#and then absolutely CLAPPING the door shut on your friend's small and Normal car

[sergle]

actually, the difference in shell and membrane thickness in duck eggs is really funny to me, because it has caused me to absolutely Obliterate regular chicken eggs in the past

[v3nusxsky]

(Hello miss if you feel comfortable writing this)

Could you possibly write a lady lesso x female reader. (Already dating) reader has been hurt so she can't defend her self really well. So one night walking beside one of her friends (female/male) and they shoved r into a room and locked the door. Shot story shot he touches R. Lesso began to get worried knowing R and defend herself so she goes to one of her wolf guards and fellow it while in tracked R scent. As lesso gets close she hears clapping but crys, she stops the guard and started running and kicking down the locked door, R friends takes a hit in the head and teleports right before lesso can kill them, reader going into a small shaky ball sobbing with hiccups non stop, bruise and maybe a little blood due to the bitting. Very soft, cuddly lesso mode and a bath. Next morning they were found dead, ripped from limb to limb and feed to the birds of bones

Dead man walking| h&c

*Authors note~ slowly catching up on my requests hoping to open them up soon*

Trigger Warnings~ assault (physical and sexual) language

Prompt~ see ask ^^^^^

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Leonora was definitely hesitant when it came to you returning back to classes. You weren't fully healed yet which meant you couldn't defend yourself as you normally would. And that pure fact frightened the dean not that she would openly admit it did. You spent the morning reassuring your girlfriend that you would be absolutely fine and should anything happen you would find her instantly. That seemed to alleviate some of her worry.

Truthfully, you were excited to see your friends again and get back into your normal routine and as much as you loved your girlfriend you just needed some outside interactions. You were quite friendly with Hort, someone you thought would ever hurt you in a million years. Leonora knew you were eager to get back to school so she stood back and reassured you that you could come find her for anything, even the slightest twinge of pain you were to come and find Leonora and you'd both go lay down together.

You were heading to curses and death traps with Hort, when he shoved you into a closest. The whimper of pain combined with the clicking of the lock had a confused whimper of pain spilling from your lips. "Hort" you whimpered instinctively curling up into a ball. "Shut up" he growled, a harsh smack landing on your cheek, "stupid mindless bitch giving yourself to the Dean when you should be mine." His hands all over your body made you feel like you were going to throw up. His lips on your neck as he bit down hard enough to draw droplets of your blood. Any whimper of protest, or plead to stop was swiftly silenced by physical violence.

When you didn't show up to your curses and death traps class Leonora knew something was wrong. You'd never miss her class. She immediately settled for cancelling the class and sending out her trusted guard to find you. The wolf immediately began to track your scent which led them to a hallway filled with the sounds of skin meeting skin and your cries. Leonora moved quicker than would be considered humanly possible to undo the locked down.

You were cowering in the corner bloody and bruised while he had his hands on you. The sight making Leonora's blood boil. The wolf quickly removed Hort while Leonora tended to you. "Sweetheart?" You shivered and cowered away, "no no no no stop" you whimpered. "Oh dove, it's me it's Nora love" she approached ever so slowly, "can I touch you dove?" You didn't reply, but you threw yourself into her arms. "He he Nora I" you stuttered out through your tears. "I know Dove I know, I'll see to it he suffers" she reassured you before using her magic to transport you to your shared bedroom.

It was a blur for you but the dean tended to your cute and cleaned the blood from your skin being carful of the bruising. She placed you in a warm bath and sat with you, resting your back against her front. You were out of it so Leonora was quick to clean and wash every inch of skin. It was truly heartbreaking to see you in such a fragile state. Every time Leonora tried to escape you cried and pleaded with her to stay with you, to hold you and protect you from all the evil in the world. You needed her to stay and she held you in her arms until you fell into a restless sleep. When you woke up in the morning you noticed your girlfriend looking devilish and the birds going absolutely mental while Leonora mumbled something about toxic bird food.

Word count~ 813

[moldisgoodforyou]

kickboxing

sorry i don’t care abt my titles and it clearly shows !!!! this one is dedicated to @sunnypogue and @everybodyscupoftea you guys should see the pegging jokes in our groupchat

wordcount: 3.2k

warnings: it’s flirty at the start and then it’s smutty at the end

_____

“Where are you going?” Colin questioned as Rafe and Sophie came down the stairs, both dressed in workout gear. Rafe was normally adamant on running alone (“it’s like my therapy,” he’d said, only for James to mutter in response “maybe you should try real therapy”).

“We’re doing a kickboxing class. It’s free at the student rec center.” Sophie responded as she tied up her hair into a ponytail, swatting Rafe’s hand away when he tugged at the ends of her hair.

“You two? You’re trying this together?” James asked skeptically, eyeing the both of them.

“Yeah, why?” Sophie asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she put up her arms in defense, pretending to punch Rafe’s arm. “I’m gonna be great at it.”

“You two are gonna kill each other.” Colin remarked dryly, shaking his head. “You’re too competitive.”

“We are not -” Rafe started in protest.

“Last week the kitchen was covered in flour because one of you started a fight when you were making cookies. Neither of you have a limit.”

“It was his fault -”

“It was your fault!” Rafe exclaimed, ducking his head when Sophie pretend-punched him again. “Sophie, if you hit me one more fucking time -”

“What. What are you gonna do.” She rolled her eyes and returned to bouncing on her feet, going to punch his chest a little harder this time, just because she could.

James snorted.

“Don’t encourage her.” Rafe glared at James as he caught her fist in his hand, narrowing his eyes at her. “I’m kicking your ass in this class now. Just you wait.”

“I’d love to see you try.” She grinned and smacked a kiss to his cheek. “C’mon. The gym awaits.”

“My money’s on Soph.” James commented as he watched the two leave hand in hand.

“Oh, absolutely. He won’t stand a chance.” Colin agreed, a small smile on his face as he watched Rafe jog around to her side to beat her before she could open her own car door. “Fucking simp.”

____

After they both got all the equipment on and did a small warmup, the lesson began. “Everyone pick your partner, please!” The instructor announced, and Sophie turned to the guy next to her with a grin, about to open her mouth.

“Do you want to partner up?” The guy asked politely, offering his hand to shake.

Rafe stepped in between the two and slung his arm around Sophie’s shoulders with a scowl. “She has a partner, thanks though.”

“Oh. Sorry.” The guy apologized, turning away to look for someone else.

She raised her eyebrows at Rafe. “I was giving you the chance to pair up with someone more your skill level, baby.”

He scoffed. “Okay. Whatever. You’re just trying to piss me off.”

“I would never!” She mock-gasped, tugging off her shirt and tossing it at him to leave her in a sports bra and small tight shorts. The attire wasn’t out of place for the class, fitting in with the other girls, but Rafe narrowed his eyes.

“Sophie.”

“Yes.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Don’t be a brat.”

“I’m not. You’re overthinking. Pay attention.” She checked her hip against his, turning her attention to the instructor as they went over a series of standard kicks and punches. Both of them were ultra-tuned in, carefully correcting each other’s form if something looked off and encouraging each other after a strong hit.

After he took her down - again - with a well-timed kick to the calves to sweep her off her feet, she clambered back up and shoved at his shoulder. “Hit me harder.”

“What? I am hitting you.”

“You’re going too easy on me.” She squared up again, bouncing on her feet. “Stop holding back.”

He squared up too, responding with a quick punch to her stomach that she deflected. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. Come on, try harder.” She tried another series of punches that he easily blocked again.

“Okay, but don’t complain because you’re too slow.” He caught her off guard with a punch to the ribs, making her groan.

“Fuck. Okay.” She breathed out, trying to kick out at him. He caught her ankle easily, throwing her off balance and sending her toppling to the floor. She lay on her back for a moment, trying to catch her breath and glanced up at him. His smug little smile was enough fuel to get her up again.

“You alright? Need some water?” He asked, concerned, and reached out to her on instinct.

She took the opportunity to send a punch straight to his gut, making him keel over. “I’m fine, pay attention.”

“Jesus.” He breathed out, standing up again and tried to hit her again unsuccessfully. “You’re not mad at me, right? ‘Cause if you are, we should probably talk it out first. Did I do something?”

“No.” She retaliated with a kick to his hip, knocking him off balance again. “No, just trying to do this right. It’s like, pent up tension from when we used to fight for real.”

He laughed and hit her a little harder, taking advantage of her surprised reaction and hooked his leg under hers, knocking her to the ground and pinning her easily. “Got it. Maybe try harder though?”

“I could peg you, you know.” She muttered in his ear as he laid on top of her. He choked, eyes going wide, completely caught off guard.

“You could what?”

That was enough distraction for her to flip them over, despite his six foot three frame, and she grinned down at him, triumphant. “You heard me.”

It only took another moment for him to flip them back over and he pinned her down for real, letting her go after a few seconds. “I won.”

“Hardly.” She argued, accepting his hand to get up. “I almost had you.”

“By manipulation alone.” He retorted. “You’re really cute when you’re trying, though.”

“Fuck off.” She scowled, shaking out her arms. “Let’s go again.”

He grinned, doing the same. “You didn’t mean that.”

“Let’s go again? Yeah, I do, we have fifteen minutes left here.” She attempted a series of hits, batted away by him.

“No. What you just said. The - the thing.” He faltered, cursing when she kicked at his thigh. Even though she was fairly flexible, he still had quite a few inches on her and the balance of height and strength was clearly off.

“I absolutely fucking did.” Her eyes were bright and he was surprised she wasn’t holding back a laugh, but smirking instead.

“No. You’re just trying to catch me off guard. You and those tiny little shorts.” He retorted, letting his gaze trail over the small drops of sweat gathering across her chest.

She did the same - she’d been thinking the entire time about peeling the sweaty tank off his body and having her way with him in the locker room showers. (It’d never happen, of course, she’d die if they got caught, but a girl can dream.) When he checked her back into reality with a firm but gentle kick to the stomach, making her stumble backward, she shook her head. “Sorry. What?”

He smirked. “Pay attention. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I am paying - god. You suck.” She breathed out, aiming a punch at his chin.

He batted it away easily. “Hey! Not the face.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a Leo.” She grumbled, pretend-swinging at his cheek just to antagonize him.

He just grabbed her wrist to stop her, using his height to his advantage. “I still don’t understand any of that. Can we get smoothies after this?”

“Fucking - focus, Rafe.” She hissed, wrenching her arm free and tried kicking at him again. He turned away from the kick and caught her with a couple punches to the shoulders, making her hiss. After a few deflected hits back and forth on both their ends, he managed to catch her off guard again and pin her, laying on her like a dead weight as she struggled.

“Aw. That was cute.”

She bit at his earlobe, making him giggle - literally - and scrunch up his shoulders.

“Sophie!”

“That was cute.” She retorted, flinging his own words back at him. “Get the fuck off me.”

“Only if you admit I’m better than you at this.”

“Never in a million fucking years.” She growled, shoving at him.

“Must you be so stubborn?” He rolled his eyes, only getting off her when the instructor clapped her hands to signal the end of the class. He tugged his gloves off and leaned down to give her a hand.

She laid there for another moment to catch her breath, eyes squeezed shut, then accepted his hand to hoist her up and leaned into his side as the instructor thanked everyone and handed out flyers about the next classes offered.

He glanced down at her, affectionately stroking his hand over the top of her head. “You good?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, letting him pull off her gloves to return them. “Just tired. And probably bruised.”

Rafe laughed, grabbing his keys and their water bottles then slung his arm around her shoulders to walk them out. “You said not to go easy. Do you want to go home, take a nap?”

“I’d rather do something else.” She muttered, matching his stride to walk with him out to the car.

“Huh?” He asked as he opened the car door for her, offering her a hand to step up. Once she sat, she fisted the front of his tank and pulled him close to kiss him, hard. “Oh, hello.” He mumbled against her lips, caught off guard.

“Hi.” She breathed out, pressing her forehead against his. “I really wanted to fuck you in the locker room. You’re so hot when you’re sweaty.”

His eyes went wide and he didn’t dare move, frozen in his spot. “We haven’t left the parking lot yet. We can go inside.”

Sophie giggled and pressed her hand flat against his chest, pushing him back. “We can’t do that. You know that.”

“Says who?” He leaned in again to kiss her hungrily, only to be pushed away by her again.

“We’re not breaking the rules. My place or yours?”

“Uh...check Find My Friends. See who’s home.” He jogged around to the driver’s seat, jamming his key in the ignition, and started up the car.

She swiped through her phone, then nodded. “Okay. My place, but we’re quiet anyways, so it doesn’t really matter.” She glanced over at him, then down to his lap. “Are you seriously already -”

“Yeah. Have been since you took your shirt off, I’m surprised you didn’t notice.” He gave her a sheepish grin, his cheeks going red, and shifted in his seat. “And it does matter.”

“Why?” She leaned over and swiped her thumb over a drop of sweat from his forehead before it could fall into his eye.

“Why am I hard? You’re really asking that?”

“No.” She giggled, shoving at his shoulder. “Why does it matter if anyone’s home?”

“Because. I want to hear you.” He raised his eyebrows at her. “It’s more fun that way.”

“Mmhmm.” She let her hand slide down to the back of his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of her neck.

“So, uh, what was that, that you said earlier?”

“Hm?”

“The thing. Uh, when you pinned me. Just for a second though.” He refused to look at her, his face turning more and more red and she could see a clear tent in his shorts.

“Ohhh.” She grinned, leaning closer. “The pegging thing.”

“Yes. That. I thought you’d only been with one other guy?” He glanced at her and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, clearly nervous.

“I’ve been with four others -”

“No. Just sex. Like, all the way.”

“Oh. Yeah, just you and someone else.” She nodded. “What are you getting at?”

“So you, uh.” He pushed his sweaty hair back from his forehead, glancing at her again. “You pegged this guy?”

Sophie burst out laughing, shaking her head. “Rafe, what?”

“You said it so casually earlier! Like you’ve done it before!” He exclaimed, reaching over and grabbing her hand. “So you haven’t?”

“No, oh my god, I haven’t pegged anyone.” She giggled, kissing the back of his hand. “You’re so dumb sometimes.”

“Why’d you bring it up then!” Rafe retorted, all the tension gone from his body.

“I just wanted to catch you off guard.” She grinned, sliding her hand up his thigh and grazed over his hard cock in his shorts, putting on a teasing tone. “Why? Do you want that?”

He jerked his leg, cursing as he bumped his knee into the steering wheel. “I - I thought only lesbians did that.”

“No. I don’t think so. Julia -”

“No!” Rafe exclaimed, slapping his hand over her mouth. “I do not want to hear about the girls and their sex lives -”

She licked his palm to get him to let go and immediately regretted it, tasting the sweat. “Oh my god, no, nothing happened. She almost hooked up with a guy that asked her to but she got too scared.”

“Huh.” He wrinkled his nose, more focused on trying to get the mental image of Julia out of his head.

“I’d do it, you know. If you wanted me to.” She raised her eyebrows at him, dropping the teasing tone.

“I have no doubt you would. But I think that’d be too much power going to your head.” He grinned as he pulled into her driveway. “Plus you hate taking control in bed anyways.”

“That is not - I’ll fucking show you.” She protested, hopping out of the car and striding into her house without waiting for him. He just snorted and followed her in and up the stairs, unsurprised that she took it as a challenge. When he made it up, a couple seconds later, he opened her bedroom door to be greeted by her leaning against the wall in the tiny little shorts and her sports bra, her shirt and shoes discarded on the floor.

“Hello.” He greeted, amused, and closed the door behind him.

“I want you undressed.” She replied evenly, eyeing him over.

“That’s hardly fair, you’re still dressed.” He shot back but kicked off his shoes anyways. He loved when she got like this, all bossy and demanding - it just reminded him of what they were like before they dated and how many times he wished their arguments before could end in kissing and making up.

“Okay.” She opened her arms wide. “Have at me.”

He grinned and tugged off his tank top, striding toward her. “Thought you were taking control?”

“I am, I’m telling you what to do, but you get to do the work. I’m tired - Rafe!” She squealed, giggling as he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed.

“Yes ma’am?” He hooked his fingers into the sides of her shorts, hovering over her and raised his eyebrows as he glanced up. “You gonna instruct me, or…?”

“Mm. Pretty sure you know what to do from here, actually.” She leaned back with a smug smile, intertwining her fingers behind her head.

He snorted and dragged her shorts down her legs. “Brat.” He pressed teasing kisses up her thighs, spreading her legs apart slowly.

She shuddered in anticipation as the cool air hit her, sitting up a little bit. “Rafe.”

“Yeah.” He kissed everywhere but where she wanted, making her squirm. He dug his fingers into her thighs and dragged the tip of his tongue up the inside of her thigh.

“Please.”

“Please what.” He kissed up her stomach, making her huff in frustration as she tangled her fingers in his hair.

“Please, just - oh, fuck.” She gasped as he slid his thumb over her clit, slipping two fingers inside of her easily as he grazed his teeth over her collarbone. He laughed at how easy she was to please, how predictable she could be sometimes - though he did suppose he knew her body like the back of his hand now. She whined quietly underneath him, pressing her hips toward his hand. “So good, Rafe.”

“Louder. I want to hear you.” He encouraged, curling his fingers toward himself. It only took a few more breathy moans and quick passes of his thumb over her clit before she was whimpering against his lips, unable to stay quiet. “C’mon, Soph, want you to come for me.”

She nodded, desperate, as he worked her body expertly. When she finally came, she curled her arm around his neck, holding him tight to her. “Fuck, I love you,” she breathed out, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“Love you too.” He mumbled against her collarbone, nipping at the skin. “Even if you are a brat.”

“You love it.” She giggled, leaning back enough so she could wrestle her sports bra off, struggling a little as it stuck to her skin.

He helped her tug it off, kicking off his shorts too. “Are we still pretending you’re in charge here, or…?”

She was too tired to argue but scowled anyways, gesturing loosely at the nightstand. “Yeah. Grab a condom, I want you to fuck me. Can we get sushi later?”

Rafe laughed, leaning over, and grabbed a condom, rolling it down himself. “It’s Sunday. Our place is closed.” He teased his cock against her, glancing up at her for approval.

She nodded, sliding her hand up her back to comb her fingers through his hair. “Right. Um - fuck -” She gasped as he entered her. “Thai?”

“Nah. Burgers?” He thrust into her hard, making her moan. “Or we could go downtown for that other sushi spot?”

Sophie closed her eyes for a moment, trying her best to think straight when he was fucking her, but felt like her brain was foggy. “Uh - what? Don’t remember.”

He smirked and continued his steady pace. “Can’t think?”

“No - just, fuck, right there, faster.”

“Pizza instead?” He pinched her nipple, grinning when she moaned just a little bit louder. “Close?”

“Yes, please - not the pizza -” She chased his lips with hers, meeting him in a heated kiss.

He laughed, thrusting a little harder, groaning as she tugged a little too hard on his hair.

“Sorry - didn’t mean to -”

“No, fuck, felt good.” He corrected quickly and thrust a few more times after she came with a breathy moan, reaching his own orgasm. He lay on top of her afterward like dead weight, panting hard. “What did we decide?”

“I dunno.” She replied, dropping her head back against the pillows. “I can’t think straight and you’re over here having a full on conversation like you’re putting in zero effort.”

“It’s all that work at the gym.” He quipped, rolling off of her and tossed the condom in the trash. “C’mon, you need to shower.”

“Noooo.” She whined. “I’m starving. What do you want?”

“Whatever you want to decide. The faster your slow ass is in the shower, the faster we can go eat.” He encouraged, stretching out. “Go.”

“Come with me. Wash my hair.” Sophie argued, tugging on his arm. “Did I win today?”

He snorted. “Like, one round out of six. Loser buys dinner, that’s what we agreed, right?” He teased, giving her a short, chaste kiss before dragging himself up.

“That hardly seems fair.” She grinned when he stood and followed, rising up on her toes to peck his lips quickly. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

He should have known what was about to come out of her mouth just by the smug smirk that graced her lips. “I’ll peg you if you buy dinner.”

“Jesus Christ, Sophie.”

taglist: @drewstarkey @lemur46 @jjmaybanksbaby @edgeofgr8 @quxxnxfhxll @obxtess @hoodpankow @vtgirl802 @outerbankies @messagesinthesky @nicolecarsley @svechnikolan @ilovejjmaybank @obxtess @abbyj1822 @oopsiedoopsie23 @g4bster @jjmaybankzz @freddymaybank @dontjinx-it @illbesafeforyou @moniamaybank @tovvaa @jailcalledlife @sunshineitsfine44 @randomficsandshit @outerbankspreferences @outerbanksbro @karsinner @kkmaybank @whoeveniskendall @lemur46

[theasstour]

𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐄 | 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 𝟐𝟎.𝟐𝐤 𝐍𝐁: 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭

A/N: Thank you so incredibly much to each one of you angels who voted for ST in the 1D Craft Awards 🥺 You continue to take my breath away with all your kindness, support and love 🐚🌊✨ ENJOYYY CHAPTER 7! x

Saturday, 25 July

The phone vibrated against the wooden table, jolting Y/N out of her focus. She blinked a few times, looking over at Fatima who turned the timer off and looked at Y/N with expectant eyes. Y/N shook her head and Fatima’s face visibly fell.

“What you mean?”

“I didn’t finish, did I?” Y/N groaned, running her hands over her face, hiding it from view for a few seconds before she sat back in her chair and looked at her laptop in front of her. The two were sitting at Olive’s Café on Island Square, seated on lime green chairs outside, the morning sun beating down on them as each of them tried to do work; Fatima looking through the curriculum she was going to teach this coming year, and Y/N doing her UCAT work. Fatima was a teacher for fourth graders, so she knew how to make things easy to understand, how to pull things apart and study properly. When Fatima had suggested that the two of them take a day together to just study, Y/N had jumped at the opportunity. Now, they had met to do exactly this a few days in a row and Y/N was really starting to feel the effects.

The thought of the UCAT exam coming closer and closer made her want to hurl. September 10th didn’t seem that far away anymore, something that absolutely terrified Y/N. Not only did she need to be out of St Ives by then, leaving her entire life and friends here behind, but she didn’t know where she’d even be. Would she even have enough money? Would she still be in Cornwall? Would she have crawled with her tail between her legs back to Winchester, asking for forgiveness for leaving them all behind?

Fatima pursed her lips, tapping her pen against the top of Y/N’s laptop. “Is it ‘cause you’re stressing too much?”

“Probs.”

“It’s hard not to when it’s important to you.”

Y/N sighed heavily, nodding her head in agreement. “This practice exam… well, it was hard.”

“They usually are, the practice exams,” Fatima explained. “Not necessarily so to scare you, more so that you’ll be aware that this will be hard, but the actual exam isn’t that bad. They never are.”

Y/N gave Fatima a little smile. “Taken the UCAT before?”

“Obvs, I’m the smartest bitch in all of the UK, if not Europe.”

Y/N laughed, quickly sighing again as she looked down at her laptop again. This was the first practice exam she had ever taken; Fatima had timed her to see if she’d make it in the estimated time it took to complete the UCAT, but Y/N hadn’t managed to. She supposed she still had a lot of time to study and prepare herself, but it still made her feel like all her studying had been for absolutely nothing. One failure, even if it didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, always seemed like the most important thing in the world. How had the world not shifted? How was not everyone around her crying like she felt she should be doing?

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Y/N. I promise you’ll be fine.”

She nodded, knowing deep down that Fatima was right. The universe would balance itself out eventually, everything would be alright in the end even if her current world was crumbling right before her eyes. Maybe she was just being dramatic, maybe it wasn’t that deep and she had just not been focused enough, but Y/N felt like giving up now.

“When I feel like I’m failing at life,” Fatima started, sitting up a bit straighter in her seat. “I pick up a pillow and I just scream into it.”

Y/N blinked.

Fatima grinned.

“You just scream? How?”

“Just like you’d normally scream,” Fatima chuckled, demonstrating by pretending to pick up a pillow, burying her face in it, and silently screaming. “And after that, I feel better.”

“Like a proper scream?”

“Like you’re being chased down the street by a man in a clown costume holding an axe.”

Y/N smiled, shaking her head some. “I’ll do that when I get back to the Inn. Immediately.”

Fatima laughed just as someone came up beside them, asking the man sitting beside them if the chair opposite him was taken. When the tiny, short-haired blonde sat down beside them, she beamed from ear to ear. There was something about Ellie’s presence that just made everything better. She was so round, so small, so joyous all the time that it felt wrong to be in a sulky mood when she was around.

“I heard you’re studying,” Ellie said, perching her yellow sunglasses on the top of her head. “And by the looks of it-“ Ellie mimicked what Fatima had just done with the scream. “-It’s not going so well.”

“Y/N’s studying for that dentist test and she tried one of them practice exams, didn’t go so well.”

“Aww.” Ellie pouted. “I’ll buy you a cupcake to cheer you up. I always eat tons when I’m sad, especially sweets. Especially, especially cupcakes.”

“Thanks for the offer, but-“

“-Ima, you want a cupcake as well?” Ellie put her purse down on her chair as she got up, holding onto her card. “Or a new iced latte?”

Fatima brought a hand to her chin, pretending to think about it, making exaggerated thinking noises till Ellie blurted a “today!” that made Fatima chuckle and say, “Both please, babe.”

Ellie smiled. “Girls, you know what I think we should do after this?” She waited for a few seconds for either of them to say something, but when they didn’t Ellie went on. “Go to the beach! You can’t be sad when you’re at the beach! We’ll sunbathe, have a bit of a swim, and then go for a Cheeky V at the pub after.”

Fatima smiled a little, looking at Y/N to see if she’d be into that.

Though all Y/N wanted to do was go back to the Inn and scream into her pillow, she smiled up at Ellie. “Yeah, why not? Have a bit of a girls day.”

“Oh, my gosh, that’s exactly what it is as well,” Ellie gasped, grinning from ear to ear. “BRB, ladies, I’m getting us something sweet.” Ellie was off into Olive’s Café greeting an acquaintance loudly before she went over to talk to them. Fatima only shook her head some, turning back to the book in front of her.

“You’ll figure it out, Y/N.”

“The UCAT?” she asked, looking at her laptop again, feeling her stomach drop at the sight of the practice exam again.

“Everything,” Fatima answered with so much conviction that for a moment, Y/N almost believed her.

“Alright, crew,” Dax called as they pulled into the farm, its lush and green landscape opening up around them. “Just warning you now, I’m gonna absolutely crush you tonight. I go for the title of champion even if it means I’m gonna have to lose some friends.”

“Sad, that,” Fatima sighed. “Seeing as you’ve never won before, what makes you think you’re gonna win this year?”

Amir turned to look at them from where he sat shotgun. “Dax, you may try to win, but we all know the former singer and frontman of Astronaut Lions will go home champion tonight.”

“You are a terrible singer, Amir. Dunno why we let you even sing,” Jo groaned.

“’Cause I’ve got a silky-smooth, delicious, fantastic-“

“-Shut up, mate!” Ellie groaned, making Jo laugh and give her a high five.

Harry stopped his van, killing the engine before Dax got up and opened the door for everything in the backseats. Y/N made sure no one could see her bum as she descended from the car, keeping her hands by her buttocks to keep her pleated lilac skirt from showing too much of her skin. She put her purse on her shoulder, letting it hang over her white crop cardigan. Music could be heard from the large barn, some awful singing streamed out from the open entrance as people walked out, laughing and carrying empty plates. The farm was just as beautiful as Y/N remembered it, now smelling of delicious barbeque and sounding of hens, chatter, and the occasional failed high-note. The karaoke night seemed to be under full way, the courtyard brimming with people, the same went for the inside of the barn it seemed.

Y/N, Fatima and Ellie fell into step beside one another as they walked over to the gate, Harry opening it for the rest, gesturing for them to walk in before him. When Y/N reached him last he gave her a little smile, eyes falling to the gravel under his feet.

“Harry!” Grace yelled, running from the grill where Uncle Tim, Jessa, and lolo stood looking at the food. “Harry, Harry, Harry!”

“There she is!” Harry bent down as Grace came running, wrapping his arms around her and spinning her around, her feet dangling in the air.

“Alright, Mr Flores?” Dax asked as he walked up to the grill, putting a hand on lolo’s shoulder. Lolo grinned up at Dax, saying something that Y/N didn’t catch as Amir let out a loud groan hitting his chest with both hands.

“Let’s go! Gonna belt Material Girl in approximately five minutes, everyone come watch to have your life changed!” Amir ran into the barn, shouting something as he met a few familiar faces inside.

“After a few pints he’ll try Gentleman,” Fatima sighed. “Someone should cover Gracie’s ears then.”

“That SL song?” Jo asked. “Nah, he better do Wiley Flow, or else I’m gonna have to challenge him to a rap battle.”

“Amir’s got no chance of keeping up with any of Stormzy’s songs,” Ellie pointed out matter-of-factly, scrunching up her nose. “Anyway,” Ellie stopped Jo before they started talking. “We’re doing Sugababes, yeah? About You Now?”

“Obvs!” Fatima exclaimed, offended that Ellie might’ve thought otherwise. “And Y/N’s joining us.”

“Oh!” Y/N raised her eyebrows, chuckling a little as Fatima wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard a Sugababes song.”

“They’re immense, aren’t they?” Ellie grinned. “I used to listen to Push The Button on repeat when I was like 12.”

“Was more of a Too Lost in You type of girl,” Y/N said, making Fatima gasp and Ellie bring a hand up to her chest.

“We’re doing Too Lost in You!” Ellie clapped her hands frantically. “Oh, my life! Legendary!”

“Of course,” Fatima smiled. “You wanna sing, yeah?”

“Let me down three ciders and I’ll be good to go.”

Jo laughed, gesturing for Y/N to follow them over to the main house where the four of them helped themselves to something to drink. Y/N glanced out of the kitchen window at the Styles-Flores family where they stood by the grill, sipping her cider. Grace sat on Harry’s shoulders, hands in his hair as she giggled at something. Harry had both his hands wrapped around his little sister’s ankles, holding her in place. Jessa was grinning at the two while Uncle Tim stood talking by the grill, asking lolo if what he was doing was alright, not having grilled this specific type of Filipino dish before. Dax stood chatting to one of Harry’s aunts, if it was Rachel or Abby, Y/N could not for the life of herself remember, but she noticed Harry’s aunt’s kids running around the grill, shouting at one another and laughing.

Y/N had never experienced a dynamic like this before. This family was so welcome, so big, so loving, and it made her happy to just watch them and know that, for a split second in time, she had been part of it. Maybe not a real part of it because this was not her family after all, but she had been touched by their warmth and been their guest for a time being. She would forever be grateful for that. Love tasted like Jessa’s lumpia, radiated like lolo’s approving smile, smelled like Grace’s hair after she had been out plucking wildflowers, and felt like Harry’s arms wrapped around her. Nothing would ever be quite like this.

“Let’s go to the barn,” Ellie said.

“I’ll just go say hi to Jessa,” Y/N announced, giving them all a smile before she walked outside and over to the grill where everyone was standing.

“Y/N!” Jessa exclaimed, opening her arms for her. Y/N grinned, walking over and doing the mano po on both Jessa and lolo. “How have you been? Don’t feel like I’ve seen you in ages.” Jessa swatted Harry’s arm, making him flinch away. “He’s keeping you all to himself, isn’t he?”

“I’ve been busy, nanay!” Harry said, furrowing his brows at his step-mum.

“Karaoke is huge in the Philippines,” Jessa explained, as she linked her arm with Y/N’s bringing her over to the grill where lolo and Tim were standing. “It is an understatement to say that Filipinos love karaoke, I daresay. Almost every Filipino home has a karaoke machine, Harry’s dad bought ours when we first moved here, but we put it out in the barn ‘cause we don’t really use it unless there’s a karaoke night, like tonight.”

“How nice, this is a tradition then? Each summer?”

“Yeah, we have a karaoke barbeque night every summer, everyone’s invited!” Jessa beamed. “It’s a fantastic way to just relax, forget about everything for a little while, belt your heart out to some of your favourite songs.”

Y/N smiled, eyes landing on the grill.

“Alright, Y/N?” Tim asked, smiling at her. “We made some tempeh for you, some Filipino barbeque sauce on it that’s out of this world. Not surprised, though, when Jessa made it.”

“Oh!” Jessa waved her hand as if to dismiss the compliment, but squeezed his shoulder. “I’m excited to see what you think. It was either tempeh or baos, thought you might like this a bit more.”

Y/N took a plate and a fork and watched as Tim put some food on her plate, thanking him once it was done. She picked up the tempeh and blew on it before she took a bite out of it, chewing it thoroughly and smiling at Jessa after swallowing.

“That’s brilliant.”

“Ahh! You think?” Jessa grinned, looking from Tim and back to Y/N, then at lolo. “Amá, Y/N liked the tempeh we made.”

Lolo smiled at Y/N and looked at her plate, nodding slowly. “You have to come and make some food with us once. You are part of the family now; we can show you our secret recipes.”

Y/N chuckled some before swallowing her bite of tempeh. “Wouldn’t say I’m part of the family, but thank you-“

“-Nonsense!” Jessa exclaimed, shaking her head furiously. “You are here, you’re making Harry happy, and since you’ve come to St Ives, the world’s been a brighter place. You’re where you need to be.”

For some reason, Y/N couldn’t quite believe what Jessa was saying. She knew it was coming from a good place, that she meant that it was nice to have Y/N there, but her family was in Winchester, she couldn’t possibly come into a new one and then ruin that one as well. This family she was visiting in St Ives would do just fine without her when she left in August. No one would miss her once she had been gone for a week, that was just a fact. Y/N was so bloody lost, she did not know what to do once her and Harry “broke up”, but she knew she would not disappoint and make any of the people around her sad, she refused.

Instead, Y/N smiled as she took the last bite of the tempeh, chewing and swallowing before she said. “Harry said something about an end of summer party.”

“Yes! I wanted to talk to you about that! Because, on the topic of food,” Jessa smiled back. “If you could give me some of your favourite vegetarian dishes, I’d love to make them for you! It would be amazing for many others to try something new as well.”

