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#i see you’ve gone on a hiatus too
yrqrnc · 9 months
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fall !! your new theme is so so so pretty !! i didn't even notice it until now, it's seriously so so so aesthetic and everything omg ur aesthetic taste is immaculate ~~
u haven't been active recently so i'll just leave this in ur ask box for whenever u log back into tumblr. please have an adorable lq minho icon bc u bias him and are therefore a fellow leeknower (like me !!! i am obsessed with him !!!!)
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i know u haven't been active recently so i hope you've been doing okay !! please take care, i've been missing your reblogs of moodboards on my dashboard AND ur amazing hcs T-T
IRENE I ADORE YOU SO MUCH YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND 😭😭😭 thank you so much for checking up on me, even though you sent this long long time back and i'm only getting to it now :(
thank you for all the appreciation omggg i have always loved your themes too pls ☹️ THANK YOU AGAIN, for blessing me w minho pics bcs this man always makes my day better and yOU TOO
ilyily <3<3
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dedicatednotobsessed · 4 months
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Issa byka rūklon [Daemon Targaryen x Wife!reader]
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Other HOTD stories
Summary: Daemon is feared among men for his battle prowess, finding solace and love in his pure sunshine of a wife. One serene evening, amidst impending war, they steal a moment alone. His wife with gentle hands and a heart full of affection, braids Daemon’s hair, weaving delicate flowers into the strands…
*This was a one shot request from a very special person of mine, my bestie @mrsdaemontargaryen I had asked her to send me a prompt because I have been on such a long hiatus from writing. Writer’s block has not been fun {among personal things but let’s not get into that}. Please enjoy this Daemon one shot and soon enough, I will be taking requests again in time for season two. 🖤*
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You placed a hand on the ghost of your swelling stomach, your violet eyes shining from the fireplace’s flames. The incident was still fresh in your mind, your sister’s screams of calling you a traitor ringing in your ears. It wasn’t a surprise to see the twins together in Storm’s End, having been inseparable since birth, but you never thought Adryana* would try to murder you.
You turned your head slightly, hearing the footsteps, letting out a soft sigh, and feeling your husband wrap an arm around your waist and pull you back into his chest. “Is it done?”
Daemon nodded, nuzzling his nose into your silver hair. “Soon enough, she will feel the pain you felt.”
You took a deep breath, looking ahead. When Daemon was writing to his friends in the capital, you had mentioned to him how you wanted Adryana to feel the same pain you felt when she took her unborn babe from you. He added, “Along with the usurper’s son, take the life of his brother’s son.”
“I don’t want you to feel guilty,” Daemon whispered in your ear as though he could read your mind. “Those green cunts didn’t feel anything killing Luke and our child. You shouldn’t either.”
You nodded in agreement, furrowing your brows. “Can we go on a walk?” You knew this would be the last calm moment before Westeros is thrown into chaos.
You turned in Daemon’s arms, smiling a small smile when he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “Of course, my love.”
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You wrapped your hands around Daemon’s arm as he led you down the familiar path toward Aegon’s Garden. During the day, it was a favorite spot for your young son, Alyster, to play in; he especially enjoyed the cranberries that grew there. The eye of the dragon statue glistened in the moonlight the closer you got, lifting your dress slightly so it did not drag too much through the grass.
You thanked Daemon quietly when he helped you into the plush grass, a hum passing your lips as you began to pick at the small white wildflowers surrounding you mindlessly. Since you’ve woken up from the incident, the two of you have rarely spent time alone, with Alyster not leaving your side and Daemon being preoccupied with the small council. For the first time in a long time, you felt peace.
Once he sat down, you moved to sit behind your husband, your fingers gingerly taking a section of his hair and beginning to work it in a braid. His hair was not as long as it once was but manageable. You smiled, hearing the light chuckle coming from him.
“What?” You asked as you grabbed one of the wildflowers you picked, placing it carefully within the braid.
Daemon kept his eyes ahead, a small smile forming on his features. “I’m only thinking back to our wedding day.”
“Our wedding day?” You repeated while beginning to braid another section of his hair, adding the little flowers as you went.
Daemon hummed in response. “You wanted to braid my hair that day, too.”
You smiled at the memory. You had a traditional Valyrian wedding against your mother’s wishes. You were never one to listen to your mother, to begin with, having gone against her wishes to become Rhaenyra’s ward at fifteen, shortly after Laena’s funeral, and two years later becoming Daemon’s third wife. Now, at the age of three-and-two, the two of you had a six-year-old son, a son your mother and father only met once.
“I’m hoping this war will be over quickly,” Daemon spoke quietly, breaking the silence.
You hummed, leaning back to examine your creation. “I do not want to talk about war this evening, my love,” You said softly, placing a few more flowers in the braids with a soft smile.
You enjoyed the calm moments while you could, not knowing if this would be your last one together. The war began when Aemond and Adryana struck in Storm’s End, and you knew Daemon would be restless until every one of their heads was on spikes. You were to cherish these moments while they lasted.
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You hummed as the sun filtered through the windows, stirring slightly only to feel the side beside you cold. You furrowed your brows while rubbing your eyes as you sat up, your stomach still sore from your injuries.
“You do not want to go to the small council like that?” You asked teasingly, seeing Daemon picking out the white flowers, having slept in them.
He chuckled, looking down at the small pile forming beside him at the vanity. “I’m not sure it would be proper attire for a small council meeting.”
You scrunched up your nose while slowly getting out of bed. Wrapping your silken robe around you, you walked up behind your husband, meeting his violet eyes in the mirror.
“Issa byka rūklon*,” Daemon said softly, placing his hand on your arm when you wrapped them around his neck.
You hummed lightly. “I prefer when you call me aōha vēzos*.”
Daemon laughed. “No one else can hear that.”
You smirked, moving back so Daemon could get up. You straightened his doublet for him, scrunching up your nose when he placed two fingers under your chin, making you look up.
“I love you, Y/N,” Daemon whispered, moving his hand to your cheek.
“I love you too,” You replied, meeting his lips in a short, sweet kiss.
You watched him pull away after a moment, a small smirk forming on your features. You noticed the stray flower tucked in the waves of his hair.
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“You’re late, Daemon,” Corlys spoke up, seeing the Prince enter the council chambers.
“You should already know that I enjoy making late, dramatic entrances,” Daemon replied simply, sliding into the empty seat on Rhaenyra’s right.
Rhaenyra eyed her uncle curiously, tilting her head. “Daemon,” She called to him, clearing her throat while motioning to her hair.
Daemon furrowed his brows, reaching up to feel the soft petals of the single wildflower he had forgotten about. He untangled it from his hair, looking down at it with a soft sigh.
“Is the Rogue Prince going soft?” Lord Celtigar questioned with a laugh.
“I believe he is,” Corlys agreed.
Daemon only scoffed as the Black Council erupted in laughter, Rhaenyra even adding a giggle of her own. He sighed as the jesting continued around him, his eyes staying on the wildflower in his hand. He twirled it on its tiny stem, his mind wandering back to his wife, their son, and the babe they had lost.
There was no guarantee of surviving this kin war, but Daemon was determined to win it so that he and his family could finally live the peaceful life they had long desired.
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*Adryana: Adryana Targaryen is my original character for House of the Dragon. She is the youngest daughter and fifth child of King Viserys and Queen Alicent (The reader is the eldest daughter and child). She is wed to her twin brother, Aemond, and they have a set of twins together; a son named Vanar and a daughter named Vhaenys. She is known to have a short temper and often accused her eldest sister of abandoning her to live with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone. She also felt hurt when she sided with Rhaenyra's children during the Driftmark incident. Her temper overflowed when her eldest sister made a comment about how their father would be disappointed in the twins and their actions after reuniting in Storm's End, ultimately resulting in Adryana attempting to kill her and the unborn babe. The eldest sister lived, but the unborn babe did not, leading to her and Daemon planning revenge on Lucerys and their child.
*Issa byka rūklon: High Valyrian for my little flower.
*aōha vēzos: High Valyrian for your sun.
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supremeshrimpy · 8 months
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please don't leave me again
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Request: Hello! can you write reuniting with them after months/years due to work/curses/ or anything! (up to you!) with seperate! lilia, jade, azul, floyd, and leona? (atp im just desperate for content for the aforementioned characters badly) 
-Anon
Summary: stay a bit longer, it’s been so long! Just…don’t leave them again…
Characters: Lillia Vanrouge, Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto, Leona Kingscholar 
A/N: damn a 18 month hiatus is crazy huh… Also, I didn’t feel like writing a Floyd one because I’m a tired senior 
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Lillia Vanrouge (Curse): 
Sometimes, when he closes his eyes at night, he sees you smiling at him in a field of flowers. Euphoria. Other times, he sees you lying motionless in his arms, he can still smell the toxin on your lips. He remembers everything so vividly, the way your hair shaped your cold face as he laid your body in your glass tomb. Still, hundreds of years later, he remembers his promise to you.
“For as long as my heart beats,” he whispered, “I will be restless in bringing you back to me, my love.”
So when he received a letter that you had awoken, he was overcome with emotions. As he flew back to the Valley of Thorns, he was angry at himself for missing the moment as your eyes reopened but so fucking excited to feel his cold skin against your warm self again. 
They moved you to our old room in the palace, everything was the same but so much time had passed. It had been so long since…everything. You can’t walk, you can barely talk, and all basic movements feel like challenges. Everybody that you once sat around a table and laughed with was now long dead. 
You were left to ponder how you could even exist in this new world. Everything you knew was gone, friends, family, and…oh no. What became of your dearest, Lillia? Did he go out as a war hero or as a criminal? Did he live to…find someone new and start a family? 
This was all too much, you can’t take the thought. Everything is too much, you just wish that you could close your eyes and go back to the ways things were. 
The door to your room slammed open and there stood a panting, young man. Why does he look so familiar? 
“You’re…this…by the Dark- you’re awake…,” even with his stammers he sounded a lot like someone you once knew. A certain someone who you shared a final memory with. 
“...Lillia,” your question comes out like a whisper as if it was taboo. Before you knew it Lillia had dropped to his knees in front of you. 
“YE-yes it’s me, my love,” he corrects his voice just as quickly as it came out. His head dropped on your lap; he wanted to feel your skin on his, “please, let’s allow me to stay like this for a bit….” 
Jade Leech (Moving Away):
His last memory of you was when you were both seven years old, Jade was clinging to your tail. He was sobbing and screeching for you not to move away. He remembers your parents dragging you away as his parents held him back, your figure slowly fading in with the bubbles. He hasn’t seen you since, so imagine his surprise when he receives a letter from his parents saying your family has moved back along with a photo of you. 
He’s never been so excited to go home for spring break, you’re back…you’re home. And here he is stuck at school while you're just a dive away. As he tried to focus on his studies, you were now permanently stuck in the back of his head. The photo of you sits on his desk, a beacon of what waits for him after midterms. 
“You seem unusually happy, Jade,” Azul says as stands in the doorway watching Jade pack his bag, “is it because they’re back?” 
Jade snickers as the thought of seeing you once again fills his brain, but this meeting won’t be the same. You and him aren’t the same people as you were 10 years ago. He’s so excited to see how you’ve blossomed in the time you were away from each other.
Jade couldn’t contain his smile when he saw you waiting on the other side of the mirror. He would have been the first to greet you if it wasn’t for Floyd jumping you into a surprise hug. Once Floyd was finally off of you, Jade was finally able to speak to you once again. 
“It’s good to see you again Jade,” you smile at him oh-so softly, “I’ve missed you.” You’re so fucking gorgeous, you look so different than the last time he saw you. 
“Now, don’t you look breathtaking,” Jade smiles, corking his head to the side. You don’t even know that your small giggles make his heart do flips. 
“Now tell me, Jade,” you say, swimming ever so close to him, “what have you been up to while I was away? “
Azul Ashengrotto (Different Schools) 
Azul loves the school’s open cultural festival for several reasons. One, the Monstro Lounge does wonderfully during the three days that the event is taking place. Nothing screams profit quite like parents wanting a quiet, relaxing place to lecture their kids about their grades. 
And that plays into his second reason too well, kids will do anything to get rid of their parents for a few hours. The contracts just keep rolling in for Azul as these kids sell themselves to him just to keep their parents busy and away from them. 
As the Octavinelle student mans the lounge, Azul is left in his office. His leg bounced anxiously for his third reason to love the school festival to arrive. Parents aren’t the only crowd the cultural festival attracts, students from other schools flock to see the wonders that Night Raven College has to offer. 
Oh, how Azul misses you. He misses the way you smile, the way you shake your hands when you get excited, the way your lips…god. He misses you so bad. With a huff, Azul brushes his hair out of his face and fixes his glasses to check his phone. 
“I’m so lost right now, I can’t believe your school is this big”
“Wait…”
“Nevermind I found the Portal room, see you soon”
Is it normal to be sweating this much, it's only been a few months since he last saw you in person, only a few days since you last talked on the phone, and only a few seconds since you last texted. He can’t honestly be this nervous to see you again. What happened to cool, suave businessman Azul? The Azul that can smoothly talk his way into the best outcomes for himself. Who is this nervous mess?
“YOOOOO! AZULLLLLL,” the door slams open, with no regard for Azul’s privacy
Damn it, Floyd…
“Floyd, what have we discussed about knocking before opening the door,” Azul grits through his teeth while fixing his crooked glasses. Floyd gives nothing more than a shrug before leaving the room. 
“It’s nice to see you again too, Azul,” you pout mischievously, fanning offense that your dearest octo hasn’t greeted you. 
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, why don’t you close the door so we may have some privacy while we…chat.”
Leona Kingscholar (Lost Contact)
Leona is a lot of things; smart, cunning, handsome, regal, but if there's one thing he isn't, it's communicative. This man can not keep a relationship running for the life of him. If you aren’t in front of him every day, Leona will just forget you exist. He doesn’t think anyone is deserving of constant contact with him. 
They should be the ones to reach out to him, not the other way around. So when your letters stopped coming in, he was…surprised. You have always carried the conversation in your guy’s relationship so for you to suddenly stop is out of the normal. 
Are you angry with him? Have you found someone else more worth your time?
Impossible there is no one more worth your time than the Leona Kingscholar. You must have forgotten to mail your letter in or the post must have lost it. He’ll have Ruggie go check your letter tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that until you come to your senses and mail that damn thing.
One, Two, Three damn weeks and no letter from you at all. As much as Leona thinks that it doesn’t affect him, the members can tell he’s irritated. If you ask Ruggie, he’ll say he’s seen Leona writing something at his desk and then immediately turning it to dust when he notices Ruggie’s in the room.
Oh, but Ruggie knew everything, he knew that if you stopped writing Leona he’d fall into such disarray. As much as Leon will deny it, Leona adores your letters and keeps them safely stored away in his desk for his eyes only. Ruggie’s been secretly keeping the letter you’ve been sending just to see how long it would take for Leona’s pride to break for you. 
Three and a half weeks is all it took. 
Leona catches Ruggie in the early morning (a time Ruggie thought Leona would never be up at) and hands him a neatly wax-sealed letter and simply instructs him to “make sure this makes it where it needs to go.” He also hands Ruggie a 5,000 Grimm bill and walks away. 
You bet your sorry ass Ruggie hauled him to the post to deliver the letter. 
And just like that, communication between you and Leona continued. And if you squint real hard, you can even see the faintest of smiles when he receives a new letter from you. 
He can’t wait for spring break.
