#because we're young so dating for months in end is a big deal

[shadow4-1]

You're Not My Boyfriend! - Crazy!Soap x Reader Imagine (SFW)

[I just found out that my best friend of 10 years thinks we're dating (even tho he knows I'm married and have only ever referred to him as a friend - albeit my best friend). Idk what mental hoops he had to jump through to get to this point. Instead of dwelling on this interpersonal fact, I'm going to distract myself with a imagine on why Soap would most certainly act with the same kind of crazy.]

The two of you crossed paths for the first time because you're someone who works a support role for the 141 (ie. the medical/technical fields). You're not in the 141, in fact, you rarely see them because you're too busy with your own duties behind the scenes. You know they're important/a big deal because your superiors tell you so, but it's not like you really care. You don't deal with them enough to.

When you finally crossed paths with Soap, you find all of the team a bit brutish. You don't really like talking to them, and if you have to, you keep it curt. Soap is the one who actually tries to chat you up. You still keep up the same behavior because no thanks. He smiles too wide, and he doesn't blink enough. You're 95% sure all of these men are psychopaths.

A few weeks go by, and you completely forget about him. It isn't until flowers and chocolates and teddy bears with your name on it start showing up. The same note is always inside: Can't wait to see you again. Your stomach flips because you haven't been on a date in a couple years. All of your coworkers think you finally have a new significant other. They coo over the gifts and talk behind your back about how someone like you doesn't deserve the effort. You don't have it in yourself to speak up nor would it really matter.

You throw yourself into your work to distract yourself from the gossip. You tear through assignments like it's no one's business. Eventually, your productivity is noticed by Laswell. Unbeknownst to you, she does a background check on you. She finds out you've already been noticed by the 141 and have been receiving gifts from a particular member. She's half tempted to tell you but decides against it. She knows this won't end well either way. Laswell decides to leave you be, but manages to pull some strings to get you a well-deserved promotion.

The gifts stop for a few months but start up again sporadically. Rumors start about how the timing of the gifts matches up with the 141 deployments. Someone on the team has taken a liking to you. You roll your eyes at them, and you don't want to believe them. Those meatheads from the 141? One of them likes you when they've got dozens of other pretty young things working in their peripherals? Ha, likely story. The person actually sending you the gifts is probably the old janitor. After all, chivalry is so dead nowadays.

The gifts keep coming even as you enjoy your new promotion. The notes start to change, but they continue to remain anonymous. You start to accept that your favorite flowers are being sent from a 141 member. You have to see them more often, thanks to your new post. It doesn't take you long to figure out which man has been trying to capture your attention. God, why does it always have to be the creepy ones?

He's too touchy and too insensitive, and he's loud and makes you feel small. You want him to leave every time you have to be in the room with the team. Why couldn't it have been the Captain or the maniac in black? Why does it have to be the Scottish one who won't shut up?

You learn (against your will) that his name is John "Johnny/Soap" MacTavish, he's single and ready to mingle, he loves his mum and his sisters and he thinks you're "bangin" (whatever that means). It's so obvious he's got a crush on you, but you desperately try to play it off. He's a puppy, and all you have to do is wait for him to grow up and realize it's never going to happen.

One night, you decide to head out with your coworkers for drinks. And lo and behold, guess who dragged his whole team out to the same bar? You're understandably pissed off, but you can't bear to tell Soap off in front of everyone. It's probably the biggest mistake of your life.

He physically sweeps you off your feet and refers to you as his "bestest girl". Despite how annoying he is, his good mood seems to run off on everyone...including you. He buys you drinks, and you keep him at a respectable arms length. Despite how much you really don't like him that way, you have to start admitting he's got a weird charm to him.

You make him repeat it back to you. He seems all too happy to agree with you.

Later on in the night, you take him off to the side. You explain to him clearly that the two of you are friends. Only friends. You'll never be more than that. But, he's a good guy, and if he needs someone to talk to, you're down to be friends.

"Yes, Bonnie. We're only friends."

With a sigh, you slap his shoulder and tell him to buy you another drink.

Weeks drag on. The romantic gifts stop, but the gifts keep coming. At first, it's nothing you'd really bat an eye over from a good friend. It's Scottish hot chocolate tablets that he swears you have to try. It's CDs of his favorite bands because your taste in music should be broadened! It's books and bags and stupid little trinkets to personalize your desk.

You can't believe you find yourself humoring him, but you do. After all, it seemed like his crush on you disappeared. You get him weird snacks and make him mixtapes for his longer missions. Always under the guise as a treat from the rest of the staff, you send care packages if you can. Johnny calls you out on it but you feign ignorance. He's your friend. You'd actually hate to know he's slogging around in mud, hungry and alone.

That sounds like pure hell.

"Y' git used to it, Bonnie."

Eventually, he suggests spending time outside of work. He mentions he'd gotten a new gaming console you'd been dying to have yourself. That night, the two of you sit comfortably side by side, trying to kick each other's asses at a video game. When he wims, he leans back and laces his arms beneath his head, grinning and laughing. He looks so proud of himself. A part of you whispers that it's because he'd weaseled his way into your good graces, but you were in too good of a mood to listen to that part of your brain.

Just as you were about to get ready to leave, Johnny stops you. It was late. You should take his bed and get some rest. He'd take you to work in the morning. Despite yourself, you agree. It was late, and you were tired, and the drive back home would be too long. You take off your pants, crawl into his huge bed and pass out.

The next morning was normal. You had an extra uniform in your locker, so you got changed at work. You had gotten a great night's sleep, so you didn't think about your appearance. But apparently, everyone else did.

The gossip began at full force. Someone saw you changing despite the fact you always came into work in uniform. Johnny looked terrible. It was obvious he hadn't gotten great sleep last night. You looked well rested. In fact, you were even glowing! And Johnny had dropped you off, too?

Oh no.

You wanted to address the new rumors, but that's all they were. And even if you did, you were sure it would just backfire. You tried to keep your head down, but one of your best friends (a fellow coworker) came by your desk. Apparently, Johnny was bragging that his bestest friend spent the night over.

You were so mad you tracked him down and pulled him to the side. You whispered angrily at him, chastising him for making it seem like the two of you were an item. You were only friends!

"Yeah, you're m' bestest girl." He shrugged, grinning happily. "N' m' you're bestest boy. We love each other."

The deranged pieces were starting to come together. The way he brushed off the advances of the other girls. The way all of your prospective partners disappeared after getting into it with him. The knowing, almost pitying glances of the 141.

"W-we're friends!" You squeaked. "You're not my boyfriend!"

"Boy friend. Boyfriend. What's th' difference?" Johnny laughed hard, doubling over. "We're together."

After that, you blocked his number and tried to ignore him. Of course, it didn't work. Johnny was relentless. He got new phone numbers to text you. He started sending gifts (this time a mix between the romantic and the mundane). He sent letters of all kinds during deployment. He even sent pictures you were sure would get him in trouble.

You tried so hard to ignore it all until one night, he messaged you on social media.

He was out on a mission again, but he just had to say how he felt:

I can't wait to get home and see you again. I miss you so much. You're one of the only people I can talk to and laugh with. I'm sorry if I made you upset. We should talk about it over dinner. My treat, Bonnie.

You knew better. God, you knew better. But that part of your heart that wanted to trust and love won over. You agreed to talk when he returned, but you made it very clear that it would be a meeting between coworkers, not even friends.

The day eventually came, and the two of you sat across from each other at a too fancy restaurant. There was a dress code, so you had on a nice dress. You were mad from the jump, you couldn't believe you'd let him talk you into this.

He was dressed nicely in a suit, with a bushel of flowers and a medium-sized gift box. He apologized for making you feel uncomfortable. He'd never meant to make you feel that way. He really did see you as his best friend. In his eyes, you were the only person who truly understood him. He let his physical attraction blind him, and for that, he was sorry.

"I'll admit, I did a few bad things against y'." He offered you the box. "I wanna give it all back, wipe the slate clean, love."

Love?

You shakily opened the box and felt bile rise up in the back of your throat. It was pairs of your old panties, missing chapsticks, nail polish, scrunchies, and even a dirty uniform shirt you thought you had lost. The contents of the box had a slightly musky scent that no longer resembled yours. He'd stolen these things and had kept them for a long, long time. Perhaps even before the two of you had become "friends".

You covered your hand with a mouth as you felt like you were getting sick. What the fuck?

"We'll, now tha' everything's been laid bare..."

You watched in shock as a few classical musicians with their instruments came around the table. They encircled you and began playing a romantic piece with sweet vibratos. The guests at other tables started to gasp and point at you. You tried to stand, but John put a hand on your shoulder to keep you sitting. With a voice loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear he began to talk.

"These last couple years you've been my bestest friend, m' bestest girl." He sighed dreamily before getting down onto one knee.

You were mortified. You tried to pull your feet away from him, but he placed a firm hand on your knee. He pulled out a shiny box from his suit pocket. The music hit a peak that made you start to cry from overstimulation. No, no, this couldn't be happening. He's crazy!

"Please, be m' bestest girl forever." He practically pleaded, opening the box to show off a much too large diamond ring. Women at the tables behind you gasped. The music began to stop, but the whine of the violins hurt your head. Tears began to spill down your face.

"Marry me, love."

The entire restaurant went silent.

You could feel dozens upon dozens of eyes on you.

The pressure was too much for you to outright say no.

But you couldn't say yes, either.

You began to sob loudly. You covered your face and tried to hide away from the gaze of the strangers. John shushed you and cooed and pulled you into his arms. You wanted to fight him but his large body shielded you from the petriying public gaze. He rubbed at your back and whispered encouraging words to you. Eventually, he got you to stop blubbering and pulled away from you just enough to look down into your face.

"I love you. N' 've always loved you." He smiled.

You squeaked at the feeling of ice-cold metal being slipped down your middle finger.

You looked down at the ring in shock.

The entire restaurant erupted into claps and whistles and congratulatory whoops.

"N' now we'll be bestest friends forever, love."

[performativezippers]

For your writing advice series: how much character backstory is too much? Too little? How do you balance that in a fic and in your books? I always struggle with this.

Great question!

Note: I'm going to primarily answer this for characters that the audience/POV character don't know, so whether that's an OC or you're writing a fic that wants to be accessible to people outside of the fandom. The simple reason for this is that if you assume all readers and characters have all the canon context for everyone's backstories, then you won't be dealing with this very much, if at all.

One thing I think about a lot is that when your POV character is meeting someone new, they will know NOTHING about them. Backstory trickles out of people very slowly, and in an order that doesn't make sense. For example: I made new friends when I moved to where I live now about 4 years ago, and we've been super close for at least 3 years. Here are things I learned about them and how:

M - I found out about a year into our friendship that her mom died when she was a kid. I learned this via her telling a story about how someone was reading her palm and freaked out when they had to tell her one of her parents was going to die young. This was a funny story to her, and the context was not for her to share her trauma, it was about laughing at the horror in this girl's eyes when she read that in her palm! I didn't know until M told the story that her mom was dead. I thought she said it happened when she was 8, I found out like 6 months ago that she was 21. I was like, OOPS.

A - She mentioned in passing conversations from pretty early on that she spent some of her childhood in Panama (we're in the US). I've only put together from bits and pieces of what she's dropped how long she lived there, why, and how it intensely it impacted her. I found out 2 months ago that she went back when she was 15 by herself and like, had sex, etc.

If I were writing our friendship in a fic or novel, it would be so easy to have M be like, "Today is really hard for me because it's the anniversary of my mother's death. She and my dad divorced when I was little, and she remarried someone horrible and abusive, and then she died when I was in college. It's so complicated to remember and miss her as my mother, but also as the person who introduced these really toxic people into my life."

Or for A, it could be like, "I was in a restaurant with my new friend A, who surprised me by ordering in fluent Spanish. When she saw the look on my face, she said, 'Oh, I spent a lot of my childhood living in Panama. My parents were both in Doctors Without Borders, so they brought us all down, and then I went back to study abroad myself in high school. It was a really complicated experience, sometimes I feel like I missed out on an American childhood and a Panamanian childhood, like I had neither. The whole thing really changed my relationship with my parents, and my brother, and I'm not sure I've even processed it all.'"

Those are boring! That's infodumping, and not how real friendship or relationships tend to work. Maybe if you're online dating and you Go On A Date and say Tell Me About Yourself, but most relationships grow more organically.

If this is something your POV character needs to know, for example they're trying to date M and we need the reader/POV character to know that her mom is dead -- then ask yourself:

When would she tell the POV character about it? Early on, to get it out of the way? In a big reveal towards the end? Dropped casually in the middle in a way that she doesn't thinks is a big deal or want to be a big deal? The big question is: will M share this BEFORE there's a situation in which this information is helpful context, or AFTER? After is usually what I choose in fiction, because it keeps things more interesting for the reader and the POV character. This means we can wonder "Hmm I wonder why M had that reaction, that was weird," instead thinking "Oh I bet she reacted that way because of her dead mom."

What is an in-character way for M to share that info? Is it through a monologue? A funny story about palm reading? An anniversary? A picture falling out of her wallet? We may actually learn more from this—the way M wants to share this—than from the content of what she's sharing.

Does she want to talk about it? Is it something she brings up frequently? How does she respond to questions?

Does she want to attribute things in her personality to it? Very few people say, "The reason I'm like XYZ is because of ABC experience I had at age 8," but that's pretty common in fiction or movies. But people are complex. How does M see the impact of this on herself, and how does the POV character see it, and if those are different, what does that mean for POV character? That's fun, potentially!

What is her tone/mood when she's talking about it? Sad? Crying? Pretending to be fine? Actually fine? Totally over it? Jaded? Telling a joke? This tells us SO MUCH about M.

FUN BONUS QUESTION: Does she realize she hasn't mentioned this before? Does she even know this is the first time she's told you her mom is dead, or has she forgotten who she's told and who she hasn't? Her NOT realizing it's the first time is a super interesting thing for your POV character to go through.

[smartycvnt]

Expecting

Pairing: Cash Wheeler x Reader

Summary: You're feeling sick and Cash gets worried so he takes you to the doctor.

WC: 794

You don't know how you did it, but somehow you caught the stomach bug from hell. One day you had been traveling with Cash and Dax to an indie show, and the next you were going home by yourself because you couldn't go more than an hour without puking. Cash had finished his show and then come straight home to you where he'd been taking care of you for the past week. You felt bad about it, especially since you knew there were more important things for him to be doing. However, he insisted that taking care of you would always be his number one priority. It had been ever since he put that shiny diamond engagement ring on your finger a mere two months ago.

"Alright, come on and get dressed, we've got a doctor's appointment to get to," Cash said. You looked at him for a moment, as if you didn't understand what he had told you. Usually Cash wasn't overly assertive with you, but he definitely was now. "I have been worried sick about you. Dax said that it'd be smart to get you into the doctor's to make sure that there's nothing serious wrong. I am sorry about going behind your back, but I know that you hate the doctor."

Usually, you would have argued against going to the doctor with Cash, but you had been so sick that there was no point. You were miserable enough to have made your own appointment. Cash gave you privacy to get dressed and took the opportunity to warm the car up for you. It didn't get too cold where the two of you lived, but the winter had been sort of cruel these past few weeks. Cash definitely had a much harder time dealing with it than you did though. He wasn't equipped for cold temperatures, and it was showing the longer that this weather anomoly went on.

Cash dropped you off at the doctor's and pulled the car around by himself. The two of you sat in the waiting room together. You thought it was nice that Cash was trying so hard not to be nervous, but it was hard for him. The idea that you were seriously ill with something had come up in your mind earlier in the week, but you had let it go pretty quickly. There was no point in worrying yourself over something so big if it seemed unlikely. You did all of the things right with your lifestyle to avoid coming into such big problems so young. You understood that not everything could be controlled, but you tried to give yourself the best chance you could.

"Ms. Y/l/n, right this way," a nurse said. Cash came along with you as they brought you back for a quick blood draw and a few quicker tests. He held your hand nervously in the doctor's actual office as the two of you waited for the results of the faster tests. You knew that you'd get an email with your blood test results later on in the week.

"Alright, well I have some very good news for the two of you," the doctor said. Cash sat forward in his seat to listen in. "Y/n, you are not sick. In fact, you are one of the healthiest people I have had the pleasure of seeing these past couple of months. The stomach issues that you have been experiencing these few days are morning sickness. Congratulations, you're pregnant."

"Pregnant?" you asked. The doctor nodded and handed over a slip of paper with your results on it. Cash read them over your shoulder. You glanced at him when you had finished reading them. You didn't know what to expect from him as a reaction, but he was in tears as he read it over and over again. "Cash?"

"It's okay, um, I'm okay," Cash cleared his throat. "Thank you doctor. I mean it, thank you. Y/n, I think we're gonna need a bigger place."

"You're okay with this? We're gonna have to push our wedding date back a bit," you told him.

"Of course I'm okay with this. I am already getting to marry the woman of my dreams, and now our baby is going to get to be at the wedding. This couldn't be any happier of an ending for me if I'd written it out myself," Cash told you. You were a little nervous about being a parent, but you were more than confident in Cash's abilities. He was already so good with Dax's daughter. As you walked out of the doctor's office, you started hoping and praying that you would be so lucky as to have a daughter that Cash could bond with so strongly.

[alilkathastrophe]

Dear future husband,

So, today, I decided to communicate with you through this page just so I can share with you my "life I had when I still don't have you" life in the future.

Spoiler alert: IT SUCKS

Ready for your very first story?

Earlier today, I just broke up with a guy I've been dating for 4 months. Yes, it was short, but those months changed me. It's really funny how one person can change/affect you even just for a short period of time. (I've had exes that lasted for years but didn't make a huge impact on my life. But this guy here did.)

I really was happy dating him. We're actually kinda opposite with each other. Our interests were different. Our humor is different. So I guess you know now why it didn't work out.

However, I've learned so much about myself when we're together. I've realized that I have a different/deeper side of me. I discovered a lot of things about me through him. He was able to inspire me to do past interests and hobbies that I've abandoned a long time ago. I've felt and experienced things that I have never experienced with my past relationships. I'm not sure if I can enumerate all, but let me share w/ you some of those:

I realized that I do love to write. When I was a kid, I used to have a diary where I write good & bad stuff about my day (obviously, 'cause that's what we do with diaries, lol). But idk why that stopped.

I missed reading books. I've been a fan of books/comics (special mention: W.I.T.C.H.) when I was still young. I used to always ask my parents to buy me one whenever we shop at NBS, and I also can't remember how I lost that passion.

