#every day i wake up at 6am and i have to change under my duvet it is ridiculous

[vhstown]

can we have more "cold reader warm hobie" fics it is so unbelievably cold in the uk right now im literally burning calories from shivering

[lwjstiletto]

wangxian au where lwj is a popular hand model and wwx is an independent jewellery maker [Part 3]

[Part 1] [Part 2]

wwx shuts himself in his workshop for a month straight, with lwj being his only visitor. everything he makes looks beautiful on lwj but it’s somehow not enough, not quite /deserving/ of lwj yet.

when he tells lwj this, he only gets a slight downturn of his lips in return.

“you have fine craftsmanship.” lwj says, turning his hand so that the lights bounce off the crystal encrusted hand chain. “i have never seen anything like it before.”

wwx watches him in stunned silence. lwj tends to drop these really sincere, heartfelt compliments that both embarass him and motivate him to show lwj he can do even better. another reason for his stunned silence is how ethereal lwj looks in jewellery

wwx wants to cover him in it. a nice jade pendant that hangs just above his bellybutton; a hairpiece that weaves flowers between the silky black strands of his hair; a thick banded crystal choker that sits around his throat just so; an anklet with teardrop pearls perhaps

but for now, he has to work up to making the hand jewellery suitable. the rest can wait

—•—

the next time lwj visits, he looks like he’s one blink away from sleeping where he stands.

“lan zhan,” wwx says, because they have somehow progressed to calling each other by their infromal names, “are you okay?”

“mn.” lwj says, then almost collapses mid-blink. in true rom-com fashion, wwx catches him with one hand around his waist and the other on his arm. he would tease lwj about it but this isn’t the time.

“i’m sorry.” lwj tries to straighten up.

“come on, you need to sleep.” wwx says, using his hold on lwj’s waist to guide him towards his bedroom.

“no sleep.” lwj says, planting his feet into the ground much like jin ling does when he wants to be stubborn.

“lan zhan,” wwx cajoles with his practiced baby voice, “come on. you’re tired. just nap for one hour.”

lwj glares at him, “sleep later, work now.”

wwx bends down and puts a hand under lwj’s knees, scooping him up before he can react.

lwj’s sleepy eyes widen, “wei ying!”

“if you’re gonna act like a child,” wwx says walking towards the bedroom, “then expect me to treat you like one.”

internally, wwx is panicking. he is definitely crossing some boundaries here. however, wwx considers lwj a friend and his friend looks like he hasn’t slept for a week. sometimes extreme measures are necessary, jc has taught him that.

lwj twitches in his arms when he reaches his bedroom door.

“you can put me down now.” he says, his voice weak.

wwx ignores him and kicks his door open, gently placing lwj on the bed once he reaches it.

“go to sleep.” he says, pulling the duvet over him, “if you dare come out before the hour is up, i can and will carry you back.”

lwj looks like he wants to protest but he seems to lose the fight with exhaustion and drifts off the sleep before wwx’s eyes. wwx quickly exits the bedroom and closes the door behind himself. lwj. is. in. his. bed. sleeping... he’s sleeping. because he’s tired. and wwx’s friend.

“jiang cheng, lan zhan is in my bed.” he says into his phone once he has shut himself in his workshop.

“xichen’s brother? why? did you kidnap him? tell me you didn’t wei wuxian. xichen will kill you.” jc says.

“ok first of all, he’s here for work.” wwx realises that between working and sleeping he has forgotten to inform anyone about this. “and he was tired. he looked so sleepy and cute, what could i do?”

“you... was he at least... coherent? it was consensual right?” jc asks

“what?!” wwx screeches, standing up in indignation. “jiang cheng oh my god. we- he’s TAKING A NAP!”

“oh thank god.” jc sighs, “wait how do you know lan wangji?”

“ah,” wwx scratches his nose, “long story short, remember that pretty guy from uni? yeah lan zhan and him, same guy.”

“you-“ jc sighs deeply, “i’ve been hearing you wax poetic about lan wangji’s hands?! how will i ever look xichen in the eyes after knowing that you probably- eugh i hate you.”

“ok first of all, it’s not a fetish-“

jc hangs up on him.

this leaves wwx with too much free time to think and that’s never a good thing. so he starts looking around for something to do. this is how his eyes fall on lwj’s gloves lying on the table beside the door. lwj has developed a habit of discarding them as soon as he comes in

and like a magnet, wwx feels drawn to them. it must be annoying for lwj to wear them all the time, but he never complains. wwx, however, has no such qualms and detests them with vigor

today, it’s the white leather gloves. wwx picks one up and examines it. it’s soft to the touch, worn out to smoothness. an idea strikes him and he tosses the glove back as he reaches for his sketchbook. he thinks he has finally got it.

—•—

when lwj wakes, there is light coming through the curtains. he doesn’t remember the last time he had such a comfortable, dreamless sleep. an unfamiliar but pleasant scent surrounds him, safe, warm.

lwj bolts up in bed, remembering exactly where he is. he looks at his phone. it’s six, ok that’s fine. wait... 6AM. lwj throws the covers off and looks around, then back at his phone as if that’s going to change something.

he spent the night at wwx’s place. speaking of, where did wwx sleep then? he ventures outside and sees nobody in the living area. sure enough, wwx is passed out in his workshop, cheek flat on his workbench.

lwj sighs.

“wei ying.” he prods his shoulder gently, “wake up.”

wwx groans and shakes him off, “go away.”

after a few more pokes lwj rules it a lost cause and decides to make tea for himself and coffee for wwx. thankfully, he doesn’t have work until 3pm so he has plenty of time to waste puttering around wwx’s sparce kitchen.

after finding only hot sauce in the top cupboards (one labelled ‘burning hot’ with flames on the cover which makes him cringe away) he finally finds coffee. no tea. it’ll have to do, he thinks.

the smell of coffee near his nose does a better job at waking wwx up. he reaches blindly for the cup before he even blinks his eyes open. ridiculous.

lwj, in the most dignified way possible, sits on the purple beanbag and waits as wwx’s brain reboots with every sip of coffee.

“lan zhan?” wwx asks.

“i have the same question.” lwj says, “why am i still here?”

“too philosophical for this early in the morning. what time even is it?” wwx looks at the wall clock and groans, “why are you awake?”

lwj gives him a blank look, “i was promised a nap.”

“yeah, yeah.” wwx brushes him off, “i’m happy you slept well, you look much better than before.”

lwj feels his ears burn and his heart rate quicken.

wwx has an ease to his words and actions that makes lwj agreeable to existing in his space without wanting to revert back to professionalism. he fears that one day he’ll become so comfortable that he wouldn’t want to leave

“come here.” wwx beacons.

once lwj is bent over his shoulder, he shows him the rough sketches he has been working on all night apparently.

“are those..”

“inspired by the bane of my existence, none other than your gloves!” wwx says proudly.

“why do you hate the gloves?” lwj asks, curious.

wwx gives him a complicated look, “because they’re fabric. how old and boring. wouldn’t you rather be tangled in crystal chains that you can’t wear or remove without help?”

lwj lets him dodge the question, then gives the designs a closer look. “they’re very interesting.”

“it’s just a rough sketch.” wwx refuses to look at him, “i’ll refine the details and start working on it by tomorrow.”

“mn.” lwj says.

—•—

“da-ge tried to beat up su she again.” nhs informs him when he gets to his office a few hours later.

“again?” lwj asks.

“he bumped into him at the lobby. again.” nhs sighs.

“i will speak to him.” lwj says.

“what? no these stalkers just get worse-“

“i meant nie mingjue.” lwj clarifies.

“it should be fine. i’ve banned him from office premises now and i’m working on filing a restraining order against him.” nhs says, “i tried to explain this to da-ge but you know his temper. actually maybe you should talk to him. he might listen to you.”

lwj nods, “i will call him after my shoot.”

—•—

nhs must have mentioned it to nmj because he’s there to pick lwj up after his shoot. it’s late, almost past eleven, and the parking lot is half empty.

lwj gets a text from wwx just before he gets in the car.

wei ying: garnet or emerald?

lwj replies: i’m no expert at this

wei ying: lan zhannnn humour me

lwj: ruby

wei ying: i will fossilise you in one. lan zhannnn be serious

“you look much more at ease.” nmj comments.

lwj realises that he is.

“you don’t need to bother with su she anymore. huaisang has it under control.” lwj says.

nmj gives him a skeptical look.

“i trust him.” lwj emphasises.

