#but if I could. I would live with them. split the rent three ways.

[neon-angels-system]

I'm having a Moment, huh?

[murdrdocs]

always has been, always will be

description. it was only a matter of time before you realized how hard you've fallen for your roommate.

includes. roommate!tyler owens, so much fluff, pining, appearance of reader's ex, protective tyler, sexual tension, copious amounts of pet names, minor display of anxiety, drinking,

wc. 3.5k+

a/n: before you ask, i am not opposed to a part two. no promises.

You’re jolted out of a deep, and much-needed, sleep by the sound of bowls crashing onto the floor. You lay there for a second, trying to listen for any other sound while calming your racing heart. When nothing else comes, you grab your phone from the nightstand and through squinty eyes start to check locations. 

Your parents are home, your best friend is at work, and there—Tyler Owens, 0 miles away. His contact, the cartoonish drawing of him usually seen on a tee shirt, hovers right above the blue dot that represents you. 

The giddiness that instantly floods your body is embarrassing. It pulls you out of bed, somehow being the only thing to convince you to wake up on your day off, and drags your feet into the kitchen. You don’t bother checking your appearance on the way out, Tyler has seen you through your worst since he nursed you back to health during flu season, and he’s seen you first thing in the morning many times before. 

But when he lifts his head from behind a cabinet at the sound of your slippers dragging against the floor, the shock on his face momentarily scares you. Do you look like absolute shit?

It’s not until Tyler grins, luckily a split second later, that you relax. 

“Sorry,” he says, looking back into the cabinet and closing it with three ingredients in his hand. “Butter fingers.”

You yawn, walking into the kitchen and sitting at the island. “‘s okay. When did you get back? I thought y’all were gonna be in Missouri for a few more days.”

Tyler brings the ingredients to the island, settling them down in front of you on the other side. It’s then that you realize what he’s making. Brioche bread that’s about to expire, sugar, eggs, milk, cinnamon, a tub of fruit that definitely wasn’t in your fridge. 

The memory of the taste of Tyler’s French toast makes itself familiar at the tip of your tongue without your permission. 

“We were, but then Boone got a tip that there would be some action happening right back here,” he cracks the egg into one of your mixing bowls, “so here we are.”

Home. Tyler’s back home for the first time in weeks. He won’t be here for long, but that’s okay. It’s the deal you initially wanted whenever you talked to Tyler with interest in him being your roommate. 

It was nearly a year ago now, right at the end of peak tornado season of last year. Tyler had been in Arkansas doing what he usually did, wrangling tornadoes with the others with him. You knew who he was, it was impossible not to, especially living right outside of his hometown. But you had never crossed paths, not until your sweet, but meddling, grandmother—bless her heart—told you that the grandson of her Bingo partner was looking for a place to stay. Permanently. Or, as permanent as a home for a storm chaser could be. 

You were desperate, struggling financially and emotionally with a still-fresh breakup weighing on your mind. So when Tyler Owens swooped in with a brunch recommendation, promises to pay his half of the rent on time, and explanations that he would rarely be home during summer months, you jumped on the deal. 

You should’ve known that you would’ve developed a small crush on him, but that’s all it is. A small crush on a guy who was sweet enough to make you breakfast since he dropped in. It would surely go away soon enough. 

“How long are you staying for?” You’re already preparing yourself for heartbreak when you ask the question. Initially, you liked the idea of having your house all to yourself. All of the freedom, half of the financial responsibility. 

But when you and Tyler grew closer, you started to hate the summer. 

“Um…” he hesitates, adding copious amounts of cinnamon into the mixture while he drags the word out. Is he stalling? “A couple days. Maybe three?”

You try to hide your disappointment but Tyler is already trying to make you feel better. 

He looks up, mouth broken into a wide smile that shows his white teeth. “But I’m here to make it worth your while. Breakfast, I’ll take you wrangling with us if you’d like, and then Betsy’s on me. Yeah?”

The promise of quality time and fattening barbecue was enough to brighten your mood. 

“Yeah.”

You knew you weren’t particularly fond of storm chasing, but you found yourself with the others anyway. And after an EF-0 where you prayed and clutched the harness strapped across your chest and Tyler’s hand across the console, you swore to yourself—and mostly Tyler—that you would never do it again. Even though the joy from the others was infectious and you found yourself giggling with Tyler when it was all over. 

Tyler quickly made it up to you, though. He called it a day earlier than you thought he would. You knew he did it on your behalf, but he pretended like it was a strategic decision. 

“Most of the action will be tomorrow anyway.” 

And he was probably telling the truth, but you saw the shock in Boone’s eyes as Tyler told the others that the two of you were going to split off for Betsy’s just when the day was getting started. He ditched the others for you, and it made your heart flutter. 

The two of you end up in a familiar place, seated in the back corner booth of Betsy’s. You’re nestled up against the window, wearing the sweatshirt you left in Tyler’s car months ago. You’re shocked he still had it, but he assured you that he would never give it away. And if he did, he would’ve given you a Tornado Wrangler one for free to make up for it. 

“Tell me what you’ve been up to while I was gone.”

You tear your eyes away from the window to look at Tyler. You shouldn’t be shocked that he was already looking at you, he was speaking to you, but something about the way he looks at you will always make your heartbeat a little extra hard for a moment. 

You hum, lifting your eyes and thinking. There’s nothing you’ve been doing other than trying to keep sane.

“There were a few weeks there where I almost bought a dog.”

Tyler’s eyebrows raise but he doesn’t seem opposed to the idea. “Really?” he asks. 

You nod, reaching out to take a sip from your drink. “Yeah. Someone in town had rescued a puppy and he was just calling my name.”

“What would you have named him?”

You hesitate, trying to keep the embarrassment from finding your face as you fix your lips to tell Tyler the truth. “...Wrangler.”

He grins and you’re already trying to do damage control. Tyler beats you to it. 

“You missed me that much? C’mon, sugar.”

The pet name almost slips by you in your haste. Almost. 

“That wouldn’t even have been why! You’re so full of yourself, Ty.”

“You make it so easy. Don’t blame me.”

Your laughter refuses to subside even when the waiter comes to check on you both. Tyler manages to tell her that everything’s fine, while also smoothly ordering your favorite slice of pie. You didn’t even have to ask for it. He just knew. 

By the time the order’s placed, you’ve calmed down a bit, taking small sips of water in an attempt to calm down the heat in your body. 

“A German shepherd…” He nods to himself. “Loyal. Intelligent. Good search and rescue dogs. I bet Wrangler would’ve been a good addition to the house. Someone to keep you company while I’m gone.”

You try to pretend that’s not the exact reason why you wanted a dog in the first place. “And I would’ve taught him to chew on the bottom of all your jeans.”

“Well, luckily I like the rugged look.” A second goes by. “What else were you doing?”

You shake your head, your way of telling him that’s it. 

“He didn’t come by again, did he?”

A painful kick meets your insides at the mention of your ex. You knew Tyler would’ve asked you about Beau since the breakup is what allowed Tyler to move in in the first place. He hadn’t ever mentioned him before, not until Beau showed up drunk one night and demanded you let him back in. It was a terrifying and embarrassing moment for you, but it also started the bond between you and Tyler. 

Unfortunately, if it weren’t for that night, you and Tyler would’ve never been as close as you are today. He wouldn’t have even known your pie order and you probably would’ve had a year-old dog for companionship by now. 

“No. I haven’t seen him since that night.”

Tyler nods, grinning up at the waiter as she brings your pie and Tyler’s banana pudding over. 

“That’s good. And the security system works well on the house, right?”

You nod in a response, sticking your fork into your pie. 

“I’ve been checking in periodically when I’m on the road. Testing the cameras. You’re giving the tomatoes too much water, by the way.”

You’re instantly on the defensive, abandoning the next perfect piece of pie that you’d just separated for yourself. Your eyes lift, settling on Tyler, but quickly you glance behind him, and shit. 

He’s here. 

Your face must drop or something because Tyler instantly sees that something is different. He quietly asks you what’s wrong, the same tone he uses whenever you’re sick smoothing over his words, but when you don’t answer, he turns around and looks for himself. 

He swears, already turning back around. “Do you wanna leave? If you go ahead out to the truck I can cover the check. Here, pull your hood up, and you can wear my hat—”

You shake your head, staring right back at Tyler and ignoring the pull that tries to get you to look at Beau. “No. Let’s finish our dessert.”

Tyler blinks, his lips parted. You can tell he wants to ask if you’re sure, but he doesn’t. He takes a second, staring at you, and then he sits back, clears his throat, and dips his spoon into his banana pudding. 

Your heart speeds up until it’s painful in your chest. You worry for a second, image after image of everything that could go wrong flooding your mind. Tears sting your eyes but you try to sniff them away, busying yourself with dividing your pie up into pieces that you don’t even attempt to eat. 

“Honey,” Tyler says, “eat your pie.”

You feed yourself a bite and are instantly reminded of you why like it so much. 

Tyler continues to talk to you about the garden, telling you that the conditions this summer weren’t really living up to last summer so the lackluster harvest from your tomatoes wasn’t necessarily you’re fault, but the entire time you’re simply praying that Beau will leave before he notices you. 

You glance his way multiple times, staring at the side of him as he stands at the bar, likely waiting on a to-go order. Briefly, you can’t help but miss him and the way he would always pick up dinner here on Sundays. 

It’s a Friday. 

You wonder what else about his routine has changed.

Tyler continues. “There might be better conditions leading into the Fall but truly, I doubt it. It might just be time to say goodbye to the garden for now…”

You nod, mindlessly eating pie while Beau grabs his bag and turns around. You should’ve looked down or at Tyler because as soon as he turns, he looks at you. 

He lingers for a second, staring, and you do the same. Beau smiles, tight and friendly, and lifts a hand in a wave. 

You do the exact same, not giving more energy even though something in you wants him to come over and speak to you. 

Quicker than you can realize, Tyler turns around and throws up two fingers in a wave to Beau. Beau leaves not long afterward, and you can’t help but wonder if he thinks you and Tyler are dating now. 

The idea is appealing. 

“Why does it always take you so long to get out of the car?”

“You don’t have to wait, just go inside.”

“Now that wouldn’t be very chivalrous, would it?”

“Thought chivalry was dead.”

Tyler scoffs as if you’ve offended him. “As long as I’m alive it sure ain’t.”

You purse your lips to fight off a smile. “You sound like Boone.”

“He’s my brother from another mother for a reason.”

Their twin-like synchronization will always be equal parts weird and admirable. 

Tyler watches you struggle to put your boot on, holding the door open for you the entire time. You really do feel bad that you’re taking so long, but midway through the drive your purse opened and spilled its contents out onto the floor. That, paired with your tendency to get really comfortable in Tyler’s truck, has you taking longer than usual to get out of the car. 

Tyler stood silently for the first minute, but after that, he’d—rightfully—grown frustrated. 

“Okay, almost done. Just looking for my lip gloss.”

You hear the tension in Tyler’s voice when he responds. “Just leave it. I’ll find it in the morning.”

You squint, searching under the seat through your spread legs. “You’ll forget.”

When you jump out of the car, he seems excited, until you bend over and peer under the seat with a better look. Tyler sighs but you ignore him. 

You swear you’ve almost found it but then it comes out of nowhere—a crack of thunder that resounds throughout the sky, immediately followed by rain pouring down. There are no warning drops, it comes out altogether, but Tyler acts quickly. 

He pushes you into the house, treating you like you’re in the military, yelling “Go! Go! Go!” against the sound of rain. 

By the time you get inside, you can feel the damage done to your hair. You’re already wincing, looking into the mirror in front of the door, turning your face this way and that. 

“If you weren’t taking so long—” Tyler doesn’t get to respond before you’re glaring at him through the mirror. He throws his hands up in surrender, but they soon drop to your waist instead. 

Just this casual touch warms your chest. 

“You look fine,” He reassures, even though your hair textures are different in multiple spots. But he says it like he means it, and not like he’s just trying to make you feel better. He stares at you through the mirror, his body right behind yours. 

You give up trying to fix it, besides there’s not much you can do without products and tools. Instead, you turn around, watching Tyler easily slip off his boots. You do the same with yours, placing them both together by the door. 

It looks right. It is right. 

Just as right as Tyler’s suggestion of popping open a bottle of wine and throwing on reruns. 

He tells you about the storms they’ve been chasing while you pass the bottle back and forth, occasionally stopping to criticize the actions of the characters on your TV as if this is the first time he’d seen this. 

It’s not until you’re three episodes in and trying to fight off the wine sleepiness (and horniness) that Tyler turns to face you. 

“Hey,” he says, resting his hand on your ankle that sits right beside his thigh. “You doing okay?”

At first, you don’t understand the point of the question. “Yep. Trying not to fall asleep.”

He smiles as if he shares the sentiment, but still shakes his head. “‘s not what I mean. After earlier, are you okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. ‘m fine, Ty. Thanks.”

He doesn’t press it anymore. 

“Sorry I’ve been gone.”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s what we agreed on.”

“I know but it doesn’t feel right leaving you here all alone.” 

“I’m fine, Tyler. Seriously.”

“I know, I know. You can take care of yourself. But I like taking care of you, too. I like being here for you.” 

You turn to face Tyler, staring at the way the pink lights of a commercial illuminate the side of his face. He looks so honest as he usually does, but there’s something in his eyes that you haven’t seen before. Maybe it’s always been there, but you hadn’t been looking for it. 

Now, it’s plain and simple, sitting right there for you to do something with. 

Just as you’re about to do something, Tyler turns back to face the TV. You push away the dismal feeling that threatens to crawl up your throat. 

It fizzes away a bit whenever Tyler rubs his thumb over your ankle. 

You feel like you’re dreaming. Maybe you are. Maybe you dozed off on the couch to Tyler rubbing soothing circles over your ankle and the arch of your foot while you both mindlessly watched reality TV. You glance down at your hand, seeing only what you’re supposed to be seeing, and then you look back up at Tyler to see what you shouldn’t be seeing. 

You’ve lived in denial for a while. It’s been easy to pretend that you didn’t like Tyler because there’s no way he could like you too. He’s just a gentleman, raised right by his momma, and that had always been the explanation. Tyler’s upbringing explained why he was so eager to risk the flu just to help you out, why he drove an hour just to give you a jump when your battery died, why he taught you line dances until you were a puddle of sweat on your living room floor. Why he ditched his friends to hang out with you, why he briefly abandoned his one true love—tornado wrangling—to give you a day he thought you deserved. Why he punched your ex without any hesitation at the first sign of disrespect.

But Tyler’s upbringing didn’t put this look in his eyes. A look so defined that you cannot deny it anymore.

Both of you stand in front of your bedroom doors, backs turned to the wood in order to face the other. Tyler stares down at you, eyes lidded with bags beneath, but no less infatuated.  

He doesn’t say anything. He just looks. 

You speak first. 

“I missed having you home, Ty.”

This surprises him. He tilts his head, letting the surprise show on his face as his eyebrows raise and his eyes widen. “I knew you did, honey bun. But what happened to loving the place all to yourself?”

You shrug, trying to be nonchalant even though your feelings are anything but. “Turns out that’s boring and too quiet. I miss your chaos.”

“You miss my chaos?” He nods as he says it, astonishment on his face. “And that’s supposed to be a compliment?”

You scoff, rolling your eyes, turning around, and reaching for your door. “You knew it was a compliment, asshole.”

He’s laughing through his apology. It’s as lighthearted as your chastising. 

He extends his arms, wrapping them around your body and hugging you from behind. You don’t mean to meld with his shape as quickly and easily as you do, but maybe that’s the thing. It’s natural for you to fit yourself right into Tyler, just like it was natural for him to fit himself right into your life.

He hums, resting his chin against your head. 

“I missed you, too, love bug.” Ugh, the nickname. He makes it sound like you’re in love with him. 

(Are you?)

You spin around in Tyler’s arms, doing so easily with the space he gives you, but then he’s right back on you, arms wrapped around your shoulders and your head resting on his chest. 

You have your arms wrapped around his waist, breathing in the soft scent of laundry detergent, outside, and his cologne all melding on the cotton of his shirt. 

You sigh, content with what life has given you. 

When you say, “I’m glad you made it home”, it comes out naturally. You feel it deep within you, glad that whatever divine intervention or luck was on your side to bring Tyler back safely. 

When he agrees with an earnest, “I’m glad I’m home”, he says it like he means it too, and you’re sure he does. 

A moment goes by and Tyler calls your name. You hum, waiting for him to say something as you lazily blink at him. 

“If I asked to kiss you, what would you say?”

Your answer is quick. “I would say yes.”

Tyler nods. “And if I asked you to come spend the night in my room, what would you say?”

