#i do not have the patience to wait until september for this book HELP | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peanutbutterworm · 4 years

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i love you

here we go!! here is my moreid secret santa fic!

click here to read it on AO3

warnings: none, light angst at one point but it is mostly tooth rotting fluff

word count: 4196

summary: Penelope begs and begs Hotch until he finally lets her have a BAU secret santa party. There is a small problem for Dr. Spencer Reid however when he is set the task of giving a gift to his best friend and crush, Derek Morgan.

“Hotch please?” Penelope drew out the last vowel of the word, as if it would make him say yes.

“I told you, Garcia, it’s out of my hands for now. It sounds like a great idea, really, but I don’t think that Strauss nor the director would approve of it.”

“It doesn’t have to be a work thing! Just, as friends, as a family.”

“And I already told you, Garcia, as long as we’re using company time it is a ‘work thing’.”

“God why does everyone have to be so boring. It’s a bonding thing!” Penelope checked the date on her phone. “It’s November 29th, if we’re not allowed to do this I’m going on strike.”

“Mhm,” Hotch was already moving on to something else, and Penelope left in a huff. She ran into Spencer on the way back to her office.

“Hey Penelope,”

“Hi, Spencer.” She said curtly, storming past him.

“Woah, what’s going on today?” Spencer said, stopping her by grabbing her arm. Penelope sighed, realizing she wasn’t being her cheery self and someone was bound to notice, may as well be him.

“Walk with me, boy genius.” Penelope explained her current predicament on the way to her office, huffing and using her hands to talk the entire way.

“And I don’t get why Strauss won’t allow it! It’s a great team bonding activity, and we would have so much fun!” She finished explaining.

“Garcia, we have fun without ‘team bonding activities’, I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this.”

“Because, I’m tired of being ignored. I just want one of my suggestions to go through and I’m starting to think Strauss doesn’t like me.”

“I’m pretty sure Strauss doesn’t like any of us,” Spencer said, sipping his coffee from a company mug.

“Yeah I know,” Penelope put her head into her hands and sighed. “Why are they so against us having fun?”

“They think it ‘interferes with the job’” Spencer said, quoting a seminar they were forced to go to.

“Yeah, bullshit.” Penelope half scoffed into her hands, half laughed. “How is it going with Derek?” She asked, smirking up at Spencer. Spencer couldn’t help but turn a little red whenever she asked about him. He had told Penelope about his crush on her best friend in September, and even though it had been going on for much longer Spencer was reminded every day why he didn’t tell her sooner. However Spencer never missed a chance to talk to her about it. Even though Penelope was a huge gossip, she would never tell Derek something this important without asking Spencer for permission first. And anyways, it was nice to get stuff off his chest.

“Nothing has really happened, just still lying awake at night thinking about him instead of doing something productive with my chronic insomnia.”

“How can you be productive with chronic insomnia anyways?”

“I don’t know… do things?” Spencer giggled and then paused, recalling something. “Wait, I do recall, I saw him at the grocery store.”

“No way, you two shop at the same place?”

“Unfortunately. I was too awkward to say anything anyways, and I looked like a mess too.”

“I’m sure he didn’t care. This is the man that saw me almost die and I need not remind you that he has seen you in the hospital. Multiple times.”

“I try not to remember.”

“Did he say anything?”

“No.”

“You are so boring,”

“It was late, Garcia. I don’t think I had the patience to deal with anyone, including him, and if you were to ask him I’m pretty sure he would say that feeling’s mutual by how he looked.” Spencer sighed. “He was so pretty though. Like sleepy pretty, not the way we see him at work.”

Penelope was just sitting there, sighing.

“What!” Spencer said, playing with a piece of dirt that was caught between his nails.

“Nothing. You are just so, so fucked.”

“I know!” Spencer dropped it and threw his hands to his face. “He’s just so… AH! I feel like a teenage girl.”

“Considering your looks, you might not be far off.”

“Hey!”

“Kidding, but really, you need to tell him. It’s gotta happen eventually.”

“No, I don’t want to ruin our friendship for my own feelings, it’s selfish.”

“Have you ever considered he might feel the same way?” Penelope asked, and Spencer just stared back at her. “You’re telling me you haven’t?”

“I just haven’t thought about it, of course it’s a probability but the chance that he likes me back is just so low. Did you know the chance of your crush liking you back is-” Spencer was cut off when Derek walked into the room, right into the middle of a conversation he had no idea was about him.

“Thank you for saving me from that,” Penelope said.

“Hotch needs you both at the round table,” was all Derek said, smirking at both of them.

“We’ll be there soon.” Spencer said, staring as Derek left the room. “Do you think he heard any of that?”

“You talk too fast and I wasn’t really keeping up very well, but no, I don’t think he knows it was about him at the very least.”

“Thank god.” Spencer sighed. “Come on, I don’t want to be yelled at by Hotch again.”

“Guess whatttttt!” Penelope said, with everyone mingling around their desks on a chilly December morning, having not been called in on a case yet for the day.

“Did someone die?” Emily asked, taking a headcount of everyone there, all BAU team members accounted for.

“What? No, oh my god Em. Unrelated to death, we get to have a secret santa!” She exclaimed, and everyone's faces lit up with smiles.

“Strauss thinks it would be good for us to bond over the holidays,” Hotch said, cracking a small smile.

“Yeah yeah, anyways write your names on these,” Penelope all handed them a torn piece of paper, “and put it in the magic hat.” She held out a small colorful beret she sometimes wore to work and mixed up all the names that were placed in it. “Now who wants to go first?” She asked, looking around the room eagerly.

“Can I go, Pen?” JJ asked, walking up to the hat.

“Why of course my dear,” Penelope said, dropping into a bow but making sure none of the names spilled out.

This went on for ten minutes until everyone had someone picked out. Penelope then took the last name out of the hat for herself before snugly fitting the hat back onto her head.

Spencer looked at the slip of paper he had gotten, and in all caps was the name Derek . He reminded himself that there was a 1 in 7 chance. A one in SEVEN chance. Maybe the universe just hated him, he mused to himself, trying to keep a poker face while slipping the paper into his pocket. He would tell Penelope about this later, because even though they were supposed to keep it a secret, she would want to know about this.

Derek did the same as everyone and glanced at his small slip of paper but did a double take when he saw the name scrawled on the parchment. Spencer Reid, was all it said in black ink. Great, of course he got his best friend, whom of which he was inconveniently in love with at the moment. He tried to keep his facial expression neutral, as there was a team full of profilers watching and if he even showed the slightest amount of emotion right now, it might give away who he had drawn.

“Now as per the rules of our lovely unit chief, no gifts above $20, and no telling who you got, as it would ruin the game. We will exchange gifts on the 24th and our lovely Rossi has agreed to let us use his home for the gift exchange.” Penelope described the rules, gesturing over to Rossi.

“Not home, mansion” He corrected, smiling.

A few days later, after agonizing over whether or not he should tell Penelope about his crush on Spencer, Derek texts Penelope. Everyone is asleep on the jet home except for Spencer and him. Spencer is reading a book at a million miles an hour, and Derek is on his phone. However every few seconds in between texts he would look up at the doctor, who always looked so peaceful and serene while reading.

New iMessage from: Garcia

You’re kidding me.

Derek smiled at his phone and typed,

No, I’m not. And I got him for secret santa too. I am so fucked, aren’t I?

He finished typing and set his phone on his lap, glancing at Spencer again while waiting for a response. Well, he thought, less of a glance, more of a stare. He zoned out looking at the younger man, memorizing the way his hands ran over the page. Suddenly the doctor looked up, and they looked in the eyes for a moment before they both quickly looked away. He felt a buzz on his chest and feeling grateful to have an excuse to look at something other than him, continued his conversation with Penelope.

Garcia: First of all you weren’t supposed to tell me the secret santa thing, second of all, I can feel you staring at him from here. You are so in love it makes me sick.

Penelope rummaged around her office in Quantico, cleaning up before the team arrived and they all got to go home. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and took it out, Morgan again.

Derek: I know, but I had to tell somebody because I’m going crazy over it. I don’t know what to get him. He deserves something better than some random book.

Garcia: My sweet, I promise you he will love anything you get him.

Derek: You sure?

Garcia: I am sure.

Garcia: And if you don’t go to sleep right now Derek Morgan I will strangle you when you get back.

Derek: Fine fine, we’ll be back in an hour. You should get some rest too, go home.

Garcia: Like hell I’m leaving before you all get back here safely. I’ll wait.

They landed in Quantico about an hour later, and as promised, Derek was asleep for about 30 minutes when the jet landed and jolted everyone awake. They all walked back into the building together, tired as all hell even though most of them got sleep on the plane.

“Hey, kid,” Derek said, walking with Spencer to his desk. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Nope,” Spencer said, packing up his things, avoiding looking Derek in the eye.

“Are you alright?” Derek asked, and Spencer froze in his tracks. There were a million things he could’ve said at that moment, but he just continued packing his things after a muttered ‘yea,’. “You know you can talk to me, right?” Derek asked, but Spencer just started thinking about how no, actually he could not talk to him because talking to him about the particular thing he was feeling at the moment would ruin their friendship and Spencer didn’t know if he could take any heartbreak at the moment considering he was tired and about to break down into tears.

“Please, just go to your office, Morgan. I don’t want to talk.” Was all he said, and as Derek walked away a single tear slipped down Spencer’s cheek, which he aggressively rubbed away. The rest of the team was either too busy wrapping up or too tired to notice the distress Spencer was in at the moment.

Derek walked to his office, trying not to burst into tears. When he closed his door he immediately started crying, though. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He hated seeing Spencer in danger, which is exactly where every case put him. And he was always so cold to him, like working with him now was a pain, a formality that must be gone through with. The glance on the plane was a spark of hope before, that maybe Spencer felt the same way, but it was put out by the way he acted earlier. He didn’t know anymore.

He knocked on Penelope’s door, hoping that the technical analyst hadn’t gone home yet. And she hadn't; she was sitting in her chair, knitting when Derek came in. She jumped up, giving him a kiss on the cheek when he arrived.

“God I am so happy to see that you are safe and well and a million other good things.”

“Actually, safe and well might be the only two good things I feel at the moment, Pen.”

“Alright, talk to me. What happened.” She said, moving her way over to sit down with Derek, rubbing his back.

“I don’t know. There was a moment, on the plane, while I was texting you that I thought maybe, maybe he felt the same way but when we got back he was so cold. It was like he was trying to distance himself from me in every way.”

“Ok, well you’re the profiler. Tell me exactly what he said.”

“Babygirl I don’t remember-”

“I think you do.” Penelope said, crossing her arms at him.

“I do. He said, ‘Please, just go to your office, Morgan. I don’t want to talk.’ He sounded sad, and he said please, which means he was probably expecting me to stay.” Derek had a moment of realization before putting his head in his hands. “I should’ve stayed, oh my god I should have-”

“Hey, hey there is nothing you can do now. Deep breaths. And you’re right. Those sound like the words of someone who is trying to push you away for their own good. And I’ve heard them before,” She said, punching Derek softly in the shoulder. “I don’t think he wants you to leave, Der. I think he just needs some time to figure out himself, first.”

“Do you think he likes me?”

“I can’t say for sure,” (She definitely could) “But I’d say he does.”

“About the secret santa,”

“Hun, I don’t care that you told me.”

“No, not that. What should I get him?”

“I already told you. He would love a ‘random book’” She did air quotes around what Derek had said over text earlier. “But you should make it special, write a note inside or something.”

“You know what…” Derek started, getting an idea. “I think I will.”

“Great, glad I could be of help. Now if you will excuse me, I have to be back here in 6 hours now, and I would like to go home for at least 4 of those.

“Well don’t let me get in the way.” Derek said, smiling at her and backing out of the office.

Spencer spent the rest of that night overthinking, trying to sleep but only falling unconscious for 3 hours before his blaring alarm woke him up. Did I push him away? He thought to himself, lying awake.

Spencer texted Penelope on his way into work, and even though he wasn’t much of a texting person, he didn’t have the time to make a call right now. All his text said was: I really messed up this time, Garcia. She replied as he was walking into the office, What did you do? Although Penelope, of course, had some inkling of what the young doctor was talking about. They had a few minutes before work officially started for the day, and Hotch hadn’t given them a case yet so he strode directly to Penelope’s office, not bothering to set down anything.

Spencer knocked on the door before coming in, and closed the door before sitting down.

“Alright, so spill.” She said, crossing her legs. Her office was becoming less and less of a technical analysis space and more of a therapist’s couch.

“I pushed him away. I was tired and angry and I pushed him away.”

“Slow down, slow down. I’m sure he didn’t take it that way, all of you were feeling that way last night.”

“No but he seemed angry with me too and I-”

“I can promise you. He probably was angry at first and regretted it, and now he’s thinking the same thing you are. Make an effort today to reach out to him, you’ll be surprised.”

“You sound like JJ reading my horoscope.”

“Maybe I can just see into the future.”

“Yeah right, and anyways that isn’t the end of it. I know I’m not supposed to tell you but I got Derek for the secret santa thing.” Spencer sighed into this coffee that was pressed against his lips, and after taking a sip, said, “I’m starting to really hate you for putting this together, because I have no idea what to give him.”

“Maybe get him something he likes,”

“Yeah, but what does he even like? Music?” Spencer asked, setting his coffee cup on the table beside him. “But I don’t even know what or who he listens to. All I know is he likes music and I feel like I don’t know anything about him right now.”

“Football. He likes football.” Garcia said, also trying to think of things her best friend would enjoy as a present.

“Ok that’s a start, what about football is there…”

“No, no scratch that. Do you know how to make a mix of music on a CD?”

“Garcia, you know I can barely work a printer.”

“I’ll help you. I made his playlist that he listens to on the jet so I know what he likes. All you have to do is give it to him.”

“Wow, thanks Penelope. I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t. Say anything that is, just go catch a serial killer and I’ll have it ready by the end of the day.”

As promised, at the end of the day Spencer walked into Penelope’s office and she had a CD ready for him. It was a relatively short case, a local one that had the team home before 8pm. Everyone was in a good mood, but decided to go home early while they had the rare chance.

“Ok here it is, loverboy. Just so you know you can write on it with Sharpie and it won’t mess up the disc.” She winked and handed it to him, Spencer blushing and turning around to make sure no one was at the door.

“Thank you, Penelope. Really.”

“It’s nothing. Thank me when you finally confess your love to that himbo.”

“What’s a-”

“You know what, I’m not explaining that to you. Go home, try and go to sleep early tonight.” She said, pushing him out the door with his new CD. As the door closed in his face, Spencer started to say,

“Have a nice-” But it closed before he could say “-night.” He sighed and walked down the hall, carrying his CD and bag with him towards the elevator. He didn’t expect to see anyone else, but lo and behold Derek Morgan walking towards the elevator at the same time.

“Hey, Reid.” He said, stepping into the elevator with him.

“Hey,” Spencer replied, glancing everywhere but into Derek’s eyes. They were about level, height-wise, and this made it harder for Spencer to avoid his gaze, so he just stared down at the ground.

“Look, if you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. I just want to know why.” Spencer’s face heated up in shame, and he looked to Derek.

“I’m sorry that I’ve been acting so cold lately. I’ve been having a hard time, but Garcia helped me realize I shouldn’t be shutting people like you who care about me out.”

“Garcia helped you realize-” Derek paused, thinking. “How long have you two been talking?” He asked, curious.

“Pretty much every day since September.”

“Ok ok, I see.” Spencer didn’t question the way Derek asked how long he’d been talking to Garcia, and switched the topic of conversation.

“Four days and counting until the Secret Santa party.” He said, glancing back at Derek.

“Yeah, you excited?”

“Mostly excited to see who mine is.” Spencer said, staring at the elevator doors, which had just opened. “Have a good night,” He said, walking out the doors of the building, rushing towards his car.

“Yeah, you too.” He said, but Derek knew that Spencer was long gone by now. Derek left the building and walked towards his car, starting it and leaving the parking lot as quick as he got here this morning.

The day of the Secret Santa party, Hotch had one case for them. When they got to the round table, everyone was pretty disappointed, because cases often meant that they came back late and in a bad mood. But it turned out that this one was just an hours drive away, and even quicker on the jet, so everyone hopped in, hoping that this wouldn’t take long.

The case only ended up lasting the day, as the killer was sloppy and left behind an extensive trial. The BAU team boarded the jet wondering why they were even called in to help in the first place.

“Hey, at least this means you all can still come over tonight.” Rossi said positively.

“Yeah, everyone’s coming, right?” JJ said, scanning the plane, but no one spoke up. Just nods of heads to confirm that they were all going.

They all took their seperate cars to Rossi’s, with Emily riding with JJ because she left her car at her apartment and took the subway.

When Spencer got there, the house was lit up. Rossi and Hotch had been the first ones to arrive, and shortly after Spencer the rest came filing in the door, joking and laughing with everyone. Spencer caught sight of everyone holding their gifts, wondering which bag or wrapped box was for him. Penelope was the last to come in, taking off her shoes at the door like everyone else and smiling at him with a wrapped present.

“Not for you,” She said, seeing the look on his face “That comes later.”

They all ate good food and talked and drank wine that night, and everything seemed perfect for that moment in time.

“Ok, ok. It is time for the event that we all came here for to take place!” Penelope said, a little wine drunk, standing up and grabbing her present. “Here’s what’s gonna happen, everyone stand up and go find whoever you were assigned. That’s it, good luck.”

They all rose from their seats to go find their assigned person. Spencer just silently waited. He knew he had Morgan, but he wanted to receive his present first and then find Derek because he was a little more… personal, and he didn’t want anyone getting in the way. Just then Derek made his way to him . No, no way is this happening, he thought, terrified and excited at the same time.

“Spencer Reid,” He said, handing the doctor a poorly wrapped present “I believe this is for you.”

“Oh my god,” Reid said, eyes darting between the present and Morgan.

“What?” Derek asked, visibly confused.

“Here. You were who I was assigned.” Spencer said bluntly, shoving the small present towards him.

“What are the odds,” Derek said, and then added as Spencer opened his mouth “please do not actually tell me the odds,” and they both laughed, unwrapping their gifts to each other. Spencer, since he got his gift first, unwrapped it faster and found a book.

“Derek, I love this,” It was a book he had never read before, and from the many books Spencer Reid had read, there weren’t a lot of those left. “Thank you.” He said, looking at him. He thumbed through the pages as the scent of the new book filled the air around them.

“Look at the inside cover.” Derek said, with a hint of shakiness in his voice.

“Only if you look at the CD.” Derek was holding the case in his hands, not taking the disc out itself yet. He was going to listen to it on the car ride home, he had told himself.

“Ok,” Derek wondered what was written on the CD. Probably just a funny playlist name or some fun fact about music, he thought dismissively. At the same time he pulled the disc gently from it’s casing, Spencer opened the cover to the book. In Spencer’s scrawled handwriting, Derek made out the words ‘I love you.’ written in black sharpie on the disc. As Spencer opened the book, he found Derek’s bold lettering on the cover page, saying ‘I love you.’

At the same time, they both looked at each other and came to a realization that this was not platonic. This wasn’t the way friends said they loved each other. And they both realized that the other felt the same way that they had been feeling for months.

“I love you too,” They both said at the same time, both letting out a laugh and realizing what happened.

“My place after this?” Derek asked under his breath.

“Most definitely.” Spencer replied, leaving Derek with a kiss on the cheek to go talk to Penelope.

#moreid #moreid fic #i love them!!#fanfiction #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fic #spencer reid #derek morgan #tooth rotting fluff.#fluff #light angst

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revisitingstoneybrook · 3 years

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#6 Kristy’s Big Day: Chapter 2

Ann Martin really knows nothing about planning weddings.

