#i kept saying i wanted to give the rules nd he kept telling me to get out nd inturpting me

[vampyrluver]

Cried for the first time at work, mean customers

[littlebumblebeesstuff]

Can you do a jasper hale x little reader nd do have him punish them for throwing a tantrum

Fussy Baby

Hiya! I changed it a little bit, but I hope you enjoy 💙

Notes: fluff, Angst, sickness (fever), bratty reader, timeout.

It started off with a stuffy nose, that turned into a runny nose, and then back to a stuffy nose.

Then your body started to feel owie. Like when you press on a nearly healed bruise.

You didn't want to play, you didn't want to eat. You didn't want to do anything.

Jasper was very aware that sometimes his little doll just woke you up in a funny mood, but that as long as he kept an eye on you you would be ok.

He let you do what you wanted today, which was to lie on the play mat and watch cartoons on the iPad while your daddy sat in the rocking chair reading a book

You managed to pick away at a snack plate that Jasper brought you, some apple slices, some crackers, strawberries, little sandwich bites etc.

So when it turned 1pm, Jasper was ready to put you down for your nap- nothing out of the usual.

"Hey, baby." You did melt a little when he kissed the top of your head. "Come, it's time for your nap."

He was about to go and close the curtains, stopping dead in his tracks when he heard you say something he's not used to from you at all.

"No."

His head slowly turned to face the back of your head. "Excuse me?"

He was looking at you sternly and you knew it wasn't the best idea to repeat yourself, an apology was a much better option, but you were feeling frustrated and you didn't want a nap.

"Wanna try that again?" he asked raising an eyebrow at you.

Your silence is more incriminating than it should be, showing your reluctance to apologise or do as your told.

You're suddenly hoisted up by your waist and set in his hip. A whine slips from you when you realise where he is going... naughty corner.

He sat you down on the large pillow in the corner of the room, facing the wall. You pout, you didn't really know what you expected by telling him no but you really didn't want to sit here now.

"5 minutes darlin', then we can have a chat about our feelings"

Jasper soothed with a soft pat on your head. He already knew that you were feeling frustrated, but that wasn't the point. The point was for you to understand how you were feeling but also understand that you can't be rude to your daddy.

You huff and stare at the floor, listening as Jasper steps out of the play room to go and set up the bedroom for your nap.

In a very rebellious move, you shuffle over and pick up one of your toys and take it back to the naughty corner. You just wanted comfort from this icky feeling. You felt like your nose was all clogged up and you were cold despite your fluffy oodie.

Of course Jasper heard you move and sighed, rubbing his temples and walked back in.

"Darlin'.... what are the rules?" Jasper calmly walked over to you, kneeling beside you as he gently takes the toy.

"....no toys in timeout...". If it was anyone other than Jasper, they never would have heard what you said, but he nodded.

"Yes. No toys in timeout. For that, I am going to add on another 3 minutes-"

That just burst your bubble.

You let out a scream, kicking your little feet as hot, stinging tears drip down your cheeks.

All your frustrations and your ickyness was just too much for your little body to deal with.

You were instantly picked up and rocked in Jaspers arms, his cool hand rubbing over your back. His coldness was actually really soothing and you press into him as much as you can.

The next thing you know, you are in his bathroom, still in his arms, as he tries to coax you into letting him take your temperature.

You can hear the soft murmur of Carlisle talking to Jasper as you continue to fuss and cry. Soon the thermometer under your tongue beeps and shows that you have a light fever.

"Easy darlin', daddy is gonna help you feel better"

Jasper places a kiss to your temple, measuring out a dose of medicine to give you to help with your discomfort and fever.

Everything seems like a blur as you continue to cry, fussing when Jasper patiently changes you into clean pyjamas and carries you through to his bedroom rather than your adjoining little room.

By now you are starting to exhaust yourself, your sobs turning to sniffles and your fever making your head and body ache.

"Here we go, have some water baby, make you feel a little better."

Jasper holds you close as he holds your sippy cup to your lips. The cold water helped you feel a bit better, but what really makes you feel better is just being in your daddy's arms, his cool skin soothing your low fever.

You soon end up falling asleep in his arms, snuggled up under the blankets.

Jasper should have known that something was up, you were usually such a well behaved little darlin'.

When you woke up you would get all the snuggles you need and you wouldn't leave the bed for as long as possible.

[itstokkii]

Turkuzbek hcs because I don't give them enough love!!!!

Age: I was talking to a couple of friends about this! @peonycats believes turkey to be born around the years 900-1000 CE. meanwhile, uzbekistan would be born around the late 1200s, meaning that turkey's older than uzb by 300 years... 😔 rip my sexy milf uzb hcs...

History: they go wayy back. the Timurid Empire actually had a battle with the Ottoman Empire, largely out of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I's concern that the Timurids were expanding too far west. while the Ottomans were heading to the east, Timur's forces cut from behind and sieged Ankara, which started the Battle of Ankara(1402). the Timurid Empire won, also holding the title to being the only ones to capture an Ottoman Sultan in person in all of the Ottoman Empire's history. Not only that, but the Timurid Empire kinda caused a civil war in the Ottoman Empire due to the Sultan dying in captivity, causing all his sons to fight about who the legitimate heir was.

Nothing says teenage romance like causing a civil war in someone's empire and starting a record that was never broken for all 700 years of its history ❤️

(it's also said that allegedly the sultan was kept in a gold cage...)

turkey jokes about her bloodthirsty era, to which she tries smashing her face into his neck and slapping his shoulders "stop!!! I was 17 back then ok 😭😭" but will also say "ok but we caused a civil war at your place so"

after the Timurid Empire collapsed, the Ottomans and Uzbeks got along better. the Khwarazm and Bukhara khanates asked turkey to help them with the threat of russian expansion. and the Ottomans and uzbeks worked together to launch offensives against Iran in the late 1500s to early 1600s.

unfortunately i don't really have much for turkuzbek during the rule of imperial russia and the ussr as they barely interacted, and though turkey was the first nation to recognize uzbekistan's independence, relations soured during the first president's administration due to um. Driving turkish companies out because they had prayer mats in their offices 💀💀

BUT after the first president karimov died, the vice president mirziyoyev began to issue reforms and lifted bans on religious activity, causing a revival of islam in uzbekistan. turkey was all for it, so they began to get closer than ever. That's where they currently are in terms of relationships!

hcs:

THEY ARE LOSER HUSBAND X PRETTY WIFE THEY REALLY AREEE

you know when you have that trusted, dependable friend and one night at a sleepover they wanna tell you something and they confess to having a crush on the WORST person for them but they're head over heels in love? yeah that's uzbekistan 😔

she may be younger but if you didn't know it, you'd assume she's the older one based on maturity.

when they do get together, kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan are both...shocked. kazakhstan just thinks turkey's ego is massively inflated and that russia wouldn't appreciate their relationship getting closer, limiting russian economic support, whereas kyrgyzstan looks like one of those stick figures violence reaction images and kazakhstan has to hold him back

he's definitely the type of guy to slam his hand against the wall and corner her just to see her facial expression

he also calls her "Nargiz," a nickname of her name "Nargiza" which also alters her brain chemistry

though, i want to think that uzbekistan does try to make her move...just in private. idk how she'd do that use your imagination i guess?

even when they're in an established relationship, she's mostly affectionate in private. the most turkey's gonna get out of her in public is....h*nd h*lding or arm clutching but even then...she won't do that until they're married(turkuzbek wedding when???)

uzbekistan reading or scrolling through her phone after a long day of work and turkeys like "nargiz...pay attention to me......come on let's make tea......"

They give each other shoulder massages occasionally

when turkey catches uzbekistan reading he joins her

🇹🇷: hey stop turning the pages so quickly

🇺🇿: i can't stay on this page forever

one second he's talking about how manly of a man he is, next second he asks uzbekistan to cuddle him

they both love cats! and they occasionally have friendly fights about who's more hospitable

turkey and uzbekistan also argue about who did it wrong(uzbek osh vs turkish pilaf, and turkey gets upset at uzbekistan's pahlava because "it's a cheap ripoff")

i was reading about strengthening turkey uzbekistan relations and the article said something like "together, the uzbek and turkish presidents band together as hanafi against the wahabi-salafism sect" so imagining this whole convo:

🇸🇦 circa 2018: congratulations on getting your religious freedom back, uzbekistan! what is your next step moving forward?

🇺🇿: well actually i-

🇹🇷: she's with me lol

turkey has a weird obsession with mongolia and the casians' nomadic pasts

🇹🇷: HELLO MY TURKIC MONGOLIC NOMADIC ISLAMIC MARE MILK DRINKING HORSE RIDING STEPPE BROTHERS AND SISTERS

🇺🇿: im sorry sir this is a choyxona(tea house/restaurant)

though turkey is a fellow islamic nation and they do belong to the same sect as uzbeks do, uzbekistan is still a little stricter. lots of turkish dramas had scenes cut from the uzbek premiere, and some dramas were just...not broadcasted due to...spicy scenes(making out i guess??)

🇹🇷: awww, come on they cut out my favorite scene

🇺🇿: your what 😃🔪

they also get along because they have similar tastes in tea! might as well call them tea lovers

turkey prefers his tea with sugar, whereas uzbekistan just drinks it without.

russia looked down on her and the rest of the central asians because "they were in their ignorant peasant barbarian era before I came and changed everything for the better!!!!"

she also had to unhealthily bottle her feelings of nervousness, anxiety, and overwhelming anger as russia kept taking and taking from uzbekistan(things like cotton, and forcing the aral sea into irrigation, causing the 4th largest freshwater lake in the world to dry up), giving little back or nothing at all to uzbekistan

so one of my earliest turkuzbek hcs was that turkey helps her recover from nightmares by the ussr despite her not telling him what happened, and trying to get her to calm down with tea and desserts and that's when she realized she liked him so much.

saudi arabia initially didn't believe someone as "sensible and mature" as uzbekistan would get with turkey, until she herself confirmed it to him 😔 he mourns the loss of another normal person...

🇸🇦: Dear Diary, today we lost the land of Al Tirmidhi...Al Bukhari...our last bastion...to Turkey...now my allies are no more...

turkuzbek use scent as comfort. when one has to go back home after a meeting or event, the other spends the night hugging the pillow they slept with, or wearing a jacket or other article of clothing they left behind.

they steal each other's clothes for this reason!

back in like...2020 a turkish director partnered with the Uzbek Ministry of Culture and Sports to make the Mendirman Jaloliddin drama based on the last ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire before it fell to the Mongols. so anyways they're hyping up their country's actors before they go on set, and meanwhile all actors from both countries see how turkuzbek are and ship it as well lolol

and lastly: just because I'm also korean...soojin is their wingman lolol

This is all my brain could record, so if anyone has anything to add, please do not hesitate and add your hcs!

[lovely--lover]

Alex Jones with Caretakers Little Sibling

Request: Reader can't find a babysitter for their little brother (sibling) so he comes along for the day while you take care of Alex. At first they're both shy but at the end of the day they are playing together. Thank you for the idea!!

💚The babysitter for your little brother fell through last minute and no one else was available to watch him except you.....and Alex

💚On the drive to pick up your sibling you explain the situation to Alex and tell him about your sibling. 

💚”I will warn you Alex, he is a kid so he will be a little loud, annoying, and too personal” you looked towards his scrunched up face giggling “I know! But if you need a moment alone just let me know, okay”

💚They run up to the car pulling open the door and immediately throwing his bad and the floor and speaking “Hey Y/N!! What are we gong to do? Who is this?”

💚Alex became stiff in his seat glancing at you each time they asked him a question. His silent way of saying ‘help me’ as you answer the questions for him. 

💚When you get home Alex will grab Little Loki and go straight to his room, shutting the door.

💚The day would pass with your sibling running around the house, playing with the few toy cars Alex left out, and talking. Occasionally asking about Alex “Where did your big friend go? Do you think he would let me where his glasses? Would he want to play cars with me?”

💚Alex is nowhere to be seen and dinner was coming up...

💚You wanted to give Alex time to gather himself and come out on his own although it seemed as though that was not happening. When you approach his door you gently knock with no response.

💚Opening the door you are met with Alex sitting on the floor, Little Loki in his lap, while coloring. You joined him on the floor “Hey Alex, what have you been up to? I feel like I haven't seen you all day.”

💚You are met with a shrug, you reach over and grab his hand in yours, “It’s overwhelming meeting a new person huh?” he gently shook his head “Especially when it’s a kid! But he is my family. And I consider you my family too Alex...always. It would be nice if my family got along, even if it’s hard”

💚Alex squeezed your hand and finally looked at you his green eyes understanding. Just as he opened his mouth to speak the kid ran in “There you ar- Woah! Look at all this stuff!” walking over to the dresser “An RV! that’s so cool”

💚Alex would immediately approach nd take the RV out of their hands looking at you with wide eyes. You were surprised at the action and it showed gently Alex held it back out to them “It’s my favorite”

💚Your sibling would grab Alex by the hand and pull him to the living room “Cool we can play with it and my cars, I brought a bunch from home!” he would let them drag him along.

💚While they went off you decided to start making dinner. To your surprise you could hear giggling coming from your sibling and...Alex. Peeking into the living room you them laying on the floor playing with your toy cars, your sibling laughing as Alex rolled a car up there arm, while making car noises.

💚Your heart warmed at the sight. Alex was smiling and laughing with someone else other than you and all you could do was watch adoringly

💚When dinner was ready everyone sat at the table and your sibling sat right next to Alex instead of you both of them ignoring you as they talked. When your sibling placed a car on the table Alex quietly spoke “No toys at the table”

💚You couldn't help but giggle as Alex recited your rule to them. All throughout dinner Alex kept looking over sending a small smile your way telling you he was okay.

💚When it was time to take them back home Alex sat in the back seat with them. Finally you arrived as your sibling sighed “I don't want to go home I wanna play with Alex more!!”

💚”Maybe you could come over again” you locked eyes with Alex in the rearview mirror checking his reaction and he gave a slow nod. “But I’ll let you know kid. Now go inside, mom is waiting.”

💚Alex came and dropped down in the passenger seat with a sigh and he immediately grabbed your hand squeezing it, “Did I do good?” 

💚Taking in his appearance he looked exhausted “You did really good Alex. I know it was probably difficult for you and you did it for me. It means a lot....did you at least have a little bit of fun?!”

💚He gave you a weak smile “A little bit” you couldn't help but giggle “Maybe we can go somewhere next time so they wont touch your stuff” his eyes went wide “The zoo!”

Masterlist

@sapphicandserendipityy​ @mufnasa​

After writing this I realized I didn't make the kid shy 😣 so if you want me to write another one with a shy sibling I will!! But I’m still gonna post this one and I hope everyone likes it!

[catracorner962]

My Response to a Rude Comment - Fandom Etiquette and Entitlement

The first comment I got on my latest update of Vessels of Wrath was an alleged unregistered A03 left a rude comment, and not the first of its kind that I have received. It was deeply discouraging to me as someone who creates in their free time, so I decided to respond. I am sharing here in case it is helpful to other creators who face the same issue. 

I would just like to express my thanks for supporting me and my writing and I would like to reiterate what they said. As someone who has been reading and engaging with fanfiction since 2013, I assume that you understand we do this for free and for fun. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are a student and might not understand that many of us fanfic writers and fanartists work regular 9-5 jobs to support ourselves. Fanfiction is something we do in the limited free time that we have. Believe me, there is nothing I would like more than to sit down and spend eight/nine hours a day working on, planning, drafting, editing, rewriting, brainstorming, writing fanfiction. I already have most of this story planned and key scenes already drafted. The fact that it has taken me three months between chapters one and two should show just how much work I, and other writers put into our stories.

I believe you when you say that you meant no offense, and as someone who spends just as much time reading fic as I do writing it, I understand asking about updates. I've asked about them myself from authors I've enjoyed! There is this soulmate AU that is one chapter long that I have kept bookmarked for a year now and periodically check back to see if it has updated so I understand wanting to know when another chapter is coming. I am grateful for your excitement and I am so glad you enjoyed the fic. Here are some things to consider however, for next time you want to leave a similar comment on someone's work:

1) If I knew when I'd be posting the next chapter, I would tell you. I would put that directly in the notes section at the end. I specifically do not have an update schedule because A) This is not my professional job, B) that puts stress on the writer and fanfic writing should be enjoyable not a source of stress. C) I don't want to let my readers down! I would never want a situation where I say "Next chapter coming in a month!" and then something like this happens where I get a new job and things have to be pushed back and I let fans down without an update. It has happened before and it is not a good feeling for anyone. If I ever do post about an update it will only be when I am putting finishing touches on editing and I am positive it can be posted when I say it will be.

2) Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Put yourself in the other person's shoes! Would you like it if you spent three months planning, editing, drafting, revising a lengthy chapter, finally posted it, and the first feedback you got was along the lines of "when is the next one coming?" Without any comment about the actual content of the chapter, the story itself, the characters, or anything that piqued your interest other than a demand for more. Consider thinking twice or at least tell the writer things you liked about the fic, what drew you to it etc. before you ask for updates. It is extremely discouraging in part because it reads as: "what you worked on here is not good enough, I want more."

Again, I do thank you for your interest and for reading! I always say comments keep me going. I don't think you meant anything malicious by it at all, I don't think you're a "bad-fan," but I want to be honest and transparent with you about the community of creators you have engaged with for so long as a fan. We are not professionals, we do not owe you the amount of time or energy or promises for content as creators who are getting paid as their livelihood to do this. What I mean by that is you would not be commenting on ND Stevenson's work in that manor, and he is paid to do it, so please do not say things like that to us as fanfic writers and fan artists.

Thanks again for your interest in this story! I really do hope I can post chapter 3 sooner than this update, and I will do my best, (I already have it outlined), but again I do not commit to an updating schedule in case things change. To everyone who has followed this Glitra romp thus far, you have my deepest heartfelt thanks. Thank you for this community, for rallying for me when I felt discouraged and for providing an educational opportunity to fans who make these sorts of comments, well-intentioned or not. It truly makes me feel like I belong and have a place in this fandom and people in my corner. You are who I write for. You keep me going. This is going to be a wild ride, and I am excited to share it with you. All I ask is for your patience in return and I of course extend that courtesy to you all as well. <3

Thank you, Emilia Gryphon

[soranis-sunshadow]

Entrapta deserved better

My posts are usually either detailed analysis or memes and shitposts.

I’ve re-watched the show and this will be an angry rant…  

With every viewing of the show, Entrapta’s arc makes me progressively angrier because I empathize with her so much.

She is introduced to the show as being a reclusive scientist, known throughout the Maker’s guild for her genius. Even her staff is weary of her. She spends all her time alone with her robot friends in her lab within her isolated castle.

The alliance interacts with her with the explicit purpose of recruiting her into their war effort. They want her for her ability to build weapons for them. That’s as deep as the relationship goes this far.

Entrapta has no stakes in the war, the Horde hadn’t attacked Dryl. She joins them because she wants to be their friend; she wants to help them in the only way she knows how, using her technological prowess to their benefit. Due to her isolation (and her being autistic), Entratpa struggles to understand interpersonal dynamics. Human interaction is a skill she has had little practical experience with. She understands the concepts, the rules of the game, so to speak, but she has seen it in play only as a third party rarely ever practicing it herself.

She’s invited to the Princess prom due to her princes status but she’s an outsider there too. No “friendly” princess seeks her out to hang out with her as a friend would. The only person who does so is Catra, and she does it for her own reasons…

With Glimmer abducted, the alliance mounts a half-baked rescue operation. Everything Entrapta did in this episode had a purpose, it looked like she kept getting distracted when in actuality, she was studying horde tech, rescuing Seahawk and furthering their mission and she had no time to explain herself (it also occurs to me that Entrapta might not explain herself because no one asked and no one ever understands her reasoning anyway) The princesses try to control her because she’s being “difficult”. They don’t care why she’s being difficult, they want her to conform.

Once they rescued Glimmer, they don’t even come back to check if Entrapta’s actually dead, or to get her remains and put them to rest respectfully. They allready have the princess they came for.  

Entrapta is all alone with her new robot friend Emily in the Frightzone vents, expecting that she’d get rescued because “no princess left behind” but rescue never actually comes.

Catra uses this new abandonment to convince her to switch sides. Entrapta didn’t jump ship because of her tech hyperfixation, she switched sides because Catra used her skill at pinpointing someone’s weak-spot and poking at it. 

Catra may not have been Shadow Weaver’s favorite ward (she was her scapegoat and punching bag, the poor girl) but she did learn from her and repeatedly put those skills to “good” use.

