#and i immediately applied to a job and two internships

[beefcakeash]

tag chatting

[puckinghischier]

Tentastrophe

Nico Hischier x Fem!reader

summary: reader and nico are in a secret relationship while on a camping trip together

notes: hi lovies! i got this request from my dear 🏔️ anon so i had to get right on it!! this was so fun to write and even more fun to play out in my head while i was writing it 🤭. also i had no clue what to name it so i quite literally just made up a word 🫣. i hope you enjoy!! happy reading! 🫶🏼

request: We’re camping and my tent ripped, can I please share yours?

[5.1k]

You hated the outdoors. Truly, you despised being outside.

You hated bugs, you were scared of wild animals, you hated the heat, you hated dirt, grass made you itchy, and you really hate the lack of indoor plumbing.

Literally, how do people enjoy spending a week out in the middle of nowhere, no signal for miles, no air conditioning, and eating the same four types of canned food? Not to mention your dislike of sleeping bags.

Who wants to sleep on a flimsy piece of material on the hard ground for days at a time? It’s just simply not appealing.

You continue to list off the things in your head you hate about camping and the outdoors in general while watching yourself be driven farther and farther away from the city through the windshield of Jack’s SUV.

“Oh c’mon, Y/N, don’t look like someone just kicked a puppy in front of you,” you hear from the front seat, Jack looking at you through his rear-view mirror.

You roll your eyes at him.

“Jack, I’m being taken to a remote location against my will with no access to a bathroom or civilization for seven whole days. At least if someone kicked a puppy in front of me, it’d be over sooner.”

“Woah, so you’re advocating for puppy kickers now, are you?” A new voice rings out, this one belonging to Dawson, who occupies the seat against the window beside of you.

“She’s not advocating for it, Dawson, she’s just saying she’d prefer it to being stuck in the woods with you for a week straight,” Holtzy responds from your other side, having been sandwiched between the two in the backseat of Jack’s car for the hour and a half ride to your unfortunate destination.

Dawson reaches behind your head to smack Alex’s. Alex tries to retaliate, and suddenly you have two hockey players trying to fight each other on either side of your body.

“Hey! Cut it out before you hurt Y/N! Coach needs her to get good footage this weekend,” Luke yells at the two forwards.

“Wow, thanks for showing me where my worth lies, Luke,” you deadpan.

Luke flashes you a grin before turning back around in his seat. “You’re welcome.”

You stick your tongue out at him, knowing he’s just teasing you.

When you applied for a marketing internship at the Prudential Center a year ago, you had no idea that you would become so invested in this world. After the initial six month period of your internship was over, you were making plans to find work elsewhere when you were approached by the team’s GM and asked if you were interested in staying on full time as the new social media manager.

You immediately agreed, knowing you had found your passion with working in sports and wanted to stick with it for as long as you could. It didn’t hurt that you had become such good friends with a handful of the players close to your age, four of which were in the same car as you right now.

You and Jack were the closest, though. The two of you bonded over your shared love of country music, a rare find outside of your southern hometown. You had found other interests in common, too, but becoming each other’s country music concert buddy is to credit for much of your friendship.

You grew close to Luke simply because of your proximity to Jack, but found that he’s become a little brother to you. People always assumed there was more than friendship going on between you and Jack, but both of the Hughes boys had become the brothers you never had, no feelings beyond that ever surfacing.

As your job continued to cause you to spend time with the team, you found yourself growing closer to other players as well.

Nico was another player you found yourself talking to long after your work duties were done for the day. Whether it was chatting before practice, pulling him a little too frequently to do interviews or make videos, or grabbing a bite to eat after practice and games because neither one of you wanted to end your conversations, you found the Swiss captain occupying a large chunk of your time both at work and outside of work.

Which doesn’t make it all that surprising that he asked you to be his girlfriend three months ago.

After a huge win over the Islanders at home, the entire team had decided to go out to celebrate. You had caught a ride with Jack that morning, but when you were searching for him so you could leave, he was nowhere to be found, already gone to whatever bar everyone had agreed on.

Nico had stayed behind to do a few extra post-game interviews, so when you bumped into him outside of the locker rooms on your search for Jack, he offered you a ride. You had mentioned how hungry you were, telling him you should probably go home and grab something to eat and change before getting an uber to the bar, but Nico had pulled into the first late-night diner he saw after you mentioned your lack of eating dinner.

The two of you sat in the 50’s themed diner for hours, ignoring all the calls and texts asking where you were and why you didn’t come out to celebrate. You didn’t even realize how late it was until you received a text from Jack, asking that you call him when you got up so he knew you made it home safe, apologizing for forgetting you at the arena.

Nico walked you up to your apartment after driving you home that night, despite the fact it was after three in the morning and they had a mid-day practice the next day. You still don’t know if it was the high of winning or the late hour, but he decided to kiss you at your doorstep that night. Three days later, he asked you to be his girlfriend because he told you he couldn’t stand not being exclusive with you for a second longer.

No one knew, though. You kept on acting as if nothing had changed at work, and no one caught on otherwise. You decided it was fun to keep it to yourselves, enjoying being each other’s secret. You didn’t know the policy on dating your coworkers, either, so you didn’t want to risk anything by outing the relationship this early.

You felt bad lying and sneaking around Jack and Luke, especially, but you’ll tell them eventually. You enjoyed having no eyes on you, your relationship being simply between you and Nico right now. When you tell your friends and the rest of the team, it’ll be out there for good. Fans will find out, your boss will find out, and then your small bubble of Nico will burst.

That’s another reason you dread this weekend. Not only do you just hate camping and being outside for long periods of time, you’re going to be stuck being around Nico for a week straight with no chance to be his girlfriend instead of his coworker.

The trip is the team’s pre-season bonding activity, so you’re tagging along to capture material for future videos and pictures for the various social media pages and website. You had tried to send one of the other members of your media team, not thrilled at the idea of a camping retreat, but the head coach had requested you, specifically, because of your ability to convince the players to participate in various trends and videos.

You owe some of that to Nico, of course. After the two of you formed a friendship, he started telling his teammates they had to participate in whatever silly tasks you asked of them or he’d start reporting them to coach for making your job harder. Since his forceful request, you rarely had to fight to get any of the players to do the latest trending dance, or answer silly questions as they get on the ice before practice.

Unfortunately for you, this means the higher ups see your success and suddenly you’re volunteered to do things like this. And really, what kind of social media content can you create when you won’t even have cell service?

Tuning back into your surroundings, you notice you’re almost to the campground you’ll call home this week. You were so lost in your own head that you barely even noticed the four (grown) men in this car with you singing loudly to the F.U.N. song from none other than Spongebob Squarepants.

Jack and Luke were duetting the song, Jack taking the sponge’s part and Luke singing Plankton’s lines. Dawson and Alex were simply adding harmonies.

You were in for a long week.

———————————————————————————

“Who in their right mind would put a twenty-four year old teenage girl in charge of putting together her own tent?” you whine out as Curtis walks over to see you trying to read the directions for putting together the tent laid out in front of you.

“Honey, I think you’re a little too old to be calling yourself a teenage girl,” he chuckles as he kneels beside you, taking the instructions out of your hands.

“I’m just a girl, Lazar. I will always be a teenage girl at my core, no matter what age I am. Therefore, I’m a twenty-four year old teenage girl. And I’m extremely incapable of building a fucking tent,” you cry out, crossing your arms and huffing.

Curtis just shakes his head and laughs, grabbing the rods that go inside of the tent to give it structure, putting it together for you.

You sit back and watch, trying to help where you can, but ultimately being reverted back to the role of ‘holding the flashlight for dad’, but instead you’re ‘holding the mallet for Curtis’.

Halfway through putting your tent up, you see Nico start walking in your direction. You admire your boyfriend, his tan skin showing due to his green t-shirt being stuck in the pocket of his athletic shorts instead of on his torso. His black hat sits backwards on his head, hiding what you’re sure is sweaty hair. His favorite pair of sunglasses rest on his nose.

“Already making the guys do your dirty work, how dare you, Y/N,” Nico teases as he stops to stand in front of where you’re sitting on the ground.

“Listen, one perk of being a woman in sports is the fact that I’m always surrounded by men just waiting to save the damsel in distress,” you put your hand across your forehead to hide the sun from your eyes, squinting your eyes as you look up at him.

He rolls his eyes at you, flashing you a smile.

“Need any help, Curtis?” Nico calls out, but keeps his eyes on you.

“I think I’m nearly done, but if you want to start hammering the stakes in the ground that’d be great,” Curtis replies, not even looking up from the tent that had now taken shape.

“Sure thing. The mallet, please,” he reaches his hand out to you.

You hand Nico the mallet, looking up at him with an amused grin. “Get to it, time to do manly stuff and go pound on something .”

You start to stand and Nico shoots his other hand out for you to grab onto, helping you heave yourself off the ground.

Once you’re stood in front of Nico, he pulls your hand toward him so you’re standing dangerously close to him, your chests nearly touching. You look around, making sure no one sees the position the two of you are in right now.

Nico leans down, lips grazing your ear as he whispers “Unless you want me to drag you behind a tree and do extremely un-coworker type things to you with the entire team right here, I suggest you don’t talk about pounding anymore this weekend.”

A shiver makes it way down your spine as Nico steps back, walking over to where Curtis is now standing, turning to face the two of you.

You hope he assumes the redness on your face is because of the warm sun, and not because his captain just threatened to do R rated things to you behind a tree.

Ten minutes later, your tent is fully assembled and you’re blowing up your air mattress with a battery powered pump that’s seen better days.

Jack had laughed at your for bringing an air mattress, claiming it’s not really camping if you don’t sleep in a sleeping bag. You told him you refused to sleep on the ground with just a thin bag underneath you for the whole week. If you had to be here, you were going to make yourself as comfortable as you could.

You even brought a battery powered fan to sit in front of your bed incase you got hot at night, but you learned very quickly that even though it’s hot and humid during the day, the night is chilly and dark.

After everyone had settled in and the sun had set, Timo had managed to start a fire, placing hot dogs on a small grate he placed next to the fire while Jesper worked on opening cans of various types of vegetables to heat along side the sausages.

You laughed to yourself, knowing the team nutritionist would develop an eye twitch seeing what foods will be consumed by the players this week. The amount of sodium and carbs in the containers of food for the week were definitely not in line with the meal plan.

Finding a spot next to Jack, you go sit on one of the various logs around the fire, needing the heat to warm your chilled skin. Music played out of a speaker sitting on the picnic table behind the logs, one of your favorite country songs filling the space.

“Nice choice, it’s one of my favorites,” you nudge Jack’s shoulder as you sat down, assuming he had control of the music.

“Yeah it’s a good one, but don’t look at me. Cap’s the one with the aux right now,” he says, pointing to where Nico is standing by a tree, red solo cup in his hand.

You turn your head and make eye contact with him, his eyes having already found you. The raise of his cup and tilt of his head telling you he played this song specifically for you. Your face heats and you smile at the ground, trying to keep the grin from stretching too wide, not wanting to raise suspicion from the brunette to your right.

“Y’know, I wonder why Cap has any country music in his playlist at all, because last I checked, his phone was full of rap and Swiss music and he told me country was his least favorite genre,” Jack starts, leaning closer so you can hear him over the music and chatter. “But then I remembered, I see you and him talking an awful lot after practice, before practice, and everywhere in-between.” You feel like someone has dumped a bucket of ice water on your head, worried Jack’s figured the two of you out. “You’re not cheating on your music buddy, are you?” he asks, looking at you suspiciously.

Relief washes over you. He just thinks you’re sharing music with Nico. Not that you’re seeing Nico behind everyone’s back.

“I might have mentioned a few good artists to him. But don’t worry, concerts are still reserved for you,” you bump his shoulder again.

“Mhmmm. Must have taken a lot of convincing to make a rap loving Swiss man convert to Zach Bryan,” Jack hums, still looking at you suspiciously.

“Just a few links sent is all,” you tell him, noticing he’s just staring at you. “What?” you ask, leaning back a bit.

“Nothing,” Jack shakes his head, his eyes gleaming with an idea. “Just thinking…have you ever thought about going out with Cap?”

You choke on air. You try to recover with a cough, claiming you swallowed the wrong way. “What, what do you mean?”

“You know, like you and Cap. Going on a date. Dating. I think you two would be good together. You guys already seem friendly enough, and he’s a great guy. Plus, I can see the way you look at him, Y/N. You definitely have a crush on the guy,” Jack teases.

You start laughing. Jack is confused by your reaction, not thinking his suggestion was funny at all, but you can’t stop the laughs from escaping.

“Oh, Jack. You’re funny,” you tell him once you calm yourself down. “That’s nice, but nah. I don’t think Nico and I should go there. Too many things could go wrong, y’know? Plus, who even knows if I’m allowed to date any of you guys. Workplace romances are frowned upon in most jobs, you know.”

“Okay, it wasn’t that comical of a suggestion. I was being serious, I think you guys would be great together. To hell with the rules. I can tell when two people are into each other,” Jack says with a hint of annoyance, not appreciating your little laughing outburst.

A look of surprise makes its way onto your face at his comment that he thinks Nico is into you, too. Maybe the two of you weren’t doing such a good job at acting normal around the team. You succeed at suppressing the laughter this time, figuring a second outburst would really make Jack upset. “Oh, you think he’s into me, do you?”

Jack looks at you like you just asked him if the sky was blue.

“Are you kidding me? Y/N, he literally jumps at the chance to be in any of your tik tok videos and he threatened the whole team so they would quit, and I quote, ‘making your job harder and just fucking do what you ask’ or he’d report us to coach.”

You can’t help but giggle this time, of course knowing all of this, Nico having told you himself after he did it, but you can’t let Jack know that.

“I don’t know, Jack, that doesn’t exactly sound like something he’d do. What does he get out of it? More interruptions during practice? More attention on social media? Doesn’t sound like Nico if you ask me,” you tell him, trying to play dumb.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe he gets to spend more time with you. He gets on your good side, helps make your job easier while making ours harder. Earns brownie points to butter you up so you say yes to a date one of these days,” Jack leans his head towards yours, looking up at you like he’s just proven his point.

You steal a glance over at Nico, his head cocked, silently asking what you and Jack are talking about. You shake your head with a smile, telling him its unimportant with the roll of your eyes.

“I don’t know, Jack. We’ll see, I guess,” you sing song, earning a sigh from the boy to your right.

“You’re hopeless, both of you. I need another beer,” he gets up, leaving you on the bench by yourself, chuckling at just how right your best friend is.

After all of the burnt hot dogs and lukewarm veggies were eaten, it was time to for everyone to retire to their tents.

All of the players had to double up on tents, you and the coach being the only two people with their own. The players that were sharing tents on this trip would be sharing hotel rooms all season, so the bonding began with them being able to exist in the same space for an extended period of time.

Your tent sat about 50 feet from Jack and Luke’s. Nico’s tent was in the row of tents in front of yours, three tents separating the two of you.

You quickly made your way to your own tent and started getting ready for bed. Not being able to wash your face or do you proper skincare routine, you settled for brushing your teeth with a warm bottle of water and applying lotion to your face before crawling into your make-shift bed for the week. You hadn’t packed nearly enough blankets, seeing as you assumed it would be warm inside your tent, but you were chilled to the bone. You kept your sweatshirt on, opting for a pair of sweatpants instead of the skimpy sleeping shorts you brought.

You settled into your bed, switching off the small lantern you had been provided.

You laid there for what felt like ages trying to fall asleep. Every little snap of a twig or rustle of leaves made you scared a bear was about to claw its way through your tent.

You thought you had imagined it at first, assuming the wind was blowing and causing your tent to slightly ruffle in the wind. But when it happened a second time, this time the sound of something fiddling with the zipper of your tent following the ruffling, you were starting to panic.

You sat up, pulling the blanket to your chin as you saw a hand push on the door of your tent, a quiet yelp making its way out of you.

“Shhh, it’s just me, let me in,” you hear the familiar, accented voice of your boyfriend ring out, huffing while walking over and unzipping your tent just enough for him to slip through.

You walk back over to your air mattress, turning on the small lantern, looking at Nico standing in the middle of your tent. He was wearing a tan sherpa fleece with plaid pajama bottoms. He had to hunch over slightly, his height being too tall for your small tent.

“What the hell are you doing in here? You scared the hell out of me, you know that?” you whisper yelled at him, careful to not raise your voice too high as to not wake any of his teammates.

“My tent ripped, can I please share yours?” Nico asks with a smirk on his face.

“Oh, yeah? If your tent ripped then where’s Jesper sleeping, huh?” you raise your eyebrow and cross your arms.

“I just left him to fend for himself. Didn’t exactly want to invite him to sleep in here with us. Never know what he might see,” he walks towards you, placing his arms around your waist and pulling you close to him.

He looks down at you, your position mirroring earlier when this exact tent was being assembled, but you had no fear of anyone seeing you now.

“Hi, Schatz.”

You giggle up at him, unraveling your arms and placing them on his shoulders. “Hi Neeks.”

“I’ve been waiting all day to do this,” he mumbles before bringing his face down to yours.

You lean up on your tip toes to meet his lips, sighing contently into the kiss.

Nico pulls you closer, no space left between your bodies as his sucks your bottom lip into his mouth. You tangle your fingers in his hair, pushing against him into the kiss.

His tongue swipes across your lips, asking for entrance, and who are you to deny his wish? His tongue slips into your mouth, effectively deepening the kiss.

Nico walks you backwards until you plop down onto your air mattress, bringing his knee to rest in-between your legs, his forearms on either side of your head to support his weight.

You tug on his hair slightly, earning a groan in response. He starts grinding his pelvis against your thigh, which was your sign to stop this before it got too out of hand.

You pull back, pushing him up off of you slightly. He looks down at you with blown pupils and swollen lips. “Alright, tiger, slow down. We’re not having sex with several tents full of your entire team a few feet away.”

Nico deflates and brings his forehead to rest against your shoulder. “You couldn’t have told me that before I got a stiffie?”

“Sorry, shouldn’t have let yourself get so worked up. Should’ve known I wasn’t going to go there with this many people around,” you laugh at his whiney tone.

He rolls off of you onto his back, slinging his arm over his eyes.

“What are you doing? Quit being so dramatic,” you roll your eyes, trying to grab his arm and remove it from his face.

“Stop, trying to think of sad puppies to make my boner go away,” he swats your hand off of his arm.