NSFW: Sexual compatibility is so so sooooo important! I used to settle with ex-boyfs who I'm not sexually compatible with. Our sex life is so dry and boring, and that really affected the relationship. With him, I was able to comfortably open up whenever I want it, and lo and behold, we're always having a good time. I never felt shy when I do sexy/hot things with him. So I realized, yea, this is how it should've always been.

I forgot to be who I am. Growing up, I'm so used with adjusting myself for others. Not necessarily to fit in, but I try to like what they like, love what they love, just so I could understand them and forgot that we're all different and I have my own. Ever experienced the feeling where you're being asked to describe yourself, and you're standing there confused 'cause you don't know how? Because you don't know yourself? Because you have no idea who you really are?

IT'S NOW TIME TO SET AND FOLLOW MY STANDARDS AND BOUNDARIES. Well I always have standards ever since. The problem is, whenever I'm starting to like someone, I try to compromise my standards and boundaries just to be able to match with them. Note to self: never again 'cause this is how it always ends. I have compromised my boundaries for this guy just because I love him and I want this relationship with him.

a. I like high efforts; he shows me low (and I say that's fine. maybe he just doesn't have the time and money to do it)

b. I like being prioritized; he always put me last (and I say, that's okay 'cause I should support him with his dreams, and his world shouldn't revolve around me)

c. I like updates, even just the smallest ones; he makes a big deal out of it (and I say, that's alright. maybe he's just really not that kind of person)

annnddd, so many more.

BUT NO. Love doesn't work that way, and I know I deserve better.

I'm in pain right now 'cause I lost someone I loved. But, looking at the bright side, I'm taking this chance to love and be kinder to myself more.

I'm not really looking forward to meeting you yet. I'm not ready. It might take a while for me to be able to trust someone again. For now, I'm choosing to rediscover myself :)

Will you wait for me?

Love,

Kath

[theloveoftoms]

Can I request where the reader is like 24 and is dating Tom cruise and he gets her to watch the first top gun movie because she keeps saying that she wants to go see the new one even if she hasn’t seen the first

Movie Night - tom cruise x reader

Summary: Watching the original top gun with your boyfriend, tom cruise.

A/N: HELLO, this is chaotic as hell, but enjoy! I love writing age gaps for some reason, oh maybe its my thing for older men. Anywho, I am sorry this took SO LONG to finish, like I said, I was quite busy these last few days. Enjoy darling! xxx - mack :)

"What do you say we go to the cinema this weekend?" you asked, sliding your hand around your boyfriend, tom's waist.

Tom grinned, "I would like that very much."

As often as he could, tom had always tried to go to the cinema to see what was playing. A guilty pleasure of his was sneaking in any local theatre and watching movies just like the average Joe, hiding in the back row with his large bag of popcorn and cherry coke. Yes, at times (especially after a gruelling film schedule), tom enjoyed all of the fuss and feathers involved with a movie premiere, but he mostly did that for his fans. After all, it was their support that made him such the star he is today!

"What show do you want to watch? I was at the theatre for a western last week, and it wasn't the best, but if that's what you'd like to watch, we could go see it."

You shook your head, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, "Gosh no," you laughed, "I was thinking about seeing your new movie tom! Top Gun: Maverick."

Tom looked at you with his emerald eyes, god he had the most gorgeous eyes that you had ever seen, shaking his head. "But you haven't seen the original yet!"

You rolled your eyes, "All I know, is that I want to support you in your latest movie tom! It looks so so good, and you look hot in it!"

That last comment made tom laugh, lashing you one of his famous grins.

Due to scheduling conflicts, and a busy week at university, you were unable to attend the month-long global premiere for top gun: maverick. You hated that you had left tom to go himself without you as a date, but your studies at university were important to you, and you had lots of work that needed to be done before the end of the spring semester.

"Alright," tom said, walking over to the living room couch, "If we're going to go see it this week, then we have to watch the original!"

You nodded, sitting down on the grey sofa beside your boyfriend, "You've got a deal!"

While tom and you searched for the movie on the tv, one of his assistants was busy helping the main chef prepare a movie snack tray. Anthony, a young twenty-something year old that was close to your age - tom's newest assistant - was the one who delivered the tray of snacks onto the coffee table in front of the two of you.

The brown wooden board was filled with all of your favourite fruits, chocolates, and miniature packs of sweets that tom had the kitchen staff keep on hand at all times. In the centre of the tray, there were each two cokes in the vintage glass mugs that tom liked and a big bowl of airy popcorn for the two of you to share. "Here you are mr. cruise, " Anthony said, giving your boyfriend a subtle nod, "Miss. y/l/n," he offered, greeting you.

"Thanks Anthony," tom said, shaking his assistants hand, "Help yourself to anything in the fridge if you'd like, and take the evening off, we've got everything we need right here," tom said that last bit, looking at you, his emerald eyes meeting yours.

Anthony nodded, "thank you mr. cruise. I hope the two of you enjoy the film!"

Anthony was a bit of a suck up at times, but he seemed to like working for tom, and didn't mind doing any of the tasks he needed to be done that day, he was also kind to you, unlike some of the staff when you first came home with tom.

There was this one woman, vera, a lady in her late thirties, who told you straight off what she thought of you. "In it for the money eh?" she asked you, gritting her teeth, "you young women, I don't know why tom bothers with you."

You had looked at vera, who was dusting the main bookshelf at the time, her lips drawn up into a sneer, her eyes cutting through you like blades of glass.

"What did you say?" you had asked, mouth agape.

"You heard me," she said, "You're not good enough for tom." Just as Vera said that last bit, Tom, your boyfriend of five months had walked in, looking at the two of us. "What did you say to y/n?" he asked.

Vera smiled viciously, "Oh Tom! I was just complementing your new lady on her looks. Such voluminous hair!"

Tom had looked at you, then back at vera, knowing instantly by your eyes that vera had lied. "Vera," he had said, walking over to you and taking your hand in his, "You can head home."

Vera grinned, "Thank you tom. You are so kind!"

Tom shook his head, "Don't return tomorrow. I don't want you to work for me if that is how you treat my dates."

Begin substantially younger than you boyfriend had its disadvantages at times. Like when people assumed you were his daughter, or when they called you names; "gold digger," one man hissed in your ear on the subway. But worst of all, was when the press had their comments about your age gap. You are 24, and tom is nearly 60, which to some is slightly alarming. Hell, at first even you doubted that you would be fulfilled with an older man, but tom respected you and was everything you had ever wanted in a relationship. Now, almost two years later, the two of you are happy together, living your lives from your joint penthouse.

...

You wished Anthony a good night, and then watched in the distance as he grabbed a protein bar from the kitchen and took the elevator out of the building. "Finally," you sighed, leaning into tom, "were all alone."

Tom grinned a warm smile and pulled you close, his arm wrapping around your shoulder, "All ready to begin y/n?" he asked you.

You nodded, pressing play on the remote, the opening title card playing across the screen as the music you had heard so often played through the tv's speakers. When you saw tom's name, in that blocky white font, you mumbled, "Woah, tom cruise? I heard he's pretty talented!"

Tom chuckled, "really?"

After the other names of the stars, the iconic title card, the one showing audiences the sole purpose of the film flashed on screen, "On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one precent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of areal combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today , the Navy call it Fighter Weapons school. The flyers call it:"

"Top gun," tom and you read together. The movie was officially beginning.

Scenes of people walking in mist with the yellow and orange sunset shining through from behind played through as the rest of the cast was introduced, fighter jets moving slowly in the background. The colours were really aesthetic.

When tom's character, pete "maverick" mitchell popped on screen, you gave your boyfriend a nudge and a wink.

Tom rolled his eyes at you and got back to the movie, helping himself to the bowl of popcorn that Anthony had brought you.

As the movie played on, the daylight outside began to blur into night, and tom and you laid closer on the couch, his hands in your hair, your hands resting on his chest. The two of you hummed along to the music, some songs you knew from hearing them on the local radio stations.

A tear rolled down your cheek when goose fell unconscious into the water, and tom was there to wipe it away. To cheer you up as the heartfelt music continued to play, tom told you stories of life on set. "And this one night me and val went down to Mexico, it was crazy fun."

At the end of the movie, the end credits rolling on the screen, tom turned to you, his eyes looking over yours, "What did you think y/n?"

You smiled contently, "It was really good tom. I really liked it!"

"So you think you're ready for Top Gun: Maverick then?"

"Defiantly!" you replied, giving tom a kiss on the cheek, "I can't wait to watch it with you.

[corinthreean]

this is a really long ramble, babe, i am so sorry lmfao. but i've gotta rant about some fans for a moment ok.

seen a bunch of people on here say that it's illogical and bad writing for thomas to consider richard's marriage a breaking up moment because he was willing to turn a blind eye to phillip marrying mary in s1e1, and it's like ???

like idk if they're straight or if they're young or what, but as a lesbian in her 30s i have definitely noticed my feelings about closeted relationships change. when i was in my teens and early 20s i was completely sympathetic to girlfriends who were still closeted, who i would be just a "flatmate" to in the eyes of their family, who would only acknowledge our relationship in private. but nowadays i wouldn't even consider for a second dating someone in the closet. even if they were perfect in every other way, i could not face having to live a half-life and skulking around, walking on eggshells and checking over my shoulder in case her third cousin twice removed was looking at us before i held her hand. that would 100% be a deal breaker every single time at my age despite it being acceptable when i was younger.

there is no reason to look at 18yo (or whatever he is in s1) thomas being happy to live in secret with the duke and then assume that same thing still applies to thomas after everything he's been through since that time. he's been forcibly outed to everyone in his life. he's socialised with other gay men. he's nearly died at least twice. he's been arrested. he's living a life where everyone around him knows what he is and is fine with it. the idea of going back into the closet isn't going to be appetising in any way. like this is literally part of thomas' canon characterisation! he isn't foul! he doesn't need to change! society is wrong, not him! he wants his own husband, not a dirty little secret affair with someone else's husband.

and lol, i even saw one anti-guy person accusing people who liked the guy plot of being obsessed with the "sanctity of marriage" lmfao. like no! that's not it! we just think thomas needs the freedom to be himself openly to be happy, which can't happen if richard is married, not because we're all secretly conservative christians.

like idk why i'm getting so heated about something that doesn't really matter sjfhsjfs but omg i'm just so mad! they're all so dumb

Anon idk why you’re hiding because everything you’re saying is 1000% correct and you deserve to be getting the likes for this!!

Even aside from all your fantastic and true points, there’s a big difference between being with a married Duke as his valet (who will necessarily get tons of time alone with him / get to travel with him), and being with a married valet, who it’s going to be quite hard to fabricate excuses to spend more than a couple of hours a month with AT MOST. Unless he’s married an understanding friend, which the film gives no indication of seeing as it seems very clear he’s received a Dear John letter, it would be putting them at tremendous risk to see him with a wife knowing his business and probably rather keen he doesn’t go to hotels or b&bs without her, whether she thinks he’s seeing other women or men. And any likelihood of the domesticity and settled life he craves with the man he loves is gone.

That doesn’t make Richard a bad person, it makes him a person who clearly ended up feeling he had no alternative but to adopt the veil of normality a wife would offer. But is it fair to suggest Thomas could never possibly be happier than he would be as his secret lover sending him home to his wife at the end of their rare, rushed meetings? No, I don’t think so.

[moominnyu]

oblivious [kevin moon]

🧸🎀 — pairings: kevin moon (the boyz) x gender neutral reader

🧸🎀 — tw: none.

🧸🎀 — wc: 3751

anyone who knows kevin to a personal level would be sorry for the guy, frustrated in his behalf even.

now, don't get me wrong, he's a handsome young man with a sweet personality, a nice car and good friends. he's a member of one of the hottest, on the rise k-pop boy groups, with a honeyed voice and great dance skills. he could probably bag anyone he wanted with minimal effort on his part, whether they work or not for the same industry as him. but the problem for kevin moon starts around someone who has little to nothing to do with the idol world.

you're kevin's friend, his little childhood friend from back when he was in america, and current best friend even here in korea. kevin's childhood friend who's only an university student, and knows as much about idols as you know about calculus— that is, nothing—, kevin's childhood friend who works part time in café, and still gets allowance from your parents, kevin's childhood friend who lives just three blocks from his dorm, who is so used to be by his side that you practically live at his dorm alongside his members. kevin's childhood friend who is... just his childhood friend and nothing more.

he's been on the unrequited love side of the spectrum for too long that his problem no longer relies on the fact that you guys are friends probably since you were both fetuses inside your mothers' wombs. he already felt this way about you when you lost your first tooth when you were six, even when you smiled at him with an incisor missing. he already felt this way about you when he taught you how to ride a bike at the park when you both were nine, even when you fell on your face and had a big bruise on your left cheek that remained on your skin for two weeks after that. he already felt this way about you when you turned fourteen and you stopped being a tiny shrimp and started looking more like what would later become his ideal type. he already felt this way about you when you guys were seventeen and he was starting his little youtube channel with one of his friends, and you would watch his videos with a genuine excitement that matched his. he already felt this way about you when you moved to korea together, not even knowing what was ahead of you but knowing that you had each other whatever happened.

he's been in love with you for way too long, so long that he already had every single inner monologue, argument, discussion and debate he could possibly have with himself about how absolutely wrong and criminal it is to have a crush, or rather, be in love with your best friend.  

he won in absolutely zero of these arguments against himself, as he always came to the conclusion that it was wrong, you two were friends and that's it, that you probably saw him only as a brother, if anything. but he had received his very needed push in the back by his members, now close friends of both of you, that insisted that it was normal: you were attractive, funny, sweet and a perfectly viable choice for him due to your closeness, anyone in his situation would probably be the same, and he would be a fool if he let go of the opportunity. with your looks and personality, you could get a partner anytime you wanted, and time was ticking for kevin, which, in turn, prompted him to act with you in mind, courtesy of sunwoo who mentioned he'd be the one making the moves if kevin didn't do it first.

and, so, it started, the tortuous process of courting.  

he didn't outright tell you he liked you, as he wanted to test the waters first, so he started with simple and minimal things, things that would go completely unnoticed by you unless you saw him as something more than a simple friend, unless you saw him in the same light as he saw you.  

hugging you a tad bit tighter and longer when he greeted you, getting leaves out of your hair or clothes for you, tentatively holding your hand when he wanted to guide you somewhere, placing his hands on your waist on hips when he walked past you; all little things that made his pale cheeks burn up a crimson color and his stupid, traitor heart beat uncontrollably against his ribcage... all little things that you remained completely apathetic to.  

“don't be afraid to up your game, hyung,” haknyeon had offered some advice, and as if it served as comfort to kevin, he had friendly palmed his back to show empathy for him, who sat with his head down, face hidden in his hands, “i think y/n is great! they definitely haven't noticed yet, and that's why they haven't said anything!”

it was another one of those nights where he was overcome with feelings, when the tug on his chest became too heavy and when the feeling of urgency became desperation. none of what he did was working out the way he wanted it to, and everytime he was left with more questions that answers: did you really blush when you brushed hands while reaching for the salt, or was it his mind playing tricks on him? were you really staring at him with such dreamy eyes when he was sketching or were you just spaced out? he could never tell.  

“well, that's obvious,” sunwoo retorted, plump lips on a straight line. he scratched his head and nudged kevin on the ribs, “you're the one who knows them best, you should that y/n had never had a partner before, it's likely they're just oblivious to your advances,”

an imaginary lightbulb flicked on on top of kevin's head at that moment when he realized sunwoo was right.

in all the years he's known you, you've never showed any kind of romantic interest in any person. it wasn't that you were short of suitors or admirers, quite the contrary, actually, you've had that sweet tendency to smile at everyone that happened to make eye contact with you since little, offer your help whenever needed and an ability to make friends with anyone in a matter of seconds. kevin was sure, during all his high school years, that the reason why he was liked was because of the halo effect, produced by the fact that he was always by your side.  

but, you, even with many suitors and secret admirers, never once brought up the topic of dating and crushes in front of kevin. he thought it was better that way, honestly, he's a bit more mature now but back when he was still a teenager, he was sure he wouldn't be able to take it if he heard you talking about another guy, all starry eyed and blushing. but that didn't mean he didn't feel curious about it.  

one time, against his own mental advices to just mind his business in case he ended up with a broken heart, kevin asked you about a guy in your class who he overheard your classmates teasing you about.

“oh, yeah, you mean james, right?” you sat on the floor of his bedroom, copying the answers from his textbook onto yours. you had bit your pencil and narrowed your eyes, thoughtfully, “i tutor him on sundays. nice guy.”

“i know who he is,” kevin answered, matter of factly, as he reclined back on his desk chair. he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as some form of idle distraction from the unsteadiness of his heart, “i'm asking you why were your friends making kissy faces at you when he was talking to you.”

he had sounded more stern than he intended, but, then again, that moment was the very first time he ever saw you blush and fix your hair in front of a dude, the first time he saw you act shy around someone.  

“he invited me to prom last week,” you answered, continuing to write down on your notebook with your cute, pink gel pen, “and my friends think he likes me because of that.”

“how are you so sure that he doesn't like you?,” it's obvious he does, kevin thought, otherwise he wouldn't look like such a fool, stuttering and scratching his nape like an idiot everytime you two interacted. not that he's one to talk, though.  

“because he's just being nice to me,” you frowned, “he always is. he walks me home when you can't, invites me to get coffee after tutoring, he saves me a spot next to him when i'm late for class,” you didn't lift your head from your notes or ever stopped writing, that's how trivial james's acts of ‘kindness’ were for you, “he even gifted me chocolates last valentine's.”

that's crush behavior, kevin wanted to say, but he didn't. he didn't want to implant the idea in your mind, making you overly conscious about it and forcing you to end up confused about your own feelings. if you liked him back or not, he decided, was for you to find out on your own, unprovoked.  

“do you like him?,” but there he was, having to open his big mouth out of morbid, masochistic curiosity.  

you lifted your head, finally looking up at him with a raised eyebrow, “no?”

“then why were you blushing when he was talking to you?”

“because julia was making a big deal out of it,” you said, frowning with certain annoyance and embarrassment, “and because noah kept telling him we look so cute together.”

“no, you don't.” kevin chimed in, perhaps too fast for his liking.  