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buddierecs · 2 days
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post season 7 buddie fics
in honour of season 8 coming out in a few days, here is a list of fics that have been released over the hiatus set post season 7. all of these are general audience, teen and up or not rated (no smut) make sure to kudos/comment on these amazing works :)
ice cream before dinner (my beloved) by: cloudydaisies "gerrard messes with the team's schedules and eddie 'i just drove my son to flee the state' diaz is the only option to watch mara and jee-yun after school on tuesdays, which, shouldn't be a problem at all, right?" word count: 58k important tags: girl!uncle eddie, fluff, friends to lovers, love confessions, feelings realisation, minor buck/tommy, family feels take me home (to my heart) by: literalmetaphor "eddie and maddie end up in an impossible situation." word count: 20k important tags: car accidents, injury, hurt!eddie diaz, hurt!maddie han, maddie & eddie friendship, worried!evan buckley, getting together it's always on the tip of my tongue by: allyasavedtheday "eddie diaz vs the great romance paradigm." word count: 17k important tags: character study, therapy, emotional hurt/comfort, falling in love, demisexual!eddie diaz all my little words by: youbetsya "eddie: did you just send me an email?? buck: yeah lol eddie: why… i dont think you’ve ever emailed me actual words before. just stuff to print when your printer is broken buck: did you read it? eddie: Not yet. too busy trying to figure out why the fuck you’re emailing me buck: just read it dude 🙄" word count: 11k important tags: texting, idiots in love, getting together, eddie diaz mustache three strikes and you're out by: eightpackdiaz "buck's soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend chooses to ignore him every time the kiss cam points in their direction. eddie does the opposite" word count: 3.1k important tags: minor buck/tommy, cheating, kiss him, jealous!eddie diaz, tommy kinard bashing, first kiss a honey shade of blue by: hattalove "one toddler, two conversations, and so many missed opportunities for buck to act like a guy not in love with his best friend." word count: 8k important tags: getting together, pining!evan buckley, first kiss catatonia by: dqstcrdly "buck and eddie get into a car accident, buck thinks eddie is dead, and goes catatonic about it." word count: 13k important tags: car accidents, near death experiences, love confessions, angst, hurt/comfort, getting together, tommy kinard bashing knowing me, knowing you by: kiwibuckley "five times eddie was the better (boy)friend, and the one time he was the boyfriend" word count: 10k important tags: 5+1 things, friends to lovers, getting together, minor buck/tommy, tommy kinard bashing, eddie diaz loves evan buckley, petty!eddie diaz, pining sweet talk by: daisies_and_briars "eddie asks to crash at the loft while christopher is gone, struggling to be on his own. only problem? there's only one bed, and no couch." word count: 6.5k important tags: there was only one bed, minor buck/tommy, healing, couch theory this postcard tells you where we've been by: daisies_and_briars "eddie finds a collection of postcards buck sent to chris over his summer in el paso." word count: 3.5k important tags: getting together, first kiss, fluff, christopher diaz has two dads glass on the pavement under my shoe by: doitgently "buck takes a great big tumble. like always, eddie is right behind him." word count: 9.4k important tags: near death experience, major character injury, love confessions, angst with happy ending you'd have to stop the world (just to stop the feeling) by: wenttoafortuneteller "the eddie diaz gay realization arc we all deserve. in which bobby puts some pieces together, chimney sees something he shouldn’t, hen gets to have a conversation she’s been waiting to have for years, and buck can’t understand why his best friend is avoiding him." word count: 23k important tags: character study, catholic guilt, pre-relationship, self-discovery, self-acceptance, feelings realisation hope it hurts, burns & you finally grieve me by: dylaesthetics "eddie spontaneously visits a church and things fall into place." word count: 4.8k important tags: character study, religious guilt, angst, friends to lovers, getting together
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saltofmercury · 1 year
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Moments
Author’s note: Something I had tried to finish before my big hiatus in April but never felt comfortable enough to share? Also is anyone still out here? I hope you like it.
Pairing: König x f!reader
“Moments”
It’s the small moments.
Small memories that run through his brain, bringing him back to reality. They flip like book pages when he’s caught staring at the empty sand, an abandoned warehouse, and they continue to keep him up late at night.
The sound of your alarm goes off, but he’s not home, you’re not next to him. The ground is cold and dirty, not warm and cushioned like his bed. The alarm goes off only once— its caught before it rings again. It’s the same tone but Horangi stopping it.
Every morning after you’ve hit snooze a couple times, the same tone goes off multiple times.
There’s rustling towards his right arm. He’s been up for a couple of hours, scrolling aimlessly on his phone.
Then, there’s a weight settling back into his arms.
He rolls his eyes, rubbing your back, holding in a laugh. You do this every morning, ignoring your alarm, rushing late to work, and scrambling around the room.
He gives you four more minutes before he decides to wake you.
There’s also seeing your face light up when he’s picking you up from work.
The G-Wagon blasting a genre of music you know already too well. Your face swings towards the right side locking eyes with him through the window.
He’s covered in a black hoodie, the hood hanging above his eyelids. You can barely see inside through the tinted windows.
Making your way into the car, his huge hands are quick to pull you in, cupping your face. A big smile snakes up the corners of his mouth, bringing you into a kiss. The hood above his head covers almost all of your face,
a sigh is released.
You make him feel whole, not alone anymore.
*
It’s been over six months since he’s been gone. There’s been emails exchanged, seasons have passed, but for the most part it’s been dead quiet.
The scent of him is gone on his side of the bed. You’ve sprayed his cologne a couple times but it’s just not the same.
Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you— the jingle of keys, the crunch of tires along the driveway, a ghost limb next to you, or the vibration of your phone in your pocket.
Four days left.
*
At the movies he picks out the red M&m’s. His big fingers tear the bag apart as he tries to find all the red ones.
He’s distracting himself from the first date jitters.
He’s been on a couple dates with you but every time it feels like the first.
“Red tastes the best”
You roll your eyes at him.
“They’re all the same.”
“No, they are not. I assure you red is different.”
He smiles at you.
“Test me, I promise you I know different taste in the colors”
You stick a blue color m&m in his mouth quickly and have him guess.
“Yuck! Schatz this is blue”
You’re stunned. How the fuck did he guess the correct color?
“No way, try again.” You pick a yellow one from his bag, covering it slowly with your other hand. You peek at him, but his eyes are completely closed with his tongue out.
He eats it, then smiles at you.
“Yellow.”
*
König watches the clock every ten seconds. His eyes switch between his boss and the clock.
He’s done longer missions before, but never had someone waiting on the other end.
He starts to bounce his leg. He can feel his palms start to sweat, his dirty hair on his head matted underneath the t-shirt placed over his head.
There’s emotions running through him. Excitement running through him to see you.
It’s so easy to make you happy.
He always thought a relationship was going to be difficult.
The first time he had left on a mission he brought home strawberries for you.
You had been complaining how winters never bring sweet strawberries.
“where did you find them?” Your eyes just as wide as your smile.
Strawberries were not in season and you thought of the endless recipes you could make.
Seeing you light up, hearing the gratitude in your voice, made him melt.
The time your car needed a jump —
It took just 3 seconds of hearing your tired voice for him to immediately come over.
It was a cold day and you had brought out a blanket stored in the trunk. You had cried your eyes out scared that nothing was working.
He had the problem fixed in under 5 minutes but when you said —
“I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Seeing your lip quivering, your eyes rimmed with fatigue and tears— because of ALL days, every single thing today had to go bad.
He liked coming to your rescue.
In bed however, that was when he knew he was made to be with you.
When he was on top of you, foreheads touching, mask slightly up because he had rushed over from a mission and straight into your hands,
he held your legs,
pressed his other hand along the headboard,
sinking in and out of you trying not to cum,
“you—
you moaned arching your back and sinking your teeth into his shoulder
— feel so good….
His breathy laugh exhales out his body. How did you two mesh so well?
The heat rushes to his cheeks, he’s forgotten that he’s wearing a mask and looks around to make sure nobody’s watching the pink hue flush into his cheeks.
*
The drive home he can’t contain his excitement. He’s wondering if you’ve changed, if he’s changed at all. Would there be a difference in six months?
The road leading up to his house gets shorter, his hands on the steering wheel turn clammy, cold, and look more pale than usual.
As he parks, his heart beats fast. He skips the luggage in his car and rushes inside.
The keys jingle in the front door—
Your socks slip across the floor, rushing towards the door. He’s not even halfway in before you attempt to yank him inside, slipping in the process.
He’s quick and tugs you up towards him.
Crushing you between his arms and chest, his arm snakes its way up your back pulling your face closer to him.
His cold lips find yours, his tongue prying your mouth open. His eyes close softly, both of you lost in this moment, regaining familiarity with one another.
Once you pull away, you take a good look at him. His eyes are still rimmed with black, making the hue of his blue eyes brighter. His face still has some of the redness and faded scars around him.
You take a second to memorize the new ones and recall old ones. Your gaze shifting to every inch of his face.
“Stop it” his voice startles you, but when you peek at him, there’s the smile and his eyes are roaming around your face too.
The curve of your nose, the fading acne scars you have, the small redness you have around your cheeks and chin.
He walks forward towards the couch, settles with you on top— a sigh leaving his mouth.
“I’ve missed our couch.”
He peeks up at you, closes his eyes for a second, gaining his shyness again.
Have you always been this intimidating?
He’s become a bit unfamiliar with how to be around you. He starts to worry again, wondering if you’ve changed your mind about being here with him.
But you’re already a step ahead and bring out the bag stored on top of the coffee table.
“Ok round five? I know you’re cheating.”
His heart flutters and his cheeks flush again. His eyes and nose crinkle, his chest letting out a boisterous laugh.
Every time he laughs he seems to age backwards. The muscles, the height, his age— all fade away to someone 20 years old again.
“M&m’s? Again?” He peeks at the you. You remembered the silly little game he conjured on one of your first dates.
“Yes. Because I know you’re cheating.”
He opens his mouth, sticking his tongue out.
“I can prove you wrong as many times as you want.”
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kitthepurplepotato · 5 months
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Side note: I’m not back from my hiatus, I’m just giving you guys a treat to make the long waits a little bit better!
Chapter 7 - Something’s wrong with the puppy.
Summary: Eijirou comes into the coffee shop looking like the ghost of himself. Needless to say, you make sure he feels better as soon as possible.
Warnings: Swear words, reader has a few, tiny bit inappropriate thoughts here and there, sharing a bath (in underwear! Nothing cheeky!) a little bit angsty on Kirishima’s side, bless his broken little soul.
First Chapter Master List
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“Who made you frown like that, puppy dog?”
Eijirou is here for his usual morning beverage but he looks absolutely… done. He also looks like he just finished a shift instead of starting one but you decide not to comment on that for now; his mental health is much more important than the fact that he has soot all over his face and probably scares the customers with his disheveled look. His bright red hair is muted into a weird, dark grayish-crimson color and there are cracks in the metal parts of his costume.
It has been two weeks since your first kiss but Eijirou haven’t kissed you since. His work was hectic, your date on that Friday got canceled and you’ve only seen each other here, in the coffee shop and even that was only for a few minutes instead the usual half an hour. You miss him so much. “Why are so dirty, hun’?”
“I don’t want to go back. Too much. Tired. Don’t wanna talk to anyone.”
Yet here he is, in a busy coffee shop, just so he can see you. Fucking hell, you love him so much.
“Come.” You point towards the staff room at the back. Thankfully, the boss is here to support you today and she’s nice enough to not comment on the fact that you are supposed to serve customers and not to give mental support to your broken boyfriend. You make eye contact with her and she only rolls her eyes.
“Go home.” She mouths silently and you don’t need to be asked twice.
“Actually, change of plans, follow me.”
Eijirou doesn’t say a word through the whole journey home. You call a taxi and tell the guy your address; you don’t want anyone to see him like that and you are quite sure he wouldn’t want that either if he would be in the right state of mind.
You open your door but Ei doesn’t move so you pull him in with you and make your way towards the bathroom with him. He still haven’t said a single word since you’ve left the coffee shop but that’s okay. You start the water in the bath and pour your favorite lavender scented bubble bath into it; the water becomes purple with silver glitters swirling around happily, the scent calming you right away and you can only hope it does the same for your mopey companion.
“I’ll take your… this thing off. Is that okay?” You point at the two metal accessories on his torso and he only nods at that. You hate seeing him like this. Eijirou should always smile. He’s beautiful when he’s happy.
It takes you a few seconds to understand how those things work but after a while you find two clips on the back; you catch the gauntlets when they are about to fall down and you almost pull a muscle; they are so heavy you can’t believe he’s working in these every day. You wouldn’t be able to lift them if you wouldn’t have gone through your uncle’s training when you were a teen.
“Let’s clean you up a little bit before you sit in, okay?” You take a cloth from the cupboard and wet it, slowly stroking the hero’s upper body to rid him of the black soot. He doesn’t say anything but his frown deepens, like he’s ashamed of being in this state, which honestly, it’s quite understandable. As the soot disappears you find quite a lot of scars, they aren’t bleeding anymore but they definitely sting but he doesn’t even flinch when you touch them with the wet towel. You decide to leave then untreated for now and do that after the bath when hopefully, Eijirou will have more mental energy to actually communicate. They are really small compared to the usual hero injuries but for a normal person, these would be enough to end up in a hospital for at least a day. This is one of the things that makes you mad about the hero world… how they are treated differently even though they are just humans, like everyone else. All these old scars on his body wouldn’t be there if they would have been treated properly, but they weren’t; because it’s just a “scratch”, too small for the medic team to care about in the chaos but injuries like that still leave a scar afterwards but apparently that doesn’t matter because heroes aren’t supposed to be pretty, they are nothing but a living-breathing weapon, even in this day and age. It got a little bit better since pro hero Deku and his gang took over the top charts but there’s still a long way to go before the heroes can get the right treatment.
Eijirou’s muscles bounce under your hands, the skin alternating between soft and rough, depending on the area; for instance, the area where his gauntlets is full of callouses, angry and red, probably from the constant friction. You drop the wet towel into the sink to trace them with your fingers, but Eijirou catches your wrist after a few tentative strokes.
“Hurts.” He mumbles. “Ugly.”
It breaks your heart how he can’t even make a full sentence properly right now. He’s a shadow of himself, a dark blob in the well-lit bathroom.
“It’s not.” Is all you say and decide to approach the situation in a different way; you move into Eijirou’s space and start leaving tiny kisses around the area, slowly moving closer to the calluses and leaving feather light pecks all over the reddish area. “It’s beautiful because it’s you.”
Eijirou doesn’t even try to hide the tears in his eyes. He starts to sob loudly, pulling you closer by your waist as he hides his face in the crook of your neck, body flush against yours. Your heart thrashes in your chest and you are quite sure he can feel the heavy bangs against his chest but instead of feeling ashamed you just feel… happy. Happy to be able to show him how much he means to you in ways he knows you can’t fake. “I really like you, Eijirou.”
“I love you. So much.” His hand grips your hair at your nape and you almost moan from the sudden pleasure. Your scalp was always really sensitive so you hated when people ruffled your hair in a friendly gesture but this… this is perfect. It’s more than perfect when it’s Eijirou who’s doing it.
“Let me take care of you, Ei.” He doesn’t say anything to that just lets you pull him towards the bath full of bubbles. “Can I get rid of your trousers? Underwear can stay.” He nods again and you get to work, trying not to think about about how suggestive this whole situation is. It’s not the right time for that. You already made the situation weird by enjoying the hair pulling a bit too much so it’s time for you take a deep breath and take your mind out of the gutter. He needs you.
Eijirou plops into the bath like a good boy after that but doesn’t do anything else; he just sits there with an empty gaze, staring at the shower gel bottle in the corner as though he’s having a silent conversation with it. And maybe he does. Who knows.
He doesn’t let your hand go, he holds it tight even as his body slowly relaxes; by the look of it, he won’t do anything for the next few minutes so you try to reach the shampoo bottle on the other end but Eijirou suddenly pulls your hand and you end up falling into the bath tub, your head thankfully landing on his chest and not somewhere dangerous. You look at your wet clothing and sigh, a tiny hint of a smile hiding in the corner of your mouth.
“Ei. If you wanted me to join you you should’ve just said so.” You giggle as you try to rid yourself from the disgustingly wet shirt and your trousers, probably hitting the poor guy with your elbows quite a few times but he doesn’t comment on it. You end up in your panties and your bra which is basically the same as wearing a swimsuit even though the padded bra feels really uncomfortable on your skin but there is no fucking way you’ll take that off right now for obvious reasons.
You really need to tell yourself AGAIN that this is NOT a romantic situation. Don’t think about what are you sitting on right now. Do not.
You wait a few seconds to give him time to answer but it doesn’t seem like he will so you finally take the shampoo in your hand and and give it to the redhead while you take the the shower head in your hand and start spraying his hair, straddling the guy’s hips while you do so. As the red gets brighter you can’t help but notice his roots; there is a tiny bit of black peeking out from his scalp, so tiny you wouldn’t even see it if you are not up close.
