech broken with an impressive yawn “….very proud of you.” In thanks Tom gave you a kiss first to your nose and then lips. 

“I take it someones not adapting to jet lag?” He chuckled as he pulled away and cupped your face in his hands.

“Which I’m totally ashamed about considering I work night shifts… my body clocks supposed to be better than this” Angrily, you vented, frustrated at your own body when all you wanted to do was stays within reaching distance of Tom. Even if Tom had had the best sleep of this whole shoot last night, you’d been to over excited and enthralled just absorbing every little thing about him that you’d missed so much that you’d been wide awake the majority of the night. If you blamed you fatigue on jet lag alone, it would be an impressive lie. 

“Go take a nap in my trailer… Harry can you take her?”

“Yes master” Harry bowed down and wobbled his head sarcastically, making you giggle. 

“At least this way you get a break from him” You grinned to Tom’s brother, which Harry could only agree with. Giving Tom a parting kiss , you followed Harry away from set. It was at this point that Anthony excused himself from the monitors reviewing the footage, and approached Tom.

“Kid… that was great that scene.”

“Thanks mate, means a lot” Getting his directors approval forever reassured Tom, letting him relax his shoulders a bit as he nodded gratefully to Anthony. 

“Well it’s just truth… so your girlfriend, Y/n right?”

“Yeh that’s her” Tom nodded, suddenly a little concerned as to where Anthony was going with this. You had met the Russo’s a number of times, and it never before seemed as though Anthony had an issue with you- at least to Tom’s knowledge.

“Right well um… you know how I don’t really get involved in all this stuff…” Tom nodded, folding his arms apprehensively. “But I just thought I should say that she’s really good for you.” Tom silently breathed a sigh of relief and waited for Anthony to get to the point. “Joe told me you had a rough patch at the beginning of the year so… I don’t know our industry is hard. And harder for you and her in the spotlight… Just seeing you with her today…Don’t be afraid to take the next steps with her…Don’t let her get away.” Tom was stunned to say the least. Anthony is the last person he had ever expected to get relationship advice from. 

“I um yeh… I don’t know I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean we’ve been together for 2 and a bit years, well including the break… she means the world to me-“

“Well don’t waste it”

And that was the end of the conversation. Anthony turned to his trailer to get lunch and Tom just stood, replaying the conversation in his head. Weird to say the least. 

But it did get the cogs turning. It did get Tom really seriously considering his future. Or rather considering your future together.

And that was for certain. It was you and him, always.