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#but can’t talk shit on the clock in front of customers (or our manager who would light us on fire if she heard)
tonycries · 5 months
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Whiskey, Neat, With a Side of You - T.F.
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Synopsis. When your date stands you up, you’re lucky that the hot bartender is more than happy to keep you company! 
Pairing. Bartender! Toji Fushiguro x Reader
Content. MDNI, fem! reader, strangers to lovers, unprotected, pússydrunk Toji, cúmplay, oral (female + male receiving), créampie, some heinous things with pantíes, dirty talk, spitting, whískey, neither are drunk, absolutely filthy, pet names (doll), swearing.
Word count. 4.6k
A/N. Was originally gonna be Nanami but Toji mmmm
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“So, that date of yours is late, huh?”
You don’t know what shocks you more - the question, or the voice from behind the counter - so very deep, tinged with just a bit of amusement.
Tearing your eyes away from the clock at the other end of the bar, it takes a second - and one look around the almost-empty room - for you to realize that shit the hot bartender was talking to you. Sputtering out a quick, “Oh, yes, um-” quickly reading that faded nametag, “-Toji. He’s a bit late.”
The man in front of you raises a brow, dark green eyes locked on the way you shift in your seat. He seemed a bit older, and - you gulp, eyeing the way his arms flex as he fumbles with the shaker - so undeniably attractive. Plowing on obliviously, “Boyfriend?”  
You sigh, pinching your nose, “No, some guy from a dating app. It’s supposed to be our first date.” 
“First date?” Toji lets out a low whistle. “Way to make an impression, dunno what type of asshat would keep a pretty lil’ thing like you waiting.”
Cheeks flaring, you don’t know what it is about him that makes you want to defend yourself, but it doesn’t matter anyway - because whatever rambled excuse gets stuck in your throat at the sharp scrape of glass against the counter. Large hands gently placing a pretty pink daiquiri in front of you, Toji gives you a reassuring nod. “S’on the house till that dumbass shows up. Until then, you can keep me company, doll.”
Playing with the straw between your fingers, your eyes flit to the clock again - 8:10pm.
Well, there was still time. Right? 
Nonsense, maybe.
Because it’s around 10:21pm when you conclude that no, there really wasn’t still time, and your date seemed well and fully intent on completely embarrassing you. And now, him still nowhere in sight, lips a bit looser, you were having the time of your life complaining all about it to Toji.
“-no, I swear.” you groan over his low chuckle. “He really gave me the ‘sorry, my dog ate my keys’ gem. And you know the best part?” Beckoning him over to whisper conspiratorially in his ear - heart stuttering at the heat of his proximity, “The man doesn’t even own a dog.”
Shaking his head, Toji seemed like he was drinking in your every word. “Classic. If yer gonna be late, at least make it interesting. Like, ‘I accidentally joined the circus on the way here.’”
“Mhm, I’ll have to keep that in mind for my next no-show date.” you grin, suddenly feeling a lot lighter than you were a few hours ago. Nowhere near tipsy, but definitely high off the conversation and the addictive scent of his cologne - the expensive kind that left you wondering whether all of him smelled this delicious. 
“Or better yet, you could spend your time with someone who actually knows how to keep you entertained rather than some scrub.”
Snapping out of your little reverie, lifting your head just fast enough to catch the little smirk tugging Toji’s lips. Managing to grit out, “Smooth, huh?”
“Just sayin’.” he hums, before turning his back to organize the glasses on the shelf. And you can’t help but traitorously admire his broad shoulders, cursing that t-shirt for being so goddamn tight that you could see the way his muscles ripple with each movement. 
“Besides-” Catching the tail-end of Toji’s question, “-neat whiskey for all the failed dates?”
You chuckle, “Ah, I really shouldn’t, the other customers will probably-” your sentence dies in your throat as a quick glance at the empty room showed that everyone else had eventually left - leaving just you. And Toji. Damn. Slow day, huh?
“Well, doll?”
Heaving out a shaky breath, you nod. Eyes zoning in on the way he expertly handles the glasses, so dizzyingly inviting. It makes a sheepish smile play at your lips, letting out a quiet little, “Despite all the shitty dates, I’ve actually never had whiskey neat before.”
Oh? That made him pause. Eyes widening ever-so-slightly as he sets down the glasses and leans in a little closer, breath hot against your face. “Never?”
“Never.”
“Well.” Toji muses. “This overpriced shit can’t be your first intro to neat whiskey. If you’re up for it, I’ve got a special 1926 Macallan stashed away in the back n’ can get it for us?”
Oh. Maybe it was that slow, silent grin that curls his lips, that sinful little scar moving as he does. Or maybe it was the way he places a hand on the counter to stare down so heavily at you. Probably it was just him - because you find yourself batting your lashes so deceivingly innocently, “Or I could just go with you?”
And shit if there was ever a time where Toji was sure he met his match then it might just be right now. Because that sultry lil’ smirk on your lips was killing him, making such a carnal little part of him twitch so dangerously. With a heavy nod, you’re following him through the dimly lit bar.
The back room is more of a VIP room than anything - cozy, lined with shelves of alcohol and leather furniture. Heady with the liquor and something so so Toji. 
You’re halfway through reading the title of a wine you could barely pronounce before he’s letting out a grunt of satisfaction from behind you, “Excuse me, doll.” It’s all that’s said before Toji’s pressing up against you. His muscular arm just inches from your head, reaching for something from the very top shelf. And oh you could feel his abs rubbing up against your back, so warm and- 
And then he’s pulling away. 
It was quite hard to stomp down the disappointed whine that almost leaves your throat, and if you didn’t know any better you’d have said something about the amused little glint in his eyes. Smug bastard knew what he was doing. 
Instead focusing on the way he turns to show off a bottle with a deceivingly innocent reverence. “This is going to be a real treat.”
Well. Two can play that game.
“Is that so?” you tilt your head, reaching out to grab the bottle neck, with not as much care of concern as you should have considering this was a million dollar whiskey. Swiftly unclasping the lid, focused only on the way Toji’s breath hitches as you fist his t-shirt in your other hand to pull him close to you - so close.
Close enough that you could count every shade of green in those half-lidded eyes, long lashes fluttering as your breath fans his face. “Such a shame we didn’t bring our glasses, huh?”
Oh the devilish grin that splits across his face sends such delicious shivers down your spine - Toji gets your drift. Of course, he does. Because he’s squishing your cheeks together in an almost-embarrassing pout, fingers searing on your skin, lips ghosting yours, “Yeah, real shame.” 
Immediately bringing the bottle to his mouth, letting the burning liquid pool on his tongue, he spits into your mouth, once. Twice. 
A steady stream of whiskey, and spit. It tasted just like the acrid alcohol and sin. And Toji. 
And it was so messy, smearing across your lips and trickling down your chin. Tilting your head back, you let it flow down your throat obscenely. Locked in his greedy gaze as you loll your tongue out to show off the way you’d swallowed everything he gave. 
“Maybe I do like neat whiskey.”
And then he’s kissing you - and you’re kissing him because fuck Toji was intoxicating and just there. That little scar rubbing against your lips as he devours you so sloppily, all hard muscles and heated skin underneath your fingertips. 
“Fuck.” he hisses into your open mouth. Setting down the whiskey God-knows-where near the couch to pick you up like a ragdoll. Drinking in the cute lil’ gasp that leaves you as you wrap your legs around his slutty waist. Groping and kneading every inch of skin he could reach. “How ya likin’ the Macallan, doll?”
“A ‘real treat’.” you mimic his earlier words, voice slightly broken as you feel his rock-hard cock through your wet panties, throbbing angrily against your cunt. Fuck, would you even be able to take him all?
“Oh yeah?”
And before you can react you’re being pushed against the hard wall. Toji’s lips dizzying on yours, fiddling with that godforsaken clasp on the back of your tight dress. 
“Shit.” he groans impatiently, wedging a knee between your legs, grinding against your wet pussy. “Such a delicious meal all f’me but I’ve gotta get through this- fuckin-” rip! “-dress”
Well, you expected your dress to end up on the floor somewhere, just not like this - tattered and hitting the ground of this back room behind the bar, faster than your jaw. And so do Toji’s - pupils blown, eyes hooded as he takes in the heavenly view in front of him. 
Pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses down your neck, licking like he couldn’t stay away. “Shit, doll. You were gonna wear this pretty lil’ number for that loser?” he sounds genuinely confused. Immediately tweaking and rolling your swollen nipples through the sheer fabric. “M’so fucking glad that bastard doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.”
“T-Toji- ngh-” you mewl, as he lets your bra fall to the ground. Taking in one tit in his mouth, swirling his hot tongue around your areola. “Wan- wan’ more-”
“Now now,” he tuts mockingly, delicate strings of spit connecting him to your breasts. “S’rude to be the only one drinking. Unless…” Toji looks up at you through his thick lashes, “You wan’ me to drink in that pretty lil’ cunt of yours?”
And shit that sounded like everything you ever wanted right now. All you can let out is a delirious little nod before Toji’s dropping to his knees. So hard you wonder if it hurts - and maybe it’s the liquor, probably it’s the way he’s drunk off you - but he doesn’t give a fuck. 
“Yeah, atta girl.”
Pulling down your panties in one, fluid motion, he tugs them underneath your legs, disappearing between his own, fumbling with his waistband. And if you angled your head just right you could see the slightest glimpse of Toji fisting his cock. Soaking your already-wet panties with his precum.
“Aw, look at the way she’s so wet f’me already.” he coos at your dripping cunt. Absolutely obsessed with the way you��re so drenched for him already. Slick beading through the flimsy fabric at each hot breath, oh Toji has half the mind to just take you right here, right now. But no, he wanted- needed a taste. Doesn’t think he could live without it. “Wonder if she tastes just as sweet as she looks.”
Whatever retort on the tip of your tongue is cut off by Toji burying himself face-first in your pussy. Licking a long, languid stripe up your swollen folds, pooling your slick on his tongue. 
But it wasn’t enough - it might never be. Because one taste of your pretty cunt and Toji is hooked. 
With a low groan, he’s spitting a steady stream of spit onto your quivering pussy. Spreading it with his thumb before he’s diving back in nose-deep. Snaking a hand down to draw frenzied little circles on your swollen clit, letting your juices glisten all down his wrist.
“Taste s’fuckin’ good. Fucking sweet.” So hot and maybe you should’ve gotten an inkling with how sloppy he was with the whiskey - but Toji was so fucking filthy. Your slick glossing his face so prettily, smearing right up to his nose and dribbling down his chin. Lewd little squelches deafening in your ears. 
“Ngh- Sh-shut up-”
“Shut up? Can’t shut up, doll, m’drunk on this sweet cunt more than I am on whiskey.” he mutters into your folds. “My favorite taste. Got me addicted, huh?”
He huffs out a dark laugh into your pussy, taking in that cute lil’ embarrassed expression on your face. Throwing one of your legs over his sculpted shoulder, Toji bullies his soft tongue into your snug cunt, past that delicious little ring of resistance. 
Making out with your pussy deeper. And his tongue was so long - perfectly hitting your sweet spots, licking all over your plushy walls. Thrusting in time with his thumb drawing on your clit, in and out in and out in and-
“Fuck, I could get used to this. Have you for breakfast, lunch, n’ dinner.”
His words were so dirty, but Toji looked so pretty stuffing his face in your cunt. Eyes rolling to the back of his head, dark strands of his hair sticking to his forehead. Tilting his head just so that your sweet sweet juices slide down his throat. 
It’s what has you tugging in his hair to angle him just right, using him like your favorite toy. Such cute lil’ whines of his name leaving you each time his tongue grazes that one spot that has you keening and bucking into his mouth for more more more-
“Fuck fuck fuck jus’ like that- Ah!” you let out such pretty whines, words slurring together. Delirious little ones that go straight to Toji’s achingly hard cock, angry and twitching in his fist. So needy and glistening with precum in the dim lighting.
Shit, Toji thinks he could cum at just that, which is why he’s lapping at your cunt even greedier, drinking you in like a madman. Fingers so deftly toying with your pretty clit, making you putty in his hands. He has to make you cum. Now. Or else he’s gonna fuckin’ embarrass himself in front of such a goddess. 
“Oh? So drunk on m’tongue, already, doll?” he chuckles. “Can’t speak?” Vibrations sending white-hot jolts of pleasure up your spine. It has you dragging your cunt so sloppily all over Toji’s face - and he likes it. Loves it even, only speeding up his movements. Even when his jaw is aching, walls sucking him up so desperately that it was almost difficult to eat out your pretty lil’ cunt. Even when your sweet juices are dripping down to the hardwood floor in a sinful little drip! drip! drip! 
“I- ngh- m’gonna-”
“Gonna what? You can handle whiskey, you can handle using your words, doll.”
“Cum!” you yelp, “M’gonna cum Toji- ah- feels t’good.” 
And that’s exactly what he liked to hear because Toji only gets sloppier. Alternating between stretching you out on his tongue, sucking on your clit, licking everywhere. Over and over-
“Then cum f’me, doll.”
And you are - fast and hard. So hard that you don’t even realize when you’re rocking your hips all over Toji’s face. Cunt fluttering around his tongue as if you were trying to suck him up - and he lets you. 
“Fuck. Sweeter than I imagined.” he’s slurring into your cunt. “Jus’ like that- yeah, ride out that pretty lil’ cunt on m’face.” Words muffled as he tonguefucks you through your high, stars behind your lids every time he flicks at your pussy. 
Distantly, you hear such embarrassing little whimpers of his name in time with the sinfully wet groans from below - ones you realize are yours only when you’re blinking back your vision. Heart thundering, pathetically trying to catch your breath.
The first thing you hear is Toji’s little chuckle, followed closely by a lewd pop! that has you whirling to look at him down below.
“Wh-wha-” and all you can let out is a strangled little oh! at the sight before you - Toji licking his fingers clean, sucking all your sweet juices like he couldn’t get enough. Even when he’s flashing you a devilish grin around his fingers, rising from his position on the ground to cage you against the wall.
“Told ya m’addicted, doll.”
Your back hits the soft leather before you even realize what’s happening. Bouncing at the sheer force of the throw, you gasp in both shock and at the audacity of this man.
“Toji…” you warn as he looms over you on the couch, yet it comes out more breathless than you intended. But looking at him there - straddling your hips, pants pulled just below his heavy balls, tugging and teasing his rock-hard cock like he was trying to fuck something delicious out of it - how could you be blamed, really?
He was so big. Pulsing wildly in his fist and just soaked in precum - all the way from his pretty pink tip to the tufts of black at his base. Not quite wild, not quite tamed. You cunt clenches in- anticipation? Fear of not being able to walk for the next week?
And in the haze of your orgasm it takes you a second to register the flimsy panties wrapped around his hand. Rubbing against those prominent veins on the side as Toji fucks his fist. So wet and ruined that you almost didn’t recognize it. 
“Jus’ think of it as repayment.” he grins, following your line of sight. 
You scoff, eyes still traitorously stuck on his throbbing cock. So massive and mouth-watering that it makes you wish he used you instead of those panties. “Those were expensive y’know.”
“I’ll buy you new ones. Four. In the color of my eyes.”
“How about…” you flash him a sultry smirk, urging his hips to shift higher. And by the amused quirk of his brow, you knew Toji liked where this was going.  “I can repay you another way.”
And before you knew it, his pants are thrown to God-knows-where, and you had two, muscled thighs straddling your face. Toji slaps his swollen cock on your face once. Twice. “Think that loser was this big?” Thumbing your mouth open as he grazes his weeping tip across your lips, glossing them so prettily. Precum salty on your tongue, all filthy and dripping down to your chin. 
“Open wide- Fuck. Tha’s it-” he hisses, brows furrowing as he stuffs his fat head into your hot mouth. Eyes rolling to the back of his head at the way your lips bulge around him, flicking at the sensitive tip. And it was so delicious, Toji couldn’t decide whether he liked eating you out or this more. 
“Shit, doll.” he grunts, hips fucking into your plushy tongue in shallow, quick little thrusts. “Taking me so well, huh?”
You didn’t know if you were - lips stretching obscenely around his thick cock, tears clinging to your lashes. Choking and gagging around his length in a way that made Toji twitch inside you. Shit, he liked this - liked seeing you like this. And as soon as the realization hits you, you’re moaning around his cock, making Toji’s hips stutter above you. 
Toji has to fight off that part of himself that just wants to paint your mouth a sinful white. Fuck his cum into your till it’s all you can taste - all you can feel. 
“Shit. You little minx. Ah- s’heavenly around me ngh-” pressing your head down till all the way till your nose is flush against his pelvis, balls twitching against your chin. Finally bottoming out and fucking your mouth in harsh, long strokes. “Fuck- Wonder if that pretty lil’ cunt of yours is gonna take me t-this well, huh?”
Oh does he love your smart mouth - but he loves it even more when all he gets in response is wet gurgle around his cock. Looking up at him so tearily and shit he could get used to this sight. “M’gonna take that as a yes.”
And then he’s speeding up, balls squeezing so painfully. God it’s so fucking hard to look at you too - precum and spit bubbling sloppily at the corners of your mouth, makeup so messy and fucking gorgeous to him. 
“Can feel m’self riiight-” Reaching out a hand to wrap around your throat, feeling his dick bulging in and out in and- “here.”
Moving faster so he can ruin your pretty face. It’s so sloppy the way your spit glistens down his length, using your swollen mouth as he pleases. And you’re so eager to make him lose his mind too that it has been fucking into you like a toy.
“Ya like this? Like me using your pretty lil’ mouth like oh- it’s a fucktoy? Oh fuck, doll.” he groans, running his mouth like he’s drunk off yours wrapped around him. “Gonna paint that pretty mouth of yours white if y’don’t stop now.” 
And shit if he knew those words would have you eagerly bobbing your head to meet his hips a little slut then he’d have said them a lot sooner. Trying to get just a taste of him. Mascara runny now, swirling your tongue around his leaking tip every time he hits the back of your throat, so hard that it’s probably sore and bruised. Toji almost feels bad. 
Nahhh
Pulling your mouth off him, muttering low and dangerous. “Told ya to stop now, didn’t I?”
And oh he hates to cut off that cute lil’ whine spilling from your kiss-bitten lips, but shit Toji’s losing his patience and his sanity with each passing second that he isn’t stuffing his cock in your pretty cunt. 
Toji backs up, swiping a thumb under your lip, sucking off the remnants of his precum before capturing your lips in a searing, searing kiss. Tasting you and himself and you- 
“Liked the Macallan, huh?” Reaching blindly for the bottle of whiskey, taking a deep swing. Spitting it back into your mouth because shit you looked so pretty swallowing it all up. Rutting his hips into yours, sliding his throbbing erection in between your swollen folds. Collecting your sweet juices on his head, drinking in your adorable gasps.
“T-Toji.” you whimper, hips bucking up wildly. “Just fuck me already, goddamnit.”
And then he is - pressing his fat tip into your sloppy hole. Inch by fucking inch. Not even thinking of easing into it because fuck he needs it. He needs it-
“-s’bad. Ah-” Toji drawls against your lips. “Wan’ed this ever since y’walked in through that damn door.” A mess of spit and alcohol and precum - it made you feel so dirty, dirtier than the pressure between your legs as he bullies his heavy cock into your snug pussy. And all you can do is fucking take it because Toji was so unrelenting.
Thrusting in shallow, mindless little thrusts to just fit himself inside you - and you already feel like you’re being stretched to your limits. Whimpering out a tearily little, “Are you at least ngh- halfway in yet? Oh-”
If Toji was any lesser man he’d just have split you apart on his cock right now, but no. Instead settling for a smug little, “Nope”, popping the p.
But that doesn’t stop him from wrapping two arms around your waist, sitting up on the couch with you splayed out so prettily on his cock. Pulling you, squeezing his dick into your soft cunt, sliding down, down, down.
“Ah! Ah- shit shit shit s’too deep, ngh-”
“No such thing as ‘too deep’, doll.” he clenches his jaw. Hands pushing your thighs apart even further as you’re split apart on his cock. “You jus’ hafta sit there all pretty n’ take- it-” Each word is punctuated by a harsh thrust. 
And Toji’s manhandling you around while bouncing you on his dick. Drawing unhurried little circles on your clit while trying to find that one spot he knows you’d love more than any whiskey or drink. Looping a strong arm to arch you into his body and-
“Fuck!” you keen, hips grinding sloppily to milk his cock as much as you could. Walls clenching so sinfully and shit-
“Found it.”
And then it was like something snapped - because all of a sudden Toji’s no more playful teasing and letting you have your little fun. No, he’s fucking you like a man possessed - thrusting his cock up into you. All the way from his weeping tip, till his balls smack your ass. So hard he’s sure they leave such a shameful mark for tomorrow. Hitting that spot over and over-
“Aren’t ya glad you chose to ah- s-stay with me?” he hisses, throwing his head back. One hand rocking your hips deeper the other becoming faster and faster on your poor, ravaged clit. Driving you crazy. “Fuck that date ditcher, y’look all pretty like this for me.”
“Yes yes yes- s’glad.” you manage to sob out. Voice shaky and hitching at the way he was bouncing you on his cock with reckless abandon. The lewd squelches and skin-on-skin filling the heady room, making your head spin so much that you barely hear Toji’s words. 
“I’d make a much better date. Hngh-” he lets out a guttural groan as your nails rake his back. Fingers on your clit becoming more and more frantic. “Would buy ya flowers n’ a-all that shit. Show up on time, all dressed up.” Drinking in your lewd little ah! ah! ah! every time he milks himself on your sloppy pussy. But oh maybe Toji was a talker when he was drunk because he wasn’t done yet. 
“Make all those other scrubs fuck- jealous. And then-” Hips stuttering and so so sloppy. “Hah- at night- m’gonna fuck you dumb just like this.” he gasps, sounding like he was at the end of his sanity. Losing it bit by bit every time his veins rub so deliciously against all the right spots that make you see stars. 
Losing his sanity especially when you whine out such a cute lil’ noise of agreement. “Fuck m’close. Wanted this too, huh? I saw the way you’d been eyeing me all night.”
You can’t even be embarrassed about being caught red-handed, only looking up at his pretty face with delirious heart-eyes. Too cockdrunk and delirious at this point. And, well, maybe it’s the alcohol in your veins because you’re grabbing at the shiny bottle on the seat, bringing it to your lips. The bitter taste barely hitting your lips before you’re meeting his. Making out as sloppily as he was ravaging you below - all teeth and whiskey and pure filth. 
And that answers his question. 
Messy and desperate. 
So it only makes sense that your orgasm was the same - clamping down so sinfully on his aching cock. And shit it’s so heavenly that it sends him over the edge as well. 
Toji cums, and keeps cumming so hard that he can see the way his seed was gushing out of your poor, overfilled pussy. Especially not when his thrusts get sloppy, thick cum spilling all over your pretty cunt. Purposely not pulling out like the mean bastard he is to paint your walls a sinful white
Over and over, forming a wet little patch on the couch that he knows he’ll have to worry about later. But right now he doesn’t give a fuck because your bloated and so prettily all covered in his seed. 
Leisurely, he pools the cum trickling out of your cunt on his fingertips, not even wasting a second before stuffing them in your mouth, pushing through your swollen lips. And you don’t complain - not at all. In fact, you’re sucking it all up eagerly. Looking Toji straight in the eyes while you swallow it all. 
“Hmm, not as good as the whiskey.” you tease. Letting yourself be yanked into his body, as he grins against your lips.
“For that, m’keeping the panties.” 
--- 
“Toji…” a low voice rings through the closed bar. Shiu sounding like he’s absolutely at his wit’s end as he continues, “Where the fuck is our 1926 Macallan?”
The man in question was staring suspiciously giddily at his phone - either having not heard what Shiu said, or he just couldn’t give a fuck anyway. And knowing Toji, it was probably the latter. 
A warning. “Toji I’m serious, that shit costs over a million dollars.”
“Yeah yeah, congratulations or my condolences but hey, do you know any great flower shops?”
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A/N. I don’t even like whiskey so much, it’s just the thought of bartender! Toji that has me feral.
Plagiarism not authorized.
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fingertipsmp3 · 1 year
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Getting notifications from the work group chat and it’s that one person you hate
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igotyupls · 7 months
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Big Score
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WC: 1100? Anyway, took this from my previously written wattpad book, took that down, cause Jesus looking back my writing was horrendous, so is this, just a little proofreading but it still is shit, only posting this cause I feel bad lmao, I just need like a few hundred words to finish the two actual stories I was going to post but I can’t move my right arm without feeling like my sides on fire so anyway, at the time of writing this like in 2021, I replayed gta5 for the nth time so this is based off of that just a shittier, lamer, bs rendition lol
"Ready?" Y/N asked his partner Trevor as they sat in the getaway-car waiting for the right time to rob the bank.
"Oh fuck yeah I am" Trevor replied to Y/N in his equally "excited" voice.
"Our big score huh” Y/N emphasized , putting on his mask while T does the same, and jumping out and making their way into the bank,
Opening the door, and rubbing inside inside as T took down the security guard hitting him in the back of the head. While Y/N jumped over the counter,
"EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU GET BACK FROM THE COUNTER AND ON YOUR KNEES" He yelled, waving his M762 at the few workers In front of him.
Luckily , they listened scared shitless for their lives as Y/N took their phones in tandem with T, who’s taking the phones from the customers, once done,
"Bank manager, Get the hell up!" Y/N barked, and after a few seconds a man in his late 50's got to his feet.
"Not you!" Y/N said shoving the man back on the floor, and pointing towards a woman, "Her" he says, staring dead straight at the actual bank manager.
"EVERYONE GO TO THE FUCKING FRONT!" Y/N yells, making the rest of the workers go around to join the customers, quivering on the marble floor,
While he drags the manager unceremoniously towards the vault, as Trevor deals with the rest, keeping an eye on them
"When is the time lock going to be released ?" Y/N asks her, even though he knows when,
"At around 9 a clock" the manager blurt out shuttering through her sentence.
"Don't lie to me, it's gonna be released at 08:30, I fucking know that shit!" He says shaking her with one hand as he grits his teeth, eyes steely behind his mask, before gruffly letting out a breath
"Listen, I won't hurt you, but that dude over there ," Y/N says as calmly as he can while pointing at Trevor, who's taunting the others with his gun, like a mad man if not a pure lunatic,
"I can't say the same thing for him, so don't get yourself killed for somebody else's cash" He says patronizingly shaking her shoulder, while watching the clock, only 15 seconds left on it, "Alright, open it" He tells her once the clock reaches 08:30.
She shakes, both from the fear and the adrenaline raving inside her body but she gets it open and then gets dragged inside with Y/N while he starts shoving cash in his bag,
Once the bag's filled to the brim, Y/N leads the manager back to the front where everyone else is,
That's when he sees T talking to a female customer and harassing her, scoffing in frustration, Y/N pulls him back,
"You're supposed to be looting the drawers, you horny fuck!" He says bewildered to say the least,
Making Trevor wave his hand dismissively, blabbering a lame excuse "I already did, fucking hell, I'm just having a little fun." Smirking a little, "I'm thinking I might take her with us-" he says, only to get shutdown,
"That's not happening, T" Y/N says pretty straightforward..
But of course; Trevor doesn't get simplicity, "This is the big score and I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want" he says before pushing Y/N, almost making him drop his loaded bag, while he saunters to the woman, "Come here girly"
*THUNK* he falls short however as Y/N, smacks him with the back of his M7 knocking him into oblivion, followed by a thud as the heavy bag of loot falls from Trevor's shoulder,
"You fucking idiot, T" Y/N mutters, kicking Trevor's unconscious body, before checking his watch, no time to waste but he needs that second loot bag,
"Ay, you" He calls back pointing to a brunette woman, kneeling in the corner with the rest of the customers, "What's your name?"
"Lisa" The said brunette says back, astonishingly less afraid than the rest,
Y/N nods, "Okay Lisa. You are going to pick up my friend's bag and come with me" He says kicking the bag, making it skid to Lisa,
"no, she won't " some wannabe macho-man suddenly yells as he gets to his feet and stands in front of Lisa, angering the already fiery rage in Y/N,
"don't be a hero today, you'll get killed" He says deathly calm, hand already on his trigger, he didn’t come in thinking he’d kill, but now he doesn’t care,
But people do say, women are smarter than men, as Lisa inches closer,
“I'll come, just-, don't hurt the others " she says shakily, but it seems fake as she brushes past the so called blubbering hero and hurls up T's bag.
Y/N pulls her in front of him, using her as a human shield,
"Dont any of you dare follow us, otherwise you'll also be on the ground like him" Y/N says pointing towards T, while he kicks him again for good measure,
Getting out of the bank while making sure Lisa was in front of him, he rushed to the getaway car, shoving her quickly in the passenger side and tossing the loots in the back, he runs to the driver's side, driving away as quickly as he possibly can.
Speeding out of the city fast, at a constant speed and the constant feel of the silence around him and the dewy brown eyes on him,
Y/N finally stops the car inside one of the tunnel entrances under a random bridge, “Yes?" He says quirking one eyebrow, but of course she doesn’t answer so he takes off his mask, throwing it carelessly wherever,
"T had it coming, okay?" He says shrugging while faux jutting his bottom lip,
"Yeah, I guess so, but I didn't think you would knock him out , like actually, Y/n" she finally says, with a chuckle, and a shake of her head,
“Meh” is all Y/N says shrugging, seeming almost childish and not the big; bad robber from just minutes ago,
They stare at each other for a few more seconds before breaking into smiles, "we get extra money this time huh?" she speaks up again,
Y/N nods with a cheeky smile, pulling her into his chest and pecking her temple, “Mhm” he answers lazily while hugging her, as police cars zoom past the tunnel entrance sirens blaring,
But Lisa just hugs his arm, not even flinching, “I love you" is all she says snuggling closer
a/n: yikes man, what was middle schooler me thinking, this is deffo getting removed once I start posting “sophisticated” one shots lmao🥲
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burntoasters · 1 year
Text
Personal Rant/Vent
The last week of my life has been a complete blur and I feel like I’ve been awake for a week straight. Maybe getting it out of my head will help me get my shit together.
For starters, at my job I’m the assistant manager, and usually my job is just splitting the work between me and the other manager. The nice thing though is that he has to make all the final decisions. So if I don’t want to make a decision about something or know what to do, I just have him tell me or the others.
Well he’s been out of town for the last week and won’t be back for another day. So that means ALL responsibility has fallen on me. I have to make sure everything single thing is done and done right. The owner is really not the best boss. Since most of the people he works with directly are family members, when he comes over to my room to talk to my guys he never really knows what’s going on. My Lady Boss is the one I usually report to on a daily basis cause the owner really only handles “business”. The first day of me being solo manager he came in half way through the day and dropped a ton of shit on me that had to get done that day and I immediately had a panic attack. He has a record of being in the room with his son while working on broken machines and arguing very loudly in front of others. He’s also yelled at the other manager. And like I have trauma, I can’t handle shit like that. I’ll have to clock out and go cry in one of the cooler for a bit if he pulls that shit with me. I grew up in a house filled with yelling, so when I became an adult I made it a big deal that my house would be a safe space for me and there would be no yelling and screaming. And my roommate and I have never had an issue with that because we both have the same mindset on that kind of stuff. So since I’m never around yelling or screaming or loud angry arguments, my brain doesn’t know how to react to them anymore and just completely shut down.
So now I’ve been incharge for for about 5 straight days and I am EXHAUSTED! Usually me and the other manager switch on who takes a lunch and who stays to help customers while everyone else takes lunch. Since it’s just me, I have to work through lunch. I still get to eat, but I can’t just sit around the entire 40 minutes since I’m still clocked in. I’ve slept maybe 5 hours total and it’s been the hottest week in a very long time.
ON TOP OF THAT GARBAGE, OUR FUCKING AC BROKE! It’s 94 degrees in my house as I’m typing this. We have cats and dogs cause my roommate does foster and rescue and we are so worried about them. Our landlord is a piece of shit and said she couldn’t get anyone out until the next morning even though it is very much an EMERGENCY! I asked a guy at my work if he could help and he said that he could fix it. Long story short, he couldn’t, it was a big waste of time, and apparently he used to be a {error} addict, so when we were leaving his place to go to mine, we got pulled over. This mother fucker searched my entire fucking car, and pulled me away to ask me questions like “Do you know who you have in your vehicle? Who is he to you?” THE FUCKING MAINTENANCE GUY AND I ASKED GIM TO FIX MY BEOKEN AC CAUSE ITS 90 DEGREES IN MY HOUSE WITH ANIMALS!
So my roommate is staying with people in AC while I sit in 95 degrees with cats who are also miserable still waiting for the people our landlord said would come “some time today” at 6:30 in the morning, and it is currently 4:15.
I didn’t sleep last night or the day before. Since I knew I wasn’t sleeping in this heat I decided to chugged 3 spiked lemons which I do not recommend, even when you do have AC.
Heat is so overstimulating to me, especially being sweaty so I am just beyond uncomfortable. I’m walking around my house shirtless which I have NEVER done in my life. I hate looking at my body but I hate sweating even more. Cat and dog hair stick to ever part of my body because of the sweat. I’m taking random quick cold showers as ways to pass time.
I just want to sit in a cold room in a hoodie and sweatpants with headphones on, oblivious to the world around me
I also had a {relapse} for something I used to do as a teenager but we don’t talk about that.
Doesn’t exist if they can’t see it
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pilothusband · 3 years
Text
A lit torch to the woodpile high
A Paz VIzsla Bartender!AU
Rating: T (for now)
Pairing: Paz Vizsla x F!Reader
Warnings: Alcohol mention (they work in a bar), pining
Word count: 2k
Description: Paz is your boss at the Bear’s Den, a local pub. He’s surly and unfriendly and wants nothing to do with you, but there’s something about him you can’t stay away from.
Author’s note: Title is from a Frightened Rabbit song. Chapters will get smutty later on, I promise.
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Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
A low thrumming resounded in your ribcage as you pulled your old beater into the dusty parking lot. The pub’s exterior was unassuming– its sign was worn and outdated, reading “Bear’s Den.” Today was your first day at your new bartending job, and you didn’t want to fuck it up. Glancing at your phone screen, you noticed you were about 20 minutes early for your shift.
You weren’t sure if you should sit in your car to kill time before walking in or if it would make a good impression to show up early. The original plan had been to show up early, as you always did, not now you weren’t so sure of that decision.
The original plan won out in the end. You locked your car behind you and dusted off your jeans. The building was dilapidated, for the lack of a better word. The stucco exterior was cracked in some spots, reaching up from the door to the roof. The front door was massive and looked older than the building itself. You pulled on the big iron handle, struggling with the weight of the structure.
The bar was sparsely populated. You found yourself hesitating, hovering at the entrance, not sure if you should walk up to the bar or try to find your new boss, Orso.
“Can I see an ID?” A gruff voice sounded in your ear and you nearly jumped out of your skin, spinning around to find you were face-to-face an older gentleman, probably around his mid-50s. He was a thick, severe looking man, with a grey handlebar mustache, shiny bald head, and a black t-shirt that stretched over his large biceps.
“Oh, sure,” you said, scrambling to find your wallet. You handed the plastic card over, looking up at his hulking form as he surveyed it. “I’m the new bartender,” you added lamely.
The man guffawed in response. Guffawed.
“Why didn’t you say so?” He asked. His shoulders were shaking with mirth. You found his entire demeanor changed when he smiled and couldn’t help but smile in return.
“Go on back to the office. Paz should be back there and he can show you how to punch in.”
“Thank you!” You replied brightly. “It’s nice to meet you…” you trailed off, waiting for him to introduce himself.
“Rick,” he said, flashing another smile your way. He held out his hand in greeting and you shook it, giving him your name in return.
You made your way towards the back of the room. There was a door to the left of the bar that Rick pointed out to you. It led to a dimly lit hallway, leading to kitchen doors ahead. The doors on the right were labeled as the bathrooms, while the door on the left had an embossed “Office” label on the front. You knocked on the door, hoping you weren’t interrupting your new boss.
After a moment you heard a muffled “come in.”
The latch on the door creaked as you pushed it open gingerly. There was a man sitting behind a desk that looked absurdly small for his large frame. His hair was ruffled, as if he had been running his hands through it in frustration. His elbow was resting on the desk, chin in hand, as he was writing something down on a piece of paper.
“Um, hi, I’m the new bartender and Rick said I should come talk to you?”
The man looked down at his watch, brow furrowed.
“You’re early.”
You swallowed your nerves before responding.
“Yeah, I um, wanted to get here early in case it took a while to get clocked in.”
The man grunted in response.
“The name’s Paz. I’m the lead bartender and manager here. Orso may own the bar, but I run its day-to-day operations.” He sounded as if he was reading off a script. “Show up for your shifts on time and do as I say and we won’t have a problem. Got it?”
You nodded mutely. 
“Follow me,” he said, getting up leading you towards the kitchen. His legs were impossibly long. When he stood up he dwarfed you by at least a foot.
“This is where you punch in. Pretty self-explanatory.” He pointed to a panel just inside of the kitchen. He handed you your punch card and you took it, swiping in for the day.
You tried to ignore the butterflies that erupted in your stomach when your finger brushed against his.
There was an older woman in the kitchen with you, fiddling with the deep fryer. She had grey hair, pulled back with a net, and wore a thick black apron with a Bear’s Den logo on the pocket.
“This is Madge, she runs the kitchen. Don’t cross her,” he said. If it were any other person in the world saying those words, you would have thought he was joking. 
“Don’t listen to him,” Madge croaked. “I’ll be back here if you need anything at all, sweetie.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” you said. You introduced yourself, wanting to make a good impression on the woman.
“She’s the new bartender,” Paz mumbled, waving off your introduction to move the tour along. What the hell was this guy’s problem?
The back door swung open suddenly, startling everyone in the room. A young man around your age walked through, coughing.
“Oh, hey boss,” he sputtered, looking over at Paz.
Paz rubbed his temples with impatience.
“Donny, how many times do I have to tell you not to smoke at work?”
“Just a few more times, boss. It’ll stick soon,” he gave Paz a shit-eating grin. “Who’s this now?”
You introduced yourself to Donny, observing the red rims around his eyes. He gave you a lazy smile.
“Come on back whenever you want to steal a mozzarella stick or two,” he said. You could hear Paz huff behind you, earning a laugh from the younger man. It seemed like this guy had no qualms getting on his boss’ nerves.
“Come on, I have more to show you.” Paz said, herding you towards the door.
“These lazy fuckers out here are our servers, Dillon and Harlow.” They were both sitting at a table in the corner, playing some sort of card game.
“We don’t have any customers yet, Paz,” the girl, Harlow rolled her eyes. “Besides, why do you have everyone on staff tonight? It’s Tuesday.”
Harlow was gorgeous, with long brown hair and sparkling eyes. Dillon, the boy next to her, had neatly trimmed blond hair with blue eyes. He reminded you of a frat boy. They both wore what was the assumed uniform: jeans and a black t-shirt.
“Because Orso wanted everyone here to get the new bartender trained up.”
They both turned their attention towards you. Harlow gave you a wide smile, while Dillon looked you up and down with a smirk.