“I’d be more than happy to help out,” Y/N said, looking over at Grace as she sat on Dax’s back, the blonde man running around in circles as Harry ran after them, growling and acting like a disformed monster of sorts. She smiled a little at the sight, he looked absolutely ridiculous. How was he still cute? “I’ll bring the veggie food and I’ll show you how to make those, and then you show me how to make some Filipino dishes as well.”

Jessa placed a hand over her heart, beaming at Y/N. “You are an absolute treasure, me lover.”

Y/N smiled, eating some more of the tempeh. “When should I come and help out?”

“Are you free Tuesday?”

“Yeah, I don’t have any plans as of now.”

“Great! Harry will drive you here then. It’ll just be me, amá, Gracie, and Harry, and now you.” Jessa put her hand on Y/N’s arm, squeezing her lovingly before she turned to answer a question Tim asked her about the food he was currently grilling.

Y/N looked in the direction of Harry, Dax and Grace again, now walking towards the house. Jessa must have noticed Y/N staring in their direction because she linked her arm through Y/N’s and the two walked in the direction of the house as well.

“There’s more food inside,” she explained, grinning from ear to ear. “We do grill a lot, but Tim’s not really the best with the grill and he always insists on grilling at these gatherings, I don’t really have the heart to tell him no.” Jessa led Y/N into the dining room where she remembered all the food had been served at Grace’s birthday party. Again, casserole upon casserole stood spread over the dining table, covering it completely. Most of the dishes were all dug into, some almost completely wiped from the casseroles.

“Here,” Jessa said as she led Y/N over to the table. “I made your lumpia, there’s a few other vegetarian options as well.”

The fact that Jessa thought of this, thought of Y/N’s preference and made life a little easier for her, was so greatly appreciated that it nearly brought tears to Y/N’s eyes.

“This is biko,” Jessa explained, pointing to a casserole filled with banana leaves, a brown dish resting in it. “It’s a rice cake made from malagkit, or sticky rice, coconut milk, and brown sugar. Like other rice cakes, it is referred to as kakanin, taken from the word kanin which means rice, and is often eaten as a dessert or meryenda, meaning a mid-afternoon snack.”

“It looks lovely,” Y/N said, reaching for the spoon to get herself a slice before it was all eaten up. “Know we’re probably not set for dessert just yet, but I might just need some.”

Jessa laughed, smiling as Y/N took a bite of the biko. “What do you reckon, darling?”

“Heavenly, Jessa.”

Jessa clapped her hands together in delight, grinning from ear to ear as Y/N went in for another bite. “You have to try the buko pie next.”

“Which one’s that?”

Jessa pointed to a golden pie, not waiting for any sort of reply before cutting Y/N a small piece, placing it on Y/N’s plate. “It’s a sweet and rich pie made from young coconut meat.”

“Oh?”

“Buko pies are mostly sold in southern parts of Luzon in the Philippines. There’s this specific store down there called Collette’s that serves the best buko pie. I will never be able to replicate it, but I will try my hardest, every time I make a buko pie,” Jessa smiled. “We need to take you to Luzon, Y/N, you’d love it. Once we’ve saved up and all that.”

“This is the best buko pie I’ve ever tasted at least,” Y/N said, and Jessa laughed again looking out through the window only to sigh deeply.

“I need to go out there, it seems Tim is struggling and amá cannot be asked to help him out.” Jessa sprinted out, shouting something at Tim that Y/N didn’t catch but by the look on all the relatives standing around and Tim’s face, it couldn’t have been good. Y/N smiled a little, eating the rest of her pie before she realised she heard music. This wasn’t the type streaming out from the barn, this was coming from inside the house. And it was coming from the piano.

Y/N walked into the kitchen and placed her now empty plate on the kitchen counter before walking over to the dining room again, walking over to the doorway leading into the living room. With Grace on his lap, Harry was sitting by the piano, playing a tune Y/N had never heard before. It was both hopeful and very sad, unlike anything Y/N had ever heard before. There was no note sheet in front of him as he played, his eyes were only on the keys in front of him. Grace sometimes leaned forward and pressed a key she wasn’t supposed to, looking up at Harry while she giggled before leaning into him again, listening to the rest of the song.

“Can you play that other one?” Grace asked as Harry continued to play.

“What other one? There are quite a few, Gracie.”

“She means the one about me,” Dax grinned, standing beside the piano with his arms crossed, a massive grin on his face. “Go on, Hazza. Play that one inspired by Sexy Back.”

“Watch your mouth,” Harry hissed through gritted teeth, making his best friend laugh.

“Noooo!” Grace laughed. “The one you wrote after you, me and Y/N went to St Austell. The one about that trip.”

“Ahh, haven’t heard that one before,” Dax said, walking over to sit on the sofa beside the piano, watching the two siblings as they settled in again. Grace pressed one of the keys, looking up at Harry who smiled down at her and shook his head. He took her hand, bringing her finger over to the correct starting note, pressing it down for a long while so she’d get the feel of it. Then, he brought her to the next one, slowly playing the melody out before Grace motioned for Harry to take over for her.

What Harry produced just pressing a couple of keys at just the right moment was so breath-taking that Y/N almost felt dizzy. There was something to this melody that words weren’t ready to properly convey yet, something that was too powerful for a simple human brain to comprehend. Y/N understood why Harry wrote songs now. This melody captured that day perfectly. Her heart knew that melody. It had played that melody itself that day; it had been there with Harry while he came up with it as well.

She was thrown back to walking along St Austell, spending the day in the sunshine with two people that she had come to care so incredibly much for. Thrown back to standing side by side with Harry, talking about music, walking along the market, eating ice cream, laughing till her sides hurt. A lump suddenly appeared in her throat.

“What the fuc-“

“-Dax,” Harry said, stopping immediately. “No.”

“I’ve heard that word before, Harry,” Grace said.

“What, when?!”

“Harry, that was insane,” Dax said, grinning as he stood up from the sofa again. Before Y/N could be noticed, she stepped away from the doorway and walked outside again, feeling every inch of her chest hurting.

“Y/N!” Jo called. “Come in here!” They stood by the grill with a plate filled with food, waving her over so the two of them could walk in together.

She grinned over at Jo as she made her way over, them walking in the direction of the barn together. She waved at people she recognised – Florence from Bessie’s knitting club and Dax’s mum, was one of them. The inside of the barn was decorated with plenty of fairylights, giving the old interior a yellowish and homely glow resembling candlelight. There were small tables and chairs all around so people could sit down to eat, drink, and chat, while a huge screen was positioned by the furthest wall, two microphones attached to what looked to be a high quality karaoke machine of sorts. Jo showed the way and they sat down with the rest, it didn’t take long for Harry, Dax, and Grace to join them. Y/N got out of her chair and tapped Grace on the shoulder.

“Haven’t gotten a hug yet,” Y/N said and Grace jumped off the ground, throwing her arms around Y/N’s neck. She laughed, hugging the little girl to her for a few heavenly seconds before she stepped away. “You look nice today.”

“Nanay told me not to spill anything on it,” Grace said as she gestured at her pink, sparkly dress. “I told her I can’t promise that.”

Y/N chuckled. “You’re doing well so far, I’d say.”

“Thank you!” Grace beamed. “Anyway, Harry’s drinking that drink that makes his breath smell awful.”

“Gracie,” Harry warned from where he now sat beside Ellie, but the little girl did not appear to want to hear what he had to say.

“How can you kiss someone with bad breath, Y/N?” Grace asked and Y/N’s heart dropped at little as she thought about kissing Harry again. How they weren’t going to kiss again. How she wanted to kiss him, but not because they were fake dating. It took everything in Y/N not to look in Harry’s direction, because, judging by his little utterance of his sister’s name before, she knew he must’ve heard this as well.

“You don’t care if they’ve got bad breath if you really want to kiss them,” Y/N answered, giving Grace a smile.

Grace grimaced. “I would never kiss someone if their breath stank.”

“Don’t talk about kissing, you’re seven,” Harry said, sipping his pint.

Y/N raised her eyebrows at Grace and Grace did the same back. At Grace’s instructions, Y/N sat down in her seat so Grace could sit in her lap. Grace watched the people singing intently, sometimes singing along and nodding her head along to the music like she couldn’t help it. It was impossible not to smile at the sight of it, Y/N simply cared for this little creature so much it was hard for her to fully comprehend it. Grace, though young and Harry’s little sister, was the closest thing Y/N had ever come to a sister. They didn’t have a deep connection through thoughtful conversation, but they just understood and went along. There was an emotional and meaningful connection that, though not talked about, had appeared because they enjoyed and appreciated each other’s company.

Grace ran over to a nearby table to get herself some water, leaving Y/N sitting in the chair alone, her lap feeling oddly cold. On the other side of the table, Amir was talking loudly over the karaoke battle that had just begun.

“When I go back up to London for work in two weeks’ time, I feel like I’m just gonna make a right fool of myself, yeah? Normally takes a week for me to turn my weird off after I’ve been home.”

“Gonna be weird when you and Jo are off again,” Ellie said. “Why do you two have to work in London? Why can’t you just stay in St Ives?”

“Bit liberating to leave this place for another one every once in a while, not gonna lie,” Jo admitted, sipping their beer.

“Makes you realise all you’ve missed,” Fatima nodded. “Was the same when I came home for uni breaks, now I’m just really happy I ended up here. Might be underpaid as a teacher, but-“ Fatima shrugged her shoulders. “-I love living and working here, it’s home, after all.”

Y/N hated that she had never experienced that feeling; of coming back to something you had missed. Of coming home.

“Bum that,” Dax said. “I want my mates home at all times! I don’t care you’ve got a job!”

Y/N chuckled, the conversation around them commencing as she looked down at the table, picking at a stain on the table. Grace came back just then, but she didn’t get to sit down before Dax said her name.

“Wanna go up and sing your heart out?”

Grace squealed and took Harry’s hand. Harry downed the rest of his beer and stood up, walking with Grace, Dax, and Amir up to the karaoke machine. Y/N rested her chin in her hand, smiling as she watched the four of them discuss what song to do. It had to be an easy one that Grace already knew, it might be hard to find the correct one. They took some time to decide, but suddenly, the drums to a song Y/N recognised from Harry’s favourite’s playlist started playing. She remembered how Grace really loved that playlist.

“Uptown girl,” Grace sang into the microphone as she perched on Harry’s hip, sharing microphone’s with him. “She’s been living in her uptown world.”

Dax and Amir joined in as well, singing along with Grace who was still unsure of the lyrics but tried to read them as best she could on the screen in front of them. Harry moved them to the music, Dax throwing an arm around Amir’s shoulders as they started singing their hearts out. It was simply impossible not to smile as you watched the four of them, dancing and singing along to Billy Joel’s song.

“God,” Fatima sighed as she scooched her chair closer to Y/N’s. “I wish someone looked at me the way Harry looks at you.”

Y/N halted a little at Fatima’s words, looking in her direction as Amir, Dax, and Grace sang “And now she’s looking for her downtown man, that’s what I am”.

“Pardon?”

Fatima grinned. “Oh, you know-“ She placed her chin in her head, looking off into the distance with exaggerated doe eyes, a dreamy look on her face. For a split second, Y/N’s heart seemed to lurch out of her chest. Harry… Harry looked at her like that? He glanced at her? Surely, Fatima was not being serious and she had simply caught Harry smiling at Grace when she sat in Y/N’s lap.

Y/N laughed. “You’re taking the mick, that’s not how he looks at me.”

“Wouldn’t know, would you? Always happens when you’re not looking.”

“Harry,” Grace said, not even bothering to hold the microphone away as she spoke to him in the middle of the song. “You need to sing, the song’s for Y/N, remember?”

Y/N glanced beyond Fatima and at the group in front of the screen, a rush of adrenaline streaming through her veins. Laughter could be heard throughout the room at Grace’s words, many turning in Y/N’s direction to look at her, all with smiles and curious looks on their faces. At once, Y/N’s face seemed to be too hot for its own good. She bit her bottom lip, continued to watch the gang, ignoring the heat in her cheeks.

Harry seemed to take a deep breath before he started singing with Amir and Dax, both of them doing a miserable job of doing the song any sort of justice. Neither were impressive singers, but Y/N knew Harry was.

“Uptown girl, you know I can’t afford to buy her pearls,” Harry sang, voice so effortlessly breath-taking that Y/N felt like she was doing a pretty good job of imitating the dreamy look Fatima had demonstrated earlier. “But maybe someday when my ship comes in, she’ll understand what kind of guy I’ve been, and then I’ll win.”

Grace joined in then, wrapping her arm around Harry’s shoulder and leaning her head against his. They all continued to sing along to the song, Y/N not paying any sort of attention to the conversation between Fatima, Ellie, and Jo. She watched as the four of them cheered once they were done singing, bowing to the small applause they got before returning to the table.

“I need to go tell nanay!” Grace shouted, running off outside to Jessa and the rest of the family.

Y/N smiled at Harry as he came back, getting a tight-lipped smile back before he picked up his, Dax’s, Amir’s and Jo’s empty beer cans, walking over to get them all a new round. Grace came back with Halo Halo, placing herself on Y/N’s lap as the two ate, talking non-stop. The little one disappeared after a little while, Y/N suspected it was because it was getting rather late. As the night went on, Y/N realised that the only two that would be able to stand by the end of the night were her and Fatima. The others got very drunk, talking loudly about everything insignificant and nothing they would remember in the morning. Harry kept looking at the watch on his wrist, clearly making sure that they got back to his at a good hour so he could report at 3am. When Harry’s speech got a bit more slurred and his eyes a wee hooded, Y/N started looking out for him. Using the time on her phone, she kept an eye out, making sure that Harry returned to his cottage before then so he could sleep off most of his intoxication.

Talking amongst themselves as the rest chatted loudly, Fatima and Y/N agreed that Fatima would be the one to drive everyone home. It would be easier to drop Harry off last as this was his van, and Fatima didn’t live too far away from the lighthouse, the two then decided Y/N would sleep at her place that night, it would be nice just being the two of them. She loved how closed she was getting to Fatima and Ellie. There hadn’t really been a time before when she had made proper good friends, but everyone around that table were currently climbing very fast and very high up on her list of favourite people in the entire world. She genuinely appreciated Fatima’s help with the UCAT reading earlier that week, it had really helped her along, even though the result hadn’t been the best. That was Y/N’s fault though, not Fatima’s teaching skills.

At one point, Dax got all of them up from the table, bringing them over to the screen, telling them over and over again how they needed to do this. Y/N was unsure if they really did, but she didn’t bother telling a very drunk Dax that as he handed out microphones, telling people to share. Y/N scooted up next to Ellie, watching Harry as he put an arm around Jo’s shoulder, patting them as the two of them along with Amir watched Dax search for the song.

“We need to know what song we’re gonna embarrass ourselves to,” Amir exclaimed as Dax was taking his time typing.

“I’m not about to do a Union J song, mate,” Ellie said.

“Alright, I liked one of their songs ten years ago, Ellie!” Dax looked over his shoulder at her, a deep furrow to his brow. “Carry You is a belter!”

“It’s not.”

“Jo, back me up here,” Dax said, turning back to write something into the laptop standing there.

“Dax… don’t make us sing Union J or The Wanted or JLS or anything like that, we don’t need that,” Jo sighed.

“The fact you’re embarrassed about our boyband period in 2013 hurts.” Dax glared at Jo.

“Right, then, what’s the song we’re singing?” Harry shot in, nodding at the laptop again. “We’re just standing here lookin’ stupid now.”

“Looking stupid?” Amir tutted, shaking his head. “Couldn’t be me, mate. Model material, this is. Look like I’m straight off the runway.” He gestured at his body and Fatima feigned throwing up, making the five drunks howl with laughter.

“Ultraviolet, Stiff Dylans.”

Y/N gasped at Dax’s words, bringing her hand up to her chest as the others around just looked at her, afraid something had happened. She grinned at Dax. “That used to be my favourite song!”

This seemed to be shocking news to absolutely everyone.

“What?” Y/N raised her eyebrows. “Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging was revolutionary.”

“Too right,” Harry said. “But… were you…” He blinked a few times. “Were you even allowed to watch it? Not a film I reckon would’ve been allowed in your house.”

Y/N shrugged her shoulders. “What can I say, I used to be a rebel.”

“Yes, Y/N!” Dax grinned, giving Y/N a high five. “Now, bum God Save the Queen, this is Britain’s national anthem! Someone record this, history in the making!”

The familiar music started up and Y/N was taken back to a time when she had a massive crush on Aaron Taylor-Johnson, hiding her obsession with this film from her parents, and listening to this song on repeat. The whole gang started singing, Amir doing a horrible job of keeping up with everyone else, but it was fun to watch him get annoyed with himself for not getting it right. Involuntarily, Y/N’s eyes fell on Harry. He was singing his heart out, sounding better than everyone else, but in his drunken state he seemed to have forgotten some of the lyrics. However, everyone knew the song and it felt very good to be with people she adored, singing a song all of them knew and loved, together. She felt part of something bigger than herself in that moment.

Maybe that was why she did it. Because, looking back, Y/N did not quite know what came over her in that moment, but she loved herself for it. As the song started nearing the end, Y/N took the microphone out of Ellie’s hands and started singing at the top of her lungs, taking absolutely everyone by surprise but she did not care. Ellie started laughing and the rest joined in again towards the end, matching Y/N’s volume.

As she turned around after the song, grinning from ear to ear as she glanced at her friends, basking in their applause and cheers, she caught Harry’s eye. That crooked smile of his was on his face along with a look she wasn’t sure she had ever really seen before, maybe only once. Amusement tangled up with adoration, forming a sort of emotion that had yet to be given a word; someone on the cusp of surrendering themselves completely to the overpowering concept of love, yet still holding back in fear of the unrequited. As soon as their eyes met, Harry looked away, scratching at the back of his neck as he walked back over to their table, everyone following suit.

The time came for them all to leave and Harry gave Y/N the car keys, claiming that he was not fit to drive, though she had not needed him to tell her that. Y/N gave them over to Fatima and all of them made their way over to the van. The night sky was black, brimming with glinting stars and the moon hanging big and yellow over Cornwall, wishing them all a good night. Y/N walked over to Jessa and thanked her for her hospitality, asking her where lolo and Grace were. She explained they’d gone to bed a long time ago, lolo had probably read Grace a bedtime story and fallen asleep himself, he sometimes did that when he stayed the night at the farm.

Y/N ran over to the van, opening the passenger door to see Amir sitting there, a bag in front of him in case he should throw up on the way home. He gave Y/N a peace sign before she closed the door and opened the door into the backseats.

“There you are,” Jo said through a yawn. “Let’s go, Ima.”

“Y/N!” Harry called from further back in the van, making Dax groan and mumble a “shut up, mate” that Harry did not hear. “Y/N! My flower! Come back here, I saved us the whole back backseat!”

Y/N glanced in Fatima’s direction, only to see her friend raise her eyebrows at her, nodding her head. “He made a big fuss.”

“Y/N, come here, I want to tell you something,” Harry said, words slurring a bit. Y/N stepped into the van properly, closing the door behind her before she walked back to Harry, sitting down in the seat right beside him by the window, even though there were three seats in the far back of the car. The car jolted a little as Fatima started driving, steering the car up the gravel round and towards the centre of St Ives.

“What’d you wanna say?” Y/N asked Harry in a hushed voice, hoping he’d mimic her.

“I… I wanted to say something that’s been on my mind for a while now,” he said, whispering back to her, his face mere centimetres from her own. She felt hot all over, adoring their close proximity but also remembering the rule they had made some days ago. As they drove by the white fluorescent streetlights, Harry’s face lit up for a few seconds, making him appear almost angelic. “I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Okay.”

“It’s got to do with you.”

“Figured as much.”

Harry giggled, looking down at his hands where they rested between his legs, sliding his thumb along his other. “You’re very smart.”

“Thank you.”

“Smartest person I know.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. “I doubt that.”

He pursed his lips as he thought. “You do that a lot.”

“What?”

“Doubt yourself.” He stared back at her, moving a little closer so their sides were flush against one another. “I think you’re great. I’ve never doubted you.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither knowing what to say as the world around them seemed to disappear completely. For a single moment, it looked like he was going to tilt his head to the side, almost as if he were getting ready to study her like he had done at Porthgwidden. He stopped himself, staring back at his hands.

“I don’t have any cucumber left,” Harry mumbled, this made Y/N giggle a little. “This ain’t gonna end well for me tonight if I don’t get that cucumber.”

Y/N giggled some more, bringing her hand to her mouth as Harry looked at her again, his crooked smile appearing on his face, dimple showing.

“What?”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re talking about a cucumber when you say it like that,” she said.

“What then?”

“Well… what’s kind of shaped like a cucumber?”

Harry furrowed his brows, thinking hard.

“You have it, I don’t.”

“A cock?” Harry mouthed, looking absolutely gobsmacked that Y/N would suggest such a thing, which made Y/N laugh again.

“Yeah, dildo or summat.”

“Y/N Bernadette Angelica McKay,” Harry gasped, shaking his head as his eyes fell on the road through the window beyond Y/N. “Saucy git.”

“You started it.”

“Well, you made it sexual.” Harry crossed his arms, pretending to roll his eyes to make Y/N laugh, which worked effortlessly. “Wouldn’t mind a dildo, not gonna lie.”

“Harry!”

“What?! It’s the truth!”

Y/N laughed again, watching as Ellie and Jo jumped out of the car once Fatima stopped it, waving at everyone before they started walking in the same direction. Fatima started the car over again just as Jo stumbled and almost face planted, making everyone in the van – including the two outside – crack up. Y/N settled into her own seat, looking down at her thighs as they drove off again, giggling a little to herself as she replayed Jo’s near-death experience in her head.

“I…” Harry started, and when she glanced up at him, he was smiling that very small smile back at her. It was barely there, making his dimples show ever so slightly, and it made every single butterfly in Y/N’s tummy flutter their wings madly. “I love the sound of your laughter.”

Y/N felt her heart skip a beat.

“It makes me happy.”

She knew that if she continued to look at Harry and he continued to look at her, she would just start feeling more for him. Though she knew it was inevitable, she would fall in love with him sooner or later, she wanted to slow the process out so that she didn’t end up spending too much time with him while she loved him.

“When you said you watched Angus, Thongs earlier, it kinda shocked me a bit,” Harry admitted, talking as if it was all part of his stream of consciousness. “Not that I think you’re innocent or anything like that, you don’t seem innocent- and when I say it like that it sounds weird.”

Y/N bit her lips together, trying not to laugh.

“From what I’ve heard your parents were very strict so…” Harry shrugged his shoulder, looking away from her again. He tilted his head a little to the side as he caught eye of Amir in the front. “Amir! Oi! If you throw up in my van I’m gonna murder you!”

“Shut up, Haz,” Dax groaned. “Y/N, why the fuck is your boyfriend so loud when he’s plastered? Bloody hell.”

“I’m not loud, I’m passionate.”

“About Amir not throwing up in your car?” Dax rolled his eyes. “Brilliant.”

Fatima stopped the car, shouting at Dax to get out and help Amir home. Dax slowly walked around the car and took Amir’s arm over their shoulder, the two walking off as Amir started singing a song that had been sung right before they left the farm. Fatima sat there and watched the two walk up the street, making sure they got inside Amir’s place where Dax would kip before she started driving towards the lighthouse.

The three were quiet for the last part of the drive, Harry seemingly about to doze off all of a sudden, humming Ultraviolet under his breath as they started driving up the gravel path to the lighthouse. Y/N just barely saw the light of the lighthouse before it disappeared, but did not pay any more notice to it as Harry leaned over her, glancing out the window as if to see his house. Once Fatima stopped the car, Harry reached for the seat buckle, fumbling for it in the dark before he finally got free.

“Help me inside?” he asked Y/N, making her lose her words a bit at first in surprise, but she quickly loosened her own seatbelt as Fatima turned around, about to jump out of the van as well.

“Just gonna help him get to bed, it’ll take five minutes,” Y/N told Fatima as Harry slid the backdoor open, getting out of the car.

“Ten if can force a cuddle out of her,” Harry said, chuckling a little to himself as he watched Y/N get out of the car and close the door behind her. She only raised her eyebrows at him, holding her hand out for his keys, which he gave her eagerly. She wanted nothing more than to cuddle him for ten minutes, she’d take cuddles for one minute if that’s all she got, but she knew he was only saying it in front of Fatima to make her believe them even more. He took his time walking to the front door, as if to drag the time out, while Y/N walked on inside, turning the lights on for him. It took some time for him to get his shoes off and while he did that, Y/N looked through his fridge, not seeing any cucumbers but a few tomatoes could maybe do as post-party food.

Harry put his rucksack with his camera down by the sofa, strolling over to the bathroom to do whatever he needed to do. Y/N put the tomato on the counter, making Harry a glass of water like he had made her last time and putting that along with the tomato on the dining table. Once he walked out of the bathroom, he rubbed at his eyes, giving Y/N a smile as their eyes met.

“Are you staying?”

“No, I… I’m going home with Fatima.”

Harry nodded. “You two…?”

Y/N chuckled some, feeling her cheeks get a little hot as she shook her head. “No, we’re friends. I’m kipping at hers.”

“Okay, good.” Harry nodded, biting the corner of his upper lip as he said, “I don’t like it when you’re alone.”

“Why not?”

“Because of what you said about your dad, that he was a bad man and all that.”

Y/N felt a sort of panic rise in her chest and she looked out the still open door, seeing Fatima sit by the stone fence circling the lighthouse, watching its lights. Harry yawned, lying down in his bed and glancing over at Y/N, his eyes trailing down her body. She felt herself blushing, both because Harry was staring at her like that and she did not want to talk about her dad, especially not while Harry was drunk.

“Can you stay?” His voice was soft, speaking with a meaning that went beyond the cottage and tonight.

“I’m going with Fatima.”

“I want you to stay, flower.”

She wanted to lay down next to him, slide her hand through his hair and watch as he closed his eyes, smiling ever so slightly and humming in total and utter contentment. Fall asleep next to him, feel his breath on her skin again, know that he was there to protect her if anything were to happen. She suddenly remembered how safe she had felt waking up here, how she had never slept as good as she did that single night she spent at Harry’s cottage. Never again would she feel like that, Y/N realised. Once she left St Ives in a couple of weeks, all the safeness and the sense of belonging would be ripped away from her. It would surely be like someone ripping off her arm.

Harry sat up in his bed as if he sensed a shift in the air around them, looking up at Y/N with slight worry but also a sort of desperation, silently asking her to please consider his offer. God, in that very second, it was very hard to resist him. Because when he looked at her like that, so attentive, so devoted to everything she did, she simply wanted to do nothing but lay down next to him and do what he asked. But she couldn’t, and with each passing second where they just looked at one another, the tension between them grew and she felt goosebumps up her back. She cleared her throat some.

“You wanted to tell me something earlier, was that it?” Y/N asked, wanting to get them talking about something else.

“What?”

“In the van, when I entered it, you said you had something to say, what did you have to say?”

“Oh,” Harry said as if suddenly remembering. He glanced away suddenly, scratching at the back of his neck. “No, it was… I wanted to tell you that… I know we haven’t spent much time together since the whole… since Terraland… last Saturday- so like, a week ago…”

She nodded, encouraging him to keep going.

“I’m sorry for that. I don’t… The last thing I’d ever do is hurt your feelings or make you uncomfortable.”

“I know, Harry.”

“I just…” He watched her, taking in every single one of her movements as if he would forget what she looked like when she left. “You and me, you know… we were sitting there together and… you were so pretty when we sat there at Porthgwidden, I couldn’t… I had to kiss you. Spur of the moment kind thing, I suppose.”

Y/N did not want to look at him, did not want to hear him say anything else. Had all the nice things he had said at the beach also been just “spur of the moment” then? So nothing was real? Not that she had thought it was, but that kind of just underlined it, didn’t it? She didn’t know what to think anymore, everything was so blurry, nothing seemed to really make sense. Everything was for the fake relationship, it always was.

“Y/N!” Fatima called from outside, Y/N glanced at her. “Say goodbye so we can leave!”

When she glanced back at Harry, Harry seemed to get a little desperate, not wanting her to leave just yet. But Y/N couldn’t stay.

“Y/N,” Harry said, maybe realising that what he’d said might’ve been a bit much. “I-I didn’t mean it like that.”

She gave him a smile. “We’ll talk soon, yeah?”

Harry just nodded, and she walked out the door and toward Fatima who was smiling at her. With one last glance over her shoulder, she saw Harry in the window over his dining table, looking out after Y/N and Fatima as they walked along the gravel path toward town. His hand was resting by the tomato she had laid there for him, hoping that it could somehow be a good second to his usual cucumber tradition after nights out. Y/N crossed her arms over her chest as a slight cold breeze blew past them and Fatima audibly shivered.

“Yeah, would you look at that,” Fatima said as Y/N glanced her way. “Left me out in the wind, you did. Now I’m freezing.”

Y/N laughed, nudging Fatima’s shoulder with her own. The two friends went on back to Fatima’s place, acting as two old friends would.

Monday, 3 August

This was the first time Y/N had ever witnessed rain in St Ives since she arrived in June. It was not pouring down as one would assume after a long drought, a slight pitter-patter fell onto the grass around her as she walked along the gravel path, falling onto the hood of the yellow rain coat she was wearing. The sky was a dull grey, not something one should be worrying about, but there were a few darker clouds hovering somewhere in the horizon and she was sure that with this high of a temperature and the promise of pouring rain later on, lightning would occur as well.

Once she reached the lightkeeper residence, she knocked three times, waited a minute for Harry to open, then peeked her head in when he didn’t. Harry was sat by the dining table, looking through an instruction manual in front of him, frowning down at the pages as if he was reading a language he did not understand. At the sound of the door opening, he looked in Y/N’s direction, giving her a little smile.

“Saw you approach just now,” he said before looking down at the manual before him again.

“So you didn’t bother opening the door for me?” she asked, smiling over at him, but Harry did not answer. This was what she had been afraid of.

Ever since the karaoke and barbeque night at the farm, Harry had not met her gaze. Whenever she had come over to study, he wouldn’t spend too long in the cottage with her and he would rarely make her tea as he usually did. There was something not subtly cold, but different. He still welcomed her to sit in his windowsill and would still talk to her, but he wouldn’t look at her, wouldn’t stay around for long enough so they could talk properly. Y/N had tried, even suggested they go down to the Bakery to buy a pasty and walk around St Ives, go to the Candy Shoppe, or to the pub to have a few pints, but Harry had turned down all her offers, told her they could do it another time. He never really gave an explanation for why he didn’t want to hang out and Y/N was afraid of asking for one. But they had to talk. She didn’t want to go on like this, especially when Harry had come to mean so much to her.

“What’re you up to, then?” She took her coat and boots off, walking over to where Harry was seated by the dining table.

“I’m about to change the bulbs before it starts getting dark out and the lamp’s turned on,” he explained, furrowing his brows as he ran his finger over the page, concentrating on reading a specific line. Y/N stayed silent as not to disturb anything. He got up from the chair, sipping the last of his tea before he shoved the manual down in the back pocket of his denim shorts. He slipped his red knitted jumper over his Elton John tee shirt, the same one he had given to Y/N to wear after Dax’s birthday party when she slept over for the first time.

“Can I help?” she asked, giving him a smile she hoped he’d lay his eyes on her to see.

And he did, lips parting a little as if he was surprised by the suggestion. This puzzled Y/N as she had always expressed her willingness to help him, no matter what.

“Go on, then.” Harry nodded. “Just needed a cuppa before I started, it’s well past 6 after all.”

“You’re going to bed soon?”

“Yeah, and the lamp gets turned on in about an hour.”

Y/N smiled as he walked past her. “You’ve been procrastinating all day, have you?”

“Not all day.”

She laughed and she thought she saw the flicker of a smile on Harry’s lips at the sound.

“I’ve done other things as well, but I need this done now and quickly.”

Y/N nodded, putting her rain boots back on as Harry got his trainers on, the two then jogging in the direction of the lighthouse as not to get soaked in the rain that was starting to fall harder around them. Harry held the door open for her, then locked it once they were both inside. They started their ascent, Harry leading them past his little office floor, past the bedroom like room, up and up and up, till they finally reached the bell room. Even though Y/N was wearing a short white sundress with her green oversized boxy high-neck jumper along with her mid-calf black rain boots, she walked up the ladder leading to the bell room. She remembered how she had been reluctant to walk up wearing a dress that first time, but now she didn’t really care. Harry needed to change the bulbs and she said she was going to help.

Along the way, Harry had brought a toolbox with him, placing it up on the floor of the bell room before he walked up the ladder, letting Y/N go on up after him. For some reason it shocked Y/N when she came up to see that the lamp – the only thing inside the bell room – was not moving. She had imagined that the light in lighthouses moved around, and though Harry had explained what offshore and shore-based lighthouses were, the pattern of a lighthouse and the like, he hadn’t really explained how the lamp worked.

“It doesn’t rotate,” she said, walking up to the relatively small lamp in the middle of the room.

Harry was rummaging through his toolbox, stopping momentarily as he glanced over his shoulder at Y/N, unsure what she was referring to first, then let his eyes fall to the lens. “It flashes.”

Y/N furrowed her brows, walking around the lens to get a good look at it, studying the ridges and different colours of it, blank and red. “flashes?”

Harry pulled a screwdriver out of the toolbox and started working on the screws around the lamp. “It’s to identify it when it’s dark out, sailors can’t make out the white lighthouse when it’s night-time.”

“Makes sense.”

“Most lighthouses, especially shore-based ones like Clodgy, rhythmically flash or eclipse their lights to provide an identification signal. The particular pattern of flashes or eclipses is known as the character of the light, and the interval at which it repeats itself is called the period.” Harry tipped the plastic lens to reveal the five lightbulbs under it; Y/N was surprised to see it wasn’t made of glass. She supposed it was more convenient. “Essentially, a lighthouse may display a single flash, regularly repeated at perhaps 5-, 10-, or 15- seconds intervals. This is known as a flashing light. Clodgy is one of them.”

