#and orchestra of course. concerts next weekend of course.

[supercantaloupe]

aw. my boss emailed me tonight to tell me what a great job she thought i did at work this week...

[sageprada]

cool people. part II

chris pine x musician!reader (slightly oc)

pintrest board

part one

synopsis: a series chronicling the love affair between a famous musician and her actor neighbor

word count : 8.5k

warnings: 18+ ONLY, fluff, slight smut, age gap relationship (reader is late 20’s while chris is 42), lil sub!reader, swearing, explicit descriptions of sexual content, mentions of drugs and alcohol 

authors note : i’m back ! it only took a year for me to finally drop part two of cool people. i truly appreciate all the love i’ve received from part one along with my blog in general. truly if people didn’t ask for a part two this would have just sat in my drafts for eternity. so thank you for all the love truly ! y’all are mother fuckin’  best and more chris content to come <3. 

Time wasn’t something she was sensitive to. Explicitly, the passage of time as a year seemed to pass by in merely a few months.

Working had always come naturally to her. Her parents' hunger to succeed was an appetite she’d clearly inherited. The need for sleep or spending time with her peers had at one point come second to spending hours in her cramped recording studio converted basement. She wouldn’t allow herself to relish in her achievements because all she could seem to focus on was the next task.

Imposter syndrome had become a major topic between her and her therapist. She’d recently started sharing with her family her experience of waking up in the middle of the night with tight breaths stuck in her throat as she felt like a stranger in her own body.

Her Mom and Dad were extremely worried, with one of them calling or texting her at least once a day to check in. Her younger brother, Wyatt, suggested for the tenth time this year that he could join her in LA and help out. He’d just graduated from high school and successfully convinced their parents to participate in a gap year to really explore his options. Of course, that came with the price of finding a job, and being a dishwasher at Dad’s bakery wasn’t, in his words, cuttin’ it.

Her older brother, Anthony, and his boyfriend politely forced her to join them on a four-day weekend vacation to the Caribbean, where she was forced to take part in the "Double U’s". 

"You’ve just got to Unplug and Unwind."

Conveniently, the escape to paradise fell upon the 95th Oscar nomination announcements.

It was her first major motion picture project. She spent months working under numerous conductors in preparation and even bought a membership to the LA Philharmonic because she’d started frequenting concerts for research. She’d often wear the hoodie she bought at the gift shop to rehearsals.

During every part of the process, she had complete creative control. From section leader auditions to picking out what type of mics would be used for recording sessions. Never had she felt more challenged creatively. Yes, at one point she thought she would develop sores on her temples with the constant rubbing away of migraines. She was smoking nonstop due to the stress and anxiety. Her messages were going unread. And while it was unhealthy, at the time she hadn’t been happier.

It was in her contract when she agreed to do the movie's score that she would be submitted for competition. It would be her first time conducting, with most of the members of the orchestra having never done such a big project either. She wanted to make sure she was opening doors for as many people as she could, giving them the shot she had been gracious enough to get herself.

At the very least, she expected a couple film festivals and critics to give her a pat on the back for her efforts. A handful of positive reviews and, at most, one of the best experiences she ever had the privilege of being a part of.

But the movie was a commercial hit, and whispers began to surround her.

So it wasn’t a surprise that her brother crafted this scheme behind her back. They were so close that he always seemed to know what was best for her before she could even figure out what was wrong. However, it took Anthony dunking her into the crystal blue ocean fully clothed for her to admit the escapism was helping immensely.

On the last day, she was abruptly woken up at six in the morning by the sound of tiny confetti cannons going off. Two grown men came barreling in, jumping up and down ceremoniously on her bed while chanting her name. Quickly, an iPad was thrust into her hands, with a bright blue light displaying a Zoom call with family and close friends all congratulating her.

Five years ago, she was a sound engineer for an independent music label and a background vocalist for an experimental R&B group.

She was now an Academy Award nominee. The thirteenth woman and youngest person ever nominated for Best Original Score

Through blurred eyes, riddled with shock and still slightly drowsy, she was full-blown crying while she blabbed during the call. Luckily, her very big family was filled with very BIG personalities, so no one seemed to comment on even notice as they talked over each other. Except one, and she was so grateful to see the man she was missing the most pixilated image gaze at her fondly in the corner of the screen.

Chris was just starting to become a constant in her life during pre-production, even if it felt like he had somehow always been there. In the span of their year together, he wasn’t just helping her by being there; he was helping her grow as a person. He was enriching her life, even if she dreaded the early morning yoga classes he made her go to or the weekly kale smoothies he had her drink. Chris was so in tune with his emotions and so open with her that she started working on herself to do the same. No longer did she feel embarrassed by how often she craved his presence. She constantly ached for his soothing voice, which always seemed to be the perfect remedy for calming her down. His touch was a sweet elixir that made all her worries disappear.

But the consistent praise, reassurance, and love that Chris provided her was the exact reason why she was able to be this open. After all, this was her first serious relationship to any degree.

Everything was looking up until the photos leaked.

LA nights this time of year were a bit brisk, but that did nothing to divert the couple's attention from one another.

They’d just had dinner and were now waiting for the valet to bring Chris’s car around. He’d picked her up from a meeting in West Hollywood earlier that evening and surprised her with a reservation at a new restaurant she’d been wanting to try. He got back from press in England a couple days ago, and they've managed so far to do at least one thing every day together since.

"You smell heavenly." He stood behind her, arms wrapped around her waist, encouraging her to rest her back against his chest. Her white tank top was a little more casual than she’d preferred to wear, but it did nothing to defer her mood with the way he’d been looking at her all night.

"Oh? Maybe it’s cause someone thought I needed a new perfume?" With sarcasm dripping from her voice, she could feel his lips smirking against the skin of her neck. One of Chris’s love languages was gift-giving. He spoiled her beyond comprehension, and it was something she was still getting used to. He was a person so used to luxury that at times she had to remind him she was still ‘new money’. 

"I’m telling you, I just couldn’t get the scent out of my head." He pulled away and moved his hand to gently turn your head to face him. He held a serious gaze, and she kept her lips tight to stop herself from snickering. Always dramatic, Chris had already told her this story twice. But he spoke with so much passion and looked at her with so much awe that she didn’t have the heart to stop him from repeating it.

"I thought at first it was just one of a random coffee. Or maybe a poorly advertised flower shop, because I’d at times smell fresh tulips, but the street the hotel was on was honestly, baby, bleek and underwhelming. So, one day we finished early, and I’d just gotten off the phone with you to say goodnight. I went for a walk, and lo and behold, just at the end of the block, guess what I saw."

Looking up at him, she brushed a fallen strand of hair from his face and couldn’t imagine being more in love with anyone at that exact moment.

"No, whatcha see?"

He smiled at her encouragement for him to continue. "Down the same street I’d taken my run just the day before, I'd look to my left , and right there is a quaint little perfume shop. One that had been there for over one hundred years. Now, I felt like there was a reason I hadn’t noticed it till then, and that day the air had a particular sweet scent lingering. One that seemed so familiar, but yet I couldn’t put my finger on it, so I went inside to investigate." At this point, she’d turned her whole body towards Chris to give him her full attention. He kept one arm around her waist; not one inch of space separated their bodies. His other hand was resting on her neck, his thumb lightly gazing at her jaw while he kept eye contact.

"It was obvious the place had history. Filled to the brim with different vials and incense that you’d think would be overwhelming, but it was actually very calming. One scent seemed to stand out amongst the rest—one that reminded me of someone, one that smelled like home."

He allowed his thumb to graze over her bottom lip for a third time; he couldn’t seem to stop himself. "The nice shopkeeper said one of the ingredients is honeycomb that’s derived from a local bee farm in town. So it’s one of a kind, just like you."

She grew shy, diverting her attention to see the valet pulling up next to them. As she watched the young man approach them, she gave him a soft smile but felt Chris eyes still on her. Hands still on her.

"Sir, your keys."

That seemed to knock the older man out of his trance. "Thank you." Chris stepped away to grab his keys and passed the man a tip before leading her to the passenger side of the car, hand dangerously low on her back. It seemed they could never go a few moments together without some sort of physical contact.

"She also said that it had a hint of jasmine, which is a natural aphrodisiac."

He whispered this into her ear while reaching for her seatbelt to buckle her in. It was something he liked to do often—another little trait that always filled her with warmth and made her head fog.

"Wait…" He’d never shared that fact. "You got me a pheromone perfume?"

As he finished bulking her in, he pulled back and gave her a sly wink.

"How else am I going to get you to fall in love with me?"

TMZ had taken their photos at some point without their knowledge. Selling them off to god knows how many entertainment outlets and gossip blogs in less than twelve hours. She woke up to an article link sent by her manager the next morning.

Daily Mail 

Neighborly Romance!? Chris Pine and Musician Kapital looked quite comfortable together while grabbing dinner in LA.

Can’t say anyone saw this one coming!

Kapital, the two-time Grammy-winning artist, was seen being embraced by the Dungeons and Dragons star while out enjoying a quiet night at one of LA’s newest restaurants. The actor, 42, was all smiles as the couple stood waiting for a valet. Pine dressed in a classic white button-up and timeless slacks, while Kapital opted for a more relaxed outfit with a long denim skirt paired with a leather jacket.

This news comes just days after the announcement of the Queens-based musician's surprising Academy Award nomination for Best Score, making her the youngest nominee in the category's history.

This isn’t the first time the pair has been seen together, having previously been spotted accompanying one another on walks around their neighborhood in Studio City. However, since living next door to each other since 2020, it’s the first time it's been insinuated that there might be more than just trips to the local coffee shop where their relationship stops.

They weren’t even kissing, but it was obvious from the intimate position they were caught in that it wasn’t just two neighbors grabbing a bite to eat. She read over the article multiple times, squeezing Chris bicep as he slept soundly next to her.

Their little bubble was slowly cracking. They knew with their individual careers that it would eventually happen, but mourning its loss and what was to come from it was a step into the unknown neither of them had yet faced.

Apparently, sunshine is rare this time of year in Berlin. Its appearance was delightful, as it aligned perfectly with her impromptu visit to the city.

With her sternum pressed into the iron railing of the hotel balcony, dozens of hours spent on a plane made her exceptionally appreciative of the fresh air. But, hell, she couldn’t really complain. First class never ceased to surpass her expectations.

She’d never been flown out by someone outside of work-related engagements. Especially during one of the busiest times in her life, and it took multiple people's permission to get her here so quickly. Her manager, Grace, was the hardest to convince. They’d been working together since the very beginning of both of their careers. Being Grace’s first client out of business school, she was the older sister she never had and always cherished both her work and personal opinion.

She raced around her room hastily packing while continuing to glance periodically at her propped phone on her dresser. Grace was seen in her big designer reading glasses while she rubbed her pregnant belly with skepticism on their FaceTime call last night.

"Are you sure about this? I’ll have to call GQ and see if they're willing to reschedule."

"I mean, I’ll be back Sunday afternoon, just in time for the interview Monday. And besides, he already bought the ticket."

She heard the sound of Grace crunching angrily at another Pringle.

"Of course, when I’ve begged you to take a break, you’ve wanted to keep working. But now that we have the literal OSCARS next week, you wanna go off to Europe to be with your DILF boyfriend."

She could hear Grace’s husband off camera telling her to watch her heart rate; she’s notorious for having a bit of a short fuse, and stress was not good for the baby.

"Wait, Chris doesn’t have any kids?"

"Babe, his dog counts."

They both laughed before Grace sighed. "As your manager, I can’t help but not be the biggest fan of this situation; it’s a slight distraction. But as your friend, I’ve seen how he makes you feel. Hell, everyone has. So fuck it, what’s a couple days?" She continued, looking at the younger girl fondly. "Your best interests are always my top priority, even if it means allowing you to go drop your pants for Captain Kirk."

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the text she had gotten a text until the two minute notification reminder went off. Walking back into the suite, she flopped on one of the luxurious armchairs unlocking her phone.

Chris

On my way up.

She’d just barely arrived, not even twenty minutes ago, delusionally thinking she’d have more time to freshen herself up.

Racing to the master bathroom, she had no time to admire the space before quickly washing her face and brushing her teeth. There was no time to change into the provocative lounge wear she’d originally planned to greet him in, hoping the sweatsuit set wasn’t a complete turnoff.

Just as she walked back into the living room, she was met with the sound of the front door opening.

"Sweets! I’m he-." Chris was adorned in a pale blue suit, soft against his lightly bronzed skin. He’d been outside a lot helping her with her garden as they were approaching spring in LA.

He didn’t finish his exclamation. Instead, he kept his eyes glued on her, as if like a hunter that’d just been noticed by its prey. She stood frozen, only allowing herself to watch him as he moved across the room with calculated steps.

He placed a golden box down on the coffee table, finally reaching her position at the master bedrooms entryway. Chris didn’t want anything to prevent him from grabbing the sides of her face, standing so impossibly close that she was forced to look up at him. Personal space was nonexistent in the couple’s vocabulary.

"Hi," She whispered.

"Hello baby." 

Kissing Chris always felt like the first time. The action of him leaning down to capture her lips never failed to make her lightheaded. The dragging of his top lip as it flushed against hers always left her breathless. He’d managed to slightly suck her bottom lip in between his every time, whether it was a chaste peck or a full-on make-out.

Her hands moved to grip his white undershirt tightly, his lean abs prominent under her touch.

God, those yoga classes were paying off.

He didn’t release her until a soft whine escaped from her throat, satisfied at how breathless he’d made her.

"Look at you." Sky-blue eyes shamelessly traveled over her body as she nuzzled her face into his palm. "Was the flight okay? Did you get any rest?"

She scoffed at his worry. "Yes, everything was fine. Short layover in London, so I got some Nando’s. Was practically in a food coma the rest of the way here."

He let out a deep hum in approval, gently caressing the apples of her cheeks with his thumb. "That sounds good, baby. I still want you to be relaxed." She knows he’s referring to his last-minute request for her to be there with him. As soon as he asked her to come, he felt guilty because she had so much going on herself.

"Chris, I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to. Missed you too."

That warranted another kiss. She could feel his smile as he cheekily slipped his tongue quickly over hers.

"Wanna take a bath together?" Eyes still closed, she felt him whisper the request against her skin. One of his hands had traveled down to her ass, giving it a soft squeeze as a choked breath left her parted lips. Her previous worries that he wouldn’t be attracted to her casual state flew out the balcony window with all the reassurance in his touch.

She nodded and opened her eyes once she heard him tsk. His nose was pressed against her, minty breath washing over her face.

"Gotta hear it, Sweets."

"Yes please."

He smiled, proud of the verbal confirmation.

"Let me go start the water."

She hated how cold and empty the air got as he left her to head to the bathroom. But she couldn’t resist the urge to watch him walk away as he started to strip out of his clothes in the process.

"Open that box on the table. I think you’ll like it." He insisted. 

Slightly dizzy from the kiss, she shook her head and blinked a couple times.

Damn girl, chill. 

The box had a soft bow nestled beautifully in its corner. The name Rausch in black cursive text sat in the center.

Various arrays of chocolates greeted her, and she bit her lips happily as she assessed the multiple options. Each was so delicately crafted with intricate designs that she decided Chris and she would just have to split each one to have a chance to try them all. Walking into the bathroom, a sight just as sweet as the chocolate she’d just bit into was awaiting her.

Chris, as naked as the day he was born, was slowly stepping into the deep tub located in the center of the bathroom.

"I don’t mind you looking baby girl, but the waters gonna get cold."

"Right!" She sat the box on the edge of the tub as she quickly started undoing her sweatpants.

No longer was she hesitant to expose herself to Chris; the older man had explored her body inside and out more times than she’d be able to count. But he always looked at her the same way. As if he’d never seen her naked before. Like a child with a present on Christmas, he looked as if he was thinking of all the ways he was going to play with his new toy.

It made her feel incredibly sexy.

Taking another bit of the chocolate she presented him, he playfully nipped her finger as she pulled away. The water was at the perfect temperature; Chris naturally ran hot, and as he rested himself against her between her legs, she couldn't think of how this moment could be any more perfect.

"You have one."

"What makes you say that?" Her voice rose in intrigue. Chris surprised her time and time again with his observational skills.

There was never room for empty conversation, unless she intended it. Over the years, she found fascination in interesting factoids that she somehow was always able to conjure up for anyone willing to hear them. Sometimes, Chris just asked because he liked to get a peek into that fascinating mind of hers.

"Because you always do." His hand pinched her waist, and she swatted his bicep. Taking her wet hand, she pushed back his short blonde salt and pepper hair in thought.

"Well, this hotel is old as shit, so it's got a lot of history. Notoriously, Michael Jackson held his infant son, Prince Michael, over the balcony while paparazzi gathered below. " She glanced at the window that was nestled on the far left wall, smiling because she knew she'd got him with that one.

She feels him go stiff. He turned around slightly to look up at her from his place on her chest and saw her smirk. "No fucking way."

"Yes, way."

"Fuck. That’s a good one."

As she reached for another chocolate, she felt his hand trace over the curve of her breast. Not so much with sexual interest, but more with admiration.

"Why’d you accept my invitation?"

She knew he was being serious by the way his voice dropped an octave. He said her name, her real name, and she dropped the chocolate gently back in the box.

"You sounded like you needed someone."

It was a stretch of the truth. Chris knew that, and he let out a sigh.

"I think we both know I just needed you." He leaned up to turn and face her. She felt slightly exposed in that moment, but of course Chris noticed. He always does. So to ease the tension, he grabbed a piece of chocolate and took the first bite. He leans forward, and she sighs into the sweet kiss before he slips the other half in her mouth. Now it was her turn to nip his finger.

"Yeah, but then that begs the question: why couldn't you just wait 'till you were back in town next week?" She keeps his hand close, holding one in between both of hers. "Knew I wasn’t going to New York until the end of the month; could’ve just waited."

He acknowledged her point with a subtle head tilt.

"I simply enjoy being with you. I enjoy laughing with you, touching you. You make everything I do seem worthwhile. I need you to understand how badly, Sweets, I want to have you in any possible way, either as this version of ourselves or something more; just having you in my life is the best thing I could have ever been gifted."

He let the statement sit for a bit, watching her under the bathroom's pale lighting. He ran his hand over her knee while she sat with what he shared. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t told her before; it was just hard for her to accept at times. These feelings she had for him were intimidating and still pretty new.

Finally looking over at him, he had a soft, patient smile, and she brought her hand to his cheek.

"You got me feeling crazy and that scares me."

He gripped her hand on his face and pulled her close to him. The water surrounding them splashed slightly as he moved her onto his lap, never straying from her focus.

"God, I fucking love you, and I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman alive. You're stuck with me until you no longer want me."

Goddamn it, she was in it now.

"Then I guess I’m stuck with ya."

Chris pulled her into a searing kiss. One filled with hope, opportunity, and love.

But, of course, it was short-lived. Chris had made her show him how to set up different ringtones on his newly bought iPhone. Recently, she came to find out he'd paid $1.29 to buy her score's theme song on iTunes and set it to play every time he got a call.

"I think that's your phone."

"Fuck that thing." He was lost in her, moving his lips down to her neck and slowly beginning to suck on the sweet spot below her jaw. Sucking in a quick breath as his teeth skimmed her wet nipple.

"Chris." They were already pushing it with having her here; she didn’t want to get him into any trouble even if she was the invited intrusion to his press tour.

"Stay here." He kissed her tits, making his way out of the tub. She giggled at hearing him angrily grumble under his breath, forcefully grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist.

Perching her jaw on the edge of the tub, she watched as Chris pulled his phone out of his discarded suit pocket.

"Hey man, what’s up?"

It was a couple moments of silence, with Chris listening to the person on the other end of the line.

"Um…" He bit at the pad of his thumb, sparing a glance in her direction. She looked at him with a pointed brow, curious about what he seemed to be contemplating.

"Yeah, we can meet you in the lobby at eight."

We? As in him and her?

As he ended the call, she waited for him to come back to the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the tub and let out a sigh as he took in the sight of her wet, bare body.

"Welp, my plans to fuck you in this very spacious tub are going to have to be postponed. We’ve got other plans tonight."

 "Plans?"

"Hugh Grant has requested that we both join him and his wife for dinner."

The restaurant was very busy. She wasn’t as taken aback by the mass of people since Chris forewarned her on the drive over about how in high demand the place was.

"There will probably be a couple paparazzi and fans outside after dinner when news gets out that we are all here. So just make sure you just stay close to me, baby." Chris had switched into a tan linen jacket and matching pants. He kept the white undershirt, and his golden pendant necklace was in its usual place in the middle of his chest.

The Le Labo cologne she watched him spray on his wrists still lingered on his skin.

Along with the expensive wine, her fluffy blue sweater was keeping her warm. Chris would slyly slide his hand underneath its seams, gently holding her wrist while his thumb rubbed slow circles over her pulse.

She was nervous as fuck.

No matter how many famous people she finds herself around, her palms got slightly sweaty in their company. Her Mom was going to have a cow when she saw the texts she’d sent her. And the voice message she’d nervously word vomited into during her trip to the bathroom.

Chris said Hugh was a tad pretentious, his dry humor not helping in the slightest with some feeling slightly offended by the seasoned actor at first.

She thinks she got on his good side when he asked if she’d ever seen any of his movies.

"Oh, for sure. Florence Foster Jenkins— I watched that on a flight with my Mom. She teared up, and she didn’t even do that while giving birth to my younger brother." She wanted to crawl into a hole after her failed attempt at being cheeky, wincing slightly in embarrassment. But he and his wife both laughed, and that was before the waiter had even taken their orders.

"It’s so fun doing these little press junkets because you completely forget about the movie you’ve worked on since it was damn near a year ago. But you get to reconnect with all these people you spent months working your bum off with. Even recall some of the wacky events that occurred." Hugh wiggled his eyebrows as he looked at everyone around the table. She noted Hugh’s quirky vocabulary got more eccentric after each sip of his glass of merlot.

"Now, darling." They'd just gotten their meals, and so far she’d been successful in not being the topic of conversation. She was content to be a fly on the wall, watching as Chris interacted with his coworker. Instinctually, she sat up straighter as everyone fixated on her.

"First, congratulations are most certainly in order. Chris here has expressed much interest in your work; dare I say he has gone as far as to show a few of us videos of you composing?"

Hugh’s admission was shocking; she was ready to go into great depth on her career and why the hell she might even be there.

She’d only met a few of Chris close friends and vice versa, wanting to keep a level of privacy in their relationship that very few people got access to. It was better that way for the both of them. Some reasons being more obvious than others.

However, ever since the first set of pictures with them came out, more and more were published in the press. With the amount of time they spent together it was inevitable. She’d noticed how Chris was now more inclined to share her with people outside their circle. He was less withholding of PDA, not that he was really trying before.

He wants people to know she’s his.

That thought sparked something deep in her chest, accompanied by a warm feeling in between her legs. In some sick way, she liked him establishing this claim on her. Because, at the end of the day, it was her allowing him to do so. If she displayed any sort of disdain for the situation and expressed it, she knew he’d stop in a heartbeat.

"I’ve just got to know how this talented young lady came to be."

She cleared her throat and glanced over at Chris, whose undivided attention was completely on her. The dim lighting added to the facade of intimacy, and the busting room filled with chatter from other patrons conversations. But hell, they might as well have been the only two people in the room.

"I, uh, grew up in New York. My mom's an adjunct professor at NYU but volunteers when she can. My Dad’s owned this bakery like a block from where I grew up since before I was born. They really wanted to push my brothers and me to follow our passions just as long as we could make a suitable living doing so." She giggled to herself at that. "Never, uh, was really that good in school, but music stuck pretty naturally. I learned how to play like fourteen instruments by the time I was twelve."

"Oh my, so you were a prodigy?" Anna, Hugh’s wife, expressed. The couple looking at her impressed.

"I guess so? Never got tested or nothing. Just recorded some music and samples on my parents iMac and uploaded them online. It’s pretty much how I got discovered."

She feels a hand squeeze her upper thigh, looking over at Chris, who was gazing at her in admiration. She sheepishly smiled back before looking down at her plate.

"Well, I for one think that should qualify as a prodigy, especially for being nominated for such a prestigious award so early in your career." Anna smiled at the younger woman, and she replied with a soft but appreciative thank you.

The topic flows easily throughout the remainder of the evening, and just as Hugh and Chris finished arguing about who’d fit the bill (Hugh did), they began talking about plans for tomorrow.

"Oh, you're going to love the movie, dear; it’s a heap of fun." Hugh exclaimed, looking between her and his wife.

"Yeah, it looks great. Can’t wait to see it." She'd already ordered a couple tickets in advance to see it opening weekend back in LA. Few of her friends excited to see her hot, daddy boyfriend in action.

Their words, not hers.

"Now I don’t know where you plan on sitting, but you're more than welcome to join Anna and me."

"Huh?" She was confused, looking over to Chris, whose jaw had clenched as he slowly finished his wine.

"Well, at the preimere, it'll be so bus-"

"I hadn’t really had a chance to bring it up, Hugh." He placed his glass down while glaring at the man across from him.

"Oh." Hugh looked nervously at the young woman and back to his wife before letting out a guilty chuckle and saying, "Silly me."

Anna quickly began to change the subject allowing her to try and connect the dots. Departing goodbyes and future plans were made as they all made their way out of the restaurant. Following Anna towards the exit, with Chris close behind her, she whispered behind her shoulder.

"Chris?" She knew he’d understand what she was asking, but she didn't really love being out of the loop.

"Let’s get you outside to the car first, Sweets, then we'll talk."

As soon as the doors opened, multiple camera flashes started blinding her.

She'll say one thing about being in the music industry: she wasn't a stranger to crowds or people. Yet it still made her slightly uncomfortable when strangers invaded her personal space. She pulled her Prada sunglasses out her purse and slid them over her eyes. Instinctively grabbing Chris’s hand as he guided her to their car. The chauffeur was already standing outside holding the door, and she gave him a quick thanks in appreciation while quickly getting in the back seat.

Once it was quiet, with only the sound of soft German music imitating from the radio, she allowed herself to slip off her sunglasses.