Once they find out she’s alive, the alliance wants to rescue her but she’s made new friends in the Horde and she think that they understand her fascination with science, friends that actually interact with her directly. She actually feels included here and as such, she’s not eager to return to the alliance’s side.

Entrapta befriends Catra and Scorpia but even in this trio, she is the third wheel. Catra is focused on herself, her ascension in The Horde and on her missing Adora. Scorpia is focused on Catra and on pinning for her.

Once Entrapta and Hordak start growing closer together, Catra stops talking to her. Perhaps she was hurt because Entrapta “broke her promise” to not go in Hordak’s sanctum, perhaps she was envious of her closeness to the Horde leader, or perhaps both, either way, the friendship is broken from Catra’s side. Entrapta still sees her as a friend and fights Hordak over the decision to send her to Beast Island. Despite his grouchiness, he considers her request and grants it.

As recompense for saving her life, Catra backstabs Entrapta when she tried to stop Catra from triggering a potentially world ending event and then sends her to the fate Entrapta saved her from: exile on Beast Island.

When faced with the choice between Catra and Entrapta, Scorpia choses Catra. Hordak is lied to so he doesn’t know to look for her, he believed she used him and is heartbroken about it.

You can actually pinpoint the moment his little heart breaks in this scene:

 Even so, he spends most of season 4 wanting to face her; he’d rather see her as an enemy than not see her at all.

After Catra proves herself a bad friend, (after months) Scorpia finally decides to rescue Entrapta and goes looking for help, deserting to the alliance. She has this little realization:

Adora is the only person that actually wants to go right away and rescue her. Bow wants to rescue her because they need her tech savvy and Glimmer says that they can rescue her after the war or something… (the Island she’s on is a death trap, she might not live that long for all they know)

she said this 

then this

She knows that this is a time sensitive issue but she wants to put it off  despite the urgency, if that doesn’t sound like friendship to you, then what does?  *sarcasm intensifies*

Contrast this with how the villain of the show reacted to the news of her being sent to Beast Island:

On Beast Island Bow gives her a longwinded speech about how she’s supposed to work harder at friendship. I know he’s projecting his own issues here but it still makes me so damn angry. Entrapta’s trying; she’s trying so hard, no one ever tries back! No one makes the effort to understand her (except that one clone but we’re not talking about him), she has to conform to their expectations, the reverse is never applicable.

Anyway, stuff happens and Glimmer is abducted again, by Horde Prime this time.

Then that whole “Lauch” episode happened. Entrapta is distrusted by the alliance more than Scorpia is. She is seen and cold and interested only in tech, she has to explain and redeem herself in their eyes after they treat her like rubbish. They don’t connect the fact that helping them with tech is how she shows her friendship. 

It’s the only thing she thinks she’s worth to them. She wants to be accepted by them so badly.

 Entrapta gets emotional over rescuing Glimmer! 

The person who when faced with the same prospect, said she’d do it later…

Even Catra’s apology to Entrapta for trying to kill her is a blank “I’m sorry”. Pls say what exactly you are sorry for Catra. Entrapta deserves that much. Bow received a better apology for far less of an offense.

All she ever does in the show is work towards furthering someone else’s goals, her own are always a second thought. As @cruelfeline​ pointed out, even a small scene with her discussing what happened with Hordak, her reaction to it and the gang focusing on Entrapta’s troubles for ONCE , even if it’s just offering her emotional support, would have meant so much.

Why is the show trying to tell me that Entrapta should work on being a better friend?

That's a terrible message!

She doesn't need to work harder on her friends, she NEEDS BETTER FRIENDS.

So many of us ND people end up being third wheels at best and we blame that on ourselves, we internalize the reasoning that our friendship fail because we’re weird and we’re not doing it right. That we’re the ones that have to try harder to be understood and that our concerns should come second.  That is a terrible thing to internalize, we are blaming ourselves constantly because we try to understand others and they never try to understand us back. 

With age, I’ve grown out of trying and being different so that other people would like me. They’d end up liking the mask I project, not me anyway. I’ve found people that understand me and that like me for who I am, but only after I’ve stopped trying to be “better” for others to accept me. With being honestly “weird” with those around me, I’ve been accepted far more than for trying to fit in. And I’ve realized that people that shun my otherness are not worth the effort to try and befriend in the first pace .

 That is what young autistics need to hear, not “git gud” at friendship.  You are not wrong, you are not defective or broken, you are you and you’re beautiful just the way you are. If other people don’t see that, then the failing is theirs. Don’t change, just look for people that see you. 

[sunnysviolin]

Sometimes, when sunny visits kels house for a sleepover, (or just anyones house except for basils) the host would always wake up to:

A missing sunny (who is most likely in some weird ass place like the roof)

A sunny that it staring at you from the foot of the bed or beside it

A sunny that stares from the doorway (he stares alot)

Or

A sunny that is playing bo en my time at an unreasonable hour but at a reasonable volume (or vise versa)

Alright so a different nonnie also sent me “How many times do you think sunny scares people by staring at them from the foot of the bed / beside them when they wake up?” So I’m....combining these two XD Also if you guys like....resend things can you say they’re a resend LOL bc if I have another Cho double take situation I’m going to backflip into the sun. Also don’t resend more than twice (i’m gonna be putting that in my bio bc....yeah don’t do it makes me anxious D:)

Okay mini housekeeping thing aside! This got long it’s under a read more because it’s long, but it’s full of shenanigans, sleepovers, and our local fave cryptid Sunny

I’m going to focus this in on post-canon, because I think that Sunny’s ultimate cryptid energy flows forth in his teen years. Also I really want to include the hooligans in on this (I’m...love them)

So pre-canon Sunny and Mari’s house was the go to location for their group of six. They were almost always there, but there was some unspoken rules.

You called before you came over (Only Kel didn’t follow this rule, but he always knocked and waited patiently at the door) and you had to be invited to stay for dinner. If not you went home when Sunny’s mom called a fifteen minute warning before dinner. There was also no arguing within the house. If there was an issue that needed to be addressed, Mari and Sunny’s parents would immediately send everyone home.

Post-canon Mari is gone and the house has been sold. Hero and Kel’s house becomes the go to hang out house after that. Their house is nearly night and day to Mari and Sunny’s

Mari and Sunny’s house was always neat and tidy and very quiet. Their parents generally left the TV off and didn’t use the radio, so unless one of the two children were making noise, everything would be silent. Kel and Hero’s house is in constant motion and activity. Sally is usually either babbling or screaming, music is always playing on the radio, and their main form of communication is friendly yelling at one another. Kel and Hero’s house also has an open door policy- anyone can walk in at anytime and they all know where the spare keys are hidden.

Post-canon I see a quick friendship building between Aubrey’s gang and Basil Sunny and Kel. Hero enjoys them all, but it’s not really his scene now that he’s spent a year or so at college. He will get brought along for some adventures, and he’s always up for hanging around the house with them, but when it gets to be a bigger group he prefers to just let them have fun.

When it’s just his four kids, Hero is always a part of the group though.

OKAY ALL OF THAT BUILDUP ASIDE LETS GET TO THE ACTUAL POINT OF THIS ASK

So this is when school is in session and Hero is back at college. Kel tells Aubrey that Sunny is coming up for the long weekend, and they should all do a sleepover at his house like old times. She agrees and they arrange it with Basil. Kim overhears their plans and she has FOMO so she arranges herself to be there when they tell Basil

Normally Kel makes it a point to try and include Aubrey’s friends (who are slowly just becoming friends) but this time he just pretends she isn’t there and tells Basil to come right after school and they can drive together to get Sunny.

Kim weedles it out of Aubrey later that day when they’re alone in gym class. The reason that they didn’t immediately invite her and the others? Sunny is apparently weird at night

Kim fires back that Sunny is always a little weird, but Aubrey is being fully serious. Unfortunately all that does is make Kim more curious. She goes to find Kel afterward and half asks/half demands an invitation to the sleepover. Kel seems a little awkward about her involving herself, but he agrees that she and the others can join in if they like.

Aubrey and the others arrive

Kim soon finds out that Aubrey was 100% right. Sunny is...weird at night.

At around 10:00 pm, Sunny disappears. Basila nd Aubrey went into the kitchen to make popcorn, and Kel was busy fiddling with the TV to get the movie to start. When he turns back to the couch, he asks where Sunny is. They realize Sunny has vanished.

Aubrey and Basil come in with the bowls of snacks, and Kel asks them if they’ve seen Sunny. Basil says to check the roof.

The roof. The hooligans all laugh (Basil is a sweet kid when you get to know him, but his nerves make even his jokes strange) The other three don’t laugh. In fact Kel gets up and goes to the door.

The hooligans follow out bewildered, and Sunny is o n t h e r o o f. CASUALLY. JUST THERE PETTING AN ORANGE CAT WHO IS LOUNGING PURRING NEXT TO HIM. AND KEL AND AUBREY AND BASIL DONT REACT??? Kel just waves?? and Sunny waves back???

“We’re gonna watch Insidious now, I know you haven’t seen that one before. Wanna come in?” “Kay” “Do you want to bring your cat in with you? I’ll put Hector on his leash” “Yes please”

Then the three just walk back and tell the hooligans to follow them in. Sunny got himself up so Sunny can get himself down.

It’s only the beginning of the madness. Sunny walks in holding the still purring orange cat and settles himself down in his specific corner of the couch (They were prewarned not to sit in Sunny’s spot) Aubrey cuts Kim off before she can ask about the roof, and starts the movie. Kim looks over at the cat, and it locks eyes on her, hissing.

The movie begins and Sunny will randomly speak but only to say when a character is going to die/be scared. Right before it happens. Every single time. Didn’t Kel say before that he hadn’t seen this movie?? It doesn’t matter Sunny keeps going

A ghost. A ghost. Lost in an alternate dimension by shamanic journey. It’s bizarre. The cat continues to purr a rusty old engine noise in Sunny’s lap, periodically looking at one of the hooligans and hissing, choosing a different one every time. Who’s cat is that????

They finish the movie and start to play board games. They pick monopoly and decide to divvy up into teams. Kim immediately claims Aubrey, Vance decides to go with Kel and Kel grabs Mikhael to create a trio. Charlie and Sunny silently sit beside each other, and everyone assumes that makes them a team. Angel pulls Basil to his side and they’re prepped to play the game.

Kim likes to consider herself a pretty good monopoly player, and Aubrey is a whiz with money and numbers, so she assumes they have this in the bag.

She did not account for the Sunny factor.

Sunny stares her down through the entire time. Kim is sure he doesn’t blink. She forgets to bid on auctions for properties and gives him extra rent money. They go bankrupt first, and Sunny turns his eye onto Kel who just laughs and gives Sunny finger guns. Sunny finger guns back (his face still a blank slate) and proceeds to also take all of Kel’s money.

They go to bed shortly after, and Kim is relieved. Nothing also weird can happen. Now she just has to sleep.

She wakes up in the middle of the night and adjust her position, turning over to face the other side of teh room. Four shining eyes stare back at her, catching the dim light from the kitchen. Kim shakily grabs her phone and turns on the flashlight, whirling around to see Sunny staring at her, his orange cat on top of his head.

She wakes all the rest of them with her shriek of terror. The group of four quickly settle to sleep once more, even Sunny crashing down next to Aubrey and Basil. hissing cat caught firmly in his arms.

She and the other hooligans stay up for a bit, frantically whispering about the oddness of the situation. They resolve to leave early in the morning, and to distance themselves as much as they can from...whatever Sunny is. They’re certainly glad he doesn’t go to their school anymore.

The next morning, the group of four wake up before the hooligans and cook a big breakfast. They put the phone on speaker and chat with Hero as they do so, catching up on his latest college stories. Bo en is playing from the cd player in the corner of the kitchen, kept low so as not to wake the others.

The hooligans creep downstairs and peer inside. The scene is shockingly...normal.

Sunny is still carrying his cat, but now Kel is feeding it tiny bits of bacon and it is stretching out of Sunny’s arms to reach the next delicious morsel. He’s chatting with Hero over the phone, speaking in full long sentences which is a rarity for Sunny. He even laughs quietly at a joke Hero tells.

Kim tries to translate the horror she felt last night into this morning, but it’s not there. Sunny doesn’t seem like an eldritch horror during the day. Just another teenager happy to be with people he enjoys.

Hero hangs up shortly after, and the group of four settle back into a placid silence. Aubrey breaks it by turning to the others

“I know it was weird, but I’m glad that they came for last night.” the three boys agree, and Sunny leans against the counter near Aubrey so she can scratch one hand under his cat’s neck while still flipping pancakes. When he speaks, his voice is near silent, but they all hear it anyway.

“They’re nice. They didn’t treat me different.”

The hooligans share a look and simultaneously agree to stay for breakfast.

[troublesometrollhunters]

Oooh no Morando? Maybe after he’s conquered earth, he tries to win over reader for Valentine’s Day by showing off his power and wealth!

As Val leads you somewhere you've never been he smiles an Omen opening the door for you.

Swallowing you walk where Val wants you too and look around the lavish space. It's a suite of sorts you suppose and this room is larger than the Mothership. You don't know if it's resting chambers or just a place he comes to think but it makes you uncomfortable to be here.

The room is gaudy and over decorated. He's throwing his wealth in your face again and you don't like it. You don't like that he thinks his power will make you love him, that his wealth will ever change how you truly feel. His title, his rank it means nothing too you and it'd never mean anything.

As you feel a draft you hug your silks closer. Such silly outfits he gives you. Soft and luxurious yet impractical. You'd perfer your old clothes over this but your pretty sure he burned them.

Stiffening as he places his cape over your shoulders you don't want to accept the gesture but your freezing.

Looking away as you hold the cape close, a blush on your face, Val chuckles letting you look around the new space.

The carpet is soft and golden. The furniture was modern and comfortable. Cushy but not overwhelming so. All the furniture was a mix of Akriddion blues and black. Every now and then there was a splash of red or gold to liven things up.

Running your hand over a silky couch you hum. He had very interesting tastes. So forgien to you, but the beauty is still there. The art on the walls he'd stolen, the decor he laid about, golden pitchers of wine. Everything in this room just like the rest of his new castle screamed him.

Looking around as you pull the cape closer he could do so much good with this wealth and yet he squanders it on rooms he probably never uses. Wastes his power and his money on frivolous things that have no real meaning. Their value determined by what others think of them and not what they do or are.

You raise an eyebrow at Val as he chuckles waving his hand out at the luxurious room. "Glorious is it now? A room worthy of a King. Of a consort." Smiling at you with hungry eyes you turn away.

It'd been a month since his takeover of Earth and you were left powerless as he ruled with an iron fist. The Omens were too powerful, his fleets too strong, nd his technology unbeatable. Earth didn't stand a chance and yet he stood here acting like nothing had happened. Acting like he cared and loved you when he took everything from you.

The room he showed you now was one of many in the lavish castle he'd built. One he hadn't shown you before but you'd become numb to his advances. You couldn't bring yourself to smile at any of the pretty things he tried to impress you with. To you the golden vases or finely woven tapestries were all the same. Were all unneeded. For as pretty as they were none would make you as happy as receiving your freedom, at winning your planets liberation. Instead you were trapped, drowning in gold and gifts unable to give him the one thing he desired most.

You.

"There's a lot more to a man than what he owns Morando." You finally say. He's been waiting for your reaction and you wanted to yell profanities, to curse at him but you keep your lips in a tight line as you stare out the window. The room was nice but this place was a prison and no matter how nice the cell, it was still a cell.

Morando simply chuckled putting his hand on your shoulder. You flinch but his grip remains tight as a soft squeeze reminds you of his true strength. He could kill you at any moment and it was that realization that always kept you from fighting.

Val Morando was not the kind to wait, he'd been patient but one wrong word and you could loose everything.

"I am no man (Y/N). I am a god. I now rule most of the solar system and with Gaylen and Sekloses power in my core I will someday control all of it. Ask for anything and my love you shall receive it. Anything you want could be yours. All I need is for you to say what I wish to hear. What my core longs for." He cups your cheek leaning in for a kiss but you close your eyes.

Turning away shrugging his hand off Val frowns. He huffs and you can tell he's growing inpatient with the way you treat him but he hasn't earned your love. He doesn't deserve your respect or your forgiveness.

He had kept Aja, Krel, Vex, Zadra, Lugg, and Stuart alive as you'd begged him too but that was the only merciful thing he'd done. He did not love you he simply wanted to possess you like countless other things he stole for his amusement. But you were not a possesion.

You were a warrior. And you would win this battle.

"Join me for dinner." He invites and you dig your nails into your arm staring out at a burning sun. One of the few things that gave you hope. The sun and the moon. For even Val could not control the planets.

"... It will change nothing." You respond clinging to his cape and he hums. You have a feeling he knows and yet he still tries, for you are a prize he won't loose.

"Join me anyways." He says softly. Sighing you relent. You did not want to spend time with him, you refused to love him, but the only way to keep your friends and the Royals safe as the Resistance continued to fight was to play alone.

"Fine." You huff. Morando chuckles at your pain and you glare at him, eyes sharp as his serrator. He smiles cupping your face once more.

"Such fire. Such passion." He compliments and you bite your tongue to keep from retorting. Letting go of you he turns away. "Oh and (Y/N)?" Staring at him as he stands at the golden doors he chuckles. "... The human hoilday about love. It is today isn't it?" You don't respond but he doesn't care. He knows. "Happy Valentines Day my love. Be dressed appropriately for dinner." Closing the doors behind him you wait until he is gone. Before you fall to your knees on the golden carpet, feeling all hope leave you.

As much as it hurt you had to play along. Just until you and your friends could be rescued. Just until he could be defeated.

"Happy Valentines..." You mumble fingers bunching the fabric as tears dripped down your face.

[sandwichrin]

A Little into You (Junkyu x Reader) (Ch. 26)

Chapter 26 - Cold 

Word count: 4.9k words

Genre: Fanfiction, PG13, Comedy, Romance.

A/N: Hewwo! I’m back after quite some time 😭 how are you all? I’ve missed you all so muchhh. Here’s the new chapter-- ngl i am super psyched for the next one ‘cause uh, we’re gonna see more cute moments i guess? :3

YGE Building (Main Meeting Room / 5th Floor)

“What did Chani meant when he said he’ll deal with you when you get home??” Soomin interrogates Bomin the moment it was just the two of them left in the room.

Bomin looked away, not being in the mood to answer the question.

“Oh ho so you’re the one that’s sulking right now?”

Bomin continued to ignore his girlfriend, instead, he heads towards the door, wanting to leave the meeting room.

“Wow. Fine. Leave. Just don’t tell me anything anymore,” Soomin said sarcastically.

Bomin stops in his track and lets out a sigh before turning around to look at her.

Soomin had a frown on her face, showing how clearly upset she was with what happened. Her arms are folded against her chest, which makes her look even more seriously upset.

“What is it, Soomin?” Bomin asked non-enthusiastically.

“Oh wow, you’re not asking me to repeat myself, are you?” she scoffed.

Rolling his eyes, he responded back at her, “Look, I’m no mood to fight, okay??”

“I’m not asking for a fight! I just want you to explain what the fuck you just did earlier!”

“Why are you so worked up over this? Everything went smoothly, didn’t it??”

“Clearly, no?? You freaking ruined y/n! That was so uncalled for!”

“Hey, this wouldn’t have happened if you had presented today! I told you, recognition is important in this company! And you had to make that clueless intern present for one of our biggest meetings,”

“For the 100th time, Bomin. She’s not an intern! She’s a regular staff like the rest in my team,” Soomin said in annoyance.

“With that qualification? She’s just the same like that nitwit friend of hers,”

“Oh my god! What is with you?? You’ve never been so stereotypical over people’s academics—yet now, oh god, you’re being such an asshole!”

“Look, I did what I had to, okay! You were supposed to support me, like how I always support you,”

“Bomin…y/n isn’t just a staff. She’s my friend. And I can’t believe I actually opened up to you about everything. I shouldn’t have told you anything about y/n…I should have known that when you asked about her, it was just for your selfish deeds,” she shook her head at him.

“Hey, look, y/n isn’t the one I initially aimed on taking down,”

“Then who??” she pushed her hair to the back in frustration.

“It’s that friend of hers! That stupid boy,” he said, his teeth gritting at the thought of Chani.

“Chani?? What have you got against that kid??”

“You don’t understand! I hate that kid,”

“Okay, then, why?” Soomin questions him. “Tell me, why do you hate him so much,”

“Tsk, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Then tell me, Bomin. I wouldn’t understand if you don’t say it,”

Bomin looks away now, avoiding his girlfriend’s eyes that were staring at him.

Soomin takes a deep breath in, releasing it slowly. She decides to maybe lessen the tension by now so she approaches Bomin and places her hand on his arm.

