#every driver can do the talk but not everyone actually walks the walk like kevin and jan

[mcgnussen]

k-mag hyping up mdk’s new women team who will be trained by his dad, jan magnussen, too 🫶🏻

[cucumbers-and-olives]

Enemies to Lovers Part 3

masterlist  <<part 1 <part 2 part 3 part 4 (coming soon!) >

Summary: You leave the Gillespie house and head to the airport with Charlie after an eventful two weeks. While at the airport, your flight gets delayed and you learn of some interesting news...

Category: enemies to lovers, angst, fluff

Fandom: JATP

Paring: Charlie Gillespie x fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings/Includes: arguing/fighting, small panic attack, cringy songs i wrote

A/N: so... i can never post on time. and i know its been a while since i posted the last chapter. i really hope you guys like this chapter! please reblog and comment and let me know what you think! your support means everything, and keeps me going, so thank you.

Mandatory Thanking of the Betas: thank you to @wrhen for giving me help and feedback with this chapter!

AO3 link here (coming soon!)

Please don’t repost my work without my permission, in part or whole. My work can also be found on AO3 @cucumbersandolives. Thank you!

Ice & Fire, and Enemies to Lovers are both my own songs that I wrote. All song rights go to me.

“Charlie! Y/N! Your cab is here!” Ms.Gillespie called. You checked under the bed one last time before grabbing your suitcase and backpack.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality Ms.Gillespie,” You said, walking up to her. “If you hadn’t invited me I would have spent Christmas alone, and this was so much better.”

“Christmas alone? What a loser,” Charlie remarked as he put his bag into the trunk of the cab. You just rolled your eyes.

“Charlie, be a gentleman and grab her suitcase.” Ms.Gillespie said with a calm yet authoritative tone. He grabbed your suitcase and did as he was told. “I’m sorry about him, but I’m happy you had a good time. Maybe you can join us next year?”

“I would be honored,” You said, taking a last glance around the house you had stayed at for the past two weeks.

“Hey! Let’s go!” Charlie hollered from outside. “We’re gonna miss the flight!”

“Thank you, Ms.Gillespie,” You adjusted your backpack and stepped outside to the man who had become a whiny teenager.

“Finally,” He said as you sat down. “She’s my mother, not yours.”

“I’m sorry about him,” You said to the lady in the driver's seat. “We’re all ready to go now, sorry for the wait.”

She nodded and began to drive. The scenery was nice, but it only took a couple of minutes for you to start yelling at Charlie.

“Fuck this,” You pulled out his earbud. The niceties could stop now that his mother wasn’t here. “I have tried to be nice to you this whole time, but now I can say this: You want to act like a little boy throwing a hissy fit? Fine, be my guest. But at least do it in someone else’s company, I have been nothing but kind to you, you-” You almost cussed again, but you reined yourself in. He was worth your anger but not that much of it.

He just rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Whatever you say, princess.” His words, taken in another context, could have easily been mistaken for something other than the daggers they were.

~

“It’s delayed,” He said, and that simple fact destroyed the rest of the day. “The plane has some issue. They think it’ll be at least two hours, if not more.”

“God, every time I try to like airports, something bad happens,” You said, slumping back into the uncomfortable airport chairs. You knew it wasn’t the airline’s fault, (well it kinda was), but you needed to get back to work. You fiddled with the cord on your headphones before putting them back on.

“Ah- Not so fast,” Charlie said, blocking you from putting them on. He showed you who was calling him. “If I have to talk to the boss man,” He said, referring to Kenny, “Then you do too.”

“See but I don’t,” You said, as you received a different call. “I have a different boss to talk to.”

“I mean, I’m not your boss-” The girl on the other end of the phone said, but Charlie cut her off.

“Are you actually going to talk to Jadah?” He said, about to accept Kenny’s call.

“No, Charlie. Sav’s phone died, so you talk to your boss and I’ll talk to mine.” You walked around for a bit to find a quieter corner of the airport.

“You okay, Y/N?” Jadah asked, finally.

“No, but that's for another time. What’s up?”

“So… Kenny is telling Charlie about the song showcase, but there’s one thing that he’ll leave out.” She said, leaving you on a cliffhanger.

“That is?” You said, prompting her.

“I- I may have slipped him your demos?” Jadah said slowly, and at that moment, all sense of keeping up public appearances went out the window.

“Jadah! Those were not yours to share! In any capacity!” You took a deep breath and asked your first question. “Where did you get them? I thought that the sound guy and I were the only ones with copies?” “I may have bribed him for a copy,” She said sheepishly. Even though you couldn’t see her, you knew she was nervous.

“Jadah, I have one other question.” You paused, trying to figure out how to ask nicely. “Which songs did you give him? Cause if you gave him Enemies-”

“I gave him Ice & Fire, Enemies to Lovers, and I can’t remember the third one. Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not.” You were, a little bit. “Can you put Savannah on the phone though?” She gave a quick yes, and you could hear the phone being passed between hands.

“Y/N?” Savannah said.

“Did you know? A-about the demos,” You clarified.

“I knew you recorded them, and Jadah had me listen to them. You are amazing!”

“Thank you,” You said. “Uh, E.T.L. isn’t finished yet, but I had the time in the studio so I recorded it.” “Y/N, if you want to be a songwriter, you would be amazing!” She said, but you could tell what she meant.

“I won’t leave you in the middle of a show, Sav.” You were honest with your words. “I know.” She paused. You both knew what amazing opportunities would open up if you did. “Hold on one second, I’m going to go on mute really quick, okay?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

You could see Charlie coming towards you. His walk had a purpose, but one that was unknown to you.

“Hello, Mr.Ortega! How can I help?” You put your hand out to Charlie, signaling to him that if he talked he would be dead as Kenny spoke.

“I’m not sure if the girls have told you, but we’d love to have you perform your songs at the showcase.” He said, and you chose your words wisely, so that way Charlie wouldn’t know.

“I’d love to! What time, and which ones would you like to hear?” You asked, as you pulled out a pen and rolled up your sleeves.

“Ice & Fire, Enemies to Lovers or uh, E.T.L., I believe that was how Jadah referred to it?” He said, and you could tell he wasn’t sure what to call it.

“Yeah, I can do that, any others?” You said, scribbling down quick abbreviations of the titles.

“Oh there was one more, How to Be a Heartbreaker, I loved that one.” He said, pausing. “And I believe that Jadah mentioned that you had a few others? If you want to pick one or two, that would be great!”

“Alright! I know it’s weird to ask this, but no one has given me any details, so what time is the showcase, and where is it?” You asked, excited for the opportunity to perform.

“4:30 this afternoon, in dance studio A.” You wrote down the time quickly.

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be landing from my flight only an hour before that.”

“Y/N?”

“Yes?”

“You can do it.”

You scoffed a bit as the call ended. “Fuck.” You cussed under your breath.

“Wow, you talked to Kenny, and that's your response to a conversation with him? Anyways, I’m going to grab a coffee, want one?” He offered.

“Uh, I’ll just take a muffin, if they have one.” As you walked away, your brain was moving a mile a minute as you tried to figure out how everything would work.

“C’mon Y/L/N, if there’s one thing you can figure out, it’s making this work. You can do this.”

~

“Owen!” You said, running over to him.

“Hi!” He said giving you a hug, and then he looked at you. “Sav told me, you look like a mess.”

“Yeah, I know. Look, can you fix my necklace?” You said pointing to the jumbled mess it had gotten into around your neck.

“Yeah, ‘course, turn around,'' He said, and you did so. He got surprisingly close as you moved your hair away from your neck, and as he fiddled with it, you could see Charlie out of the corner of your eye. He had a look that you couldn’t put your finger on, but it almost seemed like… jealousy?

“All done!” He said, patting you on the back.

“Thank you,” You said, adjusting your sweatshirt a bit.

“You got this,” He said, grabbing your hand. “Okay?”

“Okay-” You said, but Kenny’s voice rose above everyone else's.

“Hello everyone! If you could turn your attention to the mirror, that would be great!” Everyone’s eyes turned to him, standing on a chair with a mic in hand. “Here's how this is going to work. I’d like our lovely leads to come to the mirror. Anyone else who isn’t singing can stand off of the dance floor over there,” He pointed to an area.

“If you are singing, you can follow me,” Paul said, raising his hand.

“Okay, go!” Kenny said, and as you followed Paul, you could hear him as a question. “Where is Charlie? Jeremy, check that bathroom, and Owen, look in the break room.”

~

“That was amazing Anna! Okay, who is next?” Kenny said, motioning to the person in front of you to come out. “Ah, Kevin, what do you have for us?”

Kevin began to talk, but it was hard to hear anything over your beating heart. You tried to take deep breaths, but it just got louder, and your worries began to overwhelm you. You took a step back in the line, making your way to the back. That would give you some time to overcome your worries before you went out there.

The line seemed to move a warp speed, because before you knew it, Kenny was calling your name.

“Y/N? Are you back there?” He asked, and you could hear everyone start to whisper when you didn’t respond.

“Yeah, gimme one second!” You said, fixing your shirt a bit. You got this. You can do it.

As you stepped out onto the stage Kenny’s face lit up. “There you are! How was the flight?” His eyes were kind, but as you looked into the audience, there were many shook faces.

“It was rough, but I’m happy to be here,” You said, sitting down in the chair in the middle of the stage. You kept taking deep breaths, trying, desperately to calm your nerves.

“I know you have a couple, so whenever you are ready, just say the song's name, and what characters you wrote it for,” Kenny explained. You looked around to see who was there. There was the choreo team, some Netflix executives, the lead cast, and a couple of other people who you didn’t recognize.

“This is lce & Fire, and I pictured Alex and Willie singing it.”

“Oh the desire

Like Ice & Fire

Shout it out loud

They won’t bring us down

Not a disgrace

We’ve made mistakes

Our love is strong

So sing along

I’ve been looking for you for so long

(I couldn’t find you)

Now that I’ve met you I’ve

Done something wrong

Oh, Ohhhh, Oh

Oh the desire

Like Ice & Fire

Shout it out loud

They can’t pull us down

Runnin’ from our past

Met in a crash

Through thick and thin

We can win

I’ve been looking for you for so long

(I couldn’t find you)

Now that I’ve met you I’ve

Done something wrong

Oh, Ohhhh, Oh

The forces pullin’ us together

Can’t stop, won’t stop

Oh hold on a little longer now

We’re Ice & Fire

(Fire)

Two parts of one

(One)

Can’t you see the passion in my eyes

Of Ice & Fire.”

As you finished, the final chord rang out from your guitar. The room was silent until Kenny spoke.

“That was wonderful! Booboo, Owen, what do you all think?” He said, turning to the actors for their opinion.

Booboo nodded to Owen. “Well, I think that your song embodies the characters really well. Uh, I definitely would love to sing it in the show, and I, uh personally can see our characters singing it. You wanna go?”

“Yeah, I agree with Owen on so many levels. I’d love to sing Ice & Fire, if that's okay with you Kenny,” Booboo turned to Kenny and the smile that was on his face was slowly mirrored on yours.

“Let’s do it! You wanna sing any others?” The room held its breath waiting for a response. And so did you.

Your first song had passed the test. Made it through. Your knee started bouncing again and you looked up to Savannah.

You got this. She mouthed.

You cleared your throat and moved the capo on your guitar. “Yeah, uh, this one is called Enemies to Lovers, and I didn’t write this one about any specific characters so it can be changed to fit any of them.”

You started singing and getting into the song. A door creaked open and you looked up, curious, and you continued to sing and play.

It was Charlie. He looked like a mess, like he had just gone to hell and back. Moving among the cast to find his seat, he didn’t notice you singing. Until you started the chorus.

It’s like we’re written in the stars,

Enemies to Lovers

Swinging past the bars,

Baby, we’ll discover-

You, me, we’re not so different,

You, me, we always win it,

You and me, we’re better than we seem,

Enemies

He watched you as you sang, and you, in turn, watched him. As you went into the chorus for a second time, you saw something change in his face. A realization or something, and you turned back to face Kenny as you finished the song.

We are written in the stars,

That's how we became

Well, what we are

Bicker hard and far,

Maybe we’ll discover-

You, me, we are different,

You, me, we can’t beat it,

You and me, we’re worse off than we seemed

You strummed your guitar, leaving the song and the story unfinished.

“That was amazing, unfortunately, I don’t think we have space for it in our show.” He smiled. “Someone will contact you about using Ice & Fire.”

The panel along with the rest of the room, packed up their things and started to leave until just you and the main cast remained. You started to walk out of the room when someone called out.

“Y/N! Wait!”

It was Charlie.

You looked at him, “Yes?”

“What the fuck was that song? Who’d you write it about?” He asked, like a love struck boy.

“I wrote it about you, duh!” You watched his face turn into one of- slight happiness? You laughed and started to walk away. Of course, he would think it’s about him, but why would it be? “Fuck you, Charlie. I didn’t think you were that self-centered!”

“I’m not!”He countered, and you stopped walking to look at him.

“Really? Cause only a self-centered person would ask me that… Or, do you have a crush on me? Aww, that’s so sweet!” You mocked. “See you around, lover boy.”

~

I really hope you liked that chapter! Let me know what you thought!

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JATP: @n0wornever @calamitykaty @screwunsaidemily @crybabyddl @badwolf00593 @dream-a-little-bigger-x

ETL: @yagorlemmalyn @ifilwtmfc @kaitieskidmore1 @p0gue420 @robbstarkmademedoit @lukepattersonsimp @honeyheartzz @notasoftie @winterwallacehenderson @jatp-musician-spirits @nani-2305 @boggie-brainrot

Charlie: @thesweetestsinner

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Major Updates to My Weird Idea (that includes my Nightside OCs)

Go check my previous post on this - HERE

This is mainly an update for @schizoauthoress , @the--blackdahlia , @spacelizardtrashboys , @enigmaticandunstable and @piratewithvigor and I personally think @nattinngrst might like this.

I went on a trip to the beach yesterday with my parents and my older brother (who I bored and annoyed with this idea and you'll see some of his influence in this here post)

Anything written in italics is meant to be taken as a joke as you read through this wall of text, sending good vibes as always, hope y'all are doing well.

The show is set in Canadian, Texas (real place: Wikipedia). I'm thinking of this show starting in the mid-to-late 90s (1996/1997).

I've managed to do several things with that weird sitcom idea, so, where to start, how about with the three potential titles:

1 - Neighbourhood Watch

2 - First Call

3 - First Round (Which my brother likes)

Here are some options for bar names, starting with the Cop bar:

1 - The Donut Hole

2 - The Roasted Hog (which my big bro suggested)

3 - The Sherriff's Outpost

And the Biker Bar:

1 - The Handlebar Inn

2 - The Steel Horse Saloon

3 - The Rebel Room

Next on the list of updates: Cast additions, character roles and (Finally after 2 days) Names for Everyone!!

I'll start with the Cop Bar's owner & staff:

Rosalina Asturias 'Rosa' (Played by Billie Martinez) an employee of the local cop bar. Didn't grow up in the town, moved here for work.

Violet Croft (Played by Eli Herne) an employee. Grew up in town, never left, has the hots for one of the guys in the local police.

Sunshine Crawford 'Sunny' (Played by Holly Di Antonio) an employee. Grew up in town, left for college and came back.

Roscoe Power 'Ross' (Played by Jimmy Hart) the loudmouth who owns the bar, grew up in town, used to be a car salesman.

Olesya Pavlovsky 'Olivia' (Played by Penelope Voronin) an employee who grew up in town and has immigrant parents, goes by 'Olivia' because she would rather you don't f*** up her actual name.

Winona Vance (Played by Sam Griffin Silver) an employee who moved here from New York, for unknown reasons, and doesn't really understand the small town, everyone knows everyone lifestyle.

Lavender Whittemore (Played by Victoria Lucifarian) an employee who grew up in England but moved to live in America, settled in Canadian, Texas due to her love of westerns.

Next: The Local Police Squad:

Sergeant Valentine Gautier 'Val' (Played by Bret Hart) recently promoted before the series begins but still on patrol duty, watches over his younger brother.

Corporal Buck Morris 'Buckshot' (Played by Davey Boy Smith) the gun loving corporal of the squad and the only one to have both 'work' and 'home' guns.

Captain Napoleon Cooper 'Crazy Cooper' / 'Captain Crazy' (Played by Jim Neidhart) the police captain, recently reassigned to Canadian, Texas as there were rumours abut him which interfered with his work in his previous location.

Officer Duke Gautier (Played by Owen Hart) the young, recently recruited brother of Sgt Gautier, often put on patrol alone to ensure less arguments, but always checked on by his brother.

Next: The Biker Bar's Staff:

Ozzy Rains (Played by Charles Wright) A biker and member of the staff who grew up just outside of town but loves his fellow staff members like family.

Brock Martel (Played by Henry Godwin) a biker and member of the staff who grew up on a local ranch and loves beer, football and the current Mayor's down-to-Earth style.

Vincent Gore 'Vinnie' (Played by Kane) the owner's son and a known fire loving 'freak' often protected by his surrogate family, the bar staff, Vinnie knows no better than 'ooh, cool looking fire' and must be restrained or have his hands swatted away to stop him burning himself trying to touch campfires.

Raven Knight (Played by Kirby Roussimoff) the only female staff member, but also the girl who does all the tough jobs when needed, has a side business of making and selling artwork, such as portraits to locals, has designed some of the bar staff's tattoos.

Harlow Gore (Played by Paul Bearer) the owner of the bar and a loving father to his son, took Murphy (Undertaker) under his wing when they first met and also treats him, and the rest of staff, like family.

Hunter King (Played by Phineas Godwin) Brock's cousin and a member of staff, taught Raven how to shoot a shotgun and his father owns a local tattoo parlour.

Sequoia Reed (Played by Rikishi) an employee and Frankie's (Yokozuna) cousin, also a surrogate cousin to Raven, having been best friends since childhood. Reed loves his job and his staff family and will defend both at any cost.

Lupe Zapatero (Played by Savio Vega) an employee at the bar and possibly the shortest member of staff, towered over by the tallest staff members but is not any less of a fighter because of his size, a former mechanic who loves nothing more than taking things apart and putting them back together while listening to metal / rock.

Murphy Graves (Played By The Undertaker) Manager of the biker bar and an excellent member of staff, has an outlaw rules vibe, as in he would say to the police "Your jurisdiction ends when you walk in my bar." Very protective of the staff, and the owner.

Frankie Wolf (Played by Yokozuna) the most relaxed and laid-back of the staff, Frankie would prefer to be in the kitchen making potential 'Culinary Masterpieces' as he would call them. Sequoia and Raven's (surrogate) cousin, views his staff mates as family.

Next: The Local Band (Named: Exoskeleton Samurai)/College Students

Quinn Thorn (Played by Jeff Hardy) the bassist to Ros' (Lita) vocals / lead Guitar and older brother Garth's (Matt) Drums, a face paint enthusiast and an English major in college who never seems to find time to study, but always has time to date somehow.

Roz Jerome (Played by Lita) the vocals and lead guitar for the band and an art major who actually studies, dating Garth (Matt) and met Quinn through him. Roz also studies Spanish and French.

Garth Thorn (Played by Matt Hardy) Quinn's older brother and the band's drummer, a major in psychology and a horror movie lover, Roz' boyfriend and almost totally devoted to her, even at the cost of his college work.

Next: The Local Townsfolk of Note:

Mayor Robert Sweet (Played by Jim Duggan) rarely seen, but apparently a good man with good ideas, helps out in volunteer projects and absolutely loves the town. Trying his hardest and people know this, and they love him. (did I meme correctly?)

Rusty Jarvis (Played by Mick Foley) the local hippie who has never left town, somehow managing to know both everything and nothing at the same town. (Very Dude Love with hints of Cactus Jack and Mankind) Does know how to fight when he needs to.

Redd Wayne (Played by 'Sycho' Sid Vicious/Justice) the local baseball/softball star, helps out at the local school/college teaching sports and likes Raven's artwork, he watches her draw when he can, runs the local little league & minor league baseball/softball games.

Earl Black (Played by Steve Austin) the most often seen regular at the biker bar, absolutely loves both the bar and the town, a hardworking guy who has befriended the entire staff (including Harlow and Vinnie) of the biker bar.

Lex Aston (Played by The Rock) a local struggling actor, teaching an acting class to pay the bills and an absolute ladies man, and for that reason he goes to the cop bar, to try and pick up one of the bartenders who works there, often favouring Rosa as she will jokingly flirt back.

Finally (for this section): The Degenerates and Their Benefactors:

Reign Yates (Played by Billy Gunn) Leon's (Road Dogg) best friend, often the getaway driver for the group and a scout for locations, often getting all the info on a place before telling Matty (H.H.H) and Dell (HBK). Often leaves town with Leon to get the heat off them. (and make out in secret)

Zelda Hooper (Played by Chyna) the only female degenerate but possibly the toughest, has a rap sheet as big as her arms, not to be trusted when around the other degenerates as she is usually the actual brains of the operation.

Matty Battle (Played by Hunter Hearst Helmsley) the co-leader of the degenerates, often protected by Zelda or Mark (Kevin Nash). does most of the talking but has the piss taken of him for his looks often by either other degenerates or locals who don't care for the degenerates.

Romeo Colombera (Played by Mike Rotundo/I.R.S) the right hand man of the mysterious benefactor, and often the lawyer for the degenerates as well as a taskmaster for them, telling them what the boss wants done and by what date.

Mark Rake (Played by Kevin Nash/Diesel) the tallest degenerate with a rap sheet as long as his leg, a former bouncer at a now closed nightclub, alongside best friend (and possibly boyfriend) Galo (Scott Hall) and now a bodyguard (when needed) for Matty and Dell (HBK, also boyfriends).

Leon Rose (Played by Road Dogg) best friend of Reign and a scout for the group alongside him. Has found every possible way to piss off other townsfolk and often in the most fights because of it, always on the police's radar for one thing or another and constantly leaving town because of it.

Galo Villalobos (Played by Scott Hall/Razor Ramon) the only (supposedly) Latino degenerate, raised in Canadian, Texas but his parents are from Cuba, Galo is a former nightclub bouncer (alongside Mark) Galo is known (for his ability to give minus fucks) as the most relaxed member of the group.

Dell Pain (Played by Shawn Michaels/HBK) the co-leader alongside Matty, a known flirt with people regardless of gender or sexuality, just to piss them off on some occasions. Dell grew up in town, knowing it like the back of his hand.

Giles Rennell (Played by Ted DiBiase) the mysterious benefactor of the group, bailing them out if needed, he stumbled across the group after seeing a police bulletin and decided to use them to cause enough chaos to guarantee a chance in the next mayoral election.

Zac Noel (Played by X-Pac) the shortest and youngest degenerate, Zac is often treated as the child of the group, being taught how to get away with crimes and trick the police into just letting him go by clerical error and tomfoolery.

Next on my list of updates: Season 1's episode list, episode titles, episode synopses, some spoilers, and the revolving door idea a bit further explained.

Series running order:

Biker bar episode

Cops on Patrol episode

Band/College Students episode

Cop bar episode (yes these are different)

Degenerates episode

(last episode of each season/series only) town meeting/town get-together (E.X: town hall meetings, the town getting together for a sports game or barbeque or restaurant opening)

1x01: Insert Coin to Start: The pilot episode of the series sees the local biker bar of Canadian, Texas installing two, brand new, arcade machines. After leaving for the night, the team finds the bar broken into and both machines missing with no evidence or possible suspects to the robbery. The team finds the machines relatively undamaged in an alleyway nearby. By the end of the episode there's still no suspects. B plot includes an argument between father and son, Harlow and Vincent which ends when Murphy gets involved.

1x02: Hot Pursuit: Newly instated chief of police Chief Cooper [Neidhart] makes changes to the patrol teams before tasking them with looking for any persons involved with (1x01)'s robbery and break-in, leading to a high speed chase later in the episode. B plot includes the squad coming to grips with the new, and much crazier, police chief.

1x03: Making Noise: Local band Exoskeleton Samurai [Team Extreme] are writing new music late at night while Roz [Lita] tries to study for a class the following day but, during a moment of quiet, they hear a break in a couple of doors down and attempt to see who it is. The group get a glimpse of Zac Noel [X-Pac] and Mark Rake [Nash] but not a full glimpse. Now aware of the local degenerates, the band try and forget about it and focus on their own lives until their apartment gets broken into when they're not there.

1x04: Donuts & Beer: The new cop bar opens on the other side of town, serving mainly (both savoury and sweet) bagels and donuts as well as beer (on tap and bottled), the fact it's slightly more risqué gets (both good and bad) attention on the place. Winona Vance [Sam] gets in a fight with Zac Noel [X-Pac] as she's locking up. Winona [Sam] being put in the hospital with a broken arm makes the rest of [Cop Bar]'s staff double down on getting justice for the near break-in.

1x05: Dirty Work: The first episode from the degenerates perspective. The degenerates are just causing general problems for the town without reason because it's fun' but it's quickly losing their interest as the heat on them rises. The end of the episode has Matty Battle [Triple H] receiving a call from 'Mister R' [DiBiase] offering him a deal.

1x06: Blue & Black: A brawl breaks out at [Biker Bar] following whispers that the people who broke in are in the building. The bikers who work at the bar threaten to hurt anyone who works for the rival bar if they try and mess with business while in the biker bar.

1x07: Captain Crazy: A rumour that the current captain was moved location and promoted to smooth over allegations that he may not be fully sane, Officer Duke Gautier [Owen] is determined to find the truth while Sergeant Valentine Gautier [Bret] and Corporal Buck Morris [Davey Boy] are determined to keep the peace and catch the local degenerates.