You bust out laughing for the second time tonight, but this time you throw a hand over your mouth to stop the noise. The conversation about puppies in the car on the way here earlier making its way to your mind, making you laugh even harder.

“Okay, I think I’m good now,” Nico finally says, sitting up.

“Good. Don’t even think about getting handsy, either. This,” you gesture between you and Nico, “is not happening tonight. Or any night this week, for that matter.”

“Got it. You don’t want any of my teammates to hear you scream my name while my tongue is ins-“ you slap a hand over Nico’s mouth, not letting him finish that sentence.

His eyes shine with amusement at you, seeing your own wide in surprise. “Can I trust you to take my hand off of your mouth?” you ask him.

Nico shakes his head, but not before he darts his tongue out and licks a stripe up the palm of your hand, causing it to fly off of his mouth.

“Okay, you’re disgusting,” you scold him, wiping you hand on the blanket you’re both sitting on top of.

Nico just laughs at you in response, finding your annoyed expression amusing.

“C’mon, let’s go to bed. I’m already sick of you and the week hasn’t even started yet,” you tell him, pulling the blanket back so you can settle under it.

Nico follows your lead and places himself under the blanket at well, pulling your body close to his.

You lay your head on one end of your pillow while Nico places his on the other end, not having brought his own from his tent. The two of you just lay there facing each other for awhile before you remember to reach over and turn off the lantern once again.

You’re appreciative of the new warmth Nico brings to your bed, finally feeling yourself get sleepy.

“Wait, how are you going to know when to wake up before everyone else and go back to your tent?” you ask him, knowing his phone was in his vehicle, none of the players allowed their devices with them. You and coach were the only ones with phone privileges this week, even though they didn’t even work out here.

“Don’t worry, I will. First time I wake up I’ll sneak out, don’t worry,” he assures you, kissing you on the forehead before pulling your body flush to his, resting his chin on the top of your head.

Neither one of you must have woken up at all during the night, though, because when you wake up the next morning to the screams of “I knew it! I knew they were into each other! I told you so!” from your best friend as he stood inside your tent at the end of your bed with not only Luke, but with half of the team standing outside the wide open door of your tent, you were confused until you felt the weight of a body against yours. You open your eyes to see Nico’s scrunched face, the noise waking him up as well.

You both roll over and open your eyes, noticing your audience.

“I called it! I knew there was something going on here! How long have you two been together?” Jack bombards the two of you with questions despite you having literally just woke up.

“Get the hell out of this tent before I get coach to make everyone run three miles today,” Nico grumbles, his voice gravely from the early hour.

“No way, we need an explanation,” Dawson speaks this time, his expression matching Jack’s pleased one.

“You’ll get your explanation, but for right now, get out. Let us actually wake up without fifty people in our fucking tent. Now go, get out,” Nico pulls you closer to him, hiding your face in his chest and slinging a leg over your own.

“But-“ Jack starts again, but Nico removes an arm from around you and points at the door, “OUT!” he says sternly, his captain voice making an appearance.

The group of men start grumbling, but ultimately leaving your tent, zipping your door back up so you and Nico could have a bit of privacy again.

“Nico, you didn’t wake up,” you say, your voice muffled because of how close he’s holding you to his body.

“Sorry, Schatz. Was sleeping too good, I guess. Always happens when I’m sleeping with you. You’re like my own personal melatonin.”

You chuckle at him, not really mad that everyone found out, just wishing they hadn’t found you asleep together on a tiny air mattress.

“At least the boys know now. Now I don’t have to keep sneaking around at practice. I can stare at your ass loud and proud now,” Nico says, detaching himself from you and rolling over onto his back, rubbing his eyes.

You reach over and hit him in the chest. “This doesn’t give you permission to say innapropriate things to me while we’re at work.”

He rolls his head to look over at you, “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he smiles innocently, causing your to roll your own eyes and sigh at him.

“Hey! You guys better not be having sex in there! I’m implementing a no bone zone when I’m within a hundred feet of you two! Get your asses out here and get to explaining!” you heard Jack shout once again, beating his fist on the side of the tent.

You bring your hands up to cover your face, embarrassment flooding your veins.

“Jack! Suit up, you’re coming with me on a little run,” you hear coach shout, earning a “Shit, Nico this is your fault!” from Jack.

You burst into a fit of giggles.

You can’t help but feel like a weight has been lifted off of your chest, not having to lie to some of your closest friends anymore. You also foresee your week of no time with Nico changing slightly, figuring Jesper will be down a roommate for the remainder of the week.

Nothing, though, not even sharing a tent with Nico, or sneaking off to find open areas to gaze at the stars at night, could make you like camping.

You almost change your mind the night Nico takes you to a clearing, laying a blanket on the soft grass to stare up at the sky before he gifts you a necklace with his initial on it, the engraving on the back echoing the small “I love you” he whispers in your ear as he clasps the jewelry onto your neck.

You almost thought you liked camping then, until you walked back to you tent to find Nico had left it unzipped and a possum had made a home in the corner, hissing at him as you screamed loud enough to wake the whole team.

Yeah, you hate camping.

[giorno-plays-piano]

Binary Star

Part II

Pairing: academic rival!Satoru Gojo x reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, power play, hurt/comfort, no curse au, this series will get darker as the story progresses.

Words: 1.2k

Summary: It has to pay off, he thinks as he waits for the headmaster to finally announce the valedictorian, knowing she is there too, shifting from one foot to the other impatiently. What face is she going to make when his name will be called? Is she going to cry? To yell at him and publicly demand a re-evaluation? Or will she, perhaps, finally admit he’s done a fantastic job and won fair and square?

Part I

P.S. Academic rival -> CEO!Gojo

_____________

When he spots her name in the stack of papers his HR left on her desk, Satoru gets a brain freeze for a second. Couldn't be the girl he had once studied together with, no. It's been what, more than ten years since he had last seen her? It must be some other woman wearing the same name.

But he can't just leave the paper be, immediately taking it in his hands while the manager makes a confused face: Satoru only looks at the candidates' profiles when they are aiming for the high management positions in his company, nothing less. This woman, however, applied for the middle-level position, only recently becoming a senior at her old job. Why is the CEO looking at her CV so intently?

All Gojo sees is the name of the school they both graduated what feels like a hundred years ago, and he knows it's her. It's the girl who was his one and only rival, someone he had finally considered his equal when they both were fighting for the position of a valedictorian. It's her. He can finally understand what has happened.

Not that he wasn't searching for answers right after graduation. Knowing Shoko sometimes hung out with her, he was showering the girl with questions until she groaned something about the family of his classmate moving and that it's likely he would never see her again. She didn't tell why. Said she had no idea.

It's true, Satoru sees now: his old rival did move god knows where, nearly half across the country to a place he didn't even know existed. Some tiny city, he thinks as he googles the college she attended only to realize that it is, in fact, a community college. Community college? For someone as talented as her? Was she out of her goddamn mind? Even if she, for some unfathomable reason, didn't want to go to Harvard like him, despite her scholarchip, she could have chosen any other decent place with her marks. How could she do this to herself?

He continues reading the resume, the memories of her annoyingly pretty face fresh in his mind as if it all happened just yesterday. Internships at some tiny companies, assistant positions, and other entry-level jobs she should have never taken in places he has never heard of either... Until she finally moved here about two years ago and started slowly climbing the career ladder. Unfortunately, her CV leaves Gojo with more questions than answers he expected.

"I want you to interview her," he finally says to his HR manager, who's been shifting in her seat impatiently ever since he had taken the printed papers from her desk. "And if she says yes, I want to know when she'll come."

He isn't sure why he's doing it. It's been far too long to be holding any grudges, and, honestly speaking, he isn't angry at his old school rival. Curious, perhaps? This must be it. He just wants a closure of sorts. He wants to know why she has abandoned everything she believed in, even if it's selfish of him to be prying into her past. Clearly, something had happened. Something horrible.

Did she get pregnant, maybe? Gave birth? Remembering her father, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the reason they had to move. And yet, she didn't seem the type to do something like that... Not when he had never seen her speaking to boys outside of school, and even then, she would only be talking to them about lessons and future college or university prospects.

He has to have some patience, Satoru thinks. Surely, she'll accept the interview and come in person.

And she does, walking in the building - Gojo watches her from above, peering down from his fancy cabinet with enormous windows - just two days later. She looks somewhat different - not that he didn’t expect her to change after all these years - but there's the same air about her, he can feel it in his bones. It makes him strangely nostalgic, and he starts to itch to go down and talk to her the second she waltzes into the office of his HR. He needs to know why she left. Her secrets are making him restless like a child.

He needs to see her face when she realizes he's both the owner and the CEO of the company she wants to work for.

After giving her about 10 minutes, Gojo runs down the building as if he's a boy chasing an ice cream truck. He needs to see her. The itch that has been dormant for almost ten years is almost unbearable now, and he has no time to waste before she disappears again from his life.

"Yuki, I have a question..." he starts as if he has no idea she's conducting an interview at this very moment, making a surprised face and almost shouting the name of the woman he once called his equal. "Woah, I can't believe it! Is it really you?!"

Satoru knows it's not right to be that happy about her baffled - if not fearful - expression, but he can't help himself. Here she is, the girl who could never shut up in class whenever a teacher asked them a question, sitting in the office he built with the money he earned, not borrowed from his father. He is where she has always wanted to be, Gojo is sure. Geto would probably smack him for being a smug bastard in front of a woman who surely has nothing against him, but Satoru feels ecstatic.

Until he sees she is not only scared: she is terrified. Why? Is it because her old rival ended up doing much better than her? She must be feeling upset and jealous, but she shouldn't be horrified. There's nothing to be scared of. Is she worried she won't get this job because she thinks Satoru is a manchild who can't forgive her for their silly school competition?

Or is she scared of him?

He doesn't like the thought.

"I'm so happy to see you!" He adds with a too-wide smile. "What are you doing here?"

It's concerning how she bites down on her lower lip, nearly ripping the thin skin covered in lipstick.

Thankfully, Yuki finally acknowledges his presence with an awkward smile, "Mr. Gojo, good morning. I apologize, but we are in the middle of a job interview. If it's alright with you, I'll come see you a little later."

The woman in front of him still doesn't utter a single word, and he feels like she'll escape him again if he lets her. With a dramatic sigh and a smile so wide it's a wonder how his face hasn't cracked yet, he announces to her, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry for interrupting! But you'll wait for me after your interview, alright? We can go grab a coffee together! It's not like it's against our company policy, right, Yuki?"

If eyes could kill, he would definitely be dead by now because his HR is ready to stab him with a fork she once stole from a cafeteria and is now keeping in one of her drawers. Satoru isn't that suicidal yet, so he quietly leaves her office before his old rival can utter a single word.

Now, this is about to get interesting.

_________

Tags: @minshookie29 @mononlogue @whore-for-hawks @theoriginaluzisimp @khatte @brooke-gvf @nimuelis

[1d1195]

Traditional X

You can read the rest of Traditional here.

We are getting to the end of what I believe is the main storyline here. Maybe one or two more parts but I already have at least three little extras lined up in my head too.

Additionally, I added in the days because it was kind of getting all over the place and I wanted to make sure the timeline wasn't too confusing--especially since we're winding down on days until the internship is over. I hope it doesn't detract from the story. Also, another reminder I don't know anything about running a business.

This part has some minor character death/trauma mentioned, sensitive topics, grief, angst, and I may or may not have cried a bit while writing, so that should put it in perspective I think. Try not to hate me at the end I don't think you're going to like it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to read.

Just wanted to hear your voice, kitten. Didn’t get to see you much today other than tea. Get some sleep, of course. I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, love.

So now she texted him: I’m awake now if you want to hear my voice.

The phone rang almost instantly. “Hi,” she whispered.

“S’like music,” he said sleepily. She giggled. “That’s a symphony,” he murmured.

Friday

Louis and Eleanor were lying on her couch (and one another) while she lay on the rug in front of the coffee table, facing the TV. Her phone vibrated with a message from Harry.

Can we chat sometime today?

That sounds like a terrible way to break up with me. Don’t tell your other girls that.

Don’t be ridiculous, kitten. All of it.

I’ll call you when Louis and El leave.

I’ll be waiting impatiently.

“Must be Harry. She definitely doesn’t smile at Niall’s messages like that,” Louis chuckled.

She rolled her eyes and tilted her head back to her friends. They were watching a movie trying to decide where to eat or if they should order in. It was a regular, run of the mill day. They worked their Friday shifts and now they were lying about her pretty apartment that she hardly felt she’d been spending any time in. Mondays of course were still dinner out with Harry, Thursdays were movie nights at his place (and with any luck something a bit cheekier, now), and she spent many Saturday nights at his place sleeping beside him until one in the morning where they spoke quietly, candidly about anything. In the morning, she woke up to a rotation of pancakes, waffles, or French toast.

And kisses.

She woke up to a ton of kisses.

So, this Friday evening, she spent with Louis and Eleanor watching a movie that was so trashy it was wonderful. “How’s the job search?” Louis asked.

She frowned. The one sore spot that seemed to get sorer each passing day. “I really thought interning at Styles Incorporated was going to give me a leg up,” she sighed. “I don’t know... I’ve applied to some top places and they’ve either passed or ghosted me. Maybe I need to lower my standards.”

“Absolutely not,” Eleanor said immediately. “You deserve the top. You deserve it all,” she said.

Smiling, she looked at Eleanor, snuggled under Louis who was draped across her lap, and he winked at her. “You deserve the very best, babe,” he told her.

She shrugged and let out a sad sigh. “I don’t think these places think I do though,” she mumbled. “But it’s fine...I... I don’t know... I’ll figure it out. I’m not going to let it stop me now. Another month and I’ll be done.”

There was a pause. “Speaking of,” Louis began. “I’m told your program does in fact, have a graduation ceremony.”

She blinked surprised by the idea as if she didn’t already know. “What?”

“Harry told me that of course your college has one and you—”

She only vaguely heard the end of Louis’ sentence. She was feeling...anger? Anger at Harry? It didn’t seem like that was a reasonable conclusion. She had never been mad at him in the eight months she had known him. But her chest started to ache, and her blood felt hot, and she didn’t want to be mad at Harry, but she was sad he betrayed her trust in what she told him at one in the morning. Even if it was a silly little thing like making sure she had people at her graduation ceremony. She shook her head. “I’m not walking,” she interrupted. “I don’t want to.”

“Love, you worked so hard!” Eleanor gasped. “Please! It would mean so much to us to see you do it. We want you to have that.”

While the kindness and the meaningfulness of their words was not lost on her, she was serious in what she told Harry. But maybe she left out the part that she didn’t want to walk across the stage because it would remind her of the last graduation ceremony she attended. The last time she remembered a big happy family memory. “When did Harry tell you?” She asked quietly.

“He didn’t know for sure when it was...He was probing around, I think, because he might be trying to get you something,” Eleanor said so excitedly she was practically clapping. “Oh, I bet it’s going to be amazing whatever he gets you.”

“We weren’t that surprised, but we told him that you weren’t walking because there wasn’t a ceremony...and he told us there most assuredly was—which did surprise us. Most interns went in the past, so what’s the scoop on that, love?” Louis smirked, throwing a piece of popcorn at her. It caught in her hair. “Lying to your best friends?”

She didn’t feel like rehashing all the sad details and explaining why she didn’t want to go. “I just didn’t want it to be a big deal,” she shrugged as casually as she possibly could. She should have just told them, but she didn’t want it to be a thing.

However, Louis sensed there was more to her hiding it, immediately. It was why he was her best friend. But he didn’t press. Maybe he would later when he could get her alone. Every once in a while, he managed to pick up on something in her voice that said something of her past was coming through. “Hmm,” he hummed. “Well, that’s fine. We’d still like to go. A couple pictures and that’s it. Then dinner. Nothing else. I won’t even get you a card to commemorate the day.”

“Oh, I’m getting you a card,” Eleanor nodded fiercely. “Gonna write you the mushiest proud letter there is to write,” she smiled wrinkling her nose at her.

So, how could she say no to them? They loved her so wholly it really was unfair to exclude them after their endless support. Sighing, she shook her head. “It’s Saturday, the 14th,” she rolled her eyes. Both pulled out their phones and tapped rapidly putting it in their calendars.

“Good,” Louis smiled. “Now let’s go get dinner,” he said kissing Eleanor on his way off her lap and helping her up as he nearly ran for the door all in one movement. Eleanor rolled his eyes.

“You picked him,” she reminded El. “In high school too,” she shook her head and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“I know, aren’t I lucky?” El said with a mocking dreamy tone in her voice but she meant it. It was obvious on her face, and she loved that about Eleanor most of all. Letting Louis be himself, unapologetically. Louis was the very best and she was glad someone else saw it too. Eleanor squeezed her arm and followed him. She took a second to take in the moment. She couldn’t help but smile so completely happy with her life for the first time in a very long while.

*

She woke up at some point in the night by herself on the comfiest mattress she ever owned all thanks to Harry. She peered through two of the slats on the blinds of her window to get a better estimate of the time without having to look at her phone in hopes of falling back asleep in a few moments. It was still pitch-black out, save for the moon illuminating the sky.

After tossing and turning for nearly five minutes without drifting off quickly, she decided she may as well make good use of her time. She grabbed for her phone. As expected, the clock told her that if they were sharing a bed, it was time to have her nightly chat with Harry.

When she came back from dinner and before she fell asleep this evening, she told Harry she was a bit tired. She would call, of course. But she might drift off while talking.

Just wanted to hear your voice, kitten. Didn’t get to see you much today other than tea. Get some sleep, of course. I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, love.

So now she texted him. I’m awake now if you want to hear my voice.

The phone rang almost instantly. “Hi,” she whispered.

“S’like music,” he said sleepily. She giggled. “That’s a symphony,” he murmured.

Her heart was bursting. “Yeah?”

“M-hmm.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Yes,” he said simply. She frowned. But it was like he knew she was frowning, because he continued, putting her mind at ease. “I would probably wake up from a coma t’hear your voice.”

She was so close to saying she loved him out loud. How could she not? But how would she be any different than any intern or companion before her? She was determined to wait until it was over. Until he stopped paying her and then she could at least tell him. So he knew and he could...decide if she was worth it. “Did you have a good day?” She whispered instead.

He yawned and she heard the rustling of his sheets. Sitting up against his fluffy pillows, she assumed. “S’alright,” it sounded as if he were shrugging it off. “I was in a crummy mood all morning.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she wished she went into his office earlier to see how she could have helped.