You are not surprised about it per se, you had a hunch his hair isn’t natural but it still baffles you a little bit.
“I can’t imagine you with black hair.” You mumble and the hero tenses under you. “Hey, it’s just hair. Don’t act like I just realized you are an alien.” You leave a tiny kiss on the top of his head to calm him down and thankfully, it works wonders; his body relaxes again, soft and pliant under your touch. “Mine is dyed too. I know, shocker.”
Eijirou looks up at you like he’s seeing you for the first time.
“And Uncle Riot?”
You can’t help but laugh loudly at that.
“Of course that’s your first question.” You mumble as you lather the shampoo into his hair. “His hair color is natural. He’s the only one in the family with that shade. Don’t ask, why, because we have no idea. My dad used to tease him about being adopted, they were terrible to each other. Typical brothers, really.”
“I don’t have any siblings.” Eijirou admits with a shy look on his pretty flushed face.
“Me neither. Thank god for that, I’m enough of a menace alone, we don’t need another one of me in the family.” You slowly wash the soap away, ready to put the conditioner on. He lets you do it in silence, he just closes his eyes and enjoys how your fingers scratch his scalp in the process. “You like this, Ei? Feeling better?” You scratch behind his ear like he’s a dog but by the look of it, Ei likes it so it doesn’t end up being as weird as you thought it would be.
“Uhum. I’m… I’m back. Kinda.” He admits sheepishly.
“Still okay with me being here with you? Do you want me to get out?” You ask, just in case; you don’t want him to be uncomfortable and you absolutely understand if he feels like it’s too much now.
“Can I wash your back?” Is the answer you get and your cheeks flush heavily from the words.
 You leave the conditioner on his head to do its thing and sit between his legs, ready to be washed. Now it’s really starting to sink in how… close you two are right now. It’s extremely intimate, way too intimate for two people who’s been dating for less than a month but somehow, it just feels… right. Perfect. Like it’s how it’s supposed to be.
Eijirou moves towards the shower gel, pumps the liquid into his hands and starts washing your back; his hands are so careful yet so deliberate, it almost feels like a massage and you can feel the goosebumps appearing on your skin from the pleasure. You sigh contentedly, feeling the urge to lay back on his chest and instead of pushing you back to your original position he lets you lean on him, his hands snaking around your waist to pull you close. His chin ends up on your shoulder then he takes a deep breath and finally, he starts talking.
“Katsuki and his fiancé are on a holiday. They went to see her family abroad so they’re not in town. Stupid fuckers realized the number two hero is away and started to do all kind of shit in our patrol area, hoping they can get away with it but needless to say, it’s all in vain but they don’t give up. It’s constant. They are easy jobs but… I’m tired. I haven’t slept for a week. Izuku and Shouto tries to help as much as they can but they have their own agency to run as well as helping ours and we are missing the two strongest heroes in our agency so… yeah.”
“You know it’s not your fault, right? You know you are strong enough, this is just way too much for a person fueled by coffee and energy drinks? You are just a human, Eijirou. Give yourself a break. I’m quite sure your friends can keep an eye on your agency for one day.” You interlace your fingers with his, squeezing the hand resting on your belly affectionately. “Stay with me today, Eijirou. Have a nap, then we can watch a movie in the afternoon and go to sleep early.”
“Is it a date?” Eijirou teases as he leaves a tiny kiss on the top of your head.
“It’s better than that. It’s our first day living together. It’s the practice round.”
“Stop teasing me.” Eijirou pouts and you can’t help but leave a tiny kiss in the corner of his mouth.
“I’m not. I promise.” You murmur as you turn back to him to continue cleaning him.
You could get used to this, it’s actually terrifying how normal it feels like to share a bath with this man you’ve only known for a few months. There’s no awkwardness the air and you don’t even feel shy for being almost naked, skin touching skin as you shimmy into him after the both of you are fresh and clean. It’s so easy to forget how young your relationship is as you cuddle in the hot bath tub, cheeks ruddy from the heat. He’s so beautiful with his wet hair framing his face, the locks soft and shiny for the conditioner.
You already see a future routine in front of you; sharing a coffee in the coffee shop in the morning then in the afternoon, cooking lunch, sharing a meal, enjoying each other’s company while lounging on the couch, cuddled close while a silly super hero movie with an unnecessary romantic plot plays in the background, having a bath together then sharing the bed and making love until it’s time to sleep. Maybe you two could train on your free days, spar until you both end up tangled on the mat, kissing the living shit out of the other. You could have dinners at your uncle’s house and just stare at your perfect fiancé fanboying over everything in the house like he’s not about to be a part of this family himself in a few months. Fuck, it would be perfect. So fucking perfect.
“Thank you, Y/N. For everything.” Eijirou mutters into your ear, pulling you close.
“There’s nothing to thank me for. You need to rest and I just want you all to myself for a day. It’s a win-win.”
“… Always teasing me…” he says and you leave it to him; maybe it’s the best if he thinks it’s all just a joke for now. Your true feelings might suffocate him. It’s too much too soon, but it’s the truth. You already have your whole life planned out with him as weird as it sounds.
You can’t wait for all your dreams to become reality one day; but today, you need to take a deep breath - so you just do exactly that.
You can wait forever for him if that’s what he needs. It doesn’t matter because he’s worth it.
~•🪨•~
“What do I need to say for you to stay with me?” Eijirou mutters with a red face, staring out from your bedroom window, tucked in into your sheets like a little kid at bedtime. You are definitely going overboard with your actions right now, but you can’t help but worry about this silly little sensitive man in front of you.
He really reminds you of your uncle sometimes. You were way too young to understand his constant battle with mental health when he was still a hero but once you were eighteen your uncle started to open up about his old struggles and he had the same look on his face when he told you his stories as the one on Eijirou’s face right now and it breaks your heart. You don’t want to see him like this but it’s the part of the job as cruel as it sounds and you need to respect that; just because you were able to be selfish and leave all that behind, that doesn’t mean it was the right choice and you know that. Of course, it’s amazing to live carefree but the amount of people you couldn’t save because you’ve left the field haunts you to this day and sometimes it makes you wonder if all the pain is actually worth it for the lives you could save.
You thought that love is something unachievable when you are in this line of work and seeing Eijirou’s mopey little face clearly tells you that it’s not an easy task to be successful in love and at your job at the same time, and not everyone would have the patience to take care of you in time of need but… maybe, it’s all about surrounding yourself with the right people. You also have a feeling that you would’ve met Eijirou anyway, even if you’d never work in your uncle’s coffee shop because you two are connected by fate and no one can change your mind about that.
“This is my flat, silly, I’m not going anywhere.” You give the redhead a fond smile, but apparently, that’s not what the said redhead wanted to hear because he shakes his head vigorously, his face even more red than before. He takes your hand in his tentatively, stroking your knuckles with his thumb as he mumbles something inaudible. He pulls your hand closer and that’s when it clicks; he wants you to stay with him… in the bed. While he naps. Your heart almost jumps out of your chest from the sudden happiness that washes over you.
“You just need to say please. But before you do, I must warn you I might kiss you for real. I’m at my limits, puppy dog.”
You are quite sure you are as red as him by now but you try to keep your cheeky smile on, hoping it’s dark enough in the room for him to not see how flustered you are. It’s just not on brand, you know. You are the one teasing, not the other way around! Damn, the tables have turned.
“I… I can take that risk any day.” He mutters back; you make a silly noise in your throat, a high pitched little yelp you hope he can’t hear as you slowly let him pull you into the bed, cuddling you right away as you lay down next to him.
Okay, the tables DEFINITELY have turned. “Is this too much? I feel like your heart is yelling at me to go away.” He sighs with his face hidden in your chest. “So aggressive.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” You whisper into his ear while your arm snakes around his middle to initiate an actual cuddle. “It beats like that every time you come through the coffee shop door. It has been doing that for a while.”
“Am I scary?”
… This guy is an actual idiot. Do you really need to spell it out?
“Ei, look at me.” Slowly, Eijirou moves his head from your chest and he looks so terrified, you can’t stop yourself anymore; you stroke his chin while you look into his eyes fondly, moving closer and closer, giving him enough time to move away, but he… doesn’t. Finally, your lips collide in a warm, chaste kiss, one that’s barely there but it’s just enough to make a point. “Do I look scared of you, silly?”
Suddenly, Eijirou pushes himself up to his elbows and stares into your eyes. He’s still close, much closer than you’ve even been to him, his breath fans your lips and you feel goosebumps going down your spine from the thrill of it.
“If I say you do, will you do that again?” For the first time today, he almost looks like himself again; his eyes are full of wonder, he bites his bottom lip to stop it from wobbling, he’s so fucking precious you want to put him in your pocket and keep him there for the hard days and for the good ones, just have him with you every day because fuck, you really do love this fucking himbo.
“Just shut up and kiss me.”
And he does.
But…
This is not what you were expecting.
Eijirou pecks your lips once, twice, then a third time, but then he moves to your cheeks and leaves tiny little kisses all over until he gets bored of the area and goes back to your lips, pecks them again, but even as you try to give him a proper kiss, he moves away and keeps peppering you with these small, almost friendly kisses and you are so fucking confused but also kinda excited for finally not being the one doing all the work.
You have no idea how to tell him you want… well.. more. You feel selfish for not appreciating this properly and you feel like this is not the time for you to speak up about if; maybe, this is what he needs now, just… love and affection but not in a suggestive way. You take a deep breath and try to do the same, just peppering kisses on his cheeks and lips, counting fucking sheep to calm yourself down before you devour the man on top of you. Small kisses. You can do this.
You gently change your positions to let Eijirou lay on the bed and rest. He makes a tiny yelp from the sudden change but he let’s you be in charge; you straddle his hips but you make sure you don’t touch in inappropriate places because while you would absolutely love to take this further, he’s clearly not in the mood for that yet. Maybe he’s the “no heavy making out” before marriage kinda guy. It would make a lot of sense to be fair, with the whole “proposal on the first date” thing he’d pulled.
You really need to sit down and talk, this is getting ridiculous. You haven’t even talked about being a couple properly. Obviously, you are not stupid, you know you are… well… something, maybe even more than just a couple at this point but it all happened so quickly it would be nice to know you two are on the same page about this.
You sweep this thought under the rug for a few more days; now you have a mission to finish, which is to make Eijirou happy enough to be able to take a proper nap. You leave tiny kisses on his cheeks, then one cheeky peck on his mouth, your thumb caressing his cheekbone soothingly as you keep kissing him, slow and careful until Eijirou looks like he’s ready to doze off; when the time is right, you lay down next to him, your fingers drawing circles into his naked chest until finally, his breathing evens out and he’s out like a light, a tiny smile ghosting his face as he sleeps peacefully, unconsciously cuddling into your side.
Needless to say, you can’t fall asleep. Your heart is thrashing in your chest, begging for attention, begging for that deep kiss you’ve been dreaming about for eternity.
“You’ll be the death of me, himbo.” You mumble silently as you close your eyes and pretend to sleep for the next couple of hours.
It’s fine. You have your whole life to take those steps forward. There is no need to rush this. Maybe, if you tell that to yourself a couple more times you’ll actually believe it.
… to be continued!
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Potato ramble:
- Thank you very much for your kind words under my last personal update. I’m sorry for not replying. I read them all and they made me really happy I’m just… well… having troubles communicating with anyone right now. Thank you very much for being so kind and patient with me, I hope this surprise chapter makes your day a bit better 💜
- Tell me what you think of this chapter! Tell me what you think will happen in the next! I might not respond but I’ll definitely enjoy reading your conspiracies! 💜
TL: @porusuniverse @sixxze @unofficialmuilover @cheesenmax @readingfan @sammmm29 @pwinglez1 @happydragonfrog @magicalhandsherringclam @lovingnightharmony @theequeenofcurses @kirishima-eijirock @nerinefy @selfindulgenthoe @fierysplash213 @woofwoofwolf @touyasprettydoll @confused-smol-fan @themultifandomgirl @dark-witch-bitch @lotusstarr
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makeitmingi · 1 year
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Cause Baby You’re My Muse [Chapter 7]
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Genre: Romance, Idol!AU, Music, Slight angst
Pairing: Mingi x Reader (y/n)
Characters: Producer!Reader, IdolLyricist!Mingi, IdolProducer!Hongjoong, Idol!Seonghwa, Idol!Yunho, Idol!Wooyoung, Idol!San, Idol!Yeosang, Idol!Jongho, cameo(s) by other celebrities
Summary: You always preferred producing underground, having an unknown face and governed by your own rules. But when you start freelancing for idol groups, you say goodbye to your lone wolf lifestyle as you learn to work with idol producers and lyricists.
Word count: 3.2K
*Chapter warning: Mentions of Mingi’s anxiety and hiatus
You leaned forward, a slight frown on your face as you were deep in thought. Your nose pressed against your interlocked fingers. There was no sound other than the song that has been playing on loop for the past 3 days. It was the only thing you knew now, apparently. 
*DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG*
“Ah! Coming!” You shot up to your feet, wondering who was ringing your doorbell incessantly and repeatedly. You opened the door to see Wooyoung and Seonghwa there.
“Oh, it’s you guys. What’s up?” You blinked in confusion. From what you knew, there was no meeting with them today. 
“What’s up?! You have been uncontactable for almost 2 days! We almost filed a missing persons report!” Wooyoung cupped your cheeks as he yelled.
“By ‘we’, he means just him. The rest of you guessed that you were working.” Seonghwa clarified. 
“Sorry to worry you, Wooyoung. But I’m okay, I’ve just been here in my studio.” You gestured to your studio. You invited them into the space and only then did you notice the bags in their hands. 
“We brought you some snacks that are easy to consume while you’re working and drinks that you can stock in your mini fridge too. Working hard is important but you have to take care of yourself, Indigo.” Seonghwa smiled, placing a hand on your forehead, checking if you’ve fallen ill without even realising. You nodded your head obediently. 
“How long has it been since you’ve gone home?” Wooyoung asked, spinning around in your work chair. You shrugged, going to get your phone to check the date.
“3 days, apparently.” You blinked, even you were surprised.
“Just how have you been surviving here?” 
“I use the shower facility that’s in the gym. And I specifically requested for my couch to be a pull out bed.” You explained. The boys looked at you in shock, unable to comprehend how you have been living in your studio.
“Please don’t tell me the last time you had a full night of sleep was at home.” Wooyoung said and you looked away. When you were working, sleep just becomes something easily forgotten.
“Indigo, that’s very bad. You need to sleep and eat properly in order to work.” Seonghwa chided. 
“I know... I just wanted to finish my track.” You whined slightly. Sleep deprived you was definitely a lot more childlike. 
“Do you want me to tell Hongjoong?” He threatened. 
“No, please don’t tell him! He’s gonna nag at me...” You complained. Seonghwa put his arms around you to pat your back. You leaned into his strangely comforting hold, almost falling asleep standing up. Skinship was really something you have grown accustomed to from the boys.
That’s the reason Wooyoung brought Seonghwa with him. Everyone knows how Seonghwa takes care of Hongjoong, who is always busy doing things and taking care of the others, Wooyoung wanted Seonghwa to care for you too. 
“Is this the song San and Mingi recorded the guide for?” Wooyoung suddenly asked, pulling you away from almost entering dreamland. You nodded your head with a hum. 
“Can I?” He gestured to the computer.
“Sure. But it’s not finished yet.” You agreed. Wooyoung sat on your chair while you sat with Seonghwa on the couch. 
Soon, the soft drum beat introduction played and then San’s soft voice filled the room. You softly sang along to San’s lyrics, having listened to it repeatedly for the past few days. Then Mingi’s part came. 
“It’s a good song.” Seonghwa said, patting the back of your hand.
“Yeah, I really like it! This is what you’ve been working on? It’s really amazing, Indigo ah.” Wooyoung nodded excitedly. 
“Thanks but it’s not perfect yet.” You yawned, rubbing your eyes. When it came to music, it had to be perfect in your eyes and ears. Now, there were still some things lacking. 
“I don’t really know how to explain it. I just listen and know that it’s not there yet. There’s no specific part or section that needs changing... Ah... How do I say it? It’s just not at the level that I envisioned it to be.” You scratched your head as you tried to explain your thoughts to them. Seonghwa understood though, after listening to Hongjoong. 
