#and even better he cares about liam too

[letthestorieslive]

The Boy   -   The Beast

For @masonhewittappreciation week, day 2 : Monstrous

[sinofwriting]

My Wife - Formula 1 Drivers

Words: 1,263 Summary: Or the first time they call you their wife, except you guys aren’t married. Note(s)/Warnings(s): This does not feature every f1 driver, but just the ones I’m currently writing for/could think of ideas for. These are just little blurbs of when I think they would slip up and call you their wife for the first time. Mainly fluff, but Pierre’s is NSFW, because well it’s Pierre.

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Pierre Gasly

“So good for me, amor.” Pierre groans, a hand resting on the back of her head, careful not to curl his fingers into her hair as she sucks him off. “Feels so good.” He moans when her fingers dig into his thighs a bit. “Just like that.” She pulls off him, pressing a kiss to the tip before looking up at him. “Fuck my mouth, Pierre.” His dick twitches at the idea, the thought, hips even jutting up, but he shakes his head. “Non. You told me not to ruin your hair, I listen to the not cock drunk you.” She sticks out her bottom lip, but it doesn’t sway him. He knew better than to fuck with her hair when she didn’t want him too and the fact that she hadn’t said anything to him calling her cock drunk made him aware it was true.

When he still doesn’t make a move, she presses her bottom lips out a bit more for a brief second before taking him back into her mouth. The feeling makes his head tilt back with a moan. “So good for me.” He repeats. “Such a good wife to me.” The words make her moan around him and the vibrations have him swearing, free hand curling into the sheets as he nearly cums.

Liam Lawson:

She laughs as she feels Liam mumble something against her neck. She was all too used to his drunken mumbles pressed against her skin. Though it’d been awhile since he was so sloshed that she couldn’t make out a single thing from his mumbling.

“What was that, love?” She asks, reaching a hand awkwardly behind her to run fingers through his hair. “Wife.” He mumbles, “Wife.” Her eyebrows furrow. “Wife?” He nods, planting a kiss that’s more tongue to her neck making her shudder. “Wife. Such a good, amazing wife.” A small laugh leaves her and she feels more than hears the whine he lets out. “Who makes a good wife?” She asks, wishing she had her phone with her and it wasn’t on the charge. This would be such a good drunken Liam ramble to capture. “You.” He whines, pressing closer to her, hands clumsy pushing up her shirt so they can rest on the bare skin of her stomach. “You're such a good wife. My wife.” He mumbles and she can feel his grin pressed to her skin, before he bites lightly making her jump. “My wife.” She lets out another laugh gently patting his hands, hoping that in his drunken state he can’t tell how much he’s flustered her. “Okay, love. I’m your wife.”

Charles Leclerc:

“I met her.” Pascale raises an eyebrow at the non-greeting. It was unlike her Charles, but the slight reverent breathlessness to his voice makes her give him a pass on not having manners as she turns to rearrange the cupboard. “Met who?” “I met her, maman. My wife.” “Oh,” her heart thuds a little painfully in her chest. She had heard Charles love, but this was in love and it made her wish that Herve was here to also get to see and hear it. Shutting the cupboard door, she takes a seat at the dining table, pressing the phone a little firmer to her ear. “Tell me all about her.”

Lando Norris:

“Where’d you get the plant?” Lando reads aloud, before glancing back at the new addition to his streaming background. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask the wife,” he immediately stops face showing horror before quickly correcting. “Girlfriend, girlfriend, chat! I did not get married. I do not want a call from my mother wondering why I’ve suddenly eloped.”

Oscar Piastri:

“Hey, babe. Can you call my phone. I’ve lost it?” Her eyebrows raise as she stares at it poking out from underneath a magazine on the dining table, but pulling out her own phone she calls it. She presses her lips together when he curses when it rings not in the bedroom where he is, but rather out in the living area.

Walking out of the bedroom, he easily spots the now ringing phone on the dining table, scowling at it, before scooping it up and hitting end.

“Wait, what do you have my contact as?” She asks, having only caught a glimpse of it, but it wasn’t her name. His eyes widen and he shrugs, slipping the device into his pocket. “I don’t know.” “Oscar.” She steps a little closer. “What do you have me under?” “What do you have me under?” He parrots back. Her tongue presses into her cheek for a moment. “Os, my love.” “What?” She laughs, shaking her head. “No, that’s what I have you as. Os, my love. Comma and everything.” “Oh,” he murmurs, feeling his cheeks growing warm and suddenly his contact name for her isn’t embarrassing. “Wife. I’ve got you under as wife.” “Os,” her voice is soft and he feels himself flush more. “You’re so sweet.” She tells him, before kissing him.

Daniel Ricciardo:

“Any plans for the break?” Daniel smiles at the interviewer, “Not really. I’ll be back in the factory for some testing and such. But the wife and I might end up in LA for a few days. Meet up with some friends.” “The wife? Well things must be getting serious.” “Just a little.” He holds up fingers that are just barely not touching, before laughing and dropping his hand. “Nah, it’s very serious. Can’t really be with someone for three years and it not be serious.” “You’d be surprised, Daniel. You’d be surprised.”

Logan Sargeant:

Logan watches as his cousin, Tyler, blushes when she bends down to press a kiss to his cheeks, quickly running back to his mom and hiding behind her legs.

“He’s so sweet.” She murmurs to Logan when she joins him, looking at the flowers the four year old had given to her. “Do I have some competition?” She sends him an annoyed look before nodding. “Yes. Tyler was very sweet, giving me flowers and asking me to marry him.” His mouth drops open. He hadn’t been able to hear what Tyler had said to her or what she had said back, but marry him? “But you're my wife.” She snorts at the whine in his voice and the way he’s wrapping himself around her.

“Really? Cause I don’t see a ring on her finger.” “Mom!” Logan protests, straightening a bit, cheeks turning pink. “She does have a point. I mean, no ring.” She wiggles her left ring finger, exchanging a grin with Logan’s mom. “I can’t believe I’m losing to a four year old.” He groans, resting his head on her shoulder as she laughs.

Max Verstappen:

Max grins at Thomas. The two had karted together when Max had first started and it had been a good few years since they saw each other. It was pure chance that they were even running into each other.

“How are you doing?” “I’m good.” Max nods, eyes catching on the girl walking towards him with a small smile on her face, and he quickly wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “Been better with this one, actually. Thomas, this is my wife.” Her head snaps towards him, barely hearing her name and she just barely manages to extend a hand out to shake Max’s old friend's hand. “It’s lovely to meet you.” “You as well. I had no idea that you got married, Max. Keeping it private?” Max flushes, his words finally catching up to him but before he can stutter and stammer in his way through an explanation, she replies. “Something like that.”

---

Tagging: @cixrosie @gemofthenight @darleneslane @copper-boom @peachiicherries @topguncultleader @iloveyou3000morgan @boiohboii @Benstormy

[dazednmatthews]

sick!matt headcanons

based on this ask n answer i saw on my feed!! all credits to both of these amazing ppl for the idea!!!

-matt is definitely the type to be a whiny mess when he’s sick

-we alr know his ass is in his room and sleep 24/7 but the second he starts to feel even a little bit ill he’s in there with blinds drawn and bundled in his blankets so tight

-he’d be texting you every second he is awake though, begging to see you

-“please baby. i just want to be next to you.”

-and ofc course you don’t give a damn about getting sick because that’s your man and you’re gonna stick beside him!

-“i know, honey, i’m coming. gotta stop at the store to get you some things.”

-matt always likes to find new shows to watch. it’s like his thing, but when he’s sick it’s a constant marathon of all his comfort shows and movies.

-“can we watch taken?”

-“again?”

- “it’s such a good movie, babe. liam neeson is just too good not to be a real spy.”

-“whatever you want, baby.”

-you love taking care of him, but getting him to take medicine is the most annoyed you feel

-“that shit tastes so bad, i’m not drinking that.”

-“do you want to feel better or not?”

- you’d argue back and forth for a little while but you get your way regardless

-“matt if you don’t take this fucking cough syrup, i’m going home.”

-“…fine. where is it?”

-a lot of naps. constant napping.

-you’re both cocooned underneath several blankets, legs intertwined, matt’s head on your chest. he’s been in and out of sleep all day while you’ve been watching the movie playing softly on the t.v. your hands are running through his hair affectionately. his hands are wrapped around your waist tightly. you think this is the closest to heaven you’ve ever been.

-when you eventually have to get up, you do your best to unwrap yourself from his hold, but his ass will not let go.

-“where are you going?” his voice is thick with sleep and a little nasally cause of his congestion.

-“babe, i have to pee.” you pat his head affectionately. “you’re gonna have to let me up.”

-“nooooooo,” here comes the whining again. “stay.”

-“the quicker you let me up, the quicker i’ll be back, matt.”

-chris and nick make fun of him so bad for it.

-“he’s fucking insufferable when he’s sick. i don’t know how you’re doing it right now.” nick says.

-“he’s not that bad,” you roll your eyes while heating up some soup for the two of you.

-chris laughs, “this is hilarious. big, bad, tough guy matt getting his ass kicked by a cold.” he’s much more happy than he should be at that. “mr. tough guy getting spoon fed soup by his girlfriend.”

-you let them have their fun for a while before you light heartedly shut them up. “lets not forget that mr. tough guys girlfriend has cleaned up your-” you point at nick, “vomit, and has also babied you when you got your ass kicked by a sunburn.”

-they shut up after that

-sleepy matt is one of your favorite versions of him

-when you come back into the room he’s sat up against the headboard shirtless, doing that cute thing where he rubs his eyes incessantly, blankets pooled at his waist

-his hair is strewn about, fluffy and wispy. he stretches, enough for you to see the top of his pj pants

-he looks at you as you enter, gatorade and soup balanced in your hands

-you put the dishes and drinks on the bed side table and he smiles at you oh so warmly

-he moves from his spot to the side of the bed where you stand, opening his legs for your to go in between them. he looks up at you, pulling you towards him. your hands find his shoulders, kneading softly.

-“thank you, baby.”

-“of course, matty. you’ve gotta stay hydrated if you’re gonna get better.”

-“no, not for the soup. well, yes for the soup, but i mean for everything. for staying with me. for taking care of me. i know i’m a lot right now.”

-he looks sheepish, so you bend down to kiss his cheek.

-“you’d do the same for me.”

-you stay there for a couple sweet moments, his face pressed into your stomach and your hands playing with the hair at the nape of his neck

-eventually you both lay back in bed, ending the day doing your favorite thing, just holding each other

-of course you end up sick

-you’re a lot better at being sick than matt but it never matters

-he’s babying you just the same

-“can’t believe being a good girlfriend got me sick. i hate you.”

-he rubs your back while your head is in his lap

-“i’m sorry sweetheart. don’t worry, though. i’ll take good care of you. just rest.”

-you’re not worried in the slightest. he always does.

[unhauntng]

there’s something so heartbreaking about the way that d20, especially fantasy high and the seven, talks about fatherhood. some of the lesser mentioned ones are just as heartbreaking as the characters who have it as their whole thing. like fig and fabian hit but

ostentatia and her dad and how he would give anything for her no matter how much it hurts him and her and how he refuses to let anyone do anything for him bc he’s the dad and the one who should be taking care of her.

katja and her dad and how he thought he was doing what was best for her by working all the time, thinking that was better than him being around when really all she wanted was to spend time with him.

riz and his dad and how he idolises him and works through that moment of doubting his father and gets that time with him and it’s so sweet despite how much it hurts them both because seeing him can only be temporary.

liam and his dad and being an afterthought to a father who has so much more to consider than a kid who wasn’t anything like what he thought he would be.

jet and ruby with amethar being a king who has even more to consider but never stopped loving and caring for them for a second and always wanted them to have the carefree and happy childhood he had as someone who never should have gotten the throne.

saccharina and amethar being a father who has so much regret piled on his shoulders but can’t do anything to heal the pain he brought to his daughter except by trying to show how much he loves her and is proud of her.

adaine and a father who didn’t care and jawbone, a father who does, who recognises the rage and pain and anxiety in adaine and never for a second shames her for any of it.

kristen and a father who loves what he wants her to be and can’t accept what she is.

kugrash trying to redeem himself for gabriella but more for his sons and the joy he feels when wally forgives him and the sorrow he feels when he reads davids letters and confronts even further the pain he caused.

kingston and the absolute dream of having langston after years of denying himself in the name of the rest of new york only to understand that happiness for him doesn’t mean no happiness for everyone else.

fathers and all the pain they can bring and all the care they can have and all that they experience too.

[thatsdemko]

maybe I’m crazy - m.verstappen

pairing: max verstappen x ricciardo!reader

warnings: slightly unedited

he doesn’t believe in love at first sight. it’s too tacky and Hallmark-y to ever happen to him. but he believes in something at first sight, because the way he feels right now might not be love, but it pierces it’s way into his head and all the way down his heart.

your smile is warm and inviting, similar to the one of your older brother, Daniel. he had a way with the people, and you seemed to be just about the same. you’d looped max in at first sight, and he felt safe under your gaze. it was something he was so unfamiliar with.

the way he was able to talk for hours and you were there to listen and piece his puzzle together, he’ll never forget that. especially years later, when he’s won three world championships and the only thing he cares about is making you proud.

the world championships didn’t matter to you, in fact, formula one didn’t even really exist much in your little bubble with max, but you couldn’t turn down his invitation. he had his own ways of pulling you in as well.

it was his bright lost eyes. the ones that you could swim oceans deep in and still be able to find your way home. max verstappen was complicated to many, but he was never more clear with you.

his arms fling around his team. it’s first instinct, after all these years he knows who he has to acknowledge first, and while his father waits beside you for his moment, he skips right past him.

“proud of you.” the whisper is so soft you’re sure you’re hallucinating, but it’s max. anything that falls from his lips tunes your ears in. you’re dialed into his station, you’re his number one listener.

“me?”

taken by surprise, you point your finger into your chest, he nods. it’s all he gets out before being whisked away by Red Bull team members.

there was nothing you did to contribute to this race. but your presence makes max fight for your attention. with Daniel out, and Liam in, it was much easier to win.

not that he ever felt the need to fight his brother-in-law, but max verstappen never got the better end of the stick with childhood validation. even just a glance his way, he’s struck by gold.

“you’re crazy.” you whisper into his chest. the silence fills the room, but his heartbeat is all your ears can hear.

“me?” he asks. lifting his head up, he has a view of your curly hair fluffed over your face, “you’re crazy for me.”

“yeah, maybe I am.”

a soft chuckle rumbles through his chest. your ears heat, and your heart flutters in a way it always does when you make him happy.

“you make me crazy, ricciardo.”

“we agreed on verstappen. I’m your family now.”

tags: @oconso @xcicix @imsorare @weasleyswizardwheezes-blog @monzabee @lpab @frreyaa @motorsp0rt @lovelytsunoda @smoothopz @jaehyunluvcult @iloveyou3000morgan @lunnnix @leclerc13 @goldenalbon

[moonlit-heartbreak]

Love Languages

Xaden, Liam, Bodhi, Garrick x Reader Warnings: Slight spoilers for FW and IF, some suggestive comments and themes but nothing too explicit a/n: I love these men a little bit too much, so now you all get to enjoy my takes on each of their love languages for my first post🤭. It’s a little short and all over the place, but once my finals are over expect some longer works. Definitely let me know what you all think!