Chris was already looking at her; he’d slid his hand across the middle seat to rest it on her upper thigh.

"Good?" His eyes held a bit of worry.

She nodded. "Good." Then her eyes became daggers. "Now, what the fuck is going on tomorrow?"

"I wanted to ask you tonight after dinner. No photo ops, no red carpet. You’ll ride with Sarah and me to the theater. I'll do my rounds and then join you both for the screening."

Her head was spinning. A million thoughts raced to the front of her mind. The first one that left her mouth was the least important.

"I-I don’t even have anything to wear."

"Baby girl, you're telling me you don’t have one outfit?" He cocked a brow towards her, and she groaned. Of course she did; she’s an overpacker, and with Chris’s classic spontaneity, she always made sure she was prepared for anything. Still, she wasn’t able to just pull out a custom gown from her ass.

"No photos or press?

He barked out a laugh, bringing her hand to his lips to give it a warm kiss. He knew he had won her over.

"Just want you by my side, scouts honor."

She wanted to scoot over the middle console to be closer to him, but the little wine left in her system wasn’t enough to cloud her judgment to do so, and she didn’t want the driver to be uncomfortable.

"You owe me big time. Like huge, just FYI."

He brought up two fingers and gestured for her to lean in closer to him. Chris softly cupped her jaw and angled her head so he could whisper in her ear.

"I hope you got enough rest on that plane. We’ve got a long night ahead of us."

When Chris fucked her, she could only successfully compare it to a premeditated game of chess. Always seeming to know how he, the knight, would take down his opponent.

He held back from touching her the entire ride back to the hotel. Minimal words were shared between the couple as they let the tension speak for itself. Her skin was cold; goosebumps were visible, and in the elevator, she stuffed her hand in her pockets to prevent reaching out towards him.

He needed to make the first move.

It wasn’t until she took a seat on the plush sofa that he knelt down in front of her. Eyes gazing up as if she’d built the entire world around them all her own.

"Will you let me undress you?"

"Please."

His touch was like a live wire while his hands ever so gently gripped her left ankle, undoing her heels clasp. It took everything in her to hold back a whimper.

Once he’d discarded her other shoe, he pushed up her pants leg till it bunched at her knee. Slowly following an invisible trail up her now exposed leg with his rose-colored lips. They were tinted a dark shade from the wine, and an embarrassingly loud whine left her lips as his tongue slowly dragged up her calf.

It quickly turned into a yelp as the man’s teeth nipped at her shin. "Keep those eyes on me." Chris always required her attention, knowing how often her mind wonders.

"Yo-you got it."

A smile appeared. Rewarding her with a lick over the nicked skin and sweetening it with another kiss

They both watched his hands let the pants leg fall, dragging them over the fabric that covered her thighs as he reached for the button of her pants.

"I know you said I owe you, and trust me, this isn’t me cashing that in. I’ve just been craving your fucking pussy since California."

It wasn’t anything she didn’t already know. Chris was a pleaser; he got easily riled up just by knowing he was the only person who could ever make her feel this good. He'd told her himself.

Nodding her head with fervor, she aided in helping him take off her pants, wiggling her hips off the couch as the garment fell to her ankles along with her pink panties. An obvious patch of arousal was on the crotch. "You always takin’ good care of me."

He hummed in agreement, but his focus had gone to her cunt. Slowly, he raised her legs to rest on his shoulders; her pants wrapped around her ankles, trapping him in between her thighs. Delving into her, the man raised an expectant hand to her lips. She knew exactly what he wanted her to do, and as soon as his broad tongue dragged against her slit, she shoved his middle and ring fingers into her mouth.

A groan escaped him right as his mouth dragged along her clit, the stimulation causing her to slightly drool on his fingers.

"No wine in the world can compare to how goddamn good you taste." Chris other hand squeezed her hip where it rested, locking eyes with his lust-blown pupils. She could confidently claim that no one had ever looked at her like this until him. That no one has ever made her feel like this. It seemed so foreign yet so familiar, like meeting a totally stranger and instantly hitting it off.

Eating out someone like this should be considered a war crime. It seemed irrational that Chris could delve into her like a starving man when they just had dinner. How he lapped at her bundle of nerves like it was a bountiful oasis after traveling miles through treacherous terrain.

His tongue caught on the edge of her entrance, and a sharp "Fuck!" left her lips. His fingers slipped from her mouth, soaked with her saliva. The hand resting on her hip punished her with a quick slap. Her head fell back further into the couch, taking all of her energy not to close her eyes.

"Language."

Being from the city meant she had a mouth on her. It was ingrained in her DNA, and it was something Chris always loved about her. But in the bedroom, good girls never curse.

"Sorry." He accepted her apology by rewarding her with a kiss on her thigh.

One hand gripped the top of his head while the other gripped the decorative pillows next to her. She was so focused on how he was making her feel that he used it to his advantage, slipping two fingers slicked with her spit inside her.

"Oh my god!" He went slow, pushing his fingers all the way to the last knuckle until he even attempted to curl his fingers inside her.

"Do you miss having my fingers inside you, baby girl? Know how hard it is for you to reach this deep." Chris tapped at her g-spot, and a high-pitched yelp left her mouth.

Her eyelids kept fluttering as they both watched his fingers move in and out of her. His thumb was coming up to her clit and she knew If she bit her lip any harder, she’d draw blood.

Chris slowly rose to his knees to rest his upper body against hers, his half-lidded eyes looking down at her. She didn’t even recall him fully taking her pants off until he gently nudged her left leg to rest her foot on the couch, bending it. The new position let him finger her even deeper, and fuck, if she wasn’t wet now, she was gushing.

"I think you can take three fingers, Sweets. Wanna try for three?"

She might be too far gone to confirm if the wet spot on the crotch of his pants was real or not, but she didn’t question the feeling of him bucking his hips against her right leg and the sofa. Just as he was adding his third finger to the mix, it was enough to send her over the edge.

Immediately, a flash of white filled her vision as her eyes rolled in the back of her head. A long moan leaving her lips while Chris worked her through her orgasm.

"There you go."

He kept fingering her until she opened her eyes and looked back at him. She had a wide smile across her face, and Chris mirrored it, placing a long kiss on her forehead.

"I haven’t come that hard in so long." Giggles escaped her, and she knew the high from cumming was still flowing through her. "Well, at least since you left me all alone."

Chris hands started pulling at her sweater to take it off of her. She hadn’t worn a bra under it; the sweater was so oversized and fluffy that it wasn’t even noticeable.

"Oh? Well, maybe I’ll have to show you how to do it right then, huh?" He was kissing all over her cheeks, slowly making his way down her neck. "Make sure you don’t suffer for too long while I’m away." Mumbling into her skin.

"Don’t think I could ever make myself feel this good."

He nipped her collarbone and faced her, their noses almost touching.

"Damn straight." Capturing her lips in a kiss, she began pulling at the back of his jacket to undress him. Chris quickly caught on and stood before her to start stripping. Pulling her legs on the couch, she bit the tip of her thumb to help suppress her smile at the show. 

His solid upper body, rippled with pure muscle crafted by numerous hours spent in the gym, had her hypnotized. As Chris stood up to undo his trousers, he couldn’t contain a smug grin. Looking down at her debauched figure, slightly vibrating in anticipation, did a number on the older man.

Just waiting within arm's reach was his exposed cock. It was bigger than anyone she’d ever taken, and her first time she had to cum twice from him stretching her out until he finally fucked her. It was long, and its width something that never failed to take her aback. Whenever she rubbed him off, she couldn't even fit her full fist around him.

 "Let me take you to the bedroom you deserve a good fuck."

Tipping her chin to flick her gaze at him, he scoupped her naked body up into his arms. A squeal rang throughout the suite, legs wrapping around his slender waist. Arms around his neck as he cupped her ass. She took advantage of him guiding them safely to the bed, fingers dragging through his hair as a content sigh released out of her nose.

Placing her in the center of the bed, the Egyptian cotton petted her skin. Chris body pressed against hers, and she embraced how he basically engulfed her. Body weight making her sink deeper into the white comforter.

"I’ll give you the world and then some, baby. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Giant hands cradled her head, and carnivorous eyes bore into her soul.

 "Need you to make love to me."

From the tips of her fingers to the bottoms of her feet, the feeling of being so fucking saturated in one another was indescribable.

An infinite kiss, in which lips contently rested on top of one another, sealed the deal.

Toned thighs moved to spread hers apart, positioning her instinctively. A distracting slip of his tongue into her mouth, simultaneous with his cock shoving into her cunt. Her mind went blank, a haze washing over her as her mouth fell open in a silent scream.

"Shit." The swear came from deep within him. Chris forehead pressed against hers as their noses bumped into one another. His breath was warm, and the air around her was hot as it grew thick with the smell of sex.

Gripping her cheek tightly, squeezing until her lips puckered open. He let out a deep groan, obviously enjoying the view. Well, that and the way he tried to be subtly with a shallow thrust to her g spot.

"Do you believe me now?" He was referring back to their conversation earlier in the tub.

"How I feel about you?"

"What your very fucking-" She had to close her eyes as her body was completely engulfed in all of him. The faint feeling of his hand traveling down to the back of her neck, tightly cupping it. Tightening his hold on the back of her neck, forcing her head to hit the goose feathered pillow. "existence does to me?"

Her eyes snapped open when his pelvis casually dragged against her clit after a deep thrust.

"Yes! Fu-god, I get it!"

When they locked eyes, she felt a twitch in Chris’s left leg. The one resting against her right thigh.

"Good."

It was swift. His hand gripped her waist as he flipped her on her stomach. A wide hand slapped against her chest to flush her back against his firm chest.

Thighs resting on thighs, with both of them on their knees, she was positioned comfortably on his lap. Another hand was resting on her hipbone holding it up to prevent her from sinking down on him. Spit-soaked lips pressed right on the shell of her ear.

"Now I can fuck you how you deserve."

They groaned in unison once Chris finally let them reconnect. Hand once on her waist, traveling down to rub her clit as she grinds her ass against his pelvis to try and accommodate him inside her again.

It was a slow tempo, pushing deep into her from behind so she could really feel him. All of him. He’d moved the hand on her chest to rest on her neck. Fingers dancing around the bare planes of her collarbone

"I think I need to get you a pretty little necklace." Thrust. "Make sure everyone knows who fucking cunt this is. " Thrust. "Get something for you to play with when I can’t get my cock in your mouth." Two fingers turned into three to slap at her clit. 

"I’m-" She hiccuped while trying to blabber out the rest of her sentence. A dark chuckle warm on her ear. "I’m def-initely gonna cum."

 "Baby’s got manners tonight, huh?" A quick slap to the side of her ass almost had her whine out but he returned his hand to her clit to continue. "Now are you asking me or telling me?"

Nibbling her ear, she could feel the stutters of his thrust beginning. He was close. Touch more desperate and harsh against her skin than the last buck of his hips.

"Asking!"

He forced them to remain still, with no movement except his fingers abusing her clit and his dick pulsing inside her. Even the city around them grew silent, waiting.

"Go ahead and cum for me then."

Each orgasm Chris gave her was never the same, but they all made her feel nothing less than euphoric. It reminded her of a hot summer day, finishing off a blunt while relaxing in the sun. All the stress and anxiety that filled her washing away, similar to the silk dripping down his dick.

"There you go. Fuck there, you fucking go, baby girl." And whenever he came inside her, god she felt limitless. No experience in the world could be shared between two souls could equal this primal connection.

 Her head had fallen against his shoulder, enjoying the electrical currents of ecstasy traveling through her as his hips continued to push his cum into her. 

Kisses traveled up and down her sweaty skin as Chris shoved his face into her neck. He was humming out a breath subconsciously to a random tune while soaking in the moment.

What came next was always the worst part. The inevitable of him having to pull out of her. Both of them groan while he lifts her off his softening dick to tuck her in the bed.

"Thank you." It was the first thing said as they basked in the aftermath of their lovemaking. He had her tucked under his arm, arms and legs intertwined. He kissed her temple whispering the words like a secret.

"Feel like I should be the one sayin’ that." Lips grazed her skin as he nodded his head no at her claim.

The moon was seeping through the curtains, painting their naked skin a blue hue. She doesn’t know if she’s seen or felt something so beautiful. So filled with warmth and passion.

"I fuckin’ love you." It was the first time she had said it first. Always relying on confirmation from him whenever they exchange vows.

Chris smile was brighter than the top of the Berliner Fernsehturm. Eyes sparkling. He immersed her in his hold, shoving her face into his chest, almost shielding her from anything that could penetrate their bubble.

"And I love you."

[theresa-of-liechtenstein]

bro was faurémaxxing and requiempilled (concert 1 recap)

honestly we sounded quite good but i personally felt my playing was sort of mid. the soloists were amazing and the choir was too. but either way, most of the Drama happened before the concert

did not start off this concert on a very good note unfortunately. five minutes before orchestra is supposed to be on stage for running through spots i get a call from the most problematic person in the section, this inconsistent and unrepentant second year.

i pick up and she goes “can you do me a big favor? my instrument is in the locker room can you ask [tita conductor] for the key?”

mind you. the locker room is HALF A MILE from the theater. at the time tita conductor was launching herself around the stage barking orders at stage crew to assemble the chairs and stands for the orchestra configuration. everyone knows and has been told repeatedly that the locker rooms must be assumed unreachable on weekends

and the thing that pissed me off too was how this girl phrased it. “a favor” as if it was a small thing to approach a woman i KNOW can get really fucking snippy when she has too much on her plate. not even “i’m sorry.” just a favor. i was displeased and i made sure to inform the kid that this was not a simple matter

i was next to a brass player, who is in my major but two years younger, and off his concerned look i told him what was going on as soon as i hung up and he winced and said, ‘she’ll ascend.’

‘i know,’ i replied desolately.

‘well, she likes you,’ he started but i gave him a look and he said ‘you can say it’s not your fault. do you want me to back you up? i think she likes me’

i was really starting to feel scared about it and was touched that he’d offered, so i said ‘sure’

we headed onstage carrying our instruments and made to set up, but half the chairs were still not ready and crew members were so confused as to how many stands each chair should have. tita conductor bustled past and barked ‘violins, move and take your delicate instruments with you!’

brass player and i looked despondently at one another and we got temporarily separated

i set my instrument down somewhere, god knows where because i was so stressed at that point, and headed backstage to answer another call from my sectionmate, who had already texted demanding an update

lo and behold, as i picked up the phone, the brass player reappeared and said, ‘here!’ and pressed a key into my hand. off my shocked look he said ‘i just asked if i could have the key and she gave it to me.’

i fervently thanked him for my life, gave the key to the sectionmate, who had shown up at the theater anyway, and told her firmly never to do something like that again

back on stage, there were at least two extra stands and one extra chair cluttering the section. i moved my instrument to my actual section and went to help move away the extra stands. tita conductor was there too and i said ‘ill take one away’ and she looked at me and said ‘no, i can take both’

completely forgetting where i was and who i was talking to, i slipped into a hard filipino accent (the kind i would use at home) and said ‘if you will take one i can take the other back with the extra chair.’

reader when i tell you she GOGGLED at me.

finally she was like ‘…okay’ and followed that with ‘i hope you got your instrument…?’ which i guess brass player had given some context that it was i who needed it but i said curtly ‘it wasn’t me’ and that was that.

after the orchestral warm-up/spot run through, tita conductor got the accompanist to direct the singers to file onto their risers; as they were doing so, she looked around the orchestra and asked ‘who’s graduating?’

several fingers were pointed in my direction.

‘but you’re staying,’ she said fervently, ‘so i don’t need to…’ and then either she trailed off or i missed what she’d said

i joked back up at her ‘you’ll be annoyed by me. you will be like, leave, em, go away’

‘oh of course not,’ she said back to me, warmly

we finished the warm-up and got through the first half of the concert (after a truly earthshatteringly loud pre-concert announcement) and as i was coming off stage i got jumpscared by tita conductor wedged into the corner of stage right wing staring wordlessly at us like some owl perched silently on a tree branch

chamber singers had a couple of songs before intermission so i watched them. they were good, because of course they were.

at intermission i was hanging out backstage with ate honorsprofessor while the stagehands were putting the stage into the requiem configuration (no high winds, strings, fuckton of risers)

tita conductor walked over and—i guess we were just the right people for her to vent about things—said ‘tomorrow night, i want to get the woodwinds to help with the chairs and the stage. this is taking far too long’ turned and walked away. like go girl speak your mind girl let it out

the requiem was SO much fun and the soloists got a standing ovation (both opera singers in the LA area. they were so fucking good)

took a quartet selfie and went home

now one more concert before the school year is over! hopefully not as chaotic as today lmao.

[inkofamethyst]

December 10, 2022

Thinking about how I had the weirdest, most emotionally-draining weekend a year ago.  I had a mild anxiety attack over being asked out, I lost the solo I’d worked so hard on (they cut the song out of the repertoire (every time I go to an event where this one specific girl who was involved in that decision is also there, I learn a little bit more about that situation and I think she just feels really really bad about it but apparently most of the sections were struggling with it and it just wasn’t coming together)), and then there was a covid outbreak the following week that postponed the concerts altogether.  Hmph.  Memories.  And lots of journaling this week.

I finished Crooked Kingdom last night!!!  Loved it!!!  Thought the.. shocking event near the end was kind of glossed over to the point where I felt insulted for that character, but whatever.  GAH it’s got to be one of my favorite YA series.  Now I have to figure out what to read next...  OH!  That book about Jean Luc Picard, of course!

Also I’ve seen two spiders in my room in less than a week???  That is unacceptable!  The main downside to winter is that all the big buggos decide to stay inside more as well and I hate them for it!  If I could have one superpower it would be the ability to maintain a 20 foot radius of no bugs (secondarily, I’d like kinetic energy manipulation, like Quake :D).

Anyway, you know what time it is.  I’m overly ambitious and I’ve got six weeks of no school and I wanna use ‘em, so it’s time for... Winter!  Break!  Goals!!!  We all know the rules to this game, but for any newcomers, allow me to elucidate.  There’s a bunch of stuff that I plan to do whenever I’m home from school, and I consider a long break to be successful if I can finish three of them.  So let’s begin the list, shall we?

Input all the dna sequence data for my research and get back on that grind (and also just organize my data a bunch more)

Read up a bunch of archaeology and geology papers, also for research purposes

Teach my dancer-friend how to read music so she can audition for choir (if she still wants)

Maybe go to the zoo?  (this is less of a goal but there’s a lil zoo near my campus that I’ve never been to)

Stretch three times a week (to prepare for ballet in the spring)

Just do one alteration/mend, just one is all I ask

Maybe make that one dope jumpsuit from Mood Patterns

Make a mockup of that ulster coat for my dad (and also maybe find the fabric for it)

Make the cropped jacket from Charm Patterns, or at least a good draft of it

Make/find a petticoat or slip or something that will allow me to wear long circle skirts without them sliding between my legs

Maybe go ice skating

Make more of my off-brand jerk spice mix

Finish that Paradise arrangement

Find people for my One More Soul arrangement

Find a dress for the orchestra’s spring formal

This winter will be an interesting one because I have to fit in some of my goals while also being a TA for the first time which I’m really looking forward to.  It’s a subject that I could probably (and would love the opportunity to) talk about for sixty hours straight.

Today I’m thankful for the fact that my blackened salmon turned out really really well???  It’s my first time making salmon myself, and I was afraid of overcooking/drying it out but it went really well!!  I think next time, I might try marinading it beforehand to see if the spice flavors can seep deeper into the flesh, but it was absurdly quick to make and I’ll get four dinners out of it.  The only problem is that salmon ain’t cheap lol.

I’m really looking forward to the concerts tomorrow (even if the twelve-hour day drives me to madness! (though I’ll be able to test how much time I’ll actually need to get from my apartment to my “early” class next semester at the performing arts building in the mornings and what that’ll mean for my wake-up time))!  I’m also looking forward to them being over so I can focus on other things (like getting some sleep <3 (and also my apps and essays lol))!

[umichenginabroad]

WEEK 2: VIENNA & FRIENDS

Hi, it’s Jules with another blog in Prague! Last weekend, my roomies and I took our first weekend trip together to the beautiful city of Vienna in Austria. After classes this week, my friends from Michigan flew in from all over to visit me in Prague, giving me my first taste of home since my study abroad started. Let’s jump in with a few pictures from Vienna first. 

We got so lucky with the weekend that we visited Vienna because it fell during the annual Summer Orchestra Concert at Schonbrunn Palace and the Vienna Pride Parade. We bought a Eurail train pass, so we took a 4 hour high speed train early Friday morning. On Friday, we visited the Belvedere Palace and museum where we observed the infamous painting “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt. Following our art expedition, we checked into our hostel. It was my first time staying in a hostel, and it was definitely an experience! I loved being able to meet travelers from all over the world and being given so many great recommendations by the hostel. The Summer Orchestra Concert occurred on Friday night, and it was nothing short of magnificent. From the orchestra conductor’s passion to the color-changing light show, we were all mesmerized by the production and beauty of the concert in the garden of the palace. 

On Saturday, my friends and I explored the city of Vienna and joined in walking in the Pride Parade for a little bit. The vibes and food were amazing. After a full day of shopping and touring, we headed to a bar called Travel Shack, one of our hostel’s recommendations, and met so many people traveling around Europe. We even met a group of guys visiting Vienna that weekend who were also studying in Prague and live just one block away from our apartment. On Sunday, we had a peaceful day of brunch and views before training back home to Prague. I think one of the only downsides of Vienna was the price. Compared to Prague, Vienna is definitely more expensive. 

My week of classes felt familiar and flew by. I explored a few good study spots this week, including the National Library of the Czech Republic and Cafe Du. My favorite Golden City class expedition this week was the trip to Baroque churches, especially the Church of Our Lady Victorious. Thanks to the help of my roomies and TikTok recipes, I’ve improved my cooking skills in the kitchen. My roomies and I typically make breakfast in the mornings separately but cook together for dinner.

I had special guests in Prague this week: a couple friends from the University of Michigan! Two of them flew in from the Bay Area on Wednesday before heading to London for study abroad. Another one flew in from Madrid, where she’s studying abroad through LSA. I got to re-explore more of Prague with them, check off restaurants that have been on my “want-to-go” list, and give them a taste of Prague’s nightlife. I will forever keep the memories of my dining out experiences with them. Here’s a short highlight from our sushi dinner: I asked our server if the restaurant served hand rolls; both the server and chef had never heard of them before; using pictures found online and a list of ingredients they had gotten from me, the chef made me a spicy tuna hand roll for the first time for free!; and I (of course) had to give them a glowing 5 star review. 

My special visitors!!! Custom spicy tuna hand roll

Anyways, my week here has been such a blast. I can’t even begin to think about moving back to America again. I feel so lucky to have had such a fun weekend in Vienna and to have such incredible friends from school who came to visit my life here. And next weekend, it’s my turn to walk in the shoes of my friend who’s studying abroad in Madrid! I’ll catch you guys next week with another blog!

Jules Hwang

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Engineering in Prague

[jadevalentine-writes]

Long ago, @intentlydivided sent me a prompt request for one of my follower milestones with "wangxian making out under the bleachers". Tumblr ate the post (of course) but the finished work lives at last! I hope you all enjoy!

Title: This One Time, At Band Camp

Pairing: Wei Wuxian x Lan Wangji

Words: 10,000+

LINK TO AO3

For most high schoolers, the sound of the last bell on Fridays was the herald to the start of the weekend. Bookbags would be frantically packed and coats would quickly be retrieved from lockers before a mass exodus of teens would pour from the numerous exits to forget about homework, projects, papers, and exams for at least forty-eight hours.

For members of the marching band, at least during football season, the last bell on Fridays signaled the beginning of an amorphous time that stretched until either the home football game started or the bus left for the away games. Some students went home before returning to get into uniform while others stayed at the school. Those that stayed found many ways to keep themselves occupied, whether it was hosting and participating in Guitar Hero tournaments in the main music room or attempting to get in a few hours of practice or homework in the private music rooms. The ones who stayed usually went across the street to the subpar fast-food place to have an early dinner. The few lucky enough to have their license and a car would opt to drive downtown for the bliss of cheap fast-food tacos and marginally better hamburgers.

Being without a car and uninterested in Guitar Hero, Wei Wuxian usually spent his hours before call time scarfing down chili cheese fries from the fast food joint across the street and wandering around the school after hours. His brother, Jiang Cheng, and his best friend, Nie Huaisang, usually accompanied him on his exploits. But today he had his sights set on someone else for company.

To say Wei Wuxian was in love with Lan Wangji was an understatement.

Since eighth grade orchestra, Wei Wuxian had an ocean-sized crush on the somber first chair violin. The first day Wei Wuxian witnessed Lan Wangji stand and tune the orchestra at the beginning of class, with his perfect posture and his long hair loosely tied back with a white ribbon, it was all over. He stared, mouth agape, not realizing he should be tuning his flute until he felt Nie Huaisang, who played clarinet, kick his chair from behind. It was not a moment too soon, as their director’s hawkish gaze soon fell on Wei Wuxian, his graying brows raised as Wei Wuxian quickly acted like he was busy tuning and that staring intently at Lan Wangji was a natural part of that.

The moment class was over, and Wei Wuxian had tucked his flute back in its locker, he cornered Jiang Chang, who played trumpet, and gushed.

“Ohmygod, A-Cheng! Haveyouseenamoreperfecthumanthanthefirstchairviolin!?”

Jiang Chang had stared at Wei Wuxian, his face oddly calm and blank. Then he yanked Wei Wuxian’s ponytail, hard, and growled.

“What did I tell you about breathing when you speak!? Repeat, but slower, if you want me to understand!”

After rubbing his sore scalp, Wei Wuxian repeated himself. All it earned him in return was an eye roll and a punch to his upper arm as they walked to their next class.

“That’s the district music director’s nephew, dipshit,” Jiang Cheng hissed. “If you want to pursue anything music related in high school, it would not be wise to offend his nephew!”

Even Wei Wuxian, who had a stubborn streak in him half a mild wide, could not argue with that logic. So he kept his interactions to a minimum, and just continued to stare for the next three years.