1x08: Broken Strings: following an argument with an ex girlfriend Quinn Thorn [Jeff] finds his guitar smashed and has to work odd jobs to buy another one (starting a potential series c plot). Garth Thorn [Matt] ends up in a fight with Galo Villalobos [Hall] which ends when Roz Jerome [Lita] smashes a table leg over the back of Galo's [Scott's] head, knocking him out and giving him over to the police.

1x09: Badges & Bottle Tops: Captain Cooper [Neidhart] stops by [cop bar] to talk with owner Roscoe Power [Jimmy Hart]. Meanwhile the Gautier boys [Owen & Bret] interrogate Galo Villalobos [Scott Hall] about what the degenerates are doing and why, getting no information about the mysterious benefactor over than he pays them a lot of money depending on what they do.

1x10: Paid off: The mysterious benefactor 'Mister R' [DiBiase] pays Galo's [Scott's] bail, getting him free for a while but side-lining him too. The benefactor remains hidden in shadow but Matty & Dell [Triple H & HBK] have a meeting with him to discuss money and the next job.

1x11: Written in Ink: the tattooed bikers on the staff encourage regular customer Earl Black [Austin] to get a skull tattoo on his back and even take him with them to the tattoo parlour they frequent, finding it to be burned to the ground with a 'freaks get lost' sign planted in the wreckage. Murphy Graves [Undertaker] dismisses the rumours that the arsonist is the fire fascinated Vincent Gore [Kane] and even gives him an alibi when the cops come looking for answers, putting blame on someone in town who knows about Vinnie's [Kane's] love of fire, which is nearly every person in town.

1x12: Sergeant Heartbreaker: Sergeant Gautier [Bret] is accused of flirting with the staff at [Cop bar] leading to a paid two day leave to get heat off of him while he's ordered to remain at home. Officer Gautier [Owen] and Corporal Morris [Davey Boy] are put on patrol together, leading to a high speed chase of Reign Yates, Leon Rose & Zelda Hooper [Gunn, Road Dogg & Chyna] after witnessing a mugging, assault and graffiti from the trio, the cops eventually lose them down a back road on private Giles Rennell's [DiBiase's] land they would need a warrant for.

1x13: Failing Grade: Quinn's [Jeff's] lack of sleep leads to him getting a fail on an test forcing him to do the semester again. Enraged by this Quinn [Jeff] considers leaving the school but is encouraged to continue following Garth [Matt] ending up in hospital following [1x12]'s assault and mugging on Garth & Roz [Matt & Lita].

1x14: Microphones & Megaphones: [cop bar]'s owner Roscoe Power [Jimmy Hart] installs a stage for local acts in the bar, leading to Violet Croft [Eli] performing later that episode (the closing of the episode into the credits) and the night before the first performance the bar is covered in graffiti, leading to a massive clean up effort from the staff and local volunteers (like Mick Foley & The Rock).

1x15: Trench Warfare: Romeo Colombera [IRS] the benefactor's [DiBiase's] right hand man and go-to lawyer gives the degenerates an list of jobs, run the police chief out of town by the end of the year, run the bikers out of town, and ensure that 'Mister R' [DiBiase] the benefactor wins the next mayoral election.

1x16: Fuelling Up: after closing up [biker bar] Raven Knight [Kirby] narrowly avoids being burned by her motorbike exploding in a ball of fire. Her boss, Harlow Gore [Bearer] tells her to take the week off, leading to her coming into the bar and sitting at the back of the bar, sketching the regular customers and having a long conversation with local sports star Redd Wayne [Sid].

1x17: Brothers in Arms: Together: the Gautier brothers [Bret & Owen] are put on patrol together leading to the arrest of Zelda, Matty & Dell [Chyna, Triple H & HBK] before the trio are bailed out, the brothers interrogate Dell Pain [HBK] (leading to a very 'basic instinct'-esque scene with Shawn in assless chaps and boxer briefs) who gives them no information on their behaviour and why they are doing the things they've done.

1x18: Night Time Fun: the band attends a college party, unknowingly with Zac Noel [X-Pac] also in attendance, leading to the trio being high and drunk and the Thorn brothers [Matt & Jeff] end up in a fight, almost being thrown out of college entirely for their actions the next morning.

1x19: Head or Hart: Violet Croft [Eli] and (officer) Duke Gautier [Owen] meet properly for the first time on a blind date, leading to them walking through the streets of Canadian, Texas at night. The date is quickly ended after Duke [Owen] spots Leon Rose [Road Dogg] spray painting [cop bar] and gives chase after handing Violet [Eli] his number.

1x20: Grunt Work: The degenerates have a group meeting about how to sabotage the town meeting, leading to Rennell [DiBiase] coming out of the shadows to lead the degenerates in a coordinated attack on the town hall. Leading to the degenerates waiting until the town meeting to begin the next day.

1x21: Town Meeting: Mayor Robert Sweet [Duggan] conducts a town meeting, leading to everyone airing their grievances with the degenerates recent spree of activity. At the end of the meeting, paint bombs hidden above the townsfolk go off all at once, covering everyone in bright, almost neon, green paint.

[statticscribbles]

Puppy

Summary: Reggie/Reader Request: Reggie avoids you because he overhears you talk to Kevin about your perfect guy (comic book character) so as he’s avoiding you, you keep trying to get his attention, and finally you end up kissing him cause he’s just pining after you like  lovesick puppy; after the confession and when you start dating the “lovesick puppy act” gets worse

“Kevin I’m being serious!” You smack his arm as he laughs. “No it’s just funny he doesn’t seem like the type you’d go for.” “And what do you know about my type.” You laugh with him and he smirks. “Reggie, what would you say Y/N’s type it?” You can see Reggie frown before shaking it off. “Tall, dark haired, plays football.” He winks and you smile at him. “Wow that’s so off model it’s kind of sad.” Kevin nods solemnly and you smack his arm again. “You do have to admit it though, I mean the muscles, and the hair, plus have you seen him wearing a shirt? He practically never does!” “That’s sort of the point you know that right, not wearing a shirt to attract the ladies, you included apparently.” Kevin smirks and you scowl watching Reggie almost storming out.

“I’m guessing Reggie’s not a fan of the reboot then?” You chew your lip. “You think he knew we were talking about the newest edition? I mean we’ve talked about the second volume for months so-“ “I don’t think he cares about what I talk about, you on the other hand.” “Kev, he doesn’t care about comics half as much as you do, let alone me; how much do you think he thought I was talking about a real person.” “I mean inability to keep a shirt on just screams Sweet Pea, you know that right?” “Dammit; now I have to go find him to explain don’t I.” “It works out perfectly you explain your crush to him.” “My crush on-“ “On Reggie, not that paper cutout you have in your room.” You roll your eyes and run after where you think Reggie is.

You weren’t able to find him before science but you know having to sit next to him will at least give you an excuse to explain the comic book misunderstanding. You frown when he doesn’t look at you, doesn’t talk to you. You’re stuck doing busy work since your actual teacher is out; so the chance to talk goes out the window until lunch at the earliest; since you don’t share any other classes with him. You pass him in the hallway and wave and you can tell he makes a point to turn his head away. You try to brush it off, concocting reasons for his sudden change in attitude. You complain to Kevin during math and he just laughs at your ridiculous theories. “Oh yeah, and what do you think has a stick up his ass so bad?” “He likes you; it’s why he’s so bothered by your crush you realize that right?” “Kevin that’s ridiculous; he’s Reggie freaking Mantle, he can have anyone in the school; why would he want me?” “Do you want the list alphabetically or by popularity?”

“Popularity?” “You’re a River Vixen, you’re into those weird old books that he doesn’t admit he likes; since you’re a River Vixen you have a great figure, you know how to dance, you like Pop’s.” “Kev it’s Riverdale, everyone likes Pop’s. That one doesn’t count.” “You know you two order the same thing, every time right?” “No we don’t; do we?” he laughs nodding as you make your way to lunch. “Hey Reggie” Kevin nods to him and he looks up, turning slightly away from you to focus on Kevin. “Yeah?” “What’s your standing Pop’s order.” “Burger wise or in general?”

“Isn’t the burger in general, or do you order something we don’t know about?” “You thinking about making a run down to Pop’s cause I know pretty much everyone would kill for that.” He grins and Kevin smirks. “Yeah, you wanna help me carry shit? Meet by your car in five?” Reggie nods vanishing to the parking lot and Kevin grins. “So I want a cheeseburger, extra onions and-“ “Kev why are you- No, no he’s been avoiding me all day!! I’m not going to sit with him to get Pop’s!” “You’re getting Pop’s?” You cringe at Archie and Jughead’s hovering. “Yeah, write down what you want.” You scowl holding out a spare piece of paper.

“Reggie, Kevin asked if I could go instead, he has theatre stuff to; okay.” You sigh as he opens the door silently walking around to the drivers seat. You’re silent the entire car ride, trying to start conversation but the lack of even a glance your way keeps you quiet. Reggie doesn’t say anything just holding his hand out so you stop getting out of the car. “Wait.” He says it more to the car than to you and you huff, grumbling under your breath as he pulls the list from where you set it in the cupholder. He appears moments later. “What do you want?” You decide to give him a taste of the silent treatment and point to your order you’d written. “That’s mine.” He clarifies and you point to it again glaring. ‘So you want the same thing as me?”You nod and he laughs dryly. “Won’t even talk to me great.” “Say’s the one.” You hiss and he glares openly at you.

“Well I’m not the one with a crush on someone they can’t have now am I? So who’s the real loser.” “You.” He groans and slams the door retreating back into Pop’s to order and wait for the food. You watch from the car window as he pulls the bags towards himself, you lean towards the door, opening it and walking through. “Let me help.” He doesn’t say anything sliding two of the bags towards you. He silent until you put the food in the backseat. You buckle your seatbelt waiting for him to start the car. “Listen I don’t care about whoever you have a crush on. Just making that clear.” You sigh looking up to the ceiling of the car. “Me you mean, you don’t care about me.” “Who said that?” “You did, or rather didn’t; I’ve been trying to get your attention all day to explain.” “Explain what?” “Comic books.”

“Is that code for something? Or slang for you wanting some Jangle? Cause I don’t sell; what I get is my own-“ “Kevin and I, we were talking about comic books earlier.” “Oh good for you?” “That crush isn’t on a real person.” “Oh well alright then; once again good for you. So there are other crushes?” He questions glaring slightly; you realize he didn’t want to actually talk with you. You don’t respond as he drives back to school. “Grab the food?” You ask as he stays unmoving in the car; he must catch you rolling your eyes with how he scoffs. “What? I’m going to grab the damn food.” He snaps.

“Yikes, there’s no need to be in such a pissy mood, I get you’re hungry but-“ “I’m in a pissy mood cause you’ve been avoiding me for the entire day!” “I’ve been avoiding you? I’ve been trying to get your attention since you stormed off after the crush misunderstanding!” You scowl as he shoves the other bag of food towards you. “I can avoid whoever I want regardless of how I actually feel about you.” You snap at him. “You feel differently than avoidance about me? Hard to believe; but at least you admit you were avoiding me.” You laugh shaking your head.

“The only reason I’m admitting it is so you won’t complain for the next week about how much of a bitch I’m being.” Reggie sets the food on the hood of his car leaning over you. “Don’t put words in my mouth.” He hisses about to pull the food back over when you tug on his arm. “Reggie.” Your voice is soft and you can tell he’s confused but you’re relieved as you pull yourself towards him. You’re quick about pressing your lips to his, intent on kissing him and bringing everyone their food so he doesn’t get the chance to ask you about it.

It works and as you shove Jughead’s burger into his hands you scowl when you realize your order was packed with Reggie’s. You’re about to turn around to look for him surprised to find the burger and extra fries sitting at the spot on the table you’ve claimed. “Oh thank you.” You say more toward the general table but jump slightly when Reggie’s arm lays on your shoulder. “No problem.” He seems relaxed as you sit down, he sits next to you and you cast a look to Kevin who nods, you’re thankful he’ll be able to talk later. “These are yours.” You nod to the fries and he shakes his head. “Don’t want them.” “You don’t want the cheese fries you ordered?” “Not in the mood for them anymore.” You smile pulling them closer. “You’re welcome to them, since they are yours.” He nods relaxing slightly settling closer to you as he sits.

You sigh when the bell rings, standing to grab your bag confused when Reggie hands it to you. Kevin appears, walking with you to English. “So what was that about?” He mumbles as your teacher finishes the lesson for the day. “We kissed.” “So you just skipped confessing your crush then?” He laughs and you join him. “I guess I did; we’re probably going to have to talk later.” “You better, I’m not letting you get away with not confessing to him. I don’t think he’s going to either.” He nods and you smile confused as Reggie stands at the door smirking. “Can I walk you home?” “You have a car.”

“Walk sounds better.” You arch an eyebrow. “How is walking better than you being able to drive your car?” Kevin nods as he leaves and you walk towards the door. “Well like this.” He steps to the side, slightly closer, his hand grasping yours. “You don’t want to drive because you can’t hold my hand?” You watch a blush creep onto his face. “Maybe.”

“You know you can hold my hand while you’re driving.” “I didn’t want to assume anything.” “Well we kissed, and I do have a crush on you.”’ “So you do have a type?” He straightens up beaming; and you laugh. “Yeah, you were right about the tall dark haired footballers. AKA you.” You wink and he laughs. “Do you want to go out sometime.” “Besides this?” You nudge him and he shakes his head. “This isn’t going out, I’m walking you home.” “From being out, together.” “School doesn’t count as a date.” He counters and you rolls your eyes. “Well you’ll just have to plan a date then.” He nods eagerly and you smile as he reaches your door.

You’d been dating Reggie for a week and Kevin is constantly pointing out how much Reggie’s acting like a puppy. “Kev, it’s not a thing, you’re exaggerating.” “Point proven, look.” You’re standing behind him so you know Reggie can’t see you but you can see him. He’s laughing with the rest of the Bulldogs and nods to Kevin; you watch as Kevin moves, and Reggie’s face softens and he smiles excitedly.

“Babe!” He moves from the rest of the bulldogs pulling you into a hug. “Oh my god he’s right.” “Who’s right?” Reggie pulls back slightly and you shake your head. “I’ll tell you later, we’re still on for Pop’s after the game right?” He nods leaning down to kiss you. “Of course, it’s tradition.” “This is the first time we’re doing it.” “And after it’s tradition.”

Support My Writing?

[lils-writes-stuff]

Spinning Wheels

Spencer Reid x reader

Best Years Season 2 part three | part two | part one | season one

summary: a local case hits a nerve with the reader

warning: normal criminal minds things, angst, description of shooting, yk fun stuff

A/N: based on season 8 episode 8; *chanting* angry reader, angry reader!

“Penelope,” Y/N sang as she entered the woman’s bat cave. She carried a coffee in each hand, one for her and one for Penelope. “I bring you a present.” 

 “Oh my gosh, you’re so sweet!” Penelope gushed as she grabbed the coffee from her hand. She pulled the lid off to look inside the cup. “This is my favorite, oh my gosh, you know I-”

 She looked up at Y/N to see her sheepish smile. She only brought Penelope her favorite, kind of expensive coffee, when she wanted something. 

 “No.” 

 “You don’t even know what I want!” 

 “I know that it’s big enough for you to bring me my favorite,” Penelope set the cup down and began typing on her computer. 

 “Garcia, I’m desperate,” Y/N admitted. She sat on the small open area on Penelope’s desk. “I can’t get anything out of JJ on what Spencer’s been doing up here at seven when we don’t have to be here ‘till nine. So I was hoping you can work some of your Garcia Magic and...” 

 Penelope stopped her typing, she knew exactly what Spencer had been doing. 

 Y/N noticed how Penelope stopped typing. “Oh my god, you know!” 

 “No, I don’t,” she lied. “Okay, well I know kind of what he’s doing, but I can’t tell you.” 

 Y/N knew she could get somewhere with Penelope, she was terrible at keeping secrets. 

 “Penelope,” Y/N drug out the name in a pleading tone. 

 “Uh-ah, my lips are sealed.” She ran her finger across her lips as if she was zipping them.

 Y/N gave her a pout and some puppy dog eyes, but Penelope turned away and stuck her nose up in the air. She was determined to not break and ruin Spencer’s plan. 

 Y/N sighed, if Penelope was going to be this persistent, then she wouldn’t get it all out of her. 

 “Fine, then can I admit something to you?” 

 Penelope turned to her, hearing her serious and almost shy tone. 

 “Of course.” 

 “I, um, I bought him a ring,” Y/N confessed, wringing her hands together like she normally did when she was nervous. 

 Penelope gasped and a gigantic smile formed on her face. “You did!?” 

 “Yeah, I did, here-” she reached for her purse she set on the desk behind them- “I bought it about a week ago.” 

 She pulled out the grey box and revealed the simple gold band on the inside. 

 Penelope, extremely excited, grabbed the box with shaking hands. “Oh my gosh, Y/N!” 

 “Is it weird? I know it’s not normal for a girl to propose-” 

 “It’s not weird at all, I think it’s a great idea,” Penelope interrupted to clear her doubt. “If he doesn’t do it-” 

 She stopped and cut herself off, almost revealing the secret she had been trying so hard to keep. 

 “If he doesn’t accept it, then he’s a total loser,” Penelope stammered as she tried to correct her words. 

 Y/N laughed at her phrasing, and Penelope laughed too, glad she didn’t think anything of her almost slip up. 

 “I also got, um, I got our initials engraved on the inside,” Y/N pointed to the small initials on the inside of the band. 

 “Y/N…” Penelope sighed and took the ring out of her fingers to look at it. “You are so amazing, Spencer will love it.” 

 Y/N sighed in relief, she needed to hear that. The two kept talking and Penelope was trying to give her some ideas of when to ask him. 

 “Does anyone else know?” Penelope asked, handing the ring back to Y/N. 

 “Just my mom and London,” Y/N answered. “London actually helped me pick out the ring, we-”

 She stopped herself when her eyes caught the TV.

 “Penelope,” Y/N hit the woman’s shoulder to get her to turn around. 

 “What?” 

 They both stared at the TV in horror. The headline read “High School Bus Is Taken Hostage”. One cue, Penelope began to get alerts and texts signaling that they have a case. 

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

 “What we have is a school bus abduction which accrued at approximately 1 P.M. this afternoon. What we know is there twenty-four students on board, along with the driver and a monitor,” Y/N said to the small group of detectives that sat in front of her, JJ, and Spencer.   

“The GPS appears to have been disabled, the last known ping was a little over two hours ago,” Spencer added. 

 “Highway patrol has traced the route it was last traveling but has found no signs of any accidents,” Y/N continued on their knowledge of the situation. “We also have helicopters and ground units in the D.C. area working local search and rescue. Which means we’re likely dealing with more than one unsub.” 

 “We’ve attempted to contact everyone on board, but so far all calls have gone unanswered,” Spencer said. 

 “But we can confirm that the students dropped off at the first two stops have been accounted for,” JJ added, shedding some hope on the gloomy situation. 

 “The average school bus holds approximately eighty gallons of diesel fuel, making it possible for them to travel up to 550 miles on a single tank,” Spencer explained, his hands moving as he spoke each word. 

 “Which is why we believe they’re still within a 200-mile radius,” Y/N closed as she nodded to the detectives. 

 “The SUVs are outside and we’ll set up our command post at central high,” Hotch said as he rushed past and to the elevators. 

 Spencer, Y/N, and JJ all glanced at each other, giving a look all the same. Silently saying, ‘This is gonna be a long day’.

 They quickly made it down to the front of the building and into the SUVs.

 On the drive to the high school, the sirens were on as they tried to make it there as fast as possible. 

 “Okay, thanks,” Penelope hung up her phone. “Local P.D. says they just found a backpack full of the kids’ cell phones half a mile from the second bus stop.” 

 “Disarming the GPS, disposing of cell phones, makes it feel less random and more premeditated,” Y/N said as she looked back at Penelope from her seat upfront. 

 “There were seven other buses from different schools on their route. Why target this particular bus?” Spencer said as he tried to dive into the minds of the unsub. 

 “Maybe a group of kids got together to pull this off?” Y/N posed. 

 “Waited for their friends to get off at an earlier stop, then made their move,” Spencer said as he dove more into Y/N’s theory. 

 “Okay, I’m checking school disciplinary records to see if I can find any recent suspensions.” Penelope pulled out her tablet and began searching. 

 “It could be about a specific target and the other kids just got in the way,” Hotch added his own thoughts in. 

 Y/N pulled her phone out of her pocket as it rang. “Hey, Blake you’re on speaker.” 

 “Uh, I’ve been looking over the personnel files of the bus driver, Roy Webster, something isn’t adding up,” Blake said over the phone. 

 “What did you find?” Spencer’s voice spoke up from his backseat spot behind Y/N. 

 “Over the past three years, Webster had several altercations with students, but was never formally reprimanded,” Blake answered.

 “It sounds like the school hasn’t told us the whole story,” Rossi’s voice was heard over the phone. 

 “We know how disrespectful some teenagers can be, maybe he snapped,” Derek’s voice was heard next as he posed his thoughts.

 “It could be payback for years of abuse,” JJ’s voice said next. 

 “What about the woman who was on the bus?” Spencer asked. 

 “That would be Carol Roberts, a retired teacher, assigned to monitor Webster’s bus six months ago,” Kevin Lynch’s voice said. 

 “What’s that about?” Rossi questioned. 

 “I took a bus all through high school, we never had a monitor,” Kevin said as he didn’t know the formal answer to the question. 

 “Makes you wonder who she was there to keep an eye on-- the kids or Webster?” Derek posed. 

-----------  

 Y/N had sat through many family interviews before, comforting them after a loved one had been murdered or taken. She had done it plenty of times to know what words to use, how to act depending on the family, she was trained for it. 

 This though was a whole new level.

 Her chest felt heavy as she listened to the mother explain how her son was a good kid and how it was just him and her. She didn’t know why this one particular interview was taking so much out of her. It felt emotionally draining to watch this mother cry over her young son named Billy. Maybe it was because she could relate to it.

 After her older brother died and her father left, it was just her and her mom. She was around his age too when it happened. 

 Walking out of the classroom she had the interview in, she stalked into the closest bathroom she could find. Her hands pressed against the ceramic sink as she leaned on it to keep herself up. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the white surface tightly. She could feel her pulse course through her hands as it picked up. This was not the time to be emotional, so she didn’t let this moment last too long. 

  She took a couple of deep breaths, looked at herself in the mirror, and walked out of the bathroom.

 She had gotten past her brother dying, sure she missed him every day, but her grief had passed. When she thought about him it was wistful and happy, so she didn’t know why this was bothering her. 

 She tugged at the bottom of her maroon blazer, making sure it was straight after she opened the door of the bathroom. She took two steps out into the hallway, and glanced to the left and then to her right looking to see if anyone saw her walk out. After assessing she was alone, she let out another sigh and walked down the hall to the performance room. 

 “Y/N,” Derek called as he jogged down the hallway. 

 “What’s up, Morgan?” She asked as she turned to the man coming down the hall. 

 “We’ve got an address.” 

 The SUVs and squad cars turned up the dust as they parked in front of an old barn. The team hopped out of their respected cars, pulling out their guns as S.W.A.T. unloaded in front of them. 

 The team stood in anticipation as Hotch nodded for the captain to open the door. As the doors swung open, the S.W.A.T. team entered and walked around the school bus that was parked on the inside. 

 “Bus is all clear!” Derek yelled from the inside of the bus after checking it.

 Y/N followed Spencer as the two walked around the rest of the barn to check it, making sure it was clear and there was nothing else there. When they finished, they walked outside and met Blake who had just checked a shed. 

 The three holstered their guns as they walked over to the head detective on the case who nodded for them. 

 “Barn was registered to a Violet Burgin, she died a few months back. It's been abandoned ever since.” the Detective said as he approached them. 

 “Making this a perfect transfer point,” Y/N said as she glanced back at the barn. 

 Blake was about to say something, but she was stopped when the sound of the bloodhounds barking was heard. 

 “They found something,” Spencer said and took out his gun. The four of them along with some others in the immediate area ran towards the dogs.

 They approached a wooden door that was latched closed. The Detective placed his hand on the latch, waiting for the S.W.A.T. team member to give him his cue. When he nodded, the Detective pulled the latch and pushed the door open quickly. 

 “Please don’t hurt us,” a young girl said as they were met with the light from the outside.

 “It’s okay you guys are safe now,” Spencer said as he began to undo the bindings on their wrists.

 Y/N looked up and began counting the kids in the room as quickly as she could, but of course, Spencer beat her to it. 

 “There’s only fourteen here, we need to find the other ten,” Spencer looked back at Blake and Y/N who were still standing in the door. 

 Y/N gripped her gun tighter. She let out an agitated sigh and walked away from the room. 

------------ 

 The students ran to their parents as the doors to the cafeteria opened. Y/N sauntered in behind them, watching as the parents hugged their kids, grateful they were okay.

 JJ walked up next to her and sighed as they watched the families. 

 “Where’s Billy?” The brown hair woman who Y/N had interviewed earlier asked walking up to her. Another student, who’s name was Sean, dad walked up behind her. 

 Y/N’s mouth opened and closed, for the first time in a long time, she couldn’t phrase the words to tell them that their kids were still missing. 

 “There’s still a number of students unaccounted for,” JJ answered for Y/N, noticing that she was struggling.

 When Billy’s mom gasped, Y/N’s eyes widened and quickly added, “But we’re still looking.” 

 Sean’s dad walked away but Billy’s mom stayed. “Oh, my god,” she muttered. 

 Y/N’s lips formed a tight line and she placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder to comfort her. 

 Once the woman had calmed down, Y/N started to make a beeline for that same bathroom she was in before. On her way there, Spencer stopped her, noticing her disheveled state.

 “Hey,” he whispered as he stepped in front of her. 

 She sighed, she didn’t want him to stop her, she didn’t want anyone to stop her. 

