#i got this notification 3 minutes after returning to work from an emergency pad run because it started two days early <3

[ofthirtynine]

forgot that i customised my period reminder

[purple-cat-demon]

Forever Starts Under the Ginkgo Tree: Part 3

Pairing: Gavin x Hazel

Word Count: 1,146

Genre: domestic fluff

Warnings: none

It's a short part this time, sorry about that~ 😅 Thank you and enjoy~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday, 6:45am.

It was a rare occasion when Hazel managed to wake up before Gavin. She chalked it up to the bad dream he had earlier in the night. Still, it wasn’t like him to miss his morning run.

‘Enh, he needs the sleep more anyway,’ she mused, shrugging it off as she went into the bathroom to get ready for work. When she finished, she quietly opened the door, just in case Gavin was still asleep. Instead, she was greeted by her worse-for-wear boyfriend; the bags under his eyes a clear indication that he really didn’t sleep well after waking up from the bad dream. She cupped his tired face, the minimal stubble lightly scratched her palms.

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

A small smile and a weak nod was the response she got. She gave him a kiss on the lips, “okay, I'll make us some breakfast while you get ready.”

“Sure…,” he managed to say as she left the room. He headed into the bathroom, a hand raked his hair back before landing on the sink’s edge.

‘Get a grip, it was just a dream,’ he mentally chided as he looked in the mirror. He knew Hazel loved him dearly and he loved her dearly as well. She was his everything; his whole world; so why did he have a dream like that? Before his insecurities could bubble up any further, he clapped his face and proceeded to get ready for work.

Gavin padded down the hallway to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking. As he turned toward the kitchen, he stopped to watch Hazel happily moving around the kitchen. She noticed him as she turned to place the plates of food on the dining table.

“Ah, thank you for getting the shopping done, my love~”

“Sure, I was able to do it before work yesterday,” he said as he sat down at the table, “this looks delicious.”

“I’m proud of this breakfast, I didn’t burn the bacon this time~”

A tender smile tugged at Gavin’s lips, but there was something about him that was still off; at least, that’s what Hazel thought as she sat down.

“That must’ve been a really bad dream,” she said, breaking the silence. Gavin nearly choked on the food in his mouth as he swallowed hard.

“W-What do you mean,” he stuttered as he looked at her with wide eyes.

She sat her utensils down and gave him a worried look.

“You get quiet when there’s something heavy on your mind. Nightmares are no different. Please talk to me, I’m here to support you as well.” 

She reached for his left hand but just as he went to grab her hand, his phone rang. Gavin got his phone out from the hoodie’s pocket; his expression soured upon seeing the STF logo on the screen. Hazel sighed as he took the call; his brow furrowed even more as the call dragged on. After finally ending the call, Gavin took a few more bites of food then got up to leave. 

“What happened?”

“There’s an emergency at STF, I need to leave now.”

“At least finish your food,” she called to him as he walked to the door. He let out a frustrated sigh as he turned back toward her. He was about to retort when he stopped after seeing the scared look on her face. He rushed back over to put his arms around her.

“I’m so sorry, my love,” he nuzzled into hair, “I think they’re going to send me on a mission.”

Hazel lightly huffed, “I thought you said you’d be able to get out missions this week.”

She squeezed his arms, reluctant to let him go. He loosened his grip and kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll definitely be back sometime tomorrow, I promise.”

She pouted as he hurried out the door; after finishing her food, she then gathered up the dishes.

“And I was so proud of this breakfast,” she muttered as she packed up Gavin’s leftovers, “guess I’ll take these with me to work.”

Gavin rolled up to STF headquarters, moderately annoyed with the whole situation.

‘This had better be a high emergency,’ he grumbled internally.

Upon entering the building, he was immediately greeted by Eli.

“Sorry about this but Leto asked for you and I to take care of this matter personally,” he said, giving Gavin an apologetic look. Eli then handed a file for Gavin to look through. As he thumbed through it, his irritation grew. 

“Literally anyone else could have handled this, why us?”