“Not something y’could have helped with, beautiful,” he had a smirk in his voice. It left her breathless that he could tell how she was feeling without seeing her. “Before y’worry.”

“Me? Worry?”

He chuckled that beautiful breathy laugh of his. She imagined his dimples, his glittering eyes. “Mmm...”

It was quiet for a moment and since he wanted to hear her talk, she thought she may as well get it out of the way. “So...” she sighed. “Louis and Eleanor found out about my graduation ceremony actually happening somehow...and they’re making me go.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, which told her he already knew that they had found out because of him. “I think y’should go, love.”

“I know. I’m going to.”

He sighed with relief. “That’s good.”

“If...” she swallowed awkwardly hating how she was even asking in the first place. “If you wanted to come...I think I get a ton of tickets...it is a Saturday so you wouldn’t miss wor—”

“Kitten, of course m’going t’be there,” he promised. “I’d sell m’company t’be there for you.”

She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’d sell it t’Niall, maybe. But I’d still sell it.”

She giggled. “Do you think Niall would want to come, too?”

“Yes, absolutely. We wouldn’t miss it.”

She clutched the phone tighter to her ear enjoying the sound of Harry at the other end. The irritation she felt was only a nagging little bite on the inside of her head that she pushed away. Because really, this whole month had to be the most, and totally, happiest she had been in years.

*

Saturday/Sunday

“I blame myself for my brother’s death,” she said it softly. She didn’t even ask if he was awake. Either she somehow knew, or she wasn’t looking for him to answer. Harry frowned, trailing his fingers up and down her arm. It was a sudden comment, but it was the middle of the night. It was what they did.

“I don’t think that’s possible, kitten.”

“I went to some stupid school party. I didn’t want to get in the car with the person offering a ride home. So, he came to pick me up, no questions asked. Not a care in the world that it was almost two in the morning,” she shrugged against him. “A car hit us,” she said simply. It was silent for a minute. Harry hardly moved. “He must have seen it coming before I did... because he turned...so his side of the car took the brunt of the hit.” He squeezed her. “I tried to pull him out. Begged him to breathe,” she shook her head. “It was awful,” her voice cracked. Harry couldn’t imagine what she had seen. Couldn’t imagine what it took for her to get in the car. No wonder she walked everywhere.

“Y’don’t have t’tell me, love,” he told her, and he meant it. That was plenty. He could fill in the gaps if it meant she didn’t have to relive it again. He was sure she relived it every day.

“It’s why my parents hate me.”

Harry sucked his lip into his mouth. “They shouldn’t,” he fully believed that. He may not have judged them for the way they grieved but they lost one child in that accident. It easily could have been two and yet somehow, they chose to lose them both even though she was right there, alive and in need of love more than ever.

Harry wouldn’t say it to her now, but he would think part of his heart would feel like it was missing if she had been lost all those years ago. Whether he knew her or not.

“Sometimes I think they’re right to,” she sniffled. “I’d hate me, too. He was the best,” she whispered shakily.

“Kitten.”

He loved the dark and their little chats every day since they started. Today, he hated it. It was too revealing. This was hurting her. And he hated that most. “I should have died.”

“Thank God, you didn’t.”

“It’s not fair,” she whispered. How many times had she said it to herself, her therapist, to Louis of all people? The only person who consoled her and not her parents...the only person who needed to be consoled as much as her was Louis. As he was breaking down, he was trying to keep her together. It wasn’t fair at all.

“No,” Harry shook his head. “It’s not.”

“I miss him.”

“I know.”

More silence. “I told you the dark is revealing.”

He smirked sadly. He wished he could tell her something just as revealing. But telling her he loved her so wholly when they weren’t in a relationship, not an actual one, after she was grieving for a moment in time, didn’t seem right. Harry wanted to tell her it was easy. Easy to love her. It was effortless having her in his life. He wanted to reveal something of equal weight. If only so she wouldn’t be sad. “I like getting t’know you,” he said instead.

“Even though I’m the reason someone died?”

He shook his head and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Someone else made a dumb decision, love. Of course, your brother would come t’help you. I’d do the same for Gem,” he promised. “S’in the brother handbook.”

“Louis said the same thing...he has a bunch of younger sisters...and me.”

“Louis would still do it for you, too; I’m sure.” They were silent again. He thought she fell asleep. Sometimes she would do that. So, he asked the question that had been burning in his mind forever. “I don’t want t’pry...What happened with your parents...after that?”

She shook her head. “Maybe another middle of the night talk. Not this one,” she mumbled.

He nodded. “Yeah, of course, love.”

“Thank you for...everything Harry. Really,” she yawned and nuzzled closer to his chest.

“Course, love,” he repeated and let her fall asleep beside him peacefully.

*

Wednesday

There was yelling from the other side of the door as she knocked, then immediately entered his office with tea. Right as she opened the door, he slammed the phone down to his desk. Then picked it back up and slammed it three more times into the receiver. She blinked and cringed with each hit. He slid a hand over his face and turned to face the window. Part of her thought he didn’t register she was in the room.

“Harry,” she said softly.

He shook his head. “Love, please jus’ leave the tea and go,” he grumbled. “M’gonna snap and I don’t want it t’be at you,” he sounded infuriated. Interns never seemed to work out because of his anger... She knew Niall worked hard to keep her away from Harry’s outbursts. Mostly because Niall knew Harry would never forgive himself if he ever broke her heart or scared her because of his job. But she still knew the stories. The whispers in the breakroom and by the copier about his anger weren’t something she could ignore. Sometimes Harry’s angry tone filled the whole floor. She bit her lip at his warning and nodded silently.

After she set the tea on his desk, she sat on the couch across the room. She sipped at her drink watching him tap on his phone screen searching for something. He turned back around after a moment looking at his computer and then she saw his eyes flicker over to her. “I know I told you t’leave,” his voice was icy. But she saw his gaze soften just a hair.

She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to set him off or make him any angrier than he already was. She was content to sit there...just wanted to wait there in case he needed her because that’s what she did. Even if he was going to pretend that she wasn’t there.

His phone was ringing from the other end while he called someone. “I need the file we looked at this morning...” A pause and she watched him clench his fist and he squeezed his eyes shut angrily. “Well, I don’t have it!” he snapped slamming his fist on the desk. “If I had it, I wouldn’t have called! Can’t you just do what I fucking ask and bring—"

She hurried to his computer after he slammed his fist down. Not caring even a little, when he hardly moved out of her way and continued yelling at the poor person at the other end of the line. The words he snarled into the phone didn’t reach her ears. With three clicks and a few taps it was on his screen. She stepped out of his way and sat back on the couch waiting for the next mini blowup. He put his phone down again as his eyes scanned the screen. He grumbled about something unintelligible under his breath and he tapped on his phone screen again and brought it to his ear for all of five seconds.

“Come here,” he said into his phone.

Within moments, Niall was there. He frowned seeing Harry’s anger but managed a quick wink at the sweet girl sitting quietly on the couch. She sipped her coffee while Niall went behind Harry’s desk. He looked at the screen for a few moments and she saw his face falter a bit; he rubbed his hand on the back of his head. “Well, we knew this was coming.”

Harry turned away and paced to the other end of the room. Hands on the back of his head. Niall scrolled on his screen and sighed. He glanced at her. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the pair of them since Niall stood next to Harry. “C’mere,” he said to her. She hurried back over. He pointed to several itemized lines and murmured a few things that she only had a vague understanding of due to her limited understanding of things that happened here at Styles Incorporated solely because in the grand scheme of things, she hadn’t been there that long, and she was just an intern.

She looked at the numbers, pursed her lips in concentration and did her best to calculate quickly. “Can you shrink this number?” She asked, pointing at the screen.

He glanced at Harry who looked ready to jump out the window. His head pressed to the glass taking deep, angry breaths. “No, darling.”

“How about this one?” She pointed to a different cell. He shook his head again. She looked over at Harry who was clearly distraught. Sighing, she thought for a few quiet breaths and Niall frowned as he scrolled. She thought back to all her classes, every lecture, and every assignment she had ever worked on. Unfortunately, she came to only one conclusion.

“You can have them file for bankruptcy,” she shrugged.

Niall pushed her behind him as soon as the beginning of that b-word left her mouth. Harry hated that word. At the same time, Harry spun rapidly, took three long strides, and menacingly glared through Niall in her direction. “Are you fucking serious?” He hissed but he was staring so angrily at Niall, but the expression was really meant for her. She gulped audibly. This had to have been the nightmarish things that previous interns spoke about. It made her stomach churn and she thought she might throw up. God bless Niall for standing in her way—she knew Harry wouldn’t resort to physical violence. Not even a little. She felt it in her soul. But part of her wondered if it would hurt less than his cutting, angry voice.

No wonder Niall never let her be around Harry when he was mad. This was terrifying.

“Harry—” Niall started.

She blinked in surprise at how angry he got. At her. But he did warn her. Her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. “I am not having them file,” he growled.

Her face definitely turned red, and she swallowed nervously. “It’s your only option,” she whispered standing her ground anyway. He flung the cordless keyboard across the room. It smashed into the wall and many of the keys fluttered off in a heap against the wall. She flinched at the sound as he paced back to that side of the room.

“Darling, kindly shut it,” Niall whispered over his shoulder.

Harry paced and paced. Niall was still standing in front of her protectively as Harry grumbled to himself trying to make sense of it. “Why?” He practically barked at her. “Why’s it my only option?”

She took a deep breath. “The legal fees would equate to more than the bankruptcy payback.” He stopped pacing and turned to look at her. Niall even turned around and stared at her in surprise. “What?” She felt like this was a worse thing to say than bankruptcy. Niall stepped from in front of her and used the mouse to click through different screens on the computer, it took a moment because he no longer had a keyboard. He glanced at Harry and nodded.

Harry took a deep breath. “Can y’please explain that for me, love?” His voice was still tight with anger but at least he wasn’t barking at her or throwing things.

So, she did her best to explain that she remembered this once case she studied in her quantitative decision-making class. How it was expensive but kept the company afloat to file for a chapter of bankruptcy that allowed them to pay back the debt and keep going on if they could make it a few years. “She’s right...” Niall said clicking on the computer and gesturing to the screen. “Obviously,” he muttered under her breath.

Harry looked at the screen. While they did, she did some calculations on her phone. “So, they keep their assets?” He asked, looking up at her from the screen while Niall searched something on his phone to show Harry.

She nodded. “As long as they make this much,” she said and held her phone up to the two men.

Niall smirked. “I like her,” he said knowingly.

Harry sighed, still embittered. “Can you go buy me a new keyboard, love?” He asked.

Feeling like she had finally made a difference and helped a bit, she grabbed her coffee and nodded. “Sure,” she said softly.

“Don’t spend your own money on it either,” Harry said knowingly without looking up at her. She smirked to herself and left his office before she could say any more wrong things.

*

Since it was a Wednesday, she hadn’t seen Harry outside the office for two days. After getting the new keyboard and plugging it in, Harry was swamped for the remainder of the day. Lawyers, Niall, and others kept filing in and out of his office. At five in the evening, when most everyone was leaving, they were still coming and going. Niall hadn’t seen her in hours while she sat at her desk sending him files, answering calls, and taking messages. She knocked on the door before entering, carrying five or so pizzas and an assortment of drinks. Niall was the only one who noticed.

He winked at her, mouthed thank you, and watched as she left.

It was another hour before Harry noticed he was eating pizza...with pineapple on the slice. “Who got this?” He muttered.

“That cute intern of Niall’s,” one of the lawyers said.

“That’s your intern Niall? I��d be begging for her to alleviate the stress—”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” Niall said calmly. Harry was glad he had a bite of pizza in his mouth and Niall interrupted that sentence before it finished. After the day Harry had he wasn’t sure he had much self-control left to not physically attack someone—especially on behalf of her.

How did he not notice the sweet girl bringing pizza? He was certain even if the room was on fire, he would still take the time to notice her. He frowned. He had no idea she did this.

“I think this is enough for tonight, Mr. Styles,” someone said after hours of being there. Harry hadn’t looked at the time in ages. Since before lunch at least. He was only vaguely aware that it was after one at some point only because she brought his daily tea. He nodded silently, still upset about the day but also that he had no idea the perfect girl was there.

“You screamed at her, y’know,” Niall said condensing the pizza boxes. Placing the empty ones by the trashcan for the maintainers to take care of. After everyone left. Harry was helping clean up as well and packing his things.

Harry tended to get a little fuzzy on his consciousness when he was mad. “I told her to leave.”

“You’re stupid for thinking she would,” he rolled his eyes. “She’s quite brilliant,” Niall said knowingly. “When are you going to offer her a job?”

“It’s complicated,” he remarked. “I think if I create a job for her, people...will get suspicious.”

“Who cares?”

Harry worked extremely hard to get Styles Incorporated where it was so quickly. You didn’t become a thirty under thirty member without working hard. In all that time, Harry made every decision he could to the best of his ability. He always wondered if he made mistakes. He loved this company. It was his pride and joy.

The idea of losing pieces of it broke his heart. Since it happened twice within the last three months, and she managed to save both those pieces from falling to the wayside...

She seemed to know how much he loved his job, his legacy. He didn’t like her idea all that much today, even if it was good or his only option. Even when he yelled at her and snarled like she wasn’t the most special person he knew. She still voiced her opinion, and he knew that had to have been hard for her.

It hurt him to think of failing in even one little branch. But he couldn’t argue with her that it was the best option he had for this moment. “This was a brilliant idea,” one of the lawyers said as they typed furiously on their laptop. It was hours after the lovely girl left the new keyboard on his desk. Harry didn’t respond with anything but one little nod. “We should keep this in mind...would have saved you some money a few years ago,” she remarked with a gentle smile.

Niall saying “who cares” suddenly sparked something in him. Why did he care? She was brilliant. He didn’t have to convince anyone of that. It was obvious when she walked into any room, took a passing glance at whatever document they were discussing, any graph they were looking at and she casually pointed out inconsistencies and almost always managed to save him money.

“Have the other interns been like her?” He asked quietly. He had been so closed off, so worried about the reasons they were truly there... The thought of that horrible woman who made comments to the sweet girl about sleeping with him... Harry would feel terrible if he was so cynical about the entire intern process if a quarter of them were as smart as her.

Niall smiled at his best friend. The relief flooded him before Niall even spoke. “Harry, I don’t think there’s anyone like her.”

*

The knock on her door surprised her. She thought it might be Louis or Eleanor who couldn’t be bothered to walk the last five blocks back to their place after a late-night dinner. It was nearing ten and she was snuggled up on the couch with her book and music playing on the TV.

Harry was leaning against the opposite wall as she opened the door. “Oh, hi,” she said softly.

Harry stayed where he was, and he smiled at her, tiredly. “You’re so cute,” he mumbled.

She glanced down at her pajamas. A mismatching pair of shorts and a tank top. One sock on because only the left one was cold. Harry looked tired but beautiful as ever. His button-down sleeves rolled up to his elbows, tucked into his dress pants. The tie he had been wearing all day was gone, the button at his neck undone. His hair looked as if he ran his hand through it a few too many times but his tiredness seemed most evident on his face.

“Come in,” she said opening the door wider. “Do you need something to eat or drink?” She asked.

“No... had the pizza y’got us,” he murmured finding his way to the couch, he folded the corner of the page where she was reading and set the book on the coffee table. He waited for her to sit beside him and once she did, his head was in her lap. “M’sorry I screamed at you. Y’didn’t deserve that.”

“I knew you didn’t mean it,” she threaded her fingers through his hair and lightly rubbed at his scalp. “Is it all taken care of?”

“Thanks t’you,” he mumbled. She smiled softly, grateful she could ease his anger and allow him to sleep. She didn’t say anything for a bit and soon enough he was asleep in her lap. She reached for her book and read for the better part of an hour while he snored gently into her leg.

When an hour had passed, she gently pulled herself out from his head and began undressing him down to his boxers. It took effort but once he was mostly naked, she tugged him off the couch holding him up as much as she could with his tall frame to drop him into her bed. She curled up to him, grateful for the extra night with him. The first one at her place, at that.

The moon was bright even through the closed blinds, making his skin practically glow as she faced his sleeping figure. His arm beneath her pillow outstretched so she fit neatly beneath his chin if she was close enough. Their legs twisted together, his much longer than hers.

She was quiet for a bit, tracing the sparrows tattooed just below his collarbones. “They stopped talking to me,” she whispered. It wasn’t quite the standard middle of the night, but it was pressing on her mind because it was rapidly approaching the seven-year anniversary of that horrible day and it hurt so freshly, so sharply. Like it was only a week ago. She wasn’t sure Harry was even awake, but she said it anyway...maybe it was better he didn’t hear anyway. “Except for when they had too much to drink. Then they just yelled and yelled. At each other, at me...” she swallowed the pain down. “If I didn’t go out, he wouldn’t have gone to get me. We would still be a family...he was their prince,” she explained.

Her fingers drifted over his arm that rested gently with his hand at her hip. She traced the heart tattoo, the rose, and then the anchor at his wrist. “They stopped caring about me, but I couldn’t stop caring about them. I made dinner for them even if they didn’t always eat. If they did, they complained about it. I stopped eating with them. We didn’t watch movies together on Sunday evenings. We didn’t celebrate Christmas. Part of me thinks they only kept me there because they knew deep down, I was still a minor and they had to—I could ruin their lives worse by reporting them...” she bit her lip. “I don’t even think I would do that... At some point... they were the only people that ever took care of me... but then they just stopped and honestly, I don’t blame them.”

Harry didn’t make any note that he could hear but she kept going anyway. “So, I started taking care of everyone I crossed paths with...” she paused for a moment just to see if anything registered on Harry’s mind. It didn’t seem like it. But it made it easier for her to tell the story.

“When I turned 18, I invited Louis over to help me. I didn’t say with what. But the second he saw my parents...the ones that didn’t love me anymore... Louis moved me into his place... I felt so horrible, but I actually asked him to stay there just until... until I left for university at the end of the summer. He looked... betrayed. Like I let him down... He gave me the lecture of the century and Eleanor just braided my hair while he did. They made my favorite food. Neither of them said Happy Birthday once and I didn’t even care because for even just one day someone was taking care of me again,” she had done well up to this point not crying.