Here's where our typical BSC spin on things starts up. So on Saturday, they picked a date for the wedding, Kristy's going to be a bridesmaid, and the icing on the cake is Elizabeth told Kristy she could wear heels with her dress. Yay! But then, on Wednesday, things fall apart. Uh oh! Does Watson the Millionaire miss all the kinky shit and want to get back with Lisa?

Kristy comes home from school to find Elizabeth there. She glumly tells Kristy that her company (one of the many ad agencies that BSC parents work for) wants to send her on a business trip to Europe. Kristy immediately starts begging for Elizabeth to take her along and Elizabeth says she'd love to but can't, as it's during the school year. Patience, Kristy. Your time will come.

And no, Elizabeth isn't leaving right away. She's leaving come September, you know, when Kristy starts 8th grade for the first of 68 times. And she’s supposed to be in Vienna on the day she was planning on getting married. Well, Watson's a millionaire. Bring the whole family to Vienna and do a destination wedding! Only, since this is the BSC, they'd have to invite the entire club.

Kristy tells her to just push the wedding back a month and Elizabeth said she was planning on doing that, until she got a phone call at work. It was her realtor, who's already found a buyer for their house, two days after it was put on the market. Um, what? That seems really, really fast. Then again, the house is in a primo location. You're right in one of the hottest BSC neighborhoods! Childcare for next to nothing! Yes, the BSC affects the housing market in Stoneybrook.

Great news, right? Well, not really. The family (we later learn it’s the infamous Perfect Perkinses) is in a rush and willing to pay the asking price. But Mr. Perkins is in such a rush, he wants to move in by July 15th. That's in about one month. Ok, what the hell. Is it that realistic to close on a house that quickly? With contracts and the bank’s approval and all the inspections and re-inspections? Then again, this is the Perkins family buying it. The purchase will go off without a hitch. Myriah's probably their lawyer.

Kristy, needless to say, is shocked and must agree with me because she tells Elizabeth it'll be impossible to pull off. Well, with the Perkins family, you never know. Those girls are magical. Kristy wants her mom to sell the house to someone else and Elizabeth says no one else is going to offer them as much money as the Perkinses are. “Well, what do we need money for? You're marrying Watson,” is Kristy's response. Geez, first Watson the Millionaire is a jerk, now he's a Sugar Daddy? And no, not this Sugar Daddy.

Sorry, Claudia.

Elizabeth explains to Kristy that she doesn't want Watson the Millionaire to feel obligated to have to pay for things like her children's college tuition. So the money (or half of it, since half belongs to her deadbeat ex Patrick) is going towards college. What does this have to do with the wedding? Elizabeth and Watson the Millionaire are getting married at the end of June and the Thomases are moving into the MANSION two weeks after that.

Holy shit. Planning a wedding in TWO WEEKS?! I mean, if they were going for a little thing like Sharon and Richard later do, maybe. But they're obviously not. How will they get vendors and stuff on such short notice? Are they going to get the neighbors to bring flowers? Because only Ramona Quimby's aunt could get away with that.

And why must the wedding be now? Why can't they just move into the MANSION and have the wedding in October and not spend two weeks freaking out about everything? If they have issues about living together before the wedding, live in separate wings. Lord knows the MANSION's big enough, if Kristy's talking about her brothers getting suites of rooms if they ask nicely. Just stay away from the third floor so Karen doesn't go nuts. Or if they have to get married now, have a small ceremony at city hall and go for a big ceremony and reception after Elizabeth comes back from Europe. Why am I so perplexed over a BSC book?

David Michael comes home from school as Elizabeth gets a phone call from a friend of hers and tells her friend that the wedding will be in two and a half weeks. As soon as Elizabeth hangs up, she freaks the fuck out when she realizes what she's gotten herself into. David Michael, fascinated and at the same time terrified, holds Kristy's hand and watches their mom go nuts over what to do about flowers, dresses (she says they need to find a dressmaker...wouldn't buying off-the-rack and having it altered be easier?), food. I guess invitations are out the window because she says she'll have to tell relatives about it.

“Planning a wedding is like having a baby. You need time to prePARE things!” Uh, Elizabeth, you just realized this now? Oh and their guest list is around 300 people. Planning a wedding for 300 people in two and a half weeks. Is Elizabeth INSANE?!

Finding some grasp on reality, Elizabeth admits that they'll never be able to book a reception hall, so the mansion’s yard will be the venue. While she freaks out over decorations and what to do if it rains, Kristy suggests she call Watson the Millionaire, while Elizabeth tells herself she'll call Watson the Millionaire. She disappears into her bedroom (ooooooooooooooooh) and comes back later, looking somewhat saner. But it doesn't last long because she opens up a kitchen cabinet and starts sorting pots and pans out. Oh my...planning a wedding AND packing up a whole house to move at the same time.

David Michael launches into one of his talents, whining, and Kristy joins in too. I always liked Kristy's line about David Michael is a champion whiner because he can turn one-syllable words into multi-syllabic words. Well both kids don't want to...oh wait. Let me rephrase. They don't wanna move. They wanna stay he-ere.

Elizabeth shoots them a Look (now we see where Kristy gets it from) and David Michael gives her a quick apology before running out of the kitchen with Louie. Kristy, being as stubborn as she is, argues with her mom about how she promised they wouldn't move until the fall. Uh, Kristy, she never promised anything. She just said the wedding would be in September and wasn't expecting these two bombs to drop on them. Kristy says she doesn't want to spend this summer at Watson's and Elizabeth points out she'll be spending the next summer at Watson's. And the one after that and the one after that. And guess what...you'll be 13 throughout all of them, Kristy!

But Kristy wants one last summer on Bradford Court with the BSC and Mary Anne (that's the same thing!) and...Jamie Newton (um, ok) and the Pikes (except Mallory...and don't the Pikes live on Slate Street?). Elizabeth apologizes but tells her this is how things have to be now. Upset, Kristy storms upstairs to her room. Might I add, bonus points to Ann Martin for actually having Kristy act like a 13-year-old here and not some strange tween/adult hybrid.

Up in her room, Kristy stares out the window that looks into Mary Anne's bedroom. She isn't there, she's out babysitting Jenny Prezzioso (because no one else in the BSC will...bitches) and Kristy's glad for that so she can just think things over. You know if she told Mary Anne the news she just got, she'd cry so much her room would fill up with tears and overflow into Kristy's, like when Pearl cries on Spongebob.

Kristy waxes nostalgic on the good and bad that happened at those windows. Their infamous flashlight code they had to develop because Richard wouldn't let Mary Anne use the phone (now he lets her talk on the phone like a normal person, according to Kristy), giving each other the silent treatment by pulling the shade down, sailing paper airplane messages back and forth. While she thinks about picking out a similar room at the mansion and decorating it the same way as her current room, Elizabeth calls her down to help her with planning this extravagant wedding in two and a half weeks. She wants her to write down the names she calls out from their address book. Kristy also notices the pots and pans have been put away. Packing's waiting until later.

Well what do you know...most of the guests are from out of state and a lot of them have kids. Hello foreshadowing! And hey, you guys. Kristy says weddings are hard to plan! Thank you for stating the obvious, Kristy.

#babysitters club #kristy's big day #kristy thomas #bsc #snark

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juuls · 4 years

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Pinned: Writing Updates

Hiya folks! ^_^ With this new pinned post feature, I figured it would be a good spot to put updates on how my writing is going (or not). As most of you know, mental and physical illness and recovery keep me from writing either quickly or easily, and I know that bothers or puts off some of you. Believe me, I feel guilty a lot of the time I’m not writing, but I know that nobody wants me to feel like this is a job, that I should enjoy what I do, and I try my best to just relax and let the writing come to me. It has always been a grueling task for me, and my words fight me, but I choose to see this as a labour of love. Thank you, everyone, for your support (and for holding up my fragile, rebuilding, self-confidence/ego :P). Managing chronic pain and illnesses along with fairly rapid-cycling Bipolar II makes things a bit messy, but I keep pushing because writing (and you amazing readers) means so much to me. 💜

UPDATE September 4th: see below “Read More”

Previous update, August 21st: Still only about 2400 words into chapter 28 of Cross, and I deleted Hurricane due to reasons but will be working on it bit by bit to instead post it as a single-chapter fic later on when people aren’t so busy anymore. Means I can focus on Cross though, which is all people want from me anyway. S’all good! Looking forward to moving that story along anyway.

Still have @grlie-girl’s Mansom fic, which is an MTH-adjacent fic. But then that’s it! Then I’ll start back up on Deliverance, my Stuckony kidfic, and keep moving Cross along. :) I’ve also been doing quite a lot of brainstorming for my original fiction series, which will be a combo SciFi-Fantasy series with magic and tech both, along with an eventual triad relationship! I’m really excited for it, even if it takes me decades more to write. xD

Works in Progress:

Hanging From a Cross of Iron: Fem!Tony Stuckony, time travel and soulmate AU. Just posted chapter 27 on July 19th! Yay! I’m about 2400 words into chapter 28 and I’m forging ahead as mental and physical health allows. But I think... maybe before the end of August? Thank you, everyone, for your kindness and patience!

Stony MTH fic for @ishipallthings: Fem!Tony Stony, Pacific Rim AU. Natasha Stark/Steve Rogers (Earth-3490) Get Together fic. @sparkly-angell is awesome and helping me by being a soundboard and beta. 5-15k. Will post it all together at a later date instead of chapter by chapter.

Deliverance: Stuckony kid fic, post-Avengers but in the alternate timeline that occurs after Avengers: Endgame. Have not forgotten about this, but it dropped in priority once I sorta over-committed myself to MTH, whoops. I’ll be back to this, though. :)

Gift fic for @grlie-girl, Mansom: (Marta/Ransom) from Knives Out. Dirty, filthy, femme!Domme Sugar Mama post-canon oneshot. I may need a second account to post this pile of filthy hot lava. ;)

Recently Finished Works:

Thread Work: Stuckony wingfic featuring Tony’s sister Darcy, written for MTH.

Ten Days: PepperStuckony bodyguard AU written for MTH for @tehroserose and @astudyinsolitude-writes.

Bad: a ShockStuckony get-together, meddling matchmaker Darcy fic, written for MTH.

I will try to keep this up to date but sometimes I’ll forget. Check back occasionally to see if I’m any closer to updating! I love all of my readers and commenters, and am so blessed to have you choose to read my work. Thank you so much. So so much. I’m sorry for the wait, but I’m a comeback kid, I promise. Sending love, and be safe and healthy and good to those around you.

Love, <3 Juulna

UPDATE September 4th: I’m going to put up a separate post, probably, but what’s going on is this... I obviously have Bipolar II and have learned to ride the ups and downs pretty well in recent years, even if some things still surprise me on occasion. But what I’ve never been able to properly treat or learn to deal with is anxiety. I’ve always had GAD (general anxiety) but it’s been untreated since I had so much other shitty health to focus on. Prioritization, right? And I needed all my faculties to not end up dead at the hands or by the gun of my ex. Then, after I left, I was making strides in recovering from the severe abuse and trauma at my ex-husband’s hands, sharp tongue, and actions from July 2017 until... well, it’s still an ongoing process, but this whole year, part of 2019 too, has been a lot better on the healing front. The strides I was making helped me focus on things other than my anxiety, but after dealing with those things, the anxiety started crawling insistently in.

Didn’t help that I finally felt up to checking out what was going on in the world more often. And it’s been good for me, it has... in that I’ve become better educated in the awfulness of the world, which has allowed me to call out racists, ‘Truthers’, and other asshole bigots who remind me of my ex. The downside of all that is that I am way over-empathetic and am appalled at the absolute.... *makes incoherent helpless noises*... just, appalled at EVERYTHING. And I am afraid. And worried. And angry. And a slew of other words that I’m sure every one of you get. You’re all intelligent; you know what’s going on in the world.

And sometimes I devolve into apathy, sometimes sleepless nights (I get about 16-20 hours of sleep a WEEK right now, which should be in the 40-60 hour range, frankly), increased pain on top of the fuckton I’m already in, worsening migraines, dizziness, and the intrusive thoughts of my bipolar depression keep telling me there’s an easy way out of this all. That’s when I knew I needed to do something. So sitting down with my loving father and my caring psychotherapist, I put together a list of my symptoms, what I wanted to tackle most, what I was willing to let go, how all of it interacted (cocktail medications, which I’m already on, can be dangerous and deadly), and then put together a proposal for my doctor, who’s been my family practitioner for two decades.

When you hit the point of panic attacks weekly, and not being able to sleep, even with a double dose of your sleep medication... when you don’t want to watch the things that bring you some modicum of joy for fear of aspects reminding you about the real world... when you wish you simply didn’t exist anymore... you need help. I needed help, and I won’t shy away from discussing that in a public setting, for the simple fact that someone who reads this might need to hear that it’s not the end all be all, not the end of the line, not the end of your life. So with the support of my father and my therapist, who I spoke to last night and this morning, respectively, in advance of my doctor’s appoint this afternoon... My doctor listened attentively to me and gave me permission to go on benzodiazepines again. I will be taking one daily, the one that doesn’t have nearly as great a spike of effect, but lasts longer and steadier, and will also be taking the other, spikier one, as the equivalent of a rescue inhaler for the next panic attack.

I’m not trying to hide from what’s going on in the world. But there is a line I need to learn to respect in how much news I look for, how I consume it, and how I let myself run away with myself at any injustice I see. And fuck, there is a lot. I will still be keeping abreast of the news, still educating myself, still engaging in discussions with people I trust to be kind to my mental state as best they can in the situation, and other things. This will simply make it so I don’t devolve into an incoherent mess of a breakdown/panic attack, and most importantly it will keep me from suicide. It’s never been much of a threat for me, but lately...? Let’s just say I am a bit more concerned than usual.

Gotta love brains, eh? Mental illness sucks. But this is one way I can take control. Other ways include the Nutrisystem diet I recently started, going for regular walks with my pupper and dad, reading 42 Sci-Fi/Fantasy books and counting in 2020, breathing exercises, removing harmful elements from my life even if that pains me in the moment... I’m making progress in other areas.

But what does this mean for my writing? Well. Good question. The last few times I took the stronger of these two medications (on a more daily, vs rescue, basis), well, I didn’t write hardly at all. I have hopes for being able to write during this, with the more steady medication, but I also have to feel happy to write, and the state of the world isn’t going to give me much opportunity to feel that for months yet, if not years (go and goddamn vote)... so yeah. But I realized that I don’t put myself first in big ways like this. And this time I need to. If the writing happens, that’s wonderful. If it doesn’t? Well, I’ll settle for less anxiety and not being dead, and I hope that that’s okay with y’all. I know it’s frustrating when a favourite author takes ages to update, and I’ve always been fairly guilty of that... but you all know that I ALWAYS come back. That’s what I do. I love this community, this fandom, my beta, my readers... you make it all worth coming back to.

So please, all I ask is that you be patient with me. I’m experiencing a pretty severe mental health crisis and not holding on too solidly. But I’m thinking of you. Thinking of all of you, and just how much I appreciate you.

With love,

Juulna / Meg

#my writing #stuckony #stucky #stony #female tony stark #hanging from a cross of iron #deliverance #firecracker #marvel trumps hate #updates #status update #masterpost #of a sorts #hurricane #mth 2019

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blakemetothemoon · 4 years

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Love in a Laundromat - SaifahZon, M, Ch. 4/?

Summary: Zon's favorite place is a laundromat. That is until a certain tall, handsome stranger steals his washer and seems hellbent on making Zon miserable.

Notes: HI SORRY I'M BACK. I finished a book in September where I had to write 14k words in two weeks, so my brain ended up needing a break from writing haha but I'm so excited to write these two again! Thank you for your patience! Also you may notice the rating has bumped up.......

Read below or on ao3! :)

A week later, Zon opens the door to the laundromat and steps into the threshold.

And freezes. At least until the glass door smacks him in the back, sending him stumbling forward.

"Are you serious?" Zon gapes when he finds his bearings.

Saifah grins at him from the bench. Over the hum of the washer he’s using, a pleasant melody as he gently strums his fingers across the strings of the guitar he’s holding. "Very."

"I said it could be fun,” Zon says, doing his best to sound annoyed but excitement flutters in his stomach like obnoxious butterflies. “I didn't mean to bring your guitar!"

"Well, you didn't give me your number so it's not like I could set up a date somewhere else."

Zon chooses to quickly slide past that word and how it doesn't make him giddy. "But here? In the laundromat?"

"I already asked Mrs. Appletil.”

“We won’t even be able to hear each other!”

Zon regrets the words immediately when the smile on those enticing lips pulls wider. “We’ll just need to sit very close to each other.”

Zon sputters and quickly rushes past the bench to his washer. He shoves his clothes in, purposefully focused. Saifah begins to strum again, going from one line of music to another, none of which Zon recognizes so they have to be a Saifah original.

Suddenly, Saifah plays a new melody and Zon's ears perk up.

"Wait!” Zon shouts. The song jerks to a stop as Saifah jumps, startled. “That last one.”

Saifah raises an eyebrow. “This one?” he asks, then strums the notes he’d just played.

"Yeah!” Zon exclaims, nodding his head. “Can you play it again? Is there more?"

Before Saifah can answer, Zon races to his backpack and unzips it. He pulls out his notebook and frantically flips through it. He's practically bouncing with excitement when he turns the tattered page Saifah's way so the other boy can see it. "Do you think these lyrics make sense with it?"

Saifah tilts his head, squinting as he looks over the messy scrawl of Zon’s handwriting. "It's hard to know without hearing them."

Eagerness momentarily pausing, Zon doesn't even need Saifah's challenging little smirk to understand what he's asking him to do. He glances around. The laundromat is as empty as always except them and Mrs. Appletil. And (apparently) Zon singing wouldn't be anything unusual to her.

Still, it takes him a moment to compose and convince himself. He chews on his bottom lip, then sighs. “Okay.”

He settles onto the bench. Saifah is right—they do need to sit closer than normal. Zon tries to tame his racing heart. A blush stings his cheeks when Saifah’s shoulder brushes his. Zon stumbles through the first line, but Saifah gives him a gentle smile, flawlessly replaying the opening notes without missing a beat. His encouraging nod gives Zon the courage to start again.

And you ask, “Do you think in a different time

We could have been happy

And you could stay mine?”

And I hug you close and say, “I hope so.”

But this heartbreak is all we know, for now...

Somehow they read each other perfectly and trail off at the same time. Zon isn’t sure he sounded his best, but he can’t help grinning and his chest is tight and warm, and oh, Zon thinks. that just made me really fucking happy?

"So…,” Zon begins. He’s breathless like he ran twelve miles. “What do you think?"

Saifah's voice sounds hoarse when he says, "I think I need to hear it one more time."

Zon pouts. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Dude, I’m not! Why do you think I’m always making fun of you?”

Because that’s what everybody does. But the words feel too weak and stupid to say out loud.

An awkward silence settles between them as Zon searches for a reply and Saifah waits for one. He must realize he probably won’t get one because he sighs and shakes his head. Zon knows where this is going. Saifah is gonna set down his guitar and pull out his phone, done with Zon’s whiplash, insecurities. The warm feeling Zon had while they played together simmers to a dull ache and Zon already misses it.

But, to Zon’s shock, Saifah doesn’t turn away. He doesn’t set his guitar down and he doesn’t pull out his phone. He just gives Zon another smile and says, “You know, you should come perform with me at the coffee house sometime.”

“M-Me? Performing? In front of people?” Zon’s hands are already sweaty just thinking about it. “You’re crazy.”

There’s another long pause. If Zon didn’t know better, he might think Saifah is leaning in closer to Zon, tilting his head at the same time his eyes seem to trace the plains of Zon’s face—from his brown eyes to nose to his lips. Like breaking himself out of a spell, Saifah pulls away and clears his throat. “Yeah. I’m okay with it, though.”