Eli sighed, taking the file back, “yeah, I know. I said the same thing to Leto but he wasn’t backing down.”

“Let’s get going then. The sooner we get this resolved, the better…”

At AEC, Hazel gloomily typed away at her computer. The sudden change in her mood had everyone concerned, with Minor being the braver one to breach the question on the whole office’s mind.

“Hey Boss, you okay?”

Hazel listlessly looked toward her subordinate, “yeah, I’m okay, Minor. I just want to get this report approved.”

Minor tilted his head to the side, “you want me to get you anything, a milk tea maybe?”

Hazel hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, “you know what, that would be nice, thank you Minor.”

Minor lit up and bounded out of the office to procure a milk tea, meanwhile, Anna approached her boss next.

“Did something happen between you and Gavin?”

Hazel let out a frustrated sigh. She knew it was his job to protect the masses but she wanted to be greedy with her man who was always busy.

“Not exactly, the STF called him in for a potential mission. I’m just worried it's going to mess up our plans for this weekend.”

Anna patted her boss’s shoulder, she knew Gavin had been on some long and gnarly missions recently.

“I’m sure he’ll be back before you know it~”

“Yeah, hopefully….”

Minor returned with Hazel’s milk tea a minute later, “here ya go Boss, is there anything else I can get you?”

“No, Minor, thank you, though. I do feel better,” she replied, resuming her report.

Hazel went home to an empty apartment. She was secretly hoping her boyfriend would be back already but no avail. She hated sleeping alone, the absence of her boyfriend always made the bed less comforting. She checked her phone for any notifications from Gavin; again, to no avail.

‘He must be stuck somewhere where he can’t use his phone,’ she mentally noted.

To avoid the disapproval of skipping a meal from her somehow omniscient boyfriend, Hazel fixed herself a small dinner before getting ready to go to bed. She hoped her dreams would be more pleasant than her day had been as she silently prayed to the stars for Gavin’s safe return. 

[writing-for-amusement]

Keep It Secret, 3

Summary:  Ever since your soulmate told you to stop writing on your skin because they didn’t want to communicate, you did as they asked even though it hurt your heart. During the first day of your new job as an “emergency woman” on a film set, you forget your notepad and planner, so you have to write on your skin. When you’re then called to the makeup trailer to deal with an emergency, you meet Zendaya Coleman, with your supply list on her wrist. You vow to keep your status as her soulmate a secret, even if it hurts, because all you want is for her to be happy. Even if it’s to your detriment.

A/N: Okay,,,,,,,,,,,, I live by the philosophy that it’s not tomorrow until you wake up, soooooooo... Anyway, I hope you guys like this one. It admittedly got a bit away from me, but I like where it went. Also, I would LOVE to know what you think will happen next. You’ll see what I mean ;)

Disclaimer: I do not know or claim to know Zendaya Coleman; I am essentially using her as a face/name claim to my fic idea. The same goes for the other people in this fic. That being said, I hope you like this!!!!!

Warnings: some flirting (???), some stress, brief panic attack, brief sensory overload, gross guys at bars, bars, alcohol, a bit of swearing but not a lot

Word Count: 3512

Permanent Taglist: @pparkerwrites, @jordyns-library, @natblidaclexa, @peterseuphoria, @lesbian-x-blackwidow, @beccaboo929, @softrdj, @icecoldban

KIS Taglist: @hailqueenconquer, @imaginerequestpage, @adventurousbooknerd

Chapter 3

The next morning, you woke up on time and made sure everything was packed in your purse. You certainly did not want a repeat of the previous day. As soon as you were finished with that and the needed double checks, you hopped in the shower.

You wrapped yourself in your fuzzy robe after you dried off, padding over to your closet. Normally, it was easy to pick an outfit; the day before had been easy even with your panic at running late. Now that you knew your soulmate, though, you inadvertently found yourself agonizing over your clothing.

After another few minutes, you settled on your best black leggings and an oversized sweater that was a dark green, over a black tank top. You had happily covered what you considered all of your imperfections, including your tummy and your thighs. And, with the sweater, your arms were hidden.