She sniffled and shook her head. She reached up and outlined Harry’s eyebrows, the shape of his nose. The curve of his lips and the jawline that ached her to the core. “Louis doesn’t talk about it, but I know he saw more than I ever wanted him to. I know he resents the way I hid. I think part of him wished I still lived with him. He insisted I stay the summers I came home from university,” she told the sleeping figure.

“But I got a boyfriend part way through university. We moved in quickly. Of course, I took care of him... and I didn’t mind. I liked it. He liked it. He was easy... food, sex, cleaning...” she mumbled. “But I still went to visit my parents because I couldn’t help it. I’ve never told Louis that. I didn’t tell my therapist that either...I’m sure she would be mad. And you know, I still go twice a month without telling anyone. Well, except you now... I don’t know why... I don’t know... I couldn’t leave them...they...they have to be in there still, right? The people that threw me princess birthday parties and put Band-Aids on my knees after a fall on my bike? Even after...after all of it...they’re my parents somewhere in there. Every time I go it’s just...yelling and hating me. I clean, make sure there’s food in the fridge, and then I leave,” Harry didn’t answer her. “I was supposed to stay the night at a hotel because I was supposed to move some of the last of my things...but it was a bad day. I just wanted to go home... I guess I got the sex part right with him,” she said with a smirk but without humor in her voice. “Just...not with me. Guess I didn’t do a good job there either,” she sighed sadly. “So... There it is. They just...acted as if I died too.”

Harry didn’t move a muscle. She smiled softly and kissed his cheek. “I think that’s everything,” she whispered. “I think you know everything now,” she told him. “Good night, baby,” she whispered tucking herself against his chest.

There was no movement for at least a full minute and then his arms came around her so tightly, he squeezed her like he was trying to press all the broken pieces back together. “You’re so lovely,” he murmured. “Don’t forget that,” he pressed his lips to her temple and she closed her eyes tight trying to keep the tears from spilling over like a waterfall. “S’great t’know you,” he squeezed her again. “S’an honor t’know y’care ‘bout me,” he mumbled to her.

She nodded her head in recognition that she had heard him but if she spoke, she would either cry or, worse, tell him she loved him. So, she sighed deeply against his chest and slowly fell asleep while he pressed another kiss to her forehead. Like he was trying to heal her from the outside in just by kissing the front of her tired, sad brain.

Part of her thought that with Harry it might work.

*

Next Wednesday

Harry was going to lose his mind. When he started the day, he was so excited that he finally had good news for the sweet girl and was excited about their future. He couldn’t wait to surprise her during their movie night the following day, at home snuggled on the comfy couch.

Instead, he was totally blindsided by the fourth of the same type of phone call of that same day.

The call started out the same as all the other ones he’d been getting. They introduced themselves. “Aye, Harry. Zayn. How are you?”

Harry blinked in surprise at the voice at the other end. Zayn was CEO of his own company, located a few towns over called Malik Industries. Rarely did they interact with one another because their clientele was very different. But every so often at big black-tie shin digs and philanthropic events they’d run into one another. In this business, it was all about networking. He was hoping he wouldn’t get this call only because Zayn was closest to his age... which was closer to her age... “Right, good. Yourself?”

“Great. Listen, I’ll make this quick, I know you’re a busy guy. I have an application in front of me and it lists you and Niall as references, and I’m used to seeing Niall’s name... but I had to ask you. You never give your name as a reference.” His heart stopped because he could only guess who the application belonged to.

She applied here too?

“Harry?” He asked. “Did I lose you?”

“Uh...” he shook his head trying to regain his composure. He was absolutely confused. She didn’t say anything about applying to any of these places and this was the fourth phone call he had to sit through with an aching heart. “No, sorry. Untimely email,” he muttered quickly. He wasn’t even facing his computer.

“Right, I understand. I’ll keep it short... you think she would be good here?”

His breath caught in his throat. She would be good anywhere. But the idea of not seeing her smiling face each afternoon carrying tea in her hands to his office (not that she would continue to have to do that if she worked here full time) was the last thing Harry wanted. “Uh...yeah, she...she would be great.”

There was a pause and a short chuckle. “I know you don’t usually do these reference calls, but there’s usually a bit more than that.”

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat trying to get the words to spill out. How could he tell her she was perfect? How could he just give her away? He wanted her there all the time in every facet of his life. She made everything better. “I know, I know,” Harry shook his head again in an attempt to get his verbal processing to work again. “She’s perfect. She can do anything. Fit in anywhere. If she doesn’t know how t’do something, she’ll figure it out. Brilliant. Truly. It’s cutthroat out there and she still manages t’be an angel. Doesn’t even bat an eye in the face of adversity. She’ll keep morale up by decorating for holidays and she makes the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.”

“See that’s what—”

“You can’t have her,” Harry interrupted flatly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought she applied because there—”

“Yes. No. I’m sorry,” he shook his head. “She did apply. She would be perfect. You can’t question that. Seriously. Y’would probably hand her the keys t’your office if she joined y’in any capacity. I want t’do that somedays...but I want t’keep her here.”

“I see,” Zayn sounded agreeable. “She sounds quite special. Her recommendations, her transcript, everything is incredible. She seems like a wonderful asset Harry. Are you sure you have room for her?”

He prickled at the notion that he wouldn’t make room for her. “Yes,” he said definitively.

“Alright. Well, good for you. I hope she’s happy there. I’ll take her application any time in the future if you see a reason she needs to go elsewhere.”

Harry didn’t see it happening ever. “Sorry t’disappoint.”

“Not a problem at all. You know a good one when you see them, I get it. Have a good one,” the call ended abruptly. As if on cue, she knocked and opened his door at quarter past the hour. Clockwork. She closed the door quickly.

“Hi baby,” she winked as she whispered the pet name at him. “Brought your tea. And I got us some cake pops. I think they’re yummy. Maybe we could try to make them from scratch this weekend.”

There is no way she could just go. His heart fluttered at her words, and he smiled. He felt the ache in his chest melting away as it always did when she was around while he was upset. “Whatever you want, kitten.”

Harry didn’t tell her about the good news during movie night. He was too upset about all the phone calls.

He didn’t tell her while they were making cake Pops on that Saturday either.

*

When she chose to just exist that weekend a couple months ago, and not remember anything that happened over her horrible couple of days and not think about her parents, she did catch up with Louis and Eleanor that following Tuesday. Harry watched from her kitchen as the pair of them cooed over her and she let some tears fall.

“Your mum’s not having a memorial,” Eleanor told her. So that was that. It was over.

“Oh,” she said like it was a surprise.

Louis glanced at Eleanor and pursed his lips. She combed her hair back and gave her another hug while Louis pressed his hand to her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Louis glanced at Harry and shrugged. Harry thought that meant her mum wasn’t having a memorial that she could attend. It hardened Harry’s heart while he set some mugs of tea on her counter out for the three of them.

The lawyers managed to get some information about her inheritance. The house was already in a trust under her name. “Harry, we’re grasping a bit at straws here. We don’t practice family law,” he reminded him during their next movie night.

“I know, I know. M’sorry,” he said rubbing the back of his neck while he watched from the kitchen as the girl swayed quietly on the porch swing. At the end of February, she was still insistent on sitting in the freezing cold. “I jus’ want t’make sure she’s taken care of.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think this woman cares,” he said bluntly.

Harry frowned and ended the phone call before heading to the swing with mugs of hot chocolate. She lifted the blanket, a beanie hat almost falling into her eyes as he slid in beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder and for the moment Harry just let her live knowing that as long as she stayed here, she was cared for.

Which is why he was so happy when the lawyers finally informed him that she would have the house... eventually. The life insurance policy was never changed out of her name, and it wasn’t like they could change it now. All of it was something that could ease the ache of the worry she had.

Harry attended the memorial service, too, a week or so after that. He told her and Niall he was attending to business out of town. Niall looked at him suspiciously and he felt bad lying to the sweet girl but he...he wanted to...well he didn’t even know what he wanted. He just wanted to know what her parents were like.  There were many people there. He was surprised that they still had friends after cutting off their sweet daughter. But Harry was trying his best not to judge their mourning.

He saw Louis and Eleanor there gently consoling her mother without it truly reaching their eyes. Louis saw Harry at the edge of the mourners at the cemetery, he gave him a succinct nod and then tilted his head discreetly to the right.

When everyone left, he headed to where Louis gestured, totally alone.

He read the dates on the stone, did the math, and he sighed. “I’ll do anything for her,” he knelt and pulled some weeds away from the flowers laid there. Quietly to her brother’s grave, he whispered “I promise.”

*

Monday

Now seemed like it was too late to tell her anything about the good news. She had seemed off all evening. Maybe it was the stress of graduation and her internship. The office had been so busy lately they hardly had a moment to have tea in the afternoon.

It was his own fault, however. When all said and done.

Now, he was walking her home from dinner. Well, actually, he was nearly running after her. She refused to get in the car. Despite how late it was. So, Harry followed her on foot. She was fast, even in the little heels she wore. The driver was close behind on their trail as well.

“I didn’t ask for you to do that!” She snapped at him. She never snapped at him. Not once. And there were plenty of times she could have over the last eight and a half months. But he thought he was being helpful. Figuring out the stuff with her mum, finding a way to finally split Niall’s position. All of it.

He thought things were going so well and even with the end of her internship coming up at the end of the next month, he was so hopeful for their future in so many ways. He didn’t really know what went wrong. He kept the conversation light trying to figure out her slightly soured mood. It didn’t seem completely fair, but he was heartbroken that he made her upset.

But it was the email that was the final straw. She received it in the middle of dinner. Mr. Malik stated there must have been miscommunication as she would be staying with Styles Incorporated. He would love to have her, feel free to apply in the future if so needed, but of course, she should stay where she’s comfortable.

Harry was in mid-conversation with the waiter, ordering dessert. Something she was reallylooking forward to when she read through the email. But the second she finished it she was angry and didn’t want dessert. She called Niall quickly, while Harry was still chatting, holding one finger up as she put her phone to her ear.

He winked at her, continuing his conversation and didn’t mind at all whether she was using her phone nor questioning it. He’d done so many times before and she was always so kind and patient about it. If he did question it, so shortly after the email, maybe he would have seen it coming. But he didn’t...he didn’t see it coming at all. “Did you...talk to Mr. Malik?” She asked him when Niall answered.

“No, darling, I haven’t heard from him or...or anyone yet about your applic—”

“Never mind,” she hung up. The second she uttered the name of another company Harry’s voice died in the conversation he was having, and he directed his attention to her.

“Did you?” She asked, point blank.

“Yes,” he said. “I told him you would be a perfect fit.”

She blinked. “Then why does he think I’m staying at Styles Incorporated?”

Harry frowned. “Don’t you want to?”

She wasn’t going to lie. “I mean...yes...but don’t you think you should have told me you were going to hire me before—”

“I just figured—"

“Harry...I’ve been rejected or ghosted from everywhere I applied to. I’ve been crying to Niall so stressed and anxious that I’m not good enough and—have you been telling everyone in the area?”

“You’ve been crying about—?”

“Harry,” she snapped.

He was surprised by her tone. “Of course...I want t’keep you,” he whispered.

“Well, what if I can’t,” her voice cracked, her hand fiddling with her silverware on the plate.

“What are y’talking about? Of course, y’can,” he said quickly reaching across the table for her hand but she pulled it back. “Kitten.”

“I don’t want dessert,” she said and stood up and marched out of the restaurant. He hurried to throw money on the table and follow after her.

When they made it to her apartment building, she was huffing. She was angry the entire way there not listening to Harry call after her, not stopping even though he begged. Harry felt like he was losing her with every step. When they reached her door, he tried again to console her as best he could. “Love, I just wanted to hel—”

“I know you feel entitled to everything I am and do because of what we are, but I didn’t ask you to do any of that! Stay out of my business.”

“Kitten,” Harry felt crushed, like she stole all the air out of her lungs.

“I know you told Louis and Eleanor about my graduation ceremony, and I let it slide... because part of me is hoping they forget that it’s in two weeks because right now, I don’t want to go. It hurts to think about my brother’s ceremony—the last time we were a family. And I know you had your lawyers talking to my mom because she called me today all up and arms about how I’m selfish to even take what she’s giving me and of course I hadn’t a clue what she was talking about. I thought it was a prank,” Harry was silent as he listened. “I know you have your driver follow me around whenever I’m out walking. Not even at night,” still quiet. But he dropped his gaze to the floor for a moment before looking back up at her. It did sound controlling when she was so angry. “On top of all that, I hadn’t gotten any notice about my student loans so I called my servicer to inquire. And guess what?”

Harry’s lips pressed together. He didn’t say a word. Because of course he already knew why she didn’t get any info about her loans. “Now this? Harry, I’ve worked my butt off to do this on my own and you just...told every company within a twenty-mile radius that I’m staying, and I didn’t even get to know that I could do it on my own? That all my hard work and all those hard things I had to face on my own just meant nothing? I thought I failed so miserably.” She was crying so hard, and she wished she wasn’t but every time she felt anger coursing through her it was an unfortunate consequence. Harry just wanted to console her and make it stop. He felt so terrible.

Every day she showed up to work and made everyone’s life so much easier. She baked brownies for the breakroom, made copies for anyone that asked because she was the only one who could stop it from jamming, and of course she went out every day, snow, sleet, hail, or rain to get himself and Niall their Starbucks order. She took care of him when he was sick and saved such a large chunk of his company, he could never repay her. All he wanted to do was help her the way she helped everyone else.

“Love,” he whispered reaching for her. She stepped out of his way.

“Just go,” she snapped as she slammed the door shut in his face. His heart felt broken, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Because as always, she was right. He just...did everything for her because he could. Really because he wanted to, but he should have at least asked.

He could hear the sniffles and her tears through the door. He waited a minute listening to her gasping breath hoping something in his head would click. Something would appear in his mind that he could say to her. But in times like this, it was usually her that knew what to do. So of course, he couldn’t ask her. As he turned to leave, he heard her croaked voice whispering Louis’ name into the phone.

--

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[respectthepetty]

Remember in Big Dragon when

Mangkorn got the internship in New York, and he was going to turn it down without even telling Yai, but Yai saw it on Mangkorn's phone, so Yai showed Mangkorn the phone and asked what it was about and was clearly hurt that Mangkorn lied.

But Mangkorn told him that he didn't want to go because he wanted to stay with Yai. Mangkorn wanted to run away from his family, but he was ready to face them, so if Yai didn't want him to go, he was going to turn it down, but Yai immediately told Mangkorn that he WAS going, and Mangkorn told him he would have to leave at the end of the month, and Yai was like 'cool, cool, cool' when it was obviously not cool.

So Mangkorn asked Yai to move with him, and Yai said no because he still needed to work on his life IN Thailand, but he told Mangkorn that Mangkorn's dream was Yai's happiness WHILE HE WAS TRYING NOT TO BREAKDOWN!

And Mangkorn thought Yai was being so cold about it because if Yai felt the way about him that Mangkorn felt about Yai, he would want Mangkorn to stay, and Yai was like, "I like you so much that I want this for you so have fun in New York!" And Mangkorn was worried about Yai but Yai told him he was okay now.

So Yai then started working on his relationship with his father and came to terms with his mother's death. We finally saw that his dad wasn't the big baddie, but just a guy who lost his wife and had to take care of his two young kids while grieving that loss.

And the dad's little talk at the mom's grave helped Yai see that even if Mangkorn was going abroad, he still needed to fight for his love.

Then we saw Mangkorn packing up all his stuff and CRYING OVER THE DRAGON HE WON FOR YAI!

So he kept reaching out to Yai begging to see him before he left, and Yai actually did and met Mangkorn at Mangkorn's favorite spot where they first became friends.

And Mangkorn apologized saying it was all his fault and Yai should be mad that he lied, but Yai said he wasn't mad, and that Mangkorn made him a better person which is why he wanted the best for Mangkorn, and they held hands, and BOTH WERE STILL WEARING THE MATCHING BRACELETS!

THEN THEY HUGGED AND KISSED!

And Yai went to Mangkorn's house and collected their treasured items, like the dragon plushie, and watched the video they made together on their date, and cried just like Mangkorn did.

So even though Mangkorn got on that plane to fulfill his dream, he messaged his man all the damn time, and Yai sent him videos and we saw this happening FOR MONTHS because THEY WERE STILL IN LOVE!

And even when we thought another man was trying to swoop in and take Yai by giving him flowers every month, it was actually Mangkorn sending the flowers that meant something to Yai because he wanted Yai to know he was loved but knew Yai was stubborn!

So when Yai's big day came, Mangkorn returned to Thailand to be there for it, and gave Yai that month's flowers himself.

Then they went back to the same spot they said goodbye, and Mangkorn said he was staying in Thailand because he was quitting school, he was going to tell his family that he wasn't entering the arranged marriage, and he would start applying for jobs, and Yai told him he was NOT staying because Yai was going back with him to New York to finish school and live his dream.

And they watched the sunset rise!

While holding hands with the same bracelets on!

Because I remember that.

And that's why I think some of y'all need to go back and put some respect on my favorite's name!

BIG DRAGON 2 WHEN?! WHEN?!

[ramspatula]

Begonias | Kai Smith x reader

I love Lana Del Rey

“-Money is the anthem! God you’re so handsome-!”

“Okay! Okay, honey. Not that I don’t love your singing, or you calling me handsome but we’re here.” Kai said turning the radio down am I smiles at him as he looked for somewhere to park.

“Thank you… for this.” I said and he smirked.

“Anything for you.” He told me and I tried to ignore how flustered it made me feel.

“You seriously didn’t have to do this, you know?” I said and he rolled his eyes.

“I seriously did. It’s your first day. It’d be wrong for me to not take you.” Kai protested and I smiled.

“You know my Dad is going to hold this against you, right?” I said and he rolled his eyes again.

“C’mon? Daddy dropping you off at his office for the job he gave you on the first day? What a bad first impression.” He said and it was my turn to roll my eyes.

“I’m just being an office assistant for a couple months so I can have some actual experience in an office environment. Then I can apply to work for Borg or someone. Plus I need money.” I told him and he gave me a reassuring smile.

“Borg would love to have you. Hey- he clearly pays me well.” He said and gestured to custom Cyrus car that had been made for him. It was a ridiculously expensive red sports car that was completely electric in the Borg fashion. Kai had worked for Borg since he was 17, originally on an internship apparently and had built himself up in the company. He dealt in security matters and testing out new inventions.

“Yeah I can see that.” I said before sitting up and turning to him. “How do I look?” I asked, striking a little pose whilst sitting and he looked me over.