And then Saifah plays his guitar and invites Zon to sing again before Zon can convince himself he’s imagined the whole thing.

#SaifahZon #SaiZon #ZonSaifah #blakemetothemoon #Why R U #why r u the series #fanfic #fic

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mostlycompetentwriter · 5 years

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It’s All About The Game (Part 3)

Pairing: OC X Seo Changbin (Stray Kids)

Genre: High School AU, Enemies to Lovers, Sports Fiction

Warnings: Smut and Language

Word Count: 12K

Summary: Changbin is back from his family’s villa and Kayda is surprised that the handsome boy is still interested in pursuing her. Kayda, encouraged by her new friends, is willing to try this whole dating thing. Unfortunately, nobody ever told her that turning down Seo Changbin for prom would turn into such a cataclysmic event.

August

Life without Jisung is a summer’s day missing sunshine, clouds obscuring the crystal-blue sky with ugly gray layers threatening to fall at any moment. It was a lack of fresh air after being stuck inside a room watching the walls as they slowly caved in around you. A unique kind of pain that I felt deep in my soul because there is nothing to stop it from hurting.

A new academic year was right around the corner and I had not spoken to Jisung since last semester. He never responded to my sudden message back in June, leaving me to anxiously worry about him while I prayed to receive any form of communication to alleviate my concerns. At this point, I was willing to accept anything from him even if it was just one word sent directly to my inbox.

But those places where Jisung had left a noticeable absence in my heart were sternly occupied by Changbin, even if our summer together meant video calls and late-night text messages. Our relationship was still tentative, somewhere bordering between an intimacy shared between two people who considered themselves as more than just friends. A kind of relationship that I had never experienced before, but Changbin was surprisingly willing to give me space when I would ask, demonstrating himself to be a reliable confidant. Despite our rocky start together, I was now certain of my feelings for him. And without Changbin present over the summer, I was desperate for him to come home.

Of course, I don’t want to insinuate that Changbin’s friends weren't an acceptable company, inviting me to join them for dinners or to attend a movie together. But it wasn’t the same as being with Jisung and Changbin even as I tried to remain enthusiastic when Felix would randomly invite me out to play basketball. I’ve always been bad at hiding my feelings and I knew the others could pick up on my melancholic mood.

Thankfully, Changbin had finally sent me a well-appreciated message promising that he was planning to return the Sunday before school would start.

From Changbin:

I’ll come by and see you, Reynolds.

I schooled my enthusiasm, patiently waiting on the porch steps until Changbin’s car finally came into view, rolling to a stop along the sidewalk. Resisting the urge to run down the driveway, I concentrated on keeping a neutral expression, allowing a genuine smile when Changbin finally stepped out of the driver’s side door. “Reynolds,” he said, voice achingly familiar as I eliminated the distance between us, falling into his open arms. His heart was beating just as fast as mine, synchronized to the rapid rise and fall of our chests pressed together. “I missed you,” he said, pulling back to attach his lips to mine, kissing me with an urgency I had never experienced with him before.

I was caught off-guard, but Changbin’s grip remained persistent around my waist, swallowing my protests as I gasped into his mouth. But Changbin always had a way of easing me into these new and imposing situations, leading me by the hand while he demonstrated with an eagerness that was practically infectious and impossible not to share. “Changbin,” I finally managed, breaking our kiss because I was starting to grow light-headed. “You should warn a girl next time.”

“Couldn’t help it,” he said, warm against the side of my neck. “You definitely should have come with me, Reynolds.”

I grinned, unable to resist his charms. “Maybe next time.”

“Do you mean it?” he asked, eyes wide as he pulled back enough to meet finally look at me.

“Depends on how well you behave,” I teased him because this was the special dynamic I shared with Changbin and his returning smile told me that I wasn’t the only one who was aware.

“Honestly, Reynolds, it’s not a big deal,” Changbin said, maintaining a firm grip on my hand as he pulled me down the hallway.

It was easy enough for him to say since he was used to the attention. “Everyone’s looking,” I whispered, blushing under the watchful stares of my classmates.

“Let them,” Changbin insisted, pausing next to his locker. “They’ll get used to it.”

“But I won’t,” I complained, silently encouraging Changbin to exchange textbooks faster. “What if they ask questions?”

Changbin snorted. “Really? Why does this bother you so much, Reynolds?”

“It doesn't,” I insisted, straightening my stance. “I’m just not used to everyone paying attention to me.”

“Well, they’re all a bunch of gossips,” he said, whispering directly into my ear as if unaware of the effect it would have on me. “Let them talk.”

Changbin resumed his hold on my wrist and the two of us walked to first period together, finding a pair of desks at the back of the room. I quietly pulled out my used textbook, dusting off the cover. Meanwhile, I had yet to notice the way Changbin was currently looking at me. “What?”

He tapped his pencil against the side of my book. “Where did you get that, Reynolds? It looks used already.”

“That’s because it is,” I said. “I bought it online from an older student.”

“You shouldn’t use that,” Changbin declared, snatching the book from me with precision, elbowing his new edition in my direction. “Use mine for today. I’ll just buy another one.”

“Changbin,” I started, hesitantly considering the book. “I don’t want you to pay for something so expensive.”

“It’s not that much, Reynolds,” he insisted, but I could definitely offer protest because I saw the price for a new edition on Amazon. “Besides, you’re the brainiac anyway. You deserve this.”

My cheeks heated at his words. “But it’s really nice.”

“Of course it is,” Changbin said, flipping open the cover before pulling off the lid to his pen. “And now it’s yours.”

I watched as he scribbled my name across the front page. It almost physically hurt me to watch him devalue the textbook in one fatal swipe. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” Changbin insisted, expression warm as the instructor walked into our classroom.

I relaxed as the familiarities of the instructional setting eased me into a new lecture, complete with an impressive PowerPoint. I took notes diligently, ignoring the way Changbin would study me instead of the screen, chin propped in his upturned palm. I shook my head of the distraction because I had a shining 4.0 GPA to protect, a one-way ticket into the best colleges.

At the sound of the bell, I let out a deep breath while tucking my notes and Changbin’s expensive textbook into my bag. “I’ll see you at lunch, Reynolds,” Changbin said outside the classroom, holding me close for a moment longer than necessary. I waited until he was out of sight before hurrying in the opposite direction.

The front office was busy and I was growing impatient because I only had a ten-minute break before my next class. Still, my curiosity far outweighed the idea of receiving a late notice from my teacher. I was desperate for any information about Jisung, kindly asking the office secretary if she could tell me if Jisung was still enrolled. She offered me a bored nod, searching through the files on her computer while thoroughly testing my patience.

“Jisung is taking the semester off,” the lady informed me. “He’ll be back next term.”

“Really?” I questioned immediately. “Do you know what happened?”

“I can’t give out that information,” the lady said dismissively and I knew when I was pushing my luck.

September

Changbin and I settled into an easy routine. Since basketball had yet to start, the two of us often spent time at his house for hours after school. It was usually with great persuasion that I was able to leave at night because Changbin was growing more and more determined that I should just live with him. But I enjoyed spending time with Changbin even if it meant doing homework while he would (not so subtly) watch me from over the top of his textbook. In any case, I liked what we had together and Changbin was surprisingly nice to be around once he dropped the arrogant facade he insisted on maintaining for our classmates.

“What do you want to do, Reynolds?” Changbin asked me the moment we stepped inside his bedroom.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I have an essay due tomorrow.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Changbin acknowledged, lying across his bed with a sensual stretch.

“Can I borrow your computer?” I asked him shyly because I hated asking Changbin for something like that, but the library was crowded during this time of day.

“Of course,” he nodded, eyes closed as if considering the possibility of falling asleep while I was working.

I switched on his monitor, waiting patiently for the screen to load. Changbin had a really nice computer, equipped with a hard drive that could load dozens of applications with ease. It was fun to multitask when I had the ability right at the touch of my fingertips against the raised keyboard.

I relaxed in his office chair, thinking about the best way to open my assignment, when an obscene moan resounded through the speakers. I was immediately at attention, watching in horror as a scandalous video started to play right in front of my eyes. Almost immediately, Changbin was behind me, muttering a curse as he closed the browser with a resounding click!

We were both silent as I continued to look straight ahead, unable to forget the images I had seen. “Sorry, Reynolds,” Changbin finally apologized, leaning against the side of his desk with obvious shame written across his face.

“It’s okay,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ve just never seen....that.”

“You’ve never watched porn before?” Changbin asked, appearing entirely surprised by such an innocent revelation.

“No,” I said, gaze dropping from his.

“It’s not so bad,” Changbin said and I realized it sounded less defensive and more like someone trying to convince me.

“I mean,” I started, looking for the right thing to say. “I get that a lot of people watch it.”

“Yeah,” Changbin. “You know how we were talking about trying new things, Reynolds?”

I swallowed hard. “I remember.” It was a frequent topic of our summertime conversations.

“Maybe we could watch it together sometime,” he said, sounding more nervous than I was used to hearing from him.

“Really?”

“Only if you want to,” Changbin said. “Just as a next step or whatever.”

Honestly, the idea of watching porn was so incredibly taboo to me that I was surprised I could still form coherent sentences. “Okay.”

Changbin considered me for a moment, eyes searching my own. “Okay.”

October

Basketball workouts had started early this year because my coach was more determined than ever to push our team to the state championships. Apparently, she had a lot of confidence in the new players she had recruited. But whatever the case may be, I was suddenly spending a lot of time in the gym after school, body sore as I forced myself to run an extra mile before it was time to adjourn for the day.

On one such occasion, I was preparing my bag when I noticed that Changbin had entered the gym from the side doors, ignoring the envious stares from my teammates. I could see the perfect shine to his fancy docker-brand shoes in my peripheral vision. “Reynolds,” he said, drawing my attention.

“You stayed late?”

He nodded in response. “My parents are going out of town this weekend.”

“Oh?” I questioned absent-mindedly, zipping my bag closed.

Changbin cleared his throat. “I thought you could come over Friday night to uh-” he broke off as if unable to finish his sentence. I looked up at him, a silent invitation that he should continue. “Maybe try what we talked about before.”

I immediately caught-on to his implication, suddenly feeling far too flushed in the warm gymnasium. “Sure.”

Changbin nodded. “Is that alright?”

“Of course,” I assured him quickly, rising to my feet only to be met by his eyes suddenly very close to mine.

He was looking for something and whatever he found must have satisfied him. He brushed a soft kiss across my lips. “6:00, don’t be late.”

Changbin answered the door far too quickly for my expectations, standing in the entryway looking absolutely handsome wearing jeans and a t-shirt. We both paused, staring at each other for far too long considering how bitterly cold it was outside. “Uh...” I swallowed hard, “can I come in?”

“Right!” Changbin said, stepping back to allow me enough room to squeeze into his house. “We can go upstairs,” Changbin added, reaching for my hand to guide me to his bedroom. His hold was appreciated because my legs were shaking and I felt a few seconds away from passing out against the wall.

“It’s warm,” I remarked, ignoring the obvious way he had set up his room, couch covered with blankets while his laptop was sitting atop the desk.

“Since you’ve never watched before,” Changbin started, getting right down to the matter at hand, “I just picked some of my favorites.”

“Okay,” I said because I didn’t know how else to respond to the idea of Changbin’s favorite porn videos.

“We can sit down,” Changbin said, already half-way to the couch before I could even blink. I followed him slowly, trying to relax against the cushions while he pulled his computer closer, typing in his password before the home screen appeared. “You can...just relax,” Changbin said, pulling up the first tab to a familiar scene and I quickly realized it was the same porn I had accidentally discovered on his computer before.

“Okay,” I managed again, wiping my sweaty palms against my jeans while the video began to play. And I visibly shuddered at the sight of the actors already undressed on-screen, the woman arched dramatically as a male knelt behind her. “This is fast,” I observed, glancing at Changbin briefly only to startle when I realized that he had been looking at me.

He moved away quickly. “It’s good though.”

I didn’t know very much about sex with the exception of the unforgettable health education classes in middle school and my mother’s half-hearted effort of talking me through my first menstrual cycle. Back then, the idea of maturing was especially horrible with the added pain of cramps and bloating. But what I did know, thanks in large part to curious research, was the very basics which quickly manifested themselves on-screen when the male actor started to hammer his cock inside the moaning woman, hips moving at a rapid pace.

Changbin swallowed hard, hand pressing against the hard swell of his obvious erection through his tight jeans. The actress on-screen let out an exaggerated moan and I blushed furiously, squirming next to him on the sofa that suddenly seemed far too small to handle the two of us. It was difficult enough to watch the video without knowing that Changbin, the object of my affections, was also aroused. The same Changbin that I had once dreamt about doing those exact same things to me and the reminder was enough to get my blood pumping, crossing my legs against the sudden heat.

I studied Changbin now, watching the way he pressed down against his cock straining for release. “That looks uncomfortable,” I remarked without much thought, only realizing my words when he met my gaze. His eyes widened slightly when he read my expression and I nodded my consent because I didn’t know what I was doing anymore, but I really liked the way Changbin’s entire body seemed to flush. I watched as Changbin managed to pull his pants down to his thighs, grabbing his cock free from the confines of his underwear, holding it with a tight grip as he fisted the engorged erection. And I couldn’t take my eyes away from the unexpected sight, studying his movements with an unblinking gaze.

“It’s alright you know,” he said in a gruff tone, eyes wandering down to my lower-half. “If you want to do the same.”

I let out a shaky exhale, reaching down for the button on my jeans. What was I even doing? This went beyond everything that was expected of me, but the thought of touching myself was almost too much to resist, especially when Changbin had given me permission. I tucked my pants down to my knees, reaching into my panties because I wasn’t comfortable enough to go any further with an attentive Changbin sitting right next to me.

Meanwhile, Changbin maintained a steady rhythm, fist moving up and down with well-timed movements. His gaze had moved from the screen to where I had tentatively started to slowly rub circles against my clit, head thrown back to remedy the weight of his attention. He released a groan that somehow sounded way better than the practiced sounds of the actors on-screen and I pressed down harder, aching for a release from the built-up tension permeating the space separating us by only a few inches. If I moved just enough, I would be pressed up against him, feeling the way his biceps flexed as his hand moved on his cock.

The video on-screen was close to ending, and I sped up my movements, hearing a low grunt from Changbin who had managed to release sticky white semen across his hand. The visual alone was enough to take my breath away, circling faster until I felt the warning signs of my orgasm, closing my eyes to enjoy the accompanying feeling of divine pleasure from being stimulated just right. And when I reopened my eyes, Changbin was watching me as if he intended to never look away.

November

Changbin and I didn’t really talk about our unexpected pornography session, if that’s what we were to call it, but I had no time to linger on the subject. We were both suddenly busy, seeing less of each other as we both focused on our respective basketball tryouts. Because if there was one thing that Changbin and I shared in common, it was our commitment to the game.

For this reason, I was completely unprepared to see Changbin in the parking lot, leaning against the side of my car. “Fully Licensed now, Reynolds?” he asked me with a smirk.

“Very recently,” I agreed, pausing in front of him. “Your practice ended hours ago.”

“I went out to eat with some friends,” Changbin said. “But I really need to talk to you.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding at him in encouragement.

Changbin sighed heavily. “Tryouts are over this Friday. Wanna come over to celebrate afterward?”

I agreed easily, unaware of the evident tension in Changbin’s shoulders. “That sounds nice.”

“Reynolds,” Changbin hesitated and that was enough to catch my attention. “I want to ask you something.”

“Hmmm?” I encouraged him to continue, puzzling over the indecipherable look in his eyes.

“When you come over...” Changbin started, “maybe we could try getting each other off this time?”

I wasn’t expecting that, feeling my entire body stiffen at his intimate proposal. “Oh....”

“We don’t have to,” Changbin quickly added. “If you aren’t comfortable.”

But he was bad at masking his disappointment which might explain why I was so readily accepting when I nodded my head slowly. “Let’s do it.”

Changbin’s eyes widened, but a smile managed to break free. “Really?”

“You’ve been very patient with me,” I said with a shrug before mustering a look of total determination. “I’m willing to try.”

“You act like I’m asking you to do something impossible,” Changbin teased. “I’d never force you to do anything, Reynolds.”

He was always so earnest, and if we were to talk about things that were impossible, then saying no to Changbin like this was very high on the list. “When can I come over?”

Changbin leaned in closer, cologne heavy against his jacket. “How about now?”

I was a complete mess, moving constantly on Changbin’s bed while my boyfriend did his best to make me feel more comfortable. He brought me a glass of water at my insistence and even a plate of snacks that his mother had prepared. My fingers curled tightly around the glass while I reached for a handful of the little sandwiches that reminded me distantly of a fancy dinner show scene from a television series. It was a nice distraction until Changbin pulled his shirt off, messing around with his speaker to start playing music in the background. “It’s hot in here,” he offered in explanation and I merely nodded as I forced even more food into my already stuffed mouth.

“Do you have any homework?” I asked, trying to make conversation despite how obvious it was that Changbin was not interested in school, dropping a container of lotion onto the bed next to me.

“Not really,” he said.

“Essays,” I whispered, trying not to stare at his exposed chest.

Finally, Changbin joined me on the bed, tucking away our snack try on the floor before stretching out his limbs in a way that had me almost choking on my water. “Come here, Reynolds,” Changbin grumbled, and I let out a rather unattractive squeak when Changbin planted me on his lap, pressing our foreheads together. “This is better, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I agreed, holding tight to his broad shoulders for stability.

Changbin reached down, thumbing across his belt. “Are you okay?”

“Mhmm,” I nodded, watching as he carefully undid the intricate clasp of his belt buckle, unzipping his pants before letting out a sigh. It only served to heighten my awareness, hands moving across the smooth, muscled skin of his upper body. He was quiet for a moment and I realized that he was waiting for me, eyes focused from beneath a curtain of brown hair. “I’m not sure what to do,” I told him honestly.

“You’re doing fine,” he said with a gentle kiss that was obviously meant to serve as reassurance, especially once his fingers made quick work of the button and zipper attached to my own jeans.

“Changbin,” I said, closing my eyes as I helped him pull down the waistband, grabbing onto him tightly as I carefully maneuvered out of my jeans, leaving me feeling far too exposed for my personal comfort.

“Relax,” he whispered, raining soft kisses across my lips while his fingers smoothed down my sides. “This is your pace.”

I nodded furiously, forcing myself to open my eyes when I felt his fingers latch onto my panties, tugging them down my legs with slow and practiced movements. A whine was muffled against his neck to hide my embarrassment, especially when his hands grabbed my ass to pull me closer. “It’s okay,” I said when I felt him pause, waiting for my permission to continue.

“So beautiful,” he said, fingers delicately parting the folds of my throbbing sex, thumb offering a tentative stroke across the pleasurable organ.

“What about you?” I spoke into his skin.

“Watch,” he replied, using his free hand to direct my chin. I obeyed his request, keeping my eyes open when he reached into his underwear to pull his cock free from its confines, fully erect in his hand.

He tucked the waistband of his boxer short beneath him, stroking up and down in rapid succession. “But you’ve seen it before,” he teased, noticing the vibrant blush painting my skin.

“It’s different,” I said.

He nodded in understanding, jolting me in surprise when his thumb began its slow circles around my clit. “I’ll take care of you, Reynolds,” he said, allowing me to tuck my head back in against his shoulder.