“What are these then?” Y/N asked, pointing to the red streaks.

“Basically, if someone is on sea and they are driving in the direction of sharp rocks or land, they’ll see a red light flashing instead of a normal, yellow one.”

“Danger, danger.”

Harry reached into his pocket, pulling out a box and putting it on the little space underneath the lamp.

“How many bulbs are there?” Y/N asked, looking at the different ones all attached to a round object in the middle of the lens.

“Five, they usually don’t have to be changed out. You gotta do so every 15-25 years, depending. This little thing-“ Harry pointed to the small bulb between them. “Lights up 15 miles using these lenses. It’s incredible.”

Y/N looked up at Harry, seeing a tiny and amused smile on his face as he talked. This was the most she had heard him talk in over a week; it made her heart do a silly fluttery thing.

“When one of these five bulbs go out, the apparatus knows that the bulb no longer works and it will rotate and-“ Harry placed his finger on the side of the bulb, rotating it to the right so that the apparatus turned, clicking as another bulb fit into place at the top. “-Click to a new bowl, it’s on automation and all that. So, we rarely change the bulbs.”

She bit her bottom lip as she watched him, not able to help herself. It was just so endearing to watch him like this, so amazing to hear him talking so unfiltered to her again. Right then, talking about bulbs and apparatuses and what not, he was so engulfed, so eager to tell her everything, that he did not care how he sounded. He was comfortable. She could tell.

He must’ve noticed how he rambled off, because he cleared his throat and stood up straight again, running a hand through his hair as a slight pink colour appeared in his cheeks. He quickly started to change the first bulb, putting a new on in its stead. Y/N just watched him, finding the sound of Harry working, the slight clicks, the quiet patter of the rain against the windows surrounding them, very relaxing. He seemed to be relaxed as well, so she thought this might be the best time as any.

Inhaling slowly, she leaned her hands on either side of the slight counter the lamp was standing on. She looked over it at Harry, his bottom lip between his teeth as he put the second bulb in its new place.

“Harry, we…” she started, swallowing thickly. “We need to talk about… things.”

Harry sighed. “Yes. Yes, we do.”

Knowing he felt the same way about that made it easier to breathe for a reason. At least she wasn’t going into this the same way she had been going into the Emilia situation after Dax’s birthday.

He started on the third bulb as he started talking, beating Y/N to it. “I, uhm… I want to tell you about my dad.”

This came as a shock to Y/N who was left raising her eyebrows at him for a second or two before saying, “Yeah, alright.”

He glanced up at her over the lightbulb. “You didn’t see it coming?”

“We’ll talk about your dad first,” Y/N gave him a reassuring smile. “We have time. We’ll always have time.”

“But that’s the thing…” Harry trailed off, switching out the fourth bulb, not meeting her eyes. “We don’t. If there’s one thing we won’t always have, it’s time. There won’t ever be enough time spent with your loved ones, there just won’t. No matter how much time you spend or how much time you spent with someone, you’ll always want more time. Always. What you got is never enough.”

The rain outside fell a little harder against the windows of the bell room, the wind a little harsher.

“Two years ago, my dad went on a fishing trip. He usually did this, took a few of his mates and then set off out wherever. They were never gone for more than a day tops, they always returned at night with tons of fish and I remember how Jessa would be so delighted and then invite our whole family over for barbecues and the like.” He paused as he started on the fifth and last bulb. “One day, September 4th to be exact, he didn’t return. Jessa and I sat up for hours waiting for signs of him. She started calling the spouses of the others on the boat, no one else had returned either.”

Y/N absolutely hated that she knew where this was going but she hadn’t told Harry that yet.

“Dax ended up sleeping at the lightkeeper house with me for a month and some after that, just didn’t want me to be alone, you know? He’s sound like that.” Once he was done putting the bulb in place, he reached for the lens and put it back where it belonged. “I think most of my mates and the people in my family’s life tried to keep our minds off it, ‘cause the more days went by, the more likely it was that… you know… he was dead.”

Harry sighed, reaching for the screwdriver, taking a little pause in talking as he screwed everything back into place. Y/N took a few steps back, watching him do his job and make himself ready to talk again.

“The boat was found October 14th, no one and nothing was in it.” Harry still wouldn’t look at her, put the screwdriver back in the toolbox and kept his back to her for a few seconds before turning around again. The bell room was starting to get relatively dark; she supposed the light would turn on soon, and she could barely make out the slight glassy expression in Harry’s eyes.

“I went absolutely mad. There are big chunks of time that I don’t even remember from that time, my brain has just… erased it from my memory, it was the darkest period of my life. They didn’t find any of the passengers’ bodies, there were three of them as well. It had been a turbulent and stormy night, so a sea storm took them out, drowned them all. But I… I…” Harry inhaled hugely, breathing shakily. “I didn’t… I still kinda don’t want… want to believe it. My dad is laying somewhere, far away from me, far away from Jessa, Gracie, from… from home…” He looked down at the ground, blinking rapidly. “It doesn’t fucking feel real. It’s not supposed to happen. This… He was a good sailor; he didn’t drown at sea.”

Y/N felt something starting to sting behind her eyes, she bit her bottom lip to stop it from wobbling. The storm outside seemed to pick up, sounding rougher than a minute before.

“I took over after him because I thought… I thought that, if no one else could, I could help him find the way home. I could shine that light; I’d take care of the lighthouse till he came back home. I’d show him the way, I’d light up the path for him, and he’d come home to me again. Where he belonged, where he should’ve been all along.” He took a deep breath, slowly looking up again, eyes falling to the lamp in the middle of the room. “It was a way for me to ignore the fact that he was truly dead. He wouldn’t come back. I didn’t really… I didn’t realise how… I didn’t realise how true it was that my dad, my constant, was gone, until Emilia left as well.”

Y/N furrowed her brows, a sort of rage filling her again. She had never been this angry before. There was something burning inside her, a sort of desire to protect Harry from everything evil in the world. No one deserved to hurt, but Harry least of everyone.

“I met Emilia at one of Astronaut Lions’ gigs the year before. I remember standing at the bar and she came up to me, asked me if I was Amos’ son – that’s my dad’s name, by the way - to which I said yes, and she told me her dad used to lend my dad and his mates his fishing boat sometimes. My dad and hers knew each other. So, we got talking, and, I want to say it’s ‘cause our dads knew each other, we got pretty close, pretty fast.”

Talking about Emilia brought Y/N’s gagging reflex into full force, but she composed herself.

“When my dad died, she was around, but not as often as Dax, Amir, Jo, Fatima, Ellie, or my family. She visited and stuff, kept me occupied, but the gang spent a lot of time at my place, occasionally rotating. It was nice, I didn’t want to be alone. I love being alone, but I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts then.”

Harry leaned against the window, eyes falling to the floor. Y/N continued to stand where she had, watching Harry carefully.

“We had been together for a year and some then. We hadn’t really fought much, I don’t really like confrontation, it makes me very uncomfortable, so I usually just let her say what she wanted to say if she was annoyed with me and didn’t bother arguing. Fatima kept telling me how unfair it was on her and our relationship, and also on myself, that I never really stood up for myself when we fought. It’s, like… I wanted it to work out so much that I wanted to ignore the things that didn’t. I didn’t want to do something that might cause us to break up.” He sighed heavily. “We were good for each other, we did have some good times, and she was my first ever proper girlfriend that broke my heart, but… but these last few weeks I’ve come to realise that she never really wanted what was best for me the way all my mates did.”

Y/N wanted to walk over to him and hug him. She wanted to console him; tell him she was there if he needed anything.

“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that part of my life, you know? I’m aware that breaking up with someone ‘cause they’re bad for your mental health is valid, but what she did really affected me. It made the grieving process worse. I had never really felt truly alone till then.” He furrowed his brows some. “I didn’t have dad; I didn’t have Emilia… I knew I had my mates, but… Emilia and dad meant so much to me, losing them both in such a short period of time… broke me.”

Y/N swallowed a lump in her throat, hoping he couldn’t hear how sad his story made her. “Harry, you don’t have to elaborate if it’s hard for you.”

“No, you deserve to know. Emilia’s back, you’re my… my supposed girlfriend and you… I want you to know.”

Y/N nodded, clutching at the hem of her jumper.

“I know it was a naff move on my part when I went with her to get her that cup, I know I should have understood why you were rightfully upset right away, I know I shouldn’t have been too friendly when she came to Terraland…” Trailing off, he balled his hands into fists at his sides. “The reason why I’ve been so reluctant to push her out of my life is… I know it’s fucking mental; I know I sound right mad, yeah? But… I figured that if she could return, then maybe… then maybe dad…” Harry didn’t finish, but he didn’t have to.

Y/N shook her head as the only thing in the bell room that was audible was the sound of the rain and wind outside, sounding eerie and strong against the top of the lighthouse. “It’s not mental. It’s a very valid and normal reaction to grief, clinging onto the last shred you have of someone, hoping that one day they might come back to you.”

Harry looked at her feet, not ready to meet her eyes yet.

“My dad and I have never been close. I used to love being around him when I was little, I remember associating him with goodness and warmth. He would play with me and make me laugh, do things that my mum hated him for.”

“Like?”

“Throw me in the air, let me jump from a bunk bed and onto the mattress on the floor below, that sort of thing.” Y/N almost smiled at the memory. She hadn’t thought about that in ages. “However, as I grew up, my dad just got colder. He was still nice to me, was still protective and a dad, but he wasn’t the same.”

Y/N could tell by the slight breath Harry inhaled that he wanted to ask what changed but stopped himself. She was grateful he did. She could not go that far just yet.

“But… though it’s not the same as you, I respected my dad’s wishes to stay in Winchester and do as my mum; become a stay-at-home mum who didn’t need education or anything like that. He wanted me to marry well and learn how to be a mum; learn how to be safe at home and mostly indoors at all times.” She furrowed her brows some. “I believed him when he told me I wouldn’t be fit to become a dentist.” She paused for a moment. “You know when you’re scared, and you believe every word your parents say to you ‘cause you don’t know what else to do? They’re older, wiser, got more experience, so of course they know better than you, they know the best thing to do in any given situation.”

Harry nodded slightly.

“Before… Before I came to St Ives, I hadn’t really parted from my family at all. It wasn’t really like I had a choice. They were just always there, and I was expected to be there, too. I was terrified when I left; not only didn’t my parents know I was leaving, but I had just disappointed them in every way possible anyway, so I… I couldn’t stay there.” Her eyes fell on the lamp that yet hadn’t turned on.

Harry cleared his throat, eyes still on the lens in the middle of the room. “Your parents don’t know you’re here?”

“They do now.”

“You told them?”

Y/N felt her heart pick up its speed, she swallowed thickly, continuing to avoid Harry’s eyes. “What I’m trying to get at is that I haven’t, and probably won’t, tell them about the UCAT, or the fact that I’m trying to become a dentist. Part of me wishes that I did, but I know the reaction I’m gonna get… And the other part of me… That part is longing for that loving and warm father to return, the one that helped me fly when I was little.” She leaned against the window. “It’s not the same as you by any means, but it’s-“

“-It’s just as valid, Y/N.”

She shook her head some, looking out at the tall waves below. “You ever get the feeling that, no matter what, you won’t really be good enough, and you settle down with that thought? It’s not this hopeless feeling, but rather you’re just… content with that. You’re average so you’ll get average back.”

“You’re not average.”

She looked over at him, and for what seemed like the first time that day, their eyes met.

“Did your parents make you feel that horrible about yourself?”

Y/N crossed her arms. “In what way?”

“That you were average? Not destined for good things? That you didn’t deserve proper happiness?”

“I was satisfied with life in Winchester.”

“Satisfaction and happiness are two vastly different things.”

It seemed like he wanted to take a step forward but stopped himself, taking a deep breath before settling against the window again. Y/N pushed slightly away from the wall, standing closer to the light.

“It’s like the whole thing with me and Emilia again, innit? There were times when I was happy with her, but I think that’s more to do with the fact that I knew she was there. I could always rely on her. But bottom line is that being with her didn’t bring me instant and constant happiness like-“ He stopped himself, as if remembering there were things he wasn’t supposed to say. “She didn’t make me happy like she should’ve. I was satisfied.”

“Isn’t being at peace good? If someone or something brings you peace, isn’t that good?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders some. “There are different kinds, though. Your life and the people in it should be able to make you feel something, you know? Not being excited to see someone or to be somewhere or to do something, it does nothing. You don’t grow if you’re satisfied ‘cause you’re not moving, you’re not evolving.”

“Being happy isn’t a constant, though. You can’t always be happy, sometimes you’re just… not.”

“How boring would life be if you felt the same way, did the same things, saw the same people every single day? How boring would it be without change?”

Y/N felt herself smiling. “You’re a lighthouse keeper, you do the same things every single day.”

“I don’t, though,” he said. “I might be stuck here in St Ives most of the time, but I never do the same thing every single day. And besides…” He trailed off, biting his bottom lip some. “Besides life’s been anything but ordinary lately.”

Y/N glanced at her arms in front of her. “I… I hated change.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“To a degree,” she said. “I’m happy with the decision I made to leave my old life behind, but now… now I don’t really know what to do. I’m going to apply for University, but what if I’m too old? I’m 25, way older than everyone else there will be, and I… I dunno. I feel like I have to figure myself out all over again now that I don’t have my parents around me anymore, it’s like I don’t know who I am. Once this summer is over and I leave St Ives – ‘cause St Ives, you, and everyone here, are genuinely what’s keeping me together right now – I… I dunno how I’m going to survive. Will I have myself when I don’t even know who I am? Is it too late for me to get a fresh start? Who- Who will be there to help guide me in the right direction if I have no one in my life?”

There was no trace of hesitation as Harry said, voice deep and low, “You’ll always have someone.”

“Will I? I feel lost, Harry.” She blinked a few times, hoping to prevent possible tears from falling. “I’m so lost. Where do I even go from here? I don’t and can’t go back to how life used to be, where do I go?”

“Don’t go.”

She glanced up at him, the lamp beside them suddenly coming to life with a massive blink. Though the suddenness of the light had scared her, Harry’s words had been what got her heart racing. The light blinked in the direction of the sea, the other side from where they stood so Y/N couldn’t see it directly, only the dark back that was facing the mainland. However, she could not care less for the light as Harry stared back at her, right into her eyes, for the first time in what seemed like forever. She felt herself relax at the sight of him, but his words still reverberated through her head, making it spin slightly.

“What?”

“Don’t go,” he repeated, stepping away from the window. “Stay.”

Her arms fell to her sides. “You… You want me to stay in St Ives?”

It took a few seconds, as if he was building up the courage to say something he thought was obvious, but, seemingly, not so obvious to Y/N. “Yes.”

“But I…” She trailed off, blinking a few times as if she were trying to regain composure. “You’ve never said.”

“’Cause I’ve always been afraid of your reaction.”

“My… my reaction?”

“If it would scare you.”

“Why would that scare me?”

“’Cause someone telling you they care for you more than… more than they care for anyone else, and you not feeling the same way… I don’t want to scare you.”

Y/N was sure she had not heard him right. And if she had, she must have misinterpreted his statement, because surely he had not just said what she thought he said. The light blinked its usual pattern, lighting up the darkening bell room as the two just stood staring at one another.

“I thought you only felt like that for Emilia.”

Harry frowned, shaking his head as if what he’d just heard was absurd. “Emilia?��

“Well, then… then that you used to feel like that for her, that you two used to be close. I’ve been jealous of that, after all.”

“You’ve been jealous?” Harry’s eyes were wide, intently staring at Y/N as she continued to explain. “How do you mean?”

“Dunno…” Y/N said, knowing that she probably sounded like an absolute plonker. “You’ve always seemed pretty caught up on her. That you still have feelings for her.”

He studied her, mouth falling shut as he let his eyes scan her face, saying a soft, “I don’t.”

“But- But why do you blush when she’s around, then?”

At the mention of him blushing, a red colour appeared in his cheeks and he glanced away for a few seconds, running his hands through his hair. Y/N could not help a small smile on her lips, biting at the corner of her mouth to stop herself from doing so.

“I get flustered, don’t I? It’s not like I can help it,” Harry explained, gesturing at his face as he took a few steps forward. “She’s my ex, it’s weird being around her.”

“You act so shy, though. Isn’t that how you are around people you’re nervous in front of?”

“I acted like that with you as well, did you notice?”

Y/N felt a breath hitch in her throat, something about Harry admitting this made her entire body hot. Part of her did not believe this could be true, it was just too good, while the other urged her to keep going, see what happened next. She shook her head slightly. “I-I dunno.”

“I was so bloody nervous,” Harry said, chuckling a little to himself. “It was genuinely hard for me to form sentences ‘cause I didn’t want to make a right twit of myself, yeah? I just… I wanted to impress you so bad, but it was so hard.”

She pressed her lips together, heart hammering hard, hands feeling clammy with anticipation.

“I’m not nervous around you anymore, though.”

“You’re not?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I feel safe with you now. I don’t care that I make a fool of myself ‘cause you won’t mind.”

She smiled a little. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He gestured around him with a soft jerk of his chin. “You’re a light room.”

Y/N wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but stopped herself when their eyes met again. She wanted to walk to him, to be near him.

“It’s like…” Harry started, pausing for a few seconds before he went on. “It’s weird being around someone you thought meant a lot to you and you realise they didn’t. But with you… that’s…” He glanced at the ground again, tugging at the hem of his red jumper. “It’s different.”

She continued to just look at him, afraid that if she said anything he would stop.

“It’s… it’s like I… like-“ He cleared his throat, suddenly blushing uncontrollably, and it was as if he knew how ridiculous he must look because he let out a small laugh. “You were the prettiest woman I’d ever seen and I wanted to impress you, I didn’t want to embarrass myself and have you not want to be around me anymore.”

His eyes fell to her feet, moving up over her bare legs, landing on her tummy as he continued to find the words lost somewhere within him. He took a deep breath.

“I’m not good with words, so explaining how much you mean to me is hard, but I know that I… that you…” He drifted off again, meeting her eyes. “You were the person I wanted to be in the arms of at Terraland, when I was all shaken up ‘cause of that ride, not Emilia, no one else but you. And you’re the only person I want to be in the arms of right now, tomorrow, and probably every single day after that. I like it when you hold me, when you’re around. That’s all I know.” His eyes fell to her lips for a second, meeting her eyes as if he remembered that was forbidden territory. She had said as much. “I like it when we touch, everything seems at once much simpler but also so much more important and grander because of you.”

Biting her bottom lip, Y/N walked closer to Harry, and at the sight, he took two more steps closer as well, meeting right beside the lamp that was still occasionally lighting up the bell tower and the entire coast along with it. Standing right there in front of one another, something that could only resemble magic passed between them and circled around them, drawing them closer to one another. They were meant to be close, meant to be right here, with one another. It was wrong to be anywhere else than with Harry. She didn’t feel as lost when he was here; there was a sense of reason, of purpose, when they were together that was so great to the point of invention, there was no other way of explaining it. This, what was between then, was beyond anything. Limitless, unfathomable, immeasurable; infinite.

“I want to touch you,” Y/N said, her voice almost a whisper as she, once again, glanced at his lips.

“Touch me. Please.”

Slowly and gentler than she had ever been before, she placed her hand to his cheek, thumb stroking over the slight stubble before she slid the tips of her fingers to the back of his jaw and then forth again. He closed his eyes, leaning into her.

“Please, touch me,” he repeated, the breath of his pleading words falling against her hot wrist. “Never stop.”

She studied his face, loving the calming effect she had on him because it matched the one he had on her. Though he made her heart race and had her overthinking everything, he calmed her down and made her feel at peace. Exhilarated her and confused her; overwhelmed her and elated her. He made her feel everything all at once, and Y/N thought at last, wasn't that what love really was? When you felt like the feelings inside your body transcended everything, made you see everything around you in a new light? When it changed your world for the better?

Y/N’s hand slid down Harry’s cheek and his neck, and at the change, he opened his eyes to look at her again. She took another step forward, leading him toward her as her eyes fell to his lips, meeting his eyes as they hovered dangerously close to one another. The light blinked on and Y/N pressed her lips against Harry’s. They melted into each other instantly. Harry placed one of his hands to her neck and the other one to her hip, bringing her closer. She breathed against him, the rest of the world around them disappearing completely as they drew out the kiss.

His tongue traced her bottom lip, making a shiver run up her spine. Gently, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, making sure she did not overwhelm him, that it was okay. He instantly complied, stroking his against hers, swirling his around hers sensually, lighting Y/N on fire. She moaned into him, gripping at the hair at the back of his neck as their mouths opened wider, welcoming more of the other to enter and entrance them completely. She ran her other hand over his chest, wrapping it around him, while Harry’s slid down along her back, stopping just before he reached her bum, squeezing her a little as if he wasn’t mentally ready to go down there just yet tonight. The bell room continued to illuminate up, shining its guiding light out across the ocean, helping sailors home and to their final destinations. However, neither Y/N nor Harry could even remember where they really were as they continued to kiss one another. She felt his moan on her tongue, a slight whimper that he had not been able to hold back as they deepened the kiss. They instantly got more frantic; desperate, harder. She pushed against him more forcefully, wanting to taste and feel all of him.

For an instant, and what felt like for the first time since they had known each other, Harry took control. He pressed her against the bar with the lamp, keeping one hand on her neck, thumb at her chin, and the other on her waist. She gasped at the suddenness, her entire body aflame as Harry kissed along her jaw, tilting her head as to get better access. She could not help the contented sigh that left her lips, pushing him even closer to her, wrapping her left leg around his right one as to ensure he did not step away from her.

He whispered her name against her neck, leaving wet kisses along the skin that was exposed and that he could reach without removing the high neck of her jumper. He kissed the tip of her jaw, sucking lightly, and she could not hold back her whimper. It seemed to have had an effect on him that she herself had not anticipated, yet absolutely adored. Between them, pressed against her tummy, she could feel him. It seemed to have startled him as well, maybe not having anticipated it to happen that quickly, but he kissed along her neck again, seemingly not really caring anymore. He wanted her to know just how much power she held over him. He came back to her face, lips hovering above hers. They panted against one another, not letting each other go as the rain outside picked up, thunder rumbling in the distance, and the light that Y/N was pressed up again kept lighting up the ocean ahead.

“I, uhm…” Harry stared down, swallowing thickly. “I’m sorry ‘bout… that.”

Y/N smiled, shaking her head slightly. “Don’t apologise for that.” She brought her leg further up, twining it more around him to bring him closer. As if it was instinctual, Harry reached for her thigh, helping her bring it up to his waist. She let out another sigh, loving how he drew closer to her in the process of yanking her leg up higher. Their eyes met again, and she leaned her forehead against his.

“I thought we agreed on a ‘no kissing rule’,” Harry mumbled, lips brushing against hers as he spoke. “I thought you didn’t want to kiss me.”

“I want to kiss you; I just don’t want it to be part of our fake relationship.”

“This has nothing to do with that.” He moved to kiss her again and spoke against her lips. “I need to ask you, though, before anything more happens.”

She watched him, the sight of him slightly blurry but she did not care.

“There’s… There’s a bed… downstairs if you'd be interested in… you know…”

She smiled.

“In what?”

Harry smiled, giggling a little as he leaned his forehead against hers again. “I don’t want there to be mixed signals, so I’m just… I’m just gonna fucking say it.”

“Say it.”

He gripped her knee tighter. “Do you want to have sex with me? ‘Cause I… I mean, it’s not the sexiest way to go about it, just asking like that, but I… it’s very obvious that I would like- very much like to… you know, if you’d like. I don’t want to-“

She chuckled and Harry stopped talking, smiling at her. “I think asking is very sexy. Mixed signals aren’t sexy.”

“You’re right.”

She leaned in, pressing a light kiss to his lips.

“Flower,” he mumbled, voice rasping ever so slightly, making heat instantly pool between her thighs. “Would you let me make you feel good?”

“Do you think you can?”

Harry met her eyes, a crooked smile coming to his lips. “I’ve had no complaints before.”

“No complaints from Emilia?”

A slight furrow appeared between his brows before it lifted, his smile came back and it got wider. “You really were jealous of her.”

“She got to be close to you.”

“Well,” Harry said, eyes fluttering to her lips. “You’re close to me now. You’re closer to me than anyone’s ever been before.”

Y/N squeezed him closer, biting her lip before she said, “Yes.”

“You… you want to go downstairs?”

“Yes.”

Harry’s smile grew so wide it was hard for him to fight just how giddy he was getting at her words. He stepped away from her, taking her hand in his. They left the blinking bell room, climbing down the ladder, Harry securing the hatch before he turned to face Y/N again. Once they were in the near darkness of that room, they kissed again, desperate to feel one another again. This happened almost on every single floor – pressing each other up against a wall, needy to feel, to taste, to be close – as they could simply not help themselves.

Once they reached the floor, Y/N instantly recognised the door and where they were headed. On her first trip to the lighthouse, she had seen a bed in that room, the door had been half open, but Harry had closed it on their way down. Now, Harry opened it for her, letting her inside. It was tiny. A twin bed stood at the far end, its white sheets made neatly over it, while the desk – which stood perched right under a small window that was being attacked by harsh rain - was filled with photographs of Harry’s family. Him, Amos, Jessa, and Grace. There was a dresser with a vase on top, a bouquet of dead flowers in it that it seemed Harry had forgotten completely about.

Harry closed the door behind them. “This used to be my dad’s room. When it was stormy, he’d stay in here. The door sometimes opens on its own, logically I know it’s just a draught, but…” He shrugged his shoulders and Y/N knew what he meant.

Instead of focusing on that – because they could talk about this in the morning – Y/N said, “Kiss me.”

Harry wasted no time. He marched over to her, pressing his lips hard against hers as he started walking her backwards toward the bed. He let her lay down first, taking her rain boots off before she wiggled up to the top, watching as Harry crawled his way up to her, hovering his lips over hers as to tempt her. She tried to lean up to kiss him since he was taking too long, but he moved further away.

“Twat.”

He chuckled, grinning down at her. “How long do you think you can stand not kissing me?”

She brought her hand up to his neck, bringing him down towards her lips. They kissed again – finally. She felt Harry smile against her lips.

“Needy.”

“You were taking too long.”

“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?”

She wanted to roll her eyes at him, but he was correct. She wrapped her legs around him, bringing his core down onto hers. Harry groaned into her; his erecting cock pressed against her heat. He melted into her instantly, burying his hands in her hair.

“Neither can you,” she whispered back, making Harry let out a breathy chuckle.

“I also just want to make it clear,” he said against her lips. “If anything I do is not working, doesn’t do anything for you, doesn’t feel good, or if you want to try something new, a new position or anything like that, tell me, yeah?”

She smiled, nodding her head as they kept kissing. “Yeah. Same goes for you.”

“Do you have a favourite position?”

Y/N froze a little, thinking to herself and blushing when Harry looked down at her.

“What?” he asked.

“I’ve… only ever really done two.”

“Two… positions?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s fine, did you enjoy them?”

“Yeah, I did. Sex was never really been about enjoyment as much as it was about closeness.”

Harry furrowed his brows. “You should enjoy sex, Y/N.”

“I know, I know. I just… I used to set fire to myself to keep others warm. I realised that was not what I should be doing, which is why I ended up in St Ives. With you. Here.”

Harry leaned down again, pressing a lingering and deep kiss to her lips. “You will enjoy yourself and feel real fucking good tonight, yeah? We’ll find something that works for both of us.”

She smiled. “Time will tell.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I’ll feel real fucking good.”

Harry halted a little as he heard that word slip from her lips. He had never heard it before. She felt the effect it had on him against her. “I’ll show you, flower.”

He reached down to the hem of her jumper and the two got it off her, throwing it to the floor before they started kissing again. She wrapped her legs around him again, resting her heels at the top of his bum, urging him closer to her. Slowly and deliberately, Harry grinded against her, revealing them both of a small fraction of pleasure, increasing the anticipation that was building in the air around them. Hard against her most delicate spot. She felt a desperate need to reach for him, to feel him right there, as ready for her as she was for him, but she liked this much better. Feeling him moan against her, the slow waves of his hips as he stroked his growing erection against the heat between her legs that was aching. His promise lingered in the back of her head, making her nipples perk at the thought. You will enjoy yourself and feel real fucking good tonight.

Harry’s hand slipped down the front of her white summer dress, lingering over her breast where he felt her already hard nipple. He squeezed her breast, bringing what he could of the nipple between his index and middle finger, squeezing lightly as he started kissing down her jaw. An uncontrollable moan left her mouth as he kissed her neck, chest, between her covered breasts. She felt hot all over as he kissed his way down, leaving no spot untouched by his swollen lips. He reached her thighs, kissing up her right one, leaving wet spots that got cold in the crisp air of the lightkeeper room.

“Turn over,” he said, sitting up on his knees to make the process easier for her.

She did as he told her to without hesitation. Again, he leaned over her, nose nuzzling her hair as he kissed her exposed shoulder. Each one of the kisses he trailed down her shoulder place, and back felt like a declaration of love; felt like a promise of forever, of safe keeping. Right in that moment, she realised she had never felt more appreciated or more turned on. She felt so seen, so important, as Harry kept kissing her back, sucking on her skin, humming moans of absolute delight into her that made goosebumps appear all over her. He reached for the zipper of her dress, kissing her shoulder before he whispered, “Okay if I undress you?”

“Please.”

Harry unzipped her dress, leaving a lingering kiss to her shoulder as he shoved both the straps off her shoulders. She took them off, letting the dress hang loosely over her breasts. Just because she felt like it, she lifted her arse off the bed, pressing it against Harry’s hard-on. It took him off guard and he gasped a little into her ear, but quickly took a grip around her waist. He pressed down hard on her, parting her bumcheeks as his protruding cock could now be seen, and felt, outside his denim shorts.

“Fuck,” he breathed as he grinded against her. His hands slipped down further, hovering over her centre, laying a slight pressure on her over her dress and knickers that was exactly what Y/N needed right then.

“Harry,” she whimpered, feeling him moan at her utterance.

“Dreamed about you saying my name like that,” he mumbled, kissing her shoulder again. “Sound even fucking better than I could’ve imagined.”

He placed more pressure on her, making her gasp and throw her head back slightly, leaning it against Harry’s beside her. They grinded against one another, absolutely lost in this seductive dance that they would have no problem doing forever. Panting a little, Harry kissed her shoulder again, knowing that they could not go on like that, no matter how much they wanted, because he would surely not be able to handle much of it before finishing. The heat between Y/N’s legs was excruciating, she could barely take it as Harry pulled her dress completely off her, exposing her naked back to him.

“On your knees.”

She did as he demanded, getting on her knees in the bed as Harry positioned himself right behind her. He ran his hands over her wet knickers, wanting to properly feel all of her now that he finally had her there. It sent a lightening up her spine, making her moan as he reached her bud, flicking it slowly. He kissed the outside of her knickers before he ran his tongue over her, the hot wetness of him on her made her gasp, sweet torture that she both welcomed and hated. Hooking his fingers under the hem of her knickers, he slid them over her bum and down her legs, and. Again, she felt cold as her wet skin was exposed to the chill room they were in, Harry’s ragged breaths didn’t exactly make it better. She whimpered slightly as she felt his breath go from cold to hot, she could feel the heat of his body radiating against her cunt and bum. With help of her hands, she raised, looking over her shoulder at him to see him there, only his eyes visible as he hovered in front of her.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Y/N,” he whispered, planting a kiss to her bum before he went back to the place she had just been. “I’ll make you come, flower.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” she said, panting slightly in anticipation.

Harry smiled at her, she thought she saw a slight wink before he hovered back over her centre. She was about to tell him to just get on with it when she felt his tongue, hot and wet and hard, between her folds. She gasped again, closing her eyes at the impact. He licked up between her folds first, making sure to taste every last bit of her as he had thought about this for so long. He started off with a light pressure on her clit, licking around it, sometimes over it, driving Y/N absolutely insane. He slowly built up the pressure, making sure he did not overwhelm her, staying focused on the clit the entire time. He wrapped his lips around it, sucking lightly, something that made Y/N throw her head back, letting go of a loud moan that had Harry humming into her.

“Yes,” she gasped, fists buried in the white sheets under her.

He let go of her bud, licking up around the clit again, then over it, flicking it quickly while tipping his head to the side. She bit her bottom lip, looking over her shoulder at Harry as he continued to eat her out, eyes closed as if he was eating the feast of his life. Once again, he wrapped his lips around her clit, sucking lightly at first and building his pressure. Whimpering and panting, Y/N kept looking at Harry, the sight of him behind her like that, doing everything in his power to make her feel good – and succeeding – was so bloody hot.

When she had made her way up here today in the rain, she had never in her wildest dream this was where she would end up. On all fours, Harry seated behind her, eating her out. She had thrown away any hope of him even feeling a smudge of what she felt for him, but tonight, up in the light room, everything changed. Everything they said, and how they opened up to one another. She felt quite literally euphoric; static with adoration and completely engrossed in everything he did.

Harry moved up, slipping his tongue inside her hole, hands sliding down her thighs as he penetrated her. She swallowed thickly, biting at her bottom lip before she met his eyes.

“Doesn’t do anything.”

“Hm?” He moved up, eyes wide as he licked around his lips. “My tongue in you?”

“Yeah. Feels like you’re mushing mash into me.”

Harry laughed, resting his forehead against her bum as he shook, she chuckled as well.

“Don’t hold back,” he said.

“Sorry.”

“No, I’m glad you told me, flower.”

“Also,” she said as he started licking her again, she gasped slightly. “Can we switch? I want to watch you properly.”

Harry blinked slowly, smiling at her as he emerged. “Gladly.”

She turned around, placing herself on her back, Harry stopped to take her in, eyes gliding over her naked body in front of him. He cupped her face in his hands, kissing her deeply as he ran his hands over her tits, squeezing them just hard enough before he lowered them and himself. He positioned himself exactly where he’d been, spreading her legs wider for him.