Once he was first chair flute in orchestra, his view was near perfect during daily rehearsal. He was content with stealing glances during rehearsals and concerts and outright staring during warm-ups and tuning.

Then there was the matter of marching band. It came as no surprise when Lan Wangji was anointed drum major at the beginning of the summer. The assignment was equal parts nepotism and talent, if the grumblings among the ranks could be trusted, but it did align well with Lan Wangji’s prospects of pursuing a music career in college.

For Wei Wuxian, the assignment gave him all the more reason to keep his eyes on Lan Wangji. He was their leader on the field, both in music and marching, and it was tempo suicide to have your eyes stray from his hands for too long. His deep voice would boom across the practice field and the stadium as he brought them out of parade rest. There was no doubt that Lan Wangji commanded respect - he simply exuded the air of someone to be listened to without even raising his voice. Put him in a uniform that accented his broad shoulders and place him on a literal podium, and Wei Wuxian had enough fantasy fodder to last him a lifetime.

Being the first chair flute in orchestra also made Wei Wuxian the section leader for the flutes and piccolos in marching band. As a result, he had the opportunity to interact with Lan Wangji more often than usual in section leader meetings and anytime he needed copies of music. Wei Wuxian tried to keep his interactions cordial and professional as Jiang Cheng had advised, but he found it to be a losing battle. He just wanted to be around Lan Wangji, and surely if he was a bother Lan Wangji would say something.

Wei Wuxian would stay with Lan Wangji after section leader meetings ended and prattle away while Lan Wangji silently revised drills. Wei Wuxian would hover at Lan Wangji’s side and chat while he made copies of music and then filed it away. All the while, Wei Wuxian would either pace or sit on tables, swinging his legs absently as he talked while Lan Wangji sat or stood, spine straight and seemingly ignoring the other boy while he performed his task.

Lan Wangji would give a small verbal response every now and then if Wei Wuxian asked a direct question, though it was nothing more than a sound like “mn” in his throat. He even started to look at Wei Wuxian, his gold eyes tracking Wei Wuxian in his pacing or focusing on the knee holes in his black skinny jeans if Wei Wuxian was seated cross-legged on a desk. Lan Wangji would glare when Wei Wuxian would absently twirl his piccolo during water breaks on the field but Wei Wuxian thought he would see the slightest indication of a smile if he ever waved in his direction or jogged over to chat.

With all their history in mind, Wei Wuxian felt fairly confident about his plan to invite Lan Wangji to explore the school after hours that Friday night. Wei Wuxian had hinted at it before, but Lan Wangji had either not picked up on his requests or ignored him. Wei Wuxian planned on being more direct tonight.

After the last bell, Wei Wuxian made his way to the main music room after collecting his things from his locker. Upon entering, he spotted Lan Wangji sitting in his usual seat to the left of the podium reviewing the score for tonight’s show. Wei Wuxian grinned as he plopped down in the vacant seat next to Lan Wangji.

“Aya, Lan Zhan, are you seriously going to review that all night?”

Lan Wangji cut his eyes in Wei Wuxian’s direction before returning them to the score on his stand, his hands raising again to practice conducting.

“Yes.”

Wei Wuxian waved his right hand dismissively in front of him as he leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him.

“Pah, you’ll be fine. None of us will know if you mess up, anyway. You have all the big cues down, at least enough for us to stay together.”

Lan Wangji’s shoulders tensed and he paused in the middle of a bar.

“Our director would notice,” Lan Wangji said softly before rolling his shoulders and starting again.

Wei Wuxian frowned. Lan Wangji was not a man of many words, but it did not take a psychic to realize that the young man was under a lot of pressure from his music director uncle. If Lan Wangji’s stiff posture, which transcended the music room, and studious behavior were not enough of an indicator, than the way that he referred to his uncle as almost solely Director Lan was. Since it was Wei Wuxian’s specialty to stare at Lan Wangji, he also noticed that as of late Lan Wangji’s grip on his violin was more white knuckled and firm, as though his whole body was an overtightened string ready to snap.

“Hey,” Wei Wuxian said softly as he sat up and leaned towards Lan Wangji. “Everyone deserves a break. How about we take a walk around the building?”

Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes slightly. “It’s against the rules to be in the building after hours.”

Wei Wuxian stood up and shrugged. “We won’t go far. Besides, we’re technically in the building after hours every Friday, but we don’t get in trouble as long as we stay in the music wing.” Wei Wuxian offered his hand and tilted his head to one side, his high ponytail sliding over his shoulder. “You coming?”

Lan Wangji’s brow furrowed and Wei Wuxian had to bite back a smile as he watched Lan Wangji parse through the rules lawyering Wei Wuxian just presented. With a furtive glance towards his uncle’s office door, which was closed, Lan Wangji stood and closed the score on his music stand. Wei Wuxian silently clenched his fist in victory as Lan Wangji cleared the music stand and started towards the instrument lockers to put away his things. Wei Wuxian followed suit and stuffed his book bag and hoodie in the impossibly small locker that housed his flute and piccolo. When he stood, Lan Wangji was standing silently by the back door of the instrument locker room. If Wei Wuxian was not well-versed in Lan Wangji’s varied microexpressions after years of study, he would have thought the young man looked impatient. Luckily Wei Wuxian interpreted his slightly pinched expression for what it truly was: nervousness.

“Don’t worry,” Wei Wuxian said with a grin as he pushed through the back door into a small hallway, “we won’t get in trouble. Trust me.”

“Mn.”

Only a quarter hour had passed since the final bell and already the high school was a ghost town as neither students nor staff lingered long on a Friday. The only people they passed were other marching band members and they did nothing more than give a small wave once they realized who Wei Wuxian was walking with. Wei Wuxian frowned. He knew many of their orchestra classmates were jealous of Lan Wangji’s talent, but he suspected that jealousy had only doubled since Lan Wangji became the drum major for the marching band.

“The dude’s a narc,” Jiang Cheng had spat one Friday as they waited for the bus. “No one wants to be friends with him because if they misstep, his uncle will find out.”

“I want to be friends with him,” Wei Wuxian had replied, watching Lan Wangji listen to his uncle with his hands clasped lightly behind his back. “And not just to ride his musical coattails.”

“No, you’d rather ride other things,” Nie Huaisang mumbled as he applied lip gloss while looking in a pocket mirror. When Wei Wuxian flipped him off, he grinned.

Wei Wuxian pushed the conversation from his head and the frown from his face as they came to the end of the music wing hallway. He paused and peeked into the connecting hallway. Once he determined the coast was clear, he stepped forward and beckoned for Lan Wangji to follow.

“I thought we were staying in the music wing?” Lan Wangji asked as they passed by the open common area that acted as the high school’s lunch room.

“We’ll be music wing adjacent,” Wei Wuxian replied. “I thought it would be neat to check out the main gym when it’s empty.”

Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes but continued to follow Wei Wuxian. “Why?”

The question was fair considering they would spend a fair amount of their time in the main gym for pep band once basketball season started.

“I don’t know,” Wei Wuxian shrugged. “But we have nothing better to do so let’s go!”

As luck would have it, the first set of double doors Wei Wuxian tried was unlocked. After poking his head inside, Wei Wuxian motioned for Lan Wangji to follow.

The gymnasium was empty and dark except for the solitary security light over the center of the basketball court. The bleachers were pulled out, much to Wei Wuxian’s delight, and there were racks of basketballs lining what would be the homeside of the gym. Wei Wuxian latched onto Lan Wangji’s wrist and pulled him towards the visitor side bleachers.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said firmly, warning evident in his voice as they ducked under a cross beam and stepped under the bleachers.

Wei Wuxian stopped suddenly, eyes wide and adjusting slowly in the darkness. He was not sure Lan Wangji even knew his given name, though he supposed Jiang Cheng shouted it enough for it to be known by the whole instrumental music department this late in their high school career. Wei Wuxian had started using Lan Wangji’s given name recently mostly as a way to tease him, but he never expected Lan Wangji to do the same thing. It was unexpectedly intimate, as was their proximity as Wei Wuxian’s sudden stopping had Lan Wangji bumping into his side and then immediately stepping back.

A devilish thought entered Wei Wuxian’s brain and he smiled in the darkness as it took root.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said quietly as he gently tugged at Lan Wangji’s wrist and started to walk towards the back of the bleachers. “Do you know the best way to pass the time at sporting events?”

As Wei Wuxian’s eyes adjusted, he could see Lan Wangji’s brows draw together in concentration.

“No.”

Wei Wuxian smirked as he arrived at the back wall. Slowly, he turned and leaned against it, his hand still loosely clasped around Lan Wangji’s wrist.

“It’s making out. Usually under the bleachers for maximum privacy.” Wei Wuxian grinned and tried to push memories of all the times he ran across Jiang Cheng making out with Nie Huaisang under football bleachers out of his mind.

“Wanna give it a try?” Wei Wuxian asked, ensuring his tone was light and playful, just slightly under teasing with a hint of sincerity. Making out with Lan Wangji under the bleachers had been a carefully curated fantasy of Wei Wuxian’s for the past three years. He doubted it would come to fruition anytime soon. If anything, he expected Lan Wangji to be upset at the notion, to pull his wrist out of Wei Wuxian’s grasp and scowl, to stomp away and make his way back to the music wing alone, disappointed in himself for letting someone like Wei Wuxian distract him from his duties.

What Wei Wuxian did not expect was for Lan Wangji to push him against the back wall and close into his space.

Although a similar chain of events had played out in Wei Wuxian’s daydreams numerous times, when faced with reality his fight or flight responses overrode his usually imagined reaction. Wei Wuxian panicked slightly at being boxed in and reflexively placed the palms of his hands on Lan Wangji’s chest and pushed back lightly. Lan Wangji complied and pulled back slightly, but narrowed his eyes in confusion, which just made Wei Wuxian panic more as he watched what was probably his one window of opportunity start to close in front of him. He would later blame that mounting panic for his complete lack of censor.

“I’ve wanted this since…eighth grade?” Wei Wuxian winced as he watched Lan Wangji, looking for the inevitable sign of realization which would end up with him alone under the bleachers. “I…do you…um…” Wei Wuxian swallowed and watched with newfound hope as Lan Wangji’s eyes tracked from his eyes to his lips and back.

“You think I’m…I’m annoying,” Wei Wuxian said softly, trying to give Lan Wangji an escape even yet. “I…I never pay attention.” Although Wei Wuxian supposed the two claims were true, he never actually heard the words from Lan Wangji’s mouth. Rather those observations were circulated by the rest of the music department and often reached Wei Wuxian’s ears, but Wei Wuxian just chalked it up to another kind of jealousy and thought nothing of it.

Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian’s gaze. In the near darkness, Wei Wuxian saw the edges of Lan Wangji’s mouth curl upwards slightly.

“You are distracting,” Lan Wangji said softly, his deep timbre reverberating in the small space between them. “But,” Lan Wangji continued with a tilt of his head, “it’s not a bad thing.”

“Oh…” Wei Wuxian said, blinking slowly. Then he paused. “Oh!” Wei Wuxian managed a nervous smirk. “How am I distracting, er-gege?”

Lan Wangji’s eyes dropped back to Wei Wuxian’s lips. When he returned his gaze, he swallowed and Wei Wuxian could imagine Lan Wangji’s ears reddening in embarrassment. Emboldened, Wei Wuxian, whose hands were still on Lan Wangji’s chest, pulled Lan Wangji closer by his shirt front.

“Do you have dreams about me, Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian asked, his voice soft as he felt the heat roll of Lan Wangji’s body. Wei Wuxian had dreams about Lan Wangji…vivid ones. One that he acted on in the shower or late at night in bed, forever thankful he had his own room and no longer shared one with Jiang Cheng.

Wei Wuxian could feel Lan Wangji’s breath on his cheek. In just a few seconds, Wei Wuxian would have his first kiss with the boy that had occupied his heart for the past three years.

At least he would have if an annoying yet recognizable voice did not echo across the gymnasium.

“Balls are already out, boys! Let’s get to practicing!”

Wei Wuxian froze, his lips curling into a silent snarl.

Wen Chao and the rest of the basketball team.

Although the season wasn’t officially slated to start for another month, Wei Wuxian was not too surprised that the self proclaimed captain was already forcing the team to practice on a Friday. Wen Chao had a reputation for being a bully to his own team let alone members of the music department. Just their luck.

As the overhead lights in the gymnasium hummed to life, Wei Wuxian pressed his finger to his lips. He then motioned for Lan Wangji to follow him as they crept underneath the bleachers to the back corner of the gym. There was a hallway that ran behind either side of the gym that housed locker rooms and offices. If they could slip into the hallway, they could make it back to the music wing before Wen Chao was any the wiser.

It would have been the perfect plan if Wei Wuxian was able to focus. He turned his head for one moment, enough to send Lan Wangji an apologetic and hopeful smile, when his foot caught on a low cross bar.

“Shit!” Wei Wuxian hissed as he lurched forward. He felt Lan Wangji try to grab for him only to swipe at air as Wei Wuxian caught himself on two vertical posts with a loud bang. Wei Wuxian paused for a few moments, silently praying that the sound was not as loud as it seemed to him and Lan Wangji when-

“Hey, did you hear that?”

Fuck.

“Run!” Wei Wuxian hissed.

There was the telltale squeak of sneakers on polished wood and then Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji ducked into the back hallway. They ran, reaching the end of the hall as one of the basketball players skidded into the other end, Wen Chao’s screaming echoing behind them. They ran out of the athletic wing, took a detour through a courtyard, and eventually wound their way back to the music wing. They ducked into a corridor and waited, their chests heaving and hearts pounding. A few minutes passed, but there was no sound of a mob of athletes tearing down the music wing looking for two fugitives.

Once he was assured of their safety, Wei Wuxian started laughing, so much so that he doubled over, his hands on his knees. When he straightened, he fixed Lan Wangji with a wide grin. Lan Wangji looked around them and then raised a dark brow. Wei Wuxian paused with brief confusion before he looked around them and realized they were near the private practice rooms.

“Oh, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian scolded lightly, “you are shameless.”

“Mn.”

The single sound was all the warning Wei Wuxian got before Lan Wangji manhandled him into the nearest private practice room. They did not bother to turn the lights on and once the thick glass door was closed behind them, the sounds of the outside world were sealed off. Lan Wangji pressed Wei Wuxian roughly against the wall and pressed their mouths together. Wei Wuxian’s lips parted in surprise at Lan Wangji’s forwardness and was rewarded with Lan Wangji licking into his mouth. Wei Wuxian moaned, the sound in his throat amplified in the small soundbooth-esque room.

Wei Wuxian must have been fucking dreaming. At least that was the only logical conclusion he could reach as to why he would be making out with Lan Wangji in a practice room. He had had this fantasy too many times before, so much so that he must have perfected it, but he doubted he could have all of the sensory details that he was being overloaded with right now. He doubted he could conjure up the feeling of Lan Wangji’s tongue against his own, or the weight of Lan Wangji’s body against his, or the feeling of Lan Wangji’s warm hand sneaking up his shirt.

Wei Wuxian jerked slightly and regrettably broke off their extremely hot and frankly obscene kiss. In the shadows created by the hall lights, Wei Wuxian watched Lan Wangji’s eyes, with pupils blown wide, refocus on Wei Wuxian’s face.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Wei Wuxian panted. “I…oh god.” He swallowed, struggling to grasp the basics of human language as he fought against the southern current of blood flow. “I…I want to. I would love to keep going but…ah…”

Lan Wangji immediately took a step back and smoothed the bottom of Wei Wuxian’s shirt, though his hands remained on Wei Wuxian’s hips.

“I understand,” Lan Wangji said evenly.

Wei Wuxian felt his breath catch as he heard the faintest note of disappointment in Lan Wangji’s voice.

“No, no, no,” Wei Wuxian said quickly as he gently pulled Lan Wangji back to him. “I…I don’t want to go too fast…um…even though my body may say otherwise.”

Lan Wangji ran his eyes down Wei Wuxian’s body, from chin to chest and down further, as though the culprit would manifest itself. Wei Wuxian was thankful for the almost complete darkness in the room, or else his boner would have been even more apparent. Eventually Lan Wangji’s eyes returned to his own and he nodded.

“We can keep kissing,” Wei Wuxian said softly as he threaded his arms around Lan Wangji’s neck. “It just has to be…gentle.”

Lan Wangji emitted a sound like a snort as he spread his hands over Wei Wuxian’s waist. “I can be gentle,” he rumbled softly.

Wei Wuxian was thankful for the support of the wall at his back as his knees grew unstable. He could not help the smirk that stretched across his face. “Prove it, Lan Zhan.”

The last real thought Wei Wuxian had was that it was unfair that someone as handsome as Lan Wangji could both kiss him into oblivion and also kiss him like he was a revered treasure. Then he was lost to the lazy caress of Lan Wangji’s lips against his own. They were Sunday kisses that did not have anywhere to be, the kind they would trade perhaps in the future after waking up together. They were goodnight kisses, soft and reassuring. They were kisses that left Wei Wuxian yearning, yearning to be held in Lan Wangji’s arms like this forever, even if it meant living in the practice booth for the rest of his life.

It was a travesty against humanity when it was ruined by the blare of a cell phone, the sound near deafening in the booth.

Lan Wangji growled and Wei Wuxian felt every fiber of his body polarize at the sound. Wei Wuxian withheld a whine as Lan Wangji stepped back and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. The screen illuminated the scowl on his face as he narrowed his eyes even further at the screen. Wei Wuxian could not tell if it was a text tone or a ringtone, but whoever it was was going to be cursed by him personally for the next one-hundred years for ruining his one opportunity to kiss Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji eventually slid his thumb across the screen, silencing the sound and extinguishing the only lightsource in the room. He then sighed heavily, as though he were a man about to go to war. When he spoke, Wei Wuxian assumed that he was.

“I have to go.” Lan Wangji’s voice was uncharacteristically rough and slightly strained. “I have to have dinner. With uncle. Before the game.”

Wei Wuxian bit his lip to keep from scowling. Leave it to Lan Qiren to ruin all of his fun, as per usual.

“It’s okay,” Wei Wuxian replied. “I’ll, um, see you on the bus.”

Lan Wangji stood there, staring, as though he wanted to say more. Then he gave a curt nod and exited the practice room.

Wei Wuxian waited until the door had clicked close, and the room was once again sealed and soundless. Then he slid to the floor and fisted his hands in his hair. He allowed himself a moment to be dramatic, to lament what would become a pivotal moment in his life: the transition from a world in which he fantasized about kissing Lan Wangji to a world where he had kissed Lan Wangji, but was never going to do so again. He took advantage of the soundproofing and let out a single anguished scream. Then he took a deep breath, straightened his ponytail, and stood. He felt like he had undergone a metamorphosis. He was a changed man, one who knew what it was like to be kissed senseless. It was dangerous information for a seventeen year old to have, but Wei Wuxian guarded it closely. For he was certain it was going to be a feeling he would revisit often, though only in his memories.

***

Wei Wuxian met up with Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang after Lan Wangji left to grab food, but even chili cheese fries could not lift his mood. Nie Huaisang prodded gently as to what was wrong and even offered to get Wei Wuxian a strawberry chocolate milkshake to make him feel better, but Jiang Cheng told him to let it go.

“He probably got rejected by Mr. Perfect, is all,” Jiang Cheng sneered as he aggressively dipped a fry in ketchup. “Let him mope.”

Nie Huaisang backhanded Jiang Cheng’s shoulder lightly. “A-Cheng! Be nice!”

When Jiang Cheng just shrugged, Nie Huaisang narrowed his eyes. As he extracted a cheese laden fry from the untouched pile in front of Wei Wuxian, he mumbled, “Mm, I seem to recall a certain someone crying when I ignored his text asking me out for an hour because I was watching a movie with da-ge.”

Jiang Cheng choked on his fries and pointed accusingly at Nie Huaisang. “You promised…you wouldn’t say anything!” he wheezed.

Nia Huaisang shrugged, mimicking Jiang Cheng’s nonchalance from earlier. Wei Wuxian cracked a small smile at the exchange and Nie Huaisang brightened.

“Ah! It was worth spilling the secret if it got A-Xian to smile!” Nie Huaisang said, holding his cheesy fry up victoriously.

Jiang Cheng growled and muttered “Traitor,” under his breath as he continued to eat his fries.

Despite the small reprieve, when Wei Wuxian put on his uniform that evening, he still felt numb. Usually the process of changing into uniform was lively, with suspenders being snapped playfully and freshmen being warned to have clean gloves. Wei Wuxian, however, could not bring himself to join in the usual festivities, even when Nie Huaisang threatened to pin Jiang Cheng down and apply show make-up.

It wasn’t until the majority of the marching band was standing outside, awaiting the arrival of the buses, that Wei Wuxian saw Lan Wangji again.

Wei Wuxian was always a sucker for a man in uniform, and Lan Wangji was no exception. Objectively, marching band uniforms did not make anyone look particularly flattering, with the exception of the guard, who wore form-fitting spandex or flowy pieces, depending on the show. But somehow, the drum major uniform accented all of Lan Wangji’s best features.

The white top was fitted with sharply cut shoulders which showcased how broad they actually wore. The top then tapered to meet black trousers that highlighted Lan Wangji’s slim waist and made him seem even taller and more imposing than he was. He even made the deep purple sash that crossed his chest and the half-cape that fluttered off his right shoulder look refined, though Wei Wuxian supposed that was more to do with how Lan Wangji carried himself than anything else. Currently he was standing next to his uncle, his hands clasped at his back as he listened with rapt attention, his long black hair braided in a single plait down the back of his neck.

Wei Wuxian sighed, both at the beautiful sight and in early mourning of his own hair, which would turn into a rats’ nest by the end of the night after he shoved it up under his plumed hat countless times. For now, he blew his unruly bangs out of his face and carried his hat like a basket by its chinstrap on his arm.

“It’s not polite to stare,” Jiang Cheng mumbled as he elbowed Wei Wuxian lightly in the ribs in an attempt to break his line of sight.

Wei Wuxian leveled Jiang Cheng with a glare and stepped behind Nie Huaisang, effectively protected from further elbowing by the smaller man in spandex, who raised a brow at Jiang Cheng as he applied lipgloss in a compact mirror. When Wei Wuxian looked back up, Lan Wangji was already gone, having boarded the first bus when it pulled up to the curb.

When it was time for the rest of the band to board, everyone migrated to their assigned bus. Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang were assigned to the first bus and usually sat as far in the back as possible. This was partly because Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji sat at the front of the bus, and mischief was easier to conduct if they weren’t under constant scrutiny. That and Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang were fond of making out on the drive home from away games, and the back of the bus was most conducive to that. Wei Wuxian usually entertained himself on the drive home by listening to music, staring out the window, and astutely ignoring whatever was going on around him, as his brother was not the only one to take advantage of the dim light.

Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang were ahead of Wei Wuxian as they boarded the bus after check-in. They proceeded down the aisle as usual. It was Wei Wuxian who stopped instead.

Lan Wangji was sitting at the first seat to the left, alone, the conductor’s score for tonight’s show open on his lap. He looked up and Wei Wuxian saw his eyes widen slightly.

“Mind if I sit here?” Wei Wuxian asked. The bus was barely occupied, but he swore he heard a hush fall over those present.

“No,” Lan Wangji said softly. He scooted closer to the window and Wei Wuxian took the invitation quickly. He tried to focus on Lan Wangji, a usually easy thing to do, but he couldn’t help but overhear Jiang Cheng’s voice carry from the back of the bus: “What the hell is he doing?”

“Are you, uh, practicing? For tonight?” Wei Wuxian asked as he deposited his hat, filled with his gloves and piccolo case, into his lap.

“Mn,” was Lan Wangji’s astute reply.

Wei Wuxian thought about apologizing. He was solely responsible for cutting into Lan Wangji’s practice time with their excursion earlier that afternoon. A small part of Wei Wuxian feared to acknowledge what happened. The memory was too precious to him. It was better just to keep what happened a secret, even between the two of them. He opted for another tactic instead.

“Can I help?”

Lan Wangji cut his eyes at Wei Wuxian and then returned them to the score, so Wei Wuxian elaborated.

“I can hum or sizzle the melody. Prepare you for the call and response part of conducting. Like I said earlier today-” he winced but barrelled on, hoping Lan Wangji would ignore his blunder-”you don’t need the practice, but I’ll help if it makes you feel better.”

Lan Wangji was silent, but Wei Wuxian heard the rustle of paper as his grip tightened on the score. Wei Wuxian’s heart tightened along with it. Then Lan Wangji’s grip relaxed and Wei Wuxian breathed.

“That would be very…helpful,” Lan Wangji said quietly.

Wei Wuxian smiled and turned in his seat to face Lan Wangji. “Really? Alright! Where do you want to start?”

Lan Wangji blinked at him. “The beginning.” As he glanced back at the score he added, “Obviously.”

Wei Wuxian snorted. “You’re so funny, Lan Zhan.” He bumped his right shoulder into Lan Wangji’s. “I like that.”

Lan Wangji swallowed and Wei Wuxian was delighted to see the very exposed tip of his left ear go pink. Lan Wangji then grunted and Wei Wuxian suppressed a giggle.

By the time Lan Wangji flipped back to the beginning of the score, the bus was loaded. Lan Qiren boarded and cast a sharp-eyed glare around the bus, mentally tallying the students. When he reached Lan Wangji’s seat he paused. Wei Wuxian held his stony gaze with the best innocent stare he could muster. He felt a sense of silent victory when Lan Qiren narrowed his eyes but ultimately took up his seat across from them. Then Wei Wuxian turned his attention back to Lan Wangji.

“Ready when you are, drum major!”

Lan Wangji sighed but Wei Wuxian caught the curl of his lips as he raised his hands and counted steadily, “One, two, three, four.”

***

The half-time show went off without a hitch as was expected. Lan Wangji did not miss a single beat, let alone a cue. He looked resplendent under the high-powered lights of the stadium, his cross-sash and hair shimmering as he conducted. It was Wei Wuxian’s job to watch him on the field, and he relished it. He doubted he would have taken his eyes off of him, even if it wasn’t his job.