“Gorgeous… and don’t listen to your Dad. The skirt is not too short and that’s coming from your boyfriend. Although the chances of me ripping it off tonight are high.” He said and I smirked.

“So you’re coming tonight?” I said and his face dropped. It was a big meal that my Dad had with his friends and some of my Uncles and cousins. Kai has avoided this dinner for months and did so last year but since it was the first year we were together. I let it slide but now we had almost been going out for two years. I wanted him to be there with me.

“I’m already on Daddy’s bad side. I think me being at that dinner would be the last straw. He already thinks I’m the reason you didn’t go to college.” Kai said and I gave him puppy eyes.

“Please?” I asked and he gave me a serious look.

“You’re going to be late.” He said and I just stared at him harder. “I’ll see what I can do… love you.” He said and I kissed him before opening the car door.

“Love you too!” I yelled as I closed the car door and I heard Lana blasting again at full volume I turned around and he winked at me as he sped off. I giggled to myself and held my skirt down from the gust of wind the car made. I shook my head with a big smile as I headed up the stairs. I pretended I didn’t see my Dad shake his head in disapproval in his office window. I held my head up high as I headed up into his office greeting everyone and receiving off guard thanks and greetings back. God this was a depressing work environment. I paused by my Dad’s office door as I heard him speaking.

“-she had a crush on him when she was 18! You think it would end there but no! He continues to poke his head around her until she’s 20 and immediately snatches her up! And he cancels all the time! Poor excuses if you ask me. He’s good for nothing! Can’t provide, he’s going nowhere in life and encourages the worst behaviour out of my daughter, she swears he had nothing to do with it but I know he’s the reason she didn’t go to College! All her life she spoke about wanting to-“ I pushed the door open, carrying a file that had been handed to me and a coffee for my father.

“He’s not going nowhere, Dad. Who else do you know of that’s got into an internship at Borg’s company at 17 and at 25 is now a leading part of his security. He deals with the ninja Dad! Thats a huge thing!” I interrupted and he rolled his eyes.

“You always had a crush on that red one too. Don’t tell me you’re going to be dating him next.” Dad grumbled and I rolled my eyes.

“Dad, I heard it takes them 10 years to even master basic ninjitsu! The fire ninja is probably 30.” I told him and he stared at me out the corner of his eye.

“Age gap didn’t stop you before.” He snarked and I slammed the file down.

“Stop it! Kai’s 25, not 50. It’s not uncommon for a 21 year old to go out with a 25 year old. Or an 20 year old to go out with a 24 year old. Stop making out like he’s a creep. Plus the age gap between you and Mom was 5 years?!” I said and he shrugged.

“At least we were both in our 30s and not one of us a teenager- he over the age to be ID’d!” Dad said and his business colleague tried not to look awkward in the seat opposite my Dad’s by his desk.

“I’m going to be the mature one and end this. If you need me I’ll be with my supervisor doing my training.” I said and spun on my heel to walk out.

“And pull down that skirt!” He yelled and I resisted the urge to throw the new file in my hand at him. Instead I just shut his door and moved towards my supervisor.

They had a TV in the office with the news playing and I caught myself watching it when I noticed everyone else watching it as well. The ninjas were on the news. I watched as it showed the red ninja shutting down some mechanic that had gone haywire. I felt like I was the only one that noticed the way it had sliced his side and how he winced in pain and grabbed his side when the fight ended. He quickly moved away before it switched to the green ninja taking on two with the peach ninja who glitched away from all attacks. They worked together perfectly and I felt a certain jealously creep up inside me. A bitterness at the fact that me and Kai would never be able to work that well together. He’d forever be that guy who successfully raised his little sister, worked all his life and came out on top and I’d always be the girl who had everything handed to her. It didn’t matter that Lord Garmadon had stripped my mother away from me. It didn’t matter that Kai was the only person who taught me how to smile again. It didn’t matter that my father wouldn’t look at me for years, especially as I got older, because I looked too much like her. It didn’t matter that no one had hugged me since my mother had died. I was 10. Me and Kai could relate that much on not having a mother and feeling as if we had to raise ourselves, except he actually did and had to raise another. I looked back down after the earth ninja and pink ninja came on screen and she helped the fire ninja’s injury on his side as the earth ninja protected them both. Again, working as a perfect team. I went back to typing on my computer.

“Damn ninjas! Always having to show off! No one needs to backflip to take down a bot! Showboating is never impressive.” I heard my Dad curse as he moved to the office printer and I rolled my eyes. I looked back up as the lightning ninja backflipped off a bot in sync with the water ninja and they both blasted the bots with their power, rendering them useless.

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

“What the hell is up with you?!” Cole hissed out as he used his strength to knock a bot away.

“You’re never this distracted, red.” Pearl added as he quickly put a medical seal on his wound that had been created by Borg to temporarily freeze land apply pressure to any wound for a couple hours. Kai hissed in pain as he felt the bandage take and suck at his skin and wound.

“It’s just… spitfire… she’s got this huge family dinner thing and she wants me to be there but you know how much her Dad hates me.” Kai hissed out as Pearl created a little shield around her and Kai as they waited for the pain to numb and for him to get back into action. Her powers allowed her to temporarily bring the realm she sees into around her as to act like a shield. It was Peach whose power allowed her to completely go through realms and objects like they didn’t exist. They called her powers ‘glitching’ rather than whatever technical name it had.

“Then don’t go. She’d probably be thankful for an excuse not to go.” Cole said and Kai leant back on his arms.

“That was my plan but it’s her first day working for him as well. I feel like I need to be with her tonight.” He carried on and Cole ripped out the bot’s power pack. It crumbled like nothing and he dodged the other bot that shot at him.

“Then go… it’s once a year and it shows that her father’s wrong about you not being serious because you’d actually be there to laugh at him.” Pearl added and Kai threw his head back.

“This has been my debate all day!” He groaned and shook his head.

“Peach we could use your help over here!” Pearl said and in an instant she appeared behind Pearl and kicked a smaller bot away from the two.

“What’s up?” She asked and Pearl noticed a gash on her thigh and got to work, grabbing her leg unexpectedly as she yelped.

“Does Kai go to the family dinner or nah?” She asked and Peach looked to him.

“That big family one?” She asked and Kai nodded. “Fuck yeah. Her Dad already hates you.” Peach added and Kai rolled his eyes.

“I know that but going would make him even more mad at me.” Kai said Peach rolled her eyes back as Pearl began smoothing the bandage.

“It’s not about her Dad- are you done?! It’s about her! Just go… or arrive halfway through with flowers and dressed nicely. Say you got caught up at work! That’ll get them thinking you’re not a vigilante clad in red that just got cut in the side by a giant bot.” She said and Pearl finally let go of her leg and she glitched her hand through another bot and ripped out its power pack.

“That’s a good idea actually.” Cole said and he rests his katana over his shoulder. Random wires hung over it.

“I’m taking credit.” Pearl said to be shoved by Peach.

“The fuck did you do?” She asked and Pearl looked up sharply.

“Ask you.” Pearl said and you could see her grin from behind the mask.

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

I had gone home in my Dad’s car with his driver and unfortunately him. He’d been in a horrible mood all day and I stared out the window as he ranted to me but not actually because I wasn’t listening.

“Is sparky coming or not?” Dad asked and I rolled my eyes.

“It’s Kai and he doesn’t know if he’s going to be working late or not.” More like if he can deal with you tonight. I know I can’t! I thought to myself.

“Of course… but what do you expect?! I think you’re putting too much into this relationship. You’re both so young and there’s no way he’ll be ready to settle any time soon. Boys like him, Y/n. They don’t stick around for marriage. Don’t be fooled.” He told me and I whipped my head around sharply.

“And how would you know?! Because you strung along my mother for years until you decided you were ready to settle down? Kai shows me a lot more attention than you ever showed my mother. He treats me better as well. Which is lucky considering I was raised to think Mommy and Daddy arguing everyday was normal.” I said and he went silent.

“I loved your mother.” His pathetic reply was and I rolled my eyes.

“You don’t have to remind me. You could’ve even look at me for 5 years after she died! And you want to talk about Kai-?! You think he has ’ruined’ my life?! No- you did! Because you couldn’t bring it upon yourself to even hug your daughter when she cried over her mother’s dead body-! Let me out! I’m walking the rest of the way home!” I said and pulled at the door handle of the locked car.

“-No! Don’t!” Dad quickly demanded and I threw myself back on my seat and crossed my arms, looking away from him. “I’m sorry, dear.” He said and I rolled my eyes, not letting the tears fall, it wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation. “I just worry you’re spending too much of your time on this boy instead of you. God knows your mother did the same for me and we were much older.” I held my forehead.

“I didn’t want to go to college because I didn’t want to leave home.” I said and I could feel his shocked stare on me.

“What…?” He said in shock and I sighed.

“Last time I left home to go to a school I would live at… I got halfway there before I had no mother.” I said and I felt his posture soften.

“It had nothing to do with Kai. Although I wish it did. It’d be a much easier problem to fix… he actually tried to encourage me to go. Even said he’d pay my tuition fees if for some reason that’s what I was worried about. Also said he’d pay for any travel home or there and if he could he’d pick me up.” I said and I heard my father sigh.

“I’m sorry… I just get worried that he’s bringing you into a world you weren’t made for. I know he’s had a rough history.” Dad said and the car came to a stop outside our house which was way too big for the two of us. But I guess if you run data processing company, it earns big money.

“Can we just put this aside for tonight? I’m tired enough as it is.” I said and he nodded in agreement before we both got out the car and I said thanks and goodbye to my Dad’s driver. Lorris. God I really fucking hope Kai turns up.

I had called and messages way too many times and he hadn’t answered. I guess this was his shitty way of saying “I’m not coming”. I huffed retouched my make up and smoothed out my outfit before making my wake downstairs to say hello to everyone and sit down, ready for dinner. Which was served quickly after. That let me know what they were waiting for me.

I felt my foot get kicked from under the table and looked up to see my younger cousin who smiled cheekily at me and mouthed ‘I’m bored’. I smiled back in amusement and swallowed my bite before my plate was taken. They took the empty plate next to me that was reserved for Kai who didn’t turn up. I looked up to see my cousin again who frowned and asked me where he was. Well mouthed. ‘Work’ I mouthed back as an excuse and he rolled his eyes to which I laughed.

“Excuse me, Miss, but there’s someone in the entrance hall for you.” The butler my Dad had hired for tonight said and I nodded and walked into the hallway to see Kai all dolled up with a bouquet in his hands. I smiled in relief and joy before I ran to him. He picked me up and spun me around in a princess twirl before setting me down and I I smiled into him as he kissed my forehead.

“Hey princess, how was the dinner? Hope I’m not too late for desert? I stopped by that flower place near the noodle house and got you some Begonias because you said they reminded you of your mom and I thought you could use a reminder of her today. Your first day of work- speaking of work! When I tell you Borg was holding onto me like I was his favourite toy- the guy let me go as soon as I said I had to come see you though. He’s got some real respect for you- none for me though.” Kai ranted and I laughed before kissing him.

“We haven’t had desert yet…” I told him when we broke apart. He pushed me further against him and smirked.

“I know what I want…” He told me going in to kiss me more but I pulled away and grabbed his hand to lead him into the big dining hall. He awkwardly greeted everyone and I took the flowers off him. Begonias. My Mom used to grow them in her garden with my grandmother who also passed. I can’t believe he remembered that. I put them in a vase and joined everyone again.

“-truly remarkable how you and your group are so young and yet all such in great positions!” My uncle rambled on to Kai who smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah, we were all luckily enough to be accepted into his young leadership program.” Kai told him and I smiled then tried not laugh at my younger cousin’s expression. His total embarrassment at his father’s gushing.

“I mean even that Lloyd Garmadon-“ The mood soured and Kai became defensive. “-this world is not kind to him.”

“The Garmadons have wrecked so many lives. They don’t deserve the luxury of a normal life and equal opportunities.” Dad said and Kai’s fist clenched.

“You can’t blame the son for sins of the father. That’s not how it works and Lloyd is actually a really nice guy!” I defended and Kai eased up a bit.

“He’s a total nerd as well. Complete opposite of his Dad. Lloyd would never hurt a fly- I’m pretty sure the guy is still scared of the dark.” Kai added and I smiled.

“Lord Garmadon did many bad things. Imagine what his family went through during his evil days!” My uncle defended as well and my Dad huffed in defeat.

“You okay?” I asked Kai who immediately smiled and nodded.

“Of course, I’m with you.” Then why can’t you tell me the truth?

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

I laid in bed with Kai. I was drawing circles on his bare chest. His abs peaked out from the top of the sheet that was lazily draped over his mid section. He was resting on both of his arms with his eyes closed. I smiled and leant further into him.

“God you’re gonna send me to sleep doing that, babe.” He said and I giggled before moving to straddle him.

“Oh really? That’s too bad.” I said and fully put my weight on him when he hissed and immediately raised myself up. “What?! What is it?!” I said and for a moment I feared he’d say I was too heavy but he just shuffled a bit.

“Okay you’re good now-“ He said and I looked to the side that was originally opposite me and noticed the fresh gash that was just staring to scab.

“What the hell?!” I said and scrambled to get off him and the bed to have a closer look but he held me in place. “What the fuck is that?!” I asked and he sat up. Immediately trying to calm me.

“It’s nothing- I’m okay-!”

“You’re okay?! That seems really-“

“It’s okay- just a little incident at work-“

“Little? Thats deep! I’m surprised you didn’t need stitches-“

“Hey-! Hey! Don’t freak out-“

“I am freaking! Why wouldn’t you tell me-?!”

“Because I didn’t want you freaking out like this…” He said as he held my face and I looked at him with big eyes.

“Did you tell Borg?! How many times are you gonna be this badly injured?” I asked and he looked down in shame? In himself?

“It’s just part of the job, sweetheart. Sometimes I get hurt- but I get hurt so others don’t.” Kai explained and I shook my head.

“No…”

“Yes.”

“No-! I mean it’s not right. It’s not…” Then suddenly I remember the red ninja from earlier. How he had a gash in his side and I groaned. “This is so exhausting, Kai.” I said and he nodded.

“I know…”

“You’re always hurt in some way, or tired, or- I don’t know it just seems like this job is too much.” I said and he nodded but also disagreed with me.

“If I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t.” Lie. I got off him and headed towards the shower. “Baby! Y/n! What’s up?” He asked and I took my hair out and let it down.

“Talk to me when you’re not going to lie. You love that job.” I said and I heard him sigh before getting up and soon I felt arms around my waist and a head on my neck.

“I’m sorry, okay? I thought I was saying what you wanted to hear. I promise I’ll tell you straight away next time.” He said and I stared at my reflection as he placed a kiss on my neck. Thats what he says every time. I just took a deep breath and agreed because who knows the next time Borg is going to send him on a week away or something or the other.

“Okay…” I said and I felt his body deflate a little.

“I mean it, okay?” He said and I nodded.

“I know you do.”n’t. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Then why do you lie so much?

[cinnabunhwa]

i just recently read your ateez fic and i loved it! i saw that you were ok with writing for the boyz, so is it ok for me to request a sangyeon one? this recent comeback has got me on a chokehold i’m afraid and he’s not even my bias to begin with lol ;_; but if you could write a summery fic for him i would be thrilled! <3

Say All I Want Is You

pairing: sangyeon x gn!reader

genre: fluff, childhood friends to lovers

summary: you're on summer break from university and decided to go home. reunited with your brother jacob and his best friend sangyeon, you make some plans to go to the beach. you grew up with the two of them and have so many memories together, could one day change that?

warnings: slight suggestiveness (reader checks out sangyeon), use of "little one" as a term of endearment

words: 1.849k

masterlist | taglist

tags: @kflixnet

“Aaaand that’s the last of it,” Sangyeon huffed, placing down the heavy bags you brought home.

“Why are you acting like you carried the sun?” You laughed, playfully smacking his arm.

He fell to the floor with a thud and wailed dramatically, “MY ARM IS FALLING OFF WOE IS ME WHATEVER WILL I DOOOoo OW-“

“Can your arm maybe fall off when you’re not in the middle of the doorway? It’s seriously too hot for this.” Jacob asked, nudging Sangyeon with his leg while he stepped over him.

Grinning, Sangyeon flew to his feet and he and Jacob began bickering as they usually did. Giggling to yourself you brought your bags the rest of the way in, placing them down in your childhood room. It was your last summer break before you graduated with your degree and you decided to spend this one back at home since you were thinking about applying to jobs in other cities. Other people suggested doing internships, but you had been doing them since you began your undergraduate studies. One summer to yourself before another major life change wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Looking around the room there was evidence of the three of you hanging out. It was always Sangyeon, the boy who lived across the street, Jacob, and you, Jacob’s younger sibling. No matter where they went, you were sure to follow. As you walked through your childhood room you couldn’t help but be amazed at how many memories had been laid out by your parents before they went on their cruise. So many years of the dumbest things: mainly you all getting into trouble.

“Ah! I never thought I’d see that mud picture again,” Sangyeon said, startling you.

“Sorry,” Jacob smiled sympathetically, “I could only take so much of his jokes.”

Sangyeon offered you a wink and you caught on.

“Well that’s not the only thing you mmFH-“ your brother’s hand was over your mouth silencing you immediately, but it was too late.

“Whaaat is that what happened with that one-“ Sangyeon laughed before Jacob was covering his mouth next.

“Whoa Cobie I don’t know if I’m the right person for this move,” Sangyeon joked after removing Jacob’s hand from his mouth.

During their playfight Jacob had accidentally covered Sangyeon’s mouth as his back hit the wall. Rolling his eyes, Jacob removed his hand.

“Love you guys, but I really need to unpack and I don’t want to be part of,” you gestured to them, “whatever is happening here.”

“Alright, alright,” ruffling your hair, Jacob nodded at the door and began to leave your room.

“We still on for tomorrow?” Sangyeon asked.

“What’s happening tomorrow?” You questioned, never one to be left out of their plans even if you had literally just gotten back.

“We’re going paddle boarding! I was going to ask if you wanted to come with at dinner,” Jacob replied.

Nodding, you gave them a thumbs up before turning back to your bags full of clothes. As they left you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. This is going to be a great summer.

--

You wake to sounds of rummaging coming from across the hall. Looking at the time, it was 9am and the paddle boarding trip wasn’t until 11 so there was no reason for the rummaging to be so frantic. Sleepily you walked over to Jacob’s room, knocking loud enough for him to hear.