“that's what i'm saying! we're just friends!” you sounded a bit exasperated, probably tired from all the teasing, “just like you and me.”

thanks to sunwoo, remembering that useful, albeit painful, conversation served kevin to switch his approach around you. thinking about it, back then, it should have been his first clue about your lack of awareness. he discarded as simple, intentional obliviousness— he thought that james was so obvious about his crush, you might as well were just trying to ignore it and not acknowledge it to avoid having to awkwardly reject him; but this obliviousness of yours lasted even much, much after that, when you guys moved to korea together and the people you met there were equally interested in you but ended up receiving the same treatment of complete lack of interest. even eric had, at some point of your early friendship, when he had a pitiful crush on you that lasted a couple of months.  

with a new, more direct approach in mind, kevin moon hadn't given up yet.  

he began to make his hints a bit more obvious so that the wouldn't fly over your pretty, little head like the ones before did, and he was pleasantly surprised to find out that it worked with great efficiency.  

complimenting you every chance he could, both looks and personality wise, often mentioning how you're the only person to make him this happy, how his day gets better when he sees you.  

and alongside the not so subtle flirting, your reactions began to grow in intensity as well. instead of the usual, coy nudge you'd give him when he complimented your appearance, you'd purse your lips and look down when he'd say that he thinks you're absolutely stunning. you'd bite a smile, cheeks heating up, when he'd, purposely on accident, casually sit close to you while watching movies, both of your sides pressed against each other. when he'd press an unassuming kiss to your temple after dropping you back at your place, you'd lean into his touch for a bit longer than usual, and you'd look a blushy mess of shaky eyes and pursed lips once he did pull away. even when he wasn't trying, even when his focus was on something else entirely, the amount of times he'd catch you staring at him and then move your eyes away as soon as he noticed were too many for them to be a simple coincidence.  

all of these interactions made him hopeful, made him think that he did the right thing by slowly approaching you in a way that you felt comfortable with. by the time he decided to finally confess to you, he was so sure you were, at least, confused about it, that you were seeing him in a new light now and that you weren't sure how to act around it, and that was enough for kevin, he just needed to go past that friendship relationship and then he'd work the rest, with you.  

and with this realization came yet multiple other inner debates about how to go around the confession. should he prepare for it? invite you to a picnic at the beach and confess to you when you both are enjoying the sunset? or should he just be spontaneous? you've never liked anything too flashy, after all, and you valued honesty over anything else.  

he chose to just do it one day, chose a time when you two are alone and tell you normally like he would do with any other thing. after all, you two were best friends who could tell absolutely anything to each other with no shame, and his feelings for you didn't change this.

but, whenever he thought about finally doing it, whenever he practiced his exact words in his mind over and over again until he was confident enough he wouldn't stutter, the moment would get interrupted by outside forces. like younghoon deciding to watch a movie in the living room where you guys were at, just in time when kevin had said he had something to tell you, like sunwoo coming uninvited into his room when you two were finally alone, saying that he was bored and asking if you wanted to play mario kart together. or that one time when kevin had managed to build momentum in his favor, mentioning how much he appreciates you and how lucky he is to have you by his side unconditionally, and just as he was about to utter the three important words, your mom had the inopportune need to call you, at three a.m. in the morning, because she had a nightmare about you being swallowed by the kraken.  

being stuck in this predicament didn't dishearten kevin, though. he's wanted to tell you how he feels since forever, he wasn't gonna give up over a few unfortunate interruptions.  

the perfect time to do it comes spontaneously, unprepared, just like most of those peaks of inspiration he feels out of the blue somedays.  

tonight, you're staying the night at his. you had went grocery shopping earlier in the afternoon, and kevin bought the ingredients to bake you some brownies after your insistence and pleads, clinging to his arm and pointing at the deliciously looking pictures of them in the premade mixture boxes, so now you're sitting on the counter of his kitchen while looks for the ingredients in the frige, reading the recipe out loud for him from your phone while swinging your legs up and down.  

“a double boiler?”, kevin leaves the fridge door open when he walks up to you and leans in so that he can get a look at your screen, “what the heck's that?”

“it says here that it's a fancy term for a... small saucepan filled with an inch of two of water set over low heat,” you read out loud, then lifting your head with a confused grimace, “huh?”

“i don't know,” kevin kicks the door closed after retrieving the butter, shrugging and trying to pretend he didn't notice how you stared at his lips just a second ago, “i'm just gonna make that one old recipe, the one we know and adore.”

“yeah, i don't know why you felt the need to change it,” you set your phone down and hop down the counter to give him more space, “you know i just eat whatever you make.”

“you like your brownies a bit more fudgy, don't you?” he takes a bowl out of the cabinet, and places it right beside where you're standing. he offers you a smile, a bit shy but genuine, “and i like to spoil you.”

at that moment, sunwoo walks into the kitchen. he makes a small gesture of acknowledgement to you and walks past kevin to get to the fridge. you follow him with your eyes.  

“hyung, i'm heading out,” sunwoo grabs a water bottle and closes the fridge again. he stands by kevin and points at the bowl where he's wisking the eggs, taking a short sip of his water, “can you save me some brownies?”

“i'm not making these for you, you know,” kevin sighs.  

“just one, then,” sunwoo insists, eyebrows up and pout on his lips, “you know i love brownies.”

“i'll save you some,” you smile at the younger guy lightly, “where are you heading?”

sunwoo shrugs and scratches his nape, “had the sudden urge to go to the movies.”

“alone?” you inquire, trying to supress a laugh.  

“don't judge a man for his hobbies, y/n,” sunwoo flicks your forehead with little force, and kevin hates that ugly feeling in his gut when you giggle and poke your tongue at him, “gotta go now, i've already purchased my ticket.”

and with sunwoo leaving, everyone else out on individual schedules and chanhee dead asleep on his room, you both are, technically, left alone in the dorm for once and for all.  

kevin pretends to be too preoccupied with spreading the thick batter in the baking pan to notice that the perfect opportunity to do it is just unfolding in front of him. he knows that the reason why he keeps getting interrupted is because he likes to take his sweet time with it, dragging it out as much as he can so he can prepare his heart for it. he decides he's not gonna do that tonight.  

just as he opens his mouth, your phone dings on the counter. kevin busies himself with putting the baking pan in the oven while you reach for your phone with the spatula he used in your mouth.  

“who are you texting?” he asks once he notices your wide smile and soft giggles.  

“yurina, one of my uni classmates,” you lick your lips after you're done licking the batter off, tossing the spatula into the sink, “she's happy because she asked her crush to be her girlfriend,”

“and did she say yes?”

“well, she wouldn't be happy otherwise, don't you think?”

there's an one-sided awkward silence when kevin rests against the counter while staring at you intently texting back and forth with this girl from uni.  

a moment of doubt crosses his mind. should he really do it? something tells him he shouldn't, that he should just keep quiet, but he's been walking through this desert for so long ago that stopping now feels wrong when he can practically see water in front of him.

love gives him a push in the back.  

“what about you?” he asks, and he internally cringes at the way his voice cracks a little at the end. he clears his throat, “i mean, are you interested in anyone?”

your thumbs stop typing suddenly, and you remain frozen for a moment, staring at your screen. you're blushing a little when you slowly lift your eyes towards him, and he mirrors such expression when his hopeful heart does a little flip.  

“why—why are you asking all of a sudden?”, your voice sounds tiny and you look a bit doubtful of him.  

“well, you never tell me about stuff like this,” he scratches his eyelid as he looks down at his shoes. the awkwardness is almost painful, and he's sure he isn't the only one feeling it right now, “is it someone you can't tell me?,” he makes a small pause in which he lifts his eyes from the ground and looks at you, “a close friend, maybe?”

silence fills the kitchen. the hen shaped cooking timer clicks as it counts down the minutes for the brownies to be ready, hour phone pings with new upcoming messages, the tv in chanhee's room makes deaf noise in the backround, yet, none of you talk.

when you refuse to meet his eyes that come looking for you, biting the inside of your cheek and looking down, kevin realizes he's going to be the one who breaks it, unfortunately.

“did i hit the jackpot?,” perhaps he sounds hopeful, or perhaps the silence was too loud that his voice now seems to over-volume it.  

you finally look up from the floor, “why am i the only one being interrogated?,” you sound a little more like yourself when you block your phone and cross your arms on your chest, lips pouty and the tip of your ears a little bit red, “you also never tell me anything about stuff like that!”

“i'll tell you if you want,” he murmurs, trying to analize your reaction, “if you tell me first.”

in the heart fluttering moment, odds are in his favor, he knows. it's on the way you look at him through your eyelashes, shy and maybe even a bit flustered, the sugar rush on his veins at the sight of your blush, ever telling of your feelings. because he knows you so well he knows that his hunch is right, it's because of your connection that he can feel that it's no longer one-sided, that, as much as he feels for you, you feel for him.  

“why don't you,” you make a small pause to press the back of your hands to your hot cheeks, “why don't you say it first, then?”

“how about we say it at the same time?,” even in his certainty there's still cautiousness, as if he needs confirmation even if he can read your heart, “at the count of three.”

“okay,” you smile at him with warmth, gentle, still laced with a shyness that makes your eyes a bit glossy, and it's the prettiest thing kevin has ever seen, “one.”

“two.” he says, his heart on a frenzy, mind a bit hazy with quiet excitement for what's about to come.  

“three!” you both say, and there's a small pause before any of you continue:

“you!”

“sunwoo!”

[casualwriters]

Cupid Love Arrow | Steve Harrington. |

Summary - You never thought in ten million years that you are going on a date with fucking Steve Harrington, you were never the type who like the little Miss perfect of Hawkins, but one night out of no we're Steve asked you out and maybe you enjoyed it.

Type - Fluff

MASTERLIST

Paring - S1 Steve Harington X Nonbinary Reader. ( for male or female readers.)

unnecessary Tags - @peakyrogers @princess-kaija @iwannadeletemyself @suchababie @comebackjessica @motherofdicks

A/N - Hope yall enjoy I was in the mood for some cute fluff (:

Walking up to your Locker the fresh start of your new day in

Hawkins, You and your family moved here only a couple months ago, your mom wanted a fresh start away from the City and away from your old life so now you are here, stuck in this small country Highschool. Shutting the locker after you shoved all the books in your locker you closed it turning around to walk around the hall because there was still some free time before the Bell ring. "New kid watch out!" You heard the screaming and when that happens you turned your head to see what all the commotion was going on and before you could even move the football hit your face gulping for a second, not noticing how embarrassed you have gotten you cover your face "What the fuck?" you question turning around to see a couple boys you wiped the blood that was dripping down your noise the football still in hand, one of the guys was cute but they all looked stupid. "Here you damn ball back" You threw it at the main guy with mid force hitting him in the chest making the other boys chuckled and laugh nudging the Alpha male. "Idiots" You whisper under your breath hearing the Main male walk over to you "What your name?" The male asked he was handsome, but his hair was bigger than most of mine and god his cologne. "What do you want?" You moan hearing the bell knowing that be a good way to ignore him but he was still following you like a stalker. "Steve, um Steve Harrington" Turning around now in front of your class "y/n, now I am going take my noise that is still in pain and leave bye Steve" You scoffed entering your class.

The day had gone fast sitting on the side cigarette hanging on the left side of your lip, you were annoyed and had a shitty day getting hit by a football and all the teacher were just dicks, now putting the cherry on all of it missing your bus your mom would not be off work for another hour, she would not be happy. The door open next to you hearing A male and two females talking Oh speak of the Devil. Stomping out the Cigarette standing up to not be stuck with Prisses and Captian jock Pass for sure. Now I just got to figure out if I want to walk the five miles or call mom and wait. "Later You Two, Hey Y/n Wait up!" He yelled across the parking lot. "What Do you want? The bothersome was clearly shown on your face and You think Steve could tell but it was almost an hour after the buses left so Steve wonder why you were here all alone. "Why you all here alone?" He was actually not trying to be Cocky or an ass which was a shock for both of you. "Miss the Bus," You say swinging your bag over your shoulder Steve followed you as you were walking to head home, he was hot on your tracks and stop in front of you. "Steve do you have anything better than harass me?" You questioned ur folding your arms so you do not end up strangling the poor kid. "Why don't I give you a drive home and in return why don't you let me take you on a date" Taken off guard wasn't the only thing you felt the red crept up on your cheeks now your ending up looking at the top of your combat boots. Looking back up " A month of you being my Taxi driver and then I will go on a date with you" You said bluntly hoping he says yes because you do not want to ride that discussing bus again. Steve was a bit taken back about blunt you were but he thought it was kinda cute He smiled "I pick you up tonight It a deal! let's go" he says making you rolled your eyes "I am fucking coming," You yelled at him.

The snap of the seat belt and looking around in the car was a sweet ride but you did not want Steve's head to get too big. Sitting in there in quiet with glances from Steve part could not stop you from smiling but hid it well the day was long watching Steve pass the trees and watching the Fall leaves get crumpled under the wheels you heard Steve say "When did you come to Hawkins?" Steve asked Sitting up from laying your head down "Couple months ago from the City, mom wanted a new start so dragged me halfway across the state to Hawkins" Steve nodded "it gets a bit lonely here when you do not have any friends." He chuckled " It seemed like you are Mister Popular" Steve turned on your road but he looked at you shaking his head and he said nothing, you decided not to push him so you stayed quiet and just talk about yourself. "Don't need to answer" you smiled at him seeing that he had stopped at your house, You Grinned "see you Later Steve?" you say hanging in the window and walked inside to get ready for the date that was weird to say, maybe you don't hate him that much even if Cupid screw up a bit.

"I will be home at Ten sharped okay" You smiled at your younger siblings brush their hair out of their face and kissing them goodbye walking over to your mom with a worried glance, she has been working night shifts since we moved here and she been passing out every time her body hits the couch. "Love you, Mom." Walking out the door shutting it softly to not wake her up waving to Steve in the car but he was already out there with a bouquet of flowers, they were lovely the shock was on your face smiling "Such a romantic" You say plucking the bouquet out of his hand they were red Roses how cute. "I Adore Roses now hop in were losing the night" He teased.

"Steve, why do I have to keep my eyes closed?" You asked Steve had told you to keep your eyes closed since you got in the car and you were curious why " Oh do not ruin the surprise And no it not a party" He says with a small smile you knew Steve seemed to be Mr. Hot guy, at school and fooled all the woman but this was another side of him that you saw even if you guys just met, it not that hard to pick up on things. "You going to be the death of me" Steve poked your side making you squeaked. "Jerk," you mumbled playfully at him.

Hearing the car stop "Okay just hold on okay?" You were quite confused and wondering if this was gonna be how you die, like in one of those horror movies, you really hoped it wasn't "Is this when I die Steve?" You heard the door open Steve chuckled "If your lucky you won't die." Steve help you out of the car feeling his arms wrapped your race goosebumps came across your arms and He smiled "Open them" You were taken back you could see all of Hawkins from you, "Steve it stunning" you say You Lean on the car saying "My worries seem to be gone when I am up here and of course with you" you teased. "Is your mother okay" Steve could tell it was not just the nerves of the date that was bothering them and the drapes were open. "She been working a lot, Me and my siblings have to take the bus to school I am sorry you did not hear to listen to this.'' A shy whisper came from your lips Jumping to sit on the front of the car Steve shakes his head sitting on the car with you, Looking at you seeing that you were wrapping your arms around your shoulder, "Come here you idiot" He teased taking the demi jacket off and t slipping it over your shoulders. "Tell me what up?" He asked knowing that since you got in the car ride you have been deep in your head he just wanted to make sure you were okay. Taking a large sigh "My mother lost our farther only three years, ago but he always treated her like complete shit" You grew angry just thinking by it your fists curled Steve seeing that has he moved closer putting his hand over your red knuckles. "He drinks too much, I always had to take care of my siblings, my mom was working two jobs and my dad was out at multiple bars." Huffing thinking this was the normal laying On the car. Steve just stared at you in Awe you looking at the stars he was content this way and that was okay. "Steve come lay down" you Snicker at the young man tugging at his hand like nothing you just said bother you. " My Folks are never there I know it was nothing like what happens to you but staying in that big house all alone fucking sucks". Nodding keeping your eyes on the stars pointing to one and another. "It, not a completion every story has a their tragic story" Steve saw you leaning your head on his shoulder seeing you relax in his arms. Wrapping his arm around you nodding and enjoying the silence. "Maybe we should do this again," Steve says looking toward you.

Smiling at Steve " Maybe we should Uh".

[lady-ragnvindr]

Deadly Qingxin

Warnings:Angst

(Y/N is the archon of light and life)

"Everyone living being is born with a mark on their body some see it as a curse and some see it as a blessing but whether it's a curse or blessing depends on the person

These marks are called soulmate marks

For one to find their soulmate is a blessing but some people can go a life time without their soulmate

For the people who think of it as a curse are because......

Well everyone's mark starts of colorful

But if a mark cracks,fades or turns black one can assume the worst

When a mark fades it means ones soulmate no longer exist

If ones mark cracks it means ones soulmate has given up on the search

And last of all and possibly the worst if ones mark turns black......it means their soulmate has found another love

It's bad because the other soulmate would know when their marks turns black a sudden pain would erupt through ones body

Some people are lucky and it only hurts for a while..........

And some are not so lucky they get a disease from this...............

The disease of broken heart

Hanahaki disease

It causes the victim to spit up their soulmates favourite flower and the flowers will manifest on their body and coughing up flowers would become more violent and soon the flowers would suffocate from them

The only way to stop the flowers are if the victim finds their soulmate and the soulmate accepts their feelings but the feelings have to be real or it won't work

Some have died from this heart aching disease and it's truly sad".

"W-well Miss Y/N"

"Hm yes Hikari"

You ask the young abyss mage

"Are you ok?"

"Hm? Of course I'm ok why wouldn't I be?"

"W-well you have a black mark on your back"

"Pft-"

Aether spat out his drink

"What!"

You fake a smile and look at Hikari

"Yes Hikari I'm fine I'm one of the lucky few who didn't get the disease"

"Phew for a sec I thought you were gonna die"

Aether said with relief

"Well no I guess I'm just lucky huh"

You suddenly wince as you feel the familiar wave coming up your throat

"I'm sorry Aether but I have to go"

"What? But you just got here"

Aether had noticed you wince in pain and was now suspicious

"I truly regret that our meeting has been cut short but I have to go"

You get up and try to walk away when you feel some grab your wrist

"Wait"

You look back to see it was Aether who had grabbed your wrist you feel the wave in your throat rising so you struggle

"Why are you trying to leave so early?"