The band did okay, too. Or at least, that’s what Wei Wuxian thought as they filed off the field. Outside of his own playing, and those near him in formation, he did not really pay much attention. Part of it was his usual distraction with Lan Wangji. The other part was a slowly gnawing hunger that started during warm-ups and hit full-stride halfway through their set. Apparently not eating dinner beforehand had been a poor choice.

After the band made their way off the field, they were given the third quarter off. They were permitted one free drink and food item from the concession stand and could spend their own money if they wanted more. Wei Wuxian was thinking how many soft pretzels he could buy with ten dollars as he followed the band members off the field. He usually joined in the mad rush, attempting to be first in line so that most of the third quarter could be spent eating food and relaxing before being required to play again during the fourth quarter. Tonight, however, he hung back and waited near the field gate.

Lan Qiren always lectured Lan Wangji immediately on his performance after a show. Wei Wuxian had asked why a few weeks ago and Lan Wangji explained that feedback was best given when the performance was fresh so that it was most effective. Since Lan Wangji and Lan Qiren were always the last band members off the field, the post-performance lectures often took place as they waited for the rest of the band to file off.

From Wei Wuxian’s point of view, it looked to be going well. Lan Qiren was actually smiling, which startled Wei Wuxian more than comforted him. He was not the only one caught off guard, however, as Lan Wangji almost stumbled when Lan Qiren clasped a hand firmly on his shoulder.

“You had unparalleled focus tonight, Wangji,” Wei Wuxian heard Lan Qiren say as they approached. “Whatever method you used to prepare for tonight should be duplicated in the future.”

Lan Wangji nodded solemnly. “Yes, director.”

Lan Qiren paused as he finally caught sight of Wei Wuxian waiting beyond the gate. He narrowed his eyes slightly before releasing Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

“Enjoy your break,” Lan Qiren said to Lan Wangji before he turned his steely gaze back to Wei Wuxian. “And don’t be late.”

Lan Wangji nodded. “I won’t be.”

Lan Qiren huffed and then took his leave, much to Wei Wuxian’s relief.

“Great job, as always, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian said with a wide smile as Lan Wangji fell in step next to him as they made their way to the concessions stand. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.”

“It’s your job to watch me,” Lan Wangji replied quietly.

“I know, but it’s one I thoroughly enjoy,” Wei Wuxian said with a wink. He let Lan Wangji save face and turned his attention to the concessions menu, though he did not miss the way Lan Wangji’s ears started to turn pink and he very much doubted it was from the late summer breeze. “Now, how many soft pretzels do you think I can get for ten dollars?”

Third quarter always went too fast, but Wei Wuxian thought it was insanely cruel that the one he spent with Lan Wangji seemed even shorter. Perhaps it was because they spent half the time in the concessions queue, but Wei Wuxian had barely made it through one of the three soft pretzels he bought before the majority marching band began to migrate back to the stands. He saw the panic mount in Lan Wangji’s eyes as he watched yet another person pass them by from where they stood next to a dilapidated picnic table.

“Go ahead,” Wei Wuxian said, gesturing towards the stands with the second pretzel. “I’ll be right behind you once I devour these.”

Lan Wangji remained rooted, his gold gaze flicking between Wei Wuxian and the visitor stands. He sighed and took a step towards the visitor stands. Then he stopped abruptly and turned.

“I’ll see you on the bus,” Lan Wangji said evenly. He held Wei Wuxian’s gaze for a moment before he turned back and made his way to the stands.

Wei Wuxian blinked, the soft pretzel halfway to his mouth. It was not a question, but a statement. Of course Lan Wangji would see him on the bus. They rode on the same one! Wei Wuxian tried not to think too much of it as he devoured the last two soft pretzels - a feat he was sure Lan Wangji would have been impressed with had he been present. He dusted salt off of the front of his uniform and bee-lined it to the stands just as the quarter ended. As he ascended the stands, he felt several pairs of eyes follow him, but the only ones that mattered to him were Lan Wangji’s.

***

The last quarter of an away football game always seemed to drag and tonight was no different. The fact that their team was losing made it worse, as they played the school fight song everytime that they scored. No scoring meant a boring evening of sitting in the stands, not playing, and watching the clock slowly countdown on the scoreboard.

Wei Wuxian passed his time as he usually did, by chatting with Jiang Cheng and the members of his section, but he could not shake the feeling of unfounded anxiety as the night wore on. His mind kept circling back to Lan Wangji’s comment at the end of third quarter. Then every time he looked down to the bottom of the stands where Lan Wangji was, he found the drum major already staring back at him. The two things coupled together made Wei Wuxian’s brain short circuit.

Thankfully the final buzzer eventually sounded and he was released from the mental anguish. The marching band fell into parade block, as was customary when moving between two points at an away game. Wei Wuxian’s section brought up the rear, literally as far away as possible from Lan Wangji. For once, the distance was welcome, as it provided Wei Wuxian with a bit of mental clarity, though it was short lived. Once the buses were in view, the parade block dissolved as band members migrated towards their respective bus or the equipment truck, depending on their instrument.

Having just his piccolo, Wei Wuxian had no choice but to walk to the first bus where Lan Wangji was waiting with Lan Qiren. They were talking quietly, so Wei Wuxian kept his distance. Once a few other students had filed in behind Wei Wuxian, Lan Qiren allowed them to board the bus as he checked their names off on his clipboard.

Lan Wangji had boarded first and when Wei Wuxian entered the bus, he expected to find him in his usual seat, the first on the left, dutifully across from where his uncle would sit. Instead he found Lan Wangji standing in the aisle, just past the first row of seats, as though waiting. As Wei Wuxian tilted his head in question, Lan Wangji grabbed his right wrist and started walking towards the back of the bus.

“Ah! Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian whispered as he stumbled forward. “What are you doing?”

“Going to our seat,” Lan Wangji replied, his head turned away from Wei Wuxian as he navigated the narrow aisle.

Our seat. Wei Wuxian swallowed and prayed that Lan Wangji could not feel his pulse spike in his wrist.

Lan Wangji kept walking until they reached the very back of the bus. He then turned and gestured for Wei Wuxian to get in the seat first. Wei Wuxian bit his bottom lip as he squeezed past Lan Wangji and all but fell into the seat. He pressed himself as far as he could against the cold metal wall and window as Lan Wangji sat next to him and turned towards him slightly, boxing him in.

Wei Wuxian slowly released the death grip he had on his hat and sat it gingerly on his lap as he attempted to nonchalantly brush the wild wisps of his hair out of his face with his other hand.

“Ah, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian ventured after he could ensure he would not squeak when speaking, “you never sit at the back of the bus.”

If it was an obvious statement, Lan Wangji did not make a show of it. He simply nodded before he replied.

“I did not have a reason to before.”

Wei Wuxian was fairly convinced he must have taken a football straight to the head at high speed and was currently laying in the middle of the football field suffering from the world’s worst concussion because there was no way in the world this night could get any better. First, Lan Wangji had kissed him within an inch of his life in a practice room, fulfilling not one, but multiple, fantasies of his. Then, Lan Wangji had actually let him sit next to him on the bus to the game. Now Lan Wangji had dragged Wei Wuxian to the back of the bus (another fantasy) for the drive home. Although he imagined they would talk, Wei Wuxian secretly hoped that was not all they would do. That’s not what the back seats of a dark school bus were for, after all. But first, Wei Wuxian had to know the answer to one question.

"Lan Zhan, why are you sitting with me?"

Golden eyes stared at him warmly, but with each millisecond that passed, Wei Wuxian felt his heart start to crack under the silence. He was about to brush off the question and claim temporary insanity when he noticed Lan Wangji's lips part slightly as though about to speak. Unfortunately, any words that would have followed were rudely cut off.

"Hey! Who the hell took my seat?!"

Wei Wuxian looked up to find an irritated Jiang Cheng, or really just a normal Jiang Cheng, stomping down the aisle with Nie Huaisang in tow. His glare was fixed on Lan Wangji but once his eyes slid to Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng's brows rose slightly. Wei Wuxian gave a small wave when Jiang Cheng came to a stop.

"Fancy seeing you two here!" Wei Wuxian forced a laugh. "Isn't that crazy, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Wangji's reply was a gruff "mn" as he maintained eye contact with Jiang Cheng, presenting an unspoken challenge. Jiang Cheng almost rose to the bait had Nie Huaisang not intervened.

"A-Cheng, let's sit here," Nie Huaisang said with a gentle pull of Jiang Cheng's arm towards the seat diagonally in front of them. "Come on."

Jiang Cheng glanced at Wei Wuxian, curiosity evident in his gaze. He then turned to Lan Wangji and narrowed his eyes one more time before he finally relented and sat down next to Nie Huaisang.

Lan Wangji continued to glare at the side of Jiang Cheng’s head until Wei Wuxian tugged on his sleeve gently. Lan Wangji’s attention swiveled back to Wei Wuxian so fast he nearly got whiplash.

“Ah, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said softly, demonstrating that he could in fact be quiet if he really put his mind to it, “you never answered my question.”

Lan Wangji’s lips parted with a slow blink, a silent “oh” written on his mouth. He then gently clasped Wei Wuxian’s free hand with both of his own. Wei Wuxian followed the movement like a laser, mourning that he was still wearing his gloves when Lan Wangji’s beautiful hands were bare, his own white gloves tucked under the right epaulet of his uniform. When he looked back up, Lan Wangji was holding his gaze, his eyes warm and somehow closer than they were before. Wei Wuxian felt his chest constrict, and just before he could succumb to Lan Wangji’s honey gaze, he turned his head towards the front of the bus.

Wei Wuxian followed his gaze, cursing whatever could have distracted Lan Wangji from him. What he saw made him want to slip to the floorboards, never to be seen again.

Lan Qiren was standing at the front of the bus to conduct the final headcount before they departed. Wei Wuxian watched as he counted, nodded, looked at the roster in his hand, and then nodded again. But then Lan Qiren’s gaze fell to the empty seat to his left. Immediately Lan Qiren’s scanned the bus like a hawk desperately looking for a rabbit in the brush. Wei Wuxian felt the second Lan Qiren had locked eyes with Lan Wangji, as the latter’s grip tightened on his hand minutely. Wei Wuxian braced himself for a scene, for Lan Qiren to shout and discipline his nephew in front of the entirety of the bus. But the thunderclap never came. Instead, Lan Qiren sat slowly in his seat, his eyes trained on the back of the bus for as long as he possibly could. Lan Wangji remained stoic, as though challenging his uncle with nothing but his gaze.

Wei Wuxian was so entranced, he missed the telltale hiss of the hydraulics as the bus door closed. The bus then lurched forward, and then the interior lights shut off, heralding the start of the journey home.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes did not have a chance to adjust to the darkness before he felt Lan Wangji’s lips against his own. This kiss lacked the urgency felt in the practice room, and although Wei Wuxian missed it, he savored the softness. When Lan Wangji reluctantly withdrew, it was brief, the point of facial contact immediately replaced by Lan Wangji leaning his forehead against Wei Wuxian’s own, their hands still intertwined.

“I like Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said softly, his deep voice barely audible against the roar of the diesel engine. “To answer your question.”

Wei Wuxian’s world stopped and narrowed to the singular point of contact between their foreheads. He had daydreamed about this moment almost as much as the kisses he had shared with Lan Wangji earlier that day. Unfortunately, no amount of fictitious scenarios could prepare him for reality.

Instead of reacting like he often fantasized, he mumbled, “Like…like like?”

In the orange glow of the passing street lights, Wei Wuxian saw Lan Wangji narrow his eyes slightly, but the corners of his lips were turned up in a smirk. As the next street light passed, Wei Wuxian’s lips were caught once more, this time in a searing kiss, one that pushed him back against the window as Lan Wangji’s hands curled in the front of his uniform jacket. Lan Wangji’s actions definitely spoke louder than words.

Wei Wuxian felt like he was drowning in the best way. His only regret was the layers of musty band uniform that separated Lan Wangji’s hands from his bare skin. The regret only grew stronger as the kisses seemed to blossom in intensity. When Wei Wuxian broke away in a quiet gasp for breath, Lan Wangji mapped his lips across his chin and his throat. Before he could go further, Wei Wuxian nudged Lan Wangji gently back by his shoulder.

“Ah, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian panted. “Please! Have mercy on me!” Wei Wuxian gave Lan Wangji a shaky grin as he silently willed away the world’s most uncomfortable boner. “I am weak!”

Lan Wangji raised his dark brows slightly. Then he gave Wei Wuxian a once over and Wei Wuxian could swear he felt where his gaze lingered, although his only response was a deep, “Mn.”

Lan Wangji then sat back against the seat and offered his right hand, palm up, to Wei Wuxian. It was a silent offer for a break, one that Wei Wuxian greedily accepted as he strategically placed his hat over his lap. Once his hand was laced with Lan Wangji’s, he tentatively rested his head on Lan Wangji’s shoulder. What surprised him most was not that he was snuggling with Lan Wangji in the back of the bus, but rather that Lan Wangji initiated the snuggling, and even kissed the top of his head when he placed it on his shoulder. Wei Wuxian spent the rest of the ride back staring at their entwined hands and how Lan Wangji’s thumb brushed over his own.

***

The lights coming on in the bus always seemed to break a spell. Slowly, sleepy students would rouse themselves. Those that were entangled in embraces would part and move a respectable distance away from one another. For Wei Wuxian, the glare of the lights gave him the chance to check on reality. When he tilted his head up and was met with Lan Wangji’s soft smile, he thought perhaps he had died, either from the aforementioned concussion or perhaps in a terrible bus crash. The headlines would be devastating, but well worth it if he somehow wound up cuddling with Lan Wangji.  

They were in no rush to move away from one another as students started to get restless. In fact, they waited until most of the bus had emptied before even standing. Wei Wuxian’s hand was still clasped in Lan Wangji’s as they walked up the aisle, the last pair to leave the bus. Wei Wuxian only let go when Lan Wangji descended the stairs, and that was only out of safety. He intended to grab Lan Wangji’s hand again upon exiting but was stopped short by the sight of Lan Qiren standing on the sidewalk, greying brows furrowed at his nephew who stood just in front of Wei Wuxian.

“Wangji,” Lan Qiren said sternly. “A word.”

Wei Wuxian saw Lan Wangji’s shoulders twitch slightly under the parking lot lights before he stepped forward, head held high towards his uncle.

Wei Wuxian, like the coward he was, took the opportunity to beeline to the locker room. By the time he entered, most of the crowd had thinned out as the many band cliques had dispersed to either head home or go out for a late night dinner of half-price appetizers at Applebee’s. When Wei Wuxian had successfully backtracked to his instrument locker and retrieved his bookbag, the campus was nearly deserted.

Lan Wangji was no longer outside the exterior doors awaiting trial in front of his uncle, either. Wei Wuxian felt his heart drop, as they had not communicated a plan when they exited the bus. Hell, they had not really communicated anything other than liking each other, and Wei Wuxian felt nauseous when he looked at that thought too closely. As he looked around somewhat frantically, he heard a distinctive whistle, Jiang Cheng’s call that he was at his car and waiting. Wei Wuxian growled and adjusted the strap of his overstuffed bookbag as he stomped over to the now almost empty edge of the student parking lot.

“Hey,” Jiang Cheng called from where he leaned against the passenger door, trying his best to make his erratic hair, athletic shorts, faded band t-shirt, and long black dress socks look cool. “I’m going to take Huaisang home. You good to walk home?”

Wei Wuxian stopped in his tracks though it was a usual agreement. Jiang Cheng always drove Nie Huaisang home on Friday nights after the football game. Besides, it was a well established code that although Jiang Cheng did in fact drive Nie Huaisang home, his real objective was to ensure they made out for as long as possible while parked in the street before Nie Mingjue turned on the porch as a warning. As a result, Wei Wuxian often trekked home if the weather permitted it. Tonight, of course, was clear and cool, so Jiang Cheng did not feel an ounce of guilt at his request.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Wei Wuxian responded, though he felt anything but.

Jiang Cheng gave a curt nod. “Cool. See you at home.” As he crossed to the driver side of the car, Wei Wuxian saw Nie Huaisang waving frantically from the passenger seat window.

“Goodnight, A-Xian!” Nie Huaisang called once Jiang Cheng had turned on the car and he was able to roll down the window. “I’ll be texting you!”

Wei Wuxian gave a small wave in reply as they drove away. Nie Huaisang’s comment sounded like a threat. Of course he would text Wei Wuxian, he was his best friend! Then he realized what he must have meant: texting him about what had happened with Lan Wangji. Ah, the evening had been such a blur, Wei Wuxian almost forgot that both Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang witnessed him and Lan Wangji sharing a bus seat, as well as likely saliva, on the way home.

Wei Wuxian growled and turned to start his long power walk home. If he really pushed himself, he could be home in twenty minutes. Maybe the walk would help him clear his very cluttered brain or at the very least help him come to terms with the fact that he had kissed Lan Wangji not once, not twice, but several times throughout the last several hours. He was so caught up in parsing through what must have been a type of augmented reality to notice when a white car slowed down on the side of the road in front of the high school.

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian froze. He was so delirious, he was now hearing his name said by Lan Wangji on the wind. Then he noticed the white car next to him out of his periphery and he turned cautiously towards it.

Not many people could pull off looking even remotely attractive after sweating in a band uniform. Jiang Cheng tried, of course, but he was leagues behind Lan Wangji. Either that or Wei Wuxian was too distracted by how snug Lan Wangji’s band shirt was against his biceps to give anything else much notice.

“Are you walking home?” Lan Wangji eventually asked as Wei Wuxian proved incapable of doing more than just stare.

Wei Wuxian nodded as he tugged on his book bag straps. “Uh, yeah.”

“Would you like a ride?”

Wei Wuxian blinked. Just how many fantasies were going to be checked off his infinite list tonight? Definitely more than he imagined when he woke up that morning.

“Sure,” Wei Wuxian said, a tad delayed. “Only if it’s not a bother, of course,” he added as he circled around the car to the passenger side.

“Never a bother,” Lan Wangji confirmed with a shake of his head as he leaned across the front seat to push open the door for Wei Wuxian.

“Thanks!” Wei Wuxian squeezed into the front seat with his book bag on his lap. When he realized it made buckling the seatbelt challenging, he opted to move the book bag to the floorboards between his knees. He then turned to Lan Wangji only to find him staring back at him. He grinned reflexively, more out of nervousness than anything else. It had the astonishing effect of making Lan Wangji smile slightly in return.

“Where to?” Lan Wangji asked as he smoothly shifted the car into park.

“Hm? Home, of course.”

Lan Wangji exhaled, though it was not quite a sigh. “Where do you live?”

“Oh! Uh, Lotus Drive. On the east side.”

Lan Wangji nodded as he exited the school parking lot and made his way to the nearest intersection to turn onto a main road.

The drive home was silent, interrupted only by Wei Wuxian giving directions and the sound of the wind coming in through the cracked back windows. All too soon, Wei Wuxian saw his house emerge from the shadows cast by streetlights. He had a thought for a split second to direct Lan Wangji somewhere else to continue the ride, but inevitably gave in and pointed out his house and driveway.

Lan Wangji pulled into the foot of the driveway and put the car in park but did not turn off the ignition. Wei Wuxian had zero experience making out with someone in the car, but he was fairly certain it was not on, for safety reasons. Taking the hint, Wei Wuxian unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door.

“Thanks again, Lan Zhan! I’ll see you Monday.”

“Wei Ying, wait.”

Wei Wuxian was no better than Pavlov’s dogs, really, though he hated the comparison. Just as they would salivate at the sound of a bell, he would inevitably stop whenever Lan Wangji said his name. This moment was no exception. The only difference, this time, was that Lan Wangji had his right hand wrapped around his left wrist. Wei Wuxian glanced from his captured wrist to Lan Wangji’s eyes and delighted in how Lan Wangji mirrored his movements. After a moment, though, Lan Wangji’s eyes lowered to Wei Wuxian’s lips and then back up again, a silent question.

Wei Wuxian wanted to fall, to answer with a desperate yes as he crossed the center console to be as close to Lan Wangji as could be allowed. Instead, he answered with a question of his own, one that had been plaguing him since the moment Lan Wangji had confessed his feelings on the bus ride home.

“What are we?”

He watched Lan Wangji carefully and noted every movement. He saw the minute crease appear in his brow as he replayed Wei Wuxian’s question. Then he watched it smooth away as he gently released Wei Wuxian’s wrist and moved ever so slowly upward as though to cup his chin. Wei Wuxian yearned for the contact that would never come, as halfway up the brow crease returned and Lan Wangji returned his hand to his lap.

“Whatever you want us to be,” Lan Wangji finally replied, his voice quiet and even, though Wei Wuxian detected the barest pinch of resignation.

Wei Wuxian bit his lip and desperately tried not to whine. “I want to be your boyfriend so bad.”

Lan Wangji blinked and time seemed to pause. “Really?”

Wei Wuxian nodded furiously; his bottom lip held between his teeth so tightly he could swear he tasted blood. He did not trust himself to speak, otherwise he would ruin whatever delicate turning point that was occurring between Lan Wangji and himself.

Lan Wangji reached out with confidence this time and cupped the side of Wei Wuxian’s face. Wei Wuxian had a moment to relish in the touch but before he could place a kiss on his palm, Lan Wangji’s lips found his in what had to be the world’s most chaste kiss, especially when compared to their earlier endeavors. When it was over, Wei Wuxian sighed in contentment and rested his forehead against Lan Wangji’s. Everything was perfect.

Of course it would not last.

“I should…get going,” Lan Wangji said reluctantly into their space of shared breath. “Uncle…will expect me home soon.”

Wei Wuxian groaned, taken against his will from the world in which Lan Qiren did not exist. He looped his arms around Lan Wangji’s neck in an attempt to keep him close.

“No, you’re my boyfriend now, and that means you stay with me!”

Lan Wangji chuckled, and the sound made Wei Wuxian feel warm and just a little bit feral.

“Would the Jiangs allow me to move in?”

“Oh, absolutely!” Wei Wuxian grinned. “And if not, we’ll just run away to a farm and live off the land until we grow old and grey.”

Lan Wangji smiled, the slightest upward quirk of his lips. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Wei Wuxian chuckled. “Okay! I’ll start packing in the morning and we’ll rendezvous at midnight. I’m sure there is plenty of farmland just waiting to be occupied!”

“Mn.” Lan Wangji smoothed his hands down Wei Wuxian’s sides and sighed when he reached his hips. He gave them a gentle squeeze before his hands moved to Wei Wuxian’s upper arms. “Sadly, for now I must go.”

“So cruel, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian wailed as Lan Wangji slowly escaped his embrace. “You cannot torture your boyfriend like this!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji scolded. “I will see you on Monday.”

“Monday is sooo far away!”

Lan Wangji heaved a deep sigh. “Then we can meet tomorrow or Sunday. To study.”

Now that sounded like an excellent idea, one that Wei Wuxian could support. Though he desperately hoped not a lot of studying would be done. 

“I’ll text you!” Wei Wuxian said as he hefted his bookbag up onto his lap. “I have your number already.”

“Mn, I know,” Lan Wangji said evenly, though he wore an almost unnoticeable smile. All the section leaders in marching band had Lan Wangji’s number, as was required for early summer rehearsals. Wei Wuxian, though, had abused the privilege, of course, and used it to text Lan Wangji about non-band related items somewhat consistently. Wei Wuxian was slightly relieved that perhaps he had not been bothering Lan Wangji as much as he originally thought.  

They shared one final, and regrettably too short, kiss before Wei Wuxian essentially tumbled out of Lan Wangji’s car. He stood in the driveway, grinning and waving madly as he drove away. Then he stood out in the night a moment longer, reveling in his new reality.He had a boyfriend and it was Lan Wangji! Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang were going to lose their minds!

[natromanxoff]

Mercury Roadrunner's Interview about Freddie Mercury with Peter Freestone – Part II

Thanks very much to Mercury Roadrunner (Pavel Strashnyy) for letting me share his amazing interviews! Originally shared here.

Check the tag "MR interview with Phoebe" to see the other parts. Here are the 3 main topics of this interview, beginning of each topic is written in bold:

1. Language skills

2. Music videos, Garden Lodge

3. Celebrity friends, leg damage story, Joe Fanelli, relationship between band members, Freddie's last days

PS: So here is our second part and the first topic is about Freddie’s language skills:

Did he actually know only the English language or did he also know the Gujarati language or any other languages?

PF: When his parents were in Garden Lodge or if he called his mother on the telephone, he only spoke English. I suppose, he must have understood Gujarati, because, okay, in the school he was taught English, but before the school, when he was in Zanzibar and he would have been with is parents, so I would have thought they would have been speaking in Gujarati.

He had about twenty words of German after living in Munich for so many years. He couldn’t speak German, but I think he understood the language, if he was paying attention, because most of the people around him were talking English, so he never really had the need to learn German. Although, saying that, one of his partners, Winnie, was German and did not speak a lot of English, but then he had Barbara to do the translating.

PS: The second topic is about a very special song “Mad The Swine”, which was recorded in 1972, but was released only in 1991 as a B side of “Headlong” single. Why, after so many years, Freddie decided to come back to it and release it?

PF: Freddie knew that “Innuendo” was going to be his last complete album and I think that this song had a special place in his heart, there were something about it, and as far as he was concerned, it never got an airing he felt it deserved and the rest of the band was happy to put it on.

PS: I mentioned the “Headlong” song and you can be seen in some archival footage of making of the “Headlong” video, you help to lay the Queen members on the shelves. What are your memories about that day?

PF: I was just there to help them. When they are making a video, they don’t need someone to take care of costumes, because there is a costume person, there is a makeup person, everybody is there to do something. And so I was there for Freddie, looking after him, and it just seemed natural to help out. And the band would feel more comfortable if that was someone that they know who would help to put them on the shelves rather than some technician turning up and trying to do it. And this moment with selves wasn’t’ planned. That wasn’t in the storyboard, it’s just that they saw it, there were four shelves so they just thought “Well, why not? Let’s do something crazy”. And the idea must have come from the band member, because Rudi would have seen all the possibilities when he was checking out where they were going to be doing the filming, and if he had thought of using the shelves, that would be one of the ideas put in the beginning.