He sucked on her clit again, this time pushing a finger into her. She instantly moaned loudly, burying her hands in his hair. Harry wrapped an arm around her thigh, holding her in place as he continued to lick at her clit, curving his finger ever so slightly as to make her feel the best she possibly could. She squirmed under him, her orgasm coming on much faster in this position than the last, streaming down her legs, her torso, towards the centre between her thighs where Harry was sucking at her most sensitive spot, pounding his finger into her. She tugged at his hair as she could feel it coming on closer.

“Harry,” she moaned and at once he reached up outside her thigh, cupping her breast in his large hand.

He ran a thumb over her nipples as he flicked at her clit, finger still buried inside her, watching as she started moving and panting and whimpering more and more. He moved his finger faster and sucked her bud, which was exactly what Y/N needed, she cried out, moving her hips with Harry’s fingers. He squeezed her breast, and she met his eyes, seeing his dark green eyes under his long lashes, drinking in the sight of her. He suddenly hit a spot that had fires erupt in her lower tummy. Y/N gasped and let out another loud moan, whimpering under Harry as he licked and fucked her through her orgasm. She did not take her eyes off him and he did not look away from her, ordering her to keep watching till she was completely down from her euphoria.

Y/N was sprawled out panting, smiling as Harry came up to hover above her. She took a grip of his neck, kissing him deeply. He tasted of her.

“I’ll go get a condom in the cottage,” he mumbled. “I-If that’s alright with you, of course. We don’t have-“

“-I want to.”

“Alright. Brilliant.” He stumbled as he got up from the bed in a hurry. “I’ll-I’ll be right back, yeah? Don’t move! I’ll-“ He looked over his shoulder as he stood in the open doorway, a huge sigh leaving his lips as his eyes wandered over her naked body. He shook his head slightly, letting out a chuckle of disbelief. “Fuckin’ hell,” he mumbled before running down the stairs and out of the lighthouse.

It did not take long for him to come back, condom in hand and panting as if he’d been sprinting back and forth. He closed the door again, placing the condom on the corner of the desk beside the bed, crawling back over her again.

“Been away from this for too long,” he mumbled, running a hand over her curves. “And your tits are bloody fantastic, by the way.”

She laughed at him, swatting his shoulder as he reached for the hem of his jumper and tee shirt, bringing both over the top of his head and throwing them to the floor.

“I’d been looking forward to doing that,” Y/N said.

“What, undress me?”

“Yes.”

His eyes seemed to darken a bit. “Take off the rest.”

And she did. Keeping eye contact, she reached for the front of his denim shorts, undoing the button and unzipping him. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, the slight pressure and caress of her fingers against his anticipating and hard prick seemed to do more to him than she thought it would. She hooked her finger around the band of his shorts and boxers, wiggling them down his hips till they were far enough down for him to do the rest. One hand supporting his weight, he used the other one to help her take his clothes off, but her eyes fell to his cock immediately.

It wasn’t like she had thought of it before. Yes, she might’ve had some dreams and daydreams involving Harry and her doing some very filthy things, but she hadn’t really let herself think about his prick. But there it was, and she felt absolutely giddy with anticipation now. She wanted to have proper sex with him; she wanted it so, so bad.

Harry reached for the condom, tearing it open and putting it on, hand sliding down his shaft and to the pubic hair at the very bottom. Seeing the slight trail from his navel and down to it made her mouth water.

“You alright?” Harry asked, that crooked smile on his lips making Y/N’s cheeks heat up. She was already flustered all over, she did not need him looking at her like that. He knew she had been looking and now he was taking the piss. As usual.

“How do you want me?” he asked, voice husky.

She bit her bottom lip, cocking her head to the side. “I dunno.”

He groaned, hovering closer to her lips. She felt him against her sensitive spot, making her gasp. “What can I have?”

She tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck. “I want to be on top.”

That crooked smile came forth again, his dimples deepening. “Yes, ma’am.”

Taking a grip of her waist, he rolled around, making her lay on top of him. His head was on the pillow, right where hers had just been, so Y/N sat up. She took a grip of him, making Harry’s lips part at the impact. He gripped her thighs that were straddling either side of his hips, squeezing her lightly as encouragement. She sat up, bringing him to her, sliding him over the wetness he had caused. He let out a shaky breath, looking to be just as nervous as Y/N felt. She slid down onto him slowly, Harry’s eyes fluttered shut.

“Fuck,” he hissed, and Y/N gasped again.

“Harry,” she said, a little breathless already. “I’ve… I’ve never been on top before.”

He smiled. “That’s fine, here-“ He placed his hands on her hips, urging her to move. She followed his lead, biting her bottom lip hard as her clit rubbed against his pelvic area. “That’s it.”

She continued to grind against him, moving her hips as he was instructing her. Placing her hands on his chest for support, she started moving a little hard, with a little more purpose, Harry’s hands on her thighs a grounding and intense pressure.

“Keep doing that,” he encouraged, letting a moan slip from between his swollen lips. She rolled her hips, loving the filthy sounds they made as the rain kept on crashing against the window. They continued to look into each other’s eyes, not daring to look away as if it would bring them back to reality. Because this was too good to be true. Never before in her life had Y/N felt like this. She felt powerful as she rode Harry, felt a sort of strength in her that had never been present before. It had never been like this with Dominic; it had never been this intense. He hadn’t demanded she order him around, hadn’t been willing or suggested to try new things, hadn’t really done it like this. Harry looked at her as if the world revolved around her alone. As if the centre of the solar system was right here, and he was watching the sun about to eclipse, watching one of the most beautiful and magnificent moments in time. He gripped into her with feverish hands, coming with suggestions every once in a while, always letting her know just how good she was making him feel.

“That’s right,” he moaned as she moved her hips in circles. “Right there. Don’t stop.”

That might just have been the sexiest thing she had ever heard along with his moans. She continued doing exactly what she was doing, feeling her entire body heating up as she could sense her second orgasm that evening. Thinking about it, she wasn’t sure she had ever come twice in one night before. Maybe it was Harry, maybe it was the moment, maybe it was the fact that her and Harry were finally letting their guard down, admitting that there was something else between them besides their fake relationship. People who fake dated each other did not kiss like that, they did not have sex, they did not look at each other like it was all they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. No, this was more than what they had let on. Way more.

Harry sat up, making Y/N fall against his chest as he bent his knees ever so slightly. He placed one hand on her bum and the other on the mattress behind him as to help him move more swiftly. With each stroke over him, Harry thrusted back into her, rubbing at her bud each time and making everything around her seem much more colourful.

“Like that do you?” Harry asked, mouth parted as he panted into her wet lips.

She nodded her head, taking a grip of his shoulders to better move her hips. They moved together, looking into each other’s eyes as the rest of the world disappeared completely around them. The rain, the thunder, the buzzing of the light from upstairs turning on and turning off, it was all tuned out. Harry leaned down, placing one of his hands on her left breast to kneed it seductively. He kissed from her collarbone and down to her breast, sucking and nibbling lightly on her skin as he made his way to her nipple. Sucking it lightly, he looked up at Y/N who was squeezing his shoulders, telling him to keep going. Electricity shot from her tits and down her spine, heating up the fire that was building in her core. He closed his eyes as he sucked and kissed her tits, humming into her and making her moan time and time again. It felt so fucking good. Though she moved a little awkwardly, though they made some sounds together that made both of them laugh and heat up, though they were still trying to figure out what the other liked, this was still the best either had ever had.

As he was closing in on his finish, Harry wrapped both arms around her, bringing her closer to him. They kissed, desperate pleads and whimpers left each of their mouths as everything started setting on fire. Harry moved his hips with her, she tried to continue to move hers along with him, her hips shaking a little with the effort. Harry’s lips parted completely all of a sudden, a furrow appearing between his brows, and she felt it. He twitched against her and she continued to grind her hips, moving him through his orgasm. Looking deep into her eyes, he seemed to completely melt away when she kissed his bottom lip, sighing against him as she herself started getting closer to her second orgasm as well.

“I’ll help you,” Harry said. “I’ll use my hand, if you want?”

“Yes, please.”

He removed his cock from inside her, meeting her eyes as his thumb circled her clit again. Y/N gasped, gripping both sides of Harry’s neck. His lips parted at the pressure, grinning up at her. He brought his other hand forward, slipping his index and ring finger into her while his other thumb continued to flick at her clit. At once she moaned, looking into his eyes as this brought her closer to her climax, fast. She moved with his hand, moaning louder and louder as the fire inside her tummy intensified, feeling even greater than the time before. Harry curled his finger just as he leaned down, sucking on her nipple again, looking up at her through hooded eyes.

Everything exploded and she threw her head back, unable to stop herself. The sound of Harry pounding into her at a fast speed, wet and filthy, echoed through the room with her exclamation of euphoria. Harry continued till she was completely done, watching her as she closed her eyes, breathing heavily above him. Gently, he removed his fingers from inside her, bringing them up to his mouth to lick them clean just as she opened her eyes again.

Y/N felt at peace. Her heart was still thundering away inside her chest, her soul was still intermingled with Harry’s, and they would not let go of one another. They didn’t need that lamp, they didn’t need a lighthouse, they could light up everything on their own. She was sure that at some point tonight, while their bodies grinded together and worked toward climax, they had lit up like the sun. What was going on between them, the cellular reaction, the emotional connection, the physical attraction, it all equated to something. It had to. What this was, was greater than either of them individually. This would forever be marked on their souls. Meeting Harry, spending this summer with him, it had shaped her into a brand-new person. That was, Y/N reminded herself, what love was all about after all. Change for the better.

Harry got a cloth not long after, helping clean Y/N up before they both slipped under the duvet in the lightkeeper room, squished together as the bed was way smaller than what they were used to. Harry ran his hand from Y/N’s cheek and up to her shoulder, his eyes following his hand’s movement.

“I fucking worship you, Y/N,” Harry mumbled, the rain still pouring outside. He caressed his fingers gently over her jawline.

She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. They both closed their eyes and Y/N felt sleep coming closer. She felt so incredibly content, cuddled up to Harry and with the storm raging outside. A couple a seconds away from falling asleep, Harry started whispering against her forehead.

“Play fair with my heart, yeah?” It seemed like he thought she was asleep. That it was safe to say this. “’Cause I’m gonna fall in love with you. You don’t have to love me back, but I’m telling you now, ‘cause it’s inevitable, at one point, I’ll love you. Madly, truly, completely. Just… please… break my heart gently.”

Before she was able to form any sort of reply, she fell asleep.

A/N: If you wonder what the melody Harry wrote for that day spent in St Austell with Y/N and Gracie sounds like, I imagine it goes something like this 🥰

NEXT UPDATE: Sunday, 25 October, 9PM GMT!

FIC PAGE | COME TALK !!!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing and beautiful beta readers! 🌊 @aileenacoustic​​​ 🌊 @bopbopstyles​​​ 🌊 @fromyourstrulyh​​​ 🌊 @harrys-shrooms 🌊 @honeydearly​ 🌊 @summerfeelng 🌊 @watermelonsuger​​​​ 🌊  @withallthelove-a​​​​ 🌊

[hockeyisit]

Auston and Amelia, where Amelia meets him home town friends

- Amelia meeting Auston friends from AZ for the first time

A.N. Hello! This was requested like ages ago and I had started to write it but never got around to finishing it. Then it got requested again so I decided to stop being lazy and finish it. I’m really happy with how this turned out and I hope you enjoy it as well. I also want to say that I don’t actually know who any of Auston’s friends are from Arizona so I made all of them up. 

Word Count: 4,396

Warning: Talks of an abusive ex-boyfriend

Masterlist

“Auston we are having tacos tonight. Is that all right?” Ema asked as she turned the sink off and turned around to face the two of us as we sat at the kitchen table. The two of us had made it out for the weekend because Auston had a game on Friday but the next two days off. I had flown out on my own to meet Auston here and we were staying at his house but were spending most of our free time at his parents.

“Amelia and I are meeting some of my friends for drinks and food so we won't be here,” Auston said, looking away from me to her. She nodded her head before turning her attention to me with a small smile.

“Oh alright! Which friends?” she asked as she hung the towel on the rack before making her way over to join us at the table.

“Clayton, Matt, Brady, and Chucky. Some of their girls too,” Auston listed off. His mother nodded her head understandably. This was going to be my first time meeting any of Auston’s friends and I was extremely nervous.

“Oh how have they been?” she asked, clapping her hands together. He smiled at her as he started talking.

“Yeah they have been good, Clay’s been talking about this new job he has and he’s pretty happy with it. Says it pays pretty well,” he said running his hand through his hair.

“Oh that’s wonderful for him. Amelia, they are lovely people, it'll be fun for you,” Ema reassured me, reaching her hand out across the table and tapping my fidgeting hands. I smiled gratefully at her.

“Yeah I’m excited they sound like great people,” I smiled at the two of them as I reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear.

“What time are you guys going?” she questioned as she glanced down at her watch.

“Eh we should probably leave soon we said we'd meet at 6:30,” Auston mumbled as he glanced at the clock.

“Did you want to stop at mine first or are you good to go from here?” Auston asked, turning his attention to me. I thought about it for a moment before shrugging my shoulders.

“I should be fine but is there any chance I could borrow a sweater?” I asked, glancing between the two. I didn’t really care who gave me the sweater as I could borrow one.

“Yeah I have something in my room I’m sure,” Auston pushed himself up from his chair to go get it.

“Wait honey. I might have something better for her,” Ema said standing up and placing a hand on Auston’s arm to stop him from moving. She walked over to the closet that was in the hall near the front door and opened it up to pull out a black leather jacket. She walked back over to the two of us and held it out to me. She handed it over and I stood up to try it on. It was a bit longer and oversized then my normal leather jackets but it looked cute so I smiled happily at her.

“Thank you,”

“Oh it’s no problem, I’ve had it forever and don't wear it too often,” she grinned as she turned to face Auston again.

“I will get to see you tomorrow right?” she asked, him reaching out for a hug. He nodded his head as he hugged her back.

“Yeah we're going to come over for lunch before our plane,” Auston mumbled to her. Once they were done hugging she pulled away from him and turned to me to pull me into a hug. I hugged her back as tight as she held me and relaxed into the hug.

“Just call if you guys need anything,” Ema said to the two of us as she pulled away from our hug. I smiled sweetly at her as I followed Auston to the front door. We slipped our shoes on and then said our final goodbyes before making our way out the door.

“Babe,” Auston called out to me once we were outside of the house. I hummed as I looked up at him. He pulled me against his side as he led me to the car with an arm on my back.

“You excited?” he asked with a teasing grin. I felt myself pale slightly as I tried to nod back enthusiastically. He laughed lightly while opening the door for me. As I went to step into the car he pressed a kiss to my cheek causing me to blush bright red.

“I’m nervous,” I admitted as he went to close the door. He quickly made his way around the car and got in.

“Nervous for what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he buckled. I did the same as I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn’t place exactly what had made me so nervous to meet them other than the fact that I was meeting important people to Auston.

“What if they don’t like me?” I finally asked quietly over the sounds of Harry Styles singing on the radio. He had already started driving so he kept his eyes on the road as he answered me.

“That won’t be a problem. I don’t know anyone who doesn't like you,” he smiled trying to reassure me as he reached his hand out for mind and locked them together over the center console.

“But like what if they think I’m annoying or like not the right one?” I asked louder this time. His face scrunched up for a moment before his hand gave mine a gentle squeeze.

“Not the right one?” he asked with a high voice causing me to giggle slightly.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, turning to look out the window feeling slightly embarrassed. Auston pulled into the parking space before turning to look at me.

“Listen babe. You're perfect, I know and they will too. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, they'll love you like I do,” Auston told me seriously, causing me to blush as he gave my hand another squeeze.

“Thanks,” I smiled at him. He grinned before leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead.

“Ready to go?” he asked when he pulled away. I glanced out the window quickly before turning back to him and pulling him into a quick kiss. Then I pulled away and nodded my head as I reached for the door and hopped out. We met at the front of the car and Auston grabbed my hand as he led us to the host stand.

“Hi reservation under the name Lexi?” Auston told the host. She looked down at the list before looking back up at us.

“Yeah they are already at the table you can follow me,” she smiled before leading us over to the table of almost 10 people. I felt myself sink further into Auston’s side as all the people at the table turned to look at us.

“Papi made it,” someone with shaggy brown hair called out standing up from the table and walking over to us. He pulled Auston into a big hug causing him to let go of me, leaving me standing to the side awkwardly. I looked over the rest of the table which was a mix of guys and girls when suddenly I recognised one of the guys.

“Amy?” Kyle asked standing up from the table. I shared a shocked look with him as I waved shyly.

“You two know each other? Auston asked, pulling away from his hug and giving us a confused glance. I looked at Kyle before turning my attention back to Auston.

“Um uh yeah,” I coughed trying to hide how awkward I felt.

“Really that's cool I’m Kyle's girlfriend, Beth,” A beautiful brunette said standing up to hug me. I laughed awkwardly as I hugged her back.

“Oh awesome,” I turned back to Auston hoping the topic would change. Unfortunately I am not that lucky.

“How do you two know each other?” Beth asked, slipping her hand around Kyle’s waist. I scratched at the back of my neck as I tried to come up with something to say.

“We went to high school together,” Kyle answered for the both of us.  

“And we dated,” I continued awkwardly. I watched as everyone at the table shared a look of shock before turning my attention back to Auston who also had a look of disbelief on his face.

“The two of you?” Beth asked, pointing to the two of us.

“Uh yeah,” Kyle answered shrugging his shoulders.

“Not for very long,” I provided, hoping to clear any of the tension that was going around. Auston’s hand slid out from mine causing me to panic slightly only to calm down when he slid his hand to rub reassuring at my back.

“Alright well let’s take a seat and maybe order a drink,” Auston suggested pushing me gently to the table. I gave him a grateful look as he pulled my chair out for me. He then took a seat to my right and with Kyle to my left. Everyone continued the conversion they were having before we arrived at the table.

“Aus, should we talk?” I asked not knowing if he was okay. He looked down at me with a thoughtful look before leaning in to whisper in my ear.

“Is he the one your dad hated?” he asked gently. I had told Auston about Kyle very briefly on one of our dates. My dad disapproved of him so much that it was one of the reasons we lasted as long as we did. I nodded my head slightly as I glanced at him and Beth talking. We ended on good terms. I just never expected to see him again.

“Yeah he was not a fan, he’s also the one that I got caught with,” I had told him the story about how we had been smoking weed in my room when my dad had caught us. He was so mad that he had kicked me out of the house for a week. He sent me a sad smile wrapping his arm around my shoulder and placing a kiss on my cheek.

“Wow,” he mumbled against my cheek.

“I’ve known him for like three years and I never knew,” he continued as he pulled away. I shrugged but as I went to talk we were interrupted by a boy with black hair and blue eyes talking to us.

“Hey Amelia it’s so nice to meet you. Papi never shuts up about you. I’m Clayton,” he said smiling softly at us. I grinned as I reached my hand out to shake his.

“Oh he never shuts up about you guys either,” I laughed as I tapped Auston on the shoulder. The three of us laughed.

“Auston said you worked for a magazine?” Clayton questioned as he raised his beer to take a sip.

“Yeah, It's a pretty popular magazine in Toronto. It covers almost everything from sports to fashion,” I said reaching out for the glass of water that was on the table.

“Do you want to share the nacho appetizer?” Auston asked me as he pushed the menu in front of me to take a look. Once I read over the description of the nachos I eagerly nodded my head. Almost everyone at the table already had their drinks and some type of food on the table.

“Sounds good babe,” I told him, reaching under the table to pat his leg. He smiled sweetly at me before turning to the server.

“We're going to share the nachos and I’ll have a modelo and she'll have a vodka pink lemonade,” he ordered for the two of us as he closed the menu. I smiled sweetly at the two before turning my attention back to Clayton.

“What do they have you write about?” he asked.

“I was writing about fashion when I first started there but they are trying to transfer me to the sports department,” I said shrugging my shoulders casually. Honestly they had been trying to get me to switch ever since I started dating Auston but I had been extremely against the idea since the beginning.

“I bet Allsya here would love to read all the fashion stuff you've written,” he said as he pointed to the beautiful girl to his right.

“Yes, I model here in Arizona,” she said joining the conversation. I gave her a soft smile as I glanced to her shyly.

“I actually think I’ve seen you on the runway,” I admitted as I thought back to a show that I had attended at the beginning of the summer right after I had met Auston on the plane.

“It was a swimsuit catalog and your pieces were amazing. I wrote about them in the magazine,” I continued as the server set our drinks and nachos down. I picked up my drink right away and took a small sip as she started talking.

“Oh my god! I remember that! I read the article too, oh my god Clay I told you about her article it was one of the best ones that was published after that weekend,” she said, shaking his arm slightly.

“Oh wow thank you,” I blushed as I set my drink down. I reached in for a nacho and took a big bite.

“How did the two of you meet?” Allsya asked after a brief pause in conversation. At the question everyone at the table turned their attention to us to hear the story.  I glanced over at Auston seeing as I had just shoved food in my mouth hoping that he would tell them. He smiled before shrugging his shoulders.

“We met on the plane ride to Arizona from Toronto. I sat next to her and she started rambling about how she was a nervous flyer,” he started to say but I let out a slight gasp.

“No I didn't, I told you once that I was not a good flyer and anyway you were the one who started talking to me first,” I said, cutting him off. Everyone at the table let out a laugh at that.

“We talked the whole flight and then I got her number after and we went out on a date and the rest is history,” he finished as he took a sip of his beer. I shared a sweet smile with him as I also lifted my drink up to take a sip.

“Where’d you take her?” Matt asked.

“He took me to chipotle then we went to his house,”  I told them. They all let out a laugh.

“Sounds like Papi was trying to show off,” Clayton mumbled, causing the table to laugh again. Auston tried to hide his blush by leaning his chin on his hand.

“It was really fun,” I told them honestly as I reached for more nachos.

“So how long have you guys been dating?” a girl I didn’t recognise yet asked from across the table.

“Uh about 10 months,” Auston told her as he sent me a soft smile. I sent him one in return as I rested my hand on his leg under the table.

“I want to hear the story of how the fuck Kyle and Amelia know each other,” someone blurted out from the other end of the table. I felt the blood drain from my face not feeling comfortable talking about this with a group of strangers.

“Nah we don’t have to talk about this,” Kyle said, picking up his own beer and taking a long sip.

“C’mon it’s got to be a good story. It’s crazy that you two even know one another,” Matt said. Kyle glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and I shrugged my shoulders. I knew they would keep asking if we didn’t answer them.

“It’s not that great of a story. Were from the same hometown and we dated for like a month after my mom died,” I told the table. Auston’s hand reached down to grip mine that was on his leg.

“We broke up when my dad caught us smoking weed in his house,” I continued.

“That was pretty funny though,” Kyle mumbled. I glanced at him with a smile as I thought back to the moment. It was pretty funny up until the part that I had gotten kicked out but I had never told Kyle that part.

“Yeah. But what I really want to know is how you met the beautiful Beth,” I told him as I sent her a soft smile. Her face lit up at the question as she went into the details of how the two met at college here in Arizona.

After another few rounds of drinks a few of Auston’s friends started leaving so that it was just Kyle, Beth, Matt, Lexi, Allsya, and Clayton.

“So you guys have known each other almost all your life?” I questioned Matt, Clayton, and Auston as I took a sip from the beer that Auston had ordered for me after a few vodka drinks.

“Yeah we all played hockey together actually,” Clayton said.

“Yeah but we weren’t very good so we stopped pretty early but Auston still hung out with us after,” Matt joked.

“We did everything together and went on a lot of trips together too,” Clayton continued.

“Oh fun. What was he like when he was younger?” I asked them hoping to get something juicy on him.

“Pretty much the same as he is now. Likes things to go his way, and he loves himself of course,” Matt teased, Auston rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arm behind me resting it on my chair.

“He was really possessive,” Clayton said, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh?” I said waiting for him to continue.

“He hated sharing anything. He was so possessive of his stuff it was kind of funny actually. If someone stole his favorite stick or toy he would throw a fit until someone gave it back,” Clayton finished. I let out a loud laugh as I threw my head back.

“Oh my god. Two weeks ago I was wearing his favorite sweatshirt and he wanted to wear it and he threw a thirty minute fit until I took it off so he could wear it,” I told the table as I let out another laugh, the rest of the table joining in.

“Alright we can stop talking about me now,” Auston pouted as he leaned his chin on my shoulder. I laughed as I leaned closer and pecked his lips quickly. I was starting to feel a bit tipsy. Auston narrowed his eyes at me when I pulled away so that he went cross-eyed causing me to let out a giggle. When I was drunk or tipsy I tended to display more PDA. Auston was always a fan of PDA but I hadn’t been so I knew moments like this when I let myself go he really enjoyed it

Kyle started telling us a story about his new job and I felt myself growing bored rather quickly. Deciding that I would have to make my own fun I slid my hand back onto Auston’s thigh. We had been at this bar for almost four hours now and he had stopped drinking almost two hours ago so that he would be sober to drive us home. I slid my hand higher up on his thigh as I leaned in so I could whisper into his ear.

“I was wondering if you could take me home and fuck me.”

His breath hitched at my words. He glanced around to make sure nobody had heard me before sliding his own hand onto my thigh so that it was gripping my inner thigh. He slowly slid his hand up my leg but then abruptly stopped.

“Be a good girl,” he mumbled against my ear as he pressed a kiss to the side of my head and removed his hand completely. I huffed slightly annoyed before turning back to pay attention to what was being said at the table. I finished my beer as I listened to Clayton and Auston talk about a trip they were trying to plan for the summer.

“Alright well I think we're going to head out. We got a big day of travel tomorrow,” Auston told everyone as he stood up and then helped me up from my chair. Everyone else stood up and there was a round of hugs before we were all making our way out of the bar and to our own cars.

“Did you have fun?” Auston asked, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we made our way back to the car.

“I did. It was fun to meet the people you grew up with,” I said softly as I leaned into his side.

“Although I really wasn’t expecting you to be friends with Kyle,” I admitted as we turned the corner and approached the car. He walked over to my side and opened the door for me.

“We met through Clayton. They were roommates at AU and got along. He’s a pretty cool dude to be honest. Not sure how I feel about the fact that you two dated though,” he helped me up into my seat after I almost tripped over the curb I let out a little giggle as I settled into the seat. I pulled my buckle on as Auston walked around the car and hopped in.

“It was in high school it was barely even dating. Like all we ever did was make out we made it to like second base maybe twice. I mostly just needed a friend at the time and he was a good one,” I told him as I thought back on the difficult time I had been going through when I lost my mother.

“It’s just weird that I’ve known him longer then you and like youve told me stories about him but I’ve never connected them to my friend Kyle,” he reached his hand out to hold mine. I smiled down at our interlocked hands before leaning onto the center console so that I could look at Auston’s face.

“Yeah, do you think it’s weird?” I asked softly.

“No not really. I mean we all have a past and we can't change it. It's nothing I can’t handle, baby,” he answered. I felt my heart warm at his response as I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.

“If I was with Nick and this happened he would have slapped me,” I sleepily mumbled out. I heard Auston suck in a harsh breath as the silence overtook the car.

“He would have slapped me the second we got into the car and then we would have driven to my apartment in silence. He would have followed me up to my room and he would have apologised and because I would be too scared to do anything I would say it was okay,” I took a deep breath as I revealed all of that to Auston. I slowly opened my eyes and turned to look at his face scared to see the expression that would be waiting for me.

“It feels really great to know that you would never do that to me. You make me feel so safe,” I finished holding in a sob. Auston had just pulled up to his house so he put the car in park and turned to face me.

“Babe,” his voice broke as he said it. He cleared his throat as he shook his head, probably trying to piece together his thoughts. I had probably surprised Auston considering I never brought up Nick on my own. I had told him about the things that Nick had done to me in the past but I had yet to share everything. Mostly just because I was happy now and it wasn’t something that I thought of a lot. His hand squeed mine gently.

“I’m so sorry that you went through what you did, but I am so happy that I can make you feel safe. I also want you to know that you're the love of my life and I will never let anything happen to you again,” Auston told me softly as he stared into my eyes. I knew that I could trust every word he was saying.

“ I know. Let’s go inside,” I whispered. He nodded his head as he turned the car off and we both made our way out and inside his house.

“I’m really tired,” I mumbled as I slid my heels off. Auston slipped his shoes off before glancing at me with a fond look in his eyes.

“Let’s go up to bed,” he said, reaching out to rub his hand up and down my back.

“I know I wanted to have sex but can we just do that in the morning,” I asked as I made my way up the stairs. Auston let out a laugh as he led me into the bathroom. He grabbed a makeup wipe and handed it to me before standing behind me so he could tie my hair up in a ponytail for me.

“Yeah babe whatever you want,” Auston leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the back of my neck. I rubbed my makeup off before glancing up at us in the mirror.

“Hey Auston,” I mumbled quietly.

“Huh?” he whispered into my neck as he hugged me from behind.

“You're the love of my life too,” I reached down for his hand and lifted it up to my lips so I could press a kiss on it.

He turned me around so that he could press me into the counter and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. When he pulled away he led us to the bedroom, we both changed into our pajamas and then climbed into bed. Auston turned the tv on before spooning up behind me.

“What do you want to watch?” he asked. I glanced towards the tv before shrugging.

“Anything I’m going to fall asleep any minute,” I mumbled. I drifted off to sleep as Auston watched That 70s Show.

Side Note: So I know that I kind of teased ya’ll with a bit of smut so I promise that I will try to write that sometime lol

[moon-light-jukebox]

Risk - [Hotch x Reader]

Summary: Things on a case go badly because reader took a risk. The entire team is mad at her...but no one more so than her unit chief.

Pairing: Hotch x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.4k

Content Warnings: Rough sex, mild brat taming, pussy slapping, choking, unprotected sex, orgasm denial, oral sex (male receiving), fingering, Dom!Hotch.

Rating: Explicit

Request prompt: Could you please write a smut (hotch x fem!reader) where reader doesn’t listen to hotch’s orders in a case and she almost gets killed and on the jet on the way home there’s a big ass argument including everyone and it's whole BAU against reader and when they land back home reader is super mad and hotch tells her hes going to take her home and then they have angry sex

A/n: I didn't edit this as thoroughly as I usually do. All mistakes are mine. Hopefully the smut makes up for it. 😌 And I hope the anon that requested this likes it!

-- Risk --

The paramedics had ignored me the multiple times I insisted that I was fine. Luckily, they seemed to agree that I didn’t need to go to the hospital. It was still early enough in the day that the team might be able to fly back home if the local police didn’t need our help wrapping everything up.

I wasn't looking forward to the ass-chewing I knew I was about to get, but I couldn't regret my actions. I'd do it all again, even if that meant feeling a bullet burn across my upper arm.

Once I was released, I made my way over to the SUVs, seeing only Prentiss and JJ standing by them.

“Where is everybody?” I asked once I was close enough.

Both women stiffened at the sound of my voice. Prentiss turned away like I hadn’t spoken. JJ shifted her weight from foot to foot awkwardly.

“They’re wrapping things up with the local police,” the blonde woman answered. “Do you not have to go to the hospital?”

“Just a graze.”

Her eyebrows rose slightly, her lips pressing into a tight line.

“I’ll get the others; maybe we can get the fuck out of here,” Prentiss muttered, walking away without so much as looking at me.

I probably deserved that.

--

The entire ride to the airstrip was filled with tense silence. Even Rossi wasn’t looking at me. Despite the awkwardness, I still couldn’t bring myself to regret my decision. A 12-year-old girl was going home safe tonight because of me; that was all that mattered.

Everyone else could just scratch their mad spot, as my grandma would say.

I was the last one to board the jet, already dreading the 2-hour flight home from Atlanta. JJ and Reid were on the couch, Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and Prentiss were in the 4 chairs around the small table.

All that suited me just fine, as I really just wanted to go home. I took my seat at the back of the plane, near the section that led to the bathroom. I was prepared to put on my headphones and keep my eyes closed for the entire flight home.

The plane had been in the air for about 20 minutes when one of them finally snapped. I wasn’t surprised that it was Morgan.

“What the fuck were you thinking, y/l/n?” He demanded, his voice low and harsh.

I didn’t bother turning my gaze away from the window. “I was thinking I needed to save Annabelle Richards, who is home safe now. Job done.”

Prentiss scoffed then muttered something under her breath.

“Kiddo,” Rossi began gently. “Yeah, you did the job. But you almost died. You ran in there like a hot head and almost got yourself killed.”

I couldn’t not look at Rossi. He sounded genuinely upset, and the older man had always been unfailingly kind to me in the months since I’d joined the team.

"I know," I conceded, meeting his gaze head-on. "But I couldn't see another way."

“So, you were just going to give up your life? We had no reason to believe they’d release her.” Morgan fumed, back in the game.

“It was our best shot.”

“No, it fucking wasn’t! If you hadn’t been so stupid you would have seen that!”

"Oh, very mature, Morgan. I didn't know we'd resorted to name-calling."

“He’s right,” JJ said, her eyes shifting from Morgan to me. “You were stupid and reckless. You almost died. If Hotch hadn’t taken that shot in time, you would have.”

I licked my lips, my eyes closing briefly. “I understand why you’re upset-“

“No.”

All the air in the room seemed to still at that one word. The voice we had all been waiting for had finally tagged into the match, The Entire BAU vs. Y/n Y/l/n.

I wasn’t prepared for Hotch to fucking stand up and start walking towards the back of the plane, his eyes boring into me. “No, you don’t understand why we’re upset.” His hand gripped the top of the seat in front of me, his knuckles were white with the force of his hold.

“Hotch-“

“Shut UP!” He pointed his index finger at me. “You don’t get to talk. You behaved like a spoiled child. I don’t know how they do things in Richmond, but you’re in fucking Quantico now. You’re a member of my team, and I cannot have rogue agents on my team.”

“What the fuck did you want me to do, Hotch?”

His eyes hardened even more. “I expect all of my agents to stick to the fucking hostage protocol!’

I was on my feet before I even realized I was moving. “She was 12-years-old, and she was screaming!’

“Because she was scared, y/n! She was a child trapped in a building with a mad man and she was scared! We had the profile! We all knew he wasn’t going to hurt her! She was his endgame!”