“i was told you had previous acquaintance with that man.” nmj says.

lwj sighs, “he was in my cello class.”

“you play the cello?” nmj asks.

“not anymore.” lwj answers.

nmj doesn’t ask further.

they sit in uncomfortable silence until nmj asks where he should drop lwj off. what comes out of his mouth are the directions to wwx’s place. his excuse: he needs to know what a garnet gem is before making a decision.

“i will trust you and huaisang to handle this.” nmj says when they come to a stop, “be well.”

lwj nods, then opens the car door.

“wangji.” nmj’s hand grabs his elbow gently.

lwj turns to him.

“i’d like for us to be friends.” nmj says. it sounds stilted, amended.

lwj frowns, “i already consider you one.”

nmj nods and lets go of his hand. with the hint of a smile he says, “goodnight wangji.”

lwj looks at nmj drive away then turns to face wwx’s apartment building. now that he’s here, his excuse sounds feeble. he takes a deep breath, he’s already here. might as well.

wwx opens his apartment door and stares at lwj like he has seen a ghost. “lan zhan?”

“i don’t know what garnet looks like.” lwj says.

wwx grins at him, then grabs his forearm, dragging him into his workshop. there, on a mannequin hand, is the half finished skeleton of what looks like wwx’s design coming to life. he holds up a red and a green stone. he points to the red one, “this is a garnet.”

“it looks like a ruby.” lwj says

wwx looks like he goes through the seven stages of grief before he says, in a strangled voice, “how could you? you’re– you’re messing with me again, aren’t you?”

lwj gives him an innocent look. he can feel the tension in his shoulders bleed out.

“it’s coming together.” wwx says when he notices lwj looking at his unfinished project. “come here, let me see if you can have mobility with it on.”

lwj removes his gloves and stretches his hand towards wwx. wwx gently manoeuvring delicate silver chains around his hand isn’t something new, but it feels different in the middle of the night. more intimate. lwj discards that word with a flick of his hair

it’s not usual for him to leave it unpinned, but he has spent the day lying on a carpet with his hands stretched upwards, balancing a small perfume bottle between his fingers. coming out of it with a few strands out of place is a minor inconvenience.

“tada!” wwx says, drawing lwj’s attention to his right hand which is now tangled in a complicated-looking array of chains from the tips of his fingers down to his wrist. it’s stunning even in its incomplete form.

“it’s beautiful.” lwj says, low as the silent night.

“it’s barely anything right now!” wwx protests but his cheeks are red, “come on, try to move your fingers.”

lwj does, slowly as to not break the delicate structure in case it does lack mobility. it moves with him, like still water disturbed, pressing coldness onto his skin when he closes his fist.

there is no bite, in fact it barely feels any different from wearing light cotton gloves. he thinks he understands wwx’s vision better now. he opens his fist again, one finger at a time, watching how the chains loosen and hang lower on his wrist.

he’s so fascinated by it that he’s surprised to see wwx standing in front of him when he looks up. his eyes are fixed on lwj, unwavering and shameless in their focus, dark with what lwj would presume was desire if he didn’t know better.

“ah it doesn’t need adjustments for now then!” wwx says, snapping out of it. “it looks great on you! i’m sure your girlfriend will like it when it’s finished too!”

“i’m gay.” lwj deadpans.

“oh.” wwx says, choked. “your... boyfriend then?”

“wei ying i...” think of you as a safe haven in my hectic life? find your rambling amusing? think you’re extremely talented and deserve success? have a teeny tiny crush on you? what is lwj supposed to say? each of those sound worse than the one before

at the end he decides to settle for the worst possible answer, “i don’t have time for a boyfriend.”

he does! well, not really. but he would make time if it was wwx... or something! sometimes lwj wants to punch a wall, break a finger, quit his job as a consequence and live in a secluded mountain in the east for the rest of his days. this is one of those moments.

wwx nods in understanding. lwj would prefer if he /didn’t/ understand and demanded to be lwj’s boyfriend to prove him wrong. ‘i’ll make you have time for a boyfriend’ is what lwj imagines him saying.

instead wwx offers him tea.

“it’s too late for coffee.” he shrugs when lwj mumbles a surprised ‘tea?’

before lwj can ask why he suddenly has tea in his house when he didn’t just yesterday, wwx is already gone.

they sit around wwx’s small breakfast table. as they sip their tea- high quality tea nonetheless- wwx begins to talk.

“this project is going more smoothly than i expected. i already have a couple designs in my mind. i’d say it’d take maybe a month or so if i substitue my sleep enough with coffee.” wwx says.

“do not strain yourself.” lwj replies.

“rich coming from you.” wwx’s lip quirks, “you passed out on me yesterday. oh what could have caused that? i don’t think it was sleep deprivation and overworking because you’d never do that.”

it feels like lwj is being scolded.

“wei ying-“

“lan zhan, are you alright?” wwx asks sincerely, “i know you said that you weren’t hurt back then when i saw your bruises, but we weren’t friends back then. you were in pain when i met you at wen ning’s parlour. -

- wen qing was oddly iffy about telling jiang cheng about you even though she knows that he’s friends with your brother. you looked so afraid when you thought i was stalking you, which, technically my fault but still. i’m sorry for bringing this up but i’m worried about you. i want to help you, with whatever it is.”

lwj sits in silence for a few moments, flabbergasted. it seems like this is genuinely bothering wwx, and maybe it has for a while now.

“wei ying.” lwj starts, trying to mentally arrange it all in chronological order. “i think there has been a slight misunderstanding. i did not persue conventional modelling because i did not want to be in the public eye.

however, my identity was exposed about a month ago. it made me unnecessarily paranoid which is why wen qing was careful about my information, and i was in turn careful about my surroundings.”

“who the hell-“

“it does not matter now.” lwj says calmingly. he doesn’t need another person trying to beat su she up.

wwx fumes silently as lwj continues.

“at wen ning’s parlour i was actually in quite a bit of pain.” lwj says. wwx opens his mouth but lwj cuts him off. “yes, it was due to overwork, and yesterday can be attributed to the same cause. but it does not happen as often as you’re thinking, i promise.”

wwx mulls this over. “ok fine. don’t think i didn’t notice you skipped over the bruises though. they can’t be from overwork so either someone did that to you or-“

“it is..” lwj says, forcing the words out, “as you thought that day.”

he wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but he doesn’t want wwx to have any misconceptions. and well, if he sacrifices his own peace of mind for wwx, it is most likely worth it in the end.

“you mean...” wwx swallows, “you–“

seeing him struggle so much with the words makes it easier for lwj to blurt them out somehow.

“i like restraints, yes.”

this does not bring an end to the conversation, instead making wwx stutter through even worse versions of it.

“you like– to be tied up– oh my god.” he says, “you- that’s what you meant right? handcuffs, ropes all that- like bdsm? is that what–“

“wei ying. please.” lwj says.

“oh of course. here.” wwx grabs both his wrists with one hand.

lwj stares at him. wwx stares back. what the hell.

...

“oh,” wwx draws back like has been burned, “oh my god i don’t know why i did that. i’m so sorry!”

“wei ying it’s okay.” lwj tries but wwx has now put his face in his hands and does not seem to hear him above his mumbling variations of ‘oh my god’ and ‘i’m so sorry’.

lwj lets him go on for a while before he can’t take it anymore. he puts a gentle hand on wwx’s shoulder. this seems to have the desired effect, both shutting wwx up and making him look up at lwj.

“wei ying, it’s okay.” he repeats.

“no it’s not! what was i even thinking? it’s not okay for me to do that! out of nowhere! god, i must have made you so uncomfortable–“

“i don’t mind.” lwj says.

“how can you not? you should fire me!”

“you are my employer.”

“that’s even worse!”

lwj sighs. wwx seems to be transforming into a puddle of shame right before him. he has to put an end to this or wwx will overthink himself into an early grave. no amount of consoling seems to work though. lwj sighs, it is time for drastic measures.

“i lied.” lwj says. he quickly continues before wwx can officially begin his pity party, “i do have time for a boyfriend.”

“what.” wwx says, drawn out of his stupor with the sudden shift in topic.

“i have time... if it’s you.” lwj says and then immediately wants to adapt wwx’s head in hands coping mechanism. “now we are even.”

wwx seems to be dissecting his sentence to make sense of it. “oh. OH.”

“i should go home.” lwj rises from his chair. just as he is turning away, wwx grabs his wrist and pulls him so he’s face-to-face with him.

“lan zhan,” wwx says, his eyes fond, “you’re so.. ugh!”

lwj frowns. ugh. he’s ugh.