“Look, Bomin. When we got together, I was so happy. It’s never been this easy for me to open up to anyone, but with you, I was able to do so.” Soomin pauses. “And us being together, you should know that you can tell me anything. Tell me, and I’ll be the judge of your actions.” She continued.

Bomin looks back at his girlfriend, her doe-like eyes staring back into his. She looked less angry now, he thought. Though…should he just tell her why he did all of this?

 *

Whilst the couple were busy with their own matters in the main meeting room upstairs—the floors below were in chaos as the twelve boys (well, twelve plus one if we’re counting Chani) ran around in different directions in search of Y/n.

From the Ground floor to the 4th floor, footsteps of these boys can be heard throughout the hallways.

As for now, these are the whereabouts of the boys:

Ground Floor: Jeongwoo, Mashiho

1st Floor: Jihoon, Junkyu, Yedam

2nd Floor: Yoshi, Doyoung, Chani

3rd Floor: Junghwan, Jaehyuk, Asahi

4th Floor: Hyunsuk, Haruto

 *

YGE Building (Ground Floor)

“Jeongwoo, what are you doing there?” Mashiho asks as he notices the boy looking somewhat distracted. His eyes kept looking at the convenience mart not far from them.

Jeongwoo was still dressed in his school uniform. When he arrived at the building, he immediately ditched his schoolbag in their practice room and heads to where Jihoon had instructed them to be.

He had received a text from his hyungs in their group chat, about how they’re on the search for Y/n and that they had informed the maknaes whom were on their way back from school to help them search once they have arrived at the YG Building.

And so, based on the text from Jihoon hyung in the group, the person he was paired with was Mashiho-hyung. The both of them were stationed to search the Ground Floor of the building. But right now, Jeongwoo couldn’t help giving glances at the convenient store not far from where he was standing.

He knew that searching for you was important right now, but then he was also very hungry. He was supposed to have lunch with all his members but then their lunchtime was sacrificed in the quest of finding you.

Mashiho, who initially was guarding outside the entrance of the restrooms (in case you were hiding in there and would come out in all of a sudden), had decided to go and check on his younger friend after waiting up for 15 minutes.

Jeongwoo placed a hand on his own tummy, “Hyung…is it okay if I get some bread from the store? I kind of had a light snack during breaktime and well, I don’t think I can concentrate on the search feeling this hungry…,”

“Oh?” Mashiho looked at him in surprise. He turned around and looked at the store not far behind him. Jeongwoo does have a point though, he is a school kid, and he shouldn’t be skipping meals.

“Aigoo Jeongwoo-aa, come on, let’s get you something to eat. You’re a growing boy and you shouldn’t be skipping your meals!” he said as he drags Jeongwoo by his arm, taking the young boy towards the store with him.

 *

YGE Building (1st Floor / Cafeteria)

“What if Y/n is hiding underneath one of these many tables though??” Junkyu said, his head sticking underneath one of the unoccupied tables in the cafeteria.

Jihoon rubbed the temples on his head, “Junkyu-aa…everyone’s watching us…”

“Who cares if they’re watching us, we’re busy right now!”

Jihoon shakes his head, watching his best friend continue ducking underneath 2 more tables in front of him.

“Hyung! I’ve checked the restrooms, y/n isn’t in there,” Yedam said as he approached Jihoon.

Jihoon looks at him weirdly. “Wait, you checked the restrooms??”

Yedam nods at this, “Yes, I just said that,”

“Wait, no- you checked the restroom?? Checked?”

“I think he clearly said he checked the restrooms, hyung,” Junkyu replied, his head no longer underneath the tables.

“No, but—” Jihoon looks around, in case anyone was eavesdropping on them. Once he was sure people were no longer interested in their conversation, he continued, “Yedam, did you really check check the restrooms?”

Yedam nods again, but a bit slower now. He finds it strange that his Jihoon-hyung keeps on asking him the same thing.

Junkyu was already standing by both the other two boys’ side when he opened his mouth to say, “Hyung, why do you keep asking him if he checked the restrooms??”

“No, I meant,” Jihoon paused. He leaned in closer to the both of them and whispered, “when Yedam said he checked the restrooms…did he mean he checked the girls restroom too??”

Junkyu backed away from the both of them and covered his mouth with his palm. He lifted a finger and points at Yedam, “You entered the ladies restroom??”

Jihoon too, was staring at Yedam with a fearful look on his face.

“Oh my god hyung! That’s ridiculous!” Yedam answered them, his face holding in his laughter from seeing both of his hyungs’ faces. “I asked one of the lady staff that was passing by me to check in the ladies’ for me of course!”

Jihoon lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god. I mean, I know we’re searching for y/n but let’s not break any major rules here,” he chuckled.

Junkyu nods at this. “Hmm, true. Okay then, I’m gonna go check under more of the tables on that side—”

Before Junkyu could leave, Jihoon had grabbed him by his sleeve, “Okay Junkyu. Let’s not do that right now,” he chuckles nervously, noticing that people in the cafeteria are staring at them again since Junkyu sort of announced he was gonna look under people’s tables. I mean, that does sound suspicious and sort of creepy, no?

“Let’s just come back here once lunchtime is over for the staff. It won’t take long,” Jihoon said as he pulled Junkyu out of the cafeteria with him, and Yedam tagging along behind them.

 *

YGE Building (2nd Floor)

“For the 4th time, Chani-hyung, y/n isn’t in any of the hyungs’ studio rooms,” Doyoung argued towards Chani who kept urging them to check all their studio rooms.

“How will we know for sure? We haven’t checked those rooms,” Chani replied.

Yoshi shook his head as he watched the both of them argue for the past 15 minutes of their search.

As for now, they have checked all the big studio rooms, the resting areas along the hallways, but there was no sign of you.

“Damn, she’s still not picking up,” Chani muttered as he ends his attempt of calling you for the nth time now. Your phone wasn’t off, but it seems like you were avoiding to answer his calls.

Yoshi took out his phone and tried to dial your number as well.

Chani was right. He could hear your phone being on the line but you were purposely not picking up.

Yoshi sighs as he keeps the phone back into his pocket.

“Oh! There, we haven’t checked this row of studios,” Chani said as he points at a small hall leading to smaller studio rooms.

Doyoung shakes his head at his comment. “I told you hyung, we can’t barge into the hyungs’ studios simply. Besides, we’ve passed by this row already. Let’s just move on and check someplace else,”

“Okay but what if one of your hyungs are hiding y/n in their studio??”

“That’s…impossible?? We only knew y/n was missing when you told us, remember??”

Chani stopped in his tracks. “Oh, right.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes at him and turns to Yoshi. “Hyung, what do you think? Should we really check the others’ studios?”

“Huh? Oh uhh, I mean, you can check mine. I don’t mind.” Yoshi answered him.

“Nah, I don’t think Yoshi-hyung would hide y/n.” Chani said. “Oh, but can we go check Junkyu-hyung’s studio?”

Doyoung narrowed his eyes at Chani. “Why specifically Junkyu-hyung’s? Why not Asahi-hyung’s?”

“Aw come on. You guys know why,”

Yoshi and Doyoung looked at him blankly and shook their heads.

“Oh. You guys have no idea? That Junkyu and I are rivals…?”

“No…why are you both suddenly rivals? We’ve known you for almost two years now, hyung. I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned about being rivals with any of us,”

“Nothing. We just sort of became one recently,” Chani responded, deciding not to tell them about Junkyu and him both liking you, since he was pretty sure that the Treasure members would certainly support Junkyu to be with you rather than him.

“Okay, fine. If we’re not checking your members’ studios, then where should we head to now then?” Chani asked, a surrendering tone in his voice. He turns to Yoshi who hadn’t been saying much since the start of their team’s search. “Hyung? Any thoughts?”

“Me?” Yoshi points a finger at himself. Chani nods at him.

“I’d rather ask you then ask Doyoung here, he’d probably tell me to check the vents or something,” he added sarcastically.

“Hey, to be fair—y/n could be anywhere,” Doyoung retaliates, raising both his hands in defence.

“Okay, okay, kids.” Yoshi stepped in between the both of them, breaking the both of them from their glares at each other.

“Let’s just check the staircases, okay?” Yoshi said as he leads both the younger boys to follow him.

 *

YGE Building (3rd floor)

Junghwan walked ahead of his two other hyungs, his head turning left and right at every corner in case he might catch any glimpse of you.

“Junghwan, slow downnnn,” Jaehyuk whined as he trotted along, trying to keep up with the maknae.

Asahi on the other hand stayed on his own pace, way behind both those two.

Junghwan slowed down his steps and turned around to see his hyungs. “Sorry, hyung. I just—I’m worried about y/n-noona,”

“I know, I know. We get that.” Jaehyuk said as he finally arrives to where the maknae was standing. He turns around to see Asahi still walking, still making his way towards both him and Junghwan.

“Did Chani-hyung say anything about what happened though?” Junghwan asked, since his case was similar with Jeongwoo and Doyoung; in which he too, just got back from school and was texted to join in the search once he arrives at the building.

“I don’t think he got around to it. He was all panicky and Junkyu-hyung was already exiting the practice room before we got to hear further on what happened.”

“Oh,”

“Hm but Chani did mention about Bomin-hyung ‘doing it again’? Something along those lines,” Jaehyuk added, in which Junghwan responded by nodding his head.

“Why’d you guys stop? You both can go on first, you know,” Asahi’s voice suddenly popped up, him finally arriving to where the both of them were standing at.

Jaehyuk wrapped his arm around Asahi’s shoulder and snickered, “Aigoo, what are you talking about? Let’s just walk together,”

“Yeah but I don’t see the point in running around,”

“Okay, okay. We won’t run. We’ll walk. Maybe sprint a little,” Junghwan suggested.

Asahi pushes his own hair to the back with one of his hands. “Okay but I can’t promise you I’ll be fast enough for the sprint,”

“No problem hyung,” Junghwan smiled. He turned back to the front, wanting to proceed with his steps but then Jaehyuk called out to him again.

“Junghwan-aa, at least leave your bag in the practice room before we continue searching,”

“Oh? Oh right,” he responded, realising that he was still carrying his bagpack from school when he arrived here.

 *

YGE Building (4th Floor)

Haruto and Hyunsuk were in charge of roaming and searching the 4th floor, as directed by Jihoon.

Jihoon had only stationed them all up till the 4th floor because he was pretty convinced that you wouldn’t go somewhere that would have most of the YG staffs were working at. And seeing that the 5th and 6th floors were always somehow occupied by the staffs, Jihoon assured everyone into not searching the floors above.

Being the only two that were stationed at the top floor compared to the rest, the two didn’t feel the need to run around or hurry like the rest.

Haruto stretches his arms out in the air as he walked beside his Hyunsuk-hyung.

“Hmm, it’s almost deserted up here. I don’t think y/n would be up here,” Hyunsuk complained.

“True,” Haruto nods in agreement.

Hyunsuk’s head looked around as he walks leisurely, stopping by to peek over the small windows of any of the meeting rooms they passed by.

“Oh? That’s the last of the meeting rooms,” Haruto points out, noticing that they had arrived at the far end of the floor, where a large lounge area was located.

“Huh?” Hyunsuk said as he stares at the empty lounge area in disappointment. He was expecting to have found you somewhere on this floor though, considering it would have been the best place to be away from people since it’s this deserted.

Hyunsuk lets out a sigh and turns around.

“Hyung, where are you going?”

“Back to the elevators. Come on. Obviously y/n isn’t up here,”

Haruto followed closely by him. He peeks a glance at his hyung and notices his gloomy expression.

“You that sad she’s not up here?” the younger boy asked.

“Kinda. I was hoping to find her up here. I just…want to make sure she’s okay, that’s all,”

Haruto kept quiet as he walked beside his hyung. He decided to just follow Hyunsuk and not say anything else since Hyunsuk looked like he needed some time for himself.

They kept walking at a relaxed pace, passing by multiple meeting rooms, until they reached the first one that wasn’t far from the elevators.

Haruto stopped in front of the meeting room.

“Ruto? What’s wrong?”

“Isn’t this Y/n’s meeting room last week?” Haruto said as he points at the room with his finger.

Hyunsuk tilts his head, wondering how this boy knows which meeting room this was.

Haruto turned to look at his hyung and noticed his puzzled expression. “No, I didn’t know this too, but take a look at this window here,”

Hyunsuk moved to where Haruto and stared at the window showing the inside of the meeting room. “There’s no one in there, Haruto,”

Haruto shook his head and pulled his hyung to stand in his spot, moving him to stand at a certain angle too.

“There. Look inside. There’s a whiteboard way behind there. Read what it says,”

Hyunsuk squints his eyes to read the handwritten words on the whiteboard.

‘Y/n is the best tutor ever!’ ‘I like Y/n so much’ ‘Will Y/n go out with me?’

Hyunsuk snorts at the sentences, imagining how cringey it must have been for you to have a student that disturbs you like that. He wondered who your student was—and then his eyes read the smaller note written at the end of the board—

‘Chani please get back to your seat and complete your module.’

Hyunsuk covered his mouth with his hand, realising how Junkyu must’ve felt before this. He suddenly felt annoyed at how Chani was literally throwing himself at you, when you were his tutor. The least that kid could do was be professional, no? No wonder Junkyu got jealous, he thought.

“Oh? It’s Junghwan,” Haruto said, making Hyunsuk turn around to see the boy leaning against the rails that was facing the open space of the building.

Hyunsuk approached the rails as well, noticing Junghwan, Jaehyuk and Asahi heading towards a room directly opposite him but only a floor lower.

Wait—

The room they’re heading towards was their own dance practice room! Which means…that…from up here, y/n could have been watching over them. OR. Could it be? Could it be that Junkyu had been watching over you and Chani from down there before this?

 *

(2nd Floor Team)

Yoshi opened up the door to the staircases exit, leading the other two younger boys behind him.

“Huh? Something smells…good,” Doyoung said, his nose sniffing at the strong scent.

Chani too, agrees as he placed a hand on his own tummy, “Yeah, it’s making me super hungry now,”

Yoshi tried sniffing the air around them and sure enough, he could catch a whiff of something yummy…

He turns around to the rest, “Should we go down and check?”

“I mean, there’s no harm in checking out what’s down there, no?” Doyoung replies with a shrug.

“Yeah, and if there are people cooking or selling stuff down there, there’s no harm in buying some too,” Chani added, agreeing with Doyoung.

Yoshi smiles, finding it funny how the both of these kids were against each other’s ideas before this but suddenly they teamed up to defend something that involves food.

“And, and—we need energy to look for y/n, so—we should definitely get something to eat, right?” Doyoung said this time.

“Right!!!” Chani agreed excitedly as he pulled Doyoung’s hand to give it a high-five. Doyoung smiled a little, amused with Chani’s excitement.

“Alright, alright. Let’s just head down,” Yoshi said as he smiles while shaking his head at the two.

 *

(3rd Floor’s Team)

Junghwan tapped his foot, waiting for the ever-slow elevator to reach their floor.

“What’s taking it so long, though? We’ve never had any elevator traffic before this,” Junghwan said.

Jaehyuk pulled out his phone from his pocket to check the time. “Ahh, no wonder. Lunchtime is almost over. I’m pretty sure most of the staff are returning to their offices early too,”

“Whoa, we’ve been searching for almost an hour huh?”

“Yup,”

Junghwan stopped tapping his foot and started pacing to and fro in front of the elevator doors. Almost one hour and still no Y/n-noona?? Not even any news from his other hyungs too. Just where could you be?

“Hey,” Asahi’s voice said, making both Junghwan and Jaehyuk look at him.

“Yes, Asahi?” Jaehyuk asked, keeping his phone into his pants pocket.

Asahi lifts his finger and points at a door located not too far on their left.

Jaehyuk and Junghwan turns their attention towards where he was pointing at.

“You guys…wanna take the stairs instead?” He asked.

Junghwan exchanged looks with his Jaehyuk-hyung. The both of them shrug at each other.

“Sure, that doesn’t sound too bad of an idea,” Junghwan said.

Jaehyuk grinned and pats Asahi’s head, “Aigoo, our Asahi is the smartest as always! We could use the stairs instead of waiting for this snail-like elevator!”

Asahi smiles shyly at the praise. He shrugs and points at the staircase door again. “Let’s go,”

 *

(1st Floor’s Team)

“Quick, the staff are starting to leave the cafeteria! Now’s our chance!” Junkyu urged as he watches the staff shuffling out of the cafeteria doors.

Jihoon hurriedly grabbed him by his shirt before he could go scurrying off and causing a scene, “Okay, okay calm down now kiddo,”

“Let’s just give them a minute or two before we enter. At least let the entrance clear off first,” Yedam said as he glanced over the time on his phone.

 Meanwhile…

(Staircase Loft)

“I must be getting hungry or something. I keep smelling fried mandu and ramen,” Junghwan whined as he stepped down the stairs, leading Asahi and Jaehyuk who were both behind him.

‘Kruuungggg’

Junghwan stopped in his tracks, making Jaehyuk almost bumping into him from the sudden stop.

“Is there something wrong?” Jaehyuk asked him.

Junghwan shook his head and looked over Jaehyuk’s shoulder, where Asahi was almost hidden by the hyung’s taller figure.

“What?” Asahi asked.

“Are you…hungry, hyung?” Junghwan asked.

Asahi’s cheeks went pink with embarrassment as it turns out that the maknae had heard his tummy rumbling couple of seconds ago.

“Hey, you keep mentioning about food—it’s impossible not to be hungry,” Asahi said in defence.

“No, but seriously, I do smell ramen broth in this area. And it keeps getting stronger too,” Junghwan said as he continued stepping down the steps, making his way down again.

“You know what…I smell it too now,” Jaehyuk said.

“Huh, we must be really hungry, huh? What floor are we at now?”

Asahi peeked over the sign he passed by just now, “1st floor. We’re almost at the Ground Floor.”

“Okay, nice! Hyung, can we stop by the convenience store and grab some snacks when we reach the bottom floor later?” Junghwan asked Jaehyuk since he was the eldest among them three.

“Sure! There’s no problem in that!” Jaehyuk grinned as he ruffles the maknae’s hair, thinking that the kid was cute for asking him permission for such a small matter.

Junghwan smiled happily and continued leading them all down the stairs, his steps quickening at the thought of reaching downstairs to buy some food from the convenience store.

He was almost-running as he walks down the steps when once again, he stops—a loud gasp escaping his mouth.

This time, Jaehyuk really bumped into Junghwan’s back, making the boy almost falling down the stairs—in which Jaehyuk managed to grab a hold of him before the boy fell forward.

“Hey, hey, be careful Junghwan-aa! Omg what if you really fell??”

Jaehyuk wondered why the younger boy wasn’t responding to him, so he stepped forward in front of the boy to see what made him stop in shock. “Oh??”

“What…are you doing down here??” Junghwan asked, his voice echoing in the stairs loft.

 *

(1st Floor Team)

“I’ve checked the whole right side of the cafeteria and asked the kitchen staffs—no sign of y/n here,” Yedam reported to Jihoon who just got back from checking the rooftop balcony outside the cafeteria.

“Alright. Thanks for your hard work, Yedam,”

Jihoon turns to look at the left side of the cafeteria where Junkyu was running clumsily towards him, almost hitting over a chair that wasn’t tucked underneath one of the tables.

“Kim Junkyu be careful—”

“I’m here!” Junkyu announced even though no one asked for it.

Jihoon chuckled seeing his best friend’s serious expression despite his usual funny run seconds ago.

“Any sign of y/n?” Yedam asked the round-eyed hyung that just arrived.

Junkyu shook his head. “No, but someone dropped a dollar underneath one of the chairs,” He waved the dollar up in his friends’ faces.

“Oooh nice! You can keep that,” Jihoon gave him a thumbs up.

“Nah, I’m gonna find the lost and found box and put it there,”

“…but…we don’t have a lost and found box…” Yedam looked at him.

Junkyu lets out a loud gasp. “What? Then how would people find their lost items??”

“First of all—that’s why we have to be extra attentive and careful with our belongings,” Jihoon advised both the younger boys.

“Oh and not lose focus,” Yedam added.

Jihoon nods at this.

“Hyung…are you both forgetting?? We’re not here to discuss lost and found?? We’re looking for y/n,”

“Oh right! I almost forgot!” Junkyu said in shock.

“What about you, Jihoon-hyung? Did you find any traces of y/n outside?”

Jihoon shook his head to Yedam’s question. “Nope. Just empty untouched seats and the cool breeze outside.”

“Did you check under the tables??” Junkyu asked.

Both Jihoon and Yedam looked at him, questioning what he said.