You slipped on your flats and put on your sunscreen and a bit of makeup, just to even out your skin tone. Then, after you fixed your hair as you wanted it, you went back into the kitchen and did another check on your needed supplies.

As you were grabbing an apple for breakfast, your phone buzzed. It was a text from Zendaya; just the notification was enough to get your heart racing.

“Hey Y/N, I’m outside, let’s get going,” the text read.

You quickly texted her that you were on your way down and did one final check of your purse. Then after grabbing your pre-prepared lunch, you were on your way down.

Zendaya honked her horn as you appeared at the door to your building; she then leaned out and waved to you comically.

With a chuckle, you walked out and around her car. She was laughing brightly as you climbed in, the bright smile on her face making your day 8000 times better already.

It’s what she wants.

“You know, I have neighbors,” you remarked as she began her drive.

“Who cares about them,” she waved you off, the grin on her face infectious.

“Do you actually need to be at work this early today?” you asked.

“Nope,” she popped the ‘p.’

“Then why—”

“Wanted to see you,” Zendaya answered with a shrug. “Don’t know why.”

You accepted her answer and repeated your mantra as you fought your heartrate. She smirked at you and turned up the music, easily rapping along with the lyrics. When you recognized the song, you would sing along with her. That would lead to Zendaya laughing brightly and continuing louder, forcing you to try and match her volume.

The only thing you could hope for was some sort of normalcy, a time in the day where you didn’t have to worry about keeping the secret.

 You’d been working on the movie for two weeks now. The emergencies would come and go, and you took them in perfect stride. You had fun with different members of the crew; a makeup artist named Jade had become a rather close friend, in fact. And, well, Zendaya still picked you up on days that she had to be on set. It was a nice, if admittedly stressful, routine.

Hugh Jackman, a very sweet man, had decided to take everyone out for drinks after work. You weren’t going to go, because it was Saturday night and those nights are always full of people. Not all of the crew could go, many of them having families to get back to, but Jade was adamant in trying to get you to go.

“I don’t know, Jade, I don’t really like crowds, and drinking isn’t really my scene—” you cut yourself off as you say Zendaya out of the corner of your eye, her hand already reaching out to touch your shoulder to get your attention.

“C’mon, Y/N,” Jade was pleading as you whirled your body to face Zendaya and took two small steps back.

“H-hey, Z!” you greeted your unknowing soulmate.

“Hey,” she chirped right back, though her eyebrows were furrowed at your reaction. “What are you talking about?”

“Zendaya,” Jade turned to the actress and you groaned dramatically, “you have to convince Y/N to come with us!”

“You’re not coming?” Zendaya asked with a small pout for emphasis on her sadness.

“I-I don’t really like crowds,” you muttered out. “And I prefer to drink in my own home, you know, where it’s safe.”

Zendaya pouted more exaggeratedly this time and reached out to tug on your sleeve. You nonchalantly leaned away (or at least you hoped it was nonchalant) and slid farther away from her. Every single millimeter of distance between you two broke your heart, but it was what she wanted, and you were determined to keep the secret from everyone.

Jade’s narrowed eyes gleamed though, noticing your slightly strange behavior.

“Please?” Zendaya and Jade then pleaded simultaneously, giving you puppy-dog eyes and pouting dramatically.

“How about this?” Jade then ventured. “You can be the DD! And since you’d be driving my car, you can spend the night at my house, and I’ll take you home tomorrow.”

“Please?” they pleaded again at your doubtful look.

With a hefty sigh, you nodded, causing them to both cheer with joy. Jade then laced your arms together and said she would drive the two of you to the bar, since Zendaya was already going with a few of the other actors. She waved you off, which you returned, and then went to find her ride.

You could practically sense Jade’s mind cranking as she tried to understand your weird behavior with Zendaya. That hadn’t been the only time you had avoided the woman’s touch; anytime it looked like she was about to touch you, you had managed to slip away or just out of her reach. You weren’t like that with anyone else, letting people lean on you or give you hugs, or even hold your hand.