My fists were balled up at my side. “I couldn’t risk that.”

“Then maybe I can’t risk having you on this team. Sit down, I’ll deal with you when we land.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he snapped again. “That’s a fucking order!”

As you would expect, the remaining hour of the flight home was completely calm and filled with no tension whatsoever.

Not.

Spencer and I were the last ones to get off the plane; he was the only one who hadn’t spoken to me. “Are you mad at me too?”

He licked his lips, considering his words. “I’m not mad like the rest of them. I understand why you felt like you had to do it. I’ve broken protocol like that too. But I am mad because you’re my friend. And because of how you acted, I almost lost my friend.”

Out of all the words hurled at me tonight, Spencer’s actually cut me.

“Reid,” I mumbled out.

“Give them time,” he said, shrugging his bag up on his shoulder before walking away.

Time was not given to me, however. I was standing in front of the elevators when someone called my name from the bullpen.

I turned, giving my unit chief a blank stare. “Yeah?”

“Are you leaving?”

I blinked, then pointed to the elevator.

He wasn’t amused. “Are you going to take the train home?”

“That’s the plan,” I informed him, turning back to face the elevator, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I’m taking you home.”

My head jerked back. “No, you’re not.”

He took a step towards me, his face was set in a scowl that sent criminal running, and he towered over me. “You disobeyed a direct order twice today; I’m still debating on whether or not to put this bullshit in your file and you were shot.”

I mean…he’s not wrong.

“You’re not going to ride a train for 45 minutes when I can get you home in 20.”

I sighed, too tired to fight. “Whatever you say, Sir.”

--

The longer I sat in the front seat of Hotch’s car, the madder I got. How dare he yell at me in front of the entire time for doing my job? Where the fuck did he get off intimidating me into getting into a car with him? Threatening to put shit in my file when all I did was save a little girl’s life.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

I shouldn’t be surprised that he picked up on my mood shifting. “I thought members of the team didn’t profile each other.”

“You’re not acting like a member of this team, so why should I treat you like one?”

I had to bite down on my tongue to hold the string of curses inside my mouth. This smug mother fucker had absolutely no right to talk to me like that.

What had started out as cold anger now roared to life in my veins; I could feel my hands starting to shake.

Thankfully, he was true to his word and got me home in 20 minutes. The car hadn’t even come to a complete stop before I was undoing my seat belt and grabbing my bag. I shoved the door open, turning around to face him while he still sat in the car, his eyes fixed on me.

“Thanks for the ride, Boss,” I spat out. “Since I’m clearly not compatible with your team, you’ll have my transfer request on your desk first thing in the morning.”

He opened his mouth to say something; probably something that would have made me even more mad. But I cut him off, I couldn’t stop myself. I was fucking seething.

"Fuck you, and your perfect team," I said, slamming the door behind me.

I didn’t want to hear another word from that man, so I darted into my building, taking the three flights of stairs rather than waiting for the elevator. I was still so fucking mad. And what’s more, I actually think I was a little hurt.

I expected the bullet wound to hurt, but I never expected the entire team’s reaction to hurt worse.

Reaching my door, I fished my keys out of my bag, more than ready to get this day over with.

I was so fucking distracted I didn’t realize anyone was behind me until my door was open. A large hand grabbed me by my hair and shoved me inside. I tried to struggle, but his other hand clapped over my mouth while he kicked the door shut behind him.

My pure fucking terror only lasted for a few moments. The man turned me, slamming my back against my front door.

“Hotch! What the fuck! You scared the shit out of me!”

His eyes were the darkest I’d ever seen them; my normally composed supervisor was shaking with fury.

“Good, then you know how it fucking felt to watch you run into that house today,” he sneered, his body pressing me against my door.

Adrenaline was pumping through my blood, my breath coming in fast pants. Hotch’s body was flush against mine, his eyes wild and his breathing just as fast.

“Is that why you’re here, Aaron?” I taunted.

His eyes flashed at the sound of his first name leaving my mouth. Those large hands that were on me a moment ago had been resting on the door, but he brought his left hand down so quickly. He placed it on my throat, his thumb resting against my jaw.

“You know why I’m here.”

“I know why you’re pretending to be here. Your excuse for being here is that I fucked up today. But that’s not why you’re here.” I lined forward, dropping my voice into a mock whisper. “I can feel why you’re really here, Aaron.”

And I could. I didn’t have to be a profiler to see how blown his pupils were, to see how his eyes kept straying down to my lips. I especially didn’t need to be a profiler to feel what was pressed against my body.

His thumb dropped down to the other side of my throat before it squeezed, cutting off just a bit of my blood flow. His right hand came down from the door to squeeze in between our bodies, going right for the button of my pants. I was stunned when I felt it pop open and the zipper lower right before his fingers ghosted over the skin right above the top of my panties.

“What am I going to find when I slip my hand into your panties, y/n?” His breath skimmed over my face; his lips so close to mine. “Do you expect me to believe your little cunt isn’t positively soaked for me?”

“It’s not,” I bit out, stubborn to the end.

Aaron just smirked at me, his fingers moving inside of my panties, down, down, down, until I felt one blunt finger run across my slit, not even spreading me open.

His nose brushed against mine. “You feel pretty wet to me, princess.”

I felt my core throb at his words, but I couldn’t let him win. “I’m not your fucking princess.”

“No,” he mused. “You’re nothing but a little fucking brat.” He removed his hand from my panties, bringing it around to hook under the back of my thigh. “And since you want to act like a brat, I’m going to treat you like a brat.”

That was all the warning I got before his lips crashed against mine, his hand leaving my throat to grab my other thigh. He lifted my feet off the floor, forcing my legs to wrap around his waist.

Aaron Hotchner’s kiss was as intense as every other part of him. He ate at my mouth, biting my bottom lip before running his tongue over it. He ground his hardness against my pussy, smirking against my mouth when I moaned.

“Such a needy fucking girl,” was what he said before he lifted me totally in his arm, stepping away from the door. He walked through the living room.

“First door the left,” I mumbled.

He chuckled while he pushed my bedroom door open. “So, you’re enough of a brat to fight me, but enough of a slut to direct me to your room?”

“Fuck you,” I bit out.

Aaron tossed me on the bed, his hands gripping the waist of both my pants and panties before he yanked them down my legs. He was on top of me a moment later, his hands tearing at my shirt, ripping the buttons off.

“You’re going to regret that.”

A tiny shiver of terror went down my body at his tone, because I believed him.

He yanked the cups of my bra down, his scalding hot mouth wrapping around my nipple at the same time that two of his fingers sunk into me.

"Fuck!" I shouted my back arching, pushing me into him.

I felt his teeth graze over my nipple while his fingers continue to move inside me. His middle and ring finger were pumping into my pussy, the heel of his hand grinding against my clit.

“Aaron,” I whined, my hips squirming. His mouth lifted from my breast, kissing up my chest until he got to my neck.

“What do you want, baby? Do you want me to make you cum?”

I nodded my head frantically, my hips trying to rock against him.

“Why should I let you cum?” His fingers curled inside of me brushing over my g-spot, pulling a loud moan from me.

I felt my orgasm rushing towards me, threatening to consume me right when his fingers pulled out of me.

“Oh my god,” I whined out, my hand moving down to try and rub my clit. I was right there.

His hand was like a vice on my wrist, stilling my movements. “Ah-ah, no. Bratty little girls don’t get to cum.”

“But I’m so close,” I pleaded, my voice a pathetic whimper.

His lips brushed against mine, softly, teasing. “If you want me to let you cum, then you need to prove you can be a good girl.”

Hearing Aaron Hotchner say the words “good girl” was almost enough to send me over the edge.

“Can you be a good girl, y/n?”

“Yes,” I answered, trying to press my lips more firmly against his.

Without warning his hand moved quickly, slapping against my pussy.

“Fuck!” I shrieked, unprepared for the sensation but so desperate for more.

“Yes, what?”

"Yes sir!" I corrected tears of frustration in my eyes.

He moved off of me then, unbuttoning his shirt before pulling it off his shoulders. “Finish taking your clothes off,” he instructed.

I moved to comply quickly, wincing slightly when I pulled my arm out of my sleeve. My bicep was wrapped in thick gauze, the skin around it looking bruised.

Aaron watched me while he took his pants off. “It’s so hard for me to look at you. Because I see you hurting like that and all I want to do is lay you on this bed and treat you like a princess.” He was naked now, and I tried not to stare at him. I’d seen him in workout clothes, I knew he was well muscled. But I did not know he was so toned and well defined.

His cock was hard, the head wet with precum, and it was bigger than I had expected.

I scooted up the bed when he climbed on, stalking towards me. “I just want to eat your pretty pussy until you cum all over me. Then I want to slide inside you and make you feel so good.”

Aaron’s body was over mine, his arms caging me in. “But I can’t do any of that can I?”

He moved away before I could answer. “No, I can’t. So, you’re going to prove to me that you can follow orders. I’m going to lay on this bed, and you’re going to put that bratty little mouth all over my cock. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” I said, scrambling to my knees.

“Such a needy little thing,” he repeated, lying on his back.

One hand braced on the bed, the other reached out to wrap around him. If things were different, I would have teased him, but this fucking need in my body was burning too hot.

I wrapped my lips around the tip of his dick, hollowing out my cheeks, relishing in the guttural moan he let out. I slowly started to bob my head, taking more of him each time I went back down.

“I should have known you’d be good at this,” Aaron groaned out, one hand coming up to grip my hair, guiding my motions. “That smart fucking mouth of yours. You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about your pretty lips wrapped around my dick.”

I moaned against him, rubbing my thighs together at his words.

“You’ve thought about that too, haven’t you dirty girl?” He was lifting his hips now, making shallow thrust into my mouth. “Come on, baby. Take it all the way down. I know you can do it.”

I tried to relax my throat, fighting my gag reflex as tears pricked the corners of my eyes. “Come on, sweet girl. Try for me. Be my good girl so I can finally fuck that wet fucking pussy of yours.”

His words spurred me on, I squeezed my thumb in my fist, moving my head all the way down. I felt him hit the back of my throat; I started to gag, but I swallowed reflexively around him.

“Oh, my fucking god,” he groaned, pumping into my mouth a few more times before pulling me off of him. “There’s my good girl,” he praised, pulling my face up to his. Aaron pressed kisses to the sides of my mouth before his lips slid against mine.

He moved quickly, rolling me onto my back, shoving my thighs apart so he could settle between them. One of my hands fisted in my bedsheets, the other braced on his arm. My eyes were fixed on where our bodies were about to join. Aaron gripped his cock, moving it up and down my slit, coating himself in my arousal.

“Wrap your legs around me, baby,” he murmured, urging my legs higher up his abdomen.

I groaned when I felt the head of his cock slip inside me.

“Jesus, you’re so fucking tight, y/n.”

“Aaron,” I whined, shifting my hips underneath him. I was still so close.

“I’ve got you, needy girl.” He shifted his weight and then slammed inside of me, pulling a scream from my throat.

It didn’t hurt, just the opposite. I had never felt so fucking overwhelmed before.

“Please, please, please,” I pleaded.

One of his hands wrapped around my throat while the other gripped my headboard. He started a brutal pace while his hand squeezed against me. “Reach down and rub your clit, Princess,” he ordered his hips slapping against mine. “Come on. Make your pretty pussy cum all over me.”

He wasn’t even finished speaking before my fingers found my clit, circling it furiously. His grip on my throat loosened slightly, his thrusts becoming a bit sharper.

“I want to hear you fucking scream my name, you bratty little thing.”

“Aaron, Aaron, don’t stop. Please!”

With one more hard thrust, my orgasm crested, tearing through my body. I felt my pussy clamp down on his cock, pulling him over the edge too. He pumped inside of me a few more times, pulling every ounce of pleasure he could from me.

I finally came down from my high only to feel Aaron drop on top of me for a moment before he promptly rolled onto his side, so as not to crush me.

His arm wrapped around me, bringing me flush against his side, my head on his chest.

“I’m still mad at you,” he mumbled.

“I know.”

“I’m a little less mad now.”

I smiled. “I figured.”

--

Taglist: @rachelxwayne​ @pinkdiamond1016​ @sickeninglyshoujo​ @justagirllookingforherplace @nanocoool​ @andiebeaword​ @imjusthereformggcontent @rainsong01 

@spncersreid

[nonobadcat]

Yandere All For One X F! Reader - A Hypnotic Nightmare: Chapter 26 Excerpt

Story rating: Explicit

TW: Rape/Noncon. GORE (non-reader directed). Highly mentally and sexually abusive relationship. This story is absolutely not for minors and readers should consult the warnings/tags at the top before reading.

Read the entire story at: Archive of Our Own

"Lobo!"  Shigaraki called, waving to the man in front of him. "I had hoped you'd be by to talk at some point."

Beyond your companion stood a two and a half meter tall manbeast made of ripping muscles which strained against a torn white wife-beater. He had pointed white ears, claws hands, and a large bushy tail which swished back and forth behind his jeans. As Shigaraki strolled towards him, the ears tilted back and the man bared his fangs at the blond.

"You think you can be so casual with me after what you've done!" The wolfman snarled.

Shigaraki cocked his head and smiled pleasantly at the clawed stranger. "You'll need to be more specific. I've been busy this week."

"Don't play games!" The wolfman sneered as the fur on his tail bristled. "You killed my friends!"

"Did I?" Shigaraki rubbed his chin. "I don't recall. They must have been rather forgettable if I did."

Lobo's eyes ran red as his high blood pressure caused the veins there to throb. "ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!"

Shigaraki shrugged. "Well I've been on my honeymoon so I had more important things to remember." He shook his head. "After all, women can be hard to please. It takes a lot of effort to do things right."

Lobo gritted his teeth. His hands were shaking. "So you just killed my men on a whim and bounced to see your whore?!"

"Oh no," Shigaraki waved at the car behind him. "This one is a homemaker. The last one was the prostitute." He frowned. "And you ought not to criticize them for doing their jobs. Both are very old, venerable professions."

Lobo glanced at the car. The pale yellow met your astonished ones. He snorted and kicked his foot back, tossing some loose gravel from the road like a dog burying its waste. "Yeah, whatever. Just looks like a generic cumdumpster to me."

All For One's face settled into a cold frown. He stood up straight. His fingers twitched against the wool of his suit pants. "I suggest you take care how you refer to my wife."

"Yeah, well you should take care not to piss me off!" Lobo fired back. "You might think you're all cocky and cool cause you wiped out my underlings with the little bunny hop plant trick number but your ass ain't so tough here!" The wolfman gestured to the walls around you. "Ain't no trees or sky." He grinned with a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs. "Just you and me and all the cement we need to bury you with our friends."

Just at the edge of the light, you saw a group of twenty shadows collecting in the din of the tunnel. Most were carrying guns or had gun like quirks, and one appeared to be secreting grenades from his hands.

"Oh no…" The driver whined, scratching his head and the damage to the interior of the car. "I just got the holes fixed from the last time. He really needs to have more faith in my defensive driving." Without much ado, the brunette crawled through the window dividing the front and back before grinning sheepishly at you. "Sorry m'am, but the closer we are the stronger the shield I can make. The car is bulletproof but Master'll kill me if I let you get hit by any stray shrapnel."

You stared in wide eyed horror as the large group formed an arch around your husband. "Is he going to be all right?"

The driver waved off your concern with a sigh. "Oh he'll be fine. It's the tunnel I'm worried about."

You raised an eyebrow. "The tunnel?"

“That guy with the grenades could collapse this thing right on top of our heads.” The driver crossed his arms and nodded sternly. “Not a real smart quirk to be using in this situation.”

“Oh…” you murmured, gazing at the group in front of you through the glass.

All For One sneered at the men down the tunnel. “Bullets and explosives? Really? How unoriginal.”

Lobo raised his hand. “I’m not one for drama. I prefer the simple things.” As the men raised their weapons into firing position, the wolf grinned cockily. “Any last words before we waste you and the fuck toy?”

Your husband's body tensed. He raised a hand and scratched a spot behind his ear.

"Just a brief question: do you have an epitaph picked out, Lobo?"

As soon as All For One's fingers touched the skin, the driver’s eyes went wide and he lunged to shut the car door. It slammed shut, the sound echoing like a clap of thunder in the dim tunnel.

"Shit! Now that idiot's gone and done it!”

He threw his hands out and a glowing box formed around you and he. His eye twitched as a second cube encased the car and then a third cube appeared around that. You watched sweat drip down his brow two more barriers appeared: one directly behind the men with guns and one behind your husband.

“Just my luck that some moron goes and ruins a perfectly nice vacation!”

“I thought you said the car was bulletproof?” you asked as the driver shoved your head down.

The drive grinned at you before covering your body with his. “It’s not the bullets I’m trying to stop. I need multiple air gaps to stop the heat.”

“The heat?”

All at once there was a blast of white that engulfed the area where the villains were standing. Despite the barriers around you, you noticed the temperature in the car rising dramatically. It was then that you heard a high pitched whining noise. You clapped your hands over your ears, trying to keep the whistling shriek from splitting your head open. As you winced a second sound reached your ears.

It sounded like screams.

You lifted your head to see the swirling white mist wrapped behind the barrier. As it started to dissipate, you could see Shigaraki . His shirt was drenched, clinging to his muscles like gossamer robes made for angels. With his hair plastered to his head and his skin a rosy pink, he was more than a heart-thumping sight to behold. You gulped down the arousal building in your chest and looked away from Wet-Shirt-Contest Shigaraki before your judgement could get any more impaired.

The walls of the tunnel beyond the barrier were dripping. The whitewash was rumpled and appeared to be all but peeling off the cinder blocks. The tar on the road was liquid and sticky. The plastic lights looked slightly melted around the edges.

As your gaze shifted, you caught sight of some lumps laying on the pavement. Most of them were flat on the ground, curled into balls but one was stretched out and twitching. You saw a blister covered lobster red hand with peeling fur groping in the open air. The skin was exfoliating in large yellow rolls and small amounts of blood seeped from the open sores. As he clawed at the ground, dragging himself forward, you realized the creature before you was Lobo.

“My… you’re still alive? That steam was pressurized between the barriers so it was much hotter than normal. Why, it must have been nearly 150℃!” All For One said, stalking forward towards the scalded carcass of a man. “You are a rather determined fool aren’t you?”

Read the rest of this chapter on Archive of Our Own

@shigashigashig​ - Hope it was worth the wait.

@allforoneswife​ - This is your enabler calling. Come get you some wet shirt contest AFO.

[prentissinred]

Already Gone pt.2

Special shoutout to @eprcntiss for the nudge to write a part two ☺️

Rated T Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Emily Prentiss Word Count: 2k  AO3

Part One: Already Gone

Part Two: Love Me Better

Aaron closed the door to the study behind him, pretending he didn't hear that final choked sob. He blinked his own tears back; they had no place on what was supposed to be the second happiest day of his life.

She was leaving.

Some twisted part of him was almost glad. That he no longer had to walk into work and feel like his heart was being slowly carved out of his chest every time she looked at him, every time she got into her own car to return to a home that wasn't theirs. It was unfair to the point of cruelty, having to face the future he had been planning for years, ripped away in the course of an evening...only to return months later, just out of his reach.

He had grieved her, as surely as if she had died on that operating table. Grieved the sight of the diamond he had picked out on her left hand. Grieved the house they'd been eyeing, the one with enough rooms for all the plans they’d made and a yard big enough for the dog they had promised to Jack. Grieved every night of fevered touches under the covers and every night they had been too exhausted to do anything except curl against the warmth of the other.

She had eventually returned, like a phantom coming back to him. Relieved though he was that she was finally safe, there wasn't a moment where he saw her and was not reminded of every deception, every moment she had chosen to tell him that she was fine instead of the truth. Running became the only healthy outlet for the pain. And a few weeks later, it led him to a funny, kind brunette who had him smiling for the first time in over a year.

Beth. He shook himself out of the internal crisis he was having against the wall of Dave's living room. He had to find her, hold her, remind himself why he'd asked her to marry him and why it had felt so right just yesterday. Remind himself of everything good about them. Because she was good — exceedingly so. Because she was not frustrating and complicated and closed-off and asking the worst kinds of questions at the worst possible time. He jogged up the stairs to the master bedroom where she was getting ready with her mother.

“You know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.” Dave’s voice came up behind him.

He gave his friend a wane smile. "I think we can dispense with the superstitions."

"Say what you will, but I said the same thing at my first, and look how well that turned out." Aaron could only chuckle dryly in response.

Dave clapped his arm. “Nervous?”

"A little." He hadn't been. In fact, he’d been filled with certainty at the start of the evening. He tried not to think too much about why that had changed. I loved you. I love you.

"I saw Emily left.” Dave’s voice was pointedly relaxed.

"Oh?"

"Tonight can't have been easy for her." I love you.

"I suppose."

"Mmm. Anyway, I think Beth's just about ready." Dave placed a guiding hand on his shoulder. "We should head down, get this show on the road." Aaron let himself be led down the stairs, glancing back just once at the door that hid his soon-to-be wife from view.

He stood underneath the decorated archway, next to his beaming son, and faced his team, all looking at him with encouraging smiles. He tried to return them, despite the knot that was steadily growing in his stomach. The music started, a lilting, romantic track, as the crowd turned to face the house. Beth emerged, lovely in her strapless gown, carrying a simple bouquet of white roses, walking towards him on her mother's arm.

And maybe it would have been different if he had spoken to her upstairs. Or if he had never walked into Dave's study in the first place. But as Beth took her first step onto the aisle, Aaron knew with an absolute, terrifying clarity that he couldn’t go through with this. That this moment he had been picturing for so long was missing a woman who was currently making plans to leave the country.

Before he could talk himself over to the side of propriety, he walked up the aisle. The music cut off abruptly, and there was a ripple of whispers from his guests. By the time he reached her, pieces of his heart chipped away at the sight of her confused face. He held her hand in both of his and pleaded, "I need to talk to you."

She listened to his insufficient explanation, the tears welling her eyes the only reflection of the hurt he was causing her. He told her that she was beautiful and wonderful and he did love her and she had made him so happy and yesterday there hadn't been a doubt in his mind when he asked her to be his wife. She let him ramble for a while, eventually shutting him up with a cupped hand to his face. Lips pressed lightly against his cheek, then in a voice infinitely kinder than he deserved, she let him go. "I hope you get her back."

And that was it. He stood there, watching her head back up the stairs, and silently wished her every happiness with someone worthy of her.

With a deep breath and a brush over his face to clear any lingering tears, he exited the house with renewed determination to find a huddled group of guests. The only outlier was Beth's mother, who stared at him in consternation before following her daughter into the house without another word to him. At the movement, his team turned towards him, a mixture of confusion and shock on their faces — or, in the case of Dave, an enigmatic smile.

"JJ," Aaron called out.

She approached him, frown lines etched into her forehead and brows. "Aaron, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

"I need your help, please. The address to Emily's new apartment."

Understanding smoothed her features and she gave him a wide grin as she entered the address into his phone. "Oh, and would you mind watching Jack for a little while?"

"Even better, why don't Jack and Henry have a sleepover tonight? What do you say, boys?" JJ presented her plans animatedly to the two boys who had appeared by their feet. Aaron bent down to tell his son that he would explain everything tomorrow, but his words fell on already distracted ears. He thanked her and made his way to his car, the eyes of his friends on his back reminding him that this was his last chance to bring her home.

Her apartment was tucked away in a nondescript brick mid-rise. A far cry from the lush DC duplex he had spent countless nights in. She opened the door on his second knock. Dressed down in shorts and a loose shirt that hung off her shoulder, makeup-free with her curled hair pulled up into a ponytail. She looked as beautiful as she had a few hours ago. Every impassioned word he had rehearsed on his way over landed dead on his tongue, and instead, his first words to her were a brusque, "Can I come in?"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He didn't reply, pressing past her into an apartment he had never entered before. Sparse, only the bare essentials, cardboard boxes stacked in the corner. Nothing more than a passing stop, a sign that she had never really come back to them.

"You told me you love me. Was that the truth?" He stood in the center of her small living room, arms crossed over his chest, his tone more biting than he had planned.

She gaped at him, ignoring the question. "Seriously, Aaron, what the fuck are you doing here?"

He forged on, pacing small steps next to the couch, glancing up at her every few seconds. "It destroyed me, you know. Seeing your credentials open in your desk because you had run. Sitting by your fucking hospital bed because I was too late to save you. Listening to you tell me that you didn’t want to marry me. Everything we had talked about, all the plans we had, just...gone."

“Aaron. I told you, I had to." Her voice broke, but her eyes stayed dry. Aaron wondered if the two of them had shed enough tears over the other to last a lifetime. "I had to—“

“Protect me. I know. But, god, Em." He gestured between them. "We’re supposed to be a team. We work through everything, even the ugly stuff, together. You were supposed to trust that I would be there for you. Not run away, and nearly get yourself killed in the process.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is. It is exactly that simple.”

“No.” Her voice was sharp and resolute. “It isn’t. It was my fight. My past, my mistakes. If you, any of you, had gotten hurt because of that, I could have never lived with myself. You can't tell me you don't understand that."

Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose and decided to cede this particular battle. Maddening, stubborn woman.

“Fine. I accept.”

“What?”

"I accept that you did what you had to do. That you thought you had to handle it alone. I accept why you left then." He stepped closer to her and she unconsciously took a step back, nearly flush with her front door. "But why are you leaving now?"

"This again..." she sighed wearily. "Aaron, I told you. I can't stay here anymore."

"And why is that?"

He watched her nostrils flare in indignation. "Fuck, because I can't! I can't pretend anymore, I won't do it. I came back expecting my life to go back to normal. Except it isn't normal. It isn’t even my life anymore. I'm like a fucking spectator, watching everyone move on while I can’t. "

The implication — accusation — was clear, and the guilt struck hard and low in his gut. Her only mistake was thinking that he had ever really moved on.

"I'm sorry," his voice shifted to quiet contriteness. "I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me. It hurt too much to be around you. And you seemed...okay. So I convinced myself you were."

She said nothing for a while, her arms wrapping around her middle defensively. "It's okay. It wasn't your job to take care of me. You've already done more—"

"Emily, why don't you get it?" The frustration pierced through once more, coming out more desperate than anything else.

"Get what?!" she rose to his pitch.

"You're supposed to depend on me. We’re supposed to depend on each other. I know you're strong, you're so fucking strong sweetheart, but I get to take care of you sometimes too. Fuck, how are we supposed to spend the rest of our lives together if you can’t trust me enough to do that?”

She sucked in a sharp breath and her entire body, even the air around them, shifted. “Spend the rest of our lives together?”

“Of course. I thought that was fairly obvious.”

She glared at him. “It really wasn't."

“Oh. My apologies.” He stepped closer to her. “Consider this your notice then.”

He caught the way her lips turned up for a split second before she remembered herself, wanting to hold onto her heated temper for a little longer. “Where’s Beth?”

“At home, I suspect.”

“I already told Easter I’d take the job.” Her voice was just a whisper now, devoid of almost all conviction.

“What, like 2 hours ago? Call him back, Emily.”

He was looming over her, barely an inch of space between them, their eyes locked onto each other. It was a different kind of battle, the kind where victory only came when neither side backed down.

Finally — “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I'll call him back."

There wasn't an adequate word to describe the relief he felt at those five words. Every inch of him ached to touch her, but he held onto his patience for a few more seconds, bending his head towards her and whispering, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Her eyes were closed in anticipation. "What question?" she breathed.

"Were you telling me the truth? When you said you love me?"

"Don't be an idiot. Of course I was." And she pushed up on her toes and closed the gap between them.

It felt like coming home. There were still discussions to be had and arguments to be fought as they re-learned and re-trusted. But, for now, the familiar taste of her warmed every particle in his body until he was practically vibrating with want. It was desperate and urgent, their lips and teeth and tongues clashing and biting and invading. His hands roamed the entirety of her, a need to ensure that she was really here this time. She clung to him just as tightly, pressing into him until he could feel her heart hammering away in her chest.

When they pulled apart, both gasping for the air that had escaped their lungs, he touched his forehead to hers. "In case this wasn't obvious either...I’ve never stopped loving you."

[tinyboxxtink]

"Doppelganger" *Part 5*

See ya'll i'm so sorry this took so long!!!! Warning for this chapter is SMUT, and it's....I mean, really technically Rafael? Also no I didn't go the "full" rape route, the trauma is gonna happen in the next chapter.

Oh yeah also warning this is gonna get darker before it gets happier. Be prepared.

Tag List

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@gibbs274

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@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

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@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

Part 4

Part 6

------

Rafael paced in front of the student theater, dialing your number over and over again. He could hear it ringing over the phone, but-- was that your ringtone?

He stared at the doorway to the lobby where Javi and Gabi were still standing, Gabi’s purse was lit up. She finally noticed it and picked it out of her purse. Her eyes grew wide with shock and as she looked up to see Rafael had caught her, they went wide with fear.

“We gotta go,” Gabi grabbed Javi by the sleeve. “NOW,”

Rafael ran around the side of the building as fast as he could. He may have been getting up there in age, but when he was determined he could do anything. And he was determined to find out why Gabi had your phone. He met them at the side door as they were coming out.

“WHY do you have Y/N’s phone? Is she--is she even in there?” His face grew white as he slowly put together what was happening.

“I...Um...Well--” Gabi was shit at lying.

“DON’T give me that bullshit, ‘Gabi’,,” Rafael scoffed. “I KNEW you were trouble, god dammit I KNEW it!!” He made fists like he wanted to strangle her.

“Yeah well luckily your girl isn’t as intuitive,” Gabi chuckled.

“You stupid--” He lunged for her, he didn’t care if she was a woman she had you somewhere-- she had you TAKEN somewhere.

“Whoa whoa whoa there abogado, take it easy,” Javi stepped in between the two of them to protect Gabi. “Your girl is in no danger, I promise you that,”

“...Yet,” Gabi muttered with a smile.

“I swear to GOD--” Rafael tried for her again. “If anything happens to her I’ll--”

“You'll what?” Javi was now smirking. “Please, tell me you big bad abogado, tell me what you and your snarky words are gonna do against Nevada’s men and guns?”

“Nevada?” Rafael fell backwards, he felt sick to his stomach. Nevada had you; the most dangerous, notorious, ruthless Drug Kingpin in New York had YOU.

“What does Nevada want with my fiancé?!”

“Obviously to get you to do something, cabron,” Javi pointed out.

“Do what?! I have absolutely nothing he needs!” Rafael shook his hands.

“Let’s just say you and him have a common denominator that he just discovered, and he’d like to exploit that,” Javi smirked.

“Damn Javi, turning me on with that book speak,” Gabi licked her lips seductively.

“I go to night school,” He grinned at her.

“Yeah I’m sure, to mop the hallways,” Rafael rolled his eyes, making Javi punch him in the gut.

“All you need to know is that Nevada has your girl, and if you go to ANY of your cop friends, he’ll know. And he’ll kill her, right on the spot. Trust me Nevada has zero patience cabron, I wouldn’t test him,” He warned Rafael while he was doubled over in pain.

“....And then what?” He stood up, rubbing his stomach.

“And wait for a call from him. I’m sure it’ll be soon,” Javi assured Rafael.

“Yeah after he’s done with her,” Gabi smirked.

“Oh my-- NO. NO You can’t let him--” Rafael began to panic, begging them not to let anything...traumatic happen to you.

“Don’t worry abogado, I’m sure Nevada will take good care of her,” Javi smirked as he punched Rafael in the stomach one last time, leaving him gasping for breath as they made a getaway.

-------

Meanwhile

The limo pulled up in front of the Ritz Carlton. “Rafael” got out first and then took your hand and helped you out of the car. You just stared wide and starry eyed as you walked into the lobby. You had never seen a place so beautiful, so elegant. You never had money to travel ANYWHERE-- you knew your small town in Jersey, and New York City. That’s it. And you’d never stayed in a hotel, let alone a luxurious one.

“Rafa….Wha…Why are we here?” You looked at him with starry eyes.

“....I just thought we’d celebrate the end of your semester, mi amor,” “Rafael” smiled, rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb.

“You’re too good to me,” You kissed him, and he once again took it to a whole other level. You’d never seen him this aggressive, you’d never kissed him like this. It was...off.

“Never, carino,” He shook his head as he broke the kiss and took your hand in his as he led you to the front desk.

-----

After checking in, you found yourself walking into the Penthouse Suite of the Ritz Carlton, something you’d never thought you’d be able to say.

“Oh my god, it’s so beautiful!!!” You clapped your hands together and bounced up and down as you immediately started to explore the room.

“Rafael” had to admit, he was a little amused by your excitement over things he’d gotten used to. But this was no pleasure trip, it was strictly business. He needed leverage on that abogado and you were going to give it to him. He marched over to you before you could head into the bathroom to check out the spa. He grabbed you and threw you on the bed aggressively, lust in his eyes.

“Well, somebody wants to get down to business,” You growled seductively.

“You read my mind, Carino,” “Rafael” smirked. “Ah but… first,” He walked over to the overnight bag he had brought and pulled out handcuffs, and a blindfold.

“Um, Raffi--” You nervously giggled. “We’ve um, you’ve never--”

“I thought we might try something a little different tonight, carino,” He licked his lips as he inched towards you, like a cheetah stalking its prey.

“Well, I-- I guess--” You stammered, staring at the objects in his hand. You had never been so...adventurous with anyone, let alone Rafael. “Rafael” could tell you were more than a little nervous, but he needed to get that blindfold on you. He may have Rafael’s face, but their bodies were more than a tad different. “Rafael” had tattoos on his wrists, and more than a few scars from various assentation attempts and fights. He needed to turn this up.

“Please,” He gave you his sweetest puppy dog pout eyes, before beginning to nibble on your earlobe. He had never done that before, but you were quickly learning it might be your new favorite spot. Time stopped moving, your mind turned off, all you could feel was pleasure as you felt his tongue in your ear, his teeth on the lobe.

“Whatever you want,” You sighed, not knowing what you were allowing.