“Hey, I told you guys—don’t skip checking underneath the tables,”

Jihoon shrugs at him. “Okay Junkyu. I’ll make sure to check every inch and corner next time,”

“Well, we’ve been looking for over an hour now. And I’m pretty sure the kids are hungry since they just got back from school.” Yedam paused to look at Jihoon before asking, “Let’s take a break?”

“Sure. We can resume searching once we’ve all eaten,” Jihoon agreed. “Text the group and tell them we’ll meet at the convenience store downstairs,”

“On it.” Yedam quickly pulled out his phone, his fingers tapping fast on the screen.

Jihoon and Yedam were about to leave the cafeteria when Jihoon realised that Junkyu wasn’t following them.

“Junkyu? You alright?” He asked the bright-eyed boy that kept looking in the direction of the cafeteria’s balcony door.

“Huh? Oh, uhh,” he stammered, surprised by Jihoon calling his name.

“You coming with us?”

“I…think I’ll join you guys in a bit. I want to go check outside for a while,”

Jihoon lets out a sigh. “Junkyu-aa. You need to eat first. Besides, I told you, nobody is out there,”

“But you didn’t check under the tables!”

“Fine. Go check then. Just meet us downstairs and get something to eat, okay?” Jihoon sighs again, giving up and not wanting to argue with his best friend.

 *

YGE Building (Cafeteria – Rooftop Balcony)

Junkyu opens the door leading outside slowly. The cool breeze from outside made his skin shiver for a couple seconds before he managed to adapt to the weather outside the building.

As he steps outside, his eyes roamed around the place where he first encountered you and Chani when you first started working on the workshop in this company.

Jihoon was right. The place was neat, tidy, untouched. It’s almost as if no one has ever stepped out here. Ah, but then who would? The weather has been chilly nowadays now that it’s late autumn and staying out here for too long could really do bad for one’s health.

Junkyu sighs. Maybe he should just go inside and meet the rest of the gang.

Junyku turned his heels, about to leave when suddenly he stopped.

Ah, right! He should at least check under the tables.

And so, Junkyu got on all fours and ducked his head to look underneath the row of tables on his right.

“Oh?” he muttered as he noticed something placed at the far end table. It really seemed like it was probably just his imagination, but he could feel that something was indeed underneath that table at the end—even if he can’t see clearly because of the chairs.

He got up on his feet and hurried to the spot—stopping, and slowly lowering his body to see what was underneath the table.

“Wait—” he said, when he noticed what was underneath the table. He extends his finger to check if it’s cold, his finger retracting as soon as he realised how cold it felt against his skin.

“W-wait, what should I do?” He muttered to himself, panic rising.

Junkyu shakes his head. He has to do something. Anything. And he has to act fast.

 *To be continued…*

[mhdiaries]

Wave 2 Cleo de Nile Diary

Ninth Month 15th Day

I didn’t sleep very well last night at all. I had this dream that I was about to lead the Fear Squad onto a stage where we were supposed to perform in front of an undead JV audience with millions of monsters watching all over the world. Only when I looked back Frankie had forgotten her arms, Draculaura had a tiny bat body with her normal sized head and Deuce had turned the rest of the team into stone. He kept saying, “It’s okay we’ll take them home and they can live in the garden with the other gnomes.” Then I realized I was wearing a lunch lady outfit and my pompoms had turned into gravy ladles. Fortunately, I woke up before we had to perform. I told father about the dream and he said, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Well, perhaps I should lessen that unease with more team practice.

Ninth Month 20th Day

Ghoulia yelled at me today and I must admit that it sort of hurt my feelings. She was sitting by herself in the creepateria drawing something in her notebook and I was going to ask her to sit with the rest of us. When I said her name though it startled her, and she slammed her notebook closed. Then she said, “Oh my ghoul!” “Can you please take your own notes and give me just a moment of privacy?” Then she turned her back on me and started drawing again. I think what hurt my feelings the most was not that she yelled at me but that she thought it wasn’t her company I wanted. She apologized later which I accepted, of course. I like having Ghoulia around because I absolutely trust her. I wish I could tell her that but it’s just not done. I am royalty after all… although perhaps I need to learn to make exceptions for my friends.

Tenth Month 7th Day

Spectra… leave it to her to make a mausoleum out of a molehill. I saw Deuce at the end of the school day, and he told me how everything started. He wrote a song for my upcoming birthday celebration and he wanted Operetta to put it to music and make a recording for me. Of course, there have been thousands of songs composed in my honor but this was different… anyway so Deuce goes into the band room with Operetta and starts reading her the song. Spectra floats through and misinterprets what’s going on, like she always does, and all of a sudden the whole school is in full scale gossip mode. Before I know it I’m being dumped by Deuce and getting back together with Clawd. She even had the audacity to ask me for a comment! I was so angry I shouted at her in Ancient Egyptian… probably a good thing since what I said was not exactly befitting royalty. I even cancelled Fear Squad practice because I totally couldn’t focus. I know that Clawd tracked Spectra down and tried to reason with her but that actually made things worse because if she thinks she’s being persecuted she gets even louder about what she thinks the “real” truth is. I appreciated Clawd trying to stand up for me though. He is an honorable wolf and under different circumstances maybe we’d still be together but undue speculation is something which commoners concern themselves, so I’ll stop now.

Tenth Month 12th Day

Why is it that Headless Headmistress Bloodgood wants us to dredge up the past? The last thing I want to do is write about how my family went from ruling the greatest dynasty ever to being betrayed and dethroned by people we trusted. I will not write about that because even after so many thousands of years it still hurts. What to write then? I have the ability to charm snakes – not with a stupid flute – but I can speak to them and they will do what I ask them to. It’s not something I do all the time – I mostly just use it when Hissette crawls inside a shoe I want to wear and won’t come out. No, I’ve never used it on Deuce although I have been tempted a time or two… just kidding. He likes me for who I am, why would I want to ruin that by manipulating him? I must also wear some of my wrappings at all times otherwise… well it’s not something I really wish to think about. Father also has quite a collection of amulets and charms that will work only for those in my family. Of course, they usually also come with a curse if you overuse them.

Tenth Month 16th Day

I’m beginning to think that allowing Purrsephone, Meowlody and Toralei to stay on the Fear Squad was a mistake. My sister brought them onto the team, she always was a cat person, when she was the Fear Squad captain. If they weren’t so athletic and graceful I would have kicked them off when I became captain, despite my sister’s insistence that I keep them. They definitely have their own agenda and even though on the outside they act like they are sold out for the team I do not trust them. I think if something “better” came along they would leave me up the Styx without a Charon. I even overheard them making fun of Ghoulia one day which they totally denied when I confronted them about it. I on the other hand have one agenda; making the Fear Squad the best it can be. If they get in the way of making that happen I hear Lagoona is looking for new members on the swim team.

Tenth Month 22nd Day

I got an email from Nefera today. Ugh… haven’t had that name haunting over my head since she graduated. Just writing it after so long sends chills down my spine and not in a good way either. She said that she was up for five magazine covers and a spooks model contract. She was also up on all the MH gossip and what was happening on the Fear Squad. Wonder who she’s getting all her information from… not. Of course she gave me a whole list of things I was doing wrong and what I needed to do to fix them. As the older sister she is entitled to correct me if I do anything “unbecoming to one of royal birth.” I am entitled to sit quietly and listen which I did, a lot. The Fear Squad is not about royalty though and as a past captain she is entitled to her opinion but I’m no longer entitled to sit quietly and listen. It’s my team now and even though we haven’t yet won the awards her teams did I believe that we can and will. I don’t know why she should care anyway since her email made it sound like she’s one step away from ruling the world. If I were in her place what’s happing at high school would be the last thing on my mind.

Tenth Month 25th Day

I ran into Clawdeen at the Maul today. We both came out of a dressing room wearing the same thing. I braced myself for some sarcastic comment but she just looked at me and started laughing. I don’t know why but I did as well and before long we were both sitting on the floor of the dressing room howling with laughter. We got kicked out of the store and ended up at the food corpse sharing a basket of fries. She told me that Clawd told her the real story behind our breakup and I told her that I was sorry for not being honest about the situation from the beginning. She apologized too – for not confronting me directly and getting the true tale. We hung out for a while and mocked some current fashion trends and then before we left Clawdeen stuck out her hand, “Frenemies?” she said. “Frenemies,” I said as I shook it. While it is doubtful that two “alphas” can ever be more than that, not have Clawdeen actively against me is a step in the right direction.

[watchmylegs]

There’s so much in my head. I hate waking up without Denver. It ruins my day. Especially when I feel so second hand.

I’m being shit on at work because my supervisors are the shittiest people. No one takes what I say seriously. And they keep trying to push my buttons to break me. And when I beat them at their own game, they just make up new rules that I have to fight. And no one listens when I

With my family No one listens or takes me seriously. My own mother causes me to freak out and have panic attacks with the things that she says to me. She’s so condescending. I’ll tell her something I did good and she’ll put on a fake smile and sarcastically praise me, then after she’s gotten her obligatory praise out of the way, she’ll start asking why I didn’t/won’t do rhings that I have no interest in. Like she constantly asks why I won’t start a business, or buy a house, and I’ve told her I have no interest in it. I hate businesses and I don’t want a house rn. But whenever I’m looking for a new place to live, I tell her “I’m just looking for a place to rent.“ and she’ll exclusively give me housing listings for mortgages. And when I tell her “no” she gets so disappointed and talks to me for hours about how much of a disappointment I am.

I’m my relationship, my girlfriend will keep things from me. Like they’ll have sex with someone and not tell me until days later. Or they’ll plan to go on a date with someone, and tell their other partner(s) but won’t tell me until the day of, and they’ll make it sound like this spontaneous thing, when they tell me. And i try and be cool with it, but when i find out you planned a date with someone new, days before, and pretty much only told me right before the date, and made it sound spontaneous…Then only after the date I find out you planned on having sex with that person, when you told me before that you didn’t really want sex, and all you wanted was to kiss and stuff…To tell me that you didn’t want to do it again, but do it again, two days later…and when you told me y’all were walking home you mentioned nothing about having sex when you got there, and the next morning we talked all day and he was right there beside you and had only just left about 15 minutes into us talking and you said nothing about him being there???? What did I do to make you want to hide things from me? What did I do to make you think you had to sneak around, hide information, leave me in the dark, like a fool? Am I a fool, or am I a monster that you’re too terrified to talk to? Because your other partners know. You tell them the things you think, the plans you make, your desires. And they are often desires that I specifically ask about, and it feels like I either get told the generic answers that don’t answer anything, or what i want to hear. Then I find out later that you had something different in mind, the whole time. And when I talk to other people about it, I look like an idiot because I feel like I know what you want, and they tell me something completely different and then I find out from you later on, that they’re correct.

Look, I know the things that I want are selfish and unfair. I’m sorry I can’t be polyamorous the right way. Im sorry that i get jealous. I’m sorry that I always stress you out by asking you about the future, and what you would want. I’m sorry that I’m a burden and need validation from you all the time. But I just want to know that I matter because you’ll tell me something, but I’ll hear the exact opposite from someone who you supposedly don’t love like you love me, and then I’ll find out later that they are correct, and I look like a fool because I’m going to bat for us, to find out you aren’t. “Denver wouldn’t keep that from me.” Turns out they did, though. Turns out I’m the ONLY one they kept it from. And will continue to keep it from. nd I have a hard time figuring it out if I’m just not important enough to tell, or if I’m a fucking monster that forces you to hide things from me. I can’t figure it out because I keep being told it’s neither it I keep getting put behind other people. And things that I want are given the sideline treatment like how other people have priory to see you on your birthday so that would interfere with my panning for your birthday??? How the FUCK can they come out of the fucking blue and just take your time as if I ain’t shit??? Or even people who have been there like Vanessa? When you were with her, she would want to see you, ok understandable, but you see her ALL THE TIME…like you could literally see her the days before and after your birthday. How do I get thrown aside like I do? What did I do to be in last place?

So at work, I’m small and get shit on, and nothing i do matters. With my family, my words don’t matter and nothing I do will make anyone happy, or proud of me. And in my relationship I’m in dead last.

How can I possibly feel anything BUT small?

[looselucy]

Epilogue

August 22nd – Harry’s POV Thirteen years of living with her, and I still wasn’t quite accustomed to how it felt to wake beside Alfie every morning.

Each day was met with this quiet elation, especially when I was lucky enough to wake up first, watch her peacefully slumbering. I would simply lay on my side and embrace those few moments of harmony, playing with her hair and not taking my eyes off her for even a second. It was exactly how I’d wanted to spend my Monday morning. It had been how I’d spent most of my mornings for thirteen long years. I’d only been back in Rosebury for three months before I asked her to move in with me. She had been adamant that we take things slowly, go about things as though it was a brand-new relationship, but I wanted to live with her so badly. She was round at mine most of the time anyway, so to me it had made sense to just ask. And though she said no the first time I asked, after a few more months of practically begging her, she moved into the home I had initially bought for my mother, and we made it our own just in time for Christmas. Thirteen years and I was still in awe of how it felt to wake in our bed, to know I had a life with her. I leaned into her, placing the softest kiss I could upon her lips in the hope of not waking her, but as I pulled away, I noticed there was a smile on her face, proving that I hadn’t quite managed it. She opened her eyes, the morning light unforgiving as she blinked in the new day. “Morning.” Her voice was sweet, fractured. “Morning, Fee. Happy Birthday.” “Oh shit. It’s my birthday?” She whined, turning her head into the pillow. “Yep.” I chuckled. “Another year older, still as beautiful as you were the very first time I saw you.” “What, in my neck-brace?” She looked at me again and laughed. “Well it’s not hard to be, is it?” “Fair point.” I snickered. “You still looked good though.” “You talk shit.” “M’serious!” She didn’t have to believe me because I knew it was true. Even with her neck-brace and her gym-wear on, nothing could have covered how beautiful she was. She caught my eye so quickly, and I knew she’d always thought that was because I’d spotted her injury, but I wasn’t sure that was entirely to blame. She went all shy, rushing to give me a peck on the lips before she went back into hiding, burying her pink cheeks into the duvet. “You should’ve stayed asleep. M’gunna make you breakfast in bed.” I said. “Hm.” She didn’t seem too impressed by the gesture. “What?” I queried as she revealed herself to me again. “Y’know what’s better than breakfast in bed?” She smiled. “Cooking breakfast with you.” That’s what I loved about her and our relationship. There was always this sense of teamwork, solidarity, cooperation, support. There was no more give than there was take on either end, we simply worked together as a unit and that was what made us happy. She knew that she’d get more pleasure from spending her time making breakfast with me than she would simply receiving the breakfast. There was more to gain that way. “Alright, let’s make breakfast together then.” “Kiss me first.” She demanded sweetly. “You needy thing.” I hushed, leaping to lay my body on top of hers and kiss her the way she deserved to be kissed; with every ounce of strength and love I had in me. It felt incredible to see her so bright, so happy. I could feel the way she smiled as I kissed her, something I didn’t think I could ever tire of. Every day with her felt exciting. We were settled with one another and our lives together, that much was clear, but there was an exhilaration there that I was confident would never fade. Maybe it was partly to do with the fact we’d lost each other at one point, like there was an appreciation there, an awareness of what life was like without the other, how bland and meaningless. Or maybe that’s just what happens when you’re with the right person. Maybe real love never loses its light. I kissed her until she was breathless, then swiftly I clambered off her, smirking and watching her whilst I grabbed our dressing gowns from the back of the door, throwing hers over her happy little face before putting mine on and fastening it tight. “C’mon then!” “Okay, I’m up, I’m up!” She cried, throwing herself out of bed and putting her gown on before she started chasing me out of the room. She caught up to me and grabbed at my hand, rearranging my fingers so that she could slot her own between them, my stomach still leaping due to the contact. Thirteen years, and my body still burst with giddy glee at the most minor of touches, everything from hand holding to how she would sometimes search for me in her sleep, her mind trapped in dreams and her physical form finding me, as though I was the embodiment of her subconscious fantasies. I loved the life I’d built with her. After she’d moved into our home, we spent some time debating over what we should do with her old apartment above the shop, and we’d eventually realised that our best option was to turn it into a gallery. I kept my most precious pieces there, the few I didn’t want to sell, and people would travel to Rosebury to see them, wander up into that small space and immerse themselves in what I regarded as my favourite pieces. It was a wonderful space. I still painted and Alfie still worked in her shop when she could, and other than those times where I’d need to travel for work, we spent most of our time together. Whenever we were apart it physically stung. I always rushed home to her. “You make the brews.” I grinned as we walked into the kitchen, lightly smacking her arse as she headed towards the kettle, laughing at how she squealed delightedly over my touch. In my younger years, especially my darkest years – at university and my first time living in New York, I hadn’t ever really thought about my future, how it might look, what I wanted. I had been so lifeless and lost that considering how things might be down the line had never been something that entered my mind. The only time I ever started thinking about the future was when I’d met Alfie. I should have known instantly that was because she would be the centre of my life from that point forward. From the very first fucking time we’d met, she had eclipsed my life then and every day since. I knew that wasn’t ever going to fade. I knelt down and opened the cupboard door ahead of me to get out all the necessary equipment. “So what do you fancy?” I asked her, continuing when she didn’t answer. “Summat little or Full English? I feel like we should go all out. With it being your birthday. Fee?” I turned to her, noticing her blank expression, the way she just stared forward like she’d seen a ghost, zoned out and empty. I dropped everything that had been in my hands, the pans and cutlery clattering on the floor as I practically jumped to her, standing in front of her in an attempt to grab her attention, snap her out of it. “Fee?” I tried again, but there was nothing. I really didn’t want to panic. I really didn’t want to expect the worst, but I could feel her fading. I could see a haze clouding her mind and taking everything away from her. I could fucking see it. The mug she had been holding fell from her loosening grip, shattered across the kitchen floor, and that’s when I couldn’t hold in my fear any longer. “Fuck, Fee, stay with me.” I grabbed at the side of her neck, pressed my forehead against hers, holding her as steadily as I could when she stumbled due to my strong hold, but she was still completely blank. “Please stay with me. Listen to my voice, okay? Listen to my voice, I don’t wanna lose you.” It wasn’t working. Slowly, she was fading away again, right before my eyes. Everything I loved about her, all our memories, all of who we were, just disappearing into nothing. My bottom lip began to tremble, fighting tears. “Alfie, do you remember who I am? Can you tell me my name?” She didn’t have an answer for me. She didn’t have anything other than the drop of her brows, which was almost an answer in itself. It told me she was confused, desperately searching for the correct, or any, response to my question, but she was unable to find one. It told me she didn’t know my name. It told me that her Alzheimer’s was flaring up once again.

2 years earlier… “No. No, that can’t be right.” Harry blurted from beside me, keeping desperate hold of my hand. “Please tell me that’s not right. She’s only thirty-six! That can’t be right!” “I’m really sorry.” My doctor replied simply. “I know you were both hoping for better news.” It was the worst-case scenario. It was the exact news we’d been dreading. It had started with really small things that Harry had noticed before even I had, how I would misplace things, struggle to find the right words. Then my memory really started to fail me, and even things like my vision took a hit, and that’s when Harry forced me to book an appointment with the doctor. I think he’d done that in the hope that we could rule Alzheimer’s out for good. But the opposite had happened. “Well… What can we do? How can we stop it?” Harry wailed as I sat in silence, attempting to let it all sink in. “I’m afraid there’s no known cure at this moment in time. But what I need you to do is have a good routine,” He addressed me. “Keep your mind active, and for now that’s all we can do.” “But-” “I’m sorry, Harry. Maybe further down the line if she’s having depressive episodes or struggling to sleep, there are things we can do and medications we can prescribe. But other than that, the best you can do is take it day by day and keep her happy.” I had no idea what to say. All I could do was hold his hand as tightly as I could, prove to him I was still there with him even though I couldn’t say a word. Maybe I’d been expecting the diagnosis in some ways. I knew it could be hereditary in some cases, so it was something I’d worried about sparsely since my mother was diagnosed, but then I’d always pushed it to the back of my mind, told myself that it wouldn’t happen to me. It was terrifying to have to acknowledge that it was already happening. “H-how long do we have?” Harry asked next. “It varies. You could have many, many happy years together. Just because she’s been diagnosed, doesn’t mean that it’s the end. Best-case scenario, this is the extent of it. It might not get any worse.” “And worst-case scenario?” Harry hadn’t needed to ask that. It had been a matter of months between my mother’s diagnosis and her moving into that home for assisted living. That’s all it had taken. Harry knew that already; I don’t know why he needed to hear it from my doctor. I guess it was disbelief more than anything. A refusal to face what we both knew. As scared as I was, I couldn’t imagine how that felt for him. If and when my mind began to truly disappear, I wouldn’t even know about it. Harry was the one who would have to watch it happen, to witness my demise, to lose me in the most painful way. He would be the one handling the most agonising repercussions of my illness and that made it even worse. I didn’t want him to go through that, ever. I couldn’t imagine how he felt then, having to acknowledge the possibility that in just a few months’ time, I might not even be able to recognise him. “Maybe… a few months…” My doctor managed to say, before Harry broke completely, dropping his head into his free hand and sobbing. And still, I sat in silence, hoping I had more time than my mother had, hoping that this illness wouldn’t be something that ruined Harry’s life as well as mine. I hoped he could be more selfish than my father had managed to be, but I knew he wouldn’t be. It would be history repeating itself all over again. I kept tight hold of his hand as he wept, still unable to find any words to share. I was terrified.