 When she tried to push past him and continue to the bathroom, Spencer put his hand gently on her arm. 

 “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

 “Nothing, it’s nothing,” her voice cracked. 

 “No, it’s not,” he said. 

 She let out a frustrated sigh. “I was over this, I was over my brother, I thought I was over it.” 

 “Your brother?” Spencer gave her a confused look. Of course, he knew about her brother, how when he was seventeen he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. How her dad walked out because of the medical bills, how her mom picked up two jobs to help pay for medical bills. How even Y/N, when she was legally allowed to work, picked up a job to help. 

 “One of the victims, Billy,” she let out a shaky breath. “It’s just him and his mom, and he’s about the age I was when I lost my brother, and it just hit a nerve, I guess.”

  Spencer reached to give her a hug, but she pulled away. 

 “No, I don’t- no,” she held her hands out as if she was putting up a boundary. “I just need a second to be irritated, just give me one second to be angry at the son’s of a bitch’s who decided it was a good idea to take a bunch of teenagers.” 

 So Spencer did, he watched as she paced side to side in the locker filled hallway. One hand on her forehead and the other on her hip, muttering curse under her breath. 

 This is the most irritated Spencer had ever seen her in a case, she was so calm and collected usually. Sure, every now and then she got a little emotional, but so did everyone. This though, this wasn't a sad emotion, she was angry. Furious even. 

 Spencer jumped as the sound of Y/N’s boot hitting an empty trash can echoed through the hall. She stopped pacing, standing in the middle of the hallway now, her face laying on her palms. 

 “Okay, I’ll take that hug now.” She walked over to Spencer and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

 His arms wrapped around her shoulder, his cheeks pressed against the top of her head. He turned his lips to kiss the top of her head softly, keeping them there until they pulled apart from their hug. 

 Another reason she loved Spencer so much, he knew when to give her a second to breathe. Sure he was always there for her when she needed him, and vice versa, but sometimes she just needed to deal with her emotions on her own. And Spencer understood and respected that.

 --------------- 

 “Dividing them into groups-- you think that was to maintain control?” JJ asked as they stared at the pictures of the still missing students on the board. 

 “Mm, could be, but how do you explain the shock collars?” Blake asked as she remembered the collars that one of the students told her about. 

 “Torture,” Y/N said in a monotone voice. She stirred the coffee in her cup with a straw aimlessly, still upset about not being to find all the kids. 

 “Still, there doesn’t seem to be any method to how or why they were chosen,” Spencer added the thing they still hadn’t figured out.

 “Okay, so far we have two white males, early twenties, and wore gas masks of all things,” JJ recapped on their findings. 

 “Abducting a bus, a form of transportation, gas masks, shock collars, dividing people into teams…” Rossi trailed off as he walked up to the board. 

 “Sounds like ‘Gods of Combat’,” Y/N muttered as she listened to what Rossi was listing, the thought just coming out of her mouth like it was nothing. 

 “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Rossi pointed at Y/N. 

 “Wait, Rossi-” Y/N pushed herself off the desk she was leaning on- “We’re not seriously considering-” 

 “That this is a video game to them? Yes, I think it is.” 

 Everyone in the room looked at each other, all of them knowing it made sense and it was probably the most probable with what was going on.

-----------

 “These guys are replicating a video game?” Derek asked as he, Rossi, and Blake entered the room. 

 “In the game, you take over a form of public transportation; subway, train, bus. That’s how you get your players,” Rossi explained. 

 “Wait a minute,” Blake stopped Rossi. “You’ve played this game before?” 

 “Well, I may have once or twice,” Rossi admitted. “But so has Y/N.” 

 When Rossi pointed an accusing finger at her, she raised her eyebrows in shock. “Rossi, I only played it because the kids I babysat made me, what’s your excuse?” 

 Everyone shook their heads as they laughed. 

 “If I remember correctly though, the game consists of five players.” Y/N walked up to a whiteboard and pulled out a marker. “Captain, lieutenant, a pair of soldiers, and the pawn.” 

 She wrote each of the positions on the board. 

 “Maybe the unsubs picked them based on their personality type,” JJ said as she looked at the pictures of the students. 

 “Well, Sage and Trent-” Derek pointed to the two pictures- “are both athletic. So they probably would have been considered lieutenants.” 

 “Wendy would most likely have been considered the pawn,” Rossi added. 

 “They preselected these kids.” Y/N crossed her arms as she turned back to face those behind her. 

 “Probably got details about their lives from social media sites. Most teens don’t use privacy settings, anyone can gain access,” JJ said. 

 “They planned their attacks and struck the bus when it was the most vulnerable,” Blake nodded. 

 “That explains why the unsubs only needed ten of these kids and left the rest behind,” Derek added. 

 “So how do the collars fit into all this?” JJ asked, looking between Y/N and Rossi. 

 “They’re used to keep your player from straying from their mission,” Rossi replied. 

 “The object of the game is to destroy as many of your opponents as possible,” Y/N added on to the game.

 “The one with the highest body count wins,” Rossi continued. 

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

 “So these guys just got together and decided to pull this thing off?” The Detective asked as Spencer, Y/N, and he walked down the hall back to the performance room. 

 “You know, something this elaborate, it’s likely they’ve known each other for years, actually,” Spencer clarified. 

 As the three continued to walk, Penelope appeared behind them as she walked out of the computer lab with her laptop. 

 “Hey, I just got off the phone with the people who produce ‘Gods of Combat’--”

 “Lovely people I assume,” Y/N joked, trying to keep some light heart in the air. It was mostly for herself though, so she wouldn’t think too much about being upset. 

 “Uh-huh, it turns out they have six million players worldwide, 40,000 of which are D.C. residents,” Penelope continued. 

 “Garcia, if they’re capable of this type of violence in real life, do you think we’d see some sort of evidence of it in their gaming history?” Spencer asked, stammering as he tried to find the right terminology.

 “What type of evidence?” The Detective asked. 

 “He’s talking about the universal online gaming code of conduct,” Y/N answered. 

 “Yeah, prevents stuff like harassing, threatening other players, cyber-bullying, that kind of thing,” Penelope gave some more elaboration on the subject.  

 “How’s that supposed to help us find these kids?” The detective asked confused as to why it was relevant. 

 “Instead of looking for people who play the game, we need to look for people who were kicked out,” Hotch answered.  

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

 Y/N sipped on her fourth coffee of the night. She sat criss-cross applesauce on the table next to Spencer as they waited for Penelope to come up with some findings from the new info Kevin narrowed it down to. 

 “Okay, a month ago two players were kicked out at the same time for hacking into hell mod,” Penelope said as she continued to type on her computer to find more. “Previous to that, they both logged thousands of hours playing the game, dating back to early 2000.” 

 “You got any names, Garcia?” Derek asked, back still faced to the three sitting at or on the table. 

 “No, just online handles, but--” she stopped herself as a ping on her computer sounded- “You know what’s weird? They were both playing from the same IP address.”

 “So they live together.” Y/N peered at Penelope’s screen. 

 “They’re roommates, maybe?” Spencer posed, walking to stand beside Penelope as she typed. 

 “Or siblings,” Derek argued. 

 “Oh that’s not good,” Y/N muttered into her cup as she took another sip. 

-

 “It doesn’t make sense,” JJ said after those in the room caught her up to speed with their findings. “If they are siblings, how do you explain the gaps in time when they weren’t logged in at the same location?” 

 “Yeah, it looks like it happened several times a year, sometimes from different states,” Penelope agreed as she looked at the time logs. 

 “Maybe their parents got divorced.” Spencer looked up to JJ and Y/N who were currently standing next to each other. 

 “Maybe the parent got divorced,” Penelope repeated and began typing again. The new thought gave her a fire that had burned out after the confusion formed. “Leave it to the genius to come up with the obvious, here we go.”

 As her ramble ended, two pictures popped up on the screen. 

 “Joshua and Matthew Moore. They both went to central high, their parents worked two jobs each to make ends meet, led to a messy divorce. Joshua went to live with his dad in Arizona, Matthew stayed with his mom in D.C.” 

 “That’s how they knew when to strike,” Y/N pointed her finger. “Probably rode the same bus route.” 

 “Long hours, different schedules, they were latchkey kids,” Derek added. “Video games became their babysitters.” 

 “As they got older, they got more competitive and it became more about bragging rights,” Spencer continued the deep dive of the unsubs stressor. 

 “This game became the core of their sibling rivalry,” JJ continued. 

 “But it wasn’t just a game,” Y/N corrected. “ ‘Gods of Combat’ was their one constant connection to each other.” 

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

 “Picked up a ping on the E.L.F.,” Kevin said as he entered the room. “It’s emanating from somewhere in this 25-mile radius, west of Bolivar.” 

 Kevin circled the area of the map he set down.

 “What fits?” Blake asked as she looked down at the map.

 “Well, there’s a few old factories and a couple of bunkers from the ‘70s,” Kevin replied. 

 “What’s this?” Y/N pointed to a building on the map. 

 “The old paper mill,” Kevin answered. 

 “You know, given the size and location, that could be the perfect spot.” Spencer used the pencil in his hand to tap the spot on the map as he spoke.  

 They all looked up at Kevin. 

 “I’m gonna pull the schematics,” Kevin exited the room to do so. 

 Soon after Kevin did that, Penelope was able to get in contact with one of the kids, Billy, by hacking the feed. They compared the rooms they could see on Billy’s camera and established it was the paper mill. 

 Then they were on their way there. 

 The team walked into the paper mill, mixed in between different members of S.W.A.T.. 

 Y/N crept down the hall with Derek, each of them turning to check a different opening as they saw one. When they heard pounding footsteps, they jerked towards the sound. 

 “FBI, drop your weapon,” Y/N commanded the person she couldn’t quite make out in the dark, all she could see was the gun. 

 “I’m Agent Morgan, this is Agent Y/L/N,” Derek said as he tried to calm the boy. “We’re the good guys, now drop the weapon.” 

 “How do I know this isn't part of the game?” The boy whimpered.

 “Kid, you gotta trust me,” Derek said, trying to make the boy back his guard down. 

 “Are you Billy?” Y/N asked calmly. 

 At his name, the boy turned to look at her, his gun lowering slightly. 

 “Yes.” 

 “Billy, you gotta trust us, you talked to our friend Penelope, remember?” Y/N spoke in a soothing tone. 

 “Come on, now, I know you’re scared, but don’t do anything stupid,” Derek spoke in a not so soothing tone. 

Billy hesitated, still afraid this was a part of the game, but then bent his knees and put the gun on the ground. Y/N sighed in relief and was about to walk towards him, but out of the corner of her eye she saw movement.

 Joshua Moore appeared, a large gun held to his side. 

 “Drop your weapon!” Derek yelled.

 When he realized he was cornered, his finger went for the trigger. 

 In an almost slow motion moment, Y/N aimed her gun and shot before he could do the same thing. The bullet went right through his chest, and the blood began to spread on his white shirt. 

 Joshua dropped to his knees, then fell to the ground as he let out a breath of pain. 

 Derek rushed over to check Joshua, but Y/N’s only concern was for the teenage boy whose mom had told her about. 

 “Hey, Billy, it’s alright.” She grabbed his arm and led him out of the room, not allowing him to look at Joshua’s now dead body. “Your mom has been worried sick about you.” 

 “You-you saw my mom?” He stuttered as a smile of joy and relief washed over his face.

 “Yeah,” and as they walked into the cool night air, his mom called his name. 

 He broke away from Y/N’s grasp and ran to his mom to give her a hug. And even though the circumstances wouldn’t normally allow it, Y/N smiled. She smiled as she got to watch the boy hug his mom, holding her like his life depended on it. 

 “I’m sorry, Trent,” a girl behind Y/N whimpered as a body bag rolled past. 

 For a moment, Y/N forgot where she was and what she had been doing, because she was thinking about the last time she got to hang out with her mom and brother together. The memory used to be painful, but now she looked back on it happily. The last time she saw her older brother smile a real smile. One that didn’t show pain from chemo, one that didn’t show he was dying, one that showed how happy he was to be with them. 

-----------

 Y/N closed the report from the case on her desk softly, laying her hand on top of it. She let her cheeks bubble out as she filled them with air, then let it out slowly from her lips. The office was quiet, everyone else gone. The team was still there though, finishing up some reports and the political side of the job. 

 “We saved them,” Spencer reminded her as he walked over, his tall figure towering her sitting one.

 “Yeah, I know, it’s not that,” she confessed, but didn’t look up at him, knowing he could read her eyes like the back of his hand. Or the back of anything really, seeing as he had an eidetic memory. 

 “What is it then?” He asked, leaning against her desk. 

 “For a split second today, I forgot I was at the scene of a crime,” she finally met his eyes. “I saw Billy reunite with his mom and I forgot where I was...because he reminded me of him.” 

 “Your brother?” 

 Y/N nodded. 

 “Oh, sweets, it’s okay to miss him you know? He was your older brother, and it was a terrible thing that he got sick--” 

 “Spencer, I know that, I know all that,” she cut him off, her voice soft and not cutting. “It’s just, I don’t know…”

 She rubbed her bicep with her hand and averted her gaze. She turned in her swivel chair to the family photos on her desk. In a line three photos sat; one of her and her mom at her college graduation, one of her and the team at a dinner Rossi hosted, and one of her and Spencer, from JJ’s wedding. These photos all showed people who were so important in her life, people she loved...people who were there. 

 “You feel guilty for not going to visit him,” Spencer said, catching onto her guilt as she stared at the photos. 

 “I think so,” she murmured looking up at him. 

 He smiled at her sadly. Reaching down, he grabbed her hand, pulling her out of her seat. “How about we go home, order some food, then tomorrow, you can talk to Hotch about going home to visit your mom?” 

 “I think I like that idea,” she quivered, a stray tear falling down her face. Man, was she grateful for this man.

 She picked up her bag from beside her desk, lacing her fingers with his and walked out of the office with him.    

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added!!):

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[maneaterwithtail]

SpaceBattles Poster Hangwind on why He-Man isn't the main character and why matters and how

Now, in the time of this thread being down, I have had several more thoughts. Starfox5 tagging you in so you can respond if you want to. I felt dissatisfied with those arguing that He-Man was a main character despite his death but I couldn't quite figure out how to put what I was feeling into words. It wasn't until I read a Spiderman fanfiction that it struck me. He-Man isn't really a character for most of this, even a supporting one. Instead, he is an event. He's Uncle Ben. Think about it. Spiderman, Peter Parker, is always referencing Uncle Ben. He's always quoting him, wondering what he would do, wishing he were there. He's always having flashbacks in cartoon terms. But does that make the Spiderman comics "all about Uncle Ben"? Of course not! And there's actually a very specific reason for that: it isn't who Uncle Ben was that is important, so much as how he died. In fact, Uncle Ben's profile has undergone multiple different revisions over the years without truly affecting the core story of Spiderman simply because he isn't actually a character, he's a set piece. The true value is in the inciting event and the lingering effects of his death. Same thing with He-Man. He went from a main character to a background event in the show. He had part of an episode of actual agency, then he just became another set piece. And right when it looked like he might be about to regain said agency, Smith had Skeletor at least look like he was removing it again. Now, let's take the Spiderman comparison further. With Uncle Ben, Peter took the death as a lesson and became a better person. He became more caring, more involved, more heroic than he was before. A tragedy turned to good. If we had gotten that sort of journey from Teela, I would still be upset about Smith's bullshit bait and switch, but I could at least have enjoyed it on its own merits. But they couldn't even get that right. Instead, Teela takes He-Man's death and did the exact opposite, making things worse for everyone around her. Instead of stepping up and showing what she was made of, she stepped away. I suppose that shows what she was made of, yes, but it's brown and smelly. We didn't get Spiderman. We got someone emotionally immature, narcissistic, bitterly holding onto a grudge for years, utterly convinced of her own righteousness, and so tunneled in on her own perspective that she literally had to have Andra drag her into saving the world. It says a lot that she was objectively worse at that point than fricking EVIL-Lynne. But you know what? There is a person just like that in Spiderman. I just wasn't expecting the origin story of J Jonah Jameson in He-Man. And certainly not with Teela! Seriously, the parallels are ridiculous. Both are self-centered, bitter, entitled problems who honestly can't understand why they shouldn't have the right to extremely dangerous secrets. despite the fact that the secret getting out causes problems and gets people killed. And that is the thing that I think Starfox5 doesn't get. I don't hate OG Teela. I actually really liked her in most of her incarnations. She's an interesting character, acting as both a straight man to a fairly wild cast as well as having the core of the brash and wild warrior in herself. She was the up and comer, the warrior that both wants to get stuck in while also needing to be reliable to do her job. Frankly, I'm not surprised that Teela became the Man-At-Arms. That was a fairly natural advancement for the character, even if I would have preferred a couple of episodes of "show, don't tell". Honestly, I'm not sure that they even told us in particular what event lead to her being promoted? I hate THIS VERSION of Teela because it destroys and perverts her character. That steadiness? She walked away when things went wrong. The passion and brash nature that used to be a great driver for her personality are now used as a poison for her personality. I am DEEPLY unimpressed with them not actually using He-Man but...maybe he got off easily? Because what they

did to Teela was outright painful. Honestly, it comes from a place of not really getting the core concept of He-Man, an intensely and unapologetically positive show. Ultimately, in order to use Teela in the future, I honestly think that her character is going to have to utterly ignore this show's existence. And that's a problem. XXX Split for shift in topic XXX Now, talking about the future. I don't trust Kevin when he says that "there is going to be so much He-Man" in the next five episodes. I suspect that it is going to end with Adam being permanently de-powered, Teela as the Sorceress, and Andra as the new Champion. Partially because I wouldn't trust Kevin at this point if he said "Grass is green". Notably, while he has said several times that there are going to have a big fight in episode seven, he has been suspiciously silent about things after that. This sets off every instinct I have, given the way he used essentially a single episode to make it look like He-Man was actually central to the story. Yeah, I have no faith in them. BUT! For the purposes of argumentation, let's say that the second half of the season is great and exactly what we expect. That actually leads to two problems: First is that the first five episodes have no real reason to exist. They basically end up as the unwanted extra bits, like the bone of a steak. You kind of resent paying for that dead weight. Except in this case, they handed us a massive steaming bone with barely any (man) meat on it, then told us "Don't worry, the next course will definitely be better! You just have to pay again for it!" It is hilarious to see various people both on the forum and not that absolutely rail against big businesses on a regular basis defending predatory practices from big toy and streaming corporations. But there is a worse problem. And that is what an excellent back half of the season will do to Teela's character. One of the showrunners, Wood I think, mentioned that his vision for this series was breaking the characters down to see what makes them heroic. And if suddenly Teela pulls her shit together and returns to being a tolerable, good, or even great character, that makes the answer...Adam. Yup. Apparently, she isn't much of a hero on her own, needing to be dragged into saving the world kicking and screaming. But when Adam is around, hey hero time! That's just not where I think the character should go or how she has been designed. There are ways to do MOTU without He-Man right. First, you need to actually advertise it that way and not have literally every piece of merchandise, most of the trailers, and the FUCKING DIRECTOR focusing on He-Man. Think about a novel; if I picked one up with an obvious Clancy-esque cover, a summary that sounds like a technothriller, and has been put in the Action section, I am going to be pissed if it turns out to be a Kenyon novel. Even though I actually enjoy some of her stuff, it isn't what I wanted when I bought it. Second, you cannot have Teela be a narcissistic deserter. She should have been a hero and commander, holding the kingdom together and forging new ways of doing things even as all the various magics, both war and utility, slowly failed. Seriously, there is so MUCH more that could have been done there. This? This is ultimately very pretty trash.

[kpophours]

A Sky Full of Flames

➵ WOODZ: Seungyoun x fem. reader / one shot, festival AU / fluff

➵ warnings: slight cursing, mentions of drinking/alcohol

➵ playlist: Queen, Kiss, Stevie Wonder, Kansas

➵ word count: 4.4k

Heat.

Burning, dusty heat is the first thing you notice when you step outside the small airport. You almost choke on it, and squint against the blindingly bright midday sun standing high in the sky. “Oh my.”, Kat beside you says, groaning when she notices the heat, “I know it’s a desert but this heat still seems a bit excessive.” Kevin, her boyfriend, just chuckles and wraps one arm around her shoulders, pressing a soft kiss against her temple. “Well, we are in Nevada, babe.”, he says nonchalantly, and she rolls her eyes at him. “Duh, I know. I was the one buying our plane tickets, you idiot.” He just nods and grins at her, before placing his snapback on her head to shield her from the sun. “I know, you did so well! I’m such a lucky man.” You only grin at their antics, used to their playful banter as they’ve been your close friends for a long time now.

After years of pining after each other, they had finally accepted their feelings two years ago - maybe with a bit of help from you, but neither of them nor you would ever admit that out loud. Your eyes travel towards one of the cars waiting in front of the airport, scanning each one of them until you finally spot the bright yellow van you’re searching for. “THERE!”, you yell in excitement, making both Kat and Kevin jump at your sudden outburst. You almost sprint towards the car, leaving your two best friends behind. When you’ve reached the van, you quickly knock against the window, making the person sitting inside the car yelp and whip their head around. When Jacob recognizes you, his face splits into a breathtaking smile, and he quickly jumps out of the car, rounding it and embracing you lovingly. “You’re finally here!”, he yells happily, and you giggle at his excitement, returning his hug and nuzzling your face into his neck, inhaling his familiar comforting scent. “We are! I hope you didn’t miss us too much and felt too lonely?”, you ask cheekily, and Jacob playfully ruffles your hair, sliding on his pink, heart-shaped sunglasses. You eye them with great interest, deciding to steal them from him later to complete your outfit. They suit you much better anyway, you think.

“Oh please, I was too busy setting up camp, I didn’t even have time to miss you or the other two idiots.”, Jacob replies, and you snort, but before you can retort anything, Kevin and Kat have caught up to you, the latter one just quickly hugging Jacob while her boyfriend dramatically clings to his best friend. Kevin presses his cheek against Jacob’s, whining about having missed him terribly before making him promise to never ever be apart for two weeks ever again. “Okay, okay, we should leave before all the other cars do so, too.”, Jacob finally says, prying Kevin’s arms from around his neck and opening the back of the van. “Get in, you two. Y/N drives shotgun today.” After some grumbling, both Kat and Kevin do as they’re told, and you hop into the passenger’s seat, straightening the big straw head on top of your head and grinning at Jacob. “Can I pick the music?”, you ask, already knowing the answer. Your friend just gives you a stern look. “Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts their cake hole.”, he says, and you begin to pout. “I should never have shown you Supernatural - I really hate when you quote that part, especially as my taste is much better than yours.”, you mumble, and Jacob laughs good-humoredly, before turning up the volume of the radio, blasting Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now before starting the motor. You roll down the window, and stick your head out to make a whooping noise - almost immediately, it gets echoed by many of the other people getting into their cars, most of them Burners like yourself. You laugh and close your eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the wind sweeping through the open window. Kevin and Kat lean over yours and Jacob’s seats to stare through the window shield and into the seemingly endless desert waiting in front of you. “Burning Man, here we come.”, Kat finally murmurs, shooting you a stunning smile. You grin at her and repeat “Burning Man, here we come!”

You can’t wait for the next nine amazing days to finally begin. 

The festival is … overwhelming, in the best kind of way.

The sounds, the people, the colors, the incredible art installations - you don’t even know where to look first. 

Random people greet you and your friends while you wander through the different camps, trying to see as much of the festival as possible. You laugh and smile at all of them, give out high fives and return hugs, make small talk with some and giggle at their stupid jokes. Everyone is in high spirits, some wearing beautiful elaborate costumes, while some are almost naked and others are wearing more casual clothes, like yourself. You try to look at everything and everyone at once, but fail miserably - just now, a woman wearing gigantic white angel wings and nothing else zooms past you on a neon-colored bike, blasting I Was Made for Loving You by Kiss from a speaker hanging around her neck. You exclaim in wonder, tugging at Jacob’s sleeve to make him follow your gaze, but she’s almost out of view again, just as quickly gone as she’s come. “This is amazing.”, you say in awe, and your friend laughs, wrapping one arm around your waist to pull you closer. “I know right?! And you haven’t even seen the half of it.”, he replies, and drags you with him over to a colorful tent where Kevin and Kat are just handed some sparkly drinks. They shimmer weirdly, almost looking like liquid silver. You raise both eyebrows, squinting suspiciously. “You’re sure that’s not real quicksilver?”, you ask, only half-joking, and Kat shrugs before taking a sip, her eyes immediately getting round with wonder. “Ohh, this is amazing! Here, taste it!”, she says, handing you her drink, and you sigh before following her request.

It tastes… kinda weird, but in a really good way - sweet and refreshing, and also almost a bit spicy. You have no idea what this drink is, but you want your own now. The guy behind the bar grins at you, straightening the crown resting upon his head, his light blue eyes underlined with sparkling silver eyeshadow, almost matching the unfamiliar drink. “Want some Ambrosia as well?”, he asks, voice raspy, and you immediately nod. After receiving your own cup, you offer him one of the many bracelets you’ve made over the last few weeks as payment, and he happily accepts it, letting you wrap it around his wrist. He bows towards you, crown almost tumbling from his head, before turning his attention to the next customer. With the drinks in hand, you and your friends continue to make your way through the festival. You eat some skewers from a young woman wearing a Princess Leia costume, repaying her kindness with a song Jacob plays on the acoustic guitar he’s carrying with him, Kevin singing softly along. 