“lan zhan!” wwx takes lwj’s face between his palms and grins at him, “do you know i’ve been crushing on you since that day at the university?”

“you have?” lwj asks.

“you really didn’t know?” wwx asks, “lan zhan, lan zhan, do you think a professional jeweller needs weekly fitting appointments?”

“you don’t?” lwj feels just a little stupid.

“not really? i could have made adjustments after i finished everything.”

“you like me?” lwj asks. for some reason it hadn’t occurred to him that his crush could be reciprocated.

“yes!” wwx shifts from one foot to another eagerly, “can i hug you now?”

lwj nods and is drawn into wwx’s arms. wwx presses his nose into the space between lwj’s neck and shoulder. lwj holds his shoulders, glad that he can hide his red face in wwx’s hoodie

wwx sighs, his breath tickles on lwj’s skin.

“will you stay with me tonight?” and when lwj is silent for two seconds,

“not like that! it’s innocent! like a sleepover! i won’t tie you up i promise– lan zhan please shut me up i beg you–“

lwj draws back, simply places a gentle kiss on wwx’s lips and says, “don’t ever shut up.”

The End!

as for any loose ends:

- lwj manages to gain his anonymity back

- su she manages not to get beaten up by wwx or nmj but does get a restraining order

- wwx completes his collection and it’s a success! the best part is that he is holding the hand that started it all!

This fic has a nsfw one-shot on ao3 if any of you want to read it :)

http://archiveofourown.org/works/25827673

[bill-skarsgalactic]

Fifty questions

I was tagged by the lovely @kathryn-jane (Thank you, love. This was fun)

what color is your hairbrush? - mainly black with a hint of silver.

name a food you never eat? - Eggplant can suck it.

are you typically too warm or too cold? - I have terrible circulation, so I’m pretty much always cold.

what were you doing 45 minutes ago? - Working on a script for work.

what’s your favorite candy bar? - Do I have to pick? Crunchies are pretty bomb.

have you ever been to a professional sports game? - A few. Mainly rugby games.

what’s the last thing you said out loud? - Alright, I’m gonna get back to work.

what’s your favorite ice cream? - The pumpkin pie flavour from my local ice cream shop.

what was the last thing you had to drink? - Water.

do you like your wallet? - I’m not precious about it, but it’s kinda cute. It’s a vintage, mustard coloured wallet with Winnie The Pooh on it that I picked up at a vintage store years ago. It’s kind of falling apart now.

what’s the last thing you ate? - Chicken strips (FUCK YA CHICKEN STRIPS!).

did you buy any new clothes last weekend? - I did actually! I bought a t-shirt from Hell on Shirts with a Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining graphic on the front and back.

what’s the last sporting event you watched? - Probably the rugby world cup, whenever that was.

what is your favorite flavor of popcorn? - Okay so there’s this brand of popcorn where I’m from that’s like ‘strawberries and cream’ flavoured and that stuff is so addictive!!!

who’s the last person you sent a text to? - An actual fuck boi.

ever go camping? - We used to go camping a lot when I was a kid but not so much now. I’ve got a camping trip planned with some friends though once the virus craziness is over.

do you take vitamins? - Occasionally? Only when I feel like I need them.

do you go to church every Sunday? - Haven’t been to church in years. I’m not particularly religious and neither is the rest of my family, so...

do you have a tan? - I am so fucking pale it’s not even a joke.

do you prefer Chinese or pizza? - Pizza ‘til the day I die.

do you drink soda through a straw? - I don’t drink a lot of soda to begin with but I suppose only when I go to the movies or order a takeaway drink.

what color socks do you usually wear? - My socks are pretty much all black secret socks.

do you ever drive above the speed limit? - Sometimes :/ 

what terrifies you? - Spiders and the thought that I might never be successful or might die alone.

look to your left, what do you see? - A lamp and a book of post-it notes  shaped like a thumbs-up.

what chore do you hate the most? - Dishes. Dishes. Dishes.

what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? - Haven’t really given it much thought to be honest, lol.

what’s your favorite soda? - Mmm... not a huge soda drinker but Bundaberg Peach Soda is pretty good.

do you go in fast food or just hit the drive thru? - Uber eats but if I have to get in my car, I’m hitting up the drive thru.

what’s your favorite number? - Probably 13 or 27.

who’s the last person you talked to? - My mother.

favorite cut of beef? - All the beef. 

last song you listened to? - Supermassive Black Hole - Muse.

last book you read? - The Outsider by Stephen King. It was great and I definitely recommend it to others who enjoy King’s stuff.

can you say the alphabet backwards? - I tried. I can’t.

favorite day of the week? - Friday.

how do you like your coffee? - Due to the sheer amount of coffee I drink, I usually have it black with no sugar, but if I’m treating myself it’s one sugar and a splash of milk.

favorite pair of shoes? - Black converse forever and always <3

time you normally wake up? - Back when things were normal, 6AM. These days I try to be up by 8:30AM the latest.

sunrise or sunset? - Sunset. I’m the polar opposite of a morning person.

how many blankets on your bed? - Currently? A duvet and a thin throw-type thing.

describe your kitchen plates - I’m currently staying with my mom and she has these vintage, country-style plates that match the vintage of our kitchen, but back home I’ve just got standard white plates.

describe your kitchen at the moment - My kitchen is pretty much exclusively white. White counters, white tiles on the floor, cream walls. A built-in four-plate stove, a free standing, black mini-oven, a silver fridge (that came with the apartment), a white kettle, a white microwave, sink in the corner and a washing machine (also came with the apartment) under the counter next to the sink. It’s pretty basic.

do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? - When I’m out it’s usually beer. Vodka and a mix when it’s on special and nearing the end of the night.

do you play cards? - Not really.

what color is your car? - Red and black, but I’m upgrading to a plain black soon.

can you change a tire? - Yes, but it would probably take me a while.

your favorite state, province, country, etc. - I really enjoy most parts of the UK that I’ve visited and would love to go back to Canada some day. 

favorite job you’ve had? - The one I currently have. I get to write every day and be creative and I’m surrounded by creative people who I love like family.

how did you get your biggest scar? - None of my scars are super prominent, but if I pull my bottom lip really tight, there’s a scar from where I chewed on my mom’s razor. Apparently, as a toddler, my goofy ass climbed into the bathtub, grabbed my mom’s razor that she used to shave her legs and decided that it looked good enough to monch on.

Tagging: @honeysugacube @ill-skillsgard @dreamtherapy @lihikainanea @draculafangirl42 and anyone else who wants to give it a whirl.

[lailaliquorice]

one more chance; one more breath

alternative title: NEW PARRLYN ANGST IS HERE so this was meant to be the same length as the last one, and here it is at pretty much double the wordcount. but I absolutely love these two and how soft they are. this does make the odd reference to ‘our lungs are full’ but you don’t really need to read that to understand this, if you’d like to then it’s listed in my writing masterpost :)

TW: a little non-graphic blood

It wasn’t often that Cathy slept deeply enough to dream. Her style of functioning was to stay up late enough and make herself tired enough that she would fall asleep the minute her head hit the pillow every night, her imagination too worn out to keep on working overnight. Then she’d wake up the next morning still half-asleep and exhaust herself again over the course of the day so that the same cycle would repeat again and again.

She knew Anne had nightmares though. It had been a few weeks since their first conversation about Anne’s coping mechanisms, and since then she’d confided in Cathy about her occasional night terrors that no-one ever heard due to her having the attic bedroom. Kat’s were a lot more frequent, often prompting Jane to check on her in the night when they were at their worst, but Anne would just stay awake writing for the rest of the night whenever they happened for fear of reliving her death again if she fell back asleep. It explained the dark circles that Cathy would see under her eyes and her unusually quiet demeanour some mornings.

Cathy had promised Anne that she could come down into her bedroom if she was woken by a nightmare, joking that it was more than likely she’d still be awake to reassure Anne that she wouldn’t be disturbing her. She hadn’t needed to for a couple of weeks afterwards, but when Anne came down with a mild cold Cathy had made sure to repeat her promise in case her fever made the nightmares return in full force.

As she’d been anticipating, a timid knock on Cathy’s door at 2am caught her attention from where she’d been writing non-stop for a few hours. Upon opening the door she was faced with a barely kept-together Anne Boleyn, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and scared eyes shining bright with tears. “Can I come in?” she asked almost inaudibly, looking as though she was about to cry.