PS: There are also some parts where we can see you in “The Great Pretender Extended Version” video - can you remember anything about it?

PF: It was just a big long laugh. There is not one part of the making of the actual scenes that they are not laughing and smiling. Roger, Peter and Freddie – they just clicked, it all worked. Nobody had to be bigger than the next one, nobody had to take the spotlight, and they just were there, having a good time.

PS: What is your personal favourite memory from that day?

PF: Personally, for me it is watching the recording of the six girls –you know, both of the backing group were girls, they were wearing two different outfits – and watching the recordings, when they were recording the one group of three and then the other group of three, the costumes they got in to and what they did – you couldn’t help but feel really-really happy. They were actually standing on the same platform when they were recorded. And then, of course, they used computer graphics to put two different groups on the screen at the same time. Just watching three of them there on the platform, waving their hands goodbye, it brings back the memories of those groups of backing singers in the sixties.

PS: What are your memories of making of the “Breakthru” video?

PF: I remember that it was probably the hottest night of the year, no sleep, because it was just so hot and humid. They had a huge problem with the opening scene, and they shot that last in fact. But they had a huge problem because when the engine went into the tunnel it caused air pressure so that that polystyrene wall burst out a long time before the engine arrived. So they tried it earlier on and that’s when they found that that’s what happened, and then they had to do playing around with it during the day, there was people doing that while the rest of the filming was going on, and then they had to sort of re-do it and it was the last shot. And the engine was actually already in the tunnel before it started getting up a bit of speed. And it wasn’t going as fast as people think it does, so that it looked right. It was a fun day. Only the band and the actual film crew were allowed on the flatbed, where the band were performing, because of the way it was being filmed, you could easily be in shot, so the less people that were there – the better. John was having a ball, I remember him laughing a lot, he was enjoying himself. And there was a normal carriage, like a dining car, but old, 1930-1940s, and that was where we would have food and drink. And it was wonderful. It’s a working old train line, it’s a tourist thing, but it’s great, it’s really-really nice and it’s not that far away from London. And Freddie was enjoying the shooting. I was surprised when I saw what he was doing on that flatbed, he was leaning over the edge as the train was going along, but again, it looks faster than it was. It really was only going at about 25-30 kilometers an hour. But it’s made to look as though they are speeding along.

PS: And what was the very first Queen video you were presented on?

PF: The very first video that I was involved with was “Save Me”, because it was shot during two shows of the “Crazy Tour”, I think it was at “The Rainbow” and it was shot at “Alexandra Palace”. Because it was the mix of the live action, the cartoon girl, the bird – and that was the hardest thing – to get Freddie to almost catch the bird, the pigeon. They had to re-film it for about 15 times. And it was where David Mallet, the director, fell of the stage into the orchestra pit. Everybody panicked for a few minutes, but then he stuck his head up “Oh, I’m alright”. It was about 2-3 meters he felled. And then followed all the post-production with the girl, with the cartoon, and how they blended the live pigeon to become the cartoon one and all that sort of work – all of it was done afterwards and it was done before Christmas 1979.

PS: And what was the very last Queen video you were presented on?

PF: “I’m Going Slightly Mad” video. I remember the penguin on the couch moment. Actually most of all I remember the way Diana was with Freddie, because she just took such a good care of him, she had special thermal underwear made for Freddie, because right from my meeting with Freddie in 1979 I remember the easiest thing for Freddie was to feel cold. And it only got worse the more sick he got. And she had special thermal underwear made for him that went underneath the shirt and the suit. She just was there for him all the time and it was just wonderful to see.

PS: And did Freddie usually have cold hands or he had normal temperature of hands?

PF: He could have normal warm hands, but often they would be cold. So maybe he could have a blood circulation problem.

PS: Can you remember something about the shooting of “I Want It All” video?

PF: I don’t think I was at that one, because that would have been Joe, Joe Fanelli would have been there, because we sort of took in turns – he would go to one, I would not, I’ll do all the stuff at home, then I would go to one and he would stay at home.

PS: And it was also the same for you take the turns in concerts?

PF: No, I was on tours with Freddie from 1979 till 1985 and then Joe took over from the last part of 1985 and 1986.

PS: And why you stopped going on tours and Joe took that part?

PF: Because Garden Lodge had been completed and to keep the insurance cover someone had to be living there, so I got to live there. I moved in six months before Freddie did. And Freddie moved in in the middle-end 1985. Because what we did was – Freddie was at Mary’s home and Terry and I took Oscar and Tiffany away from Stafford Terrace. Because Freddie was supposed to move in and he kept putting it off again and again, he said “I’ll do it tomorrow”, “I’ll do it at the weekend”, there was always a reason, an excuse, so what Terry and I did – we went and kidnapped Oscar and Tiffany and took them to Garden Lodge. And then, when Freddie went home and he was looking for the cats, Terry said: “No, they are not here, they are at your other home” – and Freddie moved within two days.

PS: And what was it like living with Freddie in Garden Lodge? What are your first memories of start of living there?

PF: At that point I was living above the kitchen. Joe and I had rooms that were above the kitchen, just up those stairs. And it just felt strange just to be living in that house. The thing is, I’ve been living with Freddie for years, because whenever we were in hotels it was always a two bedroom suit, so I knew how he was, what he would do, what he needed in the morning, how the moods could change, that was all standard, that was all normal. The difference was being in the luxury of Garden Lodge, knowing that it was a house, not the hotel, and the fact that he had made us promise, both Joe and myself, that we would treat this place as our home. It wasn’t just work and somewhere to stay because of work – it was our home.

Some houses have energy, they have a feeling, and while Freddie was in Garden Lodge it was a really warm, friendly house.

PS: And the atmosphere in the house changed almost at the moment Freddie passed away, right?

PF: Literally. For me, while he was still alive, even in those last minutes, it was still the same house, but literally within minutes, while we were waiting for the doctor, it just became bricks and mortar, it just became somewhere to sleep, somewhere to live.

PS: You mentioned living together with Freddie in hotels, but do you remember living with Freddie in some flats or houses before Garden Lodge?

PF: We were living in his apartment in New York. The way it was set up there were two bedrooms, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, a maid’s room and a sort of TV room.

And later we lived together for six months in Los Angeles. Recording “The Works”. They rented the big house for Freddie. A nice house, big-big house. It belonged to a doctor, who just constantly rented it out to stars, who needed somewhere to stay while they were filming. Elizabeth Taylor apparently stayed there, George Hamilton was there, lots of different film stars used it. It was a big house in nice big gardens, it had a swimming pool, had a tennis court, you know, it all the things you need.

PS: And it was actually two of you living there together?

PF: Yeah, Freddie and me. And Terry was there too, to drive.

PS: And speaking of Freddie’s New York Times, can you actually remember what was his the most favourite part of the city?

PF: Most evenings he would end up down on Christopher street, which is down near Greenwich Village. Because there were bars around there, clubs around there, restaurants around there, everything was there in that area, in the West Village.

PS: Our next topic is about Freddie Mercury and George Michael; we can see them together at “Barcelona” album launch party and Queen 20th anniversary party – do you remember the interaction between them?

PF: They actually met up at Live Aid, after it finished. We had to stay in the bar, because there were absolutely no way any cars were going to get out of the stadium area, because of the traffic and everything. And that was the very first time that they actually met. Freddie admired him, he thought George had a great talent both in writing and in singing, but there was no special friendship, because Freddie didn’t create big friendships with other musicians. He preferred, so to say, normal people. And also he enjoyed actors and actresses, their company, more than other musicians, because the way he felt, most musicians just wanted to talk about music and he had many more interests. So, yes, if Freddie and George were in the same place, then yes, they would meet up and they would chat about what was going on in their lives, but most of it was always about work. Their conversations would always be like “what was the tour like” and they would laugh, because they would make jokes about what they had been doing. Freddie could make a joke out of any situation. He didn’t tell anecdotes as such, but he could see something and he could make a joke out of it.

PS: As you mentioned Freddie having friends among actors and actresses, could you remember some of them?

PF: Anita Dobson, Debby Bishop, Carol Wood, Pam Ferris, Susannah York. One he would like to have met and she lived literally just across the road, but it never came, was Diana Rigg. And he was incredibly happy when I gave him an autograph from Honor Blackman. I met her and I said “Could I have an autograph, please”, she says “yes, of course, who’s it for?” and I said “it’s just for my friend, Freddie”. And he was overjoyed with it and he kept it in his bedside drawer.

PS: And who was his favourite actors?

PF: Franco Nero, James Mason, Laurence Olivier. And he got to meet him, so that was another of Freddie’s absolute joys. Dave Clark took Freddie to dinner at Laurence Olivier’s house. It was when they were working on “The Time” musical.

PS: And it was actually very last Freddie’s live performance, can you remember something special about it?

PF: Yes, April 1988. I just thought how amazing it sounded. We all heard “In my defence” before, but when he did “it’s in every one of us” as a duet with Cliff that was absolutely amazing. We had goose bumps. And then after the performance we went to Cliff Richard’s dressing room, sitting and talking there.

PS: And you said that Freddie didn’t have many friends amongst musicians, but could you remember something special about Freddie and Elton John’s friendship?

PF: They first met back in 74/75, when Queen were managed by John Reid and in those days both of them were constantly touring so they could rarely meet up. But every now and then Queen would have just done the show and Elton would be performing the next day, so he was already in the hotel and we would meet up and go round, sitting in Elton’s room talking. And then for about a couple of years after Freddie’s diagnosis they didn’t see each other, but then Freddie told Elton about his status and for the last year and a half Elton would regularly come to Garden Lodge. And in Freddie’s last two weeks Elton would ring us, say what time he would arrive, so that he wouldn’t be seen arriving, he wouldn’t come through the front door, and we would let him in through the Mews in his mini, so nobody knew he was there. He had to go to Paris to record, so he gave me all of the numbers: hotel number, the studio number, his mobile number, his assistance’s mobile number, all the numbers, just to let him know when it happen, because he knew it was going to happen. And at the very last time he came to Garden Lodge, he drove in one of his Bentleys and parked it right outside the front door and the press were running over to him asking “why are you here?” and Elton just turned around and said “I’ve come to see my friend”. And that was it, he just came in and they sat and talked. And when Elton came, it was really just Freddie and him in the room, just talking.

PS: And what was the story about Freddie getting his leg damaged in Munich?

PF: Freddie, when he had a few drinks, he would pick people up, just lift them off the floor, to show how strong he was. So Freddie had picked someone up and then someone next to him bumped into his knee and the ligaments tore, because instead of the way it was supposed to bend the knee bend the other way. Freddie then dropped the person he was carrying, he was screaming in pain and we had to go and get it set. When Queen filmed “It’s A Hard Life” in the end of the video, you can see him favouring the leg.

PS: And as you mention “It’s A Hard Life” video, Freddie’s friend Barbara Valentin stars in this video and she was a star in films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder – did Freddie ever discuss his films with her?

PF: Yeah, because she had videos of them. Freddie did meet Fassbinder once. They were in the “Deutsche Eiche”, which was Fassbinder’s favourite restaurant, he was always in it in Munich. And Barbara would take Freddie there every now and then. So Barbara introduced them to each other, they talked a bit, but they were there for lunch, it wasn’t a planned meeting or anything like this.

PS: And what film directors Freddie admired?

PF: Vincente Minnelli, George Cukor, the directors of the 40’s-50’s.

PS: What are your memories of Joe Fanelli?

PF: He was American. The first time I met him his relationship with Freddie was just finishing, this was in 1979. But he stayed in London and worked a lot in London. He was working in different restaurants. He was an amazing chef. And they kept in touch over the years and that’s why when Garden Lodge was finished and someone had to be there, that’s when Freddie thought to bring Joe back. And it worked, because Joe used to go to the gym all the time and he was taking care of himself, which he didn’t do so much when he was with Freddie. He was great. He was amazing on the computer. Computers were just starting, but Joe could write programs and things. Freddie’s favourite programme on television was “Countdown”, which is where they pick out seven letters and you have to make the longest word you possibly can out of those seven letters and then there’s also the numbers thing as well – and Joe created that on the computer for Freddie so that he didn’t wait for it just on the TV. He was fun, and he was good; it was good working with him and most of the time we just got on so well. Garden Lodge would not have been the same without him.

PS: And you mentioned Joe programming “Countdown” for Freddie so Freddie could actually play this game on computer?

PF: Well, no, he couldn’t, but he could sit there and Joe would do the computer. The computer was bought by Freddie for Garden Lodge and it was set upstairs on the musician’s gallery in the big sitting room.

PS: How would you describe the relationship between Freddie and other Queen members?

PF: They were all close to each other, but in a different ways.

Freddie was close with John. John was the new boy, he was the last one to join, he was the youngest, and Freddie just felt protective. He wanted to protect him a little bit for the dangers of rock’n’roll. But then John got married, had Veronica, so he had the security of home, and John was not around Freddie as much, but it didn’t stop the friendship because of what happened at the end. John just decided to finish because Freddie wasn’t there anymore.

With Roger it was a different friendship. And a very good friendship, because both of them had similar personality trait, they both enjoyed a good drink; they both enjoyed a good party.

And with Brian, of course, they were friends, but Brian was much more serious and Freddie was much more of a laughing person than Brian. Brian thought about things so much. But Freddie knew that he would never find anyone better than Brian to help him with the music.

PS: We know that Brian and Roger visited Freddie in his last days, but we never heard of John visiting Freddie.

PF: I don’t think John was prepared to see Freddie looking like he did in the last days, but John came and visited Freddie before those last two weeks. I know that he did come to the house, but I don’t think he could accept seeing Freddie the way he was in those last weeks.

PS: Freddie started to get a lot worse in those last two weeks?

PF: For the last two weeks Freddie hardly ate, he hardly drank. He was taking no drugs that were keeping him alive anymore, he was taking painkillers, and that was it.

PS: What was the reason of Freddie’s last visit to Montreux?

PF: He just wanted to get away from London. He wanted to have a little bit of peace and quiet away from all the press. He had that apartment in Montreux, so he went there.

For the last two-three years of his life he would be there every other month for a couple of weeks. There was no feeling of “this is the last time I’m going to Montreux”, that wasn’t part of his mentality, he only decided that this was the last visit when I called him, because I wasn’t with him, Jim, Joe and Terry were with him at that time, I was in Garden Lodge and I rang him and I said: “Look, just so that you are aware when you come home, that there are press outside the house 24 hours a day. In the nighttime it’s down to about four or five and in the daytime it’s up to about twenty”.

And that’s when he decided that when he went into Garden Lodge, coming back from Switzerland, it would be the last time, because he knew that he would never be able to get out again.

PS: And how long was he there for the last time?

PF: For about two weeks.

PS: And how do you remember him when he came back?

PF: He was sort of happy, but he was a bit withdrawn, because he had made the decision that when he came into Garden Lodge, it would be the last time, that he would never leave it again. He already had decided that, so, of course, he was a little bit more thoughtful, more inward thinking rather than being laughing and all that. But still, even in those two last two weeks there were still times when he would laugh, because he never wanted sad people around him.

PS: What are your last memories of Freddie?

PF: Since he got back from Switzerland on the 10th, he basically stopped eating and drinking. He would have a little bit, but that’s it. So, of course, he was tired, he had no energy. Most of the time he had short sleeps, short sleep –wake up, short sleep – wake up.

In those last two weeks, except for his needs, the only other time Freddie left his room, was when Terry carried him downstairs, on the Wednesday, 20th of November, because he just wanted to look around the main room, he just wanted to have a last look at paintings, at the crystal. He just wanted to spend some more time in that huge room where he felt most comfortable.

The last week of Freddie’s life he was actually never alone, because between Joe, Jim and myself, we would spend twelve hours with him and there was always one of us with him. We did the shifts from eight in the evening till eight in the morning. The last time that I was with him was on the Friday night. And on that Friday night I got there just before eight o’clock. And, you have to remember, that at eight o’clock the statement was released to the world that Freddie had AIDS. The thing is, those hours I was with him, he was the most relaxed I had seen him in years, because there was no secret anymore, the whole world knew. And he would just talk about anything, he would be in bed, I would be sitting on the bed next to him and I would be just holding his hand. The television was on, just for some noise, he would talk and he would go to sleep and talk and go to sleep. And we talked about silly little things, nothing really serious, and nothing like “we knew everything was coming to an end”, there was none of that. He could still talk fine, his mind was together, he just was very-very tired.

But, I think, because the statement had been done, I think Freddie felt that it was time for him to go. Because it was coming up for eight o’clock and I think it was Joe coming in at that point, Joe was coming at eight, and I said to Freddie something like “Look, okay, I’m going now, Joe is going to be here, but, of course, I’ll see you, I’ll see you soon”, he said something like “uhum, yeah, yeah”.

And then he just took my hand, looked me straight in the eye and just said “Thank you”.

And I will never know, whether he already decided that we would never meet again and was thanking me for the last twelve years, or if he was just thanking me for the last twelve hours.

But I have a feeling that he already knew that we would not see each other again.

PS: Do you remember when you for the very first time understood that you are not just working with Freddie, but you are becoming friends?

PF: That really started from the very-very beginning, because we didn’t have to always talk to each other to know what he wanted. I understood him. Because of our similar upbringing in boarding school in India I knew why he reacted in some ways, why he did things, I knew it, it was just instinctive and it made everything very-very easy for him and for me. Maybe it became more intense when Freddie started the time out of Britain, because we were going to be together 24 hours a day, so you have to be friends. And for me, it was the easiest thing on earth to be friends with Freddie. I never thought about Freddie, The Superstar. I was thinking about Freddie, my friend.

SPECIAL THANKS TO VALUREX FOR CONTRIBUTION AND ASSISTENCE

[hanoella]

Affettuoso- With Feeling (Part 6)

Pairing: Bucky x Pianist!Reader

Set after the events of TFATWS: In an effort to start over and make a home in Louisiana, Bucky meets a friend of Sam’s who ends up being his landlord. With only a driveway to separate them, he finds that he’s not the only one looking for a fresh start.

Series tags/warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Bucky x Reader, Mentions of Domestic Abuse, Canon Level Violence

Part 6 Word Count: Just over 6k

A/N: It's been such a joy to write this series. Once again, thank you for all your support! Every heart and comment motivates me and is just so wonderful

Taglist!: @vicmc624 @officiallykuute @undiadeestos @tailsoflightning

Read Part 1; Masterlist

“Please join me in welcoming Irina Novikov, the Reigning Queen of Russian Classics!”

Bucky watched from the special box seat as you walked out from the left curtain, the silver embroidery on your sea-reminiscent blue-green dress and matching hairpin glinting in the bright spotlights. You shook hands with the conductor and faced the crowd, greeting them with a deep bow at the waist. You sat at the piano which had been moved from the back left to the front, right by the conductor. The crowd clapped all the way until you sat down on the bench. Bucky watched you smooth out the tea length dress on your lap, your black velvet flat peeking out to settle on the golden pedal.

Bucky tried to pay attention to conductor as he explained the piece, but he was just so confused about the name. He looked down at the program he had gotten at the front. Irina Novikov was featured and italicized, indicating that person as their featured guest for this concert season. There was applause once more as the conductor gestured to you to open with your opening solo piece. Seeing your shoulder rise with your preparing breath, he watched as you raised your arms to begin playing.

The opening notes grew in intensity before settling into a haunting melody. It gradually filled the extravagant room. It was amazing how one instrument could fill an entire room. Or rather, one person. One beautiful, talented person.

You captured the attention of every person in the theater. Framed on either side of the stage with deep red curtains, you were in the spotlight. The way you moved as you played conveyed the emotions of the music. You could have been a dancer, arms moving gracefully up and down the entire length of the black grand piano.

Enchanted, Bucky was focused on you, and only you. The blue tulle cape on your right sleeve of your dress fluttering as you moved, hiding the shoulder. There was one stray piece of hair that moved with you, having fallen out of the low bun you had pinned with a silver chrysanthemum comb. The silver thread twinkled. It was as if you were the night sky itself, clear and brilliant.

---

Earlier in the month…

Bucky had just gotten back from his trip with Sam. Parking his sports bike, he walked into the garage to the door of his apartment, where something was sticking out. A white envelope, addressed simply to his first name. Walking up the steps and chucking the keys on the table, he opened the letter to find a note stuck to a lanyard with a ticket in the holder.

Here’s a season pass I got from the orchestra. If you’ve got nothing better to do, come see me play! :)

He looked down at the bottom where your name was scrawled, half-cursive and half-print. Flipping the ticket around, he saw the dates of all the concerts, the opening of the season being next weekend. Russian Classics-Part One was listed as opening weekend’s theme. Well, that was your specialty, right? He had to come.

Peeking out the window facing your house, he saw that your car was missing from the driveway. Probably at rehearsal. Wait, what do you wear to something like that? Did he even own a suit?

After taking one look into the closet, the answer to that was no. He was going to have to get one. Which is how he ended up at the tailor’s with Sam.

Sam had replied to Bucky’s text on where to get a suit. How have you gone this long without having a suit? Every man needs a good suit. What’s the occasion?

Bucky had texted him back. Never needed one until now. It’s for the concert next weekend.

Oh snap, that is an occasion. Meet me here-

So now, he was sitting in the plush velvet armchair by the entrance, waiting for Sam to show up. He was on his phone, scrolling through the news, trying to avoid the gaze of the sales clerk who was giving him quite the look from under her eyelashes. Thankfully, Sam came to the rescue.

“So, what’s the vibe we’re going for? Sleek? Rich? Mob boss?” Sam asked, rubbing his hands together.

“What? I just need a suit, man.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he mumbled under his breath, before getting hyped up again. “Let’s get you a suit!”

An older Black man dressed in brown slacks and a white button up came up to them and greeted Sam with enthusiasm.

“Sam! Good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you Mr. Frank!” Sam said, hugging him. “You remember my friend Bucky from the cookout, right?”

“Of course, I do. Good to see you Mr. Barnes” Mr. Frank said with a smile that brought out little wrinkles in the corner of his eyes, giving him a handshake.

“Bucky, please.”

“Well Bucky, what can I do for you?”

Sam answered for him. “Bucky here is going to need some suits so that they don’t kick him out when he shows up at the orchestra.”

“The one that your friend is at?”

“Yeah, actually. How do you know that?” Sam asked.

Before Mr. Frank could answer, a familiar voice floated faintly into the room.

“Wow, Selena, it’s absolutely stunning! I honestly couldn’t have asked for better. It’s beautiful.”

Sam and Bucky looked at each other before walking under the arch into the other room, Mr. Frank following. There on the short pedestal, you were standing in the middle of the room, holding the slightly big shimmering blue-green dress to your chest to prevent it from falling while the seamstress pinned the various alterations. Your hair was up in a messy bun, giving the seamstress room to work. The soft light of the chandelier giving you an ethereal glow.

Sam gave a low whistle. “Wow, you are one pretty lady.”

You looked in the mirror to make eye contact with Sam.

“Sam!” You said excitedly, turning your head and causing the seamstress to chastise you while chuckling. Your eyes then flitted to Bucky, suddenly leaving you feeling very exposed. You hadn’t seen him from the angle in the mirror. A blush creeping over your nose, you spoke

“Bucky!” You said with more surprise than enthusiasm. You were very happy to see him. He had just caught you off guard. His eyes lingered on the exposed piece of your back, framed with soft sea foam tulle, before meeting your eyes.

“Hey.” He said simply, before clearing his throat, red creeping up his neck. You stared at each other for a moment before the seamstress hung the measuring tape on her neck and gave the all clear.

“You can move now, but don’t mess up my pins.” Selena said, turning to point at Sam for the last part of the sentence.

“I would never.” Sam said fondly, putting a hand to his chest before wrapping the seamstress in a hug.

“This is my wife, Selena. We’ve owned this shop for the last twenty years.” Mr. Frank explained proudly, introducing Bucky to Selena. “Selena, this is Bucky Barnes, Sam’s right hand man.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” She said with a smile, shaking Bucky’s hand.

You hopped off the pedestal to give Sam a hug.

“I am so excited to get back to performing, Sam. You have no idea. Are you coming next weekend for the opening performance?”

“I’m gonna try my hardest! I have a meeting with Senate that morning, but I’m gonna use the supersuit, try and fly back in time. If I don’t make it Saturday, I will for sure see you on Sunday.”

“Awh, it’s no problem Sammy. I appreciate it. I’ll just be happy if you show up at all this season.” You said, taking a step back and turning towards Bucky.

“Well, Bucky’s going to be there, for sure. That’s actually why we’re here. To get him a suit.” Sam said, tossing Bucky a wink on the side.

“Really?” You said as you looked up at him, eyes sparkling.

“Yeah. You look beautiful… by the way.”

You averted your gaze shyly. “Thank you.” You said meekly, swishing the dress slightly. “I’m glad you’re coming. I was wondering if you had gotten the season pass.”

“I did, thank you.”

Sam, Frank, and Selena all exchanged knowing looks, Sam rolling his eyes while smirking.

“Well, you guys got an exclusive sneak peak at my opening night dress. It was nice to see you guys!” You said as you gathered your dress up, Selena grabbing the back. You waved as you disappeared around the corner into the dressing room.

A few moments went by in silence before Mr. Frank spoke up.

“Well son, I see why you got it bad.” He patted Bucky on the shoulder, turning around and walking towards the main room.

“Well, I-” Bucky started, turning to see that he was alone with Sam, who was leaning over on his knees, holding in the laughter.

An hour later and Bucky had settled on a slim cut dark blue suit and a similar one in light grey. With a handful of ties and a pair of dress shoes, they were at the front to check out.

“So, the suit alterations will be done by this weekend so you can pick it up anytime this Saturday or after.” Before Bucky could pay, Sam held out a hand, shoving his card in the payment kiosk.

“This one’s on me. Just promise me you’ll make it this weekend. I might not be able to. But someone she cares about should make it to her first night back in action.”

Bucky paused before putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder and squeezing. “Thanks man.”

“Anytime, Buck.”