“So good,” I made sure to tell him, releasing shallow pants as I fought to control myself, focusing on the rough force of his thumb moving harshly against my throbbing sex. Occasionally, he rutted against me, reminding me that his cock stood waiting for attention, red and furious against his smooth stomach. I held my breath as I reached down to gingerly touch my fingers against the curious bead of white collecting at the slit of his cock. Changbin let out a harsh gasp, stilling my movements as his free hand came down to take a firm hold of mine, manipulating my fingers to spread out across his erection, directing them into a position he clearly liked if the ragged moan he let out was any indication. “Do it like this,” he said with a husky tone, moving the hand that now fisted his cock in delicate strokes along the full expanse of his throbbing organ.

“Does it feel good?” I asked shyly, enamored by the gorgeous flush to his cheeks, the beautiful sweep of his bangs stuck against his forehead.

“It does,” he stuttered, obviously fighting to hold back as he continued to pleasure me in return. “Are you close?”

“I think so,” I exhaled, feeling the familiar symptoms of my impending orgasm take complete control over every rational thought raging through my head as I tried to keep a mental image of this Changbin permanently stored away.

“I want you to cum first,” he practically begged, looking at me with so much affection that I could barely breathe.

I leaned into him more, encouraging his practiced movements as I allowed my hips to tentatively thrust in time to his strokes. Everything was hot and wet, an intimate exchange of precious oxygen as we both struggled to keep ourselves together. “I’m here,” I tried to convey, grasping tightly to the short locks at the back of his neck, fingernails digging in slightly as I rode out my orgasm with a barely restrained moan. My head fell against his broad shoulders, hand still worshipping his erection until I felt his entire body tremble against mine, something thick and warm leaking around my hand.

December

Changbin was absent from school the following Monday to visit a college with his family. But I took advantage of the unexpected opportunity, confronting Felix because he was close friends with Changbin. If anyone could be considered a reliable friend, then it would definitely be Lee Felix. But that still didn’t prepare me for the nonchalant way he regarded my question. “So what?” Felix rolled his eyes with a dramatic flourish. “You jerked him off, is that really a big deal?”

I blinked rapidly, surprised Felix was treating it so carelessly. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Good, that means the awkward part is over,” Felix said with a wink. “Now, you can do fun stuff.”

“Fun stuff?”

“Like actually fucking,” Felix said and his blunt honesty nearly had me choking.

“This isn’t what I meant by advice.”

Felix shrugged. “Most kids our age have already done way worse.”

“I guess that’s true,” I acknowledged, briefly considering the possibility that maybe I was overreacting. “When should we...you know...”

“Fuck?”

“Don’t say it out loud!” I whined, checking over both my shoulders to make sure nobody had overheard the two of us.

“Christmas break is coming up,” Felix said, pushing his lunch tray aside. “Why don’t you plan for something then?”

“Me?” I asked with a squeak. “How can I plan for something like that! I have no experience.”

“Well, Changbin insists on taking things slow,” Felix explained. “Which means only you have the ability to take your relationship to...that level.”

“What would I even do?” I asked.

“Don’t worry,” Felix said with a smirk. “I can always help you plan.”

I grimaced at the idea. “Isn’t that too personal?”

“Changbin is one of my best friends,” Felix said. “You have nothing to worry about, Kayda. Just listen to me and everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”

“Felix,” I said. “How do I even bring something like that up? When would I have the opportunity?”

“Bringing it up is easier than you think,” Felix said. “You just need to be more confident when you talk about those things. As for the right opportunity...” Felix trailed off as his eyes landed on my cell phone. “Come outside with me.”

“What for” I grumbled, but still obediently followed Felix into the picnic area next to the main parking lot. Felix was engrossed in his own phone, barely paying me any attention until he suddenly paused next to the fence.

“Okay,” Felix said with a smug smile. “Any moment now.”

I frowned, waiting for further explanation until the ringing of my phone disrupted our conversation. “Hold on,” I said, holding up the screen so that he could clearly see Changbin’s contact name.

“Perfect,” he whispered. “Answer it!”

I gave him a wary look but accepted the incoming call. “Hello?”

“Reynolds,” Changbin said. “I have a proposition for you.”

My entire face heated as I immediately misinterpreted his implications. “Wh-what?”

“My parents invited you over for Christmas eve,” Changbin said. “We always have dinner with our family.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized Changbin wasn’t asking for anything too intimate, especially considering the last time I stayed at his house. But then, I immediately tensed when his request was fully processed in my head. His family? The idea of meeting another Seo was incredibly intimidating and I rightfully panicked as I put my hand over the receiver to explain the situation to Felix.

“Your opportunity,” Felix whispered.

“But...it’s his family...”

“Yeah, but you can put my plan into action,” Felix said.

“You already have a plan?”

“I told you I would help.”

I was still hesitant when I told Changbin that I was fine with meeting his family. I was putting my trust in Felix who had proven to be a reliable source thus far during the short amount of time that I had known him. Meanwhile, Changbin’s resounding excitement was palpable, but Felix's accompanying look of mischief certainly did no favors to the steady thrumming of my heart.

Changbin’s house looked like an extravagant affair straight out of the Great Gatsby and I was Nick Carraway driving up in my shitty car that easily paled in comparison to some of the sports cars lining the driveway. There were people everywhere, standing outside in social circles while chattering with glasses of expensive wine, spilling out the front door with their gorgeous dresses and handsome suits. I already felt out of place and I still hadn’t killed the ignition.

I immediately pulled out my phone, pulling up Changbin’s name before bringing the device against my ear. “Reynolds?” he answered from the other end.

“Uh...” I cleared my throat anxiously. “I’m here.”

Changbin snickered. “Okay? I’ll meet you out on the front porch.”

He hung up without another word even though I was only seconds from begging him to find a way to sneak me in through the back entrance. Instead, I tried for a deep breath, checking my hair briefly in the reflection of the rearview mirror. “Hello,” I bowed to a woman who had pulled in behind me. She blinked twice before turning away without any further acknowledgment. “Perfect,” I grumbled because it was exactly what I was expecting.

Nevertheless, I found the courage to navigate the crowd of guests to stand awkwardly on the porch by myself. At least, for the most part, Changbin’s family and friends were more content to ignore me. This was certainly fine by me because I definitely didn’t want the additional attention. “Where is he?” I sighed, standing on my toes to look for Changbin over the towering stances of the rich assholes who were intent on blocking my view. Finally, I spotted Changbin from the doorway, nodding politely at the people who stopped to speak to him.

Changbin’s familiar smile eased my nerves as he eventually made a path to greet me properly. “Oh, wow, Reynolds,” Changbin said, eyeing me up and down as I stood on his front porch.

“It’s weird isn’t it?” I asked, fidgeting with the hem of the dress that Felix insisted I wear to the dinner.

“No,” Changbin immediately protested, reaching for my hand to pull me inside. “I like it.”

“Thank you,” I murmured quietly, suddenly all too aware of the sounds of intermingling voices emerging from the living room.

“I want you to meet my mother,” Changbin said, grip unwavering as we entered the maze of well-dressed faces conversing over wine and tasty finger foods being passed around on serving trays.

“Your mom?” I spluttered, wishing I had the strength to pull away from Changbin and hurry back outside where I the guests had the decency to simply ignore my presence.

“She’s been asking about you,” Changbin said. “I think she’s curious.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” he said with a smile. “You’re my girlfriend.”

“Uh-huh,” I agreed, easily recognizing Changbin’s parents standing together near the fireplace. After all, these were the same people who I had unfortunately met when Changbin had rear-ended my car Freshman year which suddenly seemed like an entire lifetime ago.

“Changbin,” an elderly woman screeched, holding out her arms in a friendly demeanor. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Since Thanksgiving,” Changbin gruffed, but still allowed the woman to squeeze the life out of him as if he was used to the treatment.

“And this must be Kayda!” the woman said, finding my eyes from over Changbin’s shoulder. “How are you, young lady?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” I said shakily, glaring at Changbin who was clearly mocking my stuttered response.

“Don’t be nervous,” the woman said, pulling me closer by my arm. “Changbin talks about you all the time.”

“He does?” I questioned, studying the boy in question who was now talking to his father, hands tucked away in his pockets.

“My grandson tells me that you play basketball too,” the woman grinned. “And that you’re very smart.”

I blushed at the compliment. “I try my best.”

“She’s a genius,” Changbin suddenly declared, tossing an arm around my shoulder.

“So we’ve heard,” Changbin’s mother said and I felt myself subconsciously straighten my posture.

“We didn’t meet on the best of terms,” his father reminded me and I winced as I recalled the accident as if it had just happened yesterday.

“I’m good friends with some of your teachers,” his mom said. “They’ve mentioned you before. I can only assume that you’re much brighter than you like to give yourself credit for.”

“Ah,” I laughed, pressing myself even closer to Changbin’s side because I was entirely dependent on his strength at that point. “It comes naturally.”

“If only Changbin could share your passion,” his mother sighed. “All he wants to do is play basketball.”

“Well, when it earns him a scholarship,” his father added and I could clearly see how proud he was of his son’s accomplishments.

“Are you hungry, Kayda?”

“Maybe a little.”

Changbin’s mother smiled. “Binnie, take Kayda to the kitchens. We can talk later.”

Changbin’s arm was a helpful guide, pulling me along as I waved to his family members. I only glanced away once I realized we were moving upstairs. “Where are we going?”

“Do you want to go to my room?” Changbin asked and I immediately nodded my head. Changbin smiled, reaching for my hand before graciously excusing us from the crowded room of his relatives. It hadn’t been so bad, but I was still worried about embarrassing myself in front of the same people who controlled one of the country’s biggest enterprises.

Changbin’s room was a quiet sanctuary, and I made myself comfortable on his bed while he messed with the elaborate sound system connected to the generous speakers. Music began to fill the room, distracting me from the party still progressing downstairs. It was something familiar that Changbin liked, but I was too distracted to recall the name of the artist he deeply admired.

“What do you want to do, Reynolds?” Changbin asked as he joined me on the bed. I recalled my conversation with Felix from school, reminding me that this would be the perfect opportunity to explore his suggestion. Changbin must have noticed the way I nervously drew my lower lip between my teeth, catching me around my waist to pull me down on top of him. “Do you have something to tell me?”

“I want to try something,” I admitted nervously, looking down at Changbin lying pliantly beneath me on the bed.

“Yeah,” Changbin nodded. “Whatever you want, Reynolds.”

It was always so easy with him, but I still struggled to convey my expectations. I remembered Felix’s words, reaching down to run my hand down the front of his dress pants. Changbin’s eyes widened in surprise, reaching out to capture my wrist. “What are you doing?”

“Whatever I want,” I reminded him and he scoffed at my cheeky attitude.

“You know what I meant, Reynolds.”

“It’s no big deal,” I lied, and Changbin was quick to read through the fabrication, sitting up despite my faint protests.

“What’s going on with you, Reynolds? You know you can be honest with me.”

“I know,” I started, flustered beyond belief with the way he was looking at me. “I talked to Felix the other day...”

“Ah,” Changbin interrupted. “You don’t have to listen to him. He always thinks he knows everything.”

“But I liked what he said,” I insisted. “I want to try it.”

“Try what exactly.”

The words were still embarrassing even in my head so I whispered them into Changbin’s ears. Immediately, my boyfriend’s mouth dropped open in shock. “He said that?”

“As a suggestion,” I said, fidgeting nervously because of his reaction.

“You don’t have to, Reynolds,” Changbin said, delicately using one finger to lift up my chin. His gaze was sincere.

“I know,” I nodded solemnly. “It might be...interesting?”

Changbin chuckled at my choice of words, deft fingers already working apart the button and zipper on his dress pants. “We’ll see if you think it’s really interesting,” he said, pulling both his pants and boxers down to his ankles before allowing them both to fall into the floor.

“I want to,” I insisted, looking down at his exposed cock.

“I’ll help you,” Changbin said. “But it might be easier if I was on the edge.”

I nodded frantically, moving into the floor while Changbin made himself comfortable, fisting his cock as he parted his thighs. “How should I start?” I asked him.

“You can just try the tip?” he said, clearing his throat when I abruptly leaned in closer, opening my mouth to wrap my lips around the stream of pre-cum steadily leaking from his slit. “Woah,” he gasped, both hands grabbing my hair tightly. “Easy.”

I ignored his warning, taking in more of his impressive girth, tongue exploring the taste of him. It wasn’t bad, but I certainly wouldn’t declare it as one of my favorite moments with Changbin. My inexperience was obvious, saliva dripping from my lips, focusing on breathing in through my nose since it was proving difficult with his cock in my mouth.

“Shit, Reynolds,” Changbin moaned and the sound almost made up for the bitter taste coating my lips. “You won’t hurt me,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “Just-just don’t use your teeth.”

I heeded his warning, but it forced me to hollow my cheeks. However, that seemed to only please Changbin whose hips stuttered in place, fingers providing an unforgiving hold on my scalp. I moved my head up and down his cock, listening to the advice he offered and trying to ignore the light-headedness that warned me that I desperately needed to breathe. I pulled off for a moment, inhaling fresh oxygen while Changbin maintained his hold, barely allowing me time to recover before he was encouraging me to swallow him again. Testing my limits as my nose brushed against his pubic bone, but it was far too much and jerked back in surprise when I felt him at the back of my throat. “Be careful,” Changbin said, sounding like he was completely out of breath despite the fact that I was doing most of the work. Still, it made me feel almost proud of myself to be affecting him so much, especially when I was the one who lacked experience. “I’m close,” he said. “Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to swallow.”

I heeded his warning, pulling back from his cock to take in heavy breaths while Changbin reached behind him for a tissue, wrapping it around his erection before jerking himself to completion. Afterward, the two of us could do nothing but stare at one another in obvious wonder at the new discovery we had just made together. Breathing hard as the music continued to play in the background.

January

“My mother asked about you,” Changbin said with a grin. “You made a strong impression.”

The two of us were currently driving my car to the mechanic shop, an extra layer of jackets to compensate for my broken heating. “I did my best,” I said, adjusting my sunglasses slipping down the brim of my nose. “Everyone was intimidating.”

“That’s just because you let them intimidate you,” Changbin said, reaching for my hand across the console. “You never had anything to worry about.”

“Easy for you to say,” I retorted. “You’ve been living with them for your entire life.”

Changbin laughed. “Okay, but I would be a good judge of character. Trust me, you were the star of the party.”

“Against Seo Changbin?” I gasped. “The most heavily recruited point guard in the state?”

“My accolades paled in comparison to you,” Changbin said. “My parents were thrilled when I told them what your GPA is.”

“Well, I guess that gives me more motivation to study,” I said, pulling into the empty parking lot of the mechanic shop.

“You can study with me,” Changbin pouted and I resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him when he looked so adorable.

“Let’s go inside,” I said, ignoring his question in exchange for the quaint little store attached to the mechanic’s garage. Inside, I found an immediate contradiction between my boyfriend and the shop that had been around since my dad was a kid. It was almost comical, how much of an outsider Changbin looked in the moldy shop, Gucci-toed boots scuffing against the linoleum floor in clear disparity.

“This is the place?” Changbin asked me.

“We’ve gone here for years,” I said, walking up to the bored, middle-aged mechanic slowly flipping through a magazine.

“Name?” he asked in a monotone voice.

“Kayda Reynolds,” I said. “I made an appointment online.”

The mechanic sighed, reaching for the faded keyboard attached to the computer monitor that belonged exclusively to the 90s. “You’ll have to redo the form,” the mechanic said, irritation leaking from his tone. “Most of the information is incorrect.”

“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized. “Is there a way to do it here?”

“We don’t keep forms in the office,” the mechanic dismissed me quickly, returning his attention to his magazine.

I was more than ready to head back home, deciding that my father would probably have more luck than me when it came to these things. But when I reached down for Changbin’s hand, I noticed that my boyfriend was glaring at the mechanic. “You have a customer here who needs work done. Why the hell does it matter if the form is wrong?”

“We require the information on the form for all appointments,” the mechanic said. “It’s written at the very bottom of the screen.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe you could still work on the car and she can send you the form later.”

“Changbin,” I said, tugging on his jacket sleeve. “Let’s just go.”

“How the hell do you even stay in business if you won’t work on the cars from paying customers?”

“Sir,” the mechanic rolled his eyes, “your girlfriend filed the report, not us. It’s not the shop’s fault if she can’t read the fine print.”

“Say another word and I’ll make sure you wake up in a hospital.”

“Changbin!”

I practically drug the incensed boy outside the body shop, planting my hands on my hips as I fixed him with a reprimanding look. “You can’t say that!”

Changbin glared in the direction of the shop entrance. “Those assholes shouldn’t be allowed to treat you that way. I told you to go to my guy.”

“I can’t afford that place,” I retorted.

“I’ll pay for it,” Changbin declared. “Hell, I can buy you a better car, Reynolds.”

“Changbin,” I sighed, “you can’t just buy me things like that.”

“Why not?” he asked, perfectly earnest as he appraised me.

“Because I don’t want you to,” I said. “This isn’t even a big deal, I’ll just have my dad take care of it instead.”

“Reynolds,” Changnin glowered. “They shouldn’t talk to you that way. I wouldn’t give them another cent of your money.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “Why are you so mad? I don’t even care about them. They always act that way, but they do decent work at cheap prices.”

“I’m mad because they disrespected you,” Changbin said. “Right in front of me! Next time, I’m taking you to my guy and I don’t want to hear anything about money.”

I was surprised by how upset Changbin was, so I quickly agreed with his request because I didn’t want to ignite his anger any further. Of course, I knew that my father could handle any future problems, but Changbin didn’t need to know that. Because he had finally allowed me to take his hand, slowly leading him back to my car.

Jisung returned to school for the beginning of the spring semester. I saw him in the parking lot, grabbing his bag from the passenger seat of his car. My first instinct was to call out his name and run across the parking lot like a scene from a melodrama to demand one of his familiar hugs. But I knew we stood on shaky ground, and I could only watch from afar as he walked by himself to the school’s main entrance.

I needed to figure out a plan to confront him because I was feeling increasingly desperate the longer I was forced to pretend like Jisung and I were just simple acquaintances. What happened to our vacation together during Christmas last year? With the exception of our shared kiss, I had never felt closer to Jisung, sharing intimate secrets and desires by the warm fire of his family cabin. But instead of growing our friendship, I could feel us moving apart in entirely different directions and it was nothing short of painful to watch Jisung ignore me.

What could I do to convince him? I wondered to myself, ignorant of my boyfriend’s impending approach until his arms were wrapped around my waist. “Reynolds,” he said, offering me a chaste kiss. “What are you doing?”

“Freezing,” I replied, deciding not to share Jisung’s return with Changbin. “Did you finish your math assignment?”

Changbin’s apparent look of guilt told me everything I needed to know. “We had lat practice,” he reminded me, but I was having none of his potential justifications.

“You promised,” I said, fixing him with a stern glare.

“It’s my last class of the day,” Changbin pouted. “Will you help me at lunch?”

I hesitated because I had planned to confront Jisung at lunch, but I suppose it was better to figure out what exactly I needed to say to him first. “Okay,” I said, groaning when Changbin pulled me against his side. “But you need to focus! You won’t be able to play in any more basketball games if your grades slip.”

Changbin sighed as if he had heard the same lecture before. “Look, I promise that I’ll do better.”

“For me?” I tried again.

“For you,” Changbin agreed. “Just as long as I get my reward later.”

I blushed at his tone. “As long as you behave.”

But Changbin was clearly pleased with how flustered I was, smirking in that familiar self-satisfied manner. “See? A compromise.”

I bit my tongue to hold back a sharp retort considering that Changbin probably had greatly misinterpreted what a compromise really entailed. But my boyfriend was in a good mood and he started chattering away about a tournament his team was participating in that weekend. Meanwhile, I was consumed with thoughts of Jisung, determined to restore our friendship.