“That’s exactly what I’d hoped you would say…” He growled as he tied the sash blindfold around your face, pulling it tight. You couldn’t see anything, you were completely at his mercy.

“Rafa….?” You called out to make sure he was still there, as if he would have just blindfolded you and ran out of the room.

“Yes, amante?” You heard his husky voice behind you as you felt your arms being fastened to either side of the headboard.

“Rafael I don’t know about this--” You bit your lip nervously.

“Shut up and let me work,” He barked, making you wince.

“...What?” You could swear that the voice was different from normal, something about it was more...dark.

“I mean, I thought we’d try...role playing, y’know where I’m a dominant asshole, and you’re my prisoner,” His tone suddenly went back to loving and soft, as he laid a tender hand on your bare stomach,

“Oh I-- I didn’t know you were into that,” You nervously replied.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Y/N,” You heard the husk again. “But you’ll learn tonight,”

You could hear him getting undressed, and then undressing you. Something about it seemed so...wrong. And real.

“Rafa--”

“DON’T call me that,” He growled. “I’m not Rafa anymore, I’m Vada,”

“....Vada?”

“Uh yeah, like-- like Darth Vada,” He joked, making a thick New York Accent saying “Vader”.

“Um, ok ‘Vada’, I don’t think I like--” Before you could protest anymore, Vada’s mouth was on yours in a hungry animalistic kiss. His hands began exploring your body, pulling and prodding every inch of you. Everything was heightened by the darkness of the blindfold, and it was exquisite. His mouth travelled south, biting and kissing every inch of you on the way down. You writhed in pleasure while strapped to the bed, you knew your arms were going to be sore tomorrow.

“Now, be a good little whore and don’t make a SOUND while daddy works, or you’re going to get punished,” You heard the husky voice commanding you.

“A good little what now?” You asked defensively, he had never talked to you this way-- and you weren’t sure you liked it. No matter who he “was.”

“I said QUIET,” The voice grew more cruel, but two fingers went inside you giving you instant absolute pleasure it was impossible to be mad. His digits roamed around inside you like he was digging for treasure. He hit every inch of your walls, flicking your clit harder and harder until you were practically vibrating off the bed. You began to scream, but you felt his mouth over yours before you could.

“WHAT did I say, puta?” The voice barked. “Not a SOUND,”

You usually loved hearing spanish coming out of his mouth, but ‘puta’ didn’t sound like a term of endearment.

“S-Sorry,” You stammered, as he continued to work. He slipped his fingers out and replaced them with his mouth. His oral skills had improved massively in a surprising amount of time, but you weren’t exactly wondering why. His tongue lapped you up like a dog drinking water, he sucked on your clit like it was a lollipop You bucked and spasmed under his mouth, this time biting back screams like hell, it was almost painful.

“Now, mi puta, are you going to come for me?”

“Y-Y-es,”

“NO! You’re NOT,” suddenly everything stopped. There were no more fingers, tongues, nothing going on downstairs, except for a now exceedingly excruciating pain throbbing from your clit-- is this what blue balling felt like?

“Please,” You whimpered, the pain was tormenting. Little did you know, Vada was enjoying every second of your suffering. It was one of his favorite things, watching powerless victims writhe in pain under his god like tongue.

“No, you’re gonna wait for ME,” All of a sudden you felt his dick inside you, pounding you like a rock. He wasn’t his usual, gentle self. He was pulling in and out of you like a jackhammer, and you loved every second of it.

“Now, mi vida,” He whispered as he continued to thrust in and out of you. “Now, you may scream my name,”

“RAFAAEELLLLLL!!!” You screamed at the top of your lungs as the most powerful orgasm you’ve ever had in your entire life came crashing over you like a tsunami. Suddenly you felt a slap to the side of your face.

“That’s NOT my name!!!” He yelled while he slapped you across the face as he violently shook inside you, the rage seemed to send him over the edge. He pulled out of you and sprayed his white manhood all over your face.

Everything was still and silent for a moment, both of you recovering from the events. It took you several minutes for you to drift back into your body, but when you did-- you realized what he had said. And you also realized you were covered in sticky white cum.

“Ew, Rafa why--” You made a face, trying to shake it off.

“I wanna see you lick it off. Lick off your face like a dirty whore,” The husky voice commanded you.

“Okay it was fun and all, and probably the best sex we’ve ever had, but enough’s enough,” You were starting to get annoyed with the whole “dominatrix” thing.

“....What did you just say?”

“...Yes, fine, okay I guess I’m kinkier than I thought. Because baby that was THE best sex we’ve ever had...maybe in my life,” You giggled.

“Oh,” You could hear a dark, evil chuckle. “Oh carino, you have no idea how happy that makes me to hear you say that,”

“...Why?” You were starting to get really freaked out. You felt the blindfold come off, but you were still bound to the bed. Your eyes took a minute to get used to the light, but when your vision finally focused you saw Rafael--- with arm tattoos?

“....Because I’m not Rafael,” He grinned wickedly.

[outrebanx]

don’t feel (2)

JJ Maybank x female reader

Masterlist

Part one // -- // Part three // Part four

Summary: A week after the last incident with your parents, you’re invited to a kegger with your friends, and unsurprisingly a fight breaks out (literally an awful chapter summary but my brain is mush so you’re gonna have to deal with it)

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: mentions of abuse, actual abuse, fighting, swearing, (highkey haven’t read through so definitely mistakes)

——- I am in no way romanticising abuse if you have any issues with my writing pls message me

A/N: thank you all for the great response to the first part 🥺 🥰 im not 100% sure how many parts there will be because that involves being organised but anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter :)) (also i promise the next chapter will actually have more JJ in it) and I originally wasn’t gonna spend much time writing before the keg but I got carried away so sorry

“Y/N!” You heard from behind you, turning around you’re met with the smiling face of Topper Thornton running up to you.

“Hey T,” you smiled at him, “You good?”

“Yep, um I was wondering are you free tonight?” He asked, you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Depends on why you’re asking.”

“There’s a kegger at the boneyard tonight and we haven’t spent time together in ages, Kelce wants you to go as well.” He tries to widen his eyes in a pleading manner.

“We haven’t spent time together because you’re always with Rafe now, and you know how I feel about him Topper.”

You turn to walk away, but he catches your arm, “I know, but Rafe won’t be there tonight, it’ll just be like old times, please Y/N.”

You consider his offer for a moment, “He really won’t be there?”

“Nope I promise.”

“Fine. I always like a kegger and you better not break that promise T, or it’ll never be like old times again.”

“Yes ma’am.” He salutes you, you roll your eyes at him, trying to hide your smile.

“See you later then.” You give him a small wave and continue heading to your car.

You, Topper and Kelce grew up thick as thieves and they still held a special place in your heart, but ever since they started hanging out with Rafe you’d grown apart. At first you were always invited to hang with them when they were with Rafe, but it didn’t take long for him to start to creep you out - not only by how he looked at you, but also because when he got angry at something he reminded you of your parents, and you never wanted to hang around someone like that. In truth you did miss them, but your mental health was bad enough without another person like that in your life, so you made other friends, not that you liked them as much.

The drive back to your house was nice, the idea you were seeing your friends again made you feel more relaxed than you had in a while, that was until your house came into view, both your parents’ cars sitting on the drive.

It had been a week since the last incident, and life felt suspiciously normal, you knew it was too good to be true though, your parents always acted like they were sorry after hurting you or Grace, then they would still hurt you again. It was a cycle you hated, but not one you could escape easily.

Obviously you couldn’t ask them to go out tonight so once again you were going to risk sneaking out and hoping for the best.

You took a deep breath and got out of your car, heading towards the door, bracing for the possibility your parents might be in bad moods.

Opening the door, you were met with silence, maybe your mum was already passed out from drinking on the sofa or something, but you were sure as hell going to take advantage of it. You crept through the hallway towards the stairs, checking your dad wasn’t in the kitchen, a sense of relief coming through you when you saw he wasn’t, and made your way up to your room.

You fall onto your bed, sighing and looking at the marks on the ceiling. You must have been tired enough to fall asleep, as the next thing you knew there was a soft knock at your door, rousing you from the calm state you were in, “Y/N,” you heard Grace whisper as her head came around the door.

You lifted your head to smile at her, “Hi.”

When she didn’t answer you sat up properly, taking in her appearance, her eyes were red and puffy, her body slightly hunched over, and her lips quivered. Realisation as to what had happened dawned on you, your heart sinking, “Hey come here,” you opened your arms for her.

Without hesitating she moved into your embrace, your arms sliding around her slim frame, pulling her in even closer when you felt the tears on your shoulder.

You stayed like that, rubbing circles on her back with one of your hands until her tears began to subside, when this happened you pulled back slightly, trying to meet her eyes, “Where?” You asked.

She pointed to her ankles, where they were already swollen and bruising.

You stood up, going to the draw you kept supplies for situations like this and pulled out a cream for the swelling and some bandages to try and support the injury.

You began working on it, “What happened Grace?”

She breathed in, sniffling slightly, “I was getting a drink and Mum asked me to get her some wine,” you clenched your jaw, trying to keep your mouth shut until she finished, “and I went to but she had obviously drank a lot already, so even finishing the bottle there wasn’t much in the glass. And when I gave it to her she thought-“ she hiccuped as the tears began falling again, “she thought I was trying to control how much she drank and she pushed me to the floor, and um I think I twisted my ankle on my way down.”

You couldn’t help but seethe with anger, how dare they hurt her, every time it happened, especially when you weren’t in the house, you couldn’t help but hate your parents - they were awful people who you wished would die sometimes, however bad that thought was to have.

“I’m going to kill them.” You stood up quickly, ready to go downstairs and fight your mum, or dad, hell even both of them.

Grace grabbed your hand, “No you won’t.”

You looked at her, the pain in her eyes making you realise she needed you, “I’m sorry, I just hate them so much, especially when they hurt you when I’m not around.”

“Y/N, I know - this is how I feel when they hurt you.”

“Yeah but I’m the older sister, I’m meant to protect you.”

You sank down next to her on the bed, taking her hand, “I’m meant to protect you Grace.”

She leant into your shoulder, “I love you Y/N but you can’t always protect me.”

Closing your eyes you kiss her hair, “I can try, and I love you too.”

You lay on your bed together, using each other’s presence as a comfort until your phone go off, you grab it and see a message from Topper light up your screen:

T - I’m on my way to pick you up please be ready

“Shit I forgot about that”

Your sister sits up to look at you, “What?”

“I said I’d go to a kegger with Topper earlier, obviously I’m not now.”

“Um yes you are.”

“No I’m not, I’m going to stay with you.”

“No,” your sister gave you a hard look, “Our parents ruin so much of our lives at the moment, you’re going to go have fun, even if I have to push you out the window myself.”

You smile at how stubborn she is, “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely, now lets get you ready for Topper.” She says teasingly.

You roll your eyes at her comment, she knows full well you don’t see Topper as anything more than a friend, and she’s always loved to tease you about it.

You end up wearing a small black skirt and a crop top with some red lipstick, ready in time for the next text Topper sent you saying he was at the end of your drive.

“Okay,” you turn to face your sister, “are you sure you’re okay with me going?”

“Yes, now please go.”

“Fine,” you kiss her on her head, and give her a small wave as you climb out your window.

Once you’re in Topper’s car, Kelce jokingly wolf whistling at you, your only response to smile and stick your middle finger up at him.

“It’s been so long since you’ve drank with us I bet your tolerance is shit now Y/N.” Topper smiles from where he’s turned to look at you.

“In your dreams T, I know I could still drink you under the table.” You laugh, sticking out your tongue at him so he could see in the drivers mirror.

By the time you arrived at the boneyard, there were already lots of drunk teenagers stumbling around on the beach, clearly enjoying their night.

Topper clapped his hands together, “Right, let’s have some fun.”

The three of you made your way towards the keg, which tonight was manned by Kiara and JJ, you gave a quick smile to Kie when she handed you your drink, then you looked up at JJ. You had felt his eyes on you as you interacted with Kiara, but only looked at him then, you stared into his blue eyes for what seemed like ages, until Topper took your arm and guided you to where Kelce was sat by the fire.

“How did your exams go then guys?” You asked once you’d sat down.

“Really? We’re at a kegger and you’re asking about exams? You really need to get out more Y/N.” Kelce laughed, nudging your leg with his.

“Fine, what do you want to talk about?”

“Not that.” Topper smirks at you, tossing a coin into your cup.

“Fuck you.” You say before you down the bitter liquid, “Now I’ve got to get another one dipshit.”

As you stand you playfully shove him off the log he’s sat on, and head back towards the keg to get a drink.

This time Kie wasn’t there, only JJ, who you could tell was looking at you as you made your way towards him.

“Uh can I have a refill please?” You hand your red cup to him.

“Wow a kook with manners, that’s almost unheard of.” He smirks at you.

“Unlike the rest of the kooks, you haven’t done anything to make me hate you, yet - so I’ll be nice for now.” You give him a smile and go to reach for your cup, only for him to move it out of your reach, giving you a look you couldn’t decipher.

“What’s your name? I don’t see you around often.”

“Y/N Y/L/N, now can I have my drink?” You say, reaching towards it again.

Before he can say anything else, you hear Topper’s voice from behind you, “Y/N, is this dirty pogue bothering you?”

You can’t help but feel the dread in your stomach, whenever words like that are said there is almost always a fight, and you hate it.

You swivel to look at Topper, “No he’s not, I was just getting a drink,” you try to manoeuvre him away from JJ, not that it was easy, especially when JJ started speaking.

“You know, Topper,” he sneered his name, “she’s her own person you shouldn’t be such a controlling bastard towards her.”

You turned to glare at JJ, but he only grinned at you.

Topper let out something almost like a growl and tackled JJ to the floor.

“For fucks sake, Topper get off him!” You shouted, ready to try and get him off of JJ.

That was until, your head felt like it had been run over by a car, a splitting headache already forming, you looked down to where JJ was being repeatedly punched on the face by Topper, his nose bleeding, and his eyes already beginning to swell up.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. No way is he your soulmate - as far as you know you’ve got nothing in common? And everyone you know hates him, especially because of the fights he gets in. You can feel the stress and tears begin to build at the thought of a life with someone who seemed like he enjoyed fighting, you won’t survive that sort of relationship. Not with how your parents have treated you.

You tried recovering yourself, deep breaths in and out, blocking out the cheers for the fight around you, blocking out the pain in your face as JJ got punched again. And once you’d stopped shaking, you reached forward to try and get Topper off of JJ, for both your sakes apparently.

“Topper! Get the fuck off of him!” You shouted, but as you tried to wrap your arms around him to drag him off, he didn’t move, he was too invested in the fight, not even hearing you apparently - because of this he must have thought you were one of JJ’s friends trying to get him off, so without looking at you, Topper elbowed you in the gut, hard enough you staggered back in pain.

JJ seemed to register the pain you felt, his eyes wide as he looked at you, blood covering his face, but it gave him enough strength to push Topper off of him, and he made his way to you, worry somehow etched on his face even if he was much worse off than you.

Topper seemed to see where JJ was heading, and seeing you bent over, holding your stomach in pain made him realise that he’d hurt you, he pushed past JJ and knelt in front of you.

“Holy shit I’m so sorry Y/N.” His hands were on your cheeks, but you felt nothing, nothing except the tears that now escaped from your eyes.

You removed yourself from his touch, “Don’t fucking come near me Topper.”

You stood up, turning in the sand and began heading off the beach, only to feel Topper grip your arm, “Y/N I’m sorry, please don’t be mad.”

“I said not to touch me!” You shouted, ripping your arm away from him, when you noticed the stares you were getting from other people on the beach you lowered your voice, “It didn’t matter that Rafe didn’t come tonight in the end, because you’re just as bad as him now and I don’t think we should be friends anymore.”

He stared at you wordlessly, shock and hurt written on his face - not that you cared right now, he had hurt you, maybe by accident yes, but he knew about your home life and because he lost control, you wanted to hate him and never see him again.

He let you walk off that time, passing Kelce who looked like he wanted to talk to you but instead went over to Topper.

When you got to the road you realised you’d now have to walk home, so you quickly shook the sand out of your shoes then headed down the road in the direction of your house.

It was only a minute until you got interrupted again, “Hey Y/N,” JJ shouted from where he was running to catch up with you.

God you didn’t want to deal with this tonight but he’d probably just follow you home if you didn’t talk to him.

So you turned to face him, “What?”

“Are you okay?”

“Are you?” You raised your eyebrows at him, he’d been the one to get beaten up properly after all.

“I’ve had worse.” He shrugged, then rubbed the back of his neck, looking at you shyly “but um I felt your pain which means you must’ve felt mine and you know what that means.”

“Right now it means nothing JJ, I can’t deal with this tonight so please, leave me alone.”

He could obviously see how rough you felt, you were pretty sure you were still crying, and you were tired, so tired, and falling out with topper was one thing, but also realising your fucking soulmate was JJ Maybank was just something you couldn’t handle tonight.

He raised his hands, “Okay we’ll talk about this at some point, and I am so sorry Y/N, truly.” His eyes were shining slightly, but you could tell he was being genuine.

You nodded and turned around again to head home, leaving him at the side of the road.

You weren’t sure how long the walk home took, it seemed to pass in minutes with the number of thoughts that were racing through your head, it was as if you were on autopilot, climbing the trellis with ease, not even thinking where you were putting your hands and feet.

You were so out of it, you didn’t even realise your bedroom light was on, when you hadn’t turned it on before you left, so when you climbed into your room the last thing you expected to see was your mum and dad sitting on your bed with their arms crossed, expressions of pure anger on their faces.

(feel like this isnt my best but I am enjoying writing it also there might be fluff at some point but certainly not the next chapter whoops)

Part three

Tag list: @outerbongs​ @jjaybank @bailspogue @outerbankslut @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @alexa-playafricabytoto @teamnick @k-k0129 @do-not-talk-to-me-i-am-awkward @thoughtsofthestars @http-cherries @n1ghtsh4d3-67 @thesurfingsnail @lonely-kermit @oopsiedoopsie23 @overly-b​ @lus-shh @xlittlemissydjx @asaks6082 @copper-boom @danicarosaline @deathcompass @jellyfishbeansontoast @butterfliesinthenightsky @iamaunicorn4704 @my-soul-is-the-moon @diverrdown @thorsangel @saintkore @prejudic3 (please tell me if I’ve missed someone cos I’m dumb and it’s late)

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction || Pregnancy [MafiaAU]

WARNINGS: Mentions death,  murder, mafia tendencies please do not read  it if you’re uncomfortable with those

Seokjin:

This couldn't be happening to you, you were almost out of there and ready to leave but no. You had to go and get pregnant with his child, didn't you. You stared down at the pregnancy test in your hand, you'd been feeling sick for weeks but thought nothing of it until you realised that you hadn't come on your period but you decided this wasn't going to stop you escaping. You threw the test into the bin and came out of the bathroom in the service station and finding the guard, Jimin, that was helping you escape from Jin, Jimin promised you he'd get you as far away as possible before the ankle bracelet that was attached to you was going to send a signal to Jin alerting him you were going too far from the boundaries he set. Jin was very protective over you, always wanted to make sure you were safe at all times, but he wasn't always like that. The relationship started out nice and you would have a great time together, always on romantic dates and such but it all changed when he showed you the real him, he was part of some Mafia deal, he was quite high up which meant you were in more danger than you knew and you couldn't trust anyone.

"It's a tracker, so I'll take it off with a knife to make it look like a botched job and drop it in one of my bags and say I had no idea. You have to keep going until you're as far away as possible or with people who will protect you." He said as you walked out of the service station and over to the car he'd been driving you around it. He'd already gotten a get-away car ready at the next station for you and you were nervous about it.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you for this Jimin." You said as he started up the engine to the car and turned to look at you.

"You can pay me back by staying hidden," You nodded in agreement and you began to drive off with him, he pulled out onto the motorway and you stared out of the window, how you were going to bring up your son or daughter and stay on the run.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4 years later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimin hadn't called for his monthly check-in and you were starting to panic. He would call once a month from a payphone to check and see how everything was going with you, it started after Jin called off the manhunt for you and Jimin promised he would call once a month to tell you how he was doing and he questioned you too, you didn't tell him about your pregnancy and you didn't tell him when you gave birth to your beautiful daughter either, deciding it was best to keep him in the dark about it, but it had been a week since he was supposed to call and you were starting to worry, normally if he couldn't call it would only be a day or two but it was a week and the worst possible things were coming to your mind. Had Jimin broke down and told Jin he helped you escape, had something happened to Jimin on a mission. You weren't an idiot you knew your ex-boyfriend was involved with some dark shit and on multiple occasions, he'd brought it back into the house you shared, dead bodies around the place, or coming home covered in blood or having a torture chamber set up in your kitchen at 4 am. You shivered at the memories and then took hold of your daughter's hand, you were taking her to a playgroup you'd been going to for the last month, she was excited to see her friends and you were excited to be out of the studio apartment you were renting for however long you were staying in that city for. You never stayed in one place for too long, it was too easy for Jin to find you, even if he said he had called off the search it didn't mean he wasn't still looking for you on the sly.

"You look exhausted." One of the mums said as you sat down next to her on a bench, your daughter ran off to play with one of her friends and you smiled at the new woman.

"I am, she's a full-time job." You joked watching your daughter with a careful eye.

"How old is she?" You looked back at the woman and relaxed a little once you saw your daughter catching up to her friends on the climbing frame.

"Four years and three months." You said with a bright smile, as much as you didn't like Jin you weren't going to say you regretted your daughter because she was the best thing that ever happened to you.

"So sweet, she looks just like you." The woman mentioned as your daughter came rushing over with a scratch on her elbow, you gave it a magical kiss and she was rushing off again.

"She gets her looks from her dad, I think I just provided the brains." You joked trying to make the situation a little lighter.

(X)

You tucked your daughter in once she was asleep and kissed her on top of the head.

"Goodnight beautiful," You whispered to her, leaving the small bedroom and hitting the night light on the way out of the room and quietly shutting the door. You walked into the kitchen and began to make yourself a drink while routinely checking your phone in case Jimin had called and you'd missed it but it was blank. The lights flickered and you groaned, you'd been complaining to the landlord since you moved in and he still hadn't come to fix it.

"Fuck sake." You grumbled as the lights all kicked out, you put your hand along the wall trying to find your way around when you heard something smash against the floor,

"Mum?" You heard your daughter call out

"I'm coming, sweetie." You said to her as you made your way over, trying not to step in whatever it was you'd broken you were about to walk into her bedroom when an arm pulled you away and you screamed out, a hand slapped over your mouth and you felt someone breathing in your ear.

"Shh, you're safe, I won't let you go." You knew the voice instantly that it was Jin, you kicked back against him and sprinted into your daughter's room to see her sitting there with Jimin who had a black eye, the lights came on and Jin clapped his hands behind you.

"Took four years but here we are, happy families." He wrapped his arm around your waist and you swallowed the lump in your throat, you knew this wasn't going to end well and you had no choice but to go back with him.

"I have her room sorted back home, she'll love it." You nodded in agreement, you knew better than to disagree with Jin when he had his mindset on something.

"I'm sure you'll love your room too." He said to you, leaving a kiss on your cheek and going to greet his daughter, Jimin just avoided your gaze, you didn't hold anything against him though. You knew what Jin was like when he wanted to get his way.

Yoongi:

You stared down at your sleeping son and smiled, he looked so peaceful when he slept but rest assured when he was awake he was a trouble maker.

"Tickets?" You handed the train conductor your tickets and then stared out of the window thinking of your life before this before you were on the run from your ex-boyfriend. Min Yoongi, everyone knew that name it was a household name where you came from. One of the biggest Mafia leaders in Seoul, you knew what you were getting into when you first started dating Yoongi, you knew him as everyone else did but he wasn't the cold-blooded killer than everyone made him out to be, sure he'd killed people but only when he couldn't help it. He wouldn't order anyone dead unless it was absolutely necessary and he wasn't that mean man that everyone made him out to be either, they made him sound like a monster. Always saying he was nasty to everyone he met and whoever was dating him must be in the worst relationship but it was far from true. He was the sweetest teddy bear when it came to you, always doing whatever you wanted to do, never bringing home any of the stresses from work and taking care of you. Sure it was strange at first but you got used to it and it was nice having someone look after you, rather than you always looking after someone else. But when you found out you were pregnant everything changed, you didn't tell Yoongi...You didn't know how to tell him, you didn't think he ever wanted kids so you decided it was best to end things. No one would know about the pregnancy, no one could use you or the baby against him if it came down to it. You'd already been threatened by other Mafia parties, it wasn't uncommon for that to happen but you didn't want your child growing up fearing everything you did, so you left. You told Yoongi it was because you'd fallen out of love with him but of course that wasn't true, you loved him more than words could express but you couldn't raise a child like that. Yoongi let you leave, telling you he would leave you alone but he didn't mean it, you didn't know but you were under constant supervision by a guard you'd never met before, your phone was tapped so he could track what you were doing and where you were going. He was going to leave you alone when the guard reported back to him about you going to the hospital all the time and he grew curious as to what was happening, so he ordered the guard stay with you and report back when there was new news for him.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" You turned around to see a man sitting opposite you on the train, you nodded and took the tissue he was handing out for you, you'd been silently crying at the memory of Yoongi. It had been a year since you left Yoongi, making your son three months old and there wasn't a day that went by when you didn't wonder why Yoongi was doing and if he'd found someone else.

"He's adorable, how old is he?" You looked at the man again who was reading a newspaper, you smiled at him and then stared down at your son who was now awake, you picked him up and laid him in your arms.

"Three months." You said back to the man bouncing your son in your arms and giggling as he smiled up at you, you booped his nose.

"What's his name?" You looked up at the man again and then back to your son,

"Yoongi." You whispered running your thumb over his chubby cheek and then gently squeezing it, the train was slowing down to a stop and you knew you had to get off but if you put your son down now he would start screaming.

"This is my stop too, let me help." The man said to you, taking the car seat that was sitting beside you and helping you off the train, you smiled at him as he took the pushchair from the holding rack.

"Thank you," You said to him, laying Yoongi down in his pram and then looking around, you had to catch a cab and go further out of town to get to your apartment. You wanted to stay hidden away in case any of Min Yoongi's enemies decided to follow you out.

"Goodbye Yoongi, goodbye ma'am." The man left and you walked off to find a taxi.

(X)

Your son was finally asleep after screaming for an hour and you thanked the heavens you didn't have a neighbour, they would be complaining about him screaming at his ungodly hour. You shivered as you left the window open, going over to close it you noticed a car parked on the street, maybe the landlord had rented out the house across from yours which was unlikely because no one wanted to live this far out from town because it was too much of a trip to get into town every day. You shut the window and locked it, going over to the living room and starting to clean up the toys that were on the floor.

"Does he sleep through the night?" You screamed dropping the toys you'd collected onto the floor, one of them sending out a blaring siren noise, you looked up to see Yoongi standing in the doorway to your Son's bedroom and your living room, you nodded and walked over towards him, peering in on your son who was still sound asleep.

"Takes after his dad, heavy sleeper." You whispered, shutting the door and walking with Yoongi over to the kitchen, you didn't know how to act around him, he'd clearly known about the pregnancy for a while because he didn't seem shocked about seeing his son.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He questioned as you started making you both a cup of coffee, you shrugged your shoulders.

"I didn't want anyone to use us against you, I wanted to protect you from being worried all the time...You were already worried about me, I didn't want to throw a baby into the mix." You admitted, he leant against the kitchen island and you stared at him, dressed in his usual black suit and white shirt, he looked irresistible.

"I missed you...every day." You whispered to him, he looked up at you and then smirked.

"I missed you too, but I had someone watching over you." You sniggered.

"I figured that's why you didn't freak out about Mini Yoongi." You said sliding him his cup of coffee, not trusting yourself to get too close to him in case you couldn't stop yourself from hugging him.

"Can I convince you to come back?" He questioned, looking up from the liquid in the mug to your face.

"Yoongi...What about everyone after you?" He shook his head, taking your hands in his, the cup of coffee abandoned on the island counter.

"I'll make sure we're all protected, you don't have to protect me...I protect you remember?" You nodded, you did miss having him around all of the time, being able to be with the love of your life and raise your son did sound like the best idea.

"We can try it." You said to him, his hands moved from yours and up to your cheeks, cupping your face and looking into your eyes, they had the usual sparkle behind them and you kissed his lips, feeling relaxed instantaneously.

Hoseok:

Everyone had Jung Hoseok pinned as the sweetest boyfriend there ever could be, there wasn't a thing he could do that would make people think bad of him but that was because they didn't know the real Hoseok, they knew the bright and bubbly Hobi he let the public see, Hobi was in the public eye, owned multiple businesses and ran a lot of them, giving money to charities and giving money to the poor, not the Jung Hoseok who ran a secret underground Mafia business, that stole from banks, ran other businesses into the ground so that his could profit, killing anyone in his way and that robbed people, poor or rich. No, he only showed the sweet side to them, but you knew the real him. You had to know the real him since you were locked away in his mansion 24 hours a day and seven days a week. When you first started dating he wasn't bad, that was until someone in his office building began to flirt with you whenever you came to see him for lunch dates, something inside of him snapped and he killed him for even looking in your direction, so his Mafia side was revealed in the worst way, but he knew he couldn't go without you. So he had you move in with him, no questions asked and if you tried to question it, he would ignore you. That's why you were stuck in this situation, trying to run out on him since you had no choice, you were pregnant with his child and there was no way you were going to bring a baby up in this environment it wasn't healthy for you, never mind an infant, but it wasn't going to be simple. You needed a set plain and someone on the inside to help you which, again, wasn't going to be easy because anyone that worked for Hoseok was either scared of him or his best friend. No one could be trusted easily except for one of the guard, Yoongi. He'd shown kindness to you when you first moved into the mansion, bringing you everything from your home, even the things Hoseok said weren't needed, like your favourite books, favourite clothing items and even a phone...minus the connection to the outside world and just available for games and books, but getting him to trust you enough to just let you go was going to be hard.

(X)

"There's a hut just outside the mansion walls, hide there and I'll be there as soon as I can," Yoongi said. It had been a month since the plain was set into motion. Yoongi gained your trust after he found the pregnancy tests and brought them to you instead of reporting back to his boss and he promised he would get you out of there. Agreeing with you that it was no place to raise a child. He decided you needed to move fast before you started showing signs of your pregnancy, Hoseok wouldn't catch on and you could probably get out of the town before he realised what was going on and Yoongi would take it from there.

"I've put clothes into a bag out there, and there are some new shoes as well...I'll take you as far as I can and then I have someone on the outside that will help you get set up somewhere," Yoongi said as he opened the bedroom window with his key, there was a ledge below you would have to jump onto and then a back gate that Yoongi had given you a key for.

"See you soon." You said to him, he shut and locked the window watching you as you sprinted for the back gate, he didn't move until the gate was shut again and you were in the clear.

Yoongi hadn't shown up and it had been two hours since you got out of the mansion, you were starting to worry when you heard the door creak, you were going to come out and see Yoongi when you noticed the door slam shut and lock. It wasn't Yoongi.

"Princess." You bit down on your lip and came out from the shadows to see Hoseok standing there, he was still dressed in his usual work suit.

"What are you doing out here?" You didn't want to drop Yoongi into any trouble, so you thought on your feet.

"I came for a walk, it's in the Mansion area." You said trying to act as innocent as possible, you knew it wasn't in the area you were allowed in but you had to try and be as nice as possible.

"Is that why your clothes and tracker are in the corner and Yoongi is back in my office telling me the whole plain." You looked over at the window, you could make a run for it.

"You won't get far, I have the place surrounded." He said as if he could read your mind, you looked down at your stomach, laying your hand across it.

"You can't leave me, you couldn't live without me doll," He said coming closer to you and laying his hand over your stomach.

"Our little one needs both of their parents with them." You gulped as you walked out of the hut together and back to the mansion, maybe he was turning over a new leaf. He was never, ever, abusive or mean towards you it was just his lifestyle you didn't agree with, the killing, the torture, it was something you couldn't stand and didn't want to bring a child up around.

"H-Hoseok you have to stop killing." You whispered to him, gaining a little confidence as you walked towards the mansion, it wasn't that you didn't love Hoseok you did, just not his Mafia side of him.

"I do what I want sweetheart and no one can tell me otherwise." You nodded not wanting to push it anymore than you already had. You'd pushed him enough for one night, but you needed to get through to him that you didn't want your child growing up around something like this, and that they needed a stable home environment instead of the one he was providing. You also needed to find a way for him not to hurt Yoongi for helping you to try and escape.

Namjoon:

You knew you were pregnant the moment you woke up and felt sick, your head was spinning and your boobs were sore. Luckily Namjoon was still asleep so you were able to slip out of the house and head to a local pharmacy to get a test for yourself, taking it in the store not wanting to go home and risk one of the guards or Namjoon himself seeing it.

'Pregnant' with a small smiley face staring back at you as if it was a good thing this was happening to you. You shook your head throwing the test into the bin and then looking at yourself in the mirror. You loved Namjoon, you loved him more than you could ever express but you weren't ready for a baby, he wasn't ready for a baby. He was busy running his own Mafia, they were like children to him and it took up a lot of his time. You came out of the bathroom and let the male that was waiting to head inside, you thanked the woman behind the counter and headed out, starting your slow walk back to the apartment you shared with Namjoon. You weren't going to tell him, you didn't know how to and you didn't want to drop something like this on him this early in the morning, and he had a meeting later today to talk about the Mafia stuff and he was always stressed about it. He never brought any of it home with him though, he would keep you out of that side of his life as much as possible but sometimes it couldn't be helped, like the time you were going home after a date and someone took you, claiming if they had you that Namjoon would come running after you to save your life, which happened and they died as a result for touching you, but Namjoon had always been upfront about his life, telling you on the first date what he was involved with and what his lifestyle was like, claiming he didn't want you to be a part of that and that he just wanted to have a happy girlfriend, but after the night you were taken you moved into his apartment without question so that he could look after you and know where you were.

