#baby it’s cold outside let me throw u in the fireplace | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blackvelvetwriteson · 4 years

Text

𝐁𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄

( ~ Inasa Yoarashi x Gender Neutral Reader Insert ~ )

GENRE: Fluffy Fluff!

FANDOM: Boku No Hero Academia (My Hero Academia)

TRIGGER WARNINGS: There really are none today! Just a fluffy (almost) holiday story!

SUMMARY: Inasa and Reader-Chan spend a nice night at home together after Pro Hero Gale Force makes it back home from work early.

WORD COUNT: 4349

(Headers are mine, but the art inside of them are not! Please don’t steal or repost without credit!)

It was a beautiful thing to be apart of; a small loving family with one of the lesser known pro heroes Inasa. He always seemed so jovial and excited, all of the kids he came across day to day seemed to LOVE him. He was personable as well as an efficient hero and every single day he came home to YOU, the love of his life, excited and animated. Since he was so much bigger than you, he always had no problem with scooping you up into his strong arms while nuzzling into you, blaring his excited words into your ear.

“I’VE MISSED YOU SO DAMN MUCH TODAY! I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I MISSED YOU,” he always greeted you while dusting millions of happy little kisses over your cheeks and forehead. You always hushed him, respectfully, and you let out your small laugh.

“Remember inside voices Inasa,” you say quietly while running your fingers over his cheeks and giving him a soft, well deserved kiss.

The house was warm and cozy, the oven on, the fire in the fireplace crackling, the show on TV being used as white noise. The oven beeped and he perked up a little as he set you down, the little bit of snow that was over his body now melted leaving his clothes dampened.

“Relax, baby,” you say quietly as you check his temperature noting that he had a small sniffle. “It was just the oven. I didn’t expect you to be home so early… I was trying to surprise you with cookies and hot cocoa now that it’s cold outside… But you kinda foiled that,” you say with a small sort of disappointed chuckle, rubbing your arm and looking away. His eyes were wide and he cupped your face gently making you look at him.

“Awh babe… Don’t beat yourself up about it! If I’d had know then- Uhm.. Well.. I guess that would’ve foiled it too now wouldn’t it,” he said as he gently booped your nose. “Don’t worry about it! I like helping whenever you’re baking anyways! Remember? You’re my little cookie… So… Or I mean it can change to cupcake…. I just want a nickname for you that’s just as cute as you. I can’t go disappointing now- not when I’m supposed to be your hero anyways!” He smiled and he looked into your eyes as you teared up a little. He gasped a little and scooped you right up again, sitting on the couch as he cuddled into you.

“Don’t cry, please don’t cry… You’re okay! I-I’ll make it better! I’ll um… Go shopping and stuff and sort of kill time! It’ll be like I was never here so you can continue with your surprise!” He tried but it didn’t work. You buried your face in his chest and he practically swallowed you up in his hold.

“I just wanted to do something nice for my hero,” you whisper softly as you cling to his shirt. He looks down and kisses your forehead gently.

“Aww baby,” he said quietly like he usually did when he saw you like this. “Shhh… You always do nice things for me… Let me help you! I don’t mind helping out a little… Especially because, well, I love you and that’s what heroes are supposed to do right? Help?”

You sniffle and hum softly as you look up at him, your fingers gently tracing circles into his chest. “Yeah.. I guess… But just know that I’m GOING to surprise you sometime soon before you get your holiday time off!” You try and put up your protest but it only makes Inasa smile that handsome smile of his, small barely noticeable dimples cratering his cheeks as he gently took you by the chin and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. Immediately, your protest and pouts die down into soft whines against his pretty, soft lips. He pulls away slowly and gently licks your lip, his voice seemingly dropping a little though his tone was still airy and soft just for you.

“Are you done, sweet thing?”

You couldn’t help but to nod and stare at him with doe-like eyes, wide and glassy and absolutely adorable to him. Sweet thing. That was his nickname for you.

“Good. Thank you. Now, we can both surprise each other as much as we want… I don’t mind. I don’t. But the best thing, for me at least, is coming home to see my adorable sweetheart laying on the couch, smiling at me when I come home from a long day of doing what I love. Or… I don’t know. Reading a book with my love… Or giving you a massage… Or watching a show with you while you read a book next to me. I don’t need all of your surprises and sweet tricks, okay? They’re really nice- truly! And I’m not asking you to stop. I could NEVER do that because I love surprising you too. Okay?” He gently brushed your hair back, his sweet smile thawing you out as you nod at him.

“Y-Yeah… Yeah I understand… But, babe, before you help me with anything, you need to help me by going to change first,” you giggle as you slide out of his warm hold, a small shiver running down your back from the sudden unfamiliar warmth blanketing your body.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he laughed as he stood up and gently slapped your ass as he walked past, the heavy tapping of his boots sort of echoing as he made his way up the stairs. You yip quietly and grumble with a flushed face as you walk over to the kitchen, grabbing your apron and tying it, stretching a little before you looked at the recipe on your phone, collecting your ingredients to make cookies. You sift the flour and the sugar, humming to yourself, swaying your hips as you continue to add in all of the dry ingredients.

Meanwhile Inasa came downstairs clad in black joggers and no shirt just watching you for the moment a look of pure adoration in his nebulous, beautifully dark eyes. “Don’t you just look amazing,” he breathed to himself as he came up behind you with a little bit of pep in his step. He hugged your waist with his strong arms and he gently kissed your neck, nibbling your shoulder a little as he watched you mix the ingredients. “What’re we making sweet thing,” he said softly into your ear.

“U-Um n-nothing m-much… J-Just um.. Some cookies, babe,” you said softly as you show him the recipe.

“Butter cookies? Yes! They’re my favorite!” He squealed softly as he nuzzled into you before turning to the fridge grabbing out some butter. “But-ter missing a little something,” he said keeping a straight face as you stop your mixing to look at him. You giggle softly as you look at him standing there noticing that his hair grew a little. It was just enough to be noticeable. You shake your head and laugh quietly at his stupid joke while he snorted and tried not to break out into his own giggles.

“You’re so dumb,” you say gently as you push him and he just pulls you in closer with his free hand, his hand on your ass giving it a nice squeeze before he glanced over at the recipe again.

“I’d say something to combat that, but I mean I guess it’s the truth,” he said with a soft laugh before shrugging a little. “At least I’m a helpful hero, right?” He laughed and kissed your forehead gently.

“I didn’t mean it like tha-“ He shushed you by putting his finger over your lips. You kiss his finger and chuckle softly before going back to the dry ingredients.

“I can get the wet ingredients done while you prepare the baking sheets okay? And I’ll start the water,” he grinned as he already started by putting the butter in the microwave to soften it a little. “What’s for dinner my sweet little thing?”

You blushed as you finally picked up on what his nickname was for you and you slowly walk over to the fridge. “It’s already made. I figured it was getting late and you’d want dinner as soon as you came home tonight with… A nice massage afterwards…” You blush a little and rub your arm as Inasa gazes out the window waving to the strangers that were walking their dog outside of your window.

“See, you always know what to do babe,” he said with a small laugh as he focused and mixed all of the ingredients together, his eyebrows knit with determination, his eyes slanted a little as he focused, never having had a strength or passion for cooking or baking. “But…” He breathed out quietly before looking up at you with that handsome smile of his again. “You’re going to be the one getting massaged tonight. You’re not allowed to say no. I just want to take care of you tonight, love,” he said as he walked over to the dry ingredients, mixing both sets together slowly so he didn’t throw the batter. You pout a little but don’t object, grabbing sleek cookie sheets out and spraying them down with olive oil so the cookies wouldn’t stick. You look over at your man just watching him fold the ingredients together, his expression focused. You walk over to him and laugh softly, gently kissing his clammy back before squeezing your way under his arm and in front of him.

“You’re really stiff moving babe. It’s not gonna bite you, *hero,”* you tease him as you gently take the mixing tool away from him, your wrist loose, your expression calm before leaning your head back against his chest, his hands holding the bowl in place. He looks down at you as you meet his gaze and you smile at him with a soft blush. “Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“Like what,” was his answer before kissing your forehead, one of his hands gently wrapping around yours and you both finish mixing the batter. He took some on his finger and he held his meaty finger up to your lip looking down at you. You smile and gently suck the cookie dough off of his finger causing him to blush a little. You look up at him and he looked back away, his eyes glittery now.

“Did… I do something wrong?”

“No of course not, you couldn’t have,” he replied as he took out two scooping tools handing one to you. “After you my sweet little thing,” he said with a soft grin as he started to scoop dollops of cookie dough out of the bowl and drop them on the cookie sheets.

You both take your turns dropping little lobs on the cookie sheets, but he never loses contact with you. He gently holds your waist with at least one hand as he does so, always staying behind you, his foot right by yours so you know he’s there and so you don’t trip over him or move too far away from him. When you bent over to put the cookie sheets in the oven, he couldn’t help but to grab at your ass and pull you into him, looking down the curve of your back at the back of your head and your shoulders too. You yelp out and one leg jolts up out of surprise and he just snickers at you. After you set the timer, he scooped you up and placed you on the counter, standing in between your legs, his hands resting on either side of you. You gently wrapped your legs around his waist and gently run your fingers up his forearms, then his biceps, then the sides of his neck, one hand feeling down his chest and then over his abs. “Someone’s been putting in a little overtime,” you say quietly meeting his gaze which was overflowed with nothing but love and adoration for you and you alone. The way that he looked at you shot butterflies through your stomach and you couldn’t help but to whimper softly.

“Y-Yeah I’ve gotten some training done so I could be the best hero for everybody… I don’t care about being the number 1 hero… I mean, it’d be nice, but… We all do our jobs the best way we can to make sure everyone stays safe… I just want to be the only one who’s doing that job for you… I want to be your number one hero,” he said softly, grabbing one of your hands and holding it up to his face, pressing his cheek into your palm. You didn’t understand it; how could someone be so hot but adorable at the same time, respectful and professional, manly and soft at the same time, the juxtaposing roles fitting him so well. He spoke so loudly to other people but with you, sometimes you had to ask him to speak up, but at the same time he was still the excitable man you fell in love with, always ready to help someone else, always ready to put others and yourself before he took care of *himself,* always ready for an adventure or to use his imagination.

“You know I love you so much right,” you ask him quietly as your thumb gently strokes against his cheek. “I love everything about you… You’re so beautiful to me,” you said quietly as you gently kiss the tip of his nose. He was flushed but he couldn’t really help that, he loved you too. Everything about you; he was an easy man to please when it came to you. You didn’t have to be all dressed up; he just wanted you WITH him. He loved it when he came home and saw you asleep with some infused water or lemon tea next to the couch than If you were in a pantsuit looking as stressed as ever. He adored it more when he saw you in joggers and a random shirt of his when he came home rather than makeup and fancy clothes. He loved all of your pimples, scars, and blemishes. He loved your backstory and how strong you are to still be there with him. He loved that he had such a sweet little thing to take care of, and he loved that this person was you. He couldn’t help but to kiss your palm before he kissed *you* gently. For the most part, he was pretty vanilla. He was only really into dirty talking but he couldn’t handle hurting you, even if you told him that it was okay.

He softly hummed against your lips, his eyes a little narrow before closing right after yours did. He gently slid his tongue into your mouth and he groaned softly before slowly pulling away. His hand was rested on the back of your head while the other rested on the counter beside you. You were taken by surprise at this sudden action, but you didn’t complain, butterflies erupting in your stomach every time he kissed you. You whimper softly against his lips as he pulls away and then you open your eyes to find him smiling softly. His eyes were still closed, his pretty pristine white teeth illuminating your home even more than the lights against the snow outside as the gloaming fell into twilight. He looked so serene, so peaceful and absolutely beautiful, even as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip just to taste the remains of your flavor on them before he slowly opened his eyes to look at you.

Another wave of butterflies torrented your heart.

You couldn’t help but to smile at him, your hands now rested on either side of his face as you both took in the other’s beauty. You both never had to keep a continuous conversation to connect with each other and you loved that about him. You were just fine with him admiring you while you just silently and— not so— secretly adore him. The oven beeped suddenly making you jump, but his eyes were still fixated on yours, his smile growing more before he snapped out of it. He held your waist against the counter and he laughed quietly, gently kissing your cheek before grabbing an oven mitt even though he was sure that his quirk would be just fine for the task but he didn’t want to chance it.

“Don’t move baby, I’ll get them for you,” he said quietly. He gently opened the oven and recoiled at the heat that blasted in his face, quickly recovering and pulling out the cookies, gently setting the sheets next to you but not so close that you could accidentally burn yourself on them. They were perfect. A little sunken in the middle, flaky, golden around the edges and the scent that wafted through your house was homey and comfortable. Inasa grinned at them pleased with the both of your work, happy that he didn’t ruin anything. “Why don’t we let these cool down with some dinner and a movie, hm? We can watch, any movie that you want,” he said as he stood back in between your legs, gently running his hands up your sides, taking advantage of the small of your back, the weakest part, just to pull you closer.

“I think that’s an amazing idea,” you say as your eyes flutter closed and you bury your face in the crook of his neck while he softly cooed at you. “Can it be a Christmas movie?”

“What kind of question is that? I *love* Christmas, besides… There’s snow on the ground… People have already put up their decorations… Yeah! Let’s do that! Besides, it smells just like Christmas in this house tonight… Only something’s missing….”

You look up as he starts to walk away and look around. “Well yeah… We don’t have a Christmas tree yet… I-“ you were cut off as he pulled a lighter from his pocket with a grin and he’d began to light the yankee candles that were spread through the house, dimming the actual lights. It was literal heaven, the scents along with the scenery of your house and the comfort of enjoying it with your man who happened to have the next day off. The warmth of the cookies pushed against your legs making you shiver as you slid off of the counter. You met him halfway and hugged him gently while he, once again, flashed you a hearty smile. The TV played a Christmas song as an ad break before the holiday movies started and he smiled down at you, gently resting one of his large hands in the small of your back while he took your hand with his other hand. You looked up at him, very confused, but even still you let him lead you with slow sways in the living room. “W-What’re you d-doing?”

“It doesn’t need to be December and we don’t need to have a Christmas tree or a mess of lights strung up everywhere to get that Christmas feeling sweet thing,” he hummed softly to you as he spun you and chuckled softly. “It always feels like Christmas when I’m with you… When I come home and you smile that beautiful smile of yours at me… I’m your hero, I see it in your eyes every single time you look at me… With so much love… And I don’t have to worry about much… Not with you. I could have saved… A million people but the only one that holds the weight of my heart is YOU,” he explained, his voice soft as he pulled you closer. “It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to have a heart to heart even though none of our encounters are heartless, but baby I eventually want a family with you… You know that right? Maybe a pet… Maybe a kid or two- I mean I love kids! And kids seem to love me… At least I hope they do,” he teased as he gently scratched your back. The way you looked up at him as he spoke was unmatched; a beautiful twinkle taking over, your cheeks a pretty lively pink, your lips barely parted and your breathing shaky and shuddery.

“The point is, I want to spend the rest of forever with you… I don’t understand why people romanticize things that aren’t romantic and then like.. Discredit actually romantic things… Like I could get used to this. I could get used to making you flustered just by talking about how I want to grow old with you… Or helping make cookies and dinner and then washing the dishes after… Things like that. I’ll never stop talking about it baby, never. You’re my sweet little thing, and you always will be. I understand if you don’t want to dance, but just for tonight baby, please just dance with me…” He spoke quietly, his eyes glistening with happy tears as his smile grew and radiated onto you. You gently take his face in your hands, stare into his eyes for a moment, and then press a tender kiss into his lips, his hands rested at your waist holding you close. You couldn’t help but to notice his quivering breaths and shaky bottom lip, so you bit his bottom lip just to hold it in place which gifted you with a soft whine from him. You slowly pull away and watch how he stares at you, how he was so overtaken with happy emotions he was about to cry.

“I could dance with you forever if you’d let me,” you say quietly as you slowly lead him back into your guys’s small dance. “You’re the only one for me… The moment I met you… Even… Yelling your little lungs out- I don’t get how you do that all the time-“ you tease him and laugh right along with him. “But… I knew that I wanted to be with you… I didn’t care what anybody else had to say. I didn’t like how my family said it wouldn’t work out… You’re so sweet and kind and gentle and… Oh how did I get so lucky,” you say softly, tenderly wiping a stray tear that fell from his eye with your thumb. Your family always told you to pick someone more for size for you because he was a pro hero. Your family always hated pros and the idea of you being with one because of rumors that they were abusive, but Inasa- instead of closing you down into a box like your family- he made you feel that you were just as good if not better than any pro hero around, even himself. He always made sure to give you affirmations and to make sure that you mentally took care of yourself, even being a civilian teacher. Unless he had to, he never left you in the dark about his work that day. You had no complaints, no bad days, and no secrets… But your family didn’t care and so they cut you off for it.

“It’s not luck, sweet thing,” he said softly, gently kissing your forehead as the song ended. “Call it fate,” he said softly with a wink just wanting to hug you as announcers talked about the annual toy drive and gave a shoutout to Inasa because he always came in clutch when it came to the kids of the community, whether it be toys, or housing, or opportunities to teach- via you- or just hygienic products and clothes. He really was a hero fit to serve his community while the higher names sort of rejected it.

You clapped a little and smiled at him as he was given the shout-out and he bit his lip nervously. “My passionate little hero,” you whispered quietly before he picked you up and hugged you tight against him. You squeaked quietly and clung to him as he walked back into the kitchen and moved the boiling water off of the burner. “I’m assuming it’s this udon that wasn’t here when I left this morning,” he asked as he rose his eyebrow and took out the two bowls. He put them in the microwave to heat up and you just cuddled into him and hummed softly.

“You’d be correct, Inasa,” you mused as you gently kissed his neck. He took the two bowls out of the microwave and walked to the couch as you clung to him and he sat down, finally on the couch, keeping your legs in his lap as he spread the throw over the both of you, handing you your bowl as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” started to play. You snuggle in close to him and look as if you’re already about to fall asleep.

“Itadakimasu,” he mumbled softly, pressing a soft kiss against your head, and then taking a bite, completely relaxing into the couch. “You’re such an amazing cook, you know that,” he laughed softly, halfway watching the movie, halfway keeping his attention directed to you.

“Well… I mean if you say so,” you mumbled quietly, burying your head into his bicep. He chittered quietly at you and pressed another soft kiss against your lips, your stomach turning in flips all over again. It was just something about him that made you turn into melted wax, the way he talked and was passionate about hero work, but also how he devoted himself to his community and you. Suddenly the conversation you had earlier held weight in your mind; the future, your family, everything. You wanted the same thing as he did but you figured you’d leave the conversation buried until later when you guys had your nightly talk. It wasn’t Christmas yet, but the feeling he gave you, the security that he instilled in you… It almost brought you to tears… You took in his soft familiar scent and continued to eat your food pleased that you had such an amazing man to call your own.

#inasa #inasa yoarashi #bnha inasa #inasa fluff #inasa imagine #bnha fluff #inasa x you #inasa x reader

50 notes · View notes

elisela · 4 years

Text

you’ve got my love to keep you warm buck x eddie, 1.8k, nsfw, vermont verse for @extasiswings who asked for: I want CUDDLES. Lazy winter mornings snuggling up in bed because it's too cold, there's too much snow, and no, the hot water bottle does not count to rectify these things, that's what husbands are for.

He wakes up to an empty bed, pushes himself up and immediately drops back down, burrowing deeper into the covers and pulls the thick duvet over his head. Fuck, the house is freezing, worse than normal. He doesn’t know where Buck has gone, mourns the loss of his body heat and sticks a hand out, groping around the nightstand for his phone.

Eddie: Cold hunky husband: Don’t look at your weather app Eddie: Stop changing your name in my phone and get up here hunky husband: u don’t think i’m hunky??? :(

He rolls his eyes, thumbs over to the weather app and curses.

Eddie: I’m moving to a beach in Mexico hunky husband: I told you not to look at the weather app, you big baby. hunky husband: Come downstairs Eddie: I’m not leaving this bed. Eddie: I’ll freeze to death.

He tosses the phone down at his side and tries to tuck the duvet around him more tightly, which works for all of a minute before it’s being yanked off him and he yelps, grabbing for it.

“Rise and shine, baby,” Buck says brightly.

He reaches out and grabs, hooking his fingers into the waistband of Buck’s—shorts? What the fuck?—and pulling him down. “Fuck off and warm me up,” he says. “It’s five degrees outside, what the hell are you wearing?”

“If you’d ever exercise—” Buck twists away when Eddie pinches him. “Oh, just for that you’re not joining me in the shower,” he says, and laughs when Eddie scrambles off the bed after him.

He catches Buck around the waist and presses into him, resting his head against his shoulder blade and nuzzling in despite his damp, sweaty skin. Buck’s hands come up and rest on top of his; Eddie feels their wedding bands click together as Buck squeezes his hands. There are goosebumps on his skin, and his knees knock into the back of Buck’s legs as they shuffle towards the bathroom but he keeps holding on, not wanting to let him go. He hears the water running already, and when Buck gets the door open, they’re met with a wall of steam and Eddie sinks into the warmth.

“Genius,” he mutters, pressing a kiss to Buck’s bare skin. “This is why you’re the one with the degree.”

Buck’s chest rumbles as he laughs. “Yeah, that B.A. in Husband Pampering is really paying off.”

“Sure is,” Eddie says, stepping back to pull his clothes off. He rolls his eyes and gathers up the shorts and boxer briefs that Buck leaves in a pile on the floor, and tosses them into the laundry hamper before stepping into the shower and immediately wrapping his arms around Buck again. He hums and melts against him, twisting easily when Buck pivots so he’s under the spray. “Why’s it so fucking cold in this house?”

“Because when you got the heating bill last month you said you weren’t made of money and the co-op was bleeding you dry,” Buck says, and Eddie doesn’t have to look to see the smile on his face. “So I turned down the thermostat a few degrees.”

He pulls back at that, pushing Buck’s shoulder until he can look him in the eye. “You did what?”

“The co-op says that keeping that house at fifty-five degrees—“

“Fifty-five?” His mouth drops open—Buck’s heard him complain about the cold for seven years now, and he turns the temperature down to fucking fifty-five? “That’s hardly above freezing,” he says—says, not whines, because Eddie is thirty-five years old and he does not whine. “Get out and turn it up.”

Buck laughs and pulls him forward, and Eddie allows him because there’s not a chance in hell that he’ll ever willingly refuse being pressed against his husband, especially when Buck’s strong, extremely capable hands are wandering down his back, sending a different type of shiver down his spine as his fingers stroke gently against Eddie’s skin. “You can handle a little cold,” he says, “you’ve got my love to keep you warm,” and then he slaps Eddie’s ass and snorts.

“To think I was going to let you fuck me,” Eddie says, and Buck laughs helplessly against his shoulder. “You don’t get to now.”

“You’ll change your mind,” Buck says. “I have plans for you, me, and that rug in front of the fireplace tonight.”

“At least I won’t freeze to death,” he says, pressing forward and turning Buck into the wall—if he gets a certain pleasure at the hiss Buck lets out from being pressed against the cold tile, it’s only because he deserves the revenge. Buck’s fingers trail across the base of his spine, and Eddie pulls him closer, bites just below his ear before he whispers “if you keep me warm, maybe I won’t make you wait until tonight.”

He pulls back enough to see the way Buck’s eyes light up at the challenge and is not at all surprised when Buck pulls him in for a kiss, holding onto his hip with one hand and wrapping his other arm around Eddie’s waist to keep them close as he slides his leg in between Eddie’s. Eddie catches his bottom lip and bites down, rocking himself against Buck’s thigh and groaning, hands groping at his husband’s arms. Sometimes he’s still stunned at how badly he wants Buck, how quickly he can get to the edge with him, like the past several years of domesticity has disappeared and he’s back to seeing Evan Buckley standing shirtless in his backyard, watching the way sweat rolled down his chest and feeling the desperate need for relief.

And now that he’s thinking about that—

Buck’s short gasps are quiet against his mouth as Eddie reaches between them and strokes them together, breath coming faster as he rocks up into Eddie’s fist, his tongue sweeping across Eddie’s lips. Buck rests his forehead against Eddie’s, eyes dropped down, and Eddie knows he’s watching how they look together, gets a thrill from the way Buck pulls back and looks at him before he groans. “Baby,” Buck says, his breath hitching, “you’re so fucking hot.”

He shudders when Buck moves and presses his hands against the cold skin on his back where the water isn’t falling, and maybe it’s difference in temperature that throws his body into overdrive or maybe it’s the way Buck bites his neck before throwing his head back and closing his eyes as he comes with a gasp; either way, Eddie loses his balance a little and stumbles forward, groans when the head of his cock drags against Buck’s stomach, and follows him over.