Two hours later, the sun is about to set, painting everything around you in burning orange and soft golds. You are wearing a brand new leather vest, tassels and all, having exchanged your big straw hat for it, and your left arm is now painted in swirls of neon, an aspiring artist having asked all four of you to join his walking art project. You’ve also managed to steal the pink heart-shaped sunglasses from Jacob, happy to quite literally see everything through rose-colored lenses now. You’re walking through a camp that’s filled with multi-colored tents, every single one of them decorated with mirrors reflecting the evening sun, when a group just making fresh pizza in a gigantic brick oven asks you to join them for dinner. You and your friends happily agree, offering to share the drinks you’ve brought from another camp in return. When night begins to fall, you help one of them, a guy named Alex, set up a small bonfire to sit around, Jacob beginning to strum a soft song on his guitar. You snuggle against Kat’s shoulder and she kisses the top of your head, burying her nose into your soft hair. “This feels like a dream.”, you murmur softly, and she nods in agreement. “And yet we really are here.”, she replies, and you chuckle. “And yet we really are.” Her hand finds yours in the darkness, and she intertwines her fingers with yours. You close your eyes, listening to the music and basking in the warmth of the fire, knowing that every single moment is just fleeting and should always be enjoyed to the fullest. 

The next days pass in a blur - you visit the various camps and villages, admire different artists and their installations, enjoy foods and drinks from all around the world, meet many amazing people, and dance to all kinds of music until the early hours of the morning. One of the highlights is definitely when you go visit the platform in front of The Man himself for the first time - the view is so beautiful, it literally takes your breath away. You, Kat, Kevin and Jacob just stand there, arm in arm, for the longest time, taking in the view and enjoying each other’s company. No words are able to express what you’re feeling during that special moment. 

Even though you’re tired and dusty and sweaty, you’ve rarely been so happy and carefree. Burning Man is everything you’ve ever dreamed of, and more. You usually use the bikes Jacob has acquired before your arrival to travel to the different camps, as the festival is way bigger than you’ve ever imagined, making the distances almost impossible to travel on foot alone. The second day, some people ask if they can repaint your bikes, so now all four of them are brightly colored - orange, pink, green and blue -, and sprinkled with some fluorescent paint that actually glows in the dark. 

On the third evening, you and your friends decide to go visit a new village - there are brightly colored tents everywhere, thousands of fairy lights strung between them, and there’s a gigantic bonfire in the middle of it all. Various people are sitting on beanbags and old carpets, sharing different foods and drinks, laughing and talking to each other. The atmosphere is very laid-back and relaxed, underlined by the sound of multiple guitars and a harmonica. All four of you are being greeted by happy, bright smiles, hands reaching for you to pull you in the midst of them, shoving food and drinks into your arms. You thank them, and decide to join them for dinner tonight, having to introduce yourselves over and over again as everyone seems to be interested in getting to know you newcomers. Shortly after your arrival, there’s someone else joining the group - or rejoining, more likely, as everyone seems to know him, yelling his name in excitement and adoration. 

Seungyoun.

He’s handsome, with dark hair and eyes, and a stunningly bright smile. He greets everyone by name, shaking hands while balancing an acoustic guitar on his back, until he finally takes a seat not too far from where you and your friends are sitting, beginning to tune his guitar. You can’t help but stare at him for a few seconds, something about him making you feel drawn to him. He finally seems to notice your gaze, and lifts his head to lock eyes with you. A shiver runs down your spine when the intensity of his gaze hits you, and you quickly look away, seeing his lips pull into a slight smile out of the corner of your eye. A few minutes later, he begins to play a song - and you can’t help but smile and close your eyes when you recognize it: Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder, incidentally one of your favorite songs.

When he begins to sing, you open your eyes again, mouth slightly agape now. His voice is beautiful, higher than expected, and really unique. Goosebumps rise all over your arms and you quickly rub them with both hands. “Are you cold?”, Jacob asks worriedly, already taking off his light blue denim jacket to drape it over your shoulders. You just give him a small smile and murmur a soft “Thank you.” under your breath, before your eyes slide towards Seungyoun again. You almost jump when you see that he’s looking at you, but quickly return his smile, trying to ignore your fast beating heart. When he sings the chorus for the last time, he winks at you when he reaches the Isn’t She Lovely part. You press your lips together in an attempt to stifle your giddy smile, and quickly grab for your drink, just to have something to hold on to. Everyone claps when Seungyoun ends the song, but he just waves the compliments away, taking a sip of his beer.

“Come on, Jake, you should join him for a guitar session!”, Kevin suddenly says, making the man beside you purse his lips and shrug. “I mean… if you don’t mind?”, Jacob says, looking at Seungyoun with a questioning expression on his face, but the other man just breaks into a bright smile, showing off his dimples. “Oh, absolutely not! I’d love for us to play together.” And with that, Seungyoun gets up from his seat, walking over to where you and your friends are sitting, and sits down in front of Jacob - and you. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet.”, he says, reaching out one hand for you to take, “I’m Seungyoun.” You accept his handshake, trying to ignore the fire igniting in your lower belly when you touch his warm skin for the first time, and answer as nonchalantly as possible: “I’m Y/N, nice to meet you. You have a wonderful voice.” He gives you a happy smile, his dark, sparkling eyes forming little crescents. “Oh, thank you. I’m glad you think so!” He then introduces himself to your friends, before asking Jacob what song they should play together. They think for a few seconds, before Jacob suggests Dust in the Wind by Kansas - your absolute favorite song, which he also tells Seungyoun. The latter one nods immediately, and shoots you another grin. “Excellent taste! We’ll play it just for you then.” And with that, he and Jacob begin to play and sing.

Goosebumps rise all over your body, and you feel your throat close up, the song making you feel incredibly nostalgic all of the sudden. Seungyoun doesn’t break eye contact with you, seemingly observing your reaction to the song, a soft smile playing on his lips while he sings. You decide to join their singing during the chorus, a surprised yet pleased expression crossing Seungyoun’s face when he hears your soft voice. During the last few seconds of the song, you close your eyes to just enjoy the music. You clap almost frantically when the men end the song, thanking them for their beautiful play. Jacob just laughs at you, playfully ruffling your hair, while Seungyoun looks almost a big smug about your reaction. “That was beautiful.”, Kat says as well, and Seungyoun grins at her. “Thanks.” “Are you part of this village?”, she asks, leaning a bit closer towards him. He nods. “Yeah, I’m camping here with some of my pals. But Seungwoo is staying a few camps over tonight, and Hangyul is probably off somewhere disappointing Jesus.”, he explains, and you chuckle. “So they just left you all alone?”, you inquire, and he raises one eyebrow. “I mean, I guess you could say so - yet I find myself in much better company right now.”, he answers smoothly, and you blush at his words, giving him a soft smile. He grins at your reaction, obviously pleased with himself, and leans back on his arms, still gazing at you. “Where’s your camp?”, he then asks, and you quickly explain where your base is. 

The next hours pass in a blur. You and Seungyoun almost forget that you’re not alone at the bonfire, talking almost exclusively to each other. He tells you that he’s actually a full-time musician and producer, and that he’s been coming to Burning Man for over three years now. You in turn tell him about your job, and that you’ve never been to the festival before, making this so much more exciting for you. The conversation between you two flows easily and steadily, and you feel like you’ve known him for half an eternity already - he’s funny, and easy-going, switching back between making stupid jokes and having deep conversations without any problems. You quickly find yourself liking him - a lot.

“I think I’ll go take a little walk.”, Seungyoun finally says some time later, locking eyes with you again, “Care to join me?” Kat beside you immediately elbows you in the ribs, making you hiss at the slight pain and shoot her a dark look. She gives you an angelic smile and nods in Seungyoun’s direction. “Oh, she’d love to come.” To you, she whispers a “Have fun, be safe, and if you aren’t home by noon tomorrow, we’re going to organize a search party for you.” And with that, she pushes you towards him, making you topple over, only his quick reaction preventing you from face planting directly into his lap. He chuckles, and grabs one of your hands to help you up. “Thanks.”, you murmur, heat blazing on your cheeks while you try to ignore your friends’ cheeky laughter, “Let’s go.” 

Your walk is mostly filled with soft conversation and playful banter. Seungyoun and you also greet many of the other Burners coming your way, exchanging a few words with some of them, returning warm hugs and at one point, you both receive crowns made out of flowers. Seungyoun smiles at you while placing one of the crowns on top of your head, and tucks some of your hair behind one ear before reaching for your hand to intertwine his fingers with yours. He tugs you closer towards him then, cupping your cheek with his other hand and searching in your eyes for confirmation. When he finds it, he slowly leans down towards your face until finally, his lips are on yours - feeling incredibly soft and warm. You sigh against him, and let go of his hand to wrap your arms around his neck while he slides his around your waist, deepening the kiss while doing so. When you break apart again, you’re both breathing heavily. He gives you a bright smile, before nuzzling your nose. “Is it crazy when I say that I wanted to do this ever since first laying eyes on you this evening?”, he murmurs against your lips, and you shake your head, returning his smile. “I’ve felt the exact same way. I couldn’t look away from you, for some reason.” He smirks. “Yeah, I did notice that. I bet it was thanks to my devilishly handsome looks and flaming charisma.” You playfully roll your eyes at him, a smile tugging at your lips. “That must have been it, yes.”, you agree sarcastically, and he just laughs, before kissing you again. 

Seungyoun and you walk until you’ve reached another camp, this one full of bright lights, heavy bass and loud electronic music. He just grins at you, and pulls you with him into the dancing crowd. You laugh and follow him, quickly losing yourself to the rhythm of the music and the feeling of his hands on your body. You close your eyes, happy to just enjoy this seemingly endless night. 

In the early hours of the morning, Seungyoun pulls you towards his tent, and together, you tumble into bed. You’re both exhausted, bodies tired from dancing for hours on end. Still, neither of you wants to sleep yet - so he pulls you into his arms, hot breath tickling your neck when he nuzzles his face into it. You share endless kisses and loving touches, until the first rays of sunshine begin to creep into Seungyoun’s tent. Only then do you fall asleep, arms wrapped around each other, legs tangled, hands intertwined, and breaths mingling. 

Your sleep is deep and dreamless.

The next days pass way too quickly for your liking - Seungyoun and you spend many hours in each others’ company, and he also introduces you to his friends Hangyul and Seungwoo, both welcoming you with open arms and inviting smiles. You spend each night at Seungyoun’s tent, everything already feeling so real and just right with him, and no one questions your decision to do so - quite the contrary, especially Kat is more than supportive of you, seeing how smitten you already are with Seungyoun. He also shows you the few camps and villages you haven’t gotten around to see yet, introducing you to some friends he’s known from his past times attending the festival, and every evening he plays the guitar for you, before taking you to an art installation or going dancing with you. 

Before you know it, the last day has arrived. When you wake up, you feel dread wash over you. Seungyoun lays beside you, still asleep, his breathing soft and even. You smile, heart beating twice as fast when you take in his morning beauty - the slightly parted lips, messy bed hair, and rosy cheeks. You can’t help but leave a soft kiss against his forehead. He mumbles something unintelligible, before burying his face in one of the pillows. You chuckle to yourself, and carefully thread your fingers through his soft hair. He sighs under your gentle caresses, and turns his face towards you again, eyes slowly opening. He has the most stunning eyes, you think to yourself, a dark rich chocolate brown, almost black, always sparkling with warmth and some mischief. “Morning.”, you say softly, and his lips stretch into your favorite smile, almost blindingly bright in the morning. “Good morning, my love.”, he replies, and pulls you into his arms to hug you tightly. You giggle, trying to wiggle free from his strong grip. “Youn, I need air!”, you complain playfully, smacking his naked chest. He just chuckles, placing a soft kiss on the top of your head. “All you need is love, don’t you know that, silly?”, he just replies, making you laugh. “Idiot.”, you murmur lovingly, and he finally lets go of you, grinning up at you. “Your idiot.”, he states and you just smile at him, before leaning in to kiss him.

You decide to spend the last day together with Jacob, Kevin and Kat, but Seungyoun doesn’t want to leave your side either. You both know that this is your last real day together - tonight, The Man will burn, and tomorrow you’ll all have to leave again. You haven’t talked about what’s going to happen then - about what’s going to happen to you two. For now, you pretend to be blissfully unaware of your impending separation, enjoying the last day of the festival by eating way too much food, sharing delicious drinks, and playing silly games in different camps.

When the evening sun is about to set, Hangyul and Seungwoo join your little group, and you all walk towards where The Man stands, ready to see him burn tonight. You find a place with a good view, and sit down on the blankets you’ve brought along, opening your drinks and silently toasting each other. There’s no need for words right now, the atmosphere speaking for itself. Seungyoun sits behind you, you between his legs with his arms around your waist, while his chin rests on your shoulder. From time to time, he presses a soft kiss against your neck or cheek, making you smile. Jacob, Kevin and Kat sit on your left side - the latter ones also wrapped in each other's arms - and on your right one sit Hangyul and Seungwoo. Being surrounded by your friends makes you feel content and happy beyond words.

“There, it’s about to start.”, Seungyoun suddenly whispers into your ear, and a delicious shiver runs down your spine when his hot breath tickles your ear. You lean against him and his grip around you tightens, thumb rubbing circles against the naked skin of your waist. 

Then, The Man gets set ablaze.

It doesn’t take as long as you’ve thought it would - in mere minutes, the big wooden statue gets eaten by the bright flames, and for a second, it looks like the night sky itself is filled with fire. Then, there’s music, and the sound of people cheering. Fireworks are erupting all around you and finally, the whole Man is on fire. That’s when you join the other people in their cheers, jumping up from your seats and running into the large crowd of Burners, dancing to the music and throwing your hands over your heads. You pull Kat into a hug, Kevin quickly joining you and wrapping his arms around you both, pulling Jacob into the cuddle huddle as well. “I LOVE YOU GUYS!”, you yell over all the noise and sounds, and they scream it back at you, hollering and whooping, the happiness and joy radiating from them making them even more beautiful than usual. And then, suddenly, Seungyoun is at your side again, pulling you into a tight hug and peppering kisses all over your face, nuzzling your nose. “I’m falling in love with you, Y/N.”, he whispers into your ear, and your heart skips a beat at his confession, before you smile up at him, whispering a “Me too.” back. You both laugh, full of love and happiness, and you take his face between your hands to kiss him properly. He smiles into the kiss, and wraps both arms around your waist to pull you even closer to his own body. 

And that’s when you realize it - this might be the end of the festival, but this is just the beginning for you and Seungyoun.

[masterlist] | [requests]

[ruzek-halstead]

pretty

part one

pairing: jay halstead x hailey upton

the whole one chicago gang is at molly's having a great time until will halstead corners jay about his relationship with hailey and advises him to quite literally take his girl home. (un)fortunately, hailey isn't interested in going back to her home.

“alright, so answer me this. hypothetically, if hailey was to go home with, oh, i don’t know, severide or something, would you be completely okay with that?”

part two || masterlist

warnings: swearing, fluffery

hailey never drinks this much. seriously. ever.

somehow, she gets caught up with the crowd at molly's and the shots start flowing. it doesn’t help that her drinking partners include kelly severide, adam ruzek and joe cruz, among the rest of the first responders that tag along.

she had made her way over with her own squad and mingled with the rest of their friends. currently she has her arm wrapped around severide’s waist, with his around her shoulders and they are screaming the lyrics to whatever song is currently playing. adam is grabbing everyone another round of tequila shots while kim is serenading hailey from across the booth. the rest of the first responder ladies are present too; vanessa, sylvie, emily, natalie and april sitting at their own booth enjoying the night. the majority of the guys are settled at the bar; jay, will, matt and kevin conversing over beers.

jay trusts hailey wholeheartedly and there’s no question about it. however, he can’t help but worry, considering he’s never seen her consume so much alcohol in such little time. especially because she has kept up with every single drink severide has had and he’s seen severide quite drunk before.

“jay, if you’re going to keep looking at her every five seconds, you may as well just go over there now,” will whispers, raising an eyebrow at his brother. he lowers his voice so the rest of his friends don’t hear (but honestly, will is convinced literally everyone but them knows those two are in love with each other).

jay instantly turns his attention to his brother, his cheeks pinking at getting caught. “i'm just keeping an eye,” he replies, sipping his beer.

“yeah, clearly,” will rolls his eyes. “so, are you two dating yet?”

jay sputters, easily choking on his drink. “what the hell are you talking about, man?”

will lifts an eyebrow at jay's immediate denial. “i mean, i have eyes, jay,” he explains, as if it’s obvious. “dude, you’re obviously in love with her.”

“have you been helping yourself to the hospital’s medicine cabinet?”

will furrows his brows. “are you asking if i’m on drugs?” jay looks at him expectantly. “you're clearly not very perceptive.”

“i do just fine, thanks,” jay rolls his eyes as he finishes the last of his beer. “hailey and i are just partners, that’s all, and you know that.”

“bullshit,” will says with a single smirk.

jay levels him with an incredulous stare; his brother can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. “we're partners, will; we see a lot of hard shit every day and we’re close. but that’s all it is.”

“alright, so answer me this,” will replies and jay rolls his eyes, literally debating just walking out right now. “just humour me,” he cuts him off. “hypothetically, if hailey was to go home with, oh, i don’t know, severide or something, would you be completely okay with that?”

instinctively, jay looks over at hailey again. she's still nestled close to severide, but it didn’t bother him until now.

“i would – i would be fine,” jay replies but flinches when he stumbles on his words. this is exactly what will is waiting for, like a vulture.

he finishes off his beer with a smirk, “my point is proven, and i'm finished here.”

jay's jaw clenches tight. he's annoyed with his brother and now he can’t stop looking at severide’s arm around hailey without wanting to rip it off.

will halstead, everyone.

“i'm heading home,” will digs into his pocket to drop some bills on the counter, winking at herrmann. “you should probably take your girl home though, make sure she gets into bed safely. you know, her own bed.”

jay glares at him. “you’re a dick and i hate you so much right now.”

“goodnight bro,” will laughs, completely unaffected by his younger brother’s words. he pats him on the shoulder and says, “love you.”

regardless of how annoying his brother is and how he knows exactly how to push his buttons, will is basically the only family he has left. which is why he replies with a quiet “love you too” before ordering a whiskey to counteract his brother’s words.

it feels as if it’s karaoke night at molly’s with the amount of singing currently taking place. it’s loud and terribly off-key but they’re all having a great time and he can’t help but chuckle when he hears adam attempt celine dion’s my heart will go on.

jay finds himself by himself at the bar, staring at his half empty glass. matt and kevin have gone to join the ladies in their booth, but jay doesn’t want to join them. if he’s being completely honest, the only person he wants to talk to is hailey, but she’s otherwise occupied. he's debating whether or not he should make his way home, when he feels a weight tumble into his side.

he nearly falls off his stool but catches himself with a foot on the floor and a hand on the bar.

“oops,” hailey giggles and jay looks over to see her clutching onto the bar for dear life.

it's odd to see her so clumsy and giggly since she is always so cool and collected. she very rarely lets down her walls, much like himself. and when she does, it’s because something big has prompted it and she needs to vent.

“you alright?” he raises an eyebrow as she attempts to hop onto the stool beside him. he opts to grabbing her arm and guiding her to ease the difficulties she’s having; she’s still giggling. “can we get a water please?” jay asks herrmann behind the bar and the firefighter sends him a smirk but obliges anyway.

hailey finally settles in her seat and swivels to face jay. her eyes are glazed over and she’s smiling goofily; honestly, it’s a sight he thought he’d never see. “i saw you all alone and thought you needed some company.”

“actually, i’m thinking of heading out soon,” he replies as he pushes the glass of iced water in her direction. she wrinkles her nose as it, but he pushes it further with a stern look.

hailey gives in and takes two large gulps. “i should too. i'm getting very sleepy,” she adds, her eyes dropping for dramatic effect.

or so jay thinks it’s for dramatic effect but then he genuinely thinks she’s sleeping at the bar. “hailey, wake up,” he chides, chuckling because he can’t help himself; she looks adorable. “come on, drink your water.”

hailey blindly reaches for the glass again but refuses to open her eyes. once again, he’s not surprised she doesn’t listen to his instructions. her arms rest against the bar and she moves to drop her head against it too. “alright,” he laughs, “do you want me to take you home?”

her eyes instantly pop back open and her blue eyes stare at him in adoration. “take me home, jay halstead.”

jay swallows roughly but drops a few bills on the counter and bids goodnight to herrmann.

hailey is up and out of her seat within seconds and a newfound source of energy. she bounds over to her group from earlier, yelling cheerful goodbyes as she runs into kim for a messy hug. jay follows her, standing behind and waiting for her like a dutiful partner (or so he convinces himself). she shares a hug with adam and jay tenses when she moves to say goodbye to severide (honestly, he was so dramatic).

but all hailey does is steal his shot glass and drain it, while severide laughs and ruffles her hair. and suddenly, jay feels like an idiot for the jealous thoughts that consumed him earlier because clearly, their relationship is barely anything more than sibling-like. with that, jay says a quick goodbye to his co-workers and friends and walks hailey out the door.

he tries, he really does. but as soon as he opens the door so she can exit ahead of him, he realizes she can hardly even walk, much less in a straight line. hailey's giggling as she stumbles into the brick wall, so jay gently grabs her arm to guide her in the direction of his truck. hailey takes full advantage of the closeness and snuggles up as close as she can.

“you’re going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow,” jay murmurs quietly. he's opening the passenger door and helping her up into the vehicle. her foot slips on the outside step and jay hastily grabs her before she falls on the ground.

she's still laughing, and he hoists her into the truck and fastens her seatbelt; he isn’t taking any more chances. “impossible. i'm greek, we don’t get hangovers,” she replies as he’s stretched over her. he can smell the tequila on her breath and accidentally catches her gaze as he pulls back. her blue eyes are mesmerizing and they’re staring at him with such intensity, he forgets his purpose for a moment.

“somehow i don’t think that will be the case tomorrow,” he says quickly to distract himself from her captivating gaze. he closes the door and makes his way to the driver’s side and does everything he can to avoid looking at her. she doesn’t make it easy; she’s purposely staring right at his side profile.

his jaw is twitching; he knows it, but he can’t control it. “where are we going?” she asks suddenly.

“i'm dropping you off at your place?” jay answers in a questioning tone.

hailey instantly protests, her arms crossing and her lips pouting. “i don’t want to go home,” she says defiantly.

“hailey, you have to go home. we have to work in the morning, and you need to sleep off that hangover,” jay's voice is gentle, but hailey is not having it.

clearly, she isn’t getting more sober as time goes on and jay sighs. “jay, do not take me home – i don’t want to go.”

he humours her. “where do you expect me to take you then? it's one in the morning.”

a slow smile spreads across her features. “i want to go to your place.”

jay sputters for a moment but regains his composure quickly. “what? my apartment?”

“yeah,” she’s still giggling. “you have that really good scotch and i could really go for a glass right now.”

jay shakes his head but can’t help the amused smile; she’s been drinking tequila all night but now wants to switch and mix whiskey. he doesn’t think farther into it, doesn’t want to let his mind get distracted with hypotheticals. instead, he makes the rest of the short trip to his apartment and holds his hobbling partner all the way to his door.

she's an obliterated giggling mess and he doesn’t even find himself growing irritated.

hailey’s smart and she heads straight for the scotch, but he knows better. “not a chance in hell,” he quips as he swipes the bottle before she gets her hands on it. he holds it above his head where she definitely can’t reach and then places it on an even higher shelf.

“jay,” she whines with a frown and sways on her feet.

jay places a hand on her waist and shuffles her in the direction of his bedroom. “come on hailey, let’s get some sleep,” he’s practically begging. “we have to be up so early.”

upon hearing the pleading in his voice, hailey concedes and allows him to push her in the direction of his bedroom. she’s been in it before but never to spend the night. she’s honestly too drunk to think anything more of it. when she spots his bed, she dives face first and ignores his snickers.

jay is rummaging through his drawers and pulls out an old police academy long-sleeve (his biceps were much smaller at the time) and a pair of sweatpants for her to change into. when he turns around, she is already sitting up and waiting for him expectantly, so he throws the clothes at her face. her reflexes are understandably inebriated, just like the rest of her.

she’s laughing again. “thanks halstead!”

by the time he turns back to face her, her t-shirt is up over her head. they're both adults and professionals, so he doesn’t hastily turn away as if his eyes are burning. he’s mature and raises a single eyebrow in her direction.

hailey's smirking. “sorry,” she says but she’s the least bit apologetic. she’s attempting to take off her jeans now, but they get stuck around her ankles and her vision is swimming too much for her to focus. “jay,” she murmurs, “help.”

“this would probably be easier if you took off your shoes,” he replies as he unties her boots and sets them by his door. she saves him the embarrassment and tugs off the rest of her jeans. she takes the shirt he threw at her and pulls it over her head, reveling in the warmth. she loves how it smells like fabric softener but still smells like jay.

hailey takes one look at jay’s old sweatpants and throws them back at him. “i don’t wear pants to bed,” she wrinkles her nose in distaste  

jay mumbles something under his breath but folds and places the pair of sweats back into their rightful drawer. he's trying so hard to keep his shit together, but she is not making it easy. hailey wastes no more time and pulls back the covers to get comfortable underneath them. she pulls them up below her neck and watches jay as he moves about his room, with the brightest blue eyes. there’s something about seeing her like that, in his bed, so carefree, that he just can’t look at her without melting.

jay grabs an extra blanket from his closet and heads for the door. “i’ll bring you some water and advil before i turn in. but you should get some sleep, i'll wake you up in the morning.”

hailey’s eyes grow confused and her limbs stretch out from underneath the blankets to reach for him. “no, jay, where are you going?”

she’s clearly getting sleepy once again. “i'm sleeping on the couch tonight. i'll see you in the morning.”

he tries to leave again but hailey sputters and nearly rolls off the bed trying to stop him. he sighs and rushes forward to steady her. “jay, please don’t sleep on the couch,” hailey says quietly. her eyes are fluttering sleepily, and jay knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s out like a light. “i want you to sleep here.”

jay stares at her by can’t quite get a read on her. “okay,” he replies, just as quietly, “just let me go get—”

“no!” she clutches onto his arm. “just come to bed.”

jay plans on protesting again, because she’s drunk and she may not feel this way in the morning, but all his self-control is gone. “okay,” he agrees.

she lets go of his arm with a satisfied smile and she looks adorable. jay is quick to shed his clothing, losing his shirt and changing into sweats. he debates whether or not he should put on a clean shirt, because he wants hailey to be comfortable but finds it super uncomfortable for him. he reaches for one anyway, but hailey is quick to object. “no shirt,” she says, and he raises an eyebrow, “i know you don’t like to sleep with shirts.”

he concedes and finds himself crawling into his side of the bed after turning off the light. hailey is quick to gravitate towards him (she’s been waiting for him to get into bed for ages, or so it feels like it). she drapes an arm across his chest and tangles her bare legs with his and she snuggles her head close to his neck. the closeness is nice, and he exhales as he wraps an arm around her frame.