Jade started her car and you were grateful she had offered to drive. You got to sit in a quiet car, and you got to sit in the front seat. The only problem you had was that you knew Jade was figuring something out.

The bar was nearing when Jade slammed her breaks to a red light and shouted, “She’s your soulmate and she doesn’t know!” with an incredible amount of certainty.

“Wh-what?” you stuttered, nearly choking on the water you’d been sipping.

“Zendaya!” Jade exclaimed, turning her head to look at you with piercing eyes.

“Why would you think that?” you questioned, trying to hide your nerves.

As Jade began to drive again, she said, “Well, the first time you met her, with that problem with the writing on her arm, you went incredibly pale at seeing that list. I later heard Mary from costuming talking about how you’d written a list on your wrist because they needed sticky notes, because our departments were talking about needed office supplies. And you never let her touch you, ever. You’re a touchy person, Y/N, it doesn’t bother you. Except for Zendaya. So, the only explanation is that she doesn’t know.”

You sighed in defeat, hanging your head and staring at your hands in your lap. Jade parked the car closer to the bar than either of you expected and put a hand on your shoulder. Her hazel eyes were soft as you looked up at her.

“Why doesn’t she know?” she asked gently.

You inhaled sharply, not sure if you were ready to share this with anyone other than Aziza and Idrissa. They had freaked out when you got home from your first day at work and told them about Zendaya, and then they’d berated you to tell her. You remained adamant, though occasionally Aziza would text you and tell you that life would be much easier if she knew about the two of you.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t think I had a soulmate,” you started to explain shakily. “I never got any sort of writing on my body, you know? And I never had a planner, so I would always write on my arms or whatever.” You swallowed around the lump in your throat. “The only thing I’ve ever had on my body that was written by someone else was a message saying to stop writing on my skin, because my soulmate didn’t want to communicate, and I was being a burden. It… broke my heart.”

“Oh, Y/N,” Jade murmured, giving your shoulder a squeeze of compassion.

You wiped a stray tear away from your cheek. “So, I didn’t write on my skin again. I invested in really fancy planners and created a new habit. Eventually, I sort of moved past it, even though it hurt to know that my soulmate didn’t want anything to do with me. But then, I started this job, on The Greatest Showman. And I met Zendaya.

“As soon as I saw that list on her skin, I knew what I had to do. It hurts to keep it a secret, it really does. I thought it would be easy, you know? I figured that we wouldn’t get super close, but she’s said she’s drawn to me, and she drove me home, and now we’re friends. All I want,” you swallowed your tears back, “all I want is to be with her, to hold her close, to tell her. But I want her to be happy. Not communicating makes her happy. She doesn’t want anything to do with her soulmate, and I can’t change that. It just hurts,” you breathed out at the end.

“Y/N,” Jade began gently after a few moments of contemplation, “has she ever actually said she doesn’t want anything to do with her soulmate? Or has she just said she doesn’t want to communicate?”

You sighed again. “It doesn’t matter. By not wanting to communicate, she’s saying she doesn’t want to be with her soulmate.”

“But maybe she does, she just doesn’t want her job to be harder than it is. Covering up those soulmate messages is hard work. It takes a lot of makeup, and even then, it can still sometimes be seen. Maybe she wants to be with her soulmate, with you, she just doesn’t want the marks on her body making her life and everyone else’s lives on set, more difficult.”

You shook your head at her. “Jade, if she doesn’t want to communicate, she doesn’t want to communicate. She doesn’t want to be with her soulmate, with me, like that.”

“But you said so yourself, she’s said she’s drawn to you and doesn’t know why! Maybe if you told her—”

“I’m not telling her,” you all but growled, making your friend jump in surprise. You rarely lost your temper or your patience. Your glare softened as you looked at your slightly hurt friend. “Jade, I can’t do that to her. I want her to be happy. Not communicating makes her happy. That’s all I want. Please, just drop it, okay?”