He leans on Buck for a moment, tries to get his breathing under control before sliding a hand around his neck and pulling him down, and lets Buck kiss his shoulder before Eddie whispers into his ear, “baby, I’m so fucking cold.”

“You’re treating me like a child,” Eddie says—says, not pouts, because he is thirty-five years old and needs to save the pouting for when he really wants to get his way, say, when his husband and son are ganging up on him.

But this is not one of those times, so he just says it in a completely normal tone of voice.

“Maybe that’s because I can’t tell if it’s Eddie or Christopher begging me for something right now,” Buck says. “Eds, I swear, I just need to finish submitting these forms and I’ll go get your book. Or, you know, you could go get it.”

And leave his nest of blankets, curled up on the couch with his feet in his husband’s lap? “Or could you keep me warm like you promised.”

He knows Buck’s trying to keep his face neutral, but the corner of his mouth curves up for just a moment before he fights it back down. “I think you could make it up to the office and back,” Buck says. “Pretty sure your body heat will hold for that long.”

“Can’t risk it,” Eddie says, letting his body fall back onto the couch and picking his phone back up. “What do you want for lunch? Hen just dropped the boys off and says she’s stopping at Bobby’s on the way back and she can pick us up something if we want.”

“Just get two of whatever you want,” Buck says, and shakes his head when Eddie mutters about liver and onions. “Real nice,” he says. “Just for that, I’m not building the garage you want.”

“I’ve wanted a garage for seven years,” Eddie says, finishing the text to Hen and setting his phone on his stomach, “and every year you say okay, now you’ll build it. It’s not exactly a threat anymore.”

Buck pushes Eddie’s feet off his lap and stands up, laptop dangling from one hand. “Yes, but now I submitted the permits, so you’ll actually get it. Or you will if Hen doesn’t show up with liver and onions.” He leans down and kisses Eddie’s forehead before bounding up the stairs, and Eddie grabs his phone and unlocks it.

Eddie: Can you pick up chocolate cake from the bakery? Hen: Can you watch Denny on Friday night? Eddie: Definitely. Two slices? And that dark hot chocolate.

He takes a screenshot and sends it to Buck, hears the chime on his phone at the same time Buck comes clattering down the stairs, and despite Buck dropping onto the other end of the couch, his phone buzzes a moment later.

hunky husband: aww u do love me!

He waits for Buck to toss the book to him, but Buck just pats his lap and says, “c’mere, Eds,” and helps rearrange the blankets around him after he settles his head on Buck’s lap and turns his face in, almost pressing his nose against Buck’s stomach.

Buck reads to him, holding the book in one hand and rubbing the back of Eddie’s neck with the other, until Hen drops by with their food and stays long enough to tease Eddie about his aversion to the cold, and Buck turns on Say Yes to the Dress while they eat and indulge in Eddie’s favorite trashy television past time—making fun of people for choosing ugly wedding dresses.

He’s not sure how they end up on the “Hallmark Christmas Movies” category, but by the time the room is getting dark, Buck is sprawled out against him, sniffling suspiciously when a man wearing fatigues shows up to a school concert last minute, and Eddie doesn’t have the heart to tease him about it, just kisses his forehead and rubs his back slowly.

But as much as he loves his husband, he does not love overly sappy, poorly written Chrismas movies, so he reaches for the remote when the credit rolls and turns it off. The only light comes from the fireplace, which reminds him—

“Didn’t you have plans for you and me and that rug over there?” he asks, letting his fingers wander underneath Buck’s hoodie.

“Can wait,” Buck says, snuggling closer to him and tilting his head up; Eddie feels his lips against his neck, a soft kiss pressed into his skin. “I’m nice and warm right here.”

And surprisingly, despite the bitter cold outside, Eddie is too.

#buddie fic #buddie #vermont verse #eddie diaz #evan buckley #fluff #domestic fluff #so much domestic fluff honestly #eli writes

66 notes · View notes

butididntpourthewhiskeys · 5 years

Text

L O V E B O U N D

“Christmasbound I”

No, it’s not Christmas yet but maybe it is cause I finally found the time to post this first chapter! Chapter 2 will follow if enough people read this xx

________________________________________

Snow is heavily blowing into her face, almost hurtful, making her favorite season in the world feel not that as comforting anymore as it usually does. She squeaks her eyes together quickly, her nose red from the cold while holding onto the little cold hand tightly as she steps up quickly. The big door of the old brick building is covered with a little roof. Luckily. She feels snow turning to water on the tip of her nose as she leans in to ring the doorbell. Taylor shakes her head one time, feels snowflakes fall down from her bangs. She then immediately looks down to the blonde toddler next to her, wrapped securely in a dark green snowsuit. Instead of Taylor, the five year old doesn’t really seem to care about the fact that her entire face is covered in snowflakes, her little cheeks are flushed. She pulls out her tongue, tries to lick the snowflakes from her nose. Taylor automatically reaches down, strokes her hand over the little cold face to warm her up.

This snowstorm out here is crazy.

Just before Taylor gets to fix the two little buns on her curly head, that are also covered in snow by now, the door in front of her suddenly opens and the little girl immediately lets go off Taylor’s hand, excitedly squeaks while running off and into the tall man’s arms. “Daddy!“ she smiles, reaches for him. Joe immediately picks up the cold and wet toddler, his big hands holding onto the small body as tightly as he can. He looks tired, she can see that clearly. He wears his old grey sweatpants and the white basic tee he always used to sleep in.

“My little angel, I missed you so much.“ He moans into his baby’s arms, holds her as tight as physically possible on his arm. “I missed you too, daddy.“ the little toddler mumbles into his neck. Taylor swallows lightly, fixes the grip of her bag on her shoulder while feeling his stare on her, after pulling back from the tight hug. She clears her throat slowly, doesn’t want to ruin the moment between Joe and his daughter but really wants to escape the ice cold breeze she’s still in. “Can I come in?“ she asks and the blonde tall man immediately lets the little snow angel down, signals her to come in. Eleanor immediately hugs his legs once more while gushing at him from the floor and Taylor feels her stomach churn.

It’s always these moments in which she realizes how much Eleanor misses her father. The way her little arms hold onto him. The way she craves his closeness in this moment, while standing in the doorway. This girl truly has a lot of love for her daddy and by the way Joe’s eyes lid up as soon as he saw her, Taylor knows that he feel the same.

“Of course. Come in. I just made some hot chocolate.“ Joe says euphorically. He looks happy that they’re here. She feels that even though she wishes he’d hold back his excitement.

Taylor smiles politely, simply closes the door behind her. She feels the warmth of the big fireplace coming from the living room, still smells her old Byredo candles that she left here.

“Uh, I’m just gonna give you her bag. A change of clothes is in there. There’s her little jeans dress for tomorrow when we drop her off at school. And her glittery tights. We have also brought Barbie, Ken and her Elsa. We don’t have a book but I think you still have the one where..“ “Don’t you wanna stay for some hot chocolate? The weather is insane outside and..“ “To be honest I still wanted to work a little as long as she’s at your place.“ Taylor says, looks at her daughter to not have to look at him.

She knows what he’s doing. He tries this every time.

“C’mon Tay. I won’t let you go home through this snowstorm. How on earth did you two get here without freezing anyway? Stay here until the weather is better, please.“ he says, his daughter pulling his hand, clearly impatient and wanting all of his attention now. He grabs the toddler and places her on the little velvet lounger that is right next to the wardrobe next to the door. Taylor sighs. She hates it, but he’s right. Maybe the snow will get less soon. Maybe walking home in an hour really makes more sense. “Okay, fine.“ she mumbles, quietly takes off her black boots, places them next to his wardrobe. As she takes off her big black coat she can’t help but smile silently. Joe, who’s on his knees in front of the little green snowman just leaned in to kiss his daughter’s cold cheek. But a small kiss turned into plenty kisses and Eleanor giggles loudly, tries to shove his scruffy chin away from her.

“Daddy.“ She laughs and Joe let go off her, immediately reaches for her feet to pull off her snow boots. “Daddy, I have my wish tree for you. Ms. Clarkson said we have to make one for our mommies and our daddies and so I made one for mommy and for you. And I have one for me. Can you write your wishes on it, daddy? You have to do it fast before Santa Claus comes tomorrow. Can we make pancakes later?“ Taylor just remains next to them, her arms crossed while watching Joe take off the big snow suit from the small body. He looks up at Taylor for a second and grins silently. She returns the smile, can’t help but laugh quietly as well. The little girl can’t stop talking. That, she definitely has from her mother.

“A wish tree? What’s that, bug?“ Joe asks with his thick British accent and looks at the blonde girl that just throws her head back laughing out loud. Her two curly buns are a bit messy as well and of course, she wears her favorite sparkly Christmas sweater. After all, she’s still Taylor’s daughter. It’s more than obvious.

“Are you laughing at me?“ Joe asks in a high pitched voice, acts a little insulted while laughing at his daughter who’s still goofing around, then covers her mouth mischievously with her hands. Joe starts to poke her little tummy and Eleanor yelps laughing. “Daddy, a wish tree!“ The girl says again, obviously can’t believe that Joe still has no clue what this is. Joe in the meantime has shared an amused look with Taylor once more and grabs the little goofy girl to lift her up. “Why don’t you explain daddy what a wish tree is, E?“ Taylor says and walks right behind them into the living room.

She takes a deep breath. Traces from her past interior decorations are still visible in these four walls. The little treehouse candle on top of the fireplace. The painting she made him for his twenty- seventh birthday is on the wall. Small reminders of their past are still haunting this house. She has no idea how he can simply keep all this. All these reminders of the dreams and hopes that never came true. All the things she left behind back then when she left.

“It’s a Christmas tree that I painted and then cut out of the paper and.. and every mommy and every daddy can write down ten wishes for Christmas and the new year. And that’s because my tree has ten pine branches.“ Eleanor explains, holds onto her daddy’s shoulders. Joe places her on the high chair that’s on the wooden dinner table in the center of the room. He has never moved it aside, clearly held onto her promise to let Eleanor spend every second weekend with him. This time, it’s the weekend of Christmas. A rough decision she had to make. Christmas without her baby girl. The first one without Eleanor. Her family was heartbroken about the fact that they’d have to relinquish Eleanor yet understood that it’s Joe’s turn now. After all, the last year has been difficult on him as well. The first Christmas without Eleanor.

The first Christmas without her.

“Wow and you made me one as well?“ Joe asks, sinks his head and steals another kiss from Eleanor’s head before looking at Taylor again. “I’m gonna get it, hang on.“ she says, knows how eager her daughter is to show her father what she has made in school for him. After entering the long hallway once more and finding the piece of green cardboard in her Eleanor’s little koala backpack, she returns into the warm living room and hands Eleanor her present. By now, the little girl has a hot chocolate mustache on her face already, excitedly hands the tree to her dad. Joe slowly slides another cup of hot cocoa towards Taylor’s direction. She smiles silently and sits down on the opposite side of the two. Her eyes wander off into the kitchen behind them. He’s still as chaotic as he used to be. A feeling of familiarity spreads all over her. She likes this feeling. She likes to think that some things maybe never really have changed after all.

“This is beautiful. Eleanor. Did you make this? All by yourself?“ he asks euphorically, almost thrilled and looks at his daughter who sips on the hot cup of cocoa while holding the big cup with both of her little hands. She carefully places the, for her, huge cup in front of her again and nods proudly. A little proud smile creeping through her lips. “Love, that’s amazing. You’re a little artist. Like your mum, huh?“ Joe asks and smiles, makes his daughter laugh and Taylor smile softly. He looks at the Christmas tree in his hands. The little girl has drawn many stars and sparkles all over the cardboard. Tree ornaments and hearts included. For a five year old, he really is impressed. “And that’s where I’m supposed to write down my wishes?“ he asks and points to the branches of the tree. The curly head immediately nods and explains her daddy how it works. After finishing her hot cocoa and giving her dad more than a few cuddles, Eleanor storms off to the little big box at the end of the living room, starts to take out all her favorite toys that she has left at dad’s house and starts to play on the floor. After a few “don’t forget to put everything back into the box again later“ from Taylor, Eleanor seems to be in her own world, hums a few Christmas songs she has learned in school while playing with her dolls.

“Everything good? How are you?“ Joe asks, still hanging loosely on the chair in front of her, one hand around the still warm cup and the other one running through his hair. He looks tired. She can clearly sense that. “Yeah, everything’s good. How are you?“ Taylor asks, takes another sip from the cup in front of her. She’s finally unfreezing, the fireplace clearly doing the trick. “Tired. I came home from New York this morning.“ he says, Taylor nods. “How’s your movie going?“ “Great. Yeah, really good.“ he answers, doesn’t really go into it at all. For the first second, Taylor is confused. But then, she gets why. He doesn’t want to talk about his career to her. He doesn’t want her to think that this is still all he does, all he has. He doesn’t want her to think that she was right, when she left. That the only priority he has, is acting.

“How’s Naomi?“ Taylor asks, doesn’t know why she even asked, clearly wanted to change the subject from his career as quick as possible. “Who?“ He asks, a big yawn escaping his mouth. Taylor looks at him in shock. “Your girlfriend? Naomi?“ “Oh.“ He suddenly realizes, blushes a lot. “Oh. good. good.“ he answers, seems just as uncomfortable as her. Taylor nods. She knew that they were never really a thing and his reaction just confirmed this to her. Suddenly it’s quiet again, Eleanor’s angelic voice making both of them smile. She seems to be in her own fantasy world, sings her very own version of ‘holy night‘ while building her Barbies a new home on his carpet.

“What’s new with you?“ Joe asks, clearly wanted to break the silence and looks at her. „Not much. I’m just writing at the moment and..“ “Your album?“ “Album?“ “You said ‘writing‘.“ „Oh.“ Taylor mumbles, “No, I’m.. I’m writing songs. For people. Not me. Mom duties make touring and promoting an album impossible right now.“ She says. Joe nods. He seems interested, but not as much in her albums. “I understand. But.. I can help you out more if you want. I mean.. I’m done with my movie and I’ll have way more time next year. Nothing’s planned at the moment. So..“ “That’s nice. Thanks. But I think I’m good.“ She says, looks up at him with that same cold stare and nods. This was clearly not the answer he wanted. She can feel that.

“Are you happy?“ Joe suddenly asks and Taylor looks up at him once more. She feels a lump in her throat. She definitely wasn’t prepared for this question. “Sure.“ she answers, manages to raise the corner of her mouth. She can’t really look into his eyes. “You?“ She asks, wants to take the attention from her and her happiness as fast as humanly possible. “I’ve been better.“ He says, a little too honest for her taste. Taylor doesn’t answer anymore, is suddenly super interested in the cup in her hands.

“Mommy, look.“ The little girl suddenly comes running to her mom. Taylor has never been more happy about this interruption by her daughter, immediately turns to look at the Barbie Eleanor has in her hand. “It’s the mermaid Barbie.“ She squeaks excitedly. Taylor looks at her daughter and smiles. “Oh honey!“ She laughs, happy for her baby girl. “And we thought you had lost her in school. See? I told you to look at daddy’s house first.“ Taylor says, her arm around her daughters small torso, pressing a sluggish kiss onto her cheek. Joe looks at the two in front of them and remains silent. He feels many things in this moment. Things he knew he couldn’t forget. Ever. Not in this life. “Call me next time and I’ll have a look.“ Joe says eagerly and looks at Taylor with a serious look on his face. She returns his stare and nods. She feels this protectiveness radiating from him all of a sudden. They had this talk a few months ago. He wants to be more involved. He always says that. But it’s difficult for her to let him enter her life when she’s the one who wanted to leave his. “You were busy working in New York.“ “I’m never too busy to talk to you and I also would’ve known that the Barbie was in there. Also.. you have a key. Don’t you?“ “I won’t use the key when..“ “Daddy can we make some pancakes? I’m hungry.“ Eleanor interrupts her mom and walks over to her daddy to press her head into his side. Joe immediately picks her up and places her on his lap before giving her a cheek a kiss from behind. “First of all, we don’t interrupt when mummy’s talking, love. Second.. pancakes with bananas? And chocolate?“ “Yes daddy.“ she smiles and Joe kisses her once more. Taylor remains silent. As so often since she’s here, in his house. Joe seems so happy and carefree since Eleanor’s here. He looks much more content with everything than when he first opened this door a few minutes ago. She swallows. Long forgotten feelings slowly seem to creep back up. Separating herself from him meant also separating him from Eleanor. And Eleanor from Joe. She separated these two human beings in some way. These two people who love each other endlessly. She takes a deep breath, looks at him disappear in the kitchen. She spent too many nights feeling this overwhelming amount of guilt on her chest after hearing Eleanor ask for her daddy. After listening to Joe’s crying on her speaker, begging voice messages asking her to come home. Asking her to give him another chance.

“One for mummy as well?“ Joe asks, slowly looks back at her with Eleanor on his arm. The little monkey immediately crawls onto his back and giggles into Joe’s neck while opening the fridge for her dad to take out all the ingredients he’ll need. Taylor suddenly stirs from her thoughts, quickly shakes her head. “No, I should.. I should get going now.“ She says, quickly gets up. “Are you sure? It’s still crazy out there and it’s dark already.“ Joe says, suddenly not caring about the open fridge anymore, slowly walking back to her again. “I can call a driver.“ She says, smiles politely at him. Just when he was about to say something to her, Taylor interrupts him. “Goodbye, baby. Have a great time with daddy.“ Taylor says and Eleanor slowly crawls down from her father’s back to touch the floor with her feet again to give her mom a last hug. “Bye mommy.“ she says and Taylor crouches down until her head is on one level with her daughter. She places both of her hands on her cheeks, kisses Eleanor’s small lips gently. “Be nice to daddy and listen to him. Bedtime is when daddy tells you. No dramatic show stunts before going to bed, okay? love you.“ She says and kisses Eleanor again. “Okay mommy.“ Taylor smiles at her and gets up. Joe slowly walks with Taylor down the hallway, while Eleanor storms off to play with her doll house again that she has carefully built on the expensive carpet in Joe’s living room. “Are you sure..“ “Yeah, Brandon can pick me up.“ She says and holds her phone next to her ear already. She grabs her coat slowly, confused about the fact that her call doesn’t seem to get through.

“Don’t forget to make her go to the toilet before going to bed. We’ve had a few accidents in the last weeks. Oh and no chocolate after 6pm.“ Taylor says and Joe nods. “I know.“ “Good.“ Taylor answers, desperately tries to call her driver again yet the end of the line seems dead. She doesn’t seem to have any phone connection at all. The snowstorm that was predicted for this weekend must be the reason for this state of emergency in town. No phone connection. No tube. Not even London cabs are available today. “Don’t you want to stay? I still have the guest room and I’d really feel better knowing you’re not out there tonight. It’s almost dark outside.“ Joe says, looks at Taylor with a concerned look. She’s still trying to make her phone work, just stands in front of him with her black coat, ready to leave this house. “Shit, can I try your phone?“ She asks and Joe sighs. “Sure. But think about my offer.“ He asks, remains with her in the hallway. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t go to get his phone because he wants her to stay. She’s been avoiding him so much since over a year now and he can’t do this anymore. Not being with the woman who he considered the love of his life once is tough enough. But not even being able to talk to her normally, like they used to, is even harder on him.

Taylor notices his eager look while hearing Eleanor play in his living room. She slowly puts down her phone and sighs. Then she looks up at him. He has this hopeful look on his face. Taylor just shakes her head softly. “Don’t you notice how awkward this is?“ She asks, looks at him with an honest look for the first time in a while. “I do. And I don’t like it.“ He says, seems thankful for her honesty in this moment. “Me neither.“ “We were best friends.“ He then says and Taylor looks up at him once more. She finds sadness in his eyes, even though he smiles at the thought of their past. She’s captivated by his look, this trip in his eyes to back then. Back to the secret moments they shared in every crowded room. Back to the secret smiles and the awareness of the fact that no one really knew anything, except for them. No one really knew what this thing was, this thing between them. They never really were just lovers. They were best friends. More than that. They had this secret bond that was there from the very first second. They were inseparable. They were the bestest of friends on this planet. A unit. One. Even long before Eleanor came into their lives.

“We always used to be a team and I don’t see why we shouldn’t be that anymore. We have Eleanor and we should be a team again. For her.“

Taylor nods softly. He’s right. Being co- parents means more than dropping the kid off at each other’s houses and avoiding eye contact. She always admired how her parents dealt with their divorce, never let her to her brother feel any tensions between them. And that’s because there were none. That’s because they decided to be a team for their kids. And this is how it should be.

“You’re right.“

“Why don’t you stay over and we start to.. to become a team again? I’m sure Eleanor won’t mind.“ Joe says and laughs softly at the end. Taylor smiles back at him. Of course she won’t mind. If there’s one thing this little girl loves more than anything, it’s mommy and daddy time. Of course. This is what she was used to for the first three years of her life. This is how it was always supposed to be. Mommy and Daddy. Taylor and Joe.

“A team?“

“A team. Maybe not as good as ‘team frosty crew’ but.. still a pretty good team.“ he answer, smirks at her. He’s thinking back to the same moment she does. She can see it in his smile. She can feel it in his eyes. The same starry eyes looking at her as back then…

Five years, three days and two hours earlier.

“Okay, can we go through this again?“ she asks while standing in front of the little drawer in the hallway, struggles with putting on the silver bracelet that her mother has gotten her for her birthday. She’s nervous. Not just a bit. Whenever things don’t work out as they were planned, she starts to feel stressed and panicked nowadays. This new habit of her is also one of the things she still has to get used to when it comes to her unpredictable emotions nowadays.

“Taylor, this is my bloody family. Not the supreme court of the United States.“ He groans back from the kitchen, his mouth clearly full. “Stop eating it, holy crap.“ She yells at him, is met by amused laughter from the tall man in her kitchen. She just shakes her head, finally manages to close the silver bracelet. With her high heels she slowly walks into the kitchen, finds Joe leaning against the corner. His head is sunk and he’s focused on the lemon tart in front of him. With a silver fork he eats the messed up cake, clearly famished. His mouth is full and Taylor just shakes her head, crosses her arms. Joe suddenly notices her and can’t help but smirk at her annoyed stare.

“That’s gross. It was out there for three hours. The fucking cake must be frozen by now, how..“

“I like frosty cake.“ He answers, referring to one of their inside jokes. Taylor just shakes her head. She sometimes has no idea how this slender man can eat so much and not suffer from obesity or diabetes. He’s literally about to eat the entire cake she has baked for his mum’s Christmas dinner and which she forgot on the patio this afternoon. She just wanted the hot dessert to cool down for a few minutes. Everything was planned. His grandparents from Scotland would be in town. His eccentric grandmother everyone in his family fears. Because grandma Maria is not just a rich old lady. In his mum’s words she’s described as a ‘dictator of taste’, a ’meticulous old lady’ and other unlovely things. Taylor has never met Maria, but the fact that she’s about to give birth to her beloved grandson’s first child is enough reason to feel pressured to give an amazing first impression. She knows that it’s stupid to make it a challenge to impress this old lady. But she wants grandma Maria to like her. She wants her to think that she’s ’good enough’ to be part of his family. And Taylor is sure that she would’ve loved her lemon tart recipe. But thanks to her pregnancy brain, she left the beautiful cake outside for three hours and simply forgot it there. A snowstorm has hit the London sky by the time she remembered and her beautiful tart was ruined with snowflakes and water already. There’s no way they can present this mess to his grandmother now. Even Joe agrees with that.

“You look beautiful, wow.“ Joe says all of the sudden and smiles at her with a full mouth. She just sighs, slowly walks up to him. He inspects her outfit once more. She looks like a model for a Christmas commercial. A Christmas commercial with a beautiful pregnant lady. Her red lips and her green velvet dress with long sleeves and high neck match perfectly. Her hair is curly as always and the little J necklace she didn’t take off at all in the last two years is the perfect jewelry to this attire. She also wears high heels, which he hates nowadays. Because nowadays she can’t really see her own feet anymore and stumbling in her advanced stage of pregnancy is something he definitely wants her to avoid. Joe looks into her beautiful face. Something is up. He can see it clearly.

“Baby, what’s..“

“Give me that stupid fork.“ She interrupts him aggressively and casually takes his fork before shoving a huge portion of the cake into her mouth. He can’t help but laugh at her. As much as she acted like if eating the frozen cake is ‘disgusting‘, she still seems to crave the sugary paste as much as he did before. “Someone’s moody today.“ “M’ no moody“ she immediately complains with a full mouth and Joe can’t help but smirk at her. He looks at her eating the ruined cake. She’s about to cry, he knows that look. Joe just lets out a low breath, clearly amused by her behavior. She looks like a Christmas ornament with the little bow on the back of her dress. A pretty round Christmas ornament, thanks to the baby belly in front of her.