“Actually boys, the bill’s taken care of.” Selena said as she strolled up to the desk. “Your friend footed the bill. So, you’re paid in full.”

---

A week passed by and he hardly saw you to thank you for the suits. You would wave hello and goodbye in passing as you got into your car. Sometimes, you were dressed for physical therapy, donning clothes like army green leggings and an oversized black hoodie. Sometimes, you were dressed in business casual for rehearsals, wearing slim cut khaki slacks and a light blue blouse with the sleeves rolled up into cuffs just above your elbow.

Bucky really didn’t have anything to do since you weren’t around much. Occasionally, he raked the fallen leaves in your yard. He’d finally fixed that mower, though there was no use for it now. So, he spent his days catching up on reading, watching The Hobbit movies and waiting up for you to come home. He couldn’t really sleep if you hadn’t made it home safe yet. Something that had taken him a while to realize. It made him linger by the window facing your house, pretending to watch something on TV until he saw your car come down the driveway.

Today though, he had one thing on his to-do list. Walking into the tailor’s shop to pick up his suits, he saw that the sales clerk from last week with the eyes was working today. He cursed in his head as he walked up to the desk, where she was leaning over trying to show off some cleavage.

“How can I help you?”

“Picking up some suits. My ticket number is-”

“No need, I remember you from last week. Hard to forget a face like that.” She said with a wink as she walked to the back. Bucky purposefully looked the opposite way, clearing his throat in the process.

“Here you go Mr. Barnes, I appreciate your patronage.” She said with a sly smile.

“Thanks.” He responded dryly.

As he grabbed the hanger of the garment bag, she startled him by refusing to let go. Bucky pulled the hanger lightly out of her grasp and left. Sure, she was conventionally attractive. But she doesn’t hold a candle to you.

---

On the evening of the concert, Bucky turned to look in the mirror, making an impressed face. He didn’t look half bad. The dark blue suit had a little bit of texture, and while the white button-up made him feel a little claustrophobic, the wine colored tie really brought it all together. Running his fingers through his hair to straighten it up, he didn’t look bad at all. It made him happy that like this, he looked like a normal guy who cleaned up nice. Well, almost. He had gotten a finer, more delicate set of black leather gloves. Ones that weren’t so clunky, to match the nicer clothes he had gotten.

He looked at the clock. Still had time to buy flowers. He’s got to do something nice for your opening night. Taking a backpack, he started his bike and drove to first florist in the city to find a gift. He took a lap, everything he was looking at blending together. Red roses were too formally romantic… Daisies were too casual…

Rounding the corner of the counter, he saw a small arrangement peak out from behind a large one. It was a smaller jar filled with a few blush pink peonies, with a few stems of lily-of-the-valley, lilac and eucalyptus pouring out of the sides. Wrapped around the neck of the jar was a crème colored satin ribbon, pinned with a small square cut emerald brooch.

“Ah, that’s the perfect gifting pair, one gift to enjoy now and one to last!” The florist said, popping out from the back. Bucky thought back to your room, with the soft sage greens and soft crèmes. It was perfect. Bucky nodded while holding up his backpack.

“Uh. Is there anyway I could get it to last a trip in this backpack on a motorcycle?”

---

The florist first emptied most of the water, wrapped it in plastic, and then put it in a firm cardboard box. Carefully setting it in his backpack, Bucky thanked the florist, tipping him extra. He waved on the way out of the store, feeling good about the flowers he had picked out. The ten minute ride from the florist to the concert hall was taken very carefully.

Parking his bike and joining the long lines of well dressed people, he felt a little self conscious wearing a backpack and holding his lanyard. He tried not to draw any attention to himself as he made his way slowly up to the box office.

“Welcome to the Louisiana Philharmonic! May I see your ticket?” A perky young woman in usher’s attire asked through glass.

“Sure.” He said, sliding the lanyard through the window.

“Hey, you can’t bring backpacks in the concert hall.” The security guard said, pointing at the bag Bucky was holding.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I just-”

“Either return it to your vehicle or throw it away.” The man sternly said before the usher whispered through clench teeth and gestured for the security guard to come over. Bucky couldn’t hear exactly what she was saying, but he caught every other word or so.

Ticket… Ms. Novikov’s personal box… have to let…

The security guard squinted his eyes at Bucky before gesturing at the bag.

“What’s inside?”

“Just my wallet, keys, and some flowers.” Bucky said, unzipping the bag to show him. The security guard had him open the box and show him the flowers for good measure before grumbling something, handing the lanyard back, and letting him pass.

Yikes… Bucky thought, putting as much distance between him and security as he could. Getting up to the usher, he showed him the ticket as he was handed a program. The usher took a moment to look at the ticket before directing him to the left, away from where everyone was walking.

“Box one will be on the second floor, last entrance on the right.”

Huh.

Bucky walked up the stairs, passing a fancy bar and going down the empty hallway. Coming upon an entryway labeled Box One, he pushed aside the heavy red curtain to find that he was directly overlooking the stage. He was the closest balcony seat to the stage, the private viewing area containing five seats, two in the front and three on the step behind, staggering the tiers so that everyone could see properly. Sitting in one of the front seats, the one closest to the stage, he admired the scene.

The seats were plush and comfortable, the architecture of the theatre traditional yet stunning. The stage was framed by a huge rectangular arch that was rounded at the edges. The gold on the trim and handrails accentuated the softly glowing lights that hung in two rows over the aisles. Each bulb was captured in a long tube of rectangular glass, creating the image of a row of glowing piano keys floating in the aisles.

Speaking of pianos, the shiny black grand piano in the front caught his attention. The keys were facing him. If this is where you were playing, he would be looking at your back and have a clear view of your hands. Most of the musicians were already on stage, except for you, warming up for the night. Suddenly the orchestra stopped, commanding everyone’s curiosity. The sound of dress shoes against the stage prompted applause as the conductor, an older man, walked out onto stage. After pausing to let the applause die down, he gestured for someone to come out. There was more applause as the first chair violinist, the concert master, walked out onto stage. The woman bowed before playing a note, prompting the rest of the orchestra to tune to her pitch. She did this several times before giving a nod to the conductor and sitting down in the first chair of the row of violins.

Clearing his throat, the conductor grabbed the mic and turned towards the crowd, slight German accent coming through.

“Good evening. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.” The crowd gave more applause before he continued.

“My name is Arthur Albrecht, your guest conductor for this season. This weekend we have a lovely selection of classics that stem from Russian composers.” He went on to explain some of the history behind Russian composers and how their music was influenced by their culture. Bucky looked at the piano that was still empty, wondering where you were. A sudden loudening of the conductors voice snapped his attention back.

“We have with us this season, the most lovely pianist, nicknamed for her excellent performance of these very pieces. Please join me in welcoming Irina Novikov, the Reigning Queen of Russian Classics!”

---

Sam had showed up right before the end of the first piece, dressed in concert attire. Playing the last chord, you held it down as it reverberated all around the auditorium, waiting for the slow fade before finally releasing the keys. A moment of silence emphasized the heavy digestion of a piece such as that. Then, the applause and whistles came. People stood up in waves as you got up from the bench and bowed once more.

Sam and Bucky stood up as they clapped, just in time as you looked towards the box. Eyes flitting over Sam, you made eye contact with Bucky before bursting into a big smile, the breathlessness from the adrenaline making the rise and fall of your chest evident. Turning back to the crowd, you graciously accepted their applause. Sam glanced to his side at Bucky. But there was no acknowledgement. Bucky stood smiling and clapping, completely enamored, completely smitten by you.

---

After a few longer pieces that included the entire orchestra, the lights came on to signal the intermission. Bucky and Sam got up leisurely, greeting each other and stretching their legs.

“Glad you were able to get here.”

“I did! That suit is amazing, man. Stupid fast.”

“You’re welcome.” Bucky said, bemused.

They chatted for a few minutes before the curtain moved, letting light in from the hallway.

“You guys made it!” You said as you hopped down the two steps before hugging Bucky, who was closest to the aisle.

“Woah, you’re gonna push me off of the balcony!” He joked, steadying himself before hugging you back tightly around his waist, resting his chin on the top of your head. You let him go, moving onto hug Sam. He squeezed you back saying, “You were amazing! And these fancy seats you scored us really let us in on the action.”

“Yes, it was incredible, seeing you play up there on that stage.”

Practically radiating happiness, you tucked the one loose strand of hair behind your ear as you let go of Sam and faced the both of them.

“Thank you guys so much for coming. I was so nervous to get back in the spotlight. Especially as a featured artist, you know?”

“Oh yeah, speaking of-” Sam said as he reached into his suit pocket for the program. “Who’s Irina Novikov?”

“Oh, shoot. I’ve been so busy with rehearsal; I didn’t even get a chance to tell you. One of the things that we worked out in my contract is that I work under a stage name, and they get all the talent of a known artist. That way, I can… avoid anyone who’s looking for me.” There was a slight pause, Bucky chiming in to lighten the mood.

“Okay, but ‘Reigning Queen of Russian Classics?’”

“Hey now, I got that nickname ever since I won that International Rachmaninoff Piano competition while I was in college. When I got back, my friends threw me a huge party with a banner that said that, and now it’s followed me throughout my career. It started as a joke, but now I kind of like it.” You said, laughing.

“Well, you basically are!” Sam exclaimed, gesturing out to the stage. “You’re gonna tell me that you don’t look like royalty up there? Especially with this dress.”

As you smiled and accepted Sam’s compliments, Bucky’s eyes finally got a chance to take in the full dress. Selena had done a fantastic job. The silver accents sparkled lightly, the fabric orchid blossoms making their way up one sleeve. She had made it to look like the bodice was made of two large delicate petals of a sea green blossom. If Thor was the god of thunder, you were the goddess of greenery.

“Ms. Novikov,” an attendant called as they peaked their head through the curtain.

“One moment!” You called back. “Sorry, excuse me for one second.”

You looked like you were practically floating as you pulled up the dress slightly to go up the couple steps, the waves of fabric moving like a mist off of the sea. The attendant said something in a hushed tone and you sighed. The attendant left and you made your way back over to them.

“I have to go, but thank you both so much for coming. I mean it.” You said, each of your hands reaching out and squeezing one of their arms.

“Wait, I got this for you.” Bucky said, reaching for his backpack. He carefully took out the cardboard box and removed it off of the vase of flowers. He watched as your face lit up.

“Oh, these are beautiful Bucky. Thank you so much. I’m going to take them to my dressing room.” You said as you accepted the flowers, gently rubbing one of the petals between your fingers.

“You have a dressing room?”

“Yeah! Its around the hall and down the stairs. If you want to see it after the show. I’ll tell the attendant at the bottom of the stairs to let you through. You too Sammy.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan.” Sam responded.

“Okay, see you guys after!”

You walked away, arranging the flowers in the vase with a small smile on your face. Bucky watched you walk away before turning to Sam who, for once, had a serious expression on his face.

“What?”

“She’s a good one, Buck.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know what it means.”

“Aren’t you the one she calls Sammy?”

“Oh, so you noticed that because you’re jealous.”

“No, of course not-”

“She’s a nice girl.” Sam said, cutting him off. “I think you two would be great together.”

Bucky bit his lip and looked to the side. “I don’t think so. I’ve still got… so much going on.”

“No offense to either of you, but so does she. She makes you happy. I can tell just by how you perk up around her. You deserve to be happy. And so does she. You know you have the same effect on her, right?”

Bucky didn’t answer.

“You’re a good person, Buck. She’s a good one, and so are you. So, give it a shot. Don’t be afraid to be happy.”

Bucky paused before swallowing and nodding.

“Thanks.”

“Of course, man. Anytime.” Sam said, putting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

---

The show ended with a standing ovation. The conductor took a bow, then signaled to you. You swung an arm out and gestured to the orchestra, giving them credit before you took a deep bow at the waist. When you came up, you clapped along with the crowd, facing the orchestra to applaud everyone’s fine work.

Bucky and Sam turned right out of the box, which was the opposite direction that the crowd was filing out in. After rounding the corner, they found a stairwell heading downwards, just as you had said. At the bottom, the attendant greeted them, leading all the way down to the end of the hall to the last room.

“Ms. Novikov? Your guests are here.” The attendant called, knocking on the door.

“Thank you! You can send them in.” You called from inside the room.

The attendant opened the door and gestured for them to enter. Walking in, they admired the aura of being backstage of a performance. The attendant shut the door behind them, leaving them with you as you sat at the vanity. You were adjusting your hair, just having taken it out of the bun that it was in. Soft curls fell out and framed your face, the lightbulbs around the vanity giving you a halo of sorts. The cement-bricked walls kept the room cool, housing the green velvet couches, mini fridge, coffee table and faux fur rug. There was a three-paneled, gold mirror right next to the bathroom. There was a clothes rack with several garment bags hanging from it.

“Wow, major movie star vibes in here.” Sam commented, touching the edge of the velvet couches.

“Thanks! This is the suite for guest artists. Every time they have a guest star, they make a little nameplate and hang it up outside. When my time is up, they’ll stick it outside of the room with the others.” You said, now getting up from the vanity. Your hairpiece was set down on the vanity, next to an open velvet box that held your earrings.

“I didn’t realize you were making big money like this! Dang, can’t Captain America get a raise?” Sam joked.

“Ha ha,” you said sarcastically. “I will admit I get a nice salary, but the only things I spend money on are fancy dresses and jewelry to perform in. Gotta keep up the look, give people something to see.”

“And that you do.” Sam said as he chuckled. The sound of a phone vibrating paused the conversation.

“Oh, hold on, I gotta take this. This might take a minute. Be right back.”

That left you and Bucky. You looked at him for a moment before settling down on one of the couches, folding your legs underneath of you and resting your arm against the back cushion to support your head. Swallowing, Bucky tentatively sat down next to you. It remained silent before you both spoke up at once.

“I know I-”

“I’m so happy you-”

You laughed and he gestured for you to go ahead.

“I was just going to say, thank you. I’m so happy that you came to support me. It’s been a long road to get here and I just want to let you know how much I appreciate you. I wasn’t expecting for us to be friends at all, and here we are. I’m so thankful for it. You’re just… amazing.” You said, smiling softly at him. He felt the red creep up his neck and didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, you figured that and gave him an out.

“What were you going to say?” You now gestured to him. Taking a moment, he cleared his throat.

“I was going to say, I know I already said this earlier but the concert was amazing. You sounded great.”

“Thank you.” You said simply, still staring into his ice blue eyes.

“And you look great.”

“Yeah?” You said amusedly as you raise your eyebrows.

“Yeah. You look beautiful. One might even say stunning.” A little of the old Bucky, the smooth-talking one, made a surprise appearance.

“Oh? Who’s the one?” You scooched closer to him.

“I thought it was obvious.”

“Not to me.”

His eyes met yours in a deciding moment. You watched as his eyes flickered down to your lips momentarily. You wondered if he could notice how your breath quickened.

“Ms. Novikov?”

The attendant’s voice was muffled through the door. The knocking that preceded it had startled you out of your moment. Tentatively, the door was opened just a crack.

“They’re ready to toast the champagne.” They called in. You sighed and got up.

“I’ll be there momentarily, thank you.” You called back. Satisfied, the attendant walked away, the soft clicking of dress shoes slowly fading away. You turned towards Bucky, who had also stood up.

“They’re opening a bottle of champagne in celebration of opening night, if you’d like to join me.” Your fingers nervously picking at each other.

“Yeah, of course.” He accepted, somewhat awkwardly. You tried not to be disappointed about what might’ve happened if the attendant hadn’t interrupted. Turning towards the door, you were stopped by his hand gently grasping your upper arm. Eyes wide, you whipped your head around. Bucky opened his mouth, though no sound came out.

“Yes?” You said softly, features softening from shock to gentle anticipation.

“Did I hear the attendant say something about champagne?” Sam’s voice floated in through the crack of the door. Quickly, Bucky dropped your arm and you turned towards the door. Sam opened the door and eyed the both of you. His expression changed slightly as he looked back from you to Bucky, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Did I interrupt something?”

“No.” Bucky said quickly.

“Not at all!” You said, a little nervously. Clearing your throat, you smoothed out the front of your dress. “Let’s go, they’re handing out champagne on stage.” You flitted around Sam and into the hall. Sam raised an eyebrow at Bucky, who gave him a look that told him not to ask. They followed you to the stage where the chairs had been cleared to the side to make room. The red curtains were drawn, separating the stage from the auditorium where people were still filtering out.

Upon seeing you, the conductor cleared his throat and called everyone’s attention. It fell quiet as he made your presence known. An attendant handed you a glass of champagne and you quietly requested two more for Sam and Bucky.

“This had been such a wonderful opening night. We’re so happy to have you with us this season, Ms. Novikov.” He started. A hum of agreement made it’s way around the other orchestra members. “It is a delight and an honor. Without your charity, we would not be standing on this stage tonight. Truly, you have helped us keep this program successful and alive in such turbulent times.” The orchestra broke out into thanks and cheers. Your face lit up, your smile breaking out into one bigger than it had in a long time.

“If I may, I’d like to say a few words, Arthur.” You said, gently squeezing his arm with your free hand. The conductor reciprocated warmly, setting his hand atop your before you let go. Looking behind you to make sure that the attendant had gotten Sam and Bucky some glasses, you started speaking.

“Many of you know that this is the first I’ve performed in quite some time now. The road to recovery was and still proves to be difficult. But I’m so happy to have found my way back to performing, and it is an honor that it be with the incredibly talented people in front of me. Each and every one of you has cause to be proud. This was an incredible performance. And it is with pleasure that I say the real recognition goes to you all. With all of your hard work, you were able to reopen the concert hall and provide people with a bit of respite in a time of rebuilding.”

You raised your glass. “So, with that, I say we toast. To growth, and a wonderful season.”

The others raised their glasses while repeating the words. After the celebratory sip, another round of cheers erupted. Several members came up to you with words of thanks and commendation. The jovial atmosphere under the golden hue of the stage lights made it feel surreal. Bucky looked at you, nodding your head and redirecting praise to whomever you were talking to. Your dress made you stand out in a sea of black suits and black dresses, like a gemstone amongst the coal. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful, inside and out. He was snapped out of his daze when he heard you excuse yourself politely and walking back over to them.

“Sorry about the long speech, guys. Thanks for staying.” You apologized, tucking your hair behind your ear.

“Are you kidding? That was beautiful. I’m glad your back to it. You seem happy.” Sam said, always quicker than Bucky with the responses.

“I am.” You said with a big smile, gaze moving over to Bucky.

Normally, Sam would be rolling his eyes or something at Bucky, but a text stole his attention away. He looked at his phone and cursed under his breath, scrolling through something. Bucky took the moment to ask a question.

“What’d you do for them?”

You swallowed the sip you had taken and looked at him with a confused expression.

“What?”

“Sorry, for the orchestra. They mentioned charity.”

“Ah. Yes.” You looked over at Sam, who was busy texting a reply.

“I, uh… Some unexpected problems with the building were going to close the orchestra. They couldn’t afford to fix it. So, I donated half of my salary for the season to repair the theater.”

Bucky looked at you incredulously. You smiled sheepishly under his gaze.

“What?” You responded, as if he was the strange one for the reaction. You never got it though, Sam now done on his phone.

“I’m sorry, but something came up. I thought it could wait ‘til morning, but things are developing a lot quicker than I thought. We need to go.” Sam said, looking at Bucky.

Bucky opened his mouth and closed it, nodding in reluctant understanding.

“I’m proud of you. Great job tonight. Sorry we have to leave so suddenly.” Sam said, hugging you.

“Oh please, don’t apologize. Go save the world. I’ll see you when you get back. Thanks again for coming.” You said, rubbing a hand on his back before letting go. Sam looked at his phone again before looking at Bucky.

“Your go-bag is on the plane; I’ll meet you there.” He said, before walking away, giving you one more wave before typing on his phone. You and Bucky turned to each other, not saying anything. You spoke first, reluctance filling your voice.

“You should probably go. Sounds important.” You said, looking up at him.

“Yeah…” Bucky looked in the direction that Sam had walked away in before turning back to you, still unmoving. He opened his mouth to speak, unsure of what to say before settling on an apology.

“I’m sorry.” Something told you he was probably apologizing for more than just having to leave.

“It’s okay,” you said softly, placing a hand on his arm and squeezing gently. “Be safe. I’ll see you when you get back, right?”

He nodded and you reluctantly dropped your hand. He walked backstage, but not before looking back at you one last time. Someone had approached you, but you were still watching him. You gave a little wave and then he was gone. You took a big sip of your drink and nodded at whatever was being said to you.

Bucky Barnes was going to be the death of you.

[queenabstract]

Do this whenever. Might run long, shorten if like. Don’t think this character gets enough love. Trollzart x Reader: Reader is a Pop Troll with a secret passion and love for Classical. Like, ‘Will eat sheet of classic music if snuck up on’ secret. But while the tribes are visiting Symphonyville for an orchestra/ball, Reader sneaks off and (thinking is alone) starts playing one half of ‘Love Waltz’ (From Moonacre) on a piano. Let’s just say Trollzart surprises them. Love Waltz is a Love Duet.

AIGHT

Ever since you heard the sound of the keys on a piano for the first time as a baby, you fell in love with Classical. You loved it so much, you were caught eating sheet music for it a few times. At the time, you didn't know that music that was specifically just pianos, violins, violas, etc, was called classical, so you kept it to yourself your entire life. You taught yourself how to play each instrument and kept pushing yourself to your limits to learn how to play. Your true talent and passion was and always would be, the piano. The moment you felt the keys under your fingers and the music reached your ears, you were whisked away and became lost in each note that you played straight from your heart. It wasn't until Barb's world tour that you learned what Classical music was. That was when it all began to make sense to you. You obviously had a strong bond with Classical just like one of your ancestors had. You would've gone to Symphonyville instantly if it hadn't been for King Peppy encouraging everyone to run and hide and Barb showing up and caging everyone. Afterwards though, as you were doing your part to rebuild the village, OTHER GENRES INCLUDING CLASSICAL SHOWED UP TO HELP OUT!!! Some trolls from each genre brought their construction and architect skills where they were needed to help out. You met a few of the Classical trolls and created a strong bond with them very quickly. You fortunately found your piano still in one piece and showed off your skills. They asked you if you could play any other instruments, you showed off how well you could play all the string instruments. It was percussion and woodwind instruments that you hadn't had much experience with, but they were still very impressed. You all had your own mini-concerts a few times during breaks. Lets just say you were living in a luxury Classical + Pop themed treehouse after all the building was over. You built a bit of a reputation and it ended up with Trollzart himself sending an invitation to a ball. His best musicians would be performing for them. You'd met several Classical trolls already, but the LITTLE ADORABLE MARSHMALLOW CONDUCTOR HANDWROTE AN INVITATION HIMSELF OMG! You were ecstatic and Poppy and the rest of the Snack Pack knew there was no way they could leave without you. Some trolls from the other tribes came to the ball as well and recognized you. You talked with them for a short amount of time before they went back to doing something else. You ended up wandering off before the performance and found yourself in a room filled with Classical instruments. Then you saw a beautiful grand piano in the middle of the room. You walked over to it and gently brushed your fingers across the keys. Your piano at home was beautiful, but it couldn't compare to this. You looked around and realized the room wasn't that big. And you were the only one there....so you sat down and started playing a song. The first song you could think of from the top of your head was "Love Waltz". You realized it was a dumb idea after you started playing it. It was supposed to be a duet dammit! And now here you were, playing one half of it by yourself. You were so busy being angry at yourself, you didn't notice the marshmallow himself enter the room. He looked like he wanted to say something, but held back. He saw the frustration clear on your face and decided to join you. He easily picked up the other half of the duet you were missing and smoothly played the piano with you. To say you were surprised would be an understatement. You kept your cool and continued playing, the frustration completely melting away as both of you played in sync. You blushed a little when you realized how close Trollzart was. And the fact that he didn't hesitate to play a love duet with you made your heart flutter. You played beautifully together until the song was finally over.

"H-Hi. I'm (Y/N)." You stuttered nervously and held out your hand.

"Oh! So you're the pop troll I've heard so much about." Trollzart kissed your hand. "My people have said many great things about you. They do truly admire you."

"Well, I do truly admire Classical music. I always have since I was very young." You told him.

"Well, you have proven that all the things my people have said about you weren't all just talk, so will you perform for the ball tonight, with me?" He asked you.

"Oh my! Absolutely! I would be honoured." You gave a little curtsy. Trollzart chuckled.

"There's no need to be to formal. You can consider me as one of your friends. Oh my goodness! The show is about to start, we must hurry!" Trollzart still held your hand and led you back to the ball. You ended up playing the piano amonst the rest of the Classical trolls. There hadn't been anyone there before, so it was a last minute addition, and a good one at that. You could tell from the other Classical troll's faces that your additional piano playing made the performance even better than it had sounded during rehearsals. For the last performance of the night, instead of conducting, Trollzart sat down at the piano next to you.

"Would you like to play that duet again, (Y/N)?" Trollzart asked you. You nodded.

"Absolutely." You both played the duet again, becoming lost in the music as you two played in perfect sync. Your fingers flew across the keys and it felt like nobody else was there...except him. You always loved the feeling of nothing else but you and music when you played, but you loved it even more with him by your side. Once the song was finished, the crowd erupted and applauded you two. Trollzart thanked everyone for coming to the ball as they left and grabbed your hand right before you could leave.

"(Y/N), I had an absolutely wonderful time with you tonight. It was a truly beautiful experience. I hope you'll visit us again soon." Trollzart said and kissed your hand once more.

"Of course I'll be coming back. I played the piano my entire life, but tonight was by far the best time I have ever had." You blushed.

"I'm happy to here that." Trollzart said. You gathered up the courage to kiss him on the cheek.

"Until we meet again, sparkly marshmallow." You smiled and ran towards your friends, barely containing your squeals. Trollzart was frozen in place, blushing.

The next day, you received a letter.

"Dear (Y/N), I have been teaching the children here how to play all the different instruments of Classical in hopes that they'll find the right one for them, but a few struggle greatly to learn the piano. I was hoping you could maybe help to teach them, they really want to meet you.

Sincerely, Sparkly Marshmallow."