“this is nice,” hailey mumbles quietly, but jay hears her loud and clear from her positions close to his ear. “you have the perfect body to cuddle.”

jay can’t help but laugh. “uh, thank you?”

“really muscular,” her cold hands start roaming his upper chest and he tries not to go rigid.

instead, he chuckles nervously. “alright hailey, you’re drunk. it’s time to get some sleep.”

“yeah, i'm drunk,” she admits quietly, “but i think you’re really pretty and i should tell you that more often.”

jay is still laughing but the exhaustion is slowly starting to hit him. “thanks hails, i think you’re pretty too.”

“yeah, i know,” she mumbles, “i can see it in the way you look at me.”

jay should probably be surprised or caught off-guard or something. but he isn’t.

instead, he feels her lips press against his neck before he dozes off.

[ilovejevsjeans]

WHY HAMILTON, VETTEL AND RICCIARDO HAVE EARNED A CRUCIAL WIN

Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo have 146 Formula 1 victories between them. They can take a share in another at the British Grand Prix, and the race hasn’t even started yet. But that’s kind of the point.

It’ll be around 17 minutes before the formation lap begins at Silverstone when those three drivers, and others like Romain Grosjean, can take satisfaction in a job well done. That’s when, thanks to F1 and the FIA, a prominent display “in recognition of the importance of equality and equal opportunity for all” will be part of the live TV images before the race for around half a minute.

“As long as we are all there together and get a moment which doesn’t feel forced or rushed, I think that’s most important,” Ricciardo had said on Thursday.

“In Budapest, it was a bit of a mess for the timing so they’ve addressed it now and I think we’ll continue to do as we’ve done just with a little bit more ease and not such rush and chaos.”

It would be disingenuous to claim getting F1’s pre-race anti-racism stand back in a prominent position is the greatest victory of the weekend, and in isolation it might not seem like a win at all.

But F1 was heading down a tricky path in a fractured state and this could be a significant milestone in that journey. And as FIA race director Michael Masi wrote at the end of a detailed set of notes: “I hope the above is clear and provides some clarity and reassurance to the drivers.”

Hamilton, Vettel and Ricciardo have spoken – and acted – with passion and respect on the subject of racism. Others have too, including the next generation of drivers like Lando Norris, but this trio in particular has been at the forefront of consistently explaining why it is important and why it must be continued.

“We cannot ignore what’s happening outside of our racing bubble,” says Vettel.

“And I think the fight against racism around the world that has taken off again in the last couple of weeks and months, I think it is completely justified.

“It is an ongoing process and needs all of us – and that’s not just us racing, I think that would be ignorant – all human beings around the planet to stand up and to try and go against racism, inequality, injustice in any form.

“It is right to try and set the right signs to inspire people because in the end I believe that education is probably the only way out of it.

“It is insanity to think that in 2020 with all the knowledge that we have of the past, and all the lessons we’ve learned that there is still something that does exist that should be out of the question.

“But it’s not, so therefore we need to stand up when we have the chance publicly to send a message – or more so even when the camera’s off and we are living our everyday life and setting the right example, and trying to behave in a way that is right.”

That’s what the official anti-racism ‘ceremony’, held at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, was all about – a very strong message to a very large audience. But it was made less formal at the next two races and turned into a bit of a rush. It seemed to slip off the agenda and it emerged that other drivers were happy to let that happen.

It’s one thing that all 20 drivers haven’t knelt so far. But as has so often been iterated, that doesn’t matter so long as the 20 are united for the cause.

If some drivers wanted to just drop it and move on, that shatters the illusion of unity. That all 20 seem set to persevere suggests it was more about not understanding the importance of the issue rather than being against it.

To some it will still look odd to see the majority of drivers kneeling and others doing something else. But we’re making baby steps with this issue, which is how Hamilton sees it – progress.

“I spent time speaking to Jean Todt, spent time speaking to Chase Carey and Ross Brawn and had really great conversations with them to understand what they’re planning and what they want to do moving forward, and to make sure they know that we’re on the same team here,” Hamilton says.

“Things like giving us that little bit of extra time at the beginning before the race, so that we can really show how united we are as a sport – because other sports have done a better job at consistently doing that.

“They’ve been really open-minded and I do think that it needs to continue through the year.

“I believe, at the moment, that’s what we’re going to continue to do. I think there’s been some pushback, from some teams maybe.

“But again, it’s a work in progress to get us all together. And I think it’s going in the right direction.”

Different people have different positions on this subject. Not in the sense that anyone morally decent thinks racism isn’t bad, or shouldn’t be ended. But it’s a fact that not everybody is on the same page with how prominent this issue needs to be or what part F1 can play in making a difference.

That’s what has caused division among the drivers and projects an image that the ‘unity’ everybody speaks of might not actually be there.

“After the first race it was then discussed between us drivers, what do we do moving forward,” says Ricciardo.

“Some were in the mindset of ‘OK, well I’ve done it, so why do we need to keep doing it? I showed the support and that’s it’.

“But I think that’s just a bit of education, and I’m not gonna sit here and say I know more than everyone else about the topic because I don’t – but I feel that it was then time to open up the conversation and say well, these are the reasons why doing it once is not really doing enough.”

It’d be great to see all 20 take the knee before the start but that won’t happen and it probably won’t happen all season long. But whatever those drivers choose to do instead, they should be willing to do in front of the cameras for the remainder of 2020.

“It’s not like if someone passes and you wear a black armband, that makes sense, you acknowledge it on that moment and it’s not like you have to do it for the next year or something,” says Ricciardo.

“But this is a cause that is ongoing, and it’s still very fresh for a lot of people, a lot of parts of the world and I think we need to continue honing in on it, and making people aware of it.

“That’s why just doing it once is not enough. If you just do it once, how much do you really mean it?

“I think you have to continue showing your support and your willingness to do something and make a change.”

At this point the knee issue is a distraction from scrutinising whether F1 is really unified on this matter and serious about it. What’s been put in place for the British GP suggests that is the case, as it was in Austria.

The rest is an issue for the drivers to discuss amongst themselves.

Given taking the knee originated as a statement from NFL player Colin Kaepernick against police brutality and racial profiling in the United States, is it a political statement? Or has it transcended its origins and become a gesture of solidarity? Is it really a very sensitive and divisive gesture in some cultures, as has been protested?

And what of the ongoing co-opting of the Black Lives Matter message, originally and ostensibly a simple, powerful statement demanding people recognise the needless killing of black Americans?

As Hamilton has discovered, the association that message now has with controversial political organisations has split supporters of the same cause into factions.

“I’m clearly for more inclusion and ending racism – this whole messaging and movement in my mind is great, and I think it’s only good that we’re putting awareness on this and spreading the word,” says Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. “And I want to participate in that for sure.

“But I don’t want to become political and it’s difficult for me to know how my actions are being perceived by others. I really just don’t want to go into politics and I don’t want to be seen to support groups or organisations that I can’t stand with.”

His team-mate Grosjean says: “Kevin mentioned really a good point that some of the guys have been afraid of being linked to any political movement.

“I don’t think it’s happening but maybe I’m wrong. I’m not linked to any of the political movement.”

This is a delicate issue but if it wasn’t then F1 wouldn’t need to be getting involved. It wouldn’t be a worldwide problem that manifests itself in all sorts of ways – even creating issues that F1 doesn’t go anywhere near, as plenty of people who criticise the anti-racism movement like to point out by asking ‘why isn’t F1 shining a light on X?’.

The solution to inconsistent messaging can’t be that Hamilton abandons wearing a ‘Black Lives Matter’ T-shirt while others wear one that says ‘End Racism’.

For one thing, apparently the other message is on the back of Hamilton’s anyway. But if the drivers are free to make the gesture they choose there is something insidious about forcing the only black driver in F1 to adapt a message important to black culture to avoid causing a problem.

After all, the whole point of this is not to suggest that white hood wearing neo-Nazis are walking around with nooses in every city across the world, assembling lynch mobs.

It’s to raise awareness of the deep-rooted biases that manifest themselves as systemic racism and troubles that are much, much harder to address and fix – which is why something so absurd as racism still exists today.

“I really don’t understand racism,” says Grosjean. “I really don’t understand that it can exist in that way.

“I never experienced it, and talking to Lewis was very interesting and it’s things that you can’t really even imagine.

“I don’t think it should divide us, if anything it should pull us together and help us with our image to stop that because it shouldn’t happen.”

This is at the heart of the importance of what Grosjean (in his role at the GPDA), F1 and the FIA have done, starting with the British GP. The request of arguably the three most powerful driver voices on the topic has been taken on board and acted on.

All 20 drivers will group together for a cause and doing so prominently will help eliminate the underlying feeling that some don’t want to be there.

In the smallest possible way it will be a test of their commitment to this issue and perhaps by exposing them to it more regularly, much like those watching on television, anyone who does have doubts about why it needs to be continued in this fashion will try to understand it instead of trying to end the process.

“The more of an impact we can have as Formula 1, as drivers, the better it is for all of us and the bigger the impact we’re going to have on the future and people growing up,” says Norris.

There’s a bigger part for F1 to play in this fight, with activities of greater substance being set up in the background.

For now, it’s important for all participants to show they are on the same side. And in that sense, what we witness before the British GP should be considered a win. (X)

[honeypiehotchner]

Beautiful Stranger (Chris Evans x OFC) -- part ten

Hello again! I know it’s been awhile, apologies for that. I had some big writing pieces I had to focus on and get turned in before I did anything else. That being said, I’m submitting a ton of original works to contests in the next few weeks, so updates here could be a little teeny bit slow. But I am still writing! I have up to part twelve done already ;))

Anywho, enjoy xx.

Warnings: Just Chris being an absolute gentleman. Teeth-rotting fluff.

Chris and I have dinner together every night now. Or, we try to.

He’s filming again, which means sometimes our dinners have to be postponed, or one time he ordered in and had it there right when I got home, because he needed to leave a few minutes later for work. It’s become our routine.

Oh, and we exchanged numbers.

Which means the text messages like the one I’m smiling down at right now is a frequent occurrence.

Chris: Seb won’t stop trying to take my phone. If you get a creepy text, it’s him I swear

I chuckle, completely okay now with the fact that he can hear.

Noted. Tell Scarlett I say hiii

Scarlett and I are on better terms -- not that we were on bad terms to begin with, but I did think she was dating Chris. She doesn’t know the way I acted, unless Chris told her, but regardless, I see now that she’s super sweet.

Chris: Scarlett says hi back. She wants to meet you again

I smile.

We should invite her over one night. I could invite Camile over, too?

Chris has yet to meet Camile and that’s entirely my doing. She’s asked, and I’ve politely told her no. I want to be sure about him before I have him meeting my best friend. I’ve also just...enjoyed our quiet evenings together, getting to relax after the day. I don’t want anything about it to change, and for some reason, my brain thinks that if I let Camile meet him too soon, it will change.

Jack knows now, too, only because it slipped out of my mouth one night when he invited me to dinner with him and Camile. I told him I was actually having dinner with Chris, and Camile’s eyes widened because she had yet to tell him the news.

Jack didn’t scream, but he also wasn’t totally unfazed, either.

Chris: Scarlett said she’d love that (I would too for the record)

I roll my eyes. Somehow I can see his smile in my mind.

Let’s do it then. Would you be okay with Camile inviting Jack?

I anxiously await Chris’s reply.

Chris: Of course. As long as you’re okay with it

I let out a breath.

You’re the best

I hear a sweet laugh echo in my mind, and my chest swells.

Chris: Well Seb saw my messages and is now annoyed that he didn’t get an invite

Another eye roll. I’ve never met Sebastain, but from everything Chris has told me, I hear he can be a little dramatic.

Tell him I said stop pouting and he’ll be invited

A loud laugh. A pause.

Chris: Pouting has stopped and he said he will be there

My little moment is interrupted when a stack of papers is slammed onto my desk. My eyes follow the arm up to my boss, who doesn’t look pleased.

“I need these rooms booked,” he says firmly, then raises an eyebrow. “Unless your phone is more interesting than my conference.”

“No sir,” I shake my head, turning my phone over on my desk, unfortunately leaving Chris on read. I hate doing that to anyone, especially Chris. “I’ll have them booked by the end of the day.”

“Hm,” is all he says, taking his hand off the papers. He’ll never say thank you. He’s above simple manners, apparently. “Who are you texting?”

“Excuse me?” I let out a startled laugh. It isn’t new for him to be insanely nosy, but since it was my soulmate, I feel particularly defensive. “I’m sorry, but it’s not your business.”

“It is my business when my employee is on her phone instead of doing her work,” he snaps. “Don’t let it happen again.”

“It won’t,” I reply out of instinct, though I don’t mean it. I’ll just be more careful. Or I’ll have to tell Chris I can’t text at work anymore.

My boss stalks off to his office and makes eye contact with me as he shuts his door. I’ve successfully worsened his mood and it isn’t even lunchtime yet. Perfect.

+++

When I take my lunch hour at one -- I usually do noon, but Chris said he’s supposed to have lunch at one today, too -- I’m exhausted.

I’ve tried booking the rooms, but only half of the ones my boss wants are actually available. It’s been a lot of sweet talking and crunching numbers to make it work, and that’s only conference rooms. Let’s hope the hotel rooms he needs aren’t already taken, too.

I reach in my purse for my keys, deciding I need a drive today to get lunch. I get an hour and a half -- because I clocked in early -- so I can afford to drive instead of walking somewhere next door.

What I don’t expect, though, is to get to my car on the sidewalk by my work, and see a certain someone leaning up against it.

“Chris?” I narrow my eyes. “What are you doing?”

He’s got two cups of coffee in his hands, a hat on his head and sunglasses over his eyes. But that smile is still unmistakable. And the shoulders. The arms, too. Hands -- I digress.

I take one of the cups from him and try not to grin. “Nice disguise.”

“Thank you,” he replies, tipping his cup to me. “I try.”

“Well get in before someone recognizes you,” I gesture to my car that he’s leaning against. “Idiot,” I mutter under my breath.

Once we’re inside my car and the doors are locked, he says, “Did you just call me an idiot?” He takes his sunglasses off for dramatic effect.

“Because you’re not supposed to be out in the wild!”

“Out in the wild?” He laughs.

“I don’t know!” I say through my own laughter. “You know what I meant. Aren’t you afraid someone will recognize you?”

“I’m wearing a hat.”

I give him a look.

“I promise, I wouldn’t have done this if I thought I’d get mobbed. I wouldn’t put you in that kind of danger.”

I try not to frown, but I still do, and he still sees it.

“No, come on, I wanted to surprise you to make you smile, not make you sad.”

“I’m not sad.” I pull my seatbelt over my body and start the car. “I appreciate this, really.”

“I didn’t know if you would since you stopped texting me.”

I know he’s teasing, but I’m already not in the best mood, so I can’t help the word vomit that comes out of my mouth. “I’m so sorry, my boss got pissed that I was on my phone, so I’m gonna have to stop texting at work for now.”

Anyone else probably would’ve brushed it off because bosses are sometimes universally known to not be totally great, but this is Chris. This is Chris, who knows all the bullshit my boss puts me through, so it makes sense that his only emotion is concern.

“Are you okay? Did he say anything to you?”

“I’m okay,” I breathe, stopping at a red light. “And he just asked who I was texting, but I told him it wasn’t his business.”

“It’s not.”

“I mean, I shouldn’t have been on my phone--”

“Don’t make excuses for his shitty behavior, Eva.”

“I’m not,” I fire back, turning left at the light. “Sorry, I’m just driving, I didn’t even ask-- What do you want for lunch?”

“Whatever you want,” he shrugs. “This is your lunch hour, I’m just tagging along.”

“Okay,” I let out another long breath. “I’m sorry, I feel like every time I see you I’m complaining about how stressed out I am.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not, though. How’s filming? How’s set?”

“It’s good,” he replies, shrugging. “I would tell you more, but we’re not really allowed. They’re very secretive about this stuff.”

“Okay,” I chuckle, trying to ignore the small bit of agitation in my chest. It’s not because of him. I know it’s because of my boss. “When are we gonna have dinner with everyone?”

“We have this weekend off, if that works for Camile and Jack.”

I nod. “It should.” I pause, looking around at where I am. I realize that my body has gone on autopilot and driven me to The Nines. “How good is that disguise?”

“What? It’s pretty good, I stood out by your car for ten minutes.”

“Well, we’re gonna go to my favorite diner,” I hit my signal to park. “It’s really small, though, so you might not need it.”

“Okay…” Chris looks nervous.

“I promise,” I assure him as I swing into the parking space. “I wouldn’t bring you in here if I thought you’d get mobbed. Kevin might recognize you, but he’s the most relaxed person I’ve ever met.”

Still, Chris puts on his sunglasses. “I trust you.”

I smile, cutting off the engine. While I’m doing that, though, Chris is jumping out of my car and coming around to the driver’s side to open my door for me. And then when we reach the door to The Nines, he’s opening that one for me, too.

“I see chivalry is alive and well today,” I comment. “Coffee,” I hold up my cup, “and opening doors for me? I feel lucky.”

Chris shakes his head with a smile, clearly bashful and a little nervous. It’s this moment that I realize this is the first time we’ve been in public with one another. Granted, it’s The Nines, which is almost always deserted -- except at two in the morning when the college kids congregate before finals -- but still. 

I lead Chris to Camile and I’s favorite booth, sliding in across from him as he takes off his sunglasses, but leaves the hat -- for good reason. Kevin is walking over a second later, already making some comment about what he told me last time about it being offensive when I walk in here with outside coffee, but he stops when he sees Chris.

“Wait,” Kevin’s voice lowers, and I see Chris shift in his seat. “Steve Rogers?” He whispers.

“I prefer Chris,” my soulmate tries to joke, chuckling a little.

“Dope,” Kevin says. “Can you sign a napkin for me?”

“Sure.”

“Dope,” Kevin repeats, then acts like he forgets what just happened. “Anywho, what are we eating? Since I see you’ve brought outside coffee in here yet again.”

“You’ll live, Kev,” I roll my eyes. “And the usual.”

“What’s the usual?” Chris asks.

“You’ll see,” Kevin replies, then walks away.

Chris gives me a bewildered look and I grimace.

“Sorry. That’s Kevin for ya.”

“No, it’s okay, just not the interaction I normally have.”

“Yeah,” I still grimace. “Oh, and please sign something for him. He won’t bring it up again, but he’ll ask me about it every damn time I see him after this.”

“Got it,” Chris pulls one of the napkins out of the holder and produces a Sharpie from his jacket pocket.

I raise an eyebrow.

“What?” He defends. “It’s always here.”

“Whatever you say.”

“The slander,” he shakes his head, expertly signing the napkin despite how flimsy it is. I try not to look too amazed at how he does it and how flawless his signature looks.

Kevin returns with a cup of water, sitting it down in front of me. “I just wanted an excuse to come back over.”

Chris taps Kevin’s arm to get his attention. “Here you go.”

Kevin glances at the napkin and sees what it is, and clutches the flimsy paper to his chest. “Thank you, kind sir.”

Chris laughs. “It’s no problem.”

“Alright, I’ll leave you two kids alone. I’ll be back with food.”

“You better,” I joke, resting my head in my hand.

True to his word, Kevin returns with a tray holding a platter of steak fries and a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy.

“Bon appetit,” Kev sings, bowing as he backs away from the table.

Chris stares at me with raised eyebrows. “What is this?”

I give him a weird look in return as I dip one of the fries into the mashed potatoes and gravy. “It’s lunch.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m deadly serious,” I reply smoothly, picking up my glass of water to take a sip. “This is my comfort food, come on, try it.”

But I didn’t need to beg him because he’s already doing it, definitely to entertain me, but that’s fine with me. I watch his face as he eats, waiting for it, and eventually it hits.

The amazement. The agitation that it actually tastes good.

I giggle, muffling the sound with another fry. “It’s good.”

“It’s so good,” he nods, laughing with me as he dips another fry. “Not the most healthy, but.”

“Eh, comfort food isn’t supposed to be healthy,” I tease, swirling my fry in the gravy. “My mom and I used to get this and hot chocolate when we were out shopping.” I pause, wondering why the hell I’m telling him this at lunch. 

Talk about your dead parents, Eva. That’s a great lunchtime conversation.

“Yeah?” Chris says, waiting for me to go on.

So I do. “She used retail therapy a lot to get her mind off fighting with my dad.”

“Did you guys come here?”

“No,” I shake my head. “We went to a place called the Broadway Diner, but it’s closed now. I just remembered this and started having it here one day. Kev gave me the same look you did until he tried it.”

Chris chuckles, leaning on his elbow as he eats another. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it would work. I thought it’d be too much potato.”

“It does seem like it,” I agree. “But it’s strangely not.”

Chris points at me with a fry, swallowing his last bite before asking, “What do you want to have this weekend?”

“Are you cooking again?”

“If you want me to.”

I make a face. “I wouldn’t be opposed…”

He grins. “Then I’ll cook. Anything you want?”

“Surprise me,” I tease. “That went pretty well last time.”

“Alright, I’ll figure something out,” he promises. “You should come see Dodger soon. He misses you.”

“Does he now?”

Chris pulls his infamous puppy dog eyes -- Dodger’s are better, but don’t tell him that -- and nods seriously. “He does.”

“Hm, then I guess I’ll just have to come over tonight,” I shrug. “What time will you be done?”

“Soon, hopefully,” Chris breathes. “I’ll text you.” But he pauses. “Or maybe I won’t.”

“After five,” I chuckle. “But yeah, no more today, sorry. I probably shouldn’t anger the beast anymore.”

Chris frowns. “Okay.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, hoping that’ll make his frown fade, but it doesn’t. It grows deeper. “Hey, it is.”

“I don’t like that you think it is,” he murmurs. “He shouldn’t be as demanding as he is.”

“He’s my boss.”

“He shouldn’t ask you to work late or to call his wife and cancel their dinner plans,” Chris counters.

And I frown. Because that’s only half of what my boss asks of me. I’ve only told Chris half. And judging by how he’s reacted, I don’t know if I’ll tell him the other half.

“It’s fine,” I say again, and when Chris gives me a look, I give him one back.

“Okay, fine,” he waves his hand in surrender. “I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.”

“But if he does anything that makes you uncomfortable, you tell me.”

“What are you gonna do?” I laugh, a little nervously. “Beat him up?”

Chris thinks it over. “Let’s go with that.”

“Chris!”

“I’m kidding!” His hand reaches over and touches mine gently. Gentle enough that I stop moving completely and watch him. “But please tell me.”

“Okay,” I promise, and I mean it. “I will.”

He turns my hand over and squeezes softly, his thumb rubbing circles, and he doesn’t let go.

But it’s okay. I didn’t want him to let go, anyway.

[stattic-writes]

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Sewing Scissors and Throwing Knives

Chapter 3 is now up! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading along! I will be posting a new chapter every Monday:)

If you want to read along from the beginning, you can check it out on ao3 here

Recap from last chapter:  Neil calls Kevin and accepts his offer, Neil meets (most of) the team, Kevin and Nicky decide that Neil needs a new wardrobe.

