#i had the idea and chugged through this all in one sitting bc i knew. if i stopped i would lose momentum. but i MADE IT. I FINISHED.

[marcmorrigan]

maybe hes born with it. maybe its hormone replacement therapy

[kairiscorner]

❝KEEPING SECRETS❞ — miles 42 x reader (part 1)

⋆✮↪ summary: he thought he was doing right by you by keeping you at a distance, by keeping you in the dark of everything he was doing. he thought it was right to keep his secrets... just so he wouldn't lose you. well, in the end, was it worth it? ⋆✮↪ pairing: miles 42 x gn!reader ⋆✮↪ word count: 1,864 ⋆✮↪ author's note: tbh, i wanted to make the idea about miles 42, not really bc of the angst but bc i wanted to write more about my other son, i don't feel like i make enough for him 😭😭😭also i'm sorry if the spanish is wrong, i'm not fluent, but if y'all are willing to correct me for it, by all means, please do! I HOPE Y'ALL LIKE THIS THOUGHHHH (reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

the line on the other end beeped, he never did bother to leave a voicemail to whoever called anyway. you set your phone down with a sigh as you stirred your drink mindlessly, looking at your phone, hoping that at least he sent a message, saying he got your call, even if he wouldn't ask why you called. you put your hands to your face and tried to calm down, collect your thoughts before doing anything rash. this was a normal occurrence for you two already, you always calling out for him or texting him, and you going completely unnoticed by him; and the worst part? he's been your boyfriend. for six months.

you wanted to watch miles walk in through the door of the restaurant and sit himself down across you, all so you could take your drink and splash it all over him, not caring what he'd say or think of you while you'd drench him. hell, maybe you'd even throw the cup at his face, but you felt bad thinking about that, you didn't want to stoop too low. besides... you loved him, you really did--and you knew he loved you, too, kind of. you knew the exact reason as to why he always misses out on dates with you, always leaves your calls unanswered and your texts unread, and it wasn't because he was cheating on you or catching up on any homework, no--it was because he was the prowler.

he was a vigilante, he was one criminals and authorities alike couldn't get their hands on--a cruel one, many would call him, ruthless--but not to you. he saved you from a band of crooks that were going to rob you of all that you had when you were heading home on your own one night, and the way the prowler held you, the way you heard his heart beat and felt the warmth throughout his whole body as he held you close to his chest, when he kept murmuring to you you're okay, you're okay... you never forgot that feeling. and when you met miles, when you two started dating and getting more close, more intimate... you were reminded of that feeling when the prowler saved you, when miles saved you.

but despite knowing his secret, you needed him to tell you. it was his secret, and you valued your boyfriend's privacy. he was entitled to his own secrets, as you were entitled to yours. but you wished he at least... could at least show up, could at least make time for you and be there for you when you needed him. and tonight was just that night, because tomorrow, you were going to be trying out for your school's varsity team; the stakes were high enough as it was already for you and you felt pressured, extremely pressed, to push yourself further than what you can already do now. miles promised you, weeks before this, that he'd be there for you--he'd be there when you needed him, he promised; but now, where was he?

you refused to wait for him any longer; you chugged your drink and with an irritated sigh, you left the restaurant behind you, fuming as you thought of what to tell him, what to ask him, how to tell him tomorrow that you... you were so disappointed in him. tomorrow eventually came, and you made your way through the flood of faces in the hallway, catching miles collecting his stuff from his locker, his back turned to the people passing him by. you grabbed him by his shoulder, glaring at him with an icy stare as you narrowed your eyes at him. "que pasa, cielo?" miles asked you with a raised eyebrow and a perplexed look on his face in response to your scowling, as if he had no clue as to why you were so infuriated with him. "miles, where were you?" you asked him in an exasperated tone, clearly exhausted, and clearly in need of answers.

not looking to anger you, miles looked away and murmured, "i was... helping my tio aaron fix up his car, no biggie." "i called your uncle aaron last night, he said you were sleeping." you pressed him as he shut his locker's door, not looking back towards you as he began to walk away to defuse the situation, at least, he thought it would defuse it. you were not having it, though, and followed him through the crowds of people that were passing you two in the hallway. "i slept because my tio made me do some heavy lifting, he insisted i should've gone to bed, that's all." he answered you back as he held himself back from getting any more agitated with this mountain of lies and excuses he's made for himself.

if you only knew just how much miles wanted to tell you the truth, how he wanted to be upfront and honest with you, tell you the real reason why he's been missing out on dates with you, not being able to answer your calls or texts, being unable to support when you need him, when he wants to be there for you... but being the prowler isn't just something he can quit, it's a job he takes up so no one else he loves, and especially not you, gets hurt or taken away from him.

you breathe in deeply as you try to put up with his crappy excuse again. "well, alright, but you never bothered to answer my calls? surely you would've woken up, right, your phone's always got its sound on. hell, you could've texted me, explained why you couldn't come, because i would've understood, i'd've understood if you just told me--" you said as you grasped miles' hand, but he was in no mood to face you right now. he wasn't angry nor disappointed in you, of course not; he believed you had every right to be angry, but miles was angry at... himself. he couldn't bear to have you face him, put up with him when he knew what he was doing wasn't enough to keep you happy. he yanked his hand away from your grasp and turned to face you, anger and fury filling his face.

"no digas cosas que no sientes! you don't mean that, not when you don't know anything! have you ever thought of that?!"

he yelled at you. he raised his voice at you.

...he really doesn't believe in you, does he?

miles panted as he tried to shake the simmering rage and aggression he was feeling off. he couldn't stomach it, the fact he should've been there with you that night, reassuring you, comforting you, supporting you like he promised--just being there to listen to you would've been enough, but he couldn't even do that. he felt like he was being tortured when he brought himself to look at you in the eyes, he didn't feel like he deserved you, of being loved by you. "cielo, i..." miles spoke as he tried to gather his thoughts, say he was sorry he snapped--but no words followed his quieting voice. his mouth was open, but no words came out. you looked at him in utter bafflement as the fact he spoke to you like that sunk in, piercing your heart like a dagger. all you wanted was the truth, the truth to come out of his own lips in his own voice by his own volition--but he couldn't even give you that without a fight, almost as if you didn't deserve the truth.

you realized it too late, and soon felt the hot tears rolling down your cheeks and staining your uniform's blazer and making small pools of tears on the floor. your lips twisted into a frown, the corners of your lips quivering as you sniffled back the tears, telling yourself to quit crying, but crying even harder as your inner voice got louder. "what am i doing wrong, miles?" you made out with a sob as your crying intensified, with the tears flowing faster and harder. "am i not... not good enough, not worth... not worth being given your time? i try to see things... from where you stand, but... how can i even begin to do that when you're not even... you're not even with me at all anymore?" you asked him in between your cries as miles looks at you, about to take a step forward and comfort you, but he stops himself. his eyes are filled with regret and shame for what he just did, what he just said to you.

the other students in the hall were drawn to the drama occurring between you two in the middle of the hallway, with some coming over to get a better look, others buzzing around for questions on who did what, what happened where and why. miles tried to open his mouth to speak, to say a word of apology, but his voice seemed stuck in his throat as he opened his mouth and closed it again. "i can't be with you anymore. we're done, miles." you said in a louder voice, which caused miles' heart to stop beating for a few seconds, benumbing him as he stepped back and was stuck in place, processing what you just told him. you ran off, away from everyone's stares, leaving miles alone there to reflect on what he just did.

miles tried to get himself to run after you, open his mouth and finally release the voice that longed to speak your name, call you and apologize a million apologies that would only be the tip of the iceberg. he did what he had to to keep you safe, to... keep you, but he ended up losing you in the process. he lost you because he didn't meet with you, he didn't keep his promise, he couldn't keep a single promise, which was why he couldn't even keep you.

the onlookers and bystanders eventually moved away and awkwardly filled in the silence that was left between you two with mindless chatter and murmuring. miles eventually came to his senses, partially, and slowly walked away from the spot he was frozen on after he let what just happened sink into him. he headed off to his first class with a murky and somber expression as he realized he lost you. he tried to conceal his despair and dejection, until ganke came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "miles, are you--" "they left me." miles responded briefly, his voice quiet and hushed, as if to mask the utter sorrow he was experiencing. ganke gazed up at miles, who was now tearing up slightly, a few tears streaking down his cheeks. "they left me, ganke. i was... i was so... i wasn't doing enough..." he wept as he leaned against ganke, with ganke patting him on the shoulder as he walked him off to their first class. miles tread to class with a storm brewing in his mind, he couldn't focus on nor understand a single thing except for the fact that he's lost you.

but he won't give up that easily.

tags !! @k4tsu3 @fiannee @luvstarrstruck @toneystank-3000 @ii01vq @maxoloqy @popeheywardssecretgf @solecitoszn @q2ie @anikaluv @zalayni

[g0ttal0ve101]

Confession

Note: RIAM ATTACK 💥💥 ok but seriously I haven’t written anything in weeks bc I’m deathly ill soooo here’s this to make up for it! TW: domestic abuse, kidnapping, obsessive behavior.

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“You fucking anorexic whore!”

One more drink should cast the thought away for good this time. At least, that’s what Riley kept telling herself. Cup after cup, song after song, she found herself almost too drunk to even think straight. That was fine. It was better than thinking about him going off with another girl.

The booze took away from the pain of her bruise planted underneath her eye, but it didn’t help her escape from the looks she kept getting from the other guests at the party. She figured she must have looked awful — Many others would beg to differ. Even with that nasty purple wound on her pale complexion, she was one of the prettiest girls of Woodlyn High. With eyes that resembled a meadow after sweet spring rain and hair the color of ravenous flames, it was hard not to spare a glance or two. Although, Jordan didn’t seem to think that. And if he didn’t care to look at her, she knew that she wasn’t worth looking at.

“Hey.”

God, that voice was painfully familiar. Turning her head in the direction of the sound, she let out a soft groan. “Huh?”

There she saw Thomas Hall — The valedictorian of her grade and host of this party. He leaned over her like a hawk preying upon its next meal with a sick grin plastered on his face. She knew whatever was going to be said or done wasn’t going to be good. Trying desperately to think of a way out, she notably took in her surroundings again. He chuckled from the sight.

“You single?”

“Fuck off, Thomas…”

“No, seriously. Did Jordan break up with you?”

There was a pause for a brief moment or two. Putting the brim back to her lips and chugging down the rest of the alcohol contained within it, she prayed to God that she wouldn’t say something she’d ultimately regret.

It was almost inevitable once she opened her mouth. “For now, yeah…mmh, to go out with ‘nother bitch tonight. He’ll be back tomorrow…” Her words slurred together miserably as she became almost incomprehensible.

Thomas sat down beside her, presumably locking into the conversation. Only then did she see his three friends behind him; David Nixon, Freddy Brooks, and Charlie Allen. It seemed like her future was getting darker and darker as time progressed. It wasn’t a good idea to get involved with these guys. Once they have even a little piece of information to hold above your head, they’ll be able to control your every move. That must be what they’re trying to accomplish right now. Riley scoffed from the thought.

“Well, y’know…I’ve always had the hots for you, Riley.” Thomas hummed, grabbing her empty cup to pour stronger alcohol inside. She had almost forgotten she was sitting in the kitchen by herself where all the drinks were. However, she didn’t recognize this brand. It must be expensive. “My door’s always open.”

“Fuck you and your door.” She spat right back at him, snatching the cup from his hand and taking a hesitant sip. “I won’t fuck on a pussy ass momma’s boy. Skip me on that.”

That description he heard of himself made his smile widen. She rejected him. That made this even more fun. “Isn’t Jordan a momma’s boy? I figured you just had a type. Anyway though, wanna go bust him and that slut?”

Her eyes turned to saucers. “What…?”

“They’re fucking in her car right now.” The rasp in his voice grew thicker as he grew more eager for her reaction. “Don’t you wanna show them who’s in charge, Riley? Don’t you want him back?”

All those words rubbed her in all the right ways. If she were sober, she could’ve seen through his cunning tactics. However, she couldn’t even see straight anymore, so there was no way of indicating anything was astray. She believed him without a second of a doubt.

Standing up wasn’t so easy. Placing her weight on her feet and stumbling forward, she crashed into a chair immediately. It wasn’t until Thomas grabbed a hold of her that she managed to fix her posture.

“Get off me.” Riley snapped, shoving him away as harshly as she could in the moment. It felt like her body was moving in slow motion. The alcohol surely did numbers in her. Once she felt his hands on her again, she raised her voice. “I SAID GET THE FUCK OFF ME, YOU STUPID MANWHORE! GOD!”

His laughter indicated he got the reaction he wanted all along. It made her sick to her stomach to think about. The trek began shortly after without another word exchanged between them.

People. Lights. Music. Everything disorientated the drunk girl entirely. She made sure to keep her eyes on Thomas while navigating her way through the crowd, but every now and then she believed she spotted Jordan in the crowd and lost her focus. When that happened, Charlie continued to shove her forward. She was too tired to scold him. Besides, she knew that he was only doing that because he wanted Thomas’s approval.

“Where’s the car?” Her voice murmured as she nearly knocked into an innocent bystander. “Mmh…I don’t gotta nice knife on me…only this shitty pocket one.”

The back door opened. December air smacked against their faces as they stepped out onto the porch. Although it was so cold, Riley felt warmer and lighter than ever. The thought of killing this bitch became more prominent and exciting to the point she trembled a bit with each step. Bliss that overwhelmed her systems suddenly grew sour as Thomas turned to face her, clearly having some sort of ace up his sleeve. She was too drunk to care. All she wanted was to beat this girl’s ass for touching Jordan in ways Riley could never hope to.

“Okay, I’ll deal with the bodies after you’re done.” Thomas bubbled as the two of them started down the steps. It was only then that she noticed the other three guys weren't following along. It freaked her out a little but the alcohol in her system, again, drowned out the worries. “I mean, you’re gonna kill Jordan too, right?”

With a scoff, she flicked out the pocket knife. “No.”

That wasn’t the answer he was expecting. Raising an eyebrow and scanning the driveway area for her car, he pondered his thoughts out loud. “But he cheated on you and beat your ass. Don’t you think that's—?”

Sticking her index finger against his chest and getting in his face, she drunkenly blabbered. “Shut the hell up, Thomas! Having sex with some girl don’t mean shit! He still loves me! He still loves me...” Her voice trailed off as she desperately tried to convince herself that was the case. Thomas simply observed her behavior with a smug grin.

“No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t and that’s okay. I have a client who’ll be more than willing to show you the love you deserve.”

Her eyes darted toward him and in that second, she almost saw the look of empathy on his face. However, as quickly as that expression came, it went. David snatched her up from behind and shoved a cloth drenched in chloroform across her mouth and nose, tightly gripping her so she couldn’t squirm away. Thomas had thought she was pretty before but with that horrified expression, she looked absolutely stunning.

“It’s okay, don’t fight it! David’s not a pervert or anything. Well, at least not toward girls—!”

“Shut the fuck up before I knock you out next...” David grumbled, knowing damn well she might be acquainted with Lucian. (Which was more or less the reason why he was being so gentle with her.)

With a harsh shove to the back, Riley found herself being throttled into the backseat of a beat-up car. Only then did she understand that this was all a set up. Jordan wasn’t out here at all. In fact, he was probably at home with a bitch he found at the party already. Tears welled in her eyes from the thought. Although, it didn’t do her any good to cry.

████████████████████

By the time Riley regained consciousness, she had forgotten what happened. She figured she was in her own bed, falling behind on making breakfast for her little brother. For that reason alone, she got up despite her rough hangover and began stumbling around the dimly lit room to get changed. She reached for her dresser only to see her reflection staring right back at her — A mirror.

But she didn’t have any mirrors in her room.

“You’re awake.”

Riley let out a sharp gasp and nearly collapsed onto the piece of furniture, trying to decipher the dark figure standing by the door. The sound of its lock sealing echoed throughout the room.

Her immediate response was to grab the pocket knife from her jacket. However, when her hand went to tuck itself away and search for it, she found that her jacket was missing. Not only that, but so were her pants and shoes. Her heartbeat rang throughout her eardrums.

“A-Are you scared?” The voice grew soft and shaky. All the fear that she felt once before became a bit muffled whenever hearing the silhouette’s tone. “D…Don’t be scared. I hope T-Thomas didn’t hurt you…” Approaching her, Riley finally saw his face.

“Or he’d be breaking the deal.”

Beyond confused, Riley’s shoulders drooped and her eyebrows furrowed. “Sam…? Sam, is that you?”

Sam, one of Riley’s only friends, stood before her. Grasping onto his sweater and swallowing against the lump in his throat, he nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s m…me.”

There was a brief pause. Sam’s mind spiraled in circles as he tried to muster out the words he wanted to assure her with. Even knowing that this could be Sam’s doing, Riley waited patiently for him to get out what he needed to say. And for that reason, he couldn’t help but feel more attracted to her.

“I-I want y-yuh…you to be m…” Clenching his eyes shut and lowering his head, he couldn’t bear to look her in the eye. “…my girlfriend! Please be my girlfriend, Riley!”

Her eyes widened like saucers. This was the first time she had ever received a confession like this. The only reason she and Jordan were dating was because she begged him to be her boyfriend. That’s why whenever she saw Sam like this, she couldn’t help but see herself.

“Sam…”

“I put poison in Jordan’s drink last night. He’s in critical condition at the hospital.” His voice went monotone, thick and dull. All emotion he once had completely drained away. “I’m the only one with the antidote. If you don’t break up with him I-I’ll let him fucking die. I’ll let him die, Riley, and he’s gonna hurt.”

Even when saying such horrible things, Riley was astonished by the glint of pure obsession embedded in his irises. He loved her. Even if they hardly spoke before this, even if this was the first time she truly locked eye contact with him, he loved her more than Jordan ever did.

“…Okay.”

“Wh…What?” Sam’s voice shook as he snapped out of his state of delusion. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. No, not even that — He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Riley was smiling ear to ear. She didn’t look hurt or upset or anything. Rather, she appeared to be in utter bliss from the threat. Laughter escaped her throat as she held herself tight. “Okay! I’ll break up with him and get with you. That’s fine. So, get the antidote to him.”

Blinking in utter disbelief, Sam took a step or two backward. “A-Are you ser—?”

“You have no idea how serious I am.” She hummed, closing her eyes and lowering her head. “I’d do anything for him. Anything at all. So if that means I have to break up with him to save him, I will. So, please. Please give him the antidote, Sam.”

That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Balling his hand into a fist instinctively, repulsion overwhelmed his system. “Do you really love him that much e-even after…all he’s done to you?”

“I do.” Riley murmured, almost ashamed. “Is that really such a bad thing? Everyone treats me like a whore because I let him do whatever he wants to me, but isn’t that what love is? To sacrifice and devote yourself to them? Wouldn’t you do the same?”

Sam blinked in disbelief for a moment or two before averting his gaze elsewhere. “I wouldn’t h-hit you, Rie.”

Those words sent a shock wave through her system. Even if he avoided her eyes, she stared through his soul and listened intently.

“I’d never hit you,” he continued while clenching at the ends of his sweater. “I’d never call you names, I’d n-never make you cry, I’d never abandon you, a…and I’d never let anyone hurt you! When was the last time he’s h…eld you, that he told you how p-p…pretty you are? Riley…Riley, that’s what love is!”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, although she wasn’t sure why. All she could do was laugh and wipe them away, knowing that what Sam had said was the truth. It hurt. But in the same breath, she was in pure bliss knowing that someone cared enough to answer her.

Wiping away her tears with the sleeve of his sweater, Sam leaned in close to her figure. “I want to show you th…that, Riley. Please let me treat you h-how he should’ve been treating you this entire t…ime.”

Riley couldn’t help but blush whenever he progressed toward her. If he kept it up, they’d be in kissing range sooner than later. She wasn’t opposed to the idea. Although, she was a bit nervous to be jumping from one man to the next.

Sparing a glance or two at his lips, she found her self control and took a step back. When seeing his stunned expression, he avoided his acid eyes at all costs. “Sam…”

Respecting her boundaries and laying off the pressure, he rewarded her with personal space and tried his hardest to keep the disappointment off his face. After all, he understood it wasn’t her fault. Jordan was the one to blame for her hesitance.

“Sorry. Sh-Sh…ouldn’t rush things.” Sam murmured, although his face told another story.

While she knew she wasn’t in danger, Riley couldn’t help but feel the heat against the back of her neck growing in size. Wanting to clarify her reasoning behind not indulging in his affection, she found herself stammering just as he does. “If Jordan ever found out…”

Jordan. Jordan, Jordan, Jordan. That’s all she ever wanted to talk about. Had he really captivated her heart that much? There weren't any redeeming qualities Sam could pick out for a reason as to why Riley would care for him so dearly; He had an average face, a horrible attitude, and no sense of loyalty whatsoever. So, why? Why did Riley love him so much?

Lost in thought, Riley remained quiet. It wasn’t until Sam grasped her face and caressed the wound underneath her eye that she snapped out of the delusion.

“You deserve so much more than that, Riley. Don’t you get it?” His voice was gentle and reassuring. Despite knowing that he wasn’t going to hurt her, she still couldn’t help but flinch from his words. “I’m sure you don’t. That’s why I’ll…I’ll…I’ll teach you.”

“T-Teach me?”

“It’s not as scary as it sounds.” Sam chuckled, releasing her from his grasp and gazing at his shaky hands. “As long as you trust me.”

[watchmegetobsessed]

Eunoia - Harry Styles

a/n: i’ve been meaning to write a piece filled with just fluffy, domestic moments through a relationship, and that’s when i created Flora in my mind. wrote it with an OC bc i had very specific traits and stuff in my mind about her and it didn’t feel right to write it with y/n but feel free to read however you’d like it! but i think Flora is a delightful girl, she is a teacher and a free spirit, i think you’ll like her!

pairing: Harry x OC (Floortje ‘Flora’ Hoven)

word count: 9.5k

masterlist

Eunoia (n.) Beautiful thinking: a well mind.

Harry is always looking forward to times when his days aren’t filled from morning to midnight, traveling all around the world, meeting dozens of new people at various new meetings. Don’t get him wrong, he loves the buzz his life comes with, but one can drive this lifestyle only for a while before getting tired. He now appreciates his calm periods, when he is not living out of his suitcase, he has the time to drop by a café and enjoy his morning coffee sitting down instead of grabbing it in a go-to cup and chugging it down in his car. When he can just take a walk when the weather is nice enough and his favorite is when he has the time to just look at things without a rush and appreciate them.

He has built up a habit of going to the same coffee place since he got off tour and jumped right into his well-deserved months off filled with meditation, resting and focusing on himself after giving so much for the world. It’s just two corners down his place, falling perfectly into his way to the gym and now he even has a favorite table in the corner, because it gives him a great view of the place but the vines hanging from the ceiling masks his presence enough that people don’t often notice him there, providing some privacy for his morning coffee.

It was his third day here when he first noticed her. She was sitting at the table by the window, near the door, deep in a book, another pile waiting for her on the free seat next to her as she intensely made notes of her reading. She had her wild, curly hair in a puffy bun on the top of her head, clearly just thrown into it haphazardly when she started working. Her ivory frame glasses kept sliding down the bridge of her nose and thy seemed a bit too big for her face, but they overall fit perfectly with her knitted sweater and dungarees. And Harry couldn’t look over the fact that she had little sunflowers painted on her nails. That instantly made him smile as he adorned her from afar.

As the days passed and Harry spent almost all his morning at the same spot, he started seeing or more like noticing her more often. She always sat at the same table and Harry figured it was because of the natural lighting coming through the windows that came in handy, because she was always either reading and making notes, or doing something crafty, mostly origami, he noticed. She often had her laptop open with tutorials on different origami works that she was trying to make herself, not always succeeding, but she got it right most of the time, a triumphant smile plastering across her face every time she finished a piece, her dimples digging deep into her round cheeks. Harry couldn’t stop herself from smiling whenever she held up the finished work and adorned what she just created. He often wondered what happened to the little creations afterwards, but she just usually shoved them into her backpack before leaving.

By the fifth or sixth time he has seen her, he already knew her order. Vanilla latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Large sized, of course, so she has something to sip on while she typed away on her laptop or finished reading another book.

Harry caught himself looking for her on mornings when he didn’t see her, which were usually Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but one Wednesday, when he had an early meeting for a change with his team, he arrived before 8 am into the place and for his biggest surprise, there she was, sitting at her usual table, drinking the same drink as always. Later, Harry found himself coming earlier on those days just to find her there yet again and he figured her work schedule must start earlier on those days.

As the days went by Harry started to play with the thought of walking up to her. He wondered if she has noticed him as well, but it seemed like even if she did, his presence didn’t impress or bother her at all which just irked his curiosity about her even more. But every time he thought about finally talking to her, he decided against it, feeling like he would just be an intruder in her morning sessions. Until one day, the chance was handed to him on a silver plate.

She is doing origami once again on this particular day, making little cranes, one after the other, using different colored papers to make them form out a mess rainbow on her table. It’s a quiet morning, only a few more people sitting around at place. It’s been quite windy the past couple of days and today seems to be the worst, the trees are being tossed around by the howling winds outside, but it just makes it even cozier to sit inside in the warmth, enjoying a nice hot drink.

Harry finds himself watching her intently as her delicate fingers work on the paper, one crane following the other, she is starting to have a whole army of them.

An older man walks into the café and as he opens the door wide, the wind is quick to run into the place, knocking over everything that’s not heavy enough to stay still and the paper cranes are the first ones to start flying off the table.

“No! Darn it!” she gasps, her hands grabbing after them, saving just a few, but most end up on the floor, somersaulting away from her table. Harry is quick to jump to his feet and come to her rescue, lending her a pair of helping hands as she gathers her creations. “Oh, thank you!” she breathes out softly, her eyes meeting his and for his biggest surprise… she doesn’t seem to be stunned or even surprised by him, as if she doesn’t know who he is.

Maybe she doesn’t, it’s a possibility, he tells himself, smiling at her as he collects the cranes from the floor.

“Guess they wanted to be free,” he jokes, setting them on the table with the rest.

“It wasn’t my brightest idea to do it on such a windy day near the door,” she chuckles, looking over the bunch she’s been working on for the past thirty minutes.

“May I ask why you need so many paper cranes?” Harry inquires, leaving out the part that he’s been watching her do her origami for weeks now.

“Oh, I want to make decorations out of them, hang them up in my classroom. I’m a teacher,” she adds smiling.

That’s the most fitting job he could ever imagine for her, she is definitely the cool and adored teacher every kid is obsessed with.

“Wow, and how many do you need?” he asks, the stack of paper at the edge of the table looks quite a lot and he wonders if she wants to use them all for the cranes.

“Well, as many as I can make before my fingers fall off,” she jokes. Harry notices her freckles from up close that have been hidden behind her glasses until now. Her hair is in two space buns today and she is wearing a striped shirt with light-washed jeans and colorful sneakers. The sunflowers are gone from her nails, replaced by tiny daisies, but Harry likes them just as much as the previous flowers. They fit her well.

“Do you… I would love to help, if you want,” he finds himself offering, not even thinking about the question before it slips his mouth.

“You sure?” she asks, seemingly surprised but she definitely doesn’t find it weird that he just offered to help her.

“Yeah. Looks really calming and I haven’t made one in so long. Want to see if I still remember the steps,” he smiles.

“Take a seat then,” she nods, returning his smile. Harry goes back to his table to grab his stuff and join her.

“I’m Harry, by the way,” he introduces himself as he takes the empty chair at her table, holding out his hand for her that she gladly takes.

“Floortje, but everyone just calls me Flora,” she smiles.

“Never heard that name, what’s the origin of it?”

“It’s Dutch. My dad is Dutch, he came up with the name as well and my mother liked it. It means little flower, nothing grandiose,” she chuckles, reaching for another paper to start her next crane.

“Do you have a Dutch last name as well?” he asks, but then realizes she might not feel comfortable sharing her full name just yet. “You don’t have to tell me your last name though, if you don’t want to.”

“It’s alright,” she chuckles. “It’s Hoven, which is Dutch, but you pronounce it pretty much the same as you’d if it was a simple English word, just with a softer V in the middle,” she explains, her fingers working easily and fast on the thin paper, the crane is already starting to form. Harry reaches for a paper himself and tries to recollect his memory of the steps.

“Were you born in the Netherlands too?”

“Yes, I was born in Eindhoven, but we moved here when I was five. But my Dutch is still just fine, luckily. My dad refused to talk to me in English when we moved, he said he won’t have his daughter forget her mother tongue just because he is getting paid more here,” she explains with a soft chuckle as she finishes up the crane, putting it to the pile.

“I always envied bilingual people. Must be great to speak two languages that easily,” Harry wonders, eyes fixed on the paper as he is trying his best with the crane. It’s slowly coming together, though it’s not as pretty as Flora’s.

“It’s not that fun when I suddenly forget a word in one of the languages and then spend twenty minutes trying to remember when I know for a fact I know the words, it’s just stuck on my tongue.”

Harry laughs, finishing up his creation, holding it up and Flora looks at it as well. It’s a little crooked and one of its wings is longer than the other, but overall, it’s a decent first one.

“You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to,” he chuckles, putting it to the others.

“What are you talking about? It looks great!” she smiles, taking it into her hand, looking at it from all angles, smiling widely as she places it back to its peers. “It’s a nice one, and after all, it’s not your job to make cranes, so you’re fine,” she jokes.

Harry reaches for another paper as he thinks about if she knows him. Does she know what his job really is? Not that he expects everyone to know him, but she seems his age and it’s been quite impossible for him to meet someone close in age to him and not know a thing about him.

“Yeah, origami is definitely not my job,” he hums and then adds: “You… know what my job is?”

Flora glances up at him, a small smile tugging on her lips.

“Is this your way of trying to find out if I know you or not?” she smirks, tilting her head to the side, and it’s already a giveaway that she is very much aware of who she is sitting at a table with.

“I know, it was lame,” he huffs awkwardly.

“No, it was alright. And to answer your question, I do know what your job is, Harry Styles,” she replies.

“Sorry for asking around about it, you just seemed so casual and unbothered when you saw me, I thought you have no idea who I am.”

“I’m a teacher, my job is to treat everyone the same, I take equality very seriously. I don’t want my kids to think I put any of them above the rest, but I do the same outside of school too. Or do you want me to gasp and stutter now that you are sitting here?” she teases him making him laugh.

“That’s not needed at all.”

They work on their cranes in a comfortable silence and just as Harry thought, it’s quite relaxing, his thoughts slowly clear out, only focusing on the little birds he is creating. Then he glances up at Flora and suddenly his thoughts are filled with her once again. Now is his chance with her, he doesn’t want to leave this café without at least asking for her number even when he knows that he will surely see her around, just like always.

“Can I ask you something?” he speaks up as they both keep folding the colorful papers.

“Of course.”

“I hope I won’t sound creepy or something, but I’ve seen you around a lot and noticed how much you read. Is that just your hobby or…?”

“First of all it’s not creepy that you have noticed me, it’s flattering, because I have noticed you as well,” she smiles, paying him a quick glance.

“Really? I had a feeling you haven’t even seen me.”

“I did, but I thought you come here for the same reason as I do; to have some peace for yourself.”

“Ah, I see,” Harry nods.

“But to answer your question, I’m working on my second degree.”

“Oh, what’s that about?”

“Special education, speech therapy to be exact,” she tells him and Harry is even more stunned by her. Education is already a field not many can handle and then there is Flora, who didn’t just take up on it, she jumped right into it, pursuing a second degree in special education, a hard and challenging part of this job.

“Any particular reason why you chose it?”