“It’s so nice to meet you, and not just because I don’t have to run around serving and making drinks on busy nights,” Harlow said, getting up and shaking your hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” you chuckled in response. 
“Harlow will be training you whenever I’m not around,” Paz supplied.
“I can train her!” Dillon interjected, looking hopeful.
“You’re not a bartender.” Paz said flatly. Dillon didn’t argue, slouching down in his seat. It seemed like Paz’s word was God’s around here. 
Paz moved on to show you the layout of the bar, pointing out that the better quality liquor was on the top, while the lower quality and well liquor was below. He pointed out the beers on draught, as well as the little fridge behind the bar that carried the bottled beer and wine wine. The red wine was up on a shelf above the liquor, which was going to be potentially problematic, since it was located far above your head.
“I’ll grab those for you if someone orders red wine,” he said, almost reading your mind as you craned your neck to look at the shelf.
You looked over at him and gave him a grateful smile. He looked away almost immediately as your eyes met, clearing his throat.
“Any questions?”
You shook your head, feeling a little defeated.
“Seems straightforward,” you said. “Thanks for showing me around. I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing.”
He grunted in response, not disagreeing. 
It seemed like everything you said managed to annoy him in some way or another. It was throwing you through a loop. Not that it was something you were necessarily worried about. You didn’t need everyone to like you. Not even a ridiculously good-looking man who was built like a tree.
All during the tour, you tried to block out any lustful thoughts you had about your mysterious new boss. You tried to ignore how dwarfed you felt when Paz stood next to you and how large his calloused hands were. You had to hold your breath when he gesticulated with them, because a whiff of his subtle cologne would make its way over and make you sigh like a lovesick schoolgirl.
Nope, you definitely did not get lost thinking about how this man could toss you around like a rag doll, or how deep and rich the timbre of his voice sounded.
A moment later, the first customer walked in. He was a portly middle aged-man, wearing denim overalls and a ratty flannel, and judging by the silent nod Rick gave him, he was a regular.
“You’re up, newbie.”
Paz stepped back, crossing his massive arms to observe your first customer interaction. You turned around and tried to ignore the way the veins in his arms flexed with the movement.
“Hi there!” You tried not to cringe at how overly-chipper your voice sounded and ignored the muffled laugh behind you. “What can I get you?”
The customer didn’t answer your question, instead he nodded behind your shoulder, towards Paz.
“This the new girl?” He asked, a grin on his face.
“The one and only,” Paz said. “Be nice Bob, you’re her first customer.”
“I’m always nice,” the man sputtered. “Especially to pretty little things like her.”
You could almost feel Paz bristle behind you. You immediately wanted to slap this guy, but you swallowed your anger and smiled at him. Do it for the tips.
“What can I get you?”
“Your number, for starters,” he grinned at you lecherously.
“Bob,” Paz gave him a warning.
You couldn’t see what Paz was doing while he said it, but judging by the flash of fear in Bob’s face, it wasn’t friendly.
“Just kidding sweetheart. I’ll take a Miller Light.”
You poured him a pint and handed it over with a coaster. The man’s tip was suspiciously high, but you didn’t question it.
The rest of your shift was slow. Customers trickled in and ordered generally simple drinks. Not that you were surprised; this wasn’t exactly the kind of establishment where you ordered fancy cocktails.
Paz had watched you like a hawk for the first hour of your shift. But after a while he must have decided you knew what you were doing, so he went off to check on the other employees and did more work in the office. He would come out every once in a while to check on the bar, probably to make sure you weren’t screwing up.
Before you knew it, the clock struck 2 A.M. and it was time to close up for the night. Every other employee, besides you and Paz, had left for the night. You felt dead on your feet and couldn’t wait to crawl into your bed.
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll walk you to your car.” Paz strolled out from the kitchen, keys jingling in his hand. You swallowed heavily.
“Okay.”
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God, she’s terrified of me.
Paz admittedly knew the effect he had on you. He intimidated everyone, and that’s how he wanted it. But for some reason, he felt a twinge in the pit of his stomach every time you were too scared to meet his eyes.
The moment you walked into the office and introduced yourself to him, all shy and timid, Paz knew he was screwed. 
You were so small compared to him, but the curves on your body were impossible to miss. And your eyes – they were so wide and expressive, taking in every word he said. Not to mention your mouth. Fuck, your mouth was almost sinful. He struggled not to stare at your lips every time you spoke.
He found himself fantasizing about reaching out to put his hand on your waist a few times during the tour. Every time it happened he felt a white hot pang of shame. You were his employee. Not to mention he had read your file and noticed you were a whopping 8 years younger than him.
You didn’t need someone like him swooping in and ruining your life.
No, he would walk you to your car and watch you drive away and continue pushing you away, as he did with every other person he knew.
He didn’t get into his car until you were pulling out of the parking lot. He watched your car putter down the street, disappearing into the lonely night.
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Taglist: @tenderclio @softdin @maybege​ 
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missjanjie · 4 years
Text
Taste of a Poison Paradise | Chapter 4
Title: Taste of a Poison Paradise Summary: Life at Jackie Cox’s strip club, Poison Paradise, isn’t just lapdances and g-strings. There’s enough drama, lust, and heartache to rival any soap opera. None of the girls know what to expect on any given shift, especially while navigating their torrid, complicated relationships. Word Count: ~3k (this chapter) / ~12.1k (total) Relationship(s): Lemyanka (Lemon/Priyanka), Crygi (Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode), Sportsdoll (Jan Sport/Nicky Doll), Jaidie (Jaida Essence Hall/Jackie Cox), Branjie (Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo), Kamjie (Kameron Michaels/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo), Rosnali (Rosé/Denali Foxx) Rating: E
Read on AO3 | Ko-Fi
Chapter Summary: Brooke Lynn and Kameron finally meet, Denali starts spending more time at the diner, Jaida starts her OnlyFans, and Gigi realizes she can’t avoid her feelings for Crystal forever.
-
Vanessa has never been the best at focusing all of her attention on one task. Often, when she was dancing on stage, her mind was in three other places. It was a little more obvious when giving a lap dance, but most men didn’t seem to mind or even notice. Except for this time when she called attention to it by stopping mid-gyration and exclaiming, “holy shit!”
The man wasn’t annoyed, instead, he curiously looked behind him. “What? What happened?”
“Some dude’s getting hauled out of here, dumb fucker’s trynna put up a fight. Fly ain’t undone so he must’ve been getting too handsy,” she observed, though her eyes were honed in on Kameron, who took the offender down and dragged him out of the club. “God damn, she’s good,” she murmured, fanning herself.
“Wouldn’t it be more effective to have a man–”
Vanessa decided she was no longer interested in what the client had to say, and was already walking towards the front of the club, getting a better view as Kameron unceremoniously tossed the man out of the club. “What’s his damage, huh?”
Kameron shrugged. “Jan flagged me down, dickwad kept trying to play grab-ass and started throwing a temper tantrum when she cut his dance short,” she explained, then looked over at the bar. “Looks like Nicky’s taking care of her now, though.”
“I’m tryna take care of you, though,” she winked. “You know, take you into the VIP room and…”
“I’m still on the clock, Vanjie,” Kameron gently reminded her, but looped her arms around her waist. “But once our shifts end, we can go in the back and play grab-ass instead, okay?” she offered, punctuating her point by moving her hands down and squeezing Vanessa’s ass.
Vanessa huffed and pouted, but nodded nonetheless. “Fine, but you know how impatient I get.”
Kameron chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Don’t I always make it worth the wait?”
She couldn’t argue with that, so she went back and did her next set, alternating between being on the stage, among the clientele, or waiting in the back. It was the late shift, at least, meaning she and Kameron would be able to clock out at the same time.
There were still about ten minutes left before closing, but Vanessa had considered herself done for the night. She tied her robe around her waist and sat beside Kameron until the last customer left the club. “Fuckin’ finally,” she murmured.
Kameron snorted. “You’re such a fucking brat,” she teased.
Vanessa smirked, getting up and pulling Kameron with her. “You knew what you signed up for, boo. Bratty as hell, but you know I make it worth your while.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that logic,” she chuckled and allowed Vanessa to drag her across the club, back to the VIP room. Then, she scooped the smaller woman up in her arms and carried her to the couch, gently dropping her on it before crawling on top of her. “I bet you’re expecting me to take care of you now, huh?” she purred, kissing at her neck.
“We ain’t here to talk politics,” Vanessa retorted, already trying to tug off Kameron’s shirt and grinning when the taller woman acquiesced.
Meanwhile, Brooke Lynn had done a lap through the club, stopping at the bar with a perplexed expression. “Pri, is Vanjie still here? I told her I’d come to pick her up.”
Priyanka shrugged as she loaded up a tray of glasses to take into the back. “She’s probably still getting pounded out by Kameron in the VIP room,” she told her before taking the tray into the kitchen.
At first, Brooke figured Priyanka was joking, trying to get a reaction out of her. But as she sat and thought for a moment, she realized that there was no reason she would lie about that. She thought she would feel some semblance of jealousy or anger, but they were noticeably absent. Instead, her curiosity – and perhaps arousal – was piqued. She got up from the bar and made her way into the VIP room, quietly opening the door and slipping inside.
Just as Priyanka had predicted, Kameron and Vanessa were in the midst of a passionate encounter. They were both naked and Kameron had one hand loosely wrapped around Vanessa’s throat, the other was steadily thrusting two fingers in and out of her while she showered her with a mix of praise and dirty talk.
Brooke’s eyes widened. She couldn’t have predicted how it would feel to watch her girlfriend having sex with another woman, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Still not announcing her presence, she moved to the loveseat perpendicular to the couch and let her legs spread. She hiked up her dress and dipped her hand into her panties, biting her lip as she touched herself to the sight.
“You just gonna sit there and enjoy the show?”
Vanessa’s words caused the other two to stop in their tracks. Kameron looked confused while Brooke froze in place. “You knew I was here?”
Vanessa scoffed in response. “You think I wouldn’t recognize my woman’s pumps click-clacking from a mile away?” She didn’t wait for a response before she continued, “you want in or not?” She nudged Kameron lightly, who nodded in agreement.
Brooke scrambled to her feet, shedding her dress as she moved over to the two of them. She finished stripping down before kneeling beside Vanessa and kissing her languidly. “You want me to sit on your face, baby?”
Vanessa nodded enthusiastically, helping Brooke position herself on top of her and grabbing onto her thighs for balance. Her nails dug in as she eased her tongue into her, trying to match the pace of Kameron’s fingers.
“Shit, that’s it, baby. Such a good girl,” Brooke praised, her head tilting back as she moaned out. But when she held her head upright, her eyes locked with Kameron’s and she didn’t think, she just kissed her heatedly, smirking a bit as she felt the other woman melt into the kiss.
Kameron balanced one hand on Brooke’s shoulder while she thrust her fingers steadily into Vanessa’s pussy, alternating now and then to rub her clit with her thumb. Although the brunette was stifled verbally, it was very obvious when she came. She sat back on the couch, getting herself off while she watched Brooke ride Vanessa’s face.
Brooke’s hips stuttered to a halt as she rode out her orgasm shortly after, then gracefully dismounted off of Vanessa, then sat on the couch. “You know,” she said to Kameron, “I’d been meaning to reach out and get to know you, but this method is a lot more fun.”
------
Denali leaned against the jukebox, humming along to ‘Those Magic Changes’ until she saw Rosé walk in, which prompted her to relocate to sitting at the counter. “I thought you said your shift started at ten.”
“Today’s Tuesday, babe. I start at ten on Wednesdays,” Rosé replied as she tied her apron around her waist. “But it’s cute that you waited for me,” she winked.
“I had to, muñeca,” Denali insisted with a pout. “No one else makes the coffee as good as you do.”
Rosé couldn’t help but laugh softly as she got a pot of coffee going. “It’s the same shit every time, Dee,” she pointed out. But still, she had to look away and focus on the coffee to hide the broad grin that spread across her face. She poured a mug, setting it down in front of Denali. “What’re you eating, today?”
“You, ideally,” she murmured under her breath before looking up at her and replying, “patty melt, extra crispy onions, please,” while batting her lashes. “And a side of fries.”
The waitress nodded, scribbling the order onto the notepad. “You got it, baby,” she hummed, ripping the page out and hanging it up in the window, then ringing the bell for someone in the kitchen to come grab it. “So, how’re you liking the club? I’ll tell you, Jackie is the only person around here I’d trust running a place like that.”
Denali smiled, adding two packets of sugar and a splash of milk into her coffee, stirring slowly before taking a sip, though her eyes never left Rosé. “I mean, of all the strip clubs in the city, I’m glad I managed to find the one run and entirely populated by lesbians. You can’t plan for that sort of luck.”
Rosé snorted softly. “Guess not. You live in the neighborhood?”
“Nah,” she shook her head, “moved to Flatbush from Chicago.”
“Chicago, huh? You get into any fights with anyone over pizza yet?”
Denali shook her head. “Can I tell you a secret?” she leaned in closer, speaking in a stage whisper, “I’ve always liked New York-style pizza better.”
Rosé leaned in closer when Denali did, their faces only inches apart, close enough for her to take in the scent of her perfume – something woody and spicy with a hint of something heady, something almost as intoxicating as she was. “Oh, she’s a culinary rebel, huh?”
She let out a soft breath of laughter, biting down on her lip. “It does sound kinda hot when you say it like that,” she mused. The distance between them seemed to lessen, albeit by the tiniest bit at a time. But then she became aware of the background noise. “You have an order in the window, I think.”
Sure enough, one of the cooks had been ringing the bell for several seconds in an attempt to get Rosé’s attention. “Oh shit,” she laughed, turning and grabbing the plate, setting it down in front of Denali. “Enjoy,” she winked.
“I sure will,” Denali grinned and batted her lashes, her eyes following Rosé as she went to wait on another table. She gazed at her from across the restaurant. She would make a move, she thought, as soon as the moment was right.
------
Jackie stepped out of her office and noticed Jaida on her laptop in the common area. “Whatcha working on, honey?” she asked, sitting down beside her.
“The next great American novel,” Jaida told her. “Nah, I’m finishing up my OnlyFans page. Denali gave me a crash course in how to get this shit done right. Turns out it’s more than just taking what I do on stage and doing it in my room for a camera.”
“I mean, you’re welcome to make whatever content you need to on the stage or whatever if it helps,” she offered with a slight smile. “Anything I can do to help, let me know, okay?”
Jaida smiled warmly. “You’re the best, Jackie,” she tilted her head in thought for a moment before continuing, “maybe you could review the content before I post it? I’ll know it’s ready for the public if it has your seal of approval.”
Jackie nodded, ignoring the warmth that rushed to her cheeks. She nodded quickly, enthusiastically. “Oh my god, yeah. I’m honored you trust my judgment like that.”
“Hey, you stocked this club with top-tier bitches, you’re clearly onto something,” she offered with a reassuring grin. “Check it out, though,” she turned her laptop towards Jackie, “she’s open for business.”
Jackie leaned closer to the laptop, committing Jaida’s username to memory. “Impressive, I’m sure this is going to go over well for you.” She got out, smoothing out her skirt. “I have to take care of some paperwork, you alright from here?”
Jaida nodded. “All good, do your thing,” she said and waved her off. After Jackie retreated into her office, she continued working on her page. She was sitting in silence, which was why she jumped when she realized she was no longer alone a few moments later. “Fuck, how did you do that?”
Gigi shrugged. “I’m not convinced I’m not a Victorian ghost that’s taken corporeal form.” She kicked off her heels and turned to sit cross-legged on the couch, facing Jaida. “Listen, babe, I can smell an ulterior motive from a mile away. You’re trying to show off for Jackie, aren’t you? What’s the tea?”
“Guess it does take one to know one,” she murmured, reclining into the couch and letting out a sigh. “Yeah, okay, maybe I am into Jackie,” she conceded, “but unlike you, I have a good reason for not acting on it – she hasn’t been out of the closet all that long, I’m not tryna bombard her with shit, you know? It’s a delicate situation.”
“My situation is delicate too,” Gigi insisted, only to sigh and quietly add, “okay, maybe not as much, but still. So you’re just gonna wait it out?”
Jaida shrugged. “I don’t wanna freak her out. You, on the other hand, are crushing on someone that popped out of the womb with Doc Martens on, so you have no excuse.”
Gigi flopped onto her back and let out a dramatic sigh. “I know, I know. I just wish there was a way to just… send out some feelers, you know?”
“I cannot fathom how someone can dance naked in a cage one minute and not be able to look a girl with a One Direction tattoo in the eye the next. Literally, all you gotta do is take that confidence you got in the cage or on stage over to Miss Crystal Methyd, it ain’t that complicated, sis,” she did try to stop herself from talking to her like it should have been obvious – Gigi was almost ten years her junior, she had to remind herself. “You just need to try to stop overthinking,” she added in a more calm and gentle tone.
It wasn’t that Gigi didn’t know that, it was simply much easier to think about than to implement. “I know you’re right,” she murmured and sat up. She looked at her phone, chewing on her lip. “Okay, I’m gonna do something before I talk myself out of it,” she decided and stood up. “I’ll report back to you.”
“Good luck, my lil ghost baby.”
Gigi took a deep breath as she walked downstairs to the main floor. Crystal hadn’t arrived yet, so she perched herself on the bar as she waited, swinging her legs and fumbling with the hem of her skirt. Her head popped up when she heard the door open and her heart started to race when Crystal came into her field of vision.
“Hey Geege,” Crystal greeted, playfully tugging Gigi’s ponytail as she walked behind the bar.
“Hi Crystal,” she replied with the lilted laugh that was only ever elicited by the bartender. She reminded herself of Jaida’s words as she got off the bar and followed Crystal behind it. Just use your stage confidence. Picture yourself naked, she reminded herself. “You’re looking hot today.”
Crystal arched her brow. “Thanks? It’s just my usual uniform,” she shrugged and smiled. “You look hot though, but you always do.”
“Thanks,” Gigi twirled her hair around her fingers, batted her lashes, she was doing all of the textbook flirtations she could think of, but she stopped just as quickly, frowning. “Fuck, why does this feel so weird?” she asked herself, but out loud.
Crystal’s perplexed expression deepened. “What are you talking about?”
Gigi groaned and stomped her foot. “I’m trying to flirt with you, but I don’t know how to flirt with someone I actually like because I haven’t in so long. But you’re here and you’re just… fuck, this was supposed to be easier.”
The confusion on Crystal’s face morphed into pensiveness. She was quiet for a moment, then took a few steps towards Gigi. “I’m gonna kiss you now, unless you stop me.” She waited, giving her ample time to back away or speak up. Instead, she got a quick, eager nod. So, she gently cupped Gigi’s face, pressing a deep kiss to her lips.
And Gigi melted into the kiss, relief washing over her body as her arms draped around Crystal’s neck. Her leg went up like the girl in every single rom-com she’d watched and for a moment she felt like she was sixteen, having her first kiss behind the school while cutting gym class. The magic of the moment was only broken when she sensed they were no longer alone. She turned with a glare. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ us,” Lemon retorted, gesturing between herself, Jan, and Vanessa. “We’ve been waiting for this to happen for ages.”
“You kind of owe us a satisfying conclusion after subjecting us to your mutual pining fuckery you subjected us all to,” Jan nodded in agreement. “We’ve been along for this whole journey whether we wanted to be or not.”
“What they said,” Vanessa chimed in for the sake of being included.
Gigi rolled her eyes, though she did not attempt to let go of or move away from Crystal. “You guys are so fucking weird,” she muttered. “But I guess it’s kind of endearing or whatever,” she added reluctantly.
“We’ll leave you guys to finish your moment,” Jan said gently, guiding Lemon and Vanessa out of the main room and upstairs to the common area.
Crystal watched them leave, then looked back at Gigi. “I love our friends,” she grinned.
“I could take them or leave them,” she joked. “Look, we don’t… need to put a label on this or anything just yet. I know this was sudden… I just needed you to know how I felt.”
“You’re overthinking things again, aren’t you?” Crystal looped her arms around Gigi’s waist. “Listen, I know you only allow yourself three emotions a year, so it means a lot that I got to be on the receiving end of one of them. And like, I’m pretty bad at talking about feelings too, so… I dunno, let’s just see what happens.”
Gigi exhaled in relief. This was why she had gravitated towards Crystal so effortlessly, they understood each other, they were on the same wavelength. “So… how about you come back to my place after work? We could get high, pretend to watch some movies…”
Crystal pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “It’s a date.”
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artificialqueens · 4 years
Text
Taste of a Poison Paradise, Chapter 4 (Multi) - Joley
Chapter Summary: Brooke Lynn and Kameron finally meet, Denali starts spending more time at the diner, Jaida starts her OnlyFans, and Gigi realizes she can’t avoid her feelings for Crystal forever.
ao3 link
Vanessa has never been the best at focusing all of her attention on one task. Often, when she was dancing on stage, her mind was in three other places. It was a little more obvious when giving a lap dance, but most men didn’t seem to mind or even notice. Except for this time when she called attention to it by stopping mid-gyration and exclaiming, “holy shit!”
The man wasn’t annoyed, instead, he curiously looked behind him. “What? What happened?”
“Some dude’s getting hauled out of here, dumb fucker’s trynna put up a fight. Fly ain’t undone so he must’ve been getting too handsy,” she observed, though her eyes were honed in on Kameron, who took the offender down and dragged him out of the club. “God damn, she’s good,” she murmured, fanning herself.
“Wouldn’t it be more effective to have a man–”
Vanessa decided she was no longer interested in what the client had to say, and was already walking towards the front of the club, getting a better view as Kameron unceremoniously tossed the man out of the club. “What’s his damage, huh?”
Kameron shrugged. “Jan flagged me down, dickwad kept trying to play grab-ass and started throwing a temper tantrum when she cut his dance short,” she explained, then looked over at the bar. “Looks like Nicky’s taking care of her now, though.”
“I’m tryna take care of you, though,” she winked. “You know, take you into the VIP room and…”
“I’m still on the clock, Vanjie,” Kameron gently reminded her, but looped her arms around her waist. “But once our shifts end, we can go in the back and play grab-ass instead, okay?” she offered, punctuating her point by moving her hands down and squeezing Vanessa’s ass.
Vanessa huffed and pouted, but nodded nonetheless. “Fine, but you know how impatient I get.”
Kameron chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Don’t I always make it worth the wait?”
She couldn’t argue with that, so she went back and did her next set, alternating between being on the stage, among the clientele, or waiting in the back. It was the late shift, at least, meaning she and Kameron would be able to clock out at the same time.
There were still about ten minutes left before closing, but Vanessa had considered herself done for the night. She tied her robe around her waist and sat beside Kameron until the last customer left the club. “Fuckin’ finally,” she murmured.
Kameron snorted. “You’re such a fucking brat,” she teased.
Vanessa smirked, getting up and pulling Kameron with her. “You knew what you signed up for, boo. Bratty as hell, but you know I make it worth your while.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that logic,” she chuckled and allowed Vanessa to drag her across the club, back to the VIP room. Then, she scooped the smaller woman up in her arms and carried her to the couch, gently dropping her on it before crawling on top of her. “I bet you’re expecting me to take care of you now, huh?” she purred, kissing at her neck.
“We ain’t here to talk politics,” Vanessa retorted, already trying to tug off Kameron’s shirt and grinning when the taller woman acquiesced.
Meanwhile, Brooke Lynn had done a lap through the club, stopping at the bar with a perplexed expression. “Pri, is Vanjie still here? I told her I’d come to pick her up.”
Priyanka shrugged as she loaded up a tray of glasses to take into the back. “She’s probably still getting pounded out by Kameron in the VIP room,” she told her before taking the tray into the kitchen.
At first, Brooke figured Priyanka was joking, trying to get a reaction out of her. But as she sat and thought for a moment, she realized that there was no reason she would lie about that. She thought she would feel some semblance of jealousy or anger, but they were noticeably absent. Instead, her curiosity – and perhaps arousal – was piqued. She got up from the bar and made her way into the VIP room, quietly opening the door and slipping inside.
Just as Priyanka had predicted, Kameron and Vanessa were in the midst of a passionate encounter. They were both naked and Kameron had one hand loosely wrapped around Vanessa’s throat, the other was steadily thrusting two fingers in and out of her while she showered her with a mix of praise and dirty talk.
Brooke’s eyes widened. She couldn’t have predicted how it would feel to watch her girlfriend having sex with another woman, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Still not announcing her presence, she moved to the loveseat perpendicular to the couch and let her legs spread. She hiked up her dress and dipped her hand into her panties, biting her lip as she touched herself to the sight.
“You just gonna sit there and enjoy the show?”
Vanessa’s words caused the other two to stop in their tracks. Kameron looked confused while Brooke froze in place. “You knew I was here?”
Vanessa scoffed in response. “You think I wouldn’t recognize my woman’s pumps click-clacking from a mile away?” She didn’t wait for a response before she continued, “you want in or not?” She nudged Kameron lightly, who nodded in agreement.
Brooke scrambled to her feet, shedding her dress as she moved over to the two of them. She finished stripping down before kneeling beside Vanessa and kissing her languidly. “You want me to sit on your face, baby?”
Vanessa nodded enthusiastically, helping Brooke position herself on top of her and grabbing onto her thighs for balance. Her nails dug in as she eased her tongue into her, trying to match the pace of Kameron’s fingers.
“Shit, that’s it, baby. Such a good girl,” Brooke praised, her head tilting back as she moaned out. But when she held her head upright, her eyes locked with Kameron’s and she didn’t think, she just kissed her heatedly, smirking a bit as she felt the other woman melt into the kiss.
Kameron balanced one hand on Brooke’s shoulder while she thrust her fingers steadily into Vanessa’s pussy, alternating now and then to rub her clit with her thumb. Although the brunette was stifled verbally, it was very obvious when she came. She sat back on the couch, getting herself off while she watched Brooke ride Vanessa’s face.
Brooke’s hips stuttered to a halt as she rode out her orgasm shortly after, then gracefully dismounted off of Vanessa, then sat on the couch. “You know,” she said to Kameron, “I’d been meaning to reach out and get to know you, but this method is a lot more fun.”
——
Denali leaned against the jukebox, humming along to ‘Those Magic Changes’ until she saw Rosé walk in, which prompted her to relocate to sitting at the counter. “I thought you said your shift started at ten.”
“Today’s Tuesday, babe. I start at ten on Wednesdays,” Rosé replied as she tied her apron around her waist. “But it’s cute that you waited for me,” she winked.
“I had to, muñeca,” Denali insisted with a pout. “No one else makes the coffee as good as you do.”
Rosé couldn’t help but laugh softly as she got a pot of coffee going. “It’s the same shit every time, Dee,” she pointed out. But still, she had to look away and focus on the coffee to hide the broad grin that spread across her face. She poured a mug, setting it down in front of Denali. “What’re you eating, today?”
“You, ideally,” she murmured under her breath before looking up at her and replying, “patty melt, extra crispy onions, please,” while batting her lashes. “And a side of fries.”
The waitress nodded, scribbling the order onto the notepad. “You got it, baby,” she hummed, ripping the page out and hanging it up in the window, then ringing the bell for someone in the kitchen to come grab it. “So, how’re you liking the club? I’ll tell you, Jackie is the only person around here I’d trust running a place like that.”
Denali smiled, adding two packets of sugar and a splash of milk into her coffee, stirring slowly before taking a sip, though her eyes never left Rosé. “I mean, of all the strip clubs in the city, I’m glad I managed to find the one run and entirely populated by lesbians. You can’t plan for that sort of luck.”
Rosé snorted softly. “Guess not. You live in the neighborhood?”
“Nah,” she shook her head, “moved to Flatbush from Chicago.”
“Chicago, huh? You get into any fights with anyone over pizza yet?”
Denali shook her head. “Can I tell you a secret?” she leaned in closer, speaking in a stage whisper, “I’ve always liked New York-style pizza better.”
Rosé leaned in closer when Denali did, their faces only inches apart, close enough for her to take in the scent of her perfume – something woody and spicy with a hint of something heady, something almost as intoxicating as she was. “Oh, she’s a culinary rebel, huh?”
She let out a soft breath of laughter, biting down on her lip. “It does sound kinda hot when you say it like that,” she mused. The distance between them seemed to lessen, albeit by the tiniest bit at a time. But then she became aware of the background noise. “You have an order in the window, I think.”
Sure enough, one of the cooks had been ringing the bell for several seconds in an attempt to get Rosé’s attention. “Oh shit,” she laughed, turning and grabbing the plate, setting it down in front of Denali. “Enjoy,” she winked.
“I sure will,” Denali grinned and batted her lashes, her eyes following Rosé as she went to wait on another table. She gazed at her from across the restaurant. She would make a move, she thought, as soon as the moment was right.
——
Jackie stepped out of her office and noticed Jaida on her laptop in the common area. “Whatcha working on, honey?” she asked, sitting down beside her.
“The next great American novel,” Jaida told her. “Nah, I’m finishing up my OnlyFans page. Denali gave me a crash course in how to get this shit done right. Turns out it’s more than just taking what I do on stage and doing it in my room for a camera.”
“I mean, you’re welcome to make whatever content you need to on the stage or whatever if it helps,” she offered with a slight smile. “Anything I can do to help, let me know, okay?”
Jaida smiled warmly. “You’re the best, Jackie,” she tilted her head in thought for a moment before continuing, “maybe you could review the content before I post it? I’ll know it’s ready for the public if it has your seal of approval.”
Jackie nodded, ignoring the warmth that rushed to her cheeks. She nodded quickly, enthusiastically. “Oh my god, yeah. I’m honored you trust my judgment like that.”
“Hey, you stocked this club with top-tier bitches, you’re clearly onto something,” she offered with a reassuring grin. “Check it out, though,” she turned her laptop towards Jackie, “she’s open for business.”
Jackie leaned closer to the laptop, committing Jaida’s username to memory. “Impressive, I’m sure this is going to go over well for you.” She got out, smoothing out her skirt. “I have to take care of some paperwork, you alright from here?”
Jaida nodded. “All good, do your thing,” she said and waved her off. After Jackie retreated into her office, she continued working on her page. She was sitting in silence, which was why she jumped when she realized she was no longer alone a few moments later. “Fuck, how did you do that?”
Gigi shrugged. “I’m not convinced I’m not a Victorian ghost that’s taken corporeal form.” She kicked off her heels and turned to sit cross-legged on the couch, facing Jaida. “Listen, babe, I can smell an ulterior motive from a mile away. You’re trying to show off for Jackie, aren’t you? What’s the tea?”
“Guess it does take one to know one,” she murmured, reclining into the couch and letting out a sigh. “Yeah, okay, maybe I am into Jackie,” she conceded, “but unlike you, I have a good reason for not acting on it – she hasn’t been out of the closet all that long, I’m not tryna bombard her with shit, you know? It’s a delicate situation.”
“My situation is delicate too,” Gigi insisted, only to sigh and quietly add, “okay, maybe not as much, but still. So you’re just gonna wait it out?”
Jaida shrugged. “I don’t wanna freak her out. You, on the other hand, are crushing on someone that popped out of the womb with Doc Martens on, so you have no excuse.”
Gigi flopped onto her back and let out a dramatic sigh. “I know, I know. I just wish there was a way to just… send out some feelers, you know?”
“I cannot fathom how someone can dance naked in a cage one minute and not be able to look a girl with a One Direction tattoo in the eye the next. Literally, all you gotta do is take that confidence you got in the cage or on stage over to Miss Crystal Methyd, it ain’t that complicated, sis,” she did try to stop herself from talking to her like it should have been obvious – Gigi was almost ten years her junior, she had to remind herself. “You just need to try to stop overthinking,” she added in a more calm and gentle tone.
It wasn’t that Gigi didn’t know that, it was simply much easier to think about than to implement. “I know you’re right,” she murmured and sat up. She looked at her phone, chewing on her lip. “Okay, I’m gonna do something before I talk myself out of it,” she decided and stood up. “I’ll report back to you.”
“Good luck, my lil ghost baby.”
Gigi took a deep breath as she walked downstairs to the main floor. Crystal hadn’t arrived yet, so she perched herself on the bar as she waited, swinging her legs and fumbling with the hem of her skirt. Her head popped up when she heard the door open and her heart started to race when Crystal came into her field of vision.
“Hey Geege,” Crystal greeted, playfully tugging Gigi’s ponytail as she walked behind the bar.
“Hi Crystal,” she replied with the lilted laugh that was only ever elicited by the bartender. She reminded herself of Jaida’s words as she got off the bar and followed Crystal behind it. Just use your stage confidence. Picture yourself naked, she reminded herself. “You’re looking hot today.”
Crystal arched her brow. “Thanks? It’s just my usual uniform,” she shrugged and smiled. “You look hot though, but you always do.”
“Thanks,” Gigi twirled her hair around her fingers, batted her lashes, she was doing all of the textbook flirtations she could think of, but she stopped just as quickly, frowning. “Fuck, why does this feel so weird?” she asked herself, but out loud.
Crystal’s perplexed expression deepened. “What are you talking about?”
Gigi groaned and stomped her foot. “I’m trying to flirt with you, but I don’t know how to flirt with someone I actually like because I haven’t in so long. But you’re here and you’re just… fuck, this was supposed to be easier.”
The confusion on Crystal’s face morphed into pensiveness. She was quiet for a moment, then took a few steps towards Gigi. “I’m gonna kiss you now, unless you stop me.” She waited, giving her ample time to back away or speak up. Instead, she got a quick, eager nod. So, she gently cupped Gigi’s face, pressing a deep kiss to her lips.
And Gigi melted into the kiss, relief washing over her body as her arms draped around Crystal’s neck. Her leg went up like the girl in every single rom-com she’d watched and for a moment she felt like she was sixteen, having her first kiss behind the school while cutting gym class. The magic of the moment was only broken when she sensed they were no longer alone. She turned with a glare. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ us,” Lemon retorted, gesturing between herself, Jan, and Vanessa. “We’ve been waiting for this to happen for ages.”
“You kind of owe us a satisfying conclusion after subjecting us to your mutual pining fuckery you subjected us all to,” Jan nodded in agreement. “We’ve been along for this whole journey whether we wanted to be or not.”
“What they said,” Vanessa chimed in for the sake of being included.
Gigi rolled her eyes, though she did not attempt to let go of or move away from Crystal. “You guys are so fucking weird,” she muttered. “But I guess it’s kind of endearing or whatever,” she added reluctantly.
“We’ll leave you guys to finish your moment,” Jan said gently, guiding Lemon and Vanessa out of the main room and upstairs to the common area.
Crystal watched them leave, then looked back at Gigi. “I love our friends,” she grinned.
“I could take them or leave them,” she joked. “Look, we don’t… need to put a label on this or anything just yet. I know this was sudden… I just needed you to know how I felt.”
“You’re overthinking things again, aren’t you?” Crystal looped her arms around Gigi’s waist. “Listen, I know you only allow yourself three emotions a year, so it means a lot that I got to be on the receiving end of one of them. And like, I’m pretty bad at talking about feelings too, so… I dunno, let’s just see what happens.”
Gigi exhaled in relief. This was why she had gravitated towards Crystal so effortlessly, they understood each other, they were on the same wavelength. “So… how about you come back to my place after work? We could get high, pretend to watch some movies…”
Crystal pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “It’s a date.”
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londonfog-chan · 5 years
Text
Passione x Reader: Sudoh Buck AU
This was too fucking good to let it rot in AO3 so now you all have to be subjected to my JoJo thirst. All characters aged up (otherwise how the fuck would they have this job??)
...
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“So you’re not working my shift???”
“No... you’re actually my relief.”
Your best friend is clocking out just as you’re going to clock in. She looks dolefully up at you, nearly in tears from how the day has treated her. It’s her last shift for the week at the Passione Street location for Sudoh Buck, but you’re not sure why it was she had such a horrible time.
“He’s so mean!” She whispers as you lean down next to her.
“Who?!”
“The one on drive thru. He kept kicking me off bar because I made too many mistakes. I don’t know what I’m going to do for a whole three weeks with these people. I miss our store.”
The system is unavailable for you to punch in on the computer, so you’ll have to hunt down the punch communication log and you’re not exactly enthralled to be asking the dudes at the front. One of the guys, silver haired giant with neon lipstick, fucking glared you down when you went to the back. Had it not been for your coworker from the old store (Kimmy) walking out to say goodbye you’re sure he would have pummeled you.
“Yeah?” You ask, slightly bristling as your friend continues to look sad. “Well fuck me I guess. I’ll have to find out where that damn book is and go talk to one of them, and then you’ll be out and I’ll have to deal with this shit all by myself. At least you had the luxury of working with our crew...”
You can’t help the bitterness in your voice even though you know your friend is hurt. It’s been one fucking thing after another. You kept asking everyone where to go, and after being ignored and given a gang face, you’re not altogether sure you like Passione location after all... it’s in a location where you used to live as a child, not too far a commute from your current house where you live with your mother, and it’s the newest location established. But the newness is a fucking facade. You already have a bad impression by how they treated your friend, you can’t imagine they’re taking too kindly to being invaded by a new store. A friend working the S. Platinum location told you the other day he heard some blonde bastard of a shift complaining that the Ogre Street crew was stealing all the tips from the regular crew.
From a customer’s perspective, this is a coffee drinker’s paradise. Everything looks bright and new, when you walk into the cafe area, the front where they have the registers and the pastry case is on one big countertop that’s shared with the espresso bar and cold bar. In back of the bar is the drive thru window, and at the end of the espresso bar there’s some seating arrangements where customers can watch their drinks being made. It’s a typical Sudoh Buck color scheme. Lots of greys and white, the customers flock to it looking to get their fix, but under the facade there’s apparently a bastard crew working it. On top of that, the remodel for your location is going to take longer than anticipated. What else can you do but just rough it out with strangers you don’t even know?
“Well... I guess I’ll go home now.” Your friend murmurs sadly.
“Yeah. Bye.”
Your friend gets up and gathers her things, looking at you wistfully before mouthing “good luck”. In a few seconds she’s gone, and you’re standing there in an unfamiliar back office, apron in hand, wondering how on earth you’re going to survive the first day without anyone from your old store to help you.
“Oh hi there!”
An unusually cheerful voice jolts you out of your stupor as you come face to face with an unfamiliar associate. He looks fairly young, black messy hair held back with a bandana, and he looks you up and down with a sly look in his violet eyes.
“You’re one of the baristas from Ogre Street Mall yeah? Are you looking for the book?” He asks, cocking his head to the side as he ties up the strings of his apron. His black metal name tag has green chalk marker on it too small to make out, so you can’t tell his name right away.
“Yeah, I started a few months ago at that location. And yes, that would be helpful.” You tell him your name, and you can’t help the jump in your pulse when you hear him roll it off his tongue.
“That’s a pretty cute name.” He flirts, coming up on you with his fist up. “Nice to meet ya, I’m Narancia.”
You have to smile as you fist bump him (hey, it’s impolite to leave a homeboy hanging). Immediately you feel the strongest connection to him; Narancia is the first helpful and friendly face you’ve met so far in this location. And if he’s this cute and working a shift with you, you fully intend to stick by him wherever he goes.
“That’s not a bad name either my guy.” You smile. “Now about that book...”