He carefully places his hand on her back, draws circles with his big hands on the spot that pains her a lot nowadays. Then he slowly takes the fork from her, kisses her cheek to sooth her in advance.

“What are you doing?“

“Making sure you won’t get sick before dinner. We’ve been there.“ he says in a deep voice, clearly tries to calm her. Taylor doesn’t even fight him, just swallows the rest of the cake in her mouth and takes a deep breath. Joe then grabs her two hands and makes her look at him.

“We’ve talked about this for at least ten times. You made the cake. If anyone asks, Isabel from your PR team has a friend that works at Crimson’s bakery and she got you the recipe. You added some.. something, and that’s why it tastes exactly as If we had bought it. Which we haven’t. Because.. you baked it. With your bare hands. Like a real housewife.“ He says, clearly not as serious about their little lie as Taylor would want him to be. She seems stressed, feels like she failed already. “It was just a cake. Your mom asked me just for a fucking cake. Your grandmother will think I can’t bake. Or cook. She’ll probably think I’ll feed my child Nando’s for the rest of my..“ “Taylor, no one will notice that we bought it.“ “We have to find another bakery. I’m serious. Your grandma knows Crimson’s. Everyone does. Fuck. Why don’t we..“ “Baby! It’s Christmas. No other bakery in our radius has lemon tart. I called every fucking bakery in this town today. Please calm down. Our plan is bulletproof.“ He smiles, both of her hands still in his. She just shrugs her shoulders, as whiny as so often nowadays. He can’t help but laugh at her, then immediately pulls her into a hug. Her baby belly against his stomach, his hands on top of the soft velvet fabric on the back of her dress. She smells incredible, just like the pine scented fragrance she put on earlier. He can feel her slowly resting her head against his shoulder. The pressure of impressing his grandmother is a lot on her, even though she’d never admit it to him. She has planned her outfit for days, planned the dessert and everything she would say and do. He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like the fact that she’s stressing herself so much just to leave a good impression on his difficult grandmother. Christmas was always her favorite holiday. A ruined cake shouldn’t be the reason for her not to enjoy it this time around. One year ago, when Taylor was pregnant for the first time, she put just as much stress on her as she does now. She was scared. She was terrified. She wanted this baby but she was stressed to manage pregnancy and touring equally well. The doctors assured her that the miscarriage happened for different reasons. But he knows that the emotional baggage has influenced a lot. The loss of their baby is something they both have learned from. She needs to relax. She needs to think of herself, not let these irrelevant things get to her too much.

All that matters is her and their baby.

“I just wanted her to think that I’m capable of feeding a family. I wanted her to think that I’m not just a stupid singer, but also.. a housewife. A mother. I just want her to like me.“ she then mumbles into his chest and Joe can’t help but laugh slowly. “Where’s your feminism all of the sudden?“ “I forgot it outside with my dessert and my dignity.“ She shoots back and Joe smiles. He lets out a last sigh, then slowly moves his head to kisses her forehead. “She will love you. I promise. She’ll never find out that we bought the cake.“ He reassures her, strokes her back up and down a few times. She doesn’t move, remains limb in his arms and closes her eyes. She enjoys his back rubs. She enjoys them a lot.

“At what time to we have to pick up the cake?“ She murmurs then, receives another kiss on her forehead from him. This pregnancy has been an emotional rollercoaster. She feels everything even deeper and more intensive than before, has no idea what she’d do if he wasn’t there to rub her back.

“In thirty minutes.“ He answers, still keeps her close. She has now swung her arms around him and hugs him while resting her head against his chest. She seems exhausted. She’s truly stressed about this. He knows that. “What If Patrick finds out and gives us away.“ Joe laughs quietly. “Nobody at my parents house tonight cares less for your cake than Patrick.“ He reassures her and she nods, slowly lets go off him and looks at him. Joe just smiles at her terrified facial expression and places his hands on her cheeks. She looks so beautiful. Even more since the so called ‘pregnancy glow’ has taken over her. She looks fuller than usually. Fuller and healthier. Flourishing. A life is growing inside her. A love is growing inside her. Joe smiles and kisses her slowly. She’s quiet. Her eyes are closed. “Let’s go, baby.“ He then mumbles against her lips. “Do you have everything?“ “Mhmhm.“ She nods, fixes her bangs quickly. “Nutmeg.“ She suddenly says, looks at him with big eyes. Joe, who’s fixing his tie in the mirror of the hallway by now just looks at her confused, unable to follow her fast thinking processes. As so often, nowadays. “What?“ “I added extra nutmeg. Which is a lie, obviously.“ She says, walks towards him into the hallway. “Don’t mess it up. Nutmeg. Remember this when..“ “I will.“ He laughs. It’s unbelievable how serious this is for her. “What If I say cinnamon, accidentally. That would totally give us away.“ He says in a serious tone, obviously ironic. Taylor just sighs and hits him in the side while grabbing her coat. She can’t hide a smirk though. “Baby, I won’t mess it up.“ He laughs, grabs the key from the drawer. “We’re a team.“ He adds, raises his hand to high five her, but she doesn’t react. She’s too grumpy to participate, just fixes her hair in the mirror once more. “We’re team frosty crew. Which has a total new meaning since your cake accident, by the way.“ He laughs amused and even Taylor can’t hide a smirk. He’s right. “Alright, Team frosty crew has to leave now. I don’t wanna be late.“ She says, leaves the house with Joe within the next two minutes.

After the evening at his parents house has started off perfectly and Taylor has received tons of compliments for her outfit from his grandmother the moment of truth, which is the moment the cake was brought into the dining room has come. Surrounded by a Christmas tree and dozens of presents and family laughter, Joe can’t help but smirk mischievously while taking another sip from his wine glass. He can see from the corner of his eyes how Taylor takes a deep breath while sitting next to him, suddenly moves her left leg nervously under the table. Everyone starts to eat the lemon tart and Taylor receives tons of compliments. She remains noticeably quiet for her usual self, but no one seems to notice anything except for Joe.

“Taylor, that is a remarkable tart. I’m impressed.“ His grandmother suddenly says from the end of the table. Taylor just smiles at her. “Thank you so much.“ “Tell me, dear. Did you bake it yourself this morning?“ The old lady asks strictly in her Scottish accent, which makes it even more difficult for Taylor to properly understand her. “Oh, yes. Of course.“ Taylor says, Joe fighting a laugh as hard as he can. “But I have helped as well. Right, babe?“ Joe suddenly says and looks at Taylor. They share a mischievous look and she grins back at him. She wants to kill him. He can see that in her eyes.

“Yeah. Joseph is a great helper in the kitchen.“ Taylor says in a monotone voice, receives an ironic smirk from Patrick on the opposite of her who’s eating the pie amusedly. “He added the nutmeg.“ Taylor adds and smirks at Joe once more. “Wasn’t it cinnamon, love?“ Joe teases and looks back at her while chewing the cake. Taylor looks at him once more and shakes her head quietly, still slightly smirking at him. He thinks he’s so smart. “No, babe. It was nutmeg. I’m very sure.“ She says and the conversations on the table seems to change again. Maria asks Patrick about his majors in school and Tom tells his grandpa about his new Job in Dublin. Taylor and Joe still smirk at each other. They don’t really talk, just laugh quietly. Everyone in the room is focused on the conversations between Tom and his grandfather. This is one of these moments in which they’re back in their own little world. Laughing about something no one understands and no one will ever understand. Joe suddenly grabs her fork and fills it with some pie from her plate. He then leads the fork into her mouth, feeds her like a little child. She laughs softly, a bit embarrassed of his behavior in front of his grandparents but then opens her mouth. Elizabeth looks at these two lovebirds fool around and smiles quietly to herself before following the other conversations again. “What are you doing?“ Taylor whispers with a full mouth, still looks at him and tries to recover from her laughs. “Team frosty crew rocks. We did a great job with this cake, don’t you think.“ “Team frosty crew should definitely shut up now.“ She answers him quietly, still chewing the dessert. Joe looks back at her and smiles. She does the same, can’t help but stare into his face. His gorgeous, beautiful face. He looks so cheeky, the little dimples in his smile radiating happiness onto her as well.

Team frosty crew evidently rocks. Team frosty crew is just getting started.

“Okay, monkey. Time for bed. Please put the toys back into daddy’s box.“ Taylor says politely to her toddler, looks at Eleanor from where she sits. After Joe has ordered Chinese for the three of them, Eleanor was allowed to stay up a little longer than usually after not having seen her father for more than two months. The afternoon has still been awkward so far, after all. Taylor regrets that she agreed to stay. All she did was watch Joe and Eleanor interact. Joe kept on including her in their conversations but it seemed wrong. This was his time with Eleanor, not hers. He should be able to spend time with her all alone. She shouldn’t be here. Not at all.

“Can I have bedtime with Daddy today?“ Eleanor whines from the end of the living room and Taylor looks at Joe. “Going to bed is a difficult project at the moment, so If you want I can..“ “No. No I’ll bring her to bed.“ Joe immediately answer her and Taylor nods. It’s definitely his turn, If he wants. Taylor slowly gets up and grabs the empty plates, carries them into his kitchen. Joe in the meantime has stood up as well and walks towards his daughter. “You can leave everything on the table, I’ll..“ “No way. You’re on bedtime duties, I’m on kitchen duties.“ Taylor interrupts him and Joe doesn’t fight her. Instead, he walks up to the five year old curly head on the carpet in front of him and smiles. He missed this so much. Joe remains standing behind her, slowly crouches down to place his big hands on her curly hair. The little buns on her head are clearly missed up.

“Ready for one of daddy’s bedtime stories?“ He asks and Eleanor immediately jumps up, reaches for him. “Yes daddy!“ She squeaks excitedly. Joe gladly takes her onto his arm, is amazed every time how big his baby has become. Five years. Five years since this little angel has changed his life forever. He slowly walks back to the kitchen with Eleanor on his arm, who has wrapped both of her little arms around his head. “Say goodnight to your mum.“ Joe says to Eleanor, who just says soft “Goodnight mommy, I love you.“ Taylor immediately turns around and faces her daughter. Even Joe has to smile at the sweet words coming from their little angel. Taylor can’t help but smile at the little face, places the plates on the counter and walks up to Joe and her. Taylor smiles at the little girl, places both of her hands on these chubby little cheeks she loves so much. “Goodnight baby. I love you too.“ She smiles, kisses Eleanor’s nose a few times. Then she looks at Joe who just smiles back at her but remains silent in this moment. “Don’t drive daddy insane, monkey. Just one story, okay?“ Taylor says and Eleanor just sweetly leans her head to the side and grants her dad the sweetest smile possible. Taylor and Joe both laugh. “She’s got that from you.“ Joe says casually and then slowly walks out of the kitchen with Eleanor. She can’t help but smile while watching them disappear. He’s right. When she was always good at one thing then it’s wrapping him around her finger just by granting him a smile.

“Can you tell me the one with the Papa bear and the babies, daddy.“ she asks him politely in her baby voice, hugs his head while being carried upstairs from her Papa. Joe loves the fact that he’s not the only one who seems to crave cuddles. Joe turns his head, presses a big kiss onto her chubby cheek. “Alright. But first brushing your teeth, love.“ He says and pokes the little girl into the side. She laughs immediately. Taylor slowly rinses off the dishes, hearts the two disappear upstairs. It’s weird how habits have changed so quickly throughout the last year. Before their separation, Joe had always been the one to bring Eleanor to bed. Even when she was just a baby, Eleanor loved falling asleep on her dad’s chest. It’s because of his incredibly calm personality. He radiates calmness, always has. And that’s exactly what Eleanor needed to fall asleep. Nowadays, she has gotten used to going to bed with Taylor. It has been a battle at first. But after a while, the toddler adjusted. That’s what kids do. They simply adjust.

Taylor closes the dishwasher, asks herself if the situation tonight is weird for Eleanor. Does it bring back old memories of mommy and daddy together? Does she even have old memories of mommy and daddy together? If one thing has changed five years ago, then it’s the fact that everything Taylor does evolves around the well- being of her child. Everything. Even her decision to leave, back then. She wanted stability for Eleanor. Not a father who would break promises every night, who would travel the globe for his career but forgot to make enough time for his daughter. She could’ve stayed, she would’ve. She would’ve given him more time to find his way, would’ve fought endless fights with him to make him understand. But this is just what would’ve happened if there wasn’t a crying baby in her bed every night. This is not what Eleanor deserves. She deserves to experience faithfulness from a man, from her father. She deserves to experience unconditional trust from him. He’s the first emotional male interaction in her life and she didn’t want uncertainty to become the main emotion towards him. Taylor swallows. Just thinking about all the times he promised to come home and didn’t still break her heart over and over again. The little cries from Eleanor’s room. The tears that ran down her baby’s face because she asked for daddy a million times already. Because she wanted her daddy. She needed him. Even more than Taylor did.

After drying the glasses with the grey kitchen towel, Taylor places the glass in the cupboard and closes the door. She scratches the back of her head and looks outside of the window. She smiles. It’s still snowing and the immense amount of white snow that covers the street almost lights up the sky. It’s the night before Christmas Eve and she loves the fact that they will, in fact, have a white Christmas this year. Just when Taylor was about to go back to the living room, she hears footsteps coming from upstairs. She peaks into the hallway with a confused look. But instead of her, Joe just casually enters the living room again, places the little baby phone on the coffee table of his living room before turning on one of the floor lamps at the end of the room. “What are you doing?“ Taylor asks him confused and Joe just returns her look. “She’s asleep. She was out after two seconds.“ He answers casually. “No. I mean the baby phone.“ Taylor says and he just looks at her again, not understanding at all what she’s asking him, while walking past her and into the kitchen once more. “What’s with it?“ “Joe, she’s not a baby anymore. She doesn’t need a baby phone. If she wakes up she’ll come to us, trust me.“ Taylor says amused about the fact that he still acts like Eleanor’s a baby and unable to tell them If somethings’s wrong. “I know. But it just makes me feel better to..“ “To hear her snores while sitting down here?“ She teases, leans in the doorway to the kitchen and looks at him grabbing something from the cupboard. “I just want to hear if she has a nightmare or anything as long as I’m downstairs.“ He says and Taylor doesn’t reply anymore. Joe adores this little girl. He has missed her.

“Want some wine?“ Joe asks then, reaches for the bottle of white wine in his fridge and looks back at her. “Is this part of our team building?“ She smirks while still standing in the doorway, her arms still crossed. He doesn’t really answer at first, just smirks at her while automatically pouring wine into the glasses. She loves wine, he knows that. He has spent too many drunk nights with her in bed not to know how much she likes white wine. “Drinking wine has always been our way to.. bond.“ Joe murmurs, fills the two glasses with wine and then puts the bottle back into the fridge. “Or our way to make a baby.“ She casually says and Joe looks up to her. They both laugh quietly. “You’re right.“ He smirks, walks past her and casually falls onto his sofa. He then yawns loudly, runs his fingers through his hair. Taylor stands there, still more uncomfortable than ever. She still has no idea why she agreed to this. Why she let him convince her that this was a good idea. Spending the night with an Ex? Never a good idea. Especially not if you have a child and lots of unfinished business together.

“What are you standing there?“ Joe then laughs, signals her to sit down next to him. Taylor awkwardly walks up to him, sits down at the end of the sofa. He still laughs at her and Taylor rolls her eyes before nipping on her wine glass. She tugs her legs up a bit, casually leans against the cushion sideways and shakes her head at him. “Why are you laughing at me?“ “You act like I’m a total stranger that you have to have a conversation with.“ he mumbles before taking a sip himself, clearly still amused. She blushes a bit, shakes her head. “Considering the fact that the last real conversation we had is more than a year ago, you probably count as a stranger.“ Taylor says, just realizes how sad these words were that came out of her mouth. She swallows quietly, not able to look at him anymore. She doesn’t know if these words were inappropriate. She didn’t want to sound rude. “I tried to have many real conversations with you over the last year but you were the one who high key tried to avoid them.“ Joe says, not angry at all. He’s calm. He can even look at her.

Taylor sighs, then finds her courage to lookup at him. “I had my reasons.“ She just says. A little more reserved than she intended. “And these reasons were the fact that I was working a lot?“ He asks provocative and Taylor freezes. She looks at him, doesn’t react anymore. Does he call this ‘becoming a team again‘? Bringing up all these old things, all these old emotions that make her angry all over? If that’s his idea of becoming friends again, then she feels sorry for him. “Do you really wanna go there again, Joe?“ Taylor asks more tense than before, ready to play this game, ready to fight him If she has to. But Joe then looks at her again and his angry facial expression has changed. She knows this look. She has seen this look back then, last winter, when she dropped Eleanor off at his place for the first time after moving out. When he stood there in his door, dark circles under his eyes, hugging his daughter as if he was holding onto his life. This look is a look of surrendered anger. Sadness. Deep sadness.

“I don’t.“ He simply answers, making Taylor swallow once more. She’s angry. She’s so done. She’s so done being the bad cop. Him making her feel responsible for all this. For the reason they aren’t a family anymore.

“I should go to bed.“ She mumbles, places her glass on the coffee table in front of her. “Can I ask you a question?“ He suddenly says and Taylor sighs. She just wants to leave. She just wants to go home, to her own house. Far away from him and this living room. This room full of memories and all these questions he has.

“What?“ She says, almost angry at him for even asking. “Did you lie to me?“

“When?“

“When you said that.. that you left because I was gone too much. Or was it because you just didn’t love..“

“How dare you even say this.“ She suddenly interrupts and Joe looks at her immediately with shock on his face. He never thought that this question would suddenly make her so angry. She looks devastated. Broken. He immediately starts to stutter, doesn’t know what to say to ease the situation but feels all these emotions coming back up again. He’s so angry. He’s so angry at her for having this power over him. For making him feel all these things, after all these years.

“You left me a message. A bloody message, Taylor. You didn’t..you didn’t even want to talk about this. I barely saw you when you dropped Eleanor off at my place for the first time after weeks. I didn’t even have the chance to explain. You just left with my daughter within a few minutes. I came home and you were gone. Both of you. My family. Do you know how that feels? It feels like losing everything. I didn’t have a fucking reason to want to live anymore for months and months. So excuse me, but I do think I have the right to ask..“

“Goodnight, Joe. Thanks for the nice evening. I’m going home.“ Taylor mumbles ironically, immediately gets up and walks into his kitchen. She feels her heart bursting. There’s no way she can be in one house, let alone one room with him anymore. She feels like she can’t breath anymore. She feels like he’s taking her air. With all these words that just came out of his mouth.

“There’s no way you’ll get a taxi that late at night.“ He suddenly answers, feels another emotion creep up. He’s scared. Scared to see her leave this house again. Scared to loose her once more, even though he didn’t even really have her tonight. Not really. Not enough to tell her everything.

“I have security.“

“Good luck having them drive up that hill with these snow masses.“ He murmurs, hates to express these feelings with anger bit can’t help it. He seems to follow her around the spacious kitchen. She pours out her wine glass in the sink, then walks back to the living room to grab her cardigan. She looks angry, just like a volcano. Ready to explode.

“I’d rather walk home and die from all this snow than be stuck in this fucking house with you.“ She suddenly turns around, hisses at him. Joe doesn’t reply, looks just as angry. He knows what’s happening. He’s been waiting for what’s happening. It’s the first time they actually talk. It’s the first time two people are confronted with each other since they set a bomb and watched their world explode, fall to pieces. It’s the first eye contact after the storm. After their world has come to an end a year ago.

“I know. You left me a message on the speaker about that last year.“ He says with a sassy undertone, just as offensive as her. She just shakes her head, looks more angry than he thought was possible. She quietly puts on her cardigan, then pauses for a second and looks into his face.

“Fuck you. I really thought you were honest about wanting to work things out tonight. I trusted you.“ She yells, tries not to be too loud to wake her daughter. Joe just looks at her, unable to believe she just said this. He feels all he felt back then slowly come up again. All the anger, all the sadness, all these memories in his head that seemed to haunt him to death.

“Oh you trusted me? Great. Cause I loved you. I fucking loved you. How does that feel, huh.“ He yells but Taylor looks into his angry face, then immediately turns around and walks away.

“Eleanor’s Christmas play begins at 4pm and she has to be there at 3pm. Don’t be late, her teacher will flip.“ She then says in a totally different voice. She seems cold. She has shut down again, has become as unattainable as she has been for the last year. Joe just watches her walk down his hallway, reach for her coat. Her phone is on her ear already as she puts on her boots. He sighs, looks at her walking away. He knows that it wasn’t the smartest choice to say all these things tonight when all he truly wanted was to become a team once more. But he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t keep these things inside. The hurt was too big to play this superficial single parent game with her today. He’s not ready to be a single dad. He was never ready to be a single dad. He didn’t sign up to become a single dad. He signed up for raising Eleanor with the love of his life. Not without her.

“What are you doing?“ He murmurs, rubs his eyes. Watching her leave again breaks him even more. He feels exhausted from all these feelings that just boiled up. He feels exhausted from fighting from hating her. Joe slowly walks up to her, but she’s faster. “I’m leaving. Bye.“ She hisses, immediately opens the door and walks outside. The second she steps outside is the second she realizes that this, in fact, was a bad idea. A very bad idea. It’s not just the immense amount of snow that is coming down from the sky. It’s the intense wind, that is making it almost hurtful to feel the snow lashing against her skin. Taylor squeezes her eyes, unable to fully open them as she walks down the steps from his house. She holds her phone closely to her ear, prays for Brandon to pick up. How can the phone lines be that damaged? The national news have predicted that this might be the biggest storm in the modern history of England, but she never thought it would be so bad. It was a mistake to let Eleanor convince her to walk to Joe’s house. She should’ve taken security. She was so stupid.

Just when Taylor is about to fight her way through the iced front yard, she suddenly realizes how slippery the floor really is. Even before she can catch herself, she looses her balance, fights to stay upright, but falls. Within a few seconds, her phone is in the air and Taylor slips, stumbled and falls onto the ground. She feels her back hit the iced floor, feels the hard collision in her bones. She feels like crying. Her back hurts. Her butt hurts. When will this streak of bad luck finally end? Taylor slowly sits up, realizes that she has ice cold snow all inside her clothes. She’s cold. Her phone is gone. She feels tears rolling down her cold and wet cheeks while sitting in the snow, right during this crazy storm. She can’t help but slowly let a first sob escape her mouth. She’s not sure wether it’s her fall or his words. His words that sing on her heart like a knife. She feels so much pain, is not able to get up again. She learnt to get up whenever she fell. But this time, the cold hard ground is too heavy on her.

“Oh my god, are you okay?“ She suddenly hears the same familiar voice behind her that was haunting her in her tears before. Taylor doesn’t move, still sits on her butt in the cold snow and cries her eyes out. The white snow masses on the ground reflect onto the sky, almost light up this dark night. Taylor sinks her head once more, hears fast footsteps in the snow behind her, then feels two hands on her shoulders. “I found your phone. I saw you slipping from my..“ Joe then stops, catches his breath as he realizes that she’s sobbing. Hot tears are running down her face and she immediately pushes his hands away, tries to get up. It’s hurtful to move but it’s even more hurtful to feel him standing behind her, wanting to help her get on her feet again. She can get up alone. She has enough strength to walk home alone. She doesn’t need him. She just doesn’t. Taylor closes her eyes in pain, then gets up. Joe grabs her arm immediately.

“It’s way too dangerous to walk home right now. Please come inside, that looked really bad. Are you in pain?“ He asks, feels incredibly bad that their fight before may have been the reason why she’s hurt now. But Taylor just doesn’t turn around, tries to free herself from his grip while fighting the lashing snow blowing into her wet face. She grabs her phone from his hand, then tries to shake off his big hand that is holding her left arm tightly. “Let go off me.“ She yells while sobbing hysterically, doesn’t want to face him. Joe doesn’t let go off her. There’s no way he’ll let her go home now. There’s no way he’ll let the mother of his child walk home all alone at night during a snow storm after hurting herself already due to the crazy weather conditions. “I won’t.“ He yells back, looks how desperately she tries to free herself. The entire situation must look almost comedic to strangers. Him holding onto her arm and her yelling, trying to free herself while being covered in Snow. “Let go.“ She yells again, then looks at him. He sees her crying face and swallows. He has never seen her more hurt than this. Joe immediately stops thinking, pulls her into a tight hug. She’s still fighting him, begging him to let go. But he’s stronger than her, just places his hand on her head, the other one around her figure. Then, slowly, she gives up. Let’s him hold her. Let’s him hold her in the craziest snow storm that she has ever been in. She cries hysterically into his jacket. Maybe because it all has gotten too much for her. Maybe because he smells like he always did. She can’t stand the pain anymore, in this moment. She’s not strong enough to stand it anymore, right now.