You think about it for a second, trying to ignore the fluttering in your stomach and the way your heart has kickstarted. “I would say no.”

His face falls. You pick it back up. 

“My room’s better.”

Tyler smiles through his annoyance, already stepping towards your bedroom. You lead him in, one hand on the doorknob as you continue to face him. His hands find your waist, holding you steady and close to him as you both enter your bedroom. It’s not until you’re both standing in your room that he pushes his lips to yours. 

[davenporttf]

Bear Trap

Jake was a total dick and he was fine admitting it. He had the body to compensate for his short temper and overall unlikeable personality. He liked to think of himself as a real tradie through and through. He didn't care what the other guys thought of him because he knew he could do the job of three men by himself. When it came to the ladies, he was fine cutting things off after they started getting feelings. "Who hurt you?" the last one said when he broke it off. He smiled and replied "That'd be you for having to listen to you."

The crew had been working on a new apartment complex for a few weeks. The days were long and the middle of summer brought some very hot afternoons. Jake was working on installing a new water pipeline to the complex and removing the debris from all the jackhammering. They had been going at it since 7am and with the sun now beaming over him, he was feeling dehydrated. He forgot to bring his own water and was starting to regret it. He signaled over to the other guys that he was going to take a quick 15, and started walking towards the next door apartments.

Typically the neighbors next to their projects hated seeing them because of all the noise. He would see the dirty looks from the balconies but he would just wave at them to piss them off. Today he was going to play nice though, and beg for some water with a smile and an arm flex.

He went up to the first door and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, a loveable bear named Greg answered the door. He filled the door with his sturdy frame, and smiled at Jake. "Can I help you?"

"Hey man, sorry to bother you but I forgot my water today. Could I trouble you for some?" Jake said with the most charming smile he could manage.

"Yeah, of course! Why don't you come in and cool off and I'll grab you some water. I have the AC on." Greg offered kindly.

Jake was not about to pass up some free AC despite his reservations. "Yeah sure. Thanks, man." He entered the studio apartment looking around at Greg's very tidy apartment. "Have a seat on the couch, I'll grab you something to drink" Greg said as he walked to his kitchen.

Jake continued to look around and noticed some of the pride flags posted around the living room. "Awe fuck, a fag. Just great." he thought to himself as he took a seat on the sofa. He didn't like how all the gay guys looked him up and down. He worked hard to look good for the ladies, and felt uncomfortable when men shot glances his way. He had the urge to leave but the AC was feeling great against his skin, so he shoved his disdain to the side.

Greg could sense the hatred from Jake, and his overall douchebag demeanor. He had seen him for a few days now arguing with his coworkers and catcalling the women walking by. He didn't like the ripped guys, and tended to go for bears like himself. He had been living alone for a few years and with the rent about to go up due to the complex being built nextdoor, he was struggling. He didn't have an extra room to split with a roommate, and he wasn't having much luck in the boyfriend department. In the kitchen, Greg came up with an idea to fix his problem. He pulled out a bottle of water from the back of the fridge that he bought from a specialty store he frequented.

Greg walked back into the room and handed Jake the bottle of water. "Here ya go! Feel free to enjoy the air for a bit. You guys really seem to be working hard out there." Jake didn't waste a moment, and started chugging the water. The water tickled going down his throat and the water tasted so refreshing. He continued to chug the water as a bubbly feeling developed in his abdomen. Gurgles began to become audible as his stomach started to expand outward. Jake could feel his waistline pushing out against his jeans becoming more uncomfortable by the second. The water was too refreshing to stop so with his other hand he unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down to make room. Jake's pecs softened and inflated, losing definition. His arms became heavier with his biceps growing more doughy. His face rounded and lost it's definition with his chinstrap widening to a full beard.

With one hand on his belly rubbing it for comfort, Jake finished the bottle and looked around at his new form. He wanted to be disgusted with himself but his grip on his prior life was slipping away. He was liking the way he felt more powerful by his size and ran his hands all over. He looked around at the apartment feeling more at home.

"You look good handsome." Greg complimented as Jake looked up at him. Jake could feel himself growing attracted to Greg, especially his handsome features. Memories of them meeting out by the construction yard surfaced. He was always on the heavier side and the crew loved how strong he was moving around the debris. Greg had walked by one day and he couldn't help but catcall him. Luckily, Greg was flattered and found Jake extremely attractive sweating in the hot sun. Moving in together was the greatest thing to happen to him, and it helped that they could split the rent.

Jake started to paw at the bulge in his briefs, thinking of how sexy his boyfriend was. "What's say we cool off more in the shower?" Jake said devilishly. He got up and walked over to Greg adjusting to his newfound size. He took Greg by the hand and lead him into the bathroom for some much needed fun.

[the-heart-of-leo]

Nick's so far under the bus that they might as well change the oil while they're under there.

Okay, because I'm a bit of a masochist and I have adblockers...

I'm going to count how many times James throws Nick under the bus:

@2:40 – 'This fell upon Nick as well, as a non-binary person on the ace spectrum, they wanted to include asexuality and non-binary representation to our videos. But because Nick's experience is not universal – There is no universal experience – people felt that we were delegitimizing their own experiences because we focused on Nick's.' (The reason we were acephobic was because we (meaning Nick) didn't think other ace people had problems and when it was pointed out to us by The Ace Couple that ace people did, in fact, face discrimination and conversion therapy, we (meaning James) accused them of homophobia and sicced their followers on them.)

@6:38 – 'The work Nick and I were doing on the channel...' (Because Nick was here too! Not just me!)

@10:46 – 'I was much more interested in the production of the videos than the writing of them, at this point. So after three or four videos, I brought Nick on as a main writer for the channel. The idea is that they would write the vast majority of the scripts. I would film, voice, and edit the videos and we'd split the money that came in.'(Nick was the main writer for the channel! In case you forgot...)

@14:40 – 'And then my mom died... and I became completely useless. I couldn't think straight, at all, so Nick had to completely take over writing duties.'(DID I MENTION NICK WAS THE MAIN WRITER. ALSO MY MOM DIED; FEEL SORRY FOR ME)

@19:44 – 'When Nick got back, he believed the script needed a first page rework. This was also when he told me he was going to be moving back to Ontario permanently soon as he wanted to live closer to family and live in a bigger city with more opportunities. This was a punch to the gut for me. We'd been living together since 2015 and had become quite dependent on each other. I felt like there was no way I could make this movie without him.'(We couldn't make the movie we promised because SOMEONE DECIDED TO MOVE and since I'm co-dependent on him, I moved with him and screwed up everything. Oopsie.)

@26:32 – 'But by accepting as many sponsors as we did, which became very important when Nick and I started living apart and suddenly had two rents to pay, we ended up needing to produce even more videos. Which, along with the work on Telos and making sure everything was okay with my dad while living thousands of kilometers away meant I had even less time for writing – putting more stress on Nick and leading to even more copy and pasting from me.' (See what you did, Nick?! We have to pay TWO rents now and we need to make even MORE videos. I'm not creepily co-dependent on my asexual ex-roommate at all!)

@32:50 – 'I know what misinformation had made its way into our past videos. That was not something we intended; in some cases it was information I was told by people I considered experts. In other cases it was information that we had researched. In other cases it was things that Nick had learned in university.'(Nick told me some of this stuff! ((which is fair because NICK ADMITTED HE DOESN'T DO RESEARCH)) In other cases it was because I assumed I knew what happened because I'm the smartest person I know so of course Lesbians had it easier! I just forgot that Radcliffe Hall's books were banned and destroyed because of that head injury I talked about earlier.)

And here's an honorable mention where the smug “I'm smarter than you” BS comes to visit:

'To those who say I plagiarized the plot from the novel Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix – Read the book. It's nothing like the plot of the movie. And 'The Final Girl' is a trope in horror movies so if using the Final Girl trope is plagiarism then basically everyone who's made a slasher movie since Texas Chainsaw Massacre owes the Toby Hooper estate some money.'

So, much like how James doesn't understand why people aren't upset at him because of citation issues, he doesn't understand that it's not the fact that he's using the 'Final Girl' trope... it's the fact that he stated the book as a favorite of his and then... suddenly he's writing a movie about the aftermath of the Final Girl. And given the plagiarism, it can not be taken in good faith.

First off, if you just google 'First Final Girl', it just says Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the earliest examples. Another possibility for the 'First Final Girl' was actually Black Christmas which was released the same day in Canada so it is literally tied.

Secondly; the final girl trope is not required for slasher movies. One of the first 'proto-slasher' movies was actually Psycho so there were a few good decades between that and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (I could try and make a case that Lila Crane should count as a Final Girl; maybe even Mrs. Bates/Norman as a subversion... but I'm not that invested or interested.)

So... James was true to form, he just wanted to be a smug asshat and try and seem smart over something easily googled.

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

orchid

a/n: thought about splitting this one up into multiple parts, but no, you're just getting one big fic. yet again, just a daydream I had that I scribbled down, just vibes, nothing fancy. also the tiny apartment she lives in, that's just where I lived a year ago. like a ghost in the attic (also also also, I almost exclusively worked on this in the middle of the night, so if it’s not up to par with the rest of my works, I do sincerely apologise)

update: i will not write a part 2 for this story so please stop asking me! you are giving me a stomach ache 

summary: “Alright, so even though I’m not, why is it that it would be such a bad thing if I theoretically had a thing for him?”

warnings: Sirius Black x reader, modern!au, college!au, starving artist!reader, posh boy Sirius, very light enemies to lovers energy, probably extremely inaccurate country club, reader works at the country club, playing 20 questions, kissing, sexual comments and references but no actual smut in this one, alcohol consumption, a little bit of light B & E as a cute date, small tolkien reference, open ending (kinda)

word count: 6023

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“All right, listen up folks,” bellowed the short snappy figure of your boss, “it’s gonna get a lot busier starting today since a lot of the member's kids are coming home on break from boarding school and university and whatnot, so that means not only will there be more people to keep happy but also a lot of stressed-out parents who await the luxury that they are paying for. I expect you all to be on you’re A-game, is that clear?” 

“Yes, Mr Barrett,” echoed throughout the room like a choir.

“Good. Now get back to work everyone!” 

Just as the herd started to thin, Mr Barrett waved you over before you had a chance to slip out, “Y/l/n!”

Watching your work friends duck out before he could call upon them as well, you gave in to the newly formed reflex and said, “yes sir?”

Not lifting his eyes as you stepped closer, he kept them glued to the clipboard in his hand and ordered, “go restock all the bars.”

“Um, why? Didn’t Tim just do it last Monday?” 

“He did,” Mr Barrett finally glance up at you and explained sternly, clearly already being over this conversation, “and now I’m telling you to go do it again. Look, these folks' kids are coming home. So, trust me when I tell you that it needs to be fully stocked.” 

“Alright,” you exhaled and scurried out at the irked wave of his hand. 

You hadn’t been working here at the Millington club for that long, but even when you consider the fact that you had to mosey up to a bunch of insufferable rich folk, the paycheck was still a lot better than any other place you’d ever worked at, consequently making it tolerable.

Now balancing a heavy cardboard box jam-packed with various clanking liquor bottles, you made your way through the glamorous halls of the club, first making your way down towards the east side lounge. Glancing down at the clinking flasks, you couldn’t even begin to calculate how many months of rent you would have to give for even just one of these lavish drinks. 

As you entered the posh sitting room and made your way over towards the bar, a collection of rowdy voices caught your ear.

“No way, I don’t believe it.” 

“No, I’m telling you, mate,” you sat the box down on the marble countertop and glanced over to spot the young raven-haired man answering his friends, “it’s true, right there in the library.”

“What genre was it in?” one of the two young men asked. They were all three spread out on a few small queen Anne couches, clustered in the corner, as if they owned the whole establishment, “biography? That corner’s pretty private…”

“Um, I was a little too preoccupied to notice,” the cocky boy scoffed, “you know, with my head being all the way under her skirt and all.”

Kicking his feet up onto the mahogany coffee table in the middle, the bespeckled one in the group chuckled, “only you mister I lost my virginity in a threesome could just casually have that happen to him on a Tuesday afternoon.”

“Who was it with anyway?” the other one asked. 

Furrowing his brows, the man in the centre of the story genuinely didn’t seem to remember, “I think her name was Emma? Something like that.”

“Didn't your mother tell you it’s creepy to stare?” you flinched at the sudden and sneaky arrival of your co-worker’s familiar voice, uttering directly into your ear.

“Jesus fuck, Lucy! Don’t scare a girl like that! I could have dropped one of these,” you held up the expensive bottles in hand, then swiftly went back to putting them away. 

“Please don’t tell me you have a thing for him,” she ignored your annoyance, crossing her arms. 

“What?” was she referring to the brash handsome man you couldn’t rip your eyes away from just a second ago? “No! I don’t even know who he is.”

“Wait, you don’t know who that is? 

“No.”

“Seriously?”

“Nope.”

“That’s Sirius Black,” she told you as if the name alone was common knowledge, but then continued as the lightbulb over your head clearly didn’t turn on, “Orion Black’s oldest son?” still nothing, she tried one last time, “as in the Black automobile company? That super old posh one?”

“…the one that the royal family drives around in?”

“Ding, ding, ding!” she threw up her arms and continued to look at you as if you were an idiot. 

“Alright, so even though I’m not, why is it that it would be such a bad thing if I theoretically had a thing for him?”

“Because that man right there, gorgeous as he might be, is the biggest playboy on the planet. He doesn’t even know what the definition of a relationship is, let alone love. Y/n, I know you. You, my wonderful friend, is a relationship type of girl, not a casual sleep-around like it’s nothing type of girl. So, trust me when I say, don’t go there.”

“I wasn’t gonna!” you said defensively as she finally turned around and left you to your work. 

Bending down to open up a small cabinet, you kneeled on the polished hardwood floor and scurried to finish your work of restocking the bar.  

“Hey love,” you heard after only a minute had passed. Glancing up, you saw the very same man you had been so fixated upon earlier, casually leaning his forearm against the counter. He looked like he could have just stepped out of a ralph lauren ad with how impeccable his clothes were. 

Shooting up, nearly bumping your head on the way, you felt your heartbeat pick up as his dark eyes bored into you, “hi! Can I help you with anything?”

“Me and my mates over there were just about to go do something a little more fun than what this snooze fest has to offer,” he gesticulated, then added rather smoothly, “you look like you could use some fun, you should join us.”

“Sir, I can’t just leave,” you cocked your head, “I’m in the middle of my shift.”

“So, when do you get off?” he asked, but then as you simply averted your gaze, scrambling for a polite way to untangle yourself from this mess, he pushed, “oh, come on, I know you want to.”

Keeping your eyes low, you shook your head, “I’m not really supposed to socialise with members.”

“Ah,” he leaned in a little closer, lowering himself to your eye level, “you’re a real good girl, aren’t you?”

Eyes growing wide at his suggestive word choice, you blushed, “e-excuse me, sir?”

“I noticed the way you were looking at me,” his studying gaze didn’t waver for a second. 

“Oh, that wasn’t-“

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell if you won’t.” He then leaned in even closer, “hey,” nearly whispering into your ear and effectively sending shivers down your spine, “if it fits your schedule better, we could just go into the billiard room right now…”

“Why would we-“

“My friends can stand by the door if you’re nervous,” he interrupted once more, reaching up to push a lock of your hair behind your ear, “no one will bother us, promise.”

Completely stunned by his bold proposal, it took you a few seconds to decline, “sir. I-… I’m gonna go back to work now…” then slowly picked up the now empty cardboard box and exited the room, leaving Sirius alone to pick up the pieces. 

“She’s new… I want her.” 

That was all Sirius had uttered to his friends before making his way over to hit on the new girl, occupied restocking the bar. 

Now standing there, alone and blinking hard, not understanding why his usual charm hadn’t worked on you, he heard his friends come up behind him.

“How did it go? You meeting her in the bathroom or what?” 

“She turned me down…” he was still frozen, staring out the door you’d disappeared through, with a stunned smile on his lips and a determent glint in his eyes. His words didn’t sound unhappy, simply surprised and even a little amused. 

“That’s nice, good for your health to be turned down by a pretty face such as hers. Also means you are in fact human after all,” Remus pulled out his box of cigarettes and swiftly tugged one into the corner of his lips to lite it, “so, that’s nice to know…” noticing the look in Sirius’s eye, “come on,” he wrapped an arm around his neck, “we’ll just go out tonight. Get you nice and pussy drunk. That’ll make you forget her in no time, promise.” 

“Funny seeing you here,” you didn’t even bother to look up as the slightly familiar voice found your ears. 

“Yeah,” you kept your eyes on the list in your hand just a little longer, “it’s almost like I work here or something.”