Just like the movie night, you didn’t know at what point of the conversation with Wooyoung and Seonghwa that you just fell asleep. Your head was leaning comfortable on Seonghwa’s shoulder.
“Don’t move, hyung.” Wooyoung cautioned.
“I wasn’t going to.” Seonghwa replied in a whisper, his body stiff as a board. Wooyoung took your folded blanket from the basket and draped it over you. 
“Do you want to put her on a pillow instead?” Wooyoung asked, not wanting Seonghwa’s shoulder to hurt too. 
“No, it’s okay. She looks like she doesn’t want to be disturbed.” Seonghwa’s eyes cast to you. You were fast asleep, unaware of the conversation that was going on between the two. 
“This is cute.” Wooyoung took hisphone out to snap a picture.
“Ah, Wooyoung ah.” Seonghwa clicked his tongue in disapproval as he lifted a hand to shield the rest of your face, in case you didn’t like being photographed. Wooyoung just giggled and smiled, sending a copy of the photo to Seonghwa.
“This and Hongjoong hyung’s photo looks like you both finally got the daughter you wanted.” Wooyoung snickered, referring to the photo Hongjoong posted the day you were twinning outfits with him. The others teased it to look like a father and daughter more than a siblings photo. 
“I’ll get comfortable.” Wooyoung sat on the solo arm chair. He wasn’t going to leave his hyung alone and he definitely didn’t want to disturb you. 
“We can try to switch later, hyung.” Wooyoung said.
“No need, I’m comfortable. Don’t you have any schedules today?” Seonghwa refused. Wooyoung shook his head. He stood up for a second to dim the lights slightly, guess it was nap time for them as well. 
Your eyes slowly opened as you woke up, suddenly aware of your surroundings. You leaning against something... or someone.
“Seong-” You covered your mouth, noticing that Seonghwa was fast asleep. Your eyes widened in embarrassment, how could you fall asleep on someone?! 
“Wooyoung?” You whispered but realised that he was asleep as well. Hitting yourself on the forehead, you made a mental note to stop falling asleep around these boys. It was so embarrassing. 
As carefully as you could, you stood up and adjusted the blanket over Seonghwa’s body before shuffling over to your desk. You sat down in your seat and put your headphones on to resume working. Looking at the time, you realised you had been sleeping for close to 3 hours. But thanks to the little nap you had, you were feeling energised and refreshed. 
“Let’s do this.” You whispered to yourself and started working again. From the clicking of your keyboard, Seonghwa woke up. He saw the back of your head as you worked.
“Indigo.” He went to you, tapping your shoulder.
“Oh, Seonghwa. I’m sorry I fell asleep on your shoulder, I seriously should stop doing that around all of you.” You bowed deeply and profusely.
“What are you saying? Don’t apologise for that. I’m glad I could bring you comfort to sleep properly, even if it was only for a few hours.” Seonghwa smiled, putting a hand on your head. 
“And it’s okay to sleep around us, its means you trust us, right?” He chuckled.
“I guess it does...” You nodded in agreement, not giving anything else away. You felt safe around them, enough to let your walls down.
“Promise me you’ll sleep in your own bed tonight?” He bent down to meet your eyes. You nodded your head.
“Good. I’ll get Wooyoung and leave. Don’t work too late and make sure you eat. I’ll check and make sure.” Seonghwa lectured. You nodded and reached out to hug him, it was the best way to express your gratefulness.
“Thank you.” You said softly. 
“You’re welcome. You have to take care of yourself.” He reminded. After that, he helped you fold and keep your blankets before he woke Wooyoung up to drag him out of the studio. Even half asleep, Wooyoung smiled and waved to you as Seonghwa guided him away. You laughed and waved back. 
“Where were we...?” You got back to work, picking up where you left off. Things were going a lot smoother, you made minor but good edits to the track that made things better. 
“Done for the day!” You cheered. It was time to go home and have dinner like you promised Seonghwa. 
After packing your laptop and small items into your bag, you took the bus home. It had been 3 days since you’ve been outdoors. When you arrived home, you put all your used clothes into the laundry and showered.
“Need to go get groceries.” You made a mental note as you looked at your almost empty refridgerator. But luckily you could still make a meal out of it.
‘I’m eating like I promised! - Indigo’
You sent Seonghwa a picture of the simple fried rice you had cooked for yourself as proof that you were eating.
‘Good job! - Seonghwa’
As you sat down, you realised how you had no emotional attachment to this house. It was a place for you to sleep, eat and shower but you could do those things at other places. That’s why you didn’t miss it despite being away for a few days. While you watched some Ateez show, their chaotic laughter filling the silence of the apartment. 
“Aww, poor San.” You giggled as you watched him pout from being teased by the other members, namely Wooyoung. Their television personalities were really the same as their real life personalities. 
*BZZ BZZ*
‘Hey, are you still at the office? Up for some late night coffee? - Mingi’
You were shocked, not expecting a message from Mingi. Eating the last mouthful of rice, you placed the bowl in the sink before replying.
‘Not at the office but I would definitely love some coffee now. Are you sure you can go out this late though? - Indigo’
‘Of course, no early schedules tomorrow anyway. If you would like to rest, we can go another time. I heard from Seonghwa hyung that you’ve been working the past three days. - Mingi’
‘It’s all good. I would love to have some coffee now. Plus, I was able to nap for a few hours. - Indigo’
‘Alright! I know this place a lot of celebrities go to so it’s discreet and 24 hours. I’ll forward you the address and see you there? - Mingi’
‘Sure, see you in a bit! - Indigo’
“How do you dress for late night coffee runs?” You asked yourself as you stood in front of your closet. In the end, you went for a hoodie and black sweats, which was similar to what you wear to the studio daily. With a black cap and mask, you wore your shoes and left the house.
Since the weather was nice and cool, you checked the directions and walked to  the cafe with your headphones on. The cafe wasn’t brightly lit on the outside and the blinds were all drawn.
“Hi. I’m looking for someone.” You said to the waitress. The backings of the booth tables extended to the ceiling, granting privacy to each patron table.
“Indigo.” You leaned and saw Mingi waving to you to get your attention. You bowed to the waitress and went to the table.
“Hey.” You slid onto the seat opposite him. While he didn’t wear a mask, he had a cap on as well. He was a lot more dressed down, which wasn’t necessarily bad. He looked a lot more relaxed in his grey hoodie and loose jeans. 
“Thanks for meeting me on such short notice.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.
“Well, thanks for inviting me.” You giggled. 
“Let’s order first.” Mingi called the waitress over. You ordered an iced latte and Mingi had an iced americano. While you waited, a nice silence fell upon the two of you. For some reason, it wasn’t awkward at all. 
“So how’s the song coming along?” Mingi asked you, breaking the silence. You started to tell him the whole process and how you’ve been working on it for the past 3 days, which is why Seonghwa and Wooyoung had to come. Both you and Mingi shared stories and talked about your own personal work progress, like Mingi’s lyric writing process.
“Ah, I so get that!” You let out a sigh, ducking your head when you realised you might have been too loud. Mingi smiled at your reaction. 
“But honestly, even the lyrics you wrote for the guide were good. I told you not to put in so much effort!” You giggled. Your laugh was infectious, making Mingi laugh too.
“How can they be good? I just pulled them out of nowhere.” Mingi defended.
“Maybe you just have that god given talent, Mingi ah.” Even if your mask was covering your face, Mingi could see your soft smile. And the way you called his name made him feel so warm on the inside.
“What... god given talent? Indigo... Honestly, it’s just getting over those hurdles. Every project has those.” He said.
“That’s true. I’m grateful Seonghwa and Wooyoung came by today. Not having to think about work and resting really cleared my mind. It cleared that block and when I had to get back to work, things went a lot smoother.” You said.
“Don’t overwork too much. Your work should not come before your health. If you fall ill, you won’t be able to work for an even longer period of time.” 
“I know, I get nagged at by Seonghwa and Hongjoong.” You complained.
“That’s part of being in the Ateez family. Getting nagged at and scolded by the two parents. I admittedly am not one of the good kids so it’s normal for me to get scolded by Hongjoong. Just ask Wooyoung, he gets in trouble a lot too.” Mingi snickered.
“So I’ve heard.” You giggled as you remember Hongjoong and Yunho telling you. You stirred your drink and slipped the straw underneath your mask to take a sip. Mingi chuckled and took a sip of his own drink. 
“Oh, also. Thanks again for giving me a new mask and everything the other night. I panicked when I woke up without my mask.” You said.
“No need to thank, whatever makes you feel more comfortable around us. And I promised I wouldn’t say a thing, that includes helping you protect your identity.” Mingi said firmly. 
“You have all been very kind in helping me adjust and adapt to the new company.” You stated. 
“I think you’ve integrated well into our group and get along well with everyone. Knowing how you overwork, the others and I, we’ve all started to worry about you and your health.” Mingi told you.
“You do...?” 
“Of course. You’re one of us now. We take care of each other.” Mingi smiled. You nodded your head slowly, staring at empty space in front of you as you absentmindedly stirred your drink. Mingi watched your expression before boldly placing his hand over yours. 
“Did I... say something wrong?” Mingi looked at you with concern and worry. You shook your head.
“Not at all.” You denied. You tried to piece your words together to explain to Mingi properly, wanting to alleviate the worry he had on his face. He never rushed you or spoke, giving you time to think.
“Hmm, how do I say this? I guess I’m not used to having people care for me. I’ve always lived my life as an individual.” You tried your best to explain. 
“I understand.” He nodded his head.
“The industry is not very kind and welcoming to new people so it’s always been me, myself and I.” You shrugged. 
“The industry is tough so I don’t blame you for wanting to build a wall around yourself. There are always critics waiting to take advantage of you and knock you down.” Mingi spoke. You hummed in agreement, sipping your drink. 
“When it was announced that I was taking a break because of anxiety, people didn’t believe it. How could someone with 7 group members, thousands of fans, have anxiety? They’re on top of the world. But the fear before stepping on that stage never goes away. One wrong move and you’re out.” You noticed Mingi shaking and reached over to put your hand over his.
“Mingi...” 
“Your fall from grace can happen at any time. And you’re expected to just deal with it and move on.” He confessed.
“I’m sorry you have to deal with all this. It must be hard.” You squeezed his hand. Mingi looked up at you with a crooked smile, yet the eyes conveyed the bitterness he felt. 
“It was hard but I’m learning to deal with it. I’m grateful my member take care of me and help me.” 
“And now you have me too. Like how you said I can lean on you, you can lean on me too. We take care of each other.” You spoke softly, quoting his words from earlier. After the drinks were done, Mingi insisted on walking you home.
“But it’s in the opposite direction. Plus, it’s late. I can go on my own.” You tried to convince him. But he shook his head, walking in the assumed direction of your apartment. 
“Come on, slowpoke.” He turned around and grinned.
“Fine.” You sighed in defeat. Luckily, you didn’t live too far away and the streets were empty at this time of night. 
“This is me.” You stopped downstairs of your apartment. You would have invited him in but after 3 days of not being home, the house was rather messy and it was late, you didn’t want him being out alone for too long. 
“We should do this again some time. It was nice.” You said. Mingi nodded in agreement, he was glad you enjoyed yourself and wanted to do this again. Before he left, he wrapped his arms around you tightly, his much taller frame towering over your smaller body. 
“You don’t have to keep everything bottled up. You can count on me.” He whispered. You closed your eyes, wrapping your own arms around him. 
“Thank you... You too.” You spoke, muffled against his jacket. It took a lot more will power for Mingi to pull away. It felt nice to hug you and for some reason, he didn’t want to leave. 
“Let me know when you get home?” You tilted your head as you pulled away. 
“I will. Goodnight.” He waved and you did the same. Mingi waited for you to go up before making his way back to the dorm. 
You made your way into the house and leaned against the door. You slid down to sit on the ground, thinking about tonight. You learnt a lot about Mingi and the two of you let yourselves be vulnerable around each other.
~
Series Masterlist
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HCs: Falling in love with Father Paul
Pairing: Father Paul x Reader (Midnight Mass)
A/N: WELL HELLO it has sure been a while hasn’t it. Life has caught up with me exponentially the past two years - graduating college, starting a full time job, personal growth and pitfalls. But, I truly miss writing, and was ready to attempt to get back into it after such a long hiatus. Anyways - hello, I love you all <3 I missed you all. 
Warnings: Uhh, blasphemy? I guess?? Mentions of sexual content. Millie is somehow gone who knows where she is. Very subtle spoilers for Midnight Mass (2021). ANYWAYS.
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✧ You confess your love for him after Paul takes it upon himself to walk you home from assisting him in decorating St Patricks for an upcoming event. Often jumping at any chance to provide services so you could grow closer to the enigmatic priest, anyone with half a brain could see how you’ve taken to him within the past few months. Just three simple words that sends a ripple through him. “I love you.” 
✧ He takes in a deep breath, thinking carefully about his next words. Ever since his arrival, you have been one of his closest friends and confidants. “Please, don't say that,” Paul quietly pleads, exhaling from his nose. 
✧ Not because he does not love you, in fact, it’s the exact opposite. He can’t bear to see you be hurt, knowing that he could never reciprocate the love you so truly deserve. He’s hurt those that he has loved before -- and will wrestle with those demons for a lifetime.
✧ Father Paul has taken his vows, and is seen as a pillar of faith, stability, and morals within the community. Given a second chance at fulfilling those vows, even. Still unable to face you, he stares down at his feet.
✧  Shaking his head, his brown eyes meet yours -- glassy with tears threatening to spill over. “You’re so young, it's...natural to have feelings like this. You’ll get over it, it’s okay.” A beat of silence passes between you. “Things like this have happened before. To me, I mean. And it hurts but, you’ll find someone one day. You're strong. You just have to...ride the wave is all.”
✧ And you know that this is how it will be. That you have to be okay with the reality. Scratching the back of his neck, he starts up his usual conversation again. Like everything was normal. “Now for tomorrow I was thinking th-”
✧ But it’s not normal. You cut him off before he can change the subject. “I-I know it’s wrong,” you stutter out, feeling embarrassed and already noticing the urge to backpedal. “I know its against any type of decency, and that we couldn’t be together even if it’s all I dream about. But I..couldn't go another day without confessing my feelings. I’m sorry if this changes things between us. Goodnight, Paul.”
✧ Against all rational, he walks forward cupping your face between his hands before you can slip into the safety of your house. And he kisses you. Before you take back what you’ve said. Before the inkling of regret crosses your mind. Before you pretend that there isn’t an undeniable connection between you. 
✧ A kiss. Just once, hoping that maybe this one act would allow the both of you to move on without the prospect of “what if” looming in the back of your minds forever. Free whatever pent up tension was built. Paul has lived with enough regrets, and he didn’t want to add never saying he loved you, too. One dipped toe into the waters of sin, for the sake of a lifetime of purity. But the human condition is fragile;  love comes slowly, then all at once. And once it’s there, it’s hard to deny it. 
✧ A secret relationship begins to bloom between you. Subtle glances and gestures to each other during mass. Things such as his hand lingering on yours for just a moment longer than polite company, making eye contact with him that flusters him while delivering his sermon. 
✧ Intimately pressing his thumb against your lips as he offers you the holy eucharist, coaxing you to open your mouth. Pushing it onto your tongue when you do so, his finger lingers there for an unusual amount of time that seems...less than chaste to anyone viewing. The unholiest of thoughts passing through your mind. 
✧ Sneaking around after mass like a teenage couple, unable to keep your hands off of each other. A desperate flurry of lips, tongues, and hands pushing up cloth to gain access to skin. Paul asking you to wear your prettiest Sunday dresses only for him. You have opened up this new world for Father Paul to explore, being considerably less experienced.
✧ Father Paul is old fashioned. Expect flowery, beautiful love letters arriving at your doorstep almost weekly. Hand delivered, of course. They always have the distinct smell of him - a mixture of his cologne and the heady scent of frankincense and myrrh, lingering from his vestments. 
✧ Helping him understand how to use technology - while you know him as Father Paul, his true identity gives a more reasonable explanation for why he is so inept at modern technology. Others catch him constantly smiling down at his phone when your name pops up on his screen. You try to show him how to send photo images to each other, but often you get odd attempts at selfies that usually are blurred or too close up. While you prefer spending time together in person, it does give a safer alternative to constantly stay in touch without raising too much suspicion. 