“Everything ok in there?”

A thud hits the door before Jacob appears before you in his work clothes grimacing.

“That’s a weird paddle board suit but I’ll give you a C for the effort,” you mused.

“The boss called me in today,” Jacob said, pushing past you to put his shoes on, “she said that we had a meeting that needed everyone present but forgot to tell me when approving the day off.”

You crossed your arms at this news; your brother’s boss was known for doing this often (at least that’s what Sangyeon told you). He hadn’t been able to hang out much and he requested in advance that he had this day off to spend with you since you were finally in town again, but unfortunately it was a meeting with the upper bosses. Definitely one that couldn’t be missed.

“So what am I supposed to tell Sangyeon?” You frowned, it was only your second day back and you were already going to be the bearer of less than optimal news.

“Tell him I’m so sorry and that Angela forgot that today had an important meeting I couldn’t miss,” he said while ruffling your bedhead.

Swatting at him you gestured towards the front door, “go on, being late is the last thing you’d need after all that.”

“I’ll make it up to you two, I swear,” Jacob said, and you believed him. Jacob always did his best to keep his word and was someone that you knew you could always rely on in troubling times.

Your eyes followed his car out of the driveway, sighing a bit before they landed on a figure who was walking your way. Sangyeon scratched his head as he watched the car pull off before crossing the street to get to you.

“Please don’t tell me-“ he started.

“Angela forgot about an important meeting and he had to go,” you reiterated, frowning slightly. “He said he’d make it up to us, so maybe we should wait for him before we-“

“No way, we should definitely still go,” Sangyeon said, “I already got all my paddle boarding things out and it’s been forever since I’ve seen you..”

He whispered the last part, but it had caught your ear. You had always been fond of Sangyeon. He had been a constant in your life for so long, and the way he was pouting as he looked at you just made you want to wipe it off his face.

“Okay,” you smiled, “but I get the red board.”

“Fiiiiine,” he said with a smile.

“And ice cream”

“Okay now you’re pushing it,” he joked, shoving you with his shoulder.

--

As you both headed to the beach, the topics were overflowing. What you’ve been up to, what your friends were like, if there were any clubs you’d joined other than the ones you were already part of. It struck you as a bit odd since you thought he would have known the answers to these questions but you tell him anyway. He just really enjoys seeing the sparkle in your eyes when you talk about the things you like and he wished, no, hoped that you talked about him like that when your friends talk about home.

Growing up across the street from you was one of the best and worst things that happened to him. One of the best because he never had to look far if he ever missed you, but one of the worst because he fell for his best friend’s sibling and they had no idea. But Jacob wasn’t blind, and he could definitely see the way Sangyeon would quietly care for you when you weren’t paying attention. Adding food to your plate when you would serve everyone else, always making sure you got the comfy seats when the three of you would hang out, suggesting places he knew you’d love because it’s like he had a list in his brain, but most of all he could see the way he hung onto your words, even when he was trying to hide it. Sangyeon always made sure that you felt heard, and that your opinion had weight. Jacob wasn’t sure if you noticed it and didn’t say anything for his sake, but he felt that maybe this meeting was a blessing in disguise.

--

“YA,” you shouted, blocking the wave created by Sangyeon’s paddle with your hands.

Smirking, he began to paddle away, seated comfortably with his legs hanging on either side of the board. You were laying belly down, and he had argued that today was a day for paddle boarding, not for surfing, but you couldn’t be bothered to move. But Sangyeon knew just how to rile you up. He paddled himself in slow circles around you, “accidentally” splashing you with the full force of his paddle, but “I’m just trying to paddleboard here!”

You glared at him, “oh yeah? We should try it standing up. Last one standing has to buy the ice cream.”

You were not giving up on the ice cream.

“If you think you can handle it, let’s go little one,” he said, overconfident and underestimating the power of ice cream.

Sitting up on your board, you slowly get to your feet. It’s a bit shaky considering while you were in school you didn’t have time to surf much less paddleboard, but you find a way. After being firmly planted and balanced, you looked up to acknowledge your childhood friend but what you saw nearly made you fall over and lose immediately. Out of his own sheer determination to win, Sangyeon removed his swim shirt, and began to stand. You shook your head, determined to focus on balancing and definitely not your best friend who looked like he did nothing but work out seven days a week and probably twice a day some days.

“Oh? Don’t mind me, it was just getting hot out here under all this sun,” he grinned, watching you attempt to school your expression.

You snapped your head down to your paddle and after a few seconds of deliberation began to paddle toward him.

“Yknow I knew you missed me but, wait no you can’t that’s-“

You jumped directly on him, his body breaking the water followed by yours. Instead of holding on, you kicked your legs in order to reach the surface faster. You were laughing so hard your lungs hurt. The incredulous look on his face paired with seeing his larger form try so hard to use his little paddle to get away was too much for you to handle. You held onto his board and laid your head on it, trying to catch your breath before he surfaced. You always felt like a kid around him. He brought out a piece of you that allowed your inner child to shine and be happy. You knew in life you would always have your brother, but along with him, you would always have your Sangyeon. The waves shifted, and you felt two arms cage your form.

“That was SUCH a cheap move,” he whispered, his breath fanning your ear. He wasn’t touching you, but the proximity was making your head spin. He rested his chin on your left shoulder, feigning a pout.

Drawing in a shaky breath to steady yourself, you turned to face him.

“There weren’t any rules, so I guess you’re buying ice cream,” you teased, sticking your tongue out at him just like when you were kids.

He chuckled lowly, absolutely able to see that he was affecting you just as much as you affected him.

“On one condition”

“Depends”

“It’s a date”

a/n: WHEW this was brewing in my brain all week but I wasn't able to get to my laptop much. i made sangyeon a bit goofier here but i feel like his cute goofy side does shine when he's with less people or even just that one person he's got his eye on ;) i hope i did him some justice 💗 thank you so much for loving the ateez fic, i hope u have a wonderful day ^^

--

creds: divider 1, divider 2

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[oukabarsburgblr]

PLSSS ramble about something interesting about your course, like I'm very invested as someone who sucks at math and chemistry, but also cuz word is that engineering is no joke so I'm curious about how you're handling that

But anyways, goodluck and stay safeee🫶🫶

Oh my u just allowed my nerd side to come out HAHAH TQ FOR ASKING 💋💋

Engineering is definitely not a course u can joke about as in if youre having doubts for taking engineering, immediately dropout or discuss w ur advisor/counsellor. As soon as u sunk urself into the field, you'll find yourself drowning if you arent able to keep up.

Applies to other fields as well but engineering is a pretty tight leeway education-wise. I can only yap about chemical engineering since thats the one im taking.

Backstory about my place of education: 1 semester equals to 4 months meaning 1 year have 3 semesters which is considered very fast since we have to cram assignments, two tests, multiple quiz and final exams for multiple subjects all in 3 months (1 month for sembreak). Its a very famous uni (if you know pls keep quiet and dont doxx me) and is known for producing top-notch engineers since its related to an engineering company so competition here is high and is very costly to pay (for subjects not food or hostel)

Foundation year i took : chemistry (1&2), physics (1&2), mathematics (1&2), moral/religion, english yada yada. Its just basic stuff and if u find urself struggling in this year, ure gonna die in the next.

First year, still covering basics of chemical engineering, still share same subjects as other courses such as engineering mathematics yada yada and minor subjects. Low amount of core subjects (2) for each sem

Second year (current), deep dive into chemical engineering, lots of lab stuff. Ive crystallized sum stuff hoho and i got a taste of what the industry is like

Supposedly after that during my third year i will be going for an internship and a final year (fourth year) where ill be making a fyp (final year project) and graduate!

Chemical engineering covers a lot of the engineering field. U can literally steal another course's job (except for computer and electrical) because the subjects that you're taking is very heavy and broad.

Hence, why chemical engineers are very sought after and why it is such a hard course to deliver.

Now from the subjects themselves, i would say CE covers a lot of chemistry, mathematics and physics. Biology is GONE. language you just gotta focus on ur wording for reports but theres also minor subjects to polish ur soft skills (professional communication skills, academic writing, work ethics, etc etc)

Can u believe i got a B+ for academic writing???💀 with the shit i wrote here HAHA maybe i deserved it.

Its quite a shocker since i score my core subjects really well until the minor ones come kick u in the ass.

Although i have to say that theres no use in having a flawless GPA if u have zero skills or achievement out of a test room. I have three clubs and joined 4 events so far. (I am tired of being the head of department for sponsorship) and am currently the vice president for my club etc etc. People will probably be interested in u for a bit if they find out u got 4 flat GPA but the second u show that u have an empty slate, goodbye.

As i said, competition in my uni is very high so i have never received an achievement in my department/university for like best student award or wtv. Kinda grinds on my inferiority complex ARGH

If ure not interested in chemistry nor mathematics, i really dont suggest u join engineering. Unless its electrical/computer.

Mechanical is hard too, covers a lot of physics but the most physic ish one is definitely civil engineering where you'll play w cement a lot.

If ure interested in chemistry but not engineering, try applied chemistry. You'll sit in a lab 24/7

U can definitely switch courses in my uni but its gonna be a waste of money since its very costly or a hassle to transfer credit so i suggest u talk with a professional regarding these things.

How i manage my studies, club activities, tumblr while maintaining a 3.89 GPA?

The week before a test, study. Two weeks before exam, study. The day before a quiz, study. Read thru lectures. Make notes from lectures. Do the example from lectures. Do tutorials from lectures. Do past year questions.

Every single one of my slide lectures i have rewritten in my notes. (My way of studying)

Club activities is a number two but its a great way for me to polish my leadership yada yada and its just a great way for me to peek into an office-work environment (my club is the university's support unit)

Tumblr- whenever im horny, i write that shit down on how a man would handle me and finger my ass. Today, i wrote two drafts and jerked off so hard my legs were shaking and i swore to never masturbate again.

Feel free to ask for more LMAO

[msviperwrites]

Summary:

Your name is Sonnie Gold, and you have a major, major problem, named Kendall Roy. Desperate to make it in the PR World after graduate school, You applied for an internship working with Jess Jordan and the infamous Kendall. After being hired, Kendall begins to take a liking to you. Before you know it, he has you sucked down his deep, dark, rabbit hole, despite you having a boyfriend that Kendall absolutely loathes. Soon professional lines blur into sexual lines, and Kendall wants you all to himself, doing everything necessary to ensure that you belong to him. The question is...Will you let him take you?

NOTE FROM WRITER:

Hey y'all! First, thank you for reading this. It's my first time posting on Tumblr, but not my first time writing fanfiction. This is a reader insert, but I personally find that POV stories where "you" and "y/n" are used, take me out of the story, so I named you, dear reader, 'Sonnie' and kept the descriptions vague so you can project yourself onto the character!

WARNING: KENDALL IS VERY OBSESSIVE IN THIS. I mean this man is OBSESSED and will do ANYTHING and everything to make you his in the most controlling ways possible. you have been warned ;) If dark romance, drug use, billionaires stalking you, cheating (Spoiler ;) 'You' cheat on your boyfriend Alec with Kendall) and very rough sex makes you uncomfortable, exit now. If not...

Welcome 😈 this is a longggggg story and it's still a work in progress but I have plenty of chapters ( and spice ;) ) to post! Stay tuned...

Chapter 1:

Jess Jordan sat nervously in her boss's ex-wife’s apartment, which was Kendall Roy’s make-shift workspace. This home in the sky was stocked with past relics of his failed relationship with Rava. Jess had been working as his assistant for years now, but advocating for herself still made her feel timid. This time was necessary to do so, more than ever. The pressures of her job were starting to get to her. She desperately needed help and was drowning in the responsibilities she had. And as more scandals began to arise from the Royco family, PR was becoming essential to reign in.

Kendall entered the room, unbuttoning his black sports coat. He sat at his desk and smiled.

“Yes?”

"Kendall, I really think we need to hire an intern to help with our social media and PR," Jess said, trying to sound confident.

Kendall looked between Jess’s eyes, his face stoic. "And why is that, Jess?"

"Well, as you know, your social media presence is crucial to your success. But I'm finding it difficult to keep up with everything on my own. With an intern, we could increase our output and engagement, and ultimately, increase our revenue. And… you need all the help a positive public image can get…respectfully.”

Kendall considered this for a moment. He knew that Jess was an invaluable asset to the company, and if she thought an intern was necessary, then it probably was. "Alright, Jess. You can hire an intern. Maybe make it two. You’ll need to make a convincing argument for the budget." He smiled.

Jess sighed in relief. "Thank you, Kendall. I'll get started right away."

Jess didn't want to tell Kendall yet, but she was considering quitting soon and thought grooming an intern or two would leave room for added support when she was finally ready to depart. So, Jess immediately got to work, sifting through dozens of resumes and cover letters from previous open positions. But as she read through them, one, so far, stood out - Sonnie Gold. She had a great understanding of social media, and her passion for the field shone through in her writing and schooling. Jess knew that she had to interview her.

A few days later, Jess found herself sitting across from Sonnie in a coffee shop near Rava’s apartment. They chatted for a while, and Jess was impressed by Sonnie's knowledge and enthusiasm.

"So, what made you want to apply for this internship?" Jess asked.

"Well, I've always been interested in PR and social media, and I think it's such an important part of a company's success," Sonnie replied. "I'm really excited about the opportunity to learn more and contribute to Kendall’s online presence."

Jess smiled. "That's great to hear. I think you'd be a great fit for the job. Would you like to come in for an interview With Kendall?"

Sonnie's face lit up. "Yes, please! Thank you so much for considering me." They shook hands, and the two departed La Cafe Latte.

Sonnie was excited. She recently had a run-in with a lot of bad luck and was giddy about the opportunity to work for such a huge name in the media industry. She walked in the direction of the subway she needed to take to go home and made her trek to her apartment in Dumbo.

───────────────────────── ♡⋆☆⋆♡ ──────────────────────────

A few days later, Sonnie came in for an interview with Kendall himself at the apartment. Jess was anxious, but she knew that Sonnie was the best person for one of the open positions.

As they sat in Rava’s living room, Sonnie seemed nervous as well.

“Don’t worry,” Jess assured. “You’re going to do great!”

Time seemed to be slugging along as they waited for Kendall to arrive.

Ten minutes passed before he appeared, disheveled. “Oh god…” she muttered under her breath as Sonnie’s leg shook. Admittedly, Sonnie was worried to meet Kendall face to face, but had she paid attention to the news, she would have understood that terror was more appropriate. the Infamous Roy name should have superseded any attempts at ignorance, but alas, Sonnie was hopeful for a chance.

“Sorry for the hold-up,” Kendall muttered as he unbuttoned his sports coat. Dark circles tugged at his sad-looking eyes. A vague smell of stale cologne followed him in. Sonnie eyed her potential new boss as he rummaged through papers on the coffee table before grabbing her resume.

“It’s no problem at all,” she smiled. They made eye contact for the first time and his eyes flickered between her and the papers before settling on her. Jess cleared her throat.

“So tell me—“ Kendall looked back at the paper “—Sonnie, why are you qualified for a PR internship here?”

Sonnie confidently answered his question, impressing him with her knowledge and passion for the subject. The pair chatted about her college experience for awhile, Kendall paying extra attention to the types of extracurriculars Sonnie participated in, such as her Assistantship program in graduate school. This program gave her a lot of good experience in the areas that Kendall needed the most help in. A half hour went by, and his fatigued energy seemed to have dissipated. Kendall grinned and leaned back in his chair, sizing Sonnie up with a gentle smile. “Alright, thank you miss gold. We’ll certainly be in touch.” He stood up from his chair, extending his hand to Sonnie. She stood and grasped it, feeling the heat from his soft palm and gaze all at once. Sonnie thanked the two of them before walking to the elevator and leaving.

Kendall turned to Jess. "I think she's the one. You can hire her."

Jess smiled in relief. "Thank you, Kendall. I know she'll do a great job."

───────────────────────── ♡⋆☆⋆♡ ──────────────────────────

As Sonnie exited Kendall’s outpost, Sonnie walked in a meditative state, contemplating her time at Grad school, which had been brutal. From competitive classmates to downright abusive professors, every day was a struggle.

She was in a highly cutthroat industry, with jobs in her field slowly dying. It was tough launching a career in writing, but Sonnie was hoping, praying, begging a higher power to let this internship work out. She decided if she celebrated tonight, it would manifest the success, and began to call her boyfriend Alec to let him know how well the interview went. He answered immediately. “How’d it go?!”

“I think really, REALLY well.” Sonnie squealed. “Do you want to meet me at that speakeasy near Tribeca to get a celebratory drink?! I’ll tell you more about the interview there!”

“Ugh, I wish babe…I got another long shift at the hospital tonight. But maybe Friday night next week we can do something? I have a lot of studying to do this week with my attending Doctor at the hospital." He waited before blurting "I'm so happy for you!"

Sonnie was bummed. She really wanted to see Alec but was excited at the prospect of seeing him later in the week.

“Thanks, babe! I don’t know if I got it for sure but…I got a good feeling! I think Kendall would be a great boss.” Sonnie shouldered past a group as she continued to make her trek.

“So cool that you’d get to work with the Roy family. My dad’s a big fan of Connor!” Alec exclaimed.

“He’s a con-brain or whatever they call themselves?” Sonnie asked, half giggling.

“Yeah!! My mom is too.”Alec paused before saying, “I’m so proud of you babe.”

Sonnie blushed. “Aw, thank you!”

“Listen, I gotta go but I’ll let you know about Friday, okay?”

“Okay,” Sonnie felt a small twinge of sadness flicker in her heart.

“I’ll talk to you soon, bye beautiful!”

“Bye, Alec.”

Sonnie paused and glanced around her, deciding she did in fact want to drink even though Alec couldn’t join. She searched for her roommate's contact and pressed call, and waited for an answer.

“Sonnie!!!” Ivy sang. “You caught me at a good time I just finished at the bakery. Whatsup?! How’d the interview go?!”

“Amazing Ives! I want to tell you all about it. I was thinking though… are you around? Do you want to do Drinks at Luxe?” She scanned the street sign in front of her and added “ I’m not too far from there!”

“Sonnie, you know I’ll be there ASAP! Let me go back to our place and shower off some of this flour and I’ll meet you in about an hour.” Ivy said.

“Cool! See you there!”