Finally glancing up, you met the intoxicatingly dark eyes of none other than Sirius Black, “you’re funny…”

“So,” you started moving along, not letting his bugging hold you back from executing your work, “is there anything I can do for you, sir?”

His long legs made it a piece of cake for him to follow along with you, “go out with me.”

Stopping your stride, you sighed, “Mr Black-”

“Please, call me Sirius,” he interrupted you with all the charm in the world.

“Mr Black, excuse me for being blunt but when will you get the hint?”

“Y/n, hey!”

This dude really doesn’t quit. 

“You know my name now,” you couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling even if you wanted to. 

“Yeah, well I asked around a bit about you. That was just one of the many tantalising facts I learned about you,” he winked, and you tried your best to ignore the butterflies that cheap trick had successfully sent fluttering throughout your stomach. 

Moving to leave the room, he swiftly blocked the door, making you see nothing but his annoying smirk, “seriously dude, what will it take for you to just leave me alone?”

“Go out with me,” he shrugged lightly and crossed his arms. 

“No.”

“Why not?”

Feeling like you might explode if he didn’t get out of the way, you exclaimed, “because I’m not I’m not gonna sleep with you!” your eyes grew a bit wider at the proclamation you’d let slip out.

“Oh really?” he simply smiled, clearly just taking it as another challenge. 

Squeezing your eyes shut, you hoped that the conversation would get less uncomfortable if you couldn’t see his jaw-dropping visage anymore, “yeah, I’ve heard what people say about you.”

Completely loving it, he clearly took that as a good thing, “really?”

“Yeah, well it’s like a fucking ghost story around here, so I didn’t have much of a choice. You’re just that kind of guy and that’s fine! But you just need to know, all that charm, it won’t work on me, so you might as well just turn around now. I am not just gonna be another notch in your belt, another hot new little thing for you to pass the time with, okay?”

Eyes still shut, you thought for a second he had left with how long he took to answer you, “okay, fine.” 

“Fine?” you finally blinked your eyes open.

“Fine,” he smiled, “I won’t sleep with you.” 

“Great!” you threw up your arms and moved to exit the room, though he stepped in front of you again, leaning down to be at your height.  

“I mean, it’s probably gonna be really hard for you to resist after the date I’ve got planned out, but sure, if you don’t want to.” 

Gnawing the corner of your bottom lip for but a moment, you gave out, “if I say yes to go on a date with you, one date, will you leave me alone?” 

Face only inches from your own, his smile grew wider as he agreed, “deal.”

“Mr Black! Welcome back, sir,” not only the security guard but also an older gentleman in a crisp suit had greeted you both at the entrance of the unusually vacated museum, “enjoy your evening.”

“Thank you, Henderson,” Sirius politely shook his hand before planting it on the small of your back, guiding you further inside. 

Glaring up at him as if he was an alien, he finally questioned your gaze, “what?”

“What are we doing in here?” you spoke in a near whisper, “the museum closed like 2 hours ago.”

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged, climbing the big stone steps that lead up towards the first exhibit, “my family’s a big donator to this place, so I just pulled a few strings.”

Fighting the urge to roll your eyes, you simply followed him into the first breathtaking room and breathed out, “okay…”

Even if the company was somewhat challenging, you couldn’t deny how the beauty hung up all around you made the evening at least tolerable. Your little art heart was too weak not to swoon at the sight of all the impressionistic pieces that were on display in this season's unique exhibit. Iconic pieces you could have only dreamed about studying this close. 

After a surprisingly long while where Sirius miraculously shut up and simply let you roam and relish in the paintings, you took a deep breath and decided to actually make the smallest of efforts to test if your companion did in fact have any more depth than a teaspoon. 

“So,” you started as he settled in beside you, his dark eyes washing over the landscape in front of you, “you’re home from uni for a bit?”

“Yep,” he buried his hands in the pockets of his black trousers, “oxford.”

You felt so strong for not just bolting in the opposite direction. “You’re an oxford man?” you scoffed, “should have figured…”

“Like my father was and his father before him,” he added rather coldly, sounding like this was a rehearsed reply that pained him to recite. 

“What do you study?”

“Business,” he kept his answer short. 

“Oh yeah?” you glanced over, trying to break through and see if his outsides matched his insides, “is it fun?” 

Brows furrowing, he turned to meet your gaze, “what does that have to do with it?”

“You don’t enjoy your major?”

“It’s just,” he inhaled deeply, uncomfortably trying to end this specific chat, “school, you know?”

“No, I actually don’t,” you informed him, slowly moving towards the next painting. 

“No?” he followed. 

“I don’t go to school,” you informed. 

“You don’t?” 

“No.”

“Oh, okay…” he averted his gaze, but still felt the need to explain his confusion, “I knew you liked art, so I just kinda assumed that you went to school for that or something…”

“Why bother paying a ridiculous amount of money in order to learn about something that I’m already really good at? No one is gonna deny me the right to create art just because I don’t have some fancy degree in it. If it’s a masterpiece, then it’s a masterpiece.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” you could tell how foreign your words were to him, “so that’s what you do for a living? You paint?” 

“It doesn’t pay the bills, but that’s not really the point now is it?” you reflected with a small smile, “just because it’s what I do doesn’t mean I earn a large profit from it, if any at all.”

For a moment, he just went quiet, staring at the many paintings with a slightly glossed-over look in his eyes. You were trying to catch his glances, read what it was that was going on inside that head of his, but your timid attempt at finding a new topic to blossom suddenly became the most effortless task in the world the second that he casually rolled his sleeves all the way up to his elbows.

“Wait, you have tattoos?” tumbled out of you as soon as you spotted the ink. 

“Yeah,” he gave a small shrug. 

“How did I not know that?” you asked, sounding genuinely interested. 

“Guess my pretty face was just a bit too distracting for you to notice,” he winked, regaining a bit of his usual confidence, “do you have any?”

“Yeah, a few. Though they’re just some stick-and-poke ones one of my friends gave me.”

“Aw, my first tattoo was a stick-and-poke one! I was 15 and it was at boarding school in the bathroom,” he remembered fondly. 

“Oh yeah? Your parents must have loved that,” you chuckled. 

“Oh, they don’t know.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, well, clothing can hide a lot and they only really see me a handful of days out of the year anyways, so… what they don’t know won’t hurt them.” 

Maybe he wasn’t so terrible after all… After finding a sliver of common ground, the rest of the conversation just flowed after that, making the remainder of the evening not just tolerable, but even enjoyable. 

Nearing the end of the tour, you felt his shoulder lightly bump yours, “you like it?” ripping you out of the trance the art piece in front of you had induced. 

“I mean, it’s a Monet,” you gestured towards it, finding his question a bit silly, “I think it’s physically impossible not to like it.”

“Darling, I wasn’t talking about the painting,” he clarified, smiling warmly down at you.

“Oh,” you looked up at him and couldn’t help but be blatantly honest, even if it meant that you had been wrong, “yeah, I guess it wasn’t half bad…” then cast your vision back on the painted pond and added as casually as you could muster, “but we are so not doing anything like this next time.”

“Next time?” 

“I swear to god,” you sighed, shutting your eyes, “if you don’t shut up in less than two seconds, I won’t hesitate to change my mind. You were just starting to grow on me.”

“Yes, ma’am, wouldn’t dream of it, I’m just standing here, looking at the art,” you heard him smile and peeped your eyes open to find him boldly still staring at you. 

“You sure we’re allowed to be up here?” Sirius asked, following you up the last bit of the clinking metal staircase in the seemingly abandoned factory you’d without context dragged him into. 

“Oh, don’t tell me that you're scared,” you playfully glanced over your shoulder at him, “doesn’t your daddy’s lawyer always bail you out of all the shady fun you and your friends get into?”

“Who exactly do you think we are?” he scoffed lightly, though didn’t deny your claim.  

“So, you’ve never committed a petty crime before? A party animal like you?”

“I have never done anything wrong in my entire life,” he shot back sarcastically. 

“Right you haven’t,” you chuckled, trying without success to bust open the rusty door, putting all your weight into it, “give me a hand, would you?” you requested breathlessly, his frame quickly following your command, stepping right up beside you, readying his shoulder and waiting for your go, “okay, one, two, three!” you both gave it a big shove, making it fly open and reveal not only the factory’s small, flat rooftop but also the most breathtaking view of the city’s skyline and the rabidly disappearing sun. 

Seemingly not impressed by the dingy surroundings, Sirius grumbled, “now do I get to know what we are doing tonight?”

“No sense of adventure…” you sighed teasingly, “I’m not telling you, you’ll have to find out yourself,” you sauntered over towards the small ledge by the section of the roof that sunk down a bit and had a bunch of vents and things. Taking a seat, you gestured to the cold concrete beside you and said, “now, sit.”

“You want me to sit?” he eyed the dirty surface mistrustingly. 

“Yeah,” you smiled, patting the spot with your fingers, “come on, you can sit on my jacket if you’re such a wuss.”

“Oh my god, fine, I’ll sit down,” he moved towards you, “just keep your jacket. Don’t want you to freeze to death.”

“You don’t? That’s reassuring to know,” you jested as he carefully took a seat beside you, dangling his long legs over the edge. 

“So… this is your big plan?” he asked, completely unimpressed, “sit on a filthy rooftop together?”

“Don’t mock when you don’t even know what it is yet,” you raised a defensive hand and then proposed confidently, “now, ask me a question.”

Furrowing his dark brows, he bit his lip in order not to stifle a laugh, “a question?”

“Yeah, you’ve got 20, so use them wisely,” you explained the childish game. 

“Oh my god…” he groaned as he caught on, although still played along, “okay, is it a thing?”

“Yes.”

His pristine hair blew in the wind as his eyes scanned the city below for clues, “is it big?”

“No.”

“Am I physically close to it?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?”

“No.”

“Okay, so it’s small and close by, but I can’t see it…” he recited underneath his breath, “is it, fuck, I don’t know,” he grumbled, both completely over the game yet also way too invested to just quit immediately, “your phone in your pocket?”

“Good one, but no!”

“Fuck, I don’t know! Am I even close?”

“You are closer than you might think.”

“Can I just get a little bit more of a hint?” he pouted in your direction. 

“Fine, it is within a meter of you.”

Head whipping around confused, “um, that’s literally just you. Is it you? Are you really calling yourself a thing right now?”

“No!” you snapped, slightly offended that he’d even think that, “just use your imagination for fuck sake. Don’t they teach you that at boarding school and fancy universities?”

Letting out a long exhale, he just kinda zones out a moment, genially scrambling for the answer and scanning every visible inch of you. “…I truly don’t know,” he then squinted his eyes at you, “was this some sort of test? Did I fail it?”

“No, calm down,” you pulled your backpack around to the front, ripping the biggest compartment open and fishing out a bottle of bargain beer for the both of you, “here,” you handed him one.

“What is this, a price for losing?” 

“No, that was the thing,” you placed the corner of the bottle’s cap up against the hard edge below you and gave it a swift tap, effectively popping it off and sending a lava flow of bubbles soaring down the dark glass and soaking your hand. 

“This was it?” he hesitated, but eventually mimicked your manoeuvre to open the lacklustre beverage. 

“Yep,” making the last letter pop as you raised the bottle up towards your lips. 

“You’re terrible at twenty questions,” he chuckled, taking a small sip. 

“You’re the one who couldn’t figure the answer out!”

“Yeah, because there was no way I was ever going to be able to figure that out! You can’t just be like Bilbo and ask for a person to guess what’s in your pocket, it has to be something the other person would be able to figure out.”

“That’s never how I played it, but if you wanna go again, play by your rules, then go right ahead, I’ll guess this time.” 

After the last of the beers, you’d brought with you were a thing of the past, after several rounds of that child-like play had flown by, the harsh chime of his phone interrupted your guessing of what you were pretty sure was the small spire visible in the horizon before you. 

Like a reflex, he fished it out of his pocket, and you watched as the soft smile quietly vanished from his features as if it had never been there to begin with, snuffed out and forgotten like last season’s fashion. It hadn’t been the first time you’d witnessed his phone be a mood killer, it happened at least once whenever he had been in your presence. 

“What is it?” you asked, tossing the game to the side to make room for the growing concern you simply couldn’t ignore any longer. 

“It’s nothing,” you watched his face twitch slightly as he read the message that plainly bothered him. Taking a deep breath, he tugged it away in his jacket and circled back to the quickly forgotten game, “you, um, still have 4 more questions till you run out-”

“Sirius,” you cut him off, determined to figure out what was troubling him, “who was that?” not giving you an answer, he simply averted his gaze. “I’m not gonna tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about. Who do you think I know that I could spill all of your deep dark secrets to? My neighbour Mary who’s about 90? Oh yeah, she would have a field day, if she actually remembers to put her hearing aid in,” you joked, in an effort to get him to relax and open up, “come on, you can tell me.”

After a good long moment of him thoroughly biting his inner cheek, he finally spoke, “it was my dad. He wanted to remind me that I’m supposed to start sitting in on meetings beginning by tomorrow. Start doing my part for the family business and finally grow up. He wants me to follow in his footsteps. And I know that it must sound fascinating, running a huge company like that, but it truly isn’t. It’s just a bunch of long boring meetings with boring money-hungry people talking about boring numbers. It has absolutely nothing to do with the cars themself.”

“And that’s not what you want?” you asked softly. 

“That’s not the point,” he uttered, sounding downright exhausted. 

“Isn’t it? Do you want to follow in his footsteps?”

Staring out into nothing, he slowly let the truth slip out past his lips, “no...” the tiny word instantly hitting him like a truck, “fuck. I’ve never actually said that out loud before… I don’t wanna do that… I don’t know what it is that I want to do, but I sure as hell know it isn’t that. I don’t wanna become another soulless businessman like my father.”

“Can I ask you something?” you asked him gently. 

“Sure.”

“Why are you still studying business if you know that’s not what you wanna do?”

Exhaling heavily, “because I think what scares me even more than this future they’ve got all mapped out for me is the unknown. I don’t know what will happen if I hop off the train, but at least I know what it looks like inside and I know where it’s headed.”

Without giving it a second thought, you reached out and took his hand in yours. 

“You’ll get off. Might not be today, but someday you will.”

A soft smile spread across his lips as the stressful thoughts slowly melted away with the aid of your touch and he turned his attention back to the date. “I gotta admit, this wasn’t at all what I expected.”

“What did you think? That I was gonna take you to dinner at a michelin restaurant? Some day you will learn that money can’t buy you everything. I mean, just look at that view,” you nodded towards the blushing skies above, the sun now nearly disappeared down behind the many roofs of the city. 

“Yeah,” he breathed, not taking his eyes off of you for a second, “it’s beautiful.”

Not soon thereafter, when the dark night started to bloom and the date was due to end, you took him up on his adorably chivalrous offer and let him walk you back home. However, when you reached the outside of your building, he wasn’t the only one anymore that wasn’t ready to part ways yet. When you fumbled with the keys and he eagerly asked, “could I maybe walk you all the way in to your front door?” all you did was nod, because right now in this very moment, just one more minute of his charm was all you desired. 

“Just what floor did you say you lived on?” he puffed from behind you once you’d reached the third floor of the old apartment building. 

“I didn’t,” if you’d told him that you lived on the fifth floor, right underneath the roof in a tiny shoebox of an apartment, he properly wouldn’t have dared to climb the steep stairs with you. “And just because you're walking me to my door doesn’t mean you get to come inside, okay?”

“Got it.”

Even though he looked to be in phenomenal shape, you still noticed his attempt to hide how much of a tole this trek really was for him.

Once you finally reached the small dark door to your home, out of sight and out of mind down a narrow hallway, creaking it open, his eyes widened at the sight of your tiny apartment, “oh my god, that’s your apartment?” he didn’t even have to poke his head inside to be able to view every single millimetre, seeing as the whole flat in its entirety was probably the size of his bathroom. 

“That’s my apartment,” you confirmed, not finding the size as jarring as he did. 

“Is it even legal to live up here? Aren’t these attic rooms for storage or something?”

“They used to be, but now I promise it's totally above board.”

After letting out a small chuckle, he then took one last long look at you standing in the doorway, smiling warmly down at you, “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Yeah, me too,” you smiled, and when he then turned to take his leave, you stopped him, “hey Sirius?” still close, he turned around, “can I-, could I maybe-…”

Taking a step closer to you, he stared down at you and uttered, “what?”

“…can I kiss you?”

Not hesitating for even a second, probably just in case you would change your mind, Sirius bent down and boldly kissed you. The feel of his soft lips pressed against yours and his tongue confidently asking for entrance surprisingly didn’t increase your nerves, it minimised them. It felt oddly comfortable. Like you’d already done it a thousand times before. 

“Goodnight,” he breathed out, lingering just a little longer.