February

I would never consider myself a courageous person, but right now, setting my tray down across from Jisung’s, I felt just like an action hero. “Jisung,” I said quietly, shivering when we finally made eye contact. “You don’t mind, do you?” For a moment, I briefly entertained the possibility of Jisung asking me to leave, but I was willing to accept the potential risks. Because this was Jisung and I desperately wanted him to be a part of my life again. “Sungie.”

He glanced up at the nickname, expression blank. “Did you need something?”

I bit my lower lip because it was clear that Jisung wasn’t going to make this any easier on me. “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” he said dismissively.

“Jisung, I don’t understand what I did wrong,” I said. “Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll do anything to make up for it.”

Jisung returned his attention to his tray. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been ignoring me,” I said, swallowing down a whine. “I’ve been sending you messages.”

“I got them,” he said shortly. “I don’t know if you even realized, but I took last semester off.”

“Of course I noticed,” I said, offended that he would insinuate otherwise. “That’s why I was so worried. Ever since I started dating Changbin...”

Jisung stiffened at the mention of my boyfriend and suddenly everything clicked into place. “Are you mad that I’m dating Changbin?”

Jisung cleared his throat. “I don’t care who you date, Kayda.”

“Don’t do that,” I said sternly. “I don’t want you to pretend like you don’t care.”

“What exactly do you want from me?” Jisung bit out harshly, pupils blown wide with his anger.

I wilted under that rage, folding my hands together in my lap. “This is hurting me, Jisung. I just want my friend back.”

“You hurt me just as much,” Jisung retorted, sliding his lunch tray out of the way as he glared at me. “I really liked you, Kayda, and you just pushed me away. Now, when it’s more convenient for you, I get an apology?”

He was right, and I struggled for something to say. “Jisung,” I finally sighed. “I know you’re right. Look, I’m really bad when it comes to apologies. I can never figure out the right thing to say, but I care about you a lot and if I did anything to make you think otherwise, then I want to try and make things better.”

“It’s not so simple,” Jisung said, but his expression had softened. “After the kiss, I thought we might have something more than just friendship, but you insisted that day...” Jisung broke off, appearing conflicted as he shook his head. “Things got worse with mom and then she passed away over the summer. I was forced to take the semester off and I had to do it without you.”

I’m sure the tears in my eyes matched the steady waterworks filling the corners of Jisung’s beautiful eyes. “Jisung,” I managed softly. “I’m sorry things broke down between us because I would have been there for you over the summer. In fact, I’ll probably regret this for the rest of my life.”

Jisung tersely wiped away a stray tear, blinking rapidly as he struggled to compose himself. “It’s done, Kayda. There’s nothing left to regret.”

“Of course there is,” I said, reaching across the table for his hand. I let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t pull away. “I miss you a lot, Jisung. You’re very important to me and I’d really like it if we could still be friends.”

Jisung took a long time to respond and I allowed him every second to think because I was determined to win back his trust. Finally, after an excruciatingly long pause, Jisung managed a slow nod. “I miss you too, Kayda.”

I offered him a warm smile, curling my fingers through his own. “You want to come over after school?”

He nodded again, soft eyes meeting mine from across the table. “I’m willing to try again for you.”

Jisung and I started to spend time together on the weekends, driving together through the countryside or reclaiming our former spot in my backyard tucked away beneath the trees. We talked a lot about Jisung’s mother and it was reassuring that Jisung appeared to be, for the most part, at peace with her passing. He was still obviously sad, speaking in a whispered tone when he talked about how hard it was to accept.

“I should’ve been there for you,” I said.

Jisung shook his head. “You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath because it felt like everything was starting to return to normal. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“I don’t know,” Jisung said. “I might need a suit rental.”

“Why?”

“Prom is coming up,” Jisung said. “Even if nobody asks me to go, I still can’t miss out on my senior year.”

I shrugged indifferently. “I don’t care about prom.”

Jisung chuckled. “Yeah, but your boyfriend might.”

“I feel like Changbin could care less about a stupid dance,” I said.

Of course, only in hindsight can I look back on my words and regret them because the very next day at school, Changbin approached me in the parking lot with his hands behind his back. “Reynolds,” he said. “Guess what?”

“Hmmm?” I acknowledged, busy shuffling through the notes I was planning to lend to a teammate.

“Hey, look at me,” he insisted softly.

I entertained his request. “I feel like you’re planning something elaborate.”

“Maybe,” he giggled and I narrowed my eyes because Changbin only ever got this way if he was feeling particularly mischievous.

“What did you do?”

He brought both hands forward, holding an impressive bouquet of flowers between his hands. “Reynolds,” Changbin smiled, extending the flowers in my direction. “You should go to prom with me.”

I took the flowers since he was practically shoving them at my face. “Prom?”

“Yes,” Changbin agreed with a nod. “We have a lot to plan. What do you think about matching colors?”

I laughed at his enthusiasm. “Plan? Changbin, I don’t really want to go to prom.”

His smile vanished in an instant. “What?”

“I’m not that interested,” I shrugged, opening the door to my car before carefully laying the bouquet across the front seat. “You can always ask somebody else.”

Changbin was quiet for far longer than I was used to, but the way his jaw clenched spoke louder than words. “That’s fine, Kayda,” he said, shaking his head as he took a step back. “I don’t care.”

“Binnie,” I tried, reaching out for his hand but Changbin just ignored my attempts to pacify his anger, shoving his hands into his pockets before turning his back on me.

March

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I glanced up at Felix in surprise. “Huh?”

“Why aren’t you going with Changbin to prom?” he demanded, foot tapping against the floor impatiently.

“What’s the big deal with all of you?” I grumbled. “I didn’t want to go to prom in the first place.”

“Kayda,” Felix groaned as if I physically exasperated him. “Of course it’s a big deal! You don’t understand how important this is to Changbin.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s just a stupid dance.”

Felix gasped. “The audacity!”

“Felix, I’m not in the mood for a lecture, okay? I’m telling you that it’s not a big deal.”

“Alright,” Felix sighed, disregarding all formalities as he sat down next to me. “I guess you need a reminder.”

“Reminder?” I repeated, already tired of the conversation.

“Do you know how hard it was to get the two of you together in the first place?” Felix asked. “Impossible.”

“We’re together now, aren’t we?”

“Exactly! And you’re clearly oblivious to just how proud that makes Changbin.”

“I wasn’t aware you were a therapist,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I’m trying to eat in peace.”

“Kayda,” Felix said. “Listen to me, Changbin has wanted you for a very long time. And now that you two are dating, he wants to do everything that normal couples do, and that includes going to prom together. Don’t you know how ridiculous it looks for the school’s basketball star to miss out on prom!”

“I doubt Changbin cares about that,” I scoffed.

“But he does care about you, and in his mind this is like the perfect opportunity to show you off to everyone,” Felix said. “Prom has always been important to Changbin, and he was so excited to ask you to go with him.”

“Are you trying to make me feel guilty?” I grumbled, jerking my gaze free from the intensity of Felix’s scowl.

“No, I’m just trying to help my friend. I didn’t know that would mean reminding his girlfriend that he had feelings too.”

“That’s enough, Felix,” I snapped, pushing my chair back as I stood up from the table. “I don’t have to take this.”

I was a storm of rage on the inside, seeing nothing but red, when a familiar voice sternly brought me back to Earth. “What’s going on over here?”

Jisung was standing at the end of the table, glancing back and forth between Felix and me. “Nothing,” I grumbled, grabbing my tray and brushing past Jisung without another word.

But Jisung followed me regardless, catching up to me in the hallway after I deposited my tray at the counter. “Kayda,” he said, grabbing my arm to force me to stop walking.

“What?” I said, spinning around with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Why are you yelling at Felix?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

I sighed because it felt like everyone was trying to worm their way into my private life. “It’s just something with Changbin.”

“The thing with prom?” he asked.

“How did you know?”

“Everyone knows,” Jisung admitted. “I guess it’s like a big deal or something.”

“Felix told me that I made a mistake,” I said. “But it’s my life and he has no right to interfere.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jisung shrugged. “I saw Changbin yesterday in the parking lot. He looked pretty upset, and you weren’t glued to his side like usual...” Jisung trailed off as if waiting for me to fill in the gaps, but I determined not to give in this time. “Alright, look Kayda, I know what happened with Changbin, and I guess you’re probably tired of hearing about it.”

“Exactly!” I sharply retorted.

“Okay, but can you at least tell me why you turned him down? Do you really hate the idea of going to prom that much?”

“It’s not that I hate it,” I sighed. “I just don’t get why it’s such a big deal. I would honestly rather stay at home.”

“Even if it hurts his feelings?”

“So now you’re against me too?”

“No, no,” Jisung said, waving his hands around frantically. “That’s not what I meant at all, I just think you should consider that it might mean something to Changbin, even if it really doesn’t matter to you. Yeah, you might not like the idea of going, but it’s obvious that it means a lot to him. Maybe you should think about it that way instead of everyone turning against you.”

I froze upon hearing Jisung’s blunt honesty. “But now it’s like a whole thing and I don’t understand what’s wrong with everybody!”

“Well, if I know Kayda Reynolds, then I can only assume that this probably has a lot more to do with you being stubborn as opposed to refusing to give in to peer pressure or whatever you’re thinking.”

I considered his words, shoulders falling as I realized that Jisung was right. “I’m just tired of being told what to do.”

“I get that, but this involves more than just your feelings, okay?”

I hated that he was actually making a lot of sense. “So what should I do now?”

Jisung smirked, wordlessly pulling out his cellphone. “How do you feel about dress shopping?”

I pulled up outside of Changbin’s house, smoothing down my dress while trying not to trip on my heels as I walked to his front door. “Deep breaths, Kayda,” I encouraged myself, reaching out for the doorbell as I waited patiently on the outside porch.

I hesitated when the door finally opened revealing Changbin standing on the other side. “Reynolds?” Changbin immediately questioned me.

“Get dressed,” I said, glancing at the time on my phone. “We can still make it on time.”

Changbin didn’t move from his spot in the doorway. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Prom,” I groaned. “It starts in an hour.”

Changbin took a step back, clearly reeling from the encounter. “You want to go to Prom? I thought you insisted otherwise,” he said with a bitter tone.

“I’m sorry, Changbin,” I said, looking down at the sharp point of my shoes. “I didn’t realize how important it was to you.”

Changbin was silent for a moment. “So you just decided to show up here without calling me first?”

“I thought it would be better to surprise you,” I told him honestly, finally mustering the courage to meet his gaze. “If you still want to go. I’d totally get it if you, like, shut the door in my face or something because I probably deserve it after the way I treated you.”

Changbin’s gaze softened. “I’m not going to do that, Reynolds.” He sighed as he seemed to consider my proposal. “Give me twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be in the car,” I told him excitedly, thrilled that Changbin had opened up to my proposal. The next time I saw Jisung and Felix, I owed them a thorough extension of my gratitude.

“You’re driving?” Changbin scoffed. “That wouldn’t have been my plan, but I kinda like it when you take control.”

“Well, hurry up,” I said. “We don’t have all night.”

“Says the person who gave me no time to get ready,” Changbin said, but his smile seemed to suggest otherwise.

“I prepared nice transportation for you,” I said while retreating down the stairs. “My dad’s car actually has heat.”

Changbin laughed. “Stop distracting me, Reynolds. I thought we were on a time constraint.”

“We are,” I said, reaching into my pocket for the keys. “I’m giving you time while I try to make things as glamorous as you always imagined them.”

Changbin didn’t say anything, far too busy leaving the front door wide open while he rushed to change his clothes. Meanwhile, I was ensuring that everything was ready, switching the music to his favorite genre and reaching down for the messy boutonniere that Felix insisted was mandatory. As Changbin had desired, I made sure that my corsage matched in color, even going out of my way to splurge on a ridiculous clip to wear in my hair.

Jisung and Felix were both adamant that they help me plan for the occasion, and despite their annoying habits of perfection, I knew everything would only prove to benefit my night with Changbin. Even I threw away my usual inhibitions, spending more money on my prom dress than I would usually allow, especially since I was only going to wear it for this one occasion. I grinned as I thought about Changbin’s reaction. He would be the first to tell me that the money meant nothing because it was okay to indulge when the occasion was just right. Changbin always had that ridiculous sense of self-confidence that at one time might have infuriated me, but now I only saw it as another aspect of his character which I was unwittingly falling for with each passing day.

“Ready, Reynolds?” Changbin asked with barely concealed enthusiasm, fussing with his hair in the rearview mirror.

“Hey, you look fine,” I insisted, swiping his hand away before throwing the car into drive.

Prom might be a time-honored tradition, but that didn’t equate to the formalities that most people expected. In fact, the minute we walked through the door, I was greeted with the sound of some over-played pop song and a mirage of teenagers abandoning their high heels just so that they could grind on their partners. Well, I shouldn’t have anticipated anything different when it came to my fellow classmates. But this night was about Changbin, and I allowed him to drag me from couple to couple, talking with his teammates while I tolerated the envious glares sent in my direction from the masses of Changbin’s admirers. “Here,” Changbin said, handing me a plastic flute of punch. I took it gratefully, savoring the cool taste of the liquid as it soothed my hoarse throat. “Should we sit down?” Changbin asked and I nodded in agreement.

The two of us had been talking for hours, flitting from one person to the next like the social butterfly Changbin liked to be. We met Felix on the edge of the dancefloor, forcing him to take a break from what might have amounted to a stroke if the younger continued his dalliances. Felix was practically drenched in sweat, eyes wide with adrenaline. “Are you having fun?” Felix yelled at us with an unnecessarily loud tone.

Next, we found Minho and Hyunjin surrounded by a group of younger Freshman girls, soaking up the attention with smug expressions. “Laura,” Minho listed off, pointing to each girl in succession. “Katie, Amanda, Lisa...Amy?”

Finally, I convinced Changbin to give me a moment with Jisung. “Did you come alone?” I asked him.

“I came with a few other guys,” Jisung sighed. “But I think they abandoned me.”

“Poor baby,” I said, unable to resist squishing his cheeks between my hands.

“It’s fine,” Jisung whined, but I could tell he liked the attention. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He went to find us a drink,” I said, scanning the perimeter of the room. “Is it fun yet?”

“It’s alright,” Jisung shrugged. “But I think you might’ve been right about prom all along.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? If you go to one dance, you’ve been to them all.”

“I thought it might be different,” Jisung said. “Since the school actually paid for the caterer.”

“And the food?”

“Kinda gross.”

I laughed at his observation as Changbin joined the two of us with a drink in each hand. “Hi,” I grinned, leaning against his side.

Changbin leaned down to brush his lips across my forehead before offering Jisung a courteous nod. “How’s your night?”

“Interesting,” Jisung said. “I’ll see you two later.”

Which brings me to the present, perched neatly in Changbin’s lap while we took a break from the commotion in the empty lounge. My eyelids were growing heavy and I took the liberty of claiming Changbin’s shoulder as a suitable pillow. “This is tiring.”

Changbin’s arm tightened around my waist, bringing us even closer together. “I know you only did this for me.”

“Are you crazy?” I asked. “This is like...the most fun ever.”

“Don’t lie to me, Kayda,” Changbin said, fingers sorting through the mischievous strands of hair bothering my eyes. “I’m really glad we came.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, unable to hold back a yawn. “I wish I had more energy.”

“It’s cute,” Changbin said, ignoring my protests as he kissed me softly. “Thank you for entertaining me.”

“It’s my job,” I said. “But, if it’s okay with you, I might need to find a nearby audiologist because my ears are ringing at this point.”

“Let’s get you home,” Changbin said, offering me another kiss which I gratefully accepted.

April

There was a noticeable optimism following the events of prom, a sense of complacency settling amongst the student body. Despite the drama that offered a precursor to the evening’s events, I noticed that most people seemed happier, especially the seniors who would be graduating soon. This included Jisung who had managed to make-up his lost semester by promising to dedicate himself to summer school. In any case, the opportunity meant that Jisung would no longer be attending school with me next year and I was rightfully chastened by the thought of never seeing my best friend again, which is why I was determined to spend as much time with him as possible.

The two of us frequently liked to get together at my house, spreading out a blanket in the backyard like we used to do, laying together quietly under the steady influence of the warmer weather. “I like the spring,” Jisung said, stretching his arms above his head. “There’s always more sunshine.”

“Hmmm,” I agreed with him, distracted by the edging drowsiness eclipsing my ability to form rational sentences.

“I got my acceptance letter today,” Jisung said. “If I pass my summer classes, then I’ll start Community College in the fall.”

I perked up at this information, opening one eye to glance over at Jisung. “You won’t be going far away?”

Jisung smirked. “Not at first. I plan to transfer eventually, but this seemed like the right start.”

“I’m proud of you, Jisung,” I said without a single ounce of malice. Those hard feelings between the two of us had dissipated like the morning frost chilling the discarded leaves decorating the grass. Instead, all that was left was a beautiful trust that cemented us together as equals in every sense of the word.

May

The end of the school year was growing closer with every passing day, and Changbin and I had started making a habit of spending time after school at the park. The two of us liked to walk the trails together, talking about whatever it is that we found interesting. This could be anything from Felix’s new girlfriend to the topic of Changbin’s conversation with a college recruiter who was more than ready to offer him a scholarship to play basketball. I was proud of him, but I was also wary of the impending topic of our Senior year and what might happen when we both graduated.

Changbin didn’t seem to notice my anxieties, talking openly about his dreams. “The dorms were pretty small,” he said. “I wanted to stay off-campus or something.”

“They won’t let you?”

“Freshmen have to live together,” Changbin grimaced. “I’m not sure I want a roommate.”

I grinned because Changbin acted every bit like the only child who was never forced to share with a sibling. “It might not be so bad.”

“Maybe,” Changbin replied distantly, silent for a moment before pausing next to the lake. “We’re going out of town for the summer again,” Changbin said.

“That’s not surprising,” I attempted to tease him, but it was difficult when Changbin looked so serious. “You leave every year.”

“Reynolds,” Changbin said carefully, watching me through cautious eyes. “You should come with us this time.”

His words were met with silence while I took a moment to admire the way the sun reflected off the smooth surface of the lake. “It’s your family vacation.”

“Yeah? Well, I want you to be there,” he said, tugging my hand as if trying to convince me.

But Changbin should know by now that it took little to convince me when it came to the school’s revered sports celebrity. “I’ll go.”

“Really?” Changing gasped, managing to look completely taken aback by my simple acquiescence.

“It sounds like fun,” I shrugged, but I was hardly indifferent, especially once he leaned down to offer me a gentle kiss to seal my promise.

#mostlycompetent #stray kids #stray kids fanfic #seo changbin #stray kids seo changbin #seo changbin fanfic #changbin #changbin fanfic #seo changbin smut #changbin smut #seo changbin imagines

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st-crylo · 4 years

Text

Rebound

Part 8

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this part out! Thanks for your patience, new update day is Wednesday nights!!

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of drugs

Word Count: 4.5K

Tagging: @haylaansmi @nankstasty @thomasscresswell @maybe-your-left

Masterlist

You took a deep breath, looking between your mom’s car in the driveway, and the front door of your house. She had to know sooner or later, and you’d put it off a little too long. Of course, you weren’t going to tell the whole truth, after all even the half truth would be too much for your mother. Taking another deep breath, you opened the door, and crossed the threshold into your house.

“Hey, sweetie, how was school today?” she asked almost the moment you closed the front door behind you. Ah yes, the dreaded question that would kick start your news. You supposed there was no time like the present.

“Really good! I actually got asked to homecoming today,” you said, walking into the living room where your mom was sitting with your dad. You watched as her face lit up, clearly excited for what was an obvious win in her book. Oh, this was going to be painful.