You laughed and gathered up some sheet music for basic songs and your favorite pieces. You wasted no time in deciding to visit every thursday to teach the kids, and spend the weekends with Sparkly Marshmallow.

Yes the Classical trolls are all fluffy marshmallows and nobody can make me think otherwise.

[aion-rsa]

All Things Must Pass Remaster Brings Out George Harrison’s Voice

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

A new remaster of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass highlights why it was such an important record. Not just as an album, but of the time it was made. Besides the lead guitarist for the biggest act in showbiz history, it boasted players and a producer who each made an impact on the course of modern music. It’s been celebrating its 50th anniversary for a while now and it’s earned it. It was the first triple album by a single artist in rock history (the Woodstock concert album, released six months earlier, included a compilation of acts), and set the standard for longer long-playing albums.

Harrison set quite a few standards, including the first rock benefit project, The Concert for Bangladesh. As the Beatles guitarist, he demonstrated melodic and harmonic possibilities which hadn’t been explored in rock and roll, often changing the entire feel of songs with a single riff. As their in-house tonal experimentalist, his sitar-led songs didn’t just use the eastern stringed instrument as an exotic guitar. They captured the structure, atmosphere, tonality and shifting rhythms of Eastern music. The opening of “Love You To” can barely be classified as western commercial music, but had a universal appeal. As the band’s somewhat lesser-known songwriter, Harrison composed musical standards which eclipsed even the mighty songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

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The consistent hitmakers made for a competitive compositional atmosphere in the band. “I had such a lot of songs mounting up that I really wanted to do, but I only got my quota of one or two tunes per album,” Harrison admitted on The Dick Cavett Show in 1971. Even after a new arrangement was worked out for the group’s output, Harrison had quite a backlog of songs when the Beatles broke up. At least two of the best known songs from All Things Must Pass were written in 1966.

While still in the Beatles, Harrison released Wonderwall Music, which was a soundtrack to a film, and Electronic Sound, which saw him as one of the early experimenters on the synthesizer. According to the press statement for the remaster, George, along with Ringo Starr and bassist Klaus Voorman recorded fifteen songs at EMI Studios on the first day, May 26, 1970. The demo included “What Is Life,” “Awaiting on You All,” and “My Sweet Lord.” The next day Harrison played 15 more songs for co-producer Phil Spector, who covertly recorded them. The songs “Everybody, Nobody,” “Window, Window,” “Beautiful Girl,” “Tell Me What Has Happened to You,” “Nowhere To Go,” and “Don’t Want To Do It” never made the album. The whole session did come out on the bootleg Beware of ABKCO set.

The 50th Anniversary re-issue of All Things Must Pass includes versions of “Mother Divine,” and “Cosmic Empire,” which have never been officially released. The official music video reveals “Cosmic Empire” as a melodically catchy piece, with an instantly recognizable acoustic guitar run, and a change into a deep blues false ending.

You can see the video here:

The Wall of Sound

The deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition is executive produced by Harrison’s son Dhani, and his first order of business was to pull back on Spector’s reverb-heavy production. Spector was the man Lennon brought in to produce the song he’d written for breakfast, wanted to record for lunch and have out for supper: The Plastic Ono Band single “Instant Karma!,” which Harrison played on. Spector also produced the final mix of the Beatles’ Let It Be, as well as Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and Imagine albums.

Spector was a legend in the studio. He created the “Wall of Sound” with the top session players of the early 1960s, and Harrison tasked him with doing it again with the current cream of the musical crop. This included two of out of three members of the band Cream. Ginger Baker drums on a jam, and Eric Clapton’s guitar gently weeps all over All Things Must Pass. Crying on the inside over his unrequited love for George’s wife Pattie Boyd Harrison, Eric was getting ready to wail about her on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Harrison co-wrote “Badge” with Clapton for Cream’s Goodbye album, and played on Derek and The Dominos’ debut single, “Tell The Truth” backed with “Roll It Over.” Spector recorded it. It went so well, much of the band stuck around to be bricks in the contemporary Wall of Sound.

“Phil was in full control of this whole bunch of musicians playing,” Voorman remembers in Simon Leng’s book, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. “We played all at the same time – we didn’t record one on top of the other; it was all six people playing acoustic guitars and five keyboard players playing the piano all at once. It was crazy!”

The Players

To fill seats in the rock orchestra, Harrison dipped into the players he’d been on stage with since the waning days of the pre-breakup Beatles. Harrison, credited as “Mysterioso,” toured with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. He was a backing guitarist beside Clapton, in a band which included Dave Mason, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, and Leon Russell, who would prove invaluable for The Concert for Bangladesh.

Also called in for sessions were Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker, Badfinger’s Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Joey Molland; Spooky Tooth’s Gary Wright, sax player Bobby Keys; and trumpeter Jim Price. Besides Starr and Gordon, drums and percussions were played by Alan White, who was then the drummer for the Plastic Ono Band and would go on to drum for Yes, and Phil Collins. Peter Frampton played guitar on much of the album. Nashville player Pete Drake played pedal steel. Drake pioneered the use of the talkbox, and Frampton caught it first-hand during sessions before using it as the hook for his hit “Show Me the Way.” John Barham, a pianist and arranger who had worked with Harrison’s sitar guru Ravi Shankar, wrote orchestral scores.

Keyboardist and longtime Beatle associate Billy Preston is a major influence on the album. All Things Must Pass is a spiritual celebration. Harrison set up a small altar in the studio, and devotees of the Hare Krishna movement brought the players vegetarian food. Harrison was as much a spiritual student as a musical one of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. The same could be said of Preston.

The Songs

Harrison made a special study of the structure and composition of gospel music for his work with soul singer Doris Troy, who he produced and co-wrote songs with. He delved further to co-produce Preston’s fourth studio album That’s The Way God Planned It, and wrote “What Is Life” for it. George also co-produced Preston’s fifth album Encouraging Words, which came out two months before All Things Must Pass, and included versions of the title track and “My Sweet Lord.”

You can hear several versions of the Beatles running through “All Things Must Pass” on bootlegs. Though not as many passes as the famously unreleased “Not Guilty” got. It might have been too pointed a self-reference for the group to deal with. The title comes from a passage of chapter 23 of the Tao Te Ching: “All things pass, a sunrise does not last all morning. All things pass, a cloudburst does not last all day.” It is more philosophical than spiritual, but is as uplifting as its chordal ascension. “Beware of Darkness” is lyrically devotional and cautionary, but its structure is a mystery of faith. It’s all over the place harmonically, as the key aimlessly wanders into melodic transcendence.

“Awaiting On You All” is one of the most blatant spiritual proclamations of the album. It describes Japa Yoga meditation, the repetitive chanting of a mantra, which is mystical energy itself, inside sound. “Chanting the names of the Lord and you’ll be free,” explains the lyrics. Though Harrison does get in a dig at the Catholic Church. “While the Pope owns fifty one percent of General Motors, and the stock exchange is the only thing he’s qualified to quote us,” the last verse opens. Harrison’s deep understanding of the spiritual music he was producing was most fully realized on the album’s most recognizable song.

“I thought a lot about whether to do ‘My Sweet Lord’ or not, because I would be committing myself publicly and I anticipated that a lot of people might get weird about it,” Harrison wrote in I Me Mine. Towards the end of the Delaney & Bonnie tour in December 1969, Harrison heard and fell in love with Edwin Hawkins’ piano-driven, modern gospel rendition of the 18th century hymn “Oh Happy Day.” Inspired by the joyful energy, Harrison wanted to merge the buoyantly devotional “Hallelujah” invocations with the “Hare Krishna” Maha Mantra of the Hindu faith. The subconscious mix evoked some not-so-instant karma when Harrison was sued for “unconscious plagiarism” by the royalty owners of The Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine,” which could be interpreted as a devotional invocation.

“My Sweet Lord” is also the song which best establishes and exemplifies Harrison’s signature, post-Beatles, slide guitar playing.

The album’s opener, “I’d Have You Anytime,” was co-written with Bob Dylan when Harrison spent the Thanksgiving 1968 weekend at Dylan’s home in Woodstock. They also co-wrote the song “When Everybody Comes to Town.” Harrison played on Dylan’s April 1970 New York City sessions for the album New Morning, performing uncredited on several songs, including “If Not for You,” the second of All things Must Pass’ vagabond troubadour trilogy. Dylan had spent a lot of time off the road after his motorcycle crash of 1966. Harrison encouraged the reclusive artist to make his comeback performance at the Isle of Wight festival in 1969. “Behind That Locked Door,” which comes later on the album, is part of that encouragement.

The Beatles passed on including “Isn’t It a Pity” on Revolver, so George gifts us with two fully realized versions of it for All Things Must Pass. The 50th Anniversary box set includes an even more “downtempo version,” with Nicky Hopkins on piano. “Wah-Wah” was the first song recorded for the album, which is fitting because it was written on the day Harrison walked out of the “Get Back” sessions. It’s a great, angry song, in the tradition of “Taxman,” though not as pointed as Lennon’s “Sexy Sadie,” or “How Do You Sleep,” which Harrison played on. “Let It Down” has some great vocal backing by Clapton and Whitlock.

Hearing Clapton’s opening guitar screams squeezed through his wah-wah on “Art of Dying” makes you wonder how the Beatles rejected it in 1966. Although the lyrics George brought to the band at the time might have sealed its fate: “There’ll come a time when all of us must leave here, then nothing Mr. Epstein can do will keep me here with you,” Harrison admitted singing at his bandmates in I Me Mine. “Art of Dying” is the hardest Harrison rocks on the album and Spector lets the band explode. Coming after the intimately amorous “I Dig Love,” it is suspense reincarnate. Listen for Phil Collins’ bongos on the remix.

Harrison brought “Hear Me Lord” to the Beatles when they were recording at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969. It is as confessional as anything Lennon cops to on his debut album Plastic Ono Band, but primal in an entirely different way. “Apple Scruffs” is Harrison’s personal gift to the group of fans which used to camp outside the Apple Corps offices for a glimpse of the four when they was fab. Performed live by a solo George with Beatles roadie Mal Evans tapping along, it is acoustic fun with a wild and wayward harmonica.

The Jams

But not as much fun as the band had after Spector went to bed for the night. Harrison initially thought it would take just two months to record the album, but had to take a break in the middle to care for his mother, Louise, who was ill with cancer in Liverpool. Louise bought George his first guitar and encouraged all things musical, including allowing the early Beatles to rehearse at their house. She passed away in July 1970. 

Bored with the lag time, Spector was drinking heavily, bracing himself with Cherry Brandy just to sit in the booth, and ultimately breaking his arm in a fall. He left the sessions in July 1970, and Harrison produced overdubs at London’s Trident Studios and Apple Studios. But most of the album’s backing tracks were recorded onto eight-track tape at Abbey Road, with the musicians normally playing live.

When Spector left the studios, Harrison and the other musicians would jam into the early hours. “Thanks For the Pepperoni,” pulls the toppings off Chuck Berry riffs. It was recorded along with “Plug Me In” on July 1, 1970, with Harrison, Clapton and Dave Mason on guitars, Radle on bassr, Whitlock on keyboards, and Jim Gordon on drums. “Out Of the Blue” must get its title from how it comes in. It sounds like the band was in the middle of a fun run, and someone rushed to turn on the tape. But listen for Voorman’s lead guitar part.

“I Remember Jeep” is named for Clapton’s dog, and Preston and Baker bring out the jazz while Harrison’s Moog playing breaks traditions. “It’s Johnny’s Birthday” is a mockup of Cliff Richard’s song “Congratulations,” which the band warbled to Lennon for his 30th birthday. These afterhours jams were the kinds of musical driftwood routinely collected by bootleggers before box sets made them standard extras.

Demos and extra tracks, like “Mother Divine” or “Nowhere to Go,” underscore the greatest flaw of the original album: George’s vocals. Even gruff, weak and not-yet-familiar with the songs, Harrison’s voice is a beautifully emotive instrument. During their solo careers, he and Lennon drenched their voices with effects. Even Spector complained in production notes how Harrison’s voice is buried on too many songs. The new mix brings the voices forward. It doesn’t completely take away the reverb, because some of it is artistically correct, like the slap back echoes which evoke a specific sound. It is very well used on “Going Down to Golder’s Green,” an outtake which finds Harrison channeling his inner Elvis. One of the deluxe editions of the All Things Must Pass reissue includes a 96-page scrapbook evoking the time.

The album cover shows Harrison at home in Friar Park. Photographed by Barry Feinstein, George is surrounded by four garden gnomes, which could be taken as an in-joke on his days with the Beatles. All Things Must Pass was released Nov. 27, 1970, as a triple vinyl album. To accommodate the extra disc, Tom Wilkes of Camouflage Productions designed a box with a hinged lid, similar to the packaging of classical music and operas. It is presciently fitting, as the record is a modern masterwork of a timeless artist.

All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition will be available on Aug. 6.

The post All Things Must Pass Remaster Brings Out George Harrison’s Voice appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3fmed7Y

[wishingforatypewriter]

7, 14, and 20 for Ryoali, Akisako, Eishi/ Rindou, and Takumegu!

Ryoali

7. What do they get up to on a night out?

It depends. Sometimes they’ll go shopping (meaning Alice will buy everything in sight and Ryo will carry her bags and wait for her until she’s finished). But other times they might go out and play pool, which they’re both really good at, or go to a rock concert at a music club.  

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

When Alice is sick she tends to be even more demanding of Ryo’s attention than usual. Ryo ends up cuddling with her while she watches her favorite movies and going out to fetch whatever her whims lead her to request (Alice then gets mad at him for having left her in her time of need, and pouts until he cuddles with her again). 

When Ryo has a cold, he usually tries to just sleep it off and mostly wants to be left alone, but leaving him alone is not a concept that Nakiri Alice is even remotely familiar with. Since they were kids, Alice has spoiled Ryo whenever he didn’t feel well. She makes him all kinds of seafood soups and nags Hisako into sending medicinal tea blends. Ryo tells her each time that it’s not necessary, but she never listens, and he low-key enjoys the attention. 

20. Where do they go on holiday?

They usually go skiing/snowboarding in the alps, and spend a week or two at a cozy mountain lodge. Their snowboarding competitions rival their cooking battles in intensity. And naturally they will also take full advantage of the spa and sauna facilities at their lodge to recover from their full days of sport. Couples massages are a constant vibe for these two on vacation. 

Akisako

7. What do they get up to on a night out?

Most nights, Akira and Hisako are content to sit together by the fireplace, reading books and drinking tea, just generally enjoying each other’s company. That being said, if these two are going out, they’re going out. Date night is serious business! They are going to have a romantic dinner at a restaurant with at least two Michelin stars and then they are going to listen to the local philharmonic orchestra, see an opera or a play, or attend an art gallery opening.

Akira has always taken her on really nice dates, even when they were in high school and he had no money for it, so the fancy date night thing has become something of a tradition for them. They try to do it at least once a month. 

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

Given her expertise in medicinal cuisine, Hisako rarely catches colds, but whenever she does she is in total denial about it. Akira is surprisingly patient with her. Over the years, he’s learned to let her denial run its course and then carry her to bed once she burns herself out. Then he listens to her critique his attempts at making medicinal soups (she honestly finds them insanely delicious, if somewhat lacking in their healing properties). 

Similar to with Erina and the god tongue, Akira’s god nose makes him miserable when he’s sick. He can’t breathe and he can’t smell anything to save his life, but he is still going to show up to meetings and get all of his paperwork done. Hisako, being Hisako, always has some miracle tea blend on hand to make him feel better (and a massage if she’s feeling generous). However, even as she’s healing him with her culinary wisdom, Hisako will be scolding him for working himself to the bone and getting himself sick in the first place. 

20. Where do they go on holiday?

Akira and Hisako vacation in the tropics. These two are beach people to the bone, and there’s nothing they enjoy more than sitting by the ocean together and soaking up the sun. A few of their favorite vacation spots are Ocho Rios, Bali, and Bora Bora.  

EiRin

7. What do they get up to on a night out?

Eishi can be a bit of a homebody, and Rindou basically drags him wherever she wants to go on the weekends. Rindou loves street fairs and pop up carnivals and Eishi finds her too adorable for words when she’s bouncing from stall to stall, buying snacks and playing games. He once won her a goldfish in a carnival game and has never forgotten the happy little noise she made afterwards. 

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

When Rindou catches a cold, Eishi mostly worries a lot. He tends to ask a lot of questions (is she too hot or too cold, is she feeling worse, should they take her temperature again) until she gets annoyed with him and sends him to the kitchen to make soup. He also puts a lot of effort into keeping her warm. In the winter, Rindou complains a lot about the cold even when she’s perfectly healthy, so Eishi monitors the thermostat and makes sure she has enough blankets. 

When Eishi catches a cold...he continues to worry a lot. He’s on WebMD constantly, convincing himself that he’s dying (Rindou eventually takes his computer away). Then he worries that he’s going to get Rindou sick so he tries to stay away from her, in response to which Rindou reminds him that her immune system is stronger than his. All the while, Rindou is cooking for him virtually nonstop, insisting that he needs to eat to build his strength back up (she’s eating too, of course, but only in solidarity). 

20. Where do they go on holiday?

Literally anywhere in the world as long as there are adventures to be had and rare ingredients to be found. These two are big fans of ecotourism and love to go places where they can be close to the wildlife (they love Madagascar). At first these kinds of trips gave Eishi anxiety, but after traveling around with Rindou after they graduated from Totsuki, he developed his own passion for them. 

Takumegu

7. What do they get up to on a night out?

Takumi and Megumi might start the evening with a picnic in the park or a private dinner up on the roof of the trattoria. Next they would go dancing, and then grab dessert and coffee at a renowned Florentine cafe, and end the evening with a walk along the river Arno. 

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

Megumi rarely catches colds, and when she does they tend to be pretty mild, but Takumi still fusses over her quite a bit. He makes her call out of work and tells her to stay in bed and that he’ll take care of everything even though she insists that she’s fine. When she’s sick, Megumi can count on a few days of hot soup, massages, and constant attention from her love. 

When Takumi gets sick, Megumi finds him quite easy to take care of. He doesn’t do anything stupid like trying to go to work with a fever (at least not after she told him off for it the first time he tried it). She makes him a riff on his mother’s minestrone soup and cuddles with him to whatever extent he’ll let her (Takumi tries to make sure she doesn’t catch his colds).

20. Where do they go on holiday?

Although they are not city people in general, Takumi and Megumi like to vacation in major world cities.They both enjoy getting to know a place’s local food scene and going on historical walking tours. Their favorite place to vacation is Prague. Megumi adores Old Town and Takumi loves watching her gush over the architecture. They also really like Vienna, Geneva, and Cologne. 

[softmakoharus]

makoharu story - violin

(based on the amazing new art for the orchestra concert)

imagine haru's grandma teaches him to play the violin in 5th grade. he loves the way the sound resonates in the air whenever she plays, and even though it didn't sound anywhere near as beautiful the first time he tried, grandma assured him that he had a natural talent for it.

one night, haru and makoto stay over at grandma's house. when makoto wakes up late the next morning, he hears the faint yet unmistakable sound of a violin. is it haru's grandma? then he catches the sound of the piano, too. ah, she must be playing piano while haru's on violin.

it's the first time makoto has heard haru's music, and a part of him wants to stay in bed and just lie there listening, but it would also be nice to hear it more clearly. so he quietly and cautiously makes his way down the stairs toward the music room.

careful not to interrupt, he stands back and watches from the doorway. it's a simple song, but makoto thinks it sounds amazing. grandma sits at the piano playing the keys with her left hand, while haru stands behind her on the right and reads the same music to play the melody.

when they finish, grandma turns around to give haru much-deserved praise.

g: very good! h: i sped up again in the middle. g: you did, but that's ok. and what does mako-chan think?

she looks over and smiles at him. haru turns, surprised to see him, and turns away again quickly.

it's embarrassing for other people to see him practice. it's only ok when it's perfect. he messed up, he knows. his fingers are still learning where to go, and his vibrato is too fast sometimes.

m: the way it sounded... *smiles* made me feel really happy.

haru faces him again.

it's an unexpected response. he didn't say if it was good or bad, just how it made him feel. haru's playing made makoto happy? he has the power to do something like that?

g: would you like to try? come sit next me.

makoto's a little nervous and excited.

grandma scoots over and makoto sits beside her. she instructs him to watch her as she plays three notes of a scale, going up and then back down, repeating it a few times before haru comes in playing. they don't get too far in before she stops, prompting haru to do the same.

g: you look troubled. can you tell it sounds offbeat? m: it's not matching up. g: that's because haru-chan isn't listening. he must have been swimming a lot and got too much water in his ears.

makoto giggles as she turns and smiles at haru. he smiles and gives a small laugh.

g: it's up to you to keep the pace, ok? put your left hand here and play pinky, middle, thumb, and then back down.

it's a little uneven at first, but makoto gets the hang of it.

g: good! now just keep repeating that while haru-chan plays. maybe he'll listen to you instead.

makoto plays the scale again a few times through before haru starts playing with him. it's... different this time. playing with grandma is fun; she's lighthearted and doesn't make him feel bad when he makes mistakes. but he still knows she's the teacher and he's the student.

this time, though, he doesn't have to listen to the notes that makoto is playing; he can feel them within his heart. for a few minutes, he and makoto are connected by this simple little song.

they make it through both pages of music, and without realizing it, haru smiles.

m: haru, we did it!

haru looks over to see makoto blushing with a big smile on his face. haru understands now what makoto meant when he said the music made him feel happy, and he thinks he'll be able to appreciate it much more from now on.

the following weekend, haru's grandma takes them both to a small concert in iwatobi performed by the local college. they play classical songs as well as some recognizable ones from movies. the boys have a good time, and makoto is fascinated by one instrument in particular.

m: what was that great big instrument in the back? g: that's the bass. it's similar to the left hand on the piano. m: the bass... g: you like that one?

makoto smiles and nods. the bass is big and strong looking. it's almost like it protects the orchestra.

and if the violin is the right hand, and the bass is the left, they must complement each other well. the bass stands in the back and supports everyone, keeping a steady rhythm and watching over them.

even in a huge orchestra, he and haru would still feel connected to each other.

m: what do you think, haru?

the bass... it's a supportive role, with deep tones that enrich the sounds of all the other instruments. it asks to be relied on, and the others trust its dependable nature.

if he thinks of it like that, somehow it seems to suit makoto really well.

h: *blushes* we could practice with each other. m: it's fun playing music together, isn't it? h: it is. m: it makes you happy, doesn't it? h: it does. m: then, let's keep playing. h: and swimming. m: that too, of course. h: *smiles* ok.

*     *     *     *     *     *

BONUS: please imagine this as a makoharu duet and try not to cry

[call-me-rei]

Chapter 32

“I’m scared to get close, and I hate being alone.”

---

Vic didn’t go to music appreciation on Tuesday after our...talk. I couldn’t blame him; I wouldn’t want to be around me either.

That’s why I avoided him on Wednesday. If I noticed him down the hall I went in a different direction. I was glad we didn’t have any classes together on B days because I probably would have skipped them.

But today was Thursday and Vic and I had two periods together. Two periods that I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to. I wanted to call in sick or just hang out somewhere else until lunch, but my anxiety kept telling me that I’d missed a week of school and I couldn’t afford to miss any more. So I convinced myself to sit in my government class and ignore the obsessive thoughts in my head.

Lucky for me Vic didn’t show up to government.

By the time lunch rolled around I was getting the slightest bit worried. I hadn’t seen Vic all day. His brother was at school with Jaime and Tony, but Vic was nowhere to be found. Part of me wanted to talk to them and ask where he was, but they were still intimidating even after all this time.

I walked with my friends to the back courtyard for lunch. We figured a change of scenery was needed for all of us after all of the events of the week, even if that change was going outside to eat cafeteria food.

We sat down at a table and discussed weekend plans. None of us had any so Ashley suggested following her along to a concert. She wanted to get the chance to photograph bands and this was a way to start.

We were talking logistics and money when I saw Kortney’s eyes widen. She scooted away from Savannah and made room at the circular table we were sitting at. She tapped on Sav’s shoulder and pointed behind her. Sav turned to look and scooted down as well.

I looked at them with a raised eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

Before I could turn to look at what had gotten Kortney’s attention, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the culprit, my breath hitching slightly. He smiled widely at me before asking if he could join us. None of us knew what to say so we didn’t say anything. He took that as a cue to sit right next to me in the space that Sav had left. His two friends followed suit, sitting next to Lynn who was on my right and in between Kortney and Ashley.

“So, what are we talking about?” We all looked at him, not knowing what to say.

“Um,” Lynn started. I could tell she was trying to ask a question and not come off as rude.

Savannah didn’t have that problem, so she spoke. “What gives? Why are you sitting with us?”

“Can’t we sit with our friends?”

“I didn’t think we were friends,” Sav answered.

“Vic asked us to.” Mike shot daggers at Tony who only shrugged. “What? It’s the truth.”

“Yeah, but don’t tell them that,” Mike chastised.

“So what should I have said?” Tony asked with attitude.

“Not that,” Mike answered.

I cleared my throat which brought the two boys’ attention away from each other. “Why’d he ask you to sit with us?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Mike sighed. “My brother may have heard some shit about Jacob wanting revenge for Monday, and since he’s been MIA today, he texted saying we should hang around you guys.”

“To protect us?” Jaime nodded. “So we need bodyguards?” Did Jacob really want to hurt me that badly?

“Kinda,” Tony said, answering my spoken and unspoken questions.

“Fuck,” I groaned. This meant that I theoretically couldn’t go anywhere without Vic or one of his friends around. And here I thought that it was intimidating just to ask them where Vic was.

“Aw, c’mon Kellin, we’re not that bad,” Jaime said. I involuntarily rolled my eyes. I noticed that Mike, Jaime, and Tony shared a look. I didn’t ask them about it, but it was weird.

“Speaking of, where is the little man?” Savannah asked. I stared at her with big eyes as I almost choked on my water. She just winked at me with a smirk on her lips.

Mike answered. “Don’t know, but that doesn’t matter.” He reached over and took a fry from my tray. “I heard something about a concert?”