“Course you can,” Cathy said, standing back to let Anne shuffle past her into her bedroom. After shutting the door she sat down cross legged on her bed and patted the duvet for Anne to join her, waiting for her to sit down before she asked “Do you want to talk about it?”

Anne shrugged, sniffing and wiping her sleeve underneath her nose. Cathy leaned over to her bedside table for her box of tissues and offered it to Anne, who took one with a quiet murmur of thanks. She was quiet for another minute or so before she mumbled “I dreamed- I dreamed I was back in the Tower again. And it was really hot and the walls started closing in and no-one came when I was shouting. No-one came to let me out.” Her voice became more and more wobbly as she spoke, her breath hitching as she first tears started to fall.

“Come here,” Cathy murmured, and Anne practically threw herself into Cathy’s arms the minute she had verbal permission. There was no distraught sobbing like the last time Cathy had held her as she cried; the only sign she was upset at all was how much she was shaking in an effort to stifle her sobs, making Cathy wonder how many times she had cried alone in a desperate attempt not to wake anyone else up. She didn’t try to quiet her with gentle shushing, just let Anne hold onto her for as long as she needed to.

Just like the first time, she’d begun to wonder whether Anne was falling asleep before she heard a quiet “Can I stay here tonight?” from over her shoulder.

“Of course love,” Cathy said, her hand moving of its own accord to stroke Anne’s errant hair as she felt her finally relax. “Do you want to try and sleep again? I’m not done yet so I can wake you up if I think you’re dreaming again.”

Anne hummed indecisively as she sat back down, taking another tissue to wipe her tear-stained cheeks. “I don’t know,” she said quietly at first, wringing her hands as she looked up to meet Cathy’s gaze. “You sure I won’t be bothering you?”

Cathy shook her head. “Never. Come on, let’s get you into bed.”

Pulling her blanket with her, Anne crawled over to the other side of the double bed and wriggled under the duvet as Cathy fetched her notebook and pen. There was fear in her eyes as she looked up at up, obvious terror that she was going to see the inside of her prison as soon as she closed her eyes. “It’s alright, I’m right here,” Cathy said, smoothing Anne’s hair away from her forehead and feeling her temperature at the same time. She was still running a slight fever but it was nowhere near bad enough to cause her concern.

Anne nodded, her chin trembling for a second. “It’s always worse when I’m not well. I know if I’m overtired then it’ll be bad.”

“I don’t think that’s surprising, and it’s not your fault either,” Cathy said softly, squeezing Anne’s hand when she blinked back tears at her second point. “That’s why I mentioned earlier that you’re welcome to come in here if you need me.” She paused for a moment then before adding “If you’re still not feeling right tomorrow then would you like me to sleep in your room? It might stop the nightmares if you know someone’s there with you.”

“That’d be really nice,” Anne whispered. A stray tear rolled down her cheek which she quickly rubbed away, just about managing to smile up at her.

Cathy returned the smile, repositioning her own pillow against the headboard so she could lean back comfortably. “That’s what we’ll do then. Now try and get some sleep, I’ll be right here next to you.”

Anne nodded again, rolling onto her side facing Cathy and hesitating only a moment before she closed her eyes.

It wasn’t long before Anne’s rhythmic breathing indicated she was asleep again. Cathy kept on working by the light of her bedside lamp for another hour or so, watchful for any change in Anne’s peaceful expression that could indicate she was having another night terror. Only once did Cathy need to intervene when her brow pinched and she let out a soft whimper in her sleep, but she only had to cradle Anne’s hand in her own and call her name a couple of times for her to relax again.

When the clock on her phone read 3:30am she opted to call it a night, checking on Anne one last time before carefully settling down next to her. Anne’s sense of personal space had never been particularly strong but Cathy was still cautious to leave a decent space between them. Even though Anne had taken the leap of trusting her with her insecurities she didn’t want to infringe on her boundaries by sleeping too close, and if Cathy was honest with herself she didn’t know how she would react to waking up with Anne curled around her. She had always been fairly tactile since her reincarnation but with Anne it seemed to send her heart racing in a way she couldn’t understand.

But Anne didn’t seem to have moved at all when Cathy woke up a few hours later, still sleeping soundly with her blanket and Cathy’s duvet pulled tightly around her shoulders. With a fond smile, Cathy carefully slipped out from under the duvet and left a post-it note on her bedside lamp to tell Anne she’d gone down to the kitchen. She’d already been scheduled a day off from the show so Cathy was in no rush to wake her, happy to leave Anne in her bed until she woke up of her own accord.

As promised, when Cathy and the other Queens got home from the show that evening she changed into her pyjamas and took her makeup off before heading up into the attic.  Anne was sat in bed reading when she peered her head around the open door, but looked up with a smile when she saw Cathy looking in. “Hey you,” she greeted her, throwing back her duvet and jumping to her feet. She too looked as though she was ready for bed, dressed in an oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts with her hair plaited loosely down her back. “Come in, make yourself comfy. How’d the show go?”

“Brilliant thanks, everything went off without a hitch. We missed you though,” Cathy said as she closed the door behind her, the second comment slipping out without her realising it. “How are you feeling?” she added in a desperate attempt to cover her slip up.

Anne smirked, most likely at the blush that Cathy could feel creeping across her cheeks. “Aww, thanks,” she said, “And I’m doing alright. Ready for bed though, I can tell you that much. I’d have probably fallen asleep hours ago I wasn’t waiting up for you.”

Cathy glanced at her phone, noting with surprise that it was only 11:30. “I normally wouldn’t think about going to sleep for hours yet,” she admitted, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside Anne.

“Really?” Anne asked, laughing when Cathy gave a sheepish nod. “Don’t know how you do it, I really don’t. Aren’t you always tired?”

It was a question that Cathy was used to answering, but there was a note of genuine concern in Anne’s voice that made her smile. “Nearly always,” she replied honestly. “The key to success is taking random naps during the day. I’m surprised you don’t walk in on me curled up on the sofa more often.” She laughed as she finished, recalling the few times when she’d been woken to the sound of Kat or Anna dropping something and ending their well-meant attempts to stay quiet.

“Jane bans us from the living room whenever she knows that you’re asleep,” Anne explained, and Cathy made a note to thank their resident mum friend for safeguarding her nap times with her iron will. She was brought back to the present when Anne yawned widely and added with a grin “I think I might need to go to bed.”

“You might be right there,” Cathy agreed. “Perhaps it’ll do me good to get an early night too for a change, though I might be awake at 6am because of it.”

Anne laughed, crawling back into bed and pulling her duvet back up. Cathy stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed for a moment before Anne patted the pillow next to her, asking “You coming to bed?” as Cathy smiled and got in beside her.

As she’d expected, Anne was fast asleep within a few minutes of saying goodnight. Cathy was lying down scrolling through an article in her phone, expecting that she wouldn’t begin to feel sleepy for a while yet, but she was surprised when Anne suddenly rolled over in her sleep and rested her head in the crook of Cathy’s neck. For a moment she froze, very aware that she was only wearing a vest top and low-slung trousers, but then she relaxed under the gentle weight of Anne’s head and her arm slung across Cathy’s stomach. The text became blurrier and blurrier until Cathy’s phone clattered to the floor and she fell asleep.

And for the first time in a long time, Cathy dreamed.

She recognised the place she was in as a home from her former life, but her hands were still the warm brown she had become accustomed to in her new body. For a reason unknown to her she felt compelled to pick up her heavy skirts and start to run down the corridor, her heart starting to hammer from both the running and the fear that she couldn’t put a label on. As if her instincts knew that something terrible was about to happen. But her feet didn’t drive her towards the King’s chambers; instead she practically flew down the castle staircase into the courtyard.

The sound of shouting only drove her to run faster, careening around a corner to see a familiar face struggling to free herself from the grasp of several armed guards. Anne It was the face she knew in the dress of their past, but the furious swearing was a sure sign that this was her friend’s twenty-first century compartment rather than her Tudor self. She managed to elbow a guard in the face and kick another’s shin to grant herself a second’s freedom, but just as she was about to bolt she glanced upwards and locked eyes with Cathy. Her anger faded for a moment as she paused for a moment too long.

The guards were on her in seconds. “Cathy help me!” she screamed, her voice panicked, and Cathy immediately moved forwards to help her only to find she was glued to the courtyard floor. She cried out Anne’s name as she tried desperately to reach for her, but Anne’s frantic efforts came to nothing as she guards multiplied from nowhere to surround her.