(X)

You'd been cooking dinner for Namjoon all afternoon, you were trying to be sweet to him since you didn't know how the meeting he had went and you wanted him to come back to a nice environment in case it was bad. The front door burst open and you heard cheering which meant it went really well, in walked Namjoon with six of his closest men, all of which you knew by name and got along with.

"Hi, boys, dinner?" You questioned looking through the hatch in the wall to them, they all nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Jin standing in the living room and staring at a photo frame, you walked over to him,

"You hungry?" He nodded picking up the photo of you and Namjoon, you smiled at the memory, it was when you'd just moved in with Namjoon and you'd started decorating the bedroom together, both of you covered in paint and in mid-laughter when Jimin caught the photo.

"Yeah, you look happy here." You smiled taking the frame from him and putting it back onto the fireplace.

"I am happy." You went to turn away when he grabbed your wrist, you turned around and looked down at his hand, he was holding the positive pregnancy test from that morning.

"Please don't tell him." You pleaded, looking up from the test and into Jin's eyes, then to Namjoon who was in the kitchen laughing along with something one of the boys were saying.

"Oh, I'm not going to say a word." He said to you, sliding the test into your hand and tapping it.

"You're going to make me tell him aren't you?" He nodded looking over at his best friend.

"Loud and clear, with every nitty-gritty detail." You frowned, why was Jin so mad about this.

"What do you mean?" He looked down at you and scoffed.

"It's not his clearly, otherwise you would have told him." You raised an eyebrow at him about ready to smack him around the face when Namjoon began calling you over.

"Be right there." You called back your eyes not moving from Jins.

"I'll have you know Kim Seokjin that the baby is Namjoon's and the reason he hasn't been told yet is because it's early days and I want to make sure everything is okay before I drop a bombshell on him." You shoved the test into his chest and walked into the kitchen, standing up on your tip-toes to kiss Namjoon on the cheek.

"Everyone enjoy, I'm going to have a bath and have an early night. I'm not feeling great." You shoved past Jin on the way out and walked up the stairs to your shared bedroom, locking the door and heading to the en-suite to throw up.

Jimin:

The pregnancy test kept flashing the word 'pregnant' right in front of you and you were starting to lose your mind, the longer you stared at it the more you wished it would just magically change to negative, anything but this. You and Jimin were far too young to start a family right now and he was too busy with his Mafia business to deal with a baby. You threw the test into the bin and buried it under everything else so he wouldn't find it accidentally. You had to think of a way to tell him about everything but it was going to be hard, lately, he'd been acting weird towards you, always coming home later than usual. You expected the late nights considering he was a Mafia boss but what you didn't expect was coming in at 5 am and going to bed, only to wake up at 10 am and go back to work, you missed him. It wasn't always like that, in the beginning, he was sweet, would spend every minute he could with you, whenever he wasn't working he was at home with you. You even went to work with him a few times, he wanted to show you off to everyone.

"Jimin?" You questioned when you heard your bedroom door open, you looked over at the digital clock it was 6 am.

"What are you doing?" You groaned sitting up in the bed, he stayed silent so you flicked the lamp on, he was at the bottom of the bed packing up a bag,

"Business out of town?" He continued to keep silent and threw all of the clothes around the room into the bag, you frowned as he did this and then you noticed that the whole wardrobe was empty of his stuff.

"Jimin?" You got out of the bed getting up and looking him in the eyes, he stared down at you emotionless and then over at the door.

"I have a car waiting." You frowned and pulled at his hands, trying to get him to stay where he was.

"You're leaving me?" You were close to tears, he snapped his arm away from your grasp and put the suitcase onto the floor.

"You always said 'you can never trust anyone to stay.'" You shook your head at him, why was he bringing that up. You'd been dating for three years, you said that back when you first started dating and it was different now, you trusted Jimin with your life.

"Yeah? Well, I thought you'd be the exception." But he said nothing, he just walked out of the house, slamming the front door as you came rushing down the stairs, by the time you got the front door open he was in a car that was speeding off down the road.

"Jimin...I'm pregnant." You whispered to nothing but the dust that the car had kicked up from the road, your hand travelled down to your stomach as you rubbed it in small circles.

"Just me and you then buddy." You whispered going back into the apartment and wondering how you were going to be able to afford it now.

(X)

You moved out of the apartment you had shared with Jimin and you were living in your own smaller apartment closer to town, closer to work and closer to the daycare centre you dropped your daughter off at.

"I have to go, Gwen, say hi to David for me." You said to your boss as you left the building, starting your five-minute walk to the daycare to pick up your daughter, it was hard at first without Jimin around but once you got over the initial shock and found a new, cheaper, place to rent you got set up and began working on your new life with your daughter. That was two years ago and your life had been a lot calmer since you hadn't heard from or spoke to Jimin in over two years and you were worried at first, thinking something had happened to him but you began to get over it when you realised he probably never really cared for you.

"Hi Darcey, I'm here for my baby girl." You said to the usual worker but she stared at you with a blank expression.

"Her dad picked her up over three hours ago, said he was going to meet you and surprise you." Dad?! Her dad? You faked a dazed look before putting on one of the biggest fake smiles you could manage.

"Oh yeah, I forgot he was in town." You walked out of the building and took out your phone, ready to dial the number you'd had saved for years when it came up that he was already calling you.

"Where is she Jimin?!" You yelled down the phone searching up and down the roads for any sign of a car but there was nothing, the place was deserted.

"She's safe with me, we're at your apartment. You know you should really get better locks on your door." He murmured to you, you heard your daughter giggling down the other side of the phone and you waved down a cab, giving him the directions.

"I don't need better locks, I need to get rid of physco ex-boyfriends who think they can walk in and out of my life." You ended the call and asked the driver to speed on it, throwing more than enough money at him once you pulled up outside your apartment. You rushed inside to find your daughter sitting on the sofa and playing with a bunch of new toys.

"You think buying her toys gives you the right to come and see her?" You questioned him kneeling in front of her and looking her over, he would never hurt her but you didn't care, you wanted to make sure she was okay.

"She's fine." You ignored him and pushed him into the kitchen, shutting the door and staring at him.

"What?" He questioned staring back at you.

"So you think you can walk out on me and walk back in like nothing happened?" He reached out to take your hand in his and you slapped it away.

"I was hoping so." You scoffed at him and put your hands on your hips.

"No way, you don't get to walk out on me without rhyme or reason and walk back in because you've somehow found out about your daughter." You barked at him but he wasn't listening, he was looking at the way you held yourself. You were more confident than the last time he saw you, you knew how to handle situations for yourself now, you weren't the weak girl he left on the doorstep all those years ago.

"I want to stay this time. I left last time because you were in danger. There's no danger now." You ignored him, looking over your shoulder at your daughter who was playing with the toys he'd gotten her.

"You can stay for her sake. Not mine." You said leaving him in the kitchen and going to greet your daughter with a smile.

"Hi, beautiful." You whispered bending down and tickling her feet, causing a giant giggle to erupt from her, Jimin watched as the love of his life played along with the second love of his life, and he knew he was going to need to win you back somehow.

Taehyung:

Tae was a hacker so everyone was always looking for him, trying to find anyone close to him they could use against him. That's why you were always locked up inside his house, you weren't allowed outside unless it was under careful supervision and God forbid you ever wanted to go out with your old friends, if Taehyung knew their names he would find anything and everything he could about them and use that against you, telling you, you couldn't hang out with them because of their past or because of people they were friends with, everyone was a threat to you and him. You were stopped from seeing friends and family and you were only ever allowed out of the house if it was with him or a guard.

"Tae I feel sick, I think I need to see a doctor." You'd been sick for the last month and he'd been keeping you at home, thinking it was a way to get out but once he saw how serious things were getting he agreed to take you to a doctor.

"Well, I have some good news." The doctor said coming into your hospital room.

"Should I wait for Mr Kim to come back?" You shook your head at the doctor and she read off the charts that you were pregnant.

"Pregnant?" You questioned trying to confirm what she said and she nodded, congratulating you and walking out of the room. You glanced around and then over at the chair, your clothes were there so you grabbed them, rushing out of the room. You didn't know how long you had until Taehyung would come back so you rushed into a nurses station, changing into a nurses uniform, throwing your clothes into a bin and putting on a face mask to use to get out of the hospital. You weren't going to raise a child in that toxic environment.

(X)

It wasn't easy to get away, you couldn't use technology because Taehyung was a hacker, he could find you easily if you logged onto any social media or called someone you knew but you made it work. You were free after 10 months on the run, you gave birth in a hotel room on your own not wanting to get involved with hospitals and then you were on the run for a month. You were sitting in the new hotel room waiting for the room service when there was a knock at the door, you checked your son before going to answer it, you opened the door and Taehyung was standing there and pushed his way inside, going over to the sleeping child and looking at him.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" You kicked the door shut and watched him with a careful eye as he walked over to your son, he looked back up at you.

"I never lost you, been tracking you since you left the hospital, wanted to see how far you thought you could get." You hummed and went over to your son, running your hand over his head.

"He's cute," Tae admitted sitting down on the bed and turning his attention back to you.

"Why did you run?" You looked over at your son and then to him,

"I wasn't going to raise a child like that Tae. I made it this far, isn't that proof that I can leave the house on my own without people coming after me." You said to him, you did love him and the love was still there even after all this time.

"No, I've had to kill so many people who were coming after you, you've been in danger so many times and you're just too blind to see it." You sighed, he clearly hadn't changed since you left him.

"You have to come back with me." He said to you, you frowned was he really going to take you back just like that.

"You forgive me for running away?" You looked at your sleeping child while Tae walked over to the door, opening it and bringing in the pushchair he'd purchased on his way over.

"I don't forgive you for you, I forgive you for the sake of our baby." You bit on your lip as he went to pick up your son but you stopped him, bending down and picking him up yourself.

"I'll look after him...You can look after me, if you're going to be overprotective, I will too." You warned him walking your son over to his new pram and laying his sleeping figure down, he was clenching onto a teddy you found at a gas station.

"Like his dad, needs something to hold while he sleeps." You hummed and began pushing the chair out of the hotel, going to take care of the bill but Tae had already done it and ushered you out of the building, walking you over to a waiting black SUV and helping you inside. You had no idea if you could truly believe that people had been after you the entire time but you knew deep down it was better for you son to grow up around his dad than alone with a single struggling mother that was constantly on the run from people.

Jungkook:

You gripped onto the pregnancy test as it read out the word pregnant on the front, all the others sitting in a drawer with the same word or plus sign sitting on the front. It was clear that you were pregnant and that was a problem. Jungkook had made it very clear he didn't want kids yet, you'd had the discussion before and this happening now was going to make it look like you'd been planning to get pregnant when you hadn't.

"Fuck." You mumbled as you heard the front door open and shut, you threw the stick into the drawer and then went downstairs to greet him, he was covered in blood which meant he'd had a bad day at work. Jungkook was one of the torture people in Kim Namjoon's Mafia gang, he was used to torture people for information and he was one of the tougher ones out of the four that worked for him.

"Good day?" You quizzed going to make him a drink but getting ignored, you made him a whiskey and coke bringing it to him and leaving him to sit in silence, that's all he needed when he was in one of his moods so you rushed off, going to run him a bath and get his stuff ready for bed, you just wanted him to have a calm and relaxing night. Especially since you were going to have to ruin it with the talk of babies later on, or later in the week, depending on when you thought the best time would be to do it.

(X)

"You're the best you know that." That was the first thing he'd said to you after a week of painful silence, the house had been awkward for so long but you knew better than to push Jungkook further than he wanted things to go and you stayed in complete silence until he was gone for work then you would blast out music and get the household things done, making sure to clean everything you could you didn't want anything to upset Jungkook.

"No, you are." You whispered to him, getting snuggled under his arms and staring at the TV in front of you. He'd come home from work in a good mood and told you he wanted to cuddle and watch a movie with you, so you agreed seeing no harm in doing that.

"Are you feeling alright?" Jungkook questioned looking at the side of your head, you nodded whilst adding some popcorn into your mouth and not tearing your eyes away from the screen, it was some random horror movie he'd found and decided to put on.

"Yeah, why?" He turned your face to look at him now and he was studying your features.

"I heard you throwing up this morning, and two days ago...I thought you had a sickness bug," You swallowed hard, he either knew or he was starting to catch on that something was going off.

"I just ate something bad but I feel fine now." You lied, putting the popcorn down on the table and staring at the screen.

"That's probably a good idea to loosen up on the food, I didn't want to say anything but you're starting to put on weight." You snapped this time, it was probably the extra hormones making you overreact to the comment but you didn't care.

"How fucking dare you?! I work my ass off around this house and you call me fat?!" You screamed jumping away from his grasp and standing up on your own in front of the TV, he smirked at how cocky you were being.

"Carry on talking to me like that, I dare you." You smirked back at him.

"I very well dare, you won't fucking hurt me. You act like the big bad wolf at work and in front of the guys but around me, you're the softest piece of shit going!" You yelled he was standing up now and in front of you.

"I'm right then, looks like Namjoon owes me some money." You blinked at him.

"You are pregnant aren't you? Or are you going to deny all the pregnancy tests, the morning sickness, the weight gain and the mood swings?" You looked down at the floor, you felt sick again and it wasn't because of the baby, the way Jungkook was wording his words sounded as though he was pissed off at you.

"I told you to take the pill. If you just do what you're fucking told then we wouldn't have a problem, would we?" You nodded in agreement,

"I was taking it Kookie, it's only 98% effective." You tried to reason but he wasn't listening, he started going on the same rant he was having a few weeks ago about being too young for children, and how he didn't want to bring a child up in the work environment he was in but how he was going to have to now, no matter what.

"I'm sure he or she will be fine Kookie...They have a wonderful father." You tried to reason but he grumbled in response and you knew it was going to be another week of uncomfortable silence for you both to endure.

"I'm going to bed...Come up when you've calmed down." You whispered to him, standing up on your toes and kissing his nose, leaving the living room and heading up the stairs for bed.

Tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @yourguessisasgoodasminemate @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo​  @kpopfanfictionhoes​  

[sunfloweradoring]

the one on the late late show

masterlist

word count: 2.9k

I’d been on the Late Late Show with James Cordon many times now; I always had a great time with him and over the appearances we’d created a close friendship that he also shared with the guys - especially Harry. However, this time was different; I’d never been on the show with Harry, and I already knew what was going to take place. I was sure we’d both be subjected to a great deal of teasing from our friend, and he probably wouldn’t hold back purely because we were in front of the cameras. 

“Nervous?” Harry asked teasingly, his hip jokingly bumping into mine as we got out of his car and made our way into the studio.

“Only to be embarrassed by my boyfriend.” I replied with a giggle.

“The cheek of it!” He scoffed, gently swatting my bum as I passed him to go through the door he held open. Glancing over my shoulder I shot him a wink before stepping up to the reception desk. 

“Welcome, Miss Y/L/N and Mr Styles.” The lady smiled, her cheeks a light red shade as she looked at Harry. “Um, the other band members have already arrived; they’re in room 12.” She explained, standing up from her seat to hand Harry lanyard, which he quickly thanked her for. “And you’re in room 11.” She turned to me, holding out another lanyard with a friendly smile.

“Thank you.” I returned her smile. “I love your necklace, by the way. It’s beautiful.” I complimented, nodding my head towards her jewellery as I slipped the lanyard over my head. The receptionist’s cheeks grew a darker shade of red at the compliment. 

“Oh! My... thank you.” She replied bashfully, glancing down at the chain around her own neck as she played with the pendant between her thumb and forefinger. “It was a Christmas present from my mum last year.”

“Well, it’s lovely.” I responded, keeping my smile as Harry gently took my hand to lead me away.

“I was gonna make a joke and say look how much the receptionist fancied me, but I think I had competition.” Harry laughed once we were out of earshot. I shook my head as I let out a little laugh. 

“Shut up.” 

“Look it’s the happy couple! So nice of you to finally join us!” Both mine and Harry’s heads turned to the voice coming from our right. James emerged from behind a curtain in jeans and a polo shirt with Liam, Niall and Louis trailing behind him. 

“James!” I grinned, accepting his friendly greeting of a kiss on the cheek and a quick embrace. After hugging the other three boys in greeting, James clapped Harry on the back.

“Now, Harold, we were just running through the game to make sure everyone knows what to do for the show.” James explained, going to lead the four boys back out to the stage. 

“Game?” I asked, eyebrows furrowing. 

“Uh-” Harry glanced over his shoulder, hand awkwardly scratching the back of his head. James looked between us for a second before laughing.

“You haven’t told her?!” He almost shouted in surprise. 

“We’re gonna play a tattoo game.” Niall spoke, shaking his head with a small smile (although the smile looked to be a coverup for a great deal of nerves). I raised my eyebrows in response, looking towards my boyfriend.

“Oh Jesus.” I muttered, shaking my head. “You know what, I don’t wanna know.” I waved my hand almost in dismissal as the men in front of me laughed. 

“It’s just a ga-”

“I don’t wanna know!” I repeated, laughing, cutting Harry off before I turned to find room 11 to start getting ready for the show.

Over the next two hours, as the boys made some last minute preparations for the show, I sat in my chair with Lucy as she did my hair and makeup. A soft knock at the door cut off our giggles about something before I called out a quiet ‘come in’. James’ head poked round as his eyes scanned the room before landing on me. I smiled at him through the mirror, not wanting to move too much and mess up Lucy’s hard work.

“Hey matey.” I chuckled, watching as he came over and rested his hand on the back of my chair. 

“Everything’s all set.” He stated. “The audience are starting to arrive so I’m about to quickly change into my costume of choice. We’ll come to you first when we’re introducing the guests, that alright?” I nodded in confirmation. “Perfect, and we’ll bring you out after the boys have done their interview and before the game, yeah?”

“I’m not participating in this game, right?” I gave him a teasingly stern look through the glass. He laughed, jokingly standing back in mock fear as he raised his hands. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, miss, absolutely terrified of ya.” Lucy herself laughed at this and shook her head.

“She wouldn’t say boo to a goose.” She snorted.

“Hey!” I playfully whined, turning my head to look up at her. “Don’t be ruining my reputation, it’s the only way I can keep him in order.”

“Oh yeah, forgot about your reputation. Y/N Y/L/N, Hollywood’s most feared actress.” Lucy teased, starting to put away her hair curlers. 

“What’s this all about?” Harry’s voice spoke up, his body coming into view. My smile grew automatically at his presence as I reached out behind me with one hand making a grabby gesture. He approached, his hand slipping into mine as he delivered a gentle kiss to the back of my head. 

“Just talking about how scary your missus is.” James explained, arms crossed over his chest with a playful grin on his face. Harry let out a small cackle as he looked at his mate before turning his head and making eye contact with me through the mirror.

“What? This one?” He asked.

“No, one of your many other girlfriends.” I joked, rolling my eyes.

“Oh of course, sorry, babe. Yeah, you’re lethal, shit myself every time you look at me.”

“That’s more like it.” I nodded.

“As much as I’d love to stay and listen to this GREAT banter, I’m going to get dressed. Cameras will be here in about twenty, love.” James added, shooting me a final smile before exiting the dressing room. 

“Just going to check if anyone has any hairspray,” Lucy spoke after ruffling through one of her bags. “Scatter brain, looks like I’ve left it behind.” I nodded softly as she went out the room after Harry suggested there may be some in his dressing room. He gently pulled my chair around, standing between my legs as he looked down at me. 

“Your eyes look like they’re sparkling.” I grinned, hands holding his as I maintained eye contact. Harry’s lips curved into a smirk as he raised his eyebrows. “Are you really that in love with me?”

“You and Lucy been drinking in here or something?” He chuckled, jokingly looking around the table in front of me as if he were looking for empty bottles before ducking down and placing a quick kiss to my lips. I hummed softly in appreciation, standing up from my chair to wrap my arms loosely around his neck. His hands held my waist, eyes roaming around my face. 

“No,” I laughed gently, reaching up and slowly nuzzling my nose against his. “You just look really nice.” I complimented.

“Ooh,” Harry released a puff of air. “Now I know how the receptionist felt. Got me all flustered, Mon Cherie.”

“Mon Cherie?” I repeated, giggling. “That’s a new one.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes.” He winked, stealing another kiss from my lips. 

“You been practising your French or something?” I asked, one hand absentmindedly playing with the hair that seemed to be growing faster and faster by the day. 

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Just wanted to come and check on ya before we go out there. Know you sometimes get a bit nervous with live things.” I smiled at his concern, leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek. Unsatisfied, I continued placing a line of kisses from the location of the first along to his lips.

“I’m alright.” My voice was soft, just above a whisper, allowing us to enjoy this intimate moment together. “It’s normally pretty fun with James.” I explained. Harry nodded in agreement.

“You know he’s gonna be ripping the shit out of us, right?” I laughed, shaking my head a little. “Last time I was on he was taking the piss about some of the lyrics from the album, bet he’ll bring it up again or something.”

“Oh well.” I shrugged. “I don’t really mind.” I smiled. 

“That’s alright then.” Harry grinned, placing yet another kiss against my lips. “Right, I really gotta get back to the others, but I’ll see you out there, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I replied, looking at him for a second before he pulled away, keeping his fingers laced with mine for as long as possible before he was out of reach and going out of the door. 

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

“And if these lovely boys weren’t enough for you, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome our other guest for tonight to the stage!” James announced after another commercial break. “She’s been nominated for countless awards, many of which she’s scooped up for herself. She’s extremely talented, beautiful and funny and one of my dear, dear friends. We’re so lucky to have her here tonight talking about her new film with Bradley Cooper called Lara, please give a warm welcome to Y/N Y/L/N!” The crowd erupted into loud cheers as they applauded. I pulled the curtain a little to allow myself through, grinning towards the audience and waving. I made my way over to where James stood at the top of the stairs where we shared a quick hug. Then, I hugged Liam who was sitting furthest down the couch, then Louis, then Niall and finally Harry who shot me a subtle wink before pulling me against him. 

“You look stunning.” His breath was warm as it grazed against my ear while he spoke. I sat down beside him, keeping my composure to not draw suspicion from the audience.

“Now I obviously don’t need to introduce you lot,” James started, absentmindedly tapping his cards against the dark wood desk he sat at. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m familiar with these people. Should I know them?” I joked, leaning forward a little as I looked at the four boys beside me. The crowd laughed along with the joke. 

“Well if you treat all strange men the same way as Mr Styles here, the way you were at my party the other night, you’re all in for a treat!” James teased, addressing the audience who roared with laughter. I could feel Harry tense a little beside me, his protective side dominating him. I smiled as I waited for the crowd to quiet down before replying.

“Now if we’re on the topic of this party, James, do you really want to be outing events from that night? Need I remind you what I walked in on with yourself and Mrs Corden?” I tried my best to keep my smirk at bay, but failed miserably. The four boys on the sofa let out ‘oooh’s along with the audience as James blushed deeply, clearing his throat in embarrassment. 

“A-anyway,” He started, glancing down at his cards before looking back up at me. 

“She had you there, James. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.” Louis piped up with a grin. 

“Alright, Tomlinson, you’ll get what’s coming to you, too!” Louis held his hands up in defence as he laughed, the audience mightily enjoying the teasing going on. 

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

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to play a little game called Tattoo Roulette.” James announced, standing up from his seat. “If I could ask you boys to get up and follow me down here,” He said, walking down the steps before looking back at Liam, Louis, Niall and Harry. They followed behind him, standing beside a table with a number of red boxes. “And Y/N could you come down here too, please?” I raised my eyebrows at his question. 

“I thought I wasn’t playing this game!” I laughed, pushing myself up from the sofa as I walked down the stairs. Harry and I weren’t particularly into PDA as a couple, but many gestures in our relationship came naturally and without any thought so when Harry held out his hand for me to take as I walked down the stairs there was a soft coo throughout the members of the audience. 

“Don’t worry, child!” James jokingly chastised. “You’re going to choose the boxes for us.” He explained.

“What!?” Niall exclaimed, looking extremely stressed. “That’s not fair! Of course she’s going to be unfair and just pick whatever Harry wants.” I laughed at how exasperated my friend looked and reached out my free hand to pat his arm.

“Niall who says I’m on Harry’s side?” I said. “Perhaps I want him to get the tattoo.” I teased. Harry let out a squark beside me, squeezing my hand.

“What’s the matter with you, woman?!” He playfully glared.

“You better be on my side.” Niall spoke, wagging his finger at me. “Otherwise I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Alright, ladies, alright.” James interjected. “Calm down, she doesn’t know which box has the tattoo in it, do you?” He asked, looking towards me. I shook my head.

“No, I don’t.” I confirmed. 

“Perfect.” James clapped his hands together, letting out a puff of air. “Not nervous.” He muttered, earning a titter of laughter from the audience. “Okay, lads, could you go and stand behind a podium for me and my glamorous assistant here will give you a box.” They all did as instructed, not before Harry gave my hand another squeeze. I watched them before James nodded for me to continue. 

“Alright...” I spoke, my tone jokingly calculating, my fingers drumming together a bit like a Bond villain. 

“Y/N please!” Niall’s voice whined. I laughed at him, taking the first box and walking it over to where Liam stood. 

“Here you go, Liam.” I smiled at him.

“Thanks.” He spoke, clearly a little nervous but trying to cover it up (far more successfully than Niall, may I add). I took the third box in instead of the next and walked it over to Louis. He let out a laugh, throwing his hands up in the air a little as the audience ‘oooh’ed. 

“Thanks, love.” 

Once I had delivered the final box, (to Niall), I stood back beside the now empty table. 

“Brilliant. Thank you for that, love. Now, before we start,” James picked up his box, walking over to Harry’s podium and swapping the boxes around. Harry stared at him dumfounded as I laughed along with the audience and the other boys.

“James?!” Harry questioned, watching his friends return to his podium with Harry’s box. 

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, Harold. Who knows if anyone told her backstage. They hate me here.”

After a couple of minutes, both Liam and Louis had opened their boxes and were deemed safe, much to Niall’s growing anxiety. 

“Okay, okay, it’s my turn.” James spoke, nervously gripping the sides of his box. The lighting altered and a low tone played over the speakers for suspense. James inhaled deeply before wrenching his box open with closed eyes. The crowd erupted into cheers and James’ eyes shot open before he yelled with glee. “Yes!!” Niall shouted, his hands flying up to his face.

“Fucking hell!” Harry shook his head, a smirk on his face as he glanced over at me. He then turned to Niall, gesturing for a hug. 

“C’mon mate.” He spoke, pulling Niall against him before stepping back to his podium to open his box. The lighting and sound reappeared before Harry laughed to himself, shook his head and pulled open the box. Instantaneously Niall and James screamed with joy, running to each other before hugging. Niall pumped his fist in the air as Harry shook his head.

I couldn’t help but laughing, my hands covering my mouth in somewhat shock. 

“You!” Harry pointed at me, walking towards me slowly before pulling me into a hug. 

“I didn’t know!” I squeaked against him. I knew he wasn’t mad though, I couldn’t feel his chest rumbling with laughter against mine. 

“It’s alright.” He laughed, pulling away and looking at me with a giant smirk.

“Okay, okay! What a rollercoaster that was! Now, Harold, could you come over here to get your Late Late tattoo, please.” Harry winked at me again before following James over to the tattoo artist. Niall came running over to me, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He gushed. I laughed loudly at him.

“I genuinely didn’t know anything, Niall.” I said looking up at him.

“I don’t care.” He shook his head. “I know you did it for me, even if it was unconscious.” 

Together Liam, Niall, Louis, James and I watched as Harry got his tattoo, Niall’s arm slung over my shoulders. 

“What a legend.” James clapped when the artist announced it was over. “Come and take a look.” James gestured to the cameras that zoomed in on Harry’s arm. I walked over with the others, standing beside Harry who put his other arm around my hips. “Thanks for being such a good sport, Harry. Give it up for Harry Styles everybody!” James encouraged the audience who whooped and cheered. I leaned down when I knew the others were somewhat blocking the view of us and pressed a kiss to Harry’s cheek.

“Well done, baby.” I smiled.

“I expect a proper reward when we get home for you stitching me up like that, gorgeous.” He winked up a me, hand playfully squeezing my hip. 

[moldisgoodforyou]

jj with charlie’s family

combined two requests: jj getting a black eye and him with charlie’s family!

warning: cursing

wordcount: 1.4k

_

jj called on his way to charlie’s house. “hey, charlie -” he started, sounding kind of strange. 

“are you late? please tell me you’re not late, we have to meet my family soon for parent’s weekend and my mom hates when I’m late.” 

“no, uh, I’m on time. but before I see you, I should probably give you a heads up?” he hedged. 

charlie sighed, juggling tubes of mascara and lipstick in one hand and concealer in the other. “can’t you just tell me when you see me? I kind of have my hands full getting ready, j.” 

“well - no, not really. I’ll see you soon.” he hung up before she could question further. ten minutes later, he showed up on her front porch. instead of just strolling in like normal, he rang the doorbell. 

"come in!” charlie yelled out from the living room as she laced up her heels. jj winced before he walked in. she kept her focus on her shoes for a moment, trying to knot them correctly. “you ready?” 

“born ready.” he joked. the second charlie looked up, she gasped. jj was sporting a fresh black eye with a small cut on his brow bone to top it off. she stood quickly, immediately stepping forward and grazing a gentle thumb over the cut. “who the fuck did this? I swear I’ll kill them.” 

he shook his head quickly, going to explain. “no, no, it’s - wait, why is your first instinct so violent?” his lips quirked up into an amused smile. 

“I don’t know, to protect you! no one should be hitting you!” charlie exclaimed. she grabbed his hand, dragging him into the kitchen.

he softened a little and accepted the bag of frozen corn that she passed him, placing it gingerly on his eye. “I should have had you around growing up.” he joked, trying to ease her concern. 

they hadn’t talked about his dad much at that point and she frowned, folding her arms across her chest. “that’s not funny, jj. who did this to you?” 

he winced, bracing himself for her response. “um. just elliott. we were wrestling...” he trailed off at her overly dramatic sigh. 

“and you were wrestling, why?” she questioned. 

he shrugged. “I don’t remember. but he accidentally threw his elbow at my eye and kinda knocked me into the table leg.” 

charlie groaned as she stepped forward, adjusting the frozen corn over his eye. “jesus christ, you boys are dumb.” she softened the insult with a gentle kiss. 

“hey!” jj protested. “I’m injured, be nice!” 

she rolled her eyes. “yeah, and now we have to go see my parents like this. they’re gonna think you get in fights all the time or something.” she cut him off as he opened his mouth before he could say a word. “and. and! jamie’s gonna be there too, and you’ll make a bad impression.” 

jj frowned, genuinely feeling bad. “I’m sorry, baby.” 

“don’t call me baby.” she huffed, but carefully combed her fingers through his hair. 

“right. I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to.” he apologized quickly, more for the black eye than the nickname. she nodded. “I’m gonna kick elliott’s ass when I see him next.” he laughed, unable to help himself at the mental image. “well, considering he has about 75 pounds on you, I’m not sure you could take him.” 

charlie wrinkled her nose and lifted her fists, teasingly punching his arm. “fuck that, I could absolutely take him.” jj grinned. “you’re cute.” 

after applying just enough concealer to barely hide the black eye, and charlie ignoring jj’s constant whining, they made it to the car with just enough time to drive to meet her family at the restaurant. he went for the front seat and charlie pulled him back, grabbing the keys from his hand. “no, j, you just got your shit rocked and technically have a head injury. let me drive.” he hesitated. “your dad notices when I don’t drive.” 

“so we’ll park further away. let me drive, dumbass.” 

he huffed. “can I get a tiny ounce of sympathy?” 

she grinned and reached up to kiss him shortly. “you’re a dumbass, but I love you.” 

he rolled his eyes and went to the passenger seat. “fair enough.” 

as they arrived to the restaurant, charlie squeezed his hand reassuringly. jj gave her a quick smile as they approached the table her family waited at. her mom instantly rose from her seat, hugging charlie tightly. “hi, you two! oh, I missed you both.” after releasing charlie from the hug, she turned to hug jj with no hesitation. he was a little caught off guard but shot charlie a big grin afterward, relaxing at her mom’s outward affection. 

“jj, sit here!” jamie, her little brother, excitedly offered, pulling out the chair next to him. he grinned and reached across the table to shake her dad’s hand in a firm grip before sitting and offering a fist bump to jamie. 

“what’s going on with your eye?” her dad asked, point-blank. 

“dad!” charlie squeezed jj’s hand under the table. jj shook his head and gave him a sheepish grin. “um, it’s okay. just a dumb wrestling competition at the frat house.” surprisingly, charlie’s dad broke out into a fond smile. “ah, I miss that. remind what house you’re in, jj?” 

“beta theta pi, sir.” jj told him. 

her dad’s grin grew wider. “class of ‘85 right here.” 

jj suddenly had a grin to match. “no shit?” he realized his mistake at charlie gently stepping on his foot. “er - I mean -” 

her dad just laughed, waving his hand in dismissal. “it’s fine. you’ll have to show me around this house this weekend, I haven’t been back in a while.” 

“absolutely, sir!” 

her mom clapped her hands in excitement at the exchange. “look at that! see, mike, I told you you needed to go easy on him. he’s a sweet boy.” jj blushed a little, bearing a shy smile. he started up a conversation with jamie as charlie caught her parents up on the latest with her classes. after they ordered their food, charlie leaned over, giving jj a quick kiss on the cheek. “what are you two talking about?” 

“we’re having man talk.” jamie quickly interjected before jj could say anything. jj grinned at charlie, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear. “it’s about a girl he texted me about.” 

“wait, you two text?” charlie questioned, surprised. 

jamie gave her a look. “of course we text. we’re friends.” 

jj elbowed her, shooting her a broad grin. “duh, charlie. we’re friends.” 

the rest of the dinner passed without incident, charlie’s mom practically fawning over jj and her dad asking multiple questions about the beta house. after dinner, they said their goodbyes, with promises to be up the next morning for the south carolina tailgate, and jj wrapped his arm around charlie’s shoulders as they headed out to the parking lot. “I think your parents like me.” 