“I’m so sorry.“ He suddenly mumbles into her ear, while holding her. She cries into his shoulder, holds onto him desperately while he feels her limb body in his arms. She knows that he’s not talking about the snowstorm or her fall. “I’m just so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.“ She can hear him say, his voice changed as well. It’s not because of the snow, she knows that. “I broke so many promises, I.. I don’t know why. I always loved you. I always did, please.. please believe me. Don’t go. Please don’t go right now, I.. I need you to not go tonight.“ He mumbles into her almost wet hair, is clearly crying now as well. The amount of snow that’s coming down makes it almost impossible to not have a white layer of snow covering all of their clothes. Yet they’re just standing there hugging. But it’s not the gentle kind of hug, they often used to share. It’s not the loving hug they were both used to. It’s not a way to keep each other warm, anymore. It’s a desperate hug. A desperate way to hold on to each other. Desperate not to fall. Again. Taylor doesn’t reply in any way, just keeps on being more and more weak the second he talks. He holds her close, realizes that she’s freezing, her entire body is shaking. Even more than he is. Joe immediately pulls back, looks into her face. Her cheeks are bright red, her eyes even more so. She looks destroyed and pale. She looks more hurt than he thought he’d ever see her. But she looks at him. She looks at him for the first time. For the first time since then. This is her, opening up.

Look what you’ve done to me.

This is her showing him that she’s still there. That she didn’t forget. She can’t forget. Joe can’t help but place his lips on her bangs, kisses her forehead slowly. She doesn’t stop him, keeps on sobbing. He closes his eyes, breathes her in deeply. Just like then.

Six years, five days and three hours earlier.

“I don’t think we can do this“ Taylor cries, her eyes red and swollen. She sits on her bed, one leg under her butt, the other one hanging down. Her cold and wet hands are placed on her lap. The room is fully lit, even though it’s 2 am. Joe just sits down next to her, hands her the glass of water.

“Take a sip please.“ “Everything will change. All we have will be gone. Do you..“ “Taylor, take a sip.“ He repeats, this time a bit more strict. She hiccups a few times, then grabs the class with her cold and shaky hands. Joe remains right next to her, places his hand on her naked shoulder, strokes her hair gently with his thumb. She’s absolutely terrified and panicked, will surely collapse if she won’t hydrate soon. She has cried since hours. Ever since she went into that bathroom. Joe looks at her, watches her gulp down the glass of water. He knew how thirsty she must’ve been. In between crying and fighting with him, there hasn’t even been a few seconds to drink something. As soon as she’s done, Joe gladly takes the class from her, places it on the nightstand next to her. Taylor breathes heavily, exhausted. She doesn’t move. Joe looks at her, grabs her shaky hand. “That’s good. Breath.“ He whispers, looks at her with a sunken head just breathing. She’s surrendering. She has cried too much. There’s no strength anymore. “I can’t kill it.“ She then mumbles, still not really looking at him. Joe can’t help but smile, immediately places his hand on her cheek to make her look at him. Her eyes are puffy and she has red spots on her face. She always does after crying.

“I don’t want you to kill it.“

“I want it but not now. This was never planned. I wanted to get married first and..“

“We can get married afterwards.“

“You act like this is all fun.“ She suddenly says, a bit more angry than before. She looks up at him, his hand still in her neck. She looks just as scared as before, her red eyes full with tears.

“It is.“

“It’s not.“

“Taylor.“ He then rants, looks into her eyes, “This is our baby.“ he mumbles, a huge smile spread across his face. He immediately places his hand on her stomach, kisses her cheek. “We didn’t plan this, but we always wanted this. I know you feel overwhelmed and you don’t know if you’re ready for this. But you will be. And just know that I am.“ He smiles and looks into her eyes, “I am so, so.. ready. I want all of this. I want all of you. I want the pregnancy, I want the sleepless nights, I want to raise this little angel. I want her or him to look like you, I want the parent teacher conferences, I want the tantrums. I want to do this with you. I love you. You’re my best mate. I want this.. with you.“ He says, got way more quiet at the end of his little speech. Taylor still looks at him, her chin slowly trembling again. He still smiles. She’s so beautiful. She’s a mess but she’s the mess he always wanted. The mess he will always want. He feels her cold and sweaty hand on his cheek. And then he kisses her. He kisses her, feels her hot tears on his lips. He can taste the saltiness. He can taste her fears. Her love.

“I love you too.“ She then cries against his lips. "I’m sorry I’m such a mess. I just.. this is just… it’s a lot and..“

“It’s fine. It’s all fine. We’ll always be fine. It will always be us, Tay. You and me. We went through so much. There’s nothing we couldn’t do. Trust me, baby.“ He mumbles, pulls her into a tight hug. She’s still wearing nothing but her nightgown, has goosebumps all over her soft skin. He feels her soft sobs in his shoulder, kisses the little spot over her left ear a couple times. He then slowly lets go, wipes her tears away and smiles at her puffy face. She still looks scared but happy at the same time. He knew that it was his turn to calm her. She needed to be reassured that she’s not in this alone. That this wasn’t planned but is still something they both always wanted to happen someday. Joe can’t help but place his lips on her bangs, kisses her forehead slowly. She doesn’t stop him, keeps on sobbing. He closes his eyes, breathes her in deeply.

Taylor opens her eyes, then closes them again immediately. She still feels her aching back, feels her eyes that are still swollen and puffy from last night. There’s relief though. Deep relief. She groans tiredly, then opens her eyes again. She looks around confused, realizes just now that she’s in the guest room of his house. It seems to be late already. After all it’s not even dark outside anymore. Taylor scratches her head, then looks around. She hears noises from downstairs, slowly slides the blanket from her legs. She wears some old sweats and a hoodie from him. She doesn’t know these clothes, which implies that they’re new. Taylor remains sitting on the edge of the bed, reaches for her back once more. She’s making a face, then yawns. How could she be so stupid to just run out of this house late at night and think that she could just walk home alone. She’s still emotional over his rant. But it was good to finally get it out. It was good to be honest to each other for once, even if that means that she has a hematoma on her back now. The talk afterwards was important. Nothing is fixed. But they opened up to each other again.

Taylor slowly walks outside of the room, then makes her way downstairs. As soon she gets closer to his kitchen, she can hear Joe’s and Eleanor’s voices coming from the kitchen. There’s her childrens Christmas music coming from the living room and the smell of cinnamon and chocolate makes her smiles slightly. “Now stir it. Yup. Like that.“ “But Daddy, what’s this?“ “Just stir it a little more, angel. Look, let me help.“ Taylor yawns once more, remains in the doorway. Eleanor stands on a chair in front of the kitchen counter. Joe right behind her, guiding her hand with the whisk while stirring the dough. Eleanor then seems to notice her, turns around and is clearly distracted by her momma. “Mummy’s awake.“ She determines and frees herself immediately from the chair and Joe’s grip. Joe just turns around while stirring the rest of the dough, smiles at Taylor. “Great timing as always. Pancakes are coming right up.“ He says busy, as Eleanor already runs into Taylor’s arms.

“Good morning baby.“ Taylor smiles at her daughter, picked her up and holds her on her arm. It’s moments like these when she can’t believe how big her baby has become. She’s not even a baby anymore. Not at all.

“Good morning, mommy.“ The blonde curly head replies and Taylor presses a kiss onto her lips. “How did you sleep?“ “Good.“ “Did you have a nice dream?“ She asks, smiles at Eleanor. This has always been their little morning ritual. Eleanor loves to tell her mom about her dreams and Taylor loves hearing her talk, loves to spark her fantasy when it comes to telling her about a dream she had.

“Mhmhm.“ The little girl shakes her head, but Joe suddenly answers from the stove. “What about the the little baby bear that you told me about last night?“ Taylor immediately laughs, presses another kiss onto her daughter’s cheeks and sits down on the kitchen table next to where Joe is preparing breakfast. Her dreams always include cute pets. She has noticed that pattern. “Did you keep Daddy up last night?“ She asks, Eleanor just shakes her head, playing with her mommy’s long hair. “She came to me at.. about 4 am. We talked about the teddy dream and then went right back to bed.“ He answers, is filling the empty plate next to his pan with fresh pancakes by now. “Did you cuddle with Daddy?“ She asks and Eleanor nods smiling. Taylor kisses her cheek once more. She’s glad Eleanor got some snuggles from her Dad last night. She definitely missed that. Eleanor quickly frees herself from Taylor’s lap and runs up to her dad again. Unfortunately, she’s still too little to see how her Dad is flipping the pancakes. Joe laughs at how desperately she tries to climb onto the chair again, still in her Pjs. He then grabs the little girl with one arm and holds the big baby on his hip while continuing the flipping with just one hand. “One.. two.. three.“ He says, flips the pancake, let’s the pastry fly for a few seconds and then catches it with the pan again. Eleanor squeaks, immediately claps her hands. Taylor laughs, claps for him as well. Joe turn around and laughs at these two girls before preparing the next pancake. Taylor looks at Eleanor. The way she looks at him is something that still gives her goosebumps.

She looks at him as if he’s the king of the world.

He is the king of Eleanor’s world.

“Again, Daddy.“ She says and squeaks one time which makes Joe laugh. “Okay we have one more left.“ He says, handling the pan and then flipping the pancake once more. This time he almost misses to catch it again, struggles to keep half of the pancake inside of the pan. Flipping pancakes with just one hand is more difficult than he thought. Eleanor laughs out loud, screams excitedly and then throws her head back laughing while holding onto his shoulders. Joe grouches desperately, then saves the pancake in the last second. His daughter is still laughing about her desperate Dad, lets her head fall against his shoulder while laughing out loud. Joe smiles at her, sinks his head to kiss hers while smiling at her. There’s no sweeter sound than his baby girl’s laughs in the morning. “Daddy..“ She laughs and Joe turns around with Eleanor on his arm, places the plate of hot pancakes on the kitchen table next to Taylor. She still looks tired but she smiles at how much fun these two are having. She looks how Joe places Eleanor on her chair, immediately fills her plate with a pancake. Taylor helps Eleanor put some bananas on her plate, then looks at Joe again and grants him a soft smile.

“Looks good.“

“Doesn’t just look good, also tastes good.“ He says confident, smirks at her as mischievously as he always did. She replies an ironic smile and shakes her head. If he was always good at one thing in the kitchen then it was his ability to make pancakes.

“How did you sleep? How’s your back?“ He asks and Taylor seems a little uncomfortable, busy eating her pancake. “It’s fine. Advil helped.“ She answers, doesn’t really want to talk about her little break down in the snow last night. Instead she focuses on the girl next to her, runs her fingers through the curly mess on her head. “Are you excited for your play tonight?“ She asks, knows how much Eleanor has been looking forward to her first Christmas play at pre school tonight. It’s actually a big thing. The little girl was chosen for the main role, that is little Rudolph, and Taylor’s heart has never been prouder. Joe promised to join as well after he has missed several choir performances and cake sales in the last year. This is his daughter’s big night and Eleanor has shed too many tears in the last years when her daddy wasn’t there to come along. If he dares to miss this one again, she’ll kill him. Literally. “Yes, mommy.“ She answers, her mouth full of the delicious pancakes that her dad made. At home, Eleanor isn’t that crazy about her pancakes. And even though Taylor uses the exact same recipe as Joe does, the pancakes of course taste better at daddy’s house. Taylor has sussed that out already.

“Daddy are you coming with mommy?“ Eleanor asks Joe, who immediately nods. “Of course. Do you think I’ll miss my angel on stage tonight? No way.“ He says euphorically and Eleanor’s eyes sparkle. Taylor looks at him with that one specific look he knows too well.

You better won’t break this promise or we’ll have a problem.

“Mommy are you coming with daddy?“ “Of course, I’ll be there as well.“ “No, are you and daddy coming together?“ She asks once more, leaves Taylor confused. “Honey, why do you want us so badly to arrive together?“ Taylor laughs, still not sure where Eleanor is going with this. But to Taylor’s surprise, Eleanor suddenly becomes quiet, just slowly eats her pancakes with a pout. Taylor immediately feels that something is off, shares a look with Joe who just shrugs his shoulders. “Honey? What’s wrong?“ Taylor asks, her hand on her daughter’s neck, playing with the tiny blonde curls.

“Emily said that.. that I’m a liarer.“ She mumbles, pouts like a baby all of the sudden. Joe has also put down his cutlery by now, looks at Taylor for help. “Why did Emily say that you’re a liar?“ Taylor asks, and Eleanor still doesn’t reply. Instead she immediately rushes down her chair and crawls onto Taylor’s lap, presses her little face into Taylor’s chest. Taylor naturally hugs her baby tightly, feels soft cries underneath her arms. Joe looks at Taylor in shock. “Tell me what’s wrong, baby. Come on. Mommy wants to know why Emily said that?“ Taylor murmurs, sinks her head to kiss Eleanor’s head. Eleanor then slowly sits up again. Her little face is red and a few tears are still running down her tiny face. Joe feels as if his heart is going to stop. The thing he hates the most in this world is seeing Eleanor cry. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world.

“Eleanor. Give me your hand, angel.“ He says worried, reaches for her tiny hand over the table. She quickly places her tiny hand in her Papa’s while still looking more than whiny. Taylor wipes her tears away, kisses her temple while rocking her slowly. She’s still in her little cat pajamas and naked feet are hanging loosely down from where she’s sitting. She looks like Taylor whenever she’s crying. Joe swallows, gently caresses her tiny hand that he’s holding on the table. “Why did Emily call you a liar?“ He asks now as well and Eleanor looks at him with raised eyebrows and desperation written all over her chubby little face.

“Because.. she said that I lie because I don’t have a daddy and..“ Eleanor doesn’t even have to finish. The entire mood has suddenly changed. Dead silence between them. Taylor swallows, slowly looks up at Joe. He looks broken. He has never felt more pain than in the moment these words escaped his baby’s mouth. She can see that. He immediately gets up, crouches down in front of Taylor and Eleanor and grabs both of Eleanor’s small hands. “Your daddy loves you so much, Eleanor. And tonight when I come to watch your play, Emily will see that she was the one who was lying. Because you know that you have a daddy, right?“ He says, looks into her eyes. She nods. She doesn’t seem to be happy yet. Joe looks desperately at Taylor. She doesn’t know what to say, just sees in Joe’s eyes in how much pain he really is while still holding her baby. She’d love to help him, but she doesn’t know how.

“Do you love mommy? Daddies love mommies and..“

“Honey, who told you that all these rules about what mommies and daddies have to do?“ Taylor immediately steps in, is sick and tired of these conservative values that the parents of this private school are giving their children.

“Do you love mommy?“ Eleanor asks and looks at Joe who still crouches in front of the chair. Taylor suddenly feels her throat growing more and more tight. She didn’t want to go there, but apparently Eleanor really wants to know. Joe hesitates first, then swallows before nodding. “Of course I do. I love mummy so much, you have no idea. Your mummy is my favorite person in the whole world. And so are you, my love. Don’t let these girls tell you lies. From now on, I’ll always be at any school event to prove these mean girls wrong, huh? Does that sound good? If you want I can say hello to Emily tonight.“ He says and Eleanor seems to finally look happy. She smiles and nods, then slowly crawls down from Taylor’s lap and into Joe’s arms. He hugs her tightly while crouching in front of Taylor’s chair, closes his eyes while holding the little body as tight as possible. He’s crying. Taylor knows that. He presses his eyes together, as tightly as possible. She swallows. His words have touched her. This is the first time she feels like crying as well. Where on earth did they they go wrong? How could it ever come to this?

“Daddy loves you so much. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t have a daddy because none of these kids have a daddy who loves them as much as I love you. Okay?“ He mumbles into her ear and she nods. “I love you too, daddy.“ She mumbles and Taylor swallows, takes a deep breath not to cry as well. Joe then kisses the girl’s head a few times. Eleanor seems to be easier to ease than they thought. She climbs onto her chair again, seems as happy as before. How easy it is to make a child happy. How wonderful this life would be if it would work like this for adults as well. Taylor looks at Joe but he doesn’t return her stare, just sits back down again, stirring the spoon in his tea. “Mommy, can I get up and play?“ She asks politely and Taylor nods, clearly none of them in the mood to be strict today anymore. Eleanor walks up, runs into the living room and starts to play with her dolls again. Taylor looks at Joe who just quietly gets up. He seems to have lost his appetite. She can’t blame him.

Taylor watches him start to clean everything up and gets up as well. He’s tense. She feels that. She knows him too well. He wants to cry. He is about to cry. She slowly places her hand on his shoulder while watching him rinse off the plates. He doesn’t react. After all, he’s not a bad father. He shouldn’t feel like a bad father. Ever. “These things come from all these over- privileged kids with their old parents who are all lawyers or doctors. Don’t..“ “She’s right. A dad attends school events. A dad is sitting in the front row. I’m not..“ “Don’t do this to yourself“ She immediately interrupts, doesn’t want him to go there. He has made mistakes, yes. But he has made so many things right as well. Eleanor adores him. She loves him to death. All of that is because he did so many other things right. Even when he was away.

“She loves you.“ Taylor says, her hand still on his shoulder, caressing him. She can’t stand to see him like this. It’s true that he hasn’t been a great partner to her at the end of their relationship. But he’s not a bad father. Not at all. “Yeah, because I make pancakes and pay for things.“ He replies quietly with that sarcasm in his voice that makes Taylor sigh. It makes her angry to hear him say things like that. Cause it’s not true. Not at all.

“Joseph!“

“It’s true though, isn’t it?“ He asks, trust around to face her. She lets go off his shoulder and looks at him, feels a lump in her throat. He has tears in his eyes. It’s been a long time since she has seen him this emotional. She slowly turns around to make sure Eleanor is not listening to any of this. But the little girl seems to be in her own world again, slowly sums the words to her favorite Christmas song while playing on the floor. “It’s not. Not at all. She loves you because you make her laugh, because you’re so kind to her. Because you love her unconditionally. You brought her to sleep when she was just a baby and she has her earliest memories with you. Don’t let these five year old brats let you..“ “I should’ve been there.“ He interrupts, turns around to continue rinsing the dishes.

She doesn’t fight him this time. Yes. He should’ve been there.

“You can be there from now on.“ Taylor says, not sure why it’s so important to her to let him know that he’s not a bad father after all. “You can become the helicopter Dad, If you want. You can change this from now on. You can fix this. You can fix all of this from now on.“ She says, reminding him of the Taylor he once fell in love with. The most positive person he has ever met. The little sunshine on a dark and rainy day. Her soft voice that was able to soothe all the chaos in his head. Joe slowly turns around. He still looks as emotional as before. But this time he looks right into her eyes. And it hits her deeper than she thought cause she can feel what he feels, once again. Just like it was back then. “I can’t fix it all, can I?“ He murmurs and she realizes that they’re not just talking about Eleanor anymore. This is about them.

Taylor remains silent, doesn’t stop looking into his eyes. She can still read these promises in his eyes. She can still read all these dreams that never came true. He’s still Joe and he will forever be Joe.

“You will never know how much I wish you would. I wish you would fix this. All of this. Us.“ She replies with a shaky voice, feels how her knees are growing weak. She swallows her tears once more, looks at Joe who seems rattled up all of the sudden. He looks breathless, waits eagerly for her to continue. “But you can’t. And you know that.“ Joe looks surprised, but sad and frustrated at the same time. He changes his standing position, crosses his arms slowly. This is not how he expected her little speech to end.

“I can. Why do you think I can’t fix it?“ He asks and she sighs. Do they really have to go there again? “Because you love your job. And having a child means that..“ “You never gave me a second chance. Why? Why don’t I deserve a second chance? I became this fucking young asshole Hollywood actor who didn’t understand that family and job are hard to combine. I know that now. You were always more mature when it comes to that. But I have learned my lesson. Ever since you walked out that door, I have learned my lesson. I have learned what it means to loose your family. I know now that my job’s great but my family is better. Why can’t you forgive me? I just want a second..“

“Giving out chances means nothing else but bringing uncertainty in her life. This is not just about us anymore. This is about Eleanor’s life. Her emotional life. If I tell her that Daddy will be there from now on and then after a few months you decide that your movies are more important again, how do you think she’ll deal with it? I’m done hearing her cries when you decide to come home later. I’m done missing you.“ She said, suddenly realizes what just slipped out of her mouth. “I mean, I’m done watching her miss you. We can’t have any more uncertainty in our life. And that’s why I didn’t give you a chance when you..“

“I’m her father. How can you not give me a second chance?“ He suddenly asks and Taylor freezes. She looks into his eyes and suddenly doesn’t know what to say. He just leans against the counter once more, his arms crossed, his hair still messy from bed. She looks into his ocean blue eyes while standing in front of him, then sinks her head and lets out a slow breath. He has nerves to just say this.

“Do you think there’s anyone out there who’ll ever love you two more than I do? You’re my life. You two are my life. You as much as her. I would swim from England to America If I’d have to for you two. I.. I made mistakes. I hate myself for it. But that will never stop me from loving you. And I’m glad that there was a crazy snowstorm last night so I could finally imprison you in this house because this is the first time in months that you’re not running away from me. I haven’t.. I haven’t touched you in over a year. I haven’t kissed you in over a year. I miss waking up next to you. I miss us three. I miss my best friend. I just..“ Joe sighs, ends his little speech and looks at her. He never thought he’d finally be able to say this and he’s well aware that his timing seems off. The dishes behind him are waiting to be rinsed off and his daughter is on the other end of this flat, playing happily with her toys. The timing seems off but it has never felt more right to say these words. He looks at Taylor and she stares out of the window behind him. “You act like all of this is so easy on me. I miss my best friend, too. But I love her and I won’t.. I won’t cause this huge change in her life just because you say all these things. I want you to act, not talk. And unless you do, none our feelings are relevant here. She’s a child. She’s dependent on us and I won’t.. I won’t risk her getting hurt.“ Joe can’t reply to that anymore. He just looks at Taylor who has had watery eyes. But she seemed to have caught herself again, slowly swallows the emotionality down. She looks back at him now and all he sees is her broken heart. The heart of the love of his life that he broke with his own hands. Joe looks down slowly, then looks back up again.

“I still believe in us. I never stopped believing in us. I still think that you and me are..“

“You got what I said. I should get going.“ She interrupts, this time eager to follow her plans. Joe swallows. He feels rejected. In a hurtful way. But he understands her. If this is her decision, he has to understand her. “Don’t you want to drive together, later? I think it would be nice for Eleanor to..“ “Yeah, I’ll be back at 2pm. I’ll help you two get ready.“ She answers monotone, doesn’t look at him anymore. “Thanks for the breakfast.“ She adds, then turns around and stumbles upstairs to change.

Seven years, five days and three hours earlier.

“Put that damn thing away, woman.“ Joe mumbles, reaches for the polaroid camera in her hand. But she’s faster, quickly stretches out her hands while sitting on him, still wearing nothing but his while T- shirt. Underwear is overrated. Especially when they have touched each others most intimate parts anyway everywhere already. She starts to squeak as she realizes that he’s stronger than her, gives up as soon as Joe has towered her and lets go off the camera. He laughs at her, places the camera on her nightstand before pulling her back to bed with him. She laughs out loud, feels his strong arms grabbing her from behind. He bombards her with kisses on the cheek. She laughs, tries to fight him but gives up. “I just wanted one cute photo. Just one cute photo of my boyfriend.“ She protests, but Joe just keeps on working on her temple. “We’re having sex. Can we agree on a no-cute-photo policy during sex, please.“ He whispers and Taylor laughs, closes her eyes. She loves the way he’s working on her ear now, enjoys every second of his touch. His big hand is slowly making it’s way under her shirt, his fingertips brushing her left nipple, giving her goosebumps once more. “We’re not having sex. You just took a two hours nap, grandpa.“ she counters and Joe laughs, breathes out some hot hair. She can feel that tickling on her ear, his gentle hands that are still discovering all these hidden body parts. “You brought me to my limits. And we’re too late for my mum’s dinner already.“ Taylor smiles at him, loves the reason why both of them will be late. She turns around, simply looks at him. He smiles cheekily at her and she remains like this, looking into his eyes and granting him the biggest smile. She needs no words. Joe slowly gets closer, lets their lips touch each other for a split second before kissing her once more as If it’s the most natural thing in the world. “This is so weird.“ She laughs then slowly into the kiss, her head on the pillow, him over her. She loves his weight on her. She loves the fact that their noses are still touching.

“What?“ He whispers against her lips once more, slowly buries his hands in her hair.

“We’re just.. everything.“ She whispers, is so close to him that there clearly is no necessity for them to speak up in any way. “And what’s that?“ He smiles, steals her full lips one more kiss.