Jade hesitated, an argument on her tongue, but at your pleading look, she nodded. “Okay, okay, I’ll drop it. But you deserve happiness too, Y/N.”

You smiled a bit brokenly. “I know, Jade. Thank you. Now, let’s go in. You said you wanted to get hammered.”

“Okay!” Jade agreed brightly. She unlocked the door and went to step out.

“Wait, Jade,” she turned to you, “please, keep it secret, okay? Promise me?” You held out your pinky to her.

The makeup artist chuckled at the gesture and wrapped her pinky around yours. “I promise that I’ll keep it secret, Y/N.”

“It’s what she wants,” you whispered to yourself as you got out of the car, absolutely not ready for this night of drunk people.

 Zendaya was already at the bar and when Jade entered with you on her tail, the actress let out a loud whoop and waved you over. You laughed at her antics and started over to the table; Jade put herself between you and Zendaya, who was chatting with Michelle Williams on her other side. After shooting Jade a thankful glance, she requested that you go grab her a drink from the bar.

Your thankful glance immediately turned suspicious and Jade raised her eyebrows in innocence. After quirking an eyebrow, you got her request and tried to maneuver to the bar. It was pretty packed and pretty loud, and you were already feeling out of place. You figured that after you had a drink and sat talking to your friends, you’d relax.

You ordered your grenadine fizz and Jade’s strawberry daiquiri, leaning against the bar patiently while you waited. As always, you were blending into the crowd. As much as you preferred to stay in, Aziza and Idrissa always forced you out (especially during college). Even though they usually didn’t drink alcohol and tried to be as close to their dietary restrictions, the siblings definitely lived by the “ask for forgiveness, not permission” quote.

They loved to make you order for them, though. Somehow, you were always able to slip through the very crowd you were blending into and arrive at the front of the bar, at the attention of the bartender. It made life go much faster than when Idrissa would always try to shove past people and get to the front of the bar.

As you leaned against the bar, reminiscing on your two best friends, you felt a hard body press against your back. There was hot breath by your ear and your hackles were immediately raised upon first contact.

“Hey, gorgeous,” the disgusting breath said into your ear. “What’s a beauty like you doing in a place like this?”

“Leave me alone,” you demanded steadily.

“C’mon, lighten up, let me get you a drink,” he sleazed.

As the unknown man’s hand slid up your body, you slammed your elbow back and into his stomach. Then you whirled around and pushed him back even farther than he’d stumbled back. He actually ended up crumbling right down to the floor, and you turned back to the bar, pretending to be completely unfazed as the drinks were passed to you.

Even though you were shaking and panicking deep inside your chest, you stepped around the still confused man and went towards the table. You became concerned when you didn’t see Jade sitting in her seat. Zendaya also wasn’t at the table, making you become more stressed because not seeing her meant she could touch you at any time.

“Y/N!” Jade suddenly appeared in front of you. “Oh my gosh, we saw the bastard at the bar and tried to get to you, are you okay?”

You blinked in surprise, honestly still shell shocked internally. In the middle of the crowded bar, you felt frozen.

Zendaya appeared next to Jade, the concern obvious on her face. “Hugh got that man off the floor and had him thrown out,” she informed you and Jade. “Are you okay, Y/N?”

That was what broke you. “N-no, fuck,” you stuttered, feeling your lungs begin to gallop as everything rushed back to you. You shoved the drinks into Jade’s hands and laced your hands through your hair, trying to not curl up since that would make breathing harder.

You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to relax your breathing. The amount of people around you was not helping. You were spiraling into sensory overload, and you found yourself yelling, “Nobody touch me!” over the music.

The bodies that had been pressing into you were suddenly moved away. Without the extra pressure around you, your lungs began to relax, and you felt yourself coming back to some semblance of normal.

“Y/N, breathe, you’re okay, you’re safe,” Zendaya’s voice said, close but not too close, and you felt your body relax even more at her soft tone.

You lowered your arms and opened your eyes to see Zendaya, Jade, Hugh, and Keala making a small circle around you. They were pushing people away so that you had enough space to calm down. It warmed your heart.