“I have a younger brother, he is ten years younger than me, so he was already born here, but he was taught Dutch too. However, it wasn’t as easy for him as it was for me to speak two languages at the same time and he has developed some speech errors. Nothing major, but it was enough for him to be bullied in school. I saw his face every day when he came home and lied to our parents that everything is fine but then he cried to me in my room when they weren’t around. I don’t want any other kids to go through that, I’d love to be the one to not just help them come over their speech errors but also make sure they are treated the same way as everyone else.”

Harry hasn’t even noticed that he stopped working on his crane, he is now staring at her in awe, completely stunned by her. The more he learns about her the more he thinks she is a literal angel sent from above and that he can’t let her slip from his hands.

Flora looks up at him and finds him staring, a blush appearing on her full cheeks.

“Sorry for staring, but I just… this is so beautiful. Your passion about education is just one of a kind, truly. And the way how you made it your whole career and everything, I’m just… blown away,” he admits.

“Well, you made a career out of your passion too, didn’t you?” she chuckles softly.

“I did, but your story is just a little more touching,” he smirks. “Flora, I’m gonna be honest with you. I’ve been meaning to come up to you for a while and now that we officially met, I just—I would love to take you out on a date and get to know you better.”

She blushes again and Harry notes how well the pinky shade fits her even if she probably wishes she could control it more.

“That would be lovely,” she smiles shyly and grabbing a crane from her pile she grabs a pen from her bag and writes her number to the wing of it before handing it over to Harry.

He loves that she could have easily just typed it into his phone, yet she chose to do it this way. He smiles down at the crane and puts it into his bag, securing it as if it was his biggest treasure.

When Flora opens her door for Harry she is still wearing her apron that’s filled with tulips, a pair of simple jeans underneath it with a bright yellow shirt. Harry smiles as he leans down and greets her with a soft kiss. Ever since their first kiss he has been obsessed with stealing one whenever he has the chance. Their first one was nothing grandiose, such a simple and mundane moment but for him, it was perfect. They were visiting a gallery, he chose the exhibition hoping she’ll be a fan of it since the theme was botany, all paintings connected to flowers, gardens and plants and he was right. Flora was stunned, fascinated by each painting as they stopped at one after the other, taking their time to adore the works. They were looking at a painted garden filled with colorful wildflowers around a small cottage in the distance. Flora’s eyes wandered over all the tiny details as Harry stood close to her. She then leaned closer to point out her favorite flower and once they realized just how close their faces were, he just easily closed the gap and kissed her softly, surrounded with art, but he was convinced she was his favorite masterpiece he has ever seen.

“Hi, sorry, I’m a little late, dinner is not ready yet,” she huffs letting him inside. “Had to stay at the school a little longer than expected.”

“Don’t worry. Can I help with anything?” he asks following her into the kitchen, putting the bottle of wine he brought into the fridge to keep it cool until dinner.

“No, it’s fine. I just need about fifteen minutes to finish up the veggies,” she smiles at him and tiptoeing she steals a quick kiss. Harry hasn’t been the only one obsessed with kisses. “Make yourself home.”

Harry leaves to use the bathroom quickly and on his way back he finds himself wandering into her bedroom. He has been in her home just a few times before, only spending short minutes here when he was picking her up but now he has time to actually look around, hoping she won’t mind him snooping around.

Her whole place is just as colorful as she is always, each piece of furniture a different style and color, yet fitting so well when you see it as a whole. The quilted patchwork blanket over her bed is definitely homemade, each patch has a different flower on it while the left lower corner has Floortje embroidered into it. Harry wonders if it was made by a friend or family member, either way, it’s surely a special piece.

Her dresser is cluttered with rings, perfumes and endless amount of hair ties. She has complained before that her hair stretches her elastics out so fast, she keeps buying new ones every month. The little armchair in the corner is covered with a few of her used clothes, ones she’ll wear once more before putting them into the laundry basket.

As he walks over to her nightstand that’s filled with books, at least seven piled on each other, his eyes stop over something that makes his heart flutter.

A crooked little paper crane is sitting on the edge of the nightstand, the one he made the first time they talked, to be exact. Harry takes the bird and looks at it in awe, surprised that she kept it to herself. However he doesn’t find it odd, not even a little bit, since he has also kept the one she wrote her phone number onto, it’s sitting on his desk in his study.

“Found something interesting?” Flora walks in and Harry’s head whips towards her, feeling like he was just caught. But the warm smile on her lips is a telltale sign that she doesn’t mind him looking around.

“You kept it,” he states matter-of-factly, holding up the paper bird.

“Of course I did,” she nods, walking closer. “It’s a special one.”

“Thought you treat everyone and everything the same,” he teases smiling as he puts the crane back, his hands finding her waist.

“I guess there are a few exceptions,” she smirks slyly, her hands running up on his arms until they reach the base of his neck.

“Am I an exception?” The corners of his mouth curl up as he places the bird back on her nightstand and circle his arms around her waist.

“Did I say that?” she teases him. “I think I called your work a special one.”

Harry narrows his eyes at her, pretending to be hurt at her words, but he can’t push the growing smile back from his lips. They’ve been seeing each other for only over a month, but it was enough time to make him completely hooked on her. He is amazed by her in every possible way, feeling like he could never get enough of the ray of sunshine that Flora is. His favorite thing is that she makes him feel so normal, just an average guy dating a girl he met at a café. Not once did she treat him any different because of what he is and it’s just the feeling Harry has been looking for for such a long time.

“Come on, dinner is ready,” she smiles, pecking his lips before peeling his arms off of her frame, taking his hand as she pulls him out of the bedroom, however they surely end up in there again sometime after dinner, but with way less clothes on.

Harry watches as Flora plays with the bubbles in front of her, picking some foam up into her hair, watching it move around on her wet palm before blowing on it gently, her delicate fingers poking at the small bubbles that escaped from it. His hands are caressing her sides under the warm water that was once hot when they first got into it about an hour ago.

It’s been a lazy Sunday, Flora arrived early in the morning and went plant shopping. Her home has always been filled with plants and Harry has grown a liking to all the greenery, wanted some more in his house as well and Flora was more than happy to help him pick out the ones that are the easiest to take care of. Then they cooked lunch together, watched a movie and cleaned up the mess they made in the kitchen before running the bath. Harry has been loving these domestic days, lounging around his or her home, wearing comfy clothes and not caring about much of the outside words, just enjoying each other’s company.

“Remind me to buy peanut butter the next time I’m going grocery shopping,” she speaks up, leaning further back against his chest while Harry rests his chin on her shoulder, his arms tightening around her waist under the layer of bubbles.

“What do you need it for?” he hums, nudging her hair with his nose, her curls ticking his face, but he doesn’t mint it.

“I want to make cupcakes for the kids next week.”

“What for? Is there gonna be a special occasion?”

“No, they’ve just been super nice lately, we set up some new rules in the classroom and they’ve been really good following them.” Harry hums, loving how she is so eager to treat her students, he is convinced she is easily the best teacher he has ever came across.

“So peanut butter, huh? I think I need some too. Been dying to eat a good burger with some peanut butter.”

“I cannot believe you put peanut butter into your burgers,” she chuckles, peeking at him over her shoulder.

“Don’t bash it when you haven’t even tried!” he defends himself, kissing her cheek softly.

“The Aztecs would be so disappointed,” she sighs turning back forward, so she doesn’t see the puzzled look on Harry’s face.

“The Aztecs?”

“Yeah, they technically invented peanut butter,” she nods, as if it was common knowledge.

“Do I want to know why you know this about the history of peanut butter?” he chuckles softly.

“Well I had this kid last year who was obsessed with it and I started looking up fun facts for him for mornings when he looked a little moody. Then the others started enjoying it too so it became our morning thing that I told them a fun fact about anything.”

“Oh really? Tell me one then!” he asks smirking, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

“Okay, um…” she thinks to herself. “Do you know what the Olympic rings stand for?”

“I do not,” he shakes his head.

“The five rings stand for the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism.”

“Sounds logical,” Harry nods. “Tell me another one,” he asks.

“Are you going to make me tell you all my fun facts?” she chuckles, turning a little so she can look into his beautiful green eyes.

“Maybe. I like it when you talk like this,” he smirks playfully.

“Like what?”

“Like… smart. I love how you know all these little things about the world and teach it to not just the kids but to me as well.”

“You don’t think I’m a smartass?”

“Why would I?” he questions, eyebrows furrowed.

“I used to be picked on in middle school because I liked to learn, more than what was required.”

“That doesn’t make you a smartass, baby. You don’t go around, correcting every tiny mistake around you. You use your knowledge to educate, like you should.”

Flora smiles softly at him, his words bringing the sense of reassurance she’s been seeking for so long. She pecks his lips shortly before turning back forward.

“Do you know how many days a billion seconds make up?” she asks, smiling to herself.

“I don’t.”

“11 574 days. That’s a little over 31 years.”

“So I haven’t lived a billion seconds in my life just yet,” Harry states, doing the quick math.

“No, you haven’t,” she smiles, mostly at the fact that he didn’t just listen to her little fun fact, but also thought about it a bit deeper.

They stay in the bath until the water gets cold and Harry keeps asking for fun facts and Flora gladly tells him whatever comes to her mind.

Harry finishes up the fresh salad, filled with Flora’s favorites: cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and corn with some kale, baby spinach and garlic dressing. He even sprinkled some sesame seeds on top, now he is pretty proud of his work, it looks like something influencers would snap in an aesthetic photo to their Instagram feed.

His bare feet tap against the hardwood floor as he makes his way to Flora’s bedroom where she is still curled up on her chair in front of her computer, her hair in a mess on top of her head, glasses perched up on the bridge of her nose. She hasn’t moved much from the spot in hours, intensely working on her thesis that should be finalized within the next two weeks. She has been gradually working on it over the last few months, in no mean she is behind, but she’s been extra nervous about making it as good as she wanted it when she started and Harry has been nothing but supporting about it, knowing how much it means to her. So he’s been her moral support, making sure she eats, gets some rest and doesn’t get herself too worked up about her research. She appreciates his efforts and though she often feels bad for neglecting him lately, he made sure to assure her, he’ll be right here when she is finally done with it.

Harry walks around the mountain of books on the floor she has piled up from the library these past two weeks as he walks up behind her while her fingers type away on her computer so fast he can barely believe she even understands what she’s typing.

“Hey,” he softly calls out, leaning down he kisses her cheek, holding the bowl of salad in front of her, drabbing her attention, making her gaze move from the screen to the food in front of her.

“Oh, hey! Is this for me?” she asks with a soft smile, lifting her head so she can look at him. Even with the circles under her eyes, the messy hair and worn out t-shirt that she’s wearing, he thinks she is the most wonderful creature he has ever seen.

“Yeah. Come take a break, yea?”

She doesn’t protest, just saves the file before moving away from the desk to the bed along with Harry. She props herself up against the headboard, a tired moan escaping her lips as her spine rests against the pillows under her back. Harry hands her the salad and she digs right into it, only just now realizing that she’s been feeling hungry for the past two hours, but ignored it entirely.

“How much do you have left?” Harry asks nodding towards the computer.

“I’m finishing up the last part, then I just have to write the abstract and then…” she explains, popping a tomato in her mouth. “It’s just gonna be the formatting. I think I’ll be done by Wednesday.”

“That’s great,” he smiles proudly. He has always admired how hardworking she’s been when it came to school and her profession. He could never imagine himself do the same, especially because he didn’t even finish high school. He used to feel a little self-conscious about it when they first started dating, afraid that she might think less of him because he didn’t finish his education properly, even though it was never something that bothered him. But Flora assured him that it makes absolutely no difference in her opinion about him.

“It’s not about the papers or how many schools you’ve finished. It’s about how you see the world and if you are willing to learn when it changes around you. And I think you are perfect in that department, your curiosity and openness makes you an excellent learner,” she told him without even thinking about it.

Harry lies on his side next to her, one hand propping his head up while the other one wanders to her thigh, massaging it gently. She hums to herself, enjoying the food he made and he can’t help the smile that creeps on his face. He loves taking care of her, especially because most of the times it’s her that takes care of him. Cooking for him after a long day at the studio, putting his laundry away while he is in an online meeting or writing him a list for when he goes grocery shopping, Flora has been watching out for him through these little things, but now it’s finally his turn to give it all back.

He’s been thinking about asking her to move in with him for a few weeks now, he just hasn’t been brave enough to bring it up, thinking that she might find it too early for such a big step, seeing that the two of them have been dating for a little over nine months. He’s been playing with the thought of coming home to her every single day, waking up next to her in the mornings, watch her form his home more to her liking, creating a space for the both of them, making it a home not just for him but her as well.

As she finishes up her salad, completely oblivious to what Harry is thinking about, he decides to bring it up once she is done with her thesis, not wanting to bother her in any possible way until she is finished.

“Mm, this was lifesaving, thank you,” she sighs, leaning over she kisses him softly as her appreciation for the sweet gesture. “I’ll finish up this one paragraph I’m in the middle of and then we could watch a movie. But strictly without subs, because I’m done with words for today,” she jokes, making him laugh as he takes the empty bowl from her hands.

“Sounds good,” he nods. “I’ll clean up in the kitchen and find something to watch while you finish.”

“Thank you.” As they both get up from the bed, she pulls him down for another kiss, Harry’s free hand finding the small of her back right away. “I love you,” she whispers against his lips, his heart fluttering in his chest at the words he has heard before, but it never fails to stun him.

“I love you too. Now go, finish it so we can cuddle,” he smiles, smacking her bum gently before they let go of each other.

“Ja, pappa. Dat klinkt fantastisch. Ik zal het hem vragen. Ja.” Yes, dad. That sounds fantastic. I’ll ask him. Yes.

Harry listens to Flora talk to her father on the phone as she applies her lip balm, the one she uses every night before going to bed. He loves it when she talks in Dutch, many tend to criticize the language, but not Harry. Or maybe it’s just because he only hears Flora talk it and he loves everything she does.

“Ja, dat is goed. Dank je. Tot ziens, pappa, ik hou van je!” Yes, that’s great. Thank you. See you soon, dad, love you!

She ends the call and switches the light off in the bathroom that’s been not just Harry’s but hers since she officially moved in with him just last week. Harry finally built up the courage to ask her opinion about the possibility of living together in the near future once she was free from the worries of her research and thesis. For his biggest surprise, she was on the exact same page as him, definitely a fan of the idea. So three weeks later they started slowly moving all her stuff over to his until her apartment completely emptied out. Now all her belongings are splattered across Harry’s home, they haven’t found the perfect place for everything just yet, but it’s slowly starting to feel like home for the both of them.

“Dad called, asked if we would go over for dinner this weekend,” she tells him, moving around the bedroom as she takes her little hoop earrings off, placing them in the shell she uses as a jewelry holder on top of the dresser. She is wearing a pair of yellow sweatpants with one of Harry’s shirts, nothing underneath them, just how Harry loves it.

“It’s cute how you always tell me it was your dad, but he is the only one you speak Dutch with,” he chuckles lowly as she climbs to bed, pulling the covers over the both of them.

“It comes so naturally, I don’t even realize I’m switching languages,” she admits smiling.

“Dinner sounds lovely,” he nods, getting back to what she was talking about before.

“Arnold is bringing his girlfriend too,” she smirks, her eyes sparkling from excitement.

“Your brother has a girlfriend now?” he hums, eyebrows rising at the new information.

“It’s the girl I saw him with at his basketball game last month. They made it official like two weeks ago.”

“And he is already bringing her home? He is not beating around the bush,” he chuckles. “Is it going to be the first time the girl meets your parents?”

“Yeah, so it’s gonna be exciting,” she nods, cuddling to his side.

Flora is playing with the little cross pendant on Harry’s chest and he is watching her delicate fingers flipping it over, her fingertips tickling his chest a little in the process.

“When we have kids, will you also teach them Dutch?” he suddenly questions, the words just blurting out of his mouth. Flora lifts her head, resting her chin on his chest as she looks into his curious eyes. She stays silent, but a small smile is tugging on her lips for sure.

“What?” he asks, feeling a little nervous. It’s the first time he is bringing having kids up, but he definitely has been thinking about it, especially since she has moved in. They haven’t been dating for that long, but Harry is one hundred percent sure he is in the long run with her.

“I just… love how you said when and not if.”

“Well, it’s a question of when for me. What about you?”

“Same goes for me,” she smiles warmly. “And yes, I do want my children to speak Dutch. It’s important to my family and me as well. How does that sit with you?”

“Totally fine. In fact, I always envied kids growing up who were taught another language so early in their childhood. Would love that for my kids as well.”

“Dan is het geregeld,” she smiles widely at him.

“What’s that mean?” He furrows his eyebrows.

“I said that, then it’s settled. We’ll have some cute, bilingual babies,” she chuckles, half jokingly, half seriously.

Today has just been one of those days that were doomed from the moment Harry opened his eyes. He has been overwhelmed with stress lately, working on new music, but his studio sessions haven’t been as successful as he wanted them. He is also flying out to LA for two weeks in just a couple of days and he has to miss Flora’s mom’s birthday this weekend, which has been torturing him with guilt ever since he found out he can’t push his trip back.

This morning it felt like the universe just plotted against him. He slipped in the shower, broke a glass in the kitchen and successfully ripped one of his favorite jeans when he was getting dressed. He had a one way ticket cranky city, turning Harry into a moody little child. It didn’t take him long until he started a fight with Flora over the smallest, most ridiculous thing. It started with how Flora misplaced a bowl in the cabinet and took him two moments longer to find it than usual, then they ended up disputing about every little thing about each other they’ve been finding annoying, but neither of them voiced their feelings about them.

Flora, on the other hand, was not in the mood to argue with Harry so early on a Tuesday morning and she chose to just walk away and let him stew in his own anger. Harry knew the moment he heard the front door shut that she was mad at him: she didn’t kiss him goodbye like she does every day before she leaves.

He took a cold shower to cool him down and clear his head, get his thoughts straight so he can apologize like she deserves. Getting into his car he drives to the florist he usually goes to when he needs flowers for whatever occasions. The old lady greets him with a warm smile and upon describing what he envisioned, she immediately knows what to create for him this time. The result is a giant, colorful bouquet that reminds him of Flora in every possible means.

Driving down to her school he is met with an extreme amount of nostalgia even though it’s not even the school he went to as a kid, but it still brings back some memories.

The security guard immediately stops him when he walks into the building, but once he has explained him the situation, the old guy gladly tells him which classroom is hers so he can go and surprise her. His footsteps echo in the empty hallways as it is the middle of the second period, all students are locked up in their classrooms, lucky for Harry, because he surely can’t deal with teenage girls recognizing him right now. Holding the flowers in one hand he stops when he finds room 414 and he can hear Flora’s voice coming from inside, enthusiastically explaining something about penguins and it makes Harry smile.

Even with such a horrible morning behind her, she is still giving one hundred for her students. He brings up his hand and softly knocks on the door, interrupting her speech.

“Come in!” she calls out and Harry opens the door, popping his head inside first, then holding up the bouquet of flowers, making the kids start chattering in excitement at his arrival while Flora is staring at him shocked.

“Miss Hoven, do you have a moment for me, please?” he asks with a shy but charming smile. She quickly gains back control over her features before turning to her class.

“Please start working on task two and five, I’ll be right back,” she orders, but the chatter doesn’t die down so she raises her voice at them. “This is not how we act when we have guests, guys!”

The kids are quick to quiet themselves, eyes curiously switching between their teacher and the intruder at the door.

“Miss Hoven, is this your husband?” one of the kids, a little blond boy asks.

“No, Michael, he is not. Harry is my boyfriend,” she answers calmly, heading towards the door.

“Wait, I know him!” a girl exclaims gasping. “He sings the watermelon song!”

“Lilian, no discussion now. Do the tasks!” Flora tells her before walking out, but keeping the door open so she can hear what’s happening inside. Her cheeks are flushed and eyes wide when she finally looks at Harry again. “What’s—What’s this?”

“These are for you,” he clears his throat, handing her the bouquet. “And I came here to apologize for being such an arsehole this morning. It wasn’t your fault, I’ve just been crankier lately and I took it all out on you. I’m very sorry.”

Flora’s eyes soften on him as she takes one of his hands with her free one, giving it a squeeze.

“I said some nasty stuff too, so I guess I’m sorry too,” she sighs, her anger and frustration from earlier now long gone.

“I brought that out of you, so I’ll take the blame,” Harry chuckles softly. “But the point is that I’m sorry.”

“Well, you are forgiven. You were even before you came here,” she assures him smiling warmly. “Why don’t we order something tonight and just get lazy on the couch?”

“You said you have some tests to go through.”

“That can wait. You’re leaving in two days so I want to spend time with you.”

“So we won’t get our tests back tomorrow?” they both hear a muffled voice coming from inside and Flora chuckles shaking her head as she opens the door wider and steps inside. A small group of kids run back to their seats, but not fast enough to not get caught.

“Lilian, would you mind telling me why you left your seat without permission?” Flora questions the girl who just rolls her lips into her mouth, pretending like she hasn’t even moved all along. Flora sighs stepping outside once again. “I gotta go now, but thank you for this. They look beautiful,” she tells Harry.

“I love you,” he murmurs and leaning down he kisses her quickly, feeling like he is breaking rules even though he is not a student or a teacher here.

“I love you too,” she smiles back before walking back inside and shutting the door. Harry stays for a minute, just out of curiosity to hear if the kids ask her some more questions about him.

“Miss Hoven?” a girl calls out and Harry bets it’s the same nosy girl who recognized him.

“Yes, Lilian?”

“You have a nice boyfriend,” she exclaims, earning a soft chuckle from Flora.

“Well thank you, Lilian, but let’s get back to our new unit. Let’s see the tasks you had to solve!”

The splashing sound of vomit arriving to the toilet hits Harry’s ears once again as he is rushing up the stairs with a glass of water and the Emetrol his hands that he dug the kitchen cabinets through for. Arriving to the master bathroom he finds Flora just where he left a few minutes ago, kneeling in front of the toilet, arms on the rim as she is taking a deep breath, hoping to calm her stomach and stop throwing up finally.

“Oh baby, here. Found you some Emetrol, this should help,” he coos gently, sitting down to the marble floor next to her he places the water beside him as he pours some of the liquid medicine into the cap for her. She lifts her head, skin pale as the wall, the dark circles under her eyes make his stomach churn, he hates to see her in this condition and wishes he could just help her.

“Thank you,” she mumbles, her shaking hand takes the cup and she downs the medicine before taking a few sips from the water. “Harry, I’m so sorry for ruining our date,” she sighs in defeat.

“Oh shush. Don’t you dare apologize for being sick,” he shakes his head, putting the Emetrol aside before he towers above her to redo her hair so it doesn’t fall to her face. Today marks their one year anniversary and though they only planned to go out for a nice dinner, nothing extra, Flora still feels bad they had to cancel on their reservation when she started throwing up this afternoon. She’s been feeling nauseous ever since she ate that leftover casserole for lunch. She had a feeling she should have just gotten rid of it, but she hated wasting food so ate it. Big mistake.

Harry’s fingers delicately work on her curls, piling them on the top of her heat before he secures the bun with professional movements using the elastic he tends to wear on his wrists, just because Flora always loses hers. He likes to keep one on him as well. His long haired days trained him well, her hair is neatly kept out of her face as she frowns, feeling her stomach churning again.

“Can I do anything else for you, baby?” he gently asks, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead to make sure she doesn’t have a fever, but she feels alright. She probably just has to get rid of the bad food.

“Can you please get me a wet washcloth?” she asks faintly. Sitting to her butt she leans against the wall beside her with her eyes closed.

Harry nods and he is on his feet in a blink of an eye, grabbing a washcloth from the cabinet and wetting it in some cool water. He kneels in front of her and starts gently tapping it against her cheeks, forehead and neck, wiping off the thin layer of sweat.

“This is not how I planned to spend our anniversary,” she groans with a frown, making him chuckle.

“We agreed, the anniversary is postponed. Don’t even think about it.”

“But I wanted to look nice for you, even bought a new dress.” She pouts her lips at him, eyes opening narrowly, glistening from the tears that watered them while she was throwing up.

“You always look nice, baby,” he softly tells her, letting her take the washcloth before she places it over her forehead.

“Even now? After you saw me throw up four times? We have very different versions for the word nice, H,” she jokes with a soft chuckle and Harry is thankful to see her smile, even if it’s still very faint and tired.

“Even now, baby,” he nods smirking and he is not lying. Though the situation is saddening, Harry still enjoys taking care of her, being the one she can rely on even on her worst days.

They sit on the bathroom floor as the medicine slowly works and she finally gets rid of the urge to throw up. Then Harry scoops her up and undressing the both of them, he helps her take a nice shower before dressing her in clean clothes, tossing their dirty ones into the laundry basket, noting to do them sometime in the morning.

When Flora is settled under the cover, head comfortably sinking into the pillow, she immediately feels her eyes closing, the strenuous afternoon has successfully sucked all her energy right out of her body. Harry brings her another big glass of water for the night and just to be sure, puts a trashcan next to her side, if things go south again. When he gets under the covers she is already half asleep, but she hums when his fingertips dance down the side of her face.

He allows himself to shamelessly admire her as she finally falls completely asleep, her lips parted as she slightly snores, but she looks so peaceful, the painful frown he saw on her face all afternoon is now gone from her beautiful face. He hasn’t fully wrapped his mind around how an entire year has passed with such a wonderful creature by his side. As their anniversary was coming up, he caught himself thinking about what the future is holding for them more often. There were so many things they needed to experience together, so much to see and do as partners and Harry couldn’t wait for it all to come.

As he lies in the bed next to her, a smile tugs on his pink lips at the thought of the possibility of spending the rest of his life with Flora. His future has never seemed brighter than in that moment.

“This is harder than I thought,” Flora admits, focusing on the instrument on her lap, trying to figure out if she is holding down the accords the right way, but a moment later Harry’s hand covers hers on the neck of the guitar and he fixes her fingers on the strings until they are in the right position.

“Like this. Try it now,” he murmurs, his chin resting on her shoulders as she is standing between his legs, back leant against his chest. Flora has been begging him to teach him a few accords on the guitar and today finally brought the moment Harry would turn into her master.

The two of them are sitting on the bed, Harry only in his underwear while Flora is in one of his hoodies with only her panties covering the lower parts of her body. Harry came back from a week-long trip to New York and they haven’t left the bed too much since he set his feet inside the house, only emerging from the bedroom to fulfill their other physical needs.

Flora’s fingers strum against the strings and the instrument comes to life, giving her a clear accord finally, bringing a triumphant smile to her lips.

“You are a natural talent, baby,” he smirks, giving her hips a gentle squeeze before kissing into her neck.

“Don’t tease me, I’m trying!” she warns her playfully, playing the chord again, loving how she can create such a beautiful sound with the instrument.

“Mm, you’re coming for my career?”

“Oh, surely. I think I would make an excellent rockstar,” she nods confidently, making him laugh.

“You are so not the rockstar type. More like the chill indie singer who dances barefoot on stage.”

“Yeah, but I could spice it up a little and make it rockstar-y,” she explains and glances back at him over her shoulder. “Don’t you think I would look hot in one of your stage costumes? Sparkly suit and all?”

“Oh I know you’d look amazing,” he nods eagerly. He has spent quite some time imagining her girl in one of his suits and he quite liked the thought. Flora chuckles as he puts the guitar aside before she turns around and straddles him, her knees on each of his sides.

“Yeah? I would need a better name, mine is not too fitting for a star,” she explains. “Easy for you, your name is basically the most perfect name for a rockstar.”

“You think so?” he cocks an eyebrow at her, his palms coming to cup her bum as he tilts his head backwards since this position makes her the taller one for a change.

“Harry Styles? Oh please, it’s like Anne knew she would give birth to a legend,” she scoffs making him laugh.

“I’ve been told it’s a nice one,” he shrugs smugly. “I think it’s the surname.”

“It’s pretty cool, yeah.”

“What if you had the same? Flora Styles? Sounds pretty badass,” he suggests and at first, she doesn’t even realize the hidden meaning behind his words, tasting the name so obliviously.

“Flora Styles? You might be right, the surname sounds very cool,” she agrees and it amazes him how easily it went over her head.

“You like it?”

“Mhm,” she nods, her hand reaching for the guitar once again, but Harry stops her, taking it between his as he blindly finds her ring finger that is now ringless.

“Do you like it enough to actually take it?” he questions, hoping she would get the hint now where this is heading. She blinks at him a little puzzled but it’s until she realizes that his fingers are fidgeting with her ring finger, more specifically where a ring would sit on it, his fingertips gently caressing the skin around it.

“Harry?” she gasps with wide eyes as she just watches his grin grow wider. “This is not… Are you--?”

“What?” he chuckles, feeling entertained how she lost all her smug confidence all of a sudden. “What’s it that you’re trying to say?”

“No, what is it that you are trying to say?!” she snaps back, still in shock about what he just implied. “Was this your sneaky way of… proposing?” she asks, whispering the last word as if it was a curse word.

“Why do you act like we have a forbidden love and marriage cannot be even mentioned?” he chuckles at her.

“Because I was shocked! Not that bad now though, you haven’t pulled out a ring so I guess it was just a cruel joke.” She narrows her eyes at him, kissing his smug grin shortly, but Harry is definitely not done with her just yet.

“I wouldn’t be that sure about it, baby,” he warns her before gently pushing her off her lap to get off the bed. Flora’s eyes widen as she follows him walk to his suitcase that’s still lying on the floor next to his dresser, waiting to be unpacked. He digs under his clothes before pulling out a small velvety box, making her gasp immediately. Harry gets back on bed as he holds out the box in front of her on his palm, not opening it just yet.

“Did you buy that in New York just this week?” she asks with her mouth hung open.

“I didn’t. I’ve had it for about a month, I just took it with myself because I was afraid you’d find it,” he chuckles as he plays around with it between his fingers. “Have been planning on it for a while, but I couldn’t come up with anything so then I just decided to wait for the right moment and go with the flow,” he explains.

“And this is the right moment?” she questions, her heart beating in her throat as her gaze is switching between Harry’s green eyes and the box in his hand.

“Felt like it, yeah,” he nods, the corners of his mouth curling up.

Silence settles between them as they both just wrap their heads around the weight of the moment. Harry’s heart flutters in his chest, a little afraid it’s too early. They’ve been dating a little over two years now, marriages have been tied way earlier in a relationship before, but Harry feared Flora would feel it too rushed just yet, however the question is out there now. Or is it?

“Well, are you gonna ask it?” she questions and as Harry’s eyes flicker up to meet her gaze, he is met with that playful challenge in them that he adores so much.

“I just asked,” he mutters.

“No, you asked if I would take your name. That’s not a proposal,” she reminds him and he realizes she is right. He never actually asked the big question.

So he finally pops the lid open revealing the vintage diamond ring he bought a month ago when he was just out and about. The moment his eyes laid on the jewelry, he knew it’s the one he’d like to see on your finger and bought it right away.

“Floortje Hoven, will you marry me?” he simply asks, his dimples digging deep into his cheeks as he smiles widely at his lover.

“I will,” she nods, her heart hammering in her chest as she watches him take the ring out of the box and carefully put it on her once empty ring finger. Still holding her hand, he brings it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the ring before leaning in he connects his lips with hers.

-

Thank you for reading! Please like and/or reblog if you enjoyed!