“Night.”

The persistent knocks at your door finally came to a screeching halt as you swung it open and revealed the unexpected figure of Sirius. 

“I need to talk to you,” he insisted, sounding out of breath, probably having sprinted up the stairs. 

Furrowing your brows at the less-than-warm greeting, you asked, “Sirius? What are you doing here? It’s 11 o'clock at night,” pushing past you, the small stumble he took as he crossed over the threshold didn’t manage to escape your perception, “hey, what’s going on?”

“Everything’s going on!” he bellowed, making you quickly close the door behind him and cross your fingers that the walls in your building weren’t as thin as you feared if he was going to continue at this dramatic volume. 

Whirling around to plant his unfocused eyes on you, you saw right through him and asked, “are you seriously drunk right now?”

Fully ignoring your question, he sank down onto your small couch and spoke wearily, staring out into your dimly lit home, “you messed everything up.”

“Excuse me,” you crossed your arms and closed your light robe a bit more to cover your less then modest pyjamas up, on the verge of just ripping the door open again so that you could kick him out, “I haven't done anything-”

“You messed up everything!” his unsteady eyes finally met your glare, “everything was just fine before I met you, there was a plan, a good plan,” he gesticulated with his right hand, “I didn’t see any problem with the plan till you had to show up and turn it all upside down,” you felt your heart start to sink as his intoxicated words impacted, ��you ruined it all. You ruined me. For the first time in my life, the world is a truly terrifying place. It’s never been that way till you showed up,” you noticed his clenched jaw begin to quiver, “you are like a bright light, showing me just how dark my life actually is. I didn't ask for that perspective! I was perfectly fine just wandering around in the dark!”

“Sirius,” you reeled back, completely stunned by the tornado that had just interrupted your evening routine, “what are you-”

“You scare the shit out of me, Y/n,” he exclaimed, cutting your question off before it could fully form, “no girl has ever done that, except for you. Fuck, I love you! That terrifies me!” he sank down even further, nearly laying down at this point, overwhelmed by the storm brewing between his ears, “but what scares me even more is the thought of losing you.”

Completely stunned, you found your body slowly dropping down upon the mattress of your bed, sitting there at a complete loss for words, flabbergasted as you watched his low groans and curses gradually fade away until you picked up on how his breaths had slowed, and his lids had grown heavy, exhaustion snuffing him out like a flame.

Curled up on the windowsill, backlit by the morning sun, you raised your eyes from the sketchbook balanced on your bent knees, to reference the dark-haired man still passed out on your tiny couch. 

Even after you’d not so silently riffled through your pantry this morning, checking to see if you had any resemblance of a hangover cure hidden away in there, he still slept like a baby, through all the crinkly bags and accidentally dropped containers. 

Though now, as you weren’t really making any noise at all, simply emanating the silent scratching of your pen against paper, you saw him stir, inhaling sharply as he awoke.

“Morning sleepy head,” you tried to be mindful of your volume, the light wince your tone evoked from him clearly affirmed your suspicion of the horrible state the night before had put him in. 

Craning his neck to look at you, he sat up, squinting in confusion as the bright morning light washed over him, “Y/n, what, um,” his voice sounded like it had been through a meatgrinder, “what am I doing here?” 

“You don’t remember?” you sat the sketchbook down beside you but kept your seat in the window, merely shifted a bit. 

“I-… Did something happen?” his palm lifted up to shield his mouth in worry, “did we-”

“Oh my god, no,” you got what he was hinting at and quickly cut in to correct him before your cheeks had a chance to turn an even brighter shade of red, “you showed up here last night, completely wasted.”

“Oh…”

“Yelled at me for a little bit and then you kinda just passed out.”

“Fuck…” he sighed, jaw clenching from guilt, “Y/n, I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, you should be,” you crossed your arms tightly across your chest, “what even happened last night? Were you just at some club and randomly decided to come and shout at me a bit?”

“I wasn’t out,” he shook his head, still not meeting your eye, “I was at this stupid party with my family, some fundraiser I think, and became maybe a bit too pissed and got into an argument with my dad,” taking a deep breath in, he spoke, “I told him that I’m dropping out of school and that I don’t want to take over the company.”

“Oh…” it nearly came out as a whisper. 

Taking shelter behind his hands, he lightly ran them down his face, “I’m really sorry,” he said earnestly, “I shouldn’t have bombarded you like that. I don’t remember what I said, but you don’t deserve any of it.”

Every word he had uttered the night before still played on a loop inside your mind, “…none of it?”

“No,” he finally met your gaze, “not one.”

Your churning stomach tried to prevent the words from flowing out, but your now fully bloomed feelings eventually prevailed as you found yourself asking him softly, “not even the part where you told me you love me?” 

© 2023 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[sniperct]

Really didn't want it to come to this, but between moving, steph's eyeballs and the fact several hospital visits are now in collections, we're going to be rolling with a gofundme, probably going up (officially, as we created one when December went to shit but didn't publicize it as...well we're stubborn) tomorrow or Sun. Primarily to take care of some of the debt in collections and helping with the exorbitant cost of preventing my wife from going blind (and I have expensive physical therapy for a frozen shoulder on top of it), but we've also had to drain what we had in savings just to get a new place to live and I still have to figure out a solution for my work space.

Long story short, we lived in my mother-in-law's house, and she passed away. We're forced to sell the house to cover her debts and the mortgage and I have no idea what if anything would be left after being split 3 ways between three sisters (and we're hoping to sock most of that away towards buying a house later, as ironically it's so much cheaper to pay a mortgage than rent plus I’m so tired of living at the whims of other people). Finding a place has been absolutely horrible, and we have to pay 2800 for a deposit PLUS first month's rent. We'd thought it was just the 2800 to move in, but also paying first month's rent basically means we have no money to pay for help moving, (not even to rent a truck).

So anything that could help with the immediate needs of getting through May with less difficulty would be welcome as the first month is going to be tight.

https://ko-fi.com/sniperct https://paypal.me/sniperct  (pls ignore birth name lol)

This is just hospital bills, this doesn’t include what we owe for the eye procedures as I still need to dig out that bill. It’s at least 3000 for the eyes alone.

ETA:

Thank you so much for sharing everyone!

Someone found the gofundme somehow last night and donated, which is amazing and I could kiss them.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-survive-medical-debt-and-moving

[solo6677]

Roommates

 Lisa and Richard had been roommates for three long years, but their living arrangement had become far from harmonious. Lisa, a striking beauty with a seemingly endless supply of charm, had never paid the rent. Instead, she would take the money meant for their shared living expenses and use it to fund her extravagant lifestyle.

Despite Richard's repeated attempts to confront Lisa about her selfish behavior, she would simply brush him off with a smile and a wave of her hand. She was self-absorbed, and it seemed that nothing and no one could stand in the way of her desires.

Richard: Lisa, we need to talk about the rent. It's overdue again.

Lisa: Oh, Richard darling, don't worry about it. I've got everything under control.

Richard: I've asked you multiple times to pay your share on time, but you never do. It's not fair to me.

Lisa: Dear, you're being such a buzzkill. Let's just enjoy life, shall we? There's always more money where that came from.

Richard: That's not the point, Lisa. We agreed to split the costs evenly. Your extravagant lifestyle can't come at my expense.

Lisa: Richard, you need to relax. I'm handling things. Trust me, I always land on my feet.

Richard: I hope so, Lisa, because this can't go on forever.

As if her financial irresponsibility wasn't enough, Lisa had also earned a reputation as a bit of a floozy. She slept with both men and women, often bringing them back to the apartment in the dead of night and leaving a trail of chaos in her wake. But what upset Richard the most was that she didn't show any care for him. He had feelings for her but she didn't reciprocate them at all.

Finally , Richard had enough. He couldn't continue to shoulder the burden of Lisa's reckless actions any longer. But as he prepared to confront her once and for all, he couldn't help but wonder: what would it take to finally make Lisa see the error of her ways?

Richard: Lisa, I've had it. Your financial irresponsibility and promiscuity are causing serious problems in our lives. I can't keep bailing you out and dealing with the messes you leave behind. It's time for you to take a hard look at yourself and make some changes. I won't keep paying the rent by myself for you anymore.

Richard had reached his breaking point. After three years of living with Lisa's selfish and reckless behavior, he knew he had to get out. When the rent was due and Lisa didn't have it once again, he made the decision to leave and find a new place to live.

Richard:(firmly) Enough is enough, Lisa, I can't keep covering for your careless spending and reckless behavior. I've decided to move out and find a place of my own.

Lisa:(in shock)What do you mean you're leaving?

Richard:I mean that I can't continue to live like this. The rent is due again, and once again, you haven't come through. I deserve better than this.

Lisa: (crying) But Richard, I promise I'll change.

Richard: I've heard that before, Lisa, but actions speak louder than words. It's time for me to prioritize my own well-being and find a more stable living situation.

Lisa :Please don't leave me.

Richard:I'm sorry, Lisa, but I have to do what's best for me. It's time for me to move on.

Two days later Richard had everything packed and said his goodbyes. He then walked out the door for a new lease on life. Lisa was saddened by Richard's departure.

After a few days she put out an ad for a new roommate, confident that it wouldn't be long before someone jumped at the chance to live with her. But a month went by, and still no one had answered the ad. Lisa began to worry. She couldn't afford the rent on her own, and she knew she needed to find a new roommate fast.

Finally, just when Lisa was starting to lose hope, a woman named Rachel responded to the ad. Rachel was confident and poised, with a striking beauty that immediately caught Lisa's attention. She seemed like the perfect roommate, and Lisa was thrilled when she agreed to move in.

Lisa: Rachel, I'm so glad you got in touch. I was starting to think I'd never find a suitable roommate.

Rachel: I'm happy to be here, Lisa. I saw your ad and just knew this would be a great fit.

Lisa: Your confidence and poise are really impressive. I can tell you're going to bring so much positivity to this place.

Rachel: Thank you, Lisa. I always try to put my best foot forward and make a good impression. I'm excited to be living with you and can't wait to get to know you better.

Lisa: I feel the same way. You have a striking beauty that immediately caught my attention. I have no doubt that we'll get along famously.

Rachel: I'm thrilled to have found such a wonderful roommate. I know we're going to have a great time living together.

But Rachel had a dark secret. She was not who she seemed, and she had her own agenda for moving in with Lisa. Before long, she had turned the tables on Lisa, putting her in her place and taking control.

Rachel was a dominant force. Lisa, who had always been so confident and self-assured, found herself helpless under Rachel's spell. She couldn't resist Rachel's charms, and she soon found herself doing everything that Rachel commanded.

It all started one night when Rachel leaned back in her chair, a smirk playing on her lips.

Rachel: Lisa, darling, I need you to run to the store for me. I'm just dying for some ice cream.

Lisa hesitated, her mind racing. She knew she should say no, but the way Rachel was looking at her made her heart flutter.

Lisa: I-I don't know, Rachel. I have a lot of work to do.

Rachel's eyes narrowed.

Rachel: Oh, come on, Lisa. You know you want to. And I'll make it worth your while.

Lisa swallowed hard, her resolve crumbling.

Lisa: O-okay, I'll go.

Rachel clapped her hands together.

Rachel: Excellent. Now, be a dear and hurry back. I'm getting impatient.

As Lisa left the room, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment. Why was she letting Rachel boss her around like this? But at the same time, she couldn't deny the thrill she got from following Rachel's commands.

As the days went by Rachel did more of these commands. Every time Lisa followed these commands her pussy got wet. She was starting to enjoy her submissiveness to Rachel.

Things only got worse in the weeks ahead. Rachel started to assert more dominance on her and had Lisa do sexual things with her. Rachel would have Lisa eat out her pussy at least twice a day and forbid her to have sex with anybody else.

Rachel: You'll eat me out, twice a day. No exceptions.

Lisa: Yes, Rachel.

Rachel: You're mine, Lisa. Don't forget. And from now on you call me Mistress Rachel

Lisa: Yes Mistress Rachel

Lisa felt her pussy get wet as she called Rachel Mistress.

Rachel: (smirking) I know you want to please me, Lisa. Just give in to it.

Rachel: You're not allowed to sleep with anyone else. Understand?

Lisa: (whispering). Yes mistress Rachel

Rachel: (staring intently) You're going to do what I say, when I say it. And you're going to like it.

Lisa: Yes Mistress Rachel

Rachel: You're mine now, Lisa. And I'm going to make sure you know it.

Rachel : Now show your mistress how much you want her I want you to take off all your clothes and rub your clit until you cum.

Lisa then did what her mistress told her to do. She first slid off her camisole then she undid her bra. Next she slid off her skirt and then finally slid down her panties. Lisa sat on the floor and then rubbed her clit until she came. Rachel just smiled like the Cheshire Cat. She knew she had Lisa right where she wanted her.

In the month that followed Lisa fell more and more into servitude. She would bathe Rachel, make all meals, and was forced to pay the entire rent by finding a second job. She became a stripper at the local gentlemen's club.

One night when Lisa was in between Rachel's legs servicing her pussy, Rachel had an evil grin on her face.She then revealed Lisa how she came to be.

Rachel : You know, Lisa, if you had been kinder to Richard, maybe things would have turned out differently. But no, you had to toss him aside like yesterday's garbage. Well, I have some news for you. I was Richard before I stumbled upon that life-changing elixir. And all I wanted after that was to get my sweet revenge and make you my little plaything. And look at us now. I'm a stunning woman and you're licking my pussy and serving me as my slave. I think it's safe to say I've succeeded.

Lisa sat on the floor, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Rachel, the woman she had come to see as a friend and confidante, was actually Richard, the man she had betrayed and mistreated for so long. And now, she was nothing more than Rachel's slave, a plaything to be used and discarded at will.

Lisa felt a wave of anger and resentment wash over her. How could Rachel do this to her? How could she manipulate and deceive her so easily? But even as these thoughts raced through her mind, she knew the answer: she had let it happen. She had let Rachel take control, and now she was paying the price.

Rachel stood up, a cruel smile on her lips. I hope you've learned your lesson, Lisa, she said, her voice dripping with venom. You may be my slave now, but you can always choose to leave. All you have to do is say the word, and I'll release you from your servitude. But I have a feeling you'll be back. You're a weak and selfish person, Lisa, and you'll always choose the easy way out. Just like you did with Richard.

Lisa looked up at Rachel, her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to argue, to defend herself, but she knew Rachel was right. She had always been weak, always been selfish. And now she was paying the price. She couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to break free from Rachel's control, or if she was destined to be a slave forever.

In the months that followed, Lisa sank deeper and deeper into her servitude. She did everything Rachel commanded, no matter how degrading or humiliating. She was Rachel's slave, and she knew it. She had lost all sense of self-worth, and she couldn't imagine a future beyond her life of servitude.

Lisa then did what her mistress told her to do. She first slid off her camisole then she undid her bra. Next she slid off her skirt and then finally slid down her panties. Lisa sat on the floor and then rubbed her clit until she came. Rachel just smiled she knew she had Lisa right where she wanted her.

[lizpaige]

sunday snippet 📦

i got nothing like cute/juicy this time around. i'm just trying to write more and sometimes that means it all ends up getting cut, but here's a snippet from the declan outsider pov pynch chapter 2!

The Lynch brothers were helping Ronan move into his first apartment in DC. When Adam transferred for the third time to Georgetown and his financial aid and scholarships no longer covered room and board, they agreed to find a place together. Declan offered to help set up some of the apartment tours, but in the end, Adam found this affordable one bedroom on his own. 

It was a secure access building with a doorman and 24 hour security. It was a 10 minute metro ride and 20 minute full commute to Georgetown, a little longer of a commute to his new auto body shop part time job, but not unreasonable. He somehow managed to convince Ronan to compromise and split the rent 50/50 despite Ronan’s barely-touched trust fund. He had two years left of college, two years where even though DC was closer to Singer’s Falls, neither of them could stand the time apart anymore. 

“Why do you have so much stuff?” Matthew whined, hefting a cardboard box onto the desk in the living room. 

“We’re giving you all the lightest boxes,” Declan winced at the loud bang as Ronan let go of his side of the couch. “We’re the ones doing all the work here.”

“And you had way more shit when I helped you move to DC,” Ronan groaned as he stretched his back before knocking off Matthew’s hat and ruffling his curls. “I didn’t complain.”

Matthew swatted him away. “Yes you did!”

“Did not!” 

Declan raised his gaze to the ceiling as his brothers fell into an exhausted half-hearted wrestling match on the couch. He decided to take the time to look around the place. 

Declan trusted Adam’s judgment more than Ronan’s on the affordability, security, and overall fit of the apartment. So when Ronan begrudgingly told them a move-in date, Declan offered to help them move in. Somewhat because Adam seemed hesitant about the extra cost of hiring movers and also because Declan wanted to scope out the place.