Xaden - Acts of Service

Listen, he's an important guy both as wingleader and a lieutenant and now in being on the front lines of a war, so he has to make sure to keep everyone's respect, and of course keep them all a little scared of him, so he can't get all lovey-dovey with you in public

Instead I see him being big on acts of service. Leaving you an extra piece of bread he grabbed at breakfast that morning, sharpening your swords/daggers so you're set to go for training, things of that nature

He would want to be there for you and let you know that he's looking out for you and acts of service is the perfect way for him to do that subtly but still being more involved in directly making you happy

Don't get me wrong though, when you're alone the acts of service definitely don't stop and he's good at what he does. With this I don’t mean JUST sex (even though it’d be amazing), but he would also love to brush your hair, give you a massage, whatever he can do to make you feel loved and cared for after a long day of classes and training

If there’s something specific you liked back home like a specific snack or item just know that once he finds out he’s going to be bribing one of the fliers to get it for him during a supply run so he can surprise you with it just so he can see your face light up

It works out perfect for you because not only is he making you feel like the most special person in the world with everything he does for you and how well he knows you, but getting perks like him keeping you off the schedule for your least favorite chores doesn't hurt either

The moral of the story is that he would literally do anything to make you happy, and despite how tough he acts you've got him completely wrapped around you finger

Liam - Words of Affirmation

For someone who's experienced so much loss before, he still manages to be SO kind and caring and this would 100% come through in the way he acts with his significant other, especially in terms of how he speaks to them

In public this would probably come off more as supportive and encouraging comments, helpful tips for training, or even just a quick compliment thrown in here or there. He's one of the more laid back out of all of the guys, but he still knows not to let his kindness be mistaken for weakness or allow anyone to try and use you against him, so he's careful to keep a good balance of keeping his guard up and being sweet with you

With that though, neither of you really have anything to worry about. He's the strongest cadet in his year and he trusts that you can hold your own so he'd still be pretty open with you in public

He's the type of guy who would never want to say goodbye without an 'I love you" thrown in there, even if you'd had a disagreement or you're (somehow) upset with him. Words are so important to him and he's going to make sure to tell you how he feels no matter what

I mean think about it, with all those letter he wrote to Sloane this man is a master at communication and he knows how to do it well

SO good at reassuring you. Ever doubting yourself or your abilities? Worried you’re not being a good enough partner? Nervous about opening up to him about something? He knows exactly what to say to calm you down or make you feel better every single time without fail. He just has such a way with words, and when he speaks to you in that soft "everything's going to be alright" voice there's no way you wouldn't feel at least a bit better

I have no doubt in my mind that he would have the sweetest nicknames for you and know exactly what to say when you need it, he’s just the sweetest thing to grace the continent and you’ll be reminded of that every time he speaks his sweet words that make your heart flutter

Bodhi - Physical Touch

This man... I definitely see him lovinggg physical touch. He needs you like he needs air to breathe and he isn't afraid to let the rest of the world know it

He's a confident guy so naturally he'd love to show off his significant other; walking with an arm slung over your shoulder or around your waist, sitting right next to you during meals so that your arms and legs brush against each other, holding hands or even just loosely linking your fingers together while you study, he loves it all

You two have definitely been told to get a room once or twice during training when your sparring sessions get a little too intense (gods bless the innocent bystanders who have to bear witness to that, especially the poor boys who are practically his brothers)

Obviously he knows how to balance his leadership responsibilities with spending time with you so he knows when he has to take a step back and get serious, but trust me, every chance he gets he's finding a way to be right next to you

When you guys are alone... oh boy get ready to be next to him all night long. Whether you’re laying together on one of your beds just talking before you settle in to sleep for the night, sitting on his lap while you both work on your own assignments, showering together, he’ll find a way to make everything a team effort just to be as close to you as possible

Don’t worry though, he knows when to give you your space so if there’s ever a day where you simply want a little alone time he would never push any boundaries and would respect whatever you wanted. However, if you’re trying to avoid him because you’re upset or anything of that nature he’s going to figure out what’s wrong and make sure you’re alright

Bodhi Durran the man that you are... At the end of the day he would be such a sweet partner to you and all of his actions, from full on cuddling to just brushing past each other briefly in the hallway, proves to you every day that he adores you

Garrick - Quality Time

Garrick is definitely more on the serious side, especially in public, but don't underestimate him as a partner because this man knows how to make you feel loved

Being close to you serves multiple purposes for him; it lets him keep an eye on you to make sure you're safe, and it simply brings him the sense of comfort he always gets from being near you

He’s super secure in himself and you, not doubting either of your abilities or your love for one another but just getting to be around you makes him happy. Whether it be sitting together to study, you talking his ear off about whatever antics you and your squad got up to that day, or even just training at the same time even if you’re on opposite sides of the gym sparring with different partners. Spending time with you or just being near each other is how he shows that he's there for you and that he loves you so he'll take whatever time he can get

With spending so much time with you and the fact that he’s a very observant guy, he would be able to read you like a book. There’s no hiding how you’re feeling because he’ll pick up on all of your little tells and know exactly how to go about making you feel better

Along with how observant he is and how deeply he knows you, I also feel like he would give amazing advice too. Disagreement with a friend? Not able to get the hang of a new weapon you’ve been training with? Stressed about an exam and not sure how to study? He has advice for all of it, and he knows when to step in and help you but also when you’ll want to be left alone to figure things out yourself

Whenever you both get a day off (which wouldn’t be often, I mean you have a war to prepare for) it’s always spent together. When you’re able to get some time together in Aretia, he’d take you to some tucked away corner of Riorson House him and Xaden would hang out in as kids just so you could get a few uninterrupted moments alone together, which you both cherish more and more as you inevitably get busier

He might be one of the most intimidating out of all of his friends and arguably out of most other riders as well, but underneath that sexy muscly exterior, he’s got a crazy soft spot for you; and while it might not be fully apparent to anyone who isn’t looking closely enough, you know just how much he loves you and that’s all that matters to the two of you

[tulipsforvin]

✦ A LOVE THAT MELTS ALL

✧ william james moriarty x fem!reader

✧ summary: he's insecure of his scar but he has you. short fluff.

IT WAS THE NIGHT AFTER HIS RETURN; exactly three years later. the lit candle was dim, barely illuminating the bedroom that you and william shared and overall casted a hue of dull orange throughout the room.

you're situated on your heels between his legs on the bed, palms flat against the matress beneath and in the slight gap between your body and his own. william's back, which was already resting against the headboard of the bed, pushes itself even further back against it when you push your face upwards to him.

you're close. too close. he swallows hard, and you watch the prominent adam's apple on his neck bob.

“..darling? is something the matter?” he looks down at you. his voice is soft, confused and uncertain all at the same time. you're staring too hard at him to merely brush it off as 'observing'. applying that word here would be too much of an understatement.

“may i ask what you're wearing the eyepatch for?” your head tilts by the slightest degree, curious.

right.

right. william lets out a breathy exhale.

he hadn't told you about that part yet. with all the emotions and feelings upon his return, he really hadn't found the time to tell you. and quite frankly—he really didn't want to tell you. but he does anyway.

“i.. obtained a scar during my fall.” he clears his throat. “from the westminster bridge.” he watches as your expression turns into one of sincere sympathy. he hadn't even realised he was nuzzling his cheek against your outstretched palm, holding his face.

until you say the words: “can i see it?”

william freezes. you can only watch as his face dissolves into one of panic, widened eyes and a dry throat that he tries to rid of by gulping thickly. “i.. i think it would be in our best interests if i don't show you, and that you don't see it either.”

“but why?”

“why..?” he repeats weakly. why, you ask? it is because you're going to find me hideous. it is because i have done all that i possibly can for as long as i have known you so that you may see me as my best self and that revealing this ugly, disgusting mark on my face now would ruin it all.

“i'm afraid cannot show it to you. it is not a pretty sight.” he scrunches his face slightly and turns his face away from you, as if unsettled by the very idea.

“you must think of me a fool if you think that i care about aesthetics over my lover, liam.” you tell him, sighing with the back of your fingers caressing his cheek. he flinches. “if it's made you what you are right now, then isn't that more beautiful than anything else? you don't have to be perfect to be beautiful, you know.”

“i...” but he cannot seem to refute. nor find any reason to. your words would have made him cry, had he not felt so uncomfortable. “(name)..”

you smile subtly. “but at the end of the day, it depends on you whether you want to show it to me. i won't force you, nor will i let anybody else force you either.” you make an effort to pull back but the blond suddenly pulls you back right in.

a yelp from you in surprise at the sudden tug from him and you're crashing against his chest. both of his hands wrap around your wrists gently. “no, no. you're right, i.. it would be better if i show you it now than procastinate any further. i most likely would not be able to gather the courage if i'm any later.”

his hands fall to his sides, allowing you to do as you please. allowing you to lift off his eyepatch. your eyes crease at the corners while your lips form into a smile. “yeah.” you say. “thank you for being brave.”

your fingers are cautious and gentle on him as one hand rests on his cheek while the other goes behind of his head to unlace the string holding it together.

his breath hitches. a pull from your finger at the string and the eyepatch flutters down onto his lap.

on his left eye is a healed scar. scar tissue, to be exact. the eye colour, which previously used to be a vibrant and a lovely shade of red seems to have lost it's colour as well. the silence lingers in the air. william's fidgeting now, but trying to make an effort not to show it. his face has, once again, dipped away from you. he's embarrassed, face tinged with a light pink. he's biting the inside of his cheek, anxious.

“liam..” you breathe out after a long while. “you're beautiful.” he shakes his head, unconvinced.

william turns to peek at you. “lying to me now would be cruel. i can understand if you find me disgusti—”

then why the long pause? he thinks to himself but does not say it. my love, are you grossed out by me?

but the truth was far, far from his thoughts.

you palms press against his chest as you push yourself up and in an instant, your lips are pressed softly, gently over his eyelid. he flinches sharply.

“(name)—?” he's surprised. baffled.

“i will say it to as many times as you need to hear it, william. you're beautiful. you're beautiful. you're beautiful. you're beautiful.” you pull back, smile at him, give his cheek a slight squeeze and watch as his face—no, his entire being almost melt into a puddle.

his hands, those warm hands and his slender fingers wrap around your waist, tread upwards by the slightest until they find place over your ribcage with the uttermost softness. and he pulls you in.

“i love you.” you mumble silently against him. he doesn't do much but press his lips against yours, gentle and warm against your own. eyes closed, foreheads and the tips of your noses touching.

your eyelids flutter open to a william, flushed and eyes shimmering, looking at you with the most happiest of grins—as if you plucked the stars from the night sky for him. “i love you too. most ardently.”

[callsign-rogueone]

that time of the month

fourth wing boys (Aaric, Brennan, Bodhi, Dain, Garrick, Liam, Ridoc, Sawyer, Xaden) x reader

how our favorite boys would take care of you when you’re on your period [request]

words: 588

🏷: no book spoilers. gender neutral, no pronouns used. mentions of periods, cramps,, etc. soft and fluffy. these are kinda short bc it was hard to not make them repetitive — I think they all give excellent care + cuddles 🥰

Aaric is a quiet support kind of guy to me. he’ll be by your side, but not overbearing or too touchy. really good at playing with your hair and massaging the back of your neck if you get migraines (like I do) he also sleeps flat on his back and perfectly still like a total weirdo, so he’s great to use as a body pillow.

Brennan is the number one man for the job, and I’m not just saying this because he’s my favorite. he’s a mender, so he can literally stop your pain, and he can get stains out of clothes super easily. also just a very nurturing and gentle person, takes excellent care of you all week.

Bodhi is going to use this as an excuse to cuddle you and take naps all week (I love how the Bodhi girls have collectively decided that he’s just a lil cuddlebug 🥺). expect lots of murmured words of affirmation about how strong you are and how much he loves you.

Dain, the overgrown boyscout he is (I say this affectionately) is prepared. he knows when that time is coming up, and he is properly equipped to take care of you. has everything you need in both his room and yours. also gives a 10/10 back massage (canon, actually.)

Garrick insists that you spend the week in his room, because his bed is more comfortable (it honestly is) and that way he can take care of you. he’s very nice to cuddle up with. lets you sleep in his clothes, too, for maximum comfort. has a secret stash of all your favorite snacks, too — he’s been getting them from the fliers. don’t tell Xaden. (Xaden totally knows, and is also getting snacks from them.)

Liam makes sure you’re eating even if you have no appetite, and that you’re staying hydrated, etc. you might grumble about it, but absolutely nobody can say no to that face. he knows not to take it personally if you get mad at him, because you’re hormonal + in pain. gives fabulous cuddles, too, and lots of sweet words.

Ridoc knows not to make any jokes at your expense or fuck with you when you’re feeling fragile, instead showering you with cheesy verbal affection to get the grumpiness out of your system and get you feeling a little better — as much as you can, when you feel like your insides are being ripped out. uses his hands like ice packs for you, holding them on any place that’s particularly achy.

Sawyer was a little awkward about it at first, but now he’s a seasoned boyfriend who knows what you need and does it without you needing to ask; snacks, cuddles, back rubs, so on and so forth. helps you with whatever’s particularly difficult this week. ties your shoes for you so you don’t have to bend down and strain your back, etc.

Xaden can sense that you’re in pain, and the minute he’s able to, he’s scooping you up and whisking you away to rest in his arms. abuses his wingleader privledges a little bit, letting you have the worst day(s) off. don’t bother trying to lie to him and say that you’re fine — he knows you aren’t. don’t question the sudden change in his normal tough-guy persona either; just enjoy it.

++ none of these men are at all scared or grossed out by a little blood. they’re men, not boys, and they’re used to it anyway, going to this deathtrap of a school.

[male-fictioner]

Boyfriends

Pairing: DomTop!Liam Payne x Bottom!male reader x SoftTop!Niall Horan

Category: SMUT

Warnings: Gay sex, anal, blowjobs, smut, marking, overstimulation, multiple rounds, possessiveness, jealousy, DP, idk i'm probably missing something.

A/n: I hope I did just to the request. I got distracted and hence the backstory is more drawn out that the smut. I'm sorry 😭😭.

Word Count: 2.8k words

Read at your own discretion.

"Will you be our boyfriend?" were not the words you were expecting to hear from the two people standing in front of you.

You were just surprised that these two hot guys want to be with you. You did not even realise when that happened or how that happened but you knew somehow you made them fall in love with you.

But all this started when you got famous. I mean how else would Liam Payne and Niall Horan even come to know about your existence.

You still vividly remember the first time you met them. Anyone who says that they are into guys and have never had a crush on one of the One Direction members then they are probably lying because how could you not. There is a whole variety to choose from.

And you certainly had your crushes on the guys in front of you. Asking you the question you always wanted to hear and hence you said, “YES! I would love to be your boyfriend.”

**********************************************

You always loved singing and always loved music. Being a musician, a singer has always been your dream. A dream you were ready to follow no matter what. So you started to write and record music at a very early age. You submitted it to various record houses.

Once you had graduated high school, you music journey began with a call that went like,

“Hello, am I talking to Mr. Y/n L/n?” said a guy with a low deep voice.

“Yes, who am I talking to?” you asked

“Mr. L/n, I am Robert Matthews from a2z record label. You have submitted your music to us, we would like to set up a meeting with you. We really think you have potential” 

You couldn’t believe your ears, someone liked your music? 

That meeting which you attended was the best thing that had ever happened to you. They had really liked your music and they were interested to sign you. You almost signed the contract that very moment but thought it was better if you actually consulted some people who had more knowledge than you. 

You were barely an adult and this was a huge step to take. So after some careful consideration you decided to sign on with them. 

But you didn't get the instant gratification you were hoping for when you worked vigorously for a whole year just to get an album. It took time to figure out what your sound will be. How you want your music to be. You also needed a lot of help to write your lyrics and everything. 

But after this year, your debut album was released. Save for some singles released by you over the course of the year to introduce you to your audience, this was really a big step for you. 

And this is where your life turns upside down. After the release of your album, a lot of people got to know you. Of Course you were no chart- breaking success but your album did well to get you invited to music events and also get you nominated for awards. 

You had Niall Horan to thank for some of your success too. On your post about releasing your album, there was a like by NIALL FREAKING HORAN and you were literally screaming when you got a COMMENT by him that went like,

Congratulations on your debut. You sound amazing.’

And this literally got you the free promotion you could have never even asked for.

After wondering what to reply, you just sent a ‘Thank you so much.’ But not without sending him a quick dm. 

And this is how you can say their friendship flourished and your old crush that he had stuffed somewhere deep inside reignited. After this, you and Niall talked a lot. Niall was a great mentor to you and helped you a lot with the journey. 

A few weeks later you were attending the Brits as you were nominated and supposed to perform. Niall was gonna be there and you both met each other at the show. You were a nervous wreck thinking thoughts of ruining your performance, not winning the show etc.  

This is when Niall introduced you to Liam Payne. You could not believe your eyes that he was actually in front of you. You wouldn’t be lying if you said that he was hotter in real life. All those muscles looked delectable. And what you had only thought about in your dreams, was actually happening. You were sitting across your crushes and having a conversation with them. It is actually surprising how you were calmly talking with them without choking on your tongue. 

The whole night, they kept you company and talked about all sorts of things to calm your nerves. They told you about their first experience and how they felt. That helped you somehow. Even though you did not win the award, your performance was amazing. And you received some applause for it too.

This meeting led you, Niall and Liam getting closer than before. You even decided to invite them to the opening show of your tour. While it was a small tour, it was very good for a budding artist. After the show, they took you out for dinner as a celebration. 

This led to you feeling comfortable with them and so did they. And hence they told you that they were dating each other for the past 4 years. You were surprised to say the least but very supportive of them. You told them that you are gay too and they were extremely supportive too. 

You guys had dinner with each other often and the media thought this was a mentor- mentee relationship. Which it was but you had wanted more. After finding out that they were together, you did not want to ruin their relationship and so you decided to distance yourself. Not directly but emotionally.

With this, he started to flirt with other people, hookup with them just trying to get himself over a relationship he never even had.

What he didn't know was that Niall and Liam also wanted him as much as he wanted them if not more.

Oblivious to your want being matched, you continued flirting with other people. When you went to an album release party of some famous singer, whose name you couldn't remember, you were flirting with someone you really didn’t care about. That’s when you spotted Liam and Niall talking at the other side.

“I’ll be back in 5 minutes.” you told the guy you were with and went to talk to the guys.

“Heyy I did not know you were going to be here. It’s such a good surprise.” you said hugging them.

You had some small talk and parted to go back to your hookup for the night. 