[roger-that-cap]

meet me in the gardens

summary: being the widow of a decently wealthy lord and sitting on a large plot of land automatically meant that you were a candidate for the program that you couldn’t say not to; the hosting. you had to sponsor a knight and keep them in your home for an entire year, which was troublesome enough on its own. but you never expected your knight to be a woman, and you certainly didn’t expect to have a full on illegal love affair with her, either. 

warnings: lots of emotions, feelings, slightly cynical and bitter reader- she’s honestly just being a realist, we are chugging forward, did not check for typos, format could be fucked up bc i’m posting from my phone quite literally minutes before i clock in- PATHETIC LMAO

word count: 2.7k

this is a short chapter by my standards, but it felt long to me because of the things in it??? this is part five! all other parts can be found on my masterlist, it’s my pinned post!

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Wanda asked while she tied your corset, not even needing to ask whether it was too tight or loose. You looked up in your vanity and immediately tried to wipe your smile away, but it was too late. She knew you better than anyone, and she had yet to see a thoughtful smile on your face, ever. Pietro, who had caught you going back inside the previous night, caught on to the fact that you looked more carefree, and that you just seemed to look like you were carrying around less. 

“Nothing.” 

“Hmm,” Wanda hummed, an entertained look on her face. Something told you that she already had an idea of what was going on, even though there was no way she could have. Besides, you hardly even knew what was going on. “I’ll ask again later.” She looked you in the eyes through the mirror, a slightly mischievous smile on her face. “Maybe then you’ll tell the truth,” she said, flicking you on the side of the head, and then letting it rest.

§§

Natasha was out in the village doing whatever it was the knights did one night, and she was planning on spending the night at a bed and breakfast before coming back in the morning. As disheartened as you were about not being able to see her for your stargazing, you were partly glad for it. You missed being with the twins. 

You had dinner with them alone, sitting and laughing about old memories and scheduling times to make new ones together. You loved the way you could be with them. Your laughter was allowed to go over the volume of a giggle without them looking at you like you had grown seven heads, your silverware were allowed to take a tumble onto your plate with a clatter without a second glance, and you were allowed to use whatever language you pleased. You missed the comfort that you felt with them, the comfort that your brain and the part of you that would always be the farm girl felt with them. 

“And Pietro chased him all the way off, you should have seen how terrified he was,” Wanda recapped, and you couldn't help but grin at Pietro, who was sipping wine with his charming grin. “That boy will never lift another skirt, I can assure you of that.” 

“I’m glad,” you mused, shooting Pietro a look that made him laugh. 

“Enough about me,” he said after swallowing a sip of his wine that was much more like a gulp. “We’re not going to talk about how you’ve been walking on the clouds for weeks now?” 

You nearly dropped your fork again. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve both realized,” Pietro said, motioning with his buttered knife towards his sister, who had a soft smile on her face as she observed your reaction. “That you have been significantly happier. Even with the circumstances-”

“Pietro,” Wanda hissed, but you just snorted and shook your head. 

“It’s like you found your own little pocket of happiness. We were worried about you, but, you’re doing alright.” Ever the blatant one out of the three of you, he leaned forward with his trademark smirk, eyes full of curiosity. “What do you know that we don't?” 

You hesitated for a second, mouth opening and closing twice as you grappled for anything to say, even a lie. And then, you settled on just shrugging your shoulders with a grin, shaking your head. “Honestly, Pietro, I know nothing. I don’t know anything.”

§§

Your heart was beating faster than normal as you looked at the woman next to you, your hand subconsciously itching closer to hers as you sat on the ground, ass on the blanket that you had brought out.  “I would like to… show you something.” 

It was probably the twentieth time that you and Natasha had met with each other, and still, you were entranced by her and everything that she did.  And you were entranced while you stared at her and waited for her answer, just a little nervous as to what she would say. 

As if she would ever say no to something you said. 

“Show me anything you’d like me to see,” Natasha urged on, and you fought back a smile. You stood up, and she did the same, and then you were picking up the blanket and walking side by side with her. It was quiet the entire way there as you walked in step with her, hand brushing against her every few steps and sending tingles down your arm every time it happened. 

The feeling that you got when she touched you made you feel both alive and scared to death. You weren’t stupid. You knew what you were steadily collecting more than friendly feelings for her, and that she may have been on the same page you were on. The game you were playing was a dangerous one, the risk threatening to swallow up the reward more and more by the day. 

You had known that being with her by yourself was bad judgement, ever since the first time you did it. Hell, the look you gave her the first time you met her was far from appropriate. Every single conversation that you had with her was a risk, and both of you knew it. And now that your soon-to-be husband was approaching, it was even more scandalous. No one knew and you hoped no one would ever find out, but hiding forever wasn’t a choice. But what would you be hiding if there were no true feelings? 

You hated yourself for falling for her and her pretty words. 

“I used to come here to escape,” you started, pulling yourself out of your thoughts, voice low as you passed the tree line to get into the thick of the woods. You narrowly missed stepping in a particularly muddy spot on the ground. “This was my spot, before I got the garden of course.”

“The woods?” 

“No, Nat,” you said, slightly amused as you stepped over a fallen branch. You smiled a bit when the sound of running water hit your ears.  “The stream.” 

You knew the exact second that she saw it, because her eyes widened and her breath hitched.  “That’s not a stream, that’s a river.”

“It’s the forgotten part of the main river,” you explained. “It’s much skinnier and more shallow, and it doesn't have nearly as much fish coming through, so people forget about it.” You looked towards her and saw how intrigued she was by it, so you judged her armor free body with a slight smirk. “What? Never seen running water?”

“I lived in the capital, all they had was the ocean. And even then I was never allowed on the harbor if I wasn’t selling clams, and I didn’t sell clams much.”

You felt silence start to grow between the two of you, so you said the first thing that you thought of. “You don’t look like a clam seller.” 

He looked away from the river and to you, a slight grin on her face even as she talked again. “And you don’t look like a petal kisser, blossom, but look where we are today.”

Your heart raced in your chest. “Blossom? Is that what you’re calling me now?” 

“It’s only payback for calling me ‘cherry’,” she said, and you stifled a laugh at the retired name, glancing up at the red hair that you had gotten inspiration from.  

“You didn’t actually mind it,” you said, looking off into the distance, only looking back at her when a warm hand slotted over yours. You blinked and looked down at your hands, which she had intertwined, and then back up at her again, only to see that she was staring straight ahead in the dark at the way the moonlight hit the water. 

“How could I?” She asked softly, a subtle breeze picking up.”You were the one saying it.” She looked at you, and in the dim lighting, you could have sworn that her eyes were saying, you can call me anything in the book, and I will own it proudly. And then, the look changed to something else, something less devoting, and something more passionate. It took you a few seconds to understand what the look meant, and before you could fully register it, she was leaning forward. 

A few seconds came and went where you could feel your heartbeat all over, and you tried to look somewhere other than in her eyes. You couldn't. “Don’t look at me like that.” When all Natasha did was tilt her head to the side and give you an even more intense version of the look, you let out a small sigh. “Please.”

“Why not?” 

She knew why. She knew why probably better than you did after living in the capital. She saw what happened firsthand to people who committed crimes, and those who committed second degree adultery. If you two did what you were wanting to do with your entire heart, you would fall right into that category. “I know where this is going,” you said softly, “and this won’t end well.” 

“Why not?” She asked again, and you turned your head to the side, shaking it slightly and closing your eyes. 

“Because, I’m about to get married,” you hissed, and though you didn’t mean to sound so angry, you did. Natasha was hardly affected. 

She lifted her arms and let them fall against her clothing with a soft slap that still echoed in the night. “You’re not married right now.” 

“But I will be, Natasha,” you said, gripping her hands and squeezing  them softly, begging for her to understand you. “What’s going to happen when I get married to a man who already has a streak for murdering his wives, and he finds out that I have feelings for you? He’ll kill me. He’ll kill you. And if he doesn’t, we’ll both be hung for adultery, after being put into torture camps for being… together as women.” 

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, Y/N, you know that.” The fervency in her tone nearly shocked you as she took a bold step forward, nearly surrounding you in her scent and energy. “I would never let anything happen to you.” 

“You’re too important for me to condemn to death and dishonor just because I have feelings for you. It was selfish of me to meet with you in the first place, but I can’t let myself do this. It’s a bad idea,” You said, voice hushed even though no one would have followed you. You were trembling, hand shaking more than anything else as you tried to understand how fast everything was moving; forward and backwards, sewing together and ripping apart all the same. If you were any more attentive to her expression, you would have seen the grin that lit up her face as your confession. “We were just about to cross a line. We’ve crossed quite a few dotted ones, but this one? It is bold and blaring.” 

“Blossom,” Natasha started, and you just shook your head and kept going. 

“And-and what we were just about to do? That crosses the line. We cannot.” 

“Do you really think my feelings for you are going to change depending on whether or not we kiss?” She asked, her voice slightly deeper than usual, almost sounding insulted. “You’re telling me to close my heart off from you, not to not kiss you. And you know that.”  

“What if I am?” You asked, eyes starting to burn with tears. “I’m doing it for the right reasons, Nat. I’m trying to save us from a world of hurt when reality finally sinks in.”

“That isn’t today.” She took another step forward and this time, you couldn't find the strength in you to step back. “And it isn’t tomorrow, and not even within the fortnight. You and I have something, and I know that you know it’s different. It’s special. We would be so stupid to ignore it, so stupid.” 

“I know, I know,” you said, voice tapering off into a whine as you slowly felt your resolve come apart, even though you thought it was stronger. “I’m sorry.”

 “You don’t have to apologize,” Natasha said after a few minutes of pure silence, and you found yourself exhaling. “I just wish things were different.” 

  “I know,” she said, and you turned to look up at the sky, tears threatening to come down on your cheeks. The stars seemed to twinkle and wink at you, talking amongst themselves about a future you had no idea about just yet. 

“Guess they’re never gonna line up,” you murmured to yourself, and then you heard Natasha grumble something from your side, and then she was coming closer, a barreling energy force full of passion and intent, and you knew exactly what she was coming for. For less than a split second, you thought about it. And then you turned your head and met her halfway. 

You would have been surprised by the passion in it if you weren’t just as desperate for the contact. You twisted in her arms, already wrapped around you as she drew you in close, closer than you had ever been with her, and the tears that were welling up before were now escaping for a different reason. Your lips were pressing into hers, moving fluidly and with an air of fervor that she matched equally. You felt wanted, and needed, and you felt loved. You felt the tenderness of the moment with every brush of her fingers on the back of your neck and with every rub of your back over the thin material of your night dress. 

Your legs were shaking, and she noticed before you did that you were getting weak in the knees. She held you up and pulled back slightly, just enough for you to feel her lips brush against yours while she asked if you were okay, like she wasn’t willing to take herself from you just yet. And honestly, you weren’t ready for her to leave you, either. You nodded, and she leaned in again, much slower, and then you had time to think. 

Her eyes weren’t the same shade they were when the sun hit them, they were almost an eerie pale blue, but they were still just as gorgeous to you, especially now that they were slanted with desire. Her hair wasn’t perfect like she somehow always managed or it to be, and you realized that it was because you had gotten a hand to run through it despite the way that she had previously held you like a lifeline. Her lashes were long, and you swore that she was close enough that you could count them. Her cheekbones were accentuated in the lighting, making her look like something straight out of a fairy tale, like a floating fae creature that led people to safety. In that moment, you could have sworn that she was the answer to every prayer you had ever whispered, to every question you had ever asked your etiquette teachers. In that moment, and in every moment to come, she was your ending and beginning, your creation and destruction, your sunrise and sunset. She was Natasha Romanoff, and in that moment, no wedding or murderous man even held a candle to the way you felt about her.

  What a beautiful person. 

“Now you’re looking at me strangely,” Natasha said, her voice quieter than you had ever heard it as the both of you treated over the moment carefully, trying not to break it and leave it in shambles. “What are you thinking about?” 

“How I’m going to have to pretend like this never happened in a few weeks,” you said softly, and part of you hated yourself for bringing up the bad part of the future so soon after you both had just lost all ties to reality. 

“You don’t have to,” she said, stroking your hair. “We can just keep doing what we’re doing, sneaking off in the night and coming back in the morning before anyone realizes. Nothing really has to change, I just want you to know that I… that we can be whatever you want us to be.” 

“As long as we’re in the confines of the garden walls.” 

“And now the woods,” Natasha said, and you couldn’t help but laugh in her arms. 

“And now the woods."

****

this is short, but i couldn’t see anything being tacked on to this. we’re at an important part, and from here it’s gonna be fun!! thank y’all for reading; if you liked it please drop a like and a reblog bc it makes my day!! comments also make me ascend y’all

tags!! : tags! : @teenwonder @saamwilscn @procrastinatingsapphictrash @fayhar @8plasma @slut-for-nat @dontmindmejustreading @swords-are-cool @200605chaeng @thescottishavenger @antidaytime @jenny-song @madamevirgo @natasha-danvers @blackxwidowsxwife​ @shycucumbersandwich @dailyavengering @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @ima-gi--na-tion @chickenhavewisdom

so sorry if i forgot anyone!!!!!

[keilemlucent]

lavender latte: iii

(T (for now!))

hawks | takami keigo x reader

ao3

chapter 1   ||   chapter 2   ||   chapter 4

word count: 4.2k

a cheeky drink and some mutual sabotage. 

warnings: oh no, they say s*x, fluff, pining, the usual, and a wittle angst on the side, reader smokes cigs bc its a salem trademarked fic thing

enjoy folks ;^) the whole of this piece is gonna be about? ten chapters. so. hold on tight!!!

beta read by @keiqos, heart EYES

||||||||||||||||||||||||

“Let that sit for a second or you’ll burn yourself—”

“Don’t need to tell me twice, angel. I know the drill.” Hawks replied with a wink.

You weren’t ever going to get tired of that.

You really expected Hawks to disappear out of your life. You really, truly expected him to run off for good. How many bigger, better, and more important things did he have to do? Even if you managed to speak to him and regard him like any other customer (or, perhaps acquaintance, and more recently, friend — ), your mind swam with insecurities that only seemed to get worse over time.

You were waiting for the metaphorical thread to snap.

You waited for the day Hawks simply would stop texting you flirty bullshit on a somewhat regular basis.

But, holy fuck, the dude didn’t.

 You couldn’t think of why. You weren’t complaining about the attention, but you also were terrified of getting too used to it. Hawks was a part... bird (?) right? He was flighty by nature.

Despite this, Hawks continued to not only text you but also stopped by the shop fairly frequently for his special, quirk-fueled beverage fix. Politely, he’d text you the day before he planned to make an appearance to check and see if you were working, and then show up the next day like it was nothing. 

He usually wouldn’t stay for long; the hero was ungodly busy and always on the move. But, he always took the time to flirt and get a full description of his drink before dashing out to save the world once more. 

Most days he visited were his ‘hero work’ days. He’d appear in his costume, done up and dashing for a sip and a quick talk before disappearing once more into the skies. Every once in a while, Hawks had an ‘office’ day where he’d be confined to his agency to catch up on his insane backlog of paperwork. On these occasions, Hawks would talk (stall) at the tea shop for as long as possible. You talked and joked with him as long as he would let you. Sure, it put you behind on work, but no one at the shop was going to tell you off for fraternizing with the number two hero (whose repeated presence was drawing more customers anyways). You both reveled in each other's attention, drinking in the other’s slowly softening smiles and quick wit. 

 On this day, Keigo’s wings were the shittiest they had been in a while. Plucked and almost barren with how much he’d been working lately. Total exhaustion seemed like it was constantly on the horizon, tugging as his eyelids and weighing down his chest each morning.

It was easier to get out of bed when he got to think about seeing you.

Sure, your drinks were a perk. Very much so. He was getting so used to the artisan beverages you crafted that the taste of his normal canned coffee was starting to bother him. 

But, what his real thrill in visiting the tea shop was that he got to see you, and that made his heart pound. 

He sat across from you, looking down into your newest drink. It swirled between dark and milky, a heady, rich aroma billowing up with the steam it produced. He had requested something ‘surprising, new, and horribly caffeinated’ as deep fatigue was the worst villain he’d likely see that day. You had just nodded, cheekily starting to prepare his drink with a bounce in your step, pupils going wide. 

“I feel like you’re gonna start running out of ideas one of these days,” Keigo laughed, adjusting himself on his stool, gloves and jacket removed. He almost looked like a normal patron.

 You grinned to yourself, idly cleaning around you as you often did, “I dunno, I’ve got a lot.”

Hawks raised an eyebrow, “Tell me about them.”

“Nope, top-secret,” You shook your head, digging into your apron to flash him the small notepad you carried on you.

Scrawled in nasty handwriting, you carried your many ‘feeling’ ideas around with you. Different concepts and abstractions all scribbled down, a nice long list to look back on whenever Hawks would make his appearances and his own vague requests. Your backlog of ideas made it easy to find something more than suitable to make for him.

When Hawks saw your notepad his eyes widened, tilting his head and a devious smirk coming to his lips.

Your expression fell, and you stuffed the papers back into your pocket, hiding your hot face by idly cleaning some more. 

You left yourself very open for teasing, it seemed.

(Not that you or Keigo minded.)

“You keep a little list of all of your ideas! I’m beyond flattered,” Hawks ran a hand through his hair, flashing a cocky smile for you. 

“I have to stay prepared, can’t be disappointing my celebrity sugar daddy,” You winked as Hawks’s eyes went wide, half-hearing a choke get caught in his throat. (You loved it when you were able to get him visibly flustered. What a treat.) You nodded down to the drink, “Should be good to try now.” 

 Keigo really liked spending time with you. He knew it was always fleeting and short and consistently he wanted to find reasons to stay with you at the tea shop counter for longer and longer. Your quips and chides continued to get quicker and more clever and he was having an increasingly difficult time keeping his cool around you. Most of the time he smoothed himself easily, not showing a trace other than that which he neurologically couldn’t control. 

But sometimes, you were bold enough and ballsy enough to get him to gag on his literal words and he was positive that you were the only person to ever have him break composure in such a way. 

He covered his weakened poise by sipping the new drink, mindfully letting the taste wash over his tongue.

Increasingly, you’d been changing up the so-called ‘vibe’ of your beverages. It seemed like each time Keigo dropped in, you had something new and vibrant to show him. 

This drink was particularly different.

The taste was rich, dark, and smooth, rolling into the back of his throat and down his spine. It coated his insides with a warm, low heat. Peeking through were sweet, light accents, warm but almost... teasing?

His dick twitched.

 Hawks’s mouth dropped open, any and all professional veneers dropped as you just beamed so fucking smugly at him. 

“What do you think?” You leaned a bit forward, bouncing on your toes with excitement.

“Is... Is this supposed to taste like sex?” Hawks asked, taking another mouthful to confirm. Based on the way his eyes briefly shut and some of the tension rolled from his shoulders, he thoroughly confirmed it.

“Technically, it’s crafted based on like... a late-night rendezvous. I left it fairly up to interpretation beyond that. The rest is on you.” You shrugged, still bouncing as Hawks took another chug.

“What the fuck, (Y/N),” Pleasant shock colored his features, but clear amusement stretched across his lips as he continued to drink. 

“You wanted something surprising and horribly caffeinated. That’s a dark chocolate mocha with two extra shots, our in-house raspberry and rhubarb syrup, a bit of white chocolate syrup, and a few of my add-ins as well. It’s pretty different from what I’ve made you before,” You blinked at him, stomach twisting as his expression remained unguarded. “I... I probably should’ve asked before giving you a drink that definitely could’ve been taken as sex. That’s my bad. I can remake you something else if you’d like?”

 Keigo shook himself from his stupor, shaking his head and quickly regaining his composure. He took another sip to emphasize his words, “No, nope. It’s okay. Definitely okay. The drink is really good. I’m just now wondering something.”

“And, what’s that?” You asked, reaching behind the counter to grab your own iced beverage.

“Can your quirk be used to manifest bad feelings and concepts, just like good ones?” Keigo asked. Normally, he’d add more nuance, but he was getting impatient and sloppy around you. He’d have to keep that in check.

Especially with the way your shoulders drew up and tensed. You turned a bit away from him, any and all potential for eye contact torn away.

He hit a nerve.

“The type of abstract feeling doesn’t matter, I can emulate it,” You replied, pulling at your nails. Keigo had long picked up that it was one of your habits when your anxiety spiked. 

He dropped it, but didn’t forget. There were public files on quirks. Maybe he’d look into it. Maybe. It felt a bit invasive, but considering plenty of that data was freely accessible, it hardly was an invasion of privacy, right? 

(Except for the fact that it obviously made you very uncomfortable to discuss the more unsavory potentials of your quirk.) 

(He just wouldn’t tell you.)  

Keigo switched topics, easily rolling away from the topic, “Any particular... event that inspired this one?” 

You pressed your hands into the counter, leaning over it to glare at him, “Are you referring to something with that comment, Hawks?”

He shuddered when you said his name, but you don’t notice. 

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” Keigo shrugged easily, going for another sip.

 The drink was inspired by the several day cinematic, wine-bender you went on a week or two prior. An entire weekend with just you, your cats, three entire bottles of wine, and a backlog of movies to catch up on. You tried to consume lots of different types of media, but what had been catching your eye lately had been anything with gushy romance for fairly obvious reasons.

(There was an embarrassing amount of ideas for drinks that were a bit too romantic to properly indulge with your quirk. You’d never tested the limits of how certain feelings could manifest, and you weren’t quite ready to face the reality where you could make people nut from caffeinated milk.)

“It is good though, the drink,” Hawks smacked his lips together as if it would make his coming analysis more credible. “It definitely does taste like sex, but more so complicated. Darker.”

“Deeper.” You smiled. “Your palette is getting more refined. I’m proud.”

“Are you saying it was bad to begin with?” Hawks pouted, flashing you falsely weepy eyes and a puffed out lip.

You rolled your eyes, “Yes, you yourself have admitted this. You drink canned coffee still, so I can’t even call your taste good.”

Hawks gasped, putting a hand to his chest, “I’m hurt, truly wounded.”

“I’m sure you are, tailfeathers.”

“I really thought I had reliably moved up to ‘birdboy’, angel.”

You snorted, covering your mouth with your hand, “Just goes to show how quickly the tables turn, tailfeathers.”

Hawks’s pager suddenly chimed, a familiar sign. He took a quick look at it and sighed, moving to re-robe. You were surprised by the speed at which he did so, and the way he became tense so quickly. 

It made you realize that he was always tense.

(Unless he was talking to you.)

“I thought today was an office day?” You asked, a bit of a disappointment clouding your voice.

Hawks just gave a small smile, fully plastering back on his heroic facade, “Duty calls. Lots happening lately.”

He flicked his visor back over his eyes, slid you your normalized wad of cash, and whisked himself out the door, immediately taking to the skies from the streets.

He’s in a bit of a hurry.

He... didn’t even say goodbye. 

Wonder what’s happening?

 Truthfully, Keigo was a bit startled by the notice on his pager. The whole reason he’d started patrolling the particular neighborhood the tea shop was in was because there was word of a villain syndicate working nearby. It hardly seemed right for the neighborhood, but Keigo knew that villains hid anywhere. Whatever they were planning was still relatively shrouded, but it was clear that it needed to be treated delicately. That particular neighborhood was rife with pedestrians, businesses, and homes and any sort of villainous activity had the possibility of reaping a heavy amount of collateral damage. Keigo and the Commission had been on their guards about it, but things had been steadily becoming more intense over the past few weeks. 

Plopping himself on a rooftop, Keigo took up residence to stake out his newest lead, watching figures and silhouettes in a nearby office building.

 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

 Funnily enough, the rest of your week went horribly. Just downright shitty. You figured at some point, things would let up, brighten, but they didn’t. Each day brought some new, personal calamity. 

The first was a trip to the emergency vet with one of your cats after she swallowed a hair tie. An expensive vet bill later, she was perfectly healthy, but you remained wracked with anxiety. 

Another day, the owner of the tea shop paid a visit to chew you out for your newest tea blends not fulfilling his picky seasonal requests. You were relieved it had nothing to do with how Hawks monopolized your time. Still, getting yelled at easily within earshot of both coworkers and customers made your insides twists. 

The final small disaster was when a particularly asshole-ish customer chucked a hot drink all over you and your cute white sweater. One of the younger openers had been dealing with a difficult patron and an incorrect order, nothing out of the ordinary. When you tried to step in and de-escalate the situation, the man ripped the lid from his cup and splashed you with the burning liquid. You held back any sounds of pain even as your skin stung like hell when you offered to remake his drink.

One of your managers luckily allowed you to go home early. Thank god.

By the end of your shitty week, you fell into your apartment and just cried. White sweater stained and day feeling fairly ruined, you let yourself have a good, solid sobbing session to just release how terrible things had been. 

It would pass, you knew. But it sucked at the moment.

It also didn’t help that Hawks had been particularly absent after running out the last time he came around. He’d still managed to shoot you a funny text or two, but mostly, it was silence from him. You rationalized it by reminding yourself of how quickly he flew off at the end of his last visit, hero business forever more pertinent than you and the shop.

You reminded yourself to keep yourself grounded in Hawks obvious impermanence, even if you were starting to get used to (and really like) having the hero around. 

You decided that your Friday evening would be good. You treated yourself to a hot shower, noting with a hiss the pink scalded skin that covered your chest from your collar bones to just below your breasts. You threw on a facemask and uncorked a bottle of wine you had been saving for a rainy day. 

You clicked on one of your favorite shows, an older cartoon that brought you consistent comfort in times like those. Curled up with a knit throw blanket and your healthy cats, it did help soothe the burns, mental and physical.

That is until you got a bit too drunk on red wine and it turned into sad drunk.  

So, you made your way to the roof.

You weren’t fucked up beyond belief, despite the fact that you were towing an open bottle of red in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in the left. The cold would sober you up, along with the nicotine. You hoped it would force you out of your head. 

Upon throwing open the door to your apartment complex’s rooftop, you were made very aware of its wintertime disuse. The gardens that grew during the summer were snowcovered. The chairs and tables for lounging were in a similar state. You didn’t mind. 

The view was still nice. 

You set down your bottle and zipped up your coat. Quickly, you brushed off the flurries from a rickety lawn chair and plopped yourself down. You threw on some music from your phone, playing some sweet, old songs that made your chest ache when you needed it to.

The city stretched in front of you, beyond the rooftop. You didn’t live in a particularly wealthy district, but there was no shortage of dazzling neon and bright street lights dotting the ground below. You watched how the rest of the city stretched far beyond your little pocket, still gleaming with multi-hued lighting and dazzling in the wash of the crescent moon.

You took a swig, fishing for your self-dubbed ‘sad cigarettes’ and lit up. With your exhale, you watched as smoke lazily swirled away, carried by the soft winter wind. If you were any less drunk, you’d be freezing.

A shadow, winged, fell across the snow. 

“You know, I get nervous when I see pretty girls on rooftops with bottles in their hands,” You jumped at the voice, whipping your head to the source.

Hawks stood, scarlet wings fanned outwards, on the lip of the rooftop. 

Your eyes widened.

You took another sip.

He gave an affectionate laugh, jumping down into the area where you were seated.

 Keigo had just been out on his normal, nightly patrol. The leak had been correct and he’d been stealthily tracking the villains while completing the rest of his hero duties. He was able to laugh off his exhaustion, but it was starting to eat him. Several cans of coffee a day was hardly doing it for him. He hid his sleepiness and aches well, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult. All the same, his typical roles had to be fulfilled. 

He was surprised to see you, all alone on a rooftop with a lit cigarette between your fingers. Keigo let himself be surprised before noting that ‘ yes, you definitely probably live in this apartment building and you’re just outside to smoke’, but the sudden jolt of panic he felt was crushingly unbearable. 

Mostly because it was personally protective and not heroically instinctual and he couldn’t start acknowledging that aspect of his feelings for you. Not yet. 

Keigo walked towards you, asking, watching you blink blearily at him “You doing alright?” 

Eyes downcast, you shrugged, “We all feel shitty sometimes. Just depends on how you cope, ‘ya know?”

“And how do you cope, (Y/N)?” Keigo asked, pausing before brushing off a chair. “Mind if I join you for a bit? I could use a second to rest my wings.”

You nodded, almost offering him the bottle, but quickly pulling it back to your chest before taking another inhale. Offering a pro hero alcohol while he was pretty obviously working seemed like a bad move, even in your tipsy state. 

“Most of the time, I watch nice stuff and distract myself, like most people, ya’ know?” You exhaled as you smoked, relishing the nicotine buzz. “Sometimes, though, I just feel extra shitty and need to extra cope.”

Hawks hummed in agreement, sitting back in the chair. His wings were folded up and over its back, the longest feathers trailing in the small snowdrift behind him.

“Do you get cold, being in the sky all the time?” You asked, eyes going cloudy as you stared up at the lights of the city and higher into the sky. 

“Most of the time,” Hawks chuckled, throwing his arms behind his head, “I’ve told you this, angel. It was one of our first conversations.”

Your eyes widened at the realization, mouth open with a hearty laugh.

 It made Keigo’s eyes water a little. He blamed it on the wind. 

 “I’m silly, I can’t believe I forgot,” You nestled back into your chair, tracing the lines between constellations. “It’s the whole reason you came to the teashop in the first place.” 

Your voice resonated, focus foggy. Somewhere else, old memories played in your mind, recounting your first few meetings with Hawks.

A warm, small smile stretched across your face as you traced the stars. 

 Keigo watched, enraptured. You were cute, especially like this. All bundled up in your winter coat, half-zipped. There was a lot less stress in your shoulders than he normally saw at the shop, especially as your thoughts were so far away.

He wanted nothing more than to commit the contours and shadows of your face in the white moonlight to memory, never forgotten in the blissful cold. 

 You interrupted his thoughts so beautifully.

 “Thanks for talking to me.” You took a sip from your bottle just after speaking, half-drowning your words, but Keigo caught each one. “I appreciate you.” 

“P-pardon?” Keigo couldn’t tell if you caught his stutter, but even if you did, you didn’t show it. The comment felt like a jab to his jaw, half-knocking the wind of him and turning him into a filthy masochist. He’d take any whiplash if it meant you saying such kindnesses to him. 

How could you just say shit like that?

What exactly did you mean by that?

Why did your attention make his legs tremble?

You turned your attention from the night sky to Hawks, something like uncertainty bubbling in your chest, “I appreciate you, ya’ know? Coming by the tea shop still, teasing each other and shit, you humoring me—”

Hawks interrupted you, feathers tensing at his back.

“I’m not humoring you.” Hawks deadpanned, staring at you oddly seriously. The yolks of his eyes seemed even more intense in the neon and night light. 

“You’re... not?” 

There was utter disbelief in your voice, accented by the way your jaw was half-opened.

Hawks shook his head, standing in emphasis, feathers fluttering as he did, “ No, angel. Not at all. I visit because...”

I like you.

“Because I like your drinks.”

  Because you make me feel good in a way I’ve never felt.

“You’re fun to talk to, too. Added perk.”

  Because I want to hear your voice when I breathe and when I die. 

“I enjoy it, you know? You're fun.”

 Some feeling in your chest, something full of hope, crushed itself and compacted to the point of pain. You sniffled at his admission, blaming it on the cold. In a fucked up, sad way, part of you was so relieved. 

He likes the shop. He likes your drinks. 

He’s around because he wants to be. 

But not because you’re special to him. 

 His words reminded you of your insignificance in Hawks’s life. No matter how much you craved his attention and words, and more recently found yourself staring at the plumpness of his lips and the curve of his cupids bow and daydreaming about how much you wanted to lean over the tea shop's counter and kiss the constant, teasing smile off his face—

But.

You don’t matter that much to him.

Sure, he likes you, but he’ll never feel the same way about you. 