“Best friends. Lovers. You give me orgasms.“ Joe can’t help but laugh quietly. He buries his face in her neck, slowly suckles on her warm skin.

“I love giving you orgasms.“ Taylor smirks while placing her hand in his hair. She looks at the ceiling, feels his soft lips kissing her skin.

“I love that you love giving me orgasms.“ She replies. He slowly lets go off her, then crawls back to press his nose against hers.

“I love you.“ He answers and Taylor looks into his eyes. She can’t help but touch his face once more, explores every inch of his skin with her fingertips. “Forever, baby.“ She smiles, kisses him slowly. Joe deepens the kiss, presses his body even more onto hers. He hears her soft moans while growing closer and closer. Her legs that slowly open up and the way she pulls him in…

“Mommy, can I wear the same lip color as you?“ Eleanor asks for the fifth time since Taylor has entered the house. She stands in front of Joe’s bathroom mirror, fixing her hair while waiting for him to get ready. She turns around and faces her daughter. The little girl is nervous, she can sense that.

“Honey, you will play Rudolph the reindeer. You can’t wear red lipstick. All your friends’ lawyer moms will think I’m an awful mother for allowing you to wear lipstick at only five years old.“ Taylor laughs at her pouting daughter. Sometimes when they have a girl’s night at home, Eleanor is allowed to play with her make up. Put not tonight. And especially not with all these conservative private school parents in the room who already talk about superstar mom Taylor Swift and her child anyway.

“Please mommy.“ She pouts and Taylor was about to answer as Joe suddenly enters the bathroom. “Where does that pout come from..“ He jokes, looks around and pretends to look for Eleanor. The little girl immediately starts to laugh, jumps up and down to make him notice her. Joe then suddenly notices her and smiles at Eleanor while struggling with his tie. Taylor smirks at him. He looks handsome, she won’t deny that. Joe in a tie will always be nice to look at. “I want to wear the lip color like mommy. She looks so pretty.“ Eleanor pouts at her dad again, crosses her arms dramatically while pulling on the skirt of Taylor’s dress. “It’s called lipstick, baby. You look just as pretty without lipstick though.“ Taylor says, as Joe crouches down to be on one level with Eleanor. She still is throwing a tantrum, but Joe immediately places his big hands around her small figure, looks into her face. “Love, you know why I always hated when mommy wore lipstick?“ He asks and Eleanor looks at him confused, doesn’t understand how anyone could not like her momma’s colorful lips as much as she does. She shakes her little head and Joe still holds onto her. “Because whenever she wore lipstick, daddy couldn’t kiss her because then daddy’s lips would be red, too. So what am I going to do If you wear lipstick now as well? Then I won’t get any kisses here anymore.“ He says dramatically, makes Eleanor laugh out loud. Joe makes a grimace and then forms his lips to give her a kiss. Eleanor immediately leans in and gives him a kiss on the lips. He smiles at her, signals her that he needs one more and then gets up. Taylor quietly observes how Eleanor slowly walks off, grabs the rest of the Barbie’s she has placed in front of the bathroom while playing. It amazes her any time how much Joe can calm her with his words. How he can simply make her laugh, in any given situation. Thinking that he’s a bad father is so wrong. A bad father doesn’t give his baby girls kisses like these. These two have a bond she’ll always admire.

Taylor, who still leans against the counter looks at him. Joe notices her stare, looks back at her once more. She wears a dark blue dress, her hair in a bun. She wears high heels and he knows that she’s already the fittest mum in the entire room of parents tonight. She always was.

“You look hot, mommy.“ He answers and Taylor just looks at him with an outraged look, immediately hits him into the side and rolls her eyes. He laughs, shrugs his shoulders while still trying to fix his tie in the mirror. “Shut up, Alwyn.“ She mumbles, can’t stand to see him struggling with his tie any longer.

“Oh god, let me do this.“ She rolls her eyes, immediately reaches for his tie to help him fix it. Joe smiles down at her. She’s concentrated. He loves that. She suddenly looks up at him and then back down again. This feels like normalcy. “Are you always that desperate without me?“ She mumbles, clearly amused that it took him five minutes to fix his tie and for her less than thirty seconds to help him. She lets go off him, smirks and he laughs slightly, looks into the mirror once more. “I am. Look at me.“ He jokes, makes her laugh again. She hates the fact that it’s so easy with him.

She hates the fact that she’s enjoying this. Him.

“Do you still have some cash? They’re collecting donations at the end of the play and I only have ten pounds in my..“ “We pay them a ridiculous amount of money every year. Don’t you think they..“ “Joseph, this is your daughter’s education and they ask for donations, so we..“ “Alright, alright, mother Theresa. I’ll prepare a nice check for this poor private Hampstead school.“ He smirks while fixing his hair and Taylor rolls her eyes.

“Be nice. We’ll meet all of Eleanor’s teachers, her friends’ parents and..“ “I know how to behave, Tay. Calm down.“ He laughs. It seems that both of his girls are a bit nervous for tonight. Taylor was just about to walk outside the bathroom to get Eleanor ready to go as Joe stops her one more time. She turns around and he signals her to step into the room once more, carefully closes the door quietly. “What?“ She asks confused. Joe looks uncomfortable, knows that he still has to ask this. “Have you.. do they.. do they know we’re not together anymore or..“ Taylor looks at him a bit unsettled, shrugs her shoulders. She then crosses her arms, has no idea what to say. “I never told anyone. I don’t think they know.“ Taylor says. There certainly have been a couple of break up rumors in the media this last year but never enough to even let the parents and teachers at Eleanor’s school know that they’re taking a break. “Do you want us to act like.. or..“ “I won’t lie to them.“ Taylor immediately answers, her arms still crossed. She has put her walls up once more. Joe just nods. Her answers was clear. Taylor walks out and Joe checks himself out in the mirror again. He doesn’t understand her. In one second, they’re laughing and she’s opening up, treating him like she always did. In the next second he’s the bad guy again. Joe sighs, rubs his eyes. Why does this have to be so difficult?

“Mommy, can I go to Anna and Lily?“ Eleanor asks her mom while walking down the school corridor on her daddy’s hand. She smiles at Eleanor and how excited she is. She’s nervously bouncing up and down on Joe’s hand. Seeing her friends with all these dressed up parents certainly makes the little girl more nervous than before. Taylor immediately stops, crouches down to Eleanor and smiles at her. “Of course. Look, Ms. Downing is also here.“ Taylor smiles, glad to know that her teacher will take care of the toddlers before their big show. “Baby, Daddy and me will be watching from the front row. Grandma and Grandpa will cheer on you as well and after that we’ll celebrate you. Promise. We’re so proud of you, no matter what. I love you.“ She smiles, give her little kid one last hug. Joe smiles at Eleanor, then also crouches down. Now it’s his turn. He hugs her tightly, then whispers something into her ear. Taylor can’t understand a word he’s saying, just notices all the stares from the other parents that are also dropping off their child for last rehearsals in this big old corridor. She’s uncomfortable, as always. This school is one of a high- profile yet she seems to be the only ‘superstar‘ dropping off her child. As so often, people stare then turn their heads to talk to the person next to them. She sighs. How much she hates these shady London elitist parents.

Taylor looks down to Eleanor, who’s still holding onto her hand and who’s now laughing at whatever her Dad is whispering into her ear. Taylor can’t help but smile. She looks so cute tonight, wears a jeans dress and her favorite shimmering tights. She can’t wait to see this little girl in her Rudolph costume. A moment she’ll probably never forget. Joe then kisses her cheek a few times before requesting another kiss on the lips and then gets up to let her walk off. Joe and Taylor both wave at her, look at her walking up to her friends. “She’s so big. I feel like crying already.“ Taylor mumbles and Joe nods. He never thought that it would be such a weird feeling to see her do her own thing. To realize that she has fun with her friends, simply walks off and enjoys herself. That’s how it should be. Still, it’s the hardest thing to watch.

“What did you tell her?“ Taylor asks him then, looks back at him while slowly walking into the other direction of the corridor. They pass a few other parents who are already on their way to the annual cake bazaar. “I just gave her some tips. From actor to actress, you know.“ He smirks. Taylor returns his smile. He and Eleanor have so many similarities. It’s incredible.

“Okay, let me tell you a few important things..“ Taylor mumbles before entering the big assembly hall. They quickly rush into the first row, place their coats on four seats and then make their way out again. “Ms. Hendersson is Anna’s mom. And Ms. Mandra is Lily’s mom. She’s the Asian woman. We like them both cause they’re Eleanor’s friend. We won’t talk to the big redhead monster. Her son Brandy has hit Eleanor last month and..“ “He what?“ Joe asks shocked suddenly, looks at Taylor totally confused while making their way through the big old hallway once more. It’s dark outside already and the unpleasant old ceiling lights are lighting the building at this evening. “I told you about this.“ Taylor mumbles as they walk past the small classrooms once more. “You didn’t.“ He immediately says, “If I would’ve heard that some guy has hit my daughter I’d remember it trust me.“ Joe answers and Taylor rolls her eyes at him. “That ‘guy‘ is a five year old boy, so calm down.“ “I’m not surprised he’s a problem kid already. His name is Jack Daniels, who the fuck..“ he stops, immediately feels Taylor’s elbows in his side. She shakes her head, can’t hide a smirk as they walk pass a few other parents. He has always been overprotective when it came to Eleanor.

As they enter the room, Taylor sighs deeply. Her biggest wish is for this night to finally come to an end, even though it hasn’t even started yet. She looks around. Many parents and teachers are having glass of champagne in their hands already while chatting the night away in all their British accents. Taylor hates these superficial interactions. An enormous amount of these parents are ten years older than them, showing off their huge diamond rings while sipping on their glasses. Taylor is very familiar to the stares as soon as she attends one of these school events. But this time, entering this room full of parents is suddenly very different. And it takes her exactly ten seconds to realize why. This time, the focus is not on her. It’s on the handsome company in the suit, right next to her. “Is this Ms. Clarkson..“ Joe murmurs, as the woman suddenly comes running to him, interrupts her answer. “Are you Eleanor’s father?“ - a middle aged woman suddenly walks up to them, immediately shakes his hand. “I mean.. you certainly are. The resemblance is astonishing.“ She laughs, doesn’t even notice Taylor at all, not even grants her a polite smile while shaking Joe’s hand. “Oh thank you. I hope so.“ Joe jokes slightly, makes the woman in front of them cackle in laughter immediately. Taylor looks around, can’t believe that this is how this night starts. “Mr. Alwyn, we’re so pleased to finally meet you. I’m Ms. Clarkson. I teach your daughter since last year. She’s such a bright little girl. You must be incredibly proud.“ The woman gushes, doesn’t even face Taylor at all while shaking her hand. She seems captivated by him. Taylor could puke right there. Joe just smiles politely as always, listens to the woman talk. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Clarkson. We heard so much about you already. Thanks again for the wish tree my daughter gave me.“ He says and the woman starts to laugh again. Taylor feels how annoyed she already is, after only five minutes into the event. She looks at Ms. Clarkson, notices how different she acts while talking to Joe. She’s flirting. Being more obvious about the fact that she seems to find the man in front of her attractive seems impossible.

As soon as the brown haired woman starts to go on and on about how generous his last donation has been to the school, Taylor realizes that she needs a drink. As soon as possible. She slowly walks off, makes her way to the waiter at the end of the room and gladly takes two glasses from his tray. As she was just about to make her way back to Joe, she spots little Anna’s parents and walks over. This is a small talk she can’t escape.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes later, right when she noticed that donations are about to be collected, Taylor tries to make her way back to Joe. During all that smalltalk with all these boring people, Taylor completely forgot that the second glass was for Joe. She didn’t mind though. Champagne is definitely all she needed to get over with this evening.

She slowly places the glass on the serving tray, then looks around the big crowded room. It takes her exactly two second to spot her company. And she can’t believe it. Joe talks to a small group of some mothers. All of them clearly in their forties and clearly enjoying the conversation. She could get nauseous by the way these Hampstead moms look at him. The permanent giggles. The lovey eyes. She’s used to this reaction when it comes to going out with him. Joe has always been dreamy and the fact that he’s not really aware of this quality is part of the effect he has on most women.

Taylor crosses her arms. This is unbelievable. He’s a father, for goodness sake! He’s at his child’s school. How can these mothers just stand there as a troop and flirt with him shamelessly. He doesn’t even notice, she can see that in the way he talks. He’s telling a story. He’s not flirting. She knows him too well to differentiate his gestures. He’s clearly not aware of the eyes these women are giving him. Taylor doesn’t know what it is, but she suddenly feels a wave of protectiveness rush over her. Old feelings, very old feelings she hasn’t had in a very very long time are creeping back up. Especially this one particular feeling she hasn’t had in a long time. Maybe it’s because he’s wearing a suit or maybe it’s because she sees how these women are looking at him, almost drooling at the sight of his gorgeous face. He is the father of her child. He came here with her. If any of these frustrated single moms think that this is how this works, then they’re wrong. She’s leaving with him. End of the story.

Taylor immediately starts to walk over. First one, then two, then three pairs of eyes are suddenly on her. Taylor immediately fakes a smile, leans her arm around Joe’s shoulder and looks up at him. She can tell that he’s confused by the way she acts around him, stops his story of how he filmed his very first movie real quick and looks at her in pure confusion. Taylor smiles into the group of clearly aroused housewives and apologizes. “I’m so sorry for interrupting. I was so rude not to introduce myself before, sorry. I’m Mrs. Alwyn. Eleanor’s mother.“ She smiles, shakes the women’s hands automatically. Not just Joe looks totally confused at her, also the women she’s shaking hands with suddenly share a few confused looks. Mrs. Alwyn. Does that mean that Taylor Swift has gotten married after all? “Can I hijack my husband for a few seconds? Lovely to talk to you.“ She smiles, grabs Joe by his suit and pulls him out of this loud classroom. As soon as he walks down the empty hallway behind her, he finally opens his mouth. Still speechless about the scene she just caused back in the classroom. But Taylor’s going fast on her high heels, dragging him with her in a speed that’s confusing him even more. “Could you maybe explain to me what this was, or..?“ Joe asks but she doesn’t answer, instead seems eager to walk to the end of the hallway with him. “I can’t believe you introduced yourself as ‘Mrs. Alwyn‘“ he laughs, still not processing that she apparently decided to not tell these people that they broke up. He still walks behind her, confused of where’s she’s headed to. “What are you doing?“ “Showing you the school that you pay thousands of pounds to every month?“

Suddenly Taylor takes a right turn, walks up to a closed classroom at the end of the corridor. She opens the door, then turns on the light immediately. “What are you doing?“ Joe asks again. She seems different than before. More quiet.

“I want to talk.“ She murmurs, lets him enter the classroom, then closes the door and locks it. He leans against one of the small tables in the middle of the room, looks at her with a confused look on his face.

“Why are we..“

Taylor then walks up to him, doesn’t even stop before simply kissing him. Joe doesn’t move, hesitates for a split second before slowly placing his hands on her back, returning the kiss. She seems breathless, restless. Her kiss is gentle but dominant. She’s angry. He feels that. She then lets go off the kiss, breathes heavily then stumbles back to the door. She walks back and forth. She seems out of her mind. And he’s out of breath, not sure wether he’s dreaming or not.

“Have you seen these sad, desperate women?“ She suddenly turns around, starts to gesticulate with her hands in the air while looking at him. The red lipstick on her lips is clearly smudged and she’s rattled up. Angry, to say the least. “Mr. Alwyn, it’s so nice to meet you. Your daughter is such a joy to our school. Whoops-a-daisy, Mr. Alwyn, my legs just fell open..“ she imitates them in a squeaky voice, makes even Joe laugh quietly. He still leans against the table, still more than confused from their kiss. But he gets it now. He knows her too well. She has had champagne, but she’s not drunk.

Right now, she’s drunk on something totally else. And that is called jealousy.

“You got jealous.“ He laughs quietly, his hand in the pocket of his trousers, while watching her come closer to him once more. “What was it that got you? I’m just interested.“ He smirks, definitely proud that she’s still so protective of him. Taylor immediately wraps her arms around his neck, presses her torso against his and kisses him again. He feels out of breath. Her lips feel too good. Her smell. Her taste. All of that brings back all these feelings.

God, he loves this woman. He has never stopped loving this woman.

Taylor slowly lets go off him, nipples on his lower lip, her hot breath in his mouth. “I want you to fuck me in this classroom, Joe.“ She suddenly breathes against his lips, still sucking on his lower lip slowly. Joe looks at her, a mixture of pure lust and uncertainty in his eyes. Is she serious right now?

“Are you drunk?“ He whispers, tries not to laugh. She’s crazy. She always was. Suddenly Taylor kisses him again, seems to be sober enough to look into his eyes like she always did. And that’s when she suddenly gets what he’s doing. At first he was shocked. Then he understood that she was serious. And now, all he does is tease her. Tease her with his gorgeous smile. With simply standing there, not acting upon her hot words. He’s showing her that she can kiss him, but she can’t have him.

But If really he wants to play this game, she can play it as well.

Taylor slowly lets go off him, walks back to the door once more. She immediately turns off the light, then slowly makes her way back to him. He can hear the sound of her high heels on the floor, laughs quietly. He still can’t believe what has gotten into her. This side of her was something he discovered after months into their relationship. They always had this undeniable chemistry. She learnt to open up, to live out her fantasies with him. This is her opening up again. This is her admitting that she still wants him by herself. Even after all.

“Have you seen the tall brown haired guy in the grey suit?“ She asks through the dark, leans against him once more after returning to him. Her hands are in his neck again and her torso is pressed against his. She’s almost nibbling on his lip once more while talking, leaving Joe with goosebumps. “His son is really friendly with Eleanor. He’s a single dad. Trust me, there were so many cake sales where he looked at me and I..“ She stops, bites her lips. She can see in his eyes through the dark that he’s looking at her lips. Still captivated by the sound of her voice. The hot breath against his skin.

“And I knew that he’d love to do this for you.“ She finishes.

Two can play this game.

“Do what?“ He whispers, and she bites her lips once more. “Fuck me in this classroom. Make me scream. Make me scream like only you could make me scream. Make me drip on your feet. Make me forget my own name while.. while having you in me. Inside of me.“ Joe’s hands are suddenly incredibly tight on her waist as he runs circles on her sides and up to her ass, then he kisses her again. This time he’s the one that’s protective, almost possessive. Maybe it’s the darkness. Maybe it’s the fact that they both know how wrong this is. All of this. Joe starts to nip on her neck. She breathes out heavily, a soft moan in his ear.

“You’re mine. And you know that“ he whispers as he guides his tense hand to the hem of her dress, lets his soft fingers pull up the fabric inch by inch. Until he can feel her butt cheeks under his fingertips. She’s wearing a thong. Her lips on his are driving him insane. He can’t think straight anymore. A primal instinct taking over him. Just the thought of her being touched by another man is driving him insane. Only he’s allowed to do this. Only he’s allowed to make her moan into his ear like this.

“Fuck me.“ She moans out, doesn’t have to guide him anymore. Only profanities are escaping her mouth and she knows that she wants this. She fucking needs this. Her hands are on his suit and she digs her nails into his back, so deep that she swears he’ll feel the scratches on his naked skin tomorrow. Joe automatically kisses her, harder this time. His brain is on another level. All that matters is her. He looks into her eyes once more, right through the darkness of the room and pulls her thong down her legs immediately. He then pulls back, turns them around and places her on the table. He looks into her eyes and can’t help but kiss her again.

She’s was right. She’s his. His only.

#christmasbound #lovebound #taylor swift #joe and taylor #taylor swift fanfiction #joe and taylor fanfiction #joe alwyn #fanfiction #fanfic

233 notes · View notes

fairiesherefairiesthere · 4 years

Text

Fraxus Anastasia au #2

Second chapter time! If you wanna read it on ao3, here u go: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23144866

Chapter under the cut!

Apparently, being too much of a stubborn bastard is enough for an orphanage to throw you out even though you still own them a lot of money. 'Yuliy', they've dubbed him, 'son of Jupiter', because his character is volatile like the thunderstorms that leave the grey walls of the orphanage shaking.

He's twenty-three and luckily enough, not the sickly little boy he used to be. Finding a job would've been difficult otherwise, but right now Yuliy feels pretty confident about his future. The past has nothing for him, so he has no other choice but to look forward.

Ignoring the yammering of the old caretaker about how he should feel lucky that they let him go even though he cost them so much as a child, he sets a step outside the gate.

The distance he's crossed is close to nothing, he still feels elated. Turning around, he yells "So long, sucker!" at the old lady and waves at the tiny children behind her. The brats can't help their situation. "You can be happy all you want right now, but just you wait until the evening! Until the cold settles in your bones and your stomach turns itself inside out of hunger. You're nothing boy, keep that in mind!"

Scoffing, he walks away, turning his back on all he's ever known. Everything is going to be fine.

Everything's not fine and Yuliy already regrets leaving the orphanage. Sure, it was a shitty place, but at least there was a fireplace to lay beside. Although the food had been sparse and not very good, it had been there. He never imagined that he'd miss the place.

Unfortunately, he's also not been able to find a job. The restaurants tell him to ask the grocery stores, the grocery stores point him towards the butchers and the butchers refer him to the nearest school, before saying that, actually, he doesn't look like an educated person and should probably stay away from there. If he survives the night, he'll try the docks. They probably could use him as some sort of human mule, if his motion sickness allows him to set foot on a boat.

For now, he wanders the streets in search of abandoned buildings, hoping that he can squat in one of them for the night. After a lot of unsuccesful trying, he decides to go find a large public building, in the hope that he can find himself a nook there where no one will look. With that in mind, he enters the first large building he finds.

It's dusty, spacey and completely empty. Exactly what he'd been looking for and still he can't help but be a little bit disgruntled. He'd just given up on finding an empty space and now he has more abandoned space than he nows what to do with. Although he'd like to explore the building, he has more pressing matters to tend to.

Navigating through the building is... surprisingly easy. It's not like him to know his way around places (it really, really isn't his forte), but he manages to find a lounge without too many troubles. Shoving some junk to the side, he finds a fireplace and he thanks his lucky stars. Looking around, he concludes that there's no firewood.

That's not really a problem though, he thinks as he grabs a nearby chair. When the now demolished chair has been chucked into the fireplace, he remembers that he has no way of lighting the damn pile of wood up. After turning the room upside down, he comes to the conclusion that there aren't any matchsticks there. Groaning in frustration, he leaves the room.

Trudging through the halls, he passes various doors and has to suppress the urge to go inside each and every one of them. Now and then, he does indulge in his desire and peeks inside, finding nothing but dust and the remnants of former glory.

When he stumbles upon a set of doors that are so grandiose and tall that he nearly doubts his own eyesight, he knows that he has to look what lays behind them. Filled with curiousity he works them open, only to be stunned into silence when the room behind them is revealed.

It's a ballroom, stately and majestic and he holds his breath for a minute, intimidated by the feeling of veneration and wistfulness that seems to hit him out of nowhere. Getting lightheaded, he sits down on a bench and closes his eyes, slowly breathing in and out. He can feel a headache coming up as shivers run up and down his spine. When he opens his eyes again, he suspects that he's also getting a fever, since what else can the scene before him be except for a fever dream?

Faintly he can hear the band playing a song and the more he tries to convince himself his ears are deceiving him, the more boisterous the music becomes. Right before his eyes, the formerly empty ballroom explodes into a a colourful affair, ladies and gentlemen dressed to the nines. In the light of the candles on the chandelier dangling high above them, he can see their jewelry and the rhinestones on their dresses shimmer and shine.

Besides the music, he can hear their small talk and it's that what haunts him most. The little words about their everyday lives that seem to happen in a reality far outside his own. The glitter, the glamour, the nauseating feeling of approaching danger, it's all too much. He leans his head back against the cold tiles and closes his eyes, but their ghostly whispers remain present.

In the distance, he can hear another group of people arriving and he decides to focus on their conversation, because the disdain in one of the voices sounds genuine, almost like the owner of said voice is actually entering the ballroom.

"They were all godawful! I can't believe we wasted a full day on those monstrosities!" Someone snorts. "You can't talk about those fine and ambitious young men like that baby, they can't help it that they're like that." Yuliy can hear the eyeroll before he sees it and he still thinks he's imagining things, until the young man speaks to him, ice lacing his voice. The otherwordly images shatter and instead he's met by a greenhaired young man.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

At first he intends to be polite. Then he remembers that this place belongs to no one and there's absolutely no need for a stranger to be so hostile to him. "They call me Yuliy and I'm gonna take a nap. You got any matches?"