“Come with me to front, we keep the book by the register in case anyone can’t get into the system.” He casually drapes an arm around your shoulder and you instinctually lean into him.
Hey, no one’s ever flirted with you before at work, and there’s no harm in it if you’re single. You know he’s probably smiling wider than fuck, but you could really care less at this point. Embarrassment ended when work jaded you. When you’re working 36 hours a week for minimum wage you tend to lose things like dignity.
“Here, make sure you check off this part with ‘New Store Labor’. Want me to get the ASM so he can tell you where to go?”
“That’d be great.” You insist. “I really appreciate you.”
“Stay right there!”
He runs off to the same isolated corner where you can hear the guys running drive thru taking orders. Before you write your name in the book, you notice that Narancia doesn’t clock in on the computer. The entire week is him filling out his punches in the book, one of many indicators that he was a barista who hated the new update for the punch log on the iPads. This indicates he’s the best kind of barista: the lazy fuck who can shortcut anything and come out on top. A few others prefer the book too, and you can’t help but admire the immaculate handwriting of this “Leone Abbacchio”, and you wonder if they’re as nice as their handwriting.
While you write in your punch, some dude with a funny looking orange beanie looks at you from his spot by the convection ovens, and you notice he’s muttering to himself on what looks like a gaming headset. When you make eye contact with him, he looks away as though he’s been caught committing a crime, saved by the loud beeping of the oven. He takes the tongs he’s holding and takes out some croissants, bagging them and putting stickers on the front before running them past you.
Narancia seems to be taking his sweet ass time with the assistant store manager. There’s another young looking guy, a blonde, at the point of sales system, the cafe is dead but bar is bumping, you can see other baristas pumping out drinks like their lives depend on it. Occasionally one will hand a drink off to a counter out of sight (probably to neon lipstick asshole who gang faced you earlier). The blonde leans against the counter, looking at you up and down the same way Narancia did. Vaguely you wonder: why did your friend say these guys were assholes? The blond and Narancia, along with the warming guy, seem perfectly content to check you out, and frankly you’re enjoying the attention. Fuck a duck, the guys here are hot!
“You’re the barista from Ogre Street?”
The question comes from the blonde at the POS system. You nod.
“Yessir. Just coming on board until the remodel happens.” You reply. “What’s your name?”
“Call me Fugo. You?”
He smiles when you tell him your name, but evidently you’re going to have to wait your turn to talk to him. That’s the beauty of working a coffee shop, customers just crawl out of the woodwork and line up at the POS system, and you smile when you hear Fugo’s very lovely “Welcome to Sudoh Buck, what may I get started for you today?”. It’s pretty awkward just chilling out by the pastry case. Typically you just jump into the first unmanned task when you walk into your store, but this is entirely new territory. Even the espresso machines are different here, you heard talk that soon all the new Sudoh Buck locations are getting what’s called Mastrena 4’s, whatever the shit that means. All you know is it’s supposed to make things a hell of a lot easier, and that you have to have it mastered before the remodel is completed.
“Sorry we kept you waiting for so long, you must be so confused.”
You’re pulled out of your stupor and suddenly face to face with the most gorgeous assistant store manager you’ve ever seen in your life. He’s got what your coworkers would call a “Karen” haircut, but he wears it well, and apparently he doesn’t mind it all too much that you’re staring at him like he’s a piece of meat in a butcher shop. He’s tall, all legs and arms with broad shoulders in a black turtleneck sweater. Narancia is almost overshadowed by the ASM’s beauty (he returns wearing the same headset as the guy on oven duty), but you sneak a glance at him too just for a minute.
“Y-yea... I mean, no it’s cool. I just, it’s like was anyone going to tell me what to do? Or was I supposed to have a sense of purpose myself?”
... Jesus Christ on a crutch... you note that the ASM must really appreciate your blunt humor, because his blue eyes are even smiling as he laughs. Narancia can’t help but laugh too, and with both men looking like snacks whenever they smile you’re about to drop from being so weak in the knees.
“I think you’ll be a great fit here.” The ASM smiles, “My name is Bruno Buccellati. You are...”
Your name rolling off his tongue makes you weak again. Oh lort... how does any barista get work done around here with all this man candy???
“Before we start, what position are you most comfortable with?” Bruno asks.
You’re about ten seconds from blurting out something nasty: spit roast sounds nice, Narancia and oven guy can watch.
“Ok...” you steel yourself, fully prepared with a speech you’d rehearsed in the car only an hour before. “I’m gonna keep it real with you chief, I don’t know how to do anything in a drive thru, and I don’t know how to run the new Mastrenas. If someone can show me I can do bar, otherwise I’m down to help on cold.”
Bruno seems to take this into consideration, looking over at the line that’s forming on front. Narancia looks too, immediately hopping onto bar where he starts steaming milk and pulling espresso shots from the machine without anyone having to ask him. His quick response triggers that look in Bruno’s eyes, and he nods you over towards the bar.
“I think I’ll have you with Narancia on cold bar for now. He’s going to be cafe and drive thru bar, so whatever he needs help with, just pull the stickers and he can show you where everything is. We’ll kill this line, and then I can give you a more permanent assignment. How’s that sound?”
“Gotcha!”
You instantly spring into action, much more confident now that you have direction. Narancia is pulling stickers out of a square machine and pasting them to cups, handing the plastic ones to you where you spring into action. Getting into a sequence, you start a drink, begin another one, work on the first, then start a third, going on like this until you’ve got a rhythm. Pumping out teas, fraps, refreshers, anything iced at all. Your hands fly over your work, and you almost don’t hear the praises that are being showered on you.
“Damn look at her go!” Whistles Narancia, “Hey Mista! Check out bar star over here!”
The guy from warming is over your shoulder as you hand out a drink, calling out Tom’s 20 ounce passion hibiscus tea. He smiles at you for a split second, too dazzling for words, then runs back to the oven when his headset lights up.
Vaguely you wonder how the hell your friend had such a rough time here at this location when there’s so much nice man candy to look at.
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fiftyshadesofcorona · 3 years
Text
Fifty Shades of Corona
A Brief Note Before You Begin
This novel is intended to be semi-satirical and "so stupid that it's funny", so please do not take it too seriously. It is meant to be savored enjoyed, sip by precious sip, like a fine wine…or something…either alone or amongst your most well-humored friends.
Epigraph
“But it is only in epic tragedies that gloom is unrelieved. In real life tragedy and comedy are so intermingled that when one is most wretched ridiculous things happen to make one laugh in spite of oneself.”
Georgette Heyer
Prelude
The forested roads of Northern Washington are eery and empty as I race back to him.
It was the last thing that I expected to happen during the global Coronavirus pandemic.
It came on fast, terrifying and all-consuming—gripping my heart and invading my mind.
I still can’t believe it…
I’ve fallen in love.
I glance over at my phone resting silently on the passenger’s side seat.
My stomach twists with grief and my knuckles go bone-white against the steering wheel.
Why hasn’t he called?!
What if—
I shake the thought away before I can finish it. If I let my mind go there it will be the end of me.
A few days ago, I didn’t even know he existed.
Now I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to exist again without him.
I swipe at my cheeks, hot tears streaking my hand.
This is bad.
This is so so bad.
The seaside exit comes into view.
I lean forward and take a deep breath, trying to compose myself.
Nearly there.
I hope he’s okay.
I hope I can see him.
Even if it’s our last goodbye.
Tears well in my eyes.
I hope I’m not too late.
Chapter One
The Mob
“See you tomorrow, Ana! And thanks for bringing the cupcakes. They were delicious!”
I turn to wave goodbye to my coworker Jessica, who’s still busy stocking the shelves with sewing supplies. Jessica’s the only other worker here at Karen’s Krafts besides myself and our dome-haircut-wielding owner-slash-manager, Karen.
“I’m glad you liked them,” I say brightly. “They’re my grandmother’s recipe. Super easy.”
“No kidding?” she says, looking surprised. “Well tell your grandma her recipe was the bomb.”
“Will do. See you tomorrow!” I begin to clock out of the computer, but stop to add, “And good luck with the crowds. This Coronavirus stuff is crazy!”
Jessica steps back and gives me a look.
“Tell me about it! I’m running low on toilet paper, but nobody has it stocked.”
“Dang. That sucks.”
“Ch—tell me about it.”
I finish clocking out.
“Anyway,” I say, sighing. “I better get going. I have to make a run and try to pick up some…ahem…lady products…if you know what I mean.”
Jessica’s eyes get big. “Oh no, Ana. You can’t be serious!”
“Very serious. I’m all out.”
Jessica frowns. “I would give you some of mine if I had them, but I’m all out, too. Good thing it’s not my time of the month.”
My eyebrows arch up to my hairline. “Consider yourself lucky.”
“Shit, here she comes,” Jessica whispers.
When I look up, Jessica’s back at work stocking the bobbins and thread.
My manager Karen waddles up to the register and lingers over the back of my shoulder. I finish straightening up the counter, trying my best not to recoil from the hot puffs of breath hitting the back of my neck. I peek back at her dome haircut and put on my customer-service smile.
“What’s up? How did you like the cupcakes?”
I try to guess whether she has a complaint or is just bored. Those are the only two reasons I’ve ever seen Karen willingly leave her office. The unpleasant expression on her face tells me nothing, as it is a permanent feature of hers.
“Cupcakes?” she says distractedly. Glancing down, I notice she’s clutching a clipboard with something on it. Her lips move silently as she reads from whatever it is.
I clear my throat. “I brought some cupcakes this morning. German chocolate. Very tasty.”
She says nothing, so I grab my purse from under the counter. “I hoped they might cheer everybody up. You know, with the virus and all?”
“Virus?!” Her head snaps up, eyes bulging. “You have the virus?!”
“No, I made cupcakes to cheer every—“ I start to explain, but stop myself when I see the blind panic on her face. “No. I don’t have the virus.”
She relaxes and heaves a sigh of relief, which hits me square in the face.
The smell! I hold my breath and try not to make a face.
I shift my purse on my shoulder and open my mouth to tell her goodbye when she spits out, “Say, can I speak to you for a sec?”
Crap. This can’t be good.
“Sure,” I say, forcing cheer into my voice. I set my purse on the counter and wait for her to continue. She clears her throat wetly, looks down at her clipboard, then clears her throat again.
Yep, definitely bad news. I brace myself.
“Ana, we’ve decided to let you go.”
My shoulders tense, and there’s a rush of something terrible down in my stomach.
“Today is your last day,” she continues, reading robotically from her clipboard.
Is she serious? I’ve worked here for a year and a half, never been late for a single shift, and always gotten stellar performance reviews. I’m basically a model employee!
“Thank you for the work you’ve done here, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors,” she finishes.
“You’re firing me?” I ask in a small voice that surprises even me.
“Not exactly…but sort of.”
This can’t be happening. “Wh—what did I do wrong?”
“I didn’t say you did anything wrong, did I?” She looks put-out, another typical expression of hers.
My shoulders relax a little.
“Did you even listen to a word I said?” she says, shaking her head. “I said you’re being put on non-disciplinary indefinite leave.”
I cock my head, confused. “Um, I don’t think that’s what you said.”
She huffs and holds the clipboard back up.
“It’s exactly what I said. See, right here.”
She jabs a finger at the page, face reddening as she purses her lips.
Jeez. And I thought she looked unpleasant before…
She slaps the clipboard onto the counter. “Either way I’m saying it now.”
“So, I’m not fired?”
Crap. I’m so confused right now.
“No,” she huffs again. “You’re not fired. But you’re no longer scheduled for any shifts. And we’ll be taking you off the payroll.”
“Um…okay…”
That sounds a lot like being fired, but I decide not to push the subject.
Tears press at the corners of my eyes as I take a moment to process everything. Karen must notice, because she lets out another sigh and steps towards me. Her hand thumps heavily on my shoulder. “But I want you to know that it’s not you, it’s us.” She pats me once, then steps back, looking pleased with herself.
I suddenly feel like I’m going through an awkward breakup. Which I guess I am in a way.
“Wow. Um…What a surprise.” I catch myself wringing my hands so I stop. “Is it because of the virus?”
“Of course it’s because of the virus!” she shouts. “What else would it be? It’s certainly not my fault! I’ll have you know that Karen’s Krafts is extremely successful,” she gestures wildly. “Perhaps the most successful small business in all of Seattle!“
“You’re right, Karen.” I quickly say the three magic words that always calm her when she gets like this.
Sure enough, she lowers her arms and tries to composes herself.
“You probably haven’t noticed, Ana, but we’re not doing as much business as usual.”
In fact, I have noticed. The store has been totally dead for the last week and a half. But I don’t want to risk setting her off again, so I stay quiet. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to expect me to reply.
“Nothing like the grocery stores,” she says with a bitter laugh. She shakes her head and gives a shrug. “Just have to let some people go for the time being.”
“How long until I’m able to come back?”
She shrugs her shoulders again.
“No way to know. I’m only keeping Jessica because she’s my niece.”
I nod my head.
“Right, right. Makes sense.” Not really, but whatever. I’m totally against nepotism. It sucks and it’s everywhere, but there’s no getting away from it—sort of like Coronavirus.
“Of course it makes sense. That’s why I’m doing it!” Karen snaps. She snatches up her clipboard and turns to walk away. “Anyway, if things get better I’ll call you. Make sure you answer.”
“Thanks,” is all I can muster in response as she disappears into the restroom.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, everything sinks in.
I just lost my job.
During a global pandemic.
“Oh, and Ana!” Karen’s voice booms from the toilet.
I knew she’d change her mind!
“Yes?!” I call out brightly.
“Don’t forget to leave your name tag.”
My shoulders fall.
“Sure thing, Karen.” I unpin the familiar badge from my shirt and set it on the counter. It looks as small as I feel. I take a few deep breaths and turn to leave. All I want right now is to get the hell out of here and get home as soon as possible so I can relax, have a good cry, and think over what to do next.
A thought occurs to me.
What am I going to do about my rent?
Crap. I can feel the tears coming…
A second later, my sadness turns to anger, and I clench my fists.
This sucks so f-ing bad. Like, what the heck did I ever do to deserve this! Ugh!
I force myself to remain composed. This isn’t the time to break down into hysterics.
I give myself a little pep talk.
Calm down, Ana. You’re a fully grown, strong, capable young woman. You’ll get through this. All you need to do is grab hold of your big girl panties and ride them clear up the crack of your ass so hard there’s no chance in hell they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.
Now that my spirits have been sufficiently lifted, I’m ready to take on the world. Or at the very least, my own small corner of it.
I stop in front of the exit to check my phone and notice seven missed phone calls and three missed text messages from my mother.
I roll my eyes. Of course. She’s a typical narcissistic, panicky boomer. At sixty-five years old she’s never worked a day in her life, attends church two to three times per week, and still believes in the magic of prayer. It may sound like I hate her, but I don’t. She annoys me, sure. But deep down I keep telling myself she has my best interest at heart, even if what her heart is telling her isn’t actually what’s in my best interest…if that makes any sense. With that said, whatever she has to say is certain to irritate me far beyond what I’m currently able to stand.
I decide to get it over with.
I take a deep breath and read the first text.
Mom: Ana, this is your mother. Just texting to let you know I called. I’m very worried about you with all of this virus stuff going on. Praying for you. Love Always, Your Mother.
Okay. Fairly normal so far given the circumstances. Maybe I was wrong to judge her so quickly.
I scroll down to the second text, which looks like it was sent…I squint to see—oh yes: exactly three minutes after the first one, and two minutes after the last three phone calls.
Mom: Ana, this is your mother. I’ve been praying and praying for you to call me back. I am deeply worried about you. I’ve tried calling you three more times. It’s not like you to ignore my phone calls, especially during such dark and uncertain times as these. Call me back as soon as you get this. My heart is hurting to know if my sweet little Ana is okay. Love Always, Your Mother.
A little worse this time, but not the worst I’ve seen.
I brace myself for the third text, which I know will be bad because it was sent exactly two minutes after the second text, and one minute after the last three calls.
Mom: Ana, this is your mother. I’m seriously freaking out right now. I keep having visions of you lying in a body bag, stiff as a frozen lamb chop and twice as cold. Why are you being such an obstinate, petulant child? I keep calling and calling, and still no answer. I keep praying and praying, but still no answer. Why aren’t you answering me, dear daughter? Why aren’t you answering me, dear Lord? My heart is heavy with sorrow and worry for the precious daughter I raised and nurtured by the milk of my own breasts. I’m so scared, sweet daughter. My nerves are frazzled and frayed beyond mortal repair. I feel as though I may collapse into a puddle of eternal sorrow. My heart is aching for you, my sweet dear little girl. My sweet, sweet precious daughter. Oh Lord, why have you forsaken her? Call me as soon as you get this. Love Always, Your Mother.
Okay, what the hell? I’m not even going to get started on how freaking weird that was.
I decide it might be better to wait until I get home to call her back. Something tells me the phone call won’t be quick, and I really need to get to the store to get my lady supplies, so I decide to opt for a text instead.
Ana: Calm down, Mom. I’m fine. I just got off work, and now I have to make a run to Wholesome Foods for some supplies. Please don’t worry. I’ll call you as soon as I get home. Love, Ana.
Hopefully that suffices to stave off the insanity.
My phone immediately pings with her reply.
Mom: Sounds good. Love Always, Your Mother.
Simple enough. A little odd, given the texts that came before it, but I’ll take it.
I pause and look out the front door before leaving. Beyond the window, thin sheets of rain coat the steamy sidewalks of Seattle. I notice most of the people who pass by look panicked. Ever since the Coronavirus started everyone has seemed more alert and on edge. At first I found it exciting, because they all seemed less depressed and more alive. But now it’s beginning to worry me.
I finger the small silver cross bracelet my grandmother gave me for my sixteenth birthday. It had been my great-grandmother’s before it was hers, but I never got the full story behind it. I do, however, remember her telling me it was for courage and strength, which is what I need most right now.
I take a deep breath and push through the door.
The door bell dings, and once I’m outside I breathe in the cool damp air. The rain is lighter than I expected—more of a mist really, so I decide to leave my umbrella unopened and gaze up at the silver clouds as they roil and swirl above me. There’s something wonderful about their movement, and I find myself getting lost in them.
DING! DING! DING! RIGHT SIDE!
My peaceful reverie is rudely interrupted.
DING! DING! DING! RIGHT SIDE!
Shit! Cyclists!
DING! DING! DING!…
I leap left at the last moment, barely dodging a small herd of spandex-clad cyclists thrusting through the crowd like they own the street. I brace myself against a tree to keep from falling over, when one of them—a middle-aged man-child with greying temples—looks back at me and scowls.
I put up my hand to apologize even though he’s probably the one who should be apologizing.
He turns and mutters something under his breath that sounds like “Bitch” and keeps pedaling.
I turn and bite my fingernail. What an asshole.
Crap.
I pull my fingers out of my mouth. That’s probably not the best thing I could be doing during a global viral outbreak.
I reach into my purse for some hand sanitizer and slather the cool alcohol over my fingers.
Two steps into my walk, my phone buzzes.
What now?
I check my phone. It’s Stacy, my best friend and roommate.
Stacy: Are you off work yet!?
My thumbs tap out a reply.
Ana: Just got off.
I look up from my phone. A woman who looks like she might have been sane a week ago but who is now basically a bag lady passes by me with a shopping cart full of bathroom supplies, screaming “Fuck you! Got mine!”
As she passes, I look closer at her hand and spot what appears to be a taser.
I pause and make a face. What the hell has this world come to?
My phone buzzes with another text.
Stacy: Cool. Check it. Blue fish bowls. Remember these things?
A cotton-candy-filtered photo pops up of Stacy slurping down a big blue fishbowl margarita.
I smile at Stacy’s exaggerated duck face.
Then I notice Dezzy in the background. Dezzy’s the friend Stacy brought down to Florida with her for Spring Break instead of me. She looks drunk as she flashes a peace sign with one hand and a middle finger with the other. Ugh. Dezzy can be such a… I’m not even going to say it. She’s always hated me for reasons, which is strange because I never had a problem with her. Oh well. Best to ignore it.
Ana: Looks like fun.
Stacy: ’Tis. ’Tis.
I’m tempted to tell her about being put on indefinite leave, but I don’t want to ruin her good time, so I tuck my phone away. The bad news can wait.
I pass by a homeless man trying to sell face masks on the street corner. As I pass by, I notice half of them are covered in dirt stains and are clearly used, and it’s obvious he’s been digging through the local hospital dumpster to find them.
He shoves one in my face.
“Twenty dollars!”
I move away from him. “No thanks.”
He follows me a few steps. “Ten dollars!”
I shake my head, wincing.
“Five!”
“I’m fine,” I laugh nervously. “Really.”
“Fine. One dollar. Final offer.”
“But they look like you found them in a dumpster, sir!”
“Still good. See, clean enough.” He dangles it in front of my face and turns it so I can see all the sides.
I pull out a dollar and hand it to him, but tell him he can keep the mask.
“You need a mask,” he says, and tries to put it on my face.
“Fine, I’ll take it.” I quickly grab the mask out of his hand before he’s able to touch my face with it.
“God bless!” he spits through his last remaining tusk, and turns to his next victim.
I hold the mask as far away from my body as possible, and toss it in the nearest garbage can. When I turn back to see if the homeless man saw me I catch him glaring at me.
“Sorry,” I mouth.
He scurries over to the garbage can to retrieve it.
Shit!
I run through the crowd to get away from him, and I don’t stop until I’m nearly a block away, where I pull out my phone and text Stacy.
Ana: You should see it here, Stacy. Things are getting crazy.
Stacy: Yeah, no shit. I saw the news. Seattle blows. Florida is way more fun!
Ana: I bet. How’s the silver fox hunt going?
FYI, the real reason Stacy’s down in Florida for Spring Break is to hunt for an older man to marry. And when I say old, I mean like really old. See, Stacy’s life didn’t pan out quite like she had hoped. She failed out of college during her first semester and can’t seem to hold down a job. In her mind, the next logical step is to marry into money. And since most guys with money are older, she figures the older he is the more she’s hedging her bet.
I look around at all the depressed and desperately overworked faces passing by and can’t help but wonder if maybe she’s onto something.
Stacy: Sucks so far. Nothing but poor frat guys with big muscles and orange tans. All the silver foxes are holed up in hiding from the stupid virus.
Ana: Dang. Bad timing.
Stacy: You’re telling me. It’s hard out here for a bitch!
I smile, but it doesn’t last long. Something about her comment reminds me that I’m out of a job.
Should I tell her now?
Probably.
Ana: I feel like I’m about to cry, Stacy. Karen basically just fired me.
Stacy: What!? Why would she fire you? You’re like the best employee ever?
Ana: Well, technically she put me on indefinite leave.
Stacy: What the freak is that?
Ana: It means I don’t get a paycheck for who knows how long, and I don’t know when they’ll hire me back…if ever.
Stacy: That sucks, Banana. I’m sorry. How the heck are we going to pay the rent?
Yeah, she calls me Banana. It’s a play on Ana, if you missed it. She’s clever like that.
Ana: It’s okay. I’ll be okay. I’m not sure about the rent, though.
But I’m not okay. My eyes grow hot with tears. What am I going to do for money? Where will I live if we get evicted?
Stacy: Shit. I just realized I won’t have any money left after this trip. Hopefully I can find a silver fox fast. :(
Ana: Hopefully. :(
I turn the corner and see a long line of customers waiting outside Wholesome Foods. People are crammed together, yelling and jostling for position, and for some reason it reminds me of the movie The Night of the Living Dead.
Double crap.
A heavy wave of sickness washes over me, and I feel like I might pass out.
I really don’t want to go to the store right now, so I rifle through my purse in a last ditch effort to find a tampon to hold me over until tomorrow. My fingers find a string.
Ah ha!
But wait…
I pull it out.
Crap.
Not only is it out of its wrapper, it’s covered in lint and snack crumbs and looks like it’s old enough to attend kindergarten.
I drop it back into my purse and tap out a question to Stacy.
Ana: Do tampons expire?
Stacy: No, they’re like condoms. They last forever.
Ana: Um… Are you sure?
Stacy: Totally sure.
I want to trust her, but I’m pretty sure she’s wrong. Looks like I’ll have to wait in line.
I step into line behind a mother and her five children, one of whom is screaming at the top of it’s lungs for no reason.
My phone buzzes with a new text.
Stacy: Hey bitch. How’s your depressing life?
What the?
That was out of nowhere. How many fish bowls has Stacy had so far? Jeez.
I try to figure out how to respond when another text comes in.
Stacy: I’m glad you didn’t come down here with us. It’s better for everyone.
I shake my head, confused.
Ana: Excuse me?
Stacy: Sorry, Dez took my phone.
Ana: Oh. That explains it.
Stacy: Dez was just joking.
Uh huh. Right.
The line moves forward a few steps, and when it stops the crowd lets out a collective sigh.
Stacy: We both wish you were here. You should have come with.
Ana: Somebody had to stay and look after the apartment… Besides, it’s probably not the nicest thing to be down there partying and putting so many people at risk.
Stacy: Get off your high horse Banana! You decided not to go long before the virus happened.
I can’t say she’s wrong.
Stacy begged me to go but I opted to save money and get some extra hours at work.
Oh, the irony.
But if I had decided to go on the trip, I like to think I would have cancelled as soon as I knew it would be putting people at risk. Still, there’s no use in arguing with Stacy.
Ana: I’m probably just jealous.
Stacy: As you should be. Florida is so much better than dreary depressing Seattle.
Ana: Yeah, if you like living in a giant trailer park filled with bugs, alligators, and old people.
Stacy: LoL
I laugh a little as the line moves forward a few paces.
Stacy: Seriously though. Take it easy on the old people. They’re my last ticket to freedom.
Ana: I still think you can do better for yourself, but what do I know?
Stacy: Obviously not much. Face it, I’m fucked if I can’t find a rich man to marry.
She might be right, but I refuse to agree.
Stacy: Besides, old guys are hot. I’m surprised you don’t look for one yourself, given your present circumstance.
I can’t say I’ve ever found older-older men hot. Unless of course the guy was only a little bit older. Then I’d be fine with it.
Ana: I guess I just think I have more potential than that. I’d like to earn my own living and independence some day, even if it’s hard.
There’s a brief pause where she doesn’t reply, and I wonder if I offended her.
Ana: At least that’s what I’m hoping for. Who knows if it will happen.
Stacy: You do you and I’ll do me, Banana.
I roll my eyes.
Ana: Come on, I’m sure there are plenty of decent jobs you could get that don’t require a college degree.
Stacy: Ew gross! I’d rather kill myself than work for a living. Fuck that.
I laugh. She’s right in a way. Work sucks major ass. The only times I’m ever truly unhappy are when I’m at work.
Ana: There might be some truth to what you’re saying.
Stacy: Just wait. One of these days some rich older guy is going to catch your eye. Then you’ll change your mind.
I think it over.
Ana: Okay, and say that does happen. How do you expect I’ll get him? It’s not like I have much to offer besides my youth.
Stacy: Not true. You look great, Banana.
Ana: Whatever. I know what I look like.
Stacy: You don't give yourself enough credit. You’re gorgeous. And totally smart.
Even though I know she’s just saying these things to cheer me up, I still can’t help but smile.
Ana: But seriously, how does one go about snagging a rich man?
Stacy: What you need are some good pick up lines.
Right…
I look up and see that the line has moved quite a bit from where I started. At this rate I’ll be inside in no time.
Stacy: Here’s one I’ve been practicing for my hunt… Have you ever been arrested? Because your looks are killer.
I roll my eyes.
Ana: Maybe I’ll give it a try some day.
Stacy: Do it. You won’t be disappointed.
A fight breaks out at the front of the line.
Seconds later, the two guys fighting are escorted away by a masked security guard and the line moves forward to fill the gap.
As I near the entrance, the crowd noise grows louder, and a swarm of customers break through the exit.
Crap! They’re charging right at me.
I quickly side-step out of their way and a middle-aged white woman with a dome haircut shoves past me into the store, making me do a double-take.
Phew. Not Karen.
As the woman passes by, I overhear a small portion of her phone conversation:
“I’m pretty sure I have it. I’m going to the doctor right now. I just have to stop at Wholesome Foods real quick.”
Holy crap. This place is like a war zone or something.
I enter the store close behind Karen Number 2.
Once inside, I immediately notice two things:
1. Nobody in this store seems to be wearing a mask, and…
2. All the grocery carts and baskets are gone.
I take a deep breath.
Everything’s okay, I tell myself. Just improvise and get out as fast as you can.
I hurry past the entrance and into the toiletry section.
Okay…tampons…where are the tampons?
I look down an aisle and see people lined up at the pharmacy, scrambling for asthma medication and pills. Thank goodness I’m fairly healthy and don’t need any medication. If push comes to shove, I can get by for months on my one-a-day multivitamin.
I step into the feminine hygiene aisle where a group of frustrated women are looking around frantically.
One of them says to the others, “Where are the fucking tampons!”
I look over the shelves, and they’re nearly empty.
Come on…tampons…tampons…there has to be one more pack somewhere.
I start digging through the merchandise, checking back behind the other products.
No luck.
Okay. Think, Ana. Think. What could you do?
My phone buzzes with a text.
Stacy: Where did you go?
Ana: There aren’t any tampons at the store! What am I going to do?”
Stacy: Okay. I’m calling you.
American Girl blares through my phone speakers.
I hold the phone out in front of me and right as I’m about to accept the call a scruffy-looking guy appears out of nowhere and sneezes all over the front of my screen.
I look up at him, totally grossed out.
“Sorry, dude,” he says, then disappears down the aisle.
Crap. There’s no way I’m holding this thing up to my head now.
The song keeps playing, tinny notes ringing out.
A rude woman nearby screams, “Answer your goddamn phone!”
“Sorry,” I mutter, and tap the speakerphone button, careful to avoid the spit droplets on the screen.
The first thing I and everybody within a twenty-five-foot radius hears is an obnoxious slurping sound.
Several shoppers turn and glare at me, so I hurry into a side aisle where there aren’t as many people. “Geez, Stacy. What are you drinking?” I hiss at the phone. “You sound like Lord Buttcrack with his ten gallon gas station sodas.”
Lord Buttcrack is the nickname Stacy and I have given our fat, greedy, disgusting landlord, on account of the fact that we’ve never seen him without half of his butt crack hanging out of his pants.
“Hold it right there,” Stacy says. “Don’t you dare ever compare me to Lord Buttcrack. I love you dearly, but that’s taking it too far. Besides, he sounds more like a butthole.”
I laugh at her drunken simile. “I don’t like that image. Why are you thinking about his butthole?”
“Hey, where there’s a crack, there’s always a hole.”
Um…
“As to your first question,” she continues, “I just finished my third Blue Ocean Fishbowl.”
“Holy crap! You drank three of them? Don’t they come in, like, a literal fish bowl?”
“Mm-hm. And the alcohol content is through the roof.”
“Something tells me you’re going to regret this.”
“Doubt it.”
I sigh.
“Anyway, back to my tampon problem.”
“Where did Joey go?” Dezzy’s voice cuts in.
“Who the hell is Joey?!” Stacy shouts.
“The guy with the muscles, duh,” Dezzy moans in the background.
“They all have muscles!” Stacy cries.
“Ugh…the one with the tan!”
“They all have tans!”
“Hello!?” I say loudly into the phone.
“Oh, sorry. Seriously, Dezzy is being such a bitch.”
“You’re the fucking bitch, bitch!” Dezzy laugh-screams in the background.
“Whatever…” Stacy says. “Back to the problem at hand. Can’t you just wear pads?”
“They’re out of those, too.”
A woman nearby overhears our conversation and approaches me.
“Pads? Did someone say pads? Where are the pads? I need more pads! There have to be more pads!”
Stacy starts laughing so hard she begins to choke.
The woman’s frantic energy scares the crap out of me, so I back away from her and hurry into the clothing section, which seems to be the only empty part of the store.
I duck down under some hanging dresses and tops. “Seriously, Stacy. What should I do?”
“Let me think…” Stacy muses. “Oh, I know! A while back I was watching this TV show about these female prison inmates…”
Great.
“Okay?”
“Bare with me,” she says, sensing my doubt.
“K.”
“Anyway, whenever the prison ran out of tampons, the women would just wad up a bunch of toilet paper and shove it up their pussies.”
Genius. Simply genius.
A woman with a stroller opens the clothing rack and pokes her head in. “Could you keep it down with the profanity? Children are nearby!”
“Fuck off, lady!” Stacy screams at her through the phone.
The woman scoffs and throws the clothing rack closed.
“It’s not the worst idea,” I say. “Only problem is they’re all out of toilet paper as well.”
“Hmm…
“I need more ideas.”
“You could just free bleed,” she says.
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s when you…”
“Actually, never mind.”
“You’re sure?”
“Totally sure.”
“Fine. Scratch that.. Let’s see…” Stacy makes a weird sucking sound with her mouth while she’s thinking.
Another customer comes by and starts sliding the shirts around me.
“What’s that annoying noise?” Stacy says.
“I’m under a rack of tank tops and someone’s looking through them.”
“Oops, sorry!” The faceless searcher says.
“It’s fine,” I say back nicely.
Stacy gasps. “I know!”
“What?”
“Why don’t you just cut up a tank top and shove it up your pussy?”
I laugh.
“Come on. That’s ghetto.”
“Yeah. But what else are you going to do?”
She’s got a point. What if this is the answer?
“But I don’t wanna!” I groan into the phone.
“I know it sucks, Banana. But it’s probably your only option.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
I crawl out from under the clothing rack and grab three spaghetti strap tank tops.
“Do you think three is enough?”
“Um…probably.”
“Okay. Good to go. Now it’s time to get the hell out of here.”
“You go girl!”
As I’m walking towards the front checkout, I spot some cotton balls out of the corner of my eye.
Hmm. These could be useful.
I snag them off the shelf.
“Hey, Stacy, do you think cotton balls…”
“WHAT!” someone screams on Stacy’s end.
A man across the aisle glares at me.
I mouth “sorry” and turn away.
“Quiet down,” I hiss. “Or I’m hanging up.”
“IS THIS ANA?!”
Shit. It’s Dezzy again.
“Dez, put Stacy back on the phone,” I whisper.
“FUCK YOU, ANA! YOU FUCKING BITCH!”
“Okay, I’m hanging up.”
“WOO! SPRING BREAK!” Dezzy screams so loud my speaker pops.
I hang up the phone and slip it into my pocket.
When I get to the front of the store, I join the back of the nearest line and take in my surroundings. All around me carts are overflowing. Off to my left, a plump woman is loading fifteen large cases of soda onto the conveyor belt, and the guy behind her has nothing but vanilla puddings and beef jerky.
He catches me staring and smiles at me. Holy hell! All his teeth are missing. I don’t even want to guess how he’s going to eat all that jerky.
“Next!” a young female voice calls from the front of the line.
I turn toward the register, but can’t seem to see the girl who said it. All I see is some sort of contraption where the register should be that looks like four broom sticks wrapped in layers of cellophane.
The dome-headed woman ahead of me huffs up to the register and hacks onto the cellophane.
Holy crap! It’s the Karen Clone from earlier!
I leave some distance between us and try not to breathe in whatever she’s hacking.
“Excuse me!” Karen Number 2 brays at the cellophane. “You forgot to ask me if I found everything I was looking for.”
The cellophane sucks in and releases with a sigh, and the disembodied voice from earlier returns. “Did you find everything you were—“
“No. I. Did. Not.” Spittle from Karen Number 2’s mouth hits the cellophane with each word. “And I need to speak to your manager. Immediately.”
The girl behind the plastic lets out another sigh. “Randy! Customer for you.”
A ruddy-faced man shuffles our way, but before he makes it to the register, Karen Number 2 marches towards to him.
“Next!” the girl behind the cellophane says, not caring if the woman loses her place in line.
I step forward to the register.
“I think some people are worse than the virus,” she says from behind the barrier.
I laugh. “No kidding.”
She sighs and the plastic wrap squeaks.
I clear my throat. “Um…What is this thing?”
“Modified spit guard. Courtesy of my dumb asshole manager.”
I laugh. “It looks pretty…um…”
“Shit?”
“Yeah, sort of,” I giggle.
“It would be better if he hadn’t triple wrapped the cellophane. Now I can’t see anything.”
“Why are most managers such bozos?” I scoff.
“Because the owners know if they were too smart they’d quit.”
I think it over. “Then why are some of the employees so smart?”
“Because it doesn’t matter if they quit.”
I laugh. It’s so true!
Then it occurs to me. “Why can’t you just wear masks and gloves?”
“Mr. Bozo thinks it will scare the customers.”
I frown at the plastic wrap.
“Wow. That’s really stupid.”
“Tell me about it,” she sighs.
My heart goes out to the girl trapped behind the cellophane. Her face is so blurred that I wouldn’t even know she was a girl if it weren’t for her voice.
“Nobody sees us and nobody cares,” she says hauntingly.
A chill runs down my spine.
I don’t know what to say, so I look down at my feet.
“Your total comes to $17.20.”
Crap, that’s expensive. I really wish they were carrying tampons.
I pull out my wallet and grab two tens.
When I look up I notice there’s a card reader, but no way to get her the cash.
“Um…all I have is cash.”
A tiny index finger appears above the cellophane, then points down. “Make it rain on this bitch.”
I fold the bills into fourths so they don’t scatter, then toss them over. “Keep the change.”
“Oh wow. Thanks,” She says. Her voice is different this time, less depressed. “Seriously, I need it.”
“No problem. Good luck.”
“Psh! Thanks,” she says with a laugh.
I laugh, too. “K, bye.”
Behind me, the ruddy-faced manager announces that the store is closing in ten minutes, and half the customers groan.
A woman in the cereal aisle screams, “This is bullshit! I need food for my kids!”
Behind me, a mob forms around the checkouts and people flood into the entrance.
Crap. Time to get out of here.
The woman from the personal care aisle who needed pads exits empty-handed in front of me and her face looks absolutely furious. When she gets outside, she turns around, pulls out the waistband of her sweatpants, reaches down between her legs, and rips out a used pad!
I gasp. Oh no!
In one swift motion, she slaps the bloody pad on the grocery store window, where it sticks like a suction cup animal.
“This is what you get for not having pads!” she screams like a banshee.
The crowd behind me groans with disgust.
What in the actual fuck?
A thick wave of nausea washes over me, and I feel like I might puke.
I search for another way out, but this is the only exit, so I step in front of the door and try not to look at the bloody pad stuck to the window. But for some reason I can’t help myself, and when I look up, the door slides open and the pad smears fresh blood across the glass before falling down onto the sidewalk.
Oh my God, WTF!
I throw up a little in my mouth, but manage to make it outside.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, the moment I step out I spot a trashy-looking mother trying to steal a mask off the face of a middle-aged man so her son can wear it.
“Come on,” she says, “he needs it more than you do!”
“Even if I wanted to give it to him, it’s a bad idea,” the poor guy says. “I could be carrying the virus!”
“Bullshit!” she screams. “Hand it over!”
She lurches for his mask and rips it loose.
Holy crap! What should I do?