***

Music appreciation was after that weird lunch. We were sitting in class waiting for Ms. Pope to give us instructions for the lesson. We were able to work independently on our projects on Tuesday so many of us were hoping that we could do the same today.

“Remember class, we have our checkpoints next Wednesday and Friday. Today and Monday are your last days to work on this next section with your teammates.”

Ms. Pope gave us permission to work. I looked over and sighed. Vic wasn’t in class again. Maybe I could get out of looking stupid if I went to the nurse and complained about my arm hurting from surgery. I already had the cast so that wouldn’t be an unbelievable statement. I thought about it and decided that would be the best course of action. That was until Ms. Pope gave us the chance to use the practice rooms if we needed a quiet space. I didn’t think twice about it and got up and left the classroom.

I went down the hall with my things. I passed by the taken rooms with kids who were either practicing for band or orchestra or were in my class and had gotten there before me. I continued to walk until I reached the room that I always seemed to find myself in whenever I needed space. There was something, or someone rather, that caught my attention.

I looked through the window of the door and saw him sitting on the piano bench with his guitar against his body. He was staring down at his hands, seemingly frustrated that he couldn’t get the chords right. He bit his lip before writing something down on the page in front of him, then went back to strumming the strings.

You should go in, my mind told me.

No, that’s a dumb idea.

Is it?

Yes! He’s mad at me.

But do you want him to be?

No…

I kept looking at him through the window. He was sighing a lot in between playing chords and writing. What was he writing? What was making him so upset? I didn’t want to make him more upset by going in there, but I also didn’t want to keep staring at him through the window like a creeper.

So I sucked it up and opened the door.

Vic turned around when he heard the click of the doorknob. He didn’t say anything to me, just stared, something he’d been doing a lot more of these days. I couldn’t tell if he was still upset with me or was waiting for me to speak first. I went with the latter.

“What’re you working on?” I asked.

“Nothing much, just had some ideas and I wanted to try them out.” I nodded. “Why are you here?”

I bit my lip out of nervousness. “Ms. Pope is letting us work on our projects. The checkpoint is next week.”

“Right.”

We continued to look at each for a minute or two. I still wasn’t sure if he wanted me there or not. His actions made him seem indifferent, so I kept talking to avoid it being awkward.

“So, uh, how long have you been in here? I thought you weren’t at school today.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t feel like going to government, so I didn’t. I’ve been in here since lunch.”

“Oh.” I nervously scratched the back of my neck. “Listen-”

“Close the door,” he cut me off. I looked at him questionably. Did he want me to leave? “Come in and close the door,” he answered my unasked question with a small sigh. I followed his instructions and stood against the wall when I was done.

We looked at each other again. I didn’t know how to start the conversation I knew we needed to have, but I knew this was the time to do it. The last time we were in this room I said things out of anger and frustration. Now that that feeling was gone and replaced with guilt, I didn’t know if he’d listen like he had the other day.

“Kellin,” Vic started. I was taken away from my thoughts and focused my attention on him. I watched as he bit his lower lip and sighed before he continued. “I’m sorry.”

I tilted my head to the side. “You’re sorry?”

He sighed again. “Yeah. I owe you an explanation for what happened last week.” I nodded.

“Yeah, you do.” He put his guitar down on its stand and turned his body so he was completely facing me.

“I just…I don’t know where to start,” he said hesitantly.

I looked him dead in the eye as I asked, “Why’d you leave that day?”

I knew he knew what day I was referring to. Vic rubbed his hand over his face before speaking. “I like you Kells, I do. It’s just that I don’t know what to do about liking you.”

“What do you mean?”

He breathed out heavily from his nose. “Before you woke up a doctor had come in and said that there was a chance that you weren’t going to. You’d been out for at least forty-eight hours and they were monitoring your vitals and brain activity after your first surgery. You were stable but they didn’t know why you weren’t waking up. Then another twelve hours goes by and there’s still nothing.

“I’m not gonna lie to you, I was scared. I didn’t want to watch you die. I didn’t want to have to go down the hall and tell your mom that her son…” He stopped his sentence short to take a shaky breath.

I took some steps closer to him and sat beside him on the piano bench. I put my hand on top of the one he was resting on his lap. Vic looked at our hands for a second, seeming to calm down before he continued.

“Obviously you woke up and everything was okay, but for two and a half days I didn’t know if I’d ever talk to you again.”

“Then why did you stop talking to me?”

He blew out a breath. “I’m conflicted with things and I needed time to figure it all out.”

“Things?” He nodded. I bit my lip, not knowing if I wanted to ask the question that had been on my mind for days. “Vic?” He hummed. “Are you out?”

He licked his lips. “No.”

“Really?”

“I mean, I’m pretty sure Mike knows because he’s my brother and all, but I haven’t told him explicitly. My mom may know because mother’s intuition and shit. I know my dad doesn’t know. Not sure if I ever wanna tell him. Tony’s really astute so he may know or at least have a suspicion. Jaime’s kinda all over the place so who knows what he knows. Other than that, you’re the only person who really knows.”

I hummed in response. There wasn’t anything I could say to that. If he was still in the closet then I could only support him until he was ready to come out.

Vic’s confession did raise a question. “So you ignored me for days because you’re not out?”

He sighed. “It’s not that.” He looked down at our hands; mine was still on top of his. He flipped his hand over so our palms were touching, then he locked our fingers.

“After thinking you were dying and watching you wake up, I just wanted to kiss you. Then the doctor walked in and I realized that I didn’t know how I could do that in public without outing myself. I’m not ready for that yet, but I wanna be for you. I wanna be with you.”

I blushed a little. “That’s sweet, but you don’t need to come out for me.”

“It’s just...I just like that you’re you and you’re not hiding who you are. I wish I could do that. I wanna be able to walk down the hall holding your hand and not care about what anyone would say. I wanna kiss you before class and take you out on public dates. I don’t wanna hide.”

Vic started playing with my fingers with his other hand. I could tell it was a nervous reaction. I’d be nervous too if I’d just spilled my guts like that to my crush.

“So you stopped talking to me because you’re in the closet?” I asked. He looked up at me and shook his head.

“I stopped talking to you because I thought you deserved better. You’re unapologetically you and I’m too ashamed to admit who I am. You made this great group of friends here on your first day. Hell, you stood up to me on your first day without caring about the consequences. And as much as I would like to try to deny it, I have to admit that I kinda found it hot.” I blushed and so did he. I had to clear my throat and regain my composure before I spoke.

“That’s sweet, but you don’t get to decide what I deserve. I like you too. Even though you’re an asshole I think you have some adhering qualities.” He chuckled. “But you ignoring me didn’t add to those.”

He sighed. “I know. That’s kinda why I made the playlist. I wanted you to know that I was sorry, and even if you never went on Spotify and listened to it, I at least knew it was out there.”

I nodded. I knew where he was coming from and I couldn’t blame him for trying.

“Are we good?” he asked after we had sat in a comfortable silence.

I nodded with a smile. “Yeah, we’re good. But the next time something like this happens please be honest with me. You can’t say you like me then push me away.”

“I know, and I will. Promise.”

“Thanks,” I said. “And I’m sorry for what I said to you the other day.”

He shook his head to stop me. “You don’t need to apologize. I deserved it for how I treated you.”

“Let’s just say we won’t be stupid again.”

“I can’t promise that, but I can say that I’ll try.”

I smiled and squeezed his hand that was still holding mine. “So, you think I’m hot?” I asked with a cocky grin.

“So hot,” he answered.

We didn’t have much to say after that so we worked on our project. We were supposed to have a minute of the song recorded so Ms. Pope could grade it but recording in the practice room was terrible.

“The acoustics in here suck,” I complained.

“Yeah, they do,” Vic responded. “Wanna go back to my place and make out?”

I blushed. “W-What?” I stuttered. That came out of nowhere.

“I mean, we can go back to my place and record then make out, but as long as making out is part of it.”

“We can’t do that.”

“Sure we can. Class is almost over. We can leave right now. Or we could make out in the back of my car.”

I rolled my eyes. “But it’s December. It’s cold.”

“It’s December in San Diego.”

“You’re also wearing a hoodie and long pants. That’s how I know it’s cold,” I pointed out.

Vic chuckled. “Fair point, but my offer still stands.”

I shook my head and turned back to my notebook that was in front of me. “Keep it in your pants, Fuentes.”

“Are you sure that’s where you want me to put it?”

My eyes widened. “Shut up!”

“Make me,” he challenged.

I bit my lip to keep from saying anything stupid. Although maybe I wanted to take him up on that…

“You know, you’re so cute when you’re flustered,” he said, taking my mind off of the dirty things I was thinking.

“And you’re a jerk,” I argued.

“Sorry, but you’re so easy to mess with.”

I rolled my eyes again. “Can we just work on this project before we fail the checkpoint?”

He chuckled. “Sure, but I’m serious about what I said. My dad soundproofed the basement so Mike and I could practice our instruments. Come over today and we can get the recording done.”

“That sounds good,” I said with a nod.

He had a devilish look in his eyes before he spoke again. “But best believe we’re gonna have some fun when we’re done.” The husky tone of his voice made me blush again which caused him to laugh. “It’s so easy!” he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. “Fuck you,” I said with a deep scowl on my face.

He still had a smile playing on his lips. “You wanna?”

I scoffed. “Please, I doubt you could handle me.” I didn’t intend for that to sound suggestive, but I saw lust take over Vic’s eyes after that sentence left my lips.

He looked me up and down while biting his lip. My heart began to beat heavily as I held his gaze. He put his hand on my thigh and moved it up before he spoke. “Challenge accepted.”

[inkofamethyst]

October 31, 2022

Course registration today was a bit of a mess, actually, but thankfully I think everything might turn out to be okay.  There aren’t any restrictions listed for the education class I wanted to take next sem, but when I went to add it, the system told me that I had to be a education major to take it.  So I email the instructor to plead my case, not expecting much bc she’s a grad student, and sullenly pick a greek art class as an alternate to fill the space.  The instructor gets back to me in an hour with permission, and I think I should be able to get in.  It’s a lower-level course, but the seats are already going pretty quick, so hopefully the registrar acts fast to lift to block.

I am having a wee bit of an anxious episode at the moment, but it was partly brought on by the frustration of feeling, once again, like an emotional punching bag.  Not in the way that I’m being emotionally abused or anything, but, like, in high school I used to have a friend who had a lot of issues at home and she’d turn to me (and also to my dnd-friend) almost exclusively with her problems and it was really draining, honestly.  I had to stop putting effort into that relationship because it felt so one-sided.  And, frankly, she’s part of the reason that I don’t go to people with my problems.  That people only hear about my problems after I’ve solved them or cannot conceive of a way to solve them myself and have already cried over it (and in those cases I go to my parents).

Anyway saxophone-guy (-friend?) saxophone-friend (the “guy” suffix will be saved for potential, uh, suitors) has been doing that to me since I met him and it’s become even more pronounced this semester now that we’re “just friends” because he never ever comes to me when he’s happy about something.  I spent hours on a birthday present for him and the first thing he says to me when we next see each other in-person is how bad his day has been (he did thank me for the gift over text last week (also I’d like to be perfectly clear: this was not a gift given with the intent to win him back, as that ship has certainly sailed, it was a gift given with the intent to stop him from always being so down in the dumps over his voice (because any time he felt self-conscious about it, guess who he’d text and guess who’d have to use the same lines over and over again to comfort the guy (I don’t expect people to be perfect, and I understand we’ve all got our hangups, but he’s got a whole therapist)))).  I just... people who start nearly every conversation with the intent of spilling their problems irk me.  And he had the gall to say today that he doesn’t like going to people with his problems because he hates bringing down their day.  HM.  It seems as though the self-awareness doesn’t stretch as far as he thinks it does.

It’s not my intention to disparage people.  I’m just terribly high-strung at the moment.  Second round of midterms, a month until my applications are due, regular assignments on top of that, trying to prepare for my future...

I don’t want to come off like a fair-weather friend.  Truly, I don’t.  But the guy needs a journal.  Maybe not an internet one, that seems like a pretty dumb idea tbh.

So that’s frustrating, and then I’ve got an exam tomorrow [edit, next day: it was just okay, I think the short answers were fine, but the matching was awful (who cares about Haldane’s rule so much that it shows up on two questions??)] and a draft of a paper due and two discussion boards to do because I’m behind and emails to send and two more exams this week and I’m already feeling awful.  This Friday can’t come soon enough.  And then I’m going to a concert (orchestra lol) this weekend, and a movie next week, and an opera two weekends from now... ah.  Just gotta get through this hell of a week.

Today I’m thankful that... I’m thankful for GMM’s Vote Like a Beast web service.  It was so useful and so much easier to build my ballot relatively painlessly compared to consulting a newspaper and endless maps.  Midterm elections are so important, but the local-ness of it all can for sure be more overwhelming and confusing than the big national elections.  And as a college student it would be so easy to just be Too Busy To Vote, but I’m glad I did.

[ryqoshay]

Happy Life: This Was Halloween

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Words: ~1.2k Rating: G forward with a mild T’ish finish AU: Angelic? Time Frame: Sometime during their college years Story Arc: Stand Alone

Author’s Note: Thank you, Anon for the much needed inspiration!

Riko looked up at the sound of her girlfriend’s sigh. “What’s wrong, Yocchan?”

Yoshiko was staring at the decoration in her hand. “It’s really over, isn’t it?”

“What, Halloween?”

“Mmm…”

Riko chuckled.  “Well, yes, it’s been November for almost a week now.”

“…”

Riko furrowed her brow. Was Yoshiko upset about having to clean up or because she wanted to leave the decorations up longer? Yoshiko wasn’t exactly the neatest person on the planet, but she usually respected the common areas of the apartment. As for the decorations, Riko was well aware of how much Yoshiko loved Halloween and remembered her girlfriend humming happily the entire time they had spent setting things up for the holiday.

“It was fun being able to see everyone, wasn’t it?” Yoshiko asked, holding up a bat to inspect wistfully.

“Yes,” Riko agreed, “even Mari was able to make it.”

Riko smiled at the memories of the past couple weeks. She and her girlfriend had been able to see just about everyone they cared about. Two weekends ago, they’d made a trip back to Uchiura where they had stayed at Riko’s parent’s house to spend some time with them and visit Prelude. Of course, while in the area, they headed to Numazu to have dinner with Yoshiko’s parents and spent the other evening lounging in the hot springs of the Takami Inn with Chika and You.

Later in the week, Yoshiko attended the Halloween themed orchestra concert on campus in which Riko played the piano. Then the next night was a party hosted by Yoshiko’s theater troupe.

Finally, the night both had anticipated, a Halloween themed Aqours reunion at the Ohara hotel in Tokyo. All nine former members had made arrangements to attend along with the two from Saint Snow, making it quite the night to remember, or not remember as may have been the case for some. The couple had swapped their angel costumes, allowing Riko an excuse to be more open with her affections toward her girlfriend. After all, flirtatious behavior was expected of a fallen angel, right? The booze may have played a role as well… maybe…

In any case, Riko was happy to retain many memories of an adorably blushing Yoshiko, innocently clad in white and bumbling her way through figuring out how to deal with an unusually uninhibited girlfriend. In hindsight, Riko realized her behavior was more than a bit embarrassing, but well worth the rewards.

Of course, Halloween marks the end of October, and with the beginning of a new month, their routines of classes, studying and rehearsals were renewed. Both girls were quite busy for several days and didn’t have the time or energy to spare. But now, as if to drive the final nail into the coffin of a month of fun, the agreed upon date for cleanup had arrived.

Yoshiko sighed again as she placed the bat into the storage box, the sound bringing Riko back to reality. After another moment of consideration, Riko decided her girlfriend’s reluctance was not due to laziness but rather a case of post-holiday blues. And if Riko was being honest, she could empathize with those emotions. Even if Halloween wasn’t her personal favorite holiday, she definitely took great pleasure in watching Yoshiko enjoying herself to the fullest.

“Ne, Yocchan.”

The blue-haired girl turned to face the redhead.

“Do you want to maybe leave a few decorations up for a while longer?”

Yoshiko’s eyes lit up. “Can we?”

Riko chuckled at the reaction. “A few.” She repeated.

“Until December so we can have a nightmare before Christmas?” Yoshiko seemed to get even more excited at the prospect.

“… We’ll see…” Riko conceded. “Anyway, let’s at least take down all the cobwebs and other hanging things we have to avoid bumping into. And I’d like to reclaim the kitchen. One of your plastic spiders scared the heck out of me this morning as I was making breakfast.” She shook her head at the memory of her girlfriend occasionally moving said props as if to add some level of realism them or just to make Riko second guess things and get the creeps.

Yoshiko tilted her head. “I didn’t put any spiders in the kitchen…”

It took a second for the implication to click in Riko’s mind, but when it did, she gasped as her hand flew to her mouth. However, she immediately dropped her hand and glared as Yoshiko couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter for more than a moment.

“Don’t make me reconsider my offer, Yocchan.”

“Sorry, sorry…” Yoshiko waved her hand as she tried to settle herself down “Riri is just so cute when she’s scared that I can’t help it.”

This time it was Riko’s turn to sigh. She grabbed a box and stood. “I’m going to go take care of the kitchen. If you finish up out here, we can meet back on the couch in, say, half an hour?”

“And watch a movie?”

“Not Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Yoshiko’s pout proved the prediction correct, but in Riko’s defense, the couple had watched that movie a half dozen times already over the course of the prior month.

“Or maybe…” Riko considered for a moment. “How about I join you for a gaming stream?”

Yoshiko grinned.

“And maybe you can even play one of your spooky games for one last hurrah?”

“I play those year-round, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, but… you know what I mean.”

“Anyway, my little demons have missed seeing Riri.”

“Just your little demons?” Riko raised an eyebrow.

Yoshiko moved her hand up to her eye and struck a pose. “Yohane enjoys the utmost privilege of not only seeing Riri nearly every day,” her tone had dropped “but partaking in her company as well. And cooking.” Her voice returned to normal as she displayed a toothy smile. “I also get to enjoy Riri’s cooking every day, too. And share a bed with her every night. And…”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Riko couldn’t help laughing.

“Oh, and if its gonna be one last hurrah, maybe we can dress up?” Yoshiko bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement.

“Don’t you normally dress up for your streams?”

“Well, yeah, but I meant Riri as well.”

An idea occurred to Riko and she flashed a sly smirk. “I’ll take the black one. I wonder how your little demons will react when they see their great Yohane purified and their precious Riri tainted.”

Yoshiko swallowed. “You’re… not going to do anything that will get me banned, right?”

Riko laughed. It seems Yoshiko remembered more from the party than Riko realized. “We can leave that until after the stream. Or…” She set down the box and started walking forward, exaggerating the sway in her hips and feeling thrilled as she watched her girlfriend’s eyes follow every move “we could get it out of our system now.”

“Uhm… Riri…” Yoshiko offered a mild protest as she was pulled into an embrace. “What about cleaning up?”

“We can do that tomorrow.” Riko breathed into the other girl’s ear.

If Yoshiko had a reply, it was cut off by a gasp as teeth grazed her earlobe. Riko pulled back enough to make eye contact. Satisfied that she had her girlfriend’s undivided attention, she leaned back in to capture Yoshiko’s lips.

Author’s Note Continued in Followup Post

[janelevy]

the ladies go bowling!

this was a request from @thena0315 but i’m almost positive this ended up straying from what you imagined it would be, so my apologies haha!

summary: the ladies of med go out for the night to have some fun. to be honest this turned into an absolute crackfic because i ended up making fun of the crazy crap the med writers have inflicted on the women in this show. i got some hella bad news today so i really needed to make myself laugh, and this helped! i hope y’all like it too <3

mentions of cheating, sexcel (barely), and reesker!

“I can’t believe you’re making us go bowling.”

Natalie stopped and stared at Ava with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. “Hey! What’s wrong with bowling?” She motioned at the building in front of them. “I take Owen here all the time. It’s really nice.”

April smirked. “I don’t know, I sooner would’ve expected you to take us to an orchestra or opera concert or something.”

“Why would I take you to an orchestra when you can hear me play the violin in the comfort of my living room?” Natalie asked, adding an eye roll to show she was joking.

Despite that, Sarah frowned and clicked her teeth nervously. She was the last person to hop out of Natalie’s massive SUV. Nat claimed it wasn’t a minivan - it was a Honda Pilot or something like that - but with plenty of interior space and seven seats, it may as well have been a van.

“Your living room? With your kid’s toys all over the floor to, like, trip on? No thanks,” Sarah said.

Maggie crossed her arms at the youngest doctor. “Hey, Reese, be nice. You know Nat is the cleanest one out of all of us.”

“Still, though. Children make me nervous,” Sarah replied.

“Why?”

“I dunno... they’re just. A lot to handle all at once. I can deal with craziness from adults, we do that at work every day, but kids... yikes.”

They all pretended not to notice the way Ava’s hand slid comfortingly down Sarah’s arm, nor the way Sarah’s shoulder lingered close to the surgeon’s as they walked inside the bowling alley. To help conceal her surprise at that, Natalie gave an exaggerated sigh. “Ugh, it’s so hard being the only mom in the friend group sometimes. You’ll understand someday when you have kids of your own.”

April nodded, but Ava snorted. “Bold of you to assume we - she will have kids.” She was quick to correct herself, but they all still caught her misstep. Maggie leaned close to April and muttered in her ear, “I wish Monique and Doris could’ve come along to hear this.”

The place was pretty busy for a random Thursday night. The five of them had decided to go out after work together since their shifts all ended around the same time and the day had been fairly quiet, so nobody was drop-dead exhausted (yet). They all piled into Nat’s car in the hospital parking lot; someone suggested going to drink and dance at Molly’s, but it was shot down and somehow they ended up here of all places. A couple of kids high on nachos and fruit punch sprinted past them screaming, and Sarah grimaced.

They all chipped in to buy an hour of bowling along with five pairs of stinky, well-worn bowling shoes. Of course they’d seen and smelled much worse, so the shoes weren’t a huge issue. As they headed over, Natalie at the lead, she asked, “Wait, which lane are we at again?”

“Trauma three,” Maggie answered automatically. It was only when the others started laughing that she understood her mistake. “Oops. I meant lane three. It’s been a long day.”

For the most part, they passed time with small talk and cheering on each other’s utter fails. Nearly every time Sarah’s ball landed in the gutters, and Maggie’s ball had a knack for slipping right in between easily hittable pins. Of course only Nat seemed to have some talent, but that could be accounted to her frequent weekend visits with Owen. 

About halfway through April bought everyone a plate of crappy bowling alley nachos to share. “Bet eating these won’t land us right back at work,” Ava joked. Sarah dropped a plastic cheese laden chip in her mouth and went to take her turn. The first round she hit two pins, and the next none. This was really going great.

Then she went back to where the others were sitting and was greeted with complete silence. It was like a solid brick wall of silence, in fact. Sarah halted, the soles of her too-small bowling shoes screeching on the floor. All four of her coworkers were just sitting, staring at each other in apparent shock. “What?” Sarah demanded. “I’m not that bad, am I? Remember that time Ava’s ball didn’t touch a single pin two turns in a row? That was, like, twenty minutes ago.”

“It’s, uh...” Natalie gulped and shook her head quickly. “It’s nothing.”

“It obviously wasn’t,” Sarah countered. She chuckled nervously and stepped up on the platform where the table was. “Seriously, what happened?”

Ava swallowed her bite of nacho and gestured at Natalie. “Nat here shared that she thinks her lovely ex Philip is stalking her. I just did surgery with Connor on that prick’s daughter. See? No big deal.” Then she shoved another nacho in her mouth, neon orange cheese dripping on the table.

The pattern of big revelations during Sarah’s turn to bowl was far from over, of course. Next time she went, she was three pins away from what would’ve been a miracle strike, and again when she returned to her friends, nobody uttered a peep.

“What now?” Sarah said, face falling.

Ava jabbed a finger in Maggie’s direction. “She forged Nat’s signature to get Ben out of the hospital last week, then sneaked him back in as if nothing happened.”

By the third time, this was really getting old. Sarah walked up to the table of stunned women and she almost swore from the glint in Ava’s hazel eyes that she was enjoying this drama. 

“Well?” Sarah growled. “What did I miss now?”

“April cheated on Ethan and kissed Crockett yesterday.” Ava polished off the nachos, and every crunch grated on Sarah’s nerves.

“Maybe I just shouldn’t even go for my next turn,” Sarah said, sitting back down as April got up to go. “Apparently you all choose to say something interesting when I’m gone.”

Ava winked. “Maybe that’s not a coincidence.”

When Sarah’s final turn rolled around a few minutes later, she honestly did not want to vacate the area. It was too tempting to stick around and see what would be revealed next. But they insisted nothing would happen and shooed her away. Sarah didn’t even care which direction her bowling ball went; she dropped it on the floor and practically kicked it to get it moving faster. Somehow, though, she still missed it despite making every effort to rush through her turn.

Sarah zoomed back to the table, panting, and looked around at the thoroughly shook expressions on everyone’s faces. “Come on!” she whined. She swung her head toward Ava. “What happened?”

Ava smiled widely at her. “Well, Reese, I let it slip that we eloped six months ago so I wouldn’t get deported to South Africa.”

Sarah knew her jaw had to be on the floor at this point. A flash of anger passed through her only to be replaced with relief. “Well,” she sighed, shrugging. “At least now we can kiss and hold hands in front of everyone at work. I was really getting tired of hiding it.” She dropped down to perch herself on Ava’s lap and grinned politely at the others. “Anyway, I think you all might need some help.” She threw her arm behind Ava’s shoulders and planted a big kiss on her cheek. “You know, guys, I actually really like bowling. It’s like, super therapeutic, even better than Dr. Charles. We should do this again for sure. Ooh, and can we invite Elsa next time?”

Ava laughed, but all that she got in response otherwise was stunned silence.

Then April asked, “So... are we just gonna forget what happened with your dad, or?”

Natalie leaned over the table to look at Ava. “Ava, how’s Cornelius Rhodes doing?”

Sarah and Ava frowned at each other. Oh, shit.