 You made the decision then to make the most out of Hawk’s affections and sweet words. You’d take what you could get, even if it was fleeting and probably  eventually heartbreaking. It seemed smart, to refuse to get your hopes up for someone so unattainable.

 You let out a shaking sigh, “Thank you, Hawks. I appreciate you coming around. You really light up my day.”

 Keigo saw the fall of your face and bottled himself up. Shoved down everything. Fuck his feeling, fuck how he felt about you, this was all fucking terrifying. It was getting to be too much and he had to try and control himself.

Just like he’d been taught so well.

He was just so happy to be around you. He could squash his feelings, even if they were fairly obviously somewhat mutual. God knows that he didn’t know how to handle anything like that.

On the gods, his pager beeped.

 “Duty calls?” You said, standing up yourself and brushing off the stray snowflakes. 

“Seems so.” Hawks sighed, nodding, “Thanks for letting me rest here. It was good to see you, (Y/N). I’ll see you soon, okay?”

You waved goodbye as Hawks disappeared as quickly as he came, launching himself from the roof with the heavy sound of wing beats. 

Soaring away, Keigo risked a final look at you. He swore he saw tears in your eyes.

He forcibly repressed his feelings, reminding himself that your company, words, and quirk-made beverages were more than enough. The flutter in his chest when he thought of you wouldn’t rest, but he could learn to ignore it. 

 On the roof of your apartment, you felt fatigue in your bones and wetness on your cheeks. You ignored both in favor of smoking another cigarette, soft, melancholy music being your only constant, reliable companion. 

You reminded yourself that he, Hawks, was a temporary fixture, more flighty than most and liked you just enough and for surface-level reasons. You could take that. You’d do anything to be around him more, even if it never amounted to anything. 

You, just as Keigo did, pressed down any larger feelings.

 (The thing about feelings, though, that neither of you was very good at remembering, was that they don’t go away. Sure, you can let them go, but that takes time or a practiced mind!)

(When you take feelings, big, aching, soaking feelings and shove them down into the deepest parts of you, they just tend to make you bleed. The ‘hidden’ feelings color your blood as it spills, even if you don’t notice when it falls and its change in hue.)

(One can only hope that both Keigo and you listened instead of lied.)

 Both of your hearts ached, and neither of you fully understood why.

[ffwriterbts]

Lunar- BTS Werewolf AU Part 5

AN: As I’ve said before, if slowburn BTS werewolf AUs that have springlings of angst, smut, and fluff, this is the story for you! Other than that, please leave a like or comment so I know you’re enjoying the story!! The sections should start getting longer as I keep updating :)

Also! Let me know if you want to be on a tag list for this story!

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: General angst; mental health issues; soulmate themes if you squint: seriously if you aren’t into angst don’t read this bc :)))) it’s angsty

Posted: 16 Jan 2021

Tag List: @happynightmareprincess

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When YN woke up, swaddled in the softness of Jimin’s sweater, with Yoongi’s hoodie balled up in her arms, the teddy that Hobi got her resting next to her head, the light was streaming through the curtains. The scents of the three boys swirled around her in a way that was so familiar, so calming, that she almost forgot that she wasn’t still with them.

Sighing, she rolled over, opening her eyes properly for the first time. A deep sort of disappointment settled into an ever-growing pit in her stomach as her eyes flitted across her own bedroom for the first time in months.

Sadness hits her like a wave, slamming into her with an unknown, unrelenting force that left her gasping for air.

Wimpers fell from her lips as she curled into herself, not wanting to get up. All YN really wanted to do was to do was seek out the same comfort she had been getting when she was with them.

YN buries her face in Yoongi’s hoodie, willing herself not to cry anymore. Rationally, she knew she shouldn’t feel so bad. She knew she shouldn’t be so hard on herself, shouldn’t let the pit of hurt and anger in her chest rule her actions.

But honestly, YN wasn’t thinking rationally. She wasn’t removing herself from her feelings like she had done for the entirety of her life. She wasn’t putting the reminders of the boys she had called housemates and friends for the past two months out of sight.

Instead, YN just squeezed her eyes closed, ignoring the gaping hole in her chest and breathing in the scent of the boys that swirled around her.

It was because of this deep pain that YN took almost two hours to rouse herself out of bed. It would have taken even longer, but eventually nature calls and hunger gnaws at you so much you have to eat something, even if you don’t really want to.

YN trudged her way to the bathroom, then to the kitchen. The small teddy that Hoseok had gotten her was held tightly to her chest as she stumbled around her house, the ever-so-soft material of Jimin’s sweater feeling almost scratchy against her sensitive skin.

She was cold. In fact the whole house was absolutely freezing, but she couldn’t bring herself to wrap up in a blanket or put on real pants. Looking through the kitchen, she quickly realized that she didn’t have much in the way of food she could eat without much hassle.

Shivering, YN ran a hand through her hair, grabbing a small bag of some snack food she had never seen before and stumbling her way to the study she found so much comfort in. Absently, she opened the snack, nibbling on it and tasting nothing.

Silently, YN thanked herself for setting up her laptop in its usual spot the day before. She knew the only thing that she’d be able to do for a while would be to write something terribly sad and angsty.

And that’s exactly what she did. She nibbled on the snack, which she eventually realized was one of the things that Jin and Yoongi had brought to her home on the day of the attack, typing away furiously as she tried to express the emotions that were swirling around inside of her.

She didn’t remember grabbing a bottle of water, but there was one on her desk when she withdrew from her typing enough to realize she was thirsty. She chugged it like she had never had water before in her life, staring vacantly at the computer screen. The words she had been writing for god knows how long swirled before her eyes as she realized just how tired she actually was.

She stood with a groan, her back feeling more stiff than it had in months. YN pulled the sleeves of the sweater down over her hands, picking up the teddy from its place next to her computer and clutching it to her chest again. She went straight back to her room, shivering as she slid her feet across the cold floors, longing for the warmth of another body to sedate the chill that seemed to have settled in her bones.

She felt like she was floating now, the same hole bleeding in her chest as the pain turns to a sort of uncomfortable numbness. Her whole body felt like it had just frozen in place with no room for emotions, good or bad.

Snidely, she thought about the way the boys would come to her with worry etched on their beautiful faces if they had been close enough to her that they could feel her emotions. As strange as it was to get used to in the beginning, having seven other people who could instantly tell when you’re having a bad day, YN actually really enjoyed feeling known like that.

She liked that they would ask her what was wrong and actually listen. She liked that they would shake their heads at her when they realized she just had forgotten to eat lunch and was grumpy because of that. She liked that each of them would approach her negative emotions differently, having their own ways to distract her and make her feel better. Whether it was because her injuries were particularly bad or because she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, they were there to cheer her up in their own special ways.

They were bitter, the memories swirling around her head. YN buried herself under the blankets of her bed, cold settling in her bones as she held Yoongi’s hoodie to her cheek.

She thought of how Jin would sigh at her, shaking his head and telling her to go get Yoongi, the three of them were going to try out this new recipe that was too complicated for just one person to make. He never expected her to talk to him, but was always a sympathetic ear when she decided to open up.

She thought of how Yoongi had found her one too many times, sitting on the couch in his studio long after everyone else had gone to bed, typing away on her computer like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. He’d never say much then, instead clearing his throat and suggesting they both go to bed, closing the laptop with one hand and helping her up with the other. He’d give her a soft, gummy smile and open the doors for her, easily lifting her off her feet if she was having pain or trouble with her ankle. What she wouldn’t give now, to be carried to her room by Yoongi and told to get some sleep for once by the man who never seemed to sleep at night.

She thought about her energetic discussions with Namjoon about topics she really cared about, and how he would seat himself across from her in the library when she’d been reading for a little too long, drawing her out of her reprieve with discussion. His eyes would crinkle slightly at the sides, gleaming as his dimple was on full display at her becoming more and more passionate, forgetting whatever had been on her mind before, even if just for a few minutes.

She thought of how, whenever Hobi would notice her getting restless, he would ask her questions about what kind of music he should try dancing to next, or about what kind of interesting dances he should rope Jimin and Jungkook into doing with him. He would give that sunshine smile to her as she gave him ideas, making her feel like she really mattered.

She thought of how Jimin would try to curl his much bigger body into her lap, careful not to put too much pressure on her bad leg, just in case. He would snuggle her, usually half smothering her with praise and questions until she was laughing again. He would always plant a kiss on her forehead before he got up again, chattering away about how she “just needed some Jimin cuddles” with the biggest smile on his face.

She thought of how Taehyung would pick her up every time he caught her hobbling from room to room, chastising her in a half-joking, half-serious way for walking when they all knew she wasn’t supposed to be. Every time, her ears would get hot as she mumbled an excuse about not wanting to bother anyone or not really being in pain, even though it sent shots of agony up her leg every time she tried to walk until just two weeks before she left the house. Taehyung would just shake his head, his voice reverberating through her chest as he told her that he was her “trusty steed” and that he took his duties very seriously.

And she thought of Jungkook, the one she was closest in age to, who was still awkward around emotions. He would offer her up some of whatever snack he was having, and insist that they go play another round of whatever game he had decided was his favorite for the time being. He never asked what was wrong, or why she didn’t feel good, instead he quietly tried to take her mind off of it, which she appreciated.

YN cried herself to sleep again that night.

~~~~~~

The week passed torturously slow. YN was in a depressive spiral, freezing cold despite the warmth of her home, swaddled in blankets and clutching onto the things that she had been left like they were her saving graces. The boys felt disjointed, like they had a part of them ripped away and it made everything more difficult to do for them.

As much as it had pained them, they kept true to Namjoon’s plan and didn’t go anywhere near YN for the entirety of the week, trying to be sure that YN was what she seemed to be. If their week was any indication, they had found a lost Omega.

Yoongi, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook had spent most of the week trying (and failing) to convince Namjoon to let them be the ones to patrol over where YN lived. Namjoon was able to see right through this though, telling them to stay away from there and that he would be the only one that goes over into that part of their territory until the week is up.

Begrudgingly, they listen. Though not without trying to convince Hoseok to do their dirty work for them, which he refused.

When it came to the week being done, they had their answer. YN had to either be one of the lost or she was able to pack bond, for whatever reason. Once Namjoon was fully sure that they needed YN with them, in one way or another, he rounded up the boys.

“You all know that it’s been a week since YN left us. And I think I speak for all of us when I say that this week has been absolutely torture.” Namjoon starts, pacing back and forth in the living room, looking at the boys before him.

“Right Joon, what have you decided?” None of them pay attention to who it was that said it, but they were all looking at Namjoon anxiously.

“We need her here. With us. She’s started the pack bond, even though we all know she couldn’t have meant to.” Namjoon runs a hand through his hair, pausing his pacing to stand in the middle of the room, turning to the six other men he called his family.

“Hyung, what are we going to actually do?” It’s Jimin who speaks up this time, shifting nervously in his seat.

“Tomorrow morning, be ready to drive over to hers. It’s almost an hour, because we will have to go around the forest completely, but we need to explain to her what’s going on and let her make the choice for herself as to what to do.” Namjoon takes a deep breath. “Jin can drive the one car, and Yoongi can drive the other, since they have both taken the drive before. But whatever happens tomorrow, we have to respect YN and her decisions.”

They all agreed, excitement building as they chattered amongst each other.

“One of you needs to come and help me gather some snacks to take with us in the morning, I know you guys will just be absolutely starving if we don’t have something for the ride.” Jin stands and smiles fondly at the three youngest, who smile sheepishly back at him. Everyone in the room knew that the comment was directed at them, especially Jungkook.

It was Jungkook who followed the elder into the kitchen, excitedly packing what seemed like enough snack foods to feed twenty people, thought they both knew that between the seven of them, they’d all be gone or close to it by the end of the next day.

~~~~~~

When YN woke up the morning the pack was coming to see her, something compelled her to get out of bed without the two or three hour upset lounging session she had been growing used to.

For the first time since returning to her home, she put on a pot of coffee and found some cereal that she wouldn’t mind eating dry. YN sat at her kitchen counter, wearing Yoongi’s hoodie like a dress, sipping coffee that was far too hot and way too bitter for her liking, crunching on cereal.

YN was completely zoned out, doing these things without thinking about what she was really doing. One hand was alternating between bringing the half empty coffee cup to her mouth or grabbing a few pieces of cereal at a time, the other clutching that teddy bear to her chest like it would fill the gaping void.

It was because of this autopilot mode that YN didn’t hear the knocking at her door until it was fairly loud. Confused and not thinking at all, she went and opened the door paying absolutely no attention to the fact that she hadn’t gotten dressed for the day yet and she was not dressed appropriately to be seeing anyone just yet.

She is met with the sight of Namjoon’s smiling face looking down on her, his deep and polite voice asking her if they could come in as the other boys stood behind him, clearly impatient.

“Y-yeah of course” YN’s voice is rough from not having spoken for almost a whole week, other than to let sobs fall from her lips. She shakes her head as she moves to the side, letting the pack into her home.

It felt strange, seeing the object of all of her emotions in the last week right there in her home, milling around the place in a curious fashion.

It is right then when she becomes fully aware of the fact that, not only is she clutching onto the teddy that Hobi got her, but she’s also not wearing any pants. Sure, Yoongi’s hoodie might as well have been a dress on her much smaller frame, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel exposed as the seven men made their way into her home.

As comfortable as she was with them, she could never forget just how large they were in comparison to her. Or the strength that was so carefully hidden in their lithe bodies.

“Ehm- make yourselves at home. I’m going to get changed.” YN turns on her heel, ears hot as she hurries to her room, embarrassment rolling off of her in waves.

The boys, so used to being naked or close to it with each other because of the changes and the nature of their relationships with each other, honestly didn’t register anything weird with her appearance. They shot confused glances at each other as they watched YN retreat, but shrugged it off once they realized they could see her legs.

YN returned after a couple minutes. She had left the teddy bear in her room, and thrown a pair of leggings and Taehyung’s beanie on, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. She couldn’t help the immense feeling of comfort at the knowledge the boys, her boys, were in her home again.

“Ah YN!” Hoseok is the first one to notice that YN had returned, giving her his sunshine smile. YN gives a little wave, standing awkwardly in the entrance to her living room and kitchen. She’s unsure of why they’re there, or what was expected of her, making her feel almost like a stranger in her own home.

It doesn’t take more than twenty seconds for Taehyung and Jimin to have her seated between them on the couch, each of them practically smothering her in cuddles from either side. YN is giggling before long, feeling like she was finally coming home. The two boys were being almost too loud as they exclaimed how much they had missed her.  

“YN!” Jin shouts from the kitchen, expecting to find at least a little bit of something in her fridge that he could whip up for lunch for all of them. He had a feeling that they would be there for quite a while.“Why is your kitchen empty? Do you not eat when we don’t feed you?”

YN feels her ears get hot again as she mumbles something about not having been hungry as Jin just scolds her more. As much as she hated the scolding, she couldn’t deny that she had missed Jin’s semi-parental attitude towards her. From their spots on either side of her, Taehyung and Jimin joke about how they’ll protect YN from the “fierce scolding” of Jin.

“Alright, enough Hyung. Boys.” Namjoon speaks, bringing the attention to him. “We are here for a reason, after all. YN, would it be alright if I talked to you? Privately?”

YN is quickly agreeing, trying her best to get up from her spot squished between Taehyung and Jimin without injuring herself.

“Would you like to talk in the study?” YN asks when she finally manages to escape, turning and walking towards it once Namjoon nods. For whatever reason, she doesn’t question the fact that Namjoon wants to speak to her alone.

They walk in silence until they get there, YN taking her customary seat at the desk and Namjoon takes one across from her after closing the door.

“What do we have to talk about that couldn’t be said in the other room? Is it bad?” YN speaks first, her voice hoarse as she avoids eye contact, fiddling with the end of the hoodie.

“Well, YN, it’s not necessarily bad, but it’s going to be a lot for you to process and understand, so we figured it would be easier for you if I were the only one here when I explain everything.” Namjoon answers smoothly, doing his best to assuage the fears he was sure YN had.

YN makes a motion for Namjoon to continue, looking anywhere but his face. Her ears were hot as it dawned on her just how put together the boys were, even though she was a complete mess. She didn’t like feeling like the only one that was affected, but to her, it was clear she was the only one feeling anything.

“Do you remember my first visit, when you were still on bedrest?” Namjoon gives YN a second to respond, continuing when he hears her give a soft hum in acknowledgement.

“Well, I told you then that you smell like an Omega, which is true. What I didn’t know then was if you were able to pack bond or not. Turns out that you most definitely can, and are probably one of the lost Omegas.” Namjoon pauses, watching YN intently as he waits for her to process what he had told her.

“Wha-” YN begins, brow furrowed as she mulls over what Namjoon had said. She knew what pack bonding was, what it meant. She knew that it was a connection far deeper than anything a regular human could experience. It was a family, a partnership, a lover, a best friend. It was special.  

“Is that why I feel so bad?” YN asks the question in a voice that is much softer than anything Namjoon had heard come from her before, and it breaks his heart.

“Now I can’t be sure beca-” Namjoon starts, pushing the glasses he had decided to wear up his nose as he begins an explanation that YN can just tell isn’t going to really tell her anything. She loved Namjoon, she really did, but he had a specific way of sugar coating things that left people without a grasp of the full picture.

“Joonie, please.” YN interrupts, wrapping her arms around herself as her head turns to the floor. The familiar name tugs even more at Namjoon’s heart, a lump forming in his throat as he sees just how much YN is really hurting. “Don’t sugar coat it. Did something happen? To make me feel so horrible?”

“We bonded. Or started to.”

“O-oh”

“Yeah.”

The room falls silent for what seems like way too long, neither person wanting to be the one to break the heavy silence.

“What does- what does this mean? For- For me?” YN finally speaks, thoughts racing. She internally cringed at the fact she kept tripping over her words.

She was grateful, in that moment, that it had been easy for her to pick up on the methods there were to keep the boys out of her head.

“First off we want you to come and live with us, permanently. We will care for you just like we did when you were hurt, but you won’t have to say goodbye. We will be there for you, no matter what. You’ll always be safe, always be cared for, always be taken care of. Omegas are always the most protected members of the pack, they’re the most vulnerable.” Namjoon’s voice is warm, almost too happy. YN can tell there's a catch.

“But?”

“But you won’t be able to live outside of the house that we inhabit. You’ll be a target for any other pack that wants to hurt us or find our weak spots, so you won’t be able to go anywhere without one of us, except for in the house.” Namjoon shrugs his shoulders as if what he said wasn’t incredibly shocking and wouldn’t greatly influence her decision to join them or not.

“I- What?” YN shakes her head. “You mean to tell me that I have to choose between feeling like someone ran me over a million times with a cement truck and stomped a hole in my chest, or always being targeted for murder?”

Namjoon doesn’t say anything, giving YN more time to try to process what was going on.

“And if I say yes, I won’t ever be able to go and do anything by myself? Or I might be killed?” YN’s voice is shaky as she speaks, and again, Namjoon doesn’t say anything.

“Can you give me a minute? Alone?” YN turns the chair back around and stares at her closed laptop.

“Of course. Yell if you need one of us, yeah?” Namjoon stands and walks out of the door, a sad smile gracing his face as he softly shuts the door behind him. He honestly couldn’t tell what YN was going to do, and as he walked away, he realized he hadn’t even mentioned the fact that they’d always be able to read her thoughts, even if she didn’t want them to.

He took off the glasses he had been wearing, running a hand over his face and pinching the bridge of his nose as he walks back into the living room area. Even though he’s expecting to be bombarded with questions, the boys don’t say anything as Namjoon moves into the kitchen, seeking the comfort of Jin without a second thought.

YN sat at her desk for a while, mulling everything over. She had always considered herself to be very independent, enjoying the ability to do things for herself, but she couldn’t shake how wonderful it felt to be taken care of. Sure, it wasn’t at all what she was used to, but she couldn’t deny that it made her feel loved.

Wanted.

Special.

And YN liked that, if she was being honest with herself.

But she also couldn’t imagine giving up her freedom. Giving up her walks alone in the woods, or her solo trips to town, or her trips to the city to go see this or that. The fact is, YN likes her time alone, away from everyone else. In the mansion, the only place she could go to get away would be her own room, which felt like she was a sad teenager again, hiding from her parents.

However much she wanted to just burst out with a yes as soon as Namjoon had mentioned staying with them permanently, she felt like she needed another perspective when it came to what her life would become in that home.

She didn’t want to make a mistake that would haunt her for the rest of her life, after all.

As much as it felt like the right thing to do, she didn’t want to intrude on what was already an established group, just because she didn’t feel good.

Especially not when they clearly weren’t half as affected as she was. Sure, YN had always known she felt things a little deeper than other people seemed to when it came to her friendships, but she didn’t realize just how fucked her emotions were until the seven men she had spent a full seven days crying over came back into her life, completely fine.

Deciding that she needed another opinion, she stood, quietly opening the door and heading towards the noise of the men in the other room. Purposefully, she stayed quiet and to the side, not wanting them to focus their attention on her just yet. She couldn’t deal with their attention being fully on her, not then.

“Yoongi?” YN’s voice is soft, sad. She was standing behind him when she spoke, causing the man to jump, twirling around to see what she needed. Sure, he had noticed when she entered the room, but he was not expecting her to be right beside him.

With a cough, he asked what she needed.

“Could I talk with you in the study? Please?” YN looks up at him with those big, innocent eyes of hers as she spoke in that same sad, soft tone. Needless to say, she could have asked for anything in that way and Yoongi would have lit the world on fire to get it for her.

Instead, he nods, motioning for YN to lead the way. She scurries back to the study, hoping that Yoongi will have some insights that will help her solidify if it’s the right choice or not.

Truthfully, she couldn’t think of anything else she wanted more than to go back to the way things were before this horrible week, but she also had to be sure.

YN takes a seat on the couch this time, watching with those same sad eyes as Yoongi closes the door. He sits down next to her, opening his arms as YN settles herself into his embrace.

If Yoongi was being honest with himself, he didn’t really understand why the youngest three liked physical affection so much until that first night YN had curled up beside him, sharing her blanket with him as she slowly ended up closer and closer to him. She claimed that she was “just cold” and that her burying her nose in Yoongi’s shoulder for half the night had nothing to do with the terrifying movie that Jungkook and Taehyung had decided was going to be the selection for that week’s movie night, but they could all see right through her.

After that first night, Yoongi would always open his arms to YN whenever they were seated next to each other, like now. Though usually it was more positive than it was in this moment.

Yoongi internally felt awkward as he heard YN sniffle sofly in his arms, though he couldn’t deny he wanted to hurt whoever had made her upset. Sure, he knew that it wasn’t rational, but he had always been protective of those he cared about, and YN was most definitely not an exception to that rule.

“It’s alright YN, I know this is a lot for you.” Yoongi speaks for the first time, his deep voice comforting YN in a way she had been sorely missing.

YN doesn’t speak for a long time. Instead she cries, burying herself in Yoongi’s arms. She had missed having him so close, having his scent to help calm her down.

“YN, darling, tell me what’s been going on, hm?” Yoongi moves YN off of him slightly, running a hand over her cheek to wipe away a stray tear.

“Are you sure you wanna hear?” YN’s voice is shaky, strained. The amount of unashurededness in her voice makes Yoongi’s heart break, and a sort of gross protectiveness come out in him that he hadn’t felt since the younger members of the pack had joined. As much as those three got on his nerves, he felt the same sort of protective love for them as he did for YN.

“Of course I want to hear. I’m always here to listen to you.” Yoongi’s voice is soft, careful. YN glances up, tears brimming in her eyes. When she sees Yoongi’s attention fully on her, his eyes searching her face to try to make sure he wasn’t overstepping and that she was as comfortable as she could be given the circumstances, those same tears spilled.

She takes a deep, steadying breath, leaning back away from Yoongi so she can properly look at him.

“It was horrible Yoongs. I felt like- like someone had ripped out my heart. Like there was a gaping hole where my stomach used to be. Like- like you didn’t want me. Didn’t care. ” YN shivered, eyes trained on her hands as she fiddled with the end of one of her sleeves, willing herself not to cry any more than she already had.

Yoongi notices this small nervous habit and takes her small hands into his much larger ones, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles in a way he hoped was soothing to her.

“I felt alone. I’ve never felt alone like that before Yoongi. Never!” YN sniffles, shaking her head. “I couldn’t eat, I either slept for too long or not long enough, and I was cold. It was so so cold. I didn’t feel like I’d ever be warm again.”

Her voice fades out now, sniffles coming more and more frequently. Yoongi took the pause in her speaking to pull her back into his arms again, instinctually knowing that she just needed to be held and reminded that he was there and that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Once YN had calmed down again, Yoongi held her at arm's length again, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the last tears from her cheeks again.

“YN, look at me.” His voice is soft, caring. He doesn’t speak again until YN fully turns to look at his face.

“I never want you to feel like that again. I’ll be here for you, we will be. What I felt this past week-” Yoongi pauses to shake his head, “-I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially not someone so fragile as you.”

YN can feel her ears get hot, wanting to say that she wasn’t fragile, that she could handle things. She wanted to tell him about all the terrible things she had gone through before, about how much she had dealt with all on her own, but she didn’t. The words died in her throat, because by their standards, by his standards, she really was.

“Do you understand what we are asking, by wanting you to come live with us? To be part of the pack?” Yoongi asks now, shifting the attention slightly.

“Sort of.” YN shrugs. Her fingers are back to fiddling with her sleeve and are quickly captured by Yoongi’s again.

“What are you concerned about? Hm?” He gives her that signature gummy smile of his, eyes crinkling at the edge when he notices how YN finally cracks a smile.

“I don’t want to lose my freedom. I can do things by myself, I don’t really need to be taken care of, really! I don’t want to become a burden on any of you. Or cause issues. Or put myself somewhere I’m not really needed.” She takes her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing on it absently as she watches Yoongi for his reaction. If there’s one thing she could trust, it would be Yoongi’s lack of ability to make anything something other than exactly what it was.

“I’m not going to lie to you, you know that. I don’t see the point in it. The way things were before you came back here, that’s about how they’ll be if you choose to come with us. There are only two things that will change.” Yoongi pauses, looking to make sure YN is paying attention properly.

“First, you will end up presenting fully as an Omega. When it comes closer to the time for that to happen, Jimin will have to be the one to explain it to you, seeing as he’s the one who has felt things as close to what you’ll go through. Second, you won’t be able to shield your thoughts from us anymore. If we want to read you, we will be able to. It’s not something we are looking to do, but the emotional state of Omegas affects the rest of the pack greatly, and that’s the way we have evolved to deal with it.”

YN swallows thickly, mind racing. She wasn’t going to lie, she had some, well, unsavory thoughts about the men that she had come to know so well. She really didn’t want all of those thoughts being common knowledge, especially not to the people they were about.

“You- You’re sure I won’t be able to shield?” YN’s voice feels sticky in her throat as she gets the words out.

“One hundred pre-cent darling, every thought that passes through that pretty brain of yours will be able to be accessed by us, if we want to read you. As our only Omega, your thoughts and feelings, your emotions, they will greatly affect all of us. We already feel what the others do, but with you, it’ll be ten times as intense. We need to be able to read you so that way we can always know what’s going on, what you want and what you need, without you having to explain it to us.”

“Oh”

“We already feel like we need to protect you, like you are our lovely little Omega. Once you’re fully ingrained into our pack, it’ll just be more intense.”

They fall silent, once Yoongi finishes speaking this time. He smiles absently at YN as she plays with his fingers, obviously deep in thought.

He had missed having her around more than he thought, if that was even possible.

“I’ll do it.” YN’s voice is so soft, Yoongi almost misses it.

“Are you sure?” Yoongi wants to make sure YN has really thought about everything before she says a definitive yes, even when he wanted nothing more than to squeeze the small girl into the tightest hug he could.

“Yes, I’m sure. I want to live with you. With all of you. I want to be your Omega just as much as I want you to be my pack.” YN tries to swallow the lump in her throat, willing herself not to trip over her words.

“I’ve never been more sure of something in my life.”

~~~~~~

The next two weeks were hectic, to say the least. Once YN had confirmed that she was going to be making the move from her own home to the mansion with the pack, there was a flurry of activity.

First, they had to decide who was going to stay with YN while she packed all of the things she would be needing. Like the big bad adults they are, the pack played a huge game of rock-paper-scissors for the privilege, with Hoseok and Jimin being the ones to end up winning.

After that game, the rest of the boys stayed around to help with whatever they could right then, but left in the late afternoon.

From then on, it was time for YN to go through and pack up everything she could to make sure she had enough stuff for living somewhere new.

She started with packing up things she didn’t want the boys to see, like her underthings and personal journals, before moving on to things that they could more easily help with.

Jimin was not a very big help, deciding that he wanted to cuddle one (or both) of the other people in the house instead of helping to pack and carry the boxes (and whining when he didn’t get his way). Both YN and Hobi found it to be adorable though, neither of them really minding the workload.

It was mostly deciding what YN would need for her everyday life, and what things she could leave in the home, just in case someone in her family decided to drop by unannounced. YN couldn’t offer up a real explanation for them, not without reliving years of trauma, so neither Jimin nor Hobi decided to push the issue when she fiercely insisted that they leave enough to make sure nobody would question that someone lived there.

Hobi would cock up an eyebrow when he felt the small prickles of fear from YN whenever he would go to put one too many of something in a box. He thought it was just plain weird that YN was so insistent on this one very specific thing, making sure to remember everything that she was doing so he could discuss it with both Jimin and the rest of the pack when he got the chance.

Jimin, whenever he felt the well of emotion swell up in YN, would do his best to distract her, telling her about this or asking her about that or pretending he needed a hug from her before he could do any more work. He would let angelic giggles fall from his lips as he drew the girl into his arms, picking her up and swinging her around until she felt happy again.

Neither boy pushed. They knew that YN would open up to them in time, and they didn’t try to pry into her mind either, even with the barrier that she had learned to keep up getting weaker by the day.

Every few days, the rest of the boys would show up and help with whatever they could for the day, be it moving boxes or sorting things or arranging this or that so it would look like someone was still living there. They all did their best to make sure that the transition between the house that YN had so many memories in and their own was a smooth one.

It was during this transition time that the boys fully realized two things they hadn’t really thought of before. On the lighter note, YN had an absolutely horrible sleep schedule and completely disregarded the sun’s appearances in the sky. The second, much darker, thing that they realized was that YN had hidden trauma.

What that trauma was? They couldn’t tell you, but they realized as she was packing that she was afraid of something. Again, she had very carefully hidden whatever it was she was so scared of, to the point that none of the boys knew what in the world she held such a deep terror for.

They decided among themselves not to bring it up though, deciding that YN would have to talk about it on her own. Even though they could feel her thoughts and emotions more and more with each passing day, they didn’t want to break the trust that they had built with her on the cusp of such an important move.

~~~~~~

And this is how things were when YN finally moved everything into the mansion. She had gotten everything settled into its rightful places fairly quickly, finding a system that would work well for her.

She settled into the routine of being in the house incredibly quickly, feeling almost as if she had never really left at all. It was hard to believe that just three weeks earlier she thought she was saying goodbye to this place forever.

In the mornings, or whenever YN decided to get out of bed, she would sleepily head down to the kitchen and grab one of the cold brews that always seemed to be in the fridge. She had always liked cold coffee more than hot coffee, so she was grateful to whoever kept the fridge stocked with her favorite flavor of cold brew.