The apartment itself was a modest one bedroom, with a large windowless closet marketed as a “den” by the apartment complex “perfect for a home office,” but Declan thought that was a joke. The bathroom was clean, spacious. There was even a washer and dryer in-unit and a dishwasher in the kitchen. The complex itself was pet friendly, although Chainsaw was not with them currently. No doubt she was shredding up Declan’s couch in their Boston apartment with Jordan. 

In the bedroom, in the corner by the window, were three modest boxes and a potted plant on the window sill. These were not boxes that they moved in, so these must belong to Adam.

It was then that Declan really realized most, if not all, of the stuff they moved was Ronan’s. Adam, despite being on his own for years now, never accumulated a lot of stuff. Even when he would visit the Barns or Boston for a week-long holiday, he would only ever have a small duffle bag over one shoulder with just enough room for a change of clothes and whatever textbooks he needed to complete his homework. 

Even the furniture they brought upstairs - the old desk was from Ronan's room, that they basically let collect dust as soon as they were old enough to have their own desks at school. The couch was another Barns hand-me-down, as well as some of the kitchen items. 

It all belonged to Ronan, legally, so Declan didn’t speak to it. Just another observation he kept to himself for fear of starting another argument. Even though they didn’t argue as much anymore, they still happened to fight. That was always going to be inevitable with the eldest Lynch brothers. Declan just knew how to avoid the landmines with a higher survival rate now.

[pinkchangelingdemon]

Dealing with demons in a basement isn't is the best idea

This is the story of sweet naive Mark and his friend Michael.

A mortal month ago, Michael was helping his friend Mark store the christmas decorations in the basement of the buidling where Mark lived with his mother, and they "accidentally" summoned a demon. At first they thought he was the hot dude Mark's mother pays rent every month, I mean, I looked exactly like an exact naked copy of that stud but my eyes gave me away. You know, when I'm weak, even if I shapeshift, they are still red and glow.

You should have seen their faces! they couldn't keep their eyes away from the snake hanging between my legs. They were almost hipnotized by it. So when I offered them to make a deal, to give them the ability to possess hot dudes like me... while of course teasing them stroking that enormous dick... the fools said yes without hesitation.

After that, I dramatically vanished laughing while turning into a red mist.

If it wasn't for both of them being there with me, they would have thought they went crazy.

Back at Mark's house... of course I followed them inside that horrible building... well, they were still processing what just happended when they heard a knock in the door. Mark was the one to open it.

It was a plumber, sent by my lovely friend, the landlord.

He was a young and fit plumber, maybe my friend had a "personal interview" with him before sending him to that floor. Hehe

What? I am a lust demon what do you expect?

Ugh your are the worst! The point is while Mark was with the plumber, Michael was alone, falling asleep after carrying so many boxes. So a few whispers in his ear on how to use his new power and... the plumber started coughing.

Mark was about to call for help, but before he could do it, the plumber started to undress in front of him.

"what the fuck!?""It worked, Mark","M...Michael?" "Oh fuck his dick is HUGE!"

No more words were needed. The three of them made their way inside the house, were a innocent plumber helped two twenty years old nerds loose their virgnity betweed moans. Well, yeah, of course the plumber enjoyed it! After all, it was his dick the one used to make that horny nerd scream! But he also loose something that day, money! hahaha!

But here's the thing...after the first round, Mark suggested if he could top the plumber straight ass. Michael said no.

Other idea popped his mind, maybe let Mark borrow the body for a while. Same answer, no.

They both got annoyed, argued until Michael left still inside the plumbers body.

They fighted and fighted and fighted. He used to be a shy kind guy, but after possessing the plumber he was mad with lust. My bad, I guess.

Every time Mark said he was going to possess someone, Michael possessed them first and made Mark his bitch.

No, he wasn't into it and got tired. So after one loud discussion inside the bodies of two gym hunks, they split up.

...

Last week, to Mark's surprise Michael called him. But when he answered instead of his effeminate voice, on the other side was a masculine voice and he was crying.

After helping him calm down, he explained everything to Mark.

I saw it, he was reckless. He was trying to possess one of the guys from a basketball team during their practice but the coach saw him coughing. He wasted no time and kissed him trying to do the Heimlich maneuver, but when he felt the coach lips, they lost consciouness.

After that he was stuck as Mr. Grayson, the coach... What? There hasn't been a situation like that in three mortal centuries!

Even with his meaty and strong body, Michael couldn't pretend. Yeah, he was consumed by lust... but living other mortal's life was too much for the dumbass. He couldn't even look at his wife!so he moved to one of the apartments in that cursed building where his friend lived. Yeah, where I was trapped by that bitch!

Everything was going according to my plan.

He had no money, so I convinced my friend, the landlord, to find another way for the coach ro "pay him"...

Of course they fucked, stupid! The whole building heard the moans every time the landlord's cock penetrated the virgin ass of the coach. I even took control of my friend to feel it first hand, and made that horny bitch scream.

After that, Michael instead of becoming one of my lust servants, he became a bitter prick. After all he lost his ability to possess other people, while his friend was having the time of his life.

Envy demons, right?

He quit his job as coach and the gym, after all he didn't know how to do shit. So his days consisted on eating, watching TV, masturbating and being bossy with his fool friend Mark.

"Bring me beer, bring me pizza, fix the wifi..." oh, Mark was furious. He even attracted a rage demon!

It only took a week. Michael was drunk and threw a bottle at Mark's face. Luckily I turned him intangible.

He was furious. He charged against the burly body of the coach, ignoring he was still intangible.

You already know the result, uh?

After coughing for a whole minute he was in control of coach Grayson and Michael too.

Before he could have second thoughts the doorbell rang.

It was my horny landlord ready for the payment of the second week, masturbating in front of him. Ah, I picked him well.

"Ready for round two" he said before entering the apartment, where again he fucked without mercy the coach now controlled by sweet naive Mark. With every penetration, Mark, Michael and coach Grayson moaned.

They didn't last long against my good servant. While a torrent of cum was liberated from their shared dick. I made sure to seal these two fools inside the body of their coach.

Clever, right?

Now every time they fuck, every time they moan, every time Mark have a horny thought, their three souls combined feed me their lust.

So... Who's paying this round?

.........................................................

Check out how the landlord was possessed by one of his tenants! Here:

[ivecomeforsouls]

Hello to all Linked Universe Fans on Tumblr. Please give me feedback on my first Fanfiction. Let's me know if I should keep writing. Thank you!

----------

Summary: The portal splits off the Chain into mostly there own eras. Wind fights the war if ages, Wild heads off on his second adventure, Time has kids, ect, and they all reconvene five years later to continue there adventure.

I only have one chapter ready at the moment. Do I continue with this story idea or try another one?

----------

Chapter One- Final Watch

Legend had the final watch that night. As he sat not-so-comfortably on a stump that very courteously had decided make its sharper sections known, a small, white portal appeared just behind the sailor.

Legend drew his weapons and shook Time awake, who then proceeded to pull out his own sword and kick Twilight.

"Get up!"

"Out of bed! Weapons out!" Captain ordered as he quickly climbed out of bed. "We've never seen this kind of..." he faltered. He was about to say something more when the portal came and swallowed Wind whole.

"Hyrule! Move!" Legend shot towards him and yanked him backward and away from the portal that had shown up behind him. "Do you recognize these portals? That question had been directed to Warrors, but he was still in a frenzy over Wind.

"Wild!" Time and Twilight shouted in unison and began to pull him out of a portal. As they were doing so, Hyrule was ripped from his arms and through the white circle, and Four's yelp was heard from across camp as he, too, vanished without a trace. Without a trace. At least they were all keeping there stuff. A shout of surprise sounded from Time, but the Captain was too late. He'd already fallen through.

"Who's still here?" Warriors asked as he help Twilight hold onto Wild.

"You, me, Wild, and Twilight." Legend answered.

A loud snore escaped Sky's blanket, and it immediately diapeared on a flask of white light. The Captain did the same and Wild fell through before he noticed that Twilight wad missing. Legend let the portal take him, but he did not allow himself to go unprepared.

----------

No preparation had been necessary. All of his belongings were sprawled across his living room floor, and Ravio was sitting up groggily from where he had fallen asleep at a desk covered in books and maps.

"Mr. Hero?" Ravio yawned. "Welcome home. I have some new deals on display if you'd like to check them out."

"No! Shut up or I'll make you start paying rent!" Legend ran through the event in his mind, attempting to figure out exactly what do next but to no avail. Ravio was fully awake now, and realized that Legend came alone and without the chain.

"Is it over? The adventure?" Ravio asked quietly.

Legend shook his head. "It couldn't be. We didn't do anything. At least, nothing that could have pulled it to a close."

Legend spent the next couple hours talking to Ravio about what happened, and what it could mean.

"So we are absolutely clueless." Legend let out a defeated sigh.

"So it would seem Mr. Hero." Ravio paused for a moment. "Didn't you tell me once about an Orical?"

"Which one? There are three."

"I recall you called her Nayru. The orical of ages? If anyone would be able to provide answers about what's happening in different ages, I think it would be her."

"True. Nayru could probably give me some answers, though I'm not sure if she'd be able to provide something helpful."

They sat there for a moment in silence. Except for Ravio who had slowly made his way back to bed and was lying there suspiciously still, and particularly quiet.

Home | Next Chapter

[1004thinkr]

three summers — kmg & yjh

Jeonghan thought it took three summers for Mingyu to fall in love with him. Mingyu thinks it took three heartbeats.

↪︎ kim mingyu x yoon jeonghan

↪︎ word count: 2.4k

↪︎ tags: friends to lovers, angst??, slow SLOW burn, mingyu is a serial yearner, mingyu's pov, jeonghan is perfect but a little slow lol, me being a serial yapper ...

[** dashes are for time skips; slashes separate independent conversations!]

–

“Mingyu, I told you, Japanese vending machines are just different. You can’t just shake them the way you do back home,” Jeonghan sighed, crossing his arms. 

While Jeonghan has always had his cheat codes in life, he scratched his head at the sight of Mingyu trying to trick his way into getting a can of soda under the sun’s scorching heat.

Mingyu, Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Chan decided to go on a trip to Japan before their junior year of college started. After having worked more overtime shifts than one could possibly ever need, all of them were able to book their flights, eat decent meals, and see the most breathtaking views as they wandered around the city.

Being a four-person friend group, they would inevitably split into pairs — with Seungcheol and Chan bonding over partying until the morning, then sleeping in until noon, both Jeonghan and Mingyu were left with themselves, which happened quite often anyway. But Mingyu couldn’t help but think there was something about this particular summer. He’d spent summers with Jeonghan plenty of times before, having lived in the same town for nearly all of his life. But what do you do when your best friend’s in a stupid, cute little ponytail because he had grown his hair out too long, and now it was too hot to ever wear it down?

Regaining some composure from yet another onslaught of silly-thoughts-about-my-best-friend, Mingyu tried his hand at the vending machine once more. “I’m sure they’re all built the same, like with similar mechanisms and all, this one’s just extra sturdy but…” Mingyu cut himself off as he turned his head toward the boy next to him, his own lips forming the smile he clearly knew Jeonghan was trying to hold back.

“But what? Why are you smiling like that? Go on, keep on trying!” Jeonghan encouraged him, sarcasm seeping through his voice as he tried to keep his laughter at bay. “Or… we could just go to a 7/11.” Jeonghan quickly reached for Mingyu’s hand, lacing his fingers with Mingyu’s like it was a force of habit. Mingyu’s hand stayed loose — frozen, even — until he gave in. And that’s when he felt it.

Thump.

Surely, it must have just been how hot it was that day. Mingyu thought that anyone would have an increased heart rate under this much sun, and it must be another long walk to find a 7/11. That was precisely the reason why —

Oh. It was just by the corner, almost right next to where the vending machines were. And Jeonghan’s hand felt … nice.

–

Awoken by the smoke alarm — the smoke alarm — at 7:00 in the morning, housemates Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Chan sleepily found themselves in their shared kitchen, watching Jeonghan make what seems to be breakfast. It was the last week of summer before their senior year of college, and apparently, Jeonghan wanted to kick it off by cooking a meal for them.

“We pay all this rent and for what? For the smoke alarm to be going off when this is clearly normal for what I’m cooking?” Jeonghan said in exasperation. With a spatula in one hand, and, well, a fan in the other, the rest of the boys weren’t so sure if they could agree with Jeonghan. Not when they walked in on him vigorously fanning two pans at once.

“You burned it, Han, the smoke alarm detects that,” Seungcheol explained calmly, taking the materials away from the boy across from him. “We could just whip something up later, maybe at a more reasonable time.”

“No!” Jeonghan contested, looking at both Chan and Mingyu with the biggest doe eyes. “You’ll all go back to sleep, and then everyone will wake up at, what, 3 PM? Only for Cheol to leave the place immediately to get to yet another booty call! Chan will make some sort of protein shake again and rush to the gym, while I know Mingyu would definitely —”

“I mean,” Mingyu interrupted, “I could help cook now.”

Jeonghan took another look at the pans behind him, then turned his body to Mingyu’s tall, sleepy figure once again. Jeonghan meant to say that Mingyu would definitely help out, unlike the rest of the guys.

“Now that’s a friend right there!” Jeonghan announced, earning a scoff from Chan and Cheol. The two of them shuffled back into their rooms, leaving Mingyu and Jeonghan in the kitchen.

“It’s a bit unbelievable that you managed to burn bacon and pancakes, Jeonghan. These are pretty easy to make, you just --”

“We could just make an omelet,” Jeonghan said calmly, causing Mingyu to scratch the back of his neck.

“But there’s some batter left, Han,” Mingyu sighed, taking ahold of the bowl of pancake batter on the counter. He shook his head at Jeonghan with a confused expression, one Mingyu would usually make whenever Jeonghan opted for the easier plan, even if it didn’t make much sense at the moment.

“I know,” Jeonghan said, taking the bowl from Mingyu’s hands. “We can keep it in the fridge and use it up tomorrow. We could just make an omelet --”

“I can make the pancakes, it’s no big deal,” Mingyu smiled, taking the bowl from Jeonghan’s hold once again, even wrapping an arm around it, just so he could get on with the pancakes. Jeonghan heaved a sigh as he pried out the bowl from Mingyu’s arms, the smaller boy having a hard time against the grip Mingyu had on a bowl of pancake batter.

“Christ, Jeonghan, let’s just get started with these, please! It’s not like we can’t make it again–”

“Gyu, let go,” Jeonghan laughed, “I’m insisting on making omelets because, as I said earlier, Chan will rush to the gym by the time he wakes up. It’s easier to cook, we can wake him up in, like, fifteen minutes. A more reasonable time now. And I also think this is better protein. Compared to whatever he shakes in some bottle when he runs out the door every damn morning.” Jeonghan finally got to put the abused bowl of batter in the fridge, grabbing eggs and other ingredients afterward.

Thump.

Jeonghan, where does this tenderness come from? Mingyu can barely count the times Jeonghan was able to light up an entire place with words he’s sure Jeonghan could never understand the weight of. Sometimes, the words that slip out of Jeonghan’s mouth while washing some dishes or doing laundry get to be the same words imprinted in Mingyu’s mind. 

In the most mundane moments, he would find the remarkable. In simplicity and routine, he would find Jeonghan with his heart on his sleeve, while Mingyu had his heart lodged in his throat. Jeonghan, where does this tenderness come from? And will you always have some for me?

/

“I feel like I was a bad person. Like, locking myself up in my room like that as a teenager just because my dad raised his voice at me? Pathetic.” Mingyu laughed, wiping the rest of the empty glasses. 

“You weren’t a bad person, Gyu, you were fifteen. Those are entirely different things.” Jeonghan smiled in response, giving Mingyu a pat on the back. “I’ll go on my walk now! See ‘ya in a bit.”

/

“Cereal is so expensive now. If I could buy, like, ten of these boxes in one grocery trip, that’s when I know I’ve made it,” Jeonghan chuckled as he checked the price difference among the boxes of cereal in the aisle. Mingyu was in charge of pushing the cart, as always.

“Tell me about it. But I bet you’ll get to buy like .. twenty of these raw organic honey oats stuff. You’ll be that successful!” Mingyu cheered, turning back to give the other boy a playful punch in the arm.

“Hopefully you’d still be pushing the cart for me by then. That would be a lot of cereal.” Jeonghan responded, walking past Mingyu to look for, well, cheaper alternatives.

/

“Mingyu, d’you ever get that weird feeling in your chest when there are things you can say, but just … shouldn’t? Sometimes I feel like we’re too old to be holding back. There should be some other way to share at least a little bit of our feelings.” Jeonghan rambled, putting on his cap as he kept his keys in his pocket.