His fingers are itching for a cigarette. It’s not an addiction, since Neil doesn’t actually smoke the things, but he’s craving a tether. A comforting scent, something to ground him. It’s only an hour into his second day at the atelier and he’s already thoroughly tired of Kevin and the constant noise that permeates the floor. It’s getting annoying having to bite back the snarky comments and make everyone think he’s a pushover. But being a pushover will keep him alive, so he’ll make do. Matt and Nicky greeted Neil with the same level of enthusiasm as they had the day before, and he got a few friendly nods as the building started to fill. Fortunately being tied to Kevin made most people keep their distance. Unfortunately, being tied to Kevin meant that Andrew popped up constantly. Neil can feel his eyes tracking him even when he’s pretty sure that he isn’t even in the same area as them. “No, I need it by Thursday at the latest. I was promised it by Wednesday!” Kevin is saying into the phone in that particularly bossy voice of his. “No, you don’t understand. You’ve heard of Alli Rey, correct? Yes, everyone has. If we can’t get that shipment in by Thursday, we will no longer be working with your company.” Kevin continues in that vein, threatening to pull out of whatever deal they have. As far as Neil understands, the shipment is holding a fabric that they ‘desperately’ need for the showstopper in the quickly approaching show. Neil is a far ways away from his times running. He’s made little things out of the strangest material, purely out of necessity. He barely waits for Kevin to put down the phone before speaking to make sure that he can get a word in before Kevin starts. “Why don’t you just get a different fabric for it?” Kevin has that expression on that says that he can’t believe that he’s even wasting a second of his day for Neil. “It would never get here in time, even if we did somehow manage to find something as perfect as this.” “Okay, then use something you already have.” Neil thinks to the entire wall of bolts of fabric in every colour that sits in the cutting room. Kevins face is slowly going red. “You--no, fuck’s sake. Neil, no.” “Why not?” “Because this is the showstopper. This is going to be ending the show. You cannot leave the customers on a blah note, it has to be perfect. And the only way that’s going to happen is if it’s made out of a silk/rayon velvet that’s been hand dyed with a unique method in Amsterdam.” “Maybe your showstopper isn’t as good as you think it is if it’s going to fail just because you used a different nice fabric.” “He has a point,” a dry voice startles Neil and he whips around to face the door. Andrew stands there, wearing a very similar all black outfit to what he wore yesterday. Neil considers complaining that he has to change his look when Andrew wears the same thing every day. He keeps his mouth shut for once. Kevin splutters something from his spot behind the desk, face going a mottled purple. “Get out,” Andrew says to Neil. He hesitates, glancing at Kevin to argue. When he doesn’t, Neil makes sure to leave Andrew space as he walks past him. He closes the door behind him and pauses in the hallway to listen. The bond between Andrew and Kevin has already been mentioned countless times in the office, and Neil has read many articles about it in various gossip magazines. No matter what is written or said, no one can explain exactly why Andrew lets Kevin tag along. Neil can just barely hear Andrew through the door. “The Moriyama’s aren’t going to care which fabric the last dress is made out of as long as it makes them money. And Riko fuck-face can’t do anything without his uncles approval. Relax.” A muffled groan can be heard down the hallway. Neil leans in a bit closer to hear Kevin’s answer. His words are frantic and fast, too fast for Neil to be able to catch on. Andrew’s answer is a repeat of his earlier words. He doesn’t stay outside for much longer after that. Of course Neil had been keeping an eye on the Moriyamas to ensure that he would be able to avoid them, but he was under the impression that Kevin had split from Riko after the accident. Neil Josten was well and truly fucked.

He still had nightmares about the few weeks that he was stuck in the Nest, nightmares of the oppressive atmosphere, the pain and humiliation, the complete and utter exhaustion. It had taken him almost a month to stop losing time after the 16 hour days. He was still claustrophobic from the experience.

To make it even worse, he knows that his father works for the Moriyama's. He bitterly wonders whether he’ll even live to see the show that he is currently helping them prepare for. The smart thing would be to leave and get a new identity. Maybe check out Italy, he’d been learning Italian in his spare time while he was working as a janitor. Of course, just because that's the smart thing doesn’t mean it’s the route that he wants to choose.

The problem is the last time that Neil had felt so strongly about his surroundings was when he was in the fashion program in school. The working hum of industrials, the quiet bustle of seamstresses and cutters going about their work, the satisfying sound of sharp scissors cutting through silk. The atmosphere at Alli Rey was intoxicating and calming all at once. Neil had walked through the cutting room earlier and spent almost 20 minutes just looking at the shelves of bolts of fabric that fills one wall. He had almost filled his sketchbook last night with new ideas. He hadn’t felt this inspired by anything for years, and now that he had spent a few days as a part of the magic he wasn’t sure that he could tear himself away so soon. If he could just make it until the next fashion show, the one that Kevin wanted him to help design, then he could die in peace. That way he could have made a mark, albeit a small one. That way he could get rid of a few of his regrets in life.

Three days later and Neil is as in love with the volatile environment as he was when he decided that he would be willing to die for it. The craziness with the customer is apparently over, so Neil was finally able to meet Dan. She is a no-nonsense, hard working woman with a tight control over her team. She had Neil’s respect the minute he saw her wrangle Seth into some semblance of control, and he had no trouble saying that he trusted her completely to get everything finished. Seth is another employee that he has, unfortunately, gotten to know since the customer issues have been dealt with. He had immediately written Neil off, and he seemed to have a chip on his shoulder for any designer as long as it wasn’t Allison. Neil had met Allison a few times so far, and each time she had a different reaction to Seth being there. Their strange relationship didn’t make anyone else nearly as uncomfortable as it did Neil. “I think it’s time that you start working late like everyone else does,” Kevin announces as Neil walks into the office that he’s been ‘shadowing’ Kevin in so far. “I do work late with everyone else,” Neil says. Annoyance crosses Kevin’s face. “No, you leave with Andrew and Nicky everyday.” “So do you.” “I leave for dinner with them, but I come back after.” Neil has known that Kevin was obsessive about his work right from the get go, but he had no idea to what extent. He knows for a fact that Matt and Dan leave around the time that he does, since they keep inviting him out for drinks, and they have important roles in the company as well. Neil tries to muster up some irritation with Kevin about the demand, but all he feels is some excitement about spending more time in the studios. So far he’s just gone home to sketch, obsessively check the locks in his hotel room, and eventually fall into a restless sleep. Coming back in to help with the quickly coming up Resort show is infinitely better than anything else that Neil could be doing in his evenings. “Alright,” he tells Kevin. Kevin gives him one quick nod of approval. “Andrew will pick you up tonight at 9. Eat before then.”

As promised, Andrew’s fancy vehicle is waiting outside the hotel for Neil at exactly 9 o’clock. Kevin is waiting in the passenger seat, and neither of the men are currently speaking to one another. Kevin immediately launches into a brainstorming session with Neil when he climbs in the backseat, and as much as he is interested in what Kevin has to say, his eyes keep wandering to look at Andrew in the drivers seat. So far what he’s seen of Andrew makes him think that he’s apathetic about the whole thing. He’s always the calm in the storm when he walks through the atelier during the day (although that isn’t often. Mostly he’s holed up in the office that Neil so far hasn’t been in with a woman with rainbow dyed hair whom he hasn’t met), and whenever Kevin tries to talk with him about upcoming collections he answers with a bored glare. Neil’s fascinated with this person who obviously has incredible talent, yet doesn’t care about it. He wasn’t sure what to expect of their late night work, but it’s pretty similar to the work that they’ve been doing during the day so far. The only difference is that Kevin isn’t able to phone any of their suppliers, so he has more of the razor focus that Neil remembers from his Exy days. They’re in the beautiful, streamlined office staring at the wall behind Kevin's desk. Andrew lies on the couch near the window with a book, one that Neil hasn’t heard of before. The pages are dog eared and worn, yet the avid way Andrew focuses on the book makes it look like he’s never read it before. The wall has been transforming quickly while Neil has been here. For the most part he’s been keeping his opinions to himself (which has been more difficult than he thought it would be) since his real job will start with the next collection, but he hasn’t been able to help himself with a few of the looks. They’re planning the show, playing around with the order that the ensembles come out on the runway and which garments will be put together. Most of the wall has been taken over by the photos of each look on possible models (that will need to be decided as well, eventually). Each look has a number on it, though the numbers keep getting scratched out and changed. The only one that hasn’t changed is the showstopper, which will be going last. “I just still don’t understand what makes that one the showstopper,” Neil tells Kevin before he can control himself. He stiffens and waits for Kevin to have a conniption, or maybe a panic attack. Neil had thought that Andrew wasn’t paying attention to them, but a small huff tells him that he has. Kevin surprises all of them by looking thoughtful. It takes him a while to respond and he inspects the wall in the meantime. “I’m not really sure, actually. I had just decided in the beginning that it would be and it never occurred to me that it might not.” “Okay.” Neil says, but he’s been forgotten. A familiar frenzied look is in Kevin's eye now that Neil planted the idea, and he’s scrambling around the wall moving photos around. The rest of the evening is spent in near silence, and Neil finds that he enjoys his time with Kevin and Andrew more than he ever thought he would. He admires Kevin, and has for a long time. Seeing him working first hand isn’t always that impressive, but when he gets into this centered head space Neil can see why he’s gotten so far in the industry so quickly. Andrew is a different story. Where Kevin is an easy book to read, Neil just can’t grasp anything about Andrew. Everything he does surprises Neil. It’s unsettling.

So far Neil has managed to avoid Nicky and Kevin’s plans for getting him new clothes. By the end of the week he had quietly hoped that they had forgotten about it in the chaos of show prep. Neil Josten has never been that lucky. Nicky jumps him during lunch on Friday with far too much joy for such a task. “You’re going to love Abby, she’s great. We always go to the Garment District store just for her for the new recruits.” “We’re going to an Alli Rey store?” Neil has no idea what to expect from his day, but there’s a tight ball of dread in his stomach that’s threatening to swallow him. He counts to ten in French, and then German in the hopes that the anxiety will lessen. “Yep! Everyone tries to wear as much from the brand as possible for marketing. It was my idea,” Nicky preens as he pushes Neil out of the building. It’s just the two of them for once, something that hasn’t happened since he arrived. Neil makes a vague noise of approval. They get into Andrews car, which Neil can’t imagine the conversation that got the approval for Nicky to drive. Nicky talks nonstop the entire time they’re in the vehicle, which Neil is strangely grateful for. The empty chatter is enough to quell some of the nausea that popped up when he realized that he would need to get measured today, which also meant that it was pretty likely that he would have to take off his shirt. Unfortunately, he has already tried everything that he could think of to get out of this when Kevin first brought it up and he has no ideas left. All he knows is that Nicky absolutely can not be in the room while he gets his measurements done.

[rapperkookz]

Rush!BTΣ — college!au, borderline crack au with @cynoirsure

a story about three friends and their obstacles of relationships, academic probation, and figuring out that international kids aren’t all that bad.

15/35

genre: angst, SLIGHT smut?

word count: 2.6k

warnings: swearing, underaged drinking

YOUR POV

Practice that day was one of the most concentrated the group has had in a while. Now that you all were working towards the goal of making something look good for the competition that was happening soon, you all were giving your 100% to the choreo that you had all made collectively.

Once the clock hit the end of rehearsal, everyone in WINGS was a sweaty mess. Hoseok was the first to pull himself together for ending remarks, clapping his hands.

“Ah, great job everyone!” His heart shaped smile showed his gratitude, pulling the towel around his neck in order to wipe away the extra sweat from his face. you were splayed out on the floor, next to a very sweaty Jungkook who was sitting upright. His legs were spread and his head was tilted back, his weight centered more on his hands. Your mind raced, making you think of what had happened last time you had seen that same exact position, except he was on his bed and you were in between his le--

“Hey lineage, are we still going out for drinks today? Deung Dae is doing ₩1,000 tequila shots today!” Jimin pushed his hair back from his face, grinning. Taehyung’s nose scrunched, a pout on his face.

“Ah, tequila shots? I wanna go...” Taehyung leaned his head onto Kevin’s shoulder, pouting at his boyfriend who was part of the lineage. Jimin frowned at Taehyung.

“But you can’t because you have that midterm paper in your animal nutrition class, soulmate.”

Kevin nodded his head at Jimin’s statement, shifting slightly to leave a small peck on Taehyung’s forehead, “I know it’s lineage bonding, Chim, but I think I’ll stay back tonight. I have a practical tomorrow to study for and I’ll also make sure this one actually writes his paper instead of playing with Tan.”

You, on the other hand, were having a staring contest with Jungkook, his eyes insinuating very inappropriate things as they looked you up and down. “-you, sis?”

“Huh?”

You broke eye contact with Jungkook, shooting up immediately and meeting Jimin’s fond smile, “Are you coming tonight? We don’t have biochem lecture tomorrow morning since Dr. Wang cancelled.”

Humming, you thought about the pros and cons of going out tonight after 10 pm. “I’ll go, but I need to shower first.” Jimin and Hoseok agreed with you, the older boy asking Jungkook if he wanted to come as well. The youngest Beta Tau agreed almost immediately, asking if his Big or Grand were coming with.

“I know Seokjin hyung’s coming, I don’t think your lineage is though, they’re lazy when it comes to weekday parties, and I think Yoongi and Jinhee have a ‘rehearsal’ or whatever they wanna call their date.” Hoseok said, “Don’t worry though, Kook, hyung will pay for your tequila shots tonight.”

“Let’s go, then?” You asked Jungkook, “I wanna shower as soon as possible.”

The group of you going out agreed to meet at Hoseok’s apartment at 11:30, leaving the dance studio altogether after saying your goodbyes to the couple. As soon as you were left alone with Jungkook walking back, he snuck a pinch of your ass.

“Why are you always horny, Jeon Jungkook?” You said with a sly smile, “We don’t have time for a quickie, besides I feel gross.”

“We can always shower together,” He suggested with a sparkling glint in his eyes. You shook your head making him whine, “y/n.”

“Jungkook,” you imitated, “hey! If you keep looking at me like that during practice, the oppas are bound to find out.”

“You looked at me first!” he retaliated, “and they only joke about it, it’s not like they’ll actually realize that we fuck almost every day.”

“You know,” You said jokingly as you scanned your ID to the gates of your dorm, “I sorta miss the Jungkook that could barely look at girls.”

“Really,” he said playing along with your tone, “You miss the Jungkook that won’t kiss and fuck you until you can’t breathe?”

As soon as the both of you entered the elevator, he closed you in against the railing, his face hovering above yours so closely that you could hear his every breath. His hands rested on your waist as yours circled around his neck. The boy leaned in, closing the distance between your lips, nipping at your lip when your hands fisted his hair. The kiss ended all too quickly as the ding of the elevator reached your floor. Jungkook pulled away and touched your cheek with a smirk, “Come to my room when you’re done getting ready.”

You replied breathlessly, walking in the opposite direction to your room to go take a shower. It took you 20 minutes to shower and get dressed into a cute outfit for the night. You settled with a pair of light ripped jeans and a black long sleeved mesh shirt with your favorite black Victoria’s Secret bra underneath and definitely see-through. After drying your hair and shoving a portable charger and money into a fanny pack, you left your room and headed towards Jungkook’s. You didn’t even bother to knock, knowing it would be unlocked anyway and walked in casually, “Ready to go Kook?”

The boy turned around to face you as he put his belt through the pant loops. He also wore jeans and a black top, but he added a beige-colored blazer, making his outfit a tad more professional. He didn’t even hide the way he checked you out, biting his lip as he stared, “Wow.”

You know what you were doing to him, but you decided to be difficult tonight, which you know eventually led to great sex, “C’mon, the oppas are waiting for us at the apartment.”

“y/n, you’re really wearing that and expecting me to not get hard?”

Rolling your eyes, you leaned in and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek, “Later after I get my shots, Jungkook.”

With a whine, the two of you left your dorms and went the short distance to Hoseok and Seokjin’s apartment. You felt the ghost of his hand hovering over the small of your back, the heat of his hand radiating through the mesh shirt. Right before opening the door to the annex of Seokjin and Hoseok’s apartment, Jungkook spun you around, pinning you to the wall and kissing you quite rough. You gasped in surprise at the sudden kiss, his eyes glazed over with lust as soon as you could pull away to see his face. Your lipstick was slightly smeared on his lips which made you turn pink. Jungkook only smirked, leaning into your ear.

“You just wait till we get back to the dorm, baby girl. You’re such a naughty girl for daddy, aren’t you?” Jungkook growled, your stomach flipping when he pulled away. You stood stunned as he walked into the apartment, leaving you outside for just a hot moment to check your appearance. You two usually messed around with each other every moment that you two had alone, but the way his words hit you was a little different today.

You shook your head. You’re just fuck buddies, nothing more. It’s not that deep.

The words echoed as a gentle reminder in your head as you cleaned up your lipstick, your head shaking slightly. You opened the door to their apartment, the first person who’s eyes caught yours being your Big Bro, Jimin. He beamed at you fondly, automatically making your lips curve up in a bright smile as well. You greeted your lineage first, the two of them smiling sweetly at you. As soon as Jimin picked you up as a Little Sis, Hoseok’s flirting antics stopped completely, the boy turning into a more relaxed version of protective Jimin. After them, you gave Seokjin a hug, the elder jokingly commenting, “It took you kids long enough.” You giggled a little, Hoseok leaning against the door leading down to the garage with Seokjin’s car keys in hand.

The handful of you got into the car, Seokjin and Hoseok playing a quick round of rock, paper, scissors to decide who was to drive back (spoiler alert: you didn’t even have to look up to hear the loud screams that was Seokjin complaining about being Hoseok’s designated driver). Jimin sat in between you and Jungkook, diffusing any funny business that you two would have even thought about doing. The car ride was loud as expected when the people sitting in the driver’s seat and shotgun were the loudest in the car, the ride to Deung Dae filled with laughs and terrible singing the whole way. Once the bar came into view, you began to buzz with excitement with how the night would end up for you and Jungkook.

--

You and Jimin sat at the bar, Jimin flirting casually with the bartender and coaxing out a few shots from the bartender. You were baffled with how easily the bartender gave into his flirting, even if it was ₩1,000 shots today. Jimin passed a shot to you, a grin on his face.

“Drink up, Lil Sis.”

You were only four shots in before Jimin started talking to you about Jungkook, “You know, y/n, I really thought something was going on between you and Jungkook, but I’m sorta over that thought now.”

“What makes you say that?”

He pointed to the dance floor with his fifth shot before downing it. Your eyes found Jungkook’s figure immediately, and with him you found a girl, ass pressed against his crotch. You felt your face go red and it wasn’t from the alcohol.

“Oppa, I think I’ve had enough for now, I’m gonna go dance,” you said absentmindedly to Jimin, the boy about to ask you something else before the bartender passed him another drink. Part of you wanted to stomp right up to Jeon Jungkook and slap the shit out of him, the other - more sober part - decided to just dance at a distance, eyeing the two every now and then.

Jealously filled your entire being as you saw the girl dancing with Jungkook kiss his neck. I’m gonna tell him, how fucking dare he break our agreement, was he that horny that he resolved to any willing pussy to satisfy his needs, I swear to-

“y/n? y/n hey!”

You awoke from your thoughts to meet eyes with Kim Mingyu. You knew Mingyu because he was in Jihoon’s friend group, the two of them rather close. After you and Jihoon stopped talking, you only saw Mingyu from Jungkook’s volleyball practices and games. He and Jungkook practiced together quite frequently, being gym and pepper partners.

You smiled at him, glad that it was a familiar face rather than some stranger, “hey Mingyu.”

“I haven’t seen you in so long,” he said moving along to the music with you, “you look amazing, by the way.”

“Thanks,” you said shyly, a blush forming on your cheeks. “Yeah, I don’t really hang out with Jihoon anymore, we both got super busy.”

“Such a shame, the boys and I really loved it when you came to our hangouts.”

You gently hit his arm, “hey, I see you when I go to Jungkook’s volleyball games.”

“Yeah, but all you do is watch Jeon,” he said with a smirk. You scoffed and strongly denied his comments, “If you say so, y/n. Tell me, are you and Jungkook a thing?”

You stopped dancing at his question, grabbing his wrist to let him know to follow you. the two of you weaved your way back to the bar, Mingyu paying for two margaritas. You looked around a little bit for Jimin, seeing as he was no longer taking shots. The two of you sat down and faced each other, leisurely taking sips of your drinks as you talked.

“Jungkook and I aren’t dating, we’re just...close friends,”

“So you’re fucking, I mean I see those hickeys when we practice,” Mingyu shrugged catching you off guard, “There’s no shame in hiding it, y/n. My best friend, you know Wonwoo, he’s in that sorta relationship right now with this one girl, too.”

“I-um...”

“You know, I only ask because I don’t wanna try and make moves on one of my friends’ girls,” He said, “I’m not that kind of guy, besides I respect Jeon a lot, he’s a good friend.”

You raised your eyebrow, finishing your drink, “Why, are you trying to make a move on me?”

The tall boy only slid his hand from your knee up to your thigh, his thumb making circles on your jeans, “Only if you’ll let me.”

If Jungkook could grind with some girl, then you could flirt with Mingyu. Besides, you always found Mingyu attractive. He was the perfect definition of tall, dark, and handsome.

“Mingyu, can you do me a favor?” You asked, “just for tonight?”

“I don’t catch feelings that fast, don’t worry.” He said placing his hand on your waist. Suddenly, you felt nervous leaning in to kiss Mingyu. Your kiss, however, was short lived as you felt Mingyu being roughly pulled away from you.

“Dude, what the fuck?”

As you faced a pissed-off Jungkook, your own anger and jealousy came flooding back. “Dude, don’t you have someone else you could be screwing?”

Mingyu tried to speak calmly, sensing the thick air between you and Jungkook, “Sorry, Jeon. I asked y/n and she said you two weren’t together.”

“We-We’re not, but just...don’t mess around with her.” Jungkook said, he could never be angry with his teammate, especially if that teammate was Mingyu. Mingyu nodded and gave your hand a quick squeeze, telling you it was his time to go.

“Mingyu-”

“y/n,” Jungkook said, he didn’t look nearly as intoxicated as you were, “why were you kissing him?”

“You have some balls to ask me that Jeon Jungkook,” you crossed your arms, “especially after you dry humped your dick against someone’s ass just 20 minutes ago.”

“I didn’t fuck her if that’s what you were wondering,” he said slowly getting frustrated, “we were just dancing.”

“And I was just talking with Mingyu.” you said, “I thought I told you months ago that I’m not going to do this fucking thing with you if you’re out screwing with other girls.”

Hoseok walked up to the two of you, noticing something weird going on, “Grand, Kook, everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just...gonna go now Grand,” you said.

“It’s barely 12:30, y/n.” He frowned, “How are you getting home? Jungkook?”

You shook your head, glancing at Jungkook who looked at you with a frown. “I’m gonna take an Uber.”

“Get home safely, grand. Okay?”

You left the club in a hurry, waiting outside as you called your Uber. It wasn’t until you were at your dorm when you burst out crying, thankful that your roommate wasn’t there for the night.

Why the fuck are you so hurt about this? Jungkook’s not your boyfriend. You’re only fuck buddies. That’s it.

You called your Big, not surprised that it went to voicemail, “-Unnie, I don’t know why I’m crying about him? Am I stupid for doing this dumb arrangement? God...I think I like him.”

---

“-I think I like him.”

Jieun sighed, leaning against the warm body that was asleep beside her. In a few moments, the figure stirred awake, arms wrapping around the girl automatically. “Good morning, gorgeous.”

“Morning.”

“something happen, Jieun?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. “I hope you’re not regretting what we did last night.”

“No, it’s just...you tell that brother of yours that I might kick his head open for making our Little cry.” she said turning in his embrace.

“Jungkook made y/n cry? For what?”

“All I can tell you Jimin, is that y/n felt upset about Jungkook flirting with another girl, and she cried about it, okay?” Jieun said, “she feels a bit sensitive since they hooked up at that one Beta Tau party.”

“She cried?” Jimin frowned, “I’ll...talk to Jungkook about it.”

3-8-19

[allthephils]

You Were Only Waiting

Word Count: 8510 Rated T (language, mental health mentions, strangers to lovers)   Read on AO3

This is my fic based on this art by the amazing and talented @lovelydeps for the @phandomreversebang. Huge thank you to @wolfstarphan for betaing. You were immeasurably helpful! This was such a lovely and fun team to work with!

Summary: Dan is stranded at the airport and stuck in his head, Phil is just looking for some company. A fic about delayed flights and delayed connections.

Dan’s flight is delayed just enough that he’s uncharacteristically on time. It has improved his mood from incredibly irritable to very annoyed but still, this trip was exhausting. New York is cool but there are just so many people and he’s drained. He’d rather be alone with the friends coming through his headphones than fielding questions from his Uber driver. Apparently, he didn’t get the memo that headphones mean no talking. Janelle and Kevin and Troye understand, they don’t ask anything of Dan.

  He’s never been so relieved to step out of a car. The ground is covered in a thick blanket of snow, bringing a magical beauty to this decidedly mundane setting. Unfortunately, inside it’s still an airport. He watches his feet as they carry him across the ugly airport carpet to the end of the security queue. It’s a mess, a labyrinth of twists and turns that feels unending. It does end though and Dan goes through the motions by rote. Laptop out, shoes off, little baggie of travel toiletries into the tray. He stands in the scanner, arms above his head and the TSA agent nods and waves him through. It’s the same every trip. He’s come to accept that the time lost in airports is just a necessary evil, something to get through.

  At least he doesn’t have to run. He should get to the gate just in time for boarding. It’s quite a hike though, the airport is huge. This is far more exercise than he’d like to be getting today and the constant drone of voices rushing past in all directions is doing nothing for his mood. It feels like a big American mall in here. Dan hates malls, they’re just big monuments to capitalism. So much wasted space filled with useless plastic junk and cheaply made decadence. He passes a Victoria’s Secret and a store that just sells massage chairs. There’s a very posh jewelry store and a shop filled with designer bags and key fobs. He wonders who drops two grand on a handbag at the airport until he catches a glimpse of his reflection in the glass case and remembers what he paid for his jumper. He picks up his pace, choosing to ignore the voice in his head that says he’s part of the problem.

  The gate is purgatory. Close quarters packed with people who would rather be somewhere else and bright unnatural lighting. It’s stifling and Dan wants nothing more than to move on. In a few minutes, the flight will board and he can finally relax. He’s got a guided meditation all queue up and some chamomile tea in his bag, ready to brew. With a deep sigh, he pulls out his phone to get his boarding pass ready. Just then, a notification from the airline pops up. Before he can read the whole thing, the announcement booms out all around him, a long list of cancelled flights, his included. Shit.

  Cancelled due to inclement weather. That’s what the notification said, no follow up information, no instructions on what to do next. The website isn’t any help either. He glances around at the crowded room but everyone looks just as lost as he feels. He’s going to have to do the adult thing and actually ask for help. He’ll have to physically walk up to the counter and talk to a real human being, like its fucking 1985 or something. He flicks his hair from his eyes and takes his place in yet another queue.

  Soon he’s listening while the guy in front of him demands to know why they didn’t predict it would snow so much and how come they can’t just fly around the storm. The agent shows far more patience than Dan would have, repeating her well worn speech, “We are so sorry for the inconvenience but it is very difficult to predict at this time. You’ll receive notification as soon as we know more.”