I opened the door to Robert, saw the way his smile dropped as soon as he’d noted the exhausted look on my face. He had planned to come around and spend the day with his daughter on her birthday, but he could tell instantly that he wouldn’t be so lucky. The sun was no longer shining, dark clouds hanging so low I thought they might be touching the tops of the trees that surrounded our home. It sometimes felt as though the sun couldn’t shine without her. “How is she?” He asked before he could even greet me. “Not so good.” I answered, stepping aside to welcome him. “What’s happened?” He asked as he entered, taking off his coat. “I dunno, I just lost her.” I tried to stay calm, to hold in my tears. “She was fine and then she just… She just disappeared.” “Where is she now?” “She’s upstairs sleeping.” “Okay. We’ll leave her to it. Hopefully she’ll wake up feeling more like herself. Let’s have a cuppa, eh?” I liked having Robert around. He understood my situation better than anyone else, though I’d gotten much luckier than he had with Rita. It had been over two years since Alfie was first diagnosed, and most days she was okay. It wasn’t often she completely vanished like she had that morning, whereas Robert had all but lost his wife in a matter of weeks. Rob was never condescending, he never compared my situation to his, and as agonising as it was losing my Fee that way, I could never imagine how he felt. To have lost his wife to that disease and now his daughter, I couldn’t even comprehend it. To have had to witness them both slowly fading away. He always remained resilient, positive, trying to make the most of the horrific hand he had been dealt. No one had my respect in the way he did. “You sit yourself down, son.” He demanded once we were in the kitchen, heading towards the kettle. “Talk to me.” “I… I don’t even know what to say.” I sighed. “It’s good to talk. Not so easy, but good.” He knew I wasn’t much good at talking. Alfie had always been the person I wanted to talk to, the person who I was most comfortable expressing my feelings to. When it came to everyone else, it didn’t come quite as naturally, even after all the therapy I’d had over the years. Fee had helped me to see that just because I’d stopped seeing my therapist in New York didn’t necessarily mean I should stop altogether. So, after moving back to Rosebury, I did some research and travelled fortnightly to our closest city to see a therapist, to continue learning and growing. I’d done that for a few years, until I truly felt in my heart that I was ready to stop. I knew how beneficial talking was, even though it was difficult. I couldn’t talk to her, not about this. I had to confide in someone else. Robert was the best person for that. “I’m angry.” I admitted, ignoring his instructions to sit down and instead washing up the items I’d used that morning, still making breakfast in the hope of bringing her around, but I’d failed. “Okay. Angry about what?” “So many things. I’m angry on your behalf. Aren’t you pissed off?” I asked him. “Uh… I try not to be. But… sometimes. Yes, sometimes it makes me angry.” “You don’t fucking deserve this. No one does, but least of all you.” I rambled. “And doesn’t it piss you off the way that people try to… own things that are fucking traumatic?” “What do you mean?” “When something bad happens, somewhere or to someone… people really latch onto it. They use it like it’s their own. Talk about how well they knew them. Or how they’d been somewhere where something bad happened, y’know? You wanna see the way Chloe talks about Alfie. They haven’t been close for years and yet Chloe talks about her like she’s lost her best friend and it makes me so fucking angry. Like someone else’s pain is her opportunity to gain some sympathy, it’s fucking twisted.” “Mm.” “People try to own trauma for their own gain, and I keep seeing that happen with Alfie and it makes me so, so angry.” Tears began to fall, my voice began to quiver. “Bu-but when you encounter real fucking trauma, that’s when you know you don’t want anything to do with it. You want to stay as far away from it as fucking possible, you don’t wanna fucking claim it and draw yourself towards it. Why the fuck do people do that? I don’t fucking want this.” I lay my hand on my chest, crying heavily. “If people want that pain so much, take all of it. I don’t want an inch of this, it’s fucking awful.” “I know it is. I know.” I loved Alfie with everything I was, everything I ever could be. She meant everything to me, and I would stick by her through anything, but it didn’t make our situation any easier. It made it harder, if anything. Some days I’d look in her eyes and see her fucking soul, but when her Alzheimer’s sparked that way I would see nothing at all, no sign of recognition, no love, no evidence of the woman I had been with and built a life with for so many years. The agony of looking into her eyes and seeing nothing was beyond any pain I had ever experienced in my life. That sort of loss is something I had never been able to imagine and would never be able to describe. And I was so frustrated by the way people had started using her as a pawn for attention and cruel compassion. Only a few weeks earlier, myself and Libby had been having a quiet drink in The Tin Mouse when we’d overheard someone talking about her, some lad who barely knew her, talking about how they’d been friends, how sad it was, talking about her mum like he knew anything. I was glad Libby was there to calm me down, tell me not to listen, drag me away from him. She’d had to lure me away from a fight that evening, my first in years. I was so close to snapping. No one can speak openly about things like that if they really hurt them. You don’t just nip down the pub and express your darkest sufferings, talk to whoever’s around you about it like it’s nothing. If they really wanted that pain, they could take all of it as far as I was concerned. “Pay them no mind.” Robert simply said. “You’ve got enough to worry about here without concerning yourself with how everyone else is dealing with it. Just focus on how you’re dealing with it.” “I don’t think I’m dealing with it well. I know I’m lucky. I know it could be worse, but like… even now, I miss her. I miss her so fucking much. I miss her presence. I miss her knowing my name. Because it’s not just her memories that go, it’s all of her.” “I know it is, Harry. I know.” “How did you do this?” I wept. “How could I not?” He simply stammered through a heavy breath, and it made perfect sense. It wasn’t necessarily this feeling of responsibility, like I had to do it because I loved her and I’d told her I would spend my life with her. It wasn’t that. It wasn’t that I felt obligated to stand by her, or that Robert had felt obligated to stay with Rita even when she reached the stage where she really didn’t know who he was. It was because I loved her. That was why there was no other option than to just do it, to face it head on, to be there with her and for her through everything. She was the person I wanted to spend my life with, whether or not that was a life she recognised or remembered, it was the life I wanted. She was the person I wanted. I had to stand by her through everything. How could I not?

12 years earlier… We swayed one way as the room swayed the other, my arms hung around Harry’s neck as he lay his hands on my waist and we stepped side to side slowly. “Look at ‘em.” He grinned, nodding towards the newlyweds. I looked to my left, the way Libby lay her head on Louis’ shoulder, a new place she could call home for the rest of her life. He just held her, the two of them dancing close-by, central to all the couples who were on their feet slowly dancing to Across the Universe. “M’so happy for them.” I sighed softly, laying my head on his chest. “Mm. I know. Me too.” He kissed the top of my head, the two of us dancing in silence for a few moments before he spoke again. “Do you want this?” “Want what?” I lifted my head to look at him. “Y’know. Marriage.” He looked down. “All this stuff. Is it something you want?” I took a few minutes as I considered his question, looking around the room and taking in the sights, thinking over what we’d witnessed that day and what it all meant. As wonderful as it was, I knew my answer hadn’t shifted. As wonderful as Harry was, I knew I didn’t feel any differently about marriage than I always had. “Not really.” I answered honestly. “It’s a lot of fuss, innit?” “Yeah,” He sniggered. “If you look at it that way.” “I dunno. I guess it’s just another one of those things. I don’t have that desire in me. I don’t really want any of this. I mean… I want you.” I told him, noticed how he blushed like he wasn’t already well aware, gnawing his lip shyly. “But I don’t really need any of this additional stuff to prove anything, or confirm anything. M’happy just being with you, y’know?” “Mm.” “Unless… Unless you want this stuff?” “I don’t.” He grinned. “You don’t?” “No. If it was something you needed, then I’d have proposed in a heartbeat. Anything to be with you, anything to make you happy, you know that.” Now I was the one blushing. “But I feel the same way. I get why it means something to people, and I love that. But… maybe m’just one of those cynical people who thinks it’s just paperwork.” “I know exactly what you mean.” “I don’t need that to promise I’ll be with you through everything. I’ll just promise it. Out loud. I’ll… scribble on a piece of paper. I’ll paint it on every canvas I own.” He was making me laugh, in this weird way of endearment, somehow. “Because it’s definitely not through lack of commitment. That’s not why. I’m committed to you more than you’ll ever know. But… I don’t need this.” “I don’t either.” I loved that we felt the same way about it. It was like how we’d always felt the same way about not having children; it just made our lives so much easier. It’s topics and things like that which can ultimately tear couples apart, bring an end to good relationships. When there are fundamental differences in what each person wants and desires at their very core, it can break love down. We didn’t have to worry about that. We wanted the same things, felt the same way. Sometimes it truly felt like we were perfect for one another. “I promise I’m yours.” I whispered up to him. “And I promise I’m yours.” He whispered back. “Forever. Through everything.” It was so extraordinarily wonderful to hear that and not immediately question him or have any doubts. Since Harry had come back into my life, he had proven to me in every single way he could that the promise he’d made then was one he intended to keep. He had instilled this confidence in me that I might have thought was impossible during the earliest months of our relationship, taken away those doubts I’d had. I didn’t think he was going to disappear, I didn’t ever feel like I was trying to work him out or figure out who we were as a couple, I didn’t feel distant from him in any way. I had always thought the world of him, and he knew that, but there had been parts of our relationship that I really struggled with, things I wanted to change so we could be better and work better as a pairing. Those changes had been made. “I love you.” He told me quietly as we continued to dance. I closed my eyes, lay my head back on his chest, listened to the beat of his heart. I didn’t need any more of a promise from him than that.

By the early afternoon when Libby, Louis and Niall arrived, the rain outside was relentlessly unforgiving, meaning they’d driven the short distance to get to ours, but even the walk from the car to my front door seemed to have left them all drenched. “Uncle Harry!” Ronan squealed as he leapt up into my arms. Niall and Sean had adopted him only a few days after he was born, meaning the little lad had been brightening up my life for over three years. Me and Alfie had never wanted our own kids, but it was amazing to have Ronan there, a little one we could look after and love without that full, lifelong commitment that neither of us had ever desired. But there is something incredibly warming about children. Having him leap from Niall’s arms right into mine, to wrap himself around me like that, it was the first thing to make me smile for hours. We loved being Uncle Harry and Auntie Alfie. The three of them let themselves inside and took off their coats as I continued cuddling him, feeling comforted. “Y’alright?” I eventually asked them all. “Yeah, good.” Louis answered. “Where’s the birthday girl?” “Um… She… She’s not doing so good today.” “Shit.” He knew what I meant straight away, and unsurprisingly, his first concern was me. “You alright?” “Yeah, m’fine. Rob’s here, so… y’know. That helps.” “Is your mum coming?” “She’s here too. She’s upstairs trying to talk to Fee.” She’d arrived around an hour earlier and then gone upstairs to try and get some sense out of Fee about fifteen minutes before they’d arrived, but due to the fact I hadn’t heard a peep from either of them since, it didn’t seem like she was having much luck. My mum definitely saw Alfie as her own, the daughter she’d never had. They had this bond that I couldn’t describe, like they’d known each other their whole lives, like they connected on a level I couldn’t even see. I knew that had only deepened when Jack died. It had happened around four years earlier, when she’d received a call saying he was in a hospital not far from her. Despite everything, she called me and we had both rushed to him, forgetting all the suffering he’d put us through, all the bad things that had happened, the grief he’d caused. He was still her son and my brother. That was one of the few times I could clearly see just how strong love and forgiveness could be. It was the first time since I was a child that my family had felt strong in any way shape or form. We felt like a unit again, like people who wanted to help and heal one another rather than abandon and tear each other apart. But we’d lost him. He was only thirty-seven when he’d died. Jack’s lifestyle hadn’t changed much since we’d both seen him last, when he stole from me and my mum without either of us knowing, targeting the two of us in just matter of days. He’d still been in and out of prison, he was still on the dark path he’d chosen for himself and refused to step off, but that path had lead him into the belly of the beast. He’d crashed his car when fleeing a home he’d broken into, and though he’d put up a decent fight, two days after the accident his body had surrendered, and he’d passed away with me and our mum by his side. It had been so much more trying and upsetting than I could have ever anticipated. He’d brought me nothing but anguish for so many years, and he’d done nothing to change or better himself since before he’d even reached his teenage years, but we both still felt this inordinate guilt, similar to how we had when my dad Billy had taken his life. There was this unpleasant and unsettling sensation, that thought of what might have been different if we had done more for him, supported him more, helped him to help himself instead of wanting to run from him for our own sake. I wasn’t sure we would have ever been able to get through to him, but maybe there was more we could have done, but it was too late to ever know. Thankfully, this loss brought me and my mum closer together, unlike when my dad had died. I’d half expected us to shatter again, but we’d thankfully learnt from our mistakes and allowed the harm to bring us this new bond. We knew we couldn’t lose each other again, not after everything. We were the only part of our family left and we needed to cherish that in every way we could. “You lot get settled,” I sighed, handing Ronan back to his dad. “I’ll go check on them.” “Do you need anything?” Libby offered. “Nah, m’good.” “Tell her I’m here.” Niall forced a grin. “She’s bound to remember her favourite person.” Niall had always been soft, covering his insecurities and fears with humour, but he seemed to struggle that little bit more when it came to what was happening to Alfie. Even then, he’d tried to make some sort of joke, but I could tell how much it was actually breaking his heart. He didn’t cope well when she wasn’t herself. None of us did. They went through into the living room to join Robert as I headed upstairs to see how my mum was getting on, rushing up to our room to find Alfie sat on the edge of the bed and my mother crouched at her side. “Hey, look who it is!” My mum was overly cheery, trying to bring some life out of Fee, who sat despondently staring into the distance. “You know who this is, don’t ya?” I got down on one knee next to my mother, right in front of Alfie, catching her eye and her attention, smiling as brightly as I could and taking her hand in mine, acting like nothing was wrong even when I saw the way she looked over my face, trying so desperately to place a name to my face, trying to recall the millions of memories we shared, but it was as though they were no longer there. If death was the belly of the beast, that disease was the mouth, the enlarged jaw, the sharpened teeth, the thirst for blood and the saliva it drew. Losing her was like being devoured alive. I gave her the most encouraging smile I could, squeezing her hand. “C’mon, boss.” I tried. “I’m missing you. You wanna come downstairs? Everyone’s here to see you.” I wasn’t getting through to her. I could see it in her eyes that what I was saying did not make sense. She withdrew her hand so that it was no longer mine to hold, looking down to her lap. “M'sorry, I have such a bad headache.” She trembled. “Can I be on my own for a while?” “Fee-Fee-” I started to shake. “I’m sorry, I’m not feeling myself.” “I know.” I gripped her hand again, becoming frantic, even though I knew that wouldn’t help. “I know you’re not, b-but I think if you just came downstairs and saw everyone, you’d-” “When’s my mum getting here? I shouldn’t be here without my mum.” Tears poured over my eyes as rain crashed unremittingly against the windows in our bedroom, my heart breaking all over again. I just wanted her to go downstairs and talk to the people who had been in her life since she was a child, because maybe that would make sense to her. Maybe that would bring her back to me. I always thought back to the theoretical bookcases she had, what I’d learnt about Alzheimer’s when she’d first told me about her mum. It helped me to make sense of her mood changes, the things she said and the way she acted when she was going through a particularly bad spell. When things got bad, I would picture her bookcases in my mind. The bookcase on the left; old, feeble, holding her memories. And then the bookcase on the right; strong, secure, in charge of her emotions. Every time she vanished that way, I took it as though an earthquake had hit, rocked each case, and the books on the left had fallen from their place, leaving her with only the option to pick books from the lower shelves. She seemed to be talking as though she was young, like her mum was still alive and should have been there with her holding her hand through this. She was lost and confused and sad and it killed me to see her like that. That was why I wanted her to go downstairs, talk to her friends, talk to the people who had been in her life since she was so small. Her and Louis had known each other since they were babies, and if her mind could only pluck at her earliest memories, I knew that he would be there. And if he was there that might calm her and that might keep her happy, which was the most important thing. Nothing mattered more than keeping the bookcase that shelved her emotions filled with books of joy and content, even if she didn’t remember where they’d come from. I wanted to bring her back to me. I just wanted my Fee-Fee back.