✧ Most times you see him one on one to be at night, when most of Crockett Island’s denizens are fast asleep. Just sitting in your kitchen, conversing and laughing over a cup of coffee. Some nights things progress further to the bedroom, but other nights the two of you find happiness just in the company of each other
✧ Late nights in his cabin, your head resting gently against his lap. Paul’s one hand flipping through his well loved and worn bible. The other hand idly running his fingers through your hair. The sound of the murky waves crashing against the shoreline mixed with Paul’s low hums of familiar hymns becoming the soundtrack of the evening.
✧ Mornings after accidentally staying over, too late to return to your house yet too early to make an inconspicuous exit. The window open, the heavy smell of sex and salt water clinging to both of your skin. Sometimes you just stare at him as he’s asleep, watching his chest rise and fall. His usually furrowed brows at rest, and signs of age seem to just melt off his face. Reaching your hand out to run a delicate finger against the curvature of his nose. Of his cupid’s bow. It's sinful how beautiful he is. 
✧ He finds relief and only lets his guard down when you both visit the mainland together on some “church business.” This is the only time that you and Paul can reasonably be seen in public together. He can hold your hand, kiss you, and show as much public affection as you deserve without the watchful eyes of others. And stay together in a hotel room too, just like anyone else madly in love.
✧ Maybe you are his secret. One of many. But you are his best kept one by far.
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merrybloomwrites · 2 months
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Spencer Agnew - First Vacation
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Summary: A camping vacation with Spencer is exactly what you need, even if it's unexpected.
Word Count: 522
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When Spencer mentioned that he was planning a vacation for the two of you to go on, the last thing you expected was camping.
Sure, you’d gone a couple of times growing up, but always staying in cabins with running water. And Spencer? The typical gamer who spent most of his life inside? You never thought he’d willingly go on a camping trip, much less plan one. 
But he seems so sure this is what he wants that you find yourself fully on board. You spend a lot of time planning together, borrowing supplies from friends and going on a couple trips to the local camping store to get everything else you need. 
The planning process alone proves to be a fun experience with Spencer, and by the time you’re loading the car, you’re extremely excited for this new adventure. 
You leave your apartment early in the morning, heading to Spencer’s to pick him up. He loads the last of the supplies and the two of you set off, road trip playlist that you made together giving the perfect soundtrack. It takes some time to get out of the city, and once you do your excitement amps up another notch. 
It’s a couple hours drive, and you fill the time sharing stories. You’ve never had so much free time together, and it’s nice to just talk. There’s no stress, no deadlines, just the open road with the promise of three work free days. 
Spencer gives you directions to the campsite he’d chosen, and you’re immediately impressed. It’s a perfect spot with a beautiful view. 
You set everything up together, working seamlessly with plenty of jokes being thrown around. Neither of you take life too seriously, and that’s the beauty of your relationship. Everything you do together is fun.  
After a couple hours exploring the nearby woods you decide it’s time for dinner. The first three attempts at starting a fire don’t go so well, but Spencer finally gets it going. The typical camp meal of hotdogs and smores hits the spot, and by the time it’s cleaned up the sun has set. 
It gets cool at night, and with the fire dying out you start to shiver. Without a word, Spencer takes off his hoodie, handing it to you. 
You thank him and put it on, noticing a look in his eyes. 
“What?” You ask, wondering why he’s looking at you like that. 
“Nothing. Just love seeing you in my clothes,” he answers. The two of you share a heated look before crashing your lips together in a passionate kiss. The setting is so serene, the only light coming from the fire and the stars, the only sound coming from the crickets chirping nearby.
After a few minutes of getting lost in one another’s touch, you pull back for air. 
“Thank you for planning this,” you say. “It’s been nice to totally unplug.”
“I agree. Which is something I never thought I’d say,” Spencer replied with a laugh. “I never thought I’d be happy to be completely away from the internet, but out here with you, there’s no place I’d rather be.”
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AN: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed these ficlets. I have so many Smosh oneshots planned for the fall so I hope you'll bear with me on a brief hiatus so I can finish these longer stories. I have lots good ideas, and have received a plethora of Spencer and Ian requests that are fantastic so I've been having a blast working on them. I'll post an update soon with the schedule of what will go up on which days!
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Several Sentences Sunday
Fanonwriter2023 on AO3
Where CANON and FANON collide!
Season 7 FANON FanFic: Buddie Multi-Chapter Fanfic - Hiatus Reading: “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”
Chapter 27 will be posted soon.
This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!
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Currently 26 chapters completed: 1M Words; Rated: Mature
One chapter will be posted at a time.
{Previous snippet}
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I'm excited to finish writing Chapter 27 because at the end of Chapter 26, while Buck was sleeping, he made a sound that Eddie hadn't heard before then he immediately sat up in bed and called Eddie's name. He was in a daze when he did and to Eddie, Buck appeared to be still dreaming but since his eyes were open, he started talking to him to get his attention.
They spent the majority of the day before in the hospital after Buck collapsed in Eddie's arms and suffered a bradycardia event of epic proportions. He was unconscious and unresponsive after he received a package that was delivered to the firehouse while they were in Europe. Once he opened it and read the letter, he reached the part where it stated someone died and it reminded him of his own death and it triggered the event.
All three members of the Diaz family are supporting one another as Buck faces the fact that he died last year and as he proceeds to deal with all 7 stages of grief.
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Here's an emotionally angsty snippet from Chapter 27 of Buck revealing something to Eddie that he's noticed.
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At 8:32AM Eddie enters their home and when he does, he immediately turns around to close the door.  After he locks it, he does an about face but when looks up, he gasps and jumps because Buck’s standing next to the couch waiting for him.
“Amore mio?  What are you doing out of bed?  You’re supposed to be resting.”
Buck walks over, wraps his arms around Eddie’s waist, pulls him close so their chests are pressed against each other’s, then he presses his cheek against his and whispers into his ear, “Come to bed”.
He vigorously shakes his head no because he has a lot to do today including making their breakfast.  “But I have to…”
“Babe?”
He furrows his eyebrows and replies, “Yes my love?”
“I know you haven’t been sleeping and I also know that uh… you’ve been having panic attacks”.
Eddie sighs and looks down because he didn’t know Buck knew that since he thought he was being discreet by leaving their bedroom to panic in peace, if that’s even possible but he’s been stealth about it.
Within seconds, Buck sees the tears start to stream down his face, so he unwraps one of his arms, lifts his hand and uses his thumb to wipe them away.
“Babe, you have to sleep.  You’ve been going nonstop taking care of me and Chris but you need to rest too.  So, while you were gone, I called Carla and asked her to pick Chris up from school because me and you…”  He points his finger back and forth between them. “We’re getting in bed and we’re going to sleep until late this afternoon”.
Eddie falls forward and collapses in his husband’s arms and after he buries his face in between Buck’s neck and shoulder, he breaks.  He’s so tired but he’s also worried that he’ll close his eyes and Buck won’t wake up again.  It’s a vision that won’t stop flashing in front of his mind and every time Buck falls asleep, a crippling panic fills his chest and it makes him think he'll never get to see those baby blue eyes again.
As he holds onto his husband for dear life, he thinks about all the life they still have yet to live and through broken sobs, he whispers, “Bu—ck!”
It's unconscionable for him to even think about living his life without Buck because he’s madly in love with him, Buck’s his amore mio and it took them years to get here but they made it.  They got married in Rome, Italy on December 17th and they spent 15 days in Europe resting and healing.  While they were in San Gimignano, they bid on a house named “New Beginnings” and it’s supposed to represent everything they’re planning to do in the future but now it seems like their future might be taken away before they even have a chance to celebrate their one-month wedding anniversary.
Buck kisses his cheek and continues to comfort him by gently rubbing one of his hands up and down Eddie’s back.
Eddie keeps thinking about the song they danced to the week before they got engaged.  It’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith and he keeps hearing the chorus, “Don’t wanna close my eyes, I don’t wanna to fall asleep cause I’d miss you baby and I don’t want to miss a thing!”
He heaves past a sob and admits, “Buck… I—I don’t want to close my eyes because…”
Buck uses his thumb and forefinger to lift Eddie’s chin and when he does, he presses his lips against his.  It’s a soft and sweet kiss that’s filled with promises of forever and after he pulls back, he looks into those honey brown eyes he loves so much and admits, “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.  We’re going to die on the same day at the same time 50 or 60 years from now, remember?”
Eddie exhales a shuddering breath because that’s their plan but he’s still scared shitless that his husband will close his eyes and not open them again.  He hiccups on a sob and through heaved and labored breaths he admits, “Buck… I—I know you won’t leave me but I saw you… hanging from the aerial and—and then I—I saw you—when you—were unconscious and un—responsive TWICE…”  He trails off as he exhales a half scream combined with a loud cry.
Will Buck be able to comfort Eddie and convince him to go to bed so he can get some sleep? 🤷🏽‍♀️
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Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.
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Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.
Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.
Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.
Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.
Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.
Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.
Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.
Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.
Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.
Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.
Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.
Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.
Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.
Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?
Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.
Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.
Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.
Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.
Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.
Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?
Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.
Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.
Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.
Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.
Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?
Chapter 26 - Buck and Eddie are once again faced with their greatest fear of losing each other but this time it could be permanent and if it is, then they won’t be able to spend the rest of their lives together.
Chapter 27 - Will be posted soon.
__________
Read chapters 1-26 are available on AO3.
Continue reading on AO3
Chapter 27 will be posted soon.
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simpforrooster · 2 years
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like I loved you. 
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Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x f!reader
Summary: loosely based on Brett Young’s Like I Loved You. Wasn’t sure where to take this tbh.
Jake wishes desperately he could find the paper you wrote all this down on. He could tell from the moment you opened your mouth, this had been practiced. Your words are robotic, not sweet and melodic like usual.
“We can still be friends,” you deliver the blow he’d been waiting for. Jake shakes his head as if that will make the words go back into your mouth. 
“I hope you move on. Find someone new, it will be okay,” you say. He still can’t believe these words are coming out of your mouth. 
Did those two years mean nothing? 
“Pretty soon, you’ll stop calling me when you’re out and drunk,” you tell him with a shrug. You were always the first one he called once those drinks hit him. He loved to drunkenly confess everything he loved about you. The giggle you would feed him on the other side of the phone was enough to keep him going until he got home to you. 
“You said I was your one and only,” he murmurs. “That you’d never leave me.”
Jake watches the flicker of emotion pass through your face, then just as quick, the stoicism is back. 
“Don’t worry. We can still hang out on the weekends, at the Hard Deck.” Jake feels like he was punched in the gut. How in the world are you even suggesting this?
“Baby, if you really believe everything you are saying, you never loved me like I loved you.” Jake adopts your no nonsense delivery. Two can play at this game. 
“We can still be friends,” you say again.
Jake pushes himself from his chair. “No. I don’t want to be friends.”
You remain seated in your chair, making minimum eye contact with Jake. He knows you can’t resist his eyes, you’ve told him so multiple times throughout the relationship. One look and you’ll be gone.
Jake kneels down before you, his hands coming to rest on the top of your thighs. He doesn’t miss the way your cheeks flush a beautiful pink, just like they always do when he touches you. 
“I don’t want to be friends,” he whispers, letting the facade fall. “Baby, I love you.” 
“Jake, I can’t,” your voice breaks, and you finally sound like yourself again. Jake pulls you into his arms in an instant. Your hot tears burn through his shirt and his heart breaks.
“Talk to me,” he whispers into your ear. He can’t stand to see you upset, even if you were breaking his heart moments ago. 
Your body curls into his and Jake relishes in the feeling. The two of you have always fit perfectly together. 
“I thought I was setting you free,” you tell him between sobs. 
Jake pushes you back to take you in. “What are you talking about?”
Tears line your pretty E/C eyes. Your hand comes to rest on his cheek and Jake leans into the touch. 
“I thought by breaking up with you, I would be one less worry on your deployments. I don’t want to hold you back, Jakey,” you confess to him. 
“Oh, baby,” he pulls you back to him. Of course your sweet heart cares more about his feelings than your own. “I am gone for you. Nothing you can do will change that.” He leans down and places a kiss on your temple. 
“How convincing was I?” your voice rumbles against his chest. 
Jake lets out a chuckle. “I could tell you rehearsed everything.” He knows you're rolling your eyes. “Talk to me next time, baby. Don’t put me through that heartache again.” 
“I knew I was convincing!” You pull back from him, your eyes sparkling, bringing a grin to Jake’s face. “Of course, I love you.”
a/n: back from my unannounced unplanned hiatus 😂 tbh I haven’t felt too inspired lately.
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corrodedhawkins · 2 years
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The Hideout: Eddie Munson x Fem!reader
Based off of this post from @mantorokk-writes I hope you like it, babe
Content warnings: 18+ (minors DNI) language, inexperienced Eddie, eventual slightly cocky Eddie, underage drinking, oral (m! and f! receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, teasing, multiple orgasms, praise, spit, creampie.
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May 1984
This is the last place you thought you’d be tonight, in Eddie Munson’s bedroom after the graduation party where he should have been celebrating. Instead, you found him nursing a beer outside, still reeling from the news that he wasn’t graduating after all.
You’d had a crush on Eddie all year, too nervous to do much more than smile at him as you passed each other in the hallway. Feeling bold thanks to the two beers you’ve downed, you decided to sit yourself beside him on the steps of the back porch and actually talk to him.
Which is how you ended up on your back in his bed, hands tangled in his hair as he grinds down onto your thigh.
Eddie’s fingers snake up your spine, hovering for a moment over the clasp of your bra as he kisses you soft and slow. He pinches and pulls at it, but doesn’t get close to unhooking it.
“Eddie?”, you ask from underneath him, detaching your mouth from his.
“Y—yeah?”, he replies shakily.
You look up at him curiously, “need help?”
He laughs breathlessly against your shoulder, “please.”
Sitting up slightly to get your hands behind your back, you expertly unclasp your bra to be discarded on the floor.
You can’t help but giggle as you watch Eddie’s eyes widen as they settle on your tits for the first time.
“Fuckin’ perfect”, he breaths, bending down to capture one of your nipples in his mouth, the other cupped in his hand as he squeezes a little too hard.
“Shit. Sorry, sorry”, he mumbles against your skin when you hiss, loosening his grip.
His mouth returns to your nipple, licking and sucking like he’s trying to make up for hurting you. “S’okay”, you sigh, head falling back into the pillows.
Eddie gives your chest ample attention before kissing down your stomach, stopping at the band of your panties. “Can I?”
“Yeah”, you return his soft smile, laughing when he grabs the material with his teeth, pulling them down before using his hands to get them off your legs.
Sitting back on his calves, his eyes roam over your exposed skin, blush evident on his cheeks.
“Have you—have you ever done this before?”, you ask hesitantly, lifting yourself onto your elbows to look at him when he doesn’t make a move.
“Uh. Well, yes, technically”, he fiddles with the rings on his fingers, spinning the skull back and forth. “It was in the bathroom after a Corroded Coffin show with some random chick? I lasted all of ten seconds.” His cheeks heat further, head ducking down in embarrassment.
Thankfully, Eddie lasts a good five minutes this time, which he’s secretly very proud of. He even makes you cum before he did, fumbling to thumb at your clit until you’re clenching around him right before he finishes.
With one last sweet kiss, you get dressed and drive home, rushing to make the strict curfew your parents had set for you. That summer had been a whirlwind for you, packing and preparing for college as you worked a summer job, too busy to make time to see Eddie again. By mid-August you were gone without so much as a goodbye.
October 1988
“We have work in the morning”, you grumble as your best friend Sophia shuffles you into the club, The Hideout sign glowing above the door.
“I know, I know”, she takes a seat at the bar, gesturing to the bartender that you’re ready to order. “But you need to get out more, live a little. Listen to some good music, maybe meet a guy.”
You can’t help but roll your eyes, taking a swig of the beer the bartender sets down in front of you. “I think I’m on a hiatus from men right now”, you mumble. Your last few relationships had been pretty disastrous.
It’s hard to have much hope for a future relationship now that you’ve moved back to Hawkins after college graduation. Unless something has changed drastically in the last four years, this town had very slim pickings. Poor Soph had no idea what she was getting herself into, moving here with you after you’d landed a job at the same company.