There was a flash of metal, and then Anne sunk to the floor with a guttural scream. The guards dispersed to reveal her hunched over with blood pouring from her neck, staining her pale skin and pooling in the material in her dress. Cathy could still do nothing but watch in horror as Anne struggled to stem the scarlet river to no avail, hardly recognising the sound of her own desperate shouts as she watched her friend struggle for her life. She fell to her knees as her legs gave away, screaming and sobbing as Anne called her name in a broken voice.

“Cathy!”

She jolted forwards into a sitting position, chest heaving to pull air into her lungs as she clawed at her throat. Her skin was clammy and cold, face streaked with tears and forehead beaded with sweat. The suffocating darkness left her feeling completely untethered with no idea where she was, until a light was turned on and she was suddenly faced with an incredibly worried-looking Anne.

Her legs stilled from where she’d been trying to kick back the duvet tangled around her legs. Then she surged forwards and flung her arms around Anne’s neck. “You’re alive,” she sobbed out repeatedly, burying her head in Anne’s shoulder as she shook uncontrollably. Somewhere beneath the adrenaline coursing through her veins she felt gentle hands rub soothing circles into her upper back.

“Course I’m alive silly,” Anne whispered in her ear, waiting for her trembling to subside a little before she let Cathy sit back. “You just had a nightmare hun, you were shouting my name and thrashing around like mad. I’m alright, ok?”

Cathy hummed as she nodded, still feeling incredibly shaken as the dim lamplight shone illuminated the scar around Anne’s neck. “Yeah,” she said in a hollow voice, roughly wiping her eyes.

“You wanna tell me what happened?”

On one hand she didn’t, wishing she could forget her dream had ever happened and banish the image of Anne bleeding to death from her mind’s eye. But her mouth was moving and words were pouring out before she had a chance to shake her head. “I was at Hampton Court I think, can’t really remember. And I was running into the courtyard and you were there fighting the guards, they were trying to drag you away and I couldn’t move or do anything. Then your neck was cut and you were screaming and bleeding and I- and I-.”

Anne pulled her into another tight hug as her voice failed her, murmuring sweet nothings as Cathy clung to her like a lifeline. The feeling of solid arms around her was a comforting one and Cathy could have stayed forever in her embrace, reassuring herself that Anne really was ok and it had been nothing more than a bad dream.

After several minutes Anne leaned back, taking one of Cathy’s hands and brushing the back of her fingers over her scar. “I’m alright, see? Still attached,” Anne said with a smile, reaching out with her other hand to wipe away the fresh tears that spilled down Cathy’s cheeks. Cathy couldn’t remember crying so much since her reincarnation but felt no shame as she leaned into Anne’s touch, the lingering fear from her dream making her desperate for any physical contact that proved her friend really was still there and within reach. Her fingers on Anne’s neck felt somewhat intimate, humbled by the enormous step her friend was taking by letting her touch her scar when she kept it so carefully hidden from everyone else.

“Come on,” Anne murmured, moving to lie back down beneath the duvet. Cathy was about to just lie next to her when Anne tugged on her wrist and pulled her closer, snaking an arm around Cathy’s back as she hesitantly rested her head on Anne’s chest. “You hear that?” she asked, and when Cathy stopped focusing on her voice she heard and felt the gentle pulse of Anne’s heartbeat beneath her skin. “Long as you can hear that I’m still alive and I’m not going anywhere.”

The repetitive sound was enough to calm her own racing heart, understanding why Anne and Elizabeth had always found it such a comfort. “Sorry,” she said without thinking about it, forcing herself to continue even after Anne shook her head. “I came in here to help you with nightmares and now look at me.”

“S’alright,” Anne murmured in a voice impossibly gentle, her hand finding Cathy’s and her thumb gently smoothing over her knuckles. “Happens to the best of us eh?”

“Yeah,” Cathy breathed out with a muted chuckle. She was already becoming sleepy again, Anne’s unspoken repeat of her own promise the night before banishing the misgivings from her mind and pulling her back towards unconsciousness. “You’re warm,” she whispered after a while, aware of the fever heat being emitted from Anne’s skin.

Anne laughed lightly. “I’m not well,” she reminded her, adding on “I’m cold and you’re a good blanket though so don’t you dare move.”

Cathy hummed in agreement as Anne reached over to flicked the lamp back off, but the dark wasn’t so scary when Cathy had Anne’s touch and her heartbeat to keep her anchored into reality. When they eventually fell back asleep, they both had the most peaceful night of rest in each other’s arms than they’d had in a long time.

[thebraxiatelcollection]

AU list - Accidental Marriage AU for Bernice Summerfield ( & her crew) pls?

AU List A-Z

@stillthesunkenstars and @devilfromthestars; may like this Benny/Brax ficlet ;) This was too long to do into a small prompt so kind of turned it into a small fanfic.

-

Bernice Summerfield woke up on the ground with a headache.

It wasn’t the first time she has been in this situation, no and it was not one she was proud to admit but she did not, in general, enjoy waking up on the ground. It was far from ideal circumstances and she groaned against the cold, cement floor before she opened her eyes.  

Gods, how much Draconian brandy did she drink last night? 

She winced, holding her head as she slowly sat up.  The room seemed to still be spinning and she blindly groped about her bed for her alarm clock that seemed to be ringing-or was that just the ringing noise in her head? She wasn’t quite sure but as she was groping about, instead of finding the alarm clock or the blanket, she found an ankle. An ankle that wasn’t Jason’s as she and Jason had well and truly been divorced and she was still mad at him for the Sunless situation.

She leapt to her feet in surprise, opening her eyes which did nothing to help nurse her hangover. There was a rustle on the bed and Benny managed to peak at who it was underneath the bedsheets.

Gods, please gods no-

“Ah,”  The voice drawled, showing no sign of a hangover. Of course, he wouldn’t. He was a bloody Time-Lord and they didn’t get drunk except on ginger. Bloody typical. “Gracious me.”

She cursed underneath her breath as she stumbled over her own feet and landed with an almighty crash on the floor. So much for her silent escape.

“Bernice-” Braxiatel started to say her name but it sounded too much like shouting in her ears.

“Quieter please Brax,” Benny winces, rubbing the back of her head. “Oh, my head. How much did I drink last night?”

“More than your usual amount I think,” Braxiatel comments as he sits up and oh no, he was naked from the waist up which did not help matters. “Somebody must have spiked my drink as well. My head feels fuzzy.”

“You think?” She retorts dryly as she uses the end of the bed to leverage herself up and sunk down on the edge of the bed, taking a moment to steady herself. “We’re going to suffer today.”  When was the last time she got serious hungover like this? It must have been back in her university days on Dellah at the very least.

“Go back to sleep,” Braxiatel turned back on his side, making room for herself. “Unless you prefer to sleep on the floor.”

“But-what are we even doing here Brax?” Benny protested, but she had to admit, she was still knackered. Her body felt sore and tired and her head-gods! It wouldn’t stop ringing.

“Never mind about that. It’s 6am in the morning.” He mumbled.

“Fair point,” She agrees and she reached down and managed to snag the covers, pulling the sheet and duvet over both of them as she got back into bed. “We’ll deal with this later.”

“Of course, Bernice.”

She pulled the covers over her head, closing her eyes shut tight and prayed that when she next woke up, this was all some kind of horrible nightmare.

-

Benny woke up for the second time that day and it was almost four in the afternoon and was grateful to find she did not end up on the floor again which was a nice but instead of finding her cheek against the cold floor, her cheek was pressed against a very warm torso, hearing two double heart beats in her ear. In fact, it seemed to be all her limbs had become entangled with Braxiatel’s other limbs. 

She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to what she was seeing in the darkness of Braxiatel’s bedroom.

Wait.

Braxiatel’s bedroom?

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. 

Oh no. 

Thankfully, Braxiatel was still asleep on his side, almost looking peaceful as memories started to drift through her mind from yesterday. She wanted to throttle Braxiatel for being more responsible about this but she couldn’t blame him when this was her fault just as much as his and, truthfully,  she felt rather cosy and warm here, not wishing to move any time soon.

Braxiatel looked rather handsome in his sleep, almost well rested. It was unusual for Bernice to see Braxiatel with his guard down, especially after the Veronica incident. She moved to brush a hand through his salt and pepper coloured hair when she caught side on her hand, noticing a very recent addition of jewellery there.

There was a wedding ring on her hand. A very expensive, shiny and delicate looking ring.

“Oh bugger,” She groaned and she cautiously peeked at Braxiatel’s and sure enough, there was a ring on his hand that hadn’t been there before, matching hers.