"Aether stop I need to no now"

"But why-!"

You fall down as a violent coughing erupts from your throat

Qingxin petals and buds and blood starts to pool out of your mouth

"Y/N!"

"MISS Y/N!"

Aether hold your arm to support you

As your violent coughing quiets down Aether sets you down by the tree

You take a few deep breaths and then look up at Aether he looked worried

"W-well I guess I own you and explanation"

"You sure do"

So you explained to him about your condition

".......C-can you tell me who is your soulmate.....or have you even met them yet"

"........"

"I-I have met them and I know where they are"

"Well why haven't you told them?"

"I-They look happy and I don't want to ruin it for them"

"Y/N!Your gonna die if you don't tell them"

"..............."

Aether sighs

"Look I'm sorry I just care for you ok Hikari could you please leave us alone so we can talk"

"O-ok my prince"

As Hikari leaves you ask Aether a question

"Aether do you want your sister to be happy?"

Aether looks at you

"Of course I do!"

"Then I can't talk to my soulmate"

"What!Why!?"

Silence envelopes you both

"Xiao"

"What?"

"My soulmate is Xiao"

"Xiao Xiao Xiao Xia-......... isn't Lumine dating Xiao"

"Yeh yeh she is"

"............"

"Here let me show you my mark"

You turn around and pull the neck of your dress down

Aether looks and see a mark

It looked like a Yaksha mask with wind spinning around it

"I-"

"I wish I could help you"

"Heh it's ok Aether you being friends with me is enough"

"........Does anyone else know?"

"Yeh Rex lapis the other adepti and Venti know they all know except for Xiao"

"................."

"It's ok their is nothing you could do about it Aether all I want is to spend my last few months with you"

"..........Y-Your wish is my command"

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2 months later

"Hey Y/N look I cooked you some Veggie radish soup please try it"

"Ok ok Aether let me try it"

"Mmm it's really good Aether"

"Glad you like it"

As you ate Aether started to think

Y/N has been getting weaker over the last two months she has lost her sense of sight as the flowers have covered her eyes she can barely stand and her coughing has become more and more frequent I'm not sure how much time she has left at this point I don't care about Lumine and I just want Y/N to confess to Xiao

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6 months later

"Ok Y/N we're here"

As Aether lower you carefully onto the ground you felt flowe petals brush you skin and their sweet scent flood your nose

"Thank you Aether"

"It's no big deal"

As the felt the wind pick up the petals seem to brush against your skin as you felt the cool wind and the warm sunshine on your skin

Aether watched he was mesmerised by your beauty as the sun shined down on you and your hair flowed behind you even with flowers covering your skin you still looked beautiful perhaps even more with the flowers

Everything was peaceful for a few minutes

Then suddenly you started coughing

"Y/N"

Aether rushes to your side and takes your hand

You feel the warm blood on your hand

"Well Aether it seems like my time has come"

"Y/N no we still have time"

"Aether it was nice to get to know you"

"Y/N don't say that"

"I'm glad I met you"

"Y/N your no gonna die"

"I loved spending these last few months with you"

"Y/N!"

"I'm glad I spend my last few moments with you"

"NO!"

"!"

"NO NO NO NO NO IT WASN'T MEANT TO END THIS WAY YOU CANT DIE"

Your hand carefully finds its way to Aethers face as you caress it you say

"Aether......no one lives forever even god's can't do that"

"B-But this is to soon"

"Aether please I want this so please respect my wishes"

".........."

"Aether?"

"............"

"Aether"

".......fine if it's what you want"

"Thank you"

You suddenly use the last of your strength to sit up and kiss Aether on the forehead

"I'm glad I met you"

As you fall back Aether catches your body

"Y/N"

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"Y/N"

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It was as if the heavens grieved as well for it started to rain as the animals who had witnessed this dipped their heads

The wolves howled and the birds cried for the blonde male and h/c female in the middle of the flower field

They blonde male who usually had a smile on his face and was always cheerful no longer smiled his face was now covered in tears as the rain poured down his face

The whole world was grieving for the little h/c girl

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"Well Life it seems as if your time was cut short............way to short since your time was not meant to come yet Life I will allow you to go back to the living realm since I will also have mercy on the poor boys soul though you might not reincarnate in your own body or have your memories you will find out who you are as you travel so please Life...................please find me in the lit realm I will wait for you"

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"Death?"

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As the world grieved no one noticed a f/c crack in the distance

Deadly Qingxin part 1 complete

So yeh this is gonna be a series that I might or might not continue it kinda depends on the readers if they want my to continue I will if no one request for more I'll just probably drop it but anyways this is for you the series is gonna lead up to a NSFW chapter at some point but for now this is gonna be a series stayed tuned if you want to see more

-Ender

Ohhhh this is an interesting take on the soul mate thing 👍 🤔

Yall better give support to these bcz I wanna know more 😤

[catzula]

Seven stages of falling in love.

Synopsis: You're afraid of needles and Bakugou is not the most suitable person that should be handling your shots for seven days.

Pairing: bakugou x reader

Warnings: cursing, I have no idea how long it is since it's written on my phone this time, probably a lot of errors

Genre: fluff, some tiny bit angst but a happy ending so no worries

A/N: I was on a 9-hour road trip and wrote this to keep me sane.

BTW 50 followers yaay!

Day 1

"What do you mean I need to get antibiotic shots for a week?!" You exclaimed, refusing to believe what you just heard. It was just a sore throat, or so you had thought. You never liked doctors, so you rarely saw one, but when your 'sore throat' lasted for a whole month, your friends literally forced you to go see one.

You knew it wasn't anything important, but maybe it would help to get a home rest for a day or two, giving you a little more time to binge anime study for that one exam that was coming up.

All your hopes and dreams died when you;

a) didn't get to have any home rest, cause apparently, you didn't have to stay home for a sore throat,

b) had to get shots for a week?!

This was why you hated doctors! You went in for a sore throat, hoping to get a home rest, and got what? A week of-

"It means what I just said." The doctor answered your question gruffly, making you send him a questioning look. Weren't the doctors supposed to be all nice and smiley? This one sure wasn't.

"I don't want to!" You whined, "Isn't there a pill or something I could take?" He sent you a look that could only mean, are you dumb or something?

But you couldn't care less about what he thought about you, though he was one of the most handsome men you had ever seen, all you were thinking about was doing whatever you could to not get any shots. "Is there no other way?" You asked, once again. This caused him to sigh loudly, turning his red eyes once again on you.

"No. You'll come here every day for a week to get shots, no pills, no nothing. Okay?" The harsh tone of his voice sent chills through your body, blood-red eyes of his made you wonder if they were real. "I- uh... Yeah, okay." You told him, feeling a little intimidated, though you wouldn't admit it if it killed you.

He turned his back to you while he prepared the syringe, giving you the perfect chance to look at him without being crushed under his crimson gaze.

His shoulders were so wide and his waist so narrow, it created the perfect triangle. You could see his the muscles of his arms flexing with every move, you almost felt unable to take your eyes off of his arms. But what stood out the most was his ash blonde, spiky hair. It defied the gravity in a way you had never seen before, and you just wanted to run your fingers through them, wondering if they were as hard as they looked.

He turned his face to you, you knew he noticed you staring, you could see that by the smirk he sent you, though he didn't comment on it.

You took deep breaths in, trying to calm yourself, though you could feel the blood draining from your face, your hands shaking ever so slightly. His brows furrowed, a look of slight frustration on his face. "You okay?"

You gulped, biting your lip. "I- I'm just..." you didn't want to admit you were scared of needles, not to him, but he did it for you. "You're scared."

You shrugged, still not admitting but not denying either. "You could say I'm not a fan." He rolled his eyes, looking at you as you were dumb. "Nobody is a fan." You could swear you heard him mumble, dumbass under his breath.

He pressed the base of the syringe slightly, testing it, not noticing or simply ignoring the look you had sent him. He rubbed alcohol on your arm, bringing the syringe closer. He was about to stick it when you couldn't stop yourself and gripped his wrist with all your might. Your hand couldn't wrap his wrist at all, and he could have ripped it free so easily, though he didn't.

"What the-"

"Wait!" You told him, not aware of what you were doing, your fear taking over. "Please don't? I don't- don't want... it."

"Come on, it doesn't hurt that much." He told you, feeling his frustration growing bigger with every second that past. He was Bakugou Katsuki, for fucks sake, he wasn't supposed to deal with little girls afraid of needles.

He was the number one of his class, he always was. He decided he wanted to be a doctor and save lives when he was so little, and he always had that dream in him. He worked so hard to achieve that, and now he was spending his summer as an intern in the best hospital of Japan, the hospital he always wanted to work at.

But this wasn't it! Ever since he started, they gave him small, insignificant things to do, like check-ups he was doing now. Sore throat? Who did they think he was, making him check sore throats and runny noses?

He felt so frustrated, he didn't notice you trembling like a leaf under his touch. Your eyes were so wide open, filled with pure fear, your under lip trembling, your hands gripped his wrist like it was your lifeline.

"I'm sorry-" you told him. "I just can't... can't stand needles."

He sighed, though he could feel his frustration disappearing slightly.

"That's fine, I guess." He told you, earning a hopeful glance from you. "Just look at me, nowhere else." That wasn't hard, was it? You couldn't take your eyes off of him anyways. You locked your eyes with his, noticing how oddly soothing his hard toned voice was.

"Listen to me, okay?" He told you. "My name's Bakugou. I went to UA Medical school, and this is my third year, 'm an intern here." You never would have guessed he was that young, only a year older than you, and he went to one of the hardest universities in Japan?

You never once looked away from his eyes, trying to forget the sharp object that was about to enter your skin. When he asked about you, you gulped, you were about to send a small glance at your arm, the one he was holding, but he gripped your chin with his free hand, not letting you look anywhere else, but his eyes.

"I- I'm Y/N." You whispered. "I'm going to ****, and I'm a second year." He nodded, and you smiled weakly.

"That's cool." He told you, "though not cooler than the fact that I finished your shot almost two minutes ago." A smug grin was now curving his lips.

"You what?!" You exclaimed, you looked at your arm, which now had a small band-aid. "You- you... how did you do that?" You asked him, smiling uncontrollably.

"A doctor never reveals his secrets." He told you, though you saw he had a small smile too.

You took your bag and coat, about to exit the room when you sent a small glance his way. "Thank you, doctor Bakugou. " You told him, earning a surprised look from him.

Nobody had ever thanked him this way before.

Day 2

"Hi," you stood at the door, not sure whether you should enter or just stay there.

"Why the hell are you standing there?" He asked you roughly. "Oh, uh, sorry." He shrugged, sipping his coffee. You could tell by the smell that it was pure poison, or in other words, espresso.

"Don't apologize and sit down already."

You sat down, feeling uncomfortable, though you weren't sure why. Maybe it was because you showed him your vulnerable side the day before? You weren't sure. 

Your eyes wandered over his figure, he looked as handsome as he was the first time you saw him, or maybe even more? It shouldn't be allowed to be so handsome, you thought. And why did that white coat look so good on him?

Though he was aware of you watching his every move, he didn't want to say anything about it since he could feel your growing panic as he walked towards you with the syringe in his hands.

"We're doing it as we did it yesterday. "He told you, "You're looking at me, and me only." He smirked when he saw you nodding. "Good."

"Now, tell me, what are you studying?" He shook his head, genuinely looked interested as he listened you blabbering. "Why are you doing this?" You asked him. "Is it for the money?"

He shrugged, though he had a smirk on. "I'll tell you about that another day since you're good to go."

"No way!" You told him, looking at your arm, which was once again already stung, cleaned, and stuck with a cute little band-aid.

"You're the best. " You told him as you giggled, still not over the fact that he already gave you two shots without you even noticing.

"Of course I'm the fucking best." He told you, making you giggle once again. "Not sure you should be using that language around your patients, Doctor Bakugou."

He made a tch noise, turning his back to you. "Whatever, go complain to the administration or something." His voice was harder than you had ever heard from him, though to his surprise, you giggled as you walked to the door.

"Of course I'm not going to do that," you told him, smiling sweetly. "Don't expect me to complain about my favorite doctor."

With that, you left the room, leaving Bakugou once again struck with shock. Nobody ever told him he was their favorite doctor, on the contrary, people loved to complain about his angry behavior and foul mouth.

And though he would never accept it, he smiled ever so slightly, noticing a warm feeling spreading to his chest.

Day 3

"Hey, doctor." You entered the room, a big smile on your face that you didn't seem to have any control over.

"Hey." He answered, making you surprised. This was the first time he said 'hey' back. "I noticed you changed our appointment hours." It used to be in the morning but you had learned just today that he changed it to 13:00.

"Yeah." He answered, looking a little uncomfortable. "Why?" You asked further, but your eyes widened a little when you noticed his cheeks had a pink tint to them. "I fucking wanted to, okay?"

"Okay," you told him, laughingly. "I was just curious, you know?"

Nope, you weren't just curious. You wanted to know if it was because he had a date or something, and even though that didn't make any sense at all, you just couldn't help yourself.

What he didn't tell you was that he did change your appointments because of a girl, you. He switched your appointment to right before his lunch break so he could spend a little more time with you, though he couldn't even admit that himself.

"Don't be." He answered as you sat down. This time he had prepared the syringes before you came so that you wouldn't get anxious as he prepared them in front of you.

"That looks like a nice book." He told you as he rubbed your arm with alcohol. You were so stressed that you couldn't even understand what book he was referring to, not aware that you were holding the book in your hands for your dear life. "It's my favorite book." You answered, not looking away from his eyes. You could swear you saw his eyes in your dream last night.

"What's it about?" He asked, once again, looking genuinely interested. You loved talking about books, so much that people would sometimes ask you to stop. But he looked so interested, like he was actually listening, not because he had to, but he wanted to, you couldn't stop.

You started talking about this book, jumping to talk about another, then another. He joined you some time, you weren't really sure when. You started to talk about your favorite books, you talked about his favorite book, argued on one book that he liked, but you hated, did the same with a book you loved, and he didn't.

The conversation lasted so long, and you wouldn't have stopped if your phone hadn't ringed. "Oh, fuck." You mumbled under your breath, realizing you were in there for at least an hour and a half. "I'm so sorry, I lost control!" You told him, laughing nervously. Did you bore him to death?

"It's okay, I guess." He told you, his hand scratching the back of his neck. "You do talk too fucking much, but it wasn't necessarily bad. And it was actually my lunch break, so I won't get in trouble or shit."

"Oh, okay." You answered smiling once again. "I guess, I owe you lunch now."

You exited his room before you let him answer, you were afraid he was going to tell you to fuck off or something, though you had never thought he would agree, he was about to do just that before you sprinted out the room.

He realized only minutes after you exited that you left your 'favorite book' behind, only for him to read it.

Day 4

"Instant noodles?" He asked you, with a look on his face you couldn't quite interpret. It resembled something along the lines of trying to hold his laughter in and thinking you were the dumbest person on the earth.

"I did owe you lunch, you know." You told him. 

"Yeah, I know, but I thought you meant something like a bagel or some shit, somewhere outside the hospital."

Thinking back, maybe instant noodles were a bad idea.

"How about tomorrow?" You asked. He shrugged, "Fine, whatever." He looked indifferent, but his pink-tinted cheeks told you he wasn't.

He shrugged, you noticed he did this a lot when he was uncomfortable, you also noticed how fast your heartbeat was every day you entered this room, and not because of the needles.

You noticed how, since the first day, you woke up feeling excited about seeing him. Thinking about what you were going to talk about that day, as you go about your day when something happened, you found yourself thinking about telling it to him the next day.

You noticed how your heart clenched, a dreadful feeling in your stomach, when you thought about the week was coming to an end.

You noticed you were starting to... fall in love with him.

You talked about this to your friends too, and they were more than aware of how your eyes glistened when you talked about him, how you smiled unintentionally.

And the problem was, that he was also aware of all these too. He saw how you looked at him, and he wasn't dumb, he knew what these meant, as well as the tightening in his chest.

You weren't the only one, waking up, excited to see each other. When Denki said something dumb, he thought about telling it to you the next day, he thought about what he could talk about with you to soothe you the next time you gripped his wrist, asking him to stop with teary eyes, he never ever wanted to see you looking that afraid ever again. Hell, he even looked at wikihow, how to calm someone down when they feel afraid, and he was about to be a doctor for God's sake.

It was scary for him, to be this vulnerable for someone, to care so much in such little time, such a foreign feeling taking over his sensible part.

He was about to say something else when he noticed your knee and the very poorly wrapped bandage over it, you had 'wrapped' the bandage like a shoelace and he never in his life saw something so horrible. He sent you a look that made your cheeks all red.

"What the fuck is this?" He asked you, opening the bandage in one quick motion. "Oh, I fell yesterday, nothing too serious."

"You dumbass," Bakugou mumbled as he looked at the wound closely. "Didn't you even clean it?" He asked angrily.

"I did!" You told him. "I mean, I tried to. But it hurts when I touch it..." He rolled his eyes as he took some stuff from the drawers. "Are you afraid of these too?" He asked sarcastically, not expecting an answer, but you did anyway.

"No." You answered as you pouted. "Just needles." He shook his head as he laughed softly. "And trees at night." You mumbled and he froze.

"You have to be kidding me!" He told you, he wasn't even treating the wound anymore, but just looking at you like he waited for you to say you were joking.

"Hey! You have to admit they have a scary side to them!"

"Trees at night?"

"Don’t laugh." You pouted. "They look all shadowy and like... they have long arms, open wide like they're about to catch you and never let you go."

"Oh my God," he groaned as he went on cleaning your wound. "That’s the dumbest thing I've heard." Though he thought it was the most adorable thing he heard too. A girl afraid of needles and trees at night.

The wound stung a little, but you didn't even feel it, you were thinking deeply about wanting to touch his hair. When he finished, your knee was wrapped nicely, and it didn't even hurt anymore.

"So, you never told me why you wanted to become a doctor." You told him as you recalled your chat the first day.

"Thought you would forget about that." He told you as you laughed. "Never."

"I wanted to save people, ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a... hero, I guess." He told you, not even sure why he was telling you such a personal thing when almost no one knew this about him.

You couldn't stop the words tumbling down your lips. "I don't know about other people, but you're my hero."

Oh, shit. Your words led to a very awkward silence, and you thought you probably shouldn't have said that, though you meant every word.

"Thank you for that." He mumbled finally, causing your head to snap up and lock your eyes with his. You didn't expect him to thank you, at all, but now you just couldn't stop grinning.