13 years earlier… During his first few weeks back in Rosebury, Harry hadn’t really made himself known. We’d stayed sort of cooped up in his house, figuring things out, falling in love all over again, catching up with one another and deciding how our relationship should look moving forward. But over the past week or so, he’d started to reintroduce himself to our little village, make himself at home again. He’d been to the pub with everyone, told them he was planning on moving back, that he even wanted to start running his classes again. That night, the two of us were in The Tin Mouse, sat side by side, waiting for everyone to arrive so we could break what I felt was some of the most important news Harry had to share with everyone. “Lincoln’s gunna hate me.” He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “He won’t. He’s not like that.” “Y’know… me and Lin proper got on when I first moved here. Proper got on. But then as soon as I clocked on that he liked you, I got all weird about him.” He turned his head and looked at me. “I dunno why I’m like that. I don’t wanna be like that. And I don’t want him to hate me.” “He kinda already knows, y’know. About us, I mean.” “He does?” “Yeah. He guessed before you came around to mine that morning, when he was there.” “When I told you I loved you?” “Mm.” I nodded. “And Louis knows. I mean, they don’t have a clue we’re back together now, but they know we were together when you lived here before.” “What about Niall and Libby?” “Clueless. I mean, both of them had little inklings back in the day, but nothing more than that.” “They had inklings too? Shit.” He huffed, picking up his pint and taking a sip. “We really mustn’t have been as sly as I thought we were. Like, I thought we hid it well.” “M’not too sure.” I chuckled. “Maybe it was too big to hide.” He acknowledged profoundly, then snapped. “Also, I go proper doe-eyed when I look at you, which is probably very noticeable.” “You should try and get that under control.” I smirked. “Trust me, I’ve tired.” He grinned. “It’s impossible.” I leaned towards him and kissed his cheek, which spurred him to turn his head and grab my jaw so he could pull me back to him and leave a luscious kiss upon my lips, lingering his love upon my pout. When he pulled away, he looked at me with those exact eyes he’d just been speaking about. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about us. I couldn’t wait for everyone to know and to finally be in a relationship that wasn’t happening behind closed doors. What I had with Harry was the most magnificent thing I had ever experienced in my life, I was bursting to talk about it with the enthusiasm and joy it deserved. I didn’t want to admit it to Harry, but I was pretty apprehensive about Lin finding out too. I imagined he already had an idea since Harry was moving back, and the same could be said for Louis, but everything that had happened with Lincoln was still really fresh. He didn’t have a bad or bitter bone in his body, I knew that, but it was bound to be strange for him. He was the first to arrive, stepping into the pub only a few moments after mine and Harry’s kiss, but I was glad he’d caught us in a less compromising position. I’d asked him to get there a little earlier than the rest, just so we could tell him without the others being there. As soon as he saw us, his face dropped somewhat, before the door had even closed behind him. He knew. I shot an encouraging smile his way, noticing the way he took a deep breath in as though to prepare himself, before he came over to our table, sat himself down across from us. From the corner of my eye, I saw Harry drop his gaze, looking down to the table rather than at him. It seemed like this was in my hands. “You okay?” I asked Lin. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He sighed. “How’re you two?” “Yeah, we’re fine. We just kinda wanted to… chat to you.” “Yeah. I think I know what it’s about.” He sniggered dejectedly. Harry still couldn’t look at him. I should’ve known he’d be like that, all defensive and jealous and ridiculous until it got down to actually facing Lin, acknowledging his feelings. Harry wasn’t a bad person; in fact, he was incredibly caring when it came to others, incredibly conscious of other people’s feelings. He was good at picking up on things and going out of his way to make others feel better. It was why he’d always been so good with those self-defence classes. Beyond the jealousy, when it actually came down to Lin and how he was feeling, when it actually came to sitting down in front of him that way, Harry’s anger and arrogance was nowhere to be found. “M'sorry, I hate doing this, it feels so weird, but after everything’s that’s gone on recently, I feel like I should.” I got straight to it. “Me and Harry have been talking a lot since he came back and figuring stuff out and… we really wanna try and… make this work.” “As in… you’re getting back together?” “Yeah. We… We have a lot of history, and we-” “Yeah, I uh… I saw that coming.” He smiled. “As soon as Harry said he was moving back, I figured. It’s fine.” “I just-” “Alf, as long as you’re happy, that’s the main thing.” He interrupted, but I actually felt the main thing he wanted right then was to avoid the weird sympathy we were giving him. I imagined that didn’t make it any easier for him. “Look… I-I knew it was a risk when I asked you out and I wasn’t expecting it to work out, genuinely. It would have been a bloody miracle, to be honest. I just wanted to try, and we did, and it wasn’t meant to be. I’m not mad that you’ve found the person that’s gunna make you happy, Alf. I’ll find that too. It’s all good, I promise, you really don’t need to explain yourself to me or worry about me. As long as you’re both happy.” Harry lifted his head, scoped Lin out for a few seconds before he turned his head to me. “Are you seriously picking me over him?” He was somewhere between joking and being completely serious, forcing a laugh out of both me and Lin. “I feel like that’s a poor decision on your part. He’s a better man than I am.” They finally looked at each other, sharing a smile, this strange acknowledgement that I couldn’t quite understand, but it seemed like a positive thing. “I’m sorry.” Harry said to him. “Don’t be. It’s all good.” “And if I was ever off with you or anything-” “You were.” “Yeah, I know, shit.” Harry shook his head, smiled awkwardly. “I’m sorry. It’s just because… I just love her so much.” “Then don’t fucking leave again, alright?” Lin grinned, reaching his hand across the table. “You won’t find a better girl if you do.” “M'not going anywhere.” Harry reached back, the two of them shaking hands over the table. I imagined Lin wanted to forget the whole thing, frankly. I really hated the thought of him regretting asking me, but looking at how it had all unfolded, I couldn’t blame him for just wanting to forget that he’d ever proposed a date in the first place. As long as he was alright, that was all I could hope for, and he seemed to be. It seemed more than anything, he just wanted to move on. He and Harry got chatting, returning to normal, the atmosphere much nicer than I’d been anticipating, but I really shouldn’t have been surprised. They were both just incredible men, I was lucky to have them both in my life. Not too long later, the rest of them arrived. Louis and Libby hand in hand, with Niall close behind, shooting a wink to Sean behind the bar before they came over to the table. “Right, what does everyone want to drink?” Niall offered. “I’m going to the bar to flirt with Sean, so I might be a while getting the drinks back to you, but still. It’s the thought that counts.” “Mate, it’s barely the thought that counts when your thought is that you want to go to the bar to flirt with Sean. You don’t wanna get us drinks!” Lin laughed. “You make a fair point, Crosby. I barely wanna sit with you lot, to be honest. I just wanna sit at the bar and make eyes at him all night.” “Okay, before you do that then,” I yelped, wanting to keep him with us. “Can you sit down for a second? I’ve got some news.” Louis’ eyes lit up in a second. I hadn’t told him exactly what had been going on, but the last time I’d spoken to him about it properly I’d said I was going to go and talk to Harry, and since then I’d been very coy about the whole thing. He’d have been a damn fool not to figure it out, but he’d given me my space to let me announce it in my own time, and I could tell from the giddy look on his face that he knew that time had finally come. Libby didn’t look so excited. “What’s happened? Are you okay? Do I need to kill someone? Who hurt you?” “Lib, it’s fine, it’s nothing like that. Just… sit down a second, I’ll tell you.” They all pulled up a stool and sat themselves down, Harry tensing beside me. These were incredibly unfamiliar waters for him to be treading. Harry had lived his life in lonesome shadows he had created, hiding in the darkest corners he could as a way of protecting himself. He wasn’t used to being open about any section of his life, especially a part as intricate and evocative as love. Though it was clear the therapy he’d experienced since he’d left had helped him, there was a difference between him being open and honest with me, someone he’d been so close to and shared with before, compared to sharing such delicate truths with everyone else. This was new to him, it was bound to be scary. I reached for his hand beneath the table, squeezed it tightly. Eager little faces awaited the news I was about to break. “Okay… so… as you all know, Harry’s moving back.” “Woo!” Niall cheered. “Cheers, Niall.” Harry grinned and winked at him, laughing a little. “And uh…” I tried to continue. “I guess I’m kinda extra happy about it, because… Well, before he left, me and Harry-” “WERE YOU FUCKING?” Niall screamed, interrupting the entire pub as he did, cringing and then turning to address our fellow pub-goers. “Apologies! Excuse my French.” I had to drop my head onto the table, everyone else trying to hold in their laughter in an effort to show a little respect to the old blokes who were sat drinking and genuinely unhappy with Niall’s language. “For fuck sake, Niall!” Libby scalded. “Keep your voice down! If you wanna yell shit like that, we’ve gotta spend more time at The Royal Rose.” “I’m right though, aren’t I?” He pretty much ignored her, eyes darting between me and Harry. “Tell me I’m right?” “We were together.” Harry worded it much more eloquently. “SHUT THE FUCK UP, NO YOU WEREN’T!” Libby yelled. “Oh my god, Libby, shh!” I cried once I’d whipped my head back up. “Who needs to go down The Royal fucking Rose now, eh?” Niall huffed. “Sorry, everyone! Sorry!” Libby bellowed around the room before she turned back to us and whispered harshly. “Were you really?” “Yeah.” Harry smiled. “Were you in love?” “We were. We are.” “Alfie! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” “Sorry, we didn’t tell anyone.” I shrugged. “But that’s why we’ve kinda gathered you all, because… well, now Harry’s moving back… we’re getting back together. I mean… we’re already back together.” “Knew it.” Louis smirked. “What do you mean you knew it?” Libby turned to her fiancé and gave him death eyes. “Did you know about them being together last year?” “Sorta.” “Wow, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. The wedding’s off.” “What? I’m good at keeping secrets! If anything, that should make you want to marry me more! I’m very trustworthy.” The two of them started sweetly squabbling between themselves, Harry and I moving our attention across to Niall who still had questions. “So, wait… you two are serious about each other? It wasn’t just sex?” “Nah. It was never just sex.” Harry said, to my surprise. I didn’t know why he’d said that, but I wondered if he might have done it as a way for compensating for the things he’d said to me when I’d told him I loved him the first time and he’d told me he only saw us and our relationship as sexual, nothing more than that. But knowing what I knew then, being aware of how he actually felt about me, maybe he really hadn’t ever seen it as just sex. Maybe I hadn’t either. Maybe we’d always meant more to one another than we’d known. “That’s wild. Why’d do you leave? Did you break up?” “Uh… Sort of, I guess.” Harry choked. “But that’s not gunna happen again. This is it now. It’s me and her.” Niall was beyond excited, happily asking Harry every question he could think of, even the ones he must have known Harry would find awkward to answer, but he answered regardless. It was yet another way I could see Harry stepping up for me, doing things and removing himself from his comfort-zone because he knew it would make me happy. It was nice that I knew it would make him happy too, he merely needed to get used to the change. We both did. Being in an open relationship with Harry was going to be different, but I’d never been so excited about anything. Our future seemed, so, so bright.

“Harry!” Louis’ voice was loud, sending shockwaves through my body as I bolted upright, cursing, my heartbeat racing. I looked around, agitated and anxious, noticing we were in the reading room, noises coming from the distance proving I still had a good number of visitors. Thunder and lightning crashed outdoors, light splitting the dark skies whilst the thunder bellowed its dominance as I came back around, a little woozy and lost for a few moments but gradually, things came back to me. I could recall I’d gone in there to give myself a bit of space after me and my mum had tried to speak to Alfie, but I must have nodded off at some point. “You alright?” He was concerned. “Uh…” I was still half asleep, my hands resting firm on the chaise beneath me as I gathered myself, reintroduced myself to the literal world. “Yeah, sorry, m’fine. Sorry.” “Don’t apologise, mate. I can’t imagine how you feel.” I budged up and tucked my knees closer to my chest so he could sit himself down at the end of the chair. Louis had become for me what he was for Alfie. Since I’d moved back to Rosebury, we’d gotten much closer, and he possessed this aura that made him incredibly approachable. Sharing felt easy when it came to Louis. Alfie had always used him as the person she went to when she needed to talk about anything, and I felt a similar way. He could sense that I needed to talk. “Sorry our little ones aren’t here.” He started gently. “They’re getting harder to control now they’re older. They’d rather spend the day with their grandparents on the farm than with us.” “It’s alright. Kinda feel like… the less people the better.” “Mm, I bet.” It wasn’t long after their wedding that Libby told us she was pregnant with Ben, their eldest. A couple of years later, they’d welcomed Amelia to the world, two more kids who referred to me and Alfie and their auntie and uncle. They were good kids, but how could they not be with their parents? “You’re handling all of this really well, Harry.” Louis was kind, encouraging. “Better than most people would.” “The thing is, I’m lucky right now.” I rubbed over my eyes. “With Fee… this isn’t happening often. This is the second time this month, and that’s the most it’s been since she was diagnosed, y’know? She struggles with the little things, and small lapses, but this sort of thing is rare, and I’m so, so lucky that that’s the case two years after her being diagnosed. It could’a been so much worse.” “It could, you’re right.” “But when this does happen… I can literally feel myself falling apart. It fucking kills me. To know she looks at me and… she see’s nothing. It’s agonising. It’s a physical pain, I can’t describe it.” “She doesn’t see nothing, Harry.” He tried to comfort me. “She might be a little lost, but you’re there, deep down. She could never look at you and see nothing, I know how much you mean to her.” I hoped he was right. I knew I’d comforted Alfie with similar words when it came to her mother, and I’d meant it, but it was so much more difficult to see that as the truth when I was so directly involved, when it was me losing the love of my life. “It’s probably gunna get worse. How am I gunna cope when it gets worse?” I asked him rhetorically. “We’ll be here for ya, the whole time. Whatever you need from us, whenever you need it.” I knew he was telling the truth, and it was incredibly comforting. “And maybe your luck won’t run out. Maybe this is how it’s gunna be for her, maybe she won’t deteriorate more than this. Don’t write her off yet, you know how strong that girl is. She’s got a hell of a lot of fight in her.” I’d barely realised I was smiling over his words, nodding. He was so right. She had so much strength in her, I’d known that since the second we’d met. She’d never really been able to see it herself, but she had such a desirable sustainability, this power and fire in her gut that had seen her through some really difficult times. I loved every part of her, every inch of her body and every piece of her soul, but that strength was something really special, something that had always drawn me to her in ways I couldn’t fight. “You gave her some really incredible years, Harry.” “But I want to give her an incredible life.” I explained exhaustedly. Her Alzheimer’s had made it seem as though that was no longer an option, that any life I could provide or that we could build would be lost, either in the depths of her mind or quite literally, if she maybe had to go into care as her mother had. I’d struggled to understand Robert when I was younger, when I saw what he did for his wife, the way he upped and moved to be with her, altered his whole life to be at her side, but now it was happening to Alfie I completely understood it. It no longer seemed preposterous, it no longer seemed like something completely heroic that he’d done. It was the only option. If I had to, I’d do the same thing, I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. But I wanted to keep her at home for as long as I physically could. I wanted to give her a life full of love, a life worth fighting for. “You still can. You will.” Louis smiled. “Do not waste these years worrying about losing her completely when she’s still here. I know it’s easy for me to say that, and with how she is today… it’s fucking awful. She’s my oldest mate, it hurts me too. But right now, like you said, this is rare. So fucking cherish her whilst she’s here. Do whatever you can to keep her here. Think of ways to bring her back. If anyone can do it, you can. I have every fucking faith. Don’t start to let go when she’s still holding on.” He commanded. I nodded, absorbing his words in every way I could. There was something incredibly special about the love between me and Alfie. When I’d fallen in love with her all those years earlier, she’d made me realise that love could truly do some remarkable things. I had to hope that love could keep her with me for many years to come.

9 years earlier… I wrapped the towel tighter around my frame as I anxiously approached the red curtains, nervously hiding from Harry who sat in room ahead of me, canvas and colours all set up in preparation, sun setting between the trees, exactly how he’d wanted it to be, the light breaking into the room and projecting the most fascinating shadows. I peered through the small gap in the curtains, not moving any closer. “C’mon, Fee-Fee. I’ve seen you naked a million times.” He said without turning to look at me. “This is totally different!” I cried. “It’s not!” “It is! This is nude! Which I feel like is not the same as naked.” “It’s exactly the same.” He cackled. “It’s different! It’s a different sort of experience entirely. No one’s ever painted me nude before.” “Good, I should fucking hope not.” He laughed. “This is my privilege.” “I feel really nervous.” “How can I make it better?” “You can’t, it’s not you, Harry! You make me feel very comfortable in my own body, there’s nothing more you can do.” I explained truthfully, standing in silence for a few seconds before I spoke up once again. “What kinda painting is it gunna be? Is it gunna be abstract, or are you gunna be able to tell it’s me?” Harry had been painting everyone of recent, actually asking them to sit for him. He’d already painted me plenty of times since we’d gotten back together, but he’d branched out, painting Louis, Libby, Lincoln and Niall. He’d even done one of his brother, though that hadn’t been in person. He’d gone off memory alone, but I knew he was hoping to reach out to Jack at some point, try to help him and mend their relationship again. It was just a matter of plucking up the courage and tracking him down. He'd even painted Chloe a few weeks back. Her and Sam had recently split up, which meant for the first time in years, she’d attempted to spend time with us all, get herself back into the group, but things had changed. It almost felt as though it was too little too late. I had no bad feelings towards her, I’m not sure any of us did, the water had passed under the bridge years earlier, but it just hadn’t felt the same. It didn’t even feel genuine coming from her, like she’d only come back to us because she felt we were her only option. It was disappointing and it truly was a shame, but it just hadn’t worked. I think that was why Harry had wanted to paint her; not because of the friendship, but more the lack-thereof. But the thing with Harry’s recent work was that they had been varied in style. His older work was entirely abstract, pieces in which I’d barely been able to see myself even when he’d tried to point out exact features. His recent work wasn’t like that though, with some pictures being the most detailed portraits I’d ever seen, so lifelike it sometimes felt as though they could start talking. He kept them all in the gallery above the shop, a collection he continued to add to. “M’not sure yet.” He confessed. “Depends how I’m feeling once you’re in place. If you think it’s too detailed, I won’t put it anywhere. It’ll be your call when it’s done, alright?” With that confirmation, I finally felt comfortable enough to step into his most creative space, shuffling past him and heading over to the podium he’d set up, balancing my knee on it first so I could climb up and sit myself down as gracefully as possible, knees bent, legs to one side, body as upright and straight as I could make it, clutching at the top of the towel, holding it against my chest. I took a deep breath in, steadied myself, made one final request. “Will you make my nipples nicer?” “Your nipples are perfect as they are, idiot. I wanna paint you, not some idealised version of you. There’s nothing wrong with you right now, as you are. I promise.” Harry made sure his voice was warm, the sound alone making me feel at home, like I should be proud to just be myself. “Whenever you’re ready.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath in, tore the towel apart and then dropped it to the ground. The first thing I could concentrate on was the way he took a deep breath in, his chest swelling with the intake of air, like he needed to calm himself down as his eyes ran all over my body with care, slowly moving over every inch of me. I felt so exposed and yet it was overwhelmingly intimate too, like my body belonged to his eyes, like I would be invisible to anyone else. I was infatuated with the way he looked at me, because it was all there in his eyes, every emotion and every memory and every loving feeling he had towards me. After figuring out how to remain somewhat calm, he spoke. “Okay. Could you… have one knee up? Just lift your right leg, have your foot pointing right at me.” He instructed and I altered my stance accordingly. “And just link your fingers together and hold around your knee. That alright?” “Mm.” “Are you comfortable?” “Yeah.” “Good.” With that acknowledgement, he began, mixing a few colours and studying me in silence for a few moments before he put his brush against the canvas, proceeded to paint me. From what I could tell, from his point and with my position, my body would be both hidden and revealed. I imagined the shadows that were casting on me only added to the affect, and maybe that was why he’d chosen that time of day, when the sun was going down, when the world was glowing and yet infiltrated with tenebrosity. He had a vision, and I was the centre of it. Strangely, I’d predicted that I would be totally conscious of the time, that the clocks in my mind would strain and my body would ache and tire with speed, but that didn’t happen. Though we didn’t speak whilst he worked, the time flew. Occasionally, he would purposefully catch me eye, smirk at me, bite his lip, probably as a way of easing me, because when he did that, I’d notice my body relax even though I hadn’t realised I had tensed. Harry knew me so well. He knew my mind and my body and my soul in ways that were way beyond my understanding. He saw things in me that I couldn’t, loved parts of me that I hated, understood conundrums within me that I could never comprehend. I loved him so much. “You look amazing.” He said after almost three hours. “I-I dunno. Sometimes it feels like you’re the inspiration I’ve always needed. Proper little muse, aren’t ya?” I tried to keep hold of my position, stay quiet, not blush too much, but it was a complete honour to be his muse, the perfect stimulant for him to be able to create some truly beautiful pieces, none of which involved blood. Wine had been his calling for years, finding its way into most of his paintings, especially the ones of me. But he often got creative too, not always because it worked effectively as a substitute for paint, but as interesting addition. He used fruit juices, my perfume, put petals within his paints or blades of grass. He took his surroundings, pieces of Rosebury, and he made art. More time passed, Harry concentrating intently on each stroke as I slowly began to rearrange my limbs, but he didn’t notice until my legs were both dangling off the front of the podium, still facing him. “Alf-” He began, but I managed to stop him talking when I slowly opened my legs. That was how much confidence he could bestow upon me. I’d gone from being nervous to even walk in the room, to spreading my legs for him, letting him decide what he wanted to do with the woman ahead of him, whether that was painting her or otherwise. Harry looked almost dizzy, eyes transfixed on my core and plump lips parted. He stepped to his side so that the easel and canvas didn’t block an inch of me from him or vice-versa, so I mirrored him, dropped my eyes down to his crotch and saw how much he appreciated the sight. He was rock hard. I bit at my bottom lip, hoping to lure him closer to me, hoping I’d inspired him beyond the canvas. “You’re something else.” He was breathless, a look of amazement clouding his eyes. And yet he remained still, purposefully building the heat. I didn’t realise us saying nothing and not even touching could do that, but I was sure I’d never wanted him more. I had never felt such intensity between us. My whole body quivered the moment he finally snapped, storming towards me. His hands went to his belt as soon as he started walking, the jingling of the metal he was fiddling with sending shockwaves through my body. He was still working on it when he reached me, taking one hand and pulling harshly on my hair to make my neck snap back, forcing me to look up to him. His other hand continued to loosen the leather from the slack trousers he was wearing, the two of us panting even though we’d barely done anything, looking into each other’s eyes. I could feel his hand moving, hear the pleasing titter of the buckle rattling. That alone got me worked up, those two senses sparking a million sensations. Then before I knew it he’d pushed into me, so much force behind his hips that I almost fell backward before he pulled me back to him, shot his head down so that he could bite my bottom lip. His touch was strict, severe, strong. Even with my lip still gripped between his teeth, he managed to smirk, aware of how much power he had in those moments, but it was my power that had brought him to me. He let my lip loose, his hand moving from my hair to my jaw as he began to kiss me, surprisingly gentle, his hips beginning to wind, gradually moving in and out of me. I loved how he could feel so tough and unforgiving whilst also moving with such a gentle ease. I didn’t understand how he could be both and yet he was, and he was with ease. He was the light and the dark. The night and the day. The sun and the thunderstorm. The fighter and the artist. My fingers clung frenziedly to his t-shirt, possibly puncturing holes through the thin material, closing my eyes and breathing him in, barely able to kiss him with how ethereal I felt just being with him. “You feel so good. Fuck, you’re amazing.” He wheezed. I wrapped my legs around his, my heels digging into his backside, pushing my chest up and putting my arms behind me so I could keep myself propped up, Harry slowly taking his kiss away from my mouth trailing it down my chin and then over my chest, causing pretty palpitations that skipped through my body, his hands lowering to my backside and yanking me closer to him. Ever since the day I had seen his paintings for the first time in person, there had been this magnetism between me and his captivating work. Being around his pieces, touching them, breathing them in; it was fascinating and overwhelming and it always brought out such powerful emotions from me. So when I actually became a part of his art, that intensified, took all those feelings to an entirely different realm. That was one of the reasons I felt we had gotten carried away in such a physical sense. We connected when he painted. He took hold of my legs, curving his fingers behind my knees and gripping tight as he picked up the pace, head lifting so he could gaze down between our bodies, watch the way he worked in and out of me as I watched him, the way he bit his lip, even scrunched his nose, concentrating all his strength on me. I moved one hand so I could touch myself, stealing his focus. He watched my fingers move over my clit, the sight bringing new groans from him, and I could tell I was leading him to his finish. I knew all the signs, his giveaways. Nothing turned me on more than seeing him unwind that way. My moans were getting louder and louder, my eyes closing just a few seconds after I noticed a grin spreading across his lips, smug over my pitch, like he always was. “Oh fuck.” He seethed piercingly as he came, and I was able to feel the way his whole body trembled, the ripples riding against my heels and the parts of my legs that came into contact with him, moving my hand until he gasped. “Please finish. I wanna you feel. I wanna watch you.” So I moved my hand back, touching myself for those final few moments before it happened, Harry watching me in awe the whole time. As soon as we were both calm enough, Harry took my neck in his hand once again so he could bring me closer to him, kiss me with enough passion to knock me out completely. I slung my arms around his neck, feeling his smile grow against my lips. “I love you.” He gasped as we kissed. “I love you so fucking much.” “I love you too.” “You’re fucking bliss, I’m so obsessed with you.” He was rambling, spewing his thoughts, and it only made me smile more, my cheeks genuinely hurting even though I was still trying to kiss him back, butterflies in my stomach and rose tinted glasses perching on my nose and altering my vision. When our kiss ended, he stayed close, rubbing his nose against mine, closing his eyes and breathing steadily as I just watched him, just as obsessed with him. I stroked the backs of my fingers over his cheek, transfixed. “You make me so, so happy,” I whispered to him. “I feel like my heart is gunna burst.” “Nah, fuck that.” He sneered. “I need you. No heart bursting, please.” “I’ll try.” I giggled. “I make no promises though.” “I’d be lost without you. I’d hate it. Stay with me, okay?” “Okay.” He kissed me again, lightly gliding his tongue into my mouth, so tender with me I thought I might cry. I never wanted him to feel lost. I would always stay with him.