“Really? Who asked you?” She asked, excitement filling her voice, causing your heart to pound from within your chest. Now or never. Now or never, you repeated in your mind as you gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of your neck.

“Ben Solo.”

As you’d expected, your mom’s face changed from one of joy to pure shock. It wasn’t an angry shock, after all even she had to admit that someone asking you out after what happened was a good thing, it was simply the person who had asked you. After the shock wore off, her face faded into one of discomfort.

“Honey...are you sure you wanna go to homecoming with him?” she asked, looking to your dad, who simply raised his hands and looked away, abstaining from this conversation. You let out a sigh, your smile turning to a frown.

“Yes, I’m sure. He’s a nice guy mom, and he is trying to be better. Besides, we were really good friends until seventh grade,” you pointed out. Your mom still had a frown on her face, and she was twiddling her thumbs, trying to think of a response. You knew there was really no way she was going to say no, after all, she was the one who wanted you to live the most fun senior year. There was no way something as trivial as the boy who asked you to homecoming would change that. Though, just because you knew the facts didn’t mean you weren’t anxious about what she was going to say next.

“Okay,” she finally relented, causing you to let out a breath you’d been holding in. “But I want you to promise that you’re going to be safe, okay?”

“Of course, mom. Besides, we’re going with a group, so there really won’t be any way for us to get into trouble,” you assured her, though you knew your friends were more than capable of finding trouble to be in.

“Okay, that’s good. The dance is next Saturday, right?” your mom asked, and you simply nodded. “Alright. Well, I hope you two will let me take pictures here. Why don’t you ask all your friends to take pictures here?”

Just like I thought, you mused to yourself. “Yeah, I can see if they’re down!”

Soon, you were retreating to your room, pulling out your phone and dialing Sami’s number. It took two rings before she picked up.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked from the other end of the line.

“Told my mom about homecoming,” you said, plopping down on your bed, laying back against the headboard and staring up at the ceiling.

“Oh, sick. What did she say?”

“I can tell she’s not happy about it, but she’s not gonna say no. Also, she wants us all to take pictures here at my place. This’ll probably work out for Kylo too, that way his grandparents can take pictures as well,” you informed her.

“I’m totally cool with that, Mom’s not gonna be here that weekend anyways, so I’ll just get pictures from you to show her. What are you gonna do about getting a dress?” Sami asked.

“Was probably gonna go shopping on Friday for one. Can’t go Saturday because I have dinner with the Solo’s, so that’s gonna take my whole day to mentally prepare for,” you said, frowning as you thought of the idea of sitting down at a table with Kylo’s parents. Sami laughed from the other side of the receiver.

“Well, if you want, we can go together. After all, you should definitely wear something hot, if Avarez is gonna be there. That shit will drive him up the wall,” Sami responded. You could almost feel the coy in her voice, and you laughed as well. Any excuse to get Shawn heated was good for you, especially after what had happened earlier.

“It’s gonna be weird, seeing Kylo in a tux,” you pointed out. You’d never really seen him dress formally, he usually just wore his black jeans and leather jacket. To see him dressed up would definitely be new.

“It’s weird, seeing men like Kylo dress formally. Last year, Milo rented this really nice tux for prom, the vest matched my dress and everything. It was wild, but weirdly hot,” Sami said, causing you to shake your head.

“Alright, well, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” you said, hearing your mom’s voice call you downstairs for dinner.

“See ya!” Sami said before the line went dead. With that, you got up off your bed and headed down for dinner.

***

The rest of the week seemed to pass by quickly, Friday seeming to appear in a flash, and as you settled down beside Kylo in English, you could feel your excitement grow tremendously. You’d never been so excited to buy a homecoming dress, and you honestly felt that it was more about the fact that you’d get to go shopping with Sami and Phasma.

Phasma would be driving you three to Coruscant, where you’d meet up with Jordan at one of the malls there. Your mom had given you her card and said you could get dinner in the city as well. You’d never gone shopping in Coruscant before, so needless to say, you were excited beyond belief.

“Calm down, you’re practically bouncing off the walls,” Kylo joked as you quickly pulled out your finished paper for Beowulf. You were so ready to move on to the next book, you practically threw your paper at Mr. Skywalker when he passed by.

“Alright class, we’re going to be reading Hard Times starting on Monday. So, let’s get into some background, shall we?” Mr. Skywalker said from the front of the class, turning a video on from the projector. You tried not to yawn as the incredibly monotonous British narrator began to talk about Dickens, and the period he wrote in.

“Can’t fucking stand Dickens,” Kylo said from beside you, causing you to laugh. “He’s only so descriptive because he was getting paid per word.” A fact that the monotonous video would soon bring up.

You couldn’t really help but drift off a couple of times during class, and you were almost fully asleep when the overhead lights were turned on after the third video. Blinking to help your eyes adjust to the lights, you stretched your arms out, trying to hold back a yawn as you reached over to put all your stuff away. In front of you, Sami was lightly snoring, and was being shaken awake by Phasma, who was trying hard not to laugh. Once Sami was awake, she looked confused, and a little grumpy, as she wiped a small amount of drool from her lip.

“Alright, I’ll be handing out copies on Monday. Before you leave, don’t forget to drop off your copy of Beowulf in one of these bins. I will hunt you down if you don’t turn it back in,” Mr. Skywalker said as the whole class began shuffling around, fishing for their books in their backpacks and putting all their stuff away. Kylo took all of your copies up to the front, briefly nodding at his uncle as he placed them all in the bin before walking back to your group of desks. As soon as Kylo was back, the bell rang, and the biggest group of students hurried out the door, heading for their cars or however they were planning on getting back home. You slowly stood from your desk and grabbed your backpack, putting your arms through the straps as you waited for everyone else.

As usual, once the crowd had passed, the four of you walked out of the English room, heading towards the entrance of the school.

“It’s gonna be weird, not having you ride home with me today,” Kylo stated, looking down at you. “I’m gonna be so alone.” Kylo started pretending to pout and cry, to which you playfully punched him in the arm, causing him to laugh. He shook his head before running a hand through his black hair.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, provided you don’t make any stops on the way home,” Phasma quipped as the four of you stepped out of the school, stepping into the September sun. Kylo looked around first, noticed that people were watching, and he drew you close, pressing his lips against your forehead before bringing you in for a hug. You wrapped your arms around him, also conscious of the eyes watching you, before looking up at Kylo, who had that same smirk on his face as always. You smiled at him before the two of you let go.

“Text me when you get home, okay?” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“I will. See ya later,” you said before turning towards Phasma and Sami, walking towards Phasma’s car. It was a quaint little car, just an old silver toyota, and you tried to keep up as Sami sprinted towards it.

“Shotgun!” she yelled as you and Phasma laughed when Sami reached the passenger door, desperately trying to open the door. Phasma used the key fob and unlocked the door, and Sami climbed in as fast as lightning. You laughed as you climbed in behind her, throwing your backpack on the other side of the back seat of Phasma’s car. Phasma climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car, putting her phone on a mount as she pulled up the directions to the mall Jordan had suggested.

“Thank God we’re getting dresses in the city, I need to get away from this town for a bit,” Sami said, rolling down the window as Phasma pulled out of her parking spot.

“What about you, Phasma? I can’t imagine you’re the dress type?” you asked from the back.

“Nah, I’m trying to find a tux instead. I saw this cool floral one online and I’m thinking about wearing that, if I can find it. Who wants the aux?” she said. She held up the aux cord and immediately Sami snatched it from her, plugging it into the headphone jack in her phone. She then pulled up a playlist of music you weren’t really familiar with, but it seemed the same style that Kylo listened to. You thought about how funny it was, this was the first time in over a month that you’d been in the car with someone who didn’t have a cassette player.

The drive to Coruscant was fun. Occasionally, Sami would play a song that the three of you could sing to, and as you watched the suburbs go by as you rode on the interstate. It was interesting to see the landscape change from rows upon rows of houses to the city skyline, skyscrapers rising and putting a feeling of awe in your heart.

Soon, Phasma was pulling off the interstate, driving along with the city’s traffic towards the mall. Soon, and to Phasma’s relief, the three of you were pulling off into the mall’s parking lot.

“How come no one in the city knows how to drive?” Phasma said with a frown as she pulled into a parking spot.

“Ya know, I’m pretty sure they feel the same way about you,” Sami mused before pulling the aux cord out of her phone. The three of you all got out of the car, and Phasma put her phone up to her ear as she called Jordan. You pulled out your phone and saw a text from Kylo.

You ladies make it to the city okay? Also Gran won’t stop asking me about you today.

You smiled as you read the message, glad that Mrs. Skywalker liked you so much. You quickly typed your response back.

We made it better than we would have if you were driving. I have a feeling you’re a scary interstate driver. Also, tell your Gran I said hi, you responded before putting your phone away.

“What’s the dirt?” Sami asked, catching you smiling at your phone.

“Nothing, just letting Kylo know we got here safely, while also making fun of him. You know, the usual,” you said as you slid your phone into your pocket. Though you’d stopped looking at your phone, the smile still remained.

Sami nodded her head sagely as a car pulled up besides Phasma’s. She couldn’t help but think that if she didn’t know any better, she too would think you and Kylo were dating. Phasma put down her phone as Jordan rolled down the window, smiling at the three of you.

“Hello ladies!” she said before turning off the car and climbing out. When she was out, she ambled over to Phasma, who placed a kiss on her cheek before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. After that, the four of you practically strutted into the mall together, you and Sami following behind Jordan and Phasma.

There was something about going to a fancy mall in the wealthy part of the city that was just different. Of course you’d been to malls before, but to go into a mall with all sorts of designer brands and expensive department stores, it was a little overwhelming. You were in absolute awe as you passed each of the different stores, window shopping all the expensive items and wishing you had money for them.

Soon, the four of you were heading into a Bloomingdale’s, which was intimidating to say the least. You and Sami exchanged looks as you walked in, knowing the price was going to be a little bit more than you’d anticipated. However, you heaved a sigh as you accepted that this would be a better way to not have the same dress as everyone else.

“(y/n), I think you should wear red or black. It’s very on par with whatever Kylo would want to wear,” Jordan says as you approach the semi-formal dresses.

“Idk, I think you should wear a midnight blue. It’ll get Kylo to step out of his comfort zone,” Sami added as you all started to search through the racks. You pushed aside bright pink dresses and some weird green shades, but you never really found anything you liked.

“What about you, Sami? I know Milo isn’t gonna have time to come down, so are you coordinating with anyone?” Jordan asked Sami before pulling out a dark green dress, and holding it up to Sami’s figure.

“Yeah, Pat is my ‘date.’ We thought it would be more convenient, since, like you said, Milo is busy being a college student hours away. Also, that’s cute, let me see,” Sami said as she reached for the dress in Jordan’s hand. You laughed as Sami inspected the dress, nodding her head in approval as she examined. She then searched for her size.

You pushed through a different rack of dresses before coming across a gorgeous blue dress. It had an A-line skirt made of blue tulle with a blue satin interfacing that ended a little above the knees, and a sweetheart neckline with off-shoulder sleeves. The bodice was beaded with small silver beads, making the top of the dress almost look like a night sky. With a smile, you rummaged through the dresses until you found your size.

“You find something, (y/n)?” Phasma asked as she watched you. You simply nodded before pulling out the dress in your size, and holding it up.

“Ha, I win. Midnight blue forever,” Sami said, sticking her tongue out at Jordan, who reciprocated.

“Let’s try them on,” you said excitedly, dragging Sami to the dressing room. The woman at the desk led you to separate fitting rooms, and as soon as you were in, you were undressing, ready to see if you liked the way the dress fit on your body. As soon as you put it on, you knew it was the one. It fit your body amazingly, and made you feel so confident in it. You loved it with every part of your being.

Stepping out of the fitting room, you were greeted by Jordan and Phasma, who both smiled when you stepped out.

“(y/n), that is absolutely gorgeous,” Jordan said.

Soon, Sami was also stepping out of her fitting room. Her dress was very similar to yours in shape, but made all with satin. The forest green color looked gorgeous on her tan skin, and really made the color of her eyes pop.

“I love that,” you told Sami, and Jordan and Phasma both nodded in agreement.

After you and Sami had decided that you’d found the dresses you wanted, the four of you then moved to find a blazer for Phasma. She ended up settling on a black blazer with a floral pattern on it. You, Jordan, and Sami all agreed that it made her look very sophisticated. Jordan especially loved it, practically fawning over her girlfriend, even after you’d all made your purchases.

The four of you headed for the food court, where you decided to split up for food. You and Sami decided on chinese food, contently carrying the styrofoam boxes back to the table that you’d all decided to meet at. Taking a seat, you began digging into your food as Phasma and Jordan approached, each with food in hand. As Jordan and Phasma sat down, they too began to dig into their food.

“So,” Jordan started after swallowing a bite, “what’s the tea? What’s been going on at good ole Mos Eisley High?”

“(y/n) finally called out Shawn. It was badass, based on what Kylo told me,” Sami said, looking at you and grinning mischievously. You rolled your eyes before shaking your head.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal. I just wasn’t gonna deal with his bullshit anymore, especially since he tried to call me a slut,” you explained. Jordan had that same look on her face as Sami, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Rich, coming from him. Anything else?” Jordan responded.

“Pat’s planning an after party for homecoming,” Phasma added, poking around at her food. “I figured I’d warn you guys that he’s planning to invite Hux.”

Sami’s fork dropped from her hand, and Jordan gasped loudly.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sami asked, rage dripping from her voice. “I don’t understand why Pat still hangs out with that asshole, especially after all the shit he’s done.”

“I know. Also, was he planning to invite Kylo?” Jordan asked, her attention solely on Phasma. You couldn’t help but keep a keen attention on what she was saying either. After all, you only knew that Hux was the person Kylo’s ex had cheated on him with. You wanted to know more about him, though, to see why else everyone hated him.

“That’s just the thing,” Phasma began, “he is planning to invite Kylo. When I asked him if he thought that was wise, he said that there would be so many people there, they probably wouldn’t even run into each other. I told him he’s being a dumbass.”

“Yeah, a dumbass is right. If Kylo sees Hux without first being warned that he’s there, Kylo will beat the shit out of him,” Sami said before taking another bite from her food.

“Maybe not. I don’t think Kylo wants little Armitage running off to his cop dad. That’s why he got put on house arrest in the first place,” Jordan remarked, causing you to become confused.

“Kylo told me that he was put on house arrest for vandalism,” you said. Everyone turned and looked at you, all of them heaving a collective sigh.

“Kylo would say something like that. Look, don’t tell him I told you, but Kylo was arrested because Armitage planted drugs on him. Luckily, he’s a minor, and on top of that, his mom has a lot of influence with the judges. They didn’t believe that the drugs had been planted, but they agreed on house arrest after his drug test came back negative,” Jordan explained.

“How did Kylo know the drugs were planted?” you asked.

“Because Armitage was at the park that day, trying to taunt Kylo into fighting him. Kylo told me that he went to the bathroom, but accidentally left his stuff outside, and Armitage must have planted them then. Also, the officer who happened to search Kylo was Brendol Hux not even ten minutes after Armitage had left,” Sami added. “None of us know all the details, so if you really want to know, you should ask Kylo. You should also warn Kylo about Hux coming to Pat’s after party.”

You nodded in agreement before going back to eating your food, thinking. It seemed like Armitage Hux had a personal vendetta against Kylo, and now you wanted to know why. Was it because of Hux and Stella, or was it something deeper? You would ask one of the girls, but this was something you wanted to hear from Kylo himself. You didn’t want to worry about speculation, and what might be truth or lie.

On the way home, as you watched the city’s skyscrapers fade into the suburbs, you couldn’t help but continue to think, and you knew that you wanted to talk to Kylo as soon as you got home.

Hey, we just left the city. Is it okay if we talk when I get back? You texted, letting out a sigh as you waited for his reply.

Yeah, I have something I need to tell you, too. See ya when you get home, he responded. After that, you felt your shoulders tense up as you wondered what it was that Kylo needed to tell you. Deciding not to worry about it, you continued to look out the window as the three of you inched ever closer to home.

Phasma decided to drop you off first. As she pulled into the cul de sac where you lived, you noticed Kylo leaning against his car, smoking a cig and staring down at his phone. As Phasma slowed down in front of him, he looked up, waving at Phasma and Sami as you stepped out of the car.

“Thanks for the ride, Phas,” you said as you waved goodbye.

“No problem. We should do it again some time!” She called out before she and Sami waved goodbye, driving away from the two of you. With a sigh, you turned to face Kylo, and you decided to lean against his car beside him.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” he asked after taking a drag.

“So, Phasma told me that Pat is throwing a homecoming after party-”

“I would expect no less.”

“And apparently he’s inviting Hux.”

You could almost feel Kylo’s jaw clench from beside you, and as you looked up into his eyes, you could see the fire of rage behind them. He was more contained than you expected, and as you watched him take another drag from his cigarette, you wondered if he were simply waiting to explode. However, when he sighed as he exhaled the smoke, he shook his head.

“Of fucking course. We’ll go, but if he tries to start something, we’re leaving,” he said. “Is that it?”

You thought for a moment if you wanted to ask him about his relationship with Hux, but you decided you would ask another time. You didn’t want to upset him more than he already was, so you decided to change the subject.

“Nope. I also wanted to tell you to get a dark blue tie,” you said, smiling up at him. He smiled back at you, but you noticed it didn’t reach his eyes. A part of you regretted telling him about Hux, but you knew it was for the best. “So, what did you wanna tell me?”

“Oh! Well, I talked to my mom earlier, and so, basically, the whole family is coming over for dinner,” he said, rubbing the nape of his neck and avoiding eye contact with you.

“Okay?” you asked, confused on why this was a bad thing.

“That means Rey is gonna be there, too,” he said in a murmur. Your body filled with cold after you heard that, and you couldn’t help but frown. First of all, this was about to be a very awkward dinner. Secondly, you hadn’t told Kylo about Rey, so you weren’t sure how he knew to warn you.

“Look, it doesn’t take a genius to know that my cousin judges anyone who’s dating me. You didn’t need to tell me that you and Rey had a fallout, I guessed it would happen eventually,” Kylo said, practically reading your mind. “I am curious why you didn’t tell me, though.”

With a sigh, you crossed your arms across your chest. “Because she said some things about you that weren’t okay. I didn’t want to reiterate those words to you because she’s still your family,” you explained.

“Just because she’s my family doesn’t mean she always thinks highly of me, I accepted that a long time ago. Besides, if she’s thinking less of you because you and I are a thing, then maybe you need a break from her,” Kylo added before dropping the cigarette butt to the ground and stomping it out. He then reached over and picked it up, clenching it in his hand as he let out a sigh. “Look, my grandparents like you, and I’m pretty sure my parents will like you. That’s the goal, after all. I wouldn’t worry about what Rey thinks right now.”

You thought about his words for a moment before letting out yet another sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Kylo,” you said before turning to face him. He turned to face you as well, bringing you in for a hug. As he held you flush against his body, your arms wrapped around his waist, and his around your shoulders, you breathed in his scent, feeling a wave of calm overcome you.

“No problem, (y/n). I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner,” he said before letting you go. Once he did, you smiled up at him before turning around, heading for your house, ready to go to bed after your day of shopping.

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stellar-imagines · 5 years

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SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝attracting vellichor.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Todoroki Shouto ]

「Todoroki goes to the library for a study group to finish his homework and prepare for upcoming exams with Midoriya and Iida. During his break, he discovers a group of girls talking very loudly until a girl—you, who decided to step in.」

TODOROKI SHOUTO

Todoroki was invited to study for the first time. He who had been studying for exams at home for the past few years do not know how a study group actually goes. Midoriya and Iida have invited him to the public library to finish a group project together. Truth to be told, the three of them never had any problems with their studies, being attentive and well-behaved students who paid attention in class. Even so, this kind of thing wasn't bad. Fuyumi was ecstatic about how her younger brother was now hanging out with friends and ushered the youngest Todoroki out of the house. She had been worried that his upbringing was making him distant from other kids for a long time. No mentions of making friends at all, no plans and stayed home training most of the time.