"I feel like I'm getting over my fear." You said as you looked at the band-aid on your arm, the band-aid which, once again, miraculously appeared there. There was no way he could give you a shot, clean the small wound, and put a band-aid without you noticing at all! He was either a magician or you were in too deep.

"Yeah, seems like it." He told you, though he wasn't very enthusiastic about it.

You both ate your instant noodles in silence, I'm telling you, it's a bad idea to eat instant noodles with your crush, especially if its the first time you're eating together, and you just didn't know why his presence felt so distant and so awkward all of a sudden.

After you finished your noodles, oh my God why did that last that long? you grabbed your stuff, feeling a weird tug in your chest. "I think I should go."

His crimson eyes found yours, but you had no idea what he was thinking. "Okay." 

"See you tomorrow?" You asked, but a grunt was your only answer.

Day 5

"What do you mean Doctor Bakugou has another patient?" You asked the receptionist. She looked at you like you were dumb. "He isn't available at the moment, miss. Doctor Kirishima will be looking after you today."

You didn't know who Kirishima was, but you knew you didn't want him to handle you.

"Can I maybe come later? When he's available?" You asked with the last piece of hope left in you. "I'm sorry, miss." She answered by not actually answering. You sighed as you looked at the red-haired man watching you with a smile. He looked like a nice guy, but he wasn't the reason you were here.

***

"Wow, " Kirishima rubbed his temples as he took a so from his coffee. "One patient really pushed me today."

"What?" Bakugou asked, his voice so stern, Kirishima's eyes narrowed as he looked at his friend. He was really moody lately, and Kirishima wasn't sure why.

"I had this one girl, apparently she was afraid of needles." Suddenly Bakugou's hand was gripping the glass he was holding it a little too hard. "I tried to convince her that it wasn't going to hurt, but she was crying so hard I don't think she even heard me."

"She was crying?" Bakugou's voice was nothing more than a whisper, he could feel how fast his heart was beating, and how tight the grip on his chest was. Kirishima had never seen his friend worry over someone, and he never thought he would either, but today he could sense something was up. "Well, yeah. Really hard. But it wasn't the crying that got me but more like... She was so afraid, genuinely terrified. Even after the whole thing, she kept looking at her arm and still looked scared."

Bakugou looked away, he didn't want to hear this anymore. "That must be tough."

Kirishima shrugged. "I felt bad."

That day, Bakugou left the hospital with an ache in his chest.

Day 6

You didn't want to go back to the hospital. You didn't. You were too scared.

You had thought you were over your fear, but obviously not. You could only stand them when... He was around.

The moment you thought about the spiky blonde hair and red eyes, you felt your chest tightening.

You entered the lobby, eyes instinctively going to the door that had his silver initials. Your heart fluttered in your chest, longing to see him, praying that he would be here. You walked to the receptionist. She was telling you the same thing she did yesterday -sorry ma'am, he's just not available- when the door opened, and the silhouette of a man you longed to see standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee in his hand.

A smile found its place on your lips as you started to walk towards him -the receptionist was trying to talk to you still, but who cares- feeling relief washing over you.

He was here! You felt so relieved having him here, not only because he could do your injection without you noticing -but you had to admit, that was an amazing skill right there- but also because you... trusted him. You trusted Bakugou so much, that you could open your heart to him. You loved how he listened to you when you were talking about nonsensical things, how angry of a person he was but actually so nice, how he told you he hated those 'dumbass' friends of his, desperately trying to conceal how much he loved them.

He didn't see you as you walked to him, his eyes on the paper he was holding in his hand. You were about to call his name when you heard your name being called, though it wasn't he who said it.

Your brows furrowed, eyes turning to ho was calling you. The doctor from the day before stood there next to you, with a smile plastered on his face, his hand touching your arm slightly, about to lead you to his office. "Miss Y/N, you're with me today."

Bakugou's eyes snapped up, finding you almost instantly as he heard your name being called. Realizing you were also looking at him, his crimson eyes widened a little. "But..." you started to tell Kirishima, but the guilt-stricken look Bakugou sent you that he tried to conceal told you everything you should know.

You felt like your heart that was just hammering your chest stopped, hurt spreading in your body. Bakugou wasn't coming to the appointments on purpose, avoiding you, trying to get rid of you.

Were you really that hard to deal with? He couldn't take it not even for a week? You thought about the chats you had and how much you laughed when you were near him, and your chest tightened. Maybe you just were talking too much. Or maybe, he just didn't want to deal with a girl who was afraid of needles.

You let Kirishima lead you to his office, trying not to look at the man that you just turned you back to.

Even though you avoided looking at him, Bakugou could see how hurt you were in your eyes. And as he watched you walk with Kirishima, concealing how afraid you were and how much your knees were shaking, he felt like the asshole everyone told him he was.

***

Bakugou went to Kirishima's office the second you left. "How was she?"

Kirishima sighed, taking a sip from his coffee as he watched his angry friend with curious eyes. "I don't know, man. It was just weird." Bakugou's eyes widened, his hand anxiously running through his hair. "What the fuck does that even mean, shitty-hair?!" Bakugou felt like he was going to punch his red-headed friend if he didn't give him straight answers now. And obviously, Kirishima was aware too.

"Woah, chill down. Why do you even care, Bakubro? Never saw you so interested in any of your patients." Bakugou gritted his teeth. It was true he never really cared for his patients, nothing else than their health. But it was different with you, he cared about you, and everything about you.

"Just answer the damn question already." Said Bakugou gruffly, avoiding to answer his question.

Kirishima shrugged. "It was weird." He repeated. "Yesterday she was crying, at one point she begged me not to do it. I don't think she's scared of the needle hurting him but more like the needle itself." Bakugou knew all of this, and he was going to punch him in the guts if Kirishima didn't get straight to the point. "But today she was silent."

Silent? He had never seen you silent.

"She was like a- a statue. Didn't even flinch when I stuck the needle in her, didn't cry, or said a word. She was just looking at the needle and my hand, genuinely terrified. I felt like I was stabbing her or something." Kirishima recalled the memory, and a chill went through him.

Bakugou wasn't very different either. Thinking you like that broke his heart. He could understand you crying, and he would still be mad at himself for letting you cry, but what Kirishima told him was something else. It almost made him afraid.

"Anyways, I don't know man, tomorrow's the last day anyway."

"Yeah." Bakugou mumbled as he tried to forget what Kirishima just told him.

***

Bakugou couldn't get the image of you frozen with fear out of his mind the whole day. He buried himself in his work, still not able to think about anything else but you.

He went home, exhausted.

He took a shower and ate something when he saw the book you had left for him to read laying on his dining table. Ignoring the tightening in his chest, he picked the book up, and he realized the book was the only thing that could make him stop thinking of you, even just for a second.

And as he read, nonstop, he could swear the trees he saw from his window were watching him, making him feel a little creeped out.

Hell, maybe trees at night were creepy after all.

Day 7

Bakugou was having a bad day.

First of all, he had read your favorite book the whole night, not getting any sleep whatsoever. He wasn't the type of man to stay up till night, he never liked to do so either, but he did just that. No cup of coffee was helping him either.

What was bothering him, though, was that you just wouldn't show up. It was almost the end of his lunch break, and you still weren't anywhere to be seen. He knew that because he had been asking the receptionist about you every 5 seconds for the last hour or so.

He sighed as he finished the last sentence of the last chapter, of the book he was so caught up on, and as on cue, you went in the doors as he closed the book.

Bakugou felt anxiety doubling the beating of his heart as he saw you talking to the receptionist. He started to walk to you, replaying the speech he had decided on the day before to talk to you. But as you lifted your head and your gaze found his, he forgot everything that was on his mind.

And awkward silence sneaked in between you both as he towered over you. "Uh, hey," Bakugou mumbled.

"Hey." You said. "Umm, where is doctor Kirishima?" Ouch, Bakugou thought. He knew you didn't do it on purpose but it hurt anyway. "He won't be with you today," Bakugou told you, you didn't know why he looked so tired today, but how did he still look so damn handsome? "I will."

Your eyes widened as you understood what he said relief and anxiety washing over you at the same time.

You didn't trust your voice to say anything, so you just nodded.

As you sat in his office, awkwardly tapping your fingers according to a rhythm, you didn't know he was trying to gather up the courage to apologize. You didn't even mean to come in today, but you just didn't want him to see you as a coward, even more so. So you anxiously eyed the room when your eyes found the book you had left. He saw you looking at your book that was on his desk, and he smiled. "I finished the book."

"Does that mean I can have it back now?" You asked, making him grimace. He expected you to shower him with questions, to talk about it, to hear your voice... but apparently not.

"Yeah- yeah sure." You took the book back, holding it so hard, your knuckles turned white.

Bakugou sighed. "I missed you, you know."

Your heart started to beat so fast you were glad you were at a hospital. "Well, that isn't my fault." Bakugou didn't want to, but he smiled nonetheless. "No, it's not, it was me being an asshole."

"Right." You answered cynically, earning an angry look from the explosive guy.

"And I thought it was... for the best." He went on.

"Oh, of course, what else could it be?" You just couldn't seem to hold your tongue back today, and he was aware of that too.

"Can you not make this any harder?" He finally said gruffly. "I'm trying to fucking say that I'm-" his eyes widened as he realized what he was saying, that he was apologizing. But for the first time in his life, it didn't feel necessarily wrong.

"That I'm sorry."

You didn't need him to explain why he did what right now, just hearing that he was sorry was enough for you, so you smiled. "It really hurt, you know?" You told him as he started to walk towards you.

"I know." He answered, "and I'm fucking sorry." His hands held your arms as if he was about to pull you into a tight hug. But it wasn't necessarily a hug he was pulling you into. "But I can make it up to you." He whispered as he leaned in.

"And how are you going to do that?" You asked, but those were the last words you said before feeling the soft lips pressing on yours.

Your hands went to his hair almost instinctively, and you smiled into the kiss as you felt how damn soft they were.

***

"Remember that bagel promise we had? We could either do that or I could keep kissing you." He told you, smirking when he realized how breathless you were.

"But what about the..." your voice trailed off when you noticed the small band-aid on your arm. "When did you even do this?!"

[idkkkstyles]

THE DEAL

HI!!! THIS IS PART ONE OF (HOPEFULLY) SOMETHING MORE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT! X S

8.3k words | MY MASTERLIST | PINTEREST

Harry and Nina make a deal and end up breaking all the rules.

Everyone finds Harry intriguing.

His choice of career often leads everyone to be in his business but for some reason, unique to his job, he keeps it all to himself very well. See, Harry is a professional football (soccer) player and outside of the pitch and the training, come the 'perks' of a famous, celebrity life. However, Harry is someone that has never aired his dirty laundry out for everyone to see which well, intrigues everyone.

His teammates and other players are often caught by paparazzi while cheating on their significant others or drinking too much and found vomiting on the streets. Harry, on the other hand, has never been caught out of line. Even more so, he's never even been seen out with a woman and it has never been a problem for him, until now apparently.

Harry isn't your conventional football player either. On the pitch, he's a great player with even better statistics but off the pitch he is taking the world by storm. He had been styled by Gucci for an event and after his outfit and how he wore it was so well received, they partnered up with him and he became a Gucci representative. Within the fashion world, he had been sponsored by Nike throughout his career and had even come out with a line with them, that had done extremely well and because of its success, a second drop is happening.

"So, we're thinking you should go out with someone" Alicia, his publicist says over coffee.

"Scuse me?" He chuckles.

"We need to get people talking about you and I think people have been desperate to know what's going on in your personal life, so we should give them a glimpse" She explains.

"Wait, but I don't have a girlfriend" He frowns.

"We can fake it" She shrugs.

"What?" He chuckles, "fake it?"

"Yea, like fake dating"

"I don' think I can do tha" He shakes his head.

"You don't really have to be dating the woman, just make it seem like you are. A few dates here and there for the next few months"

"Who would I even go out with?"

Nina Matthews is an international model who has quite simply taken the world by storm. She is unlike any other model in the industry, in many different ways and for some, she's a complete breath of fresh air. Her career began when she was extremely young, her mother had set her up with multiple advertisement shoots for children's products. When she became a teenager, her demographic changed and so did the shoots she did. But when she entered her adulting years, her career really took off. She had been approached by many different brands asking (well practically begging) for her to be their face. Now that she had more power over the work she wanted to do, she was able to pick and choose the perfect brands she wanted to represent.

For example, instead of being a part of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, lingerie brands she chose to rather go with a smaller lingerie brand, concerned with making every woman of every shape, colour and size feel sexy. She promised herself to only work with brands that believed in the things that she did. A cruelty-free beauty brand had been her next big job, something that had aligned with her beliefs perfectly.

However, no matter how well she handed herself in the business world of modelling, fame came along with it and she hated it. She had never been one wanting to make headlines but once her career took off, she had been faced with people dying to know what was going on in her personal life. With that, came people's obsession with her dating life. She had never been one to overly publicise her relationships, not often posting pictures of her significant others and only when she wanted to.

But now she's single and is in the midst of launching her own brand, one that is focused on making people feel the best they can. She had chosen the name 'Refresh', hoping people would use her brand in order to feel perfectly themselves, perfectly relaxed but mostly, perfectly refreshed. Her first launch of the brand is set to take place in a month or so, and as they plan the next few weeks, that's the only thing on her mind.

"So we have an idea" Fran, her publicist states over FaceTime as she gets ready for an event.

"Yea?" She asks, closing her eyes so her makeup artist can brush some eyeshadow onto her lids.

"Well we were approached with the idea" Fran corrects herself.

"C'mon Fran, spill" she chuckles

"We'd like for you to start seeing someone, publicly" Fran states and Nina bursts out laughing.

"Yea" she says, assuming her friend is joking.

"Not joking babe"

"Alright, let's say I go along with this" She teases, "who on earth would I date?"

They meet each other three days after being approached about the idea, a meeting that had not been planned by their publicists. Nina had just landed back in London after about a month in New York and the first place she went (after going home and dropping her bags off) was to the supermarket to stock up for the week. She had even stayed in her clothes from her flight, a pair of joggers and a matching jumper, as she rushed to the shop before it closed.

"Sorry, sorry" Nina rushes out as she passes a few people on the street on her way to the shop, trying to weave through the late night crowds. Once she finally reaches her destination, she takes a deep breath and grabs a trolley before pulling her phone out and checking her list. She grabs everything she needs and when she's at checkout, she realises she forgot to get a bottle of wine, she turns around to excuse herself and go find what she needed.

"Sorry, I uh need to grab-" When she looks up to excuse herself, she would never have expected to see who she sees. She blushes brightly, wondering how on earth her life had come to this.

"Hi" He chuckles and so does she, not knowing how to handle the situation, because how small is the goddamn world?

"Hi" She giggles, she wonders if he knows they're really meant to meet the next day (that meeting planned by their publicists). "I uh, sorry I have to go grab something, would you mind?" She asks and he shakes his head.

"Go for it" He smiles, moving out of her way and she rushes to find her target, her cheeks flushed bright red and she needs to calm herself down before facing him again.

"Sorry" She says breathlessly as she returns to checkout. "Jus' had to" She holds the wine up with a slight blush, what is wrong with her?

"Good choice" He points out and she smiles, thanking him softly. She finishes checking out and begins walking out of the shop when she hears her name being called. She turns quickly to see him running after her.

"I uh I wondered if you'd like to share that wine with someone?" He says, effortlessly cool.

She blushes and looks down into her bag, where the wine sits, then looking back up at him and he shrugs as if it was an afterthought, "Oh uh yea yes of course, you're welcome to join me" She mumbles out.

"Oh no, I didn't mean me" He teases and she doesn't realise so her face drops, eyes widening in embarrassment. "M'only teasing love" She lets out s breath of relief and he chuckles, letting out a soft sorry.

"Good" She giggles and gestures him to follow her.

"So" He starts as they walk the few steps towards her apartment. "We were only meant to meet tomorrow" He states and she shrugs.

"Maybe it's better we met now on our own terms" She shrugs and he smiles. "Not looking all dressed up though" She blushes.

"Are you mad?" He chuckles, "I think a bin bag could look good on you" He compliments her and she smiles, thanking him softly.

For the next few minutes of their walk, they're both quiet and focused on their own thoughts.

"C'mon in, jus' gonna get us glasses" She smiles as she opens her door before slipping her shoes off, "would you like anything else?" She offers.

"M'good, thank you" He smiles and follows her lead by toeing his trainers off and shrugging he jacket off before hanging it next to hers. "Can I help with anything?" He offers, following behind her into the beautiful kitchen.

She watches as he takes in her kitchen, the sage green cabinets and brown wooden floors with a rug run across it allowing the white countertops to stand out. He feels like he can get a good idea of her as he looks at the stack of recipe books which are piled on the brown shelves. He spots one of his personal favourites and smiles. His eyes then move to her fridge, which is covered in polaroid photos which he notes that are from all different times in her life, and he smiles.

"I love your kitchen" He comments and she smiles as she grabs two wine glasses from her cupboard, placing them on the counter before grabbing the wine and an opener.

"Thank you so much" she replies, "the cabinets were originally grey and then as soon as I moved in I repainted them with one of my brothers, feel like I'm more exciting than some boring grey kitchen" She tries to open the wine but struggles and when Harry offers to open it, she thanks him and hands it to him.

"That tells me a lot more about you than you'd think" He smiles, "'ve met lots of grey coloured kitchen people in my lifetime, feel like they're all the same" He teases and she chuckles.

"So what colour is yours?"

"My kitchen?" He asks and she nods with a smile, "S'grey" He admits and she throws her head back in laughter. "M'kidding, it's actually blue"

"Thank god, you know what they say about grey kitchen people" She teases and he laughs and they both hear the pop of the wine bottle being opened. "Lemme grab us somethin' to snack on, why don't you head into the living room and I'll be right there?" She offers, pointing to the door that leads to the living room and he nods.

Harry doesn't know what to expect when he enters her living room, but what he sees doesn't surprise him. A large burnt orange sofa is placed in the middle of the room, a rug laying underneath it with a table in the middle of it, and large windows to the side which open to a balcony. A few shelves line the wall behind the sofa, filled with different books and magazines which Harry knows will fill him in a bit more about who she is but before he can study it, she enters with a bowl of popcorn and another of fruit.

"Hope this is okay" She smiles, "Jus' came back from New York so all I can offer is this"

"Tha's perfect" He smiles, placing the wine and glasses onto the table right next to where she places the bowls. "How was it?" He asks and she smiles.