  The man throws his hands up and Dan softens a bit, knowing the agent is having a much worse day than he is.

  “What a twat.” He says as he approaches the counter and she spares a thin smile. “I realize you can’t control or predict the weather but I’m wondering if this likely to be an overnight thing or a booked on another flight in a few hours thing?”

She gives Dan the same answer she gives everyone but he leans forward on his elbows. “Yeah I know, but like, if you had to predict how long we’ll be here...Like just between us.” He musters a sweet smile and an awkward wink that he wishes he could take back almost immediately. Before she can repeat herself again, he apologizes and slinks away.

Dan is stood near the desk, hoping to catch any snippets of news that might come up. There’s nowhere to sit and crawling into a hole isn’t an option so standing will have to do for now. That’s when fate smiles upon him. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees movement, someone gathering their things. Thrilled by the prospect of actually getting to sit down while he waits an undetermined amount of time, Dan makes a b line for the soon to be vacated seat. The previous occupant has barely stepped away when he swoops in, nearly colliding with someone who had the exact same plan.

  “Oi, sorry mate, I was eyeing this seat.” Dan says, standing his ground.

  “Yeah so was I, mate.” He’s pale and lanky, his shoulders hunched over in a painful display of poor posture. He looks like he’s trying to be shorter. If he wants to blend in, he probably shouldn’t have worn a jumper that looks like a lady bird. Dan supposes he’s kinda cute, maybe a little hot, but sarcasm doesn’t look good on anyone. He’s not the least bit intimidating but he’s trying, lips curled up from the snark, wild brows raised. Those blue eyes are too dreamy to be shooting daggers like that.

  Dan should look away, he should square his shoulders and pretend he is not to be messed with. This is a snowed in airport, the wild west, he should claim his territory. He doesn’t look away though, he can’t or he doesn’t want to. Whatever the case, his defenses are weakened along with his knees.

  “Actually, you take it.” He concedes, “I have too much nervous energy anyway.”

  The guy drops the totally ineffective tough guy act. “No, no, it was a draw. Rock, paper, scissors?”

  Dan truly believes there are few conflicts in life that can’t be solved with rock, paper, scissors. They draw again and again, both of them laughing at how completely this strategy has failed. On the next 1, 2, 3, the guy pauses and his eyes wander to Dan’s left, his whole face softening. Dan turns to see what brought on such a change and damn. There goes his chance at a restful wait. Just behind Dan is a mum with a very heavy looking toddler crashed out on her shoulder.

  “Would you like to sit down?” The guy says sweetly, tripping over his luggage as he moves out of the way. Dan steps aside too and forces a smile though he’s pretty resentful.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Thank you so much!” She looks about his age, like someone he could be friends with. He can’t imagine being stuck here with a child to care for. “Sorry, It’s been a long day.” She says and sits down with a sigh. Dan catches a glimpse of the angelic sleeping face on her shoulder and he’s over it.

  Resigned, he walks to the corner of the room and plops down on an empty patch of carpet, facing a big window overlooking the snowy runway. He searches for a hotel and is unsurprised to find every room in the vicinity booked. Headphones back in, he leans forward on the glass and watches the snow fall.

  Time doesn’t follow the rules in airports, not when all the flights are delayed and most are cancelled and it’s late afternoon but people are curled up, asleep in chairs. Dan has changed positions roughly 43 times but his restless legs are still nagging him. Funny how being lazy only comes easy when it’s entirely inappropriate.

  Standing takes some work, his hips don’t want to straighten up and do the job they were built to do. He’s partially hunched, one hand on his lower back when he sees himself in the window. He looks like an old man, groaning as he pulls himself to stand and he makes a mental note to find a personal trainer when he gets home, and to stop standing near reflective surfaces.

  Hoisting his bag onto his shoulder, he shuffles toward the main corridor. The floor is dotted with people who have accepted the long wait ahead, setting up makeshift camps with laptops out and backpacks for pillows. Dan steps carefully through and heads in the opposite direction from how he came, hoping for something better and more interesting than what he found on his way in.

  He’s been poised precariously at the edge of an emotional pit all day. Social exhaustion left him vulnerable and in need of time alone in his own space to refuel. That’s not something he’s gonna get right now so the best he can do is to keep busy, try to stave off boredom and loneliness before they spiral into something darker.

  This side of the terminal has nearly the exact same upscale nonsense as the other side. Just when he thinks he might scream if he sees one more mannequin in resort wear, a beacon of hope appears. A bookstore, and not an Amazon store, or an airport newsstand but a real, honest to god book store. To be honest, he doesn’t really read much, but he wants to. A place like this is only going to attract certain people, people who think, who want more than the few best sellers available at the newsstand.

  It’s small in here, an airport version of a larger, local bookseller, but there are real shelves to walk through and quiet jazz playing. He wanders through the classics, pausing in poetry to pick something up and read a few lines to himself. ...roused up from hole to itching head. Bodies locked shuddering naked, hot lips and buttocks screwed into each other.

  Well, he wasn’t expecting that. He finishes that one and pages through to read a little more.

  “Hello again.”

  Dan nearly jumps out of his skin. He slams the book shut, shoving it onto the shelf haphazardly. Fighting the blush rushing to his face, he folds his arms, defensive. Ready to glare at whoever is to his left, to send a clear signal that he is not in the mood to chat. His head snaps around, eyes narrowed, then he sees him.  

  “Allen Ginsberg, huh? Just a little light airport reading?” It’s him, the hot guy who gave up their seat for a tired mum. He laughs at his own joke before continuing. “He was always a little dark for me. Have you read D.A. Powell?”

  Dan’s eyes are wide as he stammers out a thought. “No, I haven’t read anybody really. I just grabbed a random book. Not really a reader.” Shut up Dan. He knows he sounds like a dick.

  “Well, fancy meeting you in a book store then.” This guy doesn’t seemed fazed by Dan’s weird outburst. “I hate these crowds, don’t you? Also hate being alone though. Just trying to find a happy medium I guess. You want some company?” He’s fidgeting now, nervous, but still doing it, still asking a complete stranger to hang out.

  “Oh um no. Thanks, I’m good, busy. Sorry.” The words stutter out even as Dan is arguing with himself internally. The guy looks a little deflated but he manages a smile before walking off. Dan has no idea why he said no, why he defeats himself like this again and again, why he’s not kinder to himself, even now.

  He’s tired, from residual jet lag and from just living in his head all day. If he doesn’t get some caffeine soon, exhaustion will set in, adding to the dark cloud currently floating above his head. Anyway, if the caffeine doesn’t lift his spirits, coffee shops have a long and storied history for being great places to be sad and alone.

  ***

  There’s one free table. Dan sets his backpack on one of the chairs, ignoring the warning he’s been hearing all day to not leave his bags unattended. He pulls his reusable mug out and soon it’s filled with a steaming hot, mediocre latte. He puts his feet up, headphones in, and searches for an anime to catch up on. As the end credits roll on his third episode, he cracks his neck and looks around, stretching his arms above his head. There’s a long daunting line of people and behind, towering above everyone, a flash of jet black hair.

  Dan thinks maybe he was wrong about how big this terminal is because this guy just keeps popping up. He’s shivering, his hands wrapped tight around the coffee he just picked up and he’s scanning the room. God, he’s really good looking, and tall, no one is ever tall enough. There are no tables left, Dan knows that but he looks over his shoulder anyway. He should talk to him. How often in life do you get a second chance, much less a third? The guy’s eyes move from table to table until they land squarely on Dan.

  Dan wears a a thin, nervous smile but there’s some good solid eye contact. He is really proud of himself for that eye contact. He lifts his feet off the chair opposite him and sits up straight in his chair, gesturing an offer to sit.

  The guy looks the room over one more time and Dan doesn’t blame him. He couldn’t have made the best impression. He doesn’t try to hide his heavy, resigned sigh before weaving through the maze of tables to where Dan sits.

  “This is prime real estate. You sure you don’t want to sell it to the highest bidder?” His teeth are practically chattering as he speaks.

  “I’m a socialist.” Dan says, sipping his latte.

  “You’re in a Starbucks, mate.”

  “I’m at an airport, I’m doing my best.” Dan watches him sit, searching his mind for something to say. It’s been ages since he flirted. Does he even want to flirt? All he knows is this guy is so cute and he’s the sort of person who gives up his seat to a tired mum. Dan’s not sure he even would have noticed her, lost as he’s been in his own mind. And he’s already proven himself patient with Dan’s bullshit.

  “Um, Phil.” Dan says, reading the name written on Phil’s cup. “Your lips are a tad blue. Are you feeling ok?”

  Phil takes a long drink from his cup, wincing because it’s still too hot. He rubs his lips together then cups his hands over his mouth and breathes into them, warming himself. “How do you know my name?”

  Dan reaches over and taps the side of Phil’s cup. “Don’t change the subject. I’m genuinely concerned about your lips.”

  “I have that effect on people. The moment you meet me, you start thinking about my lips.” Phil’s smirk hides behind his cup as he attempts to breathe in the warmth.

  It takes Dan a moment to catch up. He sits staring for a solid three seconds before his eyes crinkle with surprised laughter. It’s the first laugh he’s heard from himself today, the first genuine laugh he’s heard in a while. He’s not totally aware of the way his shoulders drop but he arches his back, stretching again, surprised how much better it feels this time.

  “Also, it’s very cold outside.” Phil sits back in his chair now that the shivering has passed.

  “Outside?” Dan can’t fathom what he means but that but Phil just keeps drinking with a barely discernible nod.

  “Like outside outside? Like where the snow is coming down and blowing sideways?” There is genuine concern in Dan’s voice.

  “Yeah that’s the one.”

  “Why did you have to go outside?”

  “I didn’t have to. I had some time to kill so I made some snow angels.”

  “Why?” Dan’s lip is curled in something that looks more like disgust than he intended.

  “I like snow.” Phil says, unaffected.

  It’s mildly annoying the way he doesn’t see anything unusual about this scenario. Dan sits up abruptly and leans forward. “Ok, so your stranded in the airport for god knows how long and instead of getting a hotel or going to the bar, you went all the way outside, through security, to play in the snow?”

  ”I mean, I actually just went to be in the snow. Catch some flakes on my tongue, see the lights reflect off the white. It’s really settled out there. You can hardly tell it’s an airport loading zone, it’s looks so pretty.” Phil tilts his head as he speaks, looks to the window, even though it only looks out on the ugly airport corridor.

  “There were these little kids watching the snow through the window, they waved at me and I waved back. They had their noses pressed right up to the glass. I was pretending to slip and fall and all that and they were laughing. But then I actually fell, right on my bum. So I made a snow angel for them.” He stands and takes his jacket off, must be warming up a bit. “Just putting it out there, snow angels are the least fun thing to do. I got snow all up inside my jacket and my hands are frozen. Might not be dressed ideally for literally laying in the snow, my ass is soaked to the bone.” He laughs a little to himself as he sits and goes back to sipping.

  Dan’s mouth has dropped open a bit and he stares. He’s pretty sure Phil is the good kind of weird but he studies his features looking for signs to the contrary. All he finds are the prettiest lips and something oddly comforting in the dark centers of his eyes.

Phil’s watching him too, just drinking his coffee and watching, wearing a coy little smile. It’s a reaction to his staring, either judgement or flirting or just a smug acknowledgment that Dan can’t or won’t look away.

  The quiet should be unnerving. Dan has conditioned himself to fill every moment, with sound or image or information. It prevents him from ever really feeling alone, from being alone with his thoughts. It’s not unnerving though, he just feels, calm. He wonders what sort of break through he could have if he wasn’t so afraid of being in his head, if he let his mind wander. It’s then he realizes his mind is wandering now and maybe this is some sort of gentle breakthrough of it’s own.

  “Where’d you go?” Phil asks.

  He hopes his expression hasn’t given away the micro crisis he’s having in his head. Pulled from his introspection, he smiles thinly.

  “Sorry. I tend to drift off during awkward silences.”

  “Awkward? I didn’t think it was awkward,” Phil says. “How often do you get to do nothing like this?”

  Dan shrugs, a little guilty. So much of what he spends his time on feels like nothing.

  “You know, you didn’t have to invite me to sit down. If I’m bothering you…”

  “No, no. I’m sorry.” And he is sorry, really sorry. He wants to be friendly and flirty and easy to talk to. This guy is really sweet and cute and it’s not awkward, not even a little. Dan can’t explain why he always goes on the defense.

  “You aren’t bothering me. I’m just kind of a dick sometimes.” Dan heaves a breath, dredging up some courage and mumbles, “I’m actually really glad you showed up.”

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” Phil says with his hand to ear.

  Dan rolls his eyes and quickly spits out, “I’m glad you showed up cuz I was really bored and we’ll probably be here all night and you’re really nice so thanks for not writing me off when I acted like a twat.”

  “Which time?” Phil asks but he’s smiling. “You’re welcome.”

  It goes quiet again and Phil stands suddenly. “Alright, we need sugar.” He walks off before Dan can protest. Normally, Dan would pick up his phone, cycle quickly through all his social media so he doesn’t miss anything. He gets as far as picking it up but it just sits in his hand unattended. His eyes are otherwise occupied, following Phil’s long legs as they carry him to the pastry case. They’re good legs, pretty legs that end in wide hips and a nice round ass. His lip has somehow found it’s way between his teeth when Phil glances back. There’s a beat before he realizes and looks away, rather conspicuously.

  When Phil returns, he hands Dan a snowman shaped cookie and makes a toast to snow.

  Dan taps his cookie to Phil’s, “we’re toasting to snow? But that’s why we’re stuck here.”

  “Exactly.” Phil says like it’s obvious. Dan savagely rips the head off of his snowman then thanks Phil around his mouthful.

  Phil laughs softly. “Ok, Dan. Snog, marry, avoid. Mario, Link, and… um, the king of all cosmos.”

  “Excuse me, the king of what now?”

  Phil’s eye grow wide, his mouth open in genuine shock. “The king of all cosmos? Do you even video game? Katamari Damacy?”

  “Yeah I know, obviously.” Dan sinks down in his chair a bit. “Kill Mario, marry Link, fuck the king.”

  “Really? You’d kill Mario. I could never do that after everything he’s done for me. Also he’s handy.” Phil takes another bite, speaking through crumbs that he wipes away with his fingers. “He’s literally a plumber. He could fix stuff around the house, total husband material.”

  “Ok fair.” Dan says, “but Link is brave and humble, he’d be a great life partner. And I grew up with him. Also he’s left handed so we could both use the same scissors.”

  “Wow. Nerd alert.”

  Dan sticks his leg out under the table to gently kick Phil’s leg. “Shut up, look who’s talking.” Dan’s voice goes high pitched, mocking. “Oh, Mario’s done so much for me.”

  Phil laughs out loud, a proper laugh, head tipped back, hands clapped together. It’s a good, warm laugh that wraps Dan up like a blanket. Any remaining angst hanging on to the edges of his psyche lose their grip and all that’s left is an unfamiliar contentment.

  “Ok, ok, I think we’ve established we’re both massive nerds.” Phil says, popping the lid off his coffee and dipping his cookie in what’s left.

  Dan is a man of extremes. When his guard comes down, it comes all the way down.

  “And who would you fuck Phil?” He’s hears his own voice in exaggerated slow motion as heat spreads across his cheeks. His palms are sweaty now, his stomach in his throat. What the hell did he just say? This is why we can’t have nice things, Dan.

  Phil seems to be considering his response, slowly sipping from his cup, his lips clearly fighting off a smirk. He catches Dan’s eyes and sucks his bottom lip for a drawn out moment before showing him mercy and moving on.

  “Link, obvs.”

  Dan clears his throat and tries to act natural. “But the king...that package.”

  “I don’t know, I like someone a little younger, not so beefy.” Phil takes a moment then quickly adds, “I’m talking about like, young adult link. Of course.”

  “Of course.”

  If Phil was trying to break the ice, it worked. The conversation flows easy after that. Dan could talk about video games all day, a topic just impersonal enough to loosen him up. Eventually he’s sharing some of his most embarrassing stories, stupid shit he did at uni and the time he got sacked from a DIY shop for selling an axe to a little kid. Phil laughs at every story and Dan is prepared to dig deep into the repressed corners of his mind if he can keep hearing that laugh. And it seems every story he tells earns him an equally embarrassing and far more amusing story from Phil. Dan is literally wiping away tears as Phil tells him all about a squirrel that bit him right in the Florida.

  They both catch their breath when the laughter finally fades and they slip back into quiet. With nothing left to drink, it is a little awkward this time. Dan’s not sure what to do with his hands or where to rest his eyes. He checks his phone.

  “No news?” Phil says to a quick shake of Dan’s head. “You want another round?”

  “I think I’d better switch to herbal tea.”

  Phil moves to grab Dan’s mug but Dan stops him. “Let me. What’s your poison?”

  “Caramel macchiato?” Phil says, a little sheepish and with a nod and as kind a smile as he can muster, Dan walks away.

  “Sweets for the sweet.” Dan says as he sits down and hands Phil his drink. Their fingers brush as Phil takes the cup, his eyes looking softly into Dan’s. It seems Dan isn’t the only one who’s let his guard down.

  The table is small. They’ve both had their legs tucked back this whole time. As he scoots his chair in, Dan’s knees bump Phil’s and it’s clear he’s unfurled them into a more relaxed position. His instinct is to pull back but his body has proven to ignore his better judgement when it comes to this new variable. He lets his foot slide between Phil’s so their legs are slotted perfectly together. Neither of them acknowledge it, holding still to keep from touching more than incidentally.

  The conversation continues and they both open up more than makes sense for strangers in an airport. Nothing feels real anymore, time is suspended with no end in sight. Maybe it’s that or maybe it’s the relief of letting go a little bit or maybe it’s just Phil. Whatever the catalyst, Dan feels safe, not something he feels often.

  Phil talks about his grandma, his brother, his failed attempts at heterosexuality. Dan’s topics are broader but the political is personal to Dan, and Phil seems to understand that. Time stretches and the nods turn thoughtful, the laughter sweeter. Moments of empathy are punctuated with bumps and nudges under the table. When the next lull comes, Phil shifts his weight. Dan watches as he lets his head lean to the wall next to his chair. His eyes look heavy.

  “How can you be tired after all that sugary coffee?” Dan asks, shaking his head.

  “Not tired,” Phil says, “just relaxed.” His legs follow the lean of his body, taking one of Dan’s with him. He hooks a foot around Dan’s ankle, coming to rest there.

  Dan let’s one dimple peek out but he doesn’t move his gaze from Phil. “Comfy?” He asks, with a hint of mirth.

  Phil nods, his crooked lips soft. “This is nice. And I’m enjoying the view.”

  Dan looks over his shoulder. Yep, hideous airport corridor, lots of grumpy people he’d forgotten about entirely. “What view? What are you on about? Are you aware that you often speak in riddles?”

  “I don’t know.” Phil moves Dan’s leg under the table. “I feel like I’ve been pretty clear.”

  Dan’s heart does a somersault and he huffs a nervous laugh. Nervous again after such an easy talk, but it’s a good nervous. The kind that comes from the promise of something good.

  Phil isn’t subtle, he wears a cocky grin that says he knows exactly what effect he’s having. Dan’s feels an urgent need to kiss the smile right off of that smug little mouth. He wants to grab the tip of Phil’s tongue that’s poking through his teeth and pull it. He imagines he’d taste like a coffee milkshake and his mouth waters at the thought. He could spring right across the table, charged as he is. Now they’ve stopped chatting, the energy between them just sits, an electric tether holding them there.

  Dan can’t help his mind going to the physical first, it’s not often he’s this open with anyone, much less someone he just met. Some piece of him wants to grab ahold of that hint of intimacy lest it get away. What he really wants is to just get closer, to wrap his arms around the beautiful friend he’s found and not let go.

  Phil’s phone is vibrating on the table but he doesn’t notice, his focus is on Dan, gaze moving from his eyes to his mouth and back again.

  “Brah, you’re blowing up.” Dan says in far too smitten a tone.

  “Hmm? Oh!” Phil takes a quick peek and puts the phone to his ear. “Hi love. Nah, still here.” He stands, points to the exit to let Dan now he has to take the call, and walks out to lean against a wall of lockers.

  To Dan’s credit, he doesn’t spiral right away. He starts silently rehearsing ways to ask for Phil’s number. He doesn’t even know where he lives, as deep as they got, they kinda bypassed the everyday stuff. Maybe he should just write his own number down and hand it to him. Except he definitely doesn’t have a pen because who carries a pen anymore? He could ask the barista but then they’d know and they’d be watching and it’s hard enough to be bold without an audience much less with one.

  He looks over his shoulder, trying to appear casual. Phil looks so cool leaning like that, beaming and chatting. Dan wonders who he’s talking to, someone close enough to call ‘love.’ It’s taking a while and he looks really happy. Dan realizes Phil never actually said he was single. Sure, he seemed interested but he was just looking to find some company for the wait. This is probably just what friendship looks like to Phil, socially awkward but strangely confident Phil. Of course he’s taken, he’s funny and smart and he listens. He probably has someone waiting for him, someone cool and quirky who reads poetry and plays Katamari Damacy with him. Someone who doesn’t wear plain black jumpers that cost hundreds of pounds even though they were made in China. They probably know he’s a flirt but they don’t care because he’s coming home to them.

  “Sir,” There’s a barista standing at the table. Dan has no idea how long he was lost in thought, ignoring her. “So sorry but we will be closing up in about 5 minutes.”

  “Yeah, ok.” Dan stammers, embarrassed as always. “We’ll, I’ll clear out. Sorry. Thanks.”

  She takes the trash from the table and Dan pulls on his hoodie and backpack. He throws Phil’s jacket over his arm and grabs the handle of his suitcase, rolling it behind him. Phil is humming affirmative responses to whoever is on the line but not talking much. He takes his jacket from Dan with a smile of thanks and a roll of his eyes. He mouths the word sorry.

  Dan waves the word away. He mumbles something about needing to find a place to get some rest though he knows Phil can’t hear. The only thing worse than walking away from this well of potential would be to stand here and fidget, listening while Phil talks with his boyfriend only to have to say an awkward goodbye afterward. He points over Phil’s shoulder at nothing in particular and Phil sort of nods though he looks confused. Dan’s heart has no right to crack like this. He barely knows Phil. That tether though, it’s got some strength to it. He swallows hard and walks past Phil then just keeps walking. He just keeps walking, waiting for the tether to snap.

  He turns the first corner he comes to and finds a lounge. People are curled up asleep on the benches. The sound on the tv is muted. He moves to the far back corner and lays down on the floor, resting his head on his back pack. His headphones are in, a movie queued up on his phone, he’s right back where he started. At least he got to pass the time with someone. It was a nice moment out of reality. So he was attracted to him, it’s not a big deal. He’s attracted to people all the time, it never goes anywhere. There’s no reason it should be different this time, no reason he should feel a dull ache in his chest. It’s totally irrational and unrealistic to think that anything could come of a random meeting like that. It was just a few hours with a friendly stranger.

  Twenty minutes later, just when he’s settled into a position that is almost comfortable, the movie pauses and notification pops up. Dan has been booked on a new flight and if he wants the seat he needs to check in at the gate, like now.

  The waiting area is still full but the settled resignation of earlier in the day has turned to frustrated exhaustion. Blurry eyed travelers stand, gripping their phones, close to the counter, watching for some glimmer of hope that they’ll get home soon. The paper boarding pass in Dan’s hand feel like a winning lottery ticket and he tightens his hold, imagining the vultures who would swoop in if he were to drop it. He knows it’s irrational, he’s booked, the seat is his but he feels undeserving in light of all these folks waiting. He’s looking down, embarrassed at his good fortune, as he turns to find a place to waiting for boarding.

  Two steps forward and he hears him, “Are you kidding me? You’re on this flight?” It’s Phil and he sounds none too pleased to have run into Dan once again.

  “Oh hey Phil.”

  “Hey Phil?!” Phil sounds angry now, his voice low and controlled, “Hey Phil?! Are you mental?”

  That stings. He could deflect, point out the problematic nature of Phil’s choice of language, but he stays quiet.

  “That was bloody rude. I thought you’d gone to find a place to sit but I turned around and you were gone. You could have said a proper goodbye.”

  “You were on the phone.” Dan’s stomach feels sour at the sound of his own voice, his own immature, cowardly voice.

  “Yeah. I was.” Phil’s eyes are right on Dan but he doesn’t meet his gaze, he’s staring at Phil’s shoes. His voice softens, “I was really excited Dan. We have a lot in common and I was gonna get your number and like, you just left.”

  “Well, it’s not like you came to find me.” Dan really wishes he would shut up and stop sabotaging every good thing that happens to him.

  “Came to find you!” It comes out loud, clearly louder than Phil intended as he looks around and clears his throat before speaking again, this time in a loud whisper. “You chatted me up for hours, flirting with me, letting me flirt with you and then left when I was on the phone so you didn’t have to deal with rejecting me!”

  “Sounds like you dodged a bullet then.” Dan says, defeated, “So why bother confronting me?”

  “Because I had a good time, Dan. I really did. A better time than I had any right to with a total stranger.” Phil runs a hand through his hair.

  He does that when he’s frustrated or nervous. He fidgets, he can’t stand still. Dan knows this about him, he learned it along with the fact like he likes his coffee unreasonably sweet and has a stupidly high tolerance for caffeine. He learned that he sticks his tongue between his teeth when he’s delighted and that he’s delighted a lot. He knows that he’s flirty and confident even though he’s clumsy and messy and has a really weird sense of humor. He knows that his weird brand of conversation meshes with Dan’s uncommonly well. He knows he’s unashamed. He’s a lot of things Dan isn’t and the lump in Dan’s throat is rudely pushing him to face the fact that Phil never would have ditched Dan like that.