From there, YN would carefully sip on her drink as she made her way around the mansion, looking for either Jin or Jimin. Both of them tended to stay in the house a lot, as neither of them had any sort of external job and neither of them went on patrol, if it could be helped. Whichever one of them she found first, she would either follow around until she was fully awake, or sit and watch as they did whatever they were doing at the time. YN would then go and find the one she hadn’t found the first time, repeating the process until she was satisfied that she was fully awake and ready to face the day.

At this point, YN would make her way back to the kitchen, stocking up on snacks and grabbing more coffee before making her way to one of the desks in the library. She’d spend the next few hours planning and doing research, hunched over the desk as she furiously types whatever it is that she needs to for the time, only taking small pauses to sip more of her drink or shove more of whatever snack she had grabbed into her mouth.

It’s only when the call of nature becomes too much to ignore that YN will stand and stretch out her spine, feeling stiff as she tries to pack up her things. Yes, she had found out early on that there were a couple maids that came in a few days a week, but YN couldn’t imagine leaving any sort of a mess for them if it could be helped and would clean everything she could whenever she got done with anything. Habits die hard, after all.

It always seemed to happen that one of the others would be getting home around this time, so YN would make her way into the surprisingly lush living room and curl up in some blankets and watch whatever happened to be on TV until someone caught her attention.

Usually, it would be Jungkook and Taehyung who returned first. YN didn’t quite understand why or what it was that they actually did, but they spent their days patrolling in the vast forest around the house. Jungkook had tried to explain it to her a few times, but she just never really understood what was going on.  

When the two youngest would get to the home, it was a 50/50 shot as to if they would transform from their wolf form to their human one, or if they’d hang out around the house as wolves. Either way, they would find a way to sit on either side of YN and just relax with her for a while. Sometimes they would talk about what they had been doing or cool things they had seen, and other times they just wanted to get some affection from their favorite Omega.

Eventually, Hoseok would appear and steal Jungkook to either work out or dance with, and Jin would come in to steal YN so they could spend their time cooking the evening meal together. Every single day, without fail,  Taehyung would grumble about how “the Hyungs took the fun ones” before going off to try and find Yoongi. And everyday, without fail, Yoongi would be found in his infamous Genius Lab, annoyed to high heaven that Taehyung had come in to “bother” him, even though they both enjoyed the interruption.

They always tried to eat together as a whole group, crowded around the table laughing and talking about anything and everything. As much as they would bicker and argue, none of them could deny the love and happiness they found in each other.

After their meal, they would break off into groups and do this or that. Sometimes they would go as a whole group to have a movie night, video game tournament, karaoke night, or something else that they could enjoy as a whole group (with the loser having to tidy up the kitchen and dining room). Other times, YN would make her way into the kitchen and start cleaning while the others broke away to do whatever it was they had planned for the evening. Whenever YN took it upon herself to clean up whatever mess was made, Hoseok would always come and help her, smiling and laughing with her as they got the place tidied up.

It was at this point that YN would slip away with her laptop under her arm, a water in one hand and her charger in the other, heading to the Genius Lab to work on her stories. Despite everything else, she still had deadlines to meet and a need to be alone sometimes, and she knew that Yoongi wouldn’t go back to the ever-so-private room until he was done doing rounds with Namjoon for the evening.

This gave YN about two and a half hours or so completely to herself, where she could be alone with her thoughts and feelings. She could feel the world she had built for her characters without the worry that anyone or anything would be there to interrupt her, could get deep into what the characters were doing and saying and feeling without worrying about what they boys would think of her and the world she had made. Honestly, it was incredibly freeing for her to be able to have that time and space where she was completely alone with her thoughts.

And when Yoongi did make his way back to his favorite room in their home, he fell into the habit of bringing an extra bottle of water with him for YN. The two would settle into a comfortable silence once Yoongi had settled in, both of them finding peace in the fact that the other person was in the room. Every so often, YN would ask Yoongi a question about this or that, or Yoongi would ask YN to give her opinion on a section of music, but most of the time the only sounds in the room were the soft taps of the keyboard and the even softer breathing of both bodies.

Eventually, one of them would end up looking at the time and mutter something about going to bed, which the other would ignore for at least another hour or two, when their eyes were heavy. YN would fall asleep on the couch without meaning to every couple days, which gave Yoongi the ultimate symbol to get them both to bed.

Yoongi would sweetly clean up the studio, making sure everything was off and where it needed to be and packing up whatever YN had brought with her, before he bent and picked her up, carrying her up to her room and tucking her in before making his way to his own room.

It was a simple, domestic sort of life that they all led, and they couldn’t of been happier with the way things were turning out.

[billyspotato]

hi!! i have an idea for a rafe x reader imagine where she is friends with the pogues (you decide if reader is a kook or not) and dates rafe and one day the pogues catch them and they’re kinda disappointed (bc rafe u know) but in the end they accept their relationship. xx

A/N: I made the ending kinda open since in the request it’s said that they accept their relationship. Hope it’s okay.

Behind The Rocks - Rafe Cameron

Words: 3.719 words

Type: Fluff & Angst (?)

Warnings: English is not my first language, sorry for any misspelling. Female Reader. No race is mentioned.

A/N: Gif’s not mine :)

You walk over to Kie’s house, stepping on the gravel while looking down at your phone. Once getting close to the front door, your finger presses the doorbell, letting Kie know that you already got to her place.

In a matter of seconds, the front door is opened and Kie is already saying her goodbyes to her parents while walking out.

“Hi,” You say, and she smiles at you.

“Hey, ready to party?” She asks and you smile back before nodding.

You are just like Kie, not a kook nor a pogue. You’re financially stable to be right in the middle. You and your parents don’t own a mansion but somewhat of a bigger sized home. And you only do part-time in the summer to support your family’s business, and not to make money to feed the family.

That reputation might change a bit when people start knowing that you’re dating the richest kid on the island.

Rafe Cameron. One of the most hated in your group of pogues. And to honest, you do believe that even some kooks hate him. And that can be because of his crazy amount of money or just his attitude, which always has the company of his massive ego right on the side.

You don’t hate him. You really like him. You’ve been dating for almost 7 months and that’s a big deal for you. Your parents like him. His parents, you mean Ward, sort of don’t hate you. And Sarah loves you, even more now that you two are on the same friend group.

You and Sarah were already friends before you started to date Rafe and she started to date John B. And once all that dating started, that small friendship grew into you two being the best of friends - which confused everyone in your group since they only know half of the story.

The thing is: nobody in your friend group knows about Rafe. They do know that you’re dating someone for a while but not who. You never showed pictures of the so-called guy back in Carolina, studying in college. Because well, that guy is Rafe.

You’ve given hints, many of them for that matter. But they never got who it was. And you’re starting to think that it’s for the better. Maybe it’s just a friendship that isn’t meant to be, you know?

Your phone vibrates as you start getting closer to the beach and you see a text from Rafe, questioning if you’re already at the party.

Going to the same parties as Rafe is risky, since, one day, one of you can always be too drunk and forget about the secrecy of the relationship. But it has worked for these past 7 months, so you two do trust each other.

“When are you going to show us who you’re dating?” Kie asks you as you walk through the wooden bridge that indicates the entrance of the beach.

“Whenever I feel like doing it” You answer, already knowing how this conversation is going to end: JJ getting in and question you the whole night.

“JJ and Pope have a bet on him not being real” Kie says, making you look at her in confusion.

“Really?” You ask and she nods, “Wow, so now I’m dating an imaginary man?”

Kie laughs at your words and tone and you two walk over to the guys, which already have two cups of beer on their hands, ready to compete between themselves.

“Hello everyone,” You say with a smile, making the guys look over at you.

They all answer back, and John B starts to count backwards starting from 3, once the word 1 rolls off his tongue, the three guys start chugging their beers. You look over at them in disgust as you see the beer rolling off their mouths to their chests.

Everyone is going to smell like beer now, nice.

You answer Rafe quickly and you thank the gods for hiding his name on your contacts to a cliché nickname, because JJ looked right at your screen, trying to read the messages.

“He’s coming to the party?” JJ asks you and you immediately start cursing in your head.

“No, he’s going to a frat party” You answer quickly before locking your phone and putting it back on your pocket.

Having your phone close to the guys makes you nervous, the amount of pictures you have with and of Rafe is embarrassing. His contact picture it’s just his smiley face - but no one can really see it, only when he calls. (Something you two don’t do when you’re hanging out with the guys). So yeah, your phone is a ticking bomb. And they just need to know your password to find out everything.

JJ sends you a playful look before going to sit next to Kie and you go get a drink with Pope, who was completely ignored by the other members of the group.

As you two are walking to the kegger you notice the new group of people walking in the beach. A tone of tourists followed by the kooks.

You hear some pogues curse out loud when seeing them and you get your attention back to Pope as he starts conversation.

“Y/N!” You hear someone scream loudly.

You look around to see Sarah running down the wooden bridge over to you. You open your arms as she gets closer and the impact of the dramatic hug almost sends you to the ground, which makes both you and Sarah laugh.

Pope smiles at the two of you and continues to fill his cup with beer.

Sarah steps away from you as you two were done with the hug and says a small ‘hi’ to Pope as she tries to calm down her breathing.

Sarah starts a conversation with Pope, and you notice how dark it’s getting. You notice the people around you start lighting the torches around everyone, and a warm light surrounds all of you.

You walk back to your friend group and notice Rafe walking in the beach, right beside Topper. Once your eyes meet, Rafe sends you his usual wink and you try to hide your smile.

“Why are you so smiley all of a sudden?” JJ asks, making you look right at him, “Did your secret boyfriend text you?”

JJ is certainly a man on a mission, and it’s starting to get annoying.

“What did he say?” JJ walks while loving his eyebrows up and down.

“Why would I tell you?” You ask him, making him bite back his smirk.

“You tell Sarah”

“Wait a minute,” Kiara says getting your attention, “Sarah knows your boyfriend?”

Sarah looks over at you as if she’s scared to say something she shouldn’t, and you sigh.

“Yes” You answer, not really knowing what to say, and everyone except for Sarah looks at you shocked, “Can we please stop talking about this?”

“Not now,” Kie says before sitting next to Sarah, “What does he look like? Is he hot?”

Sarah almost vomits right there. It’s her brother for goodness sake.

“Oh, he’s not hot?” Kie asks with confusion in her tone, “Y/N come on, you always had good taste in men”

You roll your eyes at her and sigh.

“I’m going to get myself a drink since all of you decided to be a pain in my ass today” You say, making Sarah look at you as if she was saying ‘don’t leave me here’.

“I need to get that phone; she probably has pictures of him” JJ jokes with John B and you look back at them with a glare.

“You get even close to my phone, I’ll cut your hand off” You tell him and unfortunately, that’s the confirmation that he needed.

You walk back to the kegger and you notice Topper talking to a girl right next to it. As his eyes land on you, a smile grows on his face.

“Oh well hello there,” He says, making you roll your eyes playfully at him, “How are you, since… Yesterday?”

“I was just fine until I saw your face,” You say, making him dramatically gasp.

“My face is meant to make your day better every single time you look at it” He jokes, “That’s why God gave this beautiful and handsome face. To bless all my fellow brothers and sisters”

You cringe while holding your laughter and look back at him while grabbing a red cup.

“I guess that makes me a child of the devil” You answer, and he can’t help but laugh at you, making you smile as well. “Where’s Rafe?”

“Right behind you” You hear Rafe say from literal centimeters away from your ear.

You smile at him and he grabs a cup as well.

As you three all start to talk, Sarah is being questioned to death by everyone in the friend group. She looks back to check if you’re close enough to rescue her, but she notices you laughing at something Rafe said.

“Guys, can you please just respect her privacy?” Sarah asks, out of pure frustration.

“We can, but I’m just curious on who my best friend is dating,” Kie says, “She never hides anything from me”

“Do you know why she doesn’t tell us who he is?” JJ asks her, ignoring what she just said.

“Yes, JJ. I do. And if you knew who he was, you would understand it” Sarah says, but regrets it right as she says it. She just made everything worse.

“You can’t just tell us that and not anything else,” JJ says, now way more interested.

Sarah leans her head onto John B’s shoulder while sighing and she looks over at you, still talking. Can you please hurry?

“Yes, I can. It’s not my story to tell”

“But why did she tell you and not me?” Kie asks.

“Because-” She stops herself as she was about to say how she was able to catch the two of you in his bedroom, “Because I saw them at a party back in Carolina when I was on vacation with my family”

Kie looks down at the sand and as JJ was about to ask something else, Sarah gets up and starts walking towards you and her brother.

“I’m done with you guys”

(…)

Later into the night, everyone is already slightly tipsy and starting to have new ideas to entertain themselves. One of which is throwing water at each other. And you already know that JJ and John B loved that idea.

They ran to the ocean with their empty red cups and filled them with water before starting to terrorize tourists. And now, you and the girls in the group are their main victims, so you have been running away from JJ for these past 2 whole minutes.

Tourists already joined in the game and many people are already running around with cups filled with water or running away. You laugh at JJ as he tries his best to catch up to you and you are genuinely having fun.

Once you lose JJ in the middle of this commotion, you find Sarah already sitting down but still alert. You run over to her and she smiles at you. Her hair is soaking wet and so are her legs, John B did not play around with her.

“You okay?” You ask and she nods.

You crouch when trying to catch your breath and right there and then is when you feel ice-cold water hit your back. You look back while gasping and JJ is laughing his ass off.

“You did not just do that,” You tell him while laughing as well.

Sarah gives you her cup of water and you thank her. You take your soaked phone out of your back pocket and give it to Sarah.

“Can you check if it still works, please?” You ask her as JJ waits for you to start running after him.

As the phone is on Sarah’s hands, you just start running after JJ, who is in full panic mode.

You curse as JJ gets close to the water and refills his cup, giving you an evil smirk and starting to run after you.

After many cups of water later, you lose JJ and end up finding Rafe, which still is completely dry since most of the kooks and some tourists stepped away right as all this started.

Topper laughs at you as you look down at your wet shirt and touch somewhat of wet hair and you mock his laughter before getting closer to Rafe, who is on his phone.

You, being your tipsy self, walk over to him and grab his hand, making him look at you. You pull him off the bench and away from the party, making sure that no one is looking at the two of you.

As you two are able to hide behind some rocks, you lean closer to Rafe while mumbling.

“I missed you today” You mumble and Rafe chuckles.

“Missed you too. Even though you slept over” He says, and you smile at him.

You stand on your tippy-toes and kiss him, making him move down as you were about to pull away. Your cold hands go over to his cheeks and his warm ones go to your waist, pulling the two of you closer.

As you two start making out, Sarah continues seated on the tree trunk with your phone in your hand, but this time with Kie beside her. Both of them, soaked from head to toe.

JJ sees the girls and starts thinking of a new way to dump more water on them but when his eyes land on your phone, a lightbulb lit up on top of his head.

JJ throws his red cup in the trash and starts getting ready to make a run for it. Sarah was completely distracted, playing with your phone between her fingers. John B gets to his best friend before he starts running and JJ is quick to explain his plan.

In a matter of seconds, JJ runs off and is quick to snatch the phone out of Sarah’s hands, who got upright as he grabbed it and ran off.

“Shit” She curses before starting to run as well, behind JJ, “JJ! Give me back the phone!”

That was enough to catch Pope’s and Kie’s (which saw what happened but didn’t understand) attention and curiosity.

JJ, while running, types in your birthday as your password, and once your lock screen lifts up and your apps show, he lets out a scream of happiness.

Pope and John B are quick to catch up to JJ while Sarah on the other hand, which was already tired from before, is still trying to get to them even when most of the time she keeps losing them because they run between the massive groups of tourists.

JJ stops running and quickly opens your gallery, quickly clicking on your recent pictures. And right after going through pictures of her and Sarah and some screenshots, he finds the gold, pictures of a guy.

His eyes didn’t realize who it was until he opened them, and in the second a picture of a laughing Rafe appears, he’s in shock.

“It can’t be,” Pope says, grabbing the phone out of his hands.

He scrolls further up and sees many pictures of Rafe, some of you two (taken by someone else) and some with Sarah and Kie.

“There’s no pictures of any other guy here” Pope says and Kie stands next to him.

“Guys, what are you doing? This is wrong” Kie says before looking down at the screen.

“It’s Rafe, Kie,” John B says, and she looks at him confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“Y/N’s dating Rafe,” JJ says.

“Guys, what the fuck?” Sarah screams as she catches up to them.

Everyone turns to her and everything starts making sense. Why they became such good friends, why y/n’s always at her house, why Sarah almost gagged at the idea of her boyfriend being hot, etc.

“She’s been dating Rafe this whole time?” Kie asks every one, but especially Sarah.

Sarah doesn’t respond and they all get their answer.

“Do you guys finally understand why she didn’t tell you in the first place?” Sarah says with an annoyed tone, not believing that they came to this extreme.

Sarah starts walking away and goes where she saw you going with her brother, silently hoping that you two are dressed. As she turns around the rocks, everyone was following her.

“Y/N,” Sarah says quickly, making you pull your lips away from Rafe.

As everyone stands behind her, Rafe’s hands fall from under your shirt and so does yours from his cheek.

JJ shakes his head in disbelief while John B and Pope had a straight face and Kie… Well, she’s just confused.

“Oh, my fucking god” JJ whispers to his friends.

“What the fuck just ha-” You start, and Sarah looks over at you as if she doesn’t even know what to say.

“They took your phone,” Kie says, “And saw everything”

“Fuck me” You whisper more to yourself but Rafe was able to hear it.

The guys walk away from the rocks to go back to the party, JJ didn’t even want to look at you, right now. How the hell are you going to fix this?

“What happened?” Rafe asks you and you look over at him.

“I’ll explain it to you later,” You say distress over your voice, “Can I sleepover at yours?” You ask him, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, do you want to go back already?” He asks you and you nod. “Let’s go, then”

You grab his hand as your mind continues to move thousands of miles per second. You look at Sarah.

“Are coming too?” You ask her and she nods, walking faster to you.

“Kie?” Sarah asks and Rafe patiently waits for you and the girls.

“Can I come too?” She asks and the two of you nod.

Kie walks over as well and quickly remembers what it’s in her pocket. She takes your phone out and gives it back to you.

You thank her and all of you start walking out of the beach.

(…)

The whole night, while Rafe slept his alcohol away, you and the two girls sat on the living room and talked. Mostly about just had happened, but especially how you’re going to fix this.

Any of you don’t believe that anyone in the group, besides JJ, is pissed at you or Sarah. He’s the one that holds more hate towards Rafe since they had their conflicts. So, that means that the other guys can help you with making JJ listen to you.

Only around 4am, you all walked upstairs to sleep. Kie and Sarah went to sleep in her bedroom while you went to Rafe’s, something that Sarah’s already used to.

And as soon as your head hit the fluffy pillow, you were out like a light.

But now, it’s 10am and you’re trying to make Rafe speed up his morning routine since your plan is already happening.

The girls have sent a text to our group chat to plan to have breakfast at Kie’s parents’ restaurant, and with the help of the guys, JJ accepted. What they don’t know, is who else is going to be there. Rafe Cameron, himself.

“Rafe, can you please hurry up?” You ask while seated at the end of the bed.

“I’m going, I’m going, jeez!” Rafe says playfully, throwing his hands in the air dramatically.

You two walk out of the bedroom and walk down the stairs, where you meet Kie and Sarah, which were talking to Rose about pancake batter.

“Let’s go?” You ask, interrupting their conversation.

“Where are you going?” Rose asks you as the girls start walking out with you and Rafe.

“Going to have breakfast” Sarah answers, making Rose nod.

As soon as all of you were out of the door and in the car, a nervous feeling starts growing in your belly, making you start to think about the worst outcomes of all of this.

You look over to your left and Rafe looks like he doesn’t even care. He’s literally sitting beside you, jamming to the music coming from the radio as if this was a normal morning for him.

And the girls too.

Are you overreacting?

Once Rafe parks his car, the girls were quick to jump out of it.

“We’re going to check if the guys are already here” Kie tells you by the window.

You nod at them while taking your seatbelt off and Rafe lets out a sigh when leaning back comfortably on his seat, looking like he doesn’t even care about what’s about to happen.

“You’re tense” Rafe comments with his eyes closed.

“Yeah, not a very relaxing thing what we’re about to do” You say while looking back in the front door of the restaurant.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Rafe asks you and you look at him, “One of them throwing a fit?”

You think for a bit.

“Yeah, I guess so,” You tell him, and he chuckles.

“Then don’t worry about it,” He says calmly, and you look back at the door.

Kie and Sarah step out and look at you in the car, signalizing for you two to come out and in the restaurant. You two do as told and walk to it.

“They think we went to the bathroom” Sarah explains to you and you nod.

Kie and Sarah are the firsts to start walking back to the table, where JJ’s back is facing you, and you and Rafe follow them. You notice Pope looking up and his eyes slightly widening at the sight of your boyfriend.

Sarah pulls another chair to the table and you make Rafe take a seat in that same chair, grabbing JJ’s and John B’s attention.

“Let’s talk, shall we?” You ask.

- - - - - -

🌸✨Sorry, but I’m not writing in this account anymore. Go check out my new one @twinklelilstarkey✨🌸

[originalcontent]

Well. Forgot to make our final pathologic post, because we did it, we finished the game. We just played all the remaining days at once. Not going to go super hard on the plot details bc if you know them then you know them, all I can say is holy shiiiiiiit this was such a good story/mystery/choice/everything.

First order of business: casualties.

All the children except Grace survived. When we had five panaceas, we chose Sticky, Murky, Khan, Notkin, and Capella, and we weren't able to find any more shmowders until it was too late. Taya was lucky and Grace wasn't. I feel kinda bad but also I don't know what more we could have done. God all of the kids and their final conversations when they all think they're going to die, they're so sad and sweet and I love them all so much.

The thing I'm SUPER bummed about is that Stakh, Lara, and Bad Grief all died. Like we did everything we could for all of them, but I'm still sad about it. One regret from this game is that I think we should have spent more time with them. I should have tried to make things right with them. I was so focused on the kids, and I don't regret that, but also I kept putting other things before them as well and I should have tried harder.

The other casualties were Big Vlad, Maria Kaina, Eva Yan, and Anna Angel, who was apparently a character but I think we literally never spoke with her in our playthrough. And Aglaya, although I don't know how we could have saved her either. Everyone else survived. I don't know the typical death toll for this game, but we did better than I was expecting us to, all things considered.

Oh wait, Nara's also dead. That wasn't an incredibly disturbing scene or anything. Like I'm getting ahead of myself a bit but jesus the kinfolk terrify me sometimes. My sister mentioned that it's probably a very different game if we commit super hard to exploring their plotline, and she's probably right. That whole sequence though... the blood, the hearts... it's a lot. I'm not going into detail bc if you've played the game then you already know what's down there, but hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I feel like replaying this game knowing everything would put a LOT of earlier conversations into new context.

Still! That was the only place we death spiraled this time! Death spiral escaped! That's probably due in no small part to the presence of the soldiers. Like yes they're terrible and them burning people alive is terrifying, but also we discovered the strategy that every time we were attacked by someone we could just have them chase us past a soldier who would protect us. We still had to sneak around a lot but overall it meant we had a lot fewer fights.

The polyhedron was gorgeous. We probably wasted a lot of time visiting it, but it was wonderful. I wanted to go back when all the kids were there but they didn't let us. Super into the earth/sky dichotomy of Notkin's and Khan's gangs.

Block was sure something. When I first met him he was meeting with my three [living :(] best friends but none of them would talk to me. Anyway. When he arrives everyone's saying they loved him, then later on we accidentally walk into the most obvious coup ever, and then the next day he's back in charge like nothing happened. And then on the last day there's this massive violent internal conflict? Plus the whole thing with him and Aglaya (weren't they working together in the prologue?) and plus they keep giving us heart attacks saying they're going to level the town and then changing their minds. Thank god for Changeling who was apparently the single persuasive voice in saving everyone? I guess? We've had our ups and downs but honestly she was waaaaaaay more reliable than Daniil at the end.

I told her I'd help her cure a patient in the hospital, but I didn't have any panacea or shmowder so in the end I couldn't, but afterwards I was glad I hadn't helped her. I already felt terrible I didn't have enough living blood for all the children when they were all spontaneously infected, and it would have been so much worse if I had been able to help another but I'd wasted it on a random person earlier.

... Is Aglaya in love with Artemy? Or are they just two agents who recognize said agency in one another? Everyone spent all game hyping her up as some sort of monster but she was my friend and she listened to me. And she died trying to save everyone I guess.

The kids...just. All of them. Notkin and Capella both told us to let them die but to make sure Khan was okay. Murky saying she'd loved Artemy since the first time she saw him. God everything they said and did I love them. I can't imagine playing this game as either of the other characters because I can't imagine going through this town and not carrying deeply about all the kids like this.

So I think...I think I made my choice long before I actually made the choice itself, you know? There was only ever going to be one choice.

Day 11 was the first and only day when I knew exactly what I had to do. I mean I guess it was in the stage directions and everything. Thank you dear Fellow Traveler for feeding us the night before--did you know we'd never visited the dead item shop until the last night? Probably would have made finding food and medicine a lot easier. But anyway, when the day began I didn't quite understand the significance of the stage directions because the Haruspex looking for couriers did not sound like the dramatic climax to the story that I knew this day was supposed to be. Still, I looked for the couriers.

I think I visited the three locations in the order I was supposed to. Seeing Daniil like that with his gun and bloody hands, sitting in a room of corpses...hearing him ramble...oh man I was so conflicted, this whole game I'd thought that even though I teased him, I would always ultimately back his plays because I trusted him and I knew that ultimately he wanted to help people too. Hearing him tell me what he wanted me to do then at the end of everything...he honestly scared me a bit.

The Changeling and I seemed much more on the same page at the end of everything. Being in the middle of a field with armed soldiers closing in from all sides was kind of terrifying though. I didn't stay to witness what she did with them. She’s okay though, she’s alive.

Wild goose chase for the final courier eventually took me to the bar where I met an injured bandit and was able to actually perform a surgery for the first time in the entire fucking game. I really enjoyed that because I'm supposed to be a fucking surgeon.

Meeting my understudy fucking killed me. I cannot BELIEVE that the final courier who was carrying the only file that could save the whole town was canonically murdered by the understudy of the protagonist. How the hell is that a real plot point, do you have any idea how much I adore that, that is more meta than literally anything else that has happened in this whole game. I fucking died. I definitely have been playing this game as Artemy rather than as Actor, and I think that made the whole scene even funnier. His whole thing about taking a new direction with the character, the whole "you're getting paid for this??", the fact that Artemy was so offended by literally every aspect of his existence that we didn't even know what to criticize. At the end I was like "yeah I'm definitely going to kill this guy" but we're nice people and we let him surrender. His inventory consisted of a rusty scalpel, a hazelnut, and a single piece of twyre, which was the most incredible parody of Artemy's inventory that I can imagine and killed me all over again.

The kin folk all met with me and begged me not to let them die. Maybe things could have been different, but again, I knew my choice and deep down I always knew what we were going to choose at the end. When you start the game, day one, there are two things that are immediately striking about the town. One, it's full of living folklore, and two, it's full of children, and those are the two things that make the town special and wonderful. When you look back on it all, there was only ever one way this could all end.

The dead courier (murdered by my own fucking understudy rather than an actual character, still dying) was a dramatic sight. It's lucky I had to sleep then or I probably wouldn't have found him.

After I made my choice, the disease tried to murder me. It infected literally every district I moved through, manifesting in every single passageway. I just chugged my tinctures and moved as well as I could, because fuck you disease, you are nothing to me. Obviously at that point nothing really could stop me. I considered saving in the cathedral, but what would be the point?

Day 12 was so bright and peaceful and nice. I could just walk around for once with no fear of getting lost or hungry or running out of time. I'm still really sad my childhood friends weren't alive to share it with me, but I enjoyed talking to everyone. My favorite little end conversations were Taya and Notkin for sheer adorable factor, Yulia so Artemy could say he wanted her to be the one to tell his story and to make it as undramatic as possible (fuck you Mark), Daniil because it was super cute and I’m glad that after it all things are okay between us and I got to make fun of him for trying to talk in my language, and Andrey and Peter because literally nothing made me feel better about my choice to destroy the polyhedron than listening to them complain about it.

And then the theater, where I talked to everyone who'd died and to Mark Immortell. He told me he'd need to try again with a different protagonist (gee I wonder who he could be referring to, such a shame we'll never know) and that I could go into the back and take off my mask now. I considered it for a bit, but it didn't feel right, so I decided that I was Artemy and I went back outside.

This game was wonderful. It was beautiful. It has such a fundamental understanding of what theater is and what makes something theatrical (lose me with your cinematic games, theater and cinema are completely different things and the former is impossibly beautiful but is also almost impossible to recreate when not in person). It's worldbuilding was immaculate, and for all the stress it caused I'm really happy for it.

I say this every time, but I love Artemy so fucking much. Give me a character who is a monster and a healer and who is full of anger but also so much love, and then just have him adopt 7+ children why don't you. He is so wonderful and good and interesting and I am in love with him.

(Edit: And then like a month later, just now, we went back to our last save and threw the documents in the trash so we could play through the other ending. I think the diurnal ending is definitely the better one, although it was nice to see the polyhedron again and to talk to all the game developers. <3 Also the goodbyes to Daniil and Notkin were super sad in that one, I did what Daniil wanted, he won’t even stay? This is so sad.)

Well that's our pathologic playthrough. We know there's a lot we missed and we may return to the game at some point. (Looked up a plot summary afterwards and there’s just so much else. Must save my childhood friends next time.) Game is very good though. It's been wild. Marbles sometime in the next few days. :)

[alitaimagines]

request: “I’M ALIVEEE. This wasn’t requested, I just had some free time and wrote it. this is apart of my pregnancy series.”

character: toshinori yagi x fem! reader

fandom: my hero academia / boku no hero academia 

semi-long note ahead: i don’t know when I’ll be back to taking requests but for the time being, enjoy my free write? 

this imagine gave me leverage bc i’m in a sorority so if it’s anyone that knows how frat parties are, it’s me! 

also, grammar/spelling mistakes! my next imagine will fall in the pregnancy realm BUT this time with a twist. it should be up tomorrow. maybe. it’s with my fucking husband Narumiya. 

ALSO, I changed my URL. it’s now ALITAIMAGINES. 

song recommendation: literally any American party song you could think of. 

David knew that All Might wasn’t accustomed to the party life that America had. Nightclubs, bars, frat/sorority, house, etc. He knew this was something he had to introduce him too and being that Toshinori loved all things American, it wasn’t hard to convince the blond. 

“so how are we getting into this party?” Toshi asked David. David gave Toshi a smile before parking the car on the side of the street, “you know my friend ( your name)? she’s in a sorority so all we do is say we know her and we’re in!” David said in a simplistic tone. 

Toshi felt a blush creep on his face, you knew him and he knew you. There was a bit of awkward tension between the two of you. He thought you were the most beautiful girl he ever encountered. You were loud, smart, friendly, everything to make a great hero although that wasn’t what you were planning on being. 

The reason why he even met you was because you were in a lot of David’s class. You also wanted to help heroes and their development for costumes so it wasn’t unusual when you were in his dorm, complaining about school work or something along those lines. 

“see, we get to party and you get to hang out with ( your name ),” David emphasized as he knocked on the door, quite loudly. Toshi could hear the music blaring from outside the house as someone opened the door, “who are you? do you know anyone here?” the boy asked. 

Toshi’s hands immediately moist as David gave the boy a look, “we’re here with ( your name), apart of the sorority also throwing the party,” David said with a bit sarcasm. 

The nodded, closing the door before quickly yelling something. The door opened the door but this time with you, “DAVID! TOSHI!” You screamed as you shoved the boy aside and let the others in, “I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D MAKE IT!” You screamed again. 