Little did you know, they had been looking at you all this time. Seeing how you were talking to some guy who wasn’t them. Getting close to him, hardly any space between you. Bodies pressed together, slow and sensual movements, whispers in each other's ears, those chaste kisses and how you laughed at his jokes. They were seeing everything and the only thought in their mind was, that should be us.

Your fingers grazed his bicep and other on his neck, while his being on your waist inching lower and lower as time passed. That is when Liam and Niall decided that this is it. You were theirs and they will show you today.

When they stalked towards you, you and the guy were already making out with each other. After feeling a presence, you turn around and see Liam and Niall standing there. The look in their eyes was something you had never seen in the past almost year you had known them. It was something raw, anger, jealousy, lust? You couldn’t figure it out.

“Lets go Y/n” Liam said with an authoritative voice that sent a chill down your spine.

Without any question, you followed them despite the protests from your partner for that night. You shot him a ‘I’ll call you later look’ and left.

After going out, you finally managed to find your voice and asked in a low voice, “Where are we going?” 

“To our hotel room.” Niall replied. 

Liam did not say anything and after this neither did Niall. The ride to their hotel room was quiet and awkward. The sexual tension thick in the air. They let you enter the room first and before you could say anything, you were backed up against the wall by two taller guys and somehow they felt extra tall.

“What do you think you were doing?” Liam asked, staring in my eyes.

You gulped and replied, “What did I do?”

“Hooking up with other people when you want us and we want you. Teasing us like this. That is what you did.” Liam answered your question leaving you in complete shock to know that they want you. You looked at Niall for confirmation and his eyes said it all. He did not verbally reply but a slight nod made it clear.

You must have been blind to not see their interest in you. Lost deep in your thought, you did not realise when you ended up on the edge of the bed. When your legs felt the bed, it brought you out of your thoughts. You ended up with your back to the mattress. Liam and Niall looked at you like hungry predators who had just found their prey for the night. You gulped nervously wondering what is gonna happen to you. 

Noticing this shift in your behaviour, Niall being the sweet man he is, asked, “You want this too right?”

“Yes, yes I want it. I want you guys. Please.” You replied hurriedly looking at both of them. Niall smiled and inched closer to you.

“Look at him Niall, we haven’t even touched him and he is already hungry for our cocks. What a slut.” Liam said with a mocking smirk. His dirty talk led to an involuntary moan coming from your mouth to which he only seemed to be more pleased. 

“What do you want, baby boy? Tell us exactly what you want so we can give it to you.” He continued making you more and more flustered.

“I want you to fuck me.” You tried to reply as plainly as possible but your reddened face was betraying you.

“Come on Liam, don't tease him that much.” Niall laughed, turning to kiss you, giving you the first intimate moment of the night. His kiss was soft and inviting. It was teasing your lips making you want more. It felt different than any other kiss you hav had yet. Soft but equally dominating. Passionate but filled with love. His tongue licked your lips and you parted them to give him entrance. Both your tongues lapping each other and he let you win the game of dominance.

All this while, Liam was busy making quick work of the three of your clothes. He undressed himself and Niall first after which he moved on to you leaving all three of you in underwear. You felt a shiver once he was done with your clothes. 

You and Niall broke the kiss to catch your breath. Liam got next to you, took your face in his hands and said ,”My turn.” 

His kiss was much different than Nialls. It was rough, passionate and dominating. It was hard. He kissed you like you were his source of oxygen. You moaned when you felt lips on your neck. The source of them was Niall. This gave Liam the perfect time to enter your mouth. Your tongues fought for dominance but it was no fight at all. He had already won. 

After kissing for a while and Niall covering you in marks, you ended up with puffed lips and red spots covering your neck. You probably looked ruined already and this was only the start.

“Whose a better kisser Y/n us or the guy you were with ?” Liam asked, still being jealous about the night.

“You both. I can’t even remember his kiss. I only remember your lips.” You said lustfully. 

The answer seemed to satisfy him as he turned to Niall and asked, “How do you want to do this Niall?” He ignored your presence as he asked this like you had no input on how the night goes.

“Whatever you decide.” Niall replied. 

“I’ll take his ass, you take his mouth.” Liam said nonchalantly. 

And this is how you ended up on your hands and knees with Liam prepping your ass and eating you out while Niall takes your mouth.

Liam starts by licking a long stripe from your balls to your hole. He slowly pushed his tongue in the tight heat of your hole and you let out a moan at the intrusion. He pushes his tongue deeper at your sounds. Niall settles near the headboard taking off his underwear and bringing his cock to a semi hard state. He puts a finger in your mouth and you suck at it expertly. 

Once Liam is done with eating you out, he lubes his fingers up and enters one finger in the tight ring of muscles. Seeing the discomfort on your face, Niall tries comforting you.

“Relax for us baby, let us take care of you. We’ll make you feel good.”  he said running his fingers through your hair and kissing you softly.

Liam enters another finger and soon another opening you up for their big nice cocks.

Once he feels that you are loose enough, he and Niall enter you at the same time leaving you perplexed. Niall’s 6.5 inch dick making its way to the back of your throat is met with vibrations from your moans while Liam’s 8 inch dick enters your tight hole slowly but surely. 

After both of them have stuffed you up, they start moving. Niall keeps hitting the back of your throat while Liam keeps hammering you from behind making you choke more on Niall's length. Niall has a hand in your hair holding you firmly. And Liam has gripped your hips tight enough that they’ll leave bruises. He marks your back while drilling your hole making you moan and all the sensations go to Niall's dick.

There are praises being thrown at you often enough. You can hardly process most of them your mind being too hazy with all the sex.

You heard Niall say, "Such a good boy, taking us so well."

"He really knows how to suck a cock."

"He is so tight for us. I bet no one has fucked him like this." Liam had added.

Some other compliments that you cannot remember.

Soon enough your weeping cock comes in spurts completely untouched leaving ropes and ropes of cum on the sheets beneath you. This makes your grip on Liam’s cock tighter making his thrusts faster and sloppier. Niall's cock is close by the way he is thrusting and as if on the thought of it, he comes in your mouth filling you with copious amounts of cum which you are left to swallow. He is followed by Liam who comes in you ass and fucks you through the orgasm making you moan and wince from oversensitivity. 

After this, they took turns with Niall fucking your ass and Liam your mouth. For the last round, your tight little ass (which wasn’t nearly as tight now) was filled to the brim with both the cocks. You cannot remember how many times you came that night but it was more than you ever have in a night.

At this point, you did not have one coherent thought. You were too exhausted. You could not make out the words Niall and Liam said and neither could you say anything. All you had on your mind was dicks and sex.

After being stuffed by two big and thick cocks, you came one last time which was just watery at this point and passed out from pleasure and exhaustion.

When you woke up, you were clean on clean sheets with Niall on your right, your face against his chest and Liam on your left with your back to his chest. You drift off to sleep again and when you finally wake up, Liam and Niall were awake too.

“Hey there, Y/n. You must be exhausted.” Niall said softly. You just hummed in response not wanting to talk.

“I’m sorry if we were too hard on you.” Liam said rubbing circles in your back. You shook your head and nuzzled closer to Niall’s chest.

Soon enough the three of you woke up and had breakfast from the room service. During this time, you guys talked like you always used to and it felt like nothing had changed.

"Will you be our boyfriend? I know it must be weird for you but we just feel like it would be right since we like you so much."  They said leaving you speechless for a second. 

But of course you wanted this, how could you not.

“I would love nothing more in the world.” You answered honestly.

They smiled and you gave each of them a kiss. After this, you would need no one else.

--------------------------------------------------

I hope you liked this fic. Like and comment to let me know if you did. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Hate is not. Thankss.

[danikamariewrites]

Could you do one with Xaden where reader gets hurt during training and he almost loses his shit? I can totally see him and Sygael, along with readers dragon of course, wanting to find the person who hurt them and burn them to a ✨crisp✨ lol.

Gotta have your daily protective and caring shadow boy lol

Injured

Xaden x reader

A/n: not me expanding the No One Left Behind universe (like that’s a thing lol) Cadmus is a beast in this one, he is taking no one’s shit. That sweet puppy dog dragon is gone for now.

Warnings: canon typical violence, mentions of injuries

Sgaeyl had told Xaden what happened seconds before Liam came and got him, panting and out of breath only wheezing out your name. He was now out pacing Liam on the way to the infirmary.

Amon had once again pulled a dangerous stunt during flight training. Flight training. The one time of day no sparring was supposed to happen. Xaden wanted to kill the little prick. He went too far this time and Xaden was at his limit with giving Amon chances.

Pushing the doors open Xaden scans the beds looking for you. His eyes find you on a bed on the far right of the room. You looked pissed as you messed with the bandage around your hand and arm.

You didn’t notice him until he was sitting next to you on the bed, gently taking your hand in his so you’d stop picking at the wraps. You looked up at him and you were fuming.

Xaden scanned your face taking in your injuries. There were cuts all over your face and dried blood coming from your nostrils and smattered on your nose. A nasty bruise went from your temple to your jaw. Xaden picked up the wet cloth on the bedside table, gently wiping the blood from your face.

“You ok sweetheart?” You flopped back on the bed letting out an agitated sound. “I swear I’m going to kill Amon next time I see him.” Xaden wanted to laugh but this wasn’t a joke. “Can I leave yet? I hate the smell in here.”

Xaden nodded, helping you up as you winced from the shooting pain in your ribs. As you walked to Xaden’s room you told him about what happened at flight training. Amon and his poorly behaved dragon attacked you and Cadmus in an impromptu fighting exercise.

Cadmus was thankfully unharmed and went on the offensive quicker than you could tell him to. You had never seen or heard him so pissed off, or using so many swear words. He was so well mannered. Of course Cadmus got Sgaeyl involved, who told Xaden immediately.

“Would it make you feel better to know they’re currently plotting their revenge on Amon?” You let out a laugh, relaxing on Xaden’s soft black covers. “Yes actually. I’d love to see Cadmus lose his mind. Is that why he cut me off?”

You spent that night in Xaden’s arms as he whispered loving words and promises of protecting you, never letting anything like this happen again.

The next afternoon you heard about the beating Xaden gave Amon during morning training. It was so bad Dain had to step in and pull Amon away from Xaden while Garrick, Liam, and Imogen had to restrain him.

Once Amon recovered you were both back at flight training. Xaden was overseeing your squad for the time being, just to make sure Amon understood his death threats were serious.

You had never seen Cadmus look so terrifying, it also didn’t help that he and Sgaeyl were next to each other glowering at anyone who looked at them. Even you were scared to approach him until you heard his voice in your head. “We’re just making sure we get our point across. It’s ok, I’d never hurt you y/n.”

You smile up at him and mount in the saddle, preparing for take off. Xaden mounted after you shooting you a grin once in his saddle.

Looking out at the field you saw Amon. Gods he looked awful. Xaden really did a number on him. “Sgaeyl showed me. It was wonderful, I’d never been so happy to see a fight.” He let out a huff which you took as his laugh.

Once up in the air Cadmus insisted you stay at the back. Just in case anyone tries to attack so he could be ready this time. You weren’t fully convinced by his tone but went with it anyway. Who were you to question the wisdom of a century old dragon?

About an hour in you had a feeling Cadmus was up to something. The squad was flying over a mountain pass you usually avoided because it was a third year course. And Sgaeyl was slowly making her way next to Cadmus.

They gave each other a look that made you and Xaden panic. Then they started to climb at an alarming rate. Their wings beating loudly as wind rushed past you, making you flatten yourself to the saddle. “Cadmus!” You yelled at him. “What are you doing?” “Doing what I should’ve done in the first place.”

Oh shit. That wasn’t good. You thought Xaden was joking when he said they were plotting. Looking down you noticed the other dragons had peeled off, leaving Amon alone to hover over the pass.

Passing each other, Sgaeyl and Cadmus dove for them. Amon’s dragon took the offensive too late and Cadmus got a chunk of his side, biting down hard enough causing the dragon let out an ear piercing shriek.

Letting go he flapped away best he could but Sgaeyl was ahead corralling him. Cadmus let out a roar that you’d never heard from him before. It shook the world around you causing your grip to tighten on him.

Unhinging his jaw as wide as he could, Cadmus let out a gust of flame in Amons direction. His dragon flailed and Sgaeyl went for its eyes. They started dropping fast, his dragon going lifeless. Unfortunately, one of Amon’s friends brought him on his dragon before the loud thud of the dragons body echoed around the mountains.

You couldn’t look away. In awe of what just happened. At least Amon would be a little less dangerous from Now on.

Later that night you were sitting in front of the hearth in the common room staring into the crackling flames as you went over the days events again. You couldn’t stop hearing the echoing thud or the silence from Amon as his dragon died. The way he felt nothing for the thing he was connected too didn’t sit right with you.

Xaden silently approached letting his shadows softly caress you to alert you to his presence. “Hey sweetheart.” You hum acknowledging him. Sitting down, he kisses you on your head. He places a hand on your back to comfort you. “Thinking about today?”

“Yeah.” You said absentmindedly. “I’m not upset they did that. I mean, I am a little. A warning would’ve been nice.” You both let out a chuckle. “Did you know?” “No.” You believe him from the seriousness of his tone.

“What’s still bothering you?” “How Amon didn’t care. At least that’s what it looked like to me. I’d be distraught if that was Cadmus.” Xaden wrapped his arm around your shoulders, resting his head on yours. “I know. He’s a psychopath. But we’ll see what happens.”

You let out another hum, relaxing into his warmth. At least you were safe in the skies now.

tags: @nyotamalfoy @auggiesolovey @bubybubsters @baybay123455 @msiecrane @aroseinvelaris @twsssmlmaa

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

trauma is an explanation, not an excuse.

this is something i find myself thinking frequently whenever i look through what people have to say about fiona gallagher, or even what the writers of shameless have to say about fiona gallagher.

i think that a lot of the behaviors fiona exhibits throughout her run on the show make a lot of sense when you consider what she endured growing up.

growing up for her, it was about survival. it was about keeping her baby brothers (and eventually, debbie, carl, and liam, too) from freezing to death and about making sure her parents hadn’t overdosed. she was never worried about some of the things her younger siblings (such as debbie) worried about, which caused a strain in her relationships with them.

fiona grew up never putting herself first. she was a victim, but was never treated as one. her parents left all responsibility in her hands, and she was still just viewed as a help rather than a mother.

speaking of this ^ frank’s first line regarding fiona was calling her a huge help, and his last was telling her that she just helped. frank’s monologue from the pilot ended up being one of the most important scenes in the entire show (which i will discuss later).

after years of going without recognition, she starts to change. she starts to crave it. does this happen before the show starts or during it, i don’t know. in season two, debbie points out how fiona always makes everything about herself (which of course, debbie was criticized for). i think that debbie was right. in this case, i’d say that fiona making everything about herself is more her taking the responsibility over everything, because that’s all she knows. she thinks that she can handle everything because she’s been doing it since she was in kindergarten.

in season three, she actually gets guardianship of her five siblings, which is pretty big. she had even tried to adopt them all. so basically, she was seriously taking all of the responsibility. she even told jimmy-steve that these kids were her life. and they were.

then, she got caught up in work and life happened, liam ended up overdosing (because of her) and everything fell apart. this is where we were truly introduced to the fiona we know.

she had already been refusing to take responsibility in the first episode of season four (with ian), but by the time that lip starts to act cold towards her because of liam’s accident she begins to refuse to take any accountability at all. she claims to not be guilty, but she was. she was in charge of him, she left an open bag of coke out and liam got into it. she was guilty.

as the seasons go by, she falls deeper into this victim complex, and then in season seven, she straight up starts telling debbie and carl that she will not support them and that they need to pay rent. she tells them to put her on the bottom of their emergency contact lists. why is this an issue, you may be asking? because she was legal guardian. the only other person taking care of them was frank and if you want to know why frank couldn’t be it, think back to season seven frank (he had a whole new family, for starters).

that is child neglect. you can phrase it however you want to try to make it better, but in the end, that was child neglect, nothing more, nothing less.

in season seven, fiona is twenty-six. debbie is sixteen (with a baby) and carl is fifteen at that point, it doesn’t matter what they did, get pregnant, start dealing, whatever, they’re her kids. she signed up for it so she doesn’t get to act like she didn’t.

in season seven, debbie’s child is almost taken away from her and she asks fiona to help her get a marriage license so that she won’t lose franny. fiona says yes, but when debbie asks her to do it (and mind you, it was urgent, franny ended up being taken- just not by dcfs), fiona screams and says not everything is about debbie. she’s right! it was about franny. yes, debbie approached the situation wrongly but if you were sixteen and you were about to lose your kid you’d be that way too.

later in that season, when fiona finds out debbie’s child is home and safe, she gets irritated that she wasn’t the one to save franny.

is this because of her victim complex or her hero complex? is it maybe envy, envy of monica, who has never acted like a mother towards debbie, yet won her over that easily? i don’t know.

my issue with a lot of fiona fans is that whenever fiona is criticized, on screen or off screen, they use her raising five kids as the ultimate excuse. no matter what. even if she’s in the wrong, it’s all, she raised five kids!

i hate to be the one to say this, but being the oldest, it’s weird how people excuse her actions more than anybody else’s. out of all of the siblings, she’s the only one who we only ever saw as an adult. fiona was twenty-one in season one, and twenty-eight in season nine. she’s been a grown ass adult, she should be held accountable and should take accountability. lip, ian, debbie, carl, and liam all deserve the benefit of the doubt in some situations when they were younger, she doesn’t. she was still young, yes, when you’re in your twenties you can’t be expected to act fourty, i get it, but it’s still odd how babied she can be.

i’m not saying i don’t think that fiona should get any passes, or that i don’t think that fiona did it all, because she did. i excuse a lot of her actions, but not everything. it kind of diminishes her entire character if you excuse and twist every little thing about her.

the reality of it is, she is not a good person. neither are lip, ian, debbie, carl, and maybe even liam, eventually. one of the many points of the show is that they all just kinda… suck. they aren’t necessarily bad people, but good people? angels? no. and that’s why i hate it so much when frank, fiona, lip, and even ian (who’s one of my favorites) get defended for everything. it kind of defeats the purpose, they are shitty, they can do shitty things and still be good characters (not frank though lol); and the same thing applies but reversed, when characters like debbie, who was a kid in almost every season, get held accountable and shit on for every little thing, it ruins the character. you can’t see the good in her or see the impact her decisions actually make because you’re busy viewing her as this monster (when the monster in question is just a teenage girl).

even then, frank’s actions can’t all be excused by being abused as a child, fiona’s actions can’t all be excused by raising five kids, lip’s actions can’t all be excused by his childhood/addiction, ian’s actions can’t all be excused by his illness and debbie, carl, and liam’s. actions can’t all be excused by their age. the actions can somewhat be excused in some scenarios, but it isn’t like enduring trauma is a get-out-of-jail-free card for everything.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story- Pt 30 - The Higher Realm

New part! This is the mermaid lower world. We will have one last part after this to end the story, and then a few side parts. I'm so excited guys, I'm so close!