Everyone had stayed with me for a good few hours, keeping me company on Alfie’s birthday seeing as she couldn’t quite do that herself. Lin and his wife Jessica had shown up eventually too, all of them being upbeat in their attempts to lift my mood, and temporarily, it had worked to the extent it could. But then as soon as I had closed the door on them, all my sorrow had come flooding back. My only aim then was to make sure that Alfie was happy. That was why I’d thought up a plan. “Just follow me, okay?” I encouraged her, finally having gotten her downstairs, though I could tell she was still confused and wary of me. “Where’re we going?” She asked, tracking my steps as the two of us tiptoed through the living room. I was walking backwards so I could keep my eyes on her, conscious that she might cower or run at any second. She glued her eyes to me, as though she was slowly teaching herself to trust me, a flicker of recognition darting through her eyes. I smiled. “Alfie, I just wanna show you something. It’s something you’ll like.” “Uh-” “You can trust me, I promise.” “Ca-can I hold your hand?” At first, I couldn’t even find it within me to reply to her, in a state of shock that she’d even asked that of me. But what it told me was rousing. It told me that I wasn’t entirely a stranger to her. It reminded me that even when she couldn’t quite place me, there was a sense of trust between us that remained. Even though it wasn’t immediate or obvious, it was still there. “Uh- Fuck, yeah, of course you can.” I held my hand out for her to shyly slot her fingers between mine, almost bashful when she did, like it was the first time we’d held hands, like we were giddy teenagers who were dating one another. And I wondered then if that was how I should start viewing it, when her Alzheimer’s attacked her that way. Maybe it would help if I started thinking of it as though I had to win her back and win her over, as though she was someone I needed to charm and woo, a girl I really fucking wanted but needed to earn. Slowly, I lead her through the kitchen and then into the conservatory at the back of the house. I took her to my paintings. Her pupils blew up in seconds, a new galaxy appearing in her eyes, looking around the room in wonder, gazing at all the art in there, the abundance of canvases that still sat in that room. There were paintings of her, paintings we’d done together, paintings of her friends and loved ones, paintings that had been in there the very first time she had been in there. It had the potential to be a really good space for her. She let go of my hand, unhurriedly exploring her surroundings. “Did you do these?” She enquired. “Mm.” “You’re talented.” “Thank you.” I nodded. Her fingers played over a painting I’d done of her, but she was clueless, unaware she was the inspiration behind almost everything she could see. Under the guise that she was a guest, she worked her way around the room like blood running through veins, oblivious to the fact that she was actually the beating heart. I didn’t want to tell her that she was a part of so many of the paintings she was looking at, because I didn’t want to obscure her reality and upset her. Sometimes it was just better to go along with however she was feeling, whatever she felt was real. She spent her time leisurely wandering and inspecting the work that grabbed her the most as I headed towards the prime piece, the painting I had wanted her to see most. Earlier, I’d propped it up against the back window, central, ready for her to inspect. I pulled the cloth that had been covering it away, hurling that tattered throw to the ground beside me. She was so engrossed she didn’t even notice. “Alfie?” I caught her attention, watching her spin on her spot. Her face dropped. I’d captured her attention entirely. It was the Blood Sun. Before my mum had left, I’d asked her to keep an eye on Alfie whilst I rushed to the gallery and grabbed the painting to bring back. Me and Louis had covered it to protect it from the rain before throwing it into the back of his car and getting it to mine and Alfie’s house as soon as we could, hoping for the best. That painting was hers. It belonged to her, and as its owner, I knew the emotional reaction she had to it and how that never tired. Every time I’d seen her around that painting, it had affected her in such severe ways, like it spoke to her, as though it could touch her both physically and mentally. My gut was telling me that connection would still be there. I watched her intently as she took steps towards the Sun, seeing the familiar look of awe that she always had when she was close to that painting, blinded and dazzled and struck with wonder. “It’s beautiful.” She whispered as she stopped ahead of it. “You… You should feel it.” I suggested. “What? Touch it? I can’t do that.” “Course you can.” I grinned. “It’s mine, and I say you can.” She stared at me like I’d gone mad, but I just nodded, willing her to do as I’d asked. She had this beautiful, dastardly look in her eye as she reached her hand outwards, the tips of her fingers only grazing the red for a moment before her hand retracted, like it had stung her. It was rather fascinating to watch her. Within seconds, she was touching it again, and I could see that her mind was whirring. I couldn’t even begin to guess what might be going on in her head, how she might be feeling, what she might be thinking. It might have been an entirely new experience for her, or it might have been shining a light to parts of her mind that had spent that day in darkness. I moved so I was standing right behind her, my body only an inch from hers, admiring the way she let her fingerprint distinguish the paint like brail. I reached out, lay my hand on top of hers, gently guiding her touch. She inhaled heavily, my touch affecting her, my stomach twisting. “Tell me how you feel.” I was quiet, hanging my head just over her shoulder, able to see the profile of her face. “I… I feel sad.” She explained. “There’s so much sadness here.” When she said that, I found my eyes looking at the hand that I had resting on top of hers, seeing the scars that were still so prominent, even after all those years. Looking back, I couldn’t even imagine feeling that way, being able to cut myself like I had. Seeing those scars reminded me of how lucky I was to have wound up with such a wonderful life, so full of happiness that harming myself that way was almost incomprehensible. Seeing those scars was a reminder of my current wellbeing. Alfie had helped me build that life, she had been the one that pointed out just how harmful my old technique had been, and that was why she’d always been able to sense the pain that would forever remain trapped in that painting. “But…” “But what?” I tried to spur her to say more. “There’s something else, I don’t know.” “Tell me. Just tell me how you feel.” “It’s like… home, and warmth. I… I don’t know.” “Like us.” I hushed. She closed her eyes, and I noticed a tear pool over, stream down her cheek. Something was happening. I was rapidly short of breath, keeping my eyes on her. “Fee? Please talk to me.” “I remember the first time I saw this in real life. I remember.” She trembled. “I remember the feeling. I remember crying.” “What else?” I begged, tears beginning to build in my eyes. I could hear my heart beating, observing her memory reform and construct in her mind, filling her drop by drop when all I wanted was for everything to flood into her consciousness again. I adjusted our hands so that I could squeeze hers, resting my forehead against her temple, whispering, pleading with her to search a little deeper. She took a shaky breath inward, overwhelmed. “Harry.” She whispered, and I thought I might collapse to the floor, simply hearing her speak my name. “Yes! Look at me.” I cupped her cheek, not pushing but trying to encourage her to turn her head. “Fee-Fee, please look at me.” She turned to her right, eyes sparking as soon as she looked into mine. She knew me. “Harry?” She questioned. “Holy fuck, Harry!” She scrambled so that she could wrap her arms around my neck, throw her body against mine and take me into her. I’d never held her so tight. Though there had been a few similar occurrences since her diagnosis, none had gone on for that long. I’d spent the entire day wondering if that was it, if she had reached her breaking point and her memory just wouldn’t come back. It was terrifying and excruciating. But she was with me. She was home. My body was frail, using all my might to hold her, but it was as though that meant strength was retracted from elsewhere, my legs giving way beneath me. I crumbled down to the floor, taking her with me, first landing on my knees and then falling back, Alfie straddling my legs, the two of us still gripping onto one another. I pulled my head back so I could look in her eyes, grabbing her cheeks. “Are you okay? Do you feel okay?” “Wh-what’s happened?” “I lost you. I lost you, I’ve missed you so fucking much. It’s been so hard without you. I hate it.” I sobbed, brushing some hair from her face. “How do you feel?” “I’m okay. I’m sorry.” She wept. “Don’t be sorry. You don’t have to be sorry, Fee-Fee. M’just so glad you’re back.” We kissed, another way of coaxing her back to me. I knew from previous experience just how disorienting it was for her, coming back around like that, I couldn’t even imagine how it felt. All I could do was talk her through it, be there for her, kiss her, remind her of her life in the kindest way I could. I kept the kiss brief then pulled away, eyes darting across her face and keeping her close. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. “I’m fine!” She cried, clinging onto me. “Please don’t be upset, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Another horrific addition to her illness was the guilt she felt when she came back around. All she would focus on was my feelings, how it would have hurt me, as if it wasn’t fucking bad enough with everything else it did to her. She was strangely selfless about the whole thing. “Fee, you’ve gotta stop apologising to me, please. You’re here, that’s all that matters.” “I love you.” She wept. “I love you too. I love you so much.” I’d only recently realised the importance of being there for her when she found herself again. Every time, I was elated that she was back, and she was all I could focus on, but I had to be caring and present and not just break over how difficult I’d found it. I kissed her tenderly, breathlessly continuing to tell her I loved her at every opportunity, the words losing themselves upon her lips and swelling within in her mouth before hopefully finding their way to her heart. She was all that mattered. Doing everything I could so that she could find herself and fight that disease was all that mattered. I saw it as my responsibility to give to her and help her to sustain the best life I possibly could, and I wasn’t going to give up on that or give up on her. That disease was venturing to steal our happiness, and though it could gain temporary success, I refused to let it consume us entirely, to rob us of the sublime life we had created. Our love had more fight in it than any disease ever could. “I missed you.” I shuddered when our kiss soothed. “When I touched the Sun… It’s like I saw your face.” She enlightened me. “I saw your face and heard your voice and you were telling me you loved me and then everything started coming back to me. Everything.” Though I had been there physically, it was her mentality that had needed to alter, to shift and shake and align once more. When she had touched the Blood Sun, I had re-entered her mind and memories, my voice calling upon her soul and willing it back to the present. I could never underestimate the power of us. I could never underestimate the power of her mind and just how engrained I was within it. “You were there. You brought me back.” She whispered, laying a loving and gentle kiss upon my lips. “You brought yourself back.” I told her. “You’re so fucking strong, Fee-Fee. Keep fighting it.” “I will, I promise. As long as you’re here-” “M’always gunna be here, Fee. You know that.” She dropped her head. “Hey!” I placed my thumb beneath her chin, lifted her head back up so that she was forced to look into my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Whatever happens, I’m yours. I’m here. We fight this together, okay?” “Promise?” Her bottom lip quivered. “I promise. It’ll always be us. Just me and you.” “Just me and you.” She repeated back to me. She needn’t fear that I might leave, that I may tire of the tumultuous routine of our lives, that her illness wouldn’t merely steal her memories but it would eventually take me from her too. She didn’t need to worry for even a second. I wanted to be her support system. I wanted to be her life, her lover, her confidant, her centre. No matter how difficult things got, even if one day she disappeared indefinitely. I would never love another person the way I loved her, no person would ever compare to her, no life would ever come close to the one we had. I was with her, skipping through fields during the days of sun or sailing with her through the eye of the storm. It was just me and her through everything, always. That was my promise.

[apollo-writes-random-shit]

“It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.”

This was actually really fun and like Race, I’m fucking stupid when it comes to telling stories so it was fun to think of some.

Thanks for sending this request in!

“It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.”

"Race...Ya out all the time."

Race huffed, ignoring the littles' giggles as he reached over to slap Albert over the back of the head. "Dumbass, let me talk! I wanna tell a story!"

Jack rolled his eyes, a fond smile on his face as he sketched the scene from the corner of the room. "These kids better be able ta sleep tanight Higgins. I don't wanna be up all night cause you and your stories."

Race huffed, rolling his eyes. There went his plans for talking about a murderer...Time to rethink.

"Alright. Cause Jackie's a spoilsport, I'll change the story." He chuckled, shaking his head as his younger siblings started to complain. "Sorry kids. Gotta listen to the old man. He makes the rules here."

"I'se only a few years older than you!" Faking insult, Jack balled up his ratty blanket and threw it at Race, chuckling as it hit him in the face. "Get on with the story ya nerd!"

"Jesus fine!" Shaking his head, Race grinned, wrapping the blanket around himself. "Right. So the full moon is a magical time but also a dangerous time. While the moon gives us light on the streets, he also brings out mysterious dangers. It is said that if you stand in his light, your mind will be twisted." He grinned, happy to have everyone's eyes on him. "You'll start to feel new urges and will find yaself wanting to do things ya've never heard of before."

"Like what?"

"Well, my dear Kai, I'm glad you asked. Have you ever heard of the sirens?"

"No?"

"Well, it's said that if you stand on the bridge with the full moon shining down, you'll hear ghostly singing which will draw you towards the water. You'll find yourself with one of two urges. Some feel the need to jump into the water to investigate while others feel the urge to sing back. Singing back will help you'se keep ya freedom while following the siren's urges will spell your doom. Some say they're always out at night and will still attack, but will only sing on the full moon. Never go near the water at night, especially on the full moon. Sometimes, they'll be heard singing outside your window, in hopes of getting you to go to the water."

"Wait...You've gone across the bridge at night before! Have you heard them?"

"Why yes, I've had. I'se sang right back at them as I covered my ears 'nd ran. As ya know, 'm probably the fastest runner in 'Hattan so I was able to outrun their voices."

"So humble ain't ya?"

"When have ya beaten me in a race Finch?"

"..."

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought. Anyway. The sirens ain't the only ones that come out in the night. There are the masks as well."

Crutchie fought back a laugh, knowing exactly where this was going. After all, he and Jack were the ones who told Racetrack the story in the first place when the boy was caught attempting to sneak out on a full moon. The story had been passed down from the leader just before Jack who had used it to stop Jack himself from sneaking out

"Masks?"

Race's grin widened at the child's question, planning to add his own twists into the story had been told oh so many years ago. "The masks are creatures that come out on the full moon. They appear to be human yet their faces are not. Their faces are inhuman or if they're strong enough to have a human face, it'll be frozen in one expression no matter what and it'll look fake. It'll appear like it's stuck in time."

"What do they do t-to you?"

"Why if they see you walking the streets, they'll take you away. If the masks getcha, you'll never be seen again until the full moon when you're there ta take people away! What do ya think happened to Dax from Queens? He turned into one of them. Everyone just says that he aged out but I'se has seen him. I looked out the window one-night 'nd BAM! He was right there on the street, starin' up at me wit' a weird ass smile on his face. It was raining 'nd he didn't even blink, just kept on staring. Next second, he was gone. The masks 'ad gotten him."

"You'se just tryin' ta tell us scary stories and not about weirdos!"

"I dunno kid. The masks and sirens are pretty weird 'nd creepy." Race shook his head before letting out a soft insulted shout as Blink shoved him to the side.

"Alright, kids. I'se'll tell ya about the weirdos I've seen at night time."

"How can ya see at night with one eye?"

"Same as I see durin' the day Mike. Anyway, I'se got a few stories." He chuckled, shaking his head. During the time Race was speaking, he had sorted through his own nightly experiences, sorting the stories from each other so he didn't slip up and tell a not so 'kid-friendly' story. He didn't feel like a repeat of last time. As friendly and cheerful he appeared, Crutchie was more than happy to hit someone with his crutch if he felt like someone deserved it. Last time Blink had told a story, the bruise had lasted over a week. Though he had to admit he made a mistake when he decided to tell the kids he had snuck into a bar and managed to steal from a drunk which ended up causing a few of the more daring littles to attempt to go near the bars. Luckily, Jack had expected this and had the more mature kids keep an eye out for anyone wandering towards the bars.

"Once at night on a full moon, I'se was coming home. I had been out a bit late ya know? It was still early enough that 'the masks' hadn't come out yet." The only reason he had mentioned Race's stupid story was that he knew the taller boy would interrupt him in an attempt to draw the attention back onto himself. "And before ya ask, this isn't the same night as the bar incident. Anyway, I was walking home yeah? I think I was only a block away from lodging actually when some really hairy lookin' fella comes stumbling outta the alley. I'm talkin' real hairy. Like hair on 'is hands, neck 'nd stuff like that. He's mumbling ta himself and stuff then he sees me. He starts coming towards me 'nd I think Great here we'se go. but instead o' fightin' me, he throws his arms round me, tells me that God blesses me and starts singin' those song thingys."

"Hymns."

"Right that. Thanks, Jojo. So this guy is singin' and holding onto me and all of a sudden just lets me go and walks off. I watch him go and see that he does the same thing to a lamp post. He didn't even smell like liquor which just added ta the confusion. Pretty sure he kissed the lamp post as well before he just sat down, singin' ta himself." He shook his head, grinning at the laughter that followed his story. Even Jojo was laughing which meant that the risk he had taken hadn't insulted the boy who had grown up, raised by nuns.

Over the next few hours, he and the other older kids kept up their storytelling, entertaining the younger ones with tales of strange things they had seen over their short lives, even allowing Race to tell more of his stupid stories.

Finally deciding to be serious with the topic, Race grinned, cutting off Jack's cowboy story. "We'se heard that story a lot Cowboy 'nd I've seen some pretty weird shit up in Brooklyn if you'se wanted to hear."

Considering he was the only non-Brooklyn newsie who could sell there let alone stay the night meant he instantly drew their interest. After all, whenever the newsies came up with a 'strange' story, they made sure to mention Brooklyn.

"So. One night, the fellas and I were in their kitchen when this knock sounds on the door. Laughin', they all send me to go answer it and what do I get? Some stranger tossin' water in ma face! Apparently, once a week, this lady walks up ta different houses 'nd throws water at people fa no reason. Like who does that? So, I'm standing there, soaked ta the bone wit' all the fellas laughing at me so what do I do fa revenge? I go 'nd grab a bowl maself and toss it all over them 'fore rushing off, runnin all the way back here."

"You've thrown water at me!"

"Albie my dear friend...You kept fucking snoring. What was meant to do?" Grinning, he quickly dodged the punch his best friend through at him. "Anyway. There was this other guy who walked around sayin' he was a god. People were naturally avoidin' him considering he was screamin' at the top o' his lungs, dancing buck naked in the streets. The bulls came ta pick him up and he threw something in their faces, I think it was flour and takes off running, screamin' about lemons and shit." He shook his head, remembering the conversation he had with Spot after that confusing day.

Before Race could keep speaking, Jack clapped his hands. "Alright, guys. It's time fa bed. Moon's getting high and we'se got work tomorrow."

"But I wanna hear more stories!"

"Too bad. Ya gotta go to bed Lijah." Grinning, he watched as the older boys started ushering the younger kids upstairs to get ready for bed, happy to see that there was minimal complaining...Right now at least. He knew some kids would take more time to settle down but he was prepared for that.

He stood up, following the group so he could catch up to Race. "The masks 'nd sirens? Really?"

"What? They'se good stories and you know that! Besides, correct me if I’m wrong but if I remember correctly, you and Crutchie were the ones who told me about the masks, I'm just passing on the knowledge."

Without a comeback, Jack just laughed and shook his head, watching the blond run up the stairs. He had to give it to Race, the kid had a massive imagination and if he filed away the stories to draw later, well...No one needed to know.