“I’m okay,” you breathed out. “I’m okay.”

Keala was immediately turned around and gently ushering you back to the table. She was a force to be reckoned with, reminding you of when you were taking care of others. Big bodies forcing their way through crowds with even louder voices, the voices of protectors, were always a force to be reckoned with. If people had the balls, that is.

You sat down in your seat and found Jade on one side and Keala on the other. Jade placed the drinks on the table, hers not even touched, and turned to you with a concerned look in her eyes. Zendaya was talking to Hugh a few feet away, but as always, you could feel her glances towards you.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Keala’s voice alerted you. Perhaps you were still slightly out of it, seeing as you had been distracted.

“Yeah, I’m a lot better.” You smiled weakly, an insincere chuckle on your tongue as you said, “I was compartmentalizing really well and then Z and Jade asked if I was okay, and then I wasn’t okay at all.”

“Sometimes that’s what happens,” Jade chimed in from behind you. Since you were talking and more obviously okay, she took a long drink from her daiquiri.

“Yeah,” Keala agreed, looking at you softly. She really was so kind, one of your favorite people on set. “But it’s okay. It’s okay that you panicked, okay?”

“I know, Keala,” you smiled sincerely this time. “Thank you for the reassurance.”

She gave you another smile before getting up and making her way to her original seat. Then, Zendaya appeared and plopped herself down into the chair that Keala had been occupying. Your unknowing soulmate looked at you critically.

“I’m okay,” you informed her strongly before she could ask.

Her bright smile warmed your heart and made you more okay.

The rest of the night, Jade and Zendaya didn’t leave your side. You didn’t leave your chair much, either. Jade went up to get her own drinks, and your single refill on your grenadine fizz, or Zendaya would get them. Even Hugh got them drinks once or twice, the large man completely comfortable with carrying colorful beverages where other men would complain loudly. He also brought pitchers of water for everyone.

It was still loud and packed, but the conversations with your friends? They were nice.

Soon, Jade was beginning to slur her words. She was also beginning to beg you to take her home so she could cuddle her cat (or her amazing soft beautiful baby, as she also referred to him). Thankfully, even in her tipsy-drunk state, she was respecting your personal space, because you still did not want to be touched without explicit permission. You were incredibly grateful that your friends were respecting your non-touching state.

You gathered Jade up and took her hand in yours (because you’d heard her tales of wandering off while drunk). After making sure all her stuff was with you, you quickly turned to the table and said your goodbyes. The people still at the table and not off dancing bid you ado and you began to push through the crowd towards the exit.

“Y/N, wait up!” Zendaya’s voice shouted from the table. You stopped, flinching when Jade ran into your back, and soon the actress appeared behind you.

“What’s up, Z?” you asked casually.

“I’ll walk you both out,” she stated without letting you argue.

You led the way out of the bar and the lack of chaotic noise was the best breath of fresh air you had experienced in your life. It was so nice that you let out a loud sigh of relief as you led Jade to the car, Zendaya following quietly.

You managed to stuff Jade into the car and turned back to see Zendaya closer than you anticipated. Her eyes were soft and maybe even flirty as she watched you.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked you tenderly.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I’m a lot better. It was,” you inhaled as you remembered what happened, “it was jarring. But I elbowed him in the stomach and honestly? That was pretty badass, if I do say so myself!”

Zendaya laughed and to you it almost sounded like faeries were laughing; that was how ethereal and gorgeous it sounded to you. “I saw it,” she informed you, a smirk on her lips. “You’re a beautiful badass, Y/N.”

Your blood pounded and you smiled sheepishly. “I have my moments,” you agreed.

Zendaya shook her head with a tender smile. “No,” she said, “you’re always a badass.” The actress seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I… noticed something.”

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“You let everyone touch you, when you’re in the mood for it, except for me…” Zendaya trailed off for a moment, looking at the ground with furrowed eyebrows. “Why is that? It’s not just a handful of times, either.”

Your heart managed to plummet to the ground and pump overtime simultaneously.