Ignoring his question, the shorter of the two men draws closer, his lips curving into the hint of a smile lacking any sort of genuine warmth. "They call you that? Is that name not truly yours then?" Instead of answering, Yuliy purses his lips and looks away. Truthfully, he doesn't even know to answer that. Not even once he's felt like 'Yuliy', but he doesn't know what the other options are. Who else is he supposed to be? Can he even be anything else?

The short man smiles again, wider this time and there's still not a trace of genuine happiness to see there. His companion, thank the lord, has finally noticed his creepy tick and slaps the man a little too jovially on the back. "Freed, stop whatever your face is doing, it's unsightly. You look like a maniac and let's be honest, the only one of us who looks good with that kind of look is yours truly. Show the man around, why don't ya? I'm gonna pick Ever up. You know how prissy she gets when she hasn't had a hot meal in a few days." With a sloppy kiss on Freed's cheek and a "bye baby!" the eccentric man leaves.

A silence that's less than comfortable follows. "So are you two...involved?" He winces at his clumsy wording and Freed pulls a face. "Bickslow is my overly affectionate older brother."

"Oh."

How does he recover from that blunder? Luckily enough for him, he doesn't have to struggle out of this pit himself. "Well then he-who-they-call-Yuliy, follow me. I'll show you something interesting." Unable to keep the curiousity out of his voice, he asks: "What then?" For the first time since meeting him, there's a sparkle of a genuine feeling in the man's eyes, misschief setting the blues ablaze. "A chance."

The first part of the tour consists of polite smalltalk and Freed showing him some superficial treasures hidden in plain view in the abandoned castle. Although he hates the whole process of talking without saying anything, he feels that there's a reason Freed is doing this. Building up the tension. Yuliy hopes he isn't endlessly disappointed by the eventual result and in the hope to see something spectacular, he nods along and 'ahs' and 'oohs' wherever he thinks it's necessary.

"You know", Freed starts and something about his tone tips Yuliy off that it's probably in his best interest to listen carefully now. "I wasn't born as Freed Justine either. Unlike you, I have chosen this name for myself and have found my identity." He pauses then, looking him over with a reserved gaze, head tilted. "Would you like to find yours?"

The question arrives like a punch to the gut, but there's no way he'll let the man in front of him know how affected he is by it. Freed seems like the type of man to unravel his deepest wishes and dangle them before his nose before whisking them away for eternity. No way that he'll let the stranger in on one of the things his heart longs to know. "I don't need some guy I just met telling me who I am. I think I can do that on my own, thank you very much."

"Really now?" Freed sounds amused, but there's a cruel hint to it that he really dislikes. "My dear Yulik (he scoffs at the godawful nickname), right at this moment I am able to recall your entire family tree up to seven generations back. But since you already know exactly who you are, I guess there's no reason to showcase my academic capabilities. It would be quite obnoxious I think, wouldn't you agree?"

No way. He must be lying and Yuliy doesn't hesitate to tell him so. "You're a liar, a scoundrel and an opportunist. You're making shit up and I'm not here for it. I'll go back to the other room and take that nap, you're not of any use to me."

"Do as you please", the man replies, voice light and airy. Right as he's about to leave the room, he hears the other man humming. The melody is saccharinely sweet and the gentle lilts in the tune leave his heart aching. "Where'd you learn that song?" he asks, unable and unwilling to stop himself. Freed halts his humming and shrugs, clasping his hands behind his back.

"The true question is, where did you learn it? As far as I know there's only five people, excluding myself, who know it. The first being the long dead Tsarina Tatiana, the second one being the current tsar Makarov. The third and fourth are Bickslow and Evergreen, two members of the court that were very intimately related to the final person, the central piece that connects all these dots."

Grinning he takes Yuliy by the arm and drags him towards a grand family portrait and points out a blond kid. "Prince Laxus Dreyar, who has been missing for 10 years. I know where each of the forementioned people currently are, except for the much beloved prince." From underneath his long eyelashes he gives Yuliy a look that he's sure is meant to be meaningful. He utterly rejects it.

"A lullaby? That's what you're basing your grand conclusion on? Some great detective you are", he scoffs and considers giving the man a whack. It certainly couldn't make his mental state any worse than it currently was, considering Freed seriously thought that Yuliy, clumsy, oafish Yuliy, was the missing crown prince.

"I never told you it was a lullaby."

"It was a logical assumption, you piece of shit." Sensing that Yuliy is believing none of it, he shakes his head and sighs. "When did you become an orphan?" Defensively, he crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Maybe I didn't and you're just grasping at straws."

"It was a logical assumption, dear Yulik. Also, you let a lot more slip during our smalltalk than you probably realised." The man raises a brow and starts counting on his fingers. " One. You lost your memory ten years ago, around the time of Ivan's failed coup. Trauma can make you suppress memories as can a strategically placed whack against the head."

Yuliy rolls his eyes, but Freed continues impertubable. "Secondly, the whole lullaby debacle. Thirdly..." Freed looks him directly in the eyes and there's something so striking about the full force of his gaze, that Yuliy barely dares to breathe. "You know, don't you? In your heart you realise that there's a chance I'm not wrong. Even though your mind denies it out of some learned humility, your body takes to it without you even noticing."

Before he can ask what the man means, Freed drapes a heavy cape he's found somewhere over Yuliy's shoulders and presses a scepter into his hand. "Look", he whispers and turns him towards a mirror. "Look at your posture, do you truly believe you're merely a peasant?"

"Future tsar", he continues and the title sends shivers down his spine. "You came here, dirt poor and yet you have not put a single treasure into these pockets of yours." To accentuate his words, the man lets his hands glide over each and every pocket on Yuliy's clothes, an action that makes his blood run hot. "The riches here mean nothing you. You're meant for things better than this, aren't you prince Laxus? Cast away the skin of a peasant you've decided to wear and reunite with your grieving grandfather."

The blue of his eyes is absolutely mesmerising and he can't for the love of him look away. "Laxus", he says and he jolts, truly feeling addressed by the name. "Let's get you home." He doesn't know how or why, but he's got the feeling that Freed could tell him anything and he'd believe it.

#fraxus #Freed Justine #Laxus Dreyar #freedxlaxus #Bickslow #anastasia au #TheFairyWrites

16 notes · View notes

shuatoyou · 4 years

Note

hi! may i please request a super fluffy scenario wherein you and soonyoung go on a snowy trip together? + cuddles in the fireplace. tysm!! ♥️🤧

sorry if this is a bit bad i am terrible at writing fluff...oh and its 5 am so if there is any mistakes bare with me i will read over and edit when i wake up,,, nevertheless i hope u enjoy <3

hoshi x reader

fluff

warnings: none !

wc; 800

super fluffy scenario where y/n and soonyoung go on a snowy trip together? + cuddles in the fireplace.

a ride filled with an entire hour of laughing and singing badly to songs, it's worth it once you step out of the car and immediately come into contact with the fluffy coatings of snow spread all over the ground and the tall trees towering over you making you look around in awe. winter being your favourite season maybe it was the satisfaction you felt hearing it crunch under your not so winter shoes. however you would never be able to get used to the frosty weather that was never any good for your sensitive hands as you painfully rubbed them together in attempts of warming them up until another pair took yours into his. they were warmer than yours that's for sure. you looked up to meet soonyoung’s adoring eyes instantly smiling as they met yours.

“this better?”

“somewhat”

“didn’t you bring gloves?” he questioned almost tutting at you.

of course you expected the cold, were you prepared for it? not so much.

“no…”

the struggles caused by the weather were shortly left outside as you and soonyoung both rushed inside fighting for a place in front of the fireplace, you lost but either way he let you warm up first while he brought over the rest of the bags which you thanked him for with a peck on the cheek causing him to blush.

“let’s warm up first then we can decide what to do.” you say to him and throws his arms around you.

“you wanna go back out?” he questions poking your cheeks until you softly nudge his hand off.

“maybe. we can build a snowman. i brought carrots”

“do you wanna build a snowman?” he sings, making you giggle and nod.

“perfect let go then” soonyoung gets up and rushes to grab your hand

“wait i thought we were going to warm up”

“we can do that later let's go!”

you laugh at your excited boyfriend running out into the snow rushing to build a snowman like you weren't the one who suggested it in the first place. many attempts were made trying to roll a ball of snow like you saw in the childhood shows but for some reason it wasnt working out as well as it should’ve. you groan in frustration and it doesn't go unnoticed by soonyoung who is now cheekily staring at you after having thrown a snowball at the back of your head.

“oh it's on.”

a few hours later both of you finally decide to go back in, feeling the warmth embrace you and being able to feel your toes again. you’ve now decided snow sucks but nevertheless there was no denying the cons were heavily over weighed by the pros of spending a snow day with the one person who managed to brighten up any day with his presence.

however right now the presence next to you was more fixated on his mobile phone

“i wanna watch a movie” you speak out with a pout silently begging for soonyoung’s attention.

“okay then let's watch a movie” he smiled putting down his phone diverting his gaze to you like you non verbally hoped for.

perhaps it was a bit cliche of you to swiftly jump onto your feet to run into the kitchen excitedly making your signature peppermint hot choco. the smell is almost heavenly as you walk back into the main room, set down the two mugs in front of you on the coffee table and lean back into the couch only to get engulfed by the other sitting next to you. he pulled a fluffy blanket over you both and playing the movie.

the fireplace was perfect, the flames warming you both up, maybe that was why your cheeks were suddenly flushed a crimson colour that soonyoung couldn't help but coo over. silently of course.

but both of you were more fixated on eachother your hands easily got a hold of his to entertwine making him and you smile at the sight.

the two of you are more invested in each other than the movie. that's probably what happened since you had fallen asleep and woken up alone to the sweet smell of crepes inviting you and your stomach into the kitchen.

“you should have woken me up too so i could've helped you with the breakfast” you mumble against your boyfriend's back; arms wrapped around his body.

“while you were sleeping peacefully?” he retorted but you knew he was smiling.

“why not”

“touche baby” he laughs, turning around to face you cupping your face into his hand and leaning in.

“breakfast is ready” he smirks and lets go of you slipping past to sit down at the table. you groan in annoyance.

“such a tease”

despite muttering under your breath the words don't go unheard by the other as much as you wish it would have.

#isabellaunarce !#request !#now that this is posted im going to sleep #enjoy #kwon soonyoung #hoshi #seventeen #seventeen blog #seventeen fluff #hoshi fluff #seventeen one shots #seventeen drabbles #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen blurbs #seventeen angst

10 notes · View notes

multi-fandom-imagine · 5 years

Text

Christmas / Winter Writing Promts

A/n: FOR THE ANON WHO ASKED FOR PROMPTS FOR THE ANIME!!

Note: can totally be used for other things.

A/n 2:So just like my last list this is the same thing.

Also most of these are from my old shitty list that I made years ago with some other ones added.

getting out/putting up decorations.

making christmas cards.

sitting/snuggling in front of the fireplace with hot cocoa/tea.

shopping for and/or wrapping gifts.

buying the christmas tre.e

decorating the christmas tree.

mistletoe.

making snowmen.

wearing ugly christmas sweaters

baking holiday treats.

Kissing in front of the fireplace.)

watching a classic holiday film

listening to/playing festive music or caroling.

ice skating.

snowball fight!

catching cold from being outside so much.

spending time with friends/family.

one lending the other their coat/scarf/hat to keep them warm.

throwing/attending a holiday party.

one surprising the other with an early gift.

spending the evening in a cafe.

making s’mores.

having drinks together on christmas eve.

sneaking around after the other has fallen asleep to put up their gift.

spending christmas morning together.

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town: Santa’s at the mall and our muses have gotten in line to visit. Who said this was only a holiday for the little kids?!

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting): Our muses have snuggled for some fireside Christmas dreaming.

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!: My muse (or your muse) is about to ruin Christmas! Horror! One of the other muse watches on. Can they make the grinchy heart grow from being two sizes too small? (Specify in your request who is who or leave it up to me!)

Frosty the Snowman: Our muses are off to build a snowman!

Silver Bells: It’s holiday shopping time and our muses are off buying presents for everyone on their lists.

White Christmas: It’s started to snow for what feels like the first time in forever! But one of our muses has never seen snow before, so the other will just have to do something about that, won’t they? (Specify who is who or leave it up to me!)

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Our muses attempt to put together what is the perfect Christmas for themselves.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Santa’s in trouble and only our muses can save Christmas! Can we do it and deliver toys to all of the good girls and boys?

The Christmas Shoes: Our muses do something very selfless for someone in need on Christmas Eve.

Santa Baby: One of our muses has decided to dress as Mr./Mrs. Claus for a little more “adult” Christmas fun. Oh boy! (Specify who or leave it to me!)

The First Noel: Our muses are involved in a nativity scene at the church.

Silent Night: Not a creature was stirring… It’s Christmas Eve and everyone is in bed, except for our muses.

Oh Christmas Tree: Our muses go tree shopping! This one looks juuuust right!

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer: One of our muses has had a little accident and will be spending Christmas in the hospital. (Specify who or leave it to me!)

Who Spiked the Eggnog: One of our muses is a little drunk from too much ‘nog and has become a little too jolly. (Specify who or leave it to me!)

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: Our muses have joined a group of carolers for some holiday cheer!

Believe: One of our muses has gotten down about the holidays and needs some of that holiday magic restored in their life to bring them back- and to restore their faith in humanity. (Specify who or leave it up to me.)

Grown-Up Christmas List: My muse finds your muse’s Christmas list and just has to find that perfect gift.

Jingle Bells: Our muses take a sleigh ride!

Blue Christmas: How do our muses cope with being apart for Christmas?

Silver and Gold: Our muses are rummaging through ornaments for the Christmas tree and admiring some of the pieces that have been collected over the years.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas: One of our muses is home for the holidays, just in time! (Specify who or leave it up to me.)

Winter expectations vs. winter reality.

We need to buy you winter clothing.

Treatment for the flu/ a cold

Getting the person who doesn’t like Christmas into the right festive mood

Snowball fight

Hot tea and cozy sweaters

Giving subtle hints of what one would like to get for Christmas

Decoration wars (must include glitter)

Sleigh rides

Reading someone Christmas stories

Baking Christmas cookies

An unusual snowman

Finding a present for that person that is impossible to find a present for

The smell of Christmas

Holding out in a snowstorm together/Getting snowed in together

A Christmas letter.

Falling asleep by the fireplace

Dancing in the snow

The last day of work/class before the holidays

An odd Christmas tradition.

Picking out the right Christmas tree.

Obnoxious singing of Christmas songs.

The Traditional Christmas dinner.

Watching the snow alone and watching the snow together.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

December 1: Star

December 2: Hot Chocolate

December 3: Snow

December 4: Candy Canes

December 5: Christmas Tree

December 6: Angel

December 7: Pyjamas

December 8: Tinsel

December 9: Ice Skating

December 10: Frost

December 11: Eggnog

December 12: Cider

December 13: Peppermint

December 14: Gingerbread

December 15: Presents

December 16: Fireplace

December 17: Stocking

December 18: Cookies

December 19: Santa

December 20: Sled

December 21: Snow Man

December 22: Jingle Bells

December 23: Carols

December 24: Icicle

December 25: Christmas Movies

Handing their S/O a positive pregnancy test with a sprig of holly and a note reading ‘Merry Christmas’.

Getting trapped in a shopping mall together during after-hours in which they were christmas shopping too hard.

SWEATER PAWS AND CUDDLES.

Losing S/O at a christmas market and having to make an announcement over an intercom as to reunite them again (I’m thinking early 80’s era with fluorescent jackets and big old scarfs and brick phones that they left at home).

Fluffy, pretty, ‘princess’ character meets emo, grunge, moody character at a trashy christmas party and accidentally (drunkenly) makes them fall for them.

A competition for cringiestchristmas sweater at an office party, in which your otp comes wearing the same sweater.

Christmas Eve has your otp trapped in an elevator until late, both hungry and cold and now asleep together on the floor with bags of shopping discarded across from them.

Being hit in the face by an angry customer swinging their arms about and their S/O beating them up in the parking lot.

Christmas shenanigans under the tree, if you know what I mean.

Otp acting domestic whilst cooking their families christmas dinner and worrying about whether their parents are getting on with each other.

Planning a beautiful engagement for christmas day, only to lose the ring.

Mothering their S/O’s younger siblings and making sure they’re getting enough to eat.

Falling asleep in front of the fire whilst their S/O is playing them ‘dance of the sugar plum fairy’ on piano. They pull a blanket over them and curl up beside them.

Spilling hot chocolate/coffee/a hot-fucking-beverage on the other and insisting on paying for a new drink and new clothes for them, unaware that they’re rich and very capable of buying themselves another coffee. Besides, they don’t know that this jacket is Louis Vuitton and cost more than the knock-off Gucci belt that had caught their eye in the first place (probably looking a little lower than the belt, but we digress).

First christmas with their S/O and panicking to their best friend/sibling about what to get them. Somehow, a plushie didn’t seem exactly suitable when they knew the other had bought them an engagement ring.

Flying overseas for christmas, but having their baggage lost/delayed, meant they had to walk around their hotel room naked for a few days. That was their excuse anyway.

Burning christmas dinner and trying to order take-out (congratulations, you plebs).

Being gifted tickets to see a family member overseas, but having to leave their S/O at home for christmas, not expecting them to turn up on their doorstep on christmas morning with a bouquet of roses.

Finding their S/O drinking eggnog from the carton and crying at ‘Love Actually’ on their return from working all day. Pulling the other into their lap and kissing their forehead until they stop crying and fall asleep.

SLIPPING ON ICE, SPENDING CHRISTMAS IN HOSPITAL AND GUESS WHO THEIR DOCTOR IS??? *cue us pterodactyl screeching and them ensuing sexy shenanigans***

Decorating the christmas tree together and blowing the fuse for the electrics. Waiting in candle-light for the electricians to arrive and- let me just say- nothing stays fluffy in candle-light.

Bringing each others home country traditions to the dinner table and experiencing a weird mix of food.

Secretly learning their S/O’s mother-tongue to surprise them and be able to talk to their family at christmas.

Buying animal-proof fairy lights, confusing their S/O, but it all makes sense when there’s an ENTIRE puppy in their living room on christmas day.

Falling asleep in the passenger seat whilst their S/O drives them to a family members house for christmas, but not wanting to wake them for further directions because they look so p e a c e f u l.

Cuddling in the bathtub because it’s so cold outside and their S/O got caught in the snow on the way home from work.

Kissing under the mistletoe is underrated, go big or go home.

Sleeping in until midday because they just want to be in each other’s arms and it is so warm with them right here beside them.

Making out under the christmas tree because the lights reflecting in their S/O’s eyes just looked too ethereal for them not to kiss them until they lost their breath.

Eating dinner together and sharing kisses over the dining table. This isn’t always fun when their S/O has a hate for brussel sprouts.

Falling asleep on their significant other’s chest whilst they’re wrapping christmas presents, meaning that some aren’t wrapped the next morning because the sellotape had RUN OUT.

Failing to get the right meat and their S/O sending them back multiple times until they end up going together and realising that they weren’t even going to the right store.

Slow kisses.

Text messages asking for their S/O to put the kettle on for them as they were almost home.

Sitting on the doorstep in the cold, waiting for their S/O to come home from working on christmas day (emergency services?) and hugging them for so long whilst whispering ‘merry christmas’ into their neck and kissing any inch of skin they can reach.

Slow dancing to Frank Sinatra’s christmas songs in the kitchen and forgetting to check the potatoes in the oven.

Ice skating and them BOTH BEING REALLY GOOD ACTUALLY.

ACCIDENTALLY WEARING MATCHING NAUGHTY/NICE JUMPERS IN PUBLIC AND THEN BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER.

Avoiding the mistletoe at all costs, however, everyone is trying their best to get the otp there.

Neighbour au in which one gets drunk on mulled wine and ends up knocking at the other’s door, drunkenly trying to seduce the other and- instead- passing out in their living room.

MAKING OUT IN THE CLOAKROOM OF SOME POSH CHRISTMAS PARTY.

Just lots of making out in general. Jesus wanted us to repopulate which means fuc-

Crawling into their roommate’s (S/O’s) bed because it is too cold in their own and they want cuddles.

For goodness gracious IT’S 3 AM PLEASE STOP CAROLING au

-You threw a snowball and it hit me/my window and I was going to be mad but you’re really cute. Do you want to come in for hot chocolate? au

-This is the fourth time you’ve come to ask for sugar this week. How many cookies are you making? au

-we’re at an ugly Christmas sweater party and that thing is horrendous where did you even find that au

-You don’t realize I can see over the fence to watch you make snow angels like you’re five years old au

-you would literally make the best neighborhood Santa au

-are you the one putting mistletoe absolutely everywhere in this apartment building, or do you just happen to be in the right place at the right time every single time I walk under it au

-I just heard a ten pound turkey hit the ground and also very strong words. Do you need help? au

-I work at the Christmas tree lot and you just had to pick the heaviest tree there didn’t you au

-You were putting up Christmas lights and you just fell off the roof omg do you need me to drive you to the hospital au

-I invited you to Christmas dinner as my boyfriend/girlfriend so that my family would stop pestering me about being single, but we can keep this up until New Year’s, right? au

I’m going to eat this whole pie by myself and you’re not going to say anything about it au.

1. Mistletoe kiss

2. Pretend boyfriend/girlfriend for family Christmas party

3. You made me a Christmas playlist but it’s just Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is you”. I can’t tell if you’re hitting on me or if it’s a joke

4. My car got stuck in snow you saved me

5. Last Christmas I gave you my heart and you asked me to marry you

6. I got you for Secret Santa, but I thought it was suppose to be a gag gift, and now I wont fess up because I’m embarrassed

7. We’re both stuck at the airport for Christmas eve

8. Snowman competition, the judges are a bunch of five year old kids

9. I work at a toy store and you keep coming in but never buy anything

10. Your dad is Santa, he’s missing, and I’m helping you save Christmas

11. I’m a barista and you keep making weird faces when you drink the “Christmas cheer in a cup” coffee I make, why do you keep ordering it?

12. We’re neighbors and I just got locked out of my apartment, I was baking cookies that will burn if I don’t get in there quick

13. You made me an ugly Christmas sweater

14. I met you on Christmas but haven’t seen you since, until today on Christmas day, are you an angel? Wait, you actually are?

15. We’re stuck in different cities, so we wont be together for Christmas. We end up talking on the phone for hours, to the annoyance of our families.

16. I was dressed up as an elf, because of my job. You’re drunk and think I actually know Santa

17. You hate Christmas because you’ve never had a good one. So I go all out to make this the best Christmas for you

18. I was cold, so you gave me your jacket but now you’re cold too. So I suggest we hug instead

19. I’ve never seen snow in person before, until now, what is this white stuff falling from the sky? Why are you laughing at me?

20. We got into an argument because of something stupid, but I slipped on ice on the stairs. I called you to help me, and our fight was forgotten when you got all worried

21. I was putting up Christmas lights, and I literally fell into your arms

22. There’s one Christmas cookie left, so I challenge you, winner takes the cookie

23. You keep playing Christmas music, and it’s driving me nuts, please play something else.

1. “You’re freezing. Come here.”

2. “That’s the eggnog talking. I’m cutting you off.”

3. “I didn’t wrap it, so you have to close your eyes.”

4. “Don’t be such a Scrooge.”

5. “That’s mistletoe we’re standing under.”

6. “It’s snowing.”

7. “Open it.”

8. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

9. “I’m just happy you’re here.”

10. “Tis the season for sharing feelings, I guess.”

11. “Will it be too cliche to say I love you?”

12. “Nice sweater.”

13. “I didn’t know what to get you.”

14. “My fingers are numb.”

15. “Look at that. It’s beautiful.”

16. “How many candy canes have you eaten?”

17. “Careful. Santa’s watching.”

18. “What would you like for Christmas?”

19. “I don’t want to just see you once a year.”

20. “That’s my scarf.”

21. “I won’t let you fall.”

22. “How much sugar have you had?”

23. “Chocolate chip is the only cookie that matters.”

24. “Is this the part where we kiss?”

25. “If there’s magic, it’s only because of you.”

71 notes · View notes

secndlife · 6 years

Text

sun&moon | 3.

pairing: jackson x reader x jinyoung

genre: soulmate!au, college!au, fluff, angst, eventual smut? everything basically

summary: she has always trusted fate. she was destined to someone and she was determined to find it. she found herself wrapped in hands that feel warm like the sun, but that belonged to someone else. she keeps on looking, only to find out that her fate had been watching over her, just like the moon.

word count: 10k (i’m.. sorry?)

warnings: alcohol consumption, SMUT! unprotected sex (please don’t ever do that), fingering, face fucking and dirty talking.

playlist

masterlist

The following week passed without major events. Your routine consisted of working, attending classes and studying for your midterms. You got together with Jisoo to study for your social media & PR exam and by Friday you thought you were gonna die from exhaustion. You’d have to put that behind yourself though since it was Jackson’s birthday party. His actual birthday was only on Saturday, but he decided to throw a party on Friday. He was turning 23 and Saturday would be a big deal for him with the whole “I’m gonna get my soulmate’s initial tattooed on my wrist today” thing.