Masterpost linked here

_________________________

Before I could spend too much time processing my new aquatic form, I felt ripples in the water from an impact above me. Looking up, a body had fallen into the water, slowly sinking into the depths. I glanced around, the ship this human had fallen from was already heading out of sight. Was this an accident or did someone throw them over? Shrugging my shoulders at the question, I swam up towards the drowning human. Might as well do my good deed for the day. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it will be Liam!

I hadn’t gotten the story mission yet, so I had to be careful as I progressed until I knew more about the world around me. I grabbed the human, recognizing it to be a human male, and dragged his body towards the shore. There was what appeared to be a deserted beach nearby, and this seemed as good as any place to dump him.

Ugh! This dude is HEAVY out of the water!  

With more awkward splashing and thrashing around than I would admit to, I finally dumped my human burden onto the sandy beach. Once he was safely on the ground and not crushing my poor mermaid back and arms, I sat down on the beach and studied him. Fortunately, although I was aquatic in nature, I appeared to be able to breath oxygen. I did feel a bit dry and uncomfortable being only half covered by water. Knowing I shouldn't stay out long, I carefully looked over the human.

Hmm… he should probably not be face first in the sand with his butt in the air. That seems to be more likely to suffocate him than save him. Oops.

With that, I flipped him over onto his back, brushing the wet sand from his nose and mouth with a few quick swipes in hopes that he wouldn’t breathe it in. He was a young man, with even, well-proportioned features, albeit somewhat obscured by clumps dirt and sand. His hair color was difficult to distinguish underneath the mud, but seemed to be a light brown or blond.

My heart sank. Probably not Liam then. He usually had dark or black hair when he entered stories. Said it was the Systems way of “identifying” him as the villain.

Still, probably should wake him up and see his eyes, just to be sure, Better safe than sorry.

I reached out and grabbed a nearby piece of driftwood, and poked him randomly. He didn’t stir at first, and I sighed with impatience, fighting the urge to swing the stick or at least poke harder.Finally, my aggressive stick poking seemed to do the job, and the human woke up.

His eyes fluttered open, and focused on me.

They were grey.

I groaned with disappointment, dropping my poking stick. Not Liam for sure. Suddenly, I felt a deep sense of longing and attraction from somewhere within me, but not from me. It was the feelings of this character. Obviously, someone she might have fallen in love with at first sight. I pushed the feelings away. They were not helpful.

I turned back to the ocean, preparing to swim away. As I did so, however, the man spoke up.

“Wait!”

The desperation in his voice made me turn around.

“You saved me! Who are you?” He studied my face intently.

I shook my head. I didn’t know if I could speak,  Didn’t mermaids sing? But I wasn’t gonna figure that out in front of this stranger. I didn’t want to give him anything to work with.

“Please, let me repay you, kind lady! I will give you anything you desire, even…” He paused with a slight redness tinging his cheeks. “...up to half my kingdom.”

UGH! HE’S A PRINCE! 100% THE HERO OF THE STORY! RUN AWAY! ABORT! ABORT! I shook my head faster and sank into the water. Fortunately, this guy didn’t seem to be possessed by Adonis. Just more like a run-of-the-mill hero-type character.

I wasn’t interested.

“Please! Let me repay you!” He reached out and grabbed my arms, which were still sore from carrying his heavy body onto the shore. Frustrated, I shoved his hand off my arm.  

He blushed again at the contact and tried to put his hand in mine. Is he mentally ill? I threw it off with disgust.

“What do you want? Marriage?” I shook my head adamantly at his question.

“Really? Are you sure? I’m a princ….” He stopped as I chucked a sea shell at his head and turned back towards the sea. “WAIT, what about money!

I stopped for a moment. He grinned triumphantly at attracting my attention.

“I can give you lots of money!”

Money could be useful...this character probably doesn't have much human currency.  I looked over his drenched form with disdain, though. Doesn’t look like he has much on him right now.  

Of course, when he checked his pockets, he came up empty and gave an embarrassed grin. “Sorry, I must have lost all the money I had on me in the ocean.”

Typical male lead. Useless. I rolled my eyes and decided to leave again. Fortunately, my mermaid tail was still in the water, and the broke prince hadn’t seemed to notice that I wasn’t human yet.

“WAIT! If you follow me to my castle, I’ll give you more gold than you could ever spend in a lifetime!” He shouted.

Bad deal. I shook my head and sank further into the water.

That was when the prince made the mistake of grabbing my arm a second time.

“I don’t know where you are trying to run off to, but I can promise that you will be much richer and happier if you come home with ME!”

THUD

Without changing my expression, I bashed him in the head with my nearby poking stick. He fell backwards, clutching his head with a groan. I hit him again, and then a third time for good measure, until he seemed to be unconscious if not just stunned.

“Idiot.” The voice slipped out before I could control it. My voice was light, ethereal, a pleasant musical sound.

The unconscious idiot stirred slightly at my voice but did not wake. I just hoped he didn’t remember anything about this encounter.

I could be lucky, right?

I swam away.

As I did so, the system’s message appeared in the water in front of me.

FINALLY! Hopefully with memories I can find Liam!

**** NEW WORLD: A Mermaid’s Tale ****

This is a dramatic retelling of the fairy tale involving a mermaid and her beloved prince.  

Called it! Prince is the hero! I said silently to the water, but no one was around to congratulate my accomplishment.

Similar to the fairy tale, this story features a young mermaid saving and falling in love with a young prince. She then makes a deal with a sea witch to become human, with the price of the change being her voice. She is also told that if she marries the prince and has true love’s kiss within 1 year, then she would become fully human, and regain her voice. If she failed to do so, however, she would dissolve into nothing but water and air.

Bad deal, girl. I shook my head in disgust.

In this author’s version, the prince’s kingdom was beset by the constant threat of a large army of pirates, led by the Pirate King. The mermaid, who had successfully reached a relationship with the prince with a plan to be married soon, heard news of an upcoming attack for her friends in the sea. Recognizing the danger to her beloved prince and his territory, she snuck aboard the Pirate King’s ship, trying to convince nearby sea life to attack the boat and sink it. However, instead she was captured by the pirates, and while she was gone, the prince met and married another woman. At that moment, the mermaid died, her body dissolving back into the sea, never to see her loved one again. The author, after receiving backlash from the audience, tried to compensate for the bad ending of the heroine by attempting to shift to the perspective of the prince. The second half of the story focused on his new romance and marriage, as well as his fight and revenge on the villainous Pirate King. This was met with very poor reception from the readers. The story was therefore abandoned.

What on earth did I just read? That’s even worse than the original story!

The author’s main regret is the tragic end of the mermaid. Your mission is to allow the mermaid to survive.

**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****

YES?                                           NO?

Does the mermaid still have to become human? I asked silently.

The mermaid must still sacrifice her voice and be magically changed to become human. You cannot change this plot point. 

But the only way to survive the spell is to marry the prince. I thought of the weirdly possessive man whose life I had just saved and shuddered. No thank you.

The mermaid must survive.  The words were cold, logical and blunt.

I thought about it carefully. I had to find a way to undergo the witch’s spell and survive. After a few moments of silence, I grinned.

I had a plan.

*** Soul transfer 80% complete. ***

I selected “yes" and received the mermaid’s memories. It was just as awful as I expected. Poor girl had loved the prince unconditionally and risked her life multiple times just to be near him and keep him safe. And her repayment? He married another woman two weeks after she disappeared. Her disappointment was a knife to the gut, and constant wrenching deep within my soul.

Don’t worry, my new friend. We’ll give your story a good ending. No prince required.

I felt her resentment fade quietly at my encouragement, and gathered my resolve. It was time to begin.

Following the memories I had, I swam to a deep, dark corner of the ocean. Where there was no life but scavengers, and the sunlight was smothered on its way down. Only the ghostly glow from bio luminescent aquatic plant life illuminated the path to where the sea witch dwelled.

I paused at the door, hesitating. Liam wouldn’t happen to be the Sea Witch… right? Trying to wrap my head around the thought, I entered the cave.

It was a place of dark magic.

A large caldron sat in the middle, the contents within a writhing mass of bubbles. Skulls of various creatures decorated the walls, alongside different jars of eyes and scales. The whole cave glowed with an eerie green light, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find the source.

And at the center of everything… was the sea witch.

A young, beautiful woman, with dark green hair floating in curled rings around her, carefully measured ingredients and mixed them into her pot. Her many tentacles all performed different tasks, including grabbing ingredients, stabling the cauldron, and stirring with a long spoon.  She looked up as I entered, her bright red eyes lighting up with excitement at the new prey.

Not Liam, then.  This made my plan both easier and harder. I still needed the witch to help me become human, and find the other villain of the story.

The pirate king.

“What brings you here, curious little fish?” The Sea Witch asked with an evil grin.

I matched her evil grin with an even more villainous one.

“I’m here to make a deal.”

_________________________

It took six months. Six months to achieve my goal, and set my plan in motion.

I awkwardly tightened the badly sewn dress around my body, and stepped further out onto the beach. My homemade sandals weren’t great, but protected my newly formed human feet well enough. I wiggled my toes, trying to get used to the sensation of not having a tail anymore.

Alright, now to find my Liam.

I snuck into the port city. The area was bustling with life, filled with merchants, performers, restaurants. Everywhere the eye could see there was something for sale. People crowded the streets, talking, laughing… after the silence of the ocean, the noise was almost deafening.

I smiled and walked forward, enjoying the chaos.

My smile stopped, however, as I overheard a nearby conversation.

“The prince has doubled the reward again.” A middle-aged woman said to a vendor, rolling her eyes as she counted out coins to pay for her goods.

“Again? That’s up to ten thousand gold now!  All for one mysterious girl?” The merchant shook his head. “The prince has lost his mind.”

“Oh it’s fine… He’s young and in love! Besides.” She raised her eyebrows. “Sound like the girl is quite the charmer by the description.”

Please no. I had a bad feeling. There’s no way he remembered me from our last encounter… right? All I had done was call him an idiot and bash his head with a stick until he was knocked unconscious…. So it can’t be me.

I walked away, heading over to a nearby wall where different notices and warrants were posted.

And there I saw it.

_________________________

WANTED!

MYSTERIOUS GIRL!

Hair as gold as sunlight, eyes as green as the sea during a storm.

VERY STRONG. CARRIES A STICK!

Capture alive and unharmed.

REWARD 10,000 gold.

_________________________

My gaze hesitated on the words, “carries a stick.”

Well, crap. That’s what I get for doing good deeds. Should have just let the prince drown. I read the poster again, frowning.

And what’s with the stupidly poetic description followed by the words “carries a stick” in all caps?  I sighed, mentally exhausted. Definitely better to avoid him.

I turned around, moving in the opposite direction of the palace.

THUD

A bird flew down into the street, dying on the cobblestone by my homemade shoes. A broken neck, covered with pure white feathers. A dove. Blood trickled out, starting to pool in specific patterns, but I walked away before the message could form.

I already knew what it would say anyways.

And I would not accept my fate.

As I made my way through the city, I began hearing murmurs about pirates.

“They lay ashore on the port at the outskirts of town!” One woman, bouncing an infant in her arms, told another.

“How terrifying!”

“Hardly, the last few months they haven’t been terrorizing anyone at all!  All they do is quickly get supplies and head out to sea again. Rumor is that they are looking for something.”

“Something out on the ocean?” The woman asked with a confused look. “Whatever could they find out there?”

The other woman whispered back “I heard the Pirate King is obsessed with finding mermaids.”

Both women laughed, but I turned towards the outskirts of town, grinning. Pirate King? Stopped terrorizing people around 6 months ago? Obsessed with looking for mermaids?

DEFINITELY LIAM!

I followed the rumors towards the outskirts of town. It took me a while, but I came across a large ship grounded on an abandoned stretch of beach. I got closer, too excited at the prospect of seeing Liam that I hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t alone.

“HEY!” Two pirates jumped out, grabbing me. I struggled briefly, and then stopped, once I realized they were dragging me towards the pirate ship, which was where I wanted to go anyways.

One of the pirates, sporting about half his teeth and a fancy eye patch, leered at me. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing all the way out here?”

I shrugged silently.

“Ooh, a quiet one, huh?” The other, a fat bald pirate, chuckled grimly. “We’ll see how brave you are when you are facing the captain!”

Eyepatch hesitated. “…Enty? I thought the captain said we weren’t supposed to kidnap people anymore?”

“She practically kidnapped herself!” The Enty replied. “Surely Captain will understand?”

“I don’t know… He’s scarier now.”

“…yeah…” Both men turned pale and silent. I wondered briefly if my Liam was really the terrifying Pirate King they were talking about. Only one way to find out I guess.

Finally, we were aboard the pirate ship. Men were scurrying everywhere, carrying out tasks, keeping their heads down. There was an uneasy atmosphere on the deck, fear permeating everything.

The fat pirate, still holding my arm, cleared his throat nervously, and shouted to the closed door on the center of the ship. “CAPTAIN, WE GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU!”

I raised an eyebrow at the wording, but stood compliantly, waiting. Hoping I was right.

“DID YOU FIND A MERMAID?!” A rough voice called out from the Captain’s quarters.

The pirate flinched. “No, Captain, It’s a woman!”

“A woman? Who cares if you found a woman?! Send her away!”   The voice was obviously disinterested.

“But she wandered onto our ship!” Eyepatch argued, joining in.

“So she’s a lost woman? Great. Send her home!”

“But she’s beautiful, Captain, don’t you want to look?” Enty added on in a wheedling tone.

“What does her being beautiful have to do with me? You want me to go congratulate her on her genetics and lifestyle factors that went into allowing her to be conventionally attractive? DO you think this is a beauty contest or a pirate ship?! NOW GO SEND THE RANDOM LOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN HOME AND FIND ME A MERMAID!”

The two pirates looked at me with a frown.

“He’s not interested.”

“Where are we even supposed to find a mermaid, anyways?”

“Who knows?!” Eyepatch shrugged. “I guess we got to send this one back. Captain’s orders.”

They started to drag me away, but I was done playing prisoner. I slipped out of their grip, grabbing one of their swords as I spun away.

“HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!” Enty shouted, patting his large belt as he realized I had taken his weapon.

“Yeah, girly, we’re trying to send you back!”

I shook my head vigorously. I didn’t want to go back.

“CAPTAIN, the woman doesn’t want to leave! She stole my sword!”

“THEN STEAL IT BACK! YOU’RE PIRATES!”

Eyepatch drew his sword and stepped closer, but I struck first, knocking his wrist with the flat of my blade and causing him to drop his weapon. I grabbed it as well.

“CAPTAIN! Now she has my sword too!”

“DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?!!” As the captain’s voice shouted out in disgust, the door slammed open. I looked over, and got my first look at the villainous Pirate King.  

He was tall. His head brushed the top of the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the space. He had long dark hair and beard, both decorated with several intricate braids. He wore a black frock coat and vest, with long boots and a pirate hat.