A loud pop rips through the crowd, and the trashy woman falls to the ground and twitches around like she’s being electrocuted.
I turn and look down at the poor guy’s hand and see that he’s holding a taser.
“Oh my God, did you just tase her?” a woman from the crowd cries out.
“She was trying to steal my mask!” the poor guy says.
“You’re an animal!” a pregnant woman seethes as she clutches her belly protectively.
“How could you?” says someone in the crowd.
“The poor thing,” adds yet another.
The next thing I know, three white knight teenage boys are on top of the poor guy, beating him with their fists.
I cover my mouth with my hand, horrified by their savagery.
People leaving the store join in the fight, and within seconds it’s a full-on mob.
What the crap! It just keeps getting worse! I need to get out of here.
I dash for an clear spot of sidewalk near the curb, but right as I’m about to break free from the hoard, an errant body slams into me, sending me headfirst into the street. The pavement comes rushing towards my face, and at the last moment my hands shoot up just in time to stop me from landing face-first. I slide violently out into the street as my hands scrape along the asphalt, splashing puddle water into my face. The pain is immense and brings back vivid memories of the times I used to fall off my bike.
When I finally manage to look up I see that everything I just bought has been strewn out into the roaring traffic. The tank tops are stained brown and the cotton balls are soaked black.
A car honks and swerves, barely missing my head as my face is thrashed with water.
I gasp for breath as I crawl backwards towards the sidewalk.
Another car roars by, flattening everything I bought into a puddle.
Hot tears well in my eyes.
People behind me are asking each other what to do, but nobody makes a move to help me up.
Just then, a large SUV stops in front of me, and I catch sight of my reflection in the polished silver paint.
I gasp out in horror. The girl I see looking back at me looks like she just crept out of a lake.
The tinted rear passenger-side window rolls down a crack.
“Are you okay?” A dark voice says.
I squint at the tint, hoping to catch sight of the faceless man speaking to me, but all I can make out is a dark shock of hair. I push myself up from the puddle and step towards him.
“Stay back!” he says. His voice is so loud it echoes through the street, startling me.
I shuffle back two steps, look down and ring my hands.
“Sorry…”
“Don’t,” he says, then lets out a long, loud sigh. “I apologize for my tone, but I would prefer not to risk contact.”
“I totally understand. I—”
“Listen, are you okay?” he snaps, interrupting me.
A laugh escapes me. “Obviously not!”
I’m surprised by my own frankness, but something takes hold of me.
“I mean, its not like I just lost my job and won’t be able to pay my rent this month!”
Someone giggles behind me as the mysterious man in the backseat of the SUV remains silent.
“And…and… it’s not like I’m on my period right now and can’t seem to find a box of tampons or pads to save my life!”
A couple more people laugh.
I take a deep breath, about to cry as my voice grows louder.
“And it’s not like spaghetti strap tank tops were the only reasonable alternative!”
The laughter behind me stops.
“Damn!” someone shouts from the silenced crowd.
But I don’t care, and my voice only grows louder still.
“And it’s not like I had to fight through ten thousand assholes just to get that!”
I turn around and see several angry faces staring me down.
“And it’s not like you fucking animals shoved me into the street and the spaghetti strap tank tops I was supposed to shove up my pussy are now rotting at the bottom of a water-filled pothole!”
A pimple-faced teenage boy doubles over in laughter.
“Oh my God!” he says, wagging his finger at me. “She’s good.”
“Fucking animals, huh?!” a man in the crowd yells. “I’ll show you who’s a fucking animal!”
The man staggers forward, knocking into the people around him, and out of nowhere someone punches him in the face.
Oh no!
For a moment he’s dazed, but when he finally manages to regain his senses he throws a wild punch and the crowd resumes its frenzied fight.
I turn back to the window and cover my face, about to cry.
“Where do you live?” the disembodied voice in the SUV says. His tone is unexpectedly sympathetic.
What? Why is he asking me this? Why would he care where I live?
I gaze up through my tears at the window.
Should I tell him?
The thought seems crazy. He’s a complete stranger. I mean, I haven’t even seen his face.
I feel the crowd pushing at my back, and in one swift surge of motion, they shove me up against the window.
“Ow! You’re hurting me!” I cry. I try to turn around so I can say it to their faces, but the pressure is too much.
I turn and see two dazzling grey eyes staring back at me through the crack. The expression is fierce and intense, but for some reason I trust them.
“First Street,” I whimper. “I live near First Street.”
His eyes bore into mine as the crowd locks me in place.
Behind me, people begin to scream and shove each other.
The steel grey eyes look past me into the crowd and the next thing I know a folded hundred dollar bill appears next to my face.
I stare at the money, confused.
“It’s for your rent. To get by.”
What the?
I hesitate to take it.
“Take it or leave it.”
I reach forward to take it, and as I clasp the crisp paper, my finger brushes against his smooth, warm skin.
I look up into his eyes and this time they’re black. His brow furrows.
My breath hitches, and something tugs deep down in the pit of my stomach.
Behind me, a shrill woman shouts, “You got any toilet paper in there?”
The crowd moves forward, pressing me harder from behind and forcing my arm through the window.
“Son of a bitch!” the musical voice hisses from inside the cabin.
The crowd keeps pressing, and I scream out in pain.
Another voice from behind me calls out, “Hey rich boy! You gonna come bail us out!?”
The laughter is insane.
Hot breath brushes the back of my neck, giving me flashbacks of Karen standing behind me.
I look into his fierce eyes and for a moment I read an expression that looks like pity or fear, but I’m not sure which.
A gunshot rings out, and the glass on the rear driver’s side explodes into the cabin.
I scream in terror.
“Fuck!” the man says.
I can see people on the other side of the cabin leaning into the SUV.
“Ohh! It’s nice in here!” a haggard woman says, peering inside.
“Get back, you!” the man shouts.
I wish I could help him, but I’m stuck.
He leans forward and screams at the driver.
“Damnit, Calloway! They’re breathing into the cabin!”
“You hear that?” someone behind me says. “Richie Rich doesn’t want us breathing his fancy-pants air!”
“All right then,” an older man with an ugly voice screams. “Let’s give it to him! Charge!”
The crowd rushes forward, smashing me against the window.
I try to escape, but I’m locked in place.
All around me, ugly voices are screaming ugly things in ugly ways.
I suddenly feel like my spine is being crushed from behind.
“Help!” I yelp. “Somebody help me!”
“Fuck it, it’s too late now,” he says, his beautiful voice breaking through the garbled roar of the crowd.
The tinted window zips down and a pair of large hands cup my waist.
“What are you doing?” I say, startled by his strength.
“Watch your head,” he whispers against my ear, dizzying my senses.
The world around me spins, and for a moment everything is a blur. The next thing I know, I’m laying on my back looking up at the ceiling. All around me voices are growing in number, and I instinctively curl into the fetal position, nuzzling my face into his chest and inhaling his clean scent as his strong protective arms pull me closer to him.
Despite all the commotion around me, for the first time in forever, I feel safe.
The vehicle begins to rock back and forth from the thrashings of the human horde.
“Damnit, Calloway. They’re trying to tip us!”
“Can I run them over, sir?”
“I believe that would be unwise,” the man replies with a hint of humor.
The driver rubs his hand back and forth over his buzz cut. “Right, sorry.”
A loud noise startles me, and my hands shoot up to protect my face, smearing mud across the front of his suit.
Oh no!
I look up to apologize, and for the first time I see his face.
Oh my freaking God!
Chapter Two
Dark Knight
His face is perfect.
The symmetry is flawless. The bone structure is divine. His cheek bones are so strong and pronounced, it wouldn’t surprise me if he once was, or still is, a runway model. A thick shock of hair hangs over his right eye in a way that’s pleasantly distracting. If I were to guess his age I’d say he couldn’t be any older than 25, although his expression and mannerisms are more like those of a man twice his age.
His grey eyes narrow at me, and my heart leaps in response.
I try to look away, but my eyes are locked on his.
His pupils dilate, eclipsing the grey, and all at once I feel lightheaded.
Holy crap. What’s happening to me? I feel like I might faint.
His face softens, his eyes blinking gently, and I can’t help but notice his lashes are long for a man’s.
I should really look away, but for some reason I can’t. It’s as though I’m tethered to his gaze by some mysterious force.
In one smooth motion he turns towards the driver.
“Step on it. But don’t hurt them.”
The vehicle lurches forward, and outside the window, the crowd rushes by in a blur.
For the first time I notice beautiful classical music playing from the car’s speakers, a refreshing contrast to the the howling wind and chaotic street noise.
“Mahler,” I whisper.
It comes out unintentionally, and I’m suddenly overcome with embarrassment.
He turns back to me and eyes me with a look of surprise. “You know the composer?”
My heart skips a beat as I stare into his eyes. I want to say yes, but all I can do is nod.
He scowls and turns to the driver. “Turn off the music. It’s mixing with the street noise and giving me a headache.”
The driver nods. “Yes, sir.”
What the? Why why would he do that? Is he mad at me or something?
The music stops, and all that’s left is the howling wind as the world flies by outside the window.
He lifts me up off his lap and places me in a nearby seat. “Can you buckle yourself in?”
My mouth opens to respond, but he’s already reaching across my lap. “Very well,” he says, taking control as he begins to buckle me in. His arms feel good pressed against me, warm and reassuring, and I like the smell of his hair, but something about the aggressiveness of his gesture puts me off.
“I can do it,” I say, but he ignores me.
I bite my lip, unsure of what to do, and look down at his hands. The first thing I notice are his platinum cuff links. The design is simple, but the pieces look intricately crafted and expensive. My eyes wander to his long, tapered fingers as he buckles me in and smoothes the belt up over my chest, careful to remain decent.
Once finished, he sits back in his seat, and I’m finally able to take in the rest of him.
His body is long, lean, and muscular, and his proportions are refined. Besides the mess I’ve made of his suit, everything about his attire is crisp and clean. He’s wearing a well-fitted dark navy suit and slacks, a starched white undershirt, and an intricately patterned silver tie. The outfit looks expensive and custom tailored.
I look down at the used shirt I picked up the other day at the thrift store for a dollar fifty-five, and notice that mud is dripping down through my legs onto the soft leather car seat. I fidget nervously at the sight, and the puddle under me makes a squishy sound.
His eyes dart in my direction.
I lean back a little, revealing the puddle. “Sorry, I’m all wet.”
He purses his lips. “Don’t tell me that’s piss.”
What!? My face flushes with embarrassment. “No! It’s not, it’s just… I’m so sorry,” I mutter, trying to contain the drips.
He sighs and leans forward, flipping open the center console.
I flinch.
He stops and looks at me. “Calm down.”
I nod and exhale, trying to relax.
He pushes a black button and a crystal champagne set raises up from inside the console.
Scowling, he grabs a black silk champagne towel, unfurls it with a flourish, and hands it to me.
“Here.”
When I grab it, his fingers graze mine, and something electric passes between us.
Whoa.
That was crazy. Did he feel it, too?
He leans back in his seat and clears his throat, clearly affected.
He did!
A smile tugs at my lips.
He narrows his eyes at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” I say, flattening my expression as I dab up my mess. “Ahem…so, where are we going?”
“To your apartment.”
What? A pang of fear courses through me. “How do you know where I live?”
He gives me a strange look. “You told me back in the street. You don’t remember?”
I think back, replaying the awful sequence of events.
“Oh yeah.” I say, shaking my head. “How could I have forgotten? I must have hit my head.”
“Your head is fine. I saw everything.”
He saw the everything?
You’ve got to be kidding me. Face in the mud and ass in the air is not my idea of a great first impression. I can only imagine what he must think of me.
I lower my head in shame, and my hair falls down around my face. When I peek back up through the strands, I see that he’s turned away from me, staring out the window. He looks poised, legs finely crossed, fingers clasped—cool, aloof.
For a moment I wonder if I’m dreaming. There’s no way this could be real. He looks like a movie star or a model in a fashion magazine. What am I doing here with him?
He turns to look at me, and I quickly look away.
Crap. Don’t look again.
But I do, and this time he’s looking at me like he’s in pain.
I look away again.
I should really stop staring at him. This is something Stacy would do. Not me. What’s wrong with me?
A moment later, I can’t help myself and I look up yet again.
Shit. He’s still staring at me.
Okay. At least I’m not the only one staring.
His eyes crinkle in the corners, like he’s laughing at me, his fine mouth twisting into a ghost of a smile.
I look away again.
Crap. He thinks I’m an idiot. What should I do? Should I say something? This is so awkward.
When I peek at him again, I notice he’s clenching his slacks up near his knee. He looks angry. What if he blames me for what happened with the crowd? Maybe I should apologize?
“I’m sorry about what happened,” I say. “I didn’t know—“
He holds up his hand, silencing me.
I turn back and catch my reflection in the window.
Limp, soggy hair.
Mud-flecked face…
Could I look more pathetic?
Hot tears begin to form behind my eyes.
He makes a sudden movement, drawing my attention, and I notice a thin line of blood trailing down along his wrist.
I gasp. “You’re bleeding.”
He stops, turns his hand over. “Shit.”
I lean forward. “Here, let me—“
He pulls away. “I’ve got it.”
I look around for something to stop the bleeding.
He holds up the bottom of his suit coat and sighs through his nose, his mouth twisted with frustration.
I unbuckle my seatbelt.
“What are you doing?”
“Here,” I say, unbuttoning my baby blue cardigan.
“No,” he says, eyes closed, shaking his head. A small smile plays on his lips.
I stop. His smile does something to me I can’t explain, and I have the sudden inexplicable urge to kiss the corner of his mouth. What!? Where did that thought come from?
He smirks at me, like he knows what I’m thinking.
“You really need to calm down,” he says. “Get back in your seat and buckle up.”
I do as he says.
“It must have been from the window,” he says, referring to his bloody wrist. His voice is flat. “I was trying to minimize contact until you showed up.”
Crap. For a moment I almost forgot about the Coronavirus.
Guilt grips me.
What if he has a precondition?
What if he has a family?
“I’m so sorry.”
“You should be.” His expression is serious. “You summoned them to me.”
What?!
“I did not!”
“Did you declare yourself their leader, or were you elected?” he says, his lips suddenly curled with amusement.
I shake my head, confused. “I had absolutely nothing at all to do with them!”
He smiles. “Then why were they all so glad to see you?”
Ah, I get it. He must be joking.
I smile inwardly and decide to play along. “The truth is they were charmed by your carriage.”
His face brightens at my recognition, and he lets out a long sigh. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean what I just said.” He strokes the bottom of his lip with his index finger. “It’s obviously not your fault. It’s the fault of those in charge who allowed the panic to spread.”
I look down at my hands, unsure of what to say.
“Besides,” he says. His voice is suddenly wry with mock-humor. “There are so many ways to die. Coronavirus is just one of them. Something’s bound to get you sooner or later.”
I peek up at him through my lashes. Why does he look sad?
I want to tell him it will be alright, but the thought sounds stupid in my head.
He sighs and shrugs off his jacket to use for his hand.
I sit up.
“Y-y-you can use my sweater,” I say, stuttering for some reason as I gape wide-eyed at the jacket that I’m positive is worth more than my entire wardrobe combined.
“It’s quite alright,” he says, ignoring me.
“No,” I say, gaining his attention. “That jacket’s too thick.”
He stops and examines the jacket, turning it over in his hands.
“Seriously, it’s no big deal,” I say. “It’s the least I could do.”
“It won’t be needed,” he says, tossing the jacket into a heap on the floor.
I shake my head, confused. “Then what will you use?”
His eyes lock on mine as he loosens his patterned silk tie.
Holy hell. He’s getting undressed!
He tosses the tie onto the floor and begins unbuttoning his dress shirt.
My breath hitches as I struggle to avert my gaze.
He shrugs off the shirt, and I barely contain a gasp as his chiseled abs flex under the soft interior dome lighting. The entire time, his eyes never leave mine.
Something tugs at the base of my stomach as I shift in my seat.
He bites down on the dress shirt fabric and tears it into a long thin strip. How does he make it look so easy?
“I can help,” I say, leaning towards him, entranced.
“I’ll manage just fine,” he says through gritted teeth as he finishes two more strips.
He takes three strips and wraps them around his wrist. When he’s finished he holds up his wrist, examining his handiwork. “What do you think?”
I’m so overwhelmed all I can do is nod.
“Good enough,” he says like he’s glad to be done with it.
I spot the tie at his feet and a thought occurs to me.
“You could have just used your tie.”
“Too late,” he says without hesitation.
He reaches down, grabs the tie, then lays it next to him on the seat.
I look away. For some reason I can’t stop smiling. What’s going on with me?
He signals the driver. “I’ll need a new dress shirt before my speech.”
The driver nods. “Ten four.”
He settles back into his seat and begins fingering the shirt-strip bandage.
I clear my throat. “What kind of speech are you giving?”
His brow furrows. “You don’t have to talk like that.”
My brow pinches. “Like what?”
“Like this is an interview.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re up-ending your sentences in an effort to please me.”
I look away, unsure of how to respond.
“I’m sorry. I’m under a lot of pressure right now.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” he says, his tone serious.
“Okay.”
His brow arches, assessing me. “I’m Elon, by the way. Elon Carlisle.”
Elon Carlisle.
I roll it around in my mind, savoring the sound of it. The name suits him surprisingly well.
“What’s your name?” he says.
“Nana.”
Crap! What’s wrong with me!? …Nana?!
“Nana?” His brow knits in confusion. “As in, my nana’s just died from Coronavirus?”
“N-no. It’s Ana. Just Ana.”
“Ana?”
I nod. “Ana.”
He leans back, hands behind his head, and repeats my name. “Ana.”
I love the way my name plays on his lips.
His eyes dart back down at me. “You’re sure?” His face lights up with humor, and somehow it’s even more beautiful than before.
I blush and nod into my chest.
“So…Ana. What do you think of all this?”
My eyes once again take in the luxurious surroundings. “The car?”
He makes a face. “No…the virus.”
Duh. What’s wrong with you, Ana? Get it together.
I search for the right word, but all that comes to mind is, “It’s terrible.”
“Indeed,” he says, biting the back of his knuckle.
An awkward moment passes between us, and the tension gets the better of me. “I noticed none of the employees at Wholesome Foods were wearing masks.”
“Yes, I’ve read all about that. Most businesses seem to think it will scare the customers.”
“That’s so stupid,” I say, a little too loud.
He looks up at me and tilts his head.
I shake my head with frustration. “I mean, if we’re going to flatten the curve, we can’t be doing stupid stuff like that. It’s not up to businesses to choose who lives and dies.”
He stops biting his knuckle and stares at me thoughtfully. Why is he looking at me like that?
“I was just on my way to give a speech along the same lines,” he says calmly.
“Oh,” I say. “What for?”
“It’s for a charity banquet. Very tedious.”
“So, what are you? Some kind of politician or something?“
“I’m a CEO. I own fifteen companies on three separate continents, and I employ over five million people.”
Holy crap.
“Wow, very important,” I say, trying to sound unimpressed.
“Indeed.”
Cocky much?
The air in the car suddenly seems too heavy, so I try to lighten the mood. “Well at least the workers of the world will finally get a vacation.”
He eyes me tactfully.
“If you consider the most devastating economic collapse since World War II a vacation, then yes, they will most certainly get their vacation.” So much for lightening the mood. I look down at my lap as he continues. “I believe there is dignity and honor in work, regardless of what one contributes. This pandemic is nothing short of a disaster for everyone involved, including the workers of the world.”
I snort. “Easy for you to say.”
He glares at me.
“Why is that?”
“Because you’re the one getting the lion’s share.”
He scoffs.
“What?” I say. “It’s the truth”
“Somewhat,” he says, leaning forward. “To be more exact, I control the lion’s share. Most of my value is tied up in my companies. If I didn't own at least fifty percent of each company I would cease to be the one in control.”
“So why not give it up?”
“Because without my control they would fail.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
His eyes bore into mine and I look away, a little frightened by his intensity.
“So, you’re doing it for charity?”
He laughs. “I wouldn’t say that exactly.”
“But that’s what you just said. You said the companies would fail without you. But still, you could sell them off anytime, so why don’t you? Sounds like charity to me.”
He thinks it over. “Because it’s not rational to allow that many people to suffer when I have the power to stop it from happening.”
I can’t help but smile.
“What? What is it?”
“Nothing.”
He leans forward. “Tell me.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t think you’re being rational.”
“Then what am I being?”
“Emotional.”
He shakes his head.
“I never make decisions based on emotion. I prefer to be able to anticipate every outcome.”
“As if that’s even possible.”
“Maybe not,” he says. “Still, I believe caution and prevention are the foundations of rational judgement.”
“Who did you steal that line from? Dale Carnegie?”
His eyes soften with humor. “You know more than you let on.”
I fold my arms. “Yeah, and you care more than you let on.”
He shakes his head and looks down. “I gave up caring a long time ago.”
I stop and stare at him. His response is more personal than I expected.
“What about you?” he says.
“Me?”
“Yes. Tell me about yourself.”
Crap. What the heck am I supposed to say?
“Um…I don’t know. Let me think.”
“Think away.”
“Well, for starters, I lost my job today.” Heat spreads across my face as I recall my outburst in front of the crowd. “But I guess I already told you that earlier.”
I search his face for signs that he’s about to mock me for the embarrassing scene I made, but I find none. Only mild curiosity lingers in his eyes.
“Where did you work?” he says cooly.
“Karen’s Krafts, down on Main Street.”
“I think I’ve seen it.”
“They put me on indefinite leave.” I make air quotes around ‘indefinite leave’.
He nods his head. “They must be struggling.”
“They are.”
“So, what did you do there?”
Why does he want to know all this? There’s no way it’s boring him less than it’s boring me.
“Hmm…” I say, trying to think of something interesting. “I mostly just stood behind the front desk waiting for customers to pay.” I shrug. “Sometimes I’d help stock the shelves.”
Ugh. It sounds so lame now that I’ve said it out loud.
“That’s it?” He says, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Um… sort of. I mean, I was a cashier.” I sift through my memory for something else to say. “But sometimes I would clean the toilets, too.”
His lips curl into an amused smile. “That sounds very…interesting.”
Crap. He definitely thinks I’m an idiot. Why did I say that? I blush and lower my head. “It was a job, I guess.”
“Well, from what you just told me I wouldn’t be too upset about losing it.”
My face flushes with anger. “It may not sound like much to you, but it was all I had.”
He gives me a surprised look. “I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant I think you can do better.” He pauses to rub his index finger across his lower lip. “I’m sorry. I know how hard it is out there right now.”
“How do you know?”
“That it’s hard?”
“That I can do better.”
He shrugs. “It was just a guess.”
“Based on what?”
“What I’ve seen so far.”
“I thought this wasn’t an interview.”
“It’s not.” His voice is hard.
I cross my legs and fold my arms over my chest. “Whatever.”
I don’t know why I’m acting like this, but something about this man has gotten under my skin.
“We’ll be nearing your place soon, Ana,” he says. There’s an edge to his voice again. “What’s the building?”
“Broadway Building, Elon,” I say, echoing his tone. “But you can drop me off here if you’re eager to get rid of me.”
His brow turns into a hard V and I’m tempted to poke my tongue out at him. What’s gotten into me?
The landscape around us darkens. “This is a bad part of town,” he says flatly.
I nod against the window. “I always know I’m getting close to home because I begin to feel anxious.”
“I know the owner-slash-landlord,” he says. “Or, I suppose the more proper term would be slum lord.”
I laugh despite myself.
“Totally.”
“Totally?”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever.”
His face lights up a little as his eyes narrow in thought. “For some reason all I can remember of him was his ass crack.”
I burst out laughing so hard I almost pee my pants.
He smiles at me.
“I can’t believe you just said that,” I choke out. “My roommate and I christened him Lord Buttcrack once we learned he was a piece of shit.”
He laughs out loud for the first time, and the melodious sound fills my chest.
The driver looks back at us and smiles.
When our laughter finally dies down, I look up and catch him staring at me with a far off look.
I look myself over and check my face in the glass. “What’s the matter? Is there something on my face?”
“No, it’s just…” he says, considering whether or not to continue.
“What?” I say, anxious for his answer.
“You remind me so much of someone I once knew.”
Oh really?
“Who?”
He turns away from me, suddenly serious.
“Never mind. Forget I said it.”
The mood in the car darkens.
“Will you be fine if I drop you off here?” he says. The edge in his voice has returned.
I look around. I usually avoid walking in this part of town if I can. I glance back at Elon but he’s still turned away, as if I’m already gone.
“Here’s fine.”
He commands the driver to stop.
“You’re sure?” the driver says, looking back at us.
Elon nods, his face twisted in what I can only assume is disgust.
I open the door and right as I’m about to step out, a beer bottle crashes against the nearby pavement.
What the?!
I slink back into the car as a middle-aged drunk woman takes a swing at a scruffy-looking old man.
“You motherfucker!” The woman roars. “How you gonna pay the rent! How we gonna eat!”
Elon reaches across me and slams the door shut.
“Drive!”
The SUV lurches forward.
I peer over and see him pinching his brow with his fingers. “That was a close one,” I say, forcing a lightness into my tone.
“Too close,” he whispers, not looking up.
A distance seems to have formed between us that I don’t understand.
I sift through my mind for something to say.
“I’m really sorry for everything. The mob, your clothes…exposing you to the virus. It’s all my fault.”
“As I said before, it’s not your fault. People are stupid, dangerous, panicky animals.”
I stare at him, taken back by his harsh judgement.
The vehicle comes to a stop in front of my apartment and I notice a homeless man is trying to defecate on the sidewalk.
“Gross,” I whisper, turning away.
“How long have you lived here?” He says, his face contorted in disgust.
Something comes over me, a medley of shame and anger, and all at once I have the overwhelming urge to leave the vehicle.
I try to open the door, but it’s locked.
He shakes his head at the driver, and grabs my elbow to stop me. His hand feels good against my skin, but my emotions take hold and I shrug it off.
He sighs and leans back in his seat. “You’re sure you want to go?”
What’s he getting at? A minute ago he was asking me to leave.
“I’m sure. Now can you please unlock this door?”
Once again, he shakes his head at the driver.
What’s he doing?
He pulls out a platinum business card holder, flips it open, removes a card, then flips it back shut. He offers the card to me. “In case you need me for anything.”
I shake my head. “You’ve already helped more than enough. Thank you for the ride and the money… I really mean it, thank you.”
He narrows his eyes.
The driver opens my door, taking me by surprise. “Ma’am.”
I look up and thank him, then clamber out of the car with as much grace as I can scrap together.
“Oh! I almost forgot my p—“
I spin around and see my purse dangling from Elon’s outstretched hand.
“Thanks,” I say, shifting the strap onto my shoulder.
“You’re welcome.”
Something like a grin tugs at the corner of his mouth.
What’s that all about?
Before I can say anything, the driver gently shuts the door. “Would you like me to escort you to your door?” His face is serious, but genial.
“No. But thank you, um… I seem to have forgotten your name.”
“Calloway, ma’am.”
“Oh yes. Now I remember. Thank you, Calloway.”
“No problem-o.”
I turn on my heel and hop over the pile of excrement the homeless man left on the sidewalk.
“Watch your step!” Calloway says, laughing a little. “I’d kick it out of your way, but it’s still fresh.”
“I’m fine,” I say as I hop up the steps to the front door of my building, totally grossed out.
Good God. How humiliating.
As I’m about to put my key in the slot, I hear Elon’s voice behind me.
“Ana!” I turn around and see his beautiful face framed in the window. “Be safe,” he says.
“You too.” I take a breath. “…Elon.”
The moment lingers as we stare into each other’s eyes, and I can swear something passes between us again. I can’t explain why, but I feel an inexplicable urge to run back to the car. Does he feel it, too?
He turns his head forward as the tint seals shut.
And then, just like that, the car pulls away.
A Final Note from the Author
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far! If you would like to read the rest of Part 1 through to Chapter 14, the story is currently available on Amazon under the title ‘Fifty Shades of Corona’ by N.O. Shame. However, if you are willing to wait, I’ll be posting a new chapter every week!
Much Love,
N.O. Shame
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fuck-customers · 5 years
Text
Alright, some quick background before we get started:
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This is a rough map of the front end at my grocery store. It’s not perfectly to scale, but it’ll do. The “HH” on the side stands for “Hidey-Hole.” I’ll explain more about that later. For now, let’s quickly meet the cast of characters in this story:
Me, a cashier at the grocery store for the last three months
“R,” one of the CDH’s. For those of you who don’t know, CDH is basically the level between cashiers and management. R was a full-time CDH, but he recently dropped to part-time. R is a douchebag. Pretty much the entire front end can’t stand him, supervisors included.
“C,” another part-time CDH. C is a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes, but I respect him. He’s trying to do his job and wants what’s best for the store.
Our story begins on December 23rd at around 10pm. I was on register 22, which is express, and my line was probably 3 or 4 people deep. For 10pm, that’s a little high (our store is usually dead by around 9:30), but obviously it was busier because of Christmas. Still, I was working through the line pretty quickly because for once people were actually paying attention to the express sign.
Unfortunately, then I had a customer buy a couple of gift cards, and because corporate lowered our gift card purchase limit that week, I needed a manager key to ring them in. Okay, no problem. I set my lane light to flash and waited for a CDH to come over.
Now, we may have been a little busier than usual that night, but don’t get me wrong, it was still very quiet. I expected a CDH to come by within 30 seconds, a minute tops. Well, a minute passes, and then two, and my line is now 6 deep, which is ridiculous for an express lane at 10pm.
This is the part where I explain the Hidey-Hole. Basically, it’s a little alcove type situation in the wall of the front end. On one of the walls, it has the clipboard that says who’s on the shift, as well as a phone. There’s also a staircase leading up to the manager offices and place where we punch in etc etc, as well as the door to the cash room. If you’re standing in the Hidey-Hole, you can pretty much see all of the main line registers (11-23), so if someone is flashing their light, it’s easy to spot. However, you cannot see the registers from inside the cash room or from the stairs.
So at this point it’s been 3-4 minutes that I’ve been flashing my light, which is ridiculous, but hey, it’s two hours to close, the CDH’s are starting to pull trays, so I reasonably assume they’re in the cash room and can’t see me. I tell my customer I’m going to go check the cash room. I head over there and I’m about to knock on the door when I see C and R sitting on the stairs and talking.
At this point, I’m a little frustrated, obviously, so I tell them I’ve been flashing for two minutes (which i should’ve said 4, but still). C tells me he’s on break, which is fine, but R wasn’t. So he comes over, does my item limit, and he’s clearly grumpy at me.
A few minutes later, C comes over to me saying that he’ll cover my line because R wants to talk with me. And listen, y’all, cross my heart, I was gonna go over to the Hidey-Hole and talk to him. Hell, I was gonna apologize for snapping at him too. All I wanted to do was finish with the one customer I was helping, and I told C that. The lady was literally paying. All I needed was one minute, and I’d be done with that customer and I’d go over there to talk with R. And C says okay, and he hangs with me to let me finish with that customer.
Just as I’m about to finish with that customer, I see R storming from the Hidey-Hole all the way up towards the pharmacy. I’d say he probably stormed off after 30 seconds of waiting. 30 seconds more, and I would’ve gone over and apologized. But he stormed off to the other side of the front end, and I wasn’t going to follow him. Luckily, C backed me up, said he wasn’t going to deal with R’s bullshit, and so C walked away and I kept on dealing with my customers.
R continues ranting and raving for quite some time. I even caught him saying the phrase “rip her off of her register,” which in hindsight I probably should’ve reported at the time. But anyway, later that evening I need a manager key for something else. At that point, C and R were pulling trays a few registers ahead of me, and they were more or less next to each other so either of them could’ve come to help. They both see my light flashing, and I shit you not, R says, loud enough for me and my customers to hear, “C, your boss is calling.” Which, I don’t know what exactly about that line made me uncomfortable, but something did. But anyway, I keep working, R keeps giving me attitude, whatever.
I thought for sure that R was going to either give me shit over this or report me to management, but I don’t hear anything about the incident until the 29th, when C tells me that R actually tried to rat me out but management took my side. C and I have a good chuckle over the whole thing, and I figure this whole mess is over.
The next day, I’m working 3-9, and I’m over the damn moon that I managed to clock out right on time because R decided to come in at 9 to help close, God knows why. Anyway, I’m off the clock, but I have some shopping to do, so I do my shopping and come up to the register. And I had a rain check slip. Usually with rain checks you don’t need a manager key, but they’re a pain in the ass to ring in so sometimes cashiers call a CDH over to help anyway. So the cashier helping me calls over a CDH to help with the rain check, and R comes over. He takes one look at me and says “oh, I better do this quickly before she yells at me.” Which, could I have let that go? Yeah. But I didn’t. I think I said something like “really? come on man I’m not even on the clock.” Right away he snaps at me that he’s talking with my coworker and it’s none of my business.
Let that sink in, yeah? He talked shit about me to my coworker in front of me and I heard him. How in the hell is that not my business?
Anyway, at this point I was totally done with this clown so yesterday (the 31st) I told the head CDH about this and he said that he was going to talk to management because R’s behavior is “getting out of hand,” which it is. Hopefully R might actually start facing some consequences.
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brokebuckkmountain · 4 years
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Today was the worst
(long rant ahead, mostly about workplace politics with irl problems sprinkled in for flavor)
So. I’ve already been in my feelings lately due to like: life sucking, it’s the plague times, I am struggling to find a psychiatrist despite being told it was imperative I get help immediately, it’s winter and winter makes me sad, I’m losing friendships left and right thx to Miss Rona, I hate my job, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my breakup, there’s tons of gossip about me at work for things I genuinely did not say, and some of my work buddies are ignoring me for no apparent reason (including my best friend who has been ignoring me since my literal birthday a month ago? It’s all her friends that are ignoring me to it’s hard not to think it’s something related to that). Also, those PMS mood swings are a bitch.
I wanted today to be a good day. I wanted to get up early. I wore my new clothes and new perfume and was excited to train a coworker I genuinely like who was never trained when she was hired a year ago and struggles to get through her shifts. I mean I volunteered to do it for free because she deserves the help. But no no. Today was not a good one.
-I was woken up at 3 am to a litany of text messages from an ex asking to hook up again. Promptly fell back asleep and missed my later alarm, causing me to have to skip my workout this am and rush my shower.
-My boss didn’t assign my trainee online learning or make a schedule, told me I was a “strong enough trainer” to just do what I felt needed to be done. That was all he said to me, no further instruction. This is important later. Trainers and trainees are considered non-coverage and I run into an issue with this everytime I train- shifts want us on the floor doing different tasks than what I’m actually teaching. I personally think being a little backed up for 30 minutes is preferable to new hires not knowing how to do things because they never got one on one time, but most supervisors think otherwise.
-My trainee and I had about 25 minutes until our joint lunch break. She had expressed to me that knowing more about the mechanics of coffee- what is the body of a shot, why does it expire, what’s the difference between blonde and regular- was helping her, so I decided 25 minutes whizzing through that part of training before lunch was fine. I was immediately chastised by someone we’ll call Manager 1 because that “isn’t part of the training”. It very much is, and is available on every training resource, it just never gets taught because of time constraints and corporate not really caring about coffee quality. Manager 1 has consistently made a scene every time I train a new hire over us doing training and not just whatever she wants to get done. Manager 1 is also known for berating almost every one, and has lied about altercations that never happened between me and customers before to our manager. So she’s not exactly a fan favorite of mine. I maintained that the coffee basics was part of training and returned to the back, planning to use that time to do coffee basics and more memory games for drink recipes.
-After about 5 minutes, my coworker came to the back and told me the two managers wanted us out there helping. I went out alone to tell Manager 2 (who was technically in charge and generally less awful) what we were working on and asked if they really needed us or if they’d be okay. She said they needed us and Manager 2 began snapping that we were floor coverage, that my trainee was supposed to be on the floor all day, and that she had no business in the back “staring at a computer screen” (which we were not doing, but I digress). Since this is about the fourth time I’ve had this issue with this particular manager, I responded that we were supposed to be doing whatever I felt needed to be done, not working the floor. When they maintained that they were “under the impression” from our boss that my trainee and I were to remain on the floor all day, and we were coverage, I said “I guess I got confused by the dashed lines on the schedule that signify non-coverage as us being non-coverage” and went to get my trainee.
-My trainee knew the situation because she had overheard, got super nervous, and started making drinks wrong that she had been making correctly all day. During this time I overheard Manager 1 and Manager 2 not-quietly discussing them both texting our boss to complain about me. Fair, I guess, since I planned on doing the same when I was on my lunch. At one point they both left the bar area to send their texts and squat by the safe while waiting for it to unlock (it’s on a timer and beeps when it’s ready, no need to hover) which only infuriated me more- they moved us to bar so they could leave it. When it was finally our lunch time I sent my trainee and was pulled aside by Manager 2. I tried to move the conversation to the break room (something I have always been adamant about- not publicly berating coworkers in front of others) but she stayed on the floor where multiple people were and reprimanded me for my bad attitude. I told her I was never instructed to stay on the floor, had a schedule, and would’ve been more flexible if they had actually spoken to me rather than yelling and demanding. She maintained that I had a bad attitude and needed to follow orders. I said, once again, “mutual respect goes both ways, if you want me to incorporate things into my training schedule then you need to have an actual conversation with me about it and not demand it at random”. She said that as my superior I wasn’t allowed to “talk back” (ignoring my point that they had both, indeed, begun yelling at me) and told me my bad attitude “wasn’t a good look” and that she didn’t feel I was understanding. I said I understood perfectly that I shouldn’t be rude, but that they shouldn’t yell at me either, and I wasn’t going to take unprofessional yelling to pull me off my job as a trainer. Manager 2 didn’t listen to a word I said and kept going “you can’t have an attitude, do you understand?” so after a period of staring at her silently I said “Can I clock out for my lunch now and proceed with training?” and walked away.
-After lunch I was able to continue training, only because that part of the training constituted us being on the floor helping. I apologized profusely to my trainee for putting her in that situation, reassuring her that regardless of who was in the “right” or the personal issues of the people on the floor, my first priority was her being able to successfully learn and feel comfortable. She told me she had a hard time focusing on drinks and was anxious after the scene, and that she felt the public reprimanding I received was far out of line and unprofessional. I told her I knew that, but being as it was two managers against one me, I would probably still receive a write up tomorrow morning and not to let it worry her when it did go down (tomorrow is our final day of training and my last day before a long break from work, so I know it’s going to happen in front of her). She said she would talk to my boss on my behalf and I told her not to worry, I didn’t want her pulled into workplace drama, but she insisted it wasn’t right (she is considerably older than everyone in the workplace and I think a little protective of me since we volunteered together and I’m the only one who doesn’t chastise her for small mistakes). We’ll see if she says anything tomorrow but I don’t want her to feel like she has to “go to bat” for me and involve herself in unnecessary drama against people who will lash out at her.