Luxe was a bougie speakeasy tucked away behind a vintage movie theater from 1910. After an almost hour subway ride because of construction issues, Sonnie finally found herself outside Smitherson Cinemas. She made her way into the foyer and began the search for the speakeasy.

It was oddly located. Most speakeasies are, but you had to wiggle your way past the concession stand near the right side of The Theatre to find its door. Worth it though, for an intimate and quaint ambiance. As Sonnie skimmed the soda machine, the door popped, and down the narrow hallway, she went before being greeted by a plush red door. She gently grabbed the handle and tugged it open. A gentle cool breeze of AC and a clean floral smell soon hit Sonnie. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the red-hued lighting in the bar. There was one long U-shaped bar that stretched from one end to the other of the speakeasy and a few high-top tables with seats. Besides the couple sitting at one end of the bar, and a small group of corporate-looking people, the place was quiet.

Sonnie plopped herself in the middle, her back to a group of four.

“…just saying why are we here? Isn’t this like for peasants?” Sonnie’s ear perked up. She swiveled on the stool and noticed a man with dark features and an even darker suit had his back to her while three others crowded onto their side of the table.

“Relax,” said the one with his back to Sonnie. “I wanted to pitch something to you guys in an inconspicuous place.”

The oldest-looking one stifled a laugh. His grey hair was perfectly slicked back in a neat non-pretentious pompadour.

“I thought it was cause you wanted quality time with your siblings... you know, away from REAL people.” He patted the table to excuse himself and made his way to the bar to order a drink. He squeezed next to Sonnie on the left and waited for the bartender to return.

“Hey, Con, get me another bourbon, neat.” The man with dark features tapped his glass as he turned to face ‘Con’

“You got it, Ken” Con said.

“Kendall…?” Sonnie whispered to herself.

Kendall continued to bicker with two other people. Con leaned into Sonnie and asked “Sorry did you say Kendall? You know my brother?”

Sonnie looked into Con’s cool eyes, they had a surprising warmth to them you wouldn’t expect from such round baby blues. Before Sonnie could answer his first question, he asked “What are you drinking?”

“Oh, I was thinking a bee's knees—“

“Bartender!” Con snapped his fingers, his face twisted in annoyance. The bartender appeared at the opposite end of the bar, wiping his hands on a dish towel, and began making his way toward the two.

“I’m Connor—“ he said while extending his hand.

“Sonnie,” she smiled and shook Connor’s rough palm.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asked.

“Two bourbons, neat, and a bee's knees—“

“Alright fuck you guys, I’m done—“ Kendall’s voice rang through. There was a hint of humor, but it was dwindling.

“—for the lady,” Connor continued. He clenched his jaw and blew out hot air between his teeth. The bartender nodded and began to work.

“Sensitive. bitch boy, beta cuck!" sneered another voice.

“Guys,” Connor called the bickering group's attention. Kendall, a smaller man, and a red-headed woman glared at Connor. “Let’s cut the fighting, alright? Maybe pick a more appropriate place for this conversation?”

“Oh fuck you con— hey, wait a second,” Kendall’s eyes met Sonnie’s as the bartender placed the drinks on the counter. She quickly grabbed her cocktail, not breaking eye contact. “I know you! Sonnie, right?” He asked as he got up from his seat and plopped himself on the stool to her right. Connor grasped his whiskey cup, took a sip, and made his way back to the two at the table.

“Gotta say you nailed that interview.”

He reached over Sonnie, his chest barely touching her shoulder, and grabbed his bourbon that was next to her glass. She felt a sudden flush and hoped the red lights of the bar disguised the heat in her cheeks. She took a sip from her drink.

“Thank you, I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with you—“

“Hold that thought, hey guys!” Kendall waved at the group with Connor. “She just said she was grateful to speak with me today.” He said smugly. The red-headed woman scoffed. “Of course she said that, she doesn’t know you!”

“Shiv, that’s cruel. Am I so hard to know?” Kendall asked.

“Kinda,” said the voice who called Kendall a cuck. A squirrely man played with an Olive in his martini glass. “Who is she, your new doe-eyed assistant? I mean fuck she looks like a deer in headlights.” Sonnie looked at him slightly agitated. “I’m Roman, by the way. Roman Roy.” He gave her a half-hearted wave. She couldn’t help but feel like the ‘Roy’ name drop was implying the status he held.

“Actually yeah, this is Sonnie, Jess’s PR intern.”

“Siobhan —“ the redhead interrupted with an introduction, she stood behind Kendall and began kneading his shoulders. “—sister to Kendall. All I gotta say is good fucking luck if this guy is your boss.”

“Whoa, whoa, easy now. Don’t scare the poor girl before she starts!” He held his hands up defensively as Siobhan stopped massaging him and took a seat on another stool.

Sonnie placed her hand on Kendall’s shoulder. He glanced down at her fingers, and then at her eyes. “Wait— sorry to interrupt—“ she removed her hand “Are you saying I got the job?”

Kendall grinned and grabbed his bourbon. He placed the edge of his cup to the bottom of his lip and grinned.” “Sonnie—“ he took a swig “that’s exactly what I’m fucking saying” he clinked her cocktail with his cup and waited for her to grab the stem of the glass.

“Seriously?!” She scrambled for her drink and the two did a proper cheers before drinking.

“Bartender! It’s tequila time, 5 shots of azul ultra Anejo” Roman ordered as he and Connor re-joined at the bar.

“Oh I—“

“What? Don’t want to get drunk with the boss?” Siobhan asked.

“No—“

“Oh let the poor girl unwind, will ya?” Connor sighed with contempt. “Chumming the water…” he gave Sonnie a sympathetic look “But Shiv’s right don’t get drunk with Kendall, unless you want an earful and a mouthful.” He laughed the last part into his drink.

“Con stop. Lawsuit in the making!” Shiv slapped the oldest brother’s arm.

Kendall glared at Connor.

“He’s joking. We’re joking,” Kendall assured. As he watched Sonnie’s face morph into subtle terror. Before Sonnie could say anything, her phone buzzed as the 5 shots were brought out with limes.

It was Ivy:

“Hey, I may not make it at a good time. Damn subway line is closed and I have to walk 10 blocks East to catch the right train. I’ll grab some wine though and we can celebrate later at the apartment?”

Sonnie began to write "I ran into that problem on the opposite way in! No worries girl"

“Who’s that?” Roman asked appearing on Sonnie's shoulder. She gasped and fumbled her phone, which clattered to the tile floor. “Shit—sorry.”

“Fuck Rome!” Kendall growled.

Roman reached down and grabbed it, screen cracked. “Oh fuck- Sonnie, dammit.”

Her mouth gaped slightly. “I just bought this phone a week ago...”

“I’m so sorry. I was just trying to be an ass.”

“Rome— dude— you’re screwing me right now.” Kendall exhaled exasperated.

“Sonnie you come by Monday next week and I’ll write you a check for a brand new phone. I swear.”

She looked at Kendall wishfully. “Really?!”

“Of course.”

“On that note—“ Shiv squeezed over handing out the tequila shots— “breaking glass is supposed to be good luck so let’s take shots and celebrate your internship—“ she stifled a laugh “working with Ken.” All the Roy kids and Sonnie held the glass shots. Sonnie licked the fleshy area between her left thumb and pointer finger and began looking for salt. Kendall watched. Connor laughed.

“Sonnie, what are you doing?”

“It’s a tequila shot, right?”

“This is high-quality stuff. You won’t need salt.” His tone skyrocketed “higher class,” before Kendall raised his shot glass.

“To Sonnie!” Kendall said.

“To Sonnie!” They all said in unison and took the shot. It was smooth and silky with the subtle bite all alcohol has. Sonnie was impressed.

“Ah I gotta take this-“ Connor said as he answered a call and stepped out.

“Sorry again about your phone…” Roman mumbled sheepishly. “I’ll write you the check—“

“No, I will write her the check. I’m her boss.” Kendall stated and ordered another round of shots.

“Woah hey now, Sonnie hasn’t finished her cocktail yet. Sonnie?” Shiv asked.

“Yeah?”

Roman and Shiv looked at each other before clearing space on the bar. They balled their hands into fists and looked at Kendall.

“Guys— don’t peer pressure—“

“Weeeeee like to drink with Sonnie-“Roman and Shiv sang “cause Sonnie is our mate”

“Don’t--” Kendall cautioned half-heartedly,

“And when we drink with Sonnie— she downs it all in eight…seven…” Sonnie looked amused but frantic at Roman and Shiv before understanding what she must do. She grabbed her cocktail and sucked it down fast. The siblings cheered with delight.

“Okay Ken I take it back. she can follow instructions which is good for a little intern.” Roman smiled as sarcasm clung to his words. The second round of shots were placed on the counter and everyone collected their glass, with two remaining.

Another text from Ivy, but this was hard to read because of the cracks in Sonnie’s phone screen. “Are you at the bar?”

“That your boyfriend?” Kendall asked.

“Huh? Oh no, my roommate. She was wondering if I made it to Luxe okay.” Sonnie typed out a fast response.

“Yes. New boss is here, not planned. Socializing and celebrating! Got the job!”

“Okay!” Shiv began drumming the counter with one hand and holding up a shot in the other. “Round two!” 3 sets of eyes were on Sonnie. She hesitantly took her shot glass and grinned “Salute” Sonnie sang as she raised her shot into the air. Everyone tossed their heads back.

“There’s still one shot left…” Roman smiled cheeky. “I think Shiv the Shiv should take it,” Siobhan smiled lethally and began reaching for the shot until Kendall snagged it and swallowed. He grinned and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “… or Kendall I guess.”

“Alright sibs, let’s get Con and head out.” Kendall took out his wallet and flagged the bartender to pay. “Closing out the Roy tab,” “And her bee's knees as well,” he shot Sonnie a glance from the corner of his eye and gave her a furtive smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Roy,”

“Kendall, my friends call me Ken.” He signed the bill And began to make his way towards the door, his siblings following suit. Roman muttered before he passed Sonnie

“We’ll get your phone squared away…” then caught up with his brother and sister.

Kendall paused at the door leaving luxe, and held it open for Roman and Siobhan. The two glanced at each other before beginning the walk down the narrow hall.

“Jess and I’ll see you 8:30 Monday morning, Sonnie”

“Sounds good Mr. R—“He held up his finger. “—Kendall,” she corrected. He nodded approvingly.

“8:30am.” And shut the door.

Ivy again, “When you say boss, do you mean the lady Jess you’ve told me about or?”

Sonnie bit her lower lip “No, Kendall.”

Ivy emphasized her message. “First name basis already?! 😉…be careful though, Sonnie. He’s a powerful man …”

“Noted…”

[girlscience]

Okay, so, Bright and Murphy are more like concepts than real steady/solid oc's. I have so many versions of them at this point and all of them are equally real to me, but they all kind of come together to make one big amalgamation of a character concept. The point being, I have come up with a new backstory for Murphy. What if, and hear me out on this, what if Murphy is actually Madison Miller. What if I aged Jeannie up just a few years, made her have Madison a bit younger, and made Madison 12 years old when Jeannie comes up with her math proof instead of ~4/5. And then, I give them 6 years on Atlantis going from season 3 to the end of season 5 (originally was 2006-2009). This puts Madison at 18 by the end of the show (and allows me to ignore the real ending of SGA lol).

The reason for all of this is, I want Madison to know what is going on with her mom. I want her to see her make the proof, hear her conversations with Rodney, see them get transported to the Daedalus, and hear her conversations with her dad. I do not want her mom, dad, or Rodney to know that she knows though. I also want her to know what is going on when her mom gets kidnapped and the time her mom goes to Atlantis because Rodney is dying. Jeannie also does stuff in the books (which I SERIOUSLY need to read) but I don't know anything about that.

I want her, at 12, to realize there is a space program of some kind and decide that she wants in. I think up until that point she has been a mostly normal kid, but immediately decides she is going to finish junior high that year, finish high school in two years, finish college by 18, and then start applying to every single internship/program/job that might possibly get her into the unknown space program, while also working on her master's. I think she gets deep into conspiracy theories around it, there were a couple times in SG-1 where people knew or figured out what was happening with the SGC and I am assuming there are a number of internet forums/discussion boards talking about the space program conspiracy somewhere and she gets into them, amassing as much proof as she can. Specifically, she wants to know what is true about the program and what is false so she has a good idea of what she will actually be doing once she gets in.

She never once questions if she will get in or not. She is going to simply because she sees no other option for her future. She will do anything, give up anything, to make sure this comes true. It becomes her sole goal in life instantly.

I think because her mom and uncle are Jeannie and Rodney, she actually is incredibly smart, but her mom wanted her to live a normal life, so she didn't push her much to explore that part of herself. I think she realizes very quickly that she is actually incredibly smart and that finishing school is going to be pretty easy for her. I think she starts making a list of everything she thinks she needs to do if she is going to explore space. She stops ballet, starts taking martial arts, she takes first aid courses, takes wilderness survival courses, she starts reading books on every single topic she can, she starts learning some other languages (both to help speak with people from other countries working in the program and also to practice for when she has to learn alien languages), she gets rid of a bunch of her childhood stuff and replaces all of it with posters about science and space, she learns astronomy and buys a very nice telescope, she starts trying to make herself like MRE's, she decides to go to college for astrophysics with minors in biology, chemistry, and engineering (just to cover her bases), she learns computer programming and builds her own computer.

She keeps her hair short, cuts her nails short, allows herself to get her earlobes pierced once but will not get more than that assuming the program works with the military, only wears military surplus boots or hiking boots and no other shoes, her wardrobe consists of science t-shirts, large sweaters, and plain jeans or cargo pants. She refuses to shave or wear makeup because she doesn't think that will matter in space and when would she have the time. She times herself so that her morning routine takes exactly 10 minutes, getting out of bed, showering, dressing and getting to the kitchen for breakfast in order to practice for emergencies she may face in space.

Her sleep schedule is horrendous, but who has time to sleep when they have things to learn? She allows herself one cup of coffee a day, but no more than that. She doesn't want to become dependent on caffeine in case she can't access it in space. She is part of a lot of science and space related clubs, but has a very hard time making friends her age, and gets along a lot better with the adults in the clubs and on the conspiracy theory forums she is a part of. I think she finishes junior high that year by working very hard to skip grades/test out of the rest of junior high, and works so hard that last year to essentially turn herself into a genius that she convinces her parents it would be better to let her do online homeschooling high school, so that she can go at her pace and focus on things she actually cares about (this goes along with her plan to finish in two years). She starts college when she is 14 and continues to work as hard as she can. She drives all her professors and advisors crazy, but she is the best student possible and when she is old enough (so it's not child labor) she gets one of them to agree to let her do undergraduate research with them in their physics lab. She is thrilled.

I think everything does work out for her in the end, and when she is in her last year of college she applies for as many summer programs/internships as she can that are happening in the places she theorizes could be the space program's base. Once she graduates, I think she gets a summer internship at a very prestigious science facility (with the possibility of a future job that would also pay for her master's (if the internship goes very well, and she decides she will make it go very well)... I did think about making it be area 51 but decided that would be too out there. I do think the facility works with tech from the SGC though that they have decided could become unclassified relatively soon). I think one day, while she's there, Rodney goes there to help the scientists with something (what it is doesn't really matter, just that it's not what she is working on). They bump into each other in the hall and she goes "Uncle Rodney!! I thought you were off- out of the country!?" and he goes "What were you going to say?" and she says "....off world...". Which leads to an interrogation, her parents have to come, the military gets involved, etc etc etc, and her whole story comes out.

She does get a job with the SGC. They decide she is intelligent enough and definitely motivated enough, and she has done a very good job of keeping it a secret this whole time. They decide it will be easier to just let her come to work for them than to make her keep quiet about it longer and to give up wanting to work for them. They do make her stay on the base on Earth for now, because she's only 18, and even though she's technically an adult that's still very young and they don't want babies running around the galaxy representing Earth. She is entirely untested and they don't let just anyone into the program. Also, they won't send her to Atlantis yet because the wraith are a problem and they don't want to get a teenager killed. She stays on Earth for another year, working in the labs at the SGC (she is star-struck, head-over-heels, super embarrassing crushing over Sam lol).

In the meantime, on Atlantis they are hard at work on the wraith problem and they create the vaccine (ever present in all forms of Bright and Murphy). They find a queen who is willing to work with them through Todd, who is also willing to work with them on this. Bright is part of this queen's hive (he is still baby in this universe). Human's start taking the vaccine, things are going well, the queen decides there needs to be a meeting with the other queens and the leaders of the Pegasus galaxy and Earth to figure out how to make this work long term. In order to facilitate this meeting, a neutral planet in the Pegasus galaxy is chosen and Atlantis, the queen, and the SGC start setting things up. It is very much an all hands on deck scenario and so Madison gets sent to Pegasus. She is not supposed to be around the wraith, but ends up running into Bright anyway in one of the labs. They start working together and hit it off right away.

Here are a few other changes that come after they meet. One, Madison hadn't taken the vaccine yet, so Bright doesn't start feeding on her immediately. That happens a while after they meet and he has been feeding on other people first. Eventually Madison decides she wants the vaccine (and also she's maybe jealous of the people he is feeding on and possessive over him) and so she offers to let him feed on her, and he does and it goes the way it always does in every other version of them, because of course it does, who do you think I am??? It was an entirely unexpected experience for both of them, but neither are opposed in any way. Two, during this time, Madison also meets the queen and very much has had an "oh no" moment about it (I don't have a name for the queen yet, but I am thinking about it a lot). She knows what's going on between Bright and Madison and finds it adorable (none of the humans know what is happening... yet). And three, the queen decides "hm.... I want involved" and tells them as much and they are like "yeah". And then all three of them are together.

I don't really have what happens next besides, the vaccine is disseminated to the whole galaxy, they bring peace and prosperity to Pegasus, and everything is awesome. A few years later, Madison will hybridize herself so that she can live with her wraith beloveds longer than she would as a human, and they live happily ever after, horrifying all humans and wraith alike with their freaky little triad 😌😇

[freshthoughts2020]

THE THREE WORDS I'D SAY TO MY 18 YEAR OLD SELF

THE THREE WORDS I'D SAY TO MY 18 YEAR OLD SELF'

February 5, 2024

I saw a meme today that posed the question, what would you say to your 18 year old self using only three words. I always love these type of hypotheticals.

I believe I made mostly great life choices thus far but like everyone you think about how you could’ve did somethings differently. I love how things panned out but if I really had the choice to affect something I would put me on my current path sooner.