His eyes were dark blue.

Initially he charged out, his face furious and impatient. But then he saw me, freezing in place.

“Captain?” Eyepatch asked warily. “You okay?”

 I waved cheerfully, setting down my swords. Just in time, as Liam the villainous Pirate King rushed forward and hugged me, lifting me off of the ground. He buried his face in my shoulder, and I felt a small amount of moisture from tears wet the fabric there.

“Bel.” He whispered. “I was so worried that something had happened to you.”

I patted him on the shoulder, comforting him. He looked up, seeming to realize that his entire crew was staring at him. “GO BACK TO WORK!” He started walking towards his quarters, still carrying me.

“I thought you didn’t care about beautiful women, Captain?” Enty ventured to question him, letting out a squeak of dismay as Liam glared at him.

“Bel is NOT a beautiful woman!” He paused, realizing what he said, and looking at me as I silently laughed at his words. “I mean, yes, she IS beautiful. But she’s not a woman.”

The pirates stared at me in confusion.

“I mean she’s not human!” Liam snapped and added. “Never mind. She’s Miss Bel to all of you! And she’s now a part of our crew, so you louts know what that means?”

“WE PROTECT OUR CREW MATES WITH OUR LIVES!” They shouted in unison. Liam nodded with approval.

“Exactly. You two will be rewarded for finding Bel. Everyone else, get this ship out to sea! I’ll be in my quarters.”

He carried me through the doorway, closing it with his foot behind us. Once we were alone, he set me down, looking me over from head to toe.

“I’m so glad you’re safe! It’s been six months, Bel! I thought something went wrong. All I could do was look for you.” He paused, staring down at my legs. “You’re human… but that means…?”

I spread my hands out silently and gave a wry grin.

“You had to give up your voice.” He reached out a shaking hand, and patted my head. “I’m sorry, Bel.”

Smiling reassuringly, I reached out and hugged him. He hugged me back tightly, letting out a shaking breath.

Once we let go, I walked over to his desk, grabbing paper, quill and ink. While he watched intently, I wrote on the paper.

I missed you, Liam.

“I missed you too! But Bel…” He hesitated. “If you were turned into a human by the witch, does that mean you have to marry the prince? I know he’s been looking for you too.”

I am getting married…

I was still writing, but as Liam read over my shoulder, his face fell. “Oh…. I suppose you have to so you don’t die…. I understand. I want you to live and be happy.” He had turned away as he spoke. Frustrated, I tapped his shoulder and pointed back to the paper where I had finished the sentence.

I am getting married to you!

Liam’s eyes widened, and a bright smile formed on his face, before quickly hiding again. “What about the witch’s spell?”

Slowly, I wrote out what I had done over the last six months, and what my plan was. Liam reading all this with an increasingly astonished expression, let out the loud, villainous laugh that I couldn’t.

“I should have known when I couldn’t find you for all that time! Brilliant!” He grabbed my hands. “Bel, I’ll arrange everything! My crew and I will put together the best wedding you have ever seen!”

I pulled my hands out with a serious expression, and went back to the paper.

If we get married here, you have to understand something. Making sure he was paying attention, I continued to write. Even though it’s a lower realm. even though we aren’t in our regular bodies. It still counts. If you marry me in this realm, It is Liam marrying Bel. Not the Pirate King and the mermaid. We are married no matter what realm we travel to.

Liam read it carefully, and then reached forward and hugged me again. “Of course, Bel. This is you and me. You’ll be the wife of a dragon, and no matter what world it is, I will always find a way to your side.” He pulled back slightly, so I could see the truth in his eyes as he continued. “I love you, Bel.”

I put my hand on my heart, and then on his. I wasn’t writing, but he knew exactly what I meant.

I love you too.  

_________________________

A few months passed. We traveled around with the crew, going on a few adventures. We searched for and found buried treasure. We fought with rival pirate gangs. We also attacked a few ships, stealing the gold and jewels from them. And if they all happened to be from the royal fleet, well… I mean, the prince DID promise me money for saving him. Between Liam and I, we were able to subdue any resistance, often making off with the treasure without a single shot fired. Liam’s reputation became even more wild , now with the added rumors of the evil silent Pirate Queen who fought at his side. We were preparing for a large pirate wedding, and nothing could make me happier.

Not that everything was perfect, however. Two things definitely caused a wrinkle in our happy couple pirate life.

First: the doves. Every morning a dove would throw itself to the ground at my feet, its blood spilling out the same message: You must accept your fate. The system was angry at my defiance of the story, and the ominous messengers came and died each day. At first, this caused a huge stir among the pirate crew, and there were murmurs about how having a woman on the ship was “unlucky.” After the first few battles, however, and they saw how much I contributed with my skills with the sword, their view of me changed for the better. That along with Liam’s explanation that the doves were the product of an evil witch’s curse, the pirates quickly accepted it as the new normal. Every morning Enty would rush over and quickly sweep the bird away, the deck clean before I could blink.

The second obstacle to our happiness was the prince. He never stopped looking for me, increasing the reward to such a ridiculous amount that even I was tempted to turn myself in for the reward. It very much restricted my activities in the towns, so Liam and I often hung back whenever we came into port. It was mildly annoying, but not overly so.

Then came the day we ran into the prince.

It technically was our fault. We DID capture his ship, looking for gold. When Liam and I had subdued all the sailors on board, the crew had searched the inner rooms and came out with a tied up, angry looking prince. As he was set down on the deck with his men, his eyes looked around, until they landed on me.

Oh no.

“IT’s YOU!” He tried to stand up, but was held down by pirates on either side. “My love, I’ve finally found you!”

Love?

“Love?” The pirates looked confused.

“Love?” Liam said, his voice calm, but somehow communicating a threat.

“You saved my life, and stole my heart!” The prince continued, not looking over at the increasingly dour looking pirate king holding a sword. “I have searched the world for you, my love! Come back with me and let’s get married!”

I shook my head no.

“…” The prince seemed confused. “I don’t think you understood, dear. I’m proposing, Follow me and go home!”

I shook my head and gestured at Liam. He nodded in understanding and spoke up. “She says ‘No.’ She also says to stop calling her dear and love because she doesn’t like you.” I smiled at him. Over the time we spent, we had adapted a few different sign languages that we had learned in different lower realms to communicate, teaching the pirate crew as well so I could talk to them. My communication with Liam was always the smoothest, however. He seemed to have some deeper connection to my soul, some level of understanding that went beyond the need for words. He often acted as my translator when no one else knew what I was trying to say.

“She didn’t say that!” The prince retorted.

“Yes she did.” He looked at me. “She also says you smell bad and you are ugly.” I grinned and nodded.

“Why doesn’t she just tell me then?”

“She can’t talk.”

“YES SHE CAN!” He shouted. “I heard her say something to me!”

I raised an eyebrow, obviously questioning.

The prince blushed. “You called me an idiot, remember?”

I rolled my eyes. I thought he was unconscious for that part.

Liam stepped in. “Well she can’t talk now. Not that it matters. We will be taking your treasure and leaving.”

“NO!” The prince shouted. “She loves me! She saved my life!”

I gestured, and Liam translated. “She says she only saved you because she was afraid your corpse would pollute the ocean. She has less feeling for you than she does for the poop bucket on the ship, because at least the poop bucket is useful.”

The prince was silent for a few moments, as if something was broken within him. “No.” He whispered, his voice developing into a shout. “NO! SHE IS MINE! WE ARE MEANT TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!”

I shuddered. Even if Adonis wasn’t here, the heroes of these worlds had his shadow. They felt like him, sounded like him. It really made me want to punch him.

I moved my hands. Liam watched with a smile and then spoke. “She says she will have a happily ever after, but as the Pirate Queen. She says she’s going to marry me.” He grinned. “We’re going to get married and grow old together and have six eggs… I mean human children.”

I paused. I hadn’t said anything about children or eggs. Did dragons lay eggs?? Could Liam and I even have children? If Liam and I had children in the higher realm did that mean I would have to LAY EGGS? My mind raced, and I very much ignored the prince and Liam.  Finally, I came to the conclusion internally that Liam and I would have to have a very long talk about the future and possibility of progeny… and about relevant biology apparently.  But we could have that talk when we back on our ship. I looked back up, trying to figure out what had happened while I was spacing out. The prince appeared to be near tears and was screaming obscenities, and Liam was simply taunting him with an evil grin.

I patted his shoulder. He looked over at me and his smile became more genuine. “Time to go?” I nodded.

He held my hand and looked back over at the prince. “Just so you know. She doesn’t belong to you. She doesn’t belong to me either. If you keep bothering her, she’ll crush you into dust. And I’ll help!” He looked proud of himself. I couldn’t help but smile, and leaned over to kiss him.

The pirates whistled loudly and the prince seemed even more angry. Liam, now red, picked me up and swung back over to the pirate ship. He ran back into the inner quarters and closed the door. Setting me down, he faced me, his red face slowly returning to normal. “Bel. Can we kiss more now?”

I laughed silently, and complied, the prince forgotten.

_________________________

It was our wedding day.

The pirates went all out. We got married on an island that had been taken over by our crew. Large festive banners decorated everywhere. A brightly dressed group of pirates played instruments, the soft, romantic music strangely out of place for the violent, aggressive looking musicians. Large crews of pirates gathered to watch the ceremony, all waving flags and streamers as if they were spectating a fight, rather than attending a wedding.

I stood at the start of the aisle,  wearing a long dress of woven golden threads. I held a bright bouquet, and kept a sword strapped to my side. Liam, dressed in his finest pirate coat, stood nervously at the front next to a terrified, kidnapped priest. His hair had been cut short and his beard shaved. His men teased him, but he told me privately that he wanted to look a little more like the Liam of the Higher Realm.

Our eyes met, and in the familiar dark blue I saw love and reassurance.

I stepped forward.

_________________________

“DID YOU HEAR THAT GUYS? I’M GETTING MARRIED!” Liam hugged me as a ragged crew cheered. They discussed the use of explosive balloons as decorations with great excitement.

_________________________

A strange memory filled my mind. The same Liam, the same love.

*** Soul transfer 85% complete. ***

I continued to walk.  

_________________________

We were on the upper deck of the academy, the fight with the HIVE looming over us. A group of young women and my father cheered on. Liam, knelt before me, proposing.

_________________________

Another world, another marriage, the same Liam.

*** Soul transfer 90% complete. ***

I reached Liam, and we held each other’s hands, smiling. The priest overcame his terror and began his speech, talking about love, commitment, devotion to one another.

“Do you, Liam, take this woman as your wife.” He didn’t use Liam’s character name, by his design. This wasn’t the Pirate King marrying a mermaid.

This was us.

“I do.” Liam answered without hesitation.

_________________________

Liam and I stood before each other, a pair of elves surrounded by fairies and other creatures. We spoke our wedding vows, our voices filled with love.

_________________________

Different bodies, different voices, the same souls.

*** Soul transfer 95% complete. ***

“Do you, Bel, take this man as your husband?” The priest asked, looking at me.

I looked at Liam, who stared nervously back at me.

I still didn't have all my memories.

I didn't know why it seemed as though I had met him before, countless times.

But I knew the answer to the priest's question.

I couldn’t speak out loud, but I nodded and signed my response.

Yes. Forever.

Liam leaned forward with a smile and kissed me. “I love you, Bel. My wife.”

I responded back silently. I love you too.

*** Soul transfer 99% complete. ***

We were married. Whether this was the first, the second or the hundredth time.

“BEL!” An angry voice shouted out, and an army descended upon the wedding,

Hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, all wearing the royal colors, flooded in, holding up weapons. The pirates closed, in, trying to protect us, but we were split up by an overwhelming larger force. And at their head, with a grim smile on his face, was the prince.

But he wasn’t the same prince... not anymore.

Adonis had taken over.

“Bel!” His eyes were filled with a cold, possessive light. “It’s time to stop playing pretend. Come with me.”

I shook my head no.

“Don’t lie to yourself anymore, Bel. The fact that you can’t speak should be your biggest clue that your silly little ‘marriage’ isn’t true love. It means nothing.” His expression was triumphant. “How were you supposed to get rid of the witch’s curse? You needed to get married and share true love’s kiss.” He pointed at Liam, who stood protectively beside me. “You can’t have a true love with that monster, Bel. He’s just a worthless beast whose only purpose in life is to be stepped on by the heroes on their way to live a happily ever after.”

I shook my head again, my face angry.

“Then why aren’t you fully turned human, voice and all, Bel? Why wasn’t his wedding and his kiss enough to break the curse? You need your true love. You need a hero.”

He stepped closer, until he was within reach, and held out his hand for me to take. I ignored it.

“You. Need. Me.” He reached out this time and grabbed my face. “Accept your fate, Bel. We were meant to be.”

I smiled at him. I’ve warned him before not to grab my face. Seems like he didn't learn his lesson.

“No.”

My voice, strange to hear after months of silence, spoke now in melodious refusal.

Adonis’s eyes widened in shock, “You…?” He was then struck by an invisible force, and thrown fifty feet away, collapsing on the ground.

I stepped forward, raising my hands. “You said a lot of wrong things, Adonis… in fact, EVERYTHING you said was completely and utterly incorrect. But fortunately for you, I’m here to set the record straight. You said that marrying Liam was worthless, that he couldn’t break the witch’s curse.” I looked over at Liam with a smile. “Two wrong things there: Marrying the love of my life? Never worthless. The other wrong thing?” I laughed, a loud, full villainess laugh. It felt good to hear it again.

“I was never under a witch’s curse.”

From my hands, clouds of dark magic spring, It spread everywhere, until the island was filled with it. All of the royal soldiers and pirates were picked up and placed on their respective ships, and the ships pushed out to sea. At the same time, the magic wrapped around Adonis, binding him and lifting him in the air to hang in front of us.  The silence was deafening. It was just Adonis, Liam and me.

“I AM a sea witch.”

Six months earlier, when I had approached the Sea Witch, she had offered me the same deal she offered the mermaid in the story. Instead, I showed her my still weak dark powers, and offered to help her get revenge on an ex-boyfriend in exchange for her teaching me magic. She had happily obliged.

“I used my OWN magic to turn myself human. Of course, I still had to give up something, and I gave up my voice, as requested by the story. But I was never required to marry the prince. To marry anyone, actually. I just needed to decide my own future and accomplish it with my own efforts. I chose to become the Pirate Queen, and accomplishing that today, I was made fully human. Although still a witch, obviously.”

Adonis struggled against his magical bonds, his face pale. “You… can’t… do… this.”

“I can and I have, Adonis. I am not the heroine you so foolishly have put all your hopes on. If anything, I fit the role of villain much more naturally.”

He looked over at Liam with difficulty. “Your mission… doomed.”

Liam shrugged, walking easily through the flow of dark magic to stand right beside me. “My mission was easy enough, I had to be utterly defeated, along with my whole pirate horde.” He gestured around. “I’ve been defeated by the sea witch it appears. Oops. How sad for me.”

I nodded sympathetically. “Tragic.”

“I’ll never recover.” He smiled. “I guess I’ll just have to be a minion to the sea witch now.”

“How about a husband?”

“Even better!”

Adonis grew increasingly angrier. “YOU CAN’T! YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING!”

“Am I?” I held Liam’s hand, “I think I’ve really found a better path.” As my power surged within me, I saw a new message finally scrawl across the sky.

*** Soul transfer 100% complete. ***

I laughed again.

“In fact, I think I’ve finally got all the pieces back together.” I took full control of my power, and shouted towards the sky.

“DID YOU HEAR THAT, SYSTEM?! I DID IT! THE LAST STORY, THE STORY OF THE HIGHER REALM, IS COMPLETE! I CHOSE THE SAME ENDING, SYSTEM! COME OUT AND FACE ME!”

…

…

There was only silence.

“Nothing to say, huh? Well, if you won’t come to me…” My power reached out and tore the fabric of reality. “...We’ll come to you.”

We were transported out of the lower realm, and into a world of pure white. Not another lower realm. Not the higher realms. A new place. A place beyond the realms.

“Are you sure about this, Bel?” Liam asked quietly, still holding my hand.

“I’m sure. We’ll take it on, Liam. Our fate, the rules that have bound us, everything.” I looked around with a confident smile. “And we will win.”

Liam agreed as we stood side by side, ready to take on the System.

“Together.”

[hlficlibrary]

✤ Fake Relationship Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ Escapade by dolce_piccante / @haydolce {M, 146k}

In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He's rich. He's handsome. He's reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for.

2️⃣ And Then a Bit by @infinitelymint {E, 158k}

“We’d like to give the fans what they want.” Magee states, placing his hand on the table in front of him and leaning forward. “We want to give them Larry Stylinson.”

Or, take a parallel universe where Louis and Harry were never together, mix in a two year hiatus and an impending comeback, pour in a dash of lost fans, two tablespoons of strong friendship and a Modest! employee with a good idea. Add a squeeze of pretending to be a couple, lots of kisses and a tattoo or two. Stir. Serve: the mother of all publicity stunts.