“Yeah… yeah. I get you. What’s this about?” Mingyu asked.

“Nothing in particular. Just a thought. I’ll get going now, this extra shift might just kill me.”

-

Three of the boys were in charge of the heavy lifting. And Jeonghan being Jeonghan, flashed a smug smile every now and then. Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Chan insisted that they didn’t need movers to help pack away their college apartment. Four – well, three – boys were enough. Jeonghan, on the other hand, kept reminding them that there were also four flights of stairs.

“If you could just help out,” Seungcheol huffed, glancing at Jeonghan, “That would be neat.”

Jeonghan nodded, taking what seemed to be the lightest box of them all.

“Man, I can’t believe we’re leaving this place,” Jeonghan uttered quietly.

“I know. You guys took me in like a fucking cult, you know that?” Chan laughed, looking at Jeonghan fondly as he followed Seungcheol down the stairs.

Jeonghan went back inside the almost empty apartment to check if Mingyu was done packing. The six-foot-two man houses a lot of sentimentality in him, he’d be surprised if Mingyu wasn’t putting every corner of the house into one of his boxes.

“Gyu, ready to go?” Jeonghan asked, knocking on the door to Mingyu’s room. He took a peek and found Mingyu lying flat in his bed, all of his boxes sealed and ready.

“Yeah, just… Just give me a minute. I realized something and I think I’m spiraling,” Mingyu grinned, looking up at the ceiling.

“What is it? Is it the post-grad anxiety?” Jeonghan asked with genuine curiosity.

“No, but I think that’s scheduled to happen next week,” Mingyu snickers. “I just realized this is summer is not a summer-before-anything type of summer. It’s literally just a hotter time of the year. Which is crazy to me, because all of our summers have always been something before whatever year of college.” Mingyu explained.

Jeonghan looked at him with the most caring eyes, clearly endeared with how Mingyu was already nostalgic about a phase of life that had just ended a week ago, when they all graduated.

“I get you. There’s not much to this one, but that’s also something,” Jeonghan responded as he looked around the room, earning him an even more attentive Mingyu, sitting up to look at the boy across his bed. “Like, this is finally a summer that doesn’t have to be anything. There’s just more sun and sweat and sunscreen, which isn’t all that bad too, you know.”

“Oh, good point. But aren’t you just a bit sad about it?”

“Of course I’m a bit sad about it. But then it’ll just get too cold eventually, and I’d always remember this as the summer when it was warm and that I’d want it back. If it gets too hot, then I’d think of the winter. It all goes on and on from here. Which I think is pretty nice. We just slow down as seasons change.” Jeonghan elaborated, taking a look at Mingyu who was in awe of his simple, yet profound thoughts. “I’ll head downstairs now. I’ll ask Chan to help you with your boxes.”

Thump.

It just goes on and on from here, but I’ll have this summer at my own pace. Hopefully, you could stay a bit longer, too.

-

In all those moments, Jeonghan always knew when to walk away. When to move forward, when to leave his words. Some were found in the shared kitchen in their college apartment five years ago. There were others nestled by the shelves in the grocery stores. A lot were just hanging by their doorstep, wishing Jeonghan would take them with him for once. His hands have always been empty anyway, what harm would a little love do?

“You knew, Han. Quit the act, you can’t do this to me. Help me out here,” Mingyu was practically begging. He hated it.

For the first time in his life, he demanded noise from Jeonghan. After loving and knowing him in the quiet, how does he prove to him that he’d love him in the noise, too? That he’d take in whatever Jeonghan says like skin on wet cement — there will be marks and they might last forever. And that he’d see it and hear it so often that it becomes second nature. But only if he’d speak.

“Mingyu, I don’t know what’s there to hear from me. I don’t think it would matter if there was anything that came to mind.”

“They will matter to me now as much as they would have mattered to me then. You knew I loved you. I’m sure.” Mingyu insists, trying his best to calm himself down.

“I didn’t know what to do with that love. I still don’t.”

“You accept it,” Mingyu says. “You accept it, and see if you love me back. I was just hoping you’d have an answer by now.”

“I loved you in the ways I knew how,” Jeonghan takes a breath in. “But probably not in the ways you wanted.”

Mingyu looks at him bewilderedly as he pieces Jeonghan’s words together. It’s true, Jeonghan’s love for him was a constant work in progress. Always rebuilt and destroyed and rebuilt again until another version of love existed. Jeonghan thought he never got it right. It’s been three summers after all.

“How would you know? You never asked,” Mingyu states. Jeonghan places a hand on his arm in an attempt to talk Mingyu through this.

“Even if I asked, do you think I’d ever get it right?”

Mingyu takes the hand placed on his arm, lacing it with his. Jeonghan, stunned by this display of affection, looks away from Mingyu. He almost misses the way Mingyu’s face softens at his avoidance. What Mingyu wants to say is that Jeonghan should stop fixating on finding the best way to love him because they’ll figure it out together anyway. He wants to say that Jeonghan should be brave about his feelings for once. He wants to question why Jeonghan never heard the way his heart thumped every time they held hands, including right now.

Instead, Mingyu kisses him. After three quick heartbeats and three quick summers. In Mingyu’s lips, there is patience; in Jeonghan’s, there is relief.

“You already got it right the first time.”

yay hi if you made it to the end! thank u for reading <3

[pinktyuns]

chapter one - he’s hot!

series : shoegaze sex

genre : roommate!taehyun x beomgyus bsf & lead guitarist of a band!reader

word count : 3512

warnings : cursing, mentions of one piece, so many mentions of avatar the last airbender, beomgyu is very beomgyu, pink tyun!! a mention of kevin de bruyne (?) taehyun is stressed, a ladybird reference (iykyk) 

a/n : here is the first chapter!! i am literally just getting started here lol i hope u love her im so excited for whats 2 come!! <3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Taehyun, are you even listening to me?” Beomgyu asked, causing Taehyun to look up from his laptop at the clearly annoyed brown haired boy glaring at him from across their shared kitchen table.

“To be honest, I wasn’t,” Taehyun mused, running a hand through his pale pink head, “this calculus is kicking my ass.”

Beomgyu sighed (quite dramatically, Taehyun wanted to add), “I was asking what you would think about someone moving into our spare room, and splitting rent three ways instead of two.”

Taehyun was interested now, the idea of another roommate in his and Beomgyu’s small, 3 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment was not something they had ever thought about. Currently they used the third bedroom as a guest room/storage; it mostly being a guest room for a drunk Jeon Jungkook who would fall asleep and was unable to make it back to his own bed most Friday nights, a tired and stressed from school Yang Jungwon, or Choi Soobin, who was pulling yet another anime marathon with them (Taehyun still didn’t know why Soobin and Beomgyu thought they could catch up on all of One Piece from the beginning, including filler, over one weekend but hey, you couldn’t say they weren’t ambitious). 

Taehyun mused, thinking it would be nice to split rent three ways instead of two, but he liked his life with Beomgyu. Beomgyu, although not being the quietest, cleanest roommate, seemed to be a perfect match for Taehyun, and they’ve lived together since freshman year when they were placed in that shitty, drafty dorm together, becoming fast friends and have chosen to live together ever since.��

Taehyun wondered how a third person adding to their life would affect his day-to-day activities and habits. A complete stranger coming into their life, who knows if they were clean or messy, if they were loud or quiet, if they were a goddamn serial killer or not. 

“Well, who would it be?” Taehyun asked, “Like a random stranger?”

Beomgyu grinned across the table, his eyes lighting up, “No, you know my best friend y/n, right?”

Taehyun nodded slowly, “I’ve never met her, but yeah, you’ve definitely mentioned.” 

“Okay so,” Beomgyu started, leaning onto the kitchen table, “she’s transferring universities, something about ours being better for her major or whatever, but she really doesn’t wanna live in the dorms and I definitelysaidshecouldliveherewithuspleasedon’tbemadIloveyou!” Beomgyu clasped his hands together at Taehyun, who was trying to understand his roommates rushed words, “You already told her she could live here?”

Taehyun wasn’t mad, just confused, he’s never met you but heard so much about you and your guys’ high school escapades from Beomgyu, the most memorable being planting trees in the football field simply because a football player had rejected you. 

Beomgyu shook his head, fluffy brown hair swishing around him, “I didn’t like, say she could but I definitely didn’t say she couldn’t.” 

“Oh my god, you’re hopeless,” Taehyun sighed at his friend, returning his attention to his laptop, sending Beomgyu into a panic, thinking that Taehyun had just ignored his question of you moving into their place even though he knew you were gonna arrive next weekend anyway.

“Wait!!” Beomgyu exclaimed, “before you get all sucked back into your weird hard math, is it cool or not?”

Taehyun sighed, thinking about the situation at hand, thinking about the pictures Beomgyu has of the pair of you from your high school graduation framed in his room; Beomgyu looking younger but with the same eyes, the pair of you beaming at the camera as you held onto each other in your caps and gowns. 

Taehyun thought about the film photo Beomgyu has next to the graduation one: you at the beach, the sun setting at your back and a soft smile on your face as you look at the camera, wind blowing your hair around your face, your eyes almost teasing him, they had a playful sparkle in them. 

Taehyun always thought you looked soft, it matched Beomgyu’s softness. He remembered when Beomgyu turned 21 and you, stuck in a chemistry lab, couldn’t make it to his birthday. He remembered Beomgyu’s disappointment until a carefully wrapped package arrived at the door, unveiling a gorgeous silver Leica camera with a handwritten note from you to your best friend. You seemed kind, and loving. Soobin had always agreed to that, also growing up with you and Beomgyu. Taehyun knew you often offered Soobin girl advice over the phone, and when he got too in his head you guys would have Studio Ghibli marathons over a Discord call. 

Soobin and Beomgyu had always spoken so highly of you, it was almost like you were some urban legend in the apartment. Taehyun wondered if you moving in would really be that bad, and honestly, at that moment, he didn’t think so.

He didn’t lift his pink head up from his laptop, “It’s cool, Beomgyu. I have zero problem with it.”

Beomgyu leapt out of his chair, pumping his fist in the air like goddamned Kevin De Bruyne when he scored a goal for Manchester City, “YES! Oh my god I need to go call y/n right now!”

And just like that, he was gone, running out of the kitchen and into his room with a soft slam of the door, leaving Taehyun with his thoughts and his calculus.

———————————————————————-

“Do you think it’s a good idea?” Taehyun asked Jungwon a week later, as Jungwon sat at Taehyun’s desk as Taehyun himself lay spread out on his made bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Jungwon eyed his best friend, looking away from his laptop, “Is what a good idea?”

Taehyun sighed as he continued to stare at the blank ceiling, “Y/n moving in. I don’t know why but I’m suddenly having doubts about her living here.”

Jungwon cocked his head, dark hair moving, eyes regarding Taehyun, “Are you having doubts because she moves in tomorrow and it’s all you’ve been thinking about?”

Taehyun hummed softly, “Maybe.”

There were a few beats of soft silence, which was a common occurrence between Taehyun and Jungwon’s friendship, both of them being on the quieter side.

The silence and Taehyun’s intense ceiling staring was broken by a soft knock at the door and a deep voice following it, “Hey, it’s me. Beomgyu let me in.”

Taehyun got up at the sound of Kim Namjoon’s voice to open the door to reveal their insanely tall, buff friend. Namjoon was the biggest out of all of them (even if Jungkook insisted he wasn’t) but he was somehow the gentlest, soft spoken and kind, insanely passionate about his Masters in art history. 

He was also the oldest, the rest of them constantly going to him for advice or just to rant, he was always there.

“Hey Joon,” Jungwon mused from the desk as Taehyun went back to his bed to brood, “Tyuns having some sort of crisis again.”

Namjoon chucked as Taehyun glared up at the ceiling, “I’m not having a crisis. I’m just unsure.” 

Namjoon shrugged his messenger bag off by the desk, sinking onto the beanbag chair next to it, “Unsure about what?”

Taehyun sighed yet again, “Beomgyu’s best friend y/n is moving in to the spare room tomorrow, I’ve never met her, and suddenly I’m wondering if her living here is really a good idea or not.”

 “Y/n?” Namjoon repeated your name, sending Taehyun nodding, “Yeah.”

“I’ve met her, like twice,” Namjoon said, causing Taehyun to lift his head off the bed to look at his friend, pink hair following, “She’s really cool, kind of quiet but also like Beomgyu, you can tell. I remember we talked about music.”

“I don’t know if I can handle her being like Beomgyu or not,” Taehyun said softly, meaning no harm to his roommate and close friend.

Still typing away, Jungwon asked, “Why not?”

“It’s just,” Taehyun started, “I feel like Beomgyu and I mesh so perfectly, you know. He’s just so Beomgyu, like he’s loud and out there and everyone loves hin and he’s kinda messy but in an endearing way and the apartment is never quiet with him here and I’m not like that so I think with the two of us it’s just perfect but what if she’s just like him and I can’t handle two fucking Beomgyus.”

 Namjoon held a soft hand in the air, “Okay, first, I get it. You’re stressed about the living together thing, and you really like what you have already. Second, I don’t think you’re realizing that even though they can be really alike from being friends for so long, there’s no way y/n’s gonna be exactly like Beomgyu, you know. She’s definitely gonna be different but that brings me to a whole other thing: is it possible you’re stressed about this so much right now because you’re so used to just ever living with Beomgyu, and you’re lowkey afraid of change?”

Taehyun laid back on the bed, thinking about his friends words in silence for what felt like five minutes.

“You killed him,” Jungwon joked from the desk, making Namjoon chuckle softly and Taehyun roll his eyes.

“I think you’re right, probably,” Taehyun said, “I think that over the past years I’ve just gotten so used to just Beomgyu and comfortable with just Beomgyu so the thought of someone else coming in is like daunting almost.”

Namjoon nodded from the beanbag, running a hand through his dark hair, “That’s not even a bad thing, like that’s a totally normal thing. I really think you and y/n will get along, from the two times I met her, she seemed totally cool and way calmer than Beomgyu.”

Jungwon giggled at that, “When I met her she was making fun of Beomgyu and when Soobin started laughing she called him a weeb.”

Taehyun smiled at that, silently grateful for his friends for easing his nerves.

“Thanks guys,” he smiled at them, “I needed that.”

Jungwon smiled back, shrugging his shoulders, “What are friends for?”

Namjoon nodded, agreeing, “I second that. Anyways, Super Smash? I’m still looking for a rematch because Won totally kicked my ass last time.”

Jungwon smirked, closing his laptop, “It’s not my fault you’re slow as hell on the buttons.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes, “Yeah whatever. Tyun, you in?”

The pink haired boy nodded, smiling as his friends continued bickering about the game as they fired up the Switch.

———————————————————————-

“Oh my god, it’s y/n!!!” Beomgyu practically screeched when a soft knock on the door came, sounding through the apartment, sending Beomgyu to his feet sprinting towards it.

Taehyun couldn’t help but smile at his friend's happiness, even though his biceps were sore from cleaning out the spare bedroom. The whole time he and Beomgyu spent cleaning the spare bedroom for you Beomgyu gave him what he called “The 411,” on you.

Taehyun listened quietly as Beomgyu told story after story, but somehow failed to mention exactly what kind of roommate you would be.

Taehyun still sat on the couch pondering this, Avatar the Last Airbender playing softly on the TV in front of him as he heard the door swing open and Beomgyu shriek, “Y/N!!!”

All Taehyun could hear from his designated spot on the couch as loud, joyous laughter, both from Beomgyu and you. Taehyun listened to your laugh as Katara argued with Aang onscreen, deciding he liked the sound of it. It was loud and full of happiness. As he sat on his designated spot on their old couch, listening to Beomgyu bombard you with questions, he couldn't help but yet again wonder how you were going to fit in here, like take the couch for instance. He and Beomgyu both sat on opposite ends of the couch so they could lean on the armrests, what if you wanted to sit where Taehyun did?

As he bore holes from staring into Katara on the TV, Taehyun’s thoughts were interrupted by Beomgyu with a loud, “Taehyun!”

The pink haired boy looked up from the couch to see an insanely happy, beaming Beomgyu, and you, standing right next to him, smiling softly.

He regarded you, dressed in oversized black denim shorts and a flowy white tank top, chunky necklaces adorning your chest and rings over your fingers, Doc Marten sandals covering your feet (Beomgyu definitely rushed you in before you had time to take your shoes off). As he made eye contact with you, the photo of you at the beach in Beomgyu’s room popped into his head. Your eyes, full of life and mischief almost, staring into him, he felt as if he was going to crumble under your gaze. The soft smile on your face grew wider as Taehyun stood up from the couch, seeing how he almost towered over you.