“they love you, j. and jamie thinks you’re best buddies.” she turned her head, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. 

“thinks?!” jj exclaimed, mock offended as he opened the car door for her like always. “we are best buddies.” 

she rolled her eyes, climbing in. as he got in, she reached over, holding his hand. he leaned over and nudged his nose against her cheek. “you’re quiet. whatcha thinking?” 

she mulled her words over before speaking. “I like seeing you with my family. I think you fit in well, and I like showing you off.” 

jj ducked his head a little, trying not to look embarrassed by the praise. “quit it, walker.” 

charlie smiled. “never. I love you.” 

“even with the black eye?” 

she rolled her eyes. “yes, even with the shiner.” he brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. "good. I like your family a lot too.” 

“you know, you look kind of hot.” 

jj raised his eyebrows, smirking. “yeah? this is what does it for you?” 

“I mean, I hate seeing you hurt. but it’s certainly a look.” charlie grinned. “reminds me of when joe burrow got hit in the -” 

jj let out a huge, dramatic sigh. “okay, shut up now.” 

she grinned, leaning across the center console. “make me.” 

he turned, giving her a sweet kiss. “love you, walker.” 

[captainsimagines]

Titanic || H.S

Part Two || “You.”

“And tell us about that Titanic! I hear it’s as grand as Buckingham Palace! Unsinkable!”

Warnings: This book contains mature themes and discussions, such as gun violence, emotional and physical abuse, attempted suicide, mentions of blood, character deaths, heavy sexual content, and reference to the real maritime disaster of the 1912 cruise liner Titanic.

The needle a centimeter away from your finger and the one sitting between your incisors each created a rattling noise as you pressed the pump with your left foot and created a steady vibration. You opened and closed your lips ever so slightly in concentration. It was an evident possibility that your finger could inch its way too close to the hopping needle or that your tongue could swivel onto the pointed end and prick a drop of blood. But determination got the best of you as you heard the giggles and confident praises the seamstresses emitted. The stitching of your first full sweater would be completed in mere seconds, its elegant trail smiling right back up at you as the needle halted to a fine finish. 

The ladies cheered as you carefully removed the sleeve from under the machine, holding your first completed work of art up in the air for everyone to marvel at. It was a dark green color, similar to how you would imagine those black and white photographs concealed the true pigment of the vast Amazon rain forest. It was easily donned over one’s head and onto the body in a swift movement of lifted arms and lacked the tightness of your dated Victorian clothing. It welcomed a breezy and comfortable afternoon with tea and silent tranquility. It was simple but the ladies in the workshop would not let your first completed stitching go unnoticed. You were a valued customer, as was your mother years ago before she began buying from more established designers, and their exclamations were definitely ones full of pride. 

“It’s a wonder you finished so quickly! Come, let’s have a look at what you’ve accomplished!”

The ladies made sure the doors were locked before you stripped away your upper layers and uncomfortable corset. You breathed a sigh of a relief and a chuckle of reassurance for the worried faces staring back at you. You pulled the masterpiece over your head and immediately squealed in delight, happy that the fabric which treated your working hands delicately also did the same for your torso. It was slightly bigger than your form, baggy enough for you to fit both arms inwards as a blanket. You hugged yourself and swayed back and forth, smiling from the cheers and claps surrounding you. 

“There we go! Now you’re a proper seamstress!”

A few ladies scolded the woman who spoke of your ‘low’ title, but you quickly dismissed their worry. “It’s alright! I believe this new clothing item earned me a proper title.”

The ladies all congratulated your hard work once again but were interrupted by a hard knock on the door. It seemed all knew who was lurking behind the wood, the atmosphere altering to one of uneasy stillness. 

You sighed quietly, “Just go on.”

Everyone obliged, quickly picking up where they had left off before they had come to crowd around you and gawk at your hard work. You disregarded your other clothing laying on the floor and left your green sweater on. 

You yourself were a sight to marvel at, all done up in the face with regular-looking clothing somehow tainting the priceless property of your soon-to-be husband. Or maybe he had already placed a price tag on your skin, like how they mark cattle with an abrupt hot stab. You never knew anything these days. 

George cleared his throat and conducted a quick visual scan of the room. “You’re needed at the house, Miss.”

You breathed in deeply, mentally rolling your tired eyes at your fiancé’s personal bodyguard hire. It wasn’t that he was a total annoyance to have around, but that he was the most colossal annoyance to have entered your life after your fiancé, Cal. His eyes would never leave your body - not in an inappropriate manner but as caution for your safety. It was only on Tuesday you were able to free yourself from the constraints of your busy life to buy groceries alone, downtown, without help. It had become extra enjoyable to extend that peace by befriending the townspeople and participating in their daily lives. You didn’t view this as offensive simply because none of the seamstresses voiced a personal grievance. You wanted to partake in a normal activity, a hobby, in something you could actually call yours and not passed down through generations. But perhaps naming this a hobby while these women referred to it as their one underpaid job was privilege after all. 

“Do they need me immediately or do they simply want me home?”

Your questions once startled George as you proved to be quite the pistol, answering back and reminding him that you outrank him as well, not just Cal. It was rude to do so, you acknowledged, but the sudden burst of adrenaline your body experienced anytime you would not follow Cal’s orders easily were beginning to feel like a forbidden midnight craving. But George laughed off your wit and proceeded to point to your abandoned corset and upper part of your dress, as if telling you to suit up, and walked away to wait for you in the car, a cigarette in between his index and middle finger.

As you shut the door for some well-deserved privacy, some ladies of the shop narrowed their eyes while others shared their stares of pity. You had briefly mentioned your lack of desire to marry at such a young age, wanting to marry for love instead of insurance. While some of the ladies understood your point of view, others could not possibly believe you would give up the chance to settle down and be financially stable for the rest of your life. It was a difference of opinion and class, but one thing was certain - none of you were free from the constraints of men. 

You sadly stripped away the warmness of your sweater and lifted the white corset from the chair beside the sewing machine. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor and hurried footsteps painted a shy smile on your face. You remembered her name was Linda and watched as she rushed behind you to pull the strings of your corset slightly tighter than they already were. She was a middle-aged woman, more experienced than most women hired and perhaps the best. She had been the first to welcome you to the shop, teaching you the ropes of sewing - first by hand and then by machine. Linda often called her mentorship a privilege to conduct and made you promise to improve. 

“Oh, Miss. I know life isn’t what you want it to be, but when does it ever work out for people like us?”

You turned your head over your shoulder slightly to look at her, “You mean us women?”

Linda cleared her throat uncomfortably and finished tightening the last bit of your corset. “Yes, but… pardon me, Miss but I think you have more choice than the lot of us women combined. ”

Linda held out your jacket so you could tuck your arms in. You understood her point in matters of class, but as you slid your arms through the sleeves and saw how the glimmer of sunlight danced off your brown skin, you evaluated the types of privilege Linda had that you didn’t. But you would not overstep her boundaries, and instead remained quiet. 

“I don’t mean that to sound rude, Miss. Only that, even with an unhappy marriage, there are plenty of freedoms to explore that most people will never get to.”

You buttoned the front of your jacket yourself and let Linda finish speaking. What she said was absolutely correct. Lots of people suffer through boring and arranged marriages, finding joy once they bring new life into the world or handling the property portion of your household. It most certainly sounded like a simple compromise. But the thought of a loveless marriage with only the hope of conception to bring actual love into the world upset you. There had to be more to it than just that. 

“Thank you, Linda. I hope to see you in the next year or so.”

Linda momentarily covered her mouth in shock, “I completely forgot! You’re going to America!” Her outburst caused a couple of the ladies to murmur to each other, all sharing their want for the new American dream the papers were talking about. It was said there was no heavy violence, property was easy to obtain, and gold was discoverable by anyone with a working hand and a shovel. But you didn’t believe the lies - it was the same hole as England, if not worse. 

“Oh, please write, Miss! Share your adventures with the group,” Linda laughed, gathering your purse in her hands and into your waiting ones. She handed you the forgotten groceries and your new green sweater as well. “And tell us about that Titanic! I hear it’s as grand as Buckingham Palace! Unsinkable!”

You nodded and smiled to the group of ladies who had become your friends in such a short amount of time. “I’ll be sure to write with great detail. Don’t get into any trouble without me.”

Linda scoffed, “And if we do, you’ll hear about it through the mail!”

You laughed and voiced your goodbyes, walking out of a peaceful atmosphere into the polluted streets in search of the waiting car. 

The enjoyment of silence and limited movement had always been a treasured feeling. Your feet taking small steps across such a large bedroom and emitting such a small sound while the clock ticked every second was such a lighthearted moment in your busy schedule. You folded the last bit of your clothes from the drawers into the bags the maid fetched, making sure to wrap the small perfume bottles as tenderly as possible inside your undergarments. Neatly tucked away in the corners, you glanced around the grand bedroom that had witnessed your mental deterioration for the past two years. It had encased you in times of grief as you said final goodbyes to your father; in times of brief happiness each time one of your horses won a race; in times of uncomfortable stillness as you destroyed gifts from loved ones, corsets string-by-string, or bottles of champagne from congratulations on your engagement. It was time to say goodbye and welcome four new walls to witness more tumbling emotions. 

A small knock at your door interrupted your thoughts. “Thought you could use a little help with the last of your belongings.”

If it wasn’t for your incredible acting skills, you probably would have screamed at Cal a thousand and one times by now about absolutely everything and nothing. He was subtly controlling, insisting which books you should and shouldn’t read or what food you should or shouldn’t try. For an engagement that was barely three months strong, you had already experienced fifty years of a failed marriage. 

You gave a small smile, “Thank you.”

Cal stepped into the room with your given permission, shutting the door gently behind him and locking it. You sighed deeply as you heard the click, trying to occupy yourself by wrapping the last bottles of perfume with undergarments. It occured to you in that moment that your private wardrobe was out in the open, so you quickly tucked the last bottle without its personal wrap and zipped the bag closed. Cal didn’t seem to notice your clumsy actions, instead focusing on lighting the cigarette between his lips. 

You stood at the foot of your bed and clasped your hands together, “You know I don’t like cigarette smoke in my bedroom, Cal.”

Cal chuckled and moved to grab the bottom half of your torso. You allowed him to guide you into his chest, swaying with him back and forth while simultaneously avoiding the dangling stick from his lips. Cal exhaled the smoke over your head and made sure all the smoke exited before he leaned down to press scattered kisses across your neck. Self-control abandoned, the involuntary grimace to stain your face remained unseen by your poor fiancé, who was only trying to selfishly build a certain romantic mood that was sure to escalate in the next week on your wedding night. Cal had it in mind that if he introduced a new intimate gesture every day, you wouldn’t act so cold during the ceremony. It was worth a shot, but the complete disregard for your upset over cigarette smoke was enough to bump his score back a few points.

“I was hoping the packing was all finished,” Cal sighed, trailing his kisses closer to your collarbone. “The help gets paid for this, Sweetpea. You shouldn’t waste your time and energy.”

You cleared your throat to break the one-sided tension, “It calms me, actually. Besides, the household is busy preparing for our departure in other ways.”

Your engagement had caused a disruption in the everyday lives of your staff. It was known that you had to marry after your father’s death or else your family wealth was in jeopardy. Your father had left everything in your name - property, money in the banks, jewels - anything and everything. But it was the nonexistent trust of your capabilities that people would not outright express. Coupled with the fact you were in your early twenties, no one would confide in your training abilities, rent your property, or give you loans. Getting married was practically on the agenda since your father announced his diagnosis. 

“Think of this,” Cal began, blowing out smoke and flicking the ash onto the floor. “In a week's time, you won’t need to worry about anything.”

He paused before taking another long drag of his cigarette. “America will welcome us with open arms and open pockets.”

“Must we think too much of the future? Can’t we just enjoy the present moment?” you spoke quietly, still swaying against him. 

Cal chuckled softly and gripped your chin lightly with his thumb and index finger to tilt your head upward. “America is full of such rich opportunity! How can I not envision it?”

You shrugged your shoulders and departed his loose grasp. “I’m not saying you can’t imagine-”

“No need to imagine!” Cal yelled excitedly, playfully falling on his right side at the foot of your bed. “I know it isn’t a figment of my imagination. It’s real…” he continued, looking up at the ceiling in undisturbed awe, “we can be as big as the Rockefellers.” 

You chuckled softly and picked up your bag to bring it to the chair by your door. “I’m sure our reachable dreams will suit us just fine.”

Cal scoffed jokingly, “Think of it! Your father’s property, our combined assets, the booming railroad business-”

“Actually, they say trains are becoming less and less valuable as automobiles become more affordable.”

Cal looked at you with wide eyes and a confused stare. “Well, whoever you are referencing was wrong.”

You wanted to list your sources and prove him wrong, but decided against the nasty argument. 

He continued to preach, “Just envision it, Sweetpea. It’s already in our grasp.”

You pretended to ‘envision’ his world by staring at the same spot he was, but could only see lonely nights in a house too big for the two of you and endless parties with mindless chatter. It was already draining the energy from your chest, so you simply lied to your fiancé to end the conversation.

“I can’t wait to see it, Cal.”

Cal jumped to his feet and fixed his tie before heading for the door. You could honestly say this was the longest conversation you ever had with Cal, and one where he wasn’t so bland. He seemed comfortable and relaxed around you right now, when usually he’s controlling and constrained. Air being sucked from your lungs without warning and then quickly replaced in a sharp and painful manner. A desperate reminder that you would have to learn to endure this endless suffering if you wanted to live comfortably. ‘Comfortable’ and ‘cheerful’ were two words that were completely foreign in feeling, on your tongue, in your social circle even. But yet again, you reminded yourself of your place - a place that you would simply have to learn the rules of. Cal was quick to change personalities anytime someone would interrupt your already tamed conversation, either showing you off as an extravagant prize or as a nuisance, someone to fetch him another Brandy. 

Perhaps it was due to the proximity of his American dream. 

“Perfect, Sweetpea,” he leaned forward to kiss your cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow around seven. We have to be up bright and early to get to the docks by nine.”

You nodded and waved him goodbye, “See you then.”

You spent all night tossing and turning in your massive bed, hearing the trees sway with the wind and the midnight workers opening and shutting gates every five minutes. Silence greeted you only momentarily, somehow interrupting your thrashing or your wild thoughts, wishing you would open your eyes and imagine random designs in the ceiling above you. But as you did so, an intense wave of pain would sever any ounce of playful imagination your mind struggled to concoct, teasing an impossible ability to conceive a world other than your own. 

Tomorrow you would be locked away in the most elegant room on the grandest ship in the world, each swirl and twist of captivating designs sprawled across another four walls offering its own imagination to your tangled mind - another four walls that will observe your internal struggles with yourself, your husband-to-be, your “rich people problems”. 

And all you wanted was to disappear. Perhaps jump into that endless, blue abyss and have the world forget you ever breathed its air. Those four walls would only taunt you, remind you of the nauseating situation you were constantly in, breaking you further until all that’s left is another tombstone in your already crowded family garden. Your problems seemed miniscule as you thought about the setting of your deterioration, a luxurious and expensive atmosphere to suffocate inside. 

Perhaps you were overreacting. 

And as you heard another gate shutting and making an obscene amount of noise, you swallowed back those pitiful tears and reminded yourself that it could always be worse.

It could always be worse. 

But instead of disappearing, you decided to wander through the dark hallways of your home and sneak into the main kitchen. The peace and quiet you were hoping for as you devoured some chocolate chip cookies was absent and the kitchen roared with about half a dozen servants cleaning and packaging the food for donation. No one stopped their tasks because you entered the room, so you took that as an invitation to peck through the food on the counters. You found the sweets near the middle tables, still unpacked and freshly baked from this morning. You stacked a few cookies and lonely blackberries onto a single napkin, pulled out a chair, and sat to relish the flavor of each small creation. 

“Sugar at night will give you nightmares.”

You chuckled lightly, turning to smile at the only servant who took notice of your presence. “It’s worth it if this is the last time I’ll taste Hernando’s baked wonders.”

“Oh, don’t speak like that! Soon you’ll be back here and stuffing your face with all kinds of sweets.”

She wiped down the counter behind her quickly so she could sit beside you. You offered her a cookie, handing one to her but she declined. 

“What’s got you awake at near midnight? You have a busy day ahead and you need to rest up,” she said, folding her washcloth absentmindedly. Although you wanted to be fully honest with someone, you still kept most of your worries confidential. 

“I don’t want to go back to America,” you admitted. 

She scoffed, an action that modeled her desires rather than yours. “Why would you want to stay here? All of your father’s family is back in the states!”

You shrugged, taking a bite of your cookie. You spoke softly as to not invite gossip from others, “If I don’t go, then I won’t get married. Besides, all my family is out West. We’re staying on the east coast.”

She gave a sympathetic look, reaching out to tap your hand gently. “We’re not all meant to marry for love. But most of us do fall in love after… gradually.”

You scrunched your nose in slight annoyance, realizing that she had completely glossed over the mention of your family and the distance between them. “My mother said the same thing.”

“She is an honest woman. Perhaps she is right and you are just stubborn.”

Now wanting to end the conversation, you stuffed a cookie into your mouth so she would be forced to continue speaking without your input. She instructed another servant to pour you a cup of tea that had just finished heating.

“Who knows, dear? He could turn out to be more wonderful than you expected.”

Clearing your throat, you brushed your hands off on a nearby napkin and carefully handled the tea, standing from the table with a slight frown on your face. 

“One can only hope,” you said, bidding the midnight staff goodbye. “Please tell Hernando that I will miss his cooking.”

The cookies had relieved you of some of your building stress and the tea was also aiding in your recovery, but they quickly digested and sat in your half-empty stomach. You took long glances at the walls of the hallway adorned with family portraits, random maps, and lifesize sculptures leaning against them. You were saying goodbye in your own way, the only way possible, and it felt somewhat nostalgic - so quiet and yours. 

There was a strong possibility that you would return, but for some reason there was a need to say goodbye. Because if you never did return, you knew it wouldn’t be by your own choice.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments! It truly means a lot. -Moni xx

[moonlit-imagines]

Trustee

Jim Hopper x reader

warnings:

a/n:

prompt: trust is hard to come by for jim, but y/n, his old partner from new york, could always be of help

It’d been some time since you’ve seen ol’ Hop. You were pretty excited to get his call, it hadn’t been the same at the NYPD after your partner left, he and you had gotten close over the seven long years you’d worked together. There were ups and downs, but you two were there for each other through it all.

“It’s good to hear your voice again, l/n.” Hopper told you in the middle of this quite serious call.

“You, too, Jimmy. Listen, I’ll leave in the morning, I should get there by before sundown, sound good?” You asked while pulling your meal from the microwave.

“Yeah, that’ll be good. Just follow those directions I gave you and you won’t have any problems, okay?” Hopper assured you as you stood next to the phone housing on the wall.

“I got it, Jim. I look forward to seeing you.” You told him before hanging the phone up and sighing. You would’ve talked to him for a few more hours if you could, but you could tell something was very wrong.

—————

After a half-day drive, you finally reached Hawkins, Indiana. It was a cozy little town that Jim used to tell you all sorts of stories about. He said growing up here was a little boring, but this was home.

The directions that Jim gave you ended up leading you to a cabin tucked into the woods, this seemed like the perfect place for your old partner, you had to say. You shut off your engine and slammed the car door shut, loud enough for “Chief Hopper” to hear and come running. Sure enough, he did.

“Y/N, it’s good to see you.” He gave you a quick hug and led you inside. The place was quaint, sort of made you feel safe. Before you could even comment on it, a young girl emerged from her room. You were absolutely speechless. “That’s El, she’s why I needed your help.”

“El...” You repeated. “Hi, El, I’m y/n. I used to work with...” You didn’t know the relationship between the two of them, “this guy.” You smiled to hide your racing thoughts, turning back to Hop. “So, how’d you get the little one?” You asked in a whisper.

“It’s a long story...you might need a drink.”

—————

He was right, it was a long, long story. Almost unbelievable: missing kid, government conspiracies, magic powers, interdimensional beings, the whole nine yards. “Eleven” insisted on demonstrating her power to you so that you’d understand that this? This was all very real.

“I’m sorry I didn’t contact you sooner.” Jim shook his head at himself in disappointment. “And I’m sorry that I called because I needed something, but you’re one of the most capable and trustworthy people I know. I need you now more than ever.” He said he needed you. Maybe you’re looking into it just a bit too much, but he needed you.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help, Jimmy.” You agreed to his little mission, giving him a sense of joy and relief. It’d been a long time since you were partners, but you knew this would be just like old times.

The mission: he needed help taking care of El.

It wasn’t what you were expecting to be called in for, but Jim really needed your help here, of course you were willing to do anything you could to make it easier on him. Raising a kid was no easy task, but a kid with superpowers? Who knows what could go wrong. Might I add raising a kid who needs to be hidden from the world?

“El, do you mind if y/n stays with us for a while?” Hopper asked his adoptive daughter and she gave you a good look up and down, then shrugged.

“They are...good.” She walked off to her room and you peered over at Hopper, who had the biggest smile on his face. You just loved seeing him feel some sort of joy. You hadn’t seen that face since...Sara. God, he lost Sara and he wasn’t the same. Was having El helping him get some closure?

“You can take my room until we figure something out, I’ll just take the couch.” Hopper told you. “When do you have to go back to New York?”

“Whenever you don’t need me anymore.” You chuckled. “A lot has happened since we last saw each other, we’ll have to catch up tomorrow, I’m pretty exhausted from the drive. Mind if I shove off for the night?”

“Yeah, no, go ahead!” Jim got up and lead you to his room. “I’ll see you in the morning, or the afternoon. Sleep in as late as you want, no worries.” He gave you a toothless smirk and let you get some rest, immediately falling into the couch and staring at the ceiling. He didn’t know how much he really missed you until he finally saw you again. There was a queasy feeling in his stomach that told him that he did more than just miss you. There was definitely something between the two of you when he was still at NYPD, now it had revisited him right here in Hawkins.

Meanwhile, you were having the same thoughts while staring at his ceiling. Jim Hopper and you were always close, but once he left you felt as if something were missing from your life, now it had finally returned to you. Or rather, you had returned to him.

You finally drifted off while covered up in his comforter that smelled like him. Sort of like pine and smoked bacon. Late morning was when you finally crawled out of bed, partially because you could hear the clattering of dishes in the kitchen. It was a good a time as any to get up and face the day, maybe you’d get a chance to explore Hawkins or something before any of your new duties were official.

“G’morning.” You mumbled as you shuffled into the tiny kitchen that Hopper utilized. He spun around to see you with some bags under your eyes, but it wasn’t like he didn’t get why.

“Good morning, y/n! Want some pancakes? All the waffles in this house are reserved for ‘Little Miss Eggo’ over there.” Hop nodded over to Eleven and she proudly smirked with a face full of breakfast food.

“No worries, pancakes are good.” You took a seat across from Eleven and watched her quickly chew and swallow her food.

“You know Hop?” She asked sheepishly, you almost couldn’t hear her, but you nodded to her question. “That’s nice. How long?”

“Uh, I met him about, what, thirteen years ago? Something like that.” You leaned back in the chair and gave the child a kind smile. “How long have you known Hop?”

“One hundred and twenty four days.” She whispered and quite surprised you, seems she was really keeping track. You raised your eyebrows and nearly commented, but Hopper set your breakfast in front of you and you noticed the smiley face that he’d created out of syrup.

“Thanks, Jimmy.” You dug right in and noticed El staring at you after noticing the same face in your breakfast. She may not have had many social skills, but she did know when there was something going on between her adoptive father and a special someone. Eleven didn’t seem to mind, though. She actually seemed to like you.

“No problem,” he said as he began to clean up the kitchen, “hey, El, me and y/n are going to go into town for a little while so I can show them around and we can talk a little, think you can hold down the fort on your own?” Gosh, it was weird seeing him as the father of a teenager. But he was doing good. Really good.

“I can.” She bluntly replied and cleaned up her spot. As she walked by, Hop ruffled her short hair and let her go off to her room.

“Right, well,” Jim clapped his hands together and got your attention, “get ready to go, I guess? We shouldn’t be out for long, but you’re gonna hate this place, I promise.” He joked, earning a chuckle-accompanied eye roll as you wandered back to his room to dress into a fresh pair of clothes. You then emerged and got ready to ride along in Chief Hopper’s truck.

“You like being Chief out here?” You asked as he began the drive through the wooded area.

“I did...until a big case came along. But that case gave me El in the end, so I can’t complain much.” He explained. “A quick run down: I legally can’t talk about it, but I will because I trust you. A local kid, Will Byers went missing. There was a literal gateway to another dimension in Hawkins, the monster from it was stealing residents. There were attempted coverups, but I’m no dumbass.” Hopper took a pause, possibly to retract that last statement, but went on. “Will Byers had a group of loyal friends working to uncover the truth, but tehy found El and she really wants to see them, but they can’t know she’s alive right now. The government is hunting for her and she’s just a kid. They raised her as a science experiment, but that little girl living in my cabin? That’s a child who missed out on any chance at having a normal life.” You heard Jim’s voice begin to quiver, but he wouldn’t dare cry in front of you so soon. You’ve seen him spill a fair share of tears, but he just needed to keep strong for now. That’s what he kept telling himself.

“I’m sorry, Jimmy. I know this has got to be a lot to handle.” You replied, reaching for the hand he had taken off of the wheel.

“That’s why I called you in.” He told you. “One of the reasons.” There was a silence as the truck drove down the roads of Illinois. It made Jim feel a bit embarrassed.

“What’s another reason?” You decided to finally ask. Jim sighed and decided that he might as well say.

“I missed you, I really did. Under different circumstances, we could have been good together, but we got separated.” Jim stared ahead at the road as he contemplated his next sentence. “But here we are now, sitting together in my truck, driving through this small town. There’s nothing better to me than this.”

“Yeah, this is a lot different than back in the day.” You agreed and looked over at him, who kept his focus ahead.

“I think we could make something work, y/n. I know it’s a little soon to say after being apart for five, six years, but I had to get it out there.” Jim slowed the car to a stop and let you think for a minute. “We don’t have to start anything up now, I just want you to know how I feel about all of this.”

“I can’t lie to you, Jim, I’ve been feeling the same way. I’d like to give us a shot.”

taglist: @locke-writes // @queenofthehairharrington // @bonniesbabybunnie // @lotsoffandomrecs // @wolfish-willow // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @purpleskiesstorm //

[coldcocoamilk]

Whose Horse Is That? -- the social season AU we all want

‘sup! after surviving The Big Game at my job, around a hundred cases of wings later, I’ve finally recovered enough to write again. thank you everyone for your patience as I’ve been working to get this out of my brain. please enjoy the social season au that was asked for! 

this work is also available on Archive of Our Own. please read it wherever you are most comfortable reading! as always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my work. ♥

Chapter 1: Arrival 

The salty air finally starting to smell a bit fresher. It had been many weeks since Hange last saw dry land, and as she claps her book shut, she takes in the sights from the deck of the ship that had been her temporary home. The Port of London was not exactly attractive, nor did it show off the architecture and class she had been expecting, but still. It was dry land. Finally, it smelled like something more than fish: steam engines, gasoline, and motor oil. It was not exactly ladylike for her, but those smells brought her some joy.

“Hange,” her brother’s voice called out to her. “You shouldn’t stand on the deck while we’re trying to dock. They have a job to do, you know. Your dress might get wet, and it’s cold.”

“But Moblit,” she grinned, “It smells like cars!”

“We have an impression to make,” he reminded her, tugging at her arm gently but firmly. “Besides, I’m serious. We both should get back down.”

She sighed and took the wide-brimmed hat off her head, clutching it to her chest. The air ran through her hair, pulling a few stray clumps out to fly up onto her forehead. “Fine. I just can’t wait to explore.”

The hat came back on, and the two walked back below decks to their quarters. It would only be a half an hour until their shoes stepped back on land, and both were more than excited. Sure, they had a purpose for coming to England: find a lover, secure the family fortune, and have enough children to carry on their legacy. The British social season was the perfect time to do exactly that, and have a little fun while they could.

“What have you been reading lately?” Moblit asked her as they watched the men in charge of docking the boat through the porthole. “I haven’t heard much from you in the past couple days.”

“Oh! It’s a book on human anatomy. There’s a part about a condition called diabetes that is really interesting to me. Apparently, they’ve found out that people with that condition are missing a function of their body. But, we don’t know if we can replace it yet,” Hange explained. “They’re calling it ‘insulin.”

Moblit’s amber eyes flashed. “Do you still want to be a doctor, Miss Hange?”

She felt her cheeks grow warm and chose then to place the book into her suitcase. “It doesn’t matter.”

He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and brought his hand up through his hair. “Well, with the way things are looking in the world lately, you could at least be a nurse.”

The sudden stress in her brother’s demeanor wiped the embarrassment from the forefront of her mind. “Listen, if it comes to that, you know I will.”

“We’ll have to go back to America, if we can,” Moblit explained. “But it will be dangerous. I can’t imagine they will be allowing normal sea travel. We might be here longer than we expect.”

“I can learn to love it here,” Hange reasoned.

“You haven’t even seen the city,” Moblit fired back.

With no adequate reply in mind, Hange just sat back down and toyed with the ribbon at the edge of her hat. Of course, her brother would know it is her dream to be a doctor. But women don’t become doctors, she reminded herself. They just become bedside nurses and offer comfort. It seemed like a miserable fate for herself in the medical world. But, if there was a war like they all said there would be, then maybe she could make herself useful. It would be better than nothing, at least.

“I apologize, sister. I shouldn’t talk to you like you’re one of the men.”

“I rather you did, to be quite frank,” She replied. “If we have all this money and power, even if I’m a woman, I should be aware.”

The movement of the boat finally stopped, and a voice from above called out letting them know it was time to deboard. Chatter spread through the boat like wildfire, and soon it was full of the sounds of people grabbing luggage, putting on shoes, and walking towards the exit.

Hange looked at her brother, shrugged, and grabbed the smallest suitcase, knowing it would be a scandal if she grabbed one any bigger. She secured her hat with an extra pin and tucked the stray hairs back under it, smoothed her skirt, and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Finally, land!

As they walked across the dock out to the street, Moblit grinned, finally feeling some of the excited energy Hange did. “By the way Hange, I just want you to know. I respect you. But let me know if you ever want me to stop treating you like the boys.”

“Absolutely,” she replied.

A man stood in front of a car holding a piece of paper with their names on it, and in a quick few minutes, their possessions were stowed, and they were on their way to the residence that would serve them well for the next half-year.

It was a small residence by their standards, and quite small compared to the others in the area, but it would serve them well, nonetheless. The bricks had been recently cleaned and stood out deep red against the white trimming of the house, and when one looked at the shining windows, they also saw brightly colored flowerboxes underneath them. The top floor seemed to boast a large balcony spanning across the whole front of the house, and the grass was surprisingly green for mid-March.

Arriving at the front of the house, three people stood to meet them, one who was quite familiar to the brother-sister pair.

“Kenny!” Moblit shouted, rushing up to give his friend a hug. “It’s been so long!”

Kenny gave Moblit a small smile, a rarity for the man, and a surprise to Hange. “You two were just children when I last saw you. Now you’re out here looking for love.”

“Hange, you’ve gotten so tall,” he remarked. “And you are as beautiful as always. You two will have a great time here.”

“Thank you for having us, Mr. Ackerman,” Hange replied. “I can only hope I’m as beautiful as your home here.”

This earned her another smile, much to her joy. “This is but a cottage, Hange!”

It had been so long since she had seen Kenny smile. Sure, he made sure to keep in touch with the family through letters and photos, but since his sister Kuchel had died, those smiles had become few and far between. His letters never had the same kind of wry wit to them they had in previous years. Still, she knew he was capable of it. Kenny rarely took up the opportunity to make a good joke, but he could only joke if there were people around.

They chatted for a bit on the front steps there, catching up on life and musing about the weather while the two servants brought their luggage in. Finally, Kenny led them inside to the warmth of the foyer, much to the pair’s relief. The combination of the bitter British cold and them trying to get their land legs back meant that standing and chatting, while fun, was quite the chore.

“Moblit, Hange, please meet my two favorite servants. This is Connie and Sasha. If you have any needs or worries during your stay here, please call upon them. They are kind and capable,” Kenny explained as he led them up the stairs. “Hange, your room will be on the last door to the left down this hall, and Sasha’s quarters are right across from yours. There is a washroom just next door, too. Moblit, yours is the same, but down over here,” he gestured to a hall across the way. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to check up on dinner, so take your time to settle in. It should be on the table at around seven o’clock.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ackerman,” the siblings replied together. Moblit walked Hange to her room with Sasha in tow, and then departed off to his own room.

Turning the knob on the door, Hange was greeted with a surprisingly spacious, but cozy room. Deep green velvet curtains were parted to show the street and balcony outside, their tails just barely brushing the floor. The bed was large and four-poster, with curtains for privacy. Her suitcases stood in one corner next to several large wardrobes, and there was a writing desk, end table, and a couch just large enough for two to sit and have tea. The green felt warm, welcoming, and inviting.

“Miss Zoe, Master Ackerman said your favorite color was green, so you were given this room. If you don’t like it, we can always change it,” Sasha spoke up.

“No, I adore it,” Hange replied, walking over to the bed. She pulled back the curtain and flopped onto the bed, sinking into the cushy goodness that was goose down. “I absolutely adore it,” she breathed.

“Would you like me to unpack your bags, Miss Zoe?” Sasha asked, unsure of what to do with her hands.

Feeling the effects of several weeks on a boat combined with the general exhaustion of travel, Hange simply rolled over onto her stomach. “It’s quite alright, Sasha. And please, just call me Hange. Could you please loosen my stays? I’d like to take a nap.”

“With pleasure, Hange.” Sasha’s fingers were swift and adept at loosening the corset, and in no time, she had Hange tucked into bed. “Should I come to you when dinner is about ready, then?”

“Yeah, that sounds good…” Hange trailed off, already half asleep.

The stillness of the bed and dry land. Finally, maybe she could get some good sleep.