“Give it up for Corroded Coffin!”, you spin around on the bar stool and stare at the stage, mouth agape as you watch the band take their places.
Eddie fucking Munson saunters out onto the stage, his brown waves illuminated by the bright lights behind him. He looks good. Really, really good.
“Oh my god, Soph”, you grab her arm, shaking her as you stare at the stage.
“What?” She looks between you and the stage, “what am I missing?”
You pull her close to talk into her ear over the opening notes of their first song. “The lead singer!”
“I know, he’s hot!”, she laughs, letting out a whoop when he grabs the mic and starts to sing.
“No! I mean. Yes, he is but—I know him.”
“Carnally?”, her eyebrows raise.
“Oh fuck off”, you laugh. “Yes.”
“When?”
“The night of my high school graduation. Never saw him again.” Your head bops to the beat, eyes never leaving Eddie.
“And? How was he?” She leans in closer, waiting to hear all the details.
“It was…we were teenagers! It was sloppy and awkward but good. He was good.” You watch him playing to the crowd, winking at a girl right in front before making his way to the other side of the stage, playing his guitar back to back with his band mate.
You feel an elbow jab your rib, turning your head to find her grinning wickedly. “I bet he’s even better now.”
Sophia grabs your hand as their set ends, and you down the last of your drink before you’re dragged right up to the stage. Eddie’s back is to the room, carefully packing his guitar away in its case.
“Eddie Munson?”, Sophia taps him on the shoulder.
“As I live and breathe.”
She grins like an idiot when he turns around and stops dead in his tracks when he sees you. “I believe you know my friend.”
“Hi”, you mumble, cheeks growing hot under his gaze. You could kill her.
Eddie licks his lips, eyes flicking over you quickly. “Hi. Yeah, I remember. Y—you look great”, he breathes. You could kiss her.
Before you can reply, Soph puts her hand on the small of your back, urging you closer to Eddie. “Well, you kids have fun.” She shoots you a wink over her shoulder, making her way back to the bar to order another drink.
“Smooth.”, he deadpans, turning back to his guitar case to close it. “So, how long are you in town for?”
“Oh I’m not visiting. I just moved back, actually.” You fiddle with a loose thread on the cuff of your jacket, watching him put down the case and turn back towards you.
“Oh yeah? Had to come see me as soon as you got settled?” He smirks down at you, eyes playful.
Flustered, you shake your head and try to explain yourself. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you tonight.”
“I’m glad you did.” His brown eyes bore into yours, almost daring you to take the bait.
“Oh, is that so?”, you tease.
“Mhmm”, he hums, crowding into your space. “I’d love to catch up with you.”
You grab his hand, twirling one of his rings around his finger. “I’m sure you would. Still got that shitbox van?”
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“Have fun be safe!”, Sophia calls as she watches you leave hand in hand with Eddie.
“I gotta give it to her, she’s a great wingman”, Eddie laughs as you both step out into the chilly October air. “We’ll have to send her a fruit basket.”
You find the van parked a few spots away from the entrance, the passenger side door held open for you as he bows, “M’lady.”
“Why thank you, kind sir”, you curtesy ridiculously before hopping up into the van.
The short drive to the quarry is fairly quiet, tension crackling between you silently, Eddie’s hand resting on your thigh the whole way. His thumb moves back and forth over your leg teasingly, squeezing every so often, the touch making your pussy throb.
You’re thrown from your thoughts when the van stops, Eddie shifting it into park before killing the engine. He’s on you in an instant, his big, ring-clad hand cupping your jaw to pull you in, capturing your lips in a searing kiss.
He keeps it slow at first, letting you feel each careful slide of his lips against yours, leaving you feeling breathless and needy. When he slides his tongue over the seam of your lips, a desperate moan escapes before you can stop it.
Your first instinct is to pull back, to hide your face until your cheeks stop burning, but he doesn’t let you. Before you can move, he growls against your lips, pulling you impossibly closer by the back of your neck until your chests are pressed tightly together.
Eddie’s lips on yours are insistent, claiming in a way you’ve never felt before. The way he dominates the kiss, tilting your head exactly the way he wants, so sure and confident, is really doing something for you.
“Back. In back”, you pant against his cheek, moaning when he squeezes your ass through your jeans.
He nods curtly, drivers side door flung open, hurrying around the front of the van. Yanking your door open, he pulls you out of your seat, spinning you to press you up against the side of the van.
Your legs are kicked open, his strong thigh slotting itself between yours. Eddie grabs your hips to help you grind down onto him, groaning when he feels the heat radiating off your core.
“Christ, baby”, he winds his hands into your hair, moving your head to the side to kiss and bite the delicate skin.
He feels the vibration of your impatient grumble against his lips, chuckling softly when you insist back of the van, now before you push him off of you, determined to get him horizontal.
The heavy back doors of the van slam behind him, and he’s quick to plaster himself against you, biting at your bottom lip as he lays you down, settling over top of you. He takes advantage of the way you gasp at the bite to your lip, plundering your now open mouth with his tongue.
One hand trails down to your chest, groping you over your shirt until he can feel your nipples harden, pinching them through the fabric. Gasping raggedly against his mouth, you snake your hands underneath his t-shirt, raking your nails up and down his bare sides.
He shivers, plucking his shirt up and over his head to give you better access. Slipping his hand up under your shirt, he rucks it up to sit right under the band of your bra. Kissing from the button on your jeans up to where your shirt lays bunched against your ribs, he looks up and holds your gaze, teeth grazing along the sensitive skin.
You do the work for him, slipping your shirt over your head before laying back down, pulling him to settle back on top of you. Eddie’s hand grips your side, slowly traveling up your spine until he feels the clasp of your bra.
Biting back a laugh, you rest your forehead against his shoulder, “need some help?”
He huffs against your ear, expertly unclasping your bra before pulling the straps down your arms. “I think I finally got the hang of it, but thanks.”
Head dipping down to nuzzle into your chest, he murmurs hushed praises against your skin. “Fuck—your tits are just as perfect as I remembered”, his mouth latches onto your hardened nipple, tongue laving over the bud as you grab onto his hair to hold him close against your chest.
After a few moments you get impatient, gently guiding his head away from your chest down to where you need him most. He goes willingly, suddenly desperate to taste you.
“Didn’t even get my mouth on you last time. Such a fuckin’ idiot”, he says against the skin just above the band of your jeans, almost talking to himself. “Get these off.”
You shed your jeans, tossing them to the other side of the van, yelping when Eddie grabs your thighs and spreads them, holding them in place.
He leans in, nosing at the growing wet patch on your panties. “This all for me, sweetheart?”, he asks. “You want my mouth? Hm?”
“Yeah, please”, you breathe, hips bucking up as you feel his hot breath fan over you through the thin material.
His fingers wrap around the band of your panties to pull them off, this time without using his teeth. He spreads your folds with his thumbs, making you gasp as he spits directly into your clit before diving in to lick a hot, wet stripe over you.
Taking his time, he re-learns what you like, moving on when he sucks at your lips and doesn’t get much of a reaction. Instead, he tries sucking sloppy kisses into the side of your clit, getting the reaction he’d hoped for when he feels you grind down onto his mouth, his name on your lips.
Eddie taps two fingers against your bottom lip, humming against your clit in approval when you open your mouth and greedily suck them in, tongue laving over the digits to get them wet.
He lets you play with them for a moment before snatching them back, rubbing them over your soaked hole before slipping one into you slowly.
“Oh fuck”, you gasp as he fucks his thick finger into you, adding a second once he feels your muscles relax. His two fingers twist into you, crooking upwards exactly the way you like.
“Yeah?”, he asks, mouth lifting from your clit when your back arches, mewling as his fingertips rub incessantly over your g-spot. “Right there?”
This is so different than the last time, Eddie murmuring a quiet yeah? when you’d moaned his name, in awe that he could elicit that kind of reaction from you.
This time, his yeah? is confident, almost condescending because he knows exactly what he’s doing and he’s being a smug bastard about it.
“Mhmm”, you hum, gripping his forearm, nails biting into the skin as you grind yourself down onto his fingers. “Please don’t stop.”
His mouth finds your clit again, sucking and swirling his tongue over the swollen bud until you’re panting, lip bitten between your teeth. “Are you gonna cum for me, pretty girl?”, he asks against your inner thigh, fingers never stopping their assault.
“Yes”, you whimper, legs starting to shake, release hitting so fast you’re almost shocked when you feel yourself clamp down around his fingers, hole spasming as you cum hard.
“There you go”, he murmurs, licking lightly over your clit to work you through your orgasm until you’re batting at his head to get him to stop.
Your hands are on his shoulders, hauling him up to kiss him rough and dirty, tasting yourself on his tongue. “So fucking good”, you pant against his lips as you cup the bulge in his jeans, earning a gasp from Eddie as he grinds into your palm.
In what seems like just seconds, Eddie gets his boxers and jeans off, switching positions with you so he’s the one on his back. Leaning in, your mouth hovers just over his cock for a moment, biting back a smirk when you feel it kick, the head briefly bumping against your bottom lip.
His hands card through your hair, gathering the strands to hold at the back of your head, making sure he has an unobstructed view.
Tongue darting out to swirl messily over the head to get him worked up, you stay there a moment before finally wrapping your lips around him. It earns you a ragged gasp, Eddie’s head snapping back against the floor of the van as you take him deeper into your mouth.
Your hand wraps around the shaft right under where your lips are stretched around him , following in your mouth’s wake as you bob up and down his cock. The head nudges the back of your throat and he chokes out a groan, long and loud as his hands tighten in your hair.
“Okay, okay”, he pants, pulling you up to reclaim your lips.
“How do you want me?”, you ask, expecting him to usher you into his lap so that you can ride him.
“On your back”, he replies instead, grabbing your discarded clothes to use as a makeshift pillow for your head. “For old time’s sake.”
Settling back against the pile of clothes, you spread your legs for Eddie to settle between. Canting your hips up, you hike your legs up around his waist, desperate to feel him inside of you.
Eddie’s hand wraps around the base of his cock, running the head between your folds to gather your slick. He presses into you slowly, eyes flicking up to watch your face as the head breaches you.
Head already thrown back in pleasure, the slow, steady slide of him against your walls is almost overwhelming you. He pauses, mistaking the furrow of your brow for pain.
“No, no m’okay”, you pant. “Please keep going.”
Leaning down, he tucks himself into the crook of your neck as he bottoms out, smearing messy kisses against the underside of your jaw. He pauses for just a moment before pulling halfway out slowly before rocking back into you.
He sets a languid pace, letting you feel every inch of him as he takes you apart slowly. Soon you’re panting his name against his mouth, arms wrapped around his shoulders.
Eddie tilts your hips up, grabbing the backs of your thighs to press them into your chest. The new position allows him to sink even deeper, hitting your g-spot so precisely you nearly wail, earning a smug smirk from him.
“Is that good?”, he teases, hips snapping into you faster, the sound of your skin slapping together filing the van.
A nod is all you can reply, the words getting lost in your throat as you whimper and whine. You’re getting close again, the hot coil of pleasure in your belly beginning to unravel.
He feels it, the way you start to clench and shake, lashes damp as your orgasm overtakes you. Growling, his thrusts turn frantic, his cock dragging over your walls only prolonging your orgasm.
“Where—fuck—where do you want it?”, he asks frantically, suddenly closer than he realized.
“In me. Wanna feel you cum in me”, you pant.
That’s all he needs to near before his hips stutter, thrusting all the way into you before cumming with a loud groan against your neck.
You lay panting, hand running through his curls as you catch your breath.
“I don’t remember you being so damn cocky last time”, you chide.
A breathless laugh rumbles through his chest as he pulls back from your neck to look at you. “I’ve learned a few things over the last few years, sweetheart. I think I deserve to be a little confident after that performance.”
You don’t disagree.
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chcrryade · 3 months
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posted by justbcmb⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀July 3rd, 2O21.
So.  Here we are.  I’m assuming you’ve all seen what I have—and if you haven’t,  then what I’m referring to is an article explaining a little about the members of the JAGUAR boy group that’s coming just next month:  CHERRYADE.  I can taste it a little already.  Most people have no idea what’s going on,  (and I don’t blame them,  seeing as the last sign of life we’ve seen from JAGUAR was the BONSOIR disbandment notice from back in May 2O2O)  so I’ve decided to take one for the team and provide to you all a slightly omniscient-sounding  (but only because I do my thorough research,  and have my inside sources!)  complete run-down of everything surrounding CHERRYADE—including their managing company,  all the artists that came before them,  and the groups they’re primarily going to be forged out of.
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PART i. the company.
“All press is good press,” says the company that is more used to attracting bad reviews than good. Known primarily for housing a whole host of outspoken and authentic personalities, attempting to pull off outrageously ambitious ventures that almost never go to plan, and generally biting off more than they can chew, JAGUAR has risen to (what some may call) infamy from where its headquarters stands proud in the centre of Gangnam. When you step inside their walls you’ll find great minds, good music, and an admirable work ethic—just don’t look too much further into it. Prodding around into things unknown never ends well, after all.
JAGUAR is a fictional South Korean entertainment company, founded by current CEO Ae Seungdae in 2003. They started off as a PR firm, working the media for their clientele—that mainly consisted of struggling actors, those who had either not yet found their breakout role or those that had gone through something that had sent public opinion of them into the red—and quickly making a name for themselves as a reliable service, one that had yet to majorly fail. It was something of an open secret within those who had hired them and the industry in general that while they were not always the most ethical in their methods of dealing with the media, they were always effective, and so nothing more than a few rumours were ever brought against their name. 
Their work in the PR business continued until midway through 2006, where Seungdae made the (correct) assumption that there was much more money to be made if they began to work within the industry, rather than simply managing the front of it. And so, by the beginning of 2007, they had fully jumped ship and rebranded into the entertainment company that they’re known as to all today. 
The first act to be released to the public was the co-ed duo JUST4U, attempting to cater to both young male and female audiences straight off the bat with the appeal the respective members had. They struck gold pretty much from the get-go, shooting upwards in popularity after the release of their first single ‘DBL TRBL,’ and from there it only got better—for the two members and for the company.
The first sign of decline was shortly after their second mini album in 2012, where allegations of a physical fight breaking out between the two arose after a performance on a music show. They were put on a year-long unofficial hiatus after the incident, but it seemed their fanbase wasn’t at all deterred, because after their long-awaited return in 2013 with a whole full album they were met with nothing but love and support. The first (that was known to the public, anyway) fight seemed to be the start of the end for the duo, though, as only three years later in 2016 they would meet their end after yet another vicious argument that got through to the press, and that appeared to be the breaking point—as they both cut their contracts with the company not long afterwards, and JUST4U ceased to exist. To date, their seven-year run marks them as JAGUAR’s longest lasting group.
That didn’t leave JAGUAR with no-one to run their show, however, because in 2012 they debuted a male soloist named YOON, a heartthrob that was again met with massive success not long after the release of his first mini album ‘ON: YOUTH.’ He continued after JUST4U’s demise as JAGUAR’s reigning king until late 2018, where he was found to have taken his own life in his penthouse apartment. Both the public and the company were rightfully devastated by the loss, but after theories began to crop up speculating on why exactly he committed suicide, it was clear they needed to do some damage control.
So, just under a week after the news officially broke of YOON’s passing, along came the release of ‘MAYDAY’—a pre-debut single from what was (then) the four-membered group BONSOIR. The release was clearly timed to take the attention away from the death, but to JAGUAR’s credit it worked fairly well and most theorists were now more interested in the new trainees, a fanbase quickly building from the abundance of content that JAGUAR were now putting out focusing around BONSOIR.
This pre-debut promotion would continue until mid December, shortly after struggling actor Ahn Jaehee would decide to put his career of background characters to rest and continue down the idol pathway, instead. By the time of their October 2019 debut with mini album ‘BETTER IS MORE,’ it was revealed that Jaehee was an official part of their lineup—but the original four didn’t seem to be the most excited about this fact. In fact, there were constant rumours and stories of fights they would get into with the new maknae, and this was what would eventually come back around to bite them. In March 2020 an article was released that told all of the things Jaehee had gone through at the hands of his bandmates, and all things BONSOIR abruptly fell silent. The last thing they got was a quiet disbandment notice in May 2020, and after that JAGUAR as a whole seemed to fall completely quiet. No announcements of an upcoming group, no nothing. They were a ghost company. 