“It’s nice to actually meet you,” you said with a breathless laugh, sticking out a hand for Taehyun to shake, “I’m y/n.”

Taehyun grabbed your hand and shook it, noticing it was warm and you had a pretty firm grip, looking down at you, “That’s weird, you shake hands.”

You shrugged, releasing his hand, “I meet a lot of people, force of habit.”

Taehyun, who Jungwon deemed having a staring problem, continued boring holes into you with his gaze, but you stared right back, that same soft smile and glint in your pretty eyes looking right back at him.

“Your stuff!” Beomgyu exclaimed, breaking the weird moment, “Where is it?”

You smiled at Taehyun again before turning to your best friend, “Most of it’s in the car, Yeonjun and Hueka are coming tomorrow in the van to drop off my vinyl if that’s cool.”

Taehyun noticed that when you asked that question you weren’t really asking Beomgyu, you were asking him. Looking up at him as you asked, making it seem like you knew Beomgyu would say it was okay and you wanted his approval. Taehyun really appreciated that, sending you a small nod.

Beomgyu, though, answered, “Yeah of course! I haven’t seen them in forever!”

You laughed, that same pure, happy sound ringing throughout Taehyuns ears as Beomgyu wrapped his arm around you, pulling you back to the door to go get your stuff from your car.

Once you guys were out of the apartment, the front door still open, Taehyun let out a long sigh he didn’t know he was holding.

It seemed that at this moment he had been worried about nothing, you seemed nice and chiller than Beomgyu, and you actually took his feelings into account. It was just green flags so far.

“Hey,” your voice came from the open door, your head peeking in, “I was wondering if I could get some help carrying some of my shit, Beomgyu’s lowkey weak.”

Taehyun laughed, walking over to you at the door, “He’s probably just gonna complain too.”

You let out a small giggle, looking up at the much taller boy, “Finally someone else who understands.”

You guys walked downstairs together in a comfortable silence, no awkwardness there, Taehyun deciding that maybe you would be a good roommate.

———————————————————————

“Yunjin, you don’t understand my problem!” you whisper-yelled over the phone, “he’s hot!”

“No, I just don’t get how that’s a problem,” Yunjin replied, you could practically see her rolling her eyes.

You let out a loud exhale and flopped onto your bed, breathing in aggressively, the white bed sheets smelling like boy, and much of it wasn’t Beomgyu, you knew what he smelled like even after months of not seeing each other. It had to be Taehyun. The whole apartment was just Taehyun. Beomgyu you were used to but those were not Beomgyus earthy Japanese cyprus, jasmine, and spice scented candles that seemed to be suffocating you whichever room you went in. And let’s not forget that the extra room you were taking was RIGHT next to Taehyun’s, who liked to leave his door open, the smell of him flooding into your room as you sorted your boxes. Your mind was reeling, there was no way there was a boy that attractive just living in this house with Beomgyu, no way.

“It’s a problem because he’s my roommate, and I have to see this insanely hot, buff, sweet, pink-haired, cute man every single day now and Beomgyu would probably kick my ass if he knew I thought that about Taehyun!”

Yunin snickered over the phone, “You really think Beomgyu could kick your ass?”

“That’s not the point,” you huffed, “What am I gonna DO?”

“I really don’t think you can DO anything,” she replied, some chatter in the background of the call, “I think you just have to recognize and accept that he’s hot and move on, just live with him.”

You flipped over to stare at the ceiling, boxes all around the floor surrounding you, laying in silence until Yunjin snapped over the phone, “No FUCKING way, Park Sunghoon, absolutely not, you are a goddamn menace to society.”

You could hear Sunghoon’s distinct laugh over the call as Yunjin continued to complain.

You smiled hearing the chatter of your friends over the phone, even though they were only like 20 minutes away now, it was weird talking on the phone and not just meeting at Sunghoons house.

“Listen, y/n,” Yunjin started, apparently done yelling at Sunghoon, “It’s really gonna be okay, just chill out, unpack your shit and get comfortable. It’ll all be okay, promise.”

You exhaled, feeling relief spread through your body at her words, “Thanks, Yunjin. What would I do without you?”

She giggled, “Die, probably.”

You rolled your eyes, “Oh my god, bye. I love you.”

“Love you,” she said sweetly before ending the call, most likely going to bother Sunghoon.

You sighed, sitting up on the bed and looking at the boxes around you, not looking forward to unpacking them.

———————————————————————

Much, much later that night, Taehyun was perched on the couch, Avatar the Last Airbender playing quietly in front of him yet again, and on the other side of the couch was a passed out Beomgyu, softly snoring.

Taehyun barely noticed you walking into the room, you’d been in the kitchen for about five minutes getting water, but he didn’t even see you there.

“I really think Zuko’s character arc was one of the best arcs in cinematic history,” your soft voice came from behind Taehyun, his head whipping around to see you leaning on the wall connecting the kitchen and the living room, glass of water in your hand, a huge gray hoodie that definitely was not yours adoring your frame, legs in black and white checkered pajama pants.

The light of the television lit up your face perfectly, frames dancing over your soft smile, Taehyun ignoring his stomach flipping and nodding, “It definitely was.”

You breathed a soft laugh, nodding your head towards your sleeping best friend, “I’m guessing this is normal, yeah?”

Taehyun turned his head to look at Beomgyu, mouth slightly open, head hung over his shoulder, brown hair messily framing his face, “Yeah, he’ll wake up at like two-ish and go start gaming with Soobin or Jungkook.”

You smiled softly, the pair of you smiling at the sleeping boy while listening to Sokka complain onscreen. 

“Is it cool if I join you?” you asked suddenly, “Avatar’s my favorite and I kinda wanna just chill.”

Taehyun nodded without a second thought, making you smile and breathe out a soft, “Be right back.”

Taehyun watched as you padded down the hall towards Beomgyus room, going in there just to return with a blanket and a pillow, coming back and lifting his sleeping head up softly to place the pillow underneath, draping the blanket over him.

Taehyuns earlier inner turmoil over where you would sit on the couch was over nothing apparently, because you casually sat down in the middle of the two, one arm leaning on Beomgyu as he slept. 

You were close to him, Taehyun released, running a hand through his pink hair as both of you watched the TV in silence. You were close enough to where he could smell your shampoo, he knew you had showered earlier. You smelled crisp and sweet, a little like poppies and pear, and rhubarb. You were close enough where you guys weren’t touching but he could feel your warmth. 

He heard a loud sigh, one that was definitely from Beomgyu and not you, to look over and see Beomgyu nuzzling into your shoulder under his blanket, your hand going up to scratch his head. 

You and Taehyun made eye contact and shared the smallest smile over the sleeping boy, you letting out a small giggle, both of you turning your attention back to the TV. 

It was nice and comforting sitting in silence with you, Taehyun thought, even though the only thing clogging his senses was the sweet smell of you. 

The pair of you (plus a passed out snoring Beomgyu) sat on the couch in the moonlight watching your show in silence, Taehyun deciding that maybe you moving in wasn’t gonna be so bad. 

 masterlist - next

[reggiellewellyn]

Full Name: Reginald Richard Llewellyn.

Nicknames: Reggie, Reg, Redgefund, The Nald, Dundee, Reggie Smalls, R-E-double-G-I-E.

Pronouns and Gender: He/Him, Cis Male.

Birthday: August 10th, 1991.

Birth place: Cardiff, Wales.

Time in Aurora Bay: Consistently from 2003-2009, on and off beyond that. Currently he’s been in town for 8 months as of Aug 2024.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Housing: Seabrook.

Occupation: Late Night Radio Host for 100.3 Pirate radio.

Family: Richard Llewellyn (Father), Bronwyn Llewellyn (Mother), Griff Lllewllyn (Older brother), Cynthia Llewellyn (Younger sister).

tw violence, injury // @aurorabayaesthetic

Second born of the Llewellyn brood, it was almost like Reginald Llewellyn was sent to test everything his parents had thought they knew about parenthood. As soon as he could walk, he could run headfirst (literally, on several occasions) into danger. As soon as he could talk, he could spin a yarn. He had a big imagination and an even bigger penchant for exaggerating when he knew he would be rewarded with attention for it. 

Where his parents and his older brother were academically gifted, Reggie was just loud. He liked to make a racket and to cause one, and he never stuck to a hobby for longer than a month. Drums lasted three weeks, football lasted two, karate made it three and a half weeks. 

His parents always found his everchanging whims charming, though his teacher’s rarely agreed. Reggie embodied the word average as a student, never excelling but not failing outright either. From reception right up to Year 8, he carved out a place for himself as the class clown, gaining frequent reprimands and trips to isolation from his teachers. The move from Cardiff to Aurora Bay hadn’t helped much in that department, he was exactly the same from middle school and all through high school. 

When the time came to start seriously considering college and what kind of life he wanted for himself after it, Reggie opted to take a gap year. That was how he found himself as a holiday rep in Ibiza from ages 18 to 22, with one year stretched into four in what felt like the blink of an eye, he knew that his promise to his mother that he would get a degree was just like half the things he said – empty air. He decided to travel instead, working odd jobs and making his way through central Europe on a series of trains. 

By 24, he was trekking through Asia and supporting himself in much the same way. By 26, he was Australia bound. He spent a year and a half down under, living with his then best friend Street Smith, a California native he had met while doing necessary farm work to keep his visa. It was in a bar in Sydney in December 2018 where Reggie’s smart mouth finally caught up with him and a disagreement over a pool table turned violent. After hurling some insults at the Aussie who he had exchanged words with, he ended up getting jumped in the alley beside the bar while trying to stumble his way to an Uber, which resulted in a scar on his right cheek from being bottled and lingering issues with headaches stemming from a concussion he got during the incident. 

That was the first and only Christmas back at Aurora Bay with his family Reggie ever missed. 

Rattled in the aftermath, Reggie was forced to take stock of his life so far and whether he had really made anything of it. Living in the moment had always been where he was most comfortable, but the carelessness he usually exhibited was frayed by a genuine fear experienced during the attack that he might not see the next one. 

Deciding to move back stateside, he and Street split rent on a shared room in Los Angeles where they spent time mulling what to do next. Over the years, both had amassed a decent following on their respective Instagrams from their travels, and the combination of the two of them sent both their engagements skyrocketing. 

After creating a successful dual TikTok account in 2020, they decided to listen to their audience’s demands and began to work on a podcast together. FaceTime Your Mom was an instant hit, the name serving a play on the fact both of them had been terrible at keeping up with their families when they had been solo travelers. Clipped versions of the YouTube recording of their podcast went viral from time to time, and everything seemed to be on the up for the pair. 

That was until their bust up in 2023, when Reggie walked out mid-recording of an episode of FYM and never came back. Street had wanted to recount what happened in Sydney as a storytime on an episode for months by then and each time Reggie refused and when he was blindsided with a mention of it mid-episode about an entirely different topic, he ended the podcast and the friendship then and there. 

Faced with uncertainty that was entirely his own doing, Reggie decided his best course of action was to go home. He showed up in Aurora Bay for Thanksgiving 2023 and hasn’t left since. He briefly crashed at his parents before finding his own digs in Seabrook with his best friend Fletcher, and he’s recently started a new gig as the late night host for 100.3 Pirate radio.

PERSONALITY.

+ goofy, adventurous, spontaneous.

- indecisive, scattered, unreliable.

FUN ADJACENT FACTS.

FaceTime Your Mom’s vibe pre it ending was very The Basement Yard vibes aka two dumb bitches just telling each other exactlyyyyy except into a podcast mic JSHGFSGHJ

every episode ended with “and don’t forget, FaceTime your mom”

the intro of it was a snippet of a deliberately shoddy and slightly more upbeat cover of Facetime with my Mom (Tonight) by Bo Burnham recorded by Reggie and Street. They promised a full cover for the 200th episode but the podcast didn’t get that far

Was officially diagnosed with ADHD at 31, though anyone who knew him well could have told him that just by being around him.

The Nald was Reggie’s short lived rap name. He uploaded to soundcloud for three months at 17 and he’s haunted by his digital footprint ever since.

Put on a pair of crocs for the first time and never looked back. Got the name Dundee from how often he wears them.

Absolutely loves a fun croc jibbitz

Is the absolute worst when it comes to keeping in contact. Loses his phone often, will reach out on strange numbers when he gets a replacement one.

Terrible texter.

Excess energy to the max, gets very restless if he has to be still for too long.

Has a bunch of tattoos from his travels.

A chancer through and through, has worked a bunch of jobs he’s completely unqualified for because he can talk the talk and it gets him everywhere.

Lies about the origin of his facial scar because he doesn’t like to talk about what happened to him. It ranges from plausible (took a spill in someone’s kitchen on a drunken night and hit the counter edge) to absurd (got side-swapped by a bear, you should see the bear).

Has found a way to survive on 5 hours sleep a night, far from ideal but since his attack he finds it difficult to drift off unless he’s exhausted or baked.

His party trick is perfectly pronouncing llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllanty (longest town name in wales). it’s where his welsh fluency starts and ends.

truly believes wales will win a world cup in his lifetime (delulu)

his favorite song is Want That Old Thing Back by The Notorious B.I.G

had a mohawk for 2 weeks in 2022

CURRENT CONNECTIONS.

roommate / best bud of @fletcher-bailey (and brother of his gf, cynthia)

spearheading the campaign to prove that aurora bay's own carole baskin merc'd her husband @yvonnesayler (no longer in game but still canon)

tiktok buds @jasrussell

reggie's somewhat unknown late night caller @delilahcarreno

best-friend's ex, (former?) friend of @macaulaymontgomery

long-term situationship @estherclements

sisterhood of da travelling lighter!!! @thevaleriaxortiz

high school / current friend of @priyaxdesai

gets mom friended hard by @themeixhuang / luna's personal colouring book with eyes

after midnight reef regular when @thecelestexzhao works

one night stand of @robinsantos

ibiza menaces with @peterbasara

sugar baby!!!!! 🤭🤑 of @the-nelson-quinn

next door nuisance to @laureljacobs

friend of @leomlarson

one time chauffeur of @maviscampbell

high school friend of @atticuscortes

friend of / one time co-host with @marivelasc

ex-boyfriend of @raelynnxyun

SPECIFIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

friends / ride or dies

a past serious relationship??? would need heavy plotting bc reg rarely does anything seriously but SJHGFSGHJ could be hella angsty and fun to explore and flesh out

frenemies/friends who only fuck with each other when they’re drunk and/or partying but on a normal day its like nah fuck you KJSHGH

connects he knows through his buddy fletcher

former co-workers / former bosses (he’s for sure worked some random jobs during prior stints of being in AB for longer than a week in between his travels)

folks from his travels!!!!! can be any sort of vibe, would love to plot out in full and can shift his specific location around to work hehe

people he’s gotten into fights with (he can be annoying as hell and never knows when to shut up and walk away)

ppl he gets high with (has some sleep issues following his attack and weed helps him to shut off)

mentor type vibe.

hookups, fwb, usual jazz.

GENERIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

connections wise he’s pretty much an open book right now, but some baseline ideas that can be springboarded off are:

friendly.

a best friend / ride or dies / close friends / childhood friends / pseudo-siblings / friends / drunk friends / new friends / former roommate / people he met on his travels / people from cali he was close to before he moved back home.

romantic

flirtationship / friends with benefits / one time hook ups / tinder matches / unrequited crush (can be either way) / exes from high school / exes from his twenties / exes on good terms.

antagonistic.

enemies / former (best) friends / exes on bad terms / frenemies / rivals / negative influence / people he grates on because he’s a lot.

[tworacoonsinabunnysuit]

Paris

So, I have this fantasy… Or maybe a dream. I don’t know. But hear me out: Two guys.

Wait, no. Don’t go just yet… Hear me out, ok?

Two guys, but not only in the sexual way. I mean a relationship with two guys. Maybe I’m poly. Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about… Maybe I’m very passionate about splitting the rent for three instead of two…

Would be like Paris! Of course, there is the Eiffel Tower… But there’s so much more than that!

Imagine this. When one of us travel for work, the other still has company.

And the three of us can live together. We could cook for each other. Or all of us cook together! I know myself… I’d probably kick both of them out of the kitchen and cook alone. Or maybe keep them around so we can drink and tell stories about our day.

Can you imagine having another person on your side in a “couple’s” argument? Of course, there’s always the downside of them teaming up against your opinion. But that’s life…

Think of the delightful secrecy, when the three of us are out dining, or having a chat over drinks. I hold hands with one of them over the table, while the other hand is entwined with the other’s finger over his knees. Hidden from judging eyes.

Sitting in the couch at the end of the day to watch a movie that took way too long to be decided because of the extra set of opinions. And maybe half an hour into the movie, I realize I’m watching it alone. Because one of them dozed off in shoulder. While the other is fast asleep with the head on my lap.