You got home from class and checked the time - 6:45pm. Jackson’s party was not supposed to start until 10 so you could sleep for a bit before you had to get ready. Jisoo decided to eat first so you ate with her and just went to your room to relax for a while. You decided to take a shower before sleeping so you’d nap comfortably. You slept until 9:30pm and then decided to get ready. When you woke up, you checked your phone to find some texts messages:

[7:15pm] Jackson: finally seeing you again today huh? missed me? at what time are you coming over?

[7:16pm] Jackson: maybe you should come by earlier so you can give me my gift ;)

[7:45pm] Jinyoungie: you’re coming tonight right?

[7:46pm] Jinyoungie: if you want you can stay the night, my bed will be available

Jinyoung and Jackson were housemates. Actually, their house was pretty big, since they shared it with the rest of the boys: Mark, Jaebum, Youngjae, Bambam, and Yugyeom. They’ve decided to rent the house by their second year when pretty much all of them were having roommate problems at their previous dorms. Yugyeom and Bambam where childhood friends and so were Jinyoung and Jaebum. Mark and Youngjae met some time ago in a camp they went together. Jackson was already friends with Mark and Jaebum before college, and after that Mark met Bambam. In the end, they all met each other and became close friends, so living together at a big house was a good solution for their problems. You got in the mix because you were best friends with Jinyoung and well, you dragged Jisoo with you. The 9 of you were pretty close and had a good relationship, even tho some were closer than others.

You replied to your texts before you showered, Jackson’s being the first ones:

[9:35pm] you: ha ha. i didn’t miss you and i’m coming over at the same time as everyone

[9:35pm] you: but

[9:36pm] you: i might have a little surprise for you, birthday boy. but you’re gonna have to ditch your other girls and keep me for the night

Then, you texted Jinyoung:

[9:37pm] you: yes, jinyoungie! i’m coming. i’ll probably sleep at jackson’s room hehe but thank youuuuu

Just after you replied Jinyoung, another text from Jackson came in:

[9:38pm] Jackson: first of all i have no other girls! and second of all if i did, i’d ditch them all for you baby. see you later ;)

You smiled to yourself. In the middle of your chaotic week, you had found some time to get a nice set of lacey lingerie in Jackson’s favorite color: black. You were gonna surprise him and give him a great night as his birthday present.

Since you had showered already, you got out of your pajamas and went looking for the new set of underwear you had bought. You put them and looked in the mirror, the black lace accentuating your body in all the right places. You looked good, confident in them; Jackson was gonna love it.

You then moved to your bathroom to get your makeup done. After your skin was ready, you decided on your favorite red lipstick. You wanted to look sexy tonight and you thought red lips were the way to go. You went back to your bedroom and started to look through your drawers to find an outfit for tonight. After not much looking, you settled for a high waisted gray plaid skirt, a black shirt with a low cut and your favorite black boots with heels. You were literally glowing after you were done and you smiled at yourself. You haven’t felt that confident in a while. It was gonna be a good night. You were gathering your belongings to put them in your purse when you heard Jisoo knocking on the door:

“Hey princess! Are you ready? We’re gonna be late!” she yelled through the door.

“Come in, Soo! I’m just finishing up.”

Jisoo opened the door and looked at you with an open mouth, “Wow! You look really really good! Is all this for the birthday boy?” she said, winking at you.

You laughed, “Stop being silly! This is all for myself. And you look good too baby! New dress?” She was wearing a red dress that hugged her body in every place it was possible, black heels and some light makeup.

“Yes, bought it yesterday after class. Do you like it? It’s not too tight, is it?” she said, examining herself in the mirror.

“No, Soo. It looks amazing, really. Now let’s go, it’s already 10:20,” you said, grabbing her hand and dragging her outside.

You were both walking down the hall when Winnie showed up at your feet. You bent over so you could pet her ears, “Bye baby, see you tomorrow.”

Jisoo looked at you with a raised brow, “Wait, tomorrow? So you’re not coming home tonight?”

You rolled your eyes at her as you kept on walking towards the door. “No, Soo. I’m sleeping at the boys’ tonight. Same as you, I suppose. So don’t even say anything.”

She blushed a little, “Well… I-it’s different!”

“Sure it is,” you smirked at her. “Let’s just go, we’re late already”.

Both of you grabbed your coats by the entrance and made your way out. It wasn’t that cold, the weather being warmer this week. Since the boys’ house was close, you decided to walk there. You two talked about random subjects ‘til you got to their dorm. You could hear loud music and a bunch of voices from the doorstep. You were excited for this party, especially since Jackson made a big deal out of his birthday. You needed relief after that stressful week, and that’s what you were planning to get today.

You and Jisoo walked in, not bothering to ring the bell. The boys’ house was big - their living room was very spacy and well decorated, black leather couches and some posters all over the walls. For the party, the place was filled with red and black balloons and some nice lighting. There was a DJ near the fireplace, the drinks were pretty much in every corner and the beer pong table was in the middle of the living room.

Jisoo had a surprised look across her face. “Wow! Jackson really outdid himself this time. This looks amazing!”

“I know, look at the DJ booth and the sound system. Tonight’s gonna be a good night, Soo,” you said, scanning the room in hope to find any of the boys. You spotted Jaebum and Mark around the corner, but before you could make your way towards them, you felt hands being wrapped around your waist and pulling you towards a broad and firm chest.

You let out a small yelp in surprise, only to hear Jackson’s voice close to your ear. “Hey, baby.”

You turned around to face him, hitting his chest playfully, “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, laughing. Jackson started scanning you from head to toe, one eyebrow raised and his classical smirk across his lips. “You look really hot, you know?” he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you close once again, “Is that all for me?”

“You’d like that, huh? But no, big boy. It’s all for myself,” you said, putting your hands around his neck.

Jackson had a cute pout on his face, “Well, at least I’m getting a surprise later right?”

You put your lips on the shell of his ear. “Yup, it’s under all this,” you said, biting his earlobe and pulling back right away.

Jackson had a frustrated face now, “Don’t do that, not when I can’t do stuff to you.”

“You should know I’m a teaser,” you said, winking at him.

He raised a brow at you, “And you should know I’m more than able to tease back.”

“Try me.” You leaned in and gave him a quick kiss, not letting him enjoy it enough. “Anyways, happy birthday, Jacks. See you later.” And with that, you walked away. You looked back though, you haven’t had the chance to fully see what he looked like tonight and when you did, you liked what you saw. Jackson was in all black - a shirt with a tiger printed on it, ripped skinny jeans, leather belt, black cap, and black shoes. Jackson looked really sexy, you thought. He also had some gold chains around his neck. Jackson was a rich guy, but he usually didn’t show it off, unless it was on jewelry or clothes, basically. He saw you staring at him and winked at you. You smiled back at him and walked away, trying to find the boys or Jisoo, who had disappeared as soon as Jackson grabbed your waist.

After looking around and not seeing anyone, you decided to grab a drink in one of the many corner tables. You reached one that had a bowl of reddish jungle juice and a bottle of tequila. You decided to take a shot of tequila as a warm up and started pouring some on one of the red cups that were by the table when someone showed up at your side, hugging you by the shoulders. You turned your head to find a drunk Kim Yugyeom, with a cup of beer in hand.

You raised your brow at him. “Hey, Y/N! I’ve missed yo-o-o-o-u”. He dragged the last word too much and sounded too blurry.

“Hey, Yugy,” you said, wrapping your arm around his waist. “Drunk already?”

“Nope, I’m ok,” he gave you a peck on the cheek. “Pour me a tequila shot, you can’t drink it alone.”

Yugyeom had this huge smile on his face and he was just giggling. You analyzed him closely, thinking about his request.“Yugy, you’re drunk enough. This is strong and Jaebum will kill me if you throw up tonight.”

Suddenly, you felt another arm being wrapped around your shoulder, a much skinnier arm.

“Look who it is! Long time no see, Y/N.” It was Bam, looking equally drunk. The two of them were never strong drinkers, anyway. You laughed at the scene you found yourself in.

“We’re having tequila, Bam! Come have some,” Yugyeom said.

You glared at him and then looked at Bambam. “Hey Bammie. Maybe the two of you should drink water, you’re drunk enough.”

“No, we’re not!” Bambam whined. “Today’s Jackson’s birthday and we can be as drunk as we want. C’mon Y/N, pour us 3 shots.”

You looked at the boys - Yugyeom had a pout on his face and Bambam was smiling at you with a raised brow.

“Urgh fine!” You started pouring down the shots. One more for them wouldn’t hurt, right? The three of you put the salt in your left hand while holding a slice of lemon. Bambam raised his glass first and you and Yugyeom followed.

“Cheers!” he said.

The three of you licked the salt out of your hands, drank the tequila and then sucked the lemon.

“Gosh, this burns,” Yugyeom said, choking a bit.

You laughed. “That’s because you have the paladar of a baby. This tequila is really tasty, actually.” You were a tequila girl yourself so you appreciated the drink you’ve just had.

“Yeah, sure,” Bambam said, with tears in his eyes.

“Just please don’t throw up tonight or Jaebum will say it was my fault. I’ll go find Jisoo. See you later, guys.” You gave them both a kiss on the cheek and left so you could finally find your friend.

You started to make your way among the sweaty bodies that were all over the house. After searching for a while, you spotted Jisoo at the beer pong table.

“Hey, Soo! You disappeared on me.”

“Well, yes. You were with Jackson and I didn’t want to interrupt. Anyways, glad you found me ‘cause we’re playing!” she said, with an excited tone.

You looked at the other end of the table and saw Mark and Jaebum, both with smirks on their faces.

“Ready to get your ass beaten, baby?” Mark asked Jisoo.

“As if! You know Y/N is one of the best players of beer pong!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Jaebum said, looking at both of you with an amused smile.

“Oh please! I’ve won against you plenty of times before, Jaebummie. I can win once more,” you teased him.

“Well, I don’t remember any of them!”

“Yeah, sure. Just stop talking and let’s start this game.”

Mark raised his hand, displaying the ball. “Maybe we should make it more fun, huh? How about a bet?”

“Say it.”

“The losers will have to do body shots,” Mark said, with a teasing smile.

“No way! I can’t do that with you on Jackson’s birthday,” he would for sure be upset.

“No, look. If we lose, Jisoo will drink it off of me, you’ll drink off of Jackson and we’ll find Jaebummie a pretty girl to drink it off of him. I’m sure he won’t mind it like that. And if you lose it’ll be the other way around.”

You looked at Jisoo, looking for signs of discomfort towards Mark’s proposal, but all you’ve found was a big smile on her face. “Yeah, ok, fine. Just start it off, Mark. I wanna win this quickly.” You were really good at beer pong, it was your favorite party game, so you were pretty confident you’d win it. Jisoo wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t as good as you.

The game lasted for a while and you finally got the last shot right.

“YES! I KNEW WE WERE GONNA WIN IT!” Jisoo yelled, clearly already a bit tipsy from the beer she’ve chugged.

You smiled, “Told you I wouldn’t have a problem beating you again, Jaebummie. Now let’s move on with the bet. Someone go find Jackson and the other pretty girl for Jaebum while I go get the drinks.”

You moved on to one of the tables and took the same bottle of tequila again. You’ve saw the boys with Jackson and some girl by the beer pong table. You went back there with the bottle in hand and also some salt.

Jackson was smiling at you, “So, ready to drink some tequila out of my amazing abs?”

You smiled back, “You’re nowhere near unhappy with this, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Yeah, I figured.” You turned towards the girl and introduced yourself, “Hi, I’m Y/N. Sorry these losers brought you into this mess.”

She was pretty - her skin looked like chocolate and her hair was big and curly. Her eyes had a light brown color and her lips were painted with a red lipstick. She smiled, “Hey, I’m Anna. It’s ok, I don’t mind. It’ll be fun.”

“That’s the spirit,” Jaebum said, with his arms around her shoulder.

“Ok, who’s first?”

“Well, since you asked, why don’t you go first with Jisoo?”

“Fine”, Mark said, a teasing smile on his lips.

Mark and Jisoo then went first, your friend taking off his shirt and putting the salt around his belly herself. He was sprawled across the table with Jisoo next to him when you started pouring the tequila on him without warning.

“Go, Jisoo!” Mark said, feeling the hot liquid starting to spread all over his body. Jisoo licked it off of Mark like pro, tongue flat against his abs while the boy kept his eyes shut.

“This is weird to watch so I’m gonna stop it,” said Jaebum with a laugh. “Ok, you two are done.”

He handed Mark a few paper towels while Jisoo cleaned off her mouth with the back of her hand. She gave Mark his shirt, who made sure to give her a hot messy kiss before putting it back on, making her turn into a giggly blushing mess.

“Ok, Jaebummie, your turn,” Jackson said with an excited tone.

Jaebum looked at Anna, “I know this is weird and if you don’t wanna do it is ok.”

“Why would I pass on the opportunity to drink some tequila out of a handsome man’s abs,” she said, confidently. Jaebum smiled and took off his shirt, looking at Anna with a smirk. “Go on, lie down, pretty boy,” Anna said, touching his abs lightly.

Jackson took the bottle of tequila out of your hands and waited for Anna to spread the salt right below Jaebum’s belly button. Once she did, Jackson poured the tequila on his friend’s body and Anna cleaned him up fast, maybe a bit to hungrily.

It now was your turn now. Jackson was already taking his shirt of and smirking at you.

“Don’t drool, baby.”

“Haha. Funny. Just get on the table.”

For some reason, your eyes started to drift away from the scene in front of you. They scanned the room and ended up finding Jinyoung’s, who was alone near a wall with a cup in hand.

“Hello, earth to Y/N?” Jisoo said, bringing you back to what was about to happen now.

Jackson laid on the table, shirtless and smiling. He looked good like that. Delicious, even. Mark had the salt near his navel and held the bottle near Jackson’s body.

“Ok, Y/N, you have to be quick once I pour the tequila on him.”

“I know how body shots work, Mark. Just do it.”

With that, Mark started to pour the tequila on the upper part of Jackson’s abs. You licked the salt slowly, wanting to tease Jackson, and started to make your way up. You flattened your tongue against his body to get as much tequila as you could. Once the liquid was finished, you moved to Jackson’s lips and gave him a kiss. He tasted like beer and mint, his lips hungrily moving against yours.

Jinyoung watched the whole scene from afar, hands strong against his red cup.

“You’re really staring, hyung.”

A familiar voice made Jinyoung jump a bit and look away from you and Jackson practically making out in the middle of the party. Youngjae was now next to him, a smile on his face and raised brows.

“Shit, you scared me, man.” He was glad something got his attention out of you. He took the opportunity to simply chug down the entire content of his cup, it being a whole bunch of vodka and something he wasn’t really sure what it was.

When he was done, Youngjae was offering him his drink, “You look like you need it.”

“What’s this?”

“Don’t question, just drink it.”

Jinyoung took the cup out of his friends hands and repeated the same fluid and fast motion, swallowing every drop of the liquid in Youngjae’s cup. It was definitely strong, hitting his stomach like a punch - much like the feeling he got when a certain thing happened in front of his eyes. He cleaned his lips with the back of his hand and thanked Youngjae.

“No problem,” Youngjae smiled. “Wait here, I’ll go get us another drink”.

Jinyoung just nodded. Fuck, he just really needed to be drunk. He eyed you again to find you in pretty much the same position you were a couple seconds ago - lips still attached to Jackson’s, who was lying across the table. He then looked away and waited for Youngjae to return with his drink.

“Maybe you two should get a room,” once you’ve heard Mark’s voice you pulled away, leaving Jackson with a pout on his face.

“Shut up, Mark,” you barked back.

Jackson got up from the table and cleaned himself with some paper towels that were on the table and then proceeded on putting on his shirt.

“This was fun, Jacks. We should do it again sometime,” you winked at him and walked away, a cup of beer in hand.

You saw Jinyoung pretty much in the same way you saw him moments ago, but now he had someone by his side and was apparently taking a shot of something. You approached them, smiling.

“Look at some of my two favorite boys. I’ve finally found you!” You gave Jinyoung a loud kiss on the cheek and hugged Youngjae lightly. Jinyoung just rolled his eyes.

“Hey Y/N, nice show,” Youngjae said, referring to the body shot.

“Yeah, it was a beer pong bet. How are you?”

“I’m great and Jinyoung’s getting heavily drunk.”

“Oh, really?” you looked at your best friend with a raised brow. He had a cup in his hand and no smile on his face. Weird. “I might have seen you just take a shot of something a few seconds ago.”

“Yes,” Jinyoung had his cup against his lips one more time, chugging down the beer Youngjae just got him along with the shot. Once he was finished, he looked at you, your eyes slightly wide, and said, “I just wanna get really drunk tonight. Please, don’t stop me.”

“Why would I?” It was weird seeing Jinyoung like this. He got drunk, obviously, but he rarely drank this much. You figured it was not the best time to question him and just handed him your own drink. He gladly took it and chugged it down, like he did with the past ones that got into his hands. Once he was finished, he smiled at you, handing you your cup back.

You chatted with the boys some more and then all of you made your way towards the dance floor. After that, time passed quickly. You drank some more, but not too much - you wanted to be on full alert in order to give Jackson his birthday present later. You talked to your friends and enjoyed the party for some good few hours. One thing was for sure, Jackson really knew how to celebrate his birthday. The music was great, the drinks and the food were tasty and expensive and the decoration looked out of some movie.

At some point, pretty much everyone was dancing together. Jackson had his hands on your hips, Jisoo was all over Mark, Youngjae was talking to Jinyoung and Jaebum was next to them with Anna. The younger ones were nowhere to be found, probably passed out somewhere.

Jackson started to move his hips rhythmically with yours. You backed your head so it was resting on his shoulder and decided to enjoy the feeling.

“You’re staring again,” Youngjae said, close to Jinyoung’s ear so no one would hear him.

“I’m not,” Jinyoung’s voice sounded cold, “I’ll go get some air.”

He started to make his way across the sea of people, mind buzzing and spinning with the amount of alcohol in his system. Once he was finally near the pool area, he found somewhere to sit, staring blankly ahead.

“Here, drink this.”

He looked up and Jaebum was handing him a cup. “Thanks.”

Jaebum nodded and sat down next to his friend, who was trying to figure out what was on the cup, vodka or water.

“It’s water. Drink it or I’m pretty sure you’ll end up like Yugyeom and Bam”.

Jinyoung took a big sip, keeping the water in his mouth for a while to clean his mouth.

“What’s up?”

Jinyoung swallowed hard, “Why do you think something’s up?” He was hiccuping now. Shit, he was drunker than he thought.

“C’mon, you rarely drink this much. You only do it when you’re sad or stressed.” Jinyoung shook his head, going back to drinking some more water. It was sobering him up - not too much and surely not enough for his head to stop spinning. “If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say it’s about Y/N.”

Jinyoung’s face was still, no signs of any form of feelings, “Shut up, Jaebum,” he hiccuped once again. “I… I’m just stressed, it’s midterm season.”

Jaebum got up, got one hand on his friend’s shoulder and looked down at him, “You don’t look stressed, you look miserable.”

Jinyoung looked up at him. “I’m not,” hiccup striking back and voice sounding whiny and blurry. Fuck, why can’t he just sober up and stop hiccuping?

“Yeah, sure.”

“I mean it, Jaebum.”

“I said sure,” he shrugged. “Look, I care about you, ok? Just… Figure everything out and stop staring at Y/N and Jackson every time they’re doing some sort of PDA.” Jinyoung rolled his eyes at Jaebum’s silly remark. He never stared at you, right? “C’mon, finish up the water and let’s get back inside.”

Jinyoung drank the remaining of his cup in one take and got up, still drunk - one cup of water was not enough to bring him back to his senses. He followed Jaebum back inside, body still not under his control, and joined the rest of you once again.

You stared at him with a frown on your face, moving to his side so he could hear you through the music. “Is everything ok?” you asked.

Jinyoung nodded, “Yeah, I just went out for some air, don’t worry.” You raised your brow at him. It was hard, lying for you. You knew him too well. Jinyoung took your hand in his, “It’s just stress, don’t worry about it.”

You gave him a kiss on the cheek and squeezed his hand, “Fine, but stop drinking. Please. I know you said not to stop you, but you’re gonna throw up.”

He smiled at you. “I won’t,” a particular loud hiccup leaving his body.

You laughed and nodded, leaving him so you’d get back to your place near Jackson, who pulled you close, making Jinyoung shift his attention to Youngjae. He couldn’t possibly stare, could he?

When it was around 3 in the morning, the party had died down, only two of Jackson’s friends besides the boys, you and Jisoo were still there. You were sitting on the couch with Jisoo when Mark showed up in front of you and reached out his hand to her:

“Care to join me in the bedroom?” he said with a low blurry voice, winking at her.

Jisoo laughed, “You’re so indiscreet.” She took his hand and got up, losing balance a little bit over how much alcohol she had consumed on that night.

They were both tipsy so they were pretty much giggly messes. You watched them with a small smile on your face.

“It’s not like they don’t know you’re sleeping with me, Soo.” Mark wrapped his arms around her waist and they both started walking towards his room. “Good night, everyone. Please, don’t throw up around the house,” he yelled.

“Good night, Y/N. See you in the morning. Good night, boys!” Jisoo said while waving at you from the bottom of the stairs.

“Good night, love birds,” you waved at Jisoo.

“I’m gonna head upstairs too, I’m tired and I have to check up on Yug and Bam,” Jaebum said. Both boys had passed out in the middle of the party, throwing up all over the bathroom they shared with Jaebum, who wasn’t happy.

“Yeah, me too. I’m really tired and my head is already making me feel like crap. Good night, guys,” Youngjae said while following Jaebum upstairs.

You said goodnight to both of them and suddenly you felt someone plopping down on the couch beside you, taking Jisoo’s place. You saw Jinyoung, who looked very much drunk. His cheeks and ears were red, something that always happened when he had a few too many drinks. He probably drank some more after he left all of you to dance and disappeared somewhere.

“Hi Jinyoungie,” you smiled at him.

“Hi stupid,” he had a blurred voice. He rested his head on your shoulder and closed his eyes, “This party was nice.”

“Yeah, I can see you took the opportunity to relieve some stress.”

“I did, but now I’m just tired,” he let out a sigh.

“You should go to bed, Jinyoungie. Go get some rest.”

“I can barely walk. I’m sleeping here.”

You looked at Jackson, who was still talking to his Hong-Kong friends at the kitchen. The conversation looked like it was gonna last for a few more minutes, so you decided to take Jinyoung to bed since he couldn’t sleep at the couch.

You got up and stood in front of him, his eyes flying open as soon as you got up. “C’mon, I’m taking you to bed.”

“I’m not a baby-y,” he said, whining and still hiccupping. “I’m sleeping here.” “No, you’re not,” you grabbed his hands and tried to get him up. “Jinyoungie, help me out here, c’mon.”

“Urgh, fine,” he let out a loud groan and got up, losing his balance and almost falling on top of you.

“Easy there. Now let’s get you to bed,” you grabbed his arm and draped it around your shoulder.

You started walking towards the stairs and looked at Jackson’s direction again, who was now looking at you with a puzzled face.

“I’m just taking him to bed, Jacks. I’ll be down in a minute,” you said, making your way upstairs with a drunk and grumpy Jinyoung wrapped around you.

With a lot of effort, since he wasn’t helping, you finally reached Jinyoung’s bedroom. You tried opening the door, but it was locked.

“Where are your keys, Jinyoungie? Unlock the door.”

“They’re in my back pocket. Grab it, just don’t touch my b-butt,” he said in the middle of another loud hiccup.

You rolled your eyes at him, “Shut up. It will be impossible not to touch your butt.” You struggled a bit since Jinyoung was leaning on you, but you finally reached his back pocket. Before grabbing the keys, you gave his butt a light spank.

“Don’t do tha-a-a-a-t,” he said, dragging the last part and sounding like a baby.

You laughed at him, “I’ve touched you butt before Jinyoungie. Besides, I’m just grabbing your keys.”

He rolled his eyes while you took the keys and proceeded to unlock the door. You took him inside and carefully examined his room. It was all put together, everything in its place - you wouldn’t expect anything else from him. You dragged Jinyoung towards his bed, sitting him.

“C’mon, let me help you with your shirt,” you said, standing in front of your friend.

“What? Why?” He looked confused.