(aka Harry and Louis fake a relationship for publicity. Eventually it becomes a lot less fake and a lot more real.)

3️⃣ California Sold by @isthatyoularry {M, 123k}

Notoriously closeted boyband member Harry Styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile Louis, as his best friend, is back home in Manchester, living the typical life of a 24 year old. When Harry needs Louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.

A fake-relationship AU between two lifelong best friends.

4️⃣ Paint Me In A Million Dreams by green_feelings / @greenfeelings {M, 112k}

Harry's one of Hollywood's biggest actors, has made a name for himself in prestigious films and lives the life of a superstar. There's just one thing missing to make it picture-perfect, but the one Harry's in love with is completely out of reach for him. Enter Louis, one of Hollywood's biggest actors himself, who just came out of the closet and taps new genres in the industry. When Louis sacks the role Harry auditioned for in Scorsese's next big film, their irrational feud starts. Who could have guessed it would get even worse when for promo season, their teams decide to present them as a couple for publicity?

In short, Harry's in love with someone and doesn't care about dating anyone else, Louis never felt home in L.A., Liam writes love songs for someone he shouldn't write love songs to, and Niall makes everything better with good food.

5️⃣ Faking It by TheCellarDoor / @donotdialnine {M, 46k}

A uni AU in which Louis has been Harry’s best friend since he offered him cubed fruit on the playground, and they spend more time cuddling in their dorm beds than they do apart, but it’s not like that. Or is it?

Aka Harry pretends to date his best friend to escape unwanted attention from a too insistent classmate and hopes it won’t blow up in his face. Featuring embarrassing dildo accidents, awkward boners, longing, first times, late night conversations, emotional discoveries and Niall as the exasperated friend with bad advice.

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 this charade (was never going to last) by @scrunchyharry {E, 68k}

On the surface, CitizenX, an international caritative nonprofit, looked like any other nonprofit, funding humanitarian missions worldwide and striving to make the world a better place, one donation at a time.

At least, that was what Harry thought, until he was hired as a computer specialist for a spinoff agency called carish, whose true purpose was to reveal CitizenX’s tangled web of lies.

As if the whole ‘industrial spy’ business was not stressful enough, Harry found himself in a hatred-at-first-sight relationship with one of his new coworkers, Louis, a man intent on detesting Harry.

When the worst happened and Harry and Louis found themselves thrown together in hiding, with only each other to rely on, Harry never could have predicted the turn their relationship would take.

Nor could he anticipate that it would all be taken away from him and he would have to decide how far he was willing to go to get Louis back.

💎 Love Is a Winning Game by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings {M, 47k}

Before their broken engagement, Harry had his head stuck so far in the clouds that he doesn’t even remember entering him and Louis for something as crazy as a couple's gameshow until a series of bad, post-breakup decisions puts Harry in the awkward position of needing the help of his ex-fiancé to try and fix the mess he has made.

💎 Wed’n Walk (Or, We Went to Amsterdam Together) by @hellolovers13 {E, 11k}

When Harry had first started planning his honeymoon to Amsterdam, he had not envisioned ending up there with his best friend.

Or getting fake-married to him for 24 hours.

💎 Every Line, Every Word, Everything by lsforever / @kingonafiftymetreroad {G, 10k}

“I just fucking came out of the closet to the whole world so I wouldn’t have to parade around fake relationships anymore and that’s what you’re trying to put on me again?!”

or, the AU where Harry's team suggests that he should have a fake boyfriend after he's just come out. Who would've thought it would be his best friend?

💎 Just To See That Smile by @homosociallyyours {NR, 6k}

It's Coming Out Week at university, and Harry's taken on a lot of responsibilities to make everything run smoothly. Finding his roommate's boyfriend attractive is making that a bit difficult, unfortunately. It might help if he realized that said boyfriend (Louis) is really just there to help said roommate (Liam) figure out if Liam's crush (Zayn) likes him back.

But that would make things too easy.

A fic where a hastily faked relationship and a lot of miscommunication almost ruins a perfectly good dance.

[harrysmimi]

Professor

Synopsis: One where Harry pays for the consequences of ghosting the girl he was seeing for two months

More of my work

It was pretty late, but Harry was actually excited to finally get back in university and get his master's four years later!

It was his initial plan to do so but he kept putting it off as he was deep in debt, but now that's he's got his life back on track he was ready to get that masters because apparently the Management field looks for papers along with experience for better paying jobs. And honestly he hates his job as assistant to charted accountant now. Though he was already dreading this, his friends Niall and Liam were going with him, they were in the same Marketing and Business Law classes to put his anxious mind at ease.

Him and his friends would probably be the older of the demographic in the batch of this year, but who cares? He's there to learn and get that degree with his name slapped on it. Niall was coming over to pick him today as his car was in service for past one week.

"Oh, she's hot!" Niall commented the girl had seemed to heard it as she picked up her pace of walking, "hope she's in our class. She's got a marketing text book in her hand." He was apparently talking about this girl who just parked next to them and started running towards what he hoped to class.

Harry's heart skipped a beat when he saw her though. She looked awfully familiar to him. Shaking his head he proceeded to go to his first class which was Marketing Management.

The lecture hall was massive for the class strength to be of only 60 students, desks arranged in arranged in tiers to give the lecturer perfect view of the class. A projector set up for the lecture already. Harry and his friends had no other option than to sit on the very first desks, it would be pretty difficult of the trio as they've been the back benchers their whole life.

"Good morning class, I am sorry for being late to the class was about to begin ten minutes ago." The professor barged in with her text book and laptop and Harry almost shat his pants. "Settle down everyone, please." She waited for the class to get settled in their desired places.

"First day of academic year it's always exciting, isn't it? Then it all gets dreadful and by the end of the semester you're like "urgh! I can't wait to be done with this stuff!" but that won't be happening in my class, I'll try to not let that happen at least." The professor went on as she observed the class carefully starting from the very back, "let's start with introducing ourselves to the class, I'll start; I am YN YLN. I teach Marketing and Business Law, I've been teaching for four years now. I come from a family of professors, I mean even my great grand parents from my both parents side were teachers. That's something I like to brag about."

She smiled an adorable cheeky smile. She's really a ray of sunshine, Harry decided.

"Now you all don't have to feel pressured to introduce yourself though it is highly encouraged, if not we'll proceed with our first lesson today." She gave the class a moment.

Surprisingly many students stood up and talked about themselves, where they come from, what they like to do, and all the good stuff like that. The class was actually liking her that much even the shy ones tried to interract.

"Oh my god, she's definitely gonna hate me for calling her hot in the parking lot. She heard me!" Niall murmured to him.

But he's got way worse to deal with her. His professor.

Never in his life he thought he'd ever find himself in a situation like this, ever!

He met YN at the start of summer this year on a dating site. In all honesty he was just looking to get laid but for some reason he took it too far with her without telling her what he really wanted. Yes, he is an asshole for doing that, but he did not expected to have karma hit him this way.

Her dating profile was really what someone who was dating to get married would swipe right in a heartbeat. She was same age as him couple months younger even, she could cook (if anyone cared for that), she was well educated, and had a four year teaching experience at University — though the name of the university was not mentioned — she was a mum to an almost two year old boy.

Least to say he didn't wanted to hook up with her on the first date, she was just that sweet and humble. He just dropped her off to hers and asked if he could take her out for coffee and he did. He saw her over the weekend. Got laid as well. Led her on for five weeks straight. For the first time since he graduated he felt like wanting to get into a relationship, but she called off their date twice last minute because her son was severely sick.

Yeah! He totally feels awful for that. He knew she's a mother and he won't be on her first priority list probably for a very long time if he did not blew things up with her. He didn't even mind that she have a child in the beginning.

Maybe he got scared of the commitment? But she would have understood that as she had talked about getting stood up by dates for the reason, but also made it pretty clear in his opinion that she was looking for something serious if things led to other. He felt even more guilty. He just ghosted her.

And he was starting to like her, a lot. Seeing the way how she talked about her son in most subtle way, he found it very adorable and attractive in a way, she even paid all her mind when he talked about his own interests in his slow tone like he usually does which many find annoying. She had way too much patience to put up with him. She did come off as shy and introverted the whole time and not like as she is being in the class right now.

None of his friends knew he was seeing someone over the summer. That was the little down cor why Professor YLN had his heart running like a wild horse. He almost died when she finally noticed him as a sly smirk took over her pretty features making him sink in his seat like a melting ice cube of a burning iron skillet. He wanted to disappear. Throw himself against the wall.

"Anyone from the front desks? Very familiar faces from around the campus." She asked, eying him with a revenge being plotted in her mind. He is sure she's going to be petty with the look on her face like that. She even glared at Niall who commented on her earlier.

She proceeded with the first topic after two more introductions from the students. Honestly she was amazing at her job. Even more amazing than any of the teachers he's had his entire life (apart from his mother).

"Before we dismissed the class," YN said closing off the tabs on the projector for the class, "I just want to make you know that if you do not understand anything, you can feel free to ask away any of your doubts and please be free to give any feedbacks you have on my teaching methods, if I'm going too fast or too slow with the portion. I'm here to help. My office hours are from 3pm to 4.30pm, you can come in to get your doubts cleared if needed in the future."

"If you have any doubts from today's lecture, I'll be clearing those the first thing in the next class on Wednesday. From the next class onwards the first fifteen minutes would be to clear out any doubts and queries. And that will be all for today. Thank you so much for your time today. Hope you all have an amazing rest of the day." With that she dismissed the class, and left the hall.

"Move, move, move," Harry chanted getting up from his chair almost pushing Niall over who was had taken the aisle seat.

"Patience!" Niall stood up making a way for his friends who barged out like a racing car.

Harry ran straight to the bathroom and locked himself up in a stall as he threw up.

God he's going to have to put up with her for next six months. She's probably going to make his life hell in college. He's probably going to have to his arse off for her class. For a moment he thought he'd blackmail her if she tries to fail him but it won't work as he haven't seen her in a month and things came to an end before he even got accepted into this academic institution. His mind was racing with most stupid and fucked up possibilities as he emptied out the hearty breakfast he had this morning.

He finally got up and made his way out to wash his face but he felt like he was going to pass out if it weren't for Liam who came looking for him, he would have had fallen down and hit his head somewhere.

"You alright, mate?" Liam asked.

All it took was for him to shake his head. "Uhh, yeah!" He somehow pulled himself together.

"You want to go home? I'm sure none of the professors would be getting anything important done today." Liam suggested.

"No, no, I am fine." He shook his head again, washed his face and rinsed his mouth and drank some water Niall gave him.

He was going to have to put up with all this because he was so determined to prove his father wrong that he can actually do something with his life. He was still living in the same old studio flat since he moved out at the age of eighteen, now he's twenty-five, he works a job which pays him just enough to live on cheque go cheque. He had that pressure from his father because his sister was going amazing!

She had written three best selling books out there. She is doing so much better with her life than him. She was in a stable and healthy relationship. Had her own house, two cars. Even his step siblings were better than him in many aspects. But he's happy with what he has is always looked over at and he's compared to everyone who's figuratively doing much better than him at every family gathering.

He has even started to skip those now the best he can.

He went back home his cat Evie all tired and still feeling about shit he probably have put YN through. Even the cat reminded him of her now, Evie loved the girl more than him and she was over all for four times at his.

For fucks sake it was just a two months thing he shouldn't make a big deal out of it, man up and apologise to her.

And he did. He texted her, waited for an entire for reply just to remember she was really bad at texting, she admitted to it and that she preferred to talk on phone calls instead.

It was Tuesday night when he called her. It rang through twice but she didn't answer. He just tried to go to bed but he couldn't sleep all night. He wanted to drive upto her house but it would have it's own consequences if anyone from his class saw him. He did talked to many of his classmates on the first day who lived in the same area as hers.

On the Wednesday morning he got to know two his classes were cancelled for the day, which YN takes. That worried him because he saw on Tuesday on campus busy with her other classes. It took a text for him mum requesting him to take her to the hospital as she was having some sever allergic reactions, so he was more worried about that instead of dealing with the shit he had spread.

His mum was very sick to add to his worries, he drove her to the emergency room and waited for doctors to check on her outside. She was advised to stay there for the day and could go home in the evening if everything was under control with the medications she was given.

"You want me to get you something?" Harry asked.

"A bottle of water would be good," Anne nodded.

"I'll be back," he smiled, kissing her forehead he headed out. He had to walk all the way to the hospital canteen as there were no vending machines in this hospital which actually worked. He was already frustrated that he can to walk tem minutes to get his mother a bottle of water she needed. He can do no thing right!

"Can I get a black coffee with no sweetner and a bottle of water please?" He asked the cashier, already finishing for his wallet in his back pocket. He had to wait for his coffee so he took a seat at one of the table.

He decided to call YN again as he waited. She did answered it this time but a phone rang just behind him catching his attention.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hello, Harry if it is not anything urgent can I call you later?" She rushed in a murmur.

"Yeah, but are you okay?" He looked around to find her at the table just behind her, looking all tensed.

"Yes. I'll, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay." He said and hung up.

He left her alone there, as she seemed to with a lady who reckoned to be her mother. He didn't wanted to bother her and he had his mother to worry about too.

......................................................................

It was the next morning he got a call back from YN just when he was about to text her again and go on to get ready for uni. His mum was doing good and was sent back home in the evening as expected.

"Hey, you needed any help that you called yesterday?" She asked, getting straight to the point, she sounded very tired on the other side of the call.

"Hi," he took in a deep breath, "ummm, I wanted to talk."

"If it's something related to class I don't know if I'll be help now, but I'll try my best, what is it?" She asked, politely.

"No, no it's not related to class. I, ehm, want to apologise for what I did." He said, "I shouldn't talk about this over a phone call, if we could meet?"

"I don't think that's a good idea now, Harry," she suggested, "and I can't see you right now. Whatever happened I'm just over it, you and I can move on from it and be professionals."

"You're going to forgive me that easily?" He asked. Hurt honestly that she's not going to hold anything against him because he truly believes he deserves that.

He heard a frustrated sigh from the other side, "I have got other things to worry about and what you did is honestly the least of my worries." She made it clear to him, "if you're worried I might fail you in either of your classes, I won't. I am not petty. You've got nothing to worry about just be good with your progress, I assure you will be treated as rest of the students." That hit him like a truck but with a whiff of cold air.

"I am not worried about that." Lie. A half lie. Or you can even a quarter lie. "I genuinely feel bad for ghosting you like that."

"And I forgive you for that, okay?" He was getting on her nerves now which was evident through her voice, "it's okay. Now if you're done, I have somewhere to go to."

"Yeah." He sounded before he heard the line go dead.

......................................................................

YN was miserable seeing her baby so sick. He had a surgery coming up this afternoon which had much higher rates of full recovery but it stung at her motherly heart that he even has to go through all of this.

He was born with atrial septal defect but doctors said it isn't fetal and he can live just normal. He basically had a tiny hole in his tiny heart. It wasn't until last month that he started getting sick and sick, that doctors suggested it was better to get the surgery done. Her insurance covered the costs of the surgery but the stay at hospital for next week was something she couldn't afford as she was paying off the rest of the loan for the house she lives in now.

Her parents weren't happy with having a baby, especially when she got knocked up by a random dude she hooked up with who refused to be involved with his life. She was going through her rebellious phase in college instead of going through it when she was teenager. Her parents being religious did not helped either when she decided she wanted to keep the child. They almost kicked her out and they did, but they came around sooner than she expected, helped her around until she got her life together. She is their only child.

YN was just so shocked when her dad called her one evening to give the house he bought for her to give her as a wedding present which he worked his whole life for. She was really grateful for that because she was really struggling with finances and raising a tiny human. Her parents do teach her lessons which are much needed but they're very supportive of her which she finds herself to be fortunate of.

She had no face to go ask for help from her parents now, her dad had given her everything, he bought her a house and furnished it for her, even her car was bought by him. She didn't tell them that her son has a condition since he was born, until her mother saw her at the hospital yesterday as she was there with her father to get her routine check up done. Least to say her father still loves her that he agreed to help her out in a heartbeat, though they've had a very rocky relationship from past almost three years.

The thing with Harry was least she can worry about. He was just a guy she met a few months ago. Her son was her life time commitment she made the moment she decided to keep her pregnancy. Which was definitely the best one she has made in her life.

She went to see her son who was resting in his room as the OT was being prepared for him. She didn't know how she was going to tell him what the doctors are going to do to him but she was going to try as the doctors have suggested it. A nursed was checking up on him as he had just woken up from his nap. He was a bit sleepy due to the medications or else he is usually tailing after her so she can drop him off at daycare so he can go play with his friends Justin and Sienna.

"How is my little Lion doing?" She asked, he was dressed in his Lion King PJs he threw a massive tantrum for in the middle of the store for, he was obsessed with the show for some reason.

"Mamma!" He whispered.