It was nice to see her baby brother going out with his friends to do something. Even though it was just a study group in the library, she can't help but think that her brother's life had brightened up a little. Todoroki, now dressed in a light wash denim jacket over a white t-shirt, made his way to the meeting point. A bag with textbooks, notebooks, pencils, and whatnot was inside. The library was a place that Todoroki don't often frequent, it wasn't too close to his house and he had to use the train.

He arrived at the library a bit later than he had expected and texted his friends. Midoriya and Iida were spotted seated on a table near the windows. The table was still empty, a sign that his friends just arrived a bit earlier than he had. The library wasn't silent but it wasn't too noisy either, there were groups of people who were working together but they tried to keep it down. Halfway through the work, they decided to take a break. Todoroki had decided to borrow a book that might help them with the homework while the other two went off for a bathroom break and to buy some drinks.

"Are you serious!?"

There's a group of girls talking very loudly, sitting just two tables away from him. Judging from their looks, they seem to be around his age, if not a bit older. They were sitting inappropriately, with their legs propped up on the chair and a few snack bags messily thrown on the table. From his point of view, they were acting like delinquents. Appearance-wise, they were a bit on the wilder side, having dyed hair, revealing clothes and talking very loudly. Clearly, other people sitting nearby seemed disturbed by it but there weren't much. Only two girls who seemed quite bothered by the noise.

"I can't believe he did that. How did you react?"

"How am I supposed to react in that situation anyway?! Imagine yourself in my shoes for a second, idiot! It was so embarrassing!" one of the girls squealed as her friends began to talk over each other. Todoroki had his attention on them for a while before deciding that it was best if he moved places to continue their homework.

"Lucky you who now has a boyfriend."

"Oh shut up, there is plenty of fish in the sea like that guy over there."

"The one with white-red hair? He's cute!"

They're loud.

Todoroki was more than ready to leave. He was starting to get aware of the girls gazes and gossip about him. Ultimately, they failed to make it more discreet, the volume of their voice was loud and clear to him. Not that he cared about them anyway. The scattered papers were stacked neatly and he thought about telling Midoriya and Iida before he moved to a new place to do their homework. He reached for his phone that was sitting on the table when he heard a voice, not too loud but at a volume that was able to catch his attention.

"Excuse me."

He turned to see a girl with [Hair Color] hair and bright [Eye Color] eyes standing at [Height]. The table that consisted of 4 boisterous girls who were being ignorant that they were in a library became quiet for one second. All of them turned their heads to the one who interrupted their chatting. They seemed displeased and it was no surprise. You stood at the end of the table, hands inside your pockets. You were dressed in a navy, long-sleeved oversized shirt that showed off your collarbone and black pants that reached your ankles. Around your neck were headphones and an identity card of some sort. Todoroki now had his attention on you now.

"Can you quiet down a bit? There are people around you trying to focus." you jerked your thumb at the two girls behind you who looked grateful. The clique of rowdy girls glanced at each other before raising from their seats and neared you threateningly but you were unfazed, standing on your spot as the surrounded you.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I happen to be in charge of the library." you shot back, the smile remaining on your face but your tone changed a bit, waving the identity card in front of them.

"I hate people like you the most. Acting all high and almighty like you own the place. Just because you have authority, you think you're better than us." With a scoff, the girls look at you with a look of disdain evident, raising her fist and aiming to hit you. In the blink of an eye, you had disappeared from their sight with no traces.

"Huh? Where did she go?" the person who attempted to assault you glanced around frantically but there was no sign of you. The four girls seem confused too, you were right in front of them just a second ago.

"Are you willing to keep it down and not disturb everyone else?"

You had reappeared right behind the girl with a small smile on your face. They eventually got a bit annoyed by your behavior and decided to leave themselves after being embarrassed by you. With a smile, you watched as they left on their own accord, gathering their stuff before passing by you but not without giving you a glare. Once the whole thing was over, you grabbed the books they had left behind on the table. Todoroki kept his gaze on you, watching your every move. He was relieved that nothing too serious happened. He's actually more amazed that you're brave enough to step up. You turned his way, giving him a smile.

"I hope that bunch was not bothering you with whatever you were doing." you approached him, carrying a few books in one hand.

"No, we were on a break and I don't really pay any heed to them." Todoroki responded.

"Well give me a holler if you need any help with finding books or anything like that. But I don't mean literally because you might attract unnecessary attention. If you do see me then don't hesitate, I'm usually walking around but there's another employee by the counter too." you waved goodbye before walking over to the shelves to put back the books to where they belong.

Todoroki blinked owlishly, your friendliness made his heart beat faster than it was supposed to. It skipped a vital beat and he might as well be dead for a second. He stared at you for a while. Your [Eye Color] eyes brightened up as you talked with the two girls who thanked you for dealing with the delinquents. There were so many things he picked up from you. The friendly smile you had as you help people search for books and the amount of patience you had dealing with rude people. These attributes struck a chord within him.

"Todoroki-kun?"

Midoriya's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. His eyes snapped towards the boy who called him, he was making his way together with Iida.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well, you seemed like you were in a daze. Are you alright?" Iida tilted his head. Todoroki shifted his eyes at you, only to see you smiling and waving at him before slipping between two shelves.

"I'm fine." he replied with a ghost of a smile.

Total: 1380 words Published: 29.09.2019

We’re open for some limited edition prompts featuring Fall and Halloween! Read more here!

Thank you for requesting! *｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و*｡ We took a while for this request and before we knew it, it’s the end of September. We delayed typing a lot and as a result we finished it after a loooong time. Sorry to make you so wait, anon! ― author Hibiki/Lou

Thank you for requesting! Didn’t know how to end this so we tried not to end it too awkwardly. We hope you enjoyed it, anon. ― author Natsuki

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

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theatrelove3000 · 4 years

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Welcome Home

AAAAAAAANNNNNDDDD I have returned. I figured since I am not sleeping, I might as well post another fic, so here we are! This one is one I wrote after I got back from a trip to the UK in September. I thought it would be a fun little nod to my trip, which I plan to take again and highly recommend if you can get there!

Summary: After three weeks of being apart, Loki goes to pick Noelle up from the airport on Midgard.

Welcome Home

Loki POV:

Three weeks. Noelle has been gone for three weeks. I understand that she is on a trip with her mother in Midgard but I miss her. I have not spent this much time apart from her for as long as I have known her, including the months before we began courting.

It is still dark outside when I get out of bed. I can barely sleep without her next to me anymore, let alone with her on another planet.

I jump out of bed, pulling on some pants in the process and pick my shirt up off my bed. I start to go for my vest and leathers when I realize what I'm doing. If I am to go to Midgard to pick her up at what she called the airport, I need to look like I was of Midgard. I begin looking for the box that I had brought with me from our last visit to Midgard, finally finding it in a drawer in my wardrobe. I take it out, open it, and empty it of his contents onto the deep green of my duvet. I pull from the pile a dark material called denim jeans, or so I am told.

'Whatever it is, it is comfortable and Midgard appropriate' I think to myself as I pull the trousers on. I find the black shirt and put it on. After finishing with the socks and leather "combat boots" Noelle bought for me, I shrug into the black leather jacket her mother found for me as a thank you for this excursion to a Midgardian flight zone.

The sun is just peeking through the curtains of my chambers when I finish getting ready.

Looking at the sundial for a specific time, I find that I still have a few hours until I am to leave for the Bifrost to retrieve Noelle and her mother. I decide that I can just pass the time in the library, though I had a feeling that I would not be able to focus on my work.

I teleported myself to our library and make my way to my desk. It was still littered with the books I had been reading before adjoining my chambers for the evening last night. It was good to know that the maids and servants hadn't touched anything, not that I thought they would. They usually just cleaned around my work station, unless Noelle forgets to move her own books off the sofa or the table in front of it. Then they just skipped the library all together.

I sat at my desk and pick up the book that is laying open in front of me. It's a book I borrowed from Noelle before she left. I am just getting around to reading it.

'It's a dystopian society. It may be a bit odd for you but it was all the rage here a few years ago.' She had told me. So far I am on the second of the three books. I have a feeling I will not like the way this tale ends. It seems like the kind of story that the main character dies at the end. As hard as I try to focus on the storyline, I can't get invested in it the way I normally would. Instead, I keep glancing at the sundial. I finally give up and set the book down, deciding to walk down into the dining hall. Before doing so, I transform my clothing temporarily so no one questions my attire.

As I sit down at my normal table, I hear my boisterous brother with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif arrive as well. They join me at the table as I pile food onto my plate.

"Good morning, Brother!"

"Good morning, Thor. You are especially hyperactive today. Any particular reason?"

"Have you not heard?" Fandral asks as he reaches over me to snatch a piece of toast.

"Heard what?"

"You really are holed up in the library, aren't you?" Teases Volstagg from across the table, stopping his conversation with my brother to smirk at me.

"I do not find interest in gossip. Just tell me what has happened." I snap at them, my patience running thin.

"Thor has made the decision to ask the lady he wishes to attend the upcoming ball with to do so," Sif explains rather coolly. I know she is in love with Thor and has been since our childhood. Little did she know...

Thor looks up with a grin of childish glee on his face. He glances at Sif then back at me, telling me who he was asking as though I didn't already know. I nodded at him, letting him know that I understand.

"Enough of me, my friends! Let us focus on something else instead. Loki," he turns to me, as I start to stand and escape from the table, "When is Noelle to return to Asgard? I have much to speak of with her."

His rather inopportune choice of words earns a hiss from Sif and looks of shock from the Warriors Three. I just smirk at his inability to get his point across with his words rather than a hammer.

"She is returning to her home in Midgard today and I will be accompanying her return to Asgard in a few days, in time for you to speak to her before the ball." The others look at me incredulously, truly believing that Thor wanted to ask my Noelle to go to the ball with him. Only Fandral has picked up on Thor's feelings for Sif and knew that he would be asking her, not Noelle. He also had enough of a brain to know that even if that was Thor's intention, I would tear him apart. He is just sitting next to me with his head bent, trying not to laugh.

Thor laughs loudly, snapping the others out of their reverie. Glancing at the nearest sundial, I excuse myself from the table and nod to my friends and brother.

Once I am out of the palace, I pick up my pace from walking, eventually running to the stables to collect Tempest from the waiting stable-hands. I mount and we race through the city to the Bifrost. Children chased us as we sped down the streets of Asgard, people waving at us as we pass. I urge Tempest faster, digging my heels into his sides. It wasn't long before we were met by Heimdall at the Bifrost.

Heimdall nods to me as I step onto the platform. I close my eyes as I feel the Bifrost work around me. When I open them again, I am standing in Noelle's mother's empty apartment. I stand for a moment, getting my bearings, before walking to Noelle's room. Before she departed, we sat and studied the maps and best ways of transportation for me to get to her. We decided that I could just walk, as I do not trust these Midgardian vehicles. I open the door to her room and see on her bed the instructions she gave me on how to get to the "airport" and where to find her when I get there. I know that our connection will lead me to her when she arrives but it is helpful to have it if I need it.

I transform my clothing back to the Midgardian style and start to make my way to the airport. It doesn't take very long, as my destination is only a few blocks away from Noelle's apartment. Before long, I am leaning against a pillar in the building at her gate, waiting for her to come back to me.

I don't have to wait long. I feel the pull of our connection as she gets closer to me. She must feel it, too, because when I see her as she comes down the moving stairs, she is looking around. I stand up straight as I see her, my heart skipping a beat. The moment she sees me, her eyes light up and she starts bouncing slightly, impatient for the stairs to bring her down to the ground. Her mother puts a hand on her shoulder to try and keep her from being too hyper.

The second she was able to, Noelle started running to me as fast as she could. She dropped her bag when she was only a few feet from me and flung herself into my waiting arms. Her arms snake around my neck and nuzzles her face in my shoulder. I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist. I bury my face in her hair, breathing her in. Lost in our little world, we didn't even notice when her mother was a few feet away.

"Hello, love." I mutter into her cheek. She lets out a muffled greeting. I chuckle at her, "You missed me, I take it?" She nods. I smile and set her down. I take her hand as I look over to her mother and nod at her. "Hello, Lady Beth. How was your trip?"

"It was lovely, Loki. Thank you. It's very nice to see you; I think Noelle agrees," She laughs, glancing at her daughter who has one hand laced with mine and the other holding onto my arm.

"I have missed her very much, my lady. I am glad she is home."

Beth smiles at me and tells Noelle to pick up her bag. I release her hand and pick it up myself. She picks up her smaller bag and weaves her fingers through mine again. I smile down at out intertwined hands.

We start to follow her mother out of the building where she waves into the street and a yellow vehicle pulls up to where we stand. The driver gets out and aids me in loading their bags into the open back of the vehicle.

I lower myself into where Noelle and Beth are sitting and close the door, upon which time my Noelle slides over the leather seat to me and curls into my side while her mother gives the man directions to her apartment.

"You know, I like this look," She says quietly, only to me, "it's very you."

I chuckle at her vague compliment and reply, "Thank you. I find it rather entertaining myself. Are Midgardians not taught as children that it is impolite to stare? I kept catching people looking at me as I walked."

She bites her lip, making me want to kiss her even more. "Most are told that it's rude to stare but you are way more attractive than anyone on this planet so they don't really care."

I smile and kiss the top of her head. "So, what was the best part of your trip? What did you see? Who did you meet? I wish to know all about it." I speak loud enough for her mother to hear us this time and join the conversation.

With this small invitation. Beth and Noelle launched into the tale of their travels that lasted until we were three-quarters of the way up the stairs to their apartment. Beth had taken hundreds of pictures of Noelle at the different sites and such while Noelle had taken pictures of the things around the sites in case we wanted to go there by ourselves.

Beth orders a pizza and the two ladies unpack as we await its arrival. I go with Noelle and lay across her bed as I watch her put her clothes in their proper places. We talk the whole time we are in there, catching up on what happened recently.

"Thor is actually going to ask her?" She exclaims as I tell her of what occured at breakfast this morning.

"It appears so. Though Sif, Hogan, and Volstagg are convinced he is asking you." I chuckle at her look of shock and tell her of the rest of the awkward conversation. By the end, both of us are unable to contain our laughter. It's at this point Beth comes in to tell us the food has arrived.

The three of us sit on the sofa in the living room and eat while watching whatever a "movie" is. Noelle tried to explain but it didn't make much sense to me. It is quite funny and entertaining though, so I don't mind.

When Beth and Noelle tire from their journey, Noelle makes a small scene about getting out the cot I slept on last time. Her mother laughs at this saying, "You really think I don't know that he is going to sleep in the bed with you? I don't mind, sweetheart, as long as you don't wake anyone up."

I smirk into my lap. Beth excuses herself to go to bed and Noelle comes up from behind where I am sitting on the sofa and wraps her arms around my shoulders. She rests her head on top of mine and I cover her hands with my own.

I hear her yawn and stand up, walk around the sofa and pull her to me. She moves her arms to wrap around my torso, her head to my chest. I envelope her in my arms and keep her close to me. After a moment of enjoying the silence in each other's company, I pull away, earning a slight whine from her in the process, and take her hand instead. I walk to her room with her following behind me, never letting go of my hand.

I open the door and she rushes in, dragging me to her bed. She crawls under the purple blankets and pulls me in after her. As I cover us both with the sheets, she curls up into my side, nuzzling her face into where my arm and shoulder connect to the rest of my body and lays one hand on my chest over my heart. It's her favorite place to be. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer, kissing her forehead. She giggles quietly and reaches up to kiss my jaw.

"Do you want to go out tomorrow? We can see a movie or sit in the park," She mutters into my neck.