So what’s the three words I would say to myself? I would say “Become a Lawyer”. If you know anything about my back story, you know I didn’t give a clown’s nose about becoming a lawyer. It was more logical for someone like my brother or my mother to become one. My brother because, my Grandma would always tell him, “Jay you like to argue so much you need to become a lawyer” (wait until she find we spend 90% of our time avoiding arguing lol).

I would say my mother because she worked years as a paralegal so if she ever decided to go that route it would make sense. But me? No it made zero sense. Nothing about my life said I would be a lawyer, I was a nerdy kid that loved the creative arts (and obviously still do). My grades wasn’t top of the top.

Honestly I was the average student. My art skills weren’t praised, my grades weren’t praised, the only thing that stood out for me was my personal style and my sense of humor. I was “average” on paper but never did I look at myself as “average” I knew I was extraordinary from the beginning lol.

I would choose those three words because my 18 year old self would’ve been smart enough to know that don’t mean stop the arts but it would’ve gave me a north star much sooner. I made the decision to go to law school in 2015, when I was in a corner financially and was lost career wise. 2015, I was one year removed from undergrad, with no job in my field in sight. I was thinking I cannot be a struggling artist I have to make something happen and then reinvest my earnings into my arts.

So I thought I know I’ll become a lawyer, it then took me two years just to get into law school! Graduating in 2020, it took me until 2023 to become licensed! So that’s 8 years spent to gain the illustrious title of “attorney”.

If I was able to tell my 18 year old self “become a lawyer” my 18 year old self would’ve streamlined his life to make himself get into school any means necessary. Those three words would change so much, here’s how I imagined it would’ve played out. I still would’ve attended UAPB, but with those three words from Future me in my head, my major would’ve reflected law instead of marketing. I would’ve focused on gaining internships and working in a firm during school, which would’ve saved me from the agony of being a broke college student lol.

Knowing my infatuation with New York, I would’ve applied to every New York school possible. Also, I would’ve attended school immediately after undergrad, no breaks. I would’ve probably treated law school the same way I did in this timeline but having more knowledge about school in the alternate timeline, I would’ve had a bar prep program from the beginning lol. ( I never used one to get licensed but definitely would’ve did it in this scenario).

After passing the bar, would’ve been in New York licensed earlier, solving financial woes way quicker and enjoying success at an earlier age. With all that said I’m glad it did not happen that way. God made sure things happened exactly as they should. The endless L’s I took gave me much character growth and it makes me a better person everyday. These questions are fun because it make you think of endless possibilities but that is also the problem. Don’t get caught up in the “what ifs” and “what could’ve beens”, we’re in the now and God blessed us with the gift to be present. Make today count and avoid future regret at all costs, I know I will! #StayFocused

Follow me on twitter.com/onlyonejaevonn

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[restforthe-burdenedsoul]

Company A initiated contact today. They are hoping to have an answer by the “end of the week.”

I’ve heard this before. Maybe I can believe it this time since they’re the ones who reached back out. Through a text message….

I’m really over them. The job sounded great at first, but wasn’t what I thought it would be. I got mor excited about another opportunity that didn’t pan out. Then reverted back to trying to be excited about this one. I do love the writing aspect of it, but still hate how they get their referrals.

I’ve really settled into the idea of full time Rover and full time school. I don’t know if I will go back with a full time social work job. Rover will make it so much easier to do school and an internship.

But what if Rover doesnt pan out?

We’ve been doing fine since I left the hospital job.

Here’s the timeline, I applied to this company two months ago, had my first interview 5 weeks ago and the process went quickly after that and then radio silence pretty much for the last 3 weeks unless I reached out to them.

My mental health has been so good, bills are paid, savings is getting built back up. The living situation isn’t gonna immediately change if I get a higher paid job, we’re still here regardless but this job would speed that process up.

Am I crazy for not wanting to take this well paid job?

[dis-embarks]

rant

I try to be a planner and none of my plans have worked out over the last three years that I've been away from home, by myself, trying to get a degree.

I wanted to get a minor in film studies -> didn't like it, so I swapped for a minor in sexuality studies -> needed to lighten the load bc I've been trying to study through burnout for over a year now, so I dropped the minor and planned to just graduate with my major -> had a fucking PROPHETIC DREAM of all things that I added an english lit minor, so I checked the requirements and believed I'd actually managed to fulfill them, thus I emailed my advisor to ask if I could add it even though I've already applied to graduate -> turns out some of my electives don't count towards the minor because they were also requirements for my major and I guess required credits aren't allowed to be used for both things, therefore I don't qualify for the minor like I thought I did, and there aren't enough english literature options over the summer for me to get the TWO MORE CLASSES I would need to get the minor.

I wanted to get involved in student groups and a student literary mag -> applied for every mag I could, got rejected or flat out ignored by each one, and bc of the burnout, never bothered to try again -> managed to get accepted into a sustainability group, but the management and onboarding was terrible, it was never clear what I was supposed to be doing, and the one project I tried to start on my own fell through bc of failure to communicate by the other people involved -> left that student group bc of the burnout and a mental health crisis.

I wanted to literally just Have A Job so I could afford to pay my bills and get groceries and occasionally have nice things -> got a good job for a few months, then they ghosted me after I came back from winter break -> found a new job as a dishwasher and immediately quit bc it was horrible for my chronic pain, they didn't offer me a break during a five hour shift, and I hated it -> managed to get a paid internship over the summer that helped w the finance problems -> eventually found a great job that only lasted a year before financial issues outside of my control resulted in the store being shut down and I once again lost my job -> haven't been able to find anything since and I'm in what feels like a horrific amount of debt.

wanted to participate in a career skills and internship program for humanities students -> had to drop out bc of my burnout and mental health crisis -> couldn't rejoin this year bc the workshops conflicted with my class schedule.

I'm graduating later than I planned, I gained a ton of weight, I developed another chronic pain condition that comes and goes and a bizarre vestibular problem that comes and goes, I never made any close friends and I have no plans left. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I'm completely lost. I accomplished stuff I didn't write about here, yeah, and I'll have a degree when this is all over, yeah, and I get to go home soon, yeah. But nothing worked out how I hoped it would; not even a little bit. And the disappointment in my circumstances and in myself is unbelievable. I'm exhausted. I'm done.

[no-phrogs-in-hats]

Hi! Could you please write a one shot with Helen McCrory's character Frankie from Flying Blind? I was thinking about Frankie x fem!reader, the reader is her assistant (either at work for military or at uni) and they are in a relationship but it's not official because of the fact that she is her superior at work and its not allowed (but they live together tho ;D) and well they got carried away with each other in the place of work and are almost cought in the act by someone who is not suppose to know about them being together... idk if i wrote it understandably... either way thank you for the opportunity to make a request for this one shot!! take care <3

Hi!! First of all, I just wanna say thank you so much for spamming me with votes on wattpad. It means a lot to me<3 And second, I hope you like the oneshot!

Unexpected Visitor !NSFW!

Pairing: Frankie Lethbridge x fem!reader

Warnings: SMUT, almost getting caught in the act??, boss x assistant relationship, gxg--that's about it tbh

Words: 899

It had all begun when she interviewed you as the position of her assistant. Working for the British airforce came with stress, and with stress came disorganization, and with disorganization came the need for an assistant. You had no interest in going into the military field, your internships being for lawyers. But those internships always ended in you only getting coffee for the men who claimed that the reason they weren’t paying you was because “the experience has more value”. Bullshit. How the fuck are you supposed to pay off your car payment, pay your rent, and overall survive. So when you saw the advertisement for a paid assistant position, you didn’t hesitate to apply. 

“Your references are impeccable,” Frankie gawked at your interview while scanning through your resumé. “And I don’t think I’ve read a better cover letter. You’re only 26, and you’ve kept three unpaid internships–each one lasting a year–while holding two jobs at the same time? Out of all the candidates I’ve interviewed, you’re by far the most qualified candidate.” She looked up at you, taking note of your leg bouncing up and down. “So, it says here that you’re still working these two jobs.”

“Yes,” you respond. “That’s right.”

Frankie gave you a smile. “Well, I’d suggest you put in your notice. I’ve never done this before, but I’d like to offer you this job on sight.”

You remained professional until you got to the parking lot. Frankie had walked you out as it was already dark out. 

“I know it’s a military base,” she said, “but you can never be too careful.”

You thanked her after she said goodnight, and as soon as you got in your car the professionalism dropped and you squealed, your hands squeezing the wheel as you jumped around in your seat. When you looked in the rear view mirror, your face immediately flushed when you saw that Frankie had turned her head to see what the noise was. But, what you didn’t see was that when she turned back around and continued back into the building, a bright smile was plastered onto her face.

__________

“Oh, god, Frankie!”

You tried your best to stay quiet as you straddled Frankie’s lap, her fingers curling quickly as you moved your hips quickly against her hand.

“Hush, darling,” she murmured against your lips. “We wouldn’t want anyone catching us.”

It was the second year in your position as Frankie’s assistant. The first year was quite uneventful. You scheduled her meetings, kept track of her missed phone calls, emails, and brought her coffee. But not on her request. It was completely voluntary. Every morning, you’d get her a chai latte along with your macchiato. 

Despite the fact that she told you it wasn’t necessary, she enjoyed it…very much.

And, as you continued through this job, a slight crush formed. But the slight crush turned…not-so-slight. It was only after your first dream about her that you had to acknowledge the feelings. 

Your relationship had changed from coworker to friend. And when she invited you out for drinks just months ago, you couldn’t resist. Those drinks led you back to her flat, and the night in the flat led to a passionate love affair–no matter how inappropriate it was. Now, you spent more time at her flat than you did at yours.

“Dr. Lethbridge, I w–”

“Please,” she cut in. “Frankie. I think we’re past the professional stage.”

And now, here you were, in her office with the blinds drawn over the windows after bringing her the files she requested. 

“Please, Frankie,” you breathed, your fingers holding the back of her blazer in a bunch.“Please, I need to c–!”

A knock at the door cut you both off. She removed her finger slowly, grinning as you watched her place them in her mouth. “Get under the desk. Now.”

As soon as you dropped to the floor, there was another knock and she spoke. “Come in!”

Of course, to your luck, it was her boss–who was technically your boss too. Shit.

Your heart was beating out of your chest as you sat beneath her desk, curled into a ball as you listened to their conversation. 

“Just checking up on your progress with the drones,” he said.

“Well, we’re trying to figure out what the best size would be,” she answered. “Once we figure the dimensions out, we can begin working on the aerodynamics.”

It felt like hours as they discussed their latest project. You tried to steady your breathing, taking shallow breaths as you tried to remain quiet. You let out a sigh as he shut the door, Frankie rolling her chair back to let you back out. She looked up at the clock on her wall to see that it was almost five o’clock and turned to you, taking your hand in hers and pulling you down so you were face level with her.

After placing a kiss on your lips, she grinned. “You were such a good girl for me,” she muttered. “Now, I want you to drive home, and I expect you to be in bed with your clothes entirely off. And when I get home, I promise we’ll finish what we started, darling.”

You didn’t need to be told twice. You gave her a swift kiss before leaving the office quickly, grabbing your coat, and making a B-line to your car. 

[officialbabayaga]

heyyy i saw your tags on the college post about taking seven years to finish undergrad and i was wondering if you could talk about how you got from there to law school? i’m still struggling to finish my last year of undergrad and as someone who’s always conceptualized myself as academically successful and has watched all my friends do this seemingly with ease it’s been a rough time, and i’ve been worried i won’t be able to get into grad schools given that i’m gonna graduate in more than four years. anyway if this isn’t something you want to talk about that is so valid and know that just by mentioning it i’m feeling less alone so thank you!

Oh no worries I’m happy to talk about it! I feel like “nontraditional” academic journeys are never really acknowledged enough, to be honest. What I want you to know right from the start is that I got really lucky with the opportunities that I was given, but I also put the work in to follow through.

I’ll skim over the gory details but I did… terribly in undergrad. It wasn’t because I couldn’t intellectually keep up with my classes, mental illness was eating my brain and I just couldn’t function at the level I needed to. BUT I finally graduated with a 2.7 GPA, and was lucky enough to have made a good enough impression at a summer internship that they hired me full time immediately after I graduated. That was a HUGE hurdle, especially because my bachelor’s is in biology, and jobs with a bio degree but no graduate school are really hard to come by.

Now what helped me the most was that I “paid my dues.” I worked my way up from a research assistant to, eventually, a senior research associate after 4 years of incredibly hard work. Even though my undergrad transcript was a pile of shit, I showed through my career that I could do really good work. I did overtime and took on extra projects so I could get my research published and I did everything I could to go to conferences and (unfortunately) network as much as possible.

(digression - my favorite professor once said that networking seems pointless at the time, because you’re not going to see the payoff for another 5 years. that helped put it in perspective for me. basically my networking tips are to just be NICE and HELPFUL when you meet people, especially in a professional context but literally if you just live your life that way and actually talk to people at boring events you’re basically good to go)

graduate schools don’t only take your undergraduate performance into account. Even with my shitty grades, I had put the work in for 4 years at a job that allowed me to really expand my CV. this was a lot of effort, but it was also a LOT of luck. it’s hard to find jobs that actually allow you to move up the ladder but it’s so worth it when you find one. even if it seems thankless and awful at the time, DON’T just give up and settle somewhere that will never promote you or give you opportunities to progress. show through a few years after undergrad that you can work hard and succeed, even if it was professionally and not academically.

Also, since I knew my grades sucked, I wanted to tip the scales even more in my favor. For about 4 months I spent every weekend slamming a vietnamese iced coffee to simulate a panic attack and take khan academy full lsat practice tests. This may not be an advisable way to study, but I have an anxiety disorder and I knew I’d be a fucking mess for the actual test so I made myself get used to it before it actually happened.

a killer admissions essay and really good letters of recommendation are so helpful, too. I didn’t have any professors I could ask for letters, so I got my lab director and the ceo of the company I worked for to write two for me, because we were on really good terms.

and I think that’s about it? it was a big mix of luck and hard work, and for me, the end result was getting accepted to law school 5 days after i applied :) but i was rejected from one school and waitlisted for another so it’s important to remember that the places you’re applying to could have extremely different criteria for what they’re looking for in students.

I wish you the best of luck!! It can be so tough but if you haven’t shown your best work in undergrad, you’re never out of chances to prove that you’ve grown enough to get back into academia. also in my experience, generally, law students who have real-world job experience do better than the ones who are coming straight from undergrad! because it IS a job, and learning professionalism and self-direction before getting into it makes a whole lot of difference.

[wishresume]

Crafting a Compelling Resume: Strategies for Success

Introduction

In today's competitive job market, a well-crafted resume is more than just a summary of work experience; it is a strategic tool designed to capture the attention of potential employers and secure job interviews. This paper explores the essential components of an effective resume, offers practical strategies for writing one, and highlights common pitfalls to avoid.

DownLoad:https://wishresume.com/resumetemplate_1.html

I. Understanding the Purpose of a Resume

A resume serves as a marketing tool that showcases an individual's qualifications, skills, and experiences to potential employers. Its primary purpose is to:

Highlight Relevant Skills and Experience: A resume should emphasize the candidate's qualifications that align with the job requirements.

Demonstrate Professional Growth: It should reflect the candidate's career progression and accomplishments.

Capture Attention Quickly: With hiring managers often spending only a few seconds on an initial resume review, the resume must grab attention immediately.

II. Essential Components of a Resume

Contact Information

Content: Name, phone number, email address, and optionally, LinkedIn profile or personal website.

Best Practices: Ensure accuracy and professionalism. Use a professional email address and provide up-to-date contact information.

Summary or Objective Statement

Content: A brief statement at the beginning of the resume that outlines the candidate’s career goals or provides a summary of their professional background.

Best Practices: Tailor this section to align with the job being applied for. Focus on what you can offer to the employer rather than what you hope to gain.

Work Experience

Content: List of past jobs, internships, or relevant experiences, including company names, job titles, dates of employment, and key responsibilities or achievements.

Best Practices: Use bullet points for clarity. Start each bullet with a strong action verb and quantify achievements where possible (e.g., “Increased sales by 20%”).

Education

Content: Academic qualifications, including degrees earned, institutions attended, and graduation dates.

Best Practices: Include relevant coursework or honors if applicable. For recent graduates, education may be listed before work experience.

Skills

Content: Specific abilities or competencies relevant to the job, such as technical skills, language proficiency, or soft skills.

Best Practices: Align skills with those mentioned in the job description. Highlight both hard and soft skills.

Additional Sections (if applicable)

Content: Certifications, professional affiliations, volunteer work, publications, or awards.

Best Practices: Include sections that add value to the resume and support the candidate's application for the specific role.

III. Strategies for Writing an Effective Resume

Tailor Your Resume

Customize the resume for each job application by aligning your skills and experiences with the job description. Use keywords from the job posting to pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

Use Action Verbs and Quantify Achievements

Strong action verbs like “developed,” “led,” or “achieved” make a resume more dynamic. Quantifying achievements (e.g., “Managed a team of 10”) provides concrete evidence of your impact.

Keep It Concise and Focused

Aim for one to two pages, depending on your experience level. Avoid including irrelevant information and focus on the most impactful details.

Maintain a Professional Format

Use a clean, professional layout with consistent fonts and formatting. Ensure there is enough white space for readability and use bullet points for lists.

Proofread and Edit

Carefully proofread the resume to avoid grammatical errors and typos. Consider having a mentor or colleague review it for feedback.

IV. Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Overloading with Information

Including too much information can overwhelm the reader. Be selective and focus on the most relevant experiences.

Using Generic Templates

Generic templates may not effectively highlight your unique qualifications. Customize your resume to reflect your personal brand.

Exaggerating or Misrepresenting Information

Ensure all information is accurate and truthful. Misrepresentation can damage credibility and lead to negative consequences.

Neglecting the Design and Layout

A poorly designed resume can detract from the content. Use a professional and easy-to-read format.

Conclusion

A resume is a crucial element in the job application process, serving as a first impression of a candidate's professional capabilities. By understanding the essential components, applying strategic writing techniques, and avoiding common mistakes, candidates can create compelling resumes that enhance their chances of securing job interviews. Crafting an effective resume requires careful attention to detail and a clear focus on aligning one's qualifications with the job at hand. In the end, a well-prepared resume not only opens doors to opportunities but also sets the stage for a successful career journey.