-While trying to clock out, I overheard Manager 2 trying to get other coworkers of mine to give accounts against our boss to his superior over not liking their scheduling. Perhaps I’m biased, because I am friends with my boss and literally vacationed with him this summer, but he is the type to listen to concerns and always give people the benefit of the doubt. I’ve never seen him give a write up and he bends over backwards to accommodate people. So whatever their issues are, something tells me they haven’t brought it up to him. Manager 2 frequently breaks safety protocols because she “doesn’t care if she gets Covid” and has vacationed out of state many times resulting in us not allowing her to come back to work and being short staffed. Despite this, I’ve never given my boss her name when he asks who is breaking safety protocols. Manager 2 is well known for being deeply unpleasant, her and my boss have been at odds for years from working together at another location, and has frequently tried to egg on other employees to get our boss in trouble while refusing to make any formal complaints herself. If you’ve been following for a while, she’s the same ass-kisser who used to say my old boss could break any rules she wanted and allowed herself to be constantly demeaned in hopes of a promotion (10 years without a promotion and she thinks it’s unfair rather than realizing she’s mean and unpleasant, chooses to attack the people who do get the promotions she wants). I know there’s a way to spin those two plotting against my boss as a way to cast some doubt on their accounts of me, but no way to do it without being a blatant shit disturber who’s just retaliating. Which is not how I want to live my life. But he deserves a heads up.
-Now I’m sitting at home with an arts and craft project I came up with to give my coworkers all a gift before the New Year and no desire to do it. Like, fuck these people, why should I do something nice for them? Even though I know the majority are good people, just not the ones in management. No energy, completely lethargic (yay depressive episode and still no antidepressants because I can’t get ahold of a goddamn psychiatrist even though my GP okayed the antidepressants herself), wishing I just could get a better job but I need the insurance at mine. It’s one thing to be constantly belittled and insulted by customers (and a very big thing, at that), but to get it from coworkers too just makes me feel awful, day in and day out. I know I’ve hated my job for the entire 3 and a half years I’ve been there and bemoaned how much less interwork drama I’ve had at every other job I’ve had (so I don’t think it’s all me, many agree it’s a toxic environment likened to a high school), but quitting a job you’re great at, passionate about (at times), live super close to, that gives you insurance, during a pandemic? Harder than it looks.
Life sux. Super anxious for tomorrow. Thanks for reading. Pls don’t reblog.
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straw-of-the-hat · 5 years
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Hey!! I love your work and your stories always manage to put a smile on my face when I’m feeling down! I was wondering if I could get some Harper, Dabi, and Kurogiri shenanigans?? I honestly love the dynamics that the trio have and would love to see a lot more of it!! Thank you and continue the great work! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
Three's A Crowd: Dabi, Harper, and Kurogiri shenanigans
Wrote this fella on my phone so expect typos and such, my guys.
The one-shot this corresponds with this fic.
Dabi doesn't hate his job or anything. It's actually pretty lax, all things considered. Could be better, could be worse: he's not here to complain. He gets paid good, has met some people he sorta-kinda sees as friends, and half his job is just sitting there and occasionally tackling a grown man composed mostly of gas.
To lay down a basic outline, Kurogiri is extremely attached to Harper Rye, Dabi's initial client if he's being honest with himself. By watching Kurogiri, he's technically protecting her indirectly as well. It's all rather complicated. He doesn't have the full story, so can't say why the warp-gate user is so terribly attached to her. Something about emotions? He has no idea.
It doesn't matter. If Harper is gone for more than ten minutes, or if he even thinks she'll be gone for longer than that, he freaks. Completely flips his fucking lid. It's astonishing how fast he can go from being a composed, ordinary man with impeccable manners to... Well, this.
"She's going to die out there! It's too much!" Kurogiri insisted dramatically, glowing eyes rounded in horror. He was once again latched to the girl's legs like a koala, leaving her to stand there stationary and contemplate why she was still alive. "She can't go out in a storm. She'll catch a cold and die!"
"Dude, it's only sprinkling. I need tampons. This isn't a debatable trip. It's either happening or I'm sleeping in the bathtub with an old sheet." Harper explained blandly. Dabi felt just as dead inside as he girl looked. When he signed on to be a bodyguard, he hadn't been expecting this. Man children and period talk.
"She's right. Let go before I pry you off." Dabi said, tone bordering on exasperated. Harper experimentally shoved at Kurogiri's shoulder, just to test his grip. Solid.
"I can't. It's suicide." Kurogiri was being dramatic, but didn't seem to realize just how irrational his thoughts were. Dabi sighed, running a hand down his face and bringing it down to massage his jaw. This was great. Fine! Totally cool! He wasn't on the verge of exploding and setting this entire place on fire, himself included. He would never.
"You know how human biology works, right? You heard the girl. It's not optional. She either goes or we all suffer. What the fuck do you think Tsukauchi will do to us if he comes home and finds his kid in a tub covered in a ratty sheet and her own bloody? He'll chop me up and feed me to the gators, and you'll be thrown off a cliff!" Dabi insisted. He wanted to say he was exaggerating, but he 100% wasn't. Harper sighed.
"Look. It's heavy flow season down south. Do you know what that means?" Harper raised her brows down at Kurogiri, who sniffled tearfully back. "It means we have about an hour before our time is up. Yeah, I know. The clock is ticking ticking, and it's your heads if my favorite pair of sweat pants gets ruined."
"See, this is a dire situation. Clearly life or death. So let her go, she'll get her shit, and then she'll come right back." Dabi coaxed, his voice not as soothing as it should've probably been, but close enough. Kurogiri stared for a hot second before tightening his grip on the brunette. Harper's eyes narrowed. Ah.
"It's dark out. She'll get murdered." Kurogiri really did turn into a pessimist asshat when experiencing pre-separation anxiety, didn't he?
"And it'll be a blessing, too." Harper breathed. Dabi shot her a look before taking a deep breath. He didn't want to do this. His face looked worse than an eighty-year-old patchwork quilt that had been thrown through a wood chipper, and Kurogiri was still wanted. This was the last thing he wanted to suggest, but Harper's thin thread of patience was about to snap.
"Alright, fine. You did this to yourself. You don't want her to go alone? Fine. Looks like we're tagging along." Dabi marched last them and towards the front door. The sooner the left, the sooner they could get this suffering over with.
"You're shitting me." Harper was horrified. Kurogiri was immediately calmed. He let go of his adopter and got to his feet, straightening his shirt as he did so and brushing off his pants as though nothing had ever happened. Dabi and Harper stared at him with the dryest expressions they could muster. He was pretty composed for someone who'd been wailing like a chicken being murdered a moment ago. Too composed.
"Very well. That will suffice. Thank you very much, Dabi. Harper Rye." Kurogiri gave a formal nod. Harper and Dabi stared for a moment more before sharing a look. Their expressions were alike in the fact that they both appeared completely and totally done with life.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Put your damn shoes on so we can get this over with." Dabi grumbled. It was just a trip to the store. What could possibly go wrong?
-------------------------------------
So, they were at the supermarket, and literally everything had gone wrong.
Again, Kurogiri was still wanted, so they decided to walk. The rain had pretty much vanished, leaving the sidewalks soaked and the roads full of puddles. The store was only a block and a half or so down, so it's not like they had far to trek. Dabi took the lead while Harper and Kurogiri followed behind him, Kurogiri insisting on holding Harper's hand for "safety purposes." As in he was afraid she'd befall a tragic death and leave him stranded and alone in the world.
Getting to the store? Easy. They'd done it as anyone else would. They walked up, entered the store, and boom. That's when it all went to shit. They got twelve steps in before something went wrong. Twelve steps.
Someone barreled through the swinging doors behind them. A humanoid, bull-like figure with twisting horns and a cow nose, along with the ears and frame to match. Like Hound Dog, but a bovine rather than a canine. Glass sprayed everywhere, all dramatic-like, almost like something out of a movie. The store clerk let out an ungodly shriek. Harper just sighed, and Dabi groaned. Kurogiri let out a scream of his own.
He had the best intentions, but he panicked by mistake. He opened a warp gate in time to stop the bull-man from running into them. But he didn't think too much about where they'd pop out, apparently, because they fell from another portal at an angle. An angle that sent them flying into the shelves.
The resounding crash made everyone wince. Everyone but Harper, who'd heard worse to be honest.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Dabi breathed, more to himself than anyone else. Harper massaged her temples as Dabi stared in mute horror at the destruction. "I'm not paying for all that shit."
That wasn't the end, because, uh, why the hell would it be? Dabi's day was going less than stellar at this point. And then boom. Four guys filter through the demolished front door with guns bigger and longer than Dabi's arm in tow. Harper just stares, Kurogiri is just standing there blinking in confusion as he tries to process the mayhem occuring around him, and Dabi? Dabi has accidentally set the floor on fire.
"On the ground, hands up! Now!" One of the men shouts. Customers are panicking, dropping down. Fire is spreading, the floor is melting, and then, the fire alarm goes off. Which caused the sprinklers to come on. But Dabi's fire is hotter than normal fire, so it doesn't go out. It just creates a shit ton of steam.
"Oh my god." Harper groans, dropping down low as the building fills with a muggy fog that's so thick you can see through it. "I just want a box of tampons. Is that too much to ask? Why is it always me?"
"You have some bad damn luck, kid. I'll tell you that much." Dabi snorted. The glow of Kurogiri's eyes pierced through the fog.
"I'm unsure of where the intruders are, and can't warp them away. What do you suggest we do?" He asked in a level tone. Harper rolled her eyes. So he freaked out over nothing and assumed she'd due from the rain, but was ready to chill out during a robbery. Makes sense.
"We leave, that's what. I'm sure a hero will get here eventually." Dabi sniffed slightly. But things weren't that easy, of course. Shit just had to get worse.
So the robbers had been blinded, essentially. People were screaming in every direction, making it impossible to actually aim and take anyone down. Except for Kurogiri. Who had glowing eyes. So naturally, they shot for the light. Their aim was shit though, so all it did was lodge in his right shoulder.
Harper and Dabi jumped at the deafening bang that left their ears ringing. The screams increased, Harper's headache for worse, and her cramps felt like they'd intensified, just as a last 'fuck you' from her body and she and Dabi both gaped at Kurogiri. The man seemed surprised, gazing down at the wound.
"Oh." The warp gate user said. Harper inhaled sharply.
"'Oh' is right, dipshit! You just got shot!" The sound of sirens were getting closer. There was another shot. No screams or thumps followed. "Just- shit, close your eyes. So they don't do it again."
"Are you not in any pain?! I thought you had a body under there." Harper hissed out lowly as Kurogiri did as he was told, closing his eyes. She was huddled up next to Dabi, hating everyone and everything. She had school tomorrow!
"Ah, yes. It hurts quite a bit. But I'm sure you've noticed that I'm screaming in the inside." Kurogiri reached out blindly, finding her hand and patting it. "I heard bottling up your emotions was healthy."
"Literally who the hell told you that?" Dabi scoffed. Another shot whizzed part, and he and Harper both ducked on instinct. Harper yanked Kurogiri down with them when the idiot didn't follow. The steam was so heavy they could barely breathe. They were too afraid to move, to be honest. Better to wait it out while the gunmen raided the register anyway.
"Sansa." Kurogiri said. As if on cue, a fresh set of people entered the store.
"Heard you were talking shit." Sansa's voice said from somewhere near the door, and then, "Oh, yeah. Police! Put your hands up and drop your weapons!"
Harper and Dabi could barely see each other through the fog, but there was enough visible for them to know they were both grimacing. Because honestly, they really couldn't do anything anymore without some shit like this happening.
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planetsxend · 4 years
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“Moist”
@sweettifalockhart issued the writing challenge: moist.  I posted a snippet so I’d stay on track, and hell did I stay on track.  Probably OOC in places, but that hasn’t stopped me writing before :P Reno/Tifa below the cut, set very loosely in the tie between OG/Remake & AC
1 year, 4 months, 2 weeks, 3 days after The Plate
“- and then she threw me out the bar!  Literally threw me.  How is that even possible?”
“... It’s Tifa,” Rude says, as if that explains everything from gravity’s pull to the magic show of pigs suddenly sprouting wings and taking to the sky (although that wouldn’t be magic so much as fucking freaky who has the alien head this time?).  “Would’ve paid for a video,” his partner’s quiet addition, the bare bones of a smirk flirting with his mouth and Reno well - he can’t let that one go unchallenged.  The bastard doesn’t even startle when the elastic band pings off his shades.  Hmmph.
He grumbles some more, under his breath, and he’s well-versed in the feeling of eyes on him, knows Rude’s picked up on the fact he’s legitimately out of sorts with this recent development.  Knows that behind those shades, Rude’s staring at him, measuring the weight of each word on his tongue before lending voice to it.
“Either start talking or start writing.  This paperwork isn’t going to finish itself.”
“There’re memories in that bar,” Reno replies, the last he’ll say on the matter simply because it covers the entirety of his discomfiture.
~ ~ ~
7 months, 3 days after The Plate
It’s the first he’s properly laid eyes on her since... since The Plate and he slinks in like a cat on the scavenge, well aware there’s a dispute in his very near future the further in he goes, vividly aware he’s out of his depth.  He’s still got a sharp smart in his ribs to prove just how hard she punches on a bad day.  But here, now, on her turf?  Where every territorial instinct she has will be on red alert the second she clocks him?  Where every protective instinct will kick into high gear the second she recognises a threat?  He’s gonna wind up with his face smashed in and a couple teeth knocked loose and he’ll probably roll over and thank her for it after.
Better than the guilt gnawing him open from the inside out, right?
Sure enough, he’s not even singled out the quietest corner when she spots him, and because he keeps bouncing between where to sit and where’s the danger, he sees it.  The smile for her patrons vanishes so fast he might as well have smacked it off her, face settling into an expression carved from stone.  Empty.  Blank.  Carefully so, but she can’t do shit about her eyes.  They burn, even as her spine snaps straight and her chin lifts just so.
A challenge he doesn’t meet.  A challenge he can’t back down from, either.  His own issued when he approaches her directly, well and truly in the lion’s den.
“What do you want?”  She spits, and if words were acid he’d be stripped to the bone in seconds.  A lesser man would flinch, and a smarter man would leave, but neither man is him and so he slaps on a smirk and replies cool as Shiva’s kiss - he’d like a drink, if you please.  He sure as shit doesn’t imagine the creak of leather around her fists, but she’s a gracious host, and everyone’s welcome in Seventh Heaven, she can’t go around denying customers willy nilly without consequences.
He’s actually surprised when he survives that first drink, never mind the entire goddamn night.
7 months, 2 weeks, 5 days after The Plate
It’s almost a game between them a few weeks later, this animosity.  Every night he intrudes on her space and every night she’ll hiss at him like she’s ready to claw his face off.  Sometimes he’ll get blackout drunk and someone has the decency to phone Rude to cart his ass back home, sometimes he doesn’t and he’ll nurse one drink the entire night, every second under the same roof as her an agony.  When will she do it, he wonders.  When will she snap?  When will that practised calm give out in favour of confronting him?  Just what the fuck is it gonna take?
He’s not drunk tonight, just on the wrong side of tipsy, weaving one way on his stool then jerking centre and weaving the other.  Loose-lipped, too, if anyone thought to talk to him, but the suit keeps most folk at a respectable distance.  She comes at him when most of the regulars clear out and over the blast of the jukebox he thinks fuckin’ finally.
‘Cept she slams a glass of water down in front of him, sloshes some of it over his hand for good measure.  And while he swears and trips over his own tongue and waves his hand around and wipes it down with the stupid fuckin’ square Tseng always insists on cramming into his breast pocket, she parks her ass down opposite him, and jams both elbows down on the table.  There’s no warning creak this time, because her hands are bare of their usual gloves, and the fire in her eyes isn’t quite so bright tonight.
The hell?
“Why do you keep coming here, Reno?”  She asks, and if anything should catch him off guard maybe it should be that she remembers his name.  Instead, it’s her tone, the tired quality to it curling ‘round the words and robbing them of the caustic bite she usually keeps in reserve all for him.  Like she’s as weary to the bone as he is.  Like she’s beaten down and wrung out and barely hanging on by the tips of her fingers.
Like maybe - just maybe - she’s in the same boat as him.
You got snarlin’ little beasties crawling around in your head, too?
But he doesn’t ask that, it’s early days yet, right?  She’s more liable to smash the glass on his head and jab him in the eye with one of the resulting pointy bits, right?  So he looks at her instead, fighter-turned-bartender, damaged soul under all that easy charm, and lets his own trademark smirk fall just a little.  Just enough to clue her in on his little secret - I know the taste of regret, and it sure is bitter.
“To drink.  To forget.”
~ ~ ~
It doesn’t make things right between them, not by a long shot.  But the water’s her white flag, and his truth an apology.  It’s a step in some direction, maybe not the right one.
9 months, 1 week after The Plate
She asks him about it eventually, just like he knew she would.  She’s a blunt woman, Tifa, when it comes down to the nitty gritty details.  Her patience has its limits and beating around the bush as they are, tolerating one another as they are... something has to give somewhere.  So she asks him.  About it.  About The Plate.
Such a simple question, really.  Do you regret it?
Does he have an answer for it?  Oh sure, he has an answer alright.  Yes.  Yes he regrets it, every damn time he thinks about it his stomach curdles and his skin goes clammy.  So many questions circling his head ‘til he’s dizzy: was it necessary?  Was it worth it?  How many died?  How many people suffered - trapped under crushing weight, their last moments ones of terror and darkness and indescribable pain?  How many begged for help on their last breath?  How many stretched out broken hands in the hope someone beyond the rubble would grab on and help them free?  How many people ripped apart?  How many families struck from the census records in one fell swoop?  What were their names?  Their ages?  How many kids died that night?
“Yeah,” he says instead, voice wavering under all that strain locked up inside his skull, queasy and not from the food he’d ordered (still not poisoned, she’s out of her goddamn mind).  He doesn’t know what he looks like in that moment - can’t stand to look in mirrors much these days except to scrape the scruff off his chops in the morning - but she does.  Tifa looks at him then and sees whatever he can’t smother, standard Turk mask of indifference be damned, and a switch flips between them.  Animosity to understanding.
There should be surprise when she closes the bar early, promising discounts for the inconvenience, when she sets a bottle of hard liquor by his plate... and two glasses.  Instead he musters up the ghost of a smile and leans back - almost makes an ass of himself toppling right over, but hey, the reflexes have saved him from worse (like Strife’s sword) - daring to drag his eyes from her face to her waist and back up again.  “Come to confess to the big bad wolf, doll?”
“Eat a dick, Turk,” she snaps back and twists the cap open, sealing their fate.
~ ~ ~
“We, I, killed people, too... when we... blew up the Reactors.  Maybe not... maybe not every life lost was immediate but... the riots, the robberies, the people dying at home because their heating went out and never came back on again.  I don’t know how many deaths can be traced back to my hands.”
“That’s not the same as-”
“Does the how really matter, Reno?  People died.  By our actions.  By our choices.  That is the burden we bear.”
~ ~ ~
He comes awake the following morning to the unforgiving thump of a combat boot in the ribs, and bright sunlight stabbing a thousand daggers into his eyeballs, and a behemoth using his head as a chew toy.  It’s Strife above him, hands on the table he’s shoved aside to get to him, baby blues gone dark and thunderous and hell if that ain’t a safe wake-up call.  From his left somewhere a pitiful moan as Tifa rouses, and Murder Face turns his attention elsewhere, moves in her direction, giving Reno just enough space to try and get his legs under him.  Where are his legs again?  His - where the fuck’s his shoe?
“What did you do this time?”  Rude asks the second the call connects as he trips his way out the bar, and all Reno can manage without upsetting his entire lack of balance is a raspy laugh and cradling his head in his free hand.
“Made a mess, prob’ly.”
11 months, 1 week, 4 days after The Plate
“Are you asking me out?”  Really, she doesn’t need to look so suspicious.  What’s he gonna do, chuck her in a chopper and fly her across the continent?  Avalanche’d kill him deader than dead in two seconds flat.  Still, she’s not exactly wrong, which.  Yeah, okay, this isn’t one of his better ideas by far but.  Hm.
“No?  Figured it’d be a better bonding experience if we had a chat while stone cold sober, is all.  You like coffee?”
“Who doesn’t?”
“Tseng.”
Call him crazy, but her laugh sounds less hollow than he’s ever heard it.
~ ~ ~
Marlene nails him in the back of the hand with a fork and Denzel gets melon juice all down his shirt.  Accidental his ass.
At least Strife is upfront with his threats of bodily harm if he breaks Tifa’s heart.
1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks after The Plate
The next time they wind up under what he’s dubbed their table, alcohol has absolutely nothing to do with it...  Well.  Except for the sticky residue he can taste on her fingers.
He has enough common sense to make sure they drag their asses upstairs and to her bedroom before dawn.  Enhanced senses must suck balls, though, because when Strife drops by the following afternoon he doesn’t even bat an eye at Reno’s perch at the bar (munching away at the remnants of a fruit salad the brats didn’t take to school), but he does when he gets closer and breathes.  His nose scrunches up as he sniffs in Reno’s direction like a dog - or that snarling wolf emblem he’s so fond of slapping on anything he can get his hands on - and darts those baby blues between his shit-eating grin and Tifa raised brow.  Try me, that look says, complete with the casual gathering of her hair into a high ponytail, the flex of her fingers after it.  Do they smell of each other, then?  How cute.
“... I don’t even wanna know,” Strife eventually says, and Reno laughs.
1 year, 4 months, 2 weeks, 3 days after The Plate
The punch she lands smack on his left pectoral is a love tap compared to what she’s capable of, and instead of the fire he’s half-expecting there’s... mischief in her gaze.
“Tifa -”
“Never say that word in my bar again, Reno, or I’ll ban you permanently.”
“Yes Ma’am, lesson learned.”
“I might even ban Rufus, too.  Make sure the lesson really sticks.”
“Aw naw, c’mon!  That’s hitting below the belt!”
“Please.  We both know you’d be sobbing on the floor if I did that.”
He pouts (she does have a point).  Tifa laughs.  It’s fast becoming his most favourite sound in the world.
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yoonminnow · 6 years
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Waiting (01)
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→ pairing | Jungkook x Reader x Hoseok
→ word count | 9.5k
→ genre | Restaurant AU | host!Jungkook | waiter!Hoseok | crack, smut, and just a dash of angst for flavor
→ summary | Nauseating hangovers, grouchy bartenders, and stoned bus boys are just a snapshot of your daily life working as a waitress at BigHit restaurant. However, through the chaos, your new bunny-teethed trainee manages to capture your attention. Too bad romance and the restaurant industry go together about as well as Namjoon and sharp objects.
→ warnings | explicit sexual content, language, drinking, drugs (kind of), just general bts crackhead behavior.
A/N: Inspired by the movie of the same title as well as my own experience as a server. Believe me when I say it’s as much of a shit show as I make it out to be.
Part ii, (Coming Soon!)
The sway of your car makes you grunt in pain as you pull into the parking lot of BigHit Restaurant, BHs for short, or BigShit as it is so affectionately referred to as by you and your coworkers.
A hangover from Park Jimin’s party the night before sits nauseatingly in your skull, but you’re hoping the Advil you had taken dulls the ache before you inevitably slide your card into that damned POS system to signify the start of your eight-hour hell of a shift. Speaking of which, you glance at your car clock to see you have three minutes before you need to head inside. You silently curse at yourself for taking those last two, okay, two and a half tequila shots when you knew you had to be up for a morning shift, But, to be fair, Jimin’s parties only came around so often. And by so often you mean at least three times a month, but who’s counting really?
A groan escapes your lips as your hand swings behind your passenger seat to grab your apron. You had folded it nicely after your shift yesterday, but either Jin or Taehyung must’ve knocked it to the ground when you drove them to the party yesterday. Scoundrels. You eye the wrinkled garment before shrugging and tossing it to hang over your shoulder.
A final glance at the clock tells you that your time is up, so with a shameful amount of effort, you pull yourself from the car and make your way towards the ever so slightly totalitarian looking building. It had recently received a renovation as part of the company’s attempt to make the atmosphere more “hip” so as to appeal to a younger demographic. However, the designer had been a little overzealous with the industrial-eco-minimalist-Pinterest-esque design and the restaurant now looked like a high-class prison with an assortment of plants and string lights sprinkled on top. The day after the reveal, Yoongi had come into work wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and Manager Bang nearly had his head for it.
Your temple pulses as you force open the heavy wooden door, reminding you yet again of your poor decision-making skills, but luckily, you aren’t waitressing this morning. Manager Bang had listed you as a trainer on the schedule for today, and though you’d much rather be balls deep in a Black Mirror binge session, training is definitely preferable to dealing with the snobby customers that make up the weekday lunch rush. You’ll let Namjoon deal with that today.
Speak of the devil, you catch sight of Namjoon prepping his tables upon you entering the dining area. His hair is slightly disheveled to match his backwards apron, and judging by the puffiness of his eyes he managed to get about as much sleep as you had.
“Greetings, Joon!” you call out from the doorway.
Your shout causes his hand to flail in shock, and subsequently knock over the salt shaker he had been filling. The icy stare he directs at you would probably be more intimidating if you hadn’t seen him curled up on the couch clutching onto Jimin’s thigh just a handful of hours earlier.
“God, what are you, a drill sergeant? Shouldn’t you be as miserable as me?” he grumbles out, sweeping the salt from the table into his cupped hand.
“Ah, from years of practice I have become a master of masking pain. Plus, I didn’t drink as much as you did. Come to think of it, no one did.” you claim as you walk over to Namjoon to help him refill the formerly filled shaker.  
“Mm.” Namjoon hums in response. “Was it that bad?”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Jin doesn’t even remember.” you shake your head.
“Remember what?”
“Oh. Uhm, nothing.” you spew out.
“Y/N, what did I-”
“So anyway, your shirtless rendition of Careless Whisper was really something to behold!” you quickly change the subject.
“M-my what?”
“Don’t fret, your rhythm-was-wonderful,” you say as you pat his shoulder to punctuate each word.
“Please, stop talking.”
Driven by his discomfort, you slowly bring the salt shaker up to your mouth to pose as a microphone. “I’m never gonna dance again,” you croon out, reaching your hand up to run it down Namjoon’s unamused face. “The way I dance with youuu-”
“Ehem.”
The sound of a throat clearing prompts you to whip around, sodium mic still in hand, only to find yourself face-to-face, or rather face-to-bald-spot with your manager.
Despite his looming presence in the restaurant, Manager Bang’s physical stature doesn’t quite hold the same imposing quality. His wispy black hair reaches just about eye-level for you, and though this sometimes causes your neck to ache when you have to stare down at him for extended periods of time, it does mean that on this one particular occasion you are able to see over his head into the large brown doe eyes of whom you can assume is your trainee for the day.
The round eyes blink at you when you meet their gaze, remaining for what is likely considered a moment too long before your attention snaps back down to Manager Bang.
“Y/N, this is Jungkook. Jungkook, Y/N. She will be your trainer for today.”
“Hello.” the young boy named Jungkook smiles out, exposing a cute set of bunny-like teeth, and you can’t help the tug at your lips as you continue to take in his soft young features.
“Welcome.” you beam back, realizing you still have the salt shaker held up to your face. You quickly set the offending object back down onto the table before wiping your palms down your apron.
“Y/N is one of our strongest servers, and also our best host.” your manager relays to Jungkook.
“I’m the only host.” you correct.
“Making you the best!” Manager Bang proclaims.
“And the worst.” Namjoon digs from behind you.
You throw an elbow back, hoping to catch Namjoon in the side, but are met with only air and a self-satisfied chuckle from the waiter.
“She will teach you everything you need to know before tonight.” your manager directs towards Jungkook, to which he nods sweetly.
“Okay, then! Y/N, I trust you’ll mold this boy into an upright employee with your delicately skilled hands.” Bang booms as you try to hide your distaste with his peculiar choice of metaphor. “If you have any questions, I’ll be in the back.” Manager Bang announces before slipping past you. “And Namjoon, clean this mess up.”
“Yes, sir.”
You shoot a cocky smile back to Namjoon before turning your attention to Jungkook, who now has his bottom lip tucked under his teeth.
“Okay!” you clasp your hands in front of you and rock back onto your heels. “So, with that lovely image in our heads, have you worked in a restaurant before?”
“Uhm,” he speaks shyly while scratching at the back of his neck. “No, I’m actually- th-this is my first job like this.”
His mannerisms and slight stutter all serve to accentuate how damn young he looks, and though you fear his answer may sully your pride, your curiosity ultimately gets the best of you.
“Jungkook, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”
“I just turned 21.” The corner of his lip turns upwards.
“Ah, I see,” you say, suddenly becoming hyper-aware of the crows feet around your eyes that you spotted this morning. “That makes you the youngest here then.”
“Is that bad?” Jungkook questions innocently.
“No, not at all.” you wave your hands. “Everyone’s cool. No initiation bullshit,” you say as you throw a glare Namjoon’s way, and though he doesn’t lift his head, the shrug he gives confirms that he knows you were speaking to him.
Rather than speak, Jungkook simply nods.
“Alright, so a tour!” you announce, turning away from the boy to face the open restaurant floor. “This is the main seating area,” you say as you fan your arm over the booths and tables that take up a majority of the floor space. “This is my section,” you say pointing to the booths at the middle of the restaurant, “in the center because I’m the best.” you joke loud enough for Namjoon to overhear. He clucks his tongue but doesn’t bother to start a feud.
“That section is usually Namjoon’s, who happens to be that beaming ball of light over there.” you gesture in Namjoon’s direction and he sends a lethargic wave back to Jungkook. “And the patio is usually Hoseok’s, who you’ll meet tonight.”
“Only three of you?” Jungkook questions.
“Two for the lunch shift,” you correct. “Three on dinner. Yoongi our bartender and Taehyung our busser can serve if we need them, but Yoongi is a grump, and Tae is...well.”
“He’s Tae.” Namjoon finishes for you.
“I guess I’ll find out what that means later.” Jungkook laughs.
“Oh, I’m sure you will.”
Jungkook trails close behind you as you walk him through the restaurant, pointing out different sections and features he’ll have to know. He follows obediently, and though he doesn’t speak much, he has a habit of humming confirmations when you’re explaining something. Which is why halfway through the tour, when you’re walking Jungkook into the kitchen, you notice the absence of his cute little hums. You cast a glance over your shoulder to make sure you haven’t lost him only to find his eyes aimed down at an angle. Is he staring at my...You halt your steps suddenly so that the boy almost bumps into you. His head speedily snaps up to your face, eyes wide enough to be telling of his misdemeanor.
You raise your brow to him as a slight smirk pulls at your lips. If he had been anyone else in this restaurant you would laugh out loud at his obvious gawking, but you spare the young boy the embarrassment. Besides, it’s not like you minded a young twenty-something checking you out. You owned these pants partially for that effect in the first place. Jungkook stutters as if he’s about to apologize, but you simply cut him off to begin explaining the different sections of the kitchen, though you can see his face getting redder with shame by the second. Cute.
“Ah, Y/N. You’re up early!” a voice calls out from the kitchen, pulling your attention away from the riveting explanation of the dishwashing station you had been giving.
“Jin!” you beam as the broad man rounds the corner to pull you to his side. “How are you feeling?” your tone suddenly laced with a hint concern.
“Why is everyone talking to me like that this morning?” Jin glances with wide eyes down to you. “Did something happen last night?”
“Wait, you don’t remember the thing?”
“What thing?” Jin questions.
“Last night, when you and Namjoon- you know what, nevermind.” you puff out a breath of air. “Jin, this is our new host, Jungkook!”
Jin glances skeptically at you before turning to Jungkook to shake his hand.
“Good to meet you.” he shoots out at Jungkook. “Is Y/N playing nice today?”
Jungkook’s scrunches his brows as he babbles, “She’s, uh yeah-”
“I’m always nice, Jin. Don’t give him the wrong impression.”
Jin snorts, “Oh yeah? What about the other night when Jimin hit on that hot mom from your section.”
You click your tongue in disdain. “I only slapped him because he said he deserved half the tips for that table!”
“Or how about what you did to Tae last month when he caught you and Hoseok-”
“Okay! Nice chatting with you, Jin!” you shout over him as you guide Jungkook by his arm towards the walk-in refrigerator.
“What did Jin and Namjoon do last night?” Jungkook asks under his breath as you tug him away.
“I’ll tell you later.”
The training session continues like this. You wind your way through the restaurant with Jungkook in tow. He scribbles down the occasional note on his training manual, but mostly he just listens and nods, a large contrast to the noisy boys you’re so accustomed to working with. Up until you are showing him the storage cellar of the restaurant you’re sure he’s only uttered a handful of sentences.
“You don’t talk a lot, do you, Jungkook?” you inquire as you start pulling paper towels off of the shelf to bring back up to the restaurant.
“Oh,” you hear Jungkook shuffle behind you. “I’m sorry.”
You laugh, placing a bag of after-dinner mints on top of your pile. “Nothing to apologize for. I’m just curious.”
“I’m actually not that quiet.” Jungkook rubs at his neck. “It just takes me a while when I meet new people. I-I’m pretty introverted.”
“I understand,” you say, brushing off your knees as you stand back up. “I’m exactly the same.”
Jungkook’s brow twitches upwards. “You? I don’t believe that.”
“What? Why not?” you tilt your head. “Are you calling me loud?”
Jungkook laughs, “No, not loud. I just can’t imagine you as an introvert. You’re so...social.”
You scoff at that. “Oh, you don’t know me that well, kid. I am the queen of asociality.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jungkook’s tone suggests the hint of a  challenge, and you are more than prepared to prove your social inadequacy.
“One time,” you pridefully begin, “I spent 45 hours in my room playing The Sims.”
“Oh, that’s nothing!” Jungkook brushes off your attempt. “Try a 72-hour overwatch marathon.”
You step closer as you cross your arms over your chest. You refuse to be out-lonered by a mere child. “I canceled going to a wedding last week to binge watch all the Harry Potters.”
Jungkook meets your steps and looks down at you from the bridge of his nose. “I failed out of one of my classes because I was refused to do the group work.”
“I only have two close friends.” you shoot back.
“I have one.” Jungkook cocks his head to the side, willing you to beat him.
“One time,” you smile, prodding your finger against Jungkook’s chest, “I went so long without talking to anyone that my mom filed a missing persons report.”
Jungkook’s mouth drops open. “Is that true?”
“Scouts honor,” you say, holding up three fingers.
“Are you even a scout?” Jungkook snorts.
“What does that matter?”
“What does that matt- it doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t a scout.” Jungkook garbles out.
You shrug as you turn to pick up your pile of items.“I always thought it was a figure of speech. Like, ‘time is money’ or ‘nip it in the butt.’”
“It’s ‘bud.’” Jungkook corrects you.
“What?” you pause mid-lift. “No, it’s ‘butt.’ Why would it be ‘bud?’”
“‘Bud’, as in cutting off the bud of a plant before it can grow,” Jungkook argues. “Why would it be ‘butt’? Like you’re going to bite a butt?”
“Well, I don’t know what you’re into,” you mumble as you shift the weight of the objects in your grip.
“Here, let me help you,” Jungkook says as he grabs almost everything you had gathered in your arms, leaving you with just two paper towel rolls.
“Jungkook, how am I supposed to withhold my authority over you if you just take my work.” you feign offense as you wave your paper towels above your head.
“Oh, sorry. May I please carry these for you, Ma’am.” Jungkook bows his head to you.
“Ew,” you cringe as you tap the bottom of Jungkook’s chin with your index finger, urging him to look back up. “Don’t call me mam.”
“Yes, sir.” Jungkook flashes his bunny teeth at you, and you mentally curse at your stomach for the backflip it does.
**
“Opening and closing hours for the restaurant?”
“12 to 10 Sundays and Mondays, and 11 to 11 Tuesdays through Saturdays.” Jungkook rattles off without hesitation.
“Good,” you praise. “And what is the proper term for the patrons of our restaurant?”
“Guests,” Jungkook answers readily.
“Excellent! We never refer to them as?”
“Customers.”
“Nice, Jungkook! Your quizzes are all finished.” you beam at the boy sitting across from you. “Do you feel ready for tonight?”
“I think so,” Jungkook says while thumbing through the pages of the employee handbook.
“You’re going to be fine. And if you need help I’ll be on the floor all night,” you assure him as you pick up the empty basket of fries you had shared from the center of the table. “So, I have to start getting ready for my shift, but seriously if you need me for anything-”
“I’ll come to find you.” Jungkook finishes.
“Good.” you nod, turning away to head to the kitchen, but Jungkook calling out your name triggers you to look back in question.
“Thank you for helping me today.” Jungkook’s shy smile returns to his face.
Your face suddenly seems to flush with heat, and you silently pray it’s because you’re coming down with something.
“Anytime, Jungkook.”
By 5 o’clock Jungkook has settled into his spot at the host stand. You watch him nervously eye the door as you clean down the tables at your section. You momentarily consider going over to give him a little pep talk before the rush kicks in just to boost his confidence, but it’s not at all because you want to catch a glimpse of his incredibly endearing smile again. That would be stupid.
You’re readjusting the drink menus for the third time when a voice from behind you nearly causes you to faceplant into the table.
“Hey, Y/N!” a far too peppy Hoseok chirps from behind you.
“Jesus, Hoseok!” you say standing up to straighten your apron. “How many times have I told you not to sneak up behind me?”
“Oh, someone’s a little grumpy today,” he says, lifting his hand out to deliver a pinch to your cheek which you swiftly slap away.
“Don’t play with me, I’m on a double shift today.” you groan, massaging the tight muscle in your shoulder.
“Why? Are we short-staffed?” Hoseok asks, letting his eyes linger on your exposed neck for a moment while you roll your head to the side.
“No, I was training the new kid.”
“New kid?” Hoseok whips his head around to seek out the new face. When he spots Jungkook over at the host stand his eyebrows raise up. “Oh, he’s just a baby!”
“He’s not that young!” you say defensively before you can stop yourself.
Hoseok’s eyes quickly move back to your reddening face. He pauses for a moment before a sly smile pulls at the edge of his lips.
“Oh,” he tilts his head, “I see.”
“What? See what? There’s nothing to see!” you garble out.
“Oh yeah? Because your cheeks are about as red as Tae’s eyes when he’s baked.”
“Wha- You-” you stutter out. “I’ll show you red.” you threaten as you rise to your tippy toes to squeeze Hoseok’s cheeks between your fingers, but he quickly bats them away.
“Y/N, as much as I enjoy your sweet caresses I actually wanted to ask you something.”
You lower your heels back down to the ground, letting your hand swing limply to your side. “Shoot.”
“Well, there’s this party on Thursday-”
“Hoseok.” you try to cut him off.
“And I was thinking that maybe-”
“Hoseok, no.” you grab the wrist of his gesturing hand to stop him. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why not! We haven’t gone out in over a month.” Hoseok begins to bring his free hand up to your waist before remembering you’re at work and dropping it back down.
“Yeah, and do you have any recollection of why it’s been that long?”
Hoseok pouts his lips out as if he’s thinking before shaking his head innocently.
“Hoseoook,” you drag out his name in annoyance. “I can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what? I thought what we had going was pretty good!” Hoseok brings his hand up to squeeze at your hip quickly before releasing it.
“Oh yeah?” you ask with a false cheerfulness. “And at Jackson’s party, was it going good then too?”