As though Braxiatel could sense her staring at him, Braxiatel flickered his eyes open. “Bernice?” He asks, dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” She half-joked,  not knowing how to bring their situation.

“You’re in my bedroom. In my bed.”

“Right...”

Braxiatel looked at her suspiciously, sensing her staring at their hands and he glanced down, seeing their wedding rings. “Ah.”

“Ah indeed.” Benny licked her lips. “Surprise may be my middle name but I didn’t expect this kind of surprise.”

“Do you remember what happened last night?”

Benny began to stretch, wanting to loosen her sore limbs. “At a guess? We had that celebration Christmas ball. We got amazingly drunk on Draconian and Ginger brandy, got married somewhere and ended up in bed.” Her eyes widened and she poked his side as a memory flashed before her eyes. “You kicked me out of bed by the way.”

“How rude of me.” Braxiatel frowns, lines creasing his forehead. “I must have drunk an awful lot of ginger. That’s terribly unlike me and I don’t usually sleep for such long periods either.”

“Lucky you. Wait, really? That explains why  I never see the Doctor sleep.”

“Really. Time-Lord’s rarely have the need for it. Sometimes, they have power naps lasting for 30 minutes every couple of years but otherwise, we rarely let our guard down.” He manages to sit up, but thankfully, kept the bedsheet above his waistline. 

“Where did we get married?” Benny manages to ask, her mind still foggy. 

Braxiatel didn’t pause, staring at their rings as he took her hand in his. The wedding rings were antique and proper, that she could tell. Even when they were drunk, Braxiatel still had a taste. 

“Space Vegas,” He replies. “In one of their elope churches.”

“Tasteful.” She says, trying to tell herself that this was okay. Everything was going to be fine. This didn’t change their friendship. They could just go about to their daily business and ignore the fact they got married whilst drunk at some space vegas wedding venue. 

“This will be interesting to explain to Bev and the others,” Braxiatel mused, running a hand through his hair, trying to straighten it out. “Especially to Jason.”

“Yes, thank you for that reminder,” She groans. “Brax, tell me the truth. You have a better memory than me. What happened last night?”

Brax pauses, thinking. “You and I left the party after taking up a few bottles of Draconian and ginger brandy to my office. Then I woke up to find you on the floor of my bedroom.”

“This is all your fault.”

“Bernice!” Braxiatel says, exasperated. “I wouldn’t lie to you about this. I know just as little as you do which is frightening.”

Just then, his datapad ping and he reached over, finding it was from Bev Tarrant, his P.A. “Oh no.”

“What...?” Benny asks cautiously and she sits next to him, looking at the screen. On the screen, their wedding announcement had been made publically on their local news station and everyone was sending in their congratulations.  “Oh no. Wait, is that Bev sending you an  eggplant emoji next to a wedding ring?”

She could have sworn Braxiatel’s cheeks turned bright red as he hid the datapad. They both knew now they couldn’t hide their marriage. It was all out in the open and everyone knew. 

“First thing first, we need to find that marriage certificate,” Benny says, climbing out of bed. “And find out what happened last night so we can fill in the gaps.”

“Quite,” Braxiatel agrees, getting out after her, grabbing his robe. “We’ll have to search the place.”

“You don’t remember where you put it?” Benny asked in disbelief. Blimey, he must have drunken a lot if he couldn’t remember where he put an important document. That was very unlike Braxiatel. 

“Who says I had it? You could have had it,” He pipes up, heading to the bathroom.

That was true. Anyone of them could have the document and she put on the spare robe and began to search through his bedroom. And this was before she’s had any coffee. 

“Check my pockets,” Braxiatel suggests, poking his head around the door, the bathroom running hot water. “That’s where I usually keep items. Besides, if we got drunk and married at the same time, having a marriage certificate and putting it in my pockets would make sense.” He disappears back in the bathroom.

“Right, of course.” Benny rolls her eyes fondly and she began to rummage. She could do with another drink but it was four in the afternoon and she needed a desperate cup of coffee. She finally found the document just after Braxiatel came out of the shower, smartly washed and dressed as though nothing had ever happened, still wearing his ring. “Found it.”

“Good.” He nods, taking the certificate. “I’ll give you a copy.”

“Brax...” She licks her lips nervously. “This won’t change anything, will it?”

“It shouldn’t do. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’m a human and you’re a Time-Lord.  Isn’t it against the law or something with your people?”

“Actually, no. It’s frowned upon, I admit that but times are changing and for the better back on Gallifrey. A slow, long road it is but whatever happens Bernice,” He meets her eyes, gently tilting her chin to look at him. “You are under my protection.”

“I don’t need protecting,” She says, but she was grateful for his support if it should come to that. “But thank you.” She chuckles. “You know, a Time-Lord and a human archaeologist, we make an odd pair, don’t we?”

“It’s almost as if it was meant to be,” Brax sang cheerily and presses the room service button, ordering coffee and some light lunch for the both of them. 

“At least I’m not a plant this time. But if I want to make it clear Brax.” She crosses her arms. “I don’t want to be added as part of your collection like you did with Veronica. I’m me. Your...best friend, now you’re wife. Not some rare artefact to keep in your personal collection for only you to see. Got that?”

Braxiatel nodded. “Oh Bernice,” He gives a soft smile. “You are so much more than either of those things.” He offers her his hand with the wedding ring. “Are you willing to give us a go?”

She couldn’t help but smile back. “That I am.” Sje says to both of those things and takes his hand.

A new beginning was about to start.

[geniuscloud]

Bad Liar- Chapter Three

I kinda went a little long on this chapter so enjoy! ALSO PLEASE DON’T BE MAD. I don’t know how to collapse the story so it doesn’t show up as long. I apologize! If anyone knows, PLEASE TELL ME!! Please let me know what you guys think, or if you have anything to say at all. I love hearing feedback! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this series. It means a lot to me. Xx

Genre: Fluff, Angst, and a little suggestive.

Jaebum/JB (GOT7) X Orginal Character

Collage/University AU

Warrnings: May cause slight heart break, and rage towards characters.

May contain: Brief mentions of BTS members.

Groggily I moved my arm, swinging it around, trying to blindly feel for my phone which wouldn’t stop beeping. The new semester meant waking up at 6am every morning for a 7:30am class; though luckily my classes ended by noon. Every ‘day one’ my first class was at 11am, and classes only lasted until 3:15pm. The only problem, I’m not a morning person. I get grumpy and agitated really easily until about 9am, then I start to properly wake up and join society as a happy person.

I got up after about 10 minutes of pep talking myself, chanting things like “if you get up today, you can see that cute Barista Jimin before class” and “If you don’t try to attempt murder, you can let yourself get ice cream from the convenience store after class.” After that I jumped in the shower, got dressed in some comfortable clothes, and did a little bit of makeup. I made a deal with myself to start letting my skin have a break on the days that I have class early. No more early morning cake-face, because once you get to university you start to realize sleep is extremely important and no one actually cares how you look early in the morning because everyone is just trying to stay awake to get their money’s worth out of the classes.

Around 6:45 I was almost ready to leave to the coffee shop; slipping on my black doc boots, when I notice I was basically monochrome dressed. Black skinny jeans and a grey shirt. Maybe I should try adding some color to wardrobe like Amie? She always wears such cute and colorful clothes. Maybe I could get more attention from boys if I was always cute like her and… What am I saying? Oh God maybe I’m getting jealous of her? Ugh, stop it. I’m fine the way I am, but… Okay, maybe some color in my wardrobe wouldn’t hurt. It would be better than looking like I’m going to a funeral all the time. I switch out the black jacket for an army green one, hoping that maybe I would look a little more approachable.

I slipped my contacts in last minute, and then grabbed my stuff before locking up. I was lucky now because this semester I have more time in the morning to get to my class. Living a little far away from school meant I got up around 6am for my 8:30am class, so this time it was nice having about half an hour to walk the equivalence of 2 parking lots. I could stop by the coffee shop, chat up the cute guy Jimin, and then head to class without worrying.

The little bell over the door rang as I walked in, a big smile on my face when I saw Jimin. I had gotten to know him a little better once he started working here 3 semesters ago. His dad owned the local coffee shop on campus, and he worked here almost every morning before his classes. He, unlike myself, was a morning person and didn’t mind waking up at 5am to open the shop at 6am. I would rather bathe in boiling water.

“Good morning Jimin!”

“Good morning Micah, you’re here early?” He smiled brightly.