[sevensins-stuff]

A little thing I wanted to write with @whatissleepeven 's oc, Musashi! Both ocs mentioned in this story use she/her pronouns.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"It'll only be for a day, but the both of you will still need to attend each other's classes at RAD. Can I trust you both to do so?"

Diavolo was quite eager to see how the two humans would fair living in each other's places for a day. He knew very well that they got along swimmingly, but he was curious to see how his dream was being lived out across multiple timelines. Of course, he could've had Barbatos just look into it, but he also wanted to know if there could be more for him to do.

"I wouldn't mind. What about you, Musashi?"

The shorter woman nodded her head.

"I think it could be fun."

"Great!" Diavolo clapped his large hands together. "We'll have your little exchange program due next week. Until then, Musashi, I'll have to bid you farewell."

She said her goodbyes to the demon prince and gave Aqua one last hug before returning to her timeline. In a week's time, the girls will switch places just to gain some information for the prince.

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

The time finally came and the demon brothers were nice enough to see Aqua to the entrance of the portal. She gave each of them a small hug, giving her Lucifer a small kiss on his cheek, and then she was ready to go. The girls saw each other in passing and gave each other a small high five for good luck before passing over.

Aqua reemerged inside of the demon prince's castle, and was immediately presented before those she had left behind, but they were a bit shorter than she remembered. These brothers were nice to her, but not as friendly as her own.

"Hello Aqua. Musashi told me all about your Diavolo's plans. It's nice that we finally get to meet."

He held his hand out for her to shake and she kindly took it in her own.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lord. I can only hope that my visit won't be too much of an inconvenience to you."

They dropped their handshake as he laughed. It was just just as booming as she remembered.

"Nonsense! I may be just as excited as my counterpart when it comes to how you uphold our goals."

He turned his attention to everyone in the room at that point.

"That being said, I hope you all of you will attend the student council meeting tomorrow. You included, Aqua."

Everyone in the room nodded in understanding.

"Good. Then, I'll leave you all to enjoy the rest of your night."

Aqua walked in between the pack of brothers as they traveled through the Devildom on their way back to the House of Lamentation. She sighed as she felt her stomach growl. She supposed that it was time for her to eat something.

"I'm hungry."

"Me too..." Said the orange-haired demon amongst them.

"We have food at home, Beel. Besides, you could probably make something for Aqua as well."

"What?" She felt slightly insulted.

"Come on, Luci! Me being here should be cause for celebration. Let's stop by Hell's Kitchen!"

It seemed like everyone else was in agreement, and majority rules (sorry Luci). He caved after about the 17th collective plea and the party of 8 picked up their dinner before making their way back home. 

Aqua laid on the bed that belonged to Musashi and it still kept a bit of her scent. The smell reminded her greatly of the other and she took the time out of the empty night to send her a message.

Aqua: How is everything over there?

Musashi: It’s fine! What about you?

Aqua: Making my mark, as usual. The boys and I begged Luci to buy us some food😈

Musashi: Lol. We ended up having dinner at the castle, so we just got home not too long ago😌

Aqua: Lucky! Did he at least set up a mandatory meeting for you guys tomorrow?

Musashi: He did. I’m assuming you got the same?

Aqua: Yeah. But I’m just gonna take down some notes to take back to Diavolo

Musashi: It’s funny you say that cause I was just thinking the same thing! Ugh, our minds!🤯😌

Aqua: It’s cause we know each other so well🥰🥰

Musashi: Lol. Well, since I know you so well, you’re probably enjoying getting on Lucifer’s nerves huh??😏

Aqua: Not as much as you would enjoy h*lding h*nds with Mammon!😏

Musashi: GEE, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME!!! Good night Aqua!🥰💕💞💘

Aqua: Lmao, good night Musashi🥰💖💓💝

She chuckled softly as she placed her phone on the nightstand next to her. Tomorrow was set to be a pretty busy day.

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

The classes she attended for the day were exactly as she remembers them, remarkably so. Doing the work was a breeze for her and nothing during the day really happened. Over all, it was amazing to say that it was a pretty normal day.

After her final class of the day, she walked with Satan and Belphie to the council room. They shared a few jokes and laughs here and there and even came up with a potential plan to annoy Lucifer, but they wouldn't actually go through with it. Or would they? They entered the room and took their assigned seats. Aqua opting to take her seat right next to Lucifer. The meeting wouldn’t start for about another five minutes.

“Hey baby boy. Long day today?”

The boys snickered softly to each other as Lucifer let out a long and tired sigh.

“You know, I truly do hate when you call me that.”

“I think it’s a cute nickname for you! I think it fits.”

Something almost snapped inside of him when he heard their collective giggle. Like little school girls, the three of them were. His eye twitched slightly. He took a deep breath, trying not to explode on them minutes before their meeting.

“You would do well to watch yourself around me, Aqua. You are not the human I was trusted to protect.”

“Ooh, I’m so scared! What’s the worst you’re gonna do? spank me?”

The prince’s timing was miraculous, to say the least. With a proud smile on her face, she drew a small notebook from her bag along with a pen and was ready to take her notes for the meeting. Diavolo started with a brief rundown of topics to go through and Aqua was diligent with her note taking. Lucifer noticed her quick change in attitude and it was one thing he liked about her. She knew when to keep herself in check.

Once the meeting adjourned, Aqua packed the small notebook back in her bag and gave Lucifer one last look. A smile playing at her thick lips.

“Don’t think I forgot about your threat, baby boy. I might make the assumption that you actually like me if you don’t follow through.”

She stood from her seat to join up with the other brothers, Satan and Belphegor each giving her a high five. They really seemed to enjoy how much she annoys him. However, that joy was short lived. Lucifer was quick to grab her hand and practically dragged her out of the meeting room. Most likely to give her a stern lecture about teasing the avatar of pride and the dangers that came with it. 

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

Once the day for her ended, she sighed deeply as she plopped onto the bed, landing face down. She wasn't expecting Lucifer to drain all of her energy in such a short amount of time, but it still wasn't enough to relive her of her teasing nature all together. Just for the rest of the day.

She took her phone out of her shorts pocket as she turned to her side and turned on the screen.

Aqua: Hey! How did the meeting go?

Musashi: Nothing too exciting. I will say that your Diavolo is very organized with his stuff

Aqua: Yours too! So, did you hold hands with Mammon yet??👀

Musashi: Idk, did you get your ass handed to you by Lucifer??👀

Aqua laughed loudly before returning a message.

Aqua: How about I tell you about it the next time we get together, deal?

Musashi: Deal! Good night, Aqua💞💞

Aqua: Night dearest😌💕

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

The next morning came around and Aqua was once again faced with the portal that would lead her back to her original timeline. She turned to Diavolo with a polite smile on her face.

"I'm sure my Diavolo would be pleased to know that his vision is being seen in more timelines than his own. Thank you for allowing me to observe."

"It was my pleasure, Aqua. I'll have Musashi give me her information and then I'll be able to compare notes. This has been a very eye-opening task for me."

Aqua turned to the brothers that stood behind her and gave them one last wink and a wave goodbye before entering the portal. She seemed to be alone for the moment and when she crossed over into her timeline, she was quick to find out why.

Musashi ambushed her with a tight hug as soon as she stepped through and she almost stumbled back into the portal. With a cheery laugh, she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman.

"What are you still doing here?"

"I wanted to give you a hug before I left. It's gonna be a while before I see you again, you know."

"That's right, you guys are coming over for movie night next month."

"And a month is just too long."

Aqua returned the hug with a light squeeze a kissed the top of her head, her lips lingering as she whispered to her.

"Don't make them wait too long for you. They might get mad at me," she finished with a snicker.

They stepped away from the hug and waved their collective goodbye as Musashi disappeared into the portal, the door closing behind her. Aqua turned to Diavolo with a smile.

"I think you will be pleased to hear about my findings, my lord."

.

.

.

.

the forbidden route

[burnt-tomato]

herro!! can you write hcs for when noya and tendou gets jealous? like what would they be like? I feel like noya would rolling thunder someone’s ass HAHAH

♤: aye thanks for the ask!! Got braindead for a sec and couldn’t answer lmao. Ayt here are your headcannons. Also idk if you meant jealous as if talking to another mAn or jealous of your traits or who you are, so imma do both

»»--------------------------------------------------►

Nishinoya Yuu

If I were you I wouldn’t make this guy jealous lol

He’s probably jealous of your height let’s face it

Rolling thunder his ass what the hEcC lmao imma try to make that work

Jealous because of you talking to another guy

Noya is really protective of you bc he loves you a lot and is afraid to lose you and probably bc you’re the first and only to return his feelings

Made sure that everyone in the school class knew about your relationship. Yes even the team.

When a guy talks to you, let it be classmates, a friend or your brother bc why the hell not right? He will gLARE at them

Let’s say the 2 of you are in the same class. You were paired with a random guy for a partner project, and this rose a huge red flag for Noya

During class you and let’s name the random guy A, A had to sit next to eachother bc teacher's rules suck. You were wAy to0 cl0se to eachother, according to Noya's rules and regulations. More glaring yay.

You and A seem very… mmmmm friendly lol and Noya is n0t enjoying this

♤: aye sorry for cutting this but ya think Noya likes his girlfriend, if he gets one, more than Asahi and Kiyoko? My AsaNoya heart

Even when the project ended, you and A wanted to get to know eachother and be friends for plot and I’m pretty sure Noya is about to rolling thunder his ass

♤: not sure if noya is the threatening kind tho

Smashes down your door violently pulls you outside of class and to a corner ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). "Y/n... You better not tell me that you're planning to leave me for someone else.." "Yuu, why the hell would I do that? I only wanted to be friends with him because he's actually nice." "But I- sorry y/n. I'm just afraid of losing you." *hug hug cUdDlE hug because I can't describe scenarios like this lol*

Jealous because of someone flirting with you

There was this one particular guy who kept on looking at you and when you'd look back, he'd smile. Noya noticed this and let it slide for a few times, but that didn't last long. He soon felt itchy and bothered that someone's looking at you with a smile all the time.

He isn't quiet about it either. Everyday after class the guy staring at you (let's name him B) would wave his hand at you and say stuff like "see you tomorrow y/n" or when you and Noya arrive together at class he's be all "good morning y/n! Beautiful as ever!" And hoo boy Noya isn't happy. He would always say "Fuck off, you bastard. She's taken." And B will just belp at both of you.

Noya always tried to tackle the guy, but you always stopped him from doing so. Even if he wants to kill the guy or shout at him so bad, you keep reminding him to control his emotions. Idk if I were the girl i would offer Noya to double team B lol.

But hoo boy he cannot do that. B tool it to the next level and Noya couldn't keep it all in anymore.

It happened during a school day. Classes just ended and Noya told you to go on ahead and he'll just catch up, but just as you got out the door, B gripped you by the arm and pulled you by the door.

*peptalking my self* Ok Vy you can do this. You just have to make it look like B did a smooth move there even if you're bad with dialogues

"Hey hey y/n, you've been avoiding me for a long time now, and it's getting on my nerves." He whispers unto your ear. Noya hurry tf up your bae be in trouble. He places his thumb and index finger on your chin lifting it up and you can smell what he ate this morning

Ok Vy you can do this. "Look, I don't know if you're ignoring me because of that tiny guy, but I'll tell you now that he isn't good for you and you're too good for someone like him. You deserve someone better. Yknow, some like... me?" He smirks. You are hella disgusted

Who is this Bimbo trashtalking Noya. "So, y/n, could you be kind enough to give me your number and address~`>~~<~•||•《•¤○《•" wow I can't do this.

For a split second, you felt a hand travel to your back collar pulling to aside, revealing Noya, who was glaring daggers at B, while B was still smirking

"Hey hey now junior student, I was talking to y/n here, and you just disturbed our conversation." "Did I really? Oh sorry, but can I inform you that she's taken, nd if you want to leave school alive, you better step away now and never talk to her again." Noya says, trying his hardest to keep his composure and not lose control

"Geez fine already. You don't have to throw a fit about it. She wasn t worth my time anyways." He says walking away waving his right hand. "What did that bastard say about yo-?" You pulled Noya back. "It's fine now. He's gone." Noya was still frustrated, and you tried to cool him off.

*insert hugs and other stuff bc I'm uncomfortable writing those lolllll* you both go to the gym, and Noya forgot about what he was mad about as soon as he was playing and saw Kiyoko

Bonus

You're jealous of Kiyoko and Asahi bc even if Noya is dating you now, he still goes crazy over Kiyoko and hangs out around Asahi all the time lol

Tendou Satori

This is definitely someone I won't get jealous

Very underrated boy I love him

Jealous because of you talking to another guy

The time this happened was when you 2 were at the bookstore for the weekly jump. He left you for a while to look for the book while you hung around the novel books that you're probably not interested in

You saw a book that you got interested in, but was too high bc u short. You struggled reaching it, then goes a guy (I'll name him C). He reached the book for you and you bowed to thank him.

"Oh [ insert book title ]? You read that?" He asks. "Not really, it just looked interesting." You said. You both started chatting about that book, and then switched to your hobbies and other stuff.

Then Tendou comes. He wraps his lanky arm around you, forcing you to move back. And you're literally in a book section, so it's probably cramped. He looks at the guy, well, looking d0wn bc he t0l as hEcC.

"Eehh? So you're the guy I heard talking to y/n.. You better not be planning things to do to her, if you are you better prepare to go through me." The guy apologizesand waves you goodbye

"Satori, we were just talking about stuff we had similarities on.. He wasn't hitting on me." You say. "Oh? I guess my guess blocking only works on volleyball and not outside huh.. well anyway have you seen this week's jump? It's really interesting and has this-" starts rambling about the weekly jump. You were surprised yet used to this. Him being mad at first, then quickly turns back to normal when talking to you.

Jealous because of someone flirting with you

Mm m m m m m mm m mmm

̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\З=( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)=Ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿

I just like making use of the fact he loves reading the weekly jump and is in the bookstore whenever he isn't playing volleyball

You were both at the mall to shop for something ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ and you both stopped for a bit in the bookstore. You hung out by the entrance while Tendou went inside bc he takes a hell lot of time lol.

You were minding your own business playing on your phone when this random guy walked up to you and pressed a finger on your phone, lowering it (let's name the guy D( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

"Hey hey beautiful~~~□•□•□•□□•□ [♤: I'm getting the big cringe lol]. Would you mind me asking for your number?" He asks with a smirk. You didn't know how to response or how to react during that time so you stood frozen, tilting your head to your left. You shook your head, signaling a 'no', but the guy insisted. He kept whispering (ง ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)ง and that made you really uncomfortable [♤: ew.]

You felt the door you had your hand on move away, then the next thing you knew, a tall lanky guy stood next to You, keeping his line of vision on D.

They started arguing, D protesting that you 2 were just having a friendly conversation. "Look, from inside, it was obvious that you were flirting with MY y/n. She shook her head multiple times and it was given that she was uncomfortable. So if you KINDLY would move away from her and never come back, that would really be appreciative." He says

You heard D make a 'tch' sound and walked away with a frustrated expression.

"You didn't really know that he was flirting huh? If it was obvious you could be come sooner." "Sorry the last time I butted in with your conversation with a guy I was mistaken, so I decided to make sure first." He said with a smile scratching the back of his head.

You 2 were about to leave when the shop owner said "Sir you will have to pay for that." Tendou was about to pay when he saw what happened. He laughed a little and went back inside apologizing.

»»--------------------------------------------------►

♤: I'm getting more inactive lmao But I'm still answering asks. Feel free to send in reqs for headcannons, scenarios and oneshots. The askbox is always open lol ̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\З=( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)=Ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿

[bisexualterror]

noor: i'm very curious, very interested, bc like i haven't started the series it's on my to-see list 👀 and what little i read was hargreeves oc's who got paired with a sibling and that kinda weirded me out of watching it yet 😬 absorbs light hmm she's her own lil sun? her siblings lil sun? 🥺

nova: i love her, gimme more witches stories on the tvd verse khsjdjfb i can't wait to see her when the plot really starts to kick in, another win for the bennett coven who the actual series didn't seem to give a sh*t about 😤 and i saw an ask about sheila living i could cry hhhHHhHh all the adults dying, someone give this kids therapy 😶

marsilia: i lover her already, it's the first time i see a zabini oc, pls spare more mars lore 🤲 ksjsjdjf also love the nickname, mars, it's cute 💖 we also get to see more about blaise as character too! ALSO you know that whole can't remember if it was canon or fanon blaise's mom being a "black widow" or a this totally fanon mafia donna so yes can't wait to see this zabini family 😌 aAnNdD oh. my. stars. my brain just caught up she's gonna be same year with astoria, luna and ginny KSHDJSKDHD

altheia: omg 🥺🥺🥺 a doctor who oc 💖 who isn't linked with the doctor from the beginning kaksksldj like i love him but give me more oc's with their own backgrounds who don't immediately drop everything to be with him and stuff pls & tenk u 😔 lsjhskfif i thot u were gonna say theia IS missy's childe omg who is she? are her family or/and the master's important to be arranging marriages to each other? or will that be just a gallifreyan thing? what happens to her when looking into the untempered schism? how does she fare during the war? will she live to be around during the new who timeline orrrr?? ajlajshdofn sorry it's just omg 😭

OOOok sdndskjd so

noor: that’s vv fair, it’s probably because of the whole allison and luther sibling thing is canon in the show, they don’t do anything really romantic imo, it doesn’t go anywhere and honestly it seems like they just latched onto each other platonically as kids and might have misinterpreted as romantic cause they were isolated from other kids and didn’t have anyone other than each other n their other siblings??? anyway that’s how i watched it, but i 100% understand why it would put you off. but still i love these chaotic siblings svm and YES omg her siblings sun 😭😭

nova: mood, it’s part of why i created her, i love witches so much :D also ME TOO, i wanna write season three so BADly, i have so many plans for her you’re hopefully gonna love. and yeah, honestly i could rant on the injustice they gave the bennett coven but the one i hated the most was that most of them were used by other people and to further the plot and then died 😔 ND tell me about it!! we never saw bonnie’s home life but we can all take a guess and say that grams was the one who was there for her and ELENA LOST TWO SETS OF PARENTS AND THEN ALARIC FOR A BIT.  they need milk, cookies and therapy. (but also like bitch, me too tf)

marsilia: 

djsjkjlkds ok so the main reason why i created marsilia was because i wanted to write more on blaise’s mom but lol i just had to make an oc too. there was def rumors in canon i THink of her killing all of her husbands cause they kept dying without any explanation and i wanna have fun with that, so yeah, thats gonna be fun :D also YES, i honestly just wanted to not have to rewrite every book/movie so i had her a year younger than blaise lisjlksjs but yes, she’s gonna be friends with both greengrass sisters, luna and eventually ginny (though she has a rocky start with everyone but luna XD)

altheia:  i love him too, A LOt, like so much, but yeah.....i prefer to know who my ocs are outside of their SO, esp with characters like the doctor, who can kinda be all encompassing. kjhkjdhkhsd thats what i thought it was gonna sound like after i wrote it LMAO but ye theia stays on gallifrey with her daughter when the master and the doctor leave. (damn did i just give ANOther oc my abandonment issues??)

just for a few decades so her daughter, cosima, can finish her education and then al says peace out, leaves in the dead of night to steal a tardis and travels with her daughter on her own for a few more decades that will probably pass by in like two chapters.

cosima is an odd mix of her parents, very intelligent and sweet but also super scary when angry skljslakjaslk their families are kind of important, at least they think so, but also it’s just a thing i wrote that’s normal for gallifrey.

ok so it’s kind in the WORks cause i need to figure out the side affects and the HOW part but when baby altheia looks into the schism, an alternate older version of herself, fresh from war, gets dragged into her conscience. IWONDEr WHO IT Was THAT DID THat? (it was the time lords, breaking their rules so they could groom altheia to help them in the war)

she has.... a rough time in the war, looses pretty much all of her family (cosima is ok though!!), might bring her brother abacus back cause i... can’t bare to kill him off permanently...  she WILL before around new who, i haven’t finished watching the classics so this is how i have her arks planned out:

first i’m gonna focus on gallifrey era for maybe 25 chapters and then i’m going to do like maybe four adventures of her with her daughter spanning those decades, the war i’m going to skip completely other then how she gets out of it, and then she’ll... be alone for half a chapter before reuniting with the ninth doctor (he thinks she’s dead... ) and from there i’ll probably just write her into the episodes i want, skipping some that i don’t want to rewrite, and stop whenever i get tired i guess (i do have an end in mind i just don’t know which season it’s gonna be in) cause i doubt this show is ever gonna end lsjalkLMAO