"New York?" She asks and he nods, sitting back on the couch. "Very busy. You ever been to New York?" She asks and he nods, "then you know how crazy everything can get there. I love it, but I can't be there too long otherwise I go crazy" She chuckles and he smiles.

"I completely agree. I went a few years back to do some work and was there for two weeks and when I got back to London, I was so relieved to be home in a city that didn't make me go crazy" He teases and she laughs. "How long were you there for?"

"About a month" She states, taking a sip of her wine and he grimaces, "I know, long time but my job kinda forces me to" She shrugs.

"Do you often find yourself away from home for your job?" He asks and she nods.

"My mum says it comes with the paycheck" She rolls her eyes at her mother's words. "But yea, I do love everything my job allows me to do, most of the time" She adds the end a bit quieter, mostly talking to herself.

"And the rest of the time?" He asks and she shrugs, looking down at her wine swooshing in the glass.

"I don't know" She shrugs with a sad chuckle, "sometimes wish it didn't come with all the other rubbish"

"I know what you mean" He smiles sadly. "I had always dreamed about becoming a footballer and when I finally did it, the other things that come with the job didn't really add up to what I wished for, you know?" She nods.

"Is that why you're so private?" She asks, "I mean, I try to be as private as I can when it comes to my personal life but somehow everyone finds things out anyways. But with you, I feel like you've managed to keep everything in your private life, well private" She says, grabbing some fruit.

"It's hard" He starts, "I mean in the beginning I had no idea what I was doing but eventually, I closed myself off to the public when it came to my personal life and I've never looked back" He states proudly, following her lead and grabbing a piece of pineapple from the bowl.

"How did you do it?" She asks, changing her position on her couch to fully face him, genuinely interested in how the most famous footballer manages to keep his personal life to himself.

"I started with closing off my circle. I got rid of people that were only around me for my life and instead focused on people who I knew would be there for the right reasons. So I don't have so many people around me, just a few friends and immediate family" He explains. "It isn't easy to decide who's there for the right reasons and not, but after a while there are signs that begin to show"

"I hate that" Nina says, her eyes glossing over a bit "I've been, well I've been let down by many people in my life who I thought were there for the right reasons and were obviously not. I guess I've never been good at discerning who is and isn't" She chuckles sadly. "Always find out too late" She feels herself getting emotional. "Sorry"

"Nothing to be sorry about, I wish it didn't come to this" He says sadly. "I personally think that all the people that are in our lives at a certain time are there for a reason. I try to think of the reasons, whenever I think of the bad times"

"Mature" She says, "Don't think I can do that" she shakes her head.

"I think you just have to remind yourself to try, the best you can do" He shrugs.

"Wise words from footballer Harry Styles" She teases in a voice like a commentator. He lets out a laugh.

"M'really happy we've met on our own terms" He smiles, sipping his wine.

"Me too" She blushes.

Not long after that, Harry leaves her apartment promising to see her soon (which is the next day) and thanking her for the invitation. After he leaves, Nina retreats to her bedroom, exhausted from her day of travel but also intrigued about the footballer she's met and will have to work with for the foreseeable future.

The next day is crazy. Nina wakes up to her alarm at 6am and as she always does, heads to a pilates class. After pilates, she heads home to make herself breakfast and coffee before she gets ready for the day (which includes meeting Harry with their publicists). She changes into a comfy outfit for the day. She ties her hair up into half a bun with a matching green scrunchie and grabs her bag and a jumper incase it gets colder (which London does often) and heads out of her apartment.

When she arrives at the office where their meeting is set to take place, she chuckles as Harry walks in with her. "Hi" she smiles, waving at him.

"Good morning" He grins, "glad we made it at the same time"

"Why's that?" She smiles.

"So we can get our ducks in a row"

"Ducks in a row?" She teases and he smiles, shaking his head and he hopes she doesn't notice his blushed cheeks.

"Just meant we can get our story in order. Are we letting them know we met each other before now?" He asks and she shrugs.

"Whatever you think"

"Think it can be our little secret" He teases and she giggles as they enter the office they're meant to be meeting him.

"Oh how wonderful, you two have already met" Alicia, Harry's publicist, states.

"Met on the way in" Harry states and Nina nods with a smile.

"Great so let's get started" Fran, Nina's publicist hands them both folders with papers inside. "The point of all this, as I'm sure you both already know, is to get both of your upcoming projects some more publicity."

"You mean, getting people to notice and speak about us so that when we drop what's coming they will go buy it?" Nina states blankly and Harry laughs.

"Yes Nina, basically" Fran rolls her eyes at her friend.

"So we've gone ahead and already planned some outings for the two of you like meals, walks those kinds of things. You two are free to plan your own get together's if you'd like. Oh and Nina, we'd love to see you at a few of Harry's football matches" Alicia states.

"Right" Fran agrees. "If there are any queries or concerns, they should've all been addressed in those folders and if they aren't, feel free to call either of us"

"Anything else?" Harry asks, clearly unimpressed and Nina holds back a laugh.

"Uh nothing right now, we've already booked a table at a restaurant for dinner tonight for the two of you. So we'll start there" Alicia states and both of them nod. "I guess the two of you can go"

They all bid their farewells to everyone and end up leaving the office building together. "Weird that this is what we're about to do" Harry says as they walking.

"Extremely" Nina laughs. "So we now have scheduled dates" She says.

"How far can they possibly go?" He asks. "I'm sure I'll get a call tonight from Alicia about what to wear"

"Oh gosh next thing they'll be choreographing kisses"

"So you're planning on kissing me ey?" Harry teases and she laughs, blushing.

"We have to play the part" She teases right back and he shakes his head with a smile. "Sorry we have to do this though, give the people we don't want to, a glimpse into our personal lives"

"It is what it is" He shrugs and she frowns.

"Yea" She says softly. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Looking forward to it" He smiles.

"Are you?" She teases.

"Looking forward to the seeing you part, not so much the others"

"Bye Harry" She waves with a smile.

"Bye Nina"

Her day is busy as she rushes from meeting to meeting and then to her latest design meeting for Refresh and lastly to a shoot for a new lingerie line from the lingerie brand she's worked with for years. After the shoot, it was finally time for her to head home and get ready for her next work appearance, her 'date'.

She arrives at her apartment to her stylist and makeup artist/ hairdresser which she assumes are there to get her ready for tonight. She wonders why she couldn't get ready herself but knows that there will probably be photographers there (because of their teams) which means she has to look her best.

"How are you feeling for all of this?" Emma, her hairdresser/ makeup artist asks as she gets her ready.

"Horrible" She chuckles, her answer truthful.

"Hey, at least you get to spend some time with a beautiful man" She states and she smiles.

"He is gorgeous" She agrees.

"So let's do the printed dress with the leather trench and matching boots?" Hailey, her stylist suggests and she nods.

"Hair will be blown out" Emma adds and she nods again.

"So is he meeting you there or are you going together?" Hailey asks.

"I uh actually don't know. Let me see" She picks her phone up from the table and sends Fran a message.

She finds the whole situation weird, but everything that comes with it makes it even weirder. Like how she has to message her publicist about a date she's going on. The response she gets makes her feel giddy, and she has no idea why.

Eventually, once she's all ready to go, both Emma and Hailey leave (with good luck wishes) and her doorbell rings shortly after. She quickly checks if her outfit is as perfect as it can be before she grabs her purse and heads for the door.

"You look incredible" Harry compliments as soon as she opens the door to him.

"Hi to you too" She smiles, "and thank you, as do you" He's wearing a pair of bell-bottomed jeans and a jumper. He smiles and thanks her for her compliment before offering her his hand to walk her to his car.

"Are you ready for this?" He asks as they both get into his car.

"Yea, not really" She chuckles, "last time I had a public relationship that's how I found out I was being cheated on" She states and he frowns.

"That's awful, m'so sorry"

"I mean, I know this isn't a real relationship but I just feel like I never wanted to make another relationship of mine public" She shrugs.

"I get that" He nods, "feel like this is a real relationship though" He chuckles.

"Why's that?"

"Jus' haven't had any kinda relationship in a while and us going on dates feels like one" He shrugs.

"Same for me, felt giddy when I found out you were fetching me" she chuckles. "Even made sure I looked perfect before I opened the door for you" She blushes.

"Well, if you wanna feel better" He starts and she nods, telling him to carry on "I have condoms in my wallet" She bursts out laughing.

"Quite presumptuous, Mr Styles" She teases.

"Kept forgetting this wasn't a real date" He shrugs and she chuckles. They arrive at the restaurant to see photographers already stationed outside and they both give each other looks to remind each other that it is definitely not a real date.

"Let's head in" Harry states and she nods. He is quick to approach her side of the car, opening the door to let her out and she thanks him. She decides to hold onto his arm as he escorts her through to the restaurant.

"So I was thinking" Nina starts once they've made themselves comfortable at their table.

"Yeah?" Harry nods, showing he's paying attention to her.

"We should make some rules here" She gestures between the two of them.

"Rules, what kind of rules?" He asks with a curious smile.

"For starters, I think we shouldn't treat this like it's a real relationship, I think it blurs the lines a bit" She says and he nods, "so no checking myself in the mirror before we go"

"No condoms" He adds and she nods with a chuckle.

"Exactly"

"If we're doing this whole rule thing, I think we should always be honest with each other" He says and she nods, gesturing him to carry on, "think we can get pretty caught up in this and it might be best for us to tell each other if it's too hard"

"Yea, agreed" Nina takes a sip of her water. "I don't know about you, but I'd really like for this to not get out of hand"

"What do you mean?" He asks curiously.

"As in, let's stay ahead of everything that will happen. Like tonight, we already know that there will be articles coming out tomorrow but let's make sure we keep the narrative how we want. I've seen how the media can twist even the smallest things and I think we both need to be clever about what we do over the next few weeks"

"So we won't go out with other people?" He asks with a frown, "As in I don't think me going out with another woman will do you any good"

"Exactly" She nods, "I mean, I don't think I'm gonna get into any relationship anytime soon but yes. Is there anything else you can think of?"

"If you're supposed to come to my football matches, at least tell me you support us?" He says with a grin and she smiles.

"I wish I could say I didn't" He chuckles, "but my dad and brothers have been supporters their whole lives and if I had to tell them that we're friends they would freak out" She explains and he laughs.

"We're friends huh?" He teases and she shrugs.

"I'd like to think so" She smiles and he nods.

"Me too"

The rest of their evening is spent eating and getting to know each other. They get along extremely well already (they both already knew that from the previous night) and before they leave, they find themselves making plans to see each other again. Once they finish their meal, Harry pays (after many complaints by Nina but he insisted she'd pay the next time) and they leave the restaurant to flashing lights and questions thrown at them from every direction.

And just as expected, Nina wakes up the next morning to an article all about their evening out.

HARRY STYLES AND NINA MATTHEWS ARE OFFICIAL

Footballer, Harry Styles (28) and model, Nina Matthews (23) step out for a fancy dinner date as they confirm their relationship

Harry Styles, footballer and fashion icon has a very private dating history. Although he has always been private about his relationships and personal lives, we know he has previously had two serious relationships and had been extremely private about each. Now, for the first time, the 28 year old has stepped out with the beautiful Nina Matthews.

Matthews, a 23 year old model/ brand ambassador/ entrepreneur, has also not had many previous relationships. However, her last was extremely public. The 23 year old previously dated the famous actor, Nick Sanders (30) and the two were engaged early 2019. However, after Sanders was seen out with a specific woman, many different times, it is understood that he had cheated on the model. The two announced their split in early 2020 and ever since, Matthews has kept to herself.

Sources close to both the footballer and the model have told us that the two are completely smitten with each other and even though last night was their first public date, they have been seeing each other for about a month before.

No one could have expected these two to get together, but they are one very good looking couple and we cannot wait to see what will happen with these two!

"Hello?" Nina answers the phone to a FaceTime from a newly familiar face the next morning as she drinks her cup of coffee.

"Hi Nina" His face pops up and she smiles, he must be drinking his coffee as well as she notes he's sat in his (blue) kitchen.

"Harry, how are you?" She asks with a smile.

"I'm good, thank you. How are you?" He asks her.

"Very good, thank you"

"Did you see the articles?" He asks a bit nervous.

"I did, they don't seem too terrible" She chuckles, knowing how badly they described her last relationship.

"I uh read them, m'sorry they talked about Nick" he says sincerely and she smiles sadly.

"Me too"

"So you're coming on Saturday right?" He asks her, changing the subject (she's very grateful for it) and she nods excitedly.

"I can't wait"

"And you're bringing your family yea? I've reserved seats for you all so it doesn't matter who comes or not, just letting you know there are about seven seats for you all. Know your oldest brother is married, so he can bring his wife"

"That's so kind of you Harry, thank you so much, m'looking so forward to it"

"As am I, the tickets should be delivered to you today" He says and she nods. "Alicia called me this morning to confirm everything from last night" He adds

"Fran did too" She chuckles, "the two of them are on it" He laughs.

"Very much so. Alicia asked me to make another 'date' with you"

"Ah makes sense, seems like last night was a success"

"I'd say so" He chuckles, "I was thinking to ask you if you'd like to join me for a walk this morning?" He offers and she smiles.

"I wish I could, 've got a shoot to get to in about thirty minutes" She states and he nods.

"No problem" He smiles, "I hope you enjoy it" He adds.

"Me too" She chuckles. "Let's do tomorrow morning if you're up for it?" She offers.

"'ve got early morning training" He pouts.

"See, a real relationship between us would never even work" She chuckles and he joins her. "I think we should be alright with Saturday at the game but should we do a Sunday morning brunch? Love a good mimosa" She smiles.

"That should be perfect" He says, "I'll let Alicia know"

"Perfect" She smiles, "oh and I think we can plan our own dates from now yea?" she suggests and he nods.

"Much easier" He agrees, "I'll let her know that as well" He chuckles.

"Great" She looks at the time on her phone and quickly jumps out of her chair. "Sorry Harry, but I've gotta go shower or else I will be extremely extremely late" She says as she rushes back into her apartment. "Thank you for this and the tickets, m'really looking forward to seeing you play" She smiles.

"Should be thanking you, you made me look ten times better in those articles" He chuckles.

"Nonsense" She brushes him off, "I'll see you soon yea?"

"Yea" He nods with a smile.

"Bye H" She waves and so does he before the call disconnects.

Nina thinks it's nice to have a new friend, someone else who understands fame and can relate to her is always a good person to have around and Harry's even kinder and funnier than she could have ever imagined, making it a thousand times more enjoyable to be working with him. Harry thinks exactly the same.

Saturday rolls around faster than either had expected.

Harry's day started fairly early as it normally does. His pre-game routine is the same every time he's set to play that day- a quick workout in the morning, a shower, and breakfast before heading to the stadium. Today's game will be played at home, an advantage to Harry as he feels extremely comfortable entering the stadium, watching eager fans already lining up, seeing the familiar faces of the staff and even the colour of the walls in the hallways all calm him down.

As soon as he settles down in the changing room, he pulls his phone out to see he's gotten a message. He opens it to see Nina's sent a photo of her wearing his teams colours and a big grin. The next photo that comes through is a photo of the back of the team shirt she's wearing, his number printed at the back and he smiles.

Harry: Honoured to have my name on your back

Nina: I should be saying that, 'boyfriend' ;)

Nina: Goodluck!

Harry: Thank you!

"Are you speaking to your girlfriend!?" Niall, a teammate of his teases him excitedly.

"Speaking about Nina Matthews? She's fucking fit mate" Louis, another of his teammates says from across the room. "Lucky you Styles"

"Thank you" Harry rolls his eyes at their playful banter, his response coming out as soon as their coach walks into the room.

By the time they need to head out onto the pitch, Harry's received many photos from Nina of her and her family getting ready for the game, when they arrive at the stadium, when they get to their seats, you name it. He's enjoyed every single one of them, excited his new friend is there to watch him at his best. Then the players are out on the pitch and the fans go crazy, Nina and her family joining in on the craziness.

"I still can't believe you're dating Harry Styles" Her youngest brother, Sam says with an excited smile.

"She's not dating him you idiot" Luke, her older brother smacks the back of Sam's head. "She's explained it to you about ten times today"

"M'not an idiot" Sam grumbles, shoving his brother.

"What're you two fighting about now?" Amy, Luke's wife, pipes up next to him, trying to hear what they're saying.

"He still doesn't understand that Nina and Harry Styles aren't in a real relationship even though she explained it to him already and it's not that hard to understand anyways"

"Don't be mean to him" Amy scolds.

"Thank you Ames" Sam grins back.

"You do understand that we aren't really dating though?" Nina asks her younger brother, making sure he knows.

"Yes, it's a PR stunt" He says waving her away, "it'd be awesome if you really were though. Harry Styles as my fucking brother-in-law, bloody brilliant" He says with a dreamy smile.

"What a world that would be" Nina's dad joins the conversation, sitting next to his wife who has been listening in on the conversation but not commenting, "Imagine Margret, our daughter marrying THE Harry Styles" He says to her.

"You should all marry him if you love him so much" Her mum comments, making all of them laugh.

"Haven't even met him yet" Nina adds.

"He seems like a good guy" Luke says and Nina shakes her head with a chuckle.

"Will we get to meet him?" Sam asks excitedly.

"I don't even know, maybe" Nina shrugs. "Can we stop talking about it now, I'd like to watch the game"

"Yea and your boyfriend's arse" Sam comments making Luke and their dad laugh, the women shaking their heads.

The game is unbelievable- from start to finish. Harry is on top form, scoring two goals and assisting another two as he runs up and down the pitch tactically. The whole team plays incredibly well which leaves the home fans even more excited than when they started and just like the beginning of the game, Nina and her family join in on the excitement.

Once the game is over, they all head home and Nina makes sure to send Harry a congratulations message once she arrives home. She really enjoyed her afternoon. Although her family have always been football fans, including her, and had gone to many games before, she finds that this was her favourite as she rooted for her friend the whole game. As she winds down for her night- craving a nice and relaxing night- she gets a FaceTime from her new friend.

"Hi winner!" She answers excitedly and the other side of her screen is met with the tired but smiling football player.

"Hi" He chuckles at her excitement.

"You were unbelievable today Harry! I can't believe you can move like that" She says and again, he laughs at her (mostly because he doesn't take compliments well)

"Thank you" He blushes "And thank you for coming, it was nice playing knowing a friend was there"

"Of course! Was kinda in the contract" She teases and they both laugh.