“Jackson’s party? Y/N, that was just-”
“Hoseok,” you interrupt, “you don’t owe me an explanation, you aren’t my boyfriend. But I just- can we talk about this later?”
Hoseok takes a step closer to grab the wrist you had been wringing between your clenched fist. “Okay, but-”
“Uhm, Y/N?” a soft voice calls from behind you.
Your head spins to look over your shoulder only to be greeted with the sight of a wide-eyed Jungkook.
“I’m, uh, seating you at table 23.”
You cock your head to the side to find that there is indeed an older couple standing just behind Jungkook eyeing you suspiciously. You immediately shake Hoseok’s hand from your wrist and spin on your heel, a wide practiced smile breaking out over your face.
“Oh, welcome!” you spew out, as they slide into the booth. “Can I start you with some waters?”
Hoseok tucks his hands into his apron as he passes swiftly behind you, and you do your best to ignore the burn of his stare you feel against your cheek.
The rush hits the restaurant like a semi-truck that night. The decked out kind with all those fancy little lights and a bunk for the driver to sleep in. Having just you, Namjoon, and Hoseok on the floor was a big mistake, and you make a mental note to tell manager Bang that in an only slightly passive-aggressive text later.
Your party of 12 has just spilled something sticky on the floor when another table calls you over with the snap of two perfectly manicured fingers. They brusquely inquire about the location of their second entree, claiming they had been waiting over half an hour even though you know for goddam certain you punched in their order less than 15 minutes ago.
“Let me check right on that for you, okay?” you beam out before stomping your way over to the kitchen.
Upon entering the area, you find that dishes have begun to pile up on the expo line. Though you’d normally refrain from pointing fingers, you can’t help but notice that Taehyung has been recruited from his usual assigned post of bussing to running food to tables, which may potentially probably is the reason that two entrees and a side of mashed potatoes have gotten lost tonight.
“Tae!” you call out as he’s gathering three dishes onto a tray.
His head cocks up to acknowledge that he’s listening without stopping his work.
“Where’s Jackson? Isn’t he supposed to be running tonight?”
“Called out,” Taehyung mutters.
“Son-of-a… that’s the second time this week!” you complain to the dead air. “Okay, well when you get a second could you ask Jimin to bus table 21?”
“Mm,” Taehyung grunts in a way that does little to put you at ease.
You watch for a moment as Taehyung is about to lift his tray up when you notice that the dishes on it are not evenly spaced.
“Wait, Tae! You can’t-” you dive in just in time as the heavy tray starts to tip to the side. Your hand supports the weighty edge to prevent the dishes from spilling over, and besides the bit of scaldingly hot soup that has splashed onto your arm, all the dishes are safe and sound. A woosh of air escapes your lips as you help a frenzied Taehyung bring the tray back to the stand.
“Holy shit! Thanks, Y/N.” he gasps. “Bang would’ve had me killed.” Tae glances up to you as he speaks, and that’s when you notice the red glassiness that is painting the whites of his eyes.
“Tae, are you fucking stoned?” you hiss out to avoid anyone else hearing you.
“I-I’m,” he stutters out as you attempt to burn a hole in his nose with your heated stare. “I thought I would just be bussing today! I didn’t think it’d be a big deal.”
You roll your eyes as you quickly re-adjust the plates on the tray, and set two more on the forearm and palm of your opposite hand. You slide your hand to the underside of the tray before lifting all the dishes with a display of balance that only comes with the experience of too many damn years in this industry.
“You owe me for this.” you shoot back at Taehyung who watches in awe.
You quickly drop the dishes to the assigned tables in Namjoon and Hoseok’s sections before making a mad dash back to the kitchen to recover your missing entree.
“Hey, Jin!” you yell into the smoky abyss. “Where’s my clam linguine?”
“Did you check the system?” is what echoes through the exposed window a moment later, though all you can see is the back of a fry cook’s head.
You glance to the screen on your right to find that your dish is four items away from being ready.
“It says you’re making it!” you shout back.
“So we’re making it!”
“Seokjin, please! I got this woman on my back.” you groan into the window.
“Yeah, me too,” Jin says as he appears in front of you, hair pushed back into a black cap. “And I’m looking at her.”
You blow a strand of hair out of your face, realizing that you need to reassess your tactic.
“Wow, Jin,” you say as you bat your eyelashes at him. “Did I ever tell you how handsome you are?”
“Are you trying to woo your way to the front of the line, Y/N?”
“Me? Well, I’d never,” you say in an adopted southern accent.
“Work on your acting. Here’s your clams.” Jin says as he passes you a plate through the window.
“Oh my god, I love you!” you say grasping the plate.
“Yeah, don’t spread that around, okay? It’ll ruin my cred.”
You stick your tongue out at him before turning away to drop the plate at your table before making your way over to the bar. You make a quick pass by Jungkook who is hunched over the hostess stand. Stressed is an understatement if the shakiness of his hand crossing names from the waitlist is any indication. A sense of guilt washes over you for possibly not having trained him well enough for this, though, realistically it was Manager Bangs fault for starting him on a Friday night. That passive aggressive text is getting upgraded to a mildly-veiled threatening text.
“Hey, Jungkook!” you call out as you walk by. “Bump the wait to 30 minutes. The kitchen could use a break.”
“Oh, okay,” he says, nodding stiffly at you.
You smile and stride over to him to place a hand on the back of his tight neck, pressing into it lightly.
“Loosen up, you’re doing a great job,” you say as you bump your hip into his.
When he mirrors your smile to expose his bunny teeth you feel your chest jump, and you swiftly lift your hand away from him, suddenly realizing that the lack of distance you had created might not be the best choice. With a quick pivot, you head off to the bar.
“Oh,” you call back as an afterthought. “Will you get a busser on table 21?”
“Yeah, no problem!”
You shoot a thanks back to Jungkook as you walk into the bar, the familiar sight of an unamused Yoongi behind the counter bringing a grin to your face.
“Oh, Yoongiii-”
“Don’t start with me, Y/N.” he cuts in bluntly.
You feign a gasp as you press a hand to your chest. “Why, Yoongi. I’m hurt. I haven’t even done anything to you yet.”
“Your fucking tables are running me up the wall.” the gray-haired man gripes, his tongue running the length of his cheek in aggravation. “Stop pushing the cocktails so hard.”
“Hey there, grumpy puss. Cocktails mean tips. And also, watch your language. There are children present.” you warn, nodding your head towards a family sat at one of the bar booths.
“What? Jungkook can’t hear me from all the way over there.”
Your mouth drops open in indignation. “He’s not that young!”
“Oh.” Yoongi smirks at your flustered face. “So, Hoseok was right. You have a thing for the new kid.”
“Don’t start.” You wrinkle your nose at Yoongi’s smug face. “And anyway, he’s only a few years younger than you, old man.”
“Yeah, whatever you say, Mariah Carey,” Yoongi says turning back to his drink order screen.
“Mariah Car- Excuse me, but if I’m going to be a cougar I’d like to consider myself more of a Demi Moore,” you argue.
“You wish.” Yoongi taps the screen to life only to groan in response to the items coming up on his list. You can see that your party of twelve’s drink orders fill up a majority of his screen, but it’s too late to duck away in shame before Yoongi is turning back to you.
“Y/N,” he exhales, making you wince. “You’re a beautiful girl, and you know I care very much for your tip percentage, especially because it feeds into mine. But if one more of your customers orders a goddamn frozen margarita, I’m going to shove it so far-”
“Woah, Woah there, mister. First of all, they’re guests.”
“I actually might stab you.” Yoongi groans, sliding a martini towards you.
“So long as the blood doesn’t get in the drinks.” you wink as you place the martinis Yoongi prepared on your tray.
“You better tip me out well today,” Yoongi grumbles out as you turn to exit the bar.
“Is that all I am to you, Yoongi? A source of income?”
“Don’t forget ‘massive thorn in my side.’”
A giggle escapes your lips as you slide through the bar doors.
“Did the bussers clean table 21 yet, Jungkook?” you ask as you pass by the host stand.
“Jimin said he’s on it.” the slightly less frantic looking host relays.
“Mm,” you hum skeptically as you make your way to your table to pass out drinks.
Upon reaching your table 21, you find that it is, in fact, still not clean. A mix of a sigh and a grunt leave your mouth as you glance around the restaurant in search of the blonde haired suspect. Your scanning stops when you spot the accused chatting up one of the guests by the bathroom, and your legs are moving before you prompt them to.
You catch Jimin’s attention when you’re just feet away from him, his eyes widening in panic as his back turns to press against the wall he had been previously leaning against. You close in on him until there are just a few inches separating, willing him to look up at your towering figure.
“Hi.” you greet with a pep in your voice that serves as a strong contrast to your invasive stance.
“Uh, Y/N-” he squirms, feeling uncomfortable with your aggressively joyous demeanor.
“Can I show you something?” you cut Jimin off, tilting your head to the side.
“U-uhm, yeah.” Jimin stutters out before turning to the girl. “I’ll talk to you lat-”
“Okay, let’s go.” you jump in, placing a heavy grip on his shoulder, guiding him back towards the dining area.
Once you’re out of earshot of the guest, you let your face drop.
“What the hell are you doing, Jimin?” you spit out. “Can’t you keep your dick in your pants for one shift?”
“I can assure you Y/N, my dick is very much in my pants.” Jimin mocks, glancing down at his crotch.
“Well, I can assure you that it won’t be for much longer when I chop it off.”
“Yikes.” Jimin recoils from the grasp you have on your shoulder.
You reach up to massage at your shoulder once you reach your table, exhaling a breath as you dig into the tight muscle. “Sorry, Jimin. I’m just stressed about making my rent this month. I need to pull good tips this week, which means I need all the tables I can get.” you admit. “I don’t mean to go all psycho on you.”
Jimin eyes the way you roll your neck, suddenly filled with remorse for causing more stress to you. You roll your shoulders back before bending over to start clearing off some plates.
“No, wait Y/N. I should do it.” Jimin makes a move to grab the plates from your hand.
“Don’t worry, Chim. It’s faster if we both do it anyway,” you assure him, stacking another empty plate onto your forearm.
“Fine.” Jimin relents. “But, at least let me buy you a drink to make up for it tonight.”
You kick your head to the side to get a strand of hair out of your face, bringing your eyes up to Jimin’s. “Fine.” you smile lightly.
“Good,” he says, grabbing the stack of plates from your grip. “And then maybe after I can help massage out your shoulder.”
“Jimin.” your voice sinks to a warning tone.
“Fine, sorry. It was worth a shot.”
You scoff, a smile pulling at your lips as you turn away from the younger boy to start wiping down your table.
**
Jungkook’s body molds easily into the pleather backing of the booth he’s secured in the employee break area, which is really just a set of tables tucked into the corner of the restaurant. He plops his sandwich that he ordered from you onto the table in front of him before stretching his arms above his head, an exaggerated groan leaving his mouth.
This first shift had fully been kicking his ass so far. He could already feel the ache of his legs from all the standing and running around he had done today. He hadn’t expected a hosting job to be so chaotic. In fact, when his mom sent him out to find a job to help with his tuition payments he had chosen this job because he figured it’d be easy money. It seems like the restaurant gods were laughing at him now for doubting the difficulty of the position.
It certainly could have been much worse though, Jungkook considers. Luckily, you had been there to swoop in multiple times that night and save his ass when he had screwed up.
Watching you fly across the restaurant, handling not only your job but picking up the slack of others made Jungkook have a whole new appreciation for serving, and especially for you. The way you handled yourself was different than anyone he had met before, and he knew that you were probably just being friendly with the way you treated him, but he just couldn’t seem to get your damn smile out of his head.
The image induces a goofy grin to bloom across Jungkook’s face as he reaches to pick up his sandwich, but the sound of a voice to his side quickly snaps him out of his thoughts.
“Hey!” Hoseok says as he pulls out a chair to drop into. “Jungkook was it?”
“Yeah, and you’re Hoseok?” Jungkook asks as he brings the corner of his sandwich to his mouth. Of course, he already knows that. He’s been seating guests in his section all night, but he sticks to the formality anyway.
“Yeah, nice to meet you.” Hoseok shoots a bright smile at the young boy. “So, how are you liking the place so far?”
“It’s good! A lot to take in, but, uh, I had a good teacher.” Jungkook smiles down towards his food, an action that elicits a head tilt from Hoseok.
“Yeah, Y/N’s something, isn’t she?” Hoseok pops a fry in his mouth while keeping his gaze on Jungkook’s face.
“Yeah, she’s- she’s really cool.”
The older server watches as a shy grin breaks out across the younger’s face, and begs him to clear his tightening throat.
“So, what rules has Y/N taught you so far?” Hoseok inquires as he leans back in his chair.
“Rules?” Jungkook raises a curious eyebrow at him before answering. “Uhm, don’t eat the after-dinner mints.” Jungkook recounts.
“That’s what I thought.” Hoseok rolls his eyes. “Okay, Jungkook. I’m gunna give you the lowdown on this place. Just some friendly tips.”
Jungkook swallows hard as he eyes the way Hoseok scoots himself closer to the table, hunching forward slightly as if he’s about to divulge something confidential. “What kind of tips?”
Hoseok brushes his finger along his bottom lip as he considers the question. “Think of this as an unofficial employee handbook.”
“Oh. Okay.” Jungkook wipes his mouth on the back of his hand.
“Alright, so the first rule,” Hoseok says as he props an elbow up on the table with his index finger extended.
Jungkook leans in over his sandwich, fully attentive.
“Don’t piss off Min Yoongi.”
“Min Yoongi,” Jungkook repeats. “He’s the bartender, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Don’t let looks deceive you. He might be small, but he can cut you down faster than anyone, trust me.” Hoseok side-eyes the bartender across the lobby.
“What do you mean?” Jungkook asks, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Let’s just say the last employee that messed with him had to be referred to a therapist once Yoongi was finished with him.”
“Wow.” Jungkook exhales. “Is the guy okay now?”
“He’s- well actually, no one really knows,” Hoseok crinkles his brow trying to think. “The company was mad because they had to pay for the sessions, but Yoongi never got nailed for it.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, he’s a softie most of the time. Just don’t get on his bad side.”
Jungkook tears another bite off his sandwich and nods.
“Alrighty, rule number two. This one’s more for our own safety.”
“Okay,” Jungkook says around a mouthful of bread.
“Don’t let Namjoon near knives.” Hoseok crosses his hands into an X over his chest for emphasis.
“What?” Jungkook cocks his head. “But he’s a server. He has to use knives.”
“Nope, not him. Bang made it a rule after he nearly degloved his finger cutting into a guest’s birthday cake.”
Jungkook winces just at the term alone. “What does deglove-”
“Don’t mind that, all you need to know is it’s not pretty.” Hoseok waves Jungkook off. “So, if you see Namjoon with a knife, come find me or Y/N and we’ll handle him. We’re debating extending this rule to Taehyung, but I’ll keep you updated.”
Jungkook hums in agreement.
Hoseok clasps his hands together and rubs his palms before continuing. “Okay, last rule, and probably the most important.”
Jungkook reaches for a sip of his water as he keeps his eyes on Hoseok.
“No incestuous work relationships,” Hoseok says with a straight face.
“No incestu-” Jungkook coughs into his glass. His eyes water as he clears his throat, ridding it of the offending liquid. “So, you mean no dating?”
“No dating, no hookups.” Hoseok nods.
“Oh.” Jungkook clears his throat again as his sights unintentionally jump over to where you’re chatting with Yoongi at the bar.
“Don’t even think about it, kid,” Hoseok says as his eyes follow Jungkook’s. “She’s off limits.”
“I wasn’t-” Jungkook starts, turning his large eyes back to Hoseok.
“It’s okay, We’ve all been ther- Well, wanted to be there before.” Hoseok laughs. “You know how these things go. If it were to get ugly it’d make work pretty awkward, right?”
“Yeah,” Jungkook nods, “right.”
“Just looking out for you, bud.” Hoseok outstretches his hand for Jungkook to accept.
“Yeah, no I appreciate it,” Jungkook says as he slides his palm against Hoseok’s.
“Alright, well I gotta head back in, I’m just on my 5. But me and a few of the others are grabbing drinks after the shift if you want to join.” Hoseok offers as he collects his plate from the table, his hand smoothing out the crease in his apron.
“Okay,” Jungkook smiles up at the older man. “I’ll be there.”
**
[Hoseok: 11:12] Heading out in a sec babe. Just rolling silverware now.
Babe. You try not to snort at your screen. You had been cut just before the restaurant closed, along with Jungkook, Namjoon, and Jimin. The four of you had headed over to a local bar to secure a table before everyone else got off the clock.
Hoseok made sure to catch you before you left to ask if you were joining them for drinks, and when you confirmed he told you he’d text you. A man of his word, as uncharacteristic as that may be, his text lit up your phone that had been perched on the table to your side. You continue to stare at the text without unlocking your phone before picking it up off the table and tucking it back into your pocket. He knows you’re here already, no need to answer him.
Rather, you turn your attention back to Jungkook who is seated next to you, dress sleeves rolled up and beer in hand. You will yourself not to drool at the prominent vein that twists in his forearm each time he lifts his bottle from the table, but your self-control seems to be at an all-time-low tonight. You’d blame it on the shitty shift, but you’re pretty sure it’s just a result of the boy in front of you.
In the atmosphere of your stuffy restaurant, it was quite easy to mistake Jungkook for a young kid. His sweet demeanor was likely what landed him the job in the first place. But now with his shirt collar unbuttoned and his ruffled hair pushed back from his face it was hard to imagine him as anything other than a handsome young man. Really handsome. Devastatingly so. You grip tighter to your glass of bourbon, trying to clear the thoughts from your head.
“So, you were telling me about your major?” you say, bringing the cool rim of the glass to your lips.
“Yeah, video game design.” Jungkook nods. “I’ve loved video games since I was in diapers, so I figured this was the most noble route to take to justify my obsession.”
“Well, it is noble. It’ll force more people into my chair when their eyes start to go bad.” you laugh, crossing your legs under the table.
“Oh, so you’re an ophthalmologist?” Jungkook perks up.
“Soon to be, I hope.” you sigh, running your finger along the rim of your glass. “I’m paying my way through, so it’ll take me a while to save up enough.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re the best waiter we have then.” Jungkook smiles warmly at you, and you mirror the action without trying.
“I resent that,” Namjoon calls from his seat across the table where he is chatting with Jimin.
“He means waitress,” you call back to Namjoon.
“You’re the only waitress,” Jimin states.
“Making her the best!” Jungkook adds.
“And the wors-”
“Oh my god, where’s the off switch?” you whine, tipping your head back to down the last few sips of your drink. Your throat burns from the sweet alcohol, but you welcome the feeling. As you bring your head back down, you notice a nice little film glazing over your vision now that you sit at a comfortable level of tipsiness.
Jungkook laughs at your expense, and the way his eyes crinkle at the corners makes your face heat up. You lean over to poke his thigh, imploring him to cease his taunting, but as you press your finger firmly to his thigh muscle you’re met only with pain as your finger bends back at an uncomfortable angle.
“Ow, what in the world?” you pull your hand back to your chest as if you had been burned. “Are you made of marble or something?”
“Carved by Leo himself.” Jungkook chuckles at your act of holding your limp hand.
“Da Vinci?” you question.
“No, Dicaprio. Da Vinci didn’t sculpt.”
“Oh and Dicaprio does?” you laugh.
“I’m sure that he’s capable, he’s a man of many talents.”
“Yeah, he sure is,” you say cocking an eyebrow up slowly.
“What? Don’t be weird, he’s like twice your age.” Jungkook twists his face sourly.
“What can I say,” you taunt as you tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. “I have a thing for older guys.”
Jungkook chokes on the beer that he had just tipped into his mouth as you bite down on your tongue to silence your giggles.
“What’s so great about older guys?” Jungkook asks as he brings a napkin up to his mouth to wipe the dribble of liquid from his chin.
“I don’t know. They just seem to know what they’re doing, you know?” you continue to tease.
Truthfully, you hadn’t intended the conversation to head in this direction, but you were thoroughly enjoying the way Jungkook was getting riled up.
“Age doesn’t necessarily relate to competence.” Jungkook challenges while twisting his beer bottle back and forth by its neck, and please god stop looking at his arm.
“Well, I’ve never been given an example that proves otherwise.” you challenge, wishing that you were truly joking.
“You’re probably just looking in the wrong places.” Jungkook shrugs before taking a sip of his beer. “Besides, us young ones have more stamina.”
Your jaw goes slack as you try your best not to let your thoughts linger at the underlying intention of his words, but it’s difficult when Jungkook is watching your face for a reaction. You’re about to mumble out some half-assed remark about lasting ability when someone suddenly drops into the seat to your right, making you jump in surprise.
“Oh, fuck Hoseok! You scared me. Again.” you exhale as he brings his hand across the back of your chair.
“Oops, sorry.” he quips, clearly not sorry at all. He too has stripped down from his work uniform. His shirt slightly wrinkled from the day’s work and his hair parted around his face to reveal his forehead. You wish like mad that you didn’t see him as attractive, but alas, you find yourself once again gripped by his crushingly handsome features.
“Bang held me late. Didn’t you get my messages?” Hoseok inquires, letting his eyes linger on your bare legs for a moment before lifting back to your face.
“I, uh, put my phone away.” you offer lamely.
Hoseok clicks his tongue as he brings his hands down to the seat of his chair to scoot it closer towards the table. You think nothing of it, but it isn’t until you feel the brush of his finger against the outside of your naked thigh that you become fully aware of his proximity to you.
“So, what were you guys chatting about?” Hoseok pries, running his fingertip down to your knee.
You shift your leg under the table to halt his movements, but it simply urges his to grip onto your knee to still it.
“Uh, Leonardo Dicaprio,” you answer in an attempt to keep the conversation flowing. You shoot Hoseok a warning glance, silently imploring him to stop, but he avoids it by keeping his eyes trained on Jungkook.
“Yeah, Y/N has a thing for him.” Jungkook chuckles, unaware of your sudden change in demeanor.
“Is that so?” Hoseok teases with a squeeze to the soft muscle above your kneecap. “You never told me about that.”
“It’s, uh, nothing serious. We haven’t even set a date yet.” you joke, trying to distract yourself from the way Hoseok was massaging his fingers into the flesh of your thigh.
“She says that she prefers older men.” Jungkook continues to taunt, fully oblivious to the way your spine has straightened against the back of your chair, and how your hands are now anchored on your seat.
Hoseok’s fingers dig into the smooth skin of your inner thigh as he slowly sneaks them further up your leg. The skirt of your work uniform providing next to no barrier from the onslaught of his movements.
“Well, I’m not so sure that’s true.” Hoseok replies, his voice dipping in tone.
You wish like hell you didn’t enjoy this, that you could swat away his hand or even call him out. But the truth was that you had been craving his touch since you last felt it over a month ago. The familiar pressure of his fingers on your skin immediately drew a reaction from your body, as if it had been trained to respond to him. You could sense how you were heating up, a warmth blooming under the grip of Hoseok’s hand.
The tickle of his fingers at the hem of your skirt makes goosebumps break out across your legs, and you try to hide the shiver that runs through you. You vaguely realize that Hoseok and Jungkook are talking, but the haze of your mind has caused you to lose track of the conversation.
You’re trying to rid your head of its fog when Hoseok suddenly dips his hand beneath your skirt. His pinky and ring finger brush lightly against your clothed core, causing your already useless mind to go completely blank. The sensation urges you to take in a sharp inhale, your chest rising harshly with the sudden intake of breath. You sense Jungkook’s eyes move to your face from where they had previously been focused on Hoseok, but you drop your head to your lap to deflect his stares.
Your break in resolve does nothing to halt Hoseok’s efforts though. He pulls Jungkook’s attention back to him with a laugh as his hand continues to lift your skirt higher up onto your thighs. Your breath comes in short puffs as you anticipate his next movement, and when his fingers tap your sensitive clit, even over the barrier of your panties, the sensation shoots pleasurably through your core, forcing your thighs to clench around his intruding hand. Your jaw slackens, and the feeling in your chest threatens to bubble out in the form of a moan, but you hide it in time with a forced cough. You feel Jungkook’s eyes look to you again and suddenly your rational mind comes back full force yelling at you for being an idiot. Though every muscle in your body is begging you to stay, you know you have to stop this.
Without a second thought, you plant your palms on the edge of the table to push your chair back, the legs of your seat scratching noisily on the hard floor. Hoseok’s hand hastily retreats from your skirt back to his lap as your legs become visible from under the table.
Your actions must have lacked any and all subtlety because upon standing you notice that all your coworkers’ eyes, even those you hadn’t noticed arriving, have now turned to you.
“Uhm, bathroom.” you offer awkwardly as you feel your cheeks burn from the attention.
Your steps are hurried as you make your way to the darkened hallways leading to the restrooms, only stopping once your hidden in the dim light. You press your back to the wall to ease some of the weight from your wobbly legs, cursing at Hoseok for being able to affect you with so little effort on his part.
You’re taking a deep inhale to steady your breathing when you hear footsteps approaching, but you keep your head tilted back against the wall already having expected the perpetrator to follow you here.
“What do you want, Hoseok?” you mumble with your eyes closed.
“I just think we should talk.” the familiar voice responds from a few feet in front of you. You finally lift your head to look at the boy whose dark eyes are hidden partially from the shadow his bangs are casting on his face.
“I don’t know about you, but I usually talk with my mouth. Not my fingers.” you cock your brow to accentuate your annoyance.
“Sorry,” Hoseok apologizes, taking a step closer to you. “Fuck, I’m sorry. It’s just been a while. I’m not thinking straight.”
“Well, if you can’t keep your hands to yourself then you probably shouldn’t be around me.”
Hoseok looks down at your arms you’ve folded over your chest. The emotion he’s conveying on his face being something akin to a kicked puppy, but you refuse to fold.
“Are you really that mad at me?” Hoseok asks as he furrows his brow.
A heavy sigh escapes your lips as you lift one arm to press into your tight shoulder. “I’m not mad, Hoseok. You can be with whoever you want.”
“But you are mad, otherwise you wouldn’t be avoiding me like this.” Hoseok attempts to reason.
He takes another step forward to place his hand over the one you had been pressing into your shoulder, nudging it gently to the side to replace your fingers with his own. The pressure of his deft fingers massaging into your tight muscles is worlds better than your own, and you have to resist moaning when he twists his fingertips into a particularly tough knot.
“I’m not mad,” you say as your eyes slip closed, enjoying the rhythmic circles Hoseok was now kneading into your shoulder. “I just don’t want to be mixed up in it anymore. I don’t want to be one of many.”
“Y/N, you’re not one of many. I enjoy being with you. It’s just-” Hoseok hesitates, and you lift your lazy eyelids to watch him attempt to find his words again. “I’m just not ready-”
“Hoseok,” you interject, “I’m not asking you to commit. I’m asking you to respect that I don’t want to be a part of this anymore.”
It seemed a bit hypocritical to be telling Hoseok this when all you wanted was for him to continue touching you, but it needed to be said. You had been falling in and out of bed with Hoseok for close to half a year now to no avail. Not that you had begun this whole thing with the intention to breed a committed relationship, but when you found yourself becoming a little too attached it became hard to accept the mere bones he’d throw your way. A text here, a call there, an occasional drunken hookup on the weekends. It all just began to feel dirty in your mind.
This became especially clear to you when you saw him at your coworker Jackson’s party with another girl just last month. Taehyung and Jimin had spent the whole night by your side despite you assuring them you were fine, but truthfully you had gone home just past midnight that night and cried into your pillow with Adele on full blast. The next morning you had awoken with a new found determination to pull yourself out of this situation, and dammit you were not going to cave now just because of Hoseok’s beautifully skilled fingers.
You bring your arm up to brush Hoseok’s hand off your shoulder, and he allows his fingers to slide down to your upper arm.
“I get it. I’ve just missed you a lot,” he says as he takes another half step closer to you, his body just inches from pressing yours to the wall.
“I-I missed you too,” you admit. “But, Hoseok-”
“Y/N?” you suddenly hear someone call from outside of the hallway, their voice laced with concern. The soft tone clues you in that it’s Jungkook who is approaching, and you swiftly realize that you have no idea how long you’ve been gone now. He must have come to check on you after you were missing for so long.
You’re about to call back to him when Hoseok unexpectedly closes the remaining gap between your bodies, effectively pinning you with his hips. The weight of his torso stops your words in your throat and they are instead replaced with a grunt when your back is pressed further into the wall.
“Hoseok,” you hiss, glancing up at the boy to find that he’s already looking down at you. “What the fuck are yo-”
You’re silenced immediately as Hoseok presses his lips to yours, the end of your question getting muffled between your mouths. Your lips still against his, unable to move since your brain has decided to short circuit. He moves for you, slotting your bottom lip between his and sucking lightly. It’s just clicking in your mind to shove him away when you hear an exclamation come from the other end of the hallway.
“Oh, fuck! Sorry.” the distraught voice of Jungkook rattles off, though you can’t see him with Hoseok’s head blocking your vision.
You hear the squeak of what you assume is Jungkook’s shoe pivoting on the hardwood floors and a series of steps before you garner enough sense to bring your hands up to Hoseok’s shoulders to push his upper body off of you.
“What the fuck was that?” you hiss at the boy who’s only point of fixation now seems to be your lips. You twist them into a scowl, just to ensure your frustration is getting across. “Why would you do that?”
“I’m, uh, not sure.” Hoseok stammers, eyes glancing over your face. “I just heard him coming and- I don’t know.”
“Fucking hell, Hoseok.” you growl as you wiggle out from under his body. You run your hands through your hair before stomping your way out of the hallway, leaving Hoseok behind you.
“Where are you going?” you hear him call out from behind.
“Home.” you spit over your shoulder. “And don’t follow me.”
Part ii, (Coming Soon!)
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pjbehindthesun · 6 years
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chapter 26: principles, paint fumes, and pasta
Tuesday, November 6th, 1990
The first thing I’m aware of before I even open my eyes is that this isn’t my bed. Oh. Right.
The next piece of information I can register is that my shoulder’s killing me. With a big sigh, I try to shift to alleviate the pressure, but then it dawns on me that there’s a reason I can’t move my arm. A very good reason, a redheaded reason who’s curled up against me, facing away, whose bed it is, and who miraculously didn’t wake up when I did. What’s a little dislocated ball and socket joint between friends? ...or whatever we’re calling ourselves now... No, friends, definitely still friends. I need to remember that it’s important to just be Cora’s friend right now. And anyway, it wouldn’t be very friendly of me to wake her up, right? She puts on a brave show but she’s still pretty sick, and I ought to let her get as much rest as she needs. So I hold still and try to ignore my aching shoulder.
Purely selfless of me, of course. Has nothing to do with wanting to stay this close to her for as long as possible, or how good her hair smells in a pile right below my face, or the fact that her bed is way more comfortable than it has any right to be, or the fact that she’s not wearing pants… it’s all very innocent, of course, she just insisted after a while that she couldn’t handle her sweatpants for another second and tugged them off under the covers before falling asleep on me… I'd like to be able to say that I put up a valiant, principled struggle against her pantslessness, but really, who would believe that?
I really missed this. I’ve never exactly been a big fan of sleeping with someone, actually sleeping -- relationship or no relationship, I’ve always needed a healthy minimum amount of personal space -- but everything’s different with Cora, and I’ve really missed this. I know it was only a few nights ago that she came over, but it feels like I’ve been experiencing the passage of time in dog years, like it’s been less than a week for normal humans but somehow over a month for me. Trying to undo the damage of our last fight was hard enough, and now realistically I know that she’s gonna be reeling from this breakup for a long time and that I need to give her as much space as possible and just kinda let her handle it on her own, in her own way… but it’s difficult not to focus on the fact that she’s single now. Maybe there won’t be quite as much drama involved in being honest with her about my feelings now that Alex is gone. Maybe this is actually a good time to try and tell her how much I still want to be with her.
Or maybe I’m just being incredibly selfish, and the last thing she needs is another person she trusts moving the goalposts on her, and that's the exact opposite of the whole friend thing I'm trying to do here. A fresh wave of regret washes over me as I remember how dismissive I was of her guilt on Friday morning. I’m starting to understand where that guilt came from. God, I really need to get out of here.
What time is it, anyway? She’s sleeping on my watch arm, and the room’s dark enough that I couldn’t find a clock even if I knew where she kept one… but the fact that her window is pitch black is more than enough information. We were supposed to just take a short nap, but we obviously overslept. Lucy’s supposed to get back here after she’s done with work, and who knows what the hell her opinion of my situation with Cora is. I’d rather wear Mark’s spangly, silver, unwashed, fish-stained leggings for an entire calendar year than try and explain to Lucy why I spent the entire day here in Cora’s bed when I was supposed to be helping move Cletus out (and hey, for the record, I did an unimpeachable job).
And speaking of opinions of the situation, what about Cora’s? I know how I feel about her, and I think by now she does too, but who the hell knows what she thinks about us now? I wonder if she’s been having the same thoughts as me… I wonder if she’s still just as hung up as I am on what happened between us? Maybe she’s just as eager to give this thing a real try now that she’s finally free to do so? But until she says otherwise, we’re still technically still in this ceasefire, and I’m not about to be the one who violates it by bringing up such a radioactive subject. That would be just perfect, another one of our big stupid trademark fights. That’s pretty much what we’re best at, at this point. What’s my fucking problem? Why the hell am I waiting around here for another fight?
As if to answer my question, she sighs and wiggles a little closer. Jesus, I’m a weak-willed idiot for this woman. I know better, honestly I do, but I can’t help burying my nose deeper into her hair and the curve of her neck. Who knows when I’ll feel this close to her again. But in a feat of resolve, I manage to stop myself from kissing her. I’m not totally devoid of learning ability, after all. With one more deep breath, I slide my arm out from under her, my face screwed up partly with the effort of being stealthy and partly due to the pins and needles pricking my shoulder, and make my way out of her bed.
I’m sure I woke her up, but I’m not about to look back and confirm it. Nothing personal, I’ve just got to get going for both our sakes, that’s all. Scooping up my discarded shirt and hat, I head straight for the bathroom to pull myself together. I feel like such an asshole, though… I’m not ditching her, I’m just letting her stay in bed and rest, right? This isn’t a dick move, right? It’s just stealth. Sure. Right. Anxiety squeezes at my throat.
Except I realize the stealth plan is completely blown when I remember I have to head back to her room for my coat and boots. When I get there, the bed’s empty. Ohhhkay. So much for sneaking out. Time to try and find a creative way to get out of here before one of us does something stereotypically idiotic. I’ve stayed for way too long, and the last thing I want is for her to think I expect anything from her by hanging around. She’s so vulnerable right now. I don’t want her to feel like she owes me something for helping her out, or like I’m here because of any ulterior motives. I’ve got to leave with my principles intact, somehow.
After I’ve shuffled back into my boots, I head to the kitchen, where Cora’s got her back to me as she gets herself a fresh drink of water.
“Uh, so I gotta... get going,” I state the obvious, opening the front door with the hand that’s still draped in my coat, causing me to lose my grip on it and fumble to keep from dropping it entirely. Oh, excellent. Feeling extremely suave right about now.
“Yeah, I figured. I’ve kept you long enough, huh?” She refrains from laughing as I fight my way into my coat and just offers a tentative smile as she makes her way over to me. She’s wearing pants again. I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s still disappointing.
“No, it’s not… you didn’t… I could have… but, dog…”
One of her eyebrows skyrockets. “Again in English, please?”
“I gotta… go take care of the dog,” I finally stitch together a sentence with a cringe, “because, uh, my parents are still out of town. Poor old thing’s probably doing the bathroom dance by the back door.”
Fuck! That’s not even true! My parents’ flight landed earlier today, I’m sure the dog’s getting spoiled rotten as we speak. Why am I lying to her? The panicked feeling in my throat tightens.
“Aww, poor Penny,” she croons, setting the water glass down on top of the TV and taking me by the collar to give me a shake with both hands. “Why didn’t you tell me, Stoner? I woulda kicked you out hours ago!”
Jesus, she has the prettiest eyes. I’m never ready for the effect they have at close range like this. Shit. What are we talking about? Oh, right.
“I, uh… I probably should have gotten back to work already anyway, now that I’m no longer a sanitation threat to the general customer base of the bakery.”
She smooths out the fabric of my coat but doesn’t let go, gnawing on her bottom lip and frowning at her handiwork. “I should get back to school tomorrow too, probably.”
“Oh no way, Typhoid Mary, you’re under quarantine for at least another couple of days,” I cackle, putting my arm up in front of my face, making her drop her grip on my coat.
“I can’t miss that many classes! My professors will think I’m slacking off!”
“Oh, yeah, might as well just withdraw from school, no point even going back now that your credibility’s so irreparably damaged.”
She ignores me. “I should probably call them and explain, right?”
“It’s you, Red, I’m pretty sure after one missed lecture they’ve initiated a missing persons search. Come to think of it, I think I saw your face on a milk carton at the grocery store.”
“That’d be rich, considering I haven’t seen my own advisor since like September,” she allows a tiny smile, picking up the tattered novel I’d been reading earlier. “You wanna take this with you?”
“Oh, uh, sure,” I mumble, letting her push the book into my chest and taking it from her. “You sure you won’t miss it?”
“It’s a short book, Stone, I can spare it for a few weeks. Unless you’re planning to skip town or something.”
“No, why would I do that??” I gape at her in horror, feeling my heart start to race like a cornered animal. Is that what she thinks of me leaving like this? I’m not skipping town! I just don’t want to… I don’t even know what I want. Of course I want to stay and spend more time with her, but I can’t help feeling like I’ve overstayed my welcome and I need to give her some space… Jesus, calm down, idiot, look at her, she’s staring at you like you just sprouted extra ears. That’s obviously not what she meant.
“Okay, okay, unclench! It was just a joke, Stoner.” She gives me a shove to the shoulder before winding her arms around my middle and resting her head on the same spot she'd just assaulted. “Although I do kinda wish you could stay.”
“Yeah, uh, I mean, me too…” I stammer, yet again forgetting what we're even talking about because yet again all I can focus on is how good her hair smells. God, I’m a total disaster.
“Thank you. I mean it. For everything. For staying as long as you did…”
“It was nothing. I mean, I think I may have thrown my back out earlier, but that's what you get for hiring a slotted spoon for all your post-breakup moving man needs.”
A little laugh bubbles out of her and she starts to work out the muscles in my lower back in a slow, kneading motion.
“I was kidding, you don't have to do that…” I protest, my knees weakening. But she doesn’t stop, and I’m starting to feel awkward about not returning her hug, so I half-assedly reciprocate, which only prompts her to pull me closer and massage more of my back. Not good… or very good, very, very good... no, not good! I wish I could think of some other words, some way to explain why I’m in such a hurry to get away from her, but I can’t figure out what to say that won't be hurtful. That the longer I stay here, the more uncomfortable I am with the implications. That I’m not sure I can trust myself to make the right decisions around her, especially right now. That I really just need to go clear my head for a while, and she’s never been very helpful with that.