  Dan swallows hard. “Ok yeah, you’re right. It was really fucking rude of me to leave. I’m sorry. But I wasn’t avoiding rejecting you.” He heaves a sigh, hoping the force of it will push the words out. “I was avoiding being rejected by you.”

  “What? I was so into you. How was that not obvious, Dan?”

  Dan shrugs and mumbles something about a boyfriend on the phone.

  Phil laughs a laugh that’s not at all amused. “That phone call was my friend Louise.” He says flatly, “She literally had a baby today. A fucking baby, Dan. I couldn’t bloody well cut her off in the middle of her birth story.” He flicks fingers through his quiff, laying it down and then picking it back up. “Stomach churning as it was.”

  Dan feels sick. He wonders how long he’s going to let his negative self talk make him miserable. He knows there are things he has to forgive in himself, that he can’t help some of it. But he also know the parts of him he hides behind and he wonders how much his low self esteem would improve if he stopped leaning on it like a crutch. His eyes sting, embarrassment and exhaustion are making all of this seem insurmountable.

  “I’m really sorry Phil.” He tries to look at Phil but turns his head, too aware of his wet eyes. “I got scared and I didn’t think I had a chance with you. I fuck these things up, I told you.”

  With a moment of static, first class boarding is announced.

  “That’s me, Dan. I have to board.” Phil doesn’t sound angry anymore, just tired. “This has been a weird day. We were strangers yesterday. But I know a few things about you now and since we’re standing here, fighting like boyfriends, I’m gonna go ahead and overstep one more time.” He reaches a hand to lay it on Dan’s arm. “It’s a heavy weight you carry around with you. I know how that is, Dan. And I’m telling you from experience, life is so much more enjoyable if you let someone else help you carry it once in a while.”

  With that, he turns and walks to the doors, hands his boarding pass to the attendant, and disappears down the jetway.

  Dan wipes his eyes before they can betray him with actual tears.

  ***

  Sipping his subpar whisky sour, Dan let’s the soothing voice in his ears guide him through step by step relaxation. His legs are heavy and relaxed, the only thing he has to do right now is breathe. In for a count of 5, out for a count of 8, in for a count of 5, out for a count of 8. With every inhale, soft blue healing light spreads through your body. What color is your blue? The color of the sky? The sea? Phil’s eyes. Definitely Phil’s eyes. Dan shifts in his seat, shaking his head as if to dislodge the image from his mind. He takes a long drink of his cocktail, heaves a breath and tries again.

  It’s time to get over it. Soon, he’ll be home and settled back to his routine, alone in his flat, back to real life. He tries to do to follow the voice, to do the breathing thing. When a thought enters your mind, acknowledge it, without judgement and let it go. There are a million thoughts in his mind and a million judgements. That was a dick move. He was really great and you just ditched him. Why are you such a coward? You can stop thinking about him now.

  With a rather violent jab of his finger, he quits the app, switching to music. He shoots back the rest of his drink and closes his eyes but regret gnaws at him until his stomach is an empty pit, twisting a constant reminder that he’s lost something.

  He’d walked past Phil’s row on his way to his seat, carefully avoiding eye contact. He looked sad, this would be easier if he’d stayed angry. At the risk of looking like a dejected lover in a romantic comedy, he makes the rash decision to go talk to Phil. Before he thinks too deeply, he throws off his seatbelt and moves to stand, only to find himself face to face with a stern looking flight attendant.

  “I’m sorry sir, but I’ll need you to take your seat. With this turbulence, we have to ask that you stay seated and buckled for the duration of the flight or until the safety light is switched off.”

  “Oh, um. My friend is in first class and he gets really frightened on planes.” He searches his mind for a story that will elicit some sympathy. “I’m really worried about him with this turbulence. Can I just go check on him please?”

  “I’m afraid not, sir. I apologize but it’s for everyone’s safety.”

  Dan presses his lips together, accepting his fate but just as she walks away, he speaks up again, “Oh, excuse me.” She turns with a forced hospitable grin and looks at Dan expectantly. “What about a drink? Can I buy him a drink? Send it to his seat. His name’s Phil, third row window seat, handsome, black hair.”

  “If he’s in first class, his drinks are complimentary, sir.”

  “Oh.” Dan looks down at his hands. “Then can you just bring him one? Say it’s from Dan?”

  There’s a long exhale that reveals just how long her night has been before she nods gently and says, “What sort of drink did you have in mind?”

  “Do you have hot chocolate?” Dan smiles up at her, grateful for her patience. His dimples really do come in handy at moments like this.

  A tiny smile blooms on her overworked face and she leans in a bit closer, “Ok, hot chocolate from Dan. I’ll bring him an extra blanket too.”

  With his hand to his heart, he thanks her, it means it more than she could know. The next thing he’s aware of is the same flight attendant’s hand on his shoulder, waking him up. The flight is descending and he needs to turn off his electronics.

  By the time he’s shuffling down the aisle, first class has long since departed. Dan walks quickly, ready to be done with airports and travel and new people and places. He’ll get a car, headphones in, and soon he’ll be curled up in bed. He can sleep all day. There’s nothing he’s late for, no one waiting for him.

  It’s terribly bright outside and Dan is personally insulted. He was counting on London gloom to validate his mood. He pauses next to the taxi queue, eyes on his phone, music in his ears, calculating the benefit of getting an Uber over jumping into one of these waiting cabs.

  “Dan!”

  “What the fuck!” Dan jumps, his heart races off down the road without him and he pulls his headphones off.

  Phil giggles behind his hand. His other, on Dan’s shoulder, is warm and heavy and works wonders to calm Dan’s flight or flight freak out.

  “Sorry. I said hi like three times.” Phil says, trying to curb his laughter. “Maybe you should turn your music down, mate.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t sneak up on people.” He’s reeling from exhaustion and emotional whiplash.

  “Thanks for the hot chocolate. And the blanket.” He moves to rub the back of his neck in a classic display of Phil nerves.

  “No problem. Hope it made your first class seat tolerable, you poor soul.”

  “Hey.” Phil’s smile is so subtle it’s barely there, his eyes fixed on Dan’s, “I like nice things.”

  They stay like that, inches apart, just looking at one another. It’s freezing out here but neither of them can feel it.

  “You wanna share a car? I’m in north London.” Phil hasn’t looked away, he sounds like he’s talking to himself, his voice quiet and directed nowhere in particular. Dan nods and they both turn. The guy managing the line ushers them into a cab, taking Phil’s luggage and Phil gives the driver his address. It makes sense for Dan to be dropped off first but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to be the one walking away this time.

  “Did you have a good flight?” Phil asks, small talk seems the only way out of this tension.

  “It was ok. You?”

  “Yeah. I mean, first class.” Phil worries his lip and Dan can’t take it anymore. He can’t take the unknowns and the regret and the stupid magnetic attraction he feels toward this person. He’s looking right at Phil’s mouth, it must be so obvious, and he’s telling himself, do it, just do it. His heart is in his throat, his stomach in knots, sensations that usually elicit a firm nope from Dan. His stock reaction to this fear is to run but he can’t run, they’re in the back of a taxi right now. If Phil pushes him away, he’ll just get out and take a bus. Dan’s breath is coming out in huffs, still watching Phil’s pink mouth as his lip slips free of his teeth.

  A hand comes to rest on Dan’s leg, just above his knee. He startles a little and his eyes jerk quickly down to make sure he didn’t imagine it. The tether is taught, it’s either gonna break or he needs to grab hold of it and pull, hard.

  So he does.

  He leans forward too fast, his lips collide with Phil’s too forcefully, but Phil slides his hand behind Dan’s neck and leans into him till they find a perfect balance. Soft but urgent, they push against each other, Phil’s tongue dipping in between Dan’s teeth. Just enough to connect them but with room for so much more. They move with each other, unhurried until they feel the car pull to the curb and hear the driver clear his throat.

  “One second.” Phil says as they pull apart, “let me get my bag.” He hands the driver his card and opens his door, climbing out to wait for his luggage to be retrieved from the boot. Dan gets his phone out and sets up a contact for Phil to fill in. He leans into the open door but before he can speak, Phil crouches down.

  “You coming?”

  “Sorry?” Dan replies.

  “Are you coming up?” Phil always seem to think people just know what he’s talking about.

  “Up? To your flat?”

  Phil nods, “Everytime I lose sight of you, you run off. I think I’d like to keep you close if it’s all the same to you.”

  “Don’t you need to sleep?”

  “Yeah, and so do you.” Phil says, matter factly, “So come sleep. With me.”

  Dan could honestly say that nothing has ever sound better.

  *****

  It’s been a long time since he woke up next to a stranger. It’s been a long time since he woke up next to anyone, unless you count Colin, Dan’s family’s dog who shared his bed when he went home for Christmas. It’s a little alarming at first, feeling an arm draped over his middle as he makes the slow climb to consciousness. Reality sets in as his eyes blink open and survey unfamiliar surroundings. The room is unmistakably Phil, the plants, the books, the sentimental trinkets. It’s welcoming and homey, this is exactly how Dan would have pictured Phil’s room. It is odd to feel like he knows this stranger so well. He’s not a stranger though, not really.

  Gently, Dan lays his hand over the one resting against his belly. The body behind him is solid, pressed up tight. There’s so much intimacy in spooning. He closes his eyes, willfully rejecting any evidence of daytime that might be streaming through the window. He wishes it would snow now, right here in London; a wild, never before seen blizzard that would strand him here in this flat. The whole city would shut down, lives would be disrupted, but it all sounds worth it if it meant he could stay here just a little while longer. Maybe if he’s very still, his big spoon won’t wake up. He really hopes he doesn’t. If he wakes up, they’ll both be thrust out of the liminal space where they found each other and into purpose and schedules and wretched real life.

  There’s a sleepy huff of a breath against his neck, and the arm around him pulls tighter for a moment. It might just be his dire need for human connection but this feels so good, being held like this. He wants to turn over so he can look at his face, nuzzle into his neck, wrap his arms around him, but he won’t risk bringing all of this to an end.

  “You’re warm.” Phil’s voice is a low rumble against Dan’s back. It reminds him of the furnace coming on in the early mornings when he was kid, the promise of comfort that would stay even when he threw the blankets off. “What time is it?”

  “Almost 2.” Dan says after reaching to the bedside to tip his phone into view.

  Phil hums his acknowledgment and snuggles in closer, inhaling deeply with his nose tucked into the short hairs at the back of Dan’s head. “You smell like my shampoo.”

  Dan is still but for his fingers. They push between the one’s underneath them and curl around to ensure that hand is staying put.

  “Do you need to get up?” There’s a squeeze in his heart as he asks until he senses Phil shaking his head no behind him.

  “Don’t go.” Phil says, so quietly it takes Dan a second to register. “It’s not enough yet.”

  “Not enough sleep?” Dan asks.

  “Just not enough.” Phil says and Dan feels a quick, soft kiss on the back of his neck.

  “Go back to sleep, Phil,” Dan replies, calm spreading over him, a lightness he hasn’t experienced in so many years. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Soon, the embrace isn’t quite so tight and the breathing behind Dan is slow and steady. Sleep won’t come back so quickly for Dan, it’s just not how he operates. The sound of Phil breathing becomes a meditative soundtrack and he replays the last 24 hours, finding the moments, committing the details to a deeper place in his memory. There’s a small voice in his head that says he’ll want to tell this story later.

End.

[hockeyfun]

Jimmy Vesey #1

Requested: by @ves-of-cake​ (probably like 2 years ago) Hi I was just wondering if you are still taking request, is there any way I could get a Jimmy Vesey one where you are friends with some of the guys on the team and they set you two up? I literally love your writing it is so good

Word Count:2000+

Warnings: blind date, a bit of talk about feeling lost, drinking

Author’s note: I’m sorry it took my five hundred years to write this. It was very hard to write because it felt like I dragged it on so i’m sorry. Enjoy

“Jimmy, stop pacing, you’re giving the cat anxiety,” Jimmy’s good friend and teammate, Brady Skjei joked. Jimmy was worrying about meeting you. He had seen you in a picture with his other good friend and teammate Kevin Haynes before and instantly fell a pull towards you. He tried to reason with it for a while but then eventually he confessed to Kevin his thoughts. He couldn’t help it. He felt this unreasonable pull to you. He couldn’t explain it he just knew deep in his soul you two were meant to be.

After some persuasion, Kevin talked you into joining him and his girlfriend Brooke to come to dinner with a few of his teammates. You have been reluctant for a while, you had grown up around the professional sports scene and you knew what some players were like. Finally, you agreed after Kevin did almost everything to beg you to come. The only thing he forgot to mention was it was technically a date.

Brooke and Kevin came over to pick you up. You were just pulling up your jeans when they walked through your front door. “You know you should really lock your front door,” Kevin spoke like he was your big brother, and he practically was. “He’s not wrong,” Brooke criticized too. You rolled your eyes at them as you walked around the corner. “Then I’d have to go answer the door for you two and I’m lazy,” you responded. The two of them were dressed very nice, a huge contrast to your outfit. You scrunch your eyebrows in confusion. “What the heck, where are we going?” You scrutinized. Brooke looked at you in horror. “I told you to dress nice.” “You never said that,” you grabbed Brooke’s hand and dragged her to your room, “you have to help me find something.” Originally she picked out a crazy dance party dress that was too much. You quickly shut it down and pulled out a plain top, which wasn’t enough for Brooke. You compromised on a black backless-maxi dress that you probably didn’t wear enough for how much it cost you. Your hair was in a messy ponytail and make up was done your usual way. “Brooke, we are gonna be late if you don’t hurry,” Kevin yelled up to her. She looked you over and nodded her head in confidence. Then you were rushed out of the room. You didn’t fully understand the hurry or the need to get the ‘perfect’ outfit. You were just going to dinner, right?

The Uber came quickly. The drive over you felt a bit of anxiety wash over you. It was the typical anxiety of meeting new people, a healthy anxiety. Although the way Kevin and Brooke was whispering to each other making you feel uncomfortable. “What the hell are you two whispering about?” You finally commented. Brooke snapped up real quick and blushed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we were doing that.” You rolled your eyes at her. Kevin laughed and squeezed your leg.

Jimmy was already at the restaurant before the entourage and you walked in. He currently was waiting in the little lobby area. When he saw you his heart picked up speed. He told himself to look cool, he straightened his back and shoved his hands in his pockets. You on the other hand looked around confused. Weren’t you meeting players? Emphasis on the plural form of player. You knew you were a bit late due to the wardrobe change so shouldn’t there be more people here?

Your eye caught on the single man staring at you and your friends. He was handsome, not the usual handsome. He had a good build to him and a boyish face. He was wearing a beautiful burgundy sport coat and matching trousers with a black dress shirt under. It suited him very well. You couldn’t help the speed of your heart picking up at the sight of the well dressed man in front of you. “Jimmy,” Kevin hollered at the man. Instantly you put together who the man in front of you was. You had seen him before in Kevin’s picture and although you didn’t follow hockey as close as you used to, you still recognized the names of Kevin’s teammates. Jimmy smiled at Kevin and took his hand out of his pocket to wave. He looked at all of you individually, you last. His eyes lingered on yours a while. There was a subtle intensity behind the stare that caused you to look away and blush. Kevin and Brooke gave that knowing look to each other. Once he reached you all, he gave Brooke a friendly hug and said hello to Kevin with that weird boy hug. He looked over at you with a brilliant smile. “Hey I’m Jimmy Vesey,” he introduced himself. He stuck out his hand to shake yours. You introduced yourself with a flirty smile and took his hand to shake. Flutters filled your body as your skin contacted his.

The hostess led you to the table and you began to feel aware of everyone around you staring. You wanted to roll your eyes. You use to go out in public a lot with Kevin when you were younger and had more time. You guys were seen so much together the fans began to think you two were dating. After catching a young teen take a picture of the two of you out you began to think maybe public outings with your best friend would have to come to an end. It just made you uncomfortable to be so in the public eye with such a great friend. Brooke came along and you fell head over heels for her just as Kevin did. The two of you became instant besties and being in the public with them two was a bit easier.

You were going to sit down between Brooke and Kevin at the square table the hostess brought you to. “Kevin actually why don’t you sit right there.” Brooke commented as she pointed to the seat across from you. Kevin looked at her with a bit of confusion as to say why does it matter. Then Brooke gave him a look to say come on dude. Then a look of realization crossed his face And he moved over. As you saw this exchange you began to wonder what was going on. You also hated their speechless exchanges and usually they were good about not doing it in front of friends. You decided not to worry about it right now. Instead you decided to be positive about it, and now you got to sit close to Jimmy. The dinner began with the waiter forgetting a menu for you and instead of getting another one, Jimmy said he’d share one with you. You moved your chair to get closer to him and a better view of the menu. Your arm brushed his. The skin on skin contact caused prickles to erupt on your entire skin.

Jimmy wasn’t known for his flirty ways. Not to say he couldn’t flirt but with Brooke and Kevin there his game was thrown off. He felt like every time he spoke to you it was a now or never thing. You were eating your meal when things started to click. You would have just marked this off as a weird night if it wasn’t for Kevin and Brooke starting to get involved. “Hey, Jimmy, did you know our girl here was ranked number one in swimming in college for her conference?” Brooke bragged for you. You gave her a strange look. “She owns her own jewelry business now,” She continued.  You raised your eyebrows up at her. What was she doing. You looked at Jimmy apologetically, but he didn’t looked uninterested. He was actually impressed. Pride shown in his eyes. “Yeah, how is it going?” he asked. The two of you delved into conversation. He was so interested in your passions. Your heart couldn’t help but grow fonder and fonder for the man in front of you. “Kevin and I have got to use the restroom,” Brooke announced as she folded her napkin and laid it on the table. “you two kids don’t have too much fun without us,” Kevin winked at Jimmy. You don’t know why it was that moment that everything clicked, but it did. This was a date, a blind date. Did Jimmy know? You leaned over to him, and whispered into his ear, “I think this is a date.” Jimmy looked at you confused, “They didn’t tell you?” he asked. You couldn’t help it, you started laughing. You had been bamboozled. Everyone knew this was a date except for you. “No, those bastards didn’t tell me,” you responded. Jimmy kept his cool although he was a little angry about the situation. Your laugh was charming though. “I say we get them back,”  you suggested. He leaned in, intrigued. “What do you suggest we do?” he asks. You bit your lip thinking. It drove Jimmy wild. You shook your head unsure. “I have an idea,” Jimmy said. His eyes glowed with intensity. ‘Let’s leave. I’ll take you on a real date right now without Brooke and Kevin, and we’ll make them pay for dinner,” he offered with a mischievous grin. You tried to compress the small smile forming on your face, “Okay, and if I agree, where would you take me on our first date?” you inquired, leaning closer to him. He leaned in a little closer as well, “By saying first date you’re implying there will be a second one,” “You’re ignoring my question,” you responded. You two were very close to each other by now. He had his head tilted just a little to the side. There was affection, curiosity, and amusement in the eyes that were looking at you. His eyes flickered down to your lips, “to answer your question you can come with me to find out,” Jimmy said a bit distracted. You were distracting him. You gave him a brilliant smile, and stood up, “lets go then.”

The two of you left. He hailed a cab. When the cab pulled up he leaned into the window and told him where to go. He opened the cab door for you, “Such a gentleman,” you joked. He winked in response. The cab drove you across to the Brooklyn, a place you were only a little familiar with. The cab driver dropped you off close to the East River. You looked up and saw the Brooklyn Bridge. It was brightly lit. Then you looked around, the pier was lit up in white and yellow Christmas lights, because it was just now turning to fall the flowers were still bloomed. It was beautiful. Luckily, there weren’t many people around making it more intimate. Jimmy slipped his hand in yours. It felt comfortable. The two of you walked around and talked about silly things. A comfortable silence settled between the two of you as you looked out onto Manhattan on a bench. You cuddled into Jimmy a bit. You don’t know why but an overwhelming feeling of belonging feel upon you. “Do you remember what it was like when you first came to New York?” you asked him. You felt him nod his head in response. “Do you ever still feel lonely?” you wondered out loud. “I guess, but I haven’t really thought much about it,” he spoke honestly. “For me, it’s hard to not feel lonely. It’s such a big city with so many different people in it, and trying to make my business do well. It gets lonely,” you spoke truthfully. You didn’t know where these words were coming from. You didn’t know why you were being so honest and deep with Jimmy. You detach yourself from him to get a better look of his face. You wanted to see his reaction to your words. He placed his hand on your cheek and rubbed his thumb in a comforting circle. He didn’t want to say anything, he just wanted to let you physically know he was here for you. You peaked up at him. His intense eyes staring at you. “Do you feel lonely right now?” he asked cautiously, afraid of your answer. You gave out a sigh of relief, “no, quite the opposite actually,” you responded, while glancing down at his lips. The edges of his lips lifted just a little. His lips separated just a little. His hand still placed on your cheek. “May I kiss you,” his voice sounded distant in your ears. You nodded your head ever so slightly. The kiss was passionate and soft. Jimmy’s stomach exploded like fireworks. He had been waiting for this moment for a while. If you would have asked Jimmy if this night would have ended like this, he would have laughed in your face. There was no way, but here you are, kissing him in a way that showed your blossoming feelings.

[exyjunkies]

headcanon: on neil and his hitchhiking

andrew doesn’t trust neil’s hitchhiking habit, and i honestly believe that it’s not because of neil (okay, maybe a little because of neil; he was always someone who attracted trouble, wherever he went), but because he’s always primarily suspicious of strangers

like his first instinct, always, is to be wary of anyone and everyone that he is unfamiliar with. what more about the concept of riding in strangers’ vehicles and trusting them to bring you where you need to be brought?

(yeah. andrew doesn’t think so either)

so one day, when andrew’s car breaks down when they’re both in the middle of nowhere (andrew is extra pissed, then, because his BMW is his baby and he always takes good care of it, so why, why the fuck would it fail him now), the momentary panic attack is finished, and they attempt to fix the car

but then they soon find out that the BMW has a cracked alloy, which lead to one of their tires being punctured. they didn’t have a fucking spare tire, so it was a problem which obviously can’t be fixed there and then, and andrew would need to bring it in for a repair

after a few more minutes of fussing on the internet--

“Um, we can leave this car here and hitchhike the way back--”

“Not a chance, Josten.”

and neil tries to argue for a bit, but andrew is really not having any of it, so they sit there, staring straight ahead

“I mean--”

“Nope.”

a few more minutes of silence - neil has resorted to texting matt where they are, and saying things like “Don’t worry, we’ll find somewhere to stay, and we’ll be back the next day.” just so the foxes don’t worry throughout the night

(this is character development on neil’s part, since he didn’t think about people who gave a shit about him before. matt boyd is a proud best friend)

just as neil was opening up a new text message for kevin (who would be the most annoyed, imo), andrew goes, “How many times have you hitchhiked?”

“I’ve done it for around... four fifths of my life? I mean, it’s worked enough that it got me here--”

“Fine. But if you get us killed, I swear--”

neil doesn’t finish the rest of the sentence and gets down from the car, immediately walking to the side of the road and looking for vehicles they can get on

and of course vehicles don’t come very often, since they’re on a highway in the middle of nowhere, so they both end just standing by the sidewalk

the wait lasts about an hour, and neil alternates between pacing back and forth and sitting down on the ground

meanwhile, andrew keeps an eye on neil and remains standing up

andrew has so many comebacks about this at the ready. something along the lines of “Yet another one of your bad ideas, junkie.” or “Once I find a way to fix the BMW, I am leaving your dumb ass here.”

but he doesn’t get to say them, because here comes a huge garbage truck, heading their way

miraculously, it was headed south, which was where they needed to go too

neil put his thumb up, and was gestured to andrew when the vehicle actually stopped for the both of them

the man in the garbage truck looks over the both of them, once, twice, then goes, “You lads need a lift?”

neil replies, “Yes, to Palmetto state?”

“Oh, boy, I’m not heading there directly, but I can get you about twenty miles from there. Is that good with y’all?”

neil nods, and andrew just shoots the driver a wary look

they both get in the front seat (andrew being small enough and neil being stick-thin, it wasn’t a problem), and for the first ten minutes, they were silent

then “So where have I seen you boys before?”

turns out, the garbage truck driver was a huge Exy fan, which pleased neil (”Oh, man, Andrew, thank God we got on this ride.”) and annoyed andrew

“Do you kids know Kevin Day? Man, that boy sure got it made for him.”

“He’s not easy to work with, but we get along when we need to.”

“I remember watching one of his games in the pub with the rest of the guys. We were all so hooked on the last few minutes...”

“How do you feel about Edgar Allan playing like how they do?”

“Shit. I don’t really know what goes on in their court, but they might as well be Exy robots.”

andrew stayed quiet all throughout, keeping his hand on his sleeved knife

the music in the car was some oldschool tune that neither neil nor andrew knew, but the driver sang along to every once in a while

it took another hour and a half of them talking about Exy (at some point, andrew had dozed off, with head on neil’s shoulder) before they got to their drop-off point, where they could get a bus back to Fox Tower

right after they got off, the driver yelled, “You boys stay safe now, y’hear? Can I get an autograph for my kids?” 

neil obliges, and yanks on andrew’s sleeve because duh, The Andrew Minyard has to give one too

they both give signed pieces of paper, neil’s having a dedication to the kids, and andrew giving just his signature

after extra bugging from neil, andrew gives in and draws a fox paw like neil’s alongside his autograph

as the driver drove off, neil says to andrew, “Now. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

andrew frowns back, and says, “Good job. You didn’t get us killed.”

neil rolls his eyes, and shakes his head as he walks up to the bus pulling up beside the stop

they head back to palmetto state, both silently thankful that they were okay, with neil falling asleep on andrew’s shoulder this time around, and andrew being a little less distrustful of neil and his ways