“You’re not sleeping in that, it’s too uncomfortable.”

“Fine,” Jinyoung said, uncrossing his arms, being too drunk and sleepy to argue.

His bomber jacket was lost somewhere so he was only in his white shirt and light jeans. The first few buttons of his shirt were opened up already, something that not even Jinyoung was sure when or how it happened. You started unbuttoning the remaining ones and Jinyoung closed his eyes. When you finished, you got your hands on his shoulders and removed the shirt off his body, letting it fall on the bed. He opened his eyes and stared at you. You smiled down at him, rubbing his shoulders lightly.

“Go to sleep, Jinyoungie. It’s late and you’re tired and drunk.” He kept staring at you, his eyes locked on yours as if they were trying to say something his lips wouldn’t. “Go on, lie down already,” you smiled at him and tapped his shoulder, motioning for him to move. He did so and rested his head on the pillow, sighing softly. His covers were at the bottom of his bed, you got them and put it over him.

He smiled at you. “Thank you, stupid.” He called you like that sometimes. It wasn’t offensive, it was affectionate in Jinyoung’s language.

After you finished tucking him under the covers, you gave him a small peck on the forehead, “You’re welcome, Jinyoungie. Now sleep.”

He nodded, closing his eyes. In your way out, you stopped for a second to look at something on his wall, above his study desk. He had a magnetic board in which he had his calendar and some notes, along with a few pictures. He had pictures of his family, one of him and his sisters, one of his parents and one with his grandmother. He had a picture with all of the boys and one with Jaebum alone. Another one of them caught your eye: you and Jinyoung, on his 12th birthday party. He had cake on his face and looked annoyed, while you were smiling right next to him. You touched the picture lightly, remembering that moment and smiling. As soon as he had blown the candle, you got some frosting from the side of the cake and spread it on his cheeks. Everyone laughed while Jinyoung looked bothered and that’s when the picture was taken. Before you could lose yourself a bit more in your memories, you heard someone whisper your name by the door:

“Hey, Y/N,” you looked and found a smiley Jackson. You checked the board once again and left Jinyoung’s room, shutting the door behind yourself. Jackson was leaning against the hallway wall and he looked at you intently. You stopped in front of him, putting your hands on his shoulders, while his rested on your waist.

“Hey, birthday boy. Did you enjoy your party?” you said, putting your face closer to his and pecking his neck lightly.

“Hm, yeah,” he hummed, appreciating your touch. “But something tells me I’m about to enjoy way more what’s about to happen now.”

You continued on kissing Jackson’s neck, giving it a few bites. “Oh, I’m sure you’re gonna love it. But maybe we should move on to your bedroom. The hallway might not be the best place for this,” you said, laughing.

“Yeah, ok.” Jackson took your hand and you walked towards his bedroom. Once you’ve gotten there, he closed the door and you both took off your shoes.

“Sit on the bed, Jacks. I’m gonna show you your gift.”

He did as he was told, sitting on the edge of the bed with a smirk on his face. You were standing in front of him and you got your hands on the hem of your shirt.

“You looked really sexy tonight, you know that?” Jackson said, eyeing you from head to toe.

“Guess I’ll look even sexier,” you trailed off, slowly taking your top off and exposing your black lace bra. It was a bit sheer and it hugged your figure perfectly.

Jackson had a hungry expression across his face, “Fuck. That’s really hot.”

“I know. I got it for you.” With that, you unzipped your skirt and allowed it to fall off your body. You were only in lingerie now, all exposed for Jackson.

“Oh my God.”

“Do you like it, baby?” you started to make your way towards Jackson, who couldn’t take his eyes off of you.

“Do I like it? I love it. You look so fucking good.” Once you were close enough, he grabbed your hand and pulled you closer. He started kissing your stomach lightly while you took his cap off and started caressing his hair. “You’re the hottest person I’ve ever seen,” Jackson said between kisses. “So beautiful.”

You hummed lightly in agreement, tugging at his hair and raising his head so he’d look at you. You motioned for him to sit properly on the bed. He did as he was told, moving backwards and resting against the headboard. You got yourself on the bed and started moving his way on all fours. Once you’ve reached him, you straddled his lap.

“Tonight’s your night, baby. I’m gonna make you feel really good,” you said while taking off his shirt. You did it slowly and once his torso was exposed, you dragged your nails all over it, leaving pretty red marks all over his chest and shoulders.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. His hands were on your waist, squeezing it.

You rested your hands on his shoulders for support and started kissing his neck. It started off with light pecks, Jackson closing his eyes and tilting his head backwards so you’d have more space. You started to bite and suck on his neck, leaving a mess of red and purple marks behind. He looked good like that, with your passion imprinted all over him.

You made your way towards his jaw and then his lips, finally kissing them and Jackson hummed in approval. You were grinding against his lap and you could feel how hard he was getting. The kiss was slow at first, just tasting, savoring the feeling. But it didn’t take long until both of you needed more. It got hungry, tongues moving rhythmically against each other. Jackson’s hands then moved to your breast, making you moan against his mouth and grind harder against him.

“You make the prettiest sounds, baby,” he said against your lips. Jackson was always very verbal during sex, praising you all the time. It made you feel special.

His hands then made their way back to your waist and his lips started moving downwards. You felt his lips at your jaw and your neck, small bites being left behind. His lips then reached your chest, kissing and sucking every piece of skin they could reach. It was hot, in the literal sense of the word. Every place that Jackson’s lips touched left a trail of fire behind them. It felt good, it felt warm.

“I love your body so much. You’re so beautiful,” Jackson said in between kisses.

You grabbed his face, looking at him intently, “I like you, Jacks.” You pecked his lips. “It’s your night, let me make you feel good huh?” You started trailing kisses on his neck and on his Adam apple, moving down. You got out of his lap and sat back on your feet, settling between his legs. Your hands then moved towards his belt, removing it. You leaned forward, hands on each side of his body and lips across his chest, leaving some more red marks. You got back again and your fingers were now slowly moving across his navel. The bulge on his jeans was visible by now, the outline of his cock perfectly marked across his pants. He hummed in response, enjoying your touch and not wanting to rush it - he knew you had time. You leaned forward once again, capturing his lips. You couldn’t get enough of his taste, it was addictive. Jackson’s lips always tasted like passion.

You decided to finally remove his pants, hands working with majesty. He got his body up so you could take his jeans off. When they were gone, sprawled across his bedroom floor, you started to lightly trace the outline of his now fully hard cock over his black boxers.

“You really are a tease huh?” Jackson said, eyes closed and head across the headboard.

You chuckled lightly, “I won’t tease much, though, don’t worry.”

You were palming him fully now, squeezing his cock a bit harder against your palm, the friction of his boxers against his length sending delicious jolts of pleasure through his body. He moaned.

“You make pretty sounds too, Jacks. I love hearing them.” You finally got your hands inside his boxers, allowing him to feel you fully against him, fingers at his tip in circular moves.

“Yeah,” he was breathing heavily. “That’s because you’re making me feel good. How about you make me feel even better and wrap those pretty red lips around my dick?”

“If it was any other day I’d tease you some more, but it’s all about you tonight,” he had his eyes opened by now and you smiled at him.

“Such a good girl for me,” he said with a smirk.

You got him out of his boxers and moved back, getting on all fours. You kissed his right thigh first, while your hand squeezed the other one. You loved his thighs, they were pretty, muscular and also sensitive. His hands were now on your head, fingers across your hair in a gentle way.

Your hands moved slowly towards his cock, that was hard across his abs. You touched his balls first, massaging them in circular motions. You looked at Jackson and what you saw made you wet. His eyes were closed again, bottom lip trapped between his teeth and hair slightly messy. Jackson always looked good, but you thought he looked even better like this, surrendering himself to you, in every possible way. You then moved one of your hands to his length, pumping it up and down at a lazy pace.

“Baby… please.” He sounded whiny, needy - just like you wanted.

“What do you want, Jacks? Say it and I’ll give it to you like a nice girl.” You kept on pumping him, now a bit faster, but still not fast enough.

“I want your lips around my cock. Please. Just… just suck me off.”

You smiled at him. All you wanted tonight was to make him feel good and you were determined to accomplish that. You moved your hands to the base of his cock, holding it still. You gave his tip a few kitten licks and Jackson hissed. You decided to stop teasing and finally wrapped your lips around his cock, slowly moving your head down. He tasted salty, he tasted good.

“Yes, baby, like that.”

You started to move your head up and down, still not going fast enough. One of your hands was at the base of his cock, just where your mouth couldn’t reach, while the other was playing with his balls. You swallowed around him, sending waves of pleasure all over Jackson’s body. You kept your pace on for a while, feeding on Jackson’s moans and whimpers when you’ve decided it was time to give him some more.

You got your head up, releasing Jackson’s cock with a pop and looked at him, “Baby, I want you to fuck my face.”

“W-what?” he sounded breathless. In all the times you two had sex, he’d never done something like that. None of you ever brought it up, but you guessed it was something he’d be into since every time you sucked him off, he’d buck his hips up unconsciously. “Isn’t that gonna hurt you?”

You kept on pumping him slowly, thumbs spreading the pre-cum that was now forming at his tip, while the other hand was running up and down his thigh to relax him, “No baby. It’s your birthday, let’s try it out. If it gets uncomfortable I’ll tell you, okay?”

“O-ok then… But you have to promise you’ll say something if it gets too much ok? I know my equipment might be a lot sometimes,” he said with a laugh.

“Jacks. Just shut up and get off the bed so we can do this.”

Jackson got up and waited for you with a look of excitement all over his face. You were now on your knees in front of him, hands resting on his thighs and eyes focused on his.

He settled his hand at the back of your head, holding your hair in a ponytail, “Just slap me if you want me to stop, ok?”

You nodded and opened your mouth, showing him you were ready. Jackson slowly got his cock into your mouth, not allowing it to hit the back of your throat just yet.

He let out a sigh and looked at you, “You ok? Can I move?” You hummed around him in approval. His grip around your hair then tightened and he started to move his hips. He kept a slow pace at first, allowing you to get used to the feeling. He kept your head still and eyes locked on yours.

“Your mouth feels so fucking good. So wet and warm.” His cock was now buried deep inside your mouth, fully hitting the back of your throat over and over again. Jackson’s moves were intense, thrusts long and sharp. You were trying to control your body, breathing through your nose so it wouldn’t trigger your gag reflex that much.

“Do me - uh, fuck - do me a favor,” Jackson said between moans. You looked at him, cock in your mouth and eyes on his. “Touch yourself.” Your eyes widen at his words. “C’mon, baby. Make yourself feel good,” he said while he grabbed your hair tighter.

You moved one of your hands out of his thigh and spread your legs enough for your hand to fit between them. You looked at Jackson and slipped your fingers inside your panties. You were pretty wet already, juices all over your folds. One of your fingers then moved up and down to spread out your arousal across your pussy lips.

Jackson’s hips never stopped moving, “Oh my God. This is so good, fuck. Put one finger in, baby, be a good girl.”

You did as he told you and got your middle finger inside yourself. You moaned in relief around Jackson’s cock, who released a filthy noise himself. You started pumping your finger slowly, getting used to the feeling.

“You look so fucking hot like that, shit. So hot, touching yourself and with your -“ you felt Jackson’s cock hit the back of your throat with a particularly deep thrust while you’ve hit a sweet spot inside you yourself, “- urgh! With your lips around my cock.”

This was dirty and hot and turning you on like you haven’t been in a long time. Jackson bucked his hips a few more times and then backed off, giving you room to breathe. You then got your finger out and whined at the loss of contact.

“I think that’s enough, otherwise I’m gonna cum,” he said in breathy laughs, letting your hair down. He held a hand for you, helping you get up back on your feet.

“That’s kinda the point here.” You were now up and with hands on his chest.

Jackson got his hands on the low of your back, pulling you towards him. “I know,” he said with a smile. “But since it’s my birthday I wanna be inside you when I cum.”

“Uh, hot,” you laughed. You moved your hands to his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. It was intense, like everything with Jackson, tongues moving across each other and savoring the feeling.

His hand moved to your ass and he gave it a light spank, squeezing it right after. It caused you to moan against his soft lips. He took the opportunity to break away and direct his kisses towards your neck.

“Are you wet, baby? I bet you are. All wet and just from being a good girl and letting me fuck your face and from touching yourself,” Jackson said between a trail of kisses and bites.

You moaned softly, “Yeah, I’m really wet, baby.” You were. As if Jackson face fucking you wasn’t enough, him making you touch yourself only added fuel to the fire. You were drenched and now you wanted nothing more than to feel him against you somehow.

He backed you off and you felt your knees hit the back of the bed. “Maybe I should feel it myself, huh? What do you say, baby?”

“Please. Please, Jacks.”

“Urgh, I love when you beg. That’s definitely a look on you,” he said with a smug look on his face. “Get back on the bed, c’mon.”

You laid down on the bed, head against Jackson’s soft pillows and legs parted. He settled himself between them, sitting back on his heels. His hands started to slowly make their way up your legs and towards your lacy panties. When he reached their outline, he stopped himself, making you frown.

“You know what? You’re gonna keep this whole thing on tonight.”

“What? Really?” You were still confused.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “It’s all for me right? So I’m fucking you in them, especially since this set looks really good on you.”

“Ok, fine. But just… give me something, I’m dying here,” you said, a frown across your face.

Jackson just smiled at you and went back to tracing sweet nothings across your navel and then moving to the inside of your thighs. He was really close to where you wanted him and your body felt like it was on fire, his fingertips leaving burning traces on your skin. You suddenly felt one of his hands holding your underwear to the side, while the other made its way towards your folds.

“Oh, baby. So wet…”

“Hm, yeah. Touch me, Jackson. Please.”

His fingers firstly rubbed the outside of your folds, not yet touching you fully. After what felt like forever, you finally felt his finger near your entrance, spreading your juices a bit. Without warning, he slipped his finger in and you moaned in relief, the pressure getting too much to handle.

“More, please.”

Jackson smirked. “Already?” he said, slowly pumping his finger in and out.

“Fuck, yes. I’m already so wet and I was fingering myself so-“ you stopped mid-sentence when he added another finger. “Shit, yes.”

He moved his body forward, fingers never leaving your pussy. He was towering you, one muscular arm by the side of your head, while the other disappeared between your body. His lips captured yours in a hungry kiss, nibbling and sucking at your bottom lip. Jackson curled his fingers up, hitting a sensitive spot inside you and making a moan roll off your lips. One of your hands grabbed his arm as if to hold yourself back to earth, the pleasure starting to build up inside you. The other was busy leaving scratch marks all over his shoulder.

He kept on kissing you, his two fingers now moving at a quicker pace. Suddenly, his thumb was on your clit and you got tighter around him, “Fuck, so tight. You’re gonna cum soon, aren’t you?” There was no point in denying it, Jackson knew your body too well by now.

“Yes, shit,” you could feel your orgasm starting to build up inside you. “I’m close.”

“Are you close, baby?” Jackson picked up his pace and increased the pressure against your clit.

Your head was now thrown back, drops of sweat starting to form by your hairline while Jackson’s lips were now at your exposed neck. “Fuck, yes.”

Jackson felt your body contracting against his fingers and then suddenly, he pulled out, sitting back on his heels, You were left hanging. You opened your eyes, not recognizing him - Jackson was more of an overstimulating than an edging guy.

“Ok, what the fuck. I was so close,” you said, a frown taking over your face.

Jackson laughed, “I know, I felt it.” You kept on eyeing him with furred brows. “I just want us to cum together today. Don’t be mad, I thought it’d be good,” he had now a pout on his face.

You laughed lightly. “This is actually cute,” you said, pulling him back towards you. “So how do you want me, huh?” Your lips were now close to his ear, biting on his earlobe ever so slightly.

“Oh, I get to choose?” he pulled back to look at you, who was now smiling at him.

“Yeah, it’s your night, remember?”

“Then I want you to ride me,” he said, smirk across his face and getting off of you.

“So I’m gonna have to do all the job?” you moved to the side so he could lie down on the bed.

“I’ll help you out, I’m a giver, you know?” Jackson laughed and got on the bed and putting his hands behind his head and motioning for you to straddle him.

“I’ll pretend you didn’t just deny me an orgasm and agree,” you said, getting on top of him, right on his thighs, and hands on his broad chest.

“It was for a bigger cause!”

“I know,” you smiled down at him, fingers now lightly tracing patterns on his hips.

“Anyways. You look really amazing in this lingerie. It’s gonna be really hot to fuck you in it.”

“Thank you, baby. I’m glad you liked it.” Your hands slowly made their way to his cock, gripping it not too hard and pumping it up and down a few times.

“Your hands feel so good.” You two kept your eyes locked on each other while filthy words were being said, “But I really wanna be inside you right now.”

You leaned in to give him a quick peck and positioned yourself closer to his cock, hips slightly up. One of his hands moved to his length and while you held your panties to the side, he aligned himself at your entrance, rubbing his tip against it so it was wet enough. Slowly, you sank down on him, both of you moaning in bliss.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” Jackson said, his hand back at his head, eyes fixated on you and lips swollen from biting and kissing.

You didn’t move for a while, eyes shut and getting used to the feeling of being full. Jackson’s cock wasn’t too big, but it was rather thick. It felt good inside you, filling you up in all the right places. At a lazy pace, you started to move your hips up ‘til only his tip was in and then back down ‘til you were sitting on him again. It felt good, warm and fun - and that was Jackson. He was all fire, in every possible way.

You opened your eyes and met his, smirking at him and resting your hands on his chest for balance. His hands gripped yours, holding them against his skin in an act that felt intimate among all the smell of arousal and sex.

“Faster, baby,” he said, trying hard not to buck his hips up to meet your movements‪. You then picked up the pace, moving as he requested. Jackson was all moans now, messy hair and hands tight against yours. “Fuck, you feel so good inside me.” Your nails hard on his chest, you were sure they were gonna leave marks. You kept your pace for a while, it was too good, too hot.

Jackson’s hand left yours and made their way towards your body. First, your boobs, massaging them through the bra, the feeling of the lace against your nipples adding pleasure to his action. Then they moved to your ass, squeezing it hard, sending waves of pleasure straight to your core.

“This is so good, Jackson,” you moaned, while his hands kept on roaming all over your body, touching every bit of skin they could find. He was in heaven - as if the feeling of you moving up and down on his cock wasn’t enough, the fabric of your panties against his length was enough to bring him to ecstasy.

You decided to fully sit on him to change up your movements. You were now moving your hips in circular motions, alternating it with going back and forth.

“Shit, you’re amazing. So fucking tight.” Jackson’s hand made its way to your clit. It was messy, among lacy underwear and his cock, but he made it work. He rubbed circles against your bundle of nerves and you could feel your orgasm starting to build up again.

“Ready for the grand finale?” Jackson said in a teasing tone, getting you confused. “I said I was gonna fuck you and now I’m gonna do just that.”

He suddenly grabbed your hips firmly and flipped you over, never allowing his cock to slip out of you. He was now on top, settled between your legs and looking at you like he was going to devour you - and maybe he would. “Ready?”

You laughed a little - you were not expecting this, but you weren’t surprised. Jackson was always spontaneous, so you never knew for sure what was happening next. “Yeah,” you said, a smile on your face. “Fuck me.”

The moment those words left your lips, Jackson started moving. It was not sweet - it was hard, passionate, intense. The room was filled with moans, sounds of skin against skin and dirty sentences.

“Shit, Jackson. Fuck.” It felt too good. He was moving at a rapid pace, hands on each side of your head. You wrapped your legs around his hips, wanting to feel him closer as if it was possible to be any closer and to feel him even more than how you were feeling him right now.

“You like it, baby? I can feel you clenching, you’re so tight.” He moved back, resting on his heels and hands now at your clit, fingers tracings circles against it. His thrusts were even faster and deeper now, hitting all the right places inside you.

“Shit, right there.” Jackson knew you. After too many fucks, he was familiar with your body and he knew which buttons to push to drive you over the edge.

“Are you gonna cum for me? Are you gonna cum all over my cock?”

“Yes, oh my God. Please, don’t stop.” Your head was thrown back in pure pleasure, lips trapped against your teeth and hands grasping at the soft sheets trying to have a hold on yourself. You could feel your orgasm approaching while Jackson kept on rubbing your clit.

“Cum, baby. Cum for me.” And that was it, you were gone. Your juices were all over Jackson’s cock, his fingers now pinching your clit while you came all over him, muttering his name under your breath.

His thrusts didn’t stop, as if anything they were even harder now. You were feeling everything to the max, being sensitive due to your orgasm. Jackson leaned forward once again and laced your fingers together, finding another way to display intimacy in the middle of this dirty act. He lifted your laced fingers to the top of your head and kept them there while he kissed you passionately.

“Fuck, you’re so good, so fucking good. I’m gonna cum,” Jackson said against your lips.

“Fill me up, please. Please,” you begged. Jackson buried his head on the crook of your neck and came with the prettiest moan you’ve ever heard. He thrusted a few more times, deep, hard, to finish both of you off and to ride you out of your highs. Moans were then replaced by heavy breathing and giggles.

“Shit. That was so hot,” Jackson said catching his breath, head still on your neck that was being wrapped in soft kisses. You were still holding hands, fingers covered in sweat and legs around his figure. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I haven’t cum this hard in a while.”

You laughed at his confession, “Don’t worry. Me too. Now please, move. You’re too heavy.” He smiled against your skin, unlacing your fingers and getting up, lying down next to you.

“Can I please take off the lingerie now? They’re all sweaty,” you said with a pout.

Jackson laughed, “Yes, baby. Sit up, let me take it off of you and you can wear some of my clothes to sleep.”

You removed your underwear and then set up with your back to Jackson so he could take your bra off. He gave your shoulder a small kiss and got up to give you some clothes. He cleaned both of you up before putting on a boxer and grabbing one of his t-shirts for you, along one of the clean underwear you kept on his drawers. You put them on and the next thing you know you’re being pulled against Jackson’s broad chest, soft blankets and warm hands all around your skin.

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah. It was a good birthday, I’m happy,” he had a childish smile on his face so you knew he was being sincere.

His hand was trailing sweet patterns against your back and you were doing the same on his chest.

“Are you worried about tomorrow morning?”

“What do you mean?” Jackson said with a furrowed brow.

“You know, the soulmate thing? The tattoo?” It didn’t matter it was after midnight and pretty much his birthday already, the tattoo only showed up after you slept.

“Oh, that. I don’t know, I’m not really thinking about it.” Jackson was a carefree person, so you weren’t surprised by his statement. “But I was being serious, you know? A few days ago.”

“What do you mean?”

His free hand grabbed the one that was on his chest and held it tightly, chin resting against the top of your head and his breathing steady, “I wouldn’t mind if your initial showed up at my wrist tomorrow. I like you.”

You laid a soft kiss against his chest and smiled, “Yeah, I like you too.”

He kissed your forehead gently and his hand went from your back to your hair, fingers combing through your locks, “Ok, now enough of this cheesiness. Let’s sleep, you’ve worn me out today,” Jackson said, letting out a soft laugh.

“Okay,” you laughed. “Happy birthday, Jacks.” You held his hand a little tighter. You felt safe there, in his arms. That was scary, you thought, all these feelings that were starting to build up. It was hot, just like him and his heart. You didn’t wanna get burned. But you were a bit too tired to care about that now, so you just closed your eyes and kept your hand against his.

“Sweet dreams, baby.” Jackson gave you one last gentle kiss, lips lingering against each other for a while, savoring the feeling. He settled his chin back on the top of your head - this fits just right, he thought to himself. He wasn’t gonna admit it, not now, but he would be more than ok with your initial showing up at his wrist. With one last thought - the wishing of waking up to your initial on his wrist - eyes closed and kind touches, Jackson finally fell asleep, and it was warm.

a/n: holy shit???? my first smut???? omg!!!! I don’t even know how to feel or what to say after writing 10k for another chapter lol. this is much longer than the previous ones, but i hope y’all don’t mind. sorry it took me so long in updating, my life’s a mess and i’m graduating from college soon, so i hope things get better after that. thank you so much for reading and for being patient. please PLEASE drop some feedback on my askbox - it would mean a lot to me hearing what you guys are thinking about this story. one last thank you to my baby and beta, @yoongitalks. another thank you to my two julias, @jinkooksgf and @jugyoem. i love the three of you a lot, thank you for putting up with me and my shit. ok that’s it please hmu with feedback i love all of you thank you bye!

#sun&moon #got7 scenarios #got7 scenario #jackson scenarios #jackson scenario #jinyoung scenarios #jinyoung scenario #got7 smut #jackson smut #got7 imagines #got7 imagine #jinyoung imagine #jackson image #got7 series #jackson fic #jinyoung fic #got7 fic

143 notes · View notes