On some days, we decide that the best way to wind out of a busy week is make drinks and staying in with some music. We take turns dancing on half light in the middle of the living room. At some point, I’d of course had more to drink than I’m supposed to. So maybe I’d be the only one standing dancing. While they both watch. And they wonder how the hell life brought them to a situation like this… But yet, they rather this than anything else. The occasional confusion, the three way relationships discussion. We all rather all of this than not being in each other’s life.

In the next day, I’d wake up sandwiched between them both. While stretching, I’d probably wake up the one with the lighter sleep. He would pull me closer and kiss me good morning. And I would kiss him back. And we would start a slow morning sex… and it would quickly wake the other. That would join us this morning.

You know… like Paris. There’s everything else… But there’s always the Eiffel Tower.

[circus4apsycho8]

Hello!

I really enjoy all your writings and I saw that there was very little Jay so I decided to take my shot and request something for him.

If you had the chance to could you write a fluffy one shot of Jay where him and the reader are dancing.

They dance together and laugh and just have fun for a bit until a slow song comes up.

Them they just sway to the music in each other's arms, just enjoying each other's presence.

(Also, I am excitedly waiting for the next chapter of the Young Garmadon story. Can't wait for the update!)

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘! 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑! <𝟹 𝚒 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜! 𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚓𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏 :) 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍! 𝚒 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍!!

𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍: "𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢" 𝚋𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛

blue monday. | jay x reader

“I should really fix my sleep schedule.” 

The words tumble from your lips as you frown, staring at the pot of water in front of you. It rests on the eye of the stove, gradually warming up. Exhaustion laces your eyes, but you know you won’t be able to sleep. 

Plus, you’re hungry, and macaroni and cheese sounds delicious right about now. You eye the pack of cheese mix and box of noodles, eagerly waiting for the water to heat up. A few seconds later, you hear the oven beeping. Thankfully, you’ve prepared the dinosaur nuggets already, so you slip them inside the preheating oven, being sure to set a timer.

You decide that you’ll check in on your roommate, knowing that he’s probably up and tinkering away. Before you go, though, you grab a bottle of water from the fridge, already knowing that he’s probably dehydrated.

Sighing, you make your way through your apartment before stopping in front of his door, knocking a few times. “Jay?”

“Huh? Come in,” you hear him say. You push the door open, stepping inside. 

There sits Jay, stationed at his desk with some kind of robot on it. Tools lay scattered across the top. His red hair is wild and unkempt, but part of you finds it cute. 

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” you start, setting the bottle of water on his desk. “But I just wanted to tell you that I’m making mac and cheese and dino nuggets if you want some. Everything will be ready in about twenty minutes. Also, hydrate or I steal your kneecaps,” you instruct, pointing to the water bottle and staring at him sternly. 

He raises his hands in mock surrender, smiling softly as his blue eyes sparkle in the dim lighting. “That all sounds great. Can we watch Starfarer too? I could use a break from this damned thing,” he mumbles, gesturing to his robot. 

“Of course we can. The night is still young,” you joke. 

“Wait, what time is it?” he wonders, glancing around. “Ugh...where’d I put my phone?” 

“Almost three,” you reply. “And your phone is right there, on your pillow.” 

“Oh, thanks,” he responds. “Okay. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be out.” 

“Sounds good,” you say, smiling at him before you gently close his door. 

Your smile fades as you walk back into the kitchen, sighing as you enter it. You never thought you would click with someone as well as you did with Jay. He’s like your roommate soulmate. Or...something like that.  

And honestly? You’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t have feelings for him. By now, the two of you have been living together for almost a year. But that would just be weird, right? You couldn’t make things weird. You two are both busy as it is – with college, work, life, et cetera. There’s just no way something like that could work. 

Something annoying in your heart whispers to you that it’s not true, though. As much as you would like to believe it, you just can’t. Not when he’s the only one splitting rent with you. Yeah, you could find another roommate, but you doubt you’d get along with anyone else as well. Not with your nonexistent sleep schedule. 

You shut those thoughts down, electing to just focus on your mac for now. Mac and cheese. Yes please. 

After dumping the noodles in, you wait for them to cook while checking the notifications on your phone. There’s nothing much of interest there, but that doesn’t surprise you. There’s never anything exciting going on in your life anyway. 

It’s then that your Bluetooth speaker catches your eye from its corner on the counter. Hm...surely it wouldn’t hurt to play a quiet song, right? 

Decision made, you turn it on before shuffling the playlist you and Jay created together. 

First up is “Blue Monday” by New Order. Damn, putting the bangers on already. You set your phone down once you’re satisfied with the volume, listening to the instrumental’s introduction. How fitting that this plays on a Monday. 

Jay steps into the kitchen a few seconds later, donning a pair of pajama pants with cute dinosaurs all over them along with a Fritz Donnegan shirt. Additionally, he has on a pair of Pikachu slippers. He sets his water bottle on the counter. To your delight, you find that he actually had drank about half of it. 

“Ugh, I got so absorbed that I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” he says. You chuckle, directing your stare back to the mac and cheese so you can check on it. 

“I figured. You’ve been holed up in your room for a while.” 

“Yeah...finals are coming up and I still don’t understand what’s wrong with my code,” he mumbles with a sigh, bumping his forehead on the wall. “I can’t wait for this semester to be done.” 

“Same,” you comment as you realize that the noodles are done cooking, proceeding to the next step. “I feel like the days have just been dragging on.” 

“Me too,” he responds, peering into the oven for a second before he turns his head towards the speaker. “Hey, I love this song!” 

“It’s our playlist, remember?” 

“Oh, right,” he replies, softly nodding his head to the beat. “I can’t believe you actually use it.” 

“Of course I do!” you retort, whirling around to face him. “Why wouldn’t I?” 

He shrugs in response, still bobbing to the music. “I dunno. Just thought you’d forget about it after a while, I guess.” 

“Well, I didn’t. I listen to it all of the time,” you reply. “Do you?” 

“Yeah. I listen to it all of the time.” 

“Thought so,” you mumble, going to check on the nuggets. Still not quite ready, but that’s not much of a surprise considering that your timer hasn’t gone off yet. You’re about to search for dishes to set the table with when suddenly Jay snatches your hand and the speaker, bringing you out in the living room. 

You observe him as he releases your hand, setting the speaker on the coffee table. “Jay, what are you doing?” 

“Dance with me.” 

“What?” 

“Let’s dance,” he says again, holding his hand out to you. “Come on, it’s fun!” 

You smile, shaking your head as the lyrics to the song kick in after the long musical introduction. “Seriously?” 

“Seriously.” 

“Fine,” you relent, taking his hand. He grins, spinning you around before separating and dancing. But...not in an amateur kind of way. It looks like he actually knows what he’s doing? This lanky, introverted nerd of a man can actually dance? 

“Wait, since when can you dance?!” you wonder as you watch him in disbelief. 

“I took a few lessons with my friends a while back,” he replies, shrugging. “Just let it all go. You know that I, of all people, won’t judge you.” 

“Okay, fair enough,” you reply. He continues with his moves as you start moving too, if a bit bashfully at first. Soon enough, though, you’re able to push past that and actually enjoy yourself. 

“There you go!” Jay encourages, twiriling you again. 

You find yourself relaxing as your heart pounds, getting more lost into the song as you and Jay dance in the living room. For some reason, this is the most excitement you’ve felt all semester. Just being dumb with your roommate, who you may or may not be in love with. Watching him move in his stupid Fritz Donnegan shirt and dinosaur pants...his red hair disshevled to hell, blue eyes sparking like lightning... 

You’re about to say something when the timer rudely interrupts your dance session. You frown, going to turn it off. 

“Dino nuggies?” Jay questions, voice hopeful. 

“Dino nuggies,” you answer as he follows you to the kitchen. Jay steps over to the cabinents, grabbing a few dishes to set next to you. You portion out the food before snagging a drink and getting ready to sit down. 

Soon enough, the two of you are seated and enjoying your Michelin-star worthy meal. 

“Thank you for making all of this,” Jay says, picking up one of his nuggets and grinning. You recognize that grin, pulling your plate of nuggets closer to you as you eye him suspiciously. 

“You’re welcome,” you reply hesitantly. Dinosaur nuggets are special for the two of you – every time they’re made, a new chapter of the Dinosaur War is added. Jay seems to be scheming, which makes you weary. 

He places one of his nuggets on the plate, holding it so that it’s standing and facing you. “I know this might be a tender subject, but I propose an impromptu meeting.” 

Oh man. Here come the chicken puns. You sigh, picking up a stegosaurus nugget. “Sir Dinglehopper, you know that I have high egg-spectations. What of this meeting? What are we to discuss?” 

“A truce, Lady Bumfuzzle,” he replies. “The fact of the matter is that, over the course of our trifles, I have found your leadership to be rather im-peck-able. I believe we should merge our forces together in order to defeat the aliens.” 

You raise an eyebrow through a bite of mac and cheese, not quite believing him. Your stegosaurus tilts to the side questioningly. “How do I know that you’re not planning an ambush?” 

“We will meet on neutral territory, with the Council observing our union!” 

You sigh, deciding to give in to his antics. “Very well then. We will meet at the Council.” 

“Yes!” Jay cheers, proceeding to eat his chicken nugget. You shake your head while smiling, doing the same. “To be continued!” 

“You better not destroy my army again,” you huff between bites. 

Jay chuckles at the memory. “I would never.” 

“Whatever,” you mumble, laughing quietly as the room falls quiet save for the music. The two of you eat in silence. Normally, Jay’s chattier, but with all the work he’s been doing on his robot, you know he has to be exhausted. Like you. Tired, but unable to fall asleep – whether it was due to projects, homework, or other variables. Either way, you still enjoy these nights with him. 

A few minutes later, though, the two of you finish your late-night meals. After cleaning up, your interest piques at the new song change. 

This one is a slower song – not as energetic as the previous ones. You turn to find Jay standing at the counter, humming softly as he gazes at you. 

“What is it?” you wonder, tilting your head slightly when he sticks his hand out to you again. You quietly, take it, gasping when he pulls you to his chest. “J...Jay?” 

“You’re the best, you know that?” 

“Huh? I am?” 

“You always look out for me when I forget to take care of myself,” he mumbles as the two of you sway together. 

“Well, yeah,” you reply, resting the side of your head on his chest as the two of you sway. “You look out for me, too. We kind of suck at this self-care thing.” 

From the way his chest is vibrating, you think he’s chuckling. “Yeah. We really do.” 

The song gives you a chance to think for a moment. Tonight feels...different. More intimate, maybe? A confession dances on your lips as you debate on whether or not you should tell him. Fear restrains the confession, though, causing your expression to sink as your confidence falters. 

Instead, you glance up at him in an attempt to decipher his expression. His eyes meet yours, and you study his face. His lips, his eyes, that cute little notch in his eyebrow... 

Stars. You want to tell him...but your anxiety is eating you alive. How are you supposed to coherently tell him how you feel? You close your eyes, trying to gather your courage. 

“Fuck me,” you mumble, groaning. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I just..it’s...” you stumble over your words, trying to figure out what to say. His expectant blue eyes prompt you to continue, however, and in that moment, you find a surge of determination out of nowhere. Not that you’re complaining. “I like you, Jay. I really like you. But, I don’t want to make you feel weird, or uncomfortable, and I don’t want things to be messed up between us, and I feel like now I shouldn’t have said anything-” 

“Hey,” Jay interrupts, smiling smally. 

“Huh?” 

“Rambling’s my thing, not yours,” he jokes, pressing a hand to the side of your face. “Truth be told...I feel the same way. I was just too scared to actually say anything to you.” 

“Wait, really?” you question, heart pumping rapidly. 

“Yeah. You’re kind of scary sometimes.” 

“Scary?!” 

“Okay, maybe scary isn’t the right word. How about intimidating? I means, a lady who massacres my dinosaur nugget army is kind of menacing. But also kind of hot.” 

You laugh, shifting your arms so that you’re facing him. “I’ll massacre your dinosaur nugget army anytime.” 

Jay chuckles as his arms shift to your waist, holding you close to him. His gaze dips down to your lips before returning to your eyes. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

You nod, smiling at his sweetness as he dips his head down, planting his lips onto yours. You close your eyes, kissing him back as you find yourself pushed against the counter. 

A few seconds later, the two of you separate, gazes locked on each other as he holds you. You can’t help but giggle as you take his hand, dragging him out to the couch, making sure to grab your phone on the way there. 

You pause the music before plopping onto the couch, Jay coming to sit beside you as you reach for the remote. 

“Starfarer?” 

“Yes!” 

With that, you put on Starfarer as Jay snatches a blanket, the two of you cuddling up together as Fritz Donnegan conquers his enemies. You remain snuggled against him until you fall asleep, grateful that you decided to speak up. 

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗; 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘!

[heartofstanding]

best idea ever starter kit.

dysentery: it (probably) killed them both, 7 years apart, so it's surest way to split this ship up and make it tragic and reunite them.

Biting. Henry V will bite.

omg they were tomb mates: probably not but there's a story that's Courtenay's body was actually found within Henry V's tomb. just two dudes sharing a tomb...

Oxford university: Courtenay was chancellor of Oxford and had a fairly... interesting career that included fleeing from Lollard students attacking his lodgings and being threatened by the Archbishop of Canterbury with excommunication by resisting his attempts to root heresy out (he also threatened to excommunicate the Archbishop of Canterbury in turn). He also started efforts to establish a library at Oxford that was assisted by Henry. Also, there's a story that Henry V studied at Oxford that's still perpetuated by Oxford but historians don't think that's true.

booty shorts. In Lenten purple with a Lenten message. Courtenay is a bishop, after all.

The hottie and the nottie. Richard Courtenay was reputedly pretty, Henry V was not.

Money problems. Henry V was pretty broke for most of his time as Prince of Wales, probably because his father was pretty broke as king. Things did not really improve when Henry was in charge of the finances but at least he had experience in living life on a shoe-string. Courtenay was the treasurer of Henry's household as king. Courtenay also had money problems. He died owing Henry money. He owed Oxford money for his room rent. He spent so much while on embassy in France (on vases! and planetary calculators!) that he had to borrow money to go home.

Herbert. Is a weird little dog on the tomb of William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury and Courtenay's uncle and foster-father. He probably had nothing to do with Courtenay/Henry but we felt like he had to be involved. (n.b. I made up his name.)

Monster cans. Sadly, Henry and Courtenay died before they could discover coffee or energy drinks but I like to think in a modern AU, they would be the Eldritch beings whose coffee orders terrify baristas and would drink Monster and only Monster when they weren't terrifying baristas.

Out of a most tender love... here's the anonymous author of the Gesta Henrici Quinti on Courtenay's death and Henry's order for him to be buried in the shrine of Edward the Confessor.

The Prick of Conscience. A serious medieval religious text. Why are you laughing.

Ottery St Mary. Courtenay granted a manor to the church at Ottery St Mary so that they would celebrate a mass daily for his and Henry's good estate and for their souls after death. He granted this three months before he died. 🥺

astrology. Courtenay was into it (or used it as a cover for his spying on the French), Henry was suspicious of it.

Swans. Both of them were descended from the de Bohuns and both appear to have used the swan badge for themselves.

face hole. Henry took an arrow to the face (to the depth of 6 inches) at the Battle of Shrewsbury.

embracing in the fires of hell. so, yes, they were medieval Catholics which probably means they had a medieval Catholics understanding of sin. Still, at least when you're burning in the fires of hell, you're still cuddling your bestie <3

matching rings. On the left, the gold relic ring that was found in Courtenay's grave set with an oval ruby. On the right, a detail of Henry V's hands in the earliest known copy of his portrait in which he wears a gold ring set with an oval ring. Is it the same ring or did they just have matching rings? Who knows.

Tomb of Henry V. see above, re: tomb sharing. Courtenay is buried under the steps up to the chantry chapel so his grave is also in this picture.

Patron saints. It's a picture of St Sebastian (gay icon) and St George (Henry's patron saint). I like to think that Henry had a lot of thoughts about St Sebastian given the whole arrow to the face thing.

One of the most loving and the dearest of the king's friends. The author of the Gesta Henrici Quinti on Courtenay.

Tennis balls. The tennis ball incident, or something like it, probably did happen and given Courtenay was closely involved in Henry's embassies in France, he probably knew All About It.

Bad hair. Henry's got the bowl cut, Courtenay probably had the bowl cut with tonsure. I like to think Courtenay made it work but lbr who did.

Two idiots, one hole. It them ❤️

Matching t-shirts. Henry is the cheetah that's threatening to go crazy, Courtenay the dog that's keeping him from going crazy in captivity. You wouldn't separate them, would you?