“I moved on campus so I’ll probably be here a little more often, and a lot earlier than usual.”

“That’s cool. I’m glad to see you not as rushed and panicky like last semester.”

“Don’t remind me. Anyways, can I just get a Caramel Latte?” I said, biting my lip while thinking.

“Are you going to drink the whole menu this year as well?”

“We’ll see… Oh can I get a bagel too?”

Jimin ended up giving me the bagel for free as a little gift for being a very frequent customer. He wrote my name on the cup before tucking his light brown hair out of the way, and then resting the marker behind his ear. I sat down at the bar stool beside Jimin’s station munching away on the bagel as we continued to talk. “There sure are quite a few customers in here already and it’s only ten minutes after seven…”

“Yup, we get some really interesting people here when we open and when we close. Like that guy in the right corner hiding under his duvet with his laptop? His name is Taehyung, his friends call him V. He’s been in here every morning for the past 2 weeks right when we open. Even before campus properly opened for classes. That’s his third cup of espresso in two hours, and if you watch closely… He only blinks every 20 to 30 seconds. Apparently, he’s retaking a class and is trying to prepare so he does well. I don’t think he’s slept in a few days. He keeps mumbling something about plants.”

“Maybe he’s doing something to do with plants?”

“He’s a visual art’s major…”

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah, I hope he’s okay though. He’s the reason I put emergency services on speed dial on the business phone,” Jimin laughed pointing to the phone by the register. I finished up my food before grabbing my bag and I was just about to head out the door when I heard Jimin call out, “Hey Micah, are you free this weekend?”

“Uh I think so?”

“Want to go see a movie or something?”

“Yeah, sure! Are you working tomorrow, I can give you my number then? I’ve got to go to class right now” I yelled.

“I’m always here, of course. If you show up, coffee is on me.”

“I’ll be there, bye Jimin!” I darted out the door and started rushing towards my class. I was a language major, my strongest second language being English. My first class on day two was advanced English language and grammar. Which I felt would be a little easier for me, but boy was I wrong. Who knew that American’s were so weird dropping the u in words like colour and neighbour? As well as having words that are spelt the same, but sound different? Live and live, read and read? What is this?! We also established partners for any class activities, which I went to my usual partner throughout the first few semesters we had together. Thank goodness Namjoon was in another one of my classes, because he was really good with English. Where he excelled, I didn’t… though where I excelled cough pronunciation cough he wasn’t AS great. I was better at pronouncing words, and talking without an extremely distinct accent.

After what felt like forever, my classes were finally over. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep but I guess the universe had a different plan because as soon as I got home Amie was hosting what looked like a party. Though it wasn’t any of her new friends, it was JB and the guys. Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae, Yugyeom, and BamBam. All 6 of JB’s close guy friends were in the living room packed around the built coffee table eating. It was a typical sight for me, just usually it took place at JB’s house. Youngjae was kicking everyone’s ass at video games like usual, while the others cheered him on. I saw Amie sat on the couch, pressed between JB and Yugyeom, with a bowl of chips in her hand.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” I yelled over the TV. The game paused in an instant, all their eyes darting over to my position by the front door. No one had even noticed me coming in.

“Micah! You’re home, how are you?” Jackson smiled getting up from the floor and coming to give me a hug. He was the only one who really made an effort to come and greet me, which was a little unusual. Normally the guys were pretty excited to see me since I don’t get to see them often.

“I’m doing good. Class was boring… Amie how was your first day on campus?”

“It was fun. I went to that little café and got a coffee. The barista says he knows you!”

“Ah that’s Jimin, yeah he’s my friend. Oh by the way, we’re going to catch a movie this weekend. Do you want to come too?”

“Micah, that sounds like a date. Did you seriously just ask me to third wheel your date?” Amie smirked, raising her eyebrow.

“Micah has a date? With someone other than Jae…” Yugyeom announced before Jinyoung gave him a solid elbow to the ribs.

I rolled my eyes, “It’s not a date. Anyways, can you guys explain why you are all here?”

“You didn’t tell us you had a cute roommate who could cook!” BamBam, placing the controller down.

“I just got her yesterday, and I didn’t know she could cook.” “Well she’s great, you’re going to be seeing a lot of us if she’s here and making food. Try the pork buns!”

I sighed, walking over to the rest of the guys. I was going to sit down with them but with the 8 of them taking all the chairs and carpet space, it really didn’t seem like a welcoming environment. Amie shot me a small apologetic smile before answering the question in my head. “JB brought them over to surprise us. He said they are your friends too, and also thought it would nice to introduce them to me in the meantime.”

“It sure was a surprise…” I huffed. I threw my bag in my room, laying down on my bed for comfort. I just wanted sleep, or death at this point. This was starting to get a little annoying. I’m the kind of girl who likes a plan, and I don’t like drastic changes. When things don’t go the way as planned, I start to get agitated. My theoretical plan would be moving in with my childhood best friend, going to school, having this place as my relaxing safe space, and then JB’s place would be where I go for socializing. Now JB is here and brought the looney toon bunch with him…Plus my roommate is too much of a socializer to say no and turn them away.

“Micah? Are you coming back? Youngjae wants to verse you too!” Mark called from the doorway.

“I don’t have anywhere to sit” I exclaimed as I paced over to the group.

“Just sit on my lap, I don’t mind. I have strong thighs. Though I can stand if you want to sit down,” Jackson smiled sweetly. Some people would take that as a dirty suggestion, but Jackson was actually just a genuinely sweet guy.

“That’s not happening, Micah can sit here. I’ll stand…” JB interrupted, getting off the couch and moving to the side. I slid beside Amie, who still looked a little uncomfortable.

“So, what are we playing?”

“It’s a Grand Theft Auto death match,” Yugyeom replied passing BamBam’s controller over.

“Oh, you’re back playing this old game? I thought you guys would have been playing something new like Overwatch or something.”

“Hey why doesn’t Amie verse Micah?” JB asked. All the guys seemed to really like the idea of us playing.

“Okay, but just so you know I’m great at playing games” Amie replied, grabbing Youngjae’s remote.

“Getting cocky, are we? Care to make it a bet?”

“The winner gets something that belongs to the loser. Winner’s choice.”

“Deal.”

“I should warn you Micah, I never lose.”

“Neither do I” I smirked.

Saturday rolled around faster than I anticipated. Even though the guys said they would be over frequently, I hadn’t seen them since Monday. Which was a good break I guess… At least I was able to focus on school more, and I even got to hang out with Amie. We went shopping together a little bit, she got her nails done while I watched. We just had some free time to reconnect and get back on the same page as before. We both had changed a lot, but the chemistry was still there for the most part. She told me stories about living in the UK, and in Sweden. Apparently, she felt kind of lonely and awkward being part of the minority compared to when she’s home in Korea. The world has differently beauty standards, and here… She’s considered model gorgeous, like one of the most glamourous looking idols.

I woke up a little late on Saturday morning to the sounds of Amie making breakfast. She was busy trying to make crepes, but she dropped the pan before it made its way to the stove top. I ran in to check on her, reassuring myself that she was okay.

“What the hell happened?”

“I was holding my phone and the pan in one hand, and then it buzzed which startled me and I dropped the pan” she said, lifting the pan off the floor, “thank goodness there was no crepe batter in there yet.”

I picked up her phone off the floor, the screen lighting up with a message, “Who’s Jae emoji peach?”

“Oh, it’s JB. Get it Jaebum? Jae-bum. As in peach emoji, because it looks like a booty.”

“Yeah, I-uh… I get it. So, what’s going on with him?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you guys like…?”

“We’re just friends for now. He is going to come over soon though, he said since you’re busy maybe we could hang out and go for dinner” she smiled into her phone, “You’re okay with that right?”

“Yeah why wouldn’t I be? I have a date with Jimin anyways.”

“Thank you again for being super cool with all of this. I really like JB, and I think he likes me too. I hope you don’t feel awkward about this…”

“Me? Awkward? Psssh. We’re history, done, the past is the past. I have absolutely no romantic feelings for him whatsoever.” Amie put a crepe on my plate, decorated with strawberries and crème. I instantly shoved it in my face, trying to keep myself from talking because this could go really bad, really fast.

“Hey do you want help getting ready for your date with Jimin? I obviously love doing makeup and hair for other people. I could help with an outfit too?” Amie suggested.

“Oh, I don’t want to burden you…”

“It’s not a problem at all. I mean I saw Jimin, that guy is the most aesthetically pleasing guy I’ve seen in a very long time. He’s super attractive and would look really cute with you. You should doll it up a little an impress him.”