David chuckled as you grabbed Toshi by the arm, “you’re in for a hell of a ride, Yagi! c’mere, you need to try everything!” you exclaimed as you grabbed the buff man by the arm and dragged him to where one of the frat boys was making drinks. 

Toshi stood to the side as he waited for the drink and awkwardly excused himself for being in the way, “this is your first frat party, right?” you asked as you took a sip from your own drink. Toshi gave you a nod as he analyzed you. you were wearing your sorority gear with black ripped jean skirt and neutral colored heels.

“Kyle, how long does it take to make a Long Island?” you emphasized as you tapped on the counter impatiently, Adam from what he guessed gave you the middle finger, “do you see all these people?” Adam replied. you shrugged as you snapped your fingers as he quickly shook the drink and poured it into an empty glass. 

“try this, it’s the best!” you said shoving the drink to him, Toshi gave you a hesitant look as David came up to the both of you, “a Long Island? already? are you trying to get this poor man drunk so quickly?” you smirked, “I’m on my second one, you gotta keep up David!” you said as you yelled to Adam to make you another drink, this time being a tequila sunrise. 

Toshi took a sip, the hard alcohol hitting him rather quickly. you and David laughed as he gave the two of you a look, “aww, don’t be mad! you’ll get used to it, trust me!” you told Toshi as he nodded. 

after you got your drink, you brought him over to the table where flip cup was happening, “wanna play? the game is called flip cup,” you asked Toshi. he shrugged before explaining that he had no idea what the game even was, “watch, I’ll play a round with David and you can switch with him after you’ve seen,” you said as you brought David to the ping pong table. 

Toshi watched as a boy poured beer into five red solo cups and filled them to the brim. two other people walked to the other side of the table and the boy did the same before he blew a whistle. 

he watched as you and David immediately started chugging back the beer, a lot faster than the people across from you. after both of you finished, you started flipping the cups, trying to make them land on the other side. he felt nervousness as everyone watched intensely. 

as soon as you flipped the last cup, the small crowd around you erupted into cheer. Toshi clapped as you gave him a wave to come over, “wanna try?” you asked again. Toshi nodded as this time, they added a sixth cup and filled it with two different beers. 

as soon as David blew the whistle, you and Toshi started chugging them back. you had to admit, Toshi knew how to handle his alcohol and handled it well. he was chugging them back a lot faster than you were and admittedly, a lot faster than David. Toshi waited until you finished your cup before starting to flip them. 

it didn’t take long before Toshi flipped the last one and David blew the whistle again, indicating that you both won. you jumped on him squealing as Toshi’s face went bright red. 

“Daisy! you’re here!” you said as you noticed David’s girlfriend appearing from the crowd. she gave you a hug before waving to Toshi and making her way to David, “wanna sit? i’m pretty tired,” you mentioned to Toshi. he nodded as the two of you sat down on the brown busted up chair. 

it was big enough to have you and Toshi fit on it with only being squished a bit. you watched as Daisy and David danced in the crowd, giving Daisy a supportive smile every time she looked over at you, “they’re amazing together. I can see them getting married after college,” you told Toshi as you looked over at him. 

he nodded, giving David a look before turning over to you, “yeah, he really likes her,” he replied before taking another sip of the drink he was having. you smiled, “yeah, she really likes him back. by the way, are you and David crashing at our place after this? I can’t imagine either of you driving back, especially in the condition the four of us are in,” you said sternly. 

“I think so, I don’t think David wants to drive back home drunk,” Toshi admitted. you nodded as you clipped your keys to your belt loop, “wanna grab another drink and dance a bit?” you asked. Toshi nodded as you grabbed his hand and led him to the bar again. 

this time the bar was empty but before he could realize what was happening, you jumped over the counter and grabbed a few bottles of alcohol, making whatever your mind first thought of. a mai-tai was what you ended up making for yourself before making Toshi a concoction of Gatorade and Jaegermeister. 

after you slid the drinks to Toshi, you jumped back over the counter and went to the dance floor. the song seemed to be slower as more couples went onto the floor. 

you grabbed Toshi’s hand and put them on your waist as he stood there, awkwardly. you laughed as you went on your toes and got as close to his ears as you could, “everyone is too drunk to care how you dance, relax,” you said as he gave you a relieved look. 

the night continued as you and Toshi got progressively drunker. Daisy and David had cut themselves off, knowing you and Toshi were getting way too drunk to even carry yourselves home. 

“TOSHI OH MY GOD, IT’S MAMMIA MIA!” you screamed as you head ‘Lay All Your Love on Me’ start playing. he laughed as he watched you sing into the beer you were drinking, “DAISY, IT’S MAMMIA MIA!” you screamed to her as she gave David a nervous chuckle. 

they both knew nothing good ever came out of having two drunk friends singing and drinking they way you were with Toshi. once they realized it was time to get the both of you home before the two of you ended up with alcohol poisoning. 

the walk to your apartment was a fun experience to say the least. you and Toshi were loudly talking about random shit as David and Daisy continuously told the two of you to be quiet before the police got called. 

once the trip to your apartment was a success, Daisy and David immediately shoved you into your room and forced you to sleep before you threw up. you on the other hand had other plans. 

as soon as you realized that they both had fallen asleep, you crept to the living room where Toshi was still up and watching TV. you could tell he was just as awake as you were. 

“Toshi, wanna grab a beer and head to the balcony?” you asked him excitedly, Toshi nodded his head, just as excitedly before you grabbed a bottle of wine for yourself and a few beers for Toshi before tiptoeing to the balcony. 

you shut the door and popped open the wine as Toshi opened his beer, “this is the best night I’ve had in so long!” you slurred to Toshi as he chuckled, “you’re the best,” he replied as you giggled. 

the conversation quickly ended as you slowly made your way onto Toshi’s lap. being that he was as drunk as he was, he didn’t actually get too nervous or scared. 

“did I ever tell you how attractive you are?” you admitted as Toshi laughed confidently, “I might’ve heard that,” he playfully said as you rolled your eyes jokingly, “I could say the same,” Toshi replied. 

you adjusted yourself as you wrapped your legs around his waist, “oh yeah, you think i’m cute?” you asked as Toshi nodded, “well I think you’re even cuter,” you replied as he waved you off, “no way,” was all he said before he went for a kiss. 

you laughed into the kiss before returning it. the kiss quickly turned heated as you ran your fingers through his hair. Toshi’s fingers danced on your hip as you took of your shirt. 

“we should move this to our room before we get caught,” you whispered as he did the two of you a favor and carried you to your bedroom. 

-

you woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, the urge to throw everything you drank back up, and with a weight next to you. you quickly turned around, sighing as you remembered it was only Toshi. 

Toshi brought you in closer, making you smile as you cuddled up against him. it wasn’t long before you heard your door open, “hey did Tosh leave last night-,” you heard Daisy say before David let out a laugh loud enough to wake Toshi up. 

“THE TWO OF YOU SLEPT TOGETHER?” 

you covered your ears, yelling at David to shut up before you chucked a shoe at him. Daisy and David started laughing as you covered your ears with your pillow, Toshi following what you did. 

“get the hell up and explain how that happened,” Daisy whisper-yelled as you gave her a cut it off hand motion, “give us a fucking minute, will you?” Toshi screamed as you chucked your croc at the both of them. 

they finally realized that the two of you were being serious and quietly left the room. you stood up, quickly grabbing your robe as you handed Toshi his clothes. you didn’t find it awkward but you felt a bit embarrassed being so naked in front of him. 

“want me to make you some coffee?” you asked Toshi. he nodded, bending over to your side and giving you a quick kiss before getting dress. you blushed as you walked out of the room and seen Daisy and David smirking at your walk of shame, “WALLK OF SHAME, YALL HEAR THAT, WALK OF SHAAAME!” Daisy sang/taunted. 

you gave her a look before chucking a used Keurig cup at her, making her dodge it and hit David instead, “watch your mouth, Shield. I’m way too hungover to be hearing any shit right now,” you threatened as you grabbed two mugs. 

they both giggled to themselves as Toshi walked out of your room and sat next to David. you walked into the small dining room and set Toshi’s coffee down as you immediately poured some instant espresso into your cup. 

“how? we put both of you to bed?” David asked immediately. you put your head on the table, feeling way too hungover to explain how it happened, “ask Toshi, I feel like if I talk too much, I might vomit all over this table,” you managed to say before drinking some coffee. 

a month and a half later: 

“Daisy, what the fuck am I going to do?” you whispered as you looked down at the pregnancy test in your hands, “Is it Toshi’s?” she asked. you nodded knowing it was his. 

“yeah, before Toshi, I didn’t have sex with someone in months. it’s his, for sure,” you said as you banged your head up against the bathroom counter, “do I tell him or should I just leave?” you asked, not really expecting an answer back. 

she rubbed in a consoling way, “don’t you even dare tell David about this, he’ll end up telling Toshi and I don’t think I’m ready for that,” you begged her. she nodded as she grabbed the pregnancy test from your hand. 

“give it a few days and do what feels right, if you want to hide it from him, I fully support you but if you want to tell him, I’m right there with you,” Daisy said as she gave you a supportive smile.

you were lucky enough to know that if your mother found out that you were pregnant, you would be scolded for a bit before getting excited and start rambling about baby clothes and baby necessities. 

-

after a week of dodging Toshi and David, you realized it was best to not mention the baby to Toshi. his hero career looked extremely promising and you didn’t want a baby messing that up. you didn’t want Toshi to put his career on the back burner because of a one night mistake. 

once you talked it over with your mother and Daisy, you realized that you would finish off the year online and move back in with her so you wouldn’t run into Toshi while you were pregnant. 

“so she just moved out and left?” David asked as he gave Toshi a look of sadness. David knew that he was just starting to genuinely like you so with you just up and leaving without any prior warning, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for him, “did she say why?” he asked. 

Daisy immediately was stunted into silence, “there was an emergency with her family. I’m not allowed to say who or what happened but she told me to tell the two of you that she’s okay and there’s nothing to worry about,” she explained as she gave Toshi’s hand a squeeze. 

“don’t worry, when she’s ready, she’ll return to you.” 

-

it had been a year since you left your college and moved back into your mothers house. the upside for the entire fiasco was that you had a beautiful baby boy and a start up company that was getting a lot attention. 

being that you were extremely informed on the logistics of hero costumes and the scientific side of it, you were able to get the attention of heroes who wanted adjustments to their costumes for a decent price. 

your Toshi was now a full fledged hero. you knew him as Toshinori but to the world, he was All Might. you would watch him save civilians with little to no effort and always come out with a smile on his face. you couldn’t lie, you missed seeing his smile every day and every so often you would regret not telling him about your son. 

since your company was now some what affiliated with professional heroes, seeing invitations for different events wasn’t unusual. one particular event stood out. it was a family friendly event for those in the hero industry. it was to basically thank those behind the scenes who were helping the heroes with their costumes, defense tools, etc. 

you RSVP’d to the event and bought your son an outfit for the event. it was a small tuxedo that would make even the most stoic hero smile. to the untrained eye, they wouldn’t know it was Toshi’s baby but to anyone who knew you and Toshi, it immediately recognizable. 

Daisy would visit you whenever she got the chance. she told you how sad Toshi was when you left and how David proposed to her after they graduated. you felt a bit upset knowing you missed out on a bunch of milestones within the year you left everyone but you knew this was partially your fault. you were the one who pressured Toshi into drinking that night and partially persuaded him to get into bed with you. 

the day of the event came and you were dressed in a simple summer dress and flats. after giving birth, your ankles were never the same so your days of wearing heels was completely thrown away. 

the Los Angeles heat was something you got used too so the dress you wore was as lose fitting as it could possibly be. you straightened your hair and applied very natural make up on before getting your son dressed. 

figuring that you wouldn’t be seeing anyone you knew, you weren’t too worried with how you were looking. the event was being held outside so everyone wouldn’t be sweating over their makeup or clothes. 

after you dressed your son, you grabbed your things before heading the venue. you had a small picture of you and Toshi on your dashboard of your car. it was more of a comforting thing so every time you seen it, you couldn’t help but smile. 

the venue was closed off to the general public so after they scanned your invitation, you walked towards the sitting area. you hadn’t realized that there was photographers taking photos as you walked in. 

once you found your seat and sat your son on his blanket, you asked one of your coworkers to watch your son while you grabbed the both of you something to eat. 

throughout the night, you sat down, enjoying the conversation you were having with your coworkers and some clients/heroes. it wasn’t until your son started getting restless when you realized that you had to change his diaper. 

“do you think you could point me in the direction of the bathroom?” you asked one of the venue workers. she nodded before pointing inside the building. 

you walked inside as you had your son strapped in a sling in front of you. he was making gurgling sounds as you gave him funny faces to try and calm him down. 

before you could turn the corner, you accidentally bumped into someone, “I am so sorry!” you chirped as you quickly walked around the big man, not registering who it was and went towards the family bathroom. 

it wasn’t until you finished changing your sons diaper when you realized who exactly you ran into. your heart immediately falling to your stomach as you felt yourself getting extremely nervous. you knew you had to leave the bathroom eventually and you were just hoping Toshi didn’t recognize it was you. 

grabbing the knob, you opened the door slowly. upon opening widely, you realized Toshi was waiting. you gulped as he had full vision of your son, well, his son as well. 

you couldn’t even hold the tears back anymore. he immediately embraced you, making sure not to hurt the baby in the process. your cry turned more into a sob as he brought you back into the bathroom. 

“is he mine?” toshi asked as he studied the baby’s features. he knew it was his baby. the baby looked exactly like he did at his age, “yes, the baby is yours,” you whispered as you felt him take the baby out of the carrier. 

“is that why you left,” you nodded again, “well, he’s beautiful, just like you,” Toshi whispered as you felt more tears come out. you were an idiot for leaving the man you liked and now you felt extremely shitty about Toshi being absent within the year that the baby was born. 

“what’s his name?” you knew it was a sensitive topic to talk about and while you were pregnant, you battled about the name for months until you realized that you were going with what your heart wanted, “I named him after you but his middle name is David,” you confessed. 

Toshi for the first time let a tear out as he cuddled the extremely small baby into his chest, “were you ever going to tell me?” he asked. you stayed silent, “damn it! were you?” he asked a little louder. 

you jumped a bit as he sighed before grabbing your hand, “yeah, I was going to tell you when I found out but I didn’t feel like it was right. I was the reason why you got drunk that night and I was partially the persuader when we had sex. you’re an upcoming hero. you didn’t need the distraction of a child holding you back from your life’s dream,” you finally admitted. 

Toshi sighed once again, “you can’t make a decision that big without my input. this is my child, my bloodline. do you know how this impacts me now? I’m a father, I have a son!” he exclaimed as he cuddled him even more now. 

you nodded as you tried to stop your crying but before you could wipe anymore tears off, Toshi wiped them for you before giving you a long awaited kiss. you sighed into it as you returned it, this time a lot more soft. 

“I need to ask you a question.” Toshi said suddenly. you gulped as you felt your heart racing again, “do you love me?” he asked. 

you were stunted into silence. Toshi gave you a few minutes to process what he asked you. you knew you did. you’d be an idiot not to love him. not only love him because you actually loved him but you loved him bc he was the father of your son. 

“yes, yes I do.” 

Toshi gave you a wide smile before setting the baby back on your carrier, “I’m going back home to Japan. move with me?” he asked once again. 

this time, you didn’t take as long to reply. you knew it was only in your best interest to follow Toshi and if that meant living Japan with Toshi than it meant just that. you knew it was one of two choices. moving and being with Toshi or remaining in Los Angeles and having Toshi live out his hero career in the states. 

you felt like you had done everything you could in Los Angeles. whether it be with your career or for personal reasons, living in Japan brought new experiences and new clients. 

“of course!” you managed to say as he grabbed you and lifted you off the ground, “Toshi, the baby,” you exclaimed. he immediately set you down and gave you a kiss before kissing Toshi Jr on the forehead. 

“he has to meet David!” Toshi exclaimed as he ran out of the bathroom and to the nearest phone. you grabbed his hand and stopped him, “I think calling David can wait till tomorrow, for now, lets go back to my place and think of how we’re going to move our entire livelihoods to another country,” you stated. 

Toshi waved you off, “don’t worry about that, leave that to me,” he said as he grabbed his son and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. 

“I love you.” 

you gave Toshi a look before giving him a quick kiss. 

“I love you too.” 

ALITA

[sirenfromthelostcity]

The One Where The Reader Finds Out

A/N: Sooooo sorry this took so long to post but it’s finally done! I was actually kinda struggling with this request a bit bc I couldn’t see Jack as a pinning type of guy (he’s just so frickin smooth and handsome how come ppl aren’t throwing themselves at him??) but this was actually really fun to write once i got stuff in order. It’s kinda modeled after this episode of Friends (The One Where Ross Finds Out) so you’ll see some similarities if you’ve seen the show. This is my first ever Jack Traven imagine so i really hope i got his character right or at the very least you guys kinda enjoy it. Feedback is always appreciated but now I leave you to it! <3333

Words: 4.2k

Jack Traven can be described as many things. His fellow colleagues at the LAPD often use words such as reckless, bold, and dauntless to describe their fellow comrade. His close friend and supervisor Harry would call him straight up crazy but also very intuitive and clever. As for you, his best friend, you would say that Jack Traven is nothing short of compassionate, valiant, and brilliant. For the most part, all of these descriptions of Jack do not fall short of his actual disposition. But what would best describe him in his current situation is painfully conscious of how painfully oblivious he has been. 

It has been nearly two months since Jack had the brilliant idea to go on a double date with you, your current boyfriend Ian, and his then girlfriend Scarlett. Although you weren’t initially too fond of the idea he meant no harm by it. All he wanted to do was meet the new man in your life and judge if he was good enough to be with his best friend. His vigilant nature is something you’ve always admired about him and it is because of this that you agreed to the double date.

“So,” Ian turned forward in his seat to face Jack now that you and Scarlett have excused yourselves to the ladies' room, “you’re the infamous Jack Traven, (Y/N)’s mentioned you a lot and to be honest, I was a little intimidated by you.”

“Don’t sweat it, man, (Y/N) likes you a lot, I can tell.”

“I sure hope so,” he sheepishly smiled. “So you two are childhood friends?”

“Yeah, I’ve known her for most of my life. We met when we were kids through mutual friends, we lost touch after high school but reconnected when I joined the force a few years ago and found her in the forensics team.”

“And the bond has been restrengthening ever since, huh?”

“Yes it definitely has,” Jack chuckled briefly before taking on a more serious demeanor. “Listen, Ian, (Y/N) is really important to me. She is an amazing, smart, beautiful, and extremely down to earth woman who doesn’t deserve to have her heart broken.”

“Don’t worry Jack, I know I’d be a fool to not recognize (Y/N)’s worth. I know we haven’t been together for long but I really care for her.”

“I’m glad to hear it. It would be a real shame if I have to kick your ass,” he joked. 

He remembers laughing and even toasting in your honor with Ian that night shortly after that conversation. He remembers the great food, good service, and the exuberant vibes of the restaurant. For the most part, everything was going great that night. Then he saw Ian wrap an arm around your shoulder, effectively bringing you in closer to him, and stirring feelings of unease deep within Jack. At that moment, Jack mentally reasoned with himself that he was simply being protective of you. However, he wasn’t able to conjure another sound explanation for why he’d feel a tug at his heart strings whenever he’d catch you smile at Ian or interlock your hands with his. 

Jack rubs at his temples, recalling the night of your double date and mentally kicking himself for not reacting to his own signs sooner. 

“Sir,” the waiter calls out to Jack, pulling him out of his reverie. “Are you ready to order or would you prefer to give your party some more time to arrive?”

Jack pensively casts his eyes on the empty seat opposite of him, a seat reserved for an already late blind date Harry had arranged for him due to being tired of seeing Jack “all mopey and sad about (Y/N).” 

“Y’know,” he sucks at his teeth, “if I’m gonna eat alone tonight I’m gonna do it right. I’ll have the steak with steamed potatoes, a side of mac and cheese, and a beer. You guys have that here right?” 

“Yes we do, sir. Which one would you like?”

“Surprise me,” Jack hands his menu to the waiter and the waiter disappears into the kitchen to post the order.

A moment later, the waiter returns with a beer for Jack and he wastes no time in opening it and gulping it down. He stares at the empty seat in front of him and continues to ponder on you and the rather disheartening news you had given him earlier in the week. 

“He asked you to go on a vacation with him?” 

“Yeah!” you beamed. 

“A vacation,” he repeated in feigned joy. “Together… with Ian?”

“Yes, Jack,” you laughed. “For about a week I believe.”

“And only after two months together…. Wow…. Things are getting pretty serious between you guys, huh?”

“Well, two and a half months now and I guess so,” you shrugged. “I mean, I really like him. He’s one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met, after you of course. Plus, I’ve been feeling really stressed out with things lately so a few days off and being in different setting just might be what I need right now.”

Jack motions to the waiter for another beer and the waiter readily complies. Once again Jack downs the drink as quickly as he received it in an attempt to drown his sorrows and his longing to be with you.

Moments later a slender, short-haired brunette donning a chic black dress hurriedly enters the restaurant. 

“Good evening, ma’am,” says the hostess, stopping the mysterious brunette before she can venture too far, “can I help you?”

“Yes, Hi. I’m really late for a date,” she replies, her eyes surveying the restaurant for her date, “he’s probably- Oh! He’s over there!” 

The waiter is handing Jack another beer and taking the empty bottle to discard it when the brunette approaches his table and introduces herself. 

“Hi, you’re Jack right?”

“Yeah,” he looks up at her in question.”Are you Annie?”

“Yeah I am and really late, sorry about that but my bus caught some traffic on the highway.”

“It’s no problem,” Jack rises from his seat and quickly straightens out his brown suit jacket before shaking her hand and pulling out her chair in which she gladly sits on. 

Jack signals for the waiter and he promptly returns with a menu for Annie and waits patiently for her to order. Since Jack already finished his second beer he requested a bottle of wine for him and Annie and once the waiter exits their date resumes. 

“So Harry tells me you’re in the force with him,” Annie starts.

“Yes, I am. What else did he tell you?”

“Don’t worry, it was all the good stuff,” she smiles and Jack gives her a small smile back.

“In that case, he probably didn’t have a lot to say,” he jests.

“Don’t sell yourself too short now, it was enough to get me to come here.”

“Well, since you know about me, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

Annie starts to go on about her interests, her job, how her day went, and her connection to Harry and his wife, Patty. Her connection to Harry and Patty is actually a pretty good story. Too bad Jack is too zoned out to pay attention to it. Annie is by no doubt charming and attractive but Jack can’t help his thoughts and attention from shifting back to you and Ian. 

I’m not just jealous. How can you go on a vacation with someone you’ve only known for like two months?

But how can an idiot like me not have notice he’s in love with his best friend?

Time passes and the waiter stops by to collect their now empty plates. Jack nods every now and then and has been downing cups of wine quicker than he can notice. However, Annie does.

“Um, are you okay?” she questions.

“Hmm what? Yeah, why?”

“Oh, I don’t know, you just seem a little-” 

Jack’s cup makes a loud clinking sound with the now empty wine bottle as he attempts to pour himself every last drop of the bottle before haphazardly tossing it into the ice bucket and chugging his cup of wine. 

“Jack,” Annie calls for his attention. 

His drunken eyes shoot up in question before releasing a tired sigh, finally recognizing what he’s doing.

“I’m sorry. I’m not normally like this on dates, or in life, I don’t even drink wine like that. You’re great, you’re beautiful, it’s not you,” he rambles.

“What is it then?”

“It’s me-– well, it’s this friend of mine.”

Annie, knowing exactly where this conversation is heading, props her elbow on the table and rests her head on her hand.

“Does this friend happen to be an ex-girlfriend by any chance?”

“Not exactly,” he looks down. “She’s my best friend. We’ve been friends since we were kids so we’re really close. She’s always been the one person I know I could trust indefinitely and she’s always been there for me, she just… she means so much to me.”

“Oh, I see, and what’s the issue with this best friend?”

“She’s going on a vacation with her boyfriend.”

“Wow, no, yeah, that seems,” she furrows her brows in confusion, “awful?”

“I mean they just started going out,” he motions with his hands. “Would you go on a vacation with a guy you knew for only, like, two months?”

“No, not really–”

“Exactly! He exclaims. “Why do they even have to go on a vacation? Why can’t they just go on another date or just hang out, something less serious than a vacation, why not go out to dinner or something, do one of those… what are they called? What are they called? What are they called?” he snaps his fingers, trying to think of the word he wants to say and not realizing he just said it.

“Uh, a date?”

“Yes!” he exclaims again. “Man, you’re so smart.” 

“Yeah,” she flatly says. “Listen, you clearly have feelings for this friend of yours. Why don’t you just, I don’t know, tell her how you feel?”

“It’s too late for that,” he slumps in his chair. “(Y/N) has a boyfriend now and I’m just an idiot who didn’t know about his feelings soon enough. And she’s happy, she looks happy. It’s not right of me to ruin her happiness just because I want to be with her. I just wish I could get over her, why can’t I get over her?”

Annie huffs and her bangs gently fly up. 

“Look, Jack, I’ve been where you’re at. You’ll get over her. You just feel like this now because you haven’t gotten any closure–”

“Closure!” he enthusiastically points at her. “That’s it! I need that! How do I get that?” 

“Well, there’s no one way to it. Really it’s just whatever it takes so that you can finally say ‘I’m over you.’”

“I’m over you,” he repeats and motions with his hands. “That simple.”

Jack begins to look around his surroundings and an idea strikes him when he sees a man behind him talking on his cellular phone. 

“Excuse me, sir,” he calls for the stranger’s attention but when that doesn’t work he scoots his seat closer to the man, nearly falling off from it, and continues to call for his attention until he finally turns around.

“Hold on a second,” the man says into his phone before directing his attention to Jack. “What?”

“Hi sir,” he slurs, “can I please borrow your phone? It’ll only be a minute.”

‘“I don’t know if you noticed but I’m currently using it”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’re in the middle of having dinner with a pretty lady and you being on your phone right now is rude.”

After bickering with the stranger for a few minutes, and being quite unsuccessful in getting him to give him his phone, Jack grunts in frustration and begins to search for his badge. 

“Look I didn’t wanna do this but,” he flashes his badge to the now startled stranger, “LAPD, sir, I'm gonna need you to surrender your phone to me right now, I don’t wanna have to call for backup.”

“Oh my god,” Annie murmurs under her breath, rubbing at her temples with her hands.

As expected, the man finally yields his phone to Jack and he quickly thanks him for it before turning back to Annie in his seat and dialing your number. His eyes are squinted and he messes up the first two times when marking your number but he finally gets it right the third time. He gets your answering machine and patiently waits to leave you a message. 

“Hey (Y/N), it’s Jack. Just calling to let you know that I’m good. Everything is all good now. I’m really happy for you and Ian and the sudden vacation you’re both gonna go on. Feel free to bring me a keychain from wherever you go because I’m over you. That’s right. I am over you. And that, my darling (Y/N), is what we call closure.”

Jack lazily holds the phone above the ice bucket before dropping it in and leaning back in his chair and Annie immediately calls the waiter for the check. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day….. 

Jack is awakened by a pounding ache in his head and the sudden exposure to daylight makes him cringe in pain even more. He slowly rises from his bed, closes his curtains, and goes to his medicine cabinet in the bathroom to search for some aspirin. Upon finding the desired drug, he pops one into his mouth, turns on his bathroom sink, and uses his hand to cup the water to drink and swallow the pill. He takes a few more gulps, finding himself suddenly incredibly thirsty, before brushing his teeth and putting back the aspirin. It’s when he closes the medicine cabinet and sees his reflection in the mirror that he realizes he’s still dressed in last his clothes from last night which prompts an important question in his mind.

How did I get home? 

Jack cautiously opens part of his curtain and searches his neighborhood for his car. When he doesn’t find it he assumes his date called him a cab and is actually grateful she didn’t allow him to drive himself. 

His date. 

What was her name?... Andrea?... Or was it Anne?... Annie?

Immediately he begins to feel embarrassed for how foolish he must’ve acted last night. He already knows he’s gonna be getting an earful from Harry since he’s the one that set up the whole thing in hopes of helping John move on from you. Yet, it’s not like he didn’t want to try. 

Jack sluggishly makes his way towards his kitchen heading specifically towards his refrigerator for a hangover cure. Right as he’s opening the door to his fridge he hears someone knock on his door. He glances at his watch, noting that it’s only a little past eight thirty in the morning, and wonders who could be at his door so early. 

“Morning, sunshine,” you greet Jack when he opens the door.

“(Y/N)?” 

You give Jack a quick once-over.

“You’re dressed a bit formal for our breakfast plan but I’m digging the dapper look,” you make your way to enter his apartment and he quickly moves aside, letting you in and leading you to his kitchen.

“Breakfast plan?” he questions again.

“Yeah, we were supposed to get breakfast today, don't you remember?” Jack stays silent with a pensive look on his face and you have your answer. “From the look on your face I take that as a no. Oh, how did your date go last night?”

“How’d you know about that?”

“You told me about it,” you chuckle. “Jesus, how much did you drink last night, you seem pretty out of it.”

“I might’ve drunk a little bit past the average standard of too much.”

“Wow, was the date really going that bad?”

“I honestly can’t remember much but I know it was less than ideal and I know for a fact it was my fault.”

“Why do you say that?” you wonder and suddenly you find yourself being looked at rather oddly by Jack. “And why are you staring at me like that?” 

“I Just– I think I had a weird dream about you but I can’t remember.”

“Well that sounds fun. Maybe you can tell me about it over breakfast, if you’re still up for it?”

“Yeah, of course,” he nods. “Honestly food is just what I need right now. Just let me change,” Jack turns around and makes his way to his room but abruptly stops to turn towards you once more. “Did you and I speak on the phone last night by any chance?”

“No, I spent the night at Ian's. I actually haven't even had a chance to check my messages yet, mind if I use your phone?”

“Yeah sure, I’ll be out in a few,” Jack casually swats his hand in the air as an okay before retreating to his room.

You thank him as you move to retrieve his phone and dial your number and code to your answering machine. After about a minute you’re finally able to check your messages and smile in delight upon hearing Jack’s voice. 

“Jack, I got a message from you.”

Immediately Jack comes out of his room, wearing only a tank top and his dress pants from last night and a look of panic on his face. 

“You sound so wasted,” you giggle. 

“(Y/N), give me the phone,” he quickly makes his way over to you but you start to move away towards the living room.

“No way, I love listening to your drunken rambles,” with a secure grip on the phone you run to one side of the couch and Jack anxiously follows. 

“(Y/N), I need the phone, give me the phone, give me the phone now,” he pleads, anxiety clear as day in his voice.

Committed to retrieving the phone from you, Jack chases you in circles around the couch until he’s finally able to tackle you onto the couch and swat the phone away from you. However, by the look of pure shock on your face, he knows he’s too late.

“Shit,” he starts, rising from the couch and running a hand down his distressed face, “fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!…” 

“You… you’re over me?” you slowly start to sit up on the couch. “When–when were you… under me?”

Jack continues to groan and pace the area, “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“I mean… it was only a message addressed to me. But… Jack… do you… are you … Jack,” you stand up and grab his arm, stopping his pacing and implore him to explain.

“Okay… okay fine,” he clears his throat. “So-uh basically, lately I realized I have-uh feelings for you…” 

“Oh...,” you slowly sit back down to process Jack’s confession and Jack joins you on the couch.

“(Y/N), please say something.”