"I will do whatever you wish to do, love. I am at your disposal." I feel her smile, feeling our usual rush of joy. I fall asleep quickly, finally feeling at peace with this beautiful woman between my arms.

~~~~~Le Time Skip~~~~~

Noelle POV:

I wake to the sound of deep breathing and the feeling of warmth around me. Turning around, I glance up at the sleeping prince with his arms around me, cradling me to his chest. I smile at how peaceful he looks. I kiss his jaw and slowly start to pull away. I manage to escape his death grip without waking him, quite a feat I might add, and slide out of bed. After making sure that Loki is covered by the blankets, I open the door as silently as I can and shut it behind me as I make my way to the kitchen.

When I check the clock on the stove, I see that it is almost ten in the morning.

"Damn jetlag," I mutter under my breath. I open the fridge and start grabbing things to make for breakfast. My mom comes in not long after.

"Morning, Momma." I say quietly.

"Good morning, baby." She replies and stands next to me as I start to crack some eggs, "Where is Loki? I assumed you two would be attached at the hip after what I witnessed yesterday." She bumps her hip against mine teasingly.

I giggle, "He's still asleep. I was hungry so I figured I would make the three of us some food before Loki and I head out for the day."

"Oh? Where are you going?"

"Not really sure yet. We haven't decided. Fell asleep before we could talk about it."

"Got it. Are you good here?" She asks, running water over her fingers to clean the eggs off.

I nod and she leaves to change. I am only alone for a moment when I feel hands on my waist and lips on my cheek.

"Hello, love."

"Hi," I lean back into him and turn my head to kiss his cheek.

"Do you know," his arms wrap around my waist tightly, "how terrifying it was to awaken alone in a place that I did not recognize at first? If you wanted to get up, you could have woken me."

"I know that you haven't been sleeping well, Loki. I'm not clueless," I grin and turn around in his arms, moving my hands to his chest. "Besides, I didn't want to disturb you. You looked so peaceful."

He smirks and lowers his forehead to mine. 'Thank you' he whispers into my mind.

'For what?' I respond.

'For knowing me better than I know myself.' I smile at this, kissing his nose.

'Then I believe I have to thank you for the same thing.'

We break away when we hear a throat clear, looking to see my mother's boyfriend standing awkwardly in the doorway to the kitchen with my mom slightly behind him, trying not to laugh.

I feel my face heat up and hide in Loki's shoulder. I feel him chuckling at me and peek at him to see him smirking at my mom's boyfriend.

"Hi, James." I squeak from my place in the crook of Loki's neck.

"Hey, Noelle. And your name is Loki, correct?" He holds out his hand for Loki to shake, "We met before, I think. I didn't know you were together."

"We were not together when we last met," Loki explains calmly, "It was not long after we last saw each other (you, Noelle, and I) that we began dating."

I bite my lip when I hear him say the word "dating." That's a strictly Midgardian term. It was odd to hear it come out of my Asgardian boyfriend's mouth.

"Ah, I see. So you have been with her for about a year then. That's nice." James is trying to keep things from becoming more awkward and is failing miserably.

"Noelle, dear, why don't you and Loki go get changed? We will take over the food." Momma to the rescue! Nodding, I take Loki's hand and drag him out of the kitchen with a look thanking my mom.

The second the door to my bedroom was closed, the two of us burst out laughing. I have my hands on his sides and his are on my hips. We fall backwards on my bed which only intensifies our laughter. He lands on his back and I fall on his chest. At this point we can barely breathe and have to calm down. If we don't, mom or James will come in to make sure we are okay and catch us in this compromising position.

He gets a hold of himself before I do and I do my best to match my breathing to his.

As soon as we are both breathing normally again, I get off of him and walk over to my closet. I realize as I am going through my options that I don't know what to wear since I don't know what we are doing. I suddenly have an idea that will help us decide what we do today. I grab a flowy emerald green dress that is shorter in the front and longer in the back and toss it onto my bed. I move to my dresser and pull out a pair of denim shorts, then I look around the room before finding what I am looking for. Loki left a green button up shirt here last time he visited. I lay the two outfits next to each other on the bed and look at Loki.

"You pick. Whichever outfit you like better will be what we do today." I explain when he gives me a confused and slightly amused look. He nods and looks at the clothes before picking up the dress and holding it up to me, like I do when I am having trouble deciding on a certain article of clothing.

"I like the idea of you in my clothes but I think I prefer you in a gown." He smirks at me. I nod and take the dress from him.

Before I change, I go to the kitchen and ask my mom what she did with the shirt she bought Loki while we were in Scotland. I go and get it from her suitcase and bring it back to him. I toss it at him along with a pair of skinny jeans from the box in my closet we had put together on our last trip here. He goes to change in the bathroom and I quickly put on the dress. I am lacing up my gladiator sandals when he returns in his new outfit. The jeans we bought fit him nicely and the black v-neck makes me laugh. Printed on the front in white letters are the words "Low-Key." He is smiling and I can feel his amusement through our connection.

I stand up off my bed and he crosses my room in two steps, grabbing my hips and pulling me to him, kissing me sweetly.

"You look ravishing, darling." He mumbles when he pulls away.

"You don't look bad yourself." I reply with a grin.

We go and eat breakfast with Momma and James and then head out on our date.

We walk down to the bakery we went to the first time he visited and bought some pastries for the God of Mischief's sweet tooth. I then hail a taxi and ask him to take us to the beach. It is the end of August and all the kids had gone back to school so the beach is pretty much empty for us to stroll down in peace.

We take off our shoes and walk in the surf hand in hand. We talk about nothing and eat our pastries and just enjoy each other's company.

"Do you know what one of the best parts about being in Midgard is?" Loki asks me as he begins to walk backwards in front of me.

"What's that?"

He stops and kisses me full on the lips, holding me to him. I snake my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. When we break apart for air he answers me.

"I don't have to be so careful with my actions in public with you. I can do more than offer my arm to you. I can hold your hand. I can touch your face. I can kiss your cheek. It's truly freeing."

I smile and place my hands on either side of his face, bringing his lips back to mine.

#loki fluff #loki x oc #loki odinson #loki cuddles #loki fanfic #avengers #avengers fic

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ahtohallan-calling · 5 years

Text

chapter 8 of don’t read the last page is here!

[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]

this is another chapter where you gotta click through to ao3 to see the whole thing ;), but here on tumblr it’s all t-rated

“People who are fine don’t sort out other people’s kitchens at three in the morning.”

“I just wanted to help,” she said, her voice small, and a little frown appeared on his forehead.

chapter 8: firsts

Anna was getting antsy.

Filming had wrapped way back at the beginning of July; there was a lull now until the trailer would be released at the beginning of October, and then slowly interviews would trickle in, talk show appearances if she was lucky; then the movie would drop, and if it went well she’d probably get offers of other jobs or at minimum asked to be on more shows, and if it failed-- well. She’d taken a good, hard look at her options back in May after the tampon commercial had first come out, when she’d had to wonder if going semi-viral on Twitter was the height of her stardom. The company wanted her back, wanted to make a whole series of ads featuring her and capitalizing on the traction the first commercial had gotten, but she had her limits.

She’d asked Sven semi-casually what it took to be a bank teller and quickly scratched that off her list; she’d never had a head for numbers. The only math classes she’d ever done well in were the ones in high school where she got to sit beside Kristoff and pass him notes asking for help, so that ruled out most of the jobs Google said were easy to get into. She could go back for a master’s in teaching and try to be a drama teacher, but while she’d played a very good Anna Leonowens in a community theater production of The King and I, she’d never really had a knack for actual teaching of any kind. There was always starting from scratch in college, but even the thought sent a shudder down her spine.

She’d waitressed her way through college and done well enough at it; maybe she’d do the opposite of the old stereotype and be an actress before waiting tables.

As much as she’d tried to hide her worries from her sister, Elsa had taken notice of the fact that Anna’s room-- and, in fact, the whole apartment-- was suddenly much cleaner than normal. “You don’t have to hang around here all day,” Elsa had said one night as they sat down to dinner together. “And you know you can talk to me if you’re feeling stressed, right?”

“But I don’t hang around here all day,” Anna protested, and it was true. It was just that there was so much time to fill now that Kristoff was at school or work most of the time, and Honey was working on two different sets at once, and Elsa and Sven had real grown-up jobs, and her friends from college in the area had, by and large, moved on to 9-to-5s as well. So she spent her mornings tidying the apartment, scrolling through casting calls, going on long runs, checking the audition postings once again just in case-- and then she’d look at the clock and see it was only eleven and feel a sense of dread rising in her, settling a little more heavily on her heart every day.

She tried not to burden Kristoff with it; she’d taken the once-seemingly endless days full of pillow talk and lazy kisses and picnics on the living room floor for granted, and now when she saw him he was usually only awake for a couple of hours at a time, and even then he was always studying or trying to catch up on errands or just too exhausted to do anything but hold her.

He’d tried to apologize for it once at the beginning when he’d accidentally dozed off mid-conversation as they sat together on the sofa, but Anna had shaken her head and shushed him before he could even finish saying “sorry”.

“Look at me, Kris,” she’d said, cupping his jaw in her hands. “I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to apologize to me for working hard.”

“I just feel bad,” he had replied, eyebrows pulling together in a frown. “I want to take you out and stuff like you deserve, but here I am falling asleep before you can even finish telling me about your day. I’m really sorry, Anna, you deserve better and--”

She had leaned in and kissed him, not pulling away until he relaxed against her. “Don’t say that, baby,” she’d said, and he’d sucked in a little breath; she hadn’t called him that before. “You’re the best thing in my life.”

And I love you, she’d been tempted to add, especially when he’d tugged her onto his lap and started kissing his way up her neck, the way that made her clutch at his shirt and moan his name every time, but then he’d reached her mouth, and she figured maybe she’d just show him instead of saying it out loud.

But by the end of September, with the trailer’s release only a week away, she was beginning to reach a breaking point; it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own for picking such a useless job with so much downtime when you weren’t good enough at it to stay booked, which she apparently wasn’t. It was a Saturday night, and Kristoff had a rare day off on Sunday, and they’d made plans to go out for brunch in the morning before driving up to a stretch of coastline Kristoff had assured her was deserted, with a crooked little smile that sent shivers up her spine.

He was asleep next to her now in his bed; she had been nestled against him, her nose buried in the crook of his neck, but no matter how many deep breaths she took, sleep continued to evade her, and so she had rolled away, careful not to disturb him.

She was tempted to reach out and trace her fingers over the lines of his face, set her palm on his cheek and lean in to kiss him, but he looked so peaceful, without even the trace of a frown for the first time in weeks, that it made something in her chest ache, and so she slipped out of bed and tiptoed into the hall.

She wasn’t sure what she was going to do at first; Sven was away at some conference, so at least she didn’t have to worry about waking him. She considered flicking the TV on and watching late-night cop shows on mute and making up her own dialogues the way she and Elsa had done when they were kids first learning to rebel in their own little ways. But she’d been doing stupid, inane things like that for so long, just trying to pass the time; she felt utterly useless, so much so that she was starting to feel an itch deep in her bones, a desperation to do something, anything that made her feel like she was contributing to the world around her.

Her eyes lighted on the kitchen, an idea sparking in her mind; she knew Sven and Kristoff both liked to cook, so the cabinets were overflowing, but neither of them really had much patience for organization, and so half the time they spent in the kitchen was wasted shuffling through drawers and shelves and making an even bigger mess. Maybe she was a washed up has-been (more like never-was) at twenty-four and maybe her boyfriend was a hero who would save tons of baby animals someday, but by god, at least she could do this.

She started with the bottom shelves in the cabinets, thinking maybe she’d just straighten those out and crawl back into bed, but then she realized that being taller than five foot three meant you could actually make use of the rest of the space, and so she crawled onto the counter and started pulling everything out; if she was going to do this, she should at least do it well.

She had the top two shelves alphabetized in both cabinets and was working on the lower ones— that was the hard part, these she had sorted by usefulness and had had to consider what someone who actually knew how to cook would use— when he heard footsteps coming up the hall.

She kept her focus on the little piles around her, hoping Kristoff would just go to the bathroom and crawl back to bed; he’d been exhausted enough that he probably wouldn’t even notice she wasn’t there with him.

She realized it was fruitless when she heard his footsteps on the linoleum and heard a heavy sigh. “Anna, what the hell are you doing?”

She slipped the rosemary next to the garlic salt; probably those got used in the same thing anyway. Right? “Couldn’t sleep. Figured I might as well start pulling my weight around here since I basically live here half the time.”

“Come back to bed.”

She bit her lip and ignored him, turning back to the trickiest little pile: one of them— Sven, most likely— apparently had a penchant for collecting different colors of salt, and she had no idea what any of them did.

“Anna.”

He had come up behind her now and put his hand on her back; she turned at last to look at him and met his confused gaze for only a moment before ducking away again. “I‘ll redo it if you don’t like it.”

He just stood there for a long moment, wearing only his boxers and his glasses; they hung just barely lopsided, one of the arms caught up on a little snarl in his sleep-mussed hair. “It’s three in the morning.”

“Well, I really didn’t do anything all day, so—“

“Anna. You need to sleep. You’re going to be too tired to do anything tomorrow, and we’ve been planning this all week.”

“I’m fine,” she huffed out a little more forcefully than she had meant to and turned quickly back to the cabinet to hide the tears of shame that sprung up almost immediately in her eyes.

“Fine,” he said after a stunned moment of silence. “Fine. Then I’ll wait up for you until you’re ready to tell me what’s really going on.”

“But you worked all day, you’re—“

“I’m fine,” he said, and though he didn’t raise his voice, the words still stung. Wasn’t that why she was doing this, trying to make his life a little bit easier, and here she was just—

No, a nasty, stubborn little voice whispered in the back of her mind. He doesn’t mean it. He’ll sit up for a minute and then go back to bed, and then in the morning he’ll thank you for helping him out so much, tell you he’s relieved you finally fucking did something, you useless sack of shit.

She turned back to her shelving with renewed vigor, lining each cap up nearly until the cabinets were filled with perfectly organized, colorful rows of plastic and glass, as cheerful as any supermarket display.

But somehow, she didn’t feel any better.

She dared to peek over her shoulder; Kristoff was still there, sitting on the couch and watching infomercials in a bid to stay awake. As she watched, his head began to loll to the side; he suddenly pinched his own wrist and jolted upright again.

Suddenly she couldn’t get down and back over to him fast enough. She started to clamber onto his lap out of habit, but then he turned and looked to her with such exhaustion in her eyes she sat next to him instead, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly.

“You need sleep, Kris,” she said, doing her best to keep that stupid little wobble out of her voice.

“Not as much as I need to know you’re okay.”

The words nearly knocked the wind out of her. “I— I— really, I’m fine.”

“People who are fine don’t sort out other people’s kitchens at three in the morning.”

“I just wanted to help,” she said, her voice small, and a little frown appeared on his forehead.

“Help with...what?”

“Just— stuff. I’m— I’m sorry I woke you up, really, but I promise it’s not important, we can talk about it in the morning if you—“

“Anna, baby, I’m not even gonna be able to sleep until I know what the fuck is going on. You’re scaring me,” he said, and suddenly she was crying and he was leaning over and pulling her into his arms and rocking her like she was a child as she sobbed into his bare shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to start a fight with you,” she choked out.

“Is this a fight?” he asked, sounding genuinely worried.

“I don’t know. I don’t want it to be.”

“Okay,” he said, kissing her forehead, “it’s not a fight. But please, please just tell me what’s wrong.”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I— I just feel so useless, I just— since I finished the movie I just sit around all day waiting for something to happen while you’re working so hard at school and the café, and Elsa works too and so does everyone else, and you’re all good at what you do and— and you help people, and like you’re gonna take care of animals and stuff and meanwhile my job is just standing around saying the same thing over and over again in front of a camera and I just— I just…”

She trailed off, struggling to put it all into words in a way that didn’t make her feel even more pathetic. “I just...I couldn’t sleep because I felt so useless. I wanted to do something to help you instead of just wasting even more time, because you work so hard and you’re so exhausted and— and now I’m just making everything worse, and I’m so, so sorry.”

He was quiet for a long time, long enough that the tears on her cheeks had dried; still he held her close. She had shifted to sit beside him, her legs thrown over his lap as she leaned against his shoulder; he had one arm thrown over her, keeping her tucked against him, and she held his other hand in both of her own, endlessly tracing the lines of his palm.

“Have I done anything,” he asked at last, his voice unsure, “to make you feel like this?”

“No. Never. None of you, it’s— it’s just me being stupid.”

He was quiet again for a moment. When he spoke again it was slowly, like he was terrified he would say the wrong thing.

“You’re not stupid, Anna. Or useless. This is just— this is part of life sometimes. The, like, in between shit. I don’t know. And I don’t— I don’t know what I can do to make it better. But I...care about you, whether you’ve got a part you’re doing at the moment or not. And if you decide this is too much and you wanna try another job, then I’m here for you. And if you stick with it, then I’m here for you, too. I just— I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t think any of that even helped.”

“It did,” she said quickly, tears threatening to spill over again. “It does— I’m so sorry, Kris, really, that I woke you up for this.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you did if it meant getting it out of your system. Just— do me a favor?”

“Anything. God, I owe you lots of them, I feel like I’m always the one having a crisis and you’re—“

He put a gentle finger over her lips. “Two favors. One, stop being so hard on yourself, okay? You’ve been going through a lot of new stuff this year. It’s okay to freak out about it sometimes. And two—“

He kissed the tip of her nose, the way that always made her crack a smile, even now. “Please just tell me next time something is upsetting you instead of holding it in. Preferably at a reasonable hour of the day, yeah?”

She nodded sheepishly. “I will. I promise. Will you— will you please go back to bed now? I’m worried about you.”

“Will you go with me?”

She nodded again, and then suddenly he was scooping her up bridal style and carrying her back to bed. He laid her down gently and pulled the sheets over her shoulders before crawling in himself, pulling her back against his chest and draping his arm over her waist.

“Good night, Kris,” she whispered, lacing her fingers through his.

“Good night, Anna.”

---

They decided to forgo going out for brunch; neither of them really felt like talking to other people today, even for a moment. She had nearly forgotten what it felt like to have a whole day to just themselves, hour and hours at a stretch to be spent holding and being held and trading little whispered secrets and promises and praise, each sweet word paired with a kiss or caress or little silly sigh. She was drunk on Kristoff and the dark of his eyes and the heat of his hands and the press of his lips, soaked in love as if it were honey, so much so that she felt heavy with it sometimes, like all of it was constantly on the verge of spilling out and sweeping her away, and god, still every day it kept growing in her, filling her chest with so much warmth it felt like she had swallowed a star; she wondered sometimes if people could see it, if they knew. Kristoff had to, she thought, had to see it in her eyes and know she adored him, could probably see it now as she came into the kitchen and perched on the edge of the counter as had become her habit, swinging her legs and watching him make a batch of pancakes with those quick, clever hands that always knew exactly how she needed to be touched.

He smiled softly in greeting as he poured batter into the pan and came over to her the moment he was finished, wrapping his arms around her waist and tucking his chin over her shoulder. Her heart did a funny little flip when she noticed the ends of his hair were still damp, falling into slight curls; she ran her hands through them, feeling a sudden deep sense of contentment.

“You know,” Kristoff said playfully, his arms tightening slightly around her middle, “it was a lot easier to mix these up now that I knew where to find the vanilla.”

“I love you,” she said, the words popping out in response like they just couldn’t be kept in any more. “Kind of a lot, actually.”

His fingers had been tracing idle circles on her back, but they stilled suddenly; she heard him suck in a breath and hold it. She bit her lip, too nervous to break the silence, as if she stood on some great precipice and even the carelessly blown breath of a misspoken word might be enough to send her tumbling over the edge.

“Say it again,” he whispered, his fingers curling into the back of her shirt-- his shirt, really, another one she’d stolen from his drawer, coveting any opportunity to be close to him even in the smallest of ways.

Anna turned her head and kissed his temple. “I love you, Kristoff Bjorgman. And I think that pancake is going to burn.”

“Forget the pancake,” he breathed, pulling back so he could look at her, wonder in his eyes. “I-- you-- do you mean it?”

She nodded, feeling her heart begin to pound, so hard she could have sworn she could hear it, and he let out a sudden whoop of joy, surging forward to hug her again and pull her close to his chest, lifting her straight off the counter. Anna let out a gasp of surprise and fisted her hands in his shirt instinctively, her legs wrapping around his waist just in time.

“I love you, too,” he said, and she was suddenly glad he was holding her because otherwise she might have fainted and fallen to the floor at the sound of it. “I love you so much, Anna, I-- I just--”

The smoke alarm began to go off. He turned quickly to the stove and then froze, unsure what to do with his hands otherwise occupied; Anna, luckily, had the sense to snatch the handle of the pan and slide it over into the sink, which, thanks to Kristoff’s habit of washing as he cooked, was already full of soapy water.

The incessant beeping stopped after a moment, and they both let out a sigh of relief; Kristoff’s arms loosened around her, though he still held her close to his chest, and Anna realized he had been holding on to her so tightly it was starting to hurt, as if his first instinct in a moment of potential danger had been to protect her in whatever way he could. She cupped his jaw in her hands and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“That’s not how I really imagined that would go,” he muttered, a flush beginning to creep over his cheeks. “The, uh, the making you breakfast thing. And the telling you I loved you part, too.”

Anna laughed and patted his shoulder as he set her back on the ground. “We can say it again and pretend it’s the first time.”

“No,” he said with a lopsided grin, “no, I-- I was so worried about saying it first and whether or not you’d say it back or whatever, and now...I guess it’s a relief to know I can tell you whenever I want.”

“Tell me what?” she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

“That I love you. So much. And that I’m so glad you love me, even when I burn your breakfast.”

“And I’m glad you love me even when I ransack your kitchen at three in the morning.”

He leaned down and kissed her then, his fingers just barely cupping her cheek, and his lips were so tender against hers she almost thought she would cry, but instead she kissed him back, knowing that this would be a moment she would treasure for a long, long time.

They broke apart only when her stomach growled in protest; Kristoff blushed again as he looked down at her. “Oh, fuck, I really am sorry about breakfast.”

“That’s okay. There’s always McDonald’s.”

Anna had just opened her mouth to ask if he still loved McGriddles even though they were disgusting when her phone went off on the table behind her. Kristoff recognized the ringtone by now, the one that she hadn’t been hearing enough lately. “It’s your agent— get it, I’ll grab our stuff.”

She scrambled for the phone. “Hey Sam— yeah— good morning to you too. What’s going on?”

She listened to his hurried explanation in stunned silence, feeling her breath speed up with every word. When at last Sam asked what she thought, she hardly knew where to begin.

“I— you’re serious, they want me?”

“Yes. They’ve been looking everywhere, heard about the Netflix movie, pulled some strings and saw the first edit and called me this morning insisting they want to see you by the end of the week.”

“I— and it’s seriously for, like— for—“

“Seriously, Anna,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Come by my office tomorrow, and I’ll get you everything you need for the audition, okay? Proud of you, kid. I know you’ll nail it.”

She set the phone down, her mind reeling. “Is everything okay?” Kristoff asked, sounding suddenly far away.

She turned to face him, her voice unsteady. “I— I don’t have it yet— but they— they want me for a part, Kris. A big one.”

#there is.....a lot in this chapter lol #and i still had to cut stuff lmfao #(it's only 4kish words but still like. whew)#my fics #drtlp

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