She nuzzles deeper into my shoulder before looking up at me, inches away and wearing a sheepish little smile, swaying us just slightly, like she’s not sure what else to do either. But we both know what we’d like to be doing. I want it to happen more than I can articulate, but I’m also not going to be the one to do it. I can’t seem to remember why not, though. Something about principles, I think. So I stand there like an absolute idiot and let her close the distance and kiss me. The closest thing I can manage to principled behavior is just to let her lead, to keep the kiss as light as I possibly can, to resist pulling her closer and taking over, to avoid walking her backwards into her bedroom and giving up on the whole stupid pretense that I have any sort of resolve whatsoever when it comes to her.
God, what are we doing? She's been single for less than 24 hours! This is a terrible idea, even by our standards… I pull away and drop my hands, hoping to give her a reassuring smile but probably looking more like the “before” guy in an antacid commercial before I slink into the hallway and away from her door.
I don't look back until I'm two flights of stairs away. What the hell was that? Why couldn’t I just tell her what was wrong? I should go back up, I should explain, she's probably still standing there stunned… I take a few steps back up before wheeling around again, ready to bolt out of her building until I regain enough composure and sense to come back and have a real talk with her about our situation, but instead I plow into someone heading upstairs.
“OW! Stone, what the FUCK?”
Some mumbled word that hopefully sounds like “sorry” comes out of me as I put a hand out to make sure Lucy doesn’t topple backwards. I was going to try to edge my way past her and continue down the stairs, but for the second time today, someone’s got me by the coat collar, and I stumble backwards up a couple stairs to get my balance.
She fixes me with a beady, searching squint. “What are you still doing here?”
“Nothing. I was just leaving.”
“Yeah, Captain Obvious, I know… wasn’t Alex supposed to come by around noon?”
“Yeah, he did.” With some effort, I shift until she releases her clawlike grip on me, but it’s clear she’s still not planning to let me past her just yet.
“It’s like 6:30… why are you still here? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine!” Her eyebrows shoot up, and frankly I'm surprised by my own volume as well. Shouting’s definitely not helping my case. I lower my voice several decibels and try again. “She’s fine, don’t worry. They didn’t see each other at all, she was asleep the whole time, I took care of it, and then, uh… we just fell asleep together. For a little while.”
“You what?” She’s a little shorter than me and two steps below me, but that doesn’t stop me from cowering back from the menacing look I just got. Still, she’s pissing me the fuck off and I’m in no mood for this.
“Did I stutter?” God, I really don’t need to pick a fight with Lucy too, but I’m running out of patience for this shit. I’m not thrilled about everyone always assuming the worst about me. Then again, I’ve just been occupied doing the same thing.
“Cut the shit, Stone! She’s been single for five fucking minutes, can’t you keep it in your pants long enough to let her --”
“Jesus! Nothing happened, okay?”
“This time, maybe.”
“Oh, fuck off. She didn’t want to be alone, I stuck around for a while, that’s it! I did what you fucking asked.”
Lucy’s mouth opens furiously, but I’ve pushed past her before she can get a word out. She’s made her point. And I’d never admit it to her, but I know she’s right.
***
What the fuck is his problem? Ugh, you sarcastic little shit! Yeah, you’d better run!
With a huff, I stomp up the rest of the stairs. I can’t believe him! I’ve stuck up for him, I’ve defended him to Cora, I’ve tried to help her recognize how much she loves his stupid ass, and he bites my head off? Me, of all people? I’m not the enemy! I just want to make sure he’s giving her a little space, that’s all! No wonder he’s storming off, they probably got into another one of their textbook fights because he tried to move things forward too fast. I know he’s a complete shithead when it comes to Cora, but I figured he’d have enough sense not to try and make a move today, at the very least. Last time I give too much credit to Stone, that’s for damn sure.
I slow my pace down when I hit her floor and brace myself for whatever kind of apocalyptic, tearful mess he probably left behind. The door is still wide open, which can’t be a good sign… I edge into the apartment and knock lightly anyway, even though I can see her in the kitchen from the hallway.
“Hey Luce,” she smiles over her shoulder before returning to the cabinet she’s rooting through. She’s not exactly the picture of health, but for someone with the flu, she looks pretty normal. And chipper. Which is precisely zero help as I try to piece together why Stone was rushing out of here in such a bitchy hurry.
“Hey… how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Slept most of the day, which probably didn’t hurt. Stone just left.” She’s got her back to me as she grabs a sheet pan and fills it with frozen tater tots, so I can’t gauge her face, but her voice still sounds pretty upbeat.
“Yeah? He wasn’t too much of a pest?”
“No, why would he be?” she says, keeping a neutral tone as she puts the pan in the oven and turns around.
“You sure you’re okay? Stone spent the whole day here and you’re not annoyed? If you’re hallucinating, we definitely need to get you to the hospital…” I reach up to put a hand on her forehead but she bats it away with a weak smile.
“Seriously, it’s fine. He did all the packing, he made me take some cold meds, and I spent most of the day completely crashed out. When I woke up, he’d handled the whole Alex thing, I didn’t even have to come to the door. Really decent of him, actually.”
“Yeah,” I peer at her. “I guess. So you’re really okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I mean… just wondering.”
She hunches her shoulders defensively, but she’s still smiling, so it’s clear that pressing the issue isn’t going to get me any new information. But it still kinda freaks me out that she’s this calm and robotic about it all. I mean, we’re not even a day out from Cindygate, and she’s acting so… normal? I know this is her first breakup, but doesn’t she know the rules? Doesn’t she know she’s entitled to a sobbing, ice-cream binging, voodoo doll-making phase? How the hell can she be so calm about this? And what the hell happened with Stone, and why isn’t she more spun up about that? I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake the story out of her, but that’s more for my benefit than for hers. I need a different approach.
“So what do you want to get up to tonight?”
Without a word, she points at the oven and then at her own open mouth, which inadvertently becomes a full-body yawn. “Tots. Then sleep.”
“Didn’t you sleep all day?”
“Yeah, it was fucking exhausting. Seriously, I kinda just want to be alone so I can crash.”
“Sure, okay… you sure?”
“I’m sure! I don’t need supervision, Lucy, I just need more sleep.”
“Yeah, of course,” I nod reassuringly, but I’m still not sure what to make of this totally calm, emotionless robot. Is she really okay? Is she just spaced out on cold meds? Is she waiting for me to leave so she can fall apart?
“Go say hi to the guys for me, okay?” she chirps with her back toward me as she peeks into the oven to check on her tater tots, waving without looking.
“Uh huh. Uhm, you can come over if you want company…”
“Nah. I’ll call you tomorrow!”
Okay, as I make my way out into the hallway and close the door behind me, I can maybe start to see why Stone was so shaken up. Acting this calm the day after what she just went through? That’s just fucking freaky. No good will come of this.
When I key into Jeff’s apartment, he and Eddie glance up from where they’re both sitting on the couch, guitars in hand, noses buried in one of Ed’s little notebooks. Basketball’s on the TV, and a bag of Chips Ahoy sits half-devoured between them on the cushion. A much more normal and reassuring sight. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my shoulders tight around my ears all day, but it’s a massive relief to leave Cora’s drama behind for a little while and come home. I mean, not that Jeff’s place is my home! I guess technically I spend enough time here that I’ve started to think of it that way, but the idea of making things more official hasn’t really come up. Not since the whole “I love you” thing happened in the bathroom the other day. And I’m not even sure it came up then. I might have been imagining it in the midst of all those paint fumes. To be honest, I’m kind of glad it hasn’t come up again because I’m still not sure how to handle a relationship that’s going this well. In some ways, Jeff being in my life feels like a practical joke. Like at any moment, some horrible game show host is going to pop out from behind a ficus plant and say, ‘just kidding, you didn’t really think a guy this great could actually be in love with YOU, did you? Look, everybody, can you believe she fell for it...’
“In or out?” Jeff grins, setting his bass down propped up against the couch to stand up and take an irresistible kitten-like stretch.
“In.”
“Hi, Lucy,” Eddie mumbles as I close the door behind me, scratching his eyebrow and smiling shyly.
I try to say hi back, but it’s a muffled yelp from inside Jeff’s sudden bear hug, and Eddie quickly averts his eyes back to the notebook.
“Work good?” Jeff says from somewhere in my hair, totally oblivious to Eddie’s discomfort.
“Yeah, just long. Have you talked to Stone?”
His snort right into my ear tells me that’s a no. “So you didn’t hear anything about how today went?”
“How what went?” Jeff lets me go just enough to get a look at my face. Shit, that’s right, I’ve been so wrapped up in all this drama I haven’t even told him what happened last night! Oh, this is not going to be pretty.
“Sooo,” I stall, filling my lungs with air and focusing on my feet planted on their scuffed floor, trying to ground myself before the inevitable explosion, “the thing is, Cora kicked Alex out last night after finding him in their apartment with another girl…”
Jeff takes a big step back from me and laces his fingers behind his head like he’s trying to restrain them from wringing the nearest neck. “Whhh…” he struggles to talk through clenched teeth. When I glance over at Eddie, he hasn’t moved a muscle except to draw his eyebrows as far down into a knot as humanly possible as he glares at his pages.
“Yeah, it was pretty terrible, or it sounds that way. She didn’t tell me until this morning, but I guess she threw him out right then and spent the night by herself. That’s all I know. She won’t really talk to me about it. Anyway, I called him this morning and talked him into coming by to get his stuff today, just to rip the bandage off as soon as possible. I think he was feeling guilty enough that he went for it. And Stone was the only one around to help out and make sure Alex didn’t hassle Cora when he came by.”
“You should have called me, I woulda left work!” Jeff shouts, letting his arms flail. “God, I wait all year for a chance to punch that guy in the jaw, and Stone gets to do it, of all people? I don’t think he even knows how to throw a punch, he’d probably miss and end up hitting himself!”
“Stone had a pretty good grip on things, nobody got punched,” Eddie says absently in that uniquely low but resonant way he has, so that even the quietest words reach every ear in the room.
“Wait, you were there too? Fuck, I miss everything!”
“Well, no, I just sorta… I was in the right place at the right time, I helped Stone get some of the boxes into the guy’s truck.” His eyes are boring holes into the floor, refusing to look at either Jeff or me, so we settle for looking equally confused at one another. How come Stone didn’t mention Eddie helping out? I wonder if Cora has any idea. She certainly didn’t let on if she did. Shit, let’s hope not. She’d probably be completely mortified.
“Wait, so this thing with this girl, do you know if it was a one-off or what?” Jeff presses me for more details.
“It was his best friend’s girlfriend, I think. Apparently it had been going on for like a year.”
Just as Jeff interpretively dances through another fit of apoplectic rage, Eddie excuses himself and starts to slouch off toward his bedroom, which is really more like a large closet with a futon. Poor guy, he probably feels really uncomfortable with me here all the time, especially with so little space of his own to escape to.
“Eddie, you don’t have to go! Did you guys eat dinner yet? I could make something!”
“Hmm? Nah, thanks, I’m good, I’ve gotta… I'll figure something out a little later, you go ahead,” he mumbles cryptically, disappearing down the hall.
“Guy’s a fast learner, he already knows not to let you cook,” Jeff grumbles, visibly winding down just a tiny bit.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. She didn't even tell me until this morning. It all happened so quickly before work.”
“Nah, don’t apologize, it’s not like I’m mad at you. I just really hate that fucking guy.”
“Join the club.”
With a chuckle, he pulls me into another embrace. “Pizza?”
We order dinner, I ditch my work clothes for the sweats I’ve started keeping in his dresser, and before long, it’s starting to feel like any other normal Tuesday evening. Until, after settling into a pizza coma with my legs stretched out over his lap on the couch, half-asleep, he speaks up out of nowhere.
“So, have you thought anymore about it?”
“About what?” I ask through a stifled yawn.
“Moving in with me.”
Instantly wide awake, I gape at him and rack my brain. When the fuck did we talk about moving in together? When did we talk about it in enough detail that he thought I’d have an answer? What the hell am I supposed to do with this? Has absolutely everyone in this building lost their damn mind? What was in those paint fumes, anyway?
***
Wednesday, November 7th, 1990
Not your typical sick day, I guess. Most people would probably just stay in bed, but I’m having a hard time with the whole bed concept. It felt a little less like “our” bed when Stone was here with me, distracting me from the fact that it used to be a shared bed by definition, but it still doesn’t feel like “mine.” Who knows how long it’s going to take me to occupy the whole bed when I sleep by myself. It feels rude to take up Alex's space. I hate that I’m still calling it his space. It’s not like he’s coming back for it. Not like I’d even want him to. But it still feels like there’s a big “reserved” sign hanging over that side of the bed. So much of my apartment doesn’t feel like mine. Looking around and seeing massive, conspicuous holes where Alex’s things used to be makes it so much worse. They look like wounds.
So I’ve spent the day covering up those holes. Shuffling books and records around so that the bookcases don’t look so gap-toothed. Reorganizing my sweaters to use all the drawers in the dresser. But that only wasted so much time. I still had a whole day to myself. It’s weird, I spent a lot of time by myself when we were together, too -- I guess that was part of the problem -- but the solitary time never felt this bottomless. Now, I’ll do anything I can think of to fill it up, use it up, burn it, in the hope that if I kill enough of it, it’ll develop an end. One of those light things at the end of the tunnel that stupid optimistic people are always talking about.
The first thing I thought of was calling the clinic. I’m on their schedule for tomorrow for a check-up. I’ve never gone to one of these places before, but it seems the obvious thing to do. Not even out of fear, really, just out of due diligence. It doesn’t even seem like my own health I’m checking up on, it’s just something right out of the Handbook for the Recently Cheated On.
Then, once the thought of cleanliness had occurred to me, it seemed only natural that purging the apartment was the next step. Maybe if every last corner of this place is spotless, it’ll feel more like it belongs to me, more like a fresh start of some kind. And mindless tasks are the perfect way to burn out any thoughts about Alex, like checking the clock and wondering if he’s ever going to call. He probably has no reason to call someone he’s been over for so long, and I’m not sure I want to hear from him, but there’s this weird void where he used to be, made all the more prominent by how suddenly it appeared. Shouldn’t we have some kind of closure? Wouldn’t calling me to talk about it be the right thing to do, even if it was just a postmortem? I thought we respected each other at least enough for that. Maybe he will call eventually, but not enough time has passed. See? This is why I need to clean the fucking house, I can’t stop dwelling on stupid shit like this. Or other stupid shit, like how confusing everything’s gotten with Stone. I haven’t heard anything from him since he sprinted out of my place yesterday. God, what was I thinking, kissing him? He was obviously trying to get out of here as fast as he could, I just… I didn’t want him to leave, and I didn’t know how to explain it to him, so I said it the only way I could think to say it… he couldn’t have been less into it, the poor guy. I’m sure he just stayed the whole day out of pity, and I took advantage of his kindness by kissing him. Fucking great. Running them off in droves. Who can blame them?
So I’ve vacuumed, I’ve mopped, I’ve dusted. I’ve disinfected the light switches. I’ve run vinegar solutions through the dishwasher, the coffee pot. I’ve scrubbed all the baseboards. I’ve cleaned under the refrigerator. I’ve oiled the creaky bathroom door hinges. I’ve used Alex’s toothbrush to clean the bathroom floor tile grout. And I’m running out of ideas. God, I really need to get healthy soon so I can go the fuck back to the lab, this is pathetic. Oh! I don’t think I’ve ever deep-cleaned the radiator!
A cloth, a bucket of soapy water, and a grimy cast-iron project. Perfect. There are so many impossible angles, so many unreachable corners, so many attention-stealing details I can fixate on until my hands go numb. I could do this for hours. I already feel like I have been doing this for hours. This is exactly what I needed. The perfect antidote to overthinking.
I have no idea what time it is when I hear a tentative knock on my door. Probably Lucy checking on me after work again. It’s sweet of her, but really, I need to get rid of her as soon as I can. The less I have to explain about my mental state to concerned third parties, the better.
“Come in, it’s open,” I call, not lifting my head from the floor where I’m crouched on my hands and knees to check whether the underside of the radiator is uniformly glistening.
“Did you lose something under there?”
At the sound of a much deeper than expected voice, I jolt upright, regretting the decision instantly when my neck complains. “Eddie! What are you doing here?” Fuck, why does he always catch me off guard like this? I always run into him at the worst moments.
“Oh, sorry, is this a bad time?”
If it were anyone but Eddie, I would probably say yes, because my life lately is an endless continuum of bad times, but he looks so small and forlorn standing in my doorway clutching a baking pan covered in foil that I can’t bring myself to make him feel any more out of place.
“No, not at all.”
“Uhm, not to, like… question your methods or anything, but… what were you doing just now?”
“Cleaning the radiator.”
“Huh. Do you have to do that?”
I shrug, dropping the rag into the bucket of scummy water. “I have to do something.”
“Sure, sure, yeah.” He nods with a scowl. This seems to be one of his approving scowls. I like a person who has different varieties of scowls. “Well, uhm,” his gaze travels down to the pan in his hands, and the scowl becomes almost one of surprise, as if he didn’t remember bringing it with him, “I heard you were feeling under the weather, so I figured someone should drop off some sustenance.”
Only when he mentions food does my stomach loudly remind me that I’ve forgotten to eat all day. “Oh, thanks,” I start to say, but he keeps mumbling down at the dish.
“It’s not like it’s gourmet or anything, it’s just baked ziti, there was a coupon for spaghetti sauce. I don’t really have my own pans and stuff, though, so you’re gonna have to give this one back eventually, it’s Jeff’s…”
“I think I can handle that.” His sincerity is so touching that I want to hug him, except I’m all covered in sweat and grime, and he looks like he might shatter if I tried. I settle for taking the pan from him with a simple “thank you” and giving him a chance to find someplace in my apartment where he feels a little more at ease. True to form, he settles on standing in the doorway, one foot still in the hall, with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his eyes digging into the floor.
I was about to put the pan away, figuring I’d heat it up by myself later, but the black marker design sketched on the aluminum foil cover stops me in my tracks in front of my recently polished fridge. Setting the pan down on the counter to study it, I find a series of angular, progressing ocean waves crashing on a shore. A few seabirds seem to be circling way out over the water. As my eyes travel in from the ocean, there’s a spit of beach encircled by a spiky ring of vegetation, some roughly sketched palm trees, and a hammock underneath. And even though no one’s speaking, I can hear his voice reaffirming our stupid little daydream outside the Off Ramp that night. 
The island’s still there if we need it, right?
“Eddie?”
“Yeah?” He turns around from his solitary post in my door frame.
“You got dinner plans?”
“No,” his scowl gives way to a tight-lipped and dimpled smile, “you?”
“Now I do. Thanks for this.”
“Ahh,” he rumbles, shaking his head uncomfortably at the floor and making his way inside, closing the door behind him.
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fanficstookover · 6 years
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Far From Home - Tom Holland (3/3)
Request: by @justmesadgirl - Could you do one where y/n is Tom’s new assistant after Harrison gets more into acting and Tom falls for her? 😇
(a/n) It is here. After a month of writing, here is the final part! Enjoy! I must have said this a million times and I will say it again: Thanks to everyone who has read the previous parts. I never expected it to be received as well as it was. I doubted this story so much “Wasn’t it too long? Too cheesy? Should I have written in it from both perspectives? I don’t know!” Also, if anyone would want to, message me or ask with what you thought of the whole story or of some parts of it ... a review I guess, but not really. I would honestly love to read it for the future and because I simply like to read the comments. (just don’t make it too harsh, please, I’m a sensitive mess)
word count: 13,087
warning: swearing/ some drama/ feels/
previous parts in my new masterlist
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Previously: 
“I love you too.” Those words were literal heaven for him to hear. She had said it so flawlessly, almost immediately after he had confessed them himself. It could only mean that she actually meant them. But a piece of him still wanted to hear her say it: “Really?”
“Yes,” she said with a wide smile, which he gladly reciprocated. He still had his hand on her cheek, and she still held on to it with her hand. He had a chance and he took it, grabbed it with all his force really. He pressed his lips against hers. He was glad that as soon as they touched, she kissed him back. It was the third kiss they shared in one day.  Each kiss was different. The first one was slow and unsure, just a way for Tom to tell her everything he wanted her to know without any actual words. The second kiss was a reciprocation. Their feelings now known to one another and hastily shown once again. This kiss went far and beyond the two. It was hungry and passionate. While still holding on to each other, Tom could feel (Y/N)’s other hand reach into his hair and pulling gently at it. Tom used his free arm to hold himself up as he lay (Y/N) on the couch. He could feel her smile into the kiss, which made him smile too. Before they knew it, they were both just laughing, still lying on top of each other.
“We can’t do this,” she said, between small bundles of laughs. Tom stopped, almost falling off of the couch… no, he did fall off the couch. As he got up, he asked: “What? I thought-” he didn’t want to sound hurt. He didn’t want to hurt her.
“Yes,” she knew what he was thinking. “But we can’t. I work for you. It would be weird, wouldn’t it?”
Part 3: 
You watched him get up. “It wouldn’t be weird.” You understood where he was coming from. You wanted this as much as he did. Those feelings you tried to hide - just like he did - were out in the open, nothing to do about it.
“Yes, it would be.” He sat down in front of you again, taking your hands in yours. You smiled, hoping it would make him feel better. Unfortunately, those eyes still looked broken. “I just don’t think it would be appropriate. Or what if we would get in a fight, what then? I bring you cold coffee every morning, out of spite and then you fire me? It just can’t work.” the explanation was more for you than for him. You needed a reason for yourself to say no because you knew that otherwise, you wouldn’t have any self-control. If it was completely up to you, you would have been half naked across the floor with him and…. NO! Stop it!
“That’s what I never understood.” he sounded more confident. “In movies or whatever, they always say “what if”. Why would we have to think like that? Why worry about something that we don’t know will ever happen.”
“Because that’s what makes us human.” you squeezed his hand.
“Well, fuck being human. I love you and you love me, no take-backsies.” he looked seriously at you, only making you laugh even more. “After this, I don’t think I can ever go back to not being with you.”
“You will have to.” you then quickly added: “I will have to.”  You started to wonder since when the two of you started to be so deep. Maybe you were bringing out your inner poet in each other.
“Maybe we can keep it on the side.” Was he really suggesting to become friends with benefits?
“Because Hollywood hasn’t given us enough examples to know how it would end?” you joked, but still with a truth hidden in it. There weren’t many different outcomes.
The next minute or three, you spend in silence. Without telling each other, you still had somehow managed to agree that for the next few minutes you would think about a solution. So far, there was nothing.
___________________________________
“What if,” after what seemed like an eternity, (Y/N)  finally spoke up with an idea, “we just… put it on pause.”
“On pause?” Tom wasn’t sure he followed.
“Yes. To be sure we are only one another’s - you know, I’m yours, you’re mine,” he loved how she said that “We only put a pause on it.”
“Until when?”
“Until I don’t work for you anymore.” She had said it with a smile, which was very misleading. Maybe he had missed something in this plan but, so far, it didn’t sound exactly spectacular. “I know, it sounds like a forever. But my contract lasts only until you’re finished with this movie.” She tried to sound hopeful. It worked a little bit.
“Ok, we can wait until December.” Now it was his turn to squeeze her hand. She, however, wasn’t happy. “Tom, as your assistant, I feel obligated to tell you, that technically you aren’t done with this movie until you finished the press tour and the movie is actually out, and neither am I.”
“You mean to say, we can’t date until next July!” his voice sounded more offended than he actually was but in the end, he was glad it did. Normally she would laugh when he used that tone in his voice (it was funny after all), but she couldn’t get herself to smile because at the same time it was also kind of sad.
“I think so.”
“No. Sorry, can’t do that.”  he shook his head vigorously in denial.
“It’s the only real way to make sure we don’t jeopardize our careers, especially yours.” he didn’t like how she made his job sound more important than her own. “I promise, it will go by sooner than you think.”
“I will keep you to that.” His finger went up to touch the tip of her nose, making her scrunch it up and say: “You’re an idiot.”
“Your idiot….in nine months.”  
“Oh no, you’re already mine. Just in nine months, it will be official.”
“It sounds like you’re pregnant.” he was joking, but (Y/N) took it to another level.
“That’s not such a bad metaphor actually, right?” Her eyes lit up as another idea probably popped up into her head. “Think about it. Expecting parents have to wait nine months for their baby to be born and they can wait. So why can’t we?”
“Because we haven’t had sex yet?” As soon as he said that out loud, a part of him regretted it. Was it appropriate to talk about things like that so soon? He was starting to get scared that (Y/N) would think he sounded desperate. Thankfully, she hadn’t even properly listened to him.
“I’m serious Tom. Nine months.” she scooted closer to him. So close that he could feel her breath on himself. “And then I’ll be yours,” she whispered. It sends shivers down his whole body, together with a one-word thought: Fuck…
“I thought you were already mine.” He didn’t want to whisper, but his voice still came out softer. She bit her lip at his words. Tom started to feel very uncomfortable in his jeans suddenly. “If that’s how we’re going to play it, love, I definitely won’t be able to wait so long.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
___________________________________
The first two weeks went by fast. Before you knew it, it was Wednesday afternoon and you were driving Tom to the airport. Before he had gotten in, you made him put on a bandana around his eyes so he had no idea where you were going.
“Can I take it off already?” he begged for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last five minutes, and probably also was the hundredth time he said that in the last five minutes.
“I don’t know, are we there yet?” you teased.
“How am I supposed to know? I’m blindfolded, (Y/N)!” You didn’t respond to him. Right then, you had arrived at the airport. You looked for a parking spot in the Kiss and Ride part and then stopped the car. As soon as Tom felt the car stop, his hands reached the back of his head to untie the knot you had so masterfully made before you left. “Oh no. Don’t you dare!” you pulled his arms back.
“Aren’t we there yet?”
“Shhh.” you didn’t want to answer any more of his questions. Too scared you would let something slip. Tom groaned and crossed his arms in annoyance. You looked at the digital clock in the car. It read 13:33. Their plane had already landed some time ago. But LAX was a big airport and then they would have had to go through customs and get their luggage back… although, they were three teenage boys who came only for a half-week trip. Maybe they only had carry-ons with them, you hoped. Then, you saw movement in your rearview mirror. A mop of dark curls was running up to the car.
“Wait here. Do not remove the bandana!” you tried to sound as dominant as possible.
“Shit, that was hot,” he said. You rolled your eyes as you opened the car door. You got out and quickly closed it again and locked it. As you walked away you could hear him shout: “No! Please don’t leave me! (Y/N)!!” You laughed.
“Hello boys,” you said to the three Holland brothers. They all came up to give you a hug.
“Hey, (Y/N). Again, thanks for doing all of this.”
“No problem. As long as I don’t have to pay, I’m fine doing anything.”
“Good to remember,” Harry laughed. “Does Tom…”
“As far up till I left the car, he had no clue what was going on,” you announced proudly.
“Brilliant.” Sam smiled brightly. They all looked very excited to surprise their big brother, and you were excited that you were allowed to be a part of it. “So what I’m thinking is, that I get him out of the car still blindfolded and then just let the show begin.” the boys didn’t even question your decision of blindfolding Tom.
“Sounds good. We just have to wait for Haz.” Sam said before you were about to make your way back to the car.  Haz?
“Harrison is here?” you asked. Not exactly disappointed, but not ecstatic either. It wasn't that you had anything against the tall blond. You just didn’t expect him.
“Yeah, he went to get some coffee. Told us to go meet you so you wouldn’t have to wait.” Paddy explained to you. Right then, you could hear a pair of footsteps reach you.
“Good afternoon, miss (Y/L/N).” he bowed down, still holding on to the small suitcase he was pulling behind him, a Starbucks cup in his other hand.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Osterfield.” you did a curtsy together with the gesture of pulling your skirt up at the sides, even though you were wearing jeans.
“Where is Tom?”
“In the car. Should I get him?”
“Yes!” It was rather hilarious that Harrison shared the excitement of seeing Tom, with his thirteen-year-old brother. You smiled as you walked back to the car. Looking out for any cars coming, you got Tom’s side of the vehicle and unlocked it. Tom was leaning his head against the window and, still having the blindfold on, jumped up at the sound of the doors unlocking. You opened the door for him.
“Can I take it off now?” Were the first words he said. You wanted to come back with a snarky comment but thought against it. He had suffered long enough. “In a moment. Come, give me your hand.”
“Fine.” You held his hand as he slowly got out of the car. At that exact moment, a plane took off right above your heads. Tom duck in panic. “Was that a plane? Are we at an airport? I swear (Y/N) if you’re trying to sell me… people will be looking for me.” he rammed on as you made your way back to the four boys on the sidewalk.
“Oh shut up, you git.” Harry laughed. Tom stopped in his tracks and actually did shut up. Still, with his blindfold on, he started to look around him. “Harry?  What…”
“Surprise.” you took off his bandana. Tom squinted to get used to the light, and once he did, his eyes widened. “What are you guys going here?” he still looked confused as he hugged his brothers. Then he saw Harrison. If you were on a beach, you were pretty sure they would have run into each other’s arms in slow motion, but, you weren’t, so they had to do with what they had.
“Haz!” They hugged tightly. It was adorable how much they missed each other. Slightly weird that Harrison had a bigger reaction than his three brothers, but it was still a nice thing to see. “Seriously guys, how did you get here? Do mum and dad know?” he looked specifically at Paddy when he said that.
“Of course they know,” Paddy responded defensively. Tom still looked at Sam for confirmation. He nodded. “They do. And about the rest, you have (Y/N) to thank for.” he bucked his head in your direction. So far, you stood a bit away from the boys, giving Tom some space and time to catch up with Harrison… and his brothers.
“You did this?” he turned around. His eyes were sparkling with joy.
“Not really. I mean it was their idea, I just-”
“Literally organized everything.” Paddy chimed in. You thanked the little man for being so casual about it. “No problem.”  
“Pads is right though,” Harry decided to add his part to the conversation too, “It wouldn’t have been possible without her help.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t be here if she didn’t stalk your schedule.”  Haz joked.
“It’s not stalking. It’s doing my job. You would know that if you actually did it.” A wave of “Ooohh”s went around the three other visitors. You smiled smugly at Harrison. His ears turned slightly red. You had met him a few times already and it was always a great time that you had together. However, neither of you could help it but cause a little competitive tension between each other. With him being Tom’s former PA and you being his present, it was only natural to make jokes about it.
Tom’s smile had been growing wider ever since you had taken that bandana off of him, but when you had turned around from your “sick burn” at Harrison, you saw a slight twitch in it. “What’s wrong?”
___________________________________
“It’s nothing,” Tom was trying his best not to look sad. He was surrounded by the most important people in his life, but still, it seemed a bit off. He didn’t know when they would be heading back home, but he only had a day and a half off this whole week to spend with them. He mentally cursed his management for making him come to set the next day, even though he had no scenes to film.
“Tom, I can see something’s bothering you, what’s up?” (Y/N) grabbed his hand. He felt goosebumps go up against his whole arm.
“Well, I’m happy you guys are all here, but I have to work tomorrow, and I’m only free on Friday.” As he said his worries out loud, he saw all of them share a look.
“You didn’t tell him?” Sam asked (Y/N).
“Didn’t tell me what?” he looked around the group. They were all smiling widely, (Y/N) the most.
“Do you ever look at your own schedule?” She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Of course, I do.” he rolled his eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing, even though it was very clear that he did not look at his schedule very often. He had just gotten so used to (Y/N) telling him in the evening what the plans were for the next day, he barely even thought about the digital copy. It wasn’t smart, but neither a conscious decision.
“That’s okay, I know you don’t. That’s why I knew it was safe to put this in it.” She took out her phone, pressed a few things and then showed him the screen. There it was, the calendar. Almost every day of the month had multiple colored bars in it, indicating some activities that had to be done, except for a few. Obviously, there were the days he knew he had off, including this week's Friday. But it was a surprise for him to see that the day before that, or the day after today, was also free of the colors.
“But, how?” he asked as he handed back her phone. (Y/N) just grinned. “I have my ways.” On any other day, an answer like that would frustrate him. He always wanted to know everything. Now he was just too happy to care. She not only made it possible for him to see his family again after months of filming, she also made sure that he actually had the time to spend it with them.
“You’re absolutely brilliant,” With a smile, he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. She smiled at the gesture. When he looked up, he saw four very confused faces.
___________________________________
“Since when are the two of you snogging?” Paddy asked, looking a bit disgusted. God bless his young mind.
“We aren’t snogging.” You rolled your eyes. This was true. Since the day you had the talk, you and Tom had made it clear no to get too touchy with each other. It would only make it complicated and harder to wait until July. But still, even with the arrangement in place, you couldn’t help but notice how Tom was definitely getting more comfortable around you. Everyone on set had noticed it. There were many more hugs, kisses on the forehead and cheeks, he would also often hold your hand. It was small things like that, that made you feel like you were worth so much more when you were around him.
“So what was that?” Haz pointed between you two. You suddenly felt very conscious of how you were still intertwined with Tom. He let go of you and you took a step to the side, away from him. From the moment he had taken his arms away from around your waist, you felt a chill. You wanted to change the subject. “Ok. We don’t have much time here, boys.” you clapped your hands together to signal that you were ready to go. “Unfortunately, a sudden change in circumstances,” you glared at Harrison, “now means that we don’t have space in the car for everyone.”
“What do you mean?” Tom looked back at the car. It was a big one, but you knew that six people, including luggage of four,  wouldn’t fit in it easily. You told him exactly that. “Well, there are six of us and only five seats. You do the math.” You told him as the others went in front of you to pack the suitcases into the trunk. You wondered what in the worlds they had brought with them for only a four-day trip that they all needed such big suitcases.
Watching the four drag their things up in the car, you stayed a little behind with Tom, who draped his arm over your shoulders and leaned in towards your ear, “You can always sit on my lap, darling.” he said it so the others couldn’t hear.
“And let one of them drive my car? I don’t think so.” you shook your head. You took a hold of Tom’s hand that was hanging off your shoulder. He wanted to interlock your fingers, which you only used as an opportunity to get his arm off of you.
“Hey!” He looked slightly offended. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.” you shrugged. You walked to the driver’s side of the car and got in. Tom groaned and walked to the passengers' side. When he tried to open the door, he came to the discovery that it was still locked. “(Y/N), open up!” he pulled at the handle.
“No can do, darling.” you mocked his nickname for you. “I want you all to have a fair chance.”
“For what?” Tom didn’t seem to get it. You heard the trunk close with a loud click, meaning the four other boys had managed to fit in all their stuff. You rolled down the passenger window. “You five can fight it out who can sit in front with me. The four losers have to make it work in the back.” You rolled the window back up. But halfway, you stopped: “Only no violence. Keep it appropriate for a public place.” you rolled the window up completely now. Tom looked gobsmacked at you. Still trying to pull open the door, he said: “(Y/N). C’mon, I’m you…” he stopped himself before it was too late. “I’m your boss. Open the door!” You only shook your head “no”.
Then, as if on cue, the fight began. You weren’t sure how long it lasted. But it was hilarious from the beginning until the very end. It started as a casual argument. Tom tried to prove that, since he was the oldest, he should be the one to sit in front.
“Are you kidding me? We flew here all the way to you, and you can’t even let one of us sit in front.” Harry snapped back. It went on and on like that. It came close a few times, but none had actually hit each other. After ten minutes or so, you unlocked the doors, wondering if any of them would actually notice. Through all the shouting, only one of them did. As soon as that click of the door had made its call, Paddy’s head shot up in your direction. The fight had moved in front of the car, where there was more space, so he looked straight at you. You winked at him and gestured to him to get in. Making sure none of his big brothers, nor Harrison would notice him walk away, he made his way to the passenger's door. He opened it only far enough so he could get in and closed it as silently as he could.
“Seatbelt on?” you asked him.
“Yup.” he sounded very proud. You smiled at him and then pressed the horn. Tom, Haz, Harry and Sam, all looked at you like deer in the headlight, almost literally. You rolled down your window now, “Get in losers, we’re going home.” Defeated, one by one they walked by you or Paddy, who still was radiating with pride. Now the second fight started. This one was double the action and was also a bit more physical. They were fighting it out who would have to sit in the middle of the seat. Honestly, there were no winners in this round, because even three adults would have barely fitted back in there. In the end, Tom and Harry ended up sitting between Harrison and Sam. All four looked rather miserable.
“Looking good boys,” Paddy laughed at his older brothers. Just to annoy them even more, you asked the youngest Holland: “I think these chairs are a bit uncomfortable, what do you say?”
“I think...RECLINE!” He pulled the small lever and his seat immediately went back, hitting Harry.
“Oh, bugger off, you dickhead” he tried to push it back but it had no effect whatsoever. Paddy couldn’t look happier. You rearranged your mirror so you could look over the four heads, while you were doing so, you caught a glimpse of Tom. He was completely squeezed between his brothers and Harrison. When he saw you looking at him, he still managed to get out a smile.
“You ready boys,”  you smirked, “it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
___________________________________
“(Y/N), you have to stay.” Tom tried pulling her out of the driver’s seat. She seemed rather resentful.
“Tom, I can’t do that. You should spend this time with Harrison and your brothers.” she gave him an apologetic smile, but he was having none of it.
“Oh, c’mon. They all love you.” he pulled at her arm again. While doing so he thought very carefully about his next words: “I love you.”  He stopped pulling and stared into her eyes. She stared back. It was one of the moments that some people could call magical if they weren’t in his driveway and he wasn’t busy trying to get her out of the car. “Nope.” With the one arm that Tom wasn’t holding on to for dear life, she started the car. “That’s not going to work on me this time.”  
“Oh, yes,” he groaned, “It will.”
“And how do you plan on - Aah, Tom!” without a warning, Tom plunged himself in front of her, falling on top of her lap. He ignored her screams as he tried to undo her seatbelt. He finally heard the small click and got up.
“You are absolutely insane.”  With a smile, she gave up and got out of the car. Tom offered her a hand which she took. He wasn’t sure if she did because she needed it, or because she just did it for his sake. Anyway, he was glad to help… sort of. She got out of the car and closed the door behind her. Tom gripped her by the waist from the back and spun her around. Both of them giggling.
In the meantime, Harrison, Sam, and Harry had loaded out the luggage. Tom glanced over to where they were standing. All three, plus Paddy, had looks of utmost confusion on them. He put (Y/N) back down on the ground. Harrison rolled his eyes at his best friend and Sam just said: “Can you now open the door?” Tom threw his little brother the keys. As he was still holding (Y/N) the direction was a bit off… by at least two feet. Fortunately, Harry was there to catch them.
Still holding (Y/N) around her waist, they followed the other four into the house.
___________________________________
“Oh c’mon, just give me the beer!”
“No, you’re too young.” Tom closed the fridge from in front of his brother’s face.
“I’m nineteen, for god's sake. I’m allowed to drink.” Harry retorted, trying to bust open the fridge door. Tom only had to hold his hand against it to make the task almost impossible.
“I think you forgot where we are. Here in the Americas, you can’t drink unless you’re 21.” He said it with a small smirk. Oh, how he loved to torment his brothers.
Harry looked defeated at you. You were seated at the kitchen island, next to Sam, enjoying your own beer. “Don’t drag me into it. He is your older brother, after all.”