"Did your family enjoy it?" He asks and she nods with a big smile.

"They loved it and my brothers and dad are dying to meet you" She says. "Beware though, my younger brother thinks you're already his brother" She chuckles.

"Sweet, how old is he?" He asks fondly.

"He's 20" She chuckles and he throws his head back in laughter, "and is probably your biggest fan" She adds.

"Then m'looking even more forward to meeting him" He smiles.

"Meeting the family eh? Seems kinda relationship-y to me" She teases.

"You're not wrong" He smiles back at her. "Although, all of my friends have met my mum and sister so"

"Good point" She smiles, "so maybe not too relationship-y"

"Not if we don't make it" He says and she chuckles.

"You're not wrong"

"I just wanted to confirm we're on for brunch tomorrow?" He asks.

"We are! And m'very excited for bottomless mimosas" She grins excitedly. "This place in West Hampstead has the best brunch, I wanna take you there"

"Alright" He chuckles. "Would you like me to fetch you?" He offers.

"I can just catch the tube- it's easier and I prefer to walk home from brunch anyways" She adds, "needa sober up a bit after the mimosas"

"So let me come to yours in the morning and we can go together?"

"Harry Styles on the tube?" She teases, "No ways a famous footballer can be spotted riding the commoners tube" He laughs at her antics, shaking his head.

"I can be at you at 10am?" He suggests and she nods with a smile.

"Sounds perfect to me. I'll see you tomorrow H"

"I like H" He says and she frowns, "as in, all my friends call me H, only fitting that you do as well"

"I agree" She smiles.

"What do your friends call you?" He asks.

"Well anything they want really" She shrugs, "but if m'doing the H thing maybe you should call me N"

"Like in Gossip Girl?" He raises his eyebrows.

"You've watched Gossip Girl?!" She asks with wide eyes.

"Had an older sister growing up, f'course 've seen Gossip Girl- s'a good one" He smiles.

"You keep surprising me Styles"

"Why's that?" He laughs.

"First it's the blue kitchen, then it's the FaceTime calls and now Gossip Girl"

"Wha's wrong with FaceTime?"

"Nothing, just pegged you as a message kinda man"

"Well you know what they say" He grins and she nods.

"Never judge a book by its cover" Nina says at the same time as Harry says, "Don't eat yellow snow" making her burst out in laughter.

"I see what you did there" She smiles.

"Goodnight N, I'll see you tomorrow" He waves and again, he has her smiling (which honestly she hasn't stopped since they started chatting)

"Sweet dreams" She says as he hangs up.

The next morning is crazy. Harry wakes up late and he never wakes up late. On the other hand, Nina is up the whole night planning the launch of her brand after someone messed up the dates of the release, so she's awake bright and early to resume her work. However, when 9:45am rolls around, both are frantically trying to get their shit together before they go out.

Harry's just about sprinting around his bedroom trying to get ready so that he can leave in time to get to Nina's on time and ends up throwing on two different coloured socks, a random pair of pants and a jumper he thinks he's had since high school.

In her apartment, Nina rushes a shower, ends up leaving her hair wet after washing it, throws on a dress (which is a bad move in October) and just about gets a coat of mascara on her lashes before her doorbell rings at 10am sharp.

A sigh of relief (more like exhaustion) is released by the both of them as Nina opens her front door. Nina just lets out an exhausted chuckle when she takes in the very similar expression on Harry's face of franticness and lets him into her home.

"I look a mess" She states and he shakes his head.

"I wouldn't call it a mess" She smacks his arm playfully, "but I would suggest you change into something a bit warmer, after all it is October"

"Do you mind?" She asks with a grimace, "I've just been working the whole morning and didn't wanna be late so I just threw whatever on"

"Of course not- I'll wait here" He smiles, "trying desperately not to worry about what I look like"

"Nonsense, you look-" She takes a moment to take in his appearance- a cozy cream knit jumper, a pair of brown pants, converse, messy hair and a lazy smile on his face "Cozy, you look very very cozy" She finishes and he chuckles.

"M'taking that as a compliment"

"Definitely is" She shouts back from her bedroom as she changes into a similar outfit. "The fashion world will go mad for it, I already see the headlines. Harry Styles, the football magician, looks like pure dreaminess as he takes his lazily dressed girlfriend out for Sunday brunch" She says in a posh accent and he just laughs, sitting down on her (comfortable) couch.

"Lemme give it a go" He takes a second to think, "The extremely beautiful and talented Nina Matthews, spotted with her boringly dressed boyfriend who doesn't care about his looks"

"Change it to extremely boringly dressed boyfriend and you've got a headline my friend" She trails back into her living room, pulling a boot onto her foot while trying not to fall. "Ready to go?" She asks and he stands up, huffs out a breath and nods.

"To the tube we go" He says and she chuckles.

"I cannot wait to see this" She says as she grabs her purse and everything she needs before following him out of her apartment, locking it behind her before they stroll down the street to the tube station.

The whole experience has her laughing. From Harry not having an Oyster card and having to pay for a ticket to him sitting (uncomfortably) next to a man who has not stopped staring at him and every part in between and after. Throughout the ride, obvious to the pair, people were taking pictures of the two very famous people riding the tube and Nina knows the pictures will be everywhere even before they step out of the tube station.

"M'proud of you" Nina chuckles as they walk out of the tube station.

"Thank you, it was extremely rough" He says dramatically and she shoves him playfully. "So how far is this walk?" He asks.

"About five minutes" She says, "and there are the paparazzi" She points out discreetly to a group of three or four men across the street from them with cameras. "Fran must've told em we'd be here"

"That's the point of this innit?" He states and she shrugs. "Should we hold hands or something?" He asks and she chuckles.

"Would you like to hold my hand?" She offers dramatically and he rolls his eyes playfully at her, grabbing her hand in his and walking side by side quietly for a few moments.

"I've always liked holding hands with someone" She pipes up.

"Yea?" He asks.

"S'like a way to stay connected to a person without being too overly affectionate. Used to hold everyone's hands" She chuckles at herself, "honestly I still do"

"M'not a big hand holder" He states and she frowns.

"Why not? Do you not like it?" She asks.

"S'not that, I actually really like it" He says, "I think my exes weren't fond of the whole hand holding thing, always said my hands were too cold or that my hands are too big"

"That's mean of them, I think your hands are the perfect temperature" She says, "plus, big hands are always the best to hold, makes mine feel tiny and protected"

"Good" he hums. The remainder of their walk is spent in comfortable silence.

Nina can't help but think about how quickly it took her to feel comfortable around Harry. Granted, Nina warms up to people fairly quickly normally, but being comfortable around someone is different, she's comfortable with herself and never finds herself changing who she is to impress Harry or be someone she isn't.

Harry feels the same. Although, the difference is that he has stopped warming up to people without getting to know them properly first. So him being so comfortable around Nina already, means something to him.

It's weird, being so comfortable with someone that you've known for less than a week. Think about it, they've seen each other a total of 4 times in person and have had 2 phone calls, FaceTimes at that (which are a bit more personal than a normal phone call). So within those 4 meetings and 2 calls, they have each found comfort in the other. Pretty big.

And yet, the rules still apply, it is strictly friendship for the pair.

Brunch goes well. Nina ends up ordering for Harry, claiming to know what's best and what he will enjoy from the restaurant (and he absolutely loves what she ordered for him). They both end up drinking quite a few mimosas, leaving them both buzzed as they leave the restaurant and walk to Nina's apartment which is a 45 minute walk.

"Alright, what's your biggest pet peeve?" Nina asks Harry, initiating their game of 21 questions.

"Um I'd say fake people" He says.

"Nobody likes fake people Harry" Is Nina's rebuttal and he chuckles "A pet peeve is like not liking the sound of people chewing or people that are or hating how some people talk"

"Alright alright" He chuckles. "I really hate it when people don't put their phones on silent when they're typing and they're in public"

"So the tapping of the keyboard?" She says, "that's not a bad one" She adds.

"What's yours?" He asks.

"Not how 21 questions works! You can't ask me the same question" She protests, "c'mon H, be creative here"

"Okay okay, what about" He takes a moment to think, "What's your favourite song?" He asks.

"Good question" She hums, "probably Ribs by Lorde" She says, "huge Lorde fan"

"Surprising" He smiles. "Your turn"

"Favourite movie?"

"Easy, Love Actually" He answers quickly.

"Interesting, thought you'd say some football movie or something"

"The point of this game is to learn new things about each other" He points out and she nods.

"Good point. Go for it"

"How many boyfriends have you had?" He asks.

"Random question H" She chuckles, "but I've had two- just Nick and my high school boyfriend. What is the worst date you've ever been on?" She asks.

"Good question" He takes a beat to think before answering, "I once went out with someone my sister set me up with through a friend of hers, I don't really know how it came about but the girl I went out with was very clearly not into me" He chuckles at the memory. "I had fetched her in my nicest car, hoping to impress, wore my best outfit and everything but the minute she stepped out of her apartment, she rolled her eyes at me and I heard her scoff under her breath about how I was a typical footballer. She kept saying things throughout the night about how much she hates footballers and never dates them but I was just sitting there like an idiot, not knowing what to say. Safe to say, never went out with her again"

"That's awful" She grimaces, "Mine don't even come close to that"

"Well now I really wanna know your stories" He pouts.

"Nope, different question buddy" She smiles teasingly.

"Um what's the worst and best job you've ever done?" He asks.

"Within modelling?" She asks and he nods. "I've loved shooting for my brand, which seems pretty obvious but it's been incredible being able to make my vision come to life every step of the way you know?" He smiles at that answer. "And my worst has to be when I modelled for a lingerie company and they basically shot me nude. It was awful, the photographer was so horrible, just shouting random things at me and eventually, for the first and last time ever since, I walked away halfway through"

"Good on ya for leaving though" He praises her, "not many people are strong enough to do it. Have you had many experiences like that? Rude photographers and tha'" He asks.

"I haven't had many but there have been a few when I didn't feel so comfortable. The lingerie shoot was the last time I felt uncomfortable, promised myself after that to never put myself in that situation no matter what" She shrugs.

"M'sorry you had to go through those shoots in the first place. I had heard loads of stories about this kind of thing but had never heard it directly. It sucks"

"It does" She nods sadly, recalling all the horrid photoshoots she had done in her career. "And don't think I didn't notice the two questions in a row Styles." He chuckles.

They go on like this for a while, back and forth asking each other questions about their lives. The pair enjoying getting to know each other through the silly little game of 21 questions. By the time they reach her home, they've most definitely gone over 21 questions but they never stopped.

"Brunch was wonderful, thank you" Nina says to Harry when he stops at his car.

"Thank you for showing me the restaurant, you're right it was delicious" He says and she smiles.

"I'll see you soon, yea?" She says and he nods.

"F'course. I'll call you?"

"In the contract, Mr Styles"

"Oh god" Harry rolls his eyes with a chuckle.

[guigz1-coldwar]

'It's all improvisation' : Chapter 28 of "Fighting Spirit of a Once Innocent Girl"is out !

Summary :

Samantha & Helen are landing in another universe to find out about Monty's real location.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

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I never thought that we will be able to get out of Cuba alive but we can thanks only Nikolai for that and it became so important to me to give him my thanks. He saved us from our inevitable deaths and allowed us to continue in our mission instead of been captured and maybe killed if Omega's forces arrived minutes later while no one came to check our status. He brought us to a secret island in the middle of nowhere where he has built a house, identical to the old House I was living during my young with Eddie.....and Monty.

Nikolai told me the truth I never expected : for all these times, behind the mask Perseus was using.....it was Eddie all along. The only friend that was so close to me, the one person that was playing with me in my childhood.....was in fact my enemy I've been tracking down for months. It was Eddie's body but it was Monty who were controlling it. Eddie was trapped inside his own body and I will do anything to get Eddie back in control and then, I will kill Monty myself like I promised years ago.

Monty was the person I was hating the most in this now entire multiverse, along with Adler, Requiem and the Omega Group. I started to think that once we come back to West-Berlin in our universe, we will need to tell them about the truth of the fight we are making against Perseus. For the finals moments, our differences must be step aside as we need to fight together if we want to stop Monty from achieving his ultimate plans to destroy Europe and to put his world and maybe in the future the others universes into the Dark Aether.

We needed to get back to West-Berlin before Lazar take everyone to Monty fake location because of his state of been mind-controlled but unfortunately, we have to face another problem from that : we have no clues or any leads that could have helped us to discover the real base of Monty as everyone who could have give us that info were either dead or missing : Peck was beheaded by Monty & Valentina....I killed her. Those two must have know that info but now, they can't help us as they are fully dead.

However, even if Nikolai also didn't know of Monty's real location, he know exactly what we can do to have our answers and to be honest, me & Helen couldn't believe of what we were going to do to make that happen. Nikolai presented to us the Multiverse that was created when the old one was banished in the Dark Aether and showed to us that all of these universes were sharing a comoon point : Perseus's threat existed but very different of our universe, there were no Dark Aether on these universes for the moment.

Nikolai reassured to us that the location Perseus is hiding is always the same place around the multiverse including us. He decided that to get our responses, we will have to travel into another universe to talk with an woman called 'Bell', a name shared by a lot of differents people and also facing the same situation : working with Adler against Perseus. We had to agreed because it was our only way for us. Once we were ready, Nikolai created for us an portal leading to that particular universe. Me & Helen joined hands and then we crossed the portal.

That little travel didn't last so long as after at least 10 seconds, we arrived into that universe......the portal was located in a hidden place around big trees as we stepped in this universe. Once we were fully in, the portal closed meaning that we had to find our answers until Nikolai created another one to get us back. I started to look around to check our surroundings.

"It's feels weird." I started, having the impression that we shouldn't be here as I was feeling cold, the air in that place was cold because it was night.

"We are really into that universe ?" Helen couldn't believe that, looking at me "Or we're back at West-Berlin ?" She added, recognizing the place and me too

"You are arrived in your destination." We could hear Nikolai's voice in our heads, he said he was going to guide us in our task, helping us with the necessary.

"So, it's too late to back down, right ?" Helen asked, smirking

"Exactly !" I replied with an smile "Nikolai, where are we ?"

"You're not far from the same safehouse you're using in West-Berlin." He said, sounding sure of himself "Join the place and find a good place to hide near its main entrance."

"Understood." Helen nodded before leading the way forwards and I followed her.

We walked for a while until we can finally have the safehouse in sight, the same one like in our universe. Nothing was weird about it as we got closer but then, we could spot.....another Helen leaned against the garage door, awaiting for something. It was the other Helen from that universe and I could see that my Helen were shocked to see herself, same as me. We couldn't let ourselves be spotted by her so we needed to find a better place to hide.

Nikolai guided us and adviced us to get on the rooftop of the safehouse to have a better look on the surroundings but also inside as there were a part of the ceilling where we could be able to look inside and also hear what they can said. For climbing on that rooftop, we decided to use our powers and it was much easy than to use the pipe. Helen was amazed when she started to levitate too, showing to me that she was like me and I think she start to like it too.

Once we were on the rooftop, we decided to stay hidden, keeping a look to the main entrance as the other Helen was still awaiting against the garage door. Helen was intrigued on something,

"She has the same clothes as me." She thought, her hand on her chin "Nikolai, how did you succeed to have my clothes ?" She asked to him in our head

"Powers." He simply said.

"Wait, you said that you were wearing the same clothes when we found each other again." I started, looking at Helen "Does that mean....."

"The date is the February 24th 1981." Nikolai replied, cutting me short

"Is that normal ?" Helen started to ask "We're in another universe and back in time ?"

"Yes." Nikolai muttered "It was the only date where you could have your answer without having any much troubles." He added

"I understand what you mean." I told him with an smile before Helen gestured to me,

"Someone's coming." She said as we heard a car arriving at the safehouse. We lied down in cover as the people get out of the car : we could see Russell Adler and our person in interest, I could say.

"Bell, welcome to West-Berlin." Adler started, taking something in his pocket, a cigarette and lighting it before looking back at Bell "We have a job to do !" Both then arrived near their Helen who knocked two times on the door as a signal to open it "Park."

"Adler." She said, harshly, taking a bag that was just at her feets before looking at Bell "Bell." This time, she was sounding more happy with her than with him.....Guess that it's a common thing in every universe. The trio then enter the safehouse, the door staying open and we decided to join the part where we could observe everyone inside : it was weird to see Lazar normally and different now.

"Okay, everyone, gather up." Adler exclaimed, gesturing to everyone to come near the same dashboard at the same place as in our universe. "You all know why we're here today : we have been asked to track a soviet spy we called 'Perseus'." He started before smoking his cigarette "However, our leads against him are very limited and we only have this as our only lead." He put his hand on a file that was on his desk, the same I have decrypted.

"Our analysts in the MI6 and those in the CIA weren't able to decypher that file meaning....." Their Helen added, joining the briefing

"Meaning that we have to revisit an old ops from 13 years ago." Adler cut her straight, I could see anger on Helen on the ground and next to me.

"Damn, doc', you're talking about Vietnam and 'Fracture Jaw' ?" Sims asked and Adler nodded

"It's our only lead and Bell will help us." He said, looking at her

"I will but....I think I need some moments to think about it and to install myself here." Bell told him, we could see an worried on Adler's face before he gain back an straight face

"Okay, it's fine." Adler sighed "The others, free time until Bell is cleared to talk about it." He ordered, meaning the end of that little briefing as everyone goes in their separate ways : Bell decided to go in the dorm as their Helen was back outside. We decided to move next to the cover we used to have a view on the entrance as we saw Adler joining their Helen who started to smoke.

"What do you want, Adler ?" She asked to him in a hard tone, hearing him arrive

"I wanted to make things clear, Park." He said, concerned "With Bell, we all need to stay an simple team."

"Why ?" She told him, sounding surprised

"You know well that Bell is someone we need to watch closely, remember ?" He was sounding so clear in his voice like everything was normal as me & Helen were wondering what was the deal with Bell. "I'm asking you to not be acting like best friends with her, it's not because you put her in the MI6 that you had to stick together with her as the only women around."

"Is this a problem for you ?" She said, raising an eyebrow "She's an human being, it's not my fault if you can't see things normally. I can thanks Lazar to think the same along me."

"Tell what you want to say." He clenched his fists "But my orders stay clear : with Bell, it's only professional. Lazar got the same thing from me."