Until July 2021. A surprise announcement was made, of a new boy group set to debut at the turn of the very next month. CHERRYADE, they were called, and the word being spread was that their lineup consisted mostly (with the exception of two) of members from groups that had met the same fate as BONSOIR—that was to say, disbanded after one scandal or another (or simply the lack of interest) and left to rot. To this day they remain active, and although they’ve gotten themselves into a fair amount of hot water, they’ve yet to scald so bad it spells out their end. They all even appear to semi-like each other, which is always a bonus. But that’s not to say there isn’t something career-threatening on the horizon. It’s all just a waiting game.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀JAGUAR
TYPE⠀ㅇ⠀PRIVATE
FOUNDER⠀ㅇ⠀AE SEUNGDAE ( 애승대. )
FOUNDED⠀ㅇ⠀FEBRUARY 23, 2003
BASED⠀ㅇ⠀GANGNAM, SEOUL, SK
PART i. (2) the staff
i.⠀애승대
With big dreams & a bigger smile, Seungdae only ever wants the best for his employees. Fully supportive of whatever they do in their endeavours (as long as it doesn’t involve publicly dragging JAGUAR’s name through the mud, of course), he’ll happily encourage any less-than-tasteful actions they decide to indulge in if they think it’ll help them climb to the top that much faster. Scandals aren’t so bad if they make heads turn and lips move, fights can be swiftly moved past, and the press can be silenced completely if you know the right people to do it for you. He’s a glass-half-full type of man.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀AE SEUNGDAE ( 애승대. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀JUNE 2, 1978
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀CEO
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀NAMGOONG MIN
ii.⠀심효주
Seungdae’s unwillingly pessimistic right-hand-woman, Hyojoo is really just trying to keep her head above water. When she got the job back in May 2003, back when JAGUAR was simply a quiet little PR firm in the centre of Gangnam, she had no idea what she’d end up being, what the company would go on to turn into. She is of the complete opposite opinion of the CEO—she thinks everything should be moral, and everyone should at least keep it civil until they’re behind closed doors. Unfortunately, her mission of attempting to keep everything above-board failed long, long ago.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀SIM HYOJOO ( 심효주. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀MAY 11, 1981
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀COO
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀NAM SANGMI
iii.⠀오지태
If there’s a bad idea, one that’s full of too much flashing lights and more sparkle than substance, then chances are it came from Jitae. He’s a kid at heart, just wanting things to look cool rather than there to be any significant meaning behind it. While he always means well, is always filled to the brim with grandiose visions far beyond himself, putting those ideas into practice is another matter entirely. The only thing that usually stops him during his board meetings full of over-expressive arm movements and explosive sound effects is Hyojoo giving him a look that says none of them will ever come to light. So he sits back down.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀OH JITAE ( 오지태. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀AUGUST 4, 1982
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀CAO
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀KOO KYOHWAN
iv.⠀최은희
As the younger sister to the now-deceased YOON, Eunhee has a lot to hate about JAGUAR and everyone in it. But she stays on, if only to look after her younger cousin Hasun and glare daggers at any former BONSOIR members she passes in the hallways. She runs a right ship and is cutthroat in her ways, unafraid to point out every single little thing she finds wrong with ideas brought to the table or thought-to-be finished products placed in front of her. Stragglers are the one thing she won’t tolerate, the things that have no use to her, and she’s unafraid to do all things necessary to cut them loose.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀CHOI EUNHEE ( 최은희. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀APRIL 19, 1995
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀CREATIVE DIRECTOR
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀PARK JUHYUN
v.⠀임수미
Sumi has every single one of her priorities completely straight, all lined up in a neat little row that she refuses to let get knocked astray. She likes to think of herself as one of the only ones with her head screwed on right, the only one with proper drive and ambition. A Lady Macbeth of her time (without the suicide—she’s not going out like that). The act of her reaching the very top, whether that be within JAGUAR or any other company she may decide to jump ship to, is something she feels is inevitable. It is going to happen, the only question left to answer is when.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀IM SUMI ( 임수미. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀NOVEMBER 26, 1981
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀DIRECTOR
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀KIM SHINROK
vi.⠀도성기
Running primarily on spite and too much caffeine that is strictly healthy, Sungki is slimier than he likes to think of himself. Loyalty is a fickle thing for him, something that will change with the tide and who hasn’t wished him a good morning that day. He’s not particularly pleasant, however harmless he might look, but even he himself is oblivious to how much he’s disliked at times. His trust can be bought, as well as.. Well, everything else about him. There isn’t much he’s not willing to do if the digits climb high enough. He has some redeeming qualities, it just might take a while to name them.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀DOH SUNGKI ( 도성기. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀MARCH 13, 1987
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀CHOI WOOSHIK
vii.⠀봄규리
Kyuri is a passive-aggressive, slightly manipulative, and always-put-together-looking ray of sunshine. She won’t let a strand of hair come out of place, and won’t let a single person that’s crossed her know a single day of peace. Her number one belief is that one can get anything they want if they’re charming enough—a belief that, in her case, is one that works every time. All you have to do is put on a shining white smile and grip their hand a little too hard, and she finds that everything she may want falls straight into her lap. She could do with seeing a little less of a number of her colleagues, but she’d never breathe a word of that to their faces.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀BOM KYURI ( 봄규리. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀SEPTEMBER 29, 1983
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀MARKETING MANAGER
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀PARK MINYOUNG
viii.⠀문영식
Simply trying to get by, trying to make a living to support his quiet little life, Youngshik has seen more than he ever really wanted to when he first got the job back in 2004. Trying to keep a leash on two firecrackers with their fuses lit was something that got his pulse racing on a good day and left him feeling at risk of a heart attack on the bad ones. A week of peace per year was the standard he slowly found himself getting used to, and despite all of the screaming and the fighting and the throwing things, he found himself missing the pair when they reached their limits and left.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀MUN YOUNGSHIK ( 문영식. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀JUNE 28, 1984
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀MANAGER for JUST4U (FORMER)
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀LEE JEHOON
ix.⠀황한비
If there’s anything Hanbi hates, it's everyone else. She says she would’ve been better off never even coming near the company building in the first place, would’ve been much further on in both her life and career if she had never set eyes on any of them at all—but despite this, she never makes any sort of move to leave. Some think it’s because of the cheques being written out for her, some think it’s because of the dirt they speculate she has on them concerning their treatment of once-superstar (and now dead) YOON, and some go on to make the harsher comment that, even with all her criticisms, without JAGUAR, Hanbi would just be another face in the crowd.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀HWANG HANBI ( 황한비. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀NOVEMBER 24, 1992
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀MANAGER for YOON (FORMER)
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀CHOI SUNGEUN
x.⠀홍재영
Ever bored, never having a nice thing to say, and a bit of an alcoholic, it’s common knowledge that Jaeyoung only really got the job because of his shareholder father pulling a few strings when he decided it was best for his son to try and handle a big-boy job for once. He’s holding on by a thread, but it’s not so clear as to whether he’s particularly worried about the status of his employment. His strongest bonds are formed through swapping contraband for excuses about what he’s been doing all day instead of managing the groups that were put under his care, and there may be a few DUI’s he’s shoving under the carpet.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀HONG JAEYOUNG ( 홍재영. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀JULY 30, 1993
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀MANAGER for BONSOIR (FORMER), CHERRYADE
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀KIM DONGHEE
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PART ii. act one: just4u.
What do you get when you mix a country boy who hopped on a train the second he’d graduated to the big city and never looked back—only to resort to sleeping rough and stealing wallets when he realised his dreams of hitting it big were going to be a tad more difficult to achieve than he’d initially thought—and a born-and-raised big city girl—not spoiled nor particularly rich, but with certainly enough spite in her veins to rival both—who spends her days shoplifting and slacking off at her gig at the local noraebang? JUST4U, is your answer, after they were scouted on the street by an overexcited Jitae who had made his decision with just a singular look at them.
JAGUAR’s very first pet project, the members street casted by Jitae himself after wandering the highstreets of Gangnam pretty much aimlessly, JUST4U was a fictional co-ed South Korean duo made up of members Yeseul and Insu. Appeal was their core concept from the very start—in every meaning of the word. Sex appeal, endorsement appeal, musical appeal; they were trying to hit it all straight from the start line, likely wanting a boost after the recent rebrand from a PR firm to a full-blown entertainment company. To JAGUAR’s credit, though, it was an aspiration that was met both fairly well and fairly soon. Their debut single ‘DBL TRBL’ in September 2009 rocketed upwards in popularity and put their names in a lot of people’s mouths barely a week after its release, and it seemed like JUST4U could be the next big thing if JAGUAR played their cards right. They continued to be plastered all over the place, the company doing their best to grab as many publicity stunts as they could for the pair as the months passed by. The hype was well maintained, and many stuck around for the next release: the first mini album named ‘DIZZY,’ released in June 2010. From that point onwards JAGUAR felt it was safe to assume the attention wouldn’t take a nosedive into nothingness if they laid off the promotions, and relaxed a little, giving the members a little room to breathe.
The duo’s success was constant, never failing to gain headlines and interviews and more and more wins, more recognition, more of their names being passed from mouth to mouth. They were breezing through things, enjoying every second of the attention and the (monetary) awards they got from it. In fact, it was all a little.. Too good. While everything was doing more than fine on the music front, the relationship between the Yeseul and Insu was rocky at best, and had been since the start. They hated one another, point blank. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t trade favours and light each other’s cigarettes and lie about whatever the other may have needed them to lie about, but it did mean they couldn’t go a week without another screaming match about some petty thing or another. Maybe Insu had left his straighteners plugged in and on the countertop in Yeseul’s bathroom. Maybe Yeseul had left Insu’s earrings in her top drawer. Whatever it may have been, they made sure to fight about it multiple times over.
The media were none the wiser until August 2012. Another fight, but this time backstage at a music show—and it escalated to the point of throwing things, breaking things, bringing innocent staff members into it. Rumoured to have even been off the back of a drug-fuelled high, following leaked photos of empty baggies on their dressing room floor. What they’d just done was taken their own squeaky-clean image and set it alight—but, to be honest, neither really cared. JAGUAR stepped in to release a statement denying the claims, but in the same breath announced that all public appearances would be ceased for the time being, until everything had calmed down. The word ‘hiatus’ was never uttered, but it was clear as day to everyone who had read it that that was what it was. JUST4U spent their year off doing exactly the same things they’d been doing before it, although this time much worse. They wouldn’t come back until October 2013, when they dropped the full album ‘FEELING SWEET’ and convinced everyone they were better than they’d ever been, when the reality was that they were just getting crazier and crazier.
The fights continued, the sex continued, the drugs and clubs continued—the year off had really done nothing at all, and neither had the media. Yeseul and Insu continued to do whatever they wanted, and argued every second doing it. Maybe some would have thought JAGUAR would’ve stepped in after the 2012 fight to see how they were doing, and maybe even offer them some help, but the truth was that Seungdae thought JAGUAR’s artists should live their lives however they saw fit. Drugs and drink be damned, as long as they weren’t publicly dragging the company’s name through the mud, he found it to be none of his business—and advised his staff to follow his lead.
They carried on making their music and their impact (good or bad, it’s more up to you to decide) until 2016, where they finally began to crash and burn. One last fight, so loud it made their throats burn, snapped the final piece of string holding them together, and on that night in October they decided they were finally done—Yeseul going about cutting her contract the very next day, and Insu following suit not long afterwards. At seven years, they’re the longest group JAGUAR has housed to date, and will forever be known for never having a moment of peace between them.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀JUST4U
LABEL⠀ㅇ⠀JAGUAR
DEBUT DATE⠀ㅇ⠀SEPTEMBER 13, 2009
GREETING⠀ㅇ⠀FOR YOUR EYES ONLY! WE’RE JUST4U!
FANDOM NAME⠀ㅇ⠀ONLY1’s
ACTIVE FROM⠀ㅇ⠀2009—2016
PART ii. (2) the members
i.⠀나예슬
She’d say she was only in it for the money, but after a while Yeseul did grow to enjoy the rush of performing, the thrill of seeing the hordes of fan after fan screaming her name and waving lighters and phone torches and lightsticks in time. It was just too bad she had to share all that fame and attention and utmost adoration from the thousands, the millions, with someone she couldn’t stand—that person being Insu, of course. The only chemistry between them was physical, and apart from that the only time they could tolerate each other was when they were either blackout drunk or having to pretend to be best friends for all the cameras that thought them to be.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀NA YESEUL ( 나예슬. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀JANUARY 9, 1989
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀LEADER, VOCALIST, DANCER
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀KWON YURI
ii.⠀최인수
Insu came to Seoul with the highest of expectations, and not a singular one of them was met. It wasn’t as if he expected fame and fortune (or even a stable job) to fall into his lap, but sleeping in saunas at eighteen was a nightmare—and got pretty cramped, too. When he was scouted he took the chance purely for the idea of the cash that came with it, even despite the years of training he undertook before it. Life as an idol was one that met most of those stupid and too-high expectations he’d set for himself as a naïve teenager, but there was just one thing that ruined it, just a little bit—Yeseul. Trying to get along with her was worse than any nights spent sleeping rough.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀CHOI INSU ( 최인수. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀JULY 16, 1989
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀RAPPER, VOCALIST, DANCER
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀JANG WOOYOUNG
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SEPT 2009⠀DBL TRBL⠀(FROM SINGLE: “DBL TRBL”)
JUN 2010⠀WANNA⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “DIZZY”)
FEB 2011⠀TELL ALL⠀(FROM FULL ALBUM: “GO”)
DEC 2011⠀SHOW YOUR LOVE⠀(FROM SINGLE: “SHOW YOUR LOVE”)
AUG 2012⠀BETTER STOP⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “HOW U FEEL”)
OCT 2013⠀MAKE ME (CRAZY)⠀(FROM FULL ALBUM: “FEELING SWEET”)
SEPT 2014⠀RENDEZVOUS⠀(FROM SINGLE: “RENDEZVOUS”)
MAR 2015⠀FAR AWAY⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “LONG WAY”)
DEC 2015⠀TAN SKIN⠀(FROM SINGLE: “TAN SKIN”)
AUG 2016⠀OPEN YOUR DOOR⠀(FROM FULL ALBUM: “MORE THAN DREAMS”)
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PART iii. act two: yoon.
Here’s a boy. One with what some would call a natural talent for music, a knack for flipping a switch that turns him into someone able to light up the room with a few jokes and a smile. What do you do? The only answer is to recruit him, obviously, but the one obstacle in the way is the fact he has zero interest in ever becoming a performer like all the star-studded ones you see on television nearly every night. So what then? The only answer for Jitae (because, really, who else would it be?) is to pester. To beg would be the real word, but pleading for a 12-year-old to join your company when you’re 11 years older than him is more than embarrassing. Whatever you want to call it, it finally worked in the end, and after four long hard years of training, YOON was what rose out of the ashes.
The only soloist to date that JAGUAR has ever debuted, YOON was a fictional South Korean singer, songwriter, and general performer. Birth name Choi Yoonhae, he was much more interested in growing up and getting a normal job than ever being an idol—but Jitae had passed him by one day and was eager to try and convince him to join them, to help them fulfil Jitae’s latest vision of a moody soloist that would capture hearts all across the country (after a few years of training, of course—debuting freshly-turned-teenagers wasn’t really their thing). Yoonhae was reluctant, but after a long, rambling conversation and a business card tucked into his pocket, he took it home and began to reconsider a little. He went back in the end and put on a more than worthy performance, and was accepted not long after that. Four years spent in the practise room day in and day out later, and YOON finally debuted with the hit mini album ‘ON: YOUTH’ which (similarly to how it had gone with JUST4U) brought in a reasonably large fanbase pretty quickly. Next was the mini album ‘RHYTHM’ in January 2013, and from there it all continued to go uphill for the singer.