“.... Pineapple.” 

“What?”

“You said say something and I can’t really think of anything to say at the moment.”

“Okay, that’s fair, this is all pretty sudden.”

“Ya think?” you scoff. 

“(Y/N), I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do this or Ian. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way. Actually I didn’t mean for you to find out about this ever, I know Ian is a good guy and he makes you happy–”

“Yeah, he is a great guy and he does make me happy,” you say aloud, yet it’s more to yourself as you’re struggling to make sense of all this. “Oh god, Ian,” you rub your temples. “Why now, Jack? Why couldn’t you realize all this before?”

“I mean, what difference does it make now… unless…. do you?... (Y/N)....” 

You sit silently hug yourself. 

“(Y/N), do you have feelings for me?”

“Yes, Jack, I’ve had feelings for you for the past I don’t know how many years now,” you snap, standing from your seat and pacing back and forth. 

“Wait what?” now Jack stands from his seat and stops right in front of you accidentally causing you to collide with him and he instinctively holds you to steady you. “You–you’ve had feelings for me? Are they… are they over?”

“Are you over me?” 

You gaze into each others’ eyes, each searching for an answer to their question. You catch Jack look at your lips and you can’t help but look back to his. Before either of you know it you’re slowly leaning into each other until there’s nothing left between you and your lips finally meet. Jack’s arms immediately snake around, bringing you in closer as he kisses you hungrily. You kiss him with the same craving and hunger as this is what you’ve wanted for so long. Yet, after a few seconds you pull back breaking the kiss and turning away from him. 

“I’m sorry,” you turn once more to look at him before heading for the door, “I have to go… I just can’t right now, Jack.”

With that said, you exit his apartment and Jack slumps down onto his couch. He traces his lips with his fingertips recalling the taste and feel of yours lips on his before throwing his head back and sighing. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that day….. 

Jack enters his apartment with Harry following behind him. 

“You want a beer?” he asks Harry.

“Can’t.”

“What are you practicing sobriety all of a sudden?”

“Yeah, when the Nile runs dry.”

Jack laughs as he enters his kitchen and opens a beer for himself, Harry leans on a counter and Jack joins him to stand on the opposite side.

“I actually can’t right now. Patty and I have dinner plans in about an hour and I can’t be late or I’ll miss the earful she’s gonna give me for how drunk you were on your date with Annie and if I miss that it’s only gonna be worse when I get home.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I really did want to try and move on but the entire night I couldn’t get (Y/N) out of my mind. I still haven’t talked to her since this morning ...” 

“(Y/N) just needs time, Jack,” Harry reaches over the counter and comfortingly pats Jack’s shoulder. 

“What if I lose her, Harry? And I mean completely. What if she doesn’t even want to keep me as a friend?” 

“That’s not gonna happen. No matter what she decides, you guys have been friends for years and I know (Y/N), she’s not just gonna throw all that down the drain. You guys will get through this.”

Harry glances at his watch and begins to straighten himself out to leave.

“I gotta go. You’ll be okay?” 

“I’ll find a way to be fro tonight,” Jack takes a few gulps of his beer. “Thanks again for taking me to bring my car back from the restaurant.”

“You can just pay me back a beer some other day. See you tomorrow, Jack.”

Harry exits Jack’s apartment and he’s about to go into his room until he hears a knock on his door. Thinking it’s Harry, he puts down his beer and goes to open the door.

“Rethought that beer did you– (Y/N)...,” he momentarily freezes.

“Hey, Jack, can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jack moves aside allowing you to walk in and you stand by his kitchen counter. ��How are you?”

“Honestly? A lot better. And you?”

“At the moment I’m just really glad to see you. (Y/N), can we just forget what happened this morning?”

“Jack–”

“I don’t wanna lose you, (Y/N), I know you’re with Ian and I know things could probably get kinda weird because of what I said but I don’t want to not be with you in any way.”

You smile at his sincerity and your heart flutters within you as you say your next words. 

“I don’t want to not be with you either,” Jack grins in relief at your words. “And as for Ian, he really is a great guy… but he’s not you.”

Jack’s eyes light up at your words.

“You mean?...”

You nod.

“I broke up with Ian. It’s always been you, Jack.” 

Instantly Jack wraps his arms around you bringing you in for a tight, warm hug and briefly lifting you up. You happily giggle and hug him back, blushing when he pulls back to kiss your forehead. 

“You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me,” he kisses your forehead once more. “Aw man, poor Ian, though.” 

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Now that I’ve had time to think about it we were moving kinda too fast with the vacation, he’s great but I did kinda just meet him.” 

“Well his loss is my gain and I am not letting you go,” he looks lovingly into your eyes before slowly leaning in and capturing you both in an ardent kiss. 

The first kiss of many that is to happen in your newfound relationship and the kiss that is to kickstart the new chapter in your lives together.

[papipopsicle]

BULLETPROOF HEART

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Genre: angst and some fluff here and there

Summary: In which Billy's only saving grace in Hawkins is his witty neighbour with cotton candy hair. Y/N was sweet, with a soft touch and caring eyes- too bad she's got a boyfriend, and he's a real dick. AU where Billy has a different backstory than in S3.

Request: Could u do a Billy Hargrove x fem!reader where she is in an abusive relationship but he doesn't know bc she's always covering her bruises and cuts with makeup and clothes, until she arrives at his house all f*cked up? You choose the ending, thanks boo! @ghost-broccoli

Song: Sweet Creature by Harry Styles

Warnings: nothing so far

Words: 1.6K

a/n: fluffy beginnings means angst is to come...

feedback is always appreciated

Billy Hargrove had no idea what love meant. His mother had died in a driving accident eleven months ago. Maybe before that the four letter word held some kind of meaning- he'd never admit it, even back then, but she was his entire world.

But his father found no trouble in moving on, less than a month after the traumatic loss and Neil had a new girlfriend. It took three weeks for him to cheat on Susan Mayfield, and a further week for her to convince him to move their entire life to a dingy little town the other side of America. They were as bad as each other, they deserved to strangle one another with their venomous deceit and end up with nothing but hatred in their hearts.

Billy Hargrove didn't know what love truly meant anymore, but if it was an all consuming feeling of irrevocable passion and a want for someone to be truly happy, then he had found it seven months ago on his first day in Hawkins. Yet he did nothing about it, because she seemed happy in her own little world, but Billy would soon find out it wasn't only his father's appearance that could be deceiving.

"So you're the family moving into Mister Clarke's house?" Y/N called out with a small smile hanging from her lips, skipping down the steps of her porch and crossing the road to greet a boy with ringlet hair and olive skin. He seemed to be unloading a cardboard box from the boot of his navy Camaro, keys carefully balanced between his teeth.

"What?" The boy grunted in a muffled voice as he turned around, bored with the conversation already. Not even an hour into arriving in Indiana and he couldn't take another second of this shithole. His eyes were met with a cloud fogging up his vision, or rather, curls upon curls of long cotton candy pink hair bouncing towards him. Y/N grinned while he shimmied the box to take the metal object out of his mouth, "Yeah, I guess I am."

She wore a short white dress with little blue and pink flowers dotted all over it, knee-high grey socks and black combat boots- it seemed utterly bizarre, but without even knowing her, Billy thought it suited her vibrant personality. Cute.

Y/N slung a small pink bag over her shoulder and stuck her hand out, bright smile making the corners of her eyes crinkle ever so slightly. It was refreshing, rather than having puckered lips in his face and tits pushed so far up you couldn't even see a girl's collar bones, that she smiled with ease and had the most beautifully kind eyes his had met in the past four months.

"I'm Y/N  Y/L/N, I live just across the road with my mum and little sister. So, are you going to be coming to Hawkins High? I'm a senior- you know, you might be the first new face I've literally ever seen. Well, apart from a newborn, of course." The girl retracted her hand after a few moments, realising both of his were preoccupied and she instead opted to brush some hair away from her face, which fell right back not even a second later.

"Looks like it." Billy smirked a little, letting a genuine smile fall to his features after a moment. He watched her feet bounce up and down a little and her bubblegum hair moved on que, "Billy."

"Well, Billy," Y/N tried to mimic his golden coast tinged accent, eyes racing over the neglected house behind him before returning to his well built figure, "I'm only a few seconds away if you ever need anything, apart from tonight."

"And where're you disappearing off to tonight then, bubblegum?" The Californian boy couldn't help but mirror her happy tone, finding her positivity overwhelming and infectious in the best kind of way. If it were anyone else, Billy would've started to get annoyed at their preppy attitude, but he simply wanted to protect her from anything bad the world could send Y/N's way. Boy, did that thought haunt him to look back on.

"I'm going on a date." She squealed, failing to hide her pure unadulterated excitement, "A first date, actually. He should be here any minute."

Y/N checked her watch and saw that Declan Harper was twelve minutes late to pick her up. Her lips pursed and she chewed at her bottom lip in thought, disappointment hidden behind her shiny eyes, and her mind raced to find any possible excuse. The girl hated being kept waiting- she always put in a conscious effort to be on time when meeting up with someone and when they didn't do the same it felt like she wasn't their priority. But she was certain Declan wasn't like that.

His eyes rolled playfully, catching sight of Y/N's pink glossed lips for two rather long seconds, "Have a great night, bubbles."

Billy sent the curly haired girl a wink, and turned to bring the box into the house he was meant to call a home from now on. Y/N wandered back over the road after telling him to have a great night settling in, sitting on the steps to her porch and glancing down at her watch again to see that more time had ticked by.

"Hey," The girl's head popped up again as Billy reappeared, crossing the road halfway with the first serious look she'd seen him wear, "come find me if he doesn't treat you like a princess, I'm only a few seconds away."

He mirrored her speech, sending a warm fuzzy feeling straight to her head. She ignored that the same feeling hadn't appeared when the basketball player asked her on a dinner date four days ago, and then again when she noticed his car approaching her house.

The night went by, Declan showed up with a small bouquet of yellow and orange flowers in one hand and an apology in the other. Y/N had a great night, pushing aside the twenty minutes of waiting when he made her giggle and blush at his compliments. She kissed him on the cheek goodbye, but just as she was about to open her front door he twisted her around and locked their lips with a passionate grip on her waist.

She let out a yelp, stumbling backwards in surprise only to find his hands steadying her against his toned body, deepening the kiss before finally setting her free. Y/N chuckled awkwardly, stuttering out a goodbye through burning cheeks and bruised lips.

The girl watched through her windows waving Declan off, moving to her mother's room to let her know she had a good time and was home safe before ten. Y/N began to feel flustered and hot, unable to breathe as she removed her make up. She swapped her girly dress for grey tracksuit bottoms and a bright pink sweatshirt reading 'Barbie' in white text.

My first kiss, Y/N though to herself. It wasn't what she was told as a child and imagined for the past ten years. There weren't any sparks or fireworks and there definitely wasn't a giddy spinning surge of happiness in her head. But that was probably just fairytales and fiction, it was nice enough and Declan seemed sweet.

Y/N tied her hair into a ponytail taming her lions mane, chugged down a glass of ice cold water and went to sit on the porch steps where she had been waiting at hours earlier. Her dad always used to yell it wasn't safe to sit there late at night, but nothing ever happened in Hawkins, other than Mister Clarke forgetting to check his post until midnight.

"So," a deep yet soothing voice called from what seemed like the indigo night sky.

"God?" Y/N whispered in disbelief, looking around to see a shadowy figure appear across the chewed up road.

"Girls have been known to call me that." Billy chuckled, his person dimly lit by the nearby street lamp. His new neighbour looked all too sweet sat on the bottom step of her porch, chin sat against her fleece covered knees, eyes almost glittering in the amber light.

"Shush, you cheeseball." She patted the empty step beside her "Come sit for a bit?"

For over an hour, Y/N Y/L/N and Billy Hargrove chatted about all kinds of nonsense. She told him about the date and her kiss, unable to hide her reservations from Billy that she hid so well from herself. But he didn't say anything, he let her pretend to be happy because, at least her smile was still beaming with hope.

Looking back on it, now with her fragile frame pressed up against his on the exact same steps. He never realised how tiny she was until now, small whimpers and hiccups jolting their body's with his hand pressed against the bloodied forehead he had kissed goodbye too many times.

If only he knew sooner it wasn't hope in her eyes, but the want for something so pure and honest that she never knew what love truly felt like. Declan warped her mind into believing this was love, that love hurt more than healed, and Billy blamed himself for all the torture this flawless soul had to go through.

part two?

Taglist:

@ilkaeliseb @florenceivy @annas-unicorun @astro-sweetheart @4everchrista @delicatelyherdreams @mautand @me-a-hopeless-romantic @buckysjuicyplums @fengarifood @lucyrocks86

Wanna be tagged?? Just send in an ask x

[chrsitophwaltz]

MICKEY MEETS FC BAYERN (PART 4/4)

for the entire houston clownery experience click here

psa: if you’ve read the last 3 parts, then you know the drill. i just wanna add that i don’t know how coherent this is bc writing it drained me already. i typed it straight from my garbage brain so this is obviously NOT SAFE FOR WORK. if you’re brave or thirsty enough, or have holy water at the ready, then by all means please proceed.

*matthew mcconaughey voice* alright alright alright

we’ve reached the end, folks! it’s taken me longer than i thought to put this part out. mainly because my brain still can’t comprehend that this actually happened. y’all know that feeling where something happened and you just floated right through it then a few hours later when you’re all alone it hits and destroys you like a fucking trainwreck?

yeah, that’s what it’s been like.

so to recap:

friday: the team arrived. i was positioned nicely near the bus exit and my mind, body, and soul had been buzzing and ready for that moment. i had it all well-rehearsed too: niko steps out, i scream like a banshee for his name, he comes over-- with soft hair and glorious stubble and all-- to sign my shirt and take a gazillion pics. oh, and of course i try not to faint or drool all over him. it was almost fullproof. the problem? he never stepped out. he and thiago went straight to the airport for a press conference and were never in the team bus. i was ready to unleash death right then and there.

but oh well. all hope isn’t lost. i’m gonna be five rows behind the bayern bench the next day during the game anyway. got the tickets within an hour or so after sales opened. i can thirst to my heart’s content over him and his beautiful backside for two hours. and i had this huge ass sign ready, asking for his bottle. it’s bigger and brighter than my life. he CANNOT possibly miss that, right?

saturday: game day! i’ve been buzzing the entire morning and early afternoon. today’s the day! my first time inside a football (american) stadium too. and i was kinda nervous about my sign’s debut too. what if he does see it and give me his bottle? what would i do? do i manage to keep cool or do i smash it right into my eye socket in front of him? until now i still don’t know

so we go down to the stadium. my sign was getting some attention too. people, bayern fans and madridies alike, stopped me and asked what it meant (i had to sheepishly explain to random people that yes, i am indeed asking for his bottle, and no, y’all don’t wanna know why). some guy even got it on his video camera but idk what he did with it sjdfdjkfdjkfsfs

i got settled into my seat and h o l y s h i t i was so close to the pitch and the bench! all the drama? i got it! all the shirt-changing action? i got em too! and all the angry niko antics??? best believe they’re seared into my mind forever and ever!!!!

(dare i say, with full risk of sounding like a downright whore, the man’s got real juicy buns in the back oven. like, fuck me!!!! he’s fit as fucking fuck!!!!!!!! he also loves to whistle and scream instructions and mouth off to hansi on the bench. oh, and to randomly thrust his hips like nobody’s fuckin business!!!!!!!!)

(srsly niko, why do that???? GET OFF MY DAMN NECK!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!! my 17-year old sister was beside me and i had to be 110% a responsible, sane adult!!!!!!! even the guy sitting behind us eventually caught on to my thirst since he saw me filming niko the whole duration of the game sddbsjfdjfnsm)

anyway, niko LOVES to hydrate and he probably finished around 4-5 bottles of water. at one point he looked over at where i was and i’m sure as h e l l he saw my sign (it was a huge ass board). but guess what? it’s like he knew just how desperate i was and kept on sexily chugging. god fucking dammit, niko!!!!

y’all know what happened to all those bottles? NOTHING! they’re just piled up on the bench never to be used again. i was right there, niko! A CRUMB! just one fuckin crumb was all i asked for!!!!!!!!!!!! he could’ve thrown that bottle straight at my fuckin face and i would’ve THANKED him

the game ended, we won, and NO BOTTLE. a bitch was sad!!! a bitch was going STIR CRAZY!!!!! the team only had one day left before they left for kansas city. i’ve been trying to get info on how to get into the practice session so i can see him and all the boys. but of course! the training session might as well be in secret because it’s invite-only!!! even the paulaner bbq event was closed. the only events that were open were the mall meet-and-greets. but those wouldn’t have niko or the rest of the boys in them.

please bear in mind again that i decided to shell out extra just to make that one day extension happen. 

i had to see the entire team. i needed to experience niko up close. if i don’t get to do this now, then god knows when i’ll get the chance to do so again.

so, driven by desperation, i made a totally uninformed decision to go to the hotel at some random time the next day. ultimately, it was either the hotel or the carl lewis track. i figured the hotel would be a safer bet since i’d been there before and it was closer to the mall where the meet-and-greets would be (just in case the worst happened and i failed to catch them before they left for practice or wherever).

hotel or track? hotel.

what time? probably 8:30.

did i know what i was doing? absolutely fucking not.

but hey, couldn’t hurt, right? it was bonkers. truly bananas. but what choice did i have? in the end, i just wanted to be able to tell myself that i tried.

sunday:

i’ve been thinking about what to call this part. here’s some of what comes to mind:

1. crazy binch follows crazy idea and it works? it’s more likely than you think!

2. if you like it (i LOVED it) then you should’ve put a ring on it (I MCFUCKIN DID!!!!! in my head at least sksdjfksdfsdfh)

3. the day kathleen krüger probably wanted my head on a spike (and i don’t blame her)!

so the events from parts 1 and 2 happened. saw and greeted kathleen krüger in decent german. it was going pretty well. somewhere in there, during the sven/leon mishap, it finally happened. the moment that i’ve been waiting for. perfection!

*record scratch* eh, not really.

look, i’m 5′3 (and 1/2, i’m gonna insist on that). leon is 6′2. sven is about 6′3 or 6′4? anyway, y’all get it. they’re tall af.

and niko? a very sexy 5′9.

so in the haze of mortification and embarrassment brought about by the sven/leon mishap, i completely missed niko going out of the hotel. the binch literally had to be positioned in between sven and leon and all the other tall german people milling around the hotel. my ass had been on alert for him nearly the entire week (and let’s be real, for months) and when the moment finally presented itself, it completely flew over my head. i nearly ruined my own damn plan.

thankfully though, i’d been chatting with the bayern staff earlier and they knew that i’d been waiting this whole time to meet niko. i wondered out loud, “ugh, when is niko gonna show up he’s usually one of the earlier ones” and the guy in the red audi fcb tour polo shirt frowned and said “what? he literally just went out. didn’t you see him?”

my world literally stopped. i wanted to slap myself. my ears were ringing.

niko, already out? how could i have missed him? had he already gone up the bus???

i literally did a 360 so fast i gave myself whiplash and saw through the glass doors the man i’d been waiting forever for. he was clad in his blue coach kit of shirt and shorts. i could also swear he was glowing like an angel (probably bc of the bright sun or the product of my thirst-addled brain, idk).

there was another problem, though: he wasn’t stopping. he was going straight for the bus. and his leggies were f a s t.

and where was i? still frozen in shock inside the freaking hotel!!!!

i’m not the fastest person in the world but man, adrenaline really does work wonders! thank goodness my brain chose that moment to regain its function and spurred my body into motion. with no fucks left to give, i ran full tilt through the throng of people leisurely heading out, past the security guards who looked at me like i was insane (i was), out of the hotel and into the courtyard where there were about 50 or so fans behind the barriers who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the team.

it was like everything was in slow-mo. there was kathleen, patiently standing near the bus door and taking inventory of the players and staff before they leave. and there was niko, with literally one foot lifted to go up the first step into the bus.

my brain did a quick calculation. even with adrenaline, he’d already be up and inside the bus by the time i get to where he was. they may have let me inside the hotel, but i knew the bus was off limits. i had to stop him before he’s out of reach. and i knew that if i missed him, then that would be the absolute last time i’d see him in houston. that was my last chance.

i already had one foot dipped into the proverbial pool of shame. i was vaguely aware that i had the hotel staff stationed near the door and some fans looking at me bc of my marathon sprint antic. why not just take the full plunge, right?

so i did the only thing i could do to stop him: i screamed for him. throat open, full diaphragm, lungs out screamed: “NIKO! NIKO PLEASE!” my voice and the desperation that it was absolutely dripping with echoed within the walls of the hotel entrance.

i don’t even know the others’ reaction to that anymore, and i don’t really wanna know. all i know was that it worked! he stopped and turned around to look. and god was he. so. beautiful!!!

overjoyed that he paused, i ran straight towards him. there was a body in front of me that i barely dodged in my haste and i belatedly realized it was the team photographer taking shots of the departure. i nearly bowled him over and destroyed his expensive camera but thankfully i somehow managed to do a the matrix-esque maneuver and ducked under his arms and up again straight back to niko. the look on my face must’ve been shocking and horrific (i bet) because as i zoomed in on niko, i saw poor kathleen just behind him, still near the bus door, go tense with her eyes as big as saucers.

look, i understand. if i were the team manager of a popular football team, and some woman was running straight for one of my charges, with A Certain Look on her face, and with the bus door wide open, i’d be worried af. she probably thought i was gonna attack niko (somewhat true, but not in the way she thought...or was it?) and/or infiltrate the team bus. my intentions were pure (ish), of course, but my face didn’t reflect that.

the Queen knew martial arts and could’ve karate-kicked me off the face of the earth and away from niko, but she didn’t. so thank you, kathleen. and i apologize.

safe from kathleen’s wrath (for now), i turned my full attention to niko. i was finally in front of him!!!!! my dream had finally come true!!!!!!!!!!!

my brain and my soul were trying to leave my body and i wasn’t really 100% percent in the moment, but even with the little presence of mind i had left it was too much to bear. niko looked a bit perplexed, like i might attack him or something (with the way i looked, ran, and shouted like an animal i totally get it), but still managed to look relaxed, open, and friendly. he looked at me expectantly and i felt my mouth move to ask for an autograph and my hands give him my cardboarded jersey and sharpie. i wasn’t in control of my body anymore but thank god it knew exactly what i wanted.

niko, a true angel sent down from the heavens above, gracefully took my shirt and sharpie. i’m pretty sure my mouth was wide open and probably had some drool hanging off, and i could feel kathleen’s stare boring holes into the side of my head. as he was signing it, my last few brain cells were roasting.

his hair was soft and ungelled, and was damp (he looked like he recently just came out of the shower) and as his head was bent down, That Stray Lock of Hair flopped into his forehead. it nearly made me pass tf out!!! the sun was also shining brightly and his stubble was already silvery (thanks to bayern’s season of clownery!) so when the light caught it, it literally shone. each strand was literally p e r f e c t i o n. perfect length, perfect texture (from the looks of it; i didn’t dare touch no matter how much i wanted to bc thankfully i still had one fragile shred of dignity left, and i’m sure kathleen would’ve brought out the shotgun), perfect everything. i was about to have a coronary right then and there.

i’ve thought a lot about what i wanted to say to him if i did get the chance to meet him and talk to him. i remembered all the highs and lows of last season and as he finished signing my shirt, i thanked him and said “good luck, niko. and don’t listen to everything they say; you’ll always have people to stand behind you and the team no matter what.” at least that’s what i thought i said. i don’t really remember bc i was half spaced out. but i must’ve said something to that effect bc he looked up from what he was doing and gave me a big, and dare i say, relieved (?), smile. god, his eyes. they were so green. and soft. and really, really kind.

he was probably surprised that i said that to him, what with my earlier crazed stunt. but of course, ever the gentleman, he said “thank you so much” G O D!!!! HIS ACCENT!!!!! if you haven’t heard him speak in english yet, or just speak at all, now’s the time to google that shit. it’s deadly af on video, but goddamn, like everything else about him in person, it’s truly something else live.

mercifully, when he gave me back my shirt and pen, i still had enough life left in me to ask for a picture before i finally passed out. i never would’ve forgiven myself if i forgot!!!

me: thanks again, niko. is it alright if we take a picture?

niko: sure, of course! (god i love him; also, he loves to say “of course” for some reason sjkdhfdfjsdkfh)

so i had my shirt and sharpie in my left hand, and was trying to work my phone with my right hand. niko sidled up real close to my left side and HOLY FUCKING SHIT. he was so warm. and his arm was f i r m. he was leaning really close and my brain was short-circuiting from trying to memorize every single detail and trying to work my phone camera.

(note: my lock screen is niko drenched in beer after they won the bundesliga. thankfully, i turned off my phone’s auto lock just the night before. imagine if he saw me trying to unlock my phone with his wet self plastered on my screen. i never would’ve survived the shame.)

as i was skin on skin with niko, my organs were literally failing. my hands were shaking and sweating, and my camera just. wouldn’t. set. on. photo. it went to video, to slow mo, to god knows what else. it was already getting embarrassing and i was mumbling apologies to niko bc i was sure i’d already taken more than enough of his time. and i haven’t forgotten that kathleen was still there! still staring at us, at me, and witnessing every single mortifying thing!!!!

niko, literally heaven itself incarnate, was so patient though and just chuckled. oh. fuck. me. his chuckle. y’all know his voice is deep af, right? and you know that certain r a s p that comes with it. well, fuck. he did this deep ass raspy chuckle that went straight down to my loins!!!!! christ on a bike!!!! my inner whore was literally about to jump out!!!!! i’ve fantasized about hearing it in person for so long but jesus fucking christ I WASN’T READY. ALL THIS TIME AND MY BODY STILL WASN’T READY!!!! AND I’M DAMN SURE IT WILL NEVER BE READY!!!!!!!!! NO ONE IS READY FOR THIS ATTACK!!!!!!!!

g o d. anyway, he finally took pity on me. he chuckled (i’m on the brink of death here!!!) and reached for my phone to help me take the goddamn photo. he set it on photo (freaking finally, thanks niko) and we posed for the photo. hell, he was so close again. while i tried to smile and look somehow decent, i just had to take away as much detail as i could before we parted.

1. i already said this, but his h a i r. so soft. and houston was freaking humid. while mine was literally about to turn into a bird’s nest from the humidity, the man just couldn’t look fugly if he tried!!! he literally had NO FRIZZ. damn niko, tell me your secret!

2. his stubble was SO CLOSE. every strand? PERFECTION. no words could adequately describe it. and holy shit, his jawline and cheekbones. if i touched it i could literally lacerate my goddamn hand. and he had no pores??? fucking sexy cryptid

3. his c h u c k l e (he wasn’t chuckling anymore, but that shit stays with you till the end of time)

4. HIS S C E N T.

okay. i have a scent kink. i know. TMI. like this whole write up is one big banner for too much fuckin information. but holy shit. HOLY S H I T. until now i still don’t know how to fully describe, and i probably never will succeed in fully conveying what it was truly like (and if my brain embellished some of it; i was really too far gone to know anything anymore), but fuck. f u c k. he wasn’t wearing perfume or cologne, i’m sure of that. nothing too artificial that stood out to my nostrils. probably bc they were going to train under the houston sun and spritzing was wasted and unnecessary. but remember that he was fresh from the shower, so that was basically his main scent. it was very nice, very crisp, very clean. basically, sexy as hell. classy. panty-melting!!!! hell, i don’t know!!!! you know what i mean!!! idk if it’s from the hotel toiletries (if it was, good job post oak hotel!) or if it’s his own (then i need to know niko! what products do you use???). but yeah. clean and crisp. d***y supreme.

and there was also something else. it must’ve been his natural scent. and god. GOD!!!! a bit woodsy (?) and quite sweet. i’ll stop there before i say something that REALLY crosses the line.

so my thumb moves, and we take the photo. ONE FREAKING PHOTO. that’s all i managed. i wasn’t able to look at it until my uber ride to the mall later on, and i really would’ve liked more to take with me and stare at when i’m....lonely. but it was magically HDR, and i looked passable. and niko. again: perfection!!!! now that i know what he’s like in the flesh, nothing else will ever come close. but this does come quite close.

after the photo was taken, i manage to squeak out another “thanks.” niko smiled again (kill me one last time, why don’t you) and squeezed my arm lightly before saying goodbye and finally going up the bus. kathleen could breathe a sigh of relief now.

i don’t know how long i stood there. surely not that long since i still got to take pics with serge, manu, and lewy. but it did feel like forever and i haven’t shaken myself out of it. as i’m writing this, exactly one week later after it happened, i still haven’t shaken myself out of it. i don’t think i ever could.

i’m just thankful to whichever deity made this happen. my houston trip was finally complete (i haven’t met everyone yet at that point, but i just somehow knew deep inside that it would all work out). i got what i came for and more. my extension was not only worth it, but completely priceless. i’ll treasure this whole day and that little moment i got with niko for the rest of my life. that’s for sure.

just to end this, i just wanna say something. i know this was one whole crazy and thirsty post, but seriously. he’s a really nice man. a good man. it wasn’t for more than a few minutes at most, but it felt like forever in my mind. and in that short moment, i just knew he tries his best. i’m a true blue niko stan but even i know he made mistakes. i’m clearheaded enough to acknowledge that. but he tries, and he succeeded. and no matter how calm and cool and collected he always appears to be, you can still see how much it all affects him. hell, he literally grayed in front of our eyes in less than a year. his eyes were a little less bright at the end of the season as compared to his presentation last july. when i gave him that little message of support, i literally saw the relief in his eyes and how much he appreciated it. he and the team have been through quite the ordeal last season, and there are no guarantees it will be easier this time around.

you don’t have to like him, you know. but please. a little basic human respect still goes a long way.

there, i said my piece. and it’s done! thank you, fc bayern, for being so nice and game and all-around wonderful. thank you, kathleen krüger, for staying calm long enough to let me have my moment with niko. and thank you, niko, just for being... you. now here’s the ONE picture i’ll treasure for the rest of my life:

[sweetpea-skarsgard-blog]

You’ve Just Crossed The Line pt. 2 // Sweet Pea Imagine

(Request:  @southsideslutt oh yes so an imagine where y/n gets held for ransom by the ghoulies and sweet pea is freaking out bc that’s his girl and the serpents help calm him down by going on a rescue mission for her and there’s a whole lotta angst and fluff at the end :’’))

(( Wow I know it has been a long wait, but i really hope that this holds up to the first one! Tell me what you think. Part 3 will be out on Tuesday!))

TW: Violence, Cursing, Angry Pea 

Read Part One First! 

Sweet Pea clenched his fist as he looked to FP, seeing the man who had helped in raising him.. His father figure reassuring him that they would get justice. Y/N was a Serpent. She was family. There was no way that the gang would let this go unpunished-  no matter the consequence. Sure, they turned a somewhat blind eye after they’d found Hot Dog.. not even striving to get payback for the injustice of taking their beloved mascot away… No, they let that one slide- only sparking their feud further. But this- taking Y/N hostage. It would spark a whole new battle in the somewhat waning war. Clenching his jaw, Sweet Pea nodded, though his eyes didn't lose an ounce of their intensity.. It seemed that anyone on the other side of his gaze would just be penetrated by the pure amount of hatred and anger he was harboring towards those Ghoulie freaks. Then again… anger really was the only other emotion keeping him from freaking out too much about what had become of you- what those freaks were planning on doing in retribution of the arrow that Cheryl had put through the arm of their leader.