"He's doing great." The nurse said, "we'll take him to the OT in an hour."

"Yeah, thank you." YN nodded politely at the nurse as she left. "Did you had a good sleep?"

"Mhmm." He nodded pushing his hair away from his face, YN helped him with that. "Simba is there, Mamma look." He pointed at the wall art in his room.

"Yeah, you finally saw it." YN cooed.

"I wan, I wan go home." He looked at her with his big doe eyes, sad like a small puppy, he still stutters while talking even though his vocabulary for almost two year old much more advanced, YN found it adorable to say the least.

"We will go home soon, okay? I promise." She assured him, "do you want to cuddle?"

"Mhmm."

YN sat up on his bed, placing him in her lap careful of the IV on his arm. He immediately snuggled into her chest.

"When we goin' home?"

"Uhmmm, after you're feeling fully better." YN stuttered to answer him, "for that you know the doctor will have to operate on you so you can get better faster and we can go home."

"What is that?" He asked.

"That is a bit difficult for me to explain, my baby, but when you're sleeping the doctor will help your heart feel better so you can go play with Justin and Sienna." YN shared, "Mamma wants you to know that it is okay, I'm here with you, yeah?"

"Mhmm." He nodded, "I miss Daisy."

"Yeah, you miss her?" She cooed. Daisy was YN's Persian cat she has had since she was eighteen. "She said she misses you too, but she wants you to stay here."

"Why?" He whined.

"So you can get better to play with her too." YN reminded him, "you're feeling not well, right?"

"No well." The little boy shook his head.

"Yeah, she said she loves you and wants to play with you loads and loads when you get back home." She tried to hype her up the best she could. He's just two years old to say the most. "I love you."

"I love you." He repeated. "I wan ice cream please, Mamma."

"What else do you want?"

"A big Burger, please?" He chirped in excitement because she doesn't let him eat junk food as much as her friends let him.

"A big burger it is." She agreed using the same tone he used to describe the size of food he wants.

"I wan a lion toy." He demanded.

"You already have one." YN gasped.

"A big one!" He exclaimed the best he could lifting his free arm up to show his mother a size of a stuffed animal he desires. And proceeded to talk about all the animals he likes and randomly talking about food in between.

She wonders if he is going to be a zoologist when he grows up.

He did had a little breakdown, it was pretty obvious an almost two year old is going to be scared to be rolled on a stretcher by strangers to a scary looking room. But he did well. The surgery took three hours in total to be completed but it was a success and he was doing amazing!

"Your son is doing amazing, Ms. YLN." The doctor shared with her during the consultation after the surgery in his office, "he will be off the anesthesia by morning, we'll have to have him under observation for next five to six days — or less depending upon his recovery speed — before he can go home and have weekly check ins if needed for next six weeks."

"Oh okay," YN nodded, "thank you so much for your help doctor. I hope he wasn't too scared."

"He was but we talked about things he loves, he apparently loves animals a lot." Doctor shared the humourous moment with YN's son in the OT.

"Oh yeah, he does." She chuckled.

......................................................................

YN had to go back to work on the Monday as she could not take anymore leaves. Luckily her mother offered to stay at the hospital until she gets off.

She was dreading the office work she had to do, and she have to cover up the portion she missed for week as soon as humanly possible. First semesters usually tend to go faster for her for some reason. She had cut off her office hours for next couple of weeks now just so she can go back to her baby and have talk her ears off about a new animal documentary he watched with his Nani.

She was so grateful that her day came to an end at work, she still had to go home and pack a change of clothes for him and some food for her mother and herself. But he heard knock on her cabin, she saw the same frog face she was harbouring a massive crush on months ago. She wanted to smack that stupid of his when he ghosted though.

"Yes, Harry how may I help you?" She asked, gathering her stuff so she can work the time she gets when her is sleeping. He really had his notes printed in his hand.

"I have a doubt." He said, "do you mind if I come in?"

"Sure." She nodded. He's her student she's not going to ask him to leave when that's what she gets paid for. Turned out he genuinely had a doubt which she explained him in matter of ten minutes. "Is there anything else you meed help with?"

"No, that was all, thank you so much." He smiled. "Are you okay? Saw you at the hospital last week when I was there with my mum."

"I am fine, it was my son he's doing good now." She shared as she closed her laptop and put it back in her bag, "I will share the presentation on the classroom online do you can take notes from them, tell your friends about it too."

"I will," he nodded. "What happened to him if you don't mind me asking?"

"Actually I do mind." She smiled a forced thin lipped smile, "thank you for being concerned though."

"Sorry." He mumbled sheepishly looking down biting on his lip, "I'll take a leave now." With his head down he just left. YN instantly felt bad for talking to him like that.

......................................................................

It was three weeks later and YN's som was back home. He has been doing great and spending all his days with his grandma when his mum goes to work.

YN have finally gotten back on track with the portion she has missed on the days she took off. She had assigned the first assignments to her classes, and god it was going to be a hassle with double the queries coming in her way. She thought five classes including both UG and PG students and one extra class this semester as one of the professor is on a maternity leave.

"I clearly don't get paid enough for this!" She mumbled to herself as she frustratedly checked the first few assignments the students have turned in just to get over with.

Well, she get it. She was a student not too long ago and she is still studying for her PhD but this was atrocious how students actually treat their teachers. She had to turn all of the assignments back to the students with individual remarks on individual assignment.

Recently all she have been wanting to do is just spend time with her baby boy. But all she have to resort to from eight in the morning to six in the evening is just to look at his picture on her desk she recently put up on her mother's suggestion. The boy was doing amazingly, recovering faster than expected, getting back to starting to be active again and be his tiny human self.

YN was going to get him to get a hair cut in a long time now because he willingly asked for it this weekend. And he's been excited about it all week. It was also his second birthday.

YN had decided to go very lowkey on with the celebration unlike her and her father did for his first birthday. She doesn't want him to hurt himself because she knows how hyper he can get when around other children with adrenaline and run and jump around like there's no tomorrow. He still needs to be easy as he heals from a major surgery.

So it was just going to be him, his friends Justin and Sienna coming over for a play date later in the evening in the backyard. His Nana went over board and got him a slide and a swing set to add to plethora of his outdoor toys like a mini golf course and a basketball hoop he got on his first birthday. YN was going to take him out on a little date, buy him two new toys he wishes for and get a hair cut.

She had her day planned out with her baby, getting her all happy and giddy already.

And just when she is about to leave it was Harry coming to her office for yet another doubt. At this point she genuinely started to believe be never has any doubts because she sees him pay attention in class and she never speaks or asks questions, and he asks ber random questions like he did on their dates. He always manages to go to her office with doubts just when she's about to leave. YN finds it annoying because she figured he's always to everything and she thrives on time decipline since she was very young.

"I did not understand the Consumer behaviour." He said, not even bothering to hide his cheeky smirk as he walked in and took a seat on the chair in front of her desk, putting his half written notes on her desk.

"What do you not understand about it? I guess it have been repeated taught to business and management students for years." She reminded him.

"This is my first semester in college after four years of working as an accountant. I think my knowledge has been rusted a bit since." He explained. She took a look at his notes to know what he might have and not have understood. There was nothing but the title of today's lecture written with a black pen in block letters on an unruled page of the book.

"You have literally written nothing." She pointed.

"Exactly, my point." He shrugged.

"What did you not understand?" She asked.

"How does demand law come into play with consumer behaviour?" He asked.

"Because it is basically a behaviour." She said.

"How?"

"You know when prices go high the deman decline and that decline comes from customers desire for not wanting to spend that much on something and vice versa." She explained, hints of frustration now laced through her tones. "And that desire for not wanting to or wanting to buy a particular good is a behaviour by customers who are the consumers."

"Good, okay." He nodded, clicking his pen open, "can you repeat that, please?"

YN took in a deep breath and out, "I will explain this entire topic again, tomorrow morning the first thing in the class and I will be conducting a class test the very next day on the same. Now if you're done with your querie, my shift is already over."

"Hey, I'm sorry," he rushed chuckling, "now that your shift is over and you're no longer my professor, can I ask you something?"

"In premises of this campus, I am still your professor." She reminded him, "and Harry please I am begging you do not do something which both of us would have to regret and face consequences for. I have a son and I need this job."

"I won't, I promise. I just feel bad for—"

"I know you do and I told you I forgive you for that. Make peace with it and move on for gods sake?" She interrupted him. "So when we see each other again on Monday, we're nothing more than professor and student, okay?"

"Okay." He nodded as the dimples on his cheeks disappeared in instant. He just grabbed his book and his bag and left her office.

......................................................................

When YN got back home she couldn't help but shake the face of upset Harry off her sight.

She did started with her usual routine with asking her son clean his play area after she got freshen up and started preparing for dinner with him next to her. She had him fed, gave him his medications and tucked him in bed. She have now moved his bed to her room for the time being so she can keep an closer eye on her. She kissed him good night before she got into her own bed.

She went on to her phone after a very long time. Checking in on what her uni friends are upto now on Instagram. Most of them traveling for work whilst others were just having their own babies. When she stumbled upon stories of Harry.

She is still following him. Just when she was about to go to his profile and hit the unfollow button, she saw him partying with his friends. She recognised everyone from her class, especially the blonde named Hope, being inappropriate in the background as his two friends took shots. Least to say YN quickly unfollowed him immediately.

Yes, she fell for it quickly. She had a crush on him the moment she saw him on her phone screen really. It was her who had downloaded the dating app that one night, she's got no friends who would actually hype her to do so. All them are busy with their own shenanigans. Part it was pressure from her family and her extended family that she's unmarried and already has a kid and part of it was her loneliness.

She matched with couple of people she went on few dates on but none of them went further than one date until Harry. He actually did not judge her when she told him she's got a son even though she's his own age. She had many men and women just tell her that they're not interested in her after she'd casually mention about her son even though she had it mentioned on her profile.

Harry said he actually read that when she swiped right on her. The summer with him was amazing!

Especially when her son was spending much more time at her Nani's house as his cousins would be there. For the first time after having him she has that free time to actually give herself that much needed time. He actually seemed to care about her whenever with her, he'd even text her to check up on her but she is very bad with checking her texts.

......................................................................

The mother and son duo were dressed in matching black hoodies and jeans with boots as they headed out after a nice breakfast with Nana and Nani.

"Ohhh!" The little boy squealed a sound of amusement seeing the London Eye for the first time as they walked to the salon for his appointment. She was going to take him there the next day.

"Hello little lad," the guy who was going to cut his hair greeted him as he placed the boy on a chair and placed a cloak around his neck.

"You don't have to be afraid of the noises the machine would make, okay? It's not going to hurt." YN assured him. She explained the hair dresser how she wants her boy's hair to be cut.

For the longest YN did not understood why he had dark honey blond hair but later learned she had the same hair when she was born but her's darkened up before she turned one. His just decided to blond for a long time. All the while he sat there giggling and laughing, feeling ticklish from the buzz of the electric clippers.

"You like that?" YN asked once the hair cut was done.

"I love it!" He exclaimed raising his hands up in excitement to celebrate.

"Yeah? What do you say then?" YN suggested.

"Thank you." He looked at the hair dresser.

"You're welcome." The guy smiled.

Later the mother son duo went on shopping. They walked around the entire toy store.

"Mamma, I wan this!" The little boy hit at the box with a picture of a pretty blue doll house.

"Yeah, do you also want dolls to put in it?" She suggested.

"Mhmm." He nodded.

"Okay, lemme put that in our cart, okay?" She placed him in the seat on the shopping cart and strapped him before she put the choice of his toy in the cart. "Do you also want to get a few presents for your friends?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

After they headed straight to parking lot and YN drove them to a restaurant for lunch. They were having an amazing day really. They went back home and wrapped the presents they got for his friends and put them in individual bags like a little hamper. YN remember this was something her parents did on her birthdays up until her eighteenth birthday. It was a nice gesture and who does like gifts. That really taught her growing up that the world really doesn't revolve around ber even though she was quite spoilt as a child.

She wants her son to learn that early, the feel of being grounded even though he's twice as spoilt by her parents.

The kids had amazing time playing their to exhaustion. YN's parents got along with Sienna's mother who held same interests in English and Hindi literature, talking about things she's never heard of. YN never read a novel in her life even though ber dad is an English professor and her mother is French and English professor. It was never her cup of tea which her dad like to tease her about.

"He's seem to be doing really great now." Alex, Justin's dad said.

"Yeah, Sienna missed her friend too, she was asking about him." Marie joined in.

"Yeah, he's doing very well." YN nodded admiring her son laughing and giggling with his friends from afar. He just turned two and he's got more friends than her. "He was talking about Justin and Sienna too. They've become best friends, haven't they?"

"Okay, maybe we should discard that conclusion for a while." YN mum stood up immediately watching the kids now starting to fight over something. The fight was resolved and they were back to playing again. "They're best friends again!"

......................................................................

Everyone came in for a nice dinner YN and her dad made today. The kiss still wanted to play but were promised another playdate tomorrow at Sienna's house the same time. YN parents stayed after to help her clean the mess the kids had made before leaving.

She bathed the boy and put him to bed before she headed down to get herself a glass wine. Though she wasn't a big fan of drinking even a glass of alcohol but she needed it after stressful couple of weeks. Just as she was about to pop open a new bottle of wine Alex gifted YN and Marie after he returned from his trip from Italy like six months ago. He said it was something fruity, like berries. Just as she was about to pop open the bottle there was a knock on the door. She peeped through the hole as she was alone at home and it has gotten quite late at night. It was Harry to her surprise.

"Hi," she said after she opened the door.

"Hi," he smiled, awkwardly, "came to talk if you have a moment."

"I, ehm, do you want to come in?" She asked already stepping aside so be can walk in. He nodded and walked in, took off his shoes by the door. He was immediately greeted by Daisy trying to trip over as he followed YN in to the living room. "Please sit, would you like me to get you something?" She proceeded to walk into kitchen where he followed her to.

"No, I'm good." He said, politely, yet she got him a glass of water. "I want to see you again, I am sorry for ghosting you like that. I shouldn't have knowing you wouldn't do that on purpose unless it was something serious."

"What did you thought?" She was confused.

"I thought you didn't wanted to see me," he admitted, "you used your son being sick as an excuse. I know that was very childish of me and I am really sorry for that."

"Even if you are sorry nothing can happen now, you're my student, I can't pursue a relationship with my student." She kept tone was as low as he could hear with frustrated and upset undertone, "I would never make an excuse. Especially my son being sick. Thank you for telling how low you think of me." Her vision started to het blurry with tears, she looked down quickly to pick up the wine opener and putting it in it's place, next was the bottle

"I don't think low of you, YN, don't say that." He stressed on defending himself.

"Heydar, my son was really sick, okay. I am not going to give you an explanation but that's how I felt when you said that." She shared, "that's what I feel like is the truth. He had an open heart surgery not even a month ago and he turned two just today, you knew I was going to put him first before anyone, even myself. You thought I'm that much of a coward that I'd lie about an innocent two year old boy being severely sick just to get out of the situation with you?"

"I get it, I am so sorry about that." He apologised again with his head hung low, "I never dated since I graduated — well not this once before — so it was a rollercoaster ride to be with you emotionally for me because those were the best two months I've ever spent in a very long fucking time. I just thought after we slept together that you didn't want to have to do anything with me. We became really good friends if not anything more and I ghosted you at the time you needed all the emotional support."

He talks slow but YN stood there listening to him. Carefully. "I want to fix this. Really. But I don't know how to. I want to fix this."

Harry's never been hung up on anyone. Especially since that one time where his friends conned him to basically go on a date and set him up so cleverly. He actually started getting along with that girl and after they both slept together for the first time she just told it on his face she doesn't want to go any further with him. It was worse than being ghosted he felt that time. YN's situation was worse here. He also knew that the pressure from his family to do better in his career had something to do with it that it scared him off from the commitment.

All those times she's just take out even fifteen minutes for him if her son was with her parents, she'd go to see him after work. He knew she was a professor but he didn't know she worked at the University he applied and got approved at. The way she'd go over evey little text he'd sent her through the day, every little meme which sort of reminded of him she'd carefully reply each one of them at the end of the day when she'd finally get the time to look at her phone, entertainment herself to clear her mind for a little before going to bed.

And YN wouldn't lie, she needed that emotional support if not financial support from her parents and she didn't exactly had good friends to rely onto for that. Her brown parents aren't exactly best at showing emotional affection or any affection at all, and she even felt guilty to ask for it because she's put them through hell her entire life being rebellious and especially after getting pregnant by a hook-up.

Though it wasn't anyone's business but the cultural environment she grew up liked to make it their business anyway, very much so that people started side eying her parents, especially her mother for her upbringing. Especially criticising them for having their daughter attend the Sex Ed classes for her own good before she was married, which allegedly influenced her to get pregnant with a strangers baby.

Her parents are long over it but she still carries that guilt with her.