“If you want to… Please don’t make me look too uncomfortable though. I still want to look like me” I begged.

At first, she tried to dress me like her. A white crop top with a floral skater skirt, and sandals. Which was a huge “nope” in my books. We argued a little bit over my outfit, and then she finally went to MY closet to look for clothes. We settled on a black tank top, light high-waisted shorts, and my army green jacket. Once the clothes were settled she finally submitted to making me, still look like me. The makeup was neutral colored, and she added more body into my hair.

“Now you have that more intense beach wave look. It suits you, and it’s cute” she smiled, letting me finally look at myself. I’m not going to lie, I was feeling pretty damn confident in myself right now. The best part was that I still looked like me, just a little cuter. “You’re a work of art, now hurry up Jimin is going to be here in a little bit. JB should be here in a few minutes as well.”

I texted Jimin, letting him know I was ready. He replied that he was almost at the campus, and that he’ll be here soon. A knock at the door brought me to my feet, rushing to the door with excitement. I was really hoping for a good reaction from Jimin, since he usually sees me sleep deprived and not at my best. “Hey Jimi… Oh it’s you.” “Well nice to see you too ‘Best Friend” JB mocked, giving me a slight hug while entering.

“Sorry I’m just waiting for Jimin and he said he’d be here soon so I assumed it was him.”

“Wow, I’m hurt. You’re not even excited to see me anymore. What have I done to deserve this kind of treatment?”

“You keep coming over uninvited?”

“That’s not the point,” he laughed. He gave me a quick scan before returning his eyes back to mine, “You look good. Trying to impress a guy I assume?”

“Well now that I’m back in the dating game, I guess I better put some effort into it.”

“Admit it, I ruined you” Jaebum laughed, shaking his head side to side in a joking matter.

“You completely destroyed me, I’ll never be the same now” I rolled my eyes, cracking a huge smile.

“Seriously though Micah, you look good. I’m happy for you.” I felt a blush creep over my cheeks before adverting my eyes to the front door as the knocking sound protruded from it.

“Well I better go, I’ll see you later. Have fun with Amie, not too much fun though!”

“Same with you!” He called after me, as I closed the door behind him. He only caught a glimpse of Jimin’s face, the two of them sending each other a small smile.

Jimin was a kind guy, and was super sweet. You could tell by his little actions that he was super careful with every move, and he was also very caring and adorable. We saw a puppy running around in the parking lot after it escape from its owner, and oh my Lord, I’ve never seen a man act cuter with a puppy before. It made me want to plant a huge kiss on his plump lips, and squeeze him to death. Jimin was so kind to every person we met, making sure to say thank you and respectfully greet the people we came in contact with.

I got to know the little details about him and his life. His family had been running the little coffee shop his grandmother opened, on the side of their everyday jobs. Jimin had offered to basically take over as manager for the mornings because of his classes, and the pay was really good because of number of “hangry” students that stopped by. The most interesting thing I had learned about him was that he was actually a contemporary dancer, and could sing as well. Though he was too shy to sing in public, and promised to sing for me another time.

The date as a whole was really good, I enjoyed myself. Though there was a tiny piece of me who also couldn’t deny that we didn’t really have the relationship chemistry. He was an amazing guy, and he was really attractive, but we were also, really different. He was a morning person who cared so much about other, and was this bubbly ray of sunshine. Myself on the other hand, was a night owl who would cause murder if I was awoken too early for my own liking. I also had the tendency to be a little bit of a moody person and sometimes I can act like a total jerk. That was kind of the reason JB and I worked well together. We were always watching out for each other when our personalities were at their worst. We also understood how each other felt because we both know how it feels.

Maybe I wasn’t acting being sarcastic when I said JB ruined me, because there was a little bit of truth to that. I was always kind of comparing guys to JB. I realize now that maybe I just need to talk to JB about it. We never really had a proper conversation after the break up. We just instantly went back to friends, and just swept the feelings under the rug. Maybe it was time that we talk about things, especially if the two of us feel it’s time to properly start moving on. I couldn’t do that to Jimin anyways. That’s the worst thing I could probably do; starting a relationship with him before I even properly figure out my feelings for my best friend.

Jimin dropped me off at my dorm, which was still empty at the time. I invited him in for a little bit to thank him for taking me out and share some of the cake we bought from the bakery before we arrived. In the end, the evening was really nice. I had fun, and promised that we’d hang out a little more… as friends. I gave him a big hug before saying goodbye. It hadn’t been more than a minute or two when I noticed he had left his headphone on the counter. I grabbed them, slipping on my shoes and swung open the door. As soon as I lifted my head I was stunned to see two bodies in front of me. JB and Amie, planting a deep kiss on each other.

[wwefluffandstuff]

What Are You Doing Under There? (Braun Strowman X Reader Fluff)

BRAUN STROWMAN FLUFF. DON’T CARE IF ANY OF YOU  DON’T LIKE HIM JUST PRETEND IT’S SOMEBODY ELSE.  Sorry but  he’s my fav. Lots of fluffy  fluff. 

You were home alone and boy did you feel it. You were having one of your worse days where all you could think of was your loving boyfriend who was away travelling for work. You lay curled up in a ball  in the middle of the bed surrounded by pillows and blankets to make up for your missing bear of  a man. Yup, you were dating the monster of a man Braun Strowman. You’d met him  through your work when he was travelling through and his rental car had broken down. You being the only mechanic your boss could reach at the ungodly hour grumbled but complied thinking of the overtime pay you’d be getting for it. As you studied the three men in front of you at the garage you recognised two instantly as Gallows and Anderson who you’d seen work NJPW, the other who was absolutely huge, you had no idea who he was. After 2 hours of you working your ass off and making small talk you started to like the big guy and obliged when he asked  for your number. A few months later you’d  gotten together and then after that you’d moved into his place. Your German Sheppard, Roddy, lay with you under the covers as you drifted off to a restless nights sleep.  You eventually made it  into the deeper part of your sleep cycle  and didn’t the door open. Nor did you feel Roddy run from the bed to your front door to greet Braun.  You did however hear the footsteps on the stairs and quickly sliding yourself under the bed in fear. You heard a  huff  of confusion as footsteps walked around the room and you held your  breath.  Not once did you think it was Braun, but that was due to you being severely sleep deprived. Roddy sniffed around the bed before sticking his face under it and right in yours causing said person who get onto the floor and chuckle  when he saw you hiding under the bed.  

‘What’re you doing under there sweetheart?’ He asked pulling you out and into his arms.  

‘I thought maybe  somebody had broken in’ You said nervously. 

‘Well at least you had sense to hide’ He said chuckling as he lay you down on the bed and helped you to rearrange the pillows and duvet so he could climb in next to you. ‘But didn’t you think about Roddy going after  them?’ He asked and you sighed looking up at the ceiling. 

‘I’m sleep deprived’  You said and he chuckled pulling you into him.

‘I know, and you should really think about coming on the road with me’ He said and you looked up into his eyes.  You smiled kissing him softly. 

‘You know I can’t leave Roddy’ You said and  he kissed you again. 

‘My parents said they’ll look after him for us’  He said as you kissed  him back. 

‘Well I’ll think about it’  You said smiling into the latest kiss and resting your head against his rather large chest.  You sighed contently as the pair of you fell asleep clutching at each other for dear life. 

You awoke the next morning at 6am as you did every morning and let Roddy out of the house to do his business. You slunk back upstairs to your still sleeping boyfriend and found your way back into his arms and smiled in content. Honestly you only ever felt at home in his arms. You’d  already decided that you were going with him but you were going to play out you were making up your mind and see how far he was going to go to convince you to go with him. He was meant to be leaving the same day so you were going to see what he was going to do. You were jolted from your  thoughts by him waking up and pulling you into him for a passionate kiss making you giggle. 

‘No you have morning breath’ You said swatting his chest making him chuckle deeply.  

‘Come on, let’s go out for a run’ He said dragging you out of the bed in his arms and getting ready for your run together. You left and did your 5 mile run with Braun and Roddy before coming back home to shower and change. Braun came down with your bag and you cocked an eyebrow  at him. 

‘I don’t remember agreeing’ You said and he  chuckled. 

‘I’m no longer asking. You’re coming with me’  He said picking you up in his other arm whilst you squealed as he walked you to the car and sat you in the passenger seat. You chuckled,  you should have known he wouldn’t have taken no as answer. Roddy was happily laying on the backseat and Braun climbed in driving away to his parents.