"What did he say about it ?" She asked, not looking at him anymore

"That he will think about it." He replied and she smiled at him

"Then you have my answer : I will think about it." She said to him, smirking, he rolled his eyes in desesperation before walking inside the safehouse, leaving her alone "Douchebag !" She whispered, enough to be hear by us. Yeah, she's right about him.

Once their little discussion were done, me & Helen decided to leave that rooftop by the same way we got on it to join the ground level. When we were back on the same level, we walked to get to a hidden location but we saw their Helen was staying outside and unfortunately, we needed to find a way to get in.

"I guess that now, it's all improvisation ?" I whispered to Helen, she nodded.

"We need to think about getting me....Well, her away from the place." She said, looking at herself

"I know what you're thinking : you want to take her place but I need to get in too." I exclaimed, finding out about the plan we were making along our mission. "And we got something to deal with." I pointed to our purples eyes, showing that we can be spotted with that

"Don't worry about this." Nikolai said to us as we started to feel something inside our pockets, we checked it out to find some glasses and when we put them on, I could see that our real eyes color were hidden : her purple right eye were back to her former blue as for me, my eyes were also back to blue.....just to the other views.

"Thanks but we need to find something for the other Helen." I said before I feel something new again in my pockets, I checked it again and this time, I had two creditentials cards in my hand : one with an fake MI6 identity and the other.....were an real one and marked to be affiliated to the CIA. "Seriously ?" I sighed

"I'm sorry, Samantha but you need to improvise for now while I'm still helping around." Nikolai said, sounding sorry

"And what now ?" Helen asked to me.

"Let me take care of it, I'll give you the signal when I'm done with yourself." I smirked at the end, giving her a kiss on the forehead and making her blush before I walked away to join the road, fainting that I have just arrived by walk at this safehouse.

I was so stressed out about this as I was about to talk to Helen but not the one I know meaning that I have to talk to her like I was not knowing her at all. I decide to use my fake MI6 identity card for that as she wasn't sounding so pleased while talking to people inside the CIA. Before I was at her sight, I took a deep breath behind a cover before letting the game begin. I got out of the cover, walking towards her,

"Agent Park ?" I asked sure of myself as I was walking towards her

"Yes." She looked at me worried "Who are you ?" She added, raising an eyebrow

"Julie Nathanson." I replied showing her the fake MI6 card. "MI6"

"Oh, I'm surprised to see a friendly face from the MI6." She said, sounding relieved and throwing her cigarette at her feets "That change from Adler."

"Is there something wrong ?" I asked, sounding worried

"Just the job, things that are preoccupying me a lot." She grinned a little before looking at me "Why are you here ?"

"I'm here because the director will like to see you." I responded, not even sure of my own answer

"The director ?" She leaned backwards "He's here ?"

"Yes, he's in West-Berlin and he asked me to give that info." I said, lying more further

"Where exactly ?" She asked as in my head, I was rapidly trying to find an answer and I had to improvise quickly. I took the first answer I had.

"Sunny Diner." I exclaimed "An typical american diner in the outskirts of the city."

"I see where the place is." She got away from the wall "I suppose that he want to meet me in a matter of time, right ?" I nodded "Well, it's better that I'm on my way." She started to walk to get next to a car parked next to the entrance before looking at me "You came by walking ?" She asked me, curious about how I came

"Yes, a little exercise can help." I smiled at her, wondering about her next question "Don't worry, someone will pick me up soon, I will stay here for a moment and I will be on my very own way."

"Ok, then." She entered the car, removing her suspicious look "Thank you, agent Nathanson. Just watch out and stay out of the safehouse, it's an big advice." She started the car before driving away from the place.

I was so relieved and feeling weird to have done that but it was necessary. Once she was far away, I looked at the direction Helen was hiding and gestured her to join me, hidden just next to the garage door as we needed to talk about our next part of our improvised plan. We disposed off their Helen and now, improvisation is all we were making. Helen arrived next to me, seeing my worried look and she was half laughing about it because of me talking to her without been her actually.

"How it was ?" She asked me

"Hard." I simply said before thinking of the next part "Now, you will see how it feels."

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes "But you're coming with me, I will make the presentation with Adler, I presume."

"We are improvising our entire plan, Helen." I exclaimed to her "We're just maybe at a few meters from having our answers....and we will have to be fast in case."

"Of course." She redressed herself before taking a deep breath "Let's go play my own role." She then opened the way inside the safehouse as I decided to follow her like we said. I was so nervous about this as I could see Lazar....the other Lazar looking at me strangely. Adler was looking at the dashboard when he heard arrived near him.

"Park." He started to said before he turned his back to look at us.....and then, he leaned backwards at my sight, looking so curious and suspicious. "Who is this ?"

"Samantha Maxis, CIA" I offered my hand to him but he was still suspicious, he looked at Park,

"I was clear that I don't accept anymore new agents in the team." He told her clearly, pointing his hand towards me

"Damnit, can you just be normal for once ?" Helen said, taking the same style as the other Helen "She can help us."

"I never heard of you, miss Maxis." He affirmed, looking sure of himself and I needed to improvise

"That's my speciality, Russell Adler." I crossed my arms, smiling at him "I know you well but you don't know me and I think it's better that way." I raised an eyebrow to show him that I wasn't scared of him "I can tell a lot of things about you, things that Park don't know."

"Well, you convinced me." He retracted himself, wanting to not have a complete stranger to talk about his life before he go sit at his desk "So, you're working with the CIA ?"

"Exactly." I replied

"In which department ?" He asked

"Classified information but we used to be call 'Requiem'." My answers caused Helen to look at me with wide eyes....I needed to not get suspicious and I wasn't sure if it was my proudest move I have done here

"Requiem, I supposed that they are very secret." He looked at Park "Why is she here ?"

"She can help with....uhm...Bell." Helen replied, looking around "She's specialized in the type of things we did and she can help Bell to stay focused."

"A woman specialized in brainwashing." He whispered, biting his lips, looking at his desk as me & Helen looked at each other with wide eyes, Did they really brainwashed this Bell ? "I think you want to know more about Bell, right ?" I nodded to his question "You can find her file and what we did back in the archive room in the back next to Lazar workplace." He looked at the supposed place before looking back at us "Just be aware that you need to take it easy with Bell, she's an valuable asset."

"I will do my best." I said before he ordered to dismiss from him. Me & Helen were so relieved that it worked despite everything was against us.

We quickly walked to the archive room and we unlocked the door of it because someone to block it with an padlock. We didn't need to insert an code before I used my strenght to destroy the padlock silently and then we entered the supposed archive room, thinking now about where these files this Adler talked to us were. The room was filled with so many box that we needed to check every one of them and Helen has to help me even if she was supposed to know the place well.

After 5 longs minutes of searching, we finally found the files in questions and a part of our answers about Bell : they named her Jess Blackwell and put her inside the MI6 after Arash Kadivar.....left them for dead in Trabzon. Unfortunately, Helen was getting so bad when we discovered the file, she was seeing that their Park participed in Bell's brainwashing but I recomfort her quickly, knowing that I know well that she will never do something like that and that she was likely forced to do so.

We checked everything that were on the file and once we were done, we put them back to place and we needed now to think about what to do now next.

"So, now that we know everything about Bell, what's the next part ?" I asked

"You could try to corner her in an isolated place in the safehouse and make her talk." Nikolai came back to help us, advicing us.

"But she was brainwashed." Helen said, looking outside the room

"You can use your powers but Samantha will need to do it." Nikolai told us "You will need to use the key-phrase Adler is using to be able to find out." Helen started to wonder around trying to find out what it could be because there were nothing in the files talking about a key-phrase.....until I found out what was the phrase.

"We have a job to do !" I whispered, guessing the phrase "He's using that phrase everytime even in our universe."

"She's right : I just checked that info and Adler seems to use that key-phrase a lot in the Multiverse." Nikolai added, giving some smile to Park.

"Now with that answer, we need to find an way to corner Bell." Helen looked at me and I looked at her

"The dorm." I exclaimed "She's still in there, right ?" She nodded "Okay, once she got out, we get to her and we got her back into that room." I got away from the desk I was leaned against "Then, we are getting our answer." When I was finished, we hear a door opening and Helen checked where was the noise, it was the door of the dorm opening and Bell was getting out.

"Okay, let's go." Helen ordered me to follow her as she got out of the room to join Bell. It was time for us to have what we need. Helen decided that it was better to be the one who talk first. Bell just arrived at the desk that supposed to hers when Helen arrived next to her. "Bell, you're okay ?" She asked first

"Uhm....I'm okay, I guess." Bell replied, worried

"You're sure ? You're looking pale." Helen said as we could see Bell's face getting all white

"I...I think I need to get back to the dorm, I feel like I can't talk about Vietnam." She said as Helen put her hands on her shoulders "I think I need a coffee." Helen put her hand in Bell's back before looking at me.

"Samantha, can you prepare a coffee for Bell ?" She ordered me, winking that it was our shot but I needed to make sure that we weren't going to be too suspicious. I nodded as Helen was walking with Bell back to the dorm, leaving me alone.

I decided to comply to her order and to walk next to the coffee machine that was at the same spot in our universe. I took a cup and prepare the coffee. While the coffee was getting ready, I looked around the safehouse : it was feeling so weird to be in the same place but in another universe. Somehow, I could have feel Greta & Yirina presence next to me and I really hope that they're okay and not in danger. I was wondering if they were having some powers like us and that was an question I was going to ask to Nikolai when we will back at the new House.

It was weird to see Lazar like that, he was normal but it was weird. I was thinking about how this Lazar was feeling about Bell and according to what we heard with Helen between their Adler and their Helen, he was getting in the same line as her. He's still a good man for me but Monty mind-controlled him, I hope that we can save him from Monty's control if we can do it....like I want to save Eddie. Adler was somehow still acting the same in that universe : dangerous and paranoid.....like in every universe, I think.

But then, a vision of horror came when I saw their Helen return from that supposed meeting, causing me to turn my back to the entrance. When I saw her, she was walking towards Adler's desk. I couldn't move of fear.

"Park.....but....I thought you were already inside the safehouse !" Adler exclaimed, having saw her.

"What are you talking about ?" She said, concerned in an harsh tone "I just came back here."

"What do you mean ? You were gone ?" Adler told her as I could hear him getting up from his chair.

"Yeah, an MI6 agent came in, saying that I needed to meet with the MI6 director and I just came back because there were nobody." She admitted as I hoped that she was not going to see me

"Well, I can't help you with that." He laughed, joking about her and forgetting everything before taking a seat again "By the way, how's your CIA friend Samantha Maxis ?"

"Who ?" She said in a questioning tone "I don't know any Samantha Maxis !"

"Aw shit !" I whispered to myself silently

I realized that I was going to blow my cover by staying here like an idiot but I couldn't run away without Helen and without having our answer. We have gone far and I couldn't foiled our mission. I looked behind me as I saw Adler and their Helen slowly looking at me. I had no other choice right now. I needed to walk fast inside the dorm without looking back. I took a last look around me and I started to walk as fast as I can to the dorm as I could hear Adler calling me out. I couldn't stop walking and I changed my mind as I start to run towards the dorm.

I opened the door quickly to the dorm where I could see Bell and Helen next to the bed which I suppose to be Bell's one. Once I was in, I closed the door.

"What's wrong ?" Helen asked me as she could see my perfect worried face "Oh no..." She said, slowly guessing the situation

"You came back and they're going to be here soon." I replied, still holding the door

"Who came back ?" Bell asked, curious before Helen get next to her, her hands on her shoulders,

"Listen, Bell." She started "You need to help us."

"What's the problem with me ?" Bell said, looking confused but we couldn't hide it anymore, Helen removed her glasses, showing at Bell, her eyes,

"We need you to be cooperative." She pleaded before removing her hands "We need something from you."

"Samantha, I blocked the door, they're not able to open it until you will be both away from here." Nikolai told me, allowing me to get away from the door and to join the two. "Bell, we want to help you but we need your help first."

"Park, who is she ?" Bell looked at Helen, worried

"You don't need to worry, she will help you, we will." Helen added before she let me get in front of Bell to check the door, I removed my glasses, showcasing my eyes to Bell.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you but only to help." I said, getting close to Bell,

"What do you want ?" She asked me as she sit on her bed, scared but willing to let me help her

"I need you....to close your eyes and let me do what I need to do, okay ?" I replied and she nodded, still scared. She closed her eyes as I put two fingers of each hands on her both forehead sides. I could feel getting inside her head. "Okay, relax and stay focused." She nodded, looking like she wanted to cry and then, I took a deep breath and my eyes went fully purple.....

"Bell, we have a job to do !"

When I told her that, she was showing signs of resist but then, she started to stabilize herself, letting me doing what I needed to do. I could see her memories.....her real memories, not those Adler gave to her. The first real memory I could see was when she was left for dead at Trabzon, I could relive that memory inside her body as she was shot 3 times by Kadivar. She was looking troubled because she was living that memory too and some tears appeared on her face but she was staying focused.

Then, I could see others memories of her getting tortured by the CIA. Tied up on a chair and beaten up by Adler but it wasn't always like that, Helen was there too but she was always talking nice with her and never gave her an punch or anything else to brutalize her. Their Helen was so kind to Bell and she was having feeling for her and it was reciprocal. Bell smiled at seeing those memories with Helen but angry when it was the CIA. She was realizing that she wasn't really an MI6 agent and that she was brainwashed, making her cry.

I told her to stay focused, holding back my own tears as she wasn't deversing that at all, she was very kind and I can't let her suffer enough. Then, I could see myself in her body, attending an meeting with.....Perseus himself, unmasked. There were also others members from Perseus group : Volkov, Arash Kadivar and others persons that I didn't know the identity but no signs of Peck or Valentina since they have no links with Perseus in that universe. Perseus was talking but then, everything come to black for me as for Bell, she was still feeling it.

"Bell, you're okay ?" I asked worried, not removing my fingers

"I'm....okay." She replied in a low voice

"Did you hear what Perseus fully said ?" I told her and she nodded "Where's Perseus ?" She opened her eyes, looking at me with tears and she smiled.....

"From the safety......of Solovetsky."

It....it was the answer we've been looking for : the real location Monty was going to be. Nikolai was clear about that subject : in every universe, Perseus is always at the same location. I looked at Bell who smiled before getting pale again and falling on the bed, weak. I tried to not make her fall but it was too late, she was too weak to move but she could still speak and look at me.

"It's going to be okay, Bell." I told her

"You're sure ?" She asked, putting all of her strenght in it

"Don't worry, we will make sure of that !" I said with an smile. "Nikolai, it's done." When I finished, we could hear the beginning of a formation of an portal at the end of the room. "Take some rest, it will be okay." I admitted before I started to walk away, getting next to Helen who were awaiting for me as the portal was fully there.

"How're you feeling ?" Helen asked to me, worried

"I don't know, I wish that we could help her more about her true self." She then handed over her hand and we both joined hands together.

"I'm sure that we will do it, Sam." She affirmed before looking at the portal "Ready, Sammy ?" Then back at me with lovely eyes, her right one brighting at my sight. I could only smile at seeing her, knowing that she always the truth to me,

"I am, Sapphire. It's time to go home."

[ineedrelationshipadvice]

So I cant remember if I already sent this or just gave up on typing it, but im sending thus just for good measure. My partner and I have been together for like 6-7 years and lately ive been feeling like were better off as friends, at least for awhile....... We're each other first relationship and while ive always seen ua getting married and raising children together, im now feeling like I want to be able to experiment and be with other people before I settle down so young. He says im his whole world so I dont wanna break his heart, but also its not fair to him that im not giving this relationship my all at this point. What should I do?

This is a hard question to answer, because the thing you're asking for is not an easy thing to acquire. After doing this for so long, I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as "a break." I've never liked "taking a break," and have only grown stronger in that opinion. This is because I've never seen a "break" work out.

A thing to think about earnestly is that "taking a break" is synonymous with "breaking up." It causes the same damage to a relationship as breaking up; it comes with all the same effects, except with an added dash of confusion and frustration. So you need to start thinking about your decision less in terms of "taking a break," and more in terms of breaking up with your partner.

That might sound intimidating, and that's what I want to impress upon you. You are dabbling with an intimidating idea. You essentially want to end your relationship indefinitely, and date around with other people instead, rather than holding the line and staying together. That's a big deal.

This is why I use the phrase "you can't unring that bell." Imagine a town with a belltower; when the bell rings, the entire town knows there is an emergency, and responds accordingly. You're responsible for that bell; you determine when it rings. But if you ring the bell, there's no taking that decision back; the whole town is going to react as if it is life or death. So if you realize you rang the bell, but it's a false alarm... well, there are no false alarms, only alarms and mistakes.

You can't make people unhear the alarm, so make sure you only ring that bell right when it needs to be rang.

Only end a relationship if you know there is no other option.

So, what are your options? Your main goal in taking a break here is to "experiment." That's certainly an option you can take, and nobody would shame you for it. But also remember that if you end your relationship, your partner can also move on and "experiment" with as many people as he wants. Are you okay with that reality? If so, then maybe breaking up is a good option still.

You could also consider a open relationship; you remain together, and committed to one another, but open up the relationship to dating and other such affairs outside of the relationship. This is a way of maintaining the structure, but just ditching the monogamy. Your partner might not like this; if they signed up for a monogamous relationship, they may reject the notion of you wanting to see other people. It's a concern, but it is an option. Alternatively, remember that if you both agree to an open relationship, that means that he is ALSO allowed to see other people while dating you. You can't get mad at him if he also wants to move on and have some fun with the newfound boundaries of the relationship.

The other thing to ask yourself is why you want to experiment with other people? Is it because you're bored of your current relationship? Is it because you don't feel romance for your partner any more? Is it because you have other people you're interested in and want to experiment with? All of these are valid answers, but you need to really drill down and try to figure out where this decision is coming from so that you can act appropriately.

Furthermore, have you had this conversation with your partner yet? Not ending the relationship, but letting him know that the relationship is lacking in romance; that you feel like friends more than lovers? You've had days, weeks, maybe months to ponder this idea; but your partner could be completely clueless, and have no idea that there's even a problem occurring in the first place. Make sure you have open lines of communication regarding this issue, and making sure he's aware of what's coming before you blindside him with some serious news.

Either way, just make sure you know what you're getting into before you actually propose a break like this. Don't take it lightly, because if you end this relationship, you shouldn't have any expectation you'll be able to get it back when your experimentations have finished. Assume it's the end, hard stop, and deal with the rest as it comes.