“Ugh, you’re no help at all. Harrison?” He looked at the blond, who was currently scavenging for some snacks that all of you could eat, in the cupboards. At the sound of his name, he turned around, looking a bit startled. At that moment, he was eating some leftover Pringles. “Whu?”  he asked with a mouth full.
“Arg, nevermind.”  Harry let it go and sat down opposite of you. You were looking at your screen, checking some notifications, when from above your phone you could see his hand slide up to the bottle next to you.
“Na ah ah, I don’t think so.” You pulled the bottle closer to yourself before he could grab it. Sam let out a snort.  Harry sent him a look that told his twin exactly what he was thinking. You tried to cheer him up. “Aw, Harry. There’s no need to be so moody. You can have some lemonade.” Everyone laughed.
“I know you were joking, but can I have some lemonade?”  Paddy walked into the kitchen.
“Meh t-?” Harrison’s words weren’t very audible, but from the amount of food he had around him, you assumed he needed a drink. You got a pair of glasses from a cupboard and were about to head back to the fridge when Tom appeared next to you with the drink already in hand. You thanked him and poured the lemonade into the two glasses, then handed one to Paddy and Harrison.
“What about me?” Harry sounded offended.
“You didn’t tell me you wanted any.”
___________________________________
Tom loved seeing how comfortable (Y/N) was around his brothers. He was also glad how they tried to make her feel like she was apart of everything. They all liked each other, which wasn’t always the case when it came to Tom’s brothers and some of his ex-girlfriends.
He watched how she smiled at their jokes and stories from back home. He could see that she was truly enjoying what she heard and cared about the boys, which was important to him. He remembered the first time he took (Y/N) to his family house back in London so she could meet his parents and the three stooges. When she had left, his mom “joked” how she was absolutely lovely. Even Paddy, who usually tried to stay away from anything that came even close to Tom’s love life, said that he really liked her. And back then she was still just his assistant. 
“Tom!” he heard a collective yell of his name. He hadn’t even realized he had completely zoned out.
“What?”
“Nothing.” (Y/N) took a sip from her beer, “It’s just that you were staring at us from the corner like you were ready to kill us all in your basement.” She then brought her attention to Haz, who had finally stopped robbing the kitchen from any snacks. “So, Osterfield, what made you decide to come?” Tom was rather curious himself. All this time he thought Harrison was filming his movie, yet, here he was.
“I missed my boy!” he spread his arms, ready for a welcoming embrace from his best friend. Tom, of course, couldn’t make him wait. He ran to the other side of the kitchen and fell into Harrison’s arms.
“But weren’t you filming?” she pretended like nothing happened, probably already being used to the things Tom and Harrison did when they were together.
“We finished shooting last week. So when I heard from Sam that they were coming to see my best mate, obviously I wanted to come too.” Tom’s eyes widened in excitement.
“You’re finished filming? How was it?” He wanted to know how his best friend experienced the industry by himself.
“It was fun. Pays great.” everyone laughed at the comment. “But it’s just not the same without you, Tommy. I much rather bring coffee every day, honestly.”
“Well, I’m sure (Y/N) won’t mind you taking over.” Tom joked. His brothers laughed out loud, but he saw that (Y/N) smiled weakly, just looking at her phone.
___________________________________
Well shit, that hurt. Were you really that easy to replace for him?  As soon as Harrison came back, you didn’t matter anymore, huh? He probably didn’t mean it like. It was just a joke. Yeah, but it still sucked.
Then your phone started to vibrate in your hands and the word “MOM” lit up.
“Sorry, guys, I have to get this,”  you said as you got up. You didn’t want to sound so monotone, but Tom’s comment clearly hit you deeper than you thought at first. You waited until you were outside the kitchen to pick up: “Hey mom.”
“Hi, sweety. How is everything?” You recognized this tone she used. She only spoke like that in two circumstances: 1) when she had a favor to ask or 2) when there was some bad news to give. You were starting to freak out a little. She almost never called in the first place, so this was strange.
“Uhm, I’m good.” You said blankly. The thought of what Tom said before still fresh in your memory.
“Nothing you want to tell me about?” So at least nobody died. You were, however, still confused about what your mother was talking about.
“Uhm no,” you said a bit unsure.
“I thought you were old enough to just tell me if you were dating someone.”Dating someone? You had no idea what she was talking about and that is exactly what you said.
“Well, I’ve been seeing a lot of pictures on the internet with you and this young man who you are working for.” The paparazzi. Great. “All this hugging and smiling. Is he making you do all this?”
“What? No!” you realized you were a bit too loud and the boys next door could probably hear you. “We’re just friends… I mean, I’m his assistant, but we have a platonic relationship, I guess.” It was complicated, you wanted to add, but your mother would just drill you with more question. This, you had no patience for.  
“And these pictures at the airport? You seem rather close?” Wow, they are fast, you thought and then cursed out those paparazzi’s, or whoever took the pictures.
“That’s nothing. His brothers arrived from London and he was just very happy.” you shrugged it off. Your mother didn’t seem very impressed.
“Well, I feel you can do better.” You rolled your eyes. “Your father actually has some news for you.” 
“What is it?” You were interested.
___________________________________
“Sorry, guys, I have to get this.” Her voice sounded much different from when she had asked Harrison about his stay just seconds ago. It was much colder. A bit sad. Tom wondered what happened to her mood. The guys were still joking around, so what was it that made her change so suddenly.
She walked away. The way she walked in, made it look like she wanted to leave the room fast. Not because she wanted to answer the call, but because she actually wanted to leave. It was something in her posture that gave it away. Tom had no idea how he knew it. Just assuming he just got to know her pretty well over the last months.
It was quiet in the kitchen for a moment, then her voice sounded from the hallway: “What? No!”  
“What was that?” Harry asked, finally getting himself something to drink that had no alcohol in it.
“I don’t know,” Tom answered honestly. He looked at Sam, who was the one sitting closest to (Y/N) before she left. “Did you see who called her?”
“I think it was her mum.”  He shrugged. Tom immediately started to freak out. Her mom barely called her. They mainly spoke over text. If she called, it could only mean that something bad had happened. Thousands of scenarios filled his head until another sound came from where she was. It was a pitched squeal. He recognized it from whenever she was really excited about something. Maybe it wasn’t bad news after all. Maybe her family won the lottery.
He was ready to see a happy and beaming (Y/N), but when she came back into the kitchen, she looked as cold as when she walked out. So, no lottery.
“Hey, what happened? Who was that?” he asked full of concern.
“It was my mom.” she sat back down next to Sam. there weren’t a lot of emotions in her voice, so it was hard for Tom to pick out the situation.
“Is she ok?” He tried again.
“Everything is fine.” She had said it with a relaxed tone. A bit too fake for Tom’s liking. He knew that something was bothering her, but she was probably not comfortable talking about it in front of the rest. He decided to try to ask her about it later. When they would be alone.
___________________________________
Unfortunately, the problem of the number of people you were with came up again at night. As you weren’t exactly supposed to stay at Tom’s that week, and Harrison was even more of a surprise guest than the surprise guests, there were two too many people in the house.
Somehow, Paddy managed to win a single room for himself, beating his brothers once again. The other person to win was Harrison. Sam and Harry, already being used to getting paired up together, just went to their room without saying anything. They didn’t look happy about it though.
“Tom, don’t worry. I can go home.” You said as he offered you his bed.
“You can’t go, you already drank.”
“That was one beer, more than 6 hours ago.” He still looked concerned at you. “Yeah, but it’s late and I don’t want you driving through the whole city alone.” You were sitting on the couch alone. The rest had gone to bed already as their jetlag was truly kicking in now. It was just you and him. He tried to hold your hand, but you pulled away. In his eyes, you could see that it hurt him.
“I don’t have any of my stuff here. No pajama’s, no toothbrush.” You tried to find another reason not to stay. Tom’s “joke” had stayed with you for the rest of the day and he had definitely noticed, although you weren’t sure if he knew that was the reason you were down.
“You can have one of my shirts and I’m sure you can survive with one day not brushing your teeth.” You wanted to say that that was disgusting, but no words left your mouth.
___________________________________
They were alone. There was nobody around to interrupt. He could take this as a chance. “(Y/N), what’s wrong?”  He made another attempt to take her hand in his and, once again, she pulled away. He had no idea why, but it was clear that he was the reason she was upset. “Darling?” She looked into his eyes. It was probably the first time she did since the phone call, he came to realize.
“Do we have to talk about it?” she sighed, resting her head on the top of the couch. He did the same.
“I mean, we don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s just that you make me worry.” Third time really was a charm. As he was talking to her, he touched her hand softly and was happy to see that she didn’t flinch away.
“It’s nothing. A bit stupid actually.” He knew what she was doing: Trying to make it sound like she wasn’t that bothered so he would back off a bit. He was having none of that. 
“What is it?“ 
“I don’t even really know what’s wrong with me.” He wanted to say that nothing was wrong with her, but let her talk. “I’ve just been thinking today. Maybe…” she shivered before she spoke, “Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all. I mean us, together.” Tom thought he heard something break as she explained herself. It could have been his heart. Maybe his hopes and dreams about a future together with her. Who knew?
“W-what?”
“Well, if I’m already so disposable for Harrison, I can’t even think about-” This was getting too much for him. He had to stop her before it was too late.
“Disposable? Love, what are you talking about? I would never…” He sat straight up. (Y/N) stayed in her former position. Her eyes filled with sadness.
“But what you said before. That really hurt.” He was still not sure what she was talking about. “How you just immediately were fine with Harrison coming back to be your assistant again.”
“What?” Had he missed this? When did he say that? 
“See, it’s stupid, you don’t even remember. There’s not even a real need for me to be so paranoid and dramatic. I mean, we’re not even together yet” She rolled her eyes and then kept her gaze on the wall parallel to them. He understood that she was clearly trying to avoid looking at him. He knew that she felt hurt and maybe even broken inside, and that broke him too, but the way she looked right there - so effortless, so beautiful - he just wanted to take a picture of her. To be able to keep this moment, as sad as it may be now, forever.
“(Y/N), the fact that I don’t remember makes me feel even worse. Tell me what I did.” Her eyes were back on him. 
“In the kitchen, this afternoon. You just assumed that I would be fine with Harrison getting his old job back. It felt like you didn’t even care about me anymore.”
“Never say that again!” He scared himself. It was not a yell, but it was louder than the tone they were talking in before. “I care so much about you. That was only a stupid joke. You know that. I actually said it, because I care so much about you.” 
“I know that. I guess that some part of me was just a bit jealous.” She bit her lip. Tom glanced down and fought off the urge to kiss her right then. 
“Of who? Harrison?” He laughed. “I promise you, there is nothing between me and Harrison that you should be concerned about. He means nothing to me.” 
“Oh yeah?” She didn’t seem to be very convinced.
“Well, nothing compared to you. I thought, if Harrison came back, you wouldn’t be my assistant anymore and, as much as it would suck, at least we could be together quicker. We wouldn’t have to wait for those horrible nine months.” The sadness in her eyes was slowly disappearing. He was glad to see that. “I am so sorry if I made you feel bad. Believe me, that makes me feel even worse.”
“It’s okay,” she smiled.
“Well, it really isn’t, but thank you.” He kissed her forehead. When he pulled away he caught her glimpse down at his lips and then look into his eyes again. Before he knew it, she was kissing him. His hands were automatically on the small of her back and she had wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was soft but hungry at the same time. They both had been longing for it since the first day. Since then, they hadn’t kissed each other, just as promised.
She kept on leaning into him, just to get as close as they physically could until he fell back on to the couch. One of her hands left his neck and went slowly down his chest. When she had reached the bottom hem of his shirt, she pulled eagerly at it. Tom didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to stop now? Tell her they should wait like they agreed?  But then her lips went down to his neck and everything started to get blurry, including his thoughts.
While kissing his neck, she started pulling his shirt up. The cold night air made him slightly shiver, together with everything she was doing to him, resulting in a suppressed groan. He could feel her smile against him.
“Oh yeah, you’re not snogging at all.” They broke apart as soon as they heard the third party.  This just so happened to be Paddy. He walked by them, to the kitchen. While he was there, (Y/N) got off of Tom, leaving him extremely needy. Paddy came back with a glass of water. He was mumbling something and Tom wasn’t sure if that was towards them or if his little brother was talking to himself. Only when he walked by a little closer was when Tom realized that the boy had no idea he what he was doing. He was still half asleep. Before he left the room he mumbled a bit louder: “Don’t worry (Y/N), I won’t tell Tom.” And then he disappeared into the darkness of the rest of the house.
“Wait. Who did he think I was….” she burst out laughing.
“I don’t want to know.”  Her laugh was truly something he would never get bored of. It was beautiful.
___________________________________
“So, what was that actually for?” Tom asked when you got into his bed half an hour later. You were wearing an old tank top of his. He himself was just wearing underwear. He got under the covers after you and you were sure all of that was definitely a view you could get used to.
“What?” You decided to mess with him a bit.
“You know what.” he lay on his side, his arm holding up his head. You smiled as you copied his pose.
“I don’t know. Do I need a reason?”
“No.” he smirked, “Because, otherwise I would have to make up an excuse to do this.” And then he kissed you. It was a quick peck on the lips. As simple as it was, it was a kiss you had never shared before. “Goodnight,” he said afterward while turning off the light on the nightstand.
“Goodnight.” you closed your eyes and were ready to fall asleep. That promise was broken when you heard the light flick back on. You groaned at the sudden brightness.
“Sorry babe.” he apologized. You were taken aback by the new nickname but let it go as you rather enjoyed it. “I was just wondering, the call from your mum. Is everything alright?” You liked it how concerned he was.
“Yes, everyone is doing great.” you smiled, still with your eyes closed.
“I just know that she never calls you. What was it then? You don’t have to tell me…” 
“She wanted to know if I was dating anyone.” You said very casually. Tom made a noise that sounded rather obscure. You opened one eye to check on him. He was lying on his back. Arms beneath his head. He was looking at the ceiling, not knowing you were looking at him.
“Oh, ok. Why?” He had furrowed his eyebrows, which you thought looked adorable on him.
“She saw some pictures of us.” His head turned to look at you. Both of your eyes were now open.
“Wha- how? What pictures?”  
“We should probably be a bit more careful with each other when we are outside.” was all you said. He still understood what you meant. His muscles loosened a bit.
“Right.” there was a long pause. “And what happened at the end? You seemed rather enthusiastic.” You weren’t sure if you should tell him so soon. But you were in his bed, wearing his clothes. You couldn’t keep a secret from him. “I got a job offer.”
“Really?”  He jumped straight up. You sat up too, just a little slower.
“Yeah, my dad finally got the approval for his first script and he wants me on his set.” Tom looked extremely happy. For you, for your dad. Then the corners of his lips lowered.
“What does that mean exactly.”
“Well, it means, that next September, I will be in London, on the set of my dad’s new movie.”
“September? So you’re not leaving me?” His smile came back.
“I would never.” You kissed him lightly on the lips. Not exactly like he had done before because the kiss lingered a bit more. Then, when you had finally released him, he just pulled you straight back in.
___________________________________
Tom couldn’t sleep. He had been restless the whole week already, but this night he couldn’t even manage to close his eyes. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t just get some sleep. It would all go by much quicker if he just would. But maybe too quick. Was that an option? The nerves were getting the better of him.
He was back in London. The same hotel he had been at the beginning of shooting the movie. Just a few rooms to the right from his previous one, to be exact. A few days before he had come back from Seoul, to which he had flown to from Tokyo. Before that, there was also Paris, New York, Los Angeles. It had been a busy month.
Almost every day just spend in studios and hotel rooms doing interviews. Some of them were with the rest of the cast, a few even with Jon, but most of it he did alone. He didn’t mind. The only thing that really bothered him was that there was nobody to stop him from running his mouth.
Of course, (Y/N) did her best to prevent him giving away any spoilers during his interviews, but even she wasn’t a miracle worker.
He lay in his bed. Staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t see anything. A small gap between the curtains left a glimmer of light around the room, but that was it. He thought about how, in less than two days, he could finally be with her. Ever since they had agreed to wait until the last day of her contract, Tom thought it was a ridiculous idea. He didn’t know how he managed to wait nine months. Maybe because they didn’t really wait. During the nine months, there had been cuddles, there had been kisses, there had been nights like that one they shared when his brothers and Harrison came to visit him in America. It was all there technically. However, it didn’t feel complete. Hopefully, it would soon.
___________________________________
You knocked on his door. It was still early. You doubted he was awake. You were wrong. Right after you knocked, you could hear footsteps behind the door. He opened the door with a “Morning.” It was barely spoken.
“Good morning, here’s your coffee.” You handed him a cup of coffee which you had gotten from downstairs. He immediately took a sip from it. “Not to be rude, but you look like-”
“Shit?” he finished your thought. He let you in while drinking more from his cup.
“I wanted to say like you haven’t slept. But sure.” You shrugged.
“That’s probably because I haven’t.” You turned around to look at him. Was he kidding you? It was your job to get him to look presentable on camera and he wasn’t even trying. “Tom.” You half groaned, half pleaded.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep.” He came over to you and put his one free hand around your waist. “I really am.”
“Tell me that again after I get fired.” you rolled your eyes, but still put your arms around his neck. How you adored moments like this. He pulled you tighter into the hug, at least as close as he could with only one arm. You looked up at him and he looked down at you, your noses barely touching. You could feel the smell of the coffee he was just drinking.
“You can’t get fired. Firstly, because I am the only one that can do that now, and second, you only work for the next two days.” Two days. Those words gave you butterflies in your stomach. How did the time go by so quickly?
You couldn’t believe it.
“So, tell me, darling,” he paused in his sentence to sip some more from his drink, “What is the plan for today?” You didn’t even have to check your notes for this. You had been looking at his schedule so often the last few days, just to check it was really the end, that you knew it by heart.
“The first interview is planned for 9:00, then lunch and your last one is supposed to finish around eight.”
“Sounds good. What about tomorrow?” It seemed like he was going somewhere with this conversation. You weren’t sure where, but just went along anyway.
“Well, tomorrow, there’s the London premiere and then it is done.” you let go of him and pulled away. “And then I will be free from you at last.”
“Yes.” he didn’t laugh at your joke, making you a bit nervous. “I was thinking.” He put the cup of coffee down. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“Me neither, but it’s just two days.”
“One?” he suggested with a raised eyebrow.
“What about the premiere then? You still need an assistant on the red carpet.” He would be completely lost, you thought. But you didn’t want to say that out loud.
“I told you, I’ve been thinking,” For the first time in forever. “Because you see, I need a plus one.”
“No.” you stopped him before he even began. “I can’t possibly be your date for the premiere.”
“Why not?” He sat down on his bed, looking at you waiting for a good excuse.
“I don’t have a dress. At least nothing that comes close enough to red-carpet-worthy.” You leaned against the desk that was on the other side of the room.
“If you’re really that worried about a dress, you can ask Z to help. You know she always looks good.” If any other boy would say something like that about any other girl, you would have been red with anger and envy, but it was all true. Zendaya never had a day off if it came to fashion. “I’m sure she won’t mind.”
“But it’s already tomorrow. I won’t have enough time.” Time. You looked at your watch. “And you don’t have enough time to get ready for today. Go get dressed.” You shooed him towards the bathroom. Tom grabbed his clothes. He didn’t seem too stressed about the time constraint.
___________________________________
Tom had made it just in time for the first interview. The people from Screen Junkies were already waiting. He walked into the room, (Y/N) following right behind him. He could hear her apologize to the crew.
“Hi, guys. So sorry,” he said to the man already sitting in front of the promotional posters. He got up and shook his hand. “No worries man. I’m Hal. Great to meet you. Big fan.” He was very enthusiastic. Tom sat down in his chair opposite Hal and the camera’s almost instantly started to roll. Hal did a quick intro for the video:”What’s going on guys, I am here in London, next to Spider-Man himself, Mr. Tom Holland. How are you?” His excitement was captivating to see so early in the morning.
“I am… very tired but also very excited.” Tom smiled. He had seen interviews with the guys from Screen Junkies and they were always hilarious. Although, he wouldn’t say no to some breakfast first.
“So, Spider-Man: Far From Home. Your second solo movie. Fifth Marvel movie. How does that feel?”  
“It’s insane. Especially that I died in Infinity War, so I was like: Well, now what? Because they literally don’t tell me anything about anything.” He laughed. Hal continued with the next question. “In the movie, we see Peter struggle with his new suit and all the new abilities. Is there any new skill that you learned while on set?” There were many things he learned while filming this movie, however, the only thing that first popped up in his head was: “On one of the first days on set, actually, I learned how to do one of those towel turban things. That was something I never thought I would do.” His hands were above his head, trying to replicate the movements. Since the first day, (Y/N) had wrapped towels for him a few times. They both enjoyed it. He liked how gentle she was while still trying to tighten the towel, while she was just laughing at how big of an idiot he was.
“Can we see?” Hal suggested. Tom cursed himself out. Now he would look completely foolish in front of the camera. He could already see the memes in front of him.
“Uh, sure.” Someone from behind the camera handed him a towel. “Was this planned?” He leaned forward and put the towel over his head. He did a few attempts, but just as always, it didn’t work. Defeated, he mumbled under the towel: “(Y/N). It’s not working!” He did it more as a joke. He was about to pull it off when he could feel her hands pull at it. Before he could even blink, it was all set and he could sit straight again. (Y/N) walked off camera back to her spot. Everyone was trying to politely hold in their laughter. “Tadaa. Thank you (Y/N).” Tom smiled at her. She rolled her eyes at him in return. “Yeah, I learned that if you can’t do something, you can get someone to do it for you...God, that’s awful advice.” He looked straight into the camera and pointed his finger, “Kids, don’t listen to me.”
___________________________________
The morning press interviews went by very quickly. Soon it was already lunch. You were back in Tom’s hotel room, looking as he stuffed himself with hotel food. You couldn’t manage to swallow a bite. The nerves were getting to you. The whole morning you could only think about what Tom asked you. Of course, it would be amazing to walk with him on the red carpet, but the cameras… the people… you weren’t sure if you could do it.
Right then, to save you from your thoughts, there was a loud knock on the door. You signed to Tom that he should keep on eating and that you would open it. Jogging towards the door, you shouted out: “Coming.” Behind the door stood the one and only Zendaya. In her hands something that looked like body bags. No, dry cleaning bags. On one of them, you saw a certain brand that made you mentally cry over your own bank account.
“Hey, Z, what are you doing here?” You let her in. She walked over to the bed and dropped the bags on there.
“Tom texted me that you needed an outfit. I have a few dresses spare.” You glanced over at Tom. He was still enjoying his sandwich while looking at you in that I-told-you-so kind of way.
“That is really unnecessary. You have to take a break too. We have to get back to work soon.”  You tried to get out of it. You felt horrible that she was using her (already small) break to help you out. Zendaya, however, didn’t seem to be that bothered. She casually snatched a sandwich from Tom’s plate and took a bite out of it. Tom tried to respond with his mouth full but got ignored.
“Don’t worry, girl. You don’t have to try them on now. Do it when we’re done. I’ll come by and help. As for you,” she turned to Tom, “What the hell were you thinking, asking her so late.”  He just shrugged. You both rolled your eyes at him.
“Thank you Z, but really…”
“No buts. Come to look at this one. I think you’ll like it. Personally, the length is a bit off for me but it will fit you great.” She could barely touch your hand from where you were standing, but with a little stretch, she managed to pull you up to the bed. She took one of the bags and unzipped it. You couldn’t see it completely, but it looked like a long blue dress. The color was beautiful.
“You wanna pull it out?” Zendaya asked suggestively. You nodded your head, barely visible. Zendaya helped you carefully take the dress out of the covering. It was gorgeous. The blue tint could be best described as “Iron-Spider blue”.  It wasn’t very intricate. It was sleeveless, except for a strap that would fall of the shoulder loosely. The length was hard to guess while Zendaya was holding it in the air, but you assumed it would fall on the floor once you put it on. Not wanting to sound over-excited, you said: “It’s amazing.”
“I have some more here, but those were just back-ups if this one won’t fit.” She admitted. You thanked her with a hug, which she gladly accepted.
The three of you spend the rest of the lunch break together until you (so Tom) were called back to the press room.
___________________________________
“How do I look.” Those words, Tom assumed, were a sign for him to open his eyes again. He did this slowly. When his retinas were finally adjusted to the light in the room, he felt breathless. She was absolutely stunning! The dress hugged her curves so well, that if it wasn't for Z in the room, he wasn’t sure he could contain himself. The color of the dress complimented her skin, her hair, pretty much everything.
“Beautiful.” he managed to say. She smiled at him thankfully.
“So, I guess the dress’ a hit,” Zendaya smirked, more to herself.
“Z, I can’t thank you enough,” (Y/N) was radiating joy, “You’re literally like my fairy godmother.” Both girls laughed. “Okay I have to go, do you want some help getting out of it, or…” Zendaya asked.
“No, I’ll be fine. Goodnight.” (Y/N) said. Tom waved her goodbye and soon, they were alone. He watched as (Y/N) spun around in front of the mirror. When she caught his eyes in the reflection she stopped. “What? What you smiling about?”
“Nothing. You’re cute.” He said plainly. She turned around so she could look him straight in the face, not just his reflection. “Oh am I?” She said it with half a pout.
“Yes, you are.” he got up. They both slowly walked to each other. “Do you need help with the dress?”
“Pfft, no.” She tried to reach the zipper on her back. After a few tries, she changed her mind anyway to: “Maybe.” Tom told her to turn around. He took a step back so she could turn with enough space for the dress. It didn’t seem like it at first, but it was pretty long. The fabric gracefully draping over the ground. She pushed her hair back, so Tom could easily pull down the zipper.
“There you go.”
“Thank you.” She was about to take it off. “Uhum.”
“Right sorry.” Tom turned around to face the wall and closed his eyes. He only opened them again when (Y/N) gave him a sign. He turned back around and she was in his bed, wearing one of his shirts. The dress carefully putten away for the next day. Tom’s thoughts wandered off to the first night they shared a bed together. It was almost like this one. It was already dark outside. But was London ever really dark?  
“Don’t you have your own room?” He teased.
“Too far, too tired.” She fake yawned. Tom asked himself if she could be any cuter. After getting changed into some pajama bottoms himself, he jumped into the bed next to her. She hid her face in one of the countless pillows in the bed while he spooned her up. Just like that, they stayed for what seemed like forever. Just talking, laughing. Trying not to think about the big day. Yes, it would be a premiere, but not only for the movie.
Tom could feel (Y/N) fall asleep in his arms. As he lay in the darkness, he thought about the small box on his nightstand and how (Y/N) hadn’t noticed it yet.
___________________________________
You were woken up by a kiss on the cheek. Then another one. And another one. There was also one on your neck. Oh, how were his lips so soft?! You moaned out. It resulted in a small laugh from Tom.
“Morning.” His voice was still raspy so he couldn’t have been awake long either.
“Good morning.” you gave him a kiss where he had kissed you. A small stubble was beginning to resurface and you couldn’t help but caress his cheek slowly. “You have to shave.”
“But it’s finally growing!” He objected.
“Yes, I’ll give you that. But it’s patchy and you will look idiotic on the carpet.”
“Fine.” He was ready to get out of bed. You were not, so you pulled him back under the covers. “No,” you groaned.
“I thought I had to go and shave.”
“I didn't say now. Just a few more minutes.” You had enough time. The premiere wouldn’t start until seven.
“I would love to stay in bed with you until the end of the world, love, but we already missed breakfast. I’m hungry.” What did he mean, you missed breakfast? You asked him what time it was. He answered: “11:41.” When you started working for Tom, you had very quickly come to know that he had no sense of time whatsoever. But still, he should have realized that you should have woken up much earlier. Of course, this was just as much your fault. You didn’t set up an alarm either. You were planning on doing it, but Tom’s arms were so comfortable.
“Tom! We have to get ready!” You jumped out of bed and almost raced him to the bathroom. Of course, it had no sense, because all of your toiletries were still in your own room. You ran back to the room, put on your own clothes from last night, grabbed your dress and were about to walk out when Tom stopped you. “Excuse me.” He looked a bit grumpy. “I think you forgot something.” He tapped his right cheek. With a smile, you walked back to him and were about to give him a kiss, when he suddenly moved and your lips touched. The kiss ended up lasting for a while, neither of you complaining. When it was time to let go of each other, he whispered, still into your lips: “I love you… God, it feels good to finally say it again.”
“I love you too.” And you were on your way again. Before you closed the door though, you looked back for a moment: “I’ll see you in… thirty minutes, okay?” He gave you the thumbs up. It wasn’t very reassuring, but it was something. You ran through the hallway towards your own room, ready to take a good long shower.
___________________________________
“Are you ready?” Tom asked (Y/N). They were sitting in the limousine, which was nearing the theatre in which the premiere would be held in. the streets were busy, giving them some time to gather their thoughts. (Y/N) didn’t say anything, she gripped his hand tight. It was obvious she was nervous. “Hey, babe,” She looked at him. Her eyes even bright in the dimmed lights of the vehicle. He kissed her gently, hoping it would calm her nerves. As she put her hand on his cheek, he knew he managed to do so.
“Are you ready?” he asked again.
“Not really.” She put a strand of her behind her ear nervously.
“Don’t ruin your hair.” he took the hair again in front of her ear. He had watched her put it up herself in the half-updo, and he knew that she would be beating herself up for the upcoming days if it would get ruined now. “You look gorgeous.”  
“Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself too if I might say so.”
“You’ll never hear me say no to that, love.” They kissed again. He could taste her sweet lip gloss: Strawberry. She abruptly pulled away. “But there will be questions, right? People are gonna wonder who the hell I am. They have already for months. What are you gonna say?”
“How about we tell the truth? You’re my girlfriend. I love you. All that.” He didn’t know how he was keeping it so cool himself. Two nights ago, he was completely freaking out, yet now, he was fine. Everything was fine as long as she was with him. He felt the pocket of his suit. The box was still there. For a second, he doubted his choice. Should he do it now? Yes, before they got there. He pulled the box out. (Y/N) eyes caught a glimpse of it, as she never missed anything he did, and one of her eyebrows was raised. Before she could ask him what he's doing. He handed it to her.
“As ravishing, you look tonight, I do think this will make it all even better if that’s even possible.” He originally wanted to wink but was too nervous for her reaction. Still looking at him, she opened the box. Only when light hit it and one of the stones reflected on her face, did she look at it. A gasp fell out of her mouth.
“Tom. What is- It’s beautiful. I don’t know what to say... Why?”
___________________________________
You looked into the small box. A beautiful brooch was looking straight at you. The choice of the subject made it clear it could only have been Tom who chose this for you. It was a silver spider. The body was made out of two big, clear reflecting stones. Was it diamonds? He wouldn’t be that crazy to give you that, right? The legs were also encrusted with smaller gems. It was probably the prettiest piece of jewelry you have ever held in your hand, or even seen for that matter.
“Because I love you, and with this, I can show everyone that you are finally mine,” Tom answered your question, which you had almost forgotten, even though it had only been seconds, as you were looking at the brooch. You didn’t ask him if these were diamonds. You weren’t sure if you could handle to know that. Instead, you asked what any other person would do if handed something like this: “Is this a proposal? Because Tom, I love you, but I’m not -”
“Don’t worry, me neither.” he smiled. You smiled back. It definitely meant something if he knew what your thinking without you actually telling him. “You don’t even have to wear it. I just wanted you to have it.”
“Oh, I will wear it, don’t you worry, Thomas.” you pulled it out of the box to get a closer look. Still not wanting to know the materials. It wasn’t necessary. No materialistic value would even compete with how much it was worth to you after what Tom said to you.
“Here, let me help you put it on.” You handed him the spider and watched his face as he carefully clipped it into your dress. The focus in his eyes was undeniable.
___________________________________
When the spider was properly attached to the blue fabric of her dress, Tom took a moment to just look at her. That moment, unfortunately, lasted not long enough. Very quickly after he had let go of the gems, the driver had pulled up to the carpet.
It was a wonder how they had not heard the screams of the people outside, or how they managed to forget that they weren’t alone but, in fact, surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the streets. The door of the limousine was opened by somebody on the carpet. The screams became deafening in a second. Tom thanked the driver and got out of the car. Immediately, whoever stood around, no matter if they could actually see him or not, turned to him. Tom bowed over to the car and gave (Y/N) a hand. She barely needed it, he knew that, but still took it.
At the sight of him with someone at his side, the fans went ballistic. Taking her hand, they walked together towards them. He stopped in front of a girl who looked like she was about to faint. It was absolute craziness around him, and he loved it! To think that he had the opportunity to work on something that made so many people happy, was unimaginable. He signed the girl's book, took a picture with her and went on to the people around her. As he was busy signing and taking selfies, he could hear her say something. Thinking it was to him, he turned around, but it wasn’t.
“(Y/N), would you sign this too?” She asked, trying to sound as politely as possible in all the chaos.
“You don’t want my signature.” She said, her cheeks a bit red. Tom shook his head in disbelief at how shy she still was.
___________________________________
“But I do,” the girl took out her signature book and handed you a pen. You took both hesitantly. The book was open at the page on which Tom had just signed. You took the page next to it. 
“What’s your name, sweetheart?” You asked.
“Addie.” she smiled.
“Well, Addie,”  you said as you added a few words to your signature. “You are officially the first person I ever signed anything for.” You handed her the book back, closed, with a big smile. She asked for a selfie, which you gladly took. Immediately, after that more people started to ask you for signatures and pictures. You had never expected it. It was crazy how many people recognized you from Tom’s Instagram stories and pictures. It made you wonder if you should put your own account on public-mode again. 
A few minutes later, you and Tom were told to move along to the part of the carpet with all the press. The flashes were blinding, but it was possible to get used to it. You didn’t but assumed you could get used to it someday.
Tom put his arm around your waist as you walked down the carpet. He asked: “how does it feel like to be a star, darling?” 
“I’m not famous,” you rolled your eyes. A small smirk crept up on your face when you saw the way he was looking at you. 
___________________________________
Her smile was a bit devilish but innocent at the same time. It was a unique thing about her, that he loved. Not many people could pull off a smile like that. Tom wanted to tell her that that wasn’t what he meant. 
His name was called and he knew it was time for some rapid-fire interviews on the side of the carpet. He had no idea where to go, so he just followed the direction from which his name was called. He was happy to know that (Y/N) followed him. If it was up to him, he would never let her go.
They were greeted by a lady who Tom had seen a few times before, on premieres or award events, he just couldn’t remember her name. “Hi, how are you,” she said. He said he was fine, thank you.
“Well, we’ve been asking this everyone, who have you brought with you tonight?” He saw her look (Y/N) up and down as if inspecting for approval.
“I have my lovely girlfriend, (Y/N), here.” He squeezed her side a bit, making her silently giggle.
“Girlfriend?!” The woman seemed genuinely surprised. “Well, congratulations, you guys look perfect together.” Then she turned to (Y/N), “I see you are supporting your man through and through.” She was looking at the spider on her dress.
“Well, I’ve been with him through everything with this movie, from beginning to finish, I probably know more about it than he does.” she joked, making not only the woman laugh, but even some people around, that were not apart of this conversation at all.
“Not probably, she definitely knows more about it than me,” Tom added to the joke. 
The woman laughed loudly and then spoke to her microphone again: “Well, we have a little game for you guys. A bit of a Marvel pick your pick.” Tom saw the excitement in (Y/N)’s eyes at the mention of a game.
“Tom, favorite Chris?”
“Hemsworth, 100%.” He didn’t even have to think about it. The lady turned to (Y/N).
“One specially for you, favorite Spider-Man.” (Y/N) smiled sweetly at Tom. She thought hard for a moment before answering: “Well, I’ll always have a soft spot for Tobey Maguire.” She laughed with the woman. Tom gasped at her answer. He himself wasn’t sure if he did it as a joke or not. “(Y/N)!”
“Oh, please. Like you didn’t know this yet. You’ll always be my Spidey.” She gave him a small kiss on the cheek. He could hear a bunch of “Awe’s” around them.
He played a few more rounds of the game and then the lady said: “Well, it was great to see you again,” Apparently it was already time to move on to the next one, “Again, congrats on you guys and the movie!” He thanked her and together with (Y/N) he moved on to the next stand.
___________________________________
There were a few more interviews, some of which were more games of some kinds than actual Q&A’s. Through the talks, you had to also make sure that Tom would walk the red carpet a bit for the photographers. Yes, as a date, you technically didn’t need to do anything. Still, your inner assistant, couldn’t help it.
You were now standing next to Tom again, who was in the middle of his last interview of the night before he would be ushered into the theatre.
“So, Tom,” The man started the next question, “I can only assume how tiring filming a Spider-Man movie can be. Now that it is finally over, do you have any plans for a break, maybe a holiday?”
“Oh, definitely, I was thinking maybe Hawaii.” You saw him look at you while he was saying that. You smiled, more to yourself, at how lucky you were to be here, next to him, enjoying this amazing night.
___________________________________
They were walking into the theatre. The flashing lights of the cameras had changed into dimmed surroundings of the cinema. People were sitting down. It was eerily quiet. Just a mere whisper around some people, who were talking about the movie they would watch in just a few minutes.
They walked to their seats, middle of the middle, perfect placement to watch a movie in the cinema. The places around them were mostly empty.
“I’ll be back,” he said with a kiss and sprinted down the stairs, ready to give a small speech with the rest of the cast before the movie would start. The lights went completely off, leaving only a few spotlights on the stage. Jon said a few words about the making of the movie, getting a big applause from the crowd, and handed the microphone to Tom afterward.
“Yes, everything that Jon said.”  A few people laughed, “This movie has been the best experience of my life. It has been a great time working with all these wonderful people,” He looked around him, at his fellow cast members. “There are many moments on set that I will never forget.” His eyes found (Y/N). He could barely see her in the dark, but the Spider still gave a faint glimmer that was unmissable.
“I hope you all will enjoy the movie. There is one scene that I really enjoyed...”  He couldn’t finish his speech as someone grabbed the microphone from his hands.
“And thank you, Tom. Keep it together ok. Don’t want to spoil the movie now.” Jon said. Everyone in the audience laughed. There were a few more speeches and then it was time to watch the movie. Tom walked back to his seat. He sat down next to (Y/N), grabbed her hand and kissed her. He could feel the surprise in the kiss as it took her a few seconds to kiss back. The movie had already started, but they didn’t care. They both had seen it already at the previous premieres around the world.
“Were you serious back then?” She whispered when the kiss broke. “In that interview. Do you really want to go to Hawaii?”  
“It doesn’t have to be Hawaii. I just thought that now it’s all done, we could use some alone time.” his whispers were barely coming from his mouth. But he knew she could hear him. Her eyes were all the proof he needed to know that. “You know, far from all these people, far from our jobs, far from home.” She laughed a bit too loud at the horrible joke. A few people around them shushed.
“You’re an idiot,” she whispered finally, then turned to look at the screen. He put her arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head on him. Tom kissed the top of her head and said: “Your idiot.” She shushed him and said with a smile: “Shh, I’m watching my idiot run around in spandex.”
He now knew for sure. With her, he would never really be far from home.
The End
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