There was only one problem for all his fans to pick at over the years. He released music, sure, but it was all singles—one notable one being a collaboration with JUST4U, in September 2013, after which he seemed to become much better friends with the duo—and mini albums. No full projects in sight, even as every anniversary of him being active creeped closer and closer. Some defended the choice, saying that maybe it was Yoonhae himself that didn’t feel he was ready for a full album, but most of his fans were angry on his behalf, practically demanding a longer release from JAGUAR. In reality, Yoonhae himself was sort of on the fence about the prospect. He wanted to do it, sure, but he didn’t want it to send him crashing back down to earth after he’d been enjoying a comfortable high for years at that point. So he continued to agree to the mini albums and singles that were set forward to him and thought over the album all the while.
Besides, he had other things to worry about other than putting a whole album together. He had to watch out for his recently-employed younger sister, had to keep an eye out for his younger trainee cousin every once in a while and make sure he was holding up fine. Other responsibilities to handle, other relationships to maintain, other bad habits to feed. He avoided putting out a full album until he really couldn’t any longer—which, in a stroke of good luck for him, lined up with a time he felt he finally had enough songs to put forward for an album anyway. March 2018 marked the release of YOON’s long-time-coming first (and, tragically, last) full album: ‘NO DRAMA.’ But, just as he’d been so worried about before putting it all together, the reception went in the opposite direction of what he’d hoped—what everyone had hoped. It tanked. Fell to the bottom of the charts, sales practically nonexistent. It didn’t even grow organically after a couple months, staying forgotten by all; including all the fans that had been begging for it only weeks before its release.
This kickstarted Yoonhae’s decline. It sent him spiralling, and the only thing he could do to stop the landing from hurting too hard was self-medicate—by day-drinking, by sleeping through schedules with his phone turned off and hands over his eyes, with empty pill packets piling up in his bathroom bin. Nobody could reach him, no matter how hard they tried. He disappeared from the public eye, ignored all the company’s calls, and on occasion skipped town to do god-knows-what in other ones. Gone was the country’s brooding heartthrob, and in his place was a washed-up star who was reaching his wits end. People thought he’d just cut his contract like JUST4U had done before him and live the rest of his life as a normal man, but Yoonhae proved them all wrong—in what was probably the worst way possible.
November 2018. Police were called to his high-rise apartment, and a few hours later they quietly left it with a body bag in tow and tape around the doorway. It wasn’t as much as a scene as you’d expect it to be, but JAGUAR did everything in their power to not let the news spread to the media for another three days—presumably to give them ample time to get all their plans for afterwards in order—before finally announcing it to the press. YOON had passed away, for reasons undisclosed. But ‘undisclosed’ never meant anything to anyone, not when you had hundreds and thousands of fans desperate for the real truth. So they did some digging, some sorts less legal than others, and not two days after the announcement the real reason was leaked. Suicide. By one of his own silk ties. Sleeping pills in the system, a bottle of white wine knocked over on the coffee table. It was the complete opposite of what JAGUAR wanted, and so they did the first thing they could to take everyone’s minds off of it—release a new boy group. BONSOIR’s predebut single dropped later that same November, and worked exactly as intended. YOON was a tragic tale for all involved, one that started high and ended.. Well. Six feet under, would be the blunt way to put it.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀YOON
LABEL⠀ㅇ⠀JAGUAR
DEBUT DATE⠀ㅇ⠀APRIL 5, 2012
GREETING⠀ㅇ⠀WE’RE IN IT TOGETHER NOW! I’M YOON!
FANDOM NAME⠀ㅇ⠀C-U-SOON’s
ACTIVE FROM⠀ㅇ⠀2012—2018
PART iii. (2) the member
i.⠀최윤해
Notoriously private, Yoonhae was one that kept himself to himself both when it mattered and in general. He knew how to play the part of the idol everyone wanted to see pretty much perfectly, but as soon as he was off the clock it was like he was a completely different person. Reserved, blank—not exactly cold in how he acted, but certainly not the most friendly either—and all in all a pretty hard person to get a read on. He was just.. Yoonhae. Not much of a threat, not someone you should be particularly worried about having in the same room as you while you spilled all your secrets (which, for a few people, would be a large mistake on their part). Just there. Maybe that was why no one noticed the signs of him slipping further and further away, until one day he wasn’t there all all, anymore.
NAME⠀ㅇ⠀CHOI YOONHAE ( 최윤해. )
BORN⠀ㅇ⠀MAY 21, 1993
POSITION⠀ㅇ⠀VOCALIST, RAPPER, DANCER
PLAYED BY⠀ㅇ⠀OH SEHUN
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APR 2012⠀LONELY⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “ON: YOUTH”)
JAN 2013⠀RHYTHM⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “YOU GOT IT”)
SEPT 2013⠀DON'T KNOW ft. JUST4U⠀(FROM SINGLE: “DON'T KNOW”)
JUL 2014⠀CONSOLE ME⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “FORGET”)
FEB 2015⠀SPEND THE NIGHT⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “MAKE UP”)
NOV 2015⠀ALL OF ME⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “ROT”)
APR 2016⠀U&I⠀(FROM SINGLE: “U&I”)
DEC 2016⠀APPETITE⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “NO LIMIT”)
JUL 2017⠀EYES⠀(FROM MINI ALBUM: “BODY & SOUL”)
MAR 2018⠀FABULOUS (DANGEROUS)⠀(FROM FULL ALBUM: “NO DRAMA”)
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Well.  I think that’s enough for part one.  I was going to cover BONSOIR here,  too,  but then I realised a three-in-each-part format would probably make more sense  (and make it all a little more balanced).  Second and final part will be up soon.  Have a nice night!  I’ve been justbcmb,  thanks for sticking around.
16 notes · View notes
slytherinshua · 1 year
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Hi! Could I ask for #4 from fluff, #19 from angst&hurt comfort and #17 from action with yeonjun?
TAKE A BREAK
genre. fluff. almost hurt/comfort? warnings. mention of unhealthy overworking. brief crying. kisses. pairing. yeonjun x reader. wc. 1.2k. a/n. so sorry that this request got caught between my hiatus! I hope you didn't mind the wait too much- and tysm for requesting!!
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Yeonjun was overworking himself. With year-end award shows, comeback preparations, and tour practices, he had a full schedule almost every day. He could barely catch a break, and spent most of his time in the practice room. At least this made it easy for you to find him when you needed to, like right now.
You knew he hadn’t eaten dinner and it was already almost 10 pm. He had been practising all day and you were worried he might injure himself if he kept up with this rigorous schedule. You were determined to convince him to take a one night rest for today and not stay in the studio until 2 am like he was prone to do.
You peaked inside the studio door before entering, just to see how your boyfriend’s condition was before talking to him. A sigh escaped your lips as you watched him, nervously chewing on your lip and wondering how you could convince him to take a rest.
He was running over some dance steps, hair and body sticky with sweat from how long he had been dancing. His loose jacket that you had seen him wearing this morning was now draped messily on the couch. You assumed he probably got too hot with it on and discarded it.
As for his condition, tired was an understatement. He looked exhausted, yet still completed each move flawlessly. You admired how hardworking Yeonjun was, but he had gone to the extreme this time. 
You stepped inside the room quietly, Yeonjun’s eyes watching you through the mirror as you did. They softened when he saw that it was you, and he stopped dancing to turn to you. You paused the song that was playing on the speakers and walked up to your boyfriend with a towel.
“You’ve been in here for hours.” You said pointedly, wiping the sweat off his forehead gently and earning a tired sigh from him.
“I know.”
“Were you planning to leave anytime soon?” His silence was enough of an answer and you sighed. “I worry about you, you know? And when you spend hours in the studio, I feel bad because I know you overwork yourself.” You mumbled sadly, brushing some of his hair away from his eyes. He leant into your touch slightly, eyes portraying his tiredness even more than his heavy breathing or sweaty figure.
“Do I really affect you that much?” He asked, taking the towel from you only to drop it on the floor. He leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around you. His body was warm, his chest heaving still, but you didn’t mind. You didn’t mind the sweat. You didn’t mind that you weren’t able to see him as often because of comeback preparations. You didn’t mind as long as he was okay.
“You do. You’re on my mind throughout the day, and even little things remind me of you.”
“Like what?” He closed his eyes, smiling and welcoming the relaxation that you always brought.
“Ramyeon, the colour black, soft pillows, iced coffee, roses, Harry Styles-“ You listed them off. Yeonjun’s smile only grew with each one, until he heard the name thrown in there.
“Harry Styles? How do I remind you of him?” 
“Because of your Artist of the Month.” You said with a shrug.
“Oh… I see. You watch it often, don’t you?”
You looked away and stayed silent, offering a tiny nod to answer his question. You stepped away from the hug out of embarrassment, but Yeonjun giggled, pulling you back into his arms tighter. 
“I love you.” He murmured into your ear.
You stayed silent, listening to his breath slowly even out as he regained some of the energy he had used up. You stroked his back with your hand and he nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck. Soon you felt wet tears drop onto your shoulder and his body tremble slightly in the hug.
“I never feel like I’m good enough to deserve you.” He whispered so quietly that you barely heard it. You pulled back. He was smiling despite the tears staining his face. 
“Baby…” You cradled his head in your hands, thinking through your next words carefully, “You’re more than good enough to deserve me. I know you’re trying your best to please everyone right now, and it’s more important to focus on other things than me. You’re in the practice room every second you’re not doing another schedule. You know that I don’t mind that I don’t get any of your time when you’re so busy, right?”
“But I mind.” He whined, “I want to spend time with you. I feel so guilty that I can’t.”
“Then how about you take a break right now, and spend some time with me?” You offered, the excitement already seeping into your voice at the thought of a couple hours with your boyfriend. 
“Aren’t you tired?” He asked, always ready to put your needs before his.
“Not anywhere near as much as you, so don’t worry.”
He frowned slightly, looking up at the 24-hour digital clock in the practice room that read ‘22:08’. Had he really stayed here for that long?
“Okay. I’m yours for the rest of tonight.” He said happily, jogging over to clean up his stuff and pack it into his bag. He settled on the couch in the practice room, legs crossed. You sat next to him, unzipping your bag with a smile.
“You hungry?” You asked him, already reaching into your bag for the lunchbox you had packed earlier for him.
“Ravenous.” He confirmed, eyes widening in excitement when he saw the lunchbox. 
“All yours.” You passed him chopsticks with it and watched him happily stuff the food into his mouth, mumbling I love you’s between bites which made you giggle. Once he finished, you let him lie down with his head in your lap, eyes closing as a contented sigh left his lips.
“Beware of Y/n’s kiss attack.” You murmured quickly. Yeonjun didn’t have time to process what you had said before you started placing soft kisses all over his face. He giggled at the ticklish feeling as you placed more kisses on his forehead, down to his nose, and on his cheek.
“Y/n-” He tried to say amongst his laughter.
“What?” You kissed his nose again.
“You’re missing the mark every time.” He pouted.
“What do you mean?” You raised your eyebrows, hiding the smile that kept threatening to spread across your face.
“The target’s a little lower, babe.” He urged.
“Oh!” You exclaimed as if you had only just realised what he wanted, “I think I know what you want.” You kissed him just above his lips, enjoying his offended face more than you should.
“Y/n…” He sat up, hands grabbing your face gently, “Don’t tease me.” He whispered and finally kissed your lips yourself. With his lips finally pressed to yours, he smiled, pulling you slightly closer. 
“God, I missed you.” He admitted in a soft murmur, lips still close to yours so he could kiss you again. Which he did.
↳ txt taglist: @kangtaehyunzzz,, @yeonjuns-bluehair,, @syrxiee2,, @90steele,, @ddenoudepression
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stagefoureddiediaz · 1 year
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Costume meta 6x18
Wow I can’t believe I actually managed to write one of these (with all the additional mini metas) for every episode this season!!! if you’ve read, liked or reblogged and any all of my metas throughout this series then I just want to take a moment to say a massive thank you - it really means so much to me that you do take the time to read the epics I post, that you interact with them and that you ask me questions and seem to learn from what I say - sorry to everyone who now sees check pattern clothing out in the wild and gets worried 😬 it happens to me too - its good to have your company!
I’m so sorry that this has taken me far longer to get out that I had intended - my internet died on Thursday night and still hasn’t come back up (it has not been fun - who knew how internet dependant I’d become11!0 so I’ve had to find a cafe on my day of to actually get this posted (I live in a 4g dead spot too just to add to the fun!) Not going to lie - I am in need of a little break because these posts are a lot of work (you don’t want to know some of the side quests some of these posts have taken me on!!), but I love writing them so I plan to continue in season 7. I do have some fun stuff planned for the extended hiatus so while I might not post as much, I will still be around - making art and providing some costume related (and non costume related) things for you to enjoy - I have breakdowns for each character which includes spreadsheets and graphs (don’t get too excited - but they are actually interesting I promise!) in the pipeline as well as sorting out my pinned post as I’ve hit the link limit!!!.
Back to the costumes for this episode - it sure was an interesting one (when are they not tbh) with plenty going on for me to talk about! Apologies for the photos - it was really hard to get decent stills this week - everyone and the camera constantly moving!! As always the rest is  below the cut to save your dash!
Athena 
Athena has just the one costume this week - heading off on the cruise! I very much enjoyed her being in yellow and saying that she might not tell anyone about them actually being on said cruise! There are a couple of reasons why - firstly its yellow - the colour of communication - which means that her character is telling us something which is important. So Athena suggesting that they don’t tell anyone they are off on this cruise is the key point we need to take away from this scene - what that could mean - well its a throw back to when they attempted to go on the cruise the first time - they were communicating their departure then by being on the phone with Beatrice as they were leaving the Grant-Nash house so by not communicating they’ve gone on their cruise they are preventing another interruption from occurring. The other thing its communicating is that the lack of communication between Bobby and Athena and their family and friends could actually be a bad thing - its a bit of preempting costume design - if the show does indeed choose to go with some form of cruise ship disaster to open season 7 (less likely now that they have delayed the show until midseason, but it depends on how they choose to play the time jump!) then this line comes back into play - the 118 being sent to help with the disaster not knowing Bobby and Athena are on board would make for some very interesting storytelling and potentially parallel with the tsunami very nicely!
The other thing about this costume is the fact that we have bold block colour wearing Athena in a pattern - and a floral pattern at that. Athena doesn’t wear patterns - we saw her in a patterned shirt in 6x10 - when she was undercover and therefore it doesn’t count as actually being something Athena would wear
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Bobby
Again the only costume we see Bobby wearing outside of uniform is when he is leaving for the cruise, this is the same costume he was wearing when they made the first attempt at their honeymoon cruise . From a personal perspective this was done to provide continuity between the two scenes as Bobby shirt is the loudest and most obvious thing to carry that thread through for a general audience.
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Denny
Denny continues to wear muted tones post reconnecting with his biological father and we also have check on this outfit. The fact that the check is only worn down the sides could indicate either approaching trouble or trouble passing, for me it’s more likely that it is a sense of foreshadowing and will be connected to the Wilsons season 7 storyline revolving around the new baby that they will be bringing home as Denny will become a full blown big brother rather than the role he currently fills with the foster kids – that hovers somewhere between brother and friend. This costume is a bit blink and you’ll miss it and so it’s hard to get more of a read on it than the very basics.
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Karen
Karen is wearing her typical large print florals for both her costumes this week and we have the contrast of red - a colour of anger, passion and love with t he yellow of communication, happiness and optimism. the use of the two colours to bookend the episode perfectly play into Karens mini arc for this episode - from the love tinged with disappointment and anger (broken hearted rather than fury) over fostering - the constantly having to hand children back, to the happiness and optimism surrounding the baby girl they may very likely get to adopt. the colours rather than the prints are the things conveying messages for Karen in this episode. they also contrast her very well with Hen in her black and white and then orange.
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Hen
It’s really interesting that we have hen in this black-and-white check cardigan which is a parallel to the one she wore in 6×10 that one was red with larger neutral face emoji is and foreshadowed her anger over Denny contacting his biological father. This new one is more confused and the smaller design with the variety of boxes lines and neutral face emoji is creates a sense of confusion and also feels like it is chaotic in an organised manner it plays into both check theory and striped theory to a certain extent/theory foreshadowing the news of the baby they may potentially get to adopt and the cheque foreshadowing the upcoming disaster we see in the episode. the black and white also plays into the idea of Hen being settled into the black and white nature of fostering children - accepting the reality and highlighting the difference between now and when they had Nia - this is deliberate as it shows emotional progress, but it is also about emphasising the joy they experience later in the episode when told they will be