Jughead cleared his throat, and then looked at the letter, biting his lip and pulling off his beanie in frustration as his mind went through the possibilities, as well as  a few ideas for their battle plan. It was going to be a suicide mission. The Ghoulies outnumbered the Serpents, ten to one, especially after the whole debacle of riot night. Serpents had moved north, in favor of getting away from the freaks that torched their trailer park. THey had lost so much. Jughead wouldn't be surprised if less than half of the people he called on would deny the affiliation.

The ghoulies were a tricky foe- but Sweet Pea didn't care. His eyes only burned with more intensity as he walked over, and clapped a hand over Jughead’s shoulder. “What are you thinking, Jones?” Sweets growled out, before taking out his phone, and dialing up Toni, and Fangs. He sent them a 911 message, before tossing the phone to the couch, FP going over to the fridge, and getting Sweet Pea a water bottle to calm down.

“It doesn't look good. Going to the Wyrm after they made it their territory. But they’re stupid to think that they have the whole advantage, bringing us into ‘their’ turf. Not when we know that place like the backs of our hands. “ Jughead nodded, before Sweet Pea opened the water, and chugged half of it down. Even the tasteless beverage made him feel sick, acid bubbling in his stomach as he tried not to think about what you were going through. If he did, he knew that there would be no chance of FP and Jughead being able to hold him back from charging in there, guns blazing just to find you. Even if it did mean the death of him. Sweet Pea was fiercely loyal.. To the Serpents- and of course to you.

“I’m getting her back Jones-  and I hate to fuckign say it, but.. We can’t just go out on this on instinct.. Need that big fucking brain of yours to formulate a plan Jones.” Sweet Pea grumbled, holding tight to the wooden chair in front of him. His knuckles were white, and were je just a bit stronger, he was sure that even the hardened wood would crack- Those Ghoulie fuckers were going to pay, even if he did bust his knuckles or break a few ribs teaching a lesson.

You woke up in a place that you knew all too well, though it’s memory was sullied, your eyes adjusting from the darkness rather slowly due to the blow to your head, courtesy of that Ghoulie bitch who’d punched you. Your jacket was stripped of you, hung delicately on the old dartboard of the bar that you had once frequented with your crew- your home base of sorts. But now it was different, skulls and crossbones lining every bit of the walls, in a tacky manner. It looked like a fucking Disney Pirates movie- you were slightly disappointed for ever thinking that Hiram lodge had any sort of style.. But it was clear that he had let his new cohorts take hold of the decorating situation. As a soft groan escaped your lips, you looked up, seeing a figure sitting at the old pool table, now refelted with some sort of shitty skull logo.

“Hmm seems like the Serpent slut is finally awake.. Looks like you didn't do your job well enough, Bonnibel.” a male voice said, getting closer, before you could finally see him, his face in plain view. Sure, this place was once a home to you- but not once it had changed. The comforting smell of the liquor, varnished wood, and faint smell of cigarette, all replaced with the sickly sweet stench of Jingle Jangle, threatening to burn at every single hair that you had in your nose. It was sickening- not to mention the breath of the man looming over you.

“Shut the fuck up, Theo.. Like you could’ve done any better.. Knowing you, you would have killed the bitch with that bat of yours.” the younger woman grumbled out, twirling a butterfly knife between her fingers before she looked at you. “Don’t mind turd breath over here.. He thinks that he is intimidating, but the truth is he is a real fucktard-  not that your opinion is going to matter much.” The young woman, now known as Bonnibel spoke, you remembered her face from before you were knocked unconsciousness, your eyes rolling before you responded.

“Yeah well luckily for you, I dont give a shit. Hate what you’ve done with the place, by the way.. Who the fuck is your decorator… the grim fucking reaper?” you asked sarcastically, your eyes narrowed both from annoyance, as well as the pain from the neon lights that seemed to burn into your retinas. “Doesn't matter anyways, since I wont be here long enough to warrant helping you pick a fucking color scheme.” you mumbled sarcastically, Bonnibel chuckling darkly and then walking over, her butterfly knife held in her fist, as Theo just sat back on the pool table and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You think that you’re so tough, don’t ya? What makes you think that those slimy fucking snakes of yours didn't just give up. I mean- I doubt that many of them want a repeat of what happened on riot night. SOme of them crawling back to their fucking trailers like the babies they were, limping.. Leaving town. Not so much of a ‘family’ as you all say you are.” the young woman commented, before chucking her knife at the covered dartboard, piercing through both the thickly embroidered patch, as well as the leather. How sharp was that blade?

Of course you were afraid- afraid that these psychos were going to do something… afraid that they were going to go after your friends and the people you loved- but it was the Serpent law. A Serpent never shows cowardice.. Instead, you just bared your teeth- in the form of a laugh. “Oh please, little miss Bonnibel. - sick name by the way-  This is our home turf-  we have the advantage.. The White Wyrm will always belong to the Serpents.. The Southside too, and if you little goth punks think that something as small as a few tapestries are gonna undo that- well then you’re stupider than I thought.. Which is saying something. Now, can you guys just fuck off, and let me spend the rest of my time here in silence? I’m sick of that burning smell, when you try and use your brain.” you commented, turning your head away from the young woman, who was obviously seething.

Bonnibel kicked her chair back, knocking it on the ground with a loud clatter, she raised her arm as her face turned a new shade of red “You fucking bi-!” she was about to let her handed come down on your face, but her arm was caught, by Malachai, now sorting a splint, and a hell of a lot of bandages on one arm. “Ah come on, Bonnie.. I told you to be nice to our new guest.. Besides- it’s not really her we want to hurt.. Nah- We want the prodigal son of FP.. and you’re gonna get him for us.. Isn’t that right, eh little viper?” Malachai flirted, looking down at you with a hunger in his eyes that made your skin crawl- okay.. Now you were slightly afraid… but you chose to say nothing.

They’d all gone over the plan about a dozen times, Toni had shown Jughead and the others the way to the tunnels that lead into the Wyrm, all there from prohibition era smuggling. Sometimes it paid to live in old ass Riverdale. Now there they were, standing near the door to the cellar, skins adorning their backs, as well as a steely gaze in the eye of each one of them. Toni, Cheryl, Fangs, Jughead, Sweet Pea… even Betty had come along, no matter how Jughead wanted to keep her away from it all. Sure they would be walking right into the den- for what the Ghoulies wanted- or so it seemed.. But the did have a contingency plan, of course. Sweet Pea had his brass knuckles on him, his switchblade tucked away just in case- seeing as he knew the Ghoulies don't fight fair.. But god damn it, he would do what he had to, in order to make sure you were safe in his arms by dawn tomorrow. No matter what it took.

“Okay guys.. We know the plan.. Now huddle up.” Jughead nodded, acting as though he was coaching a team for a sport- even if he hadn’t played one in his life. “In Unity, there is Strength.” Jughead said, his disposition changing to a more serious tone as he looked each of his friends in the eyes.

“In Unity there is Strength.” Sweet Pea repeated, along with the others. And God damn it, he was going to make sure that his reunion with you was the strongest of them all. With that, He and fangs broke off with Jughead, while the girls remained at the door of the cellar. This was not over.

Up topside, You’d stayed in silence, as Penny and Malachai jabbered on about their plans… for the supervillains of your current story, you figured that they were both idiotic enough to keep going on about their drug ring, and the implications of it all. Not that the gang members were afraid to hide it.. But- what was interesting, was when a young man walked through the door. Going over to Penny and whispering in her ear, as Malachai smirked.

“Well I guess you’re in luck little viper.. Your friends came through.” Malachai commented, squeezing your knee before he stood, and then crossed his arms in front of you. Penny also walked over, FP Jones in tow, with a smile on her face. She dragged her finger across your cheek, as you pulled your face away from her, looking at FP and sighing out. “Aww.. look at her.. We took good care of her. See? I mean she is a little banged up from Bonnibel getting a little excited- but.. She is all yours.. If you’re willing to give us half of your Northside territory.. You guys look good homeless- but .. we kind of want to up the stakes a little.” Penny smirked, crossing her arms, before you shook your head. Hell no, they were not going to give up their spot- not after it took them so long to find another place after what had happened at Sunnyside. “FP, you’re not seriously considering this. Don’t fucking do it.” you told the man, FP shaking his head and then looking at the two other adults in front of him. “Penny, why would you want the Northside, when you have the Wyrm.. i mean- the decoration is fucking tacky.. But what? The Southside ain't enough? Or what? The people don’t trust you?” he asked, a smirk plain on his face, as Penny grimaced.

“FP, we’re not really in the mood for your shit- I mean it’s a simple transaction. You give us the Northside, and we give you your girl back.. If not- well we’ll of course give her back only-” Malachai walked over, with a butterfly knife of his own now gleaming. “She might look a little cuter with a skull carved into that pretty face of hers.” Penny continued. You swallowed thickly, as FP tensed up,”I don't know Penny I can't put my Serpents out on the streets… you know that, Y/N.. for the gang.” FP commented, even shocking Penny as he turned to walk away.. But as he was  looking at you, he gave you a small wink… what was he planning? Was he just … stalling?  

And that was when it happened, a loud bang that seemed to shake the building, before several kids ran out from the basement, coughing, as their faces were dyed orange. “Malachai someone messed with our shit! The chemicals, The whole fucking batch!” they yelled, Malachai running down to the lab after them, it was clear what his true concern was, as chaos erupted in the already crowded bar.

Penny was the one who was left frustrated. Looking aghast as Ghoulies flooded to the basement, all feeling the need to take a look at what became of their stash, the woman fleeing up to her office in order to find out what the fuck was going on. In the confusion was when the other  Serpents had slipped in, Toni reaching you first due to her short stature, and untying you, as Sweet Pea and the others followed, knocking people down as an all out brawl started in the bar. Punches were being thrown, bottles smashing against the walls, but what you were more focused on was the sight of your boyfriend, clearly livid as he pushed off not two, but three guys at once. They were near the entrance of the bar, holding people off while they got you out. No, the Ghoulie’s didn't harbor the same loyalty towards their kind, not as they backed away in favor of not being the next victim of Sweet Pea’s steel punches. But you made no hesitations as you grabbed his arm, and then dragged him out of there, even as he was yelling on about how he would fuck every single one of them up.

FP was already in the truck idling it, Jughead and the others tossing green smoke bombs behind you while you made your escape. Giving the signal, FP started to drive, as you and Sweet Pea ran towards the truck, the male lifting you up into the tailgate, before pulling himself  and vaulting over, as you all made your escape.

“Nice to see you’re alive.. “ Betty was the first to speak, just smiling down at you while Cheryl held her bow at the ready, just in case any of the other Ghoulies got any ideas. “Those guys used to be in my chem class.. They never really were good, even back at Southside High.” Toni smirked holding up a bottle of potassium, as you tried to catch your breath. “Jingle Jangle can make  a pretty good smoke bomb, given the right circumstances.” the pink hair woman spoke, smirking before putting it away. You loved every one of them, all coming to your aid when you needed them.. No, you didnt doubt them for a moment- even as FP faked his betrayal.

Sweet Pea was just shaking as he held you, his adrenaline levels going through the roof as his hands ached and felt as if they’d been broken. Of course it was a tough situation, but he finally had you back- and he was not going to let you out of his sight. He pulled you into his arms as the truck barrelled down the highway towards the Northside, getting you to safety was his first concern. “Baby I’m so sorry. I should have gotten off my ass and walked you home. I should have made you stay with me- something I just.. fuck .” he grumbled, pulling you closer to himself, as he brushed over the bruise on your temple, where Bonnie’s punch had landed.

But you didn't blame him-  the Ghoulies were going to get someone, only it could have been worse if it weren’t you, Not with Sweet Pea’s fierce loyalty, he would never have let this go- and you knew that.

“Pea, don’t blame yourself.. I’m fine. I’m just. I’m glad you came for me.. Not that I doubted that for a minute.” you nodded, pulling him in close for a kiss- the very same kiss that you should have let linger that night, instead of walking home. Tears pricked at your eyes, every single feeling you’d hid in favor of being strong and not showing fear… you could show your vulnerability now- now that you knew you were completely safe in his arms.

“I’m just glad you’re safe.. But you’re staying at the camp with me… I’m not taking my eyes off of you…. And who ever did that to your face is going to pay.” he growled gently, pulling you into his lap. Of course he was a big brute- but around you, his strength turned more into a tenderness- something that only you were able to see- when he felt like showing it. It was clear that there was no arguing with him on that subject- not after all that had just gone on. Sweet Pea loved you.. And naturally, you were going to take in every moment after your separation.. After all, it was the thought of him that kept you going, even when your fearlessness was getting close to it’s breaking point.

He was so strong.. And you knew that you would be strong for him as well. “I love you, sweetheart. You’re safe.. We’re going home.” Sweet Pea said quietly, almost whispering it into your hair, as his own breathing calmed down. The way he held you so tightly, you knew that every word from his mouth was the truth..

taglist: @gswritings @pietrorunsforme @pllfanatic @madaboutlili

(the fluff will be in the next part! )

[eddiemunsonspantschain]

Beyond Death

Author’s Note: I had a weird idea and decided to run with it. Oh well? Oops? This will be a mini series bc to put it all in one seems too much. It might just be like 2 parts?

Warnings: Violence,death,

Tag List: @theneverendingthirst (bc she helps me thirst over Zak and she is part of this bc I decided it.)

Existence after death. That was always the big question,wasn’t it? Everyone wanted to know what happened when you died and went to the ‘other side’ as they called it. Well,I now had the answers. It was bleak. 

It took awhile for me to remember. Remember how I died,that is. One would think I woulda just exited my body in the moment and knew but...I didn’t. I woke up in my bed like it was a normal day. I woke up alone in bed with my boyfriend gone for the day already. I went downstairs and felt a pull in my stomach. It was like I was connected to something. When I moved into the kitchen the tugging felt stronger so I kept moving further inside until I found myself on the back porch.I walked out into the backyard,blocking the sun from my eyes and came to stop at a random patch of dirt that hadn’t been there before. Some dog must’ve come into the backyard or maybe Adam was doing something. That man was always up to something. Something felt odd about being near this patch of dirt. Like it was important. Eventually I went back inside. That’s when I smelled it. It assaulted my nose as I moved closer to the sink. Bleach. A lot of it. 

“What the hell,Adam? What did you do this time?” I sighed,reaching for the window above the sink. I gasped as my hand slipped through the edge of the window to open it. It...went through it. I tried again only for my fingers to slip through the window again. I stumbled back from the window until I pressed into the kitchen table. “What the fuck...” I whispered,looking around wildly. I reached out to grab the pepper off the table only for my hand to go through it as well. I spent who knows how long trying to pick up anything. Anything at all!...but I couldn’t. 

I ended up sitting on the floor. All day. Just waiting for Adam to come home. When the telltale sign of Adam coming home was heard I sprung up from the floor and ran to the front door.

“Adam!” I breathed,stopping in front of him. He began dropping his things and taking his coat off. “Adam?” I called but he didn’t look at me.

“ADAM!” 

Nothing.

Adam simply walked past me and into the kitchen. I followed after him,words spilling from my mouth like drool as I asked him what the hell was going on and told him what happened that day. Adam didn’t even look at me. He got a beer from the fridge and walked to the window looking back out to the backyard.

“God,Liv...” Adam sighed before chugging half of his beer. “You just..had to find out did you? You just had to find out and make me...” Adam growled,punching the wall so hard I flinched.

“Adam...” I whispered,moving closer to him.

Adam suddenly shivered and rubbed his arm,looking around himself before looking back outside. “I hope the ground isn’t cold...uppity bitch.” With that Adam walked through me and towards the fridge for a new beer but I hadn’t moved.

I was frozen. Looking out at the patch of dirt in the backyard. I walked to the door not even realizing I walked through it and over to the patch of dirt. I took a shaky breath and reached out. As soon as I touched it images began flashing through my mind.

“How long?! How long have you been sleeping with her!?” 

“It’s none of your fucking business!”

“I’m your girlfriend! I’d say it’s my business!”

“Just deal with it! I’m not talking about this with you! Maybe if you were’s such a bitch I’d actually fuck you for once!”

It was a screaming match. I was screaming at him after that bitch left the house. She wasn’t a bitch...I knew that. She had no idea just like I hadn’t. I just couldn’t help being mad at her. Adam was my boyfriend first... then he went and found her. We were both heartbroken but while she told him off and stormed out I was left behind to pick up the pieces.

“Get out.” I whispered,finally done with all of this.

“Excuse me?” Adam asked but I shook my head and pointed to the door.

“Get out! I never wanna see you again!” I hissed and turned away from him.

It was silent for a moment before footsteps rushed at me. “You’re not leaving me!” Adam yelled and pain sprouted from my head as he grabbed my hair.

“Adam! Adam,let go! Please let go!” I sobbed,falling to the floor and holding onto my head as he dragged me further into the living room. 

“You’re not leaving me,sweetheart. Oh no,no.” Adam chuckled,kicking me in the ribs.

I gasped for air and laid an arm across my ribs. I sobbed and began kicking to try and get away from him. Instead Adam’s grip tightened around my hair as he reached for something off the fireplace. All I heard was metal but I couldn’t see what it was he had with my tears blurring my vision. Suddenly something was coming down on my thigh and I gasped in pain. Adam let go of my hair and I fell to the floor as more strikes came at me all over my body. I held onto my head to try and protect it,crying out at each heavy blow. Finally Adam managed a blow at my head and my vision swam. I was turned onto my back and struggled to see Adam. All I saw was a blurry version from him as blood began flowing down my back from my head.

“You’re not leaving me...until I say so.” Adam hissed,standing up and raising what I now realized was a fire poker up. I screamed as the poker came down,being impaled through my chest. I gagged as blood filled my lung and I began to drown in it. Adam’s hand was warm against my cheek as he rubbed it,looking down at me and cooing gently. My vision began to blur more and soon a blackness started swarming my vision.

“You can go now.” Was the last thing I heard in a quiet whisper...and then I was waking up in bed.

As I came back and I was sitting in the backyard again I felt an overwhelming urge come over me. I found myself back inside of the house watching Adam. I stared at him and soon began to shake. A scream ripped through me but nothing seemed to change around me at first. The more I screamed at him the more I felt this tightness in my chest. 

“FUCKER!” I screamed and the beer bottle in his hand exploded.

“Jesus Christ!” Adam jumped up,shaking his hand of the beer and glass.

I stopped,looking at the broken glass and beer seeping into the carpet.

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

It didn’t take long before people noticed I was gone. Each day I spent the day time walking around the house and just trying to lift anything or even open a door. I learned I couldn’t walk through the front door. I tried but it was like something tugged me back. When Adam was home I tried everything. I wanted to lift things,throw them at him and scream my head off. I managed a few things. When I got so angry and I felt that tightness in my chest again I could manage some things. Either I moved something or the lights flickered. I even managed to make his phone die. 

Every day Ashley called looking for me. She was a dear friend of mine. We worked together and hung out a lot. I knew she’d be the first to realize I was gone. Eventually she came to the house with two cops in tow. I learned she had filed a missing person’s report and Adam was arrested on the spot. I smiled watching him be led out of the house. I walked over to Ash,ignoring the shiver she let take over her. 

“Thank you,Ashley.” I said but was shocked when her head turned towards me. She actually looked at me but I knew she was looking...through me,really. She shook her head and moved on,going upstairs.

Eventually the cops returned one day. This time they went to the backyard and began digging. I sat on the back porch and watched as my body was dug up. I felt tears well in my eyes at the sight. My body - an odd bluish grey color,stiff as a board but bloated too- being lifted from the ground and placed in a body bag. 

“At least we found her?” One of the cops offered but the other shook his head.

“Only for that asshole to get a deal with us. This wasn’t worth it.” The other sighed as he walked back in through the house.

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

This was half a year ago. Over the months I learned. I learned how to use the abilities I had. I was stuck in the house,sure. At least I learned to somewhat enjoy being dead. The house was sizable so I wasn’t surprised when Ashley moved in and started making her music here. She and I always loved music. Sometimes I would sing along as she recorded herself. The downside was I knew I showed up in some of her tapes. She got scared but then excited when she heard a voice whisper a line alone with her in the softer songs where it was easier to find.

Over time even if I never meant to I ended up causing activity. Over time Ashley began getting used to it. The shocking part was when she suddenly called out to me. She had the idea it was me and well...she wasn’t wrong. Anytime she asked for a sign from me,I tried to provide. It didn’t always work but I managed sometimes. This made for some wild stories. 

“It’s time!” Ashley sang as she bounded down to the TV.

“For Ghost Adventures!” I sang and stuck my tongue out at her even if she couldn’t see me. Ghost Adventures was somewhat of a guilty pleasure for her and I...when I was alive. We would watch the occasional episode. Mostly fawning over the boys. She and I never really took it seriously even if it scared the pants off of us a few times. Being on the other side though has now changed my perspective. I was sure Ashley’s had changed now too considering how much contact we had.

“I wonder if they’d come here...I’d kind of like to know if you’re really here,Liv. Or if I’m just crazy.” Ashley sighed as she watched,curling up in her blanket.

“You aren’t crazy. Just someone who should stop talking to her dead friend.” I sighed and sat beside her on the couch. I chuckled as Zak got scared by something,jumping up and screaming ‘dude!’ loudly. 

When I looked over Ashley was on her phone,as always,only looking up when Nick’s voice flooded through her ears. When Nick spoke,she paid attention. Eventually Ashley fell asleep. I sighed and stared at the tv before looking back and reached out for Ashley’s blanket. I concentrated hard and when I felt pressure in my head I grabbed the blanket and inched it up her body. With Ashley covered I sighed and stopped focusing. Worn out I snuggled into the couch and closed my eyes to wait for morning.

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

I ‘woke’ to Ashley getting up and stretching. I didn’t sleep but I kind of called it ‘dead time’ since I didn’t sleep but I wasn’t active either. So I was dead. The day seemed just fine. Normal as hell...what I didn’t know was Ashley had written an e-mail,sending it off to the Ghost Adventures crew about a very active spirit in her home.

[delicrieux]

the one for me

PART 1: THE ONE FOR YOU

PAIRING: bill weasley x reader

summary: bill and fleur’s wedding is attacked. little angst. mostly fluff. 

also, requested by @whitewolf-dianaprince, @ghostwriter050402, and anons. 

a/n : the requests are quite long so i put them at the end of the fic. i was nearly boycotted so im fixing my act. sorta. poor fleur tbh. but i love my mans bill weasley and i only make him suffer bcs my heart couldnt take giving him up afterwards! IT’S SAD AT THE START BUT HAPPY AT THE END! A COUPLE OF THINGS TO NOTE: this takes place after ‘the one for you’, jacob and mc have a curse-breaking firm, mc is bills one true love :( THANK YOU SO MUCH TO @blackphoenixfire FOR COMING THRUUU WITH THE MOODBOARD!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 PLEASE CHECK EM OUT! <3 

feedback is always appreciated xoxo

MASTERLIST. ko-fi (i chug coffee as i write these fics, and another cup would make me happy <3)

“Stay here tonight. If you go now, they might catch you.”

At Bill words you snap your head to him, your whole body trembling as you grasp you wand tightly. The unfamiliar building seeps with warmth as the wind howls mercilessly outside. The room, small, yet cosy, one of the many safe houses the Order has, is illuminated by oil lamps that cast dim shadows of you and he. The air is stuffy. You take in a deep breath to calm your beating heart, yet to no avail. Slowly, your peer away from the defeated form of Bill Weasley, he sitting on a plush couch that is lightly chewed by moths and other, as you shakily turn to the window. A clear starry night lies behind your ghastly reflection.

“(Name).” Bill calls you, his voice hollow and strange.

Subconsciously, your mind racing with terrible thoughts, your hands raise and you twirl your wand in a graceful, poise motion, “Protego Totalum….” The words fall from your lips in a terrified whisper, “Salvio Hexia…”

“I think we’re safe here.” He tries to get your attention again, yet you do not budge, “(Name)…Please….” His face falls into his hands as a low, breathy sigh leaves his lips, “Come here so I could make sure you are actually alive.” He adds quietly, more to himself than you.

His words shake you to the very core and inspired with energy you drop whatever protection charm you were going to cast next and promptly walk to his side, a short stride, really, and fall by the couch as you grab him by the wrists and pull. You meet face to face with misty blue eyes, clouded by shock and hurt. A strained smile pulls on the corners of your lips, “I’m here.” You reassure him, yet you don’t sound so sure yourself, “I’m alive.” Your cold hand moves to caress his hair, “The rest are alive, too. They are, really. I would never lie to you, would I?” Your voice strains with doubt, “What matters is that we made it out, yeah? We’ll contact the rest as soon as—“ As soon as what? You aren’t certain yourself. “…Shitty wedding, ey?”

He manages you wheeze out a laugh, “Tell me about it.” Though the last drop of light-heartedness melts away into fear, “I…really thought I lost you.”

“Nonsense, you couldn’t lose me even if I died.”  You jest, your voice still a nervous whisper, “I’d haunt you for the rest of my afterlife. Nothing in this world could tear me away from you, Bill.”

He smiles faintly at the genuine, yet morbid, idea.

The events of the first cheerful night replay in waves, in striking precision. No detail is left out of your mind, and soon you feel too exhausted to move. You sit by the couch, on the dusty wooden floorboards, your back leaning onto its plush side. Bill had joined you on the floor, his body a welcoming furnace of heat as his arm is draped over your shoulder. The two of you sit in solemn silence, watching the night outside the window, deep and scary.

The wedding was attacked. The Ministry has fallen. Your friends might be dead. And worst of all, there is nothing you can do, no way to contact them and make sure they are still intact. You must wait. Sit and wait and feel utterly useless. It is still too soon to regroup, as danger might be luring just around the corner. You try to even out your breathing as you recall the chilling message, the screams, the blasts of deadly magic that made your hairs stand on end. You had nearly received a few curses; a few less murderous ones had hit you, and their remnants engrave your already bruised body and chip away at your dress. They do not hurt. Granted, you may simply be too numb to feel any pain at all. They are but a dull ache somewhere, you can’t even pin point where. All you can think about is your friends and worry sick. Each time you drift away into your own mind, Bill yanks you back as he pulls you closer to his bodice.

His lips brush against your forehead, warm and tingling against your skin, as you rest your head on his shoulder.

“Do you remember…when we were kids?” He asks you, quietly.

“It would certainly be disturbing if I didn’t.” You reply with a sad smile, “I’m hardly that old.”

“And do you…remember the Yule Ball?”

You hum, “I remember having to reject quite a few offers because I was dead set on taking Ben.” You frown softly, “He was so….frightened of everything. But I knew he wanted to go. He was really happy when I asked him. We jammed to punk rock all night…I have never seen him smiling so brightly.”

“I asked you to the dance, too.”

“You were joking.”

“No, (Name), I wasn’t.” The sudden seriousness in his tone made you pull away, much to his dismay. Your eyes meet and you gulp - intense and determinant, no sign of defeat, “I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted you to be my date. I wasn’t joking when I asked you to be my girlfriend in Egypt. I wasn’t joking about what I said back in the Burrow—“

“Stop.” You plead, eyes closed and quivering, “Just stop, please…” You shake your head, “I was…I was so scared and hurt to come back, I already lost you to someone else and when the Death Eaters showed up I—“ You inhale a sharp breath, your eyes prying open, tears picking at their corners, “I thought I was going to lose you again, this time for good.”

His hands land on your cheeks, pulling you just a tad closer, “(Name), I need to tell you something.”

“Don’t.”

“I must.”

“You can’t.”

He gives you a shaky smile, “(Name) (Lastname)” He address you, his voice soft as velvet, “my partner in crime, colleague, and best friend.” His eyes find yours and lock them, “…I love you.”

It feels like lightning going through your chest, a whole world of new senses and truths opening after so many years. He says it genuine, meaning every world, every syllable, and every possible connotation. He gazes at you expectantly, your expression of shock and helplessness – even your tears have stopped in their tracks, hot on your skin – as you regard him with silent wonder and admiration. You shut your eyes, welcoming darkness, as you lean onto his touch.

“I love you too, Bill.” You confess, “…And I’m sorry it took me so long to realise.”

He grins, “Better late than never, I suppose.” His thumbs wipe away a few stray tears, “You know… people usually tend to be happy on such occasions.”

You hit him on the shoulder, “You’re married, you git!”

“Then I won’t be.” He states, as serious as before, “I won’t be, for you.”

“No, you will be making a huge mistake—“

“The only huge mistake I made was not having the courage to tell you sooner.” He cuts you off, “And look at where that got us…” His eyes briefly roam around the silent room, “Maybe it is fate.” His attention returns to you once more, his stern expression softening as he caresses your cheek, “I always had this feeling that…You are the one for me. And that sooner or later…We’ll be together.”

“Wishful thinking.” You blur, but can’t help the small smile.

“I say it paid off.” He grins sleepily, briefly glancing at your lips, “I say it paid off, indeed.” Your breath hitches in your throat as you lean in, and so those he. The wind continues to howl. The last thing you see before you close your eyes is soft yellow light playing on his freckled skin. You meet him halfway and he kisses you softly.

For a moment, one single moment, the rest of the world melts away in overwhelming sensations. Worries fade into the night. There are only two people in the world, you and him. Just you and him.

 BONUS

The house is quiet, only the sound of sleepy mumbles and kitchen appliances by the breakfast table echo. Your footsteps are diluted by the carpet under your feet, as curiously and with a hum, you pick up todays mail, dropped just a moment prior. Sunshine streams from the outside, and grasping the velvety letters you briefly skim each one: work, taxes, work, complaint, another complaint, and… Blinking owlishly, you eye the familiar envelope, one you had gotten many years ago yourself. With your heart jumping to your throat, you tear the seal off with shaky fingers and open the letter.

You place a hand over your mouth as not to scream. The envelopes helplessly fall from your gasp and settle on the floor.

DEAR JACOB WEASLEY,

WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE A PLACE AT HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY. PLEASE FIND ENCLOSSED A LIST OF ALL NECESSARY BOOKS AND EQUIPMENT.

TERM BEGINS ON 1 SEPTEMBER. WE AWAIT YOUR OWL BY NO LATER THAN 31 JULY.

YOURS, SINCERELY,

MINEVRA MCGONAGALL

HEADMISTRESS

You re-read the letter one last time and scream anyway, “OH MY—MERLIN! BILL! BILL COME QUICK!” You yell frantically, looking up to find Teddy Lupin curiously poking his head out from the kitchen. Your husband, still in his sleeping robes, stumbles downstairs, frightened to death with his wand ready. Seeing you teary and grinning brightly, he promptly takes a relived sigh.

“Bloody hell, I thought someone died.”

“No, you idiot,” You shove him the letter, “Our son just got his letter!” You squeal excited, “From Hogwarts! Our baby is going top Hogwarts!”

requests:   Ahh okay I’m in love with your writing and was wondering if I could request Bill x mc with the prompt “Stay here tonight” /  can you make a story from hogwarts mystery after the one you made mc attending fleur and bill's wedding, but the attack happened and later saw mc got hurt bad from it with some side charlie moments (also as i recall in the book ginny and molly never initially like fleur) 😍😍😍😍😍😍 pleaaase i love me some good angst and i really love your writting style~ /  your last fic just KILLED me. can I please request a fluffy mc/bill fic so my boi finally gets the true love he deserves? you’re such a good writer and I really enjoy your fics! can’t wait to read more :-) /  since you are determined to break our hearts with Bill/MC angst here I am, asking you to write Bill/MC fluff, where those two get their shit together, confess their feelings, get married and live happy together ( cause I now consider canon that Bill married Fleur only because he couldn't marry MC-sorry fleur i like you but MC and Bill are soulmates and nothing will ever change my mind )

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