Having a part of her go through a major procedure drained her mentally and emotionally. It is surely a bad time for her (she's certain it is going to pass), she knows no one is entitled to make her feel good mentally and emotionally but herself. So she didn't let the thing with Harry affect her that much, though she did cried the night after he didn't answer her texts.

"I don't know what you want me to do with it, Harry, I am quite confused here." She shared, "I know that I have been clear from the very first time we talked that I am looking for a long term commitment. I've got a son and I can't go out and date every other person and drag him through all of it and scar him emotionally and mentally for his life. I still don't know why you ghosted me like that. That can not be the only reason. I was so hurt that you led me on for two months just to sleep with me. You ignored me the night after I went over to yours and we had sex."

She took in a long breath to calm herself from crying in front of him, she didn't wanted that. "Then again. We were only seeing each other for mere two months. I don't know why I let myself go hurt me like that. It was just a summer fling for you."

"No, don't say that, please." He took a careful step over to the kitchen island separating them. "What I feel for you is still very real, I wouldn't say what we had was just a summer fling for me, I simply got scared of the commitment. I know should have conveyed that in a proper way like a decent human. I am really sorry for that. Please gimme a chance to fix this, YN?"

"So you're not scared of commitment anymore?" She sounded amused.

"I am not." He answered in a heartbeat. "I've got my shit together now. I know fucked up." When she didn't say anything it hit him that they can't technically date because she is her professor now, amd will be even if the semester is over and even after he graduates. "There's no way we can get back to where we left, isn't it?" He sighed.

"I don't know." She said.

"What about after the semester ends? It's not like we got to know each other on campus. We were seeing each other way before." He started brain storming.

"I don't want to talk about this." She said, knowing it is going to hurt her even more with faux convincing.

The university can still hold it against her saying that she should have informed them earlier if they get back together, it's been over a month and half since the academic year started.

She was still not over how he ghosted her. He was the first person she was open to be vulnerable enough to be share something that intimate after having a child. He did broke her heart that way badly.

"Mamma!" YN heard a high pitched call of a whine for her, she looked up to find her little boy going down the stairs slowly, clutching onto the railing. She rushed towards him even though he had quite master going down stairs by now.

"What's wrong, my love?" She cooed to him immediately scooping him up.

"I scared." He shared hiding in her chest, "I saw a monster when I sleeping."

"It's okay," she assured him, "it was not real. Monsters are not real."

"Scared!"

"Okay, okay, Mamma is here with you. You can go back to sleep."

"No!" He whined clutching onto her like his life depends on her in that moment, "I wan Mamma!"

"Okay, I'm here." She assured her and almost went upstairs forgetting Harry was there. But she went down as Heyder clung onto her like a baby koala, dozing back to sleep.

Harry saw her coming back downstairs, he saw her son for the first time here. He never saw his pictures before. But the little boy was wearing mismatched Rapunzel and Iron Man PJs, with a small stuffed bunny tucked in his grip.

"Just stay here for a moment." YN told him as she walked back into living room. She was there for solid ten minutes as her son refused to go back to sleep, so she gave him a sensory book which made car noises to play with as she went back to kitchen after telling him they have a guest over. Heyder tried mimicking the sound of an engine starting which made Harry giggle. He looked at YN and stopped immediately, the same neutral look on her features hasn't left yet but he thought she found it offending.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat.

"It's okay." She smiled herself hearing her son in the living room. He stood there in silence between them two with weird car noises in the back for what felt like ages before he decided he better take his ass out of her house. She isn't going to kick him out or ask him to leave. He isn't going to get his answer, at least not in that moment.

"Alright, see you tomorrow in class Ms. YLN." He smiled, earning a nod from her.

"I'll walk you to the door." She said and followed him out, "umm Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Just don't talk about this to anyone, not even your friends please?" She requested, "I can loose my job and you can get expelled if the word goes to the faculty in a wrong way."

"You're going to talk about this?" He asked.

"I will have to. I have no other choice." She admitted, "don't want to face bigger consequences later for this."

"Okay. I won't talk about this to anyone." He assured her. It gave him hope for reconciliation with her.

As they walked to her front door he saw the little lad trailing begin YN close by. Harry also noticed the balloon and decoration and big Happy Birthday banner in the living room still up, a few unopened presents left on the coffee table.

"It's still his birthday?" Harry asked.

"Mhmm." YN sounded.

"Can I wish him if you don't mind?" He asked, they were already at the door.

"Sure."

"Hiya," Harry looked at her son, bending down to make himself appear smaller, "Happy Birthday little lad." He shied away behind his mother smiling.

"What do you say, Heydar?" YN encouraged him.

"Thank you." He mumbled.

"Of course, darling." Harry chuckled seeing him forward his small hand for a handshake which he returned gladly. He finally took his leave and walked out. It was slightly awkward he wouldn't lie. YN shut the door after he left and locked it before turning to find her son still stood in his place.

"Let's get your bum-bum back in bed now!" She announced, the little boy squealed as he started running around. But she caught him scooping him up in her arms tickling his sides. "Do you want to sleep in Mamma's bed?"

"Mhmm." He nodded.

......................................................................

Months passed by, quicker for YN and slow like a turtle for Harry.

Though he's really gotten his shit together. Set firm boundaries with his parents who always tried to put pressure on him to do better and compare him to his sister who is conventionally more successful than him.

He doesn't care if he's got a partner to settle with. He doesn't care what people think of his job, he loves it!

Harry learned he's been hating his job just because of his parents constant pressures to get a better job, or at least beg his way for a promotion. Well he's been working in that firm for just two years, he left the previous company for their unethical work environment. He's sure he'll get a promotion sooner than he'd expect, his boss is very impressed by it. He learned it was better to not let his work consume his life whilst he still has time to live and enjoy the best he can really.

Somewhere YN was the one behind it all even if she didn't know it. Her little pieces of wisdom in class to her student for occasional motivation really changed his perspective on life. Corporate was fucked and will be fucked for the rest of the days, you just don't have to let it fuck you over and ruin your life. She'd never talked to him about them yet though he knows he had talked to her higher faculty. He doesn't know what they told her, she refused to say even a word about it. She'd prohibited him for visiting her house since.

Harry's sister Gemma and one of his cousin's lived on the same street as hers. His sister liked to have him over for meals because he does eat well according fo her and she likes to spend time with him. They grew up apart from each other after Harry started his middle school and both of them were sent to different bording schools for higher studies so, it was her way to make up for lost time with her baby brother. She truly loves him, Harry came to realise sooner.

He couldn't help but be hung up on this situation with YN. He still haven't gotten over her yet and seeing her everyday does little to nothing to help him.

But once the semester ended, he'd gotten a call from her to meet her up for lunch at the same resturant where they went for their first date. It was her treat she said, celebration of him passing the first of four semesters.

A rather bright weekend it was, clear sky and perfect weather as Harry drove down to this little restaurant. She was already there he noticed. He still doesn't know how she does this even though she's got a toddler of her own to look after. But he saw a little black stroller besides her with his sun cover zipped up and she was busy reading from the University handbook. Thay scared him.

Gathering all his courage Harry went to greet her, the small talk killing him as they ordered their food. Her telling how her son had a doctor's appointment earlier and she doesn't have anyone to look after him for a couple of hours so she had no choice but to bring him with her. Little boy was fast asleep anyway, Harry didn't mind a little toddler around him. Especially one as sweet and well behaved as Heydar.

"YN what is it? You never called me to meet you like this before," he said cutting to the chase, "it's making me anxious."

"Sorry." She mumbled, "I talked to my head of department about, about you and I, and ehm..." She stammered.

"What's wrong? Is everything alright?" His enquiry gree more anxious.

"Yes." She rushed through a breath, "I explained it to her everything, Mrs. Davis, you might know her—"

"YN I'm not in your class anymore." He reminded her.

Caught. She couldn't look up, "okay, I explained it to her that we had been seeing each other since before and we never talked about you applying at my university. Since I didn't had any correlation with you getting approved in the uni, and I had to show her some proofs you can say."

"She said she'd evaluate everything because she doesn't want you to get expelled because you're an exceptional student and she doesn't want me to loose my job. She talked with the school board and they said it was okay." She said. Just her last word was enough to make Harry let out the breath he didn't know he was caught on. "But..."

"Why is where a but now?" His brows pinched together on his forehead.

"But they said they'd evaluate my non-biased judgement on you as your professor as it would be unfair for other students if I were to give the person I'm see a little extra help outside. That is why I asked you to not visit because there are many of my students who live in my neighborhood and new in institutions spread like wildfire." She continued, "they said I should just lay low until the semester is over unless you plan on taking any of the other classes I teach, or until you graduate. We both are going to be under strict eye, especially me as your professor."

"Is it illegal?" He asked.

"Not in the UK, no." She shook her head, "they said because we're of same age they don't see a problem of power imbalance, but there could be possibilities. They just want to protect their students."

He sat there, leaning his back on his seat as he let this all sink in. YN continued, "I understand if you don't want to have to continue us seeing each other, I had to tell them anyway. I know it's a lot to take in and I couldn't talk to you about this until now. I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't apologise." He rushed pushing himself up to sit on his chair, "I know how much you need this job, wouldn't do anything to put it at risk, I promise you that."

"Does this mean you're okay with this setting?" She hesitated to even assume.

"More than okay," he assured her, a toothie grin on his face showing off his front bunny teeth. "I've been hung up on you since little lad's birthday night. I was dying each day and seeing you all week for two hours didn't helped me one bit." He pulled his chair next to her careful to not knock the stroller in attempt to be closer to her, "I might have fallen for you already and easily it's amazingly the most insane thing I've gotten myself into. Let me make it up to you now that we've got ourselves a sort of green flag, yeah?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, opening her arms up so he can hug her. He the exact same wrapped his arms around her middle firmly.

They were going on a date soon!

N O T E:

1) just a fun one I wrote in a few sittings :)))

2) please do share your views in the comments and vote if you want to. It just really motivates me to write more.

Tag list:

@vrittivsanghavi @buckymydarlingangel @sweetwritingfanficfriend @theroosterswife24 @sleutherclaw @melllinaa @michellekstyles @sunshinemoonsposts

Lemme know if you want to added to the tag list

[j-the-writer]

'No matter how long apart'

Carl Gallagher x GN!Reader

Warnings: angst ig? Swearing Not proof read

Word Count: idk

This is my first Shameless fic, might be a tad inaccurate. ❤️❤️❤️ Also my first fic in months, testing the waters basically

--------------------------------------

Growing up in the Southside was rough, with no father figure and a mom working 2 jobs just to make ends meet. But there was one person who seemed to make it better. Carl. Carl Gallagher and the whole family seemed like a light in the dark.

You met him while he was looking for animals to torture and, reluctantly, joined in. From then on, you and him were always close, capturing animals and stealing out of donation bins or packages off porches.

You were close but as you both got older, Carl began to drift away. He got involved in gangs and started selling drugs. You spent less and less time with the Gallaghers.

The sentencing was hard, watching them take him away, knowing it would be a year before you'd see him again.

In the beginning, you'd write him letters, telling him about Debbie or Fiona. He stopped responding after a few months.

Without Carl around, you started helping around the Gallagher house more, watching Liam and helping with bills.

A year would pass and he'd come back. You can still remember him walking through the front door. A rushing feeling of excitement and then... confusion.

Carl was different. Corn rows, long gold chains and an accent you'd never heard from him before. He acted like he didn't care and was too 'cool' for you, or even his family.

So you stopped coming around again, only popping in to check on Fiona or Debbie once in a while.

And..that brings us to now. The soft sound of rain on your bedroom window and the ever so often crinkling of paper.

You'd let out a sigh, staring down at your homework, your chin resting in your hand. Math..never one of your strong suits.

3 ×^2 times 4x - 9...

Brrrrrrrr....Brrrr...

You'd jump a bit, looking down at your phone. The caller ID was a phone number Fiona used to call you.

You'd set down the pencil, picking up the phone and holding it to your ear. "Hey Fi..what's up?"

Silence. "Hello..?"

"Hey.." His voice was low, soft. A bit shaky even. Carl.

"What do you want?" You'd say, eyes narrowing as you leaned back in your desk chair. Carl had barely spoken a word to you in 3 months. Why now?

"I..well.." He'd sigh. "Can you- can you come over?..please. i..I need you." He sounded desperate, like he couldn't breathe.

This was a side you hadn't seen of Carl since you were kids, if ever.

"Right..um, you're at home right?"

"yeah, just get out here as fast as you can please. I need you."

That was enough to convince you. With a quick goodbye, you'd hang up the phone, abandoning your homework and slipping on a pair of boots.

You'd pull a jacket on, precariously opening the bedroom window and slipping out. Rain droplets dotted your face as you jogged out of your yard, through the gate, towards the Gallagher house, towards Carl.

It was dark, late and nobody was around to see you. To see you in your pajamas and a pair of rainboots running down the street.

The Gallagher house came into view, a figure sitting on the porch stoop.

The wooden stairs let out a groan under your weight and they'd look up.

"Shit Carl- what happened?" His forehead had a nasty mark and stitches.

You'd drop down to sit next to him, hand moving to his cheek, turning his face so you could get a better look.

"I know it's been a while, I should be bothering you..I'm sorry." He'd say, looking at you. Carl's eyes were glassy with tears, though you could tell he was fighting it.

"It's okay, Carl. I've missed you.'' You'd murmur.

It's like that flipped a switch. Carl would reach over, arms around you in a tight hold as he pressed his face into your shoulder, softly sniffling before crying.

His shoulders would fall up and down rapidly as he tried to stop crying. His fingernails dug into your back as he sobbed.

You don't know what to say. You've never seen Carl like this. A part of you is relieved he's come back and still feels comfortable with you. Another part is saying that something shitty must've happened to make him this desperate.

Your arms wrap around him, your chin resting in his hair, breathing in his scent. Some cheap cologne he thought was cool probably.

"Wanna go inside and talk about it?" Carl's cries stop for just a second and he nods, pulling away and wiping his nose.

You both stand up. He opens the door, heading inside. You'd pause, looking after him for a split second.

You'd think. About the corn rows, the accent, the chains, the new attitude, just how much he changed.

But, you'd head inside anyways.. Because no matter how long apart you two were or how much Carl changed, he was still your best friend and you loved him.

[ojbrush]

hfjONE spoilers ahead !!! dont read if you havent really seen the show

heres a Link to the show if you are interested, its really good! and i reccommend watching it :3 and with that, allow me to ramble. Canonically, Airy views Liam as a friend. Being desensitized and isolated from communication with others for more than 13 years fucked up his perception of people, meaning he thinks of Liam's actions toward him as friendly, as that's basically all he's ever gotten since. Hostility. He views Liams hostility and yelling and aggressiveness and attempted murder on him as signs of friendship. He doesnt realize Liam doesnt like him whatsoever. He doesnt realize that that isnt what friends do. Friends don't try and kill you, friends dont attack you with only hatred just oozing out of every word they say, every action they take. But he doesnt realize that, and which results in him helping Liam even after his attempt at murdering the guy. Regardless of the way Liam treats him, he still helped Liam by giving him a cast for his broken leg, and giving him bedding.

Airy even gave this guy crutches as well, just like before when he broke his leg. Hes mentally unwell, hes apathetic and doesnt seem to care about most things from being isolated and desensitized to everything. Disassociating when Liam yells at him, derealizing CONSTANTLY. People in the fandom view him as a heartless monster whos deranged and only wants to spread pain and suffering, which is also LIAMS view on him. But thats not true.

(as Liam yells at him, he just stares blankly. No real reaction and movement during the time Liam's voice is raised. He finally responds once Liam says "end this, now." with a bunch of apparent hesitance.) Hes just a guy in a world where theres absolutely nobody but him, isolated from contact with other people, desensitized and forgetting who he even was before. He doesnt realize his actions are wrong, and he doesnt realize that when people are being hostile toward him, they do not like him. He does realizes people were scared, he said it himself. "Once they were on the planet, they all seemed pretty scared, so..." (as said in ONE 17: You move, I send.) He doesn't completely ignore peoples emotions, and tries to make it better for them. But he doesn't realize the way he's doing it is wrong. incorrect, a bad way to fix things. Besides, after creating ONE, the contestants were nothing BUT hostile toward him; so he doesn't know anything else. That's all h'es EVER known. Of course it is warranted, and he very much deserves the hostility. Kidnapping people and keeping them to compete in his gameshow against their wills, but he's more than that. What he did was wrong, insanely wrong, but he didn't know that. It doesn't excuse his actions, but it sure as hell explains them. Airy isn't an insane, deranged kidnapper. He's just a guy who's been isolated for too long, and doesn't understand the difference from right and wrong, and he doesn't understand basic human emotions other than his own. Lack of empathy, if you will.

It's just a sad case of isolation and a slowly deteriorating mental state in which results in the suffering of others due to someone (Airy, in this case) slowly becoming someone they dont even recognise themself.

After all, i bet this man doesn't even remember his own name. this was just a senseless ramble i am so incredbily unmotivated for art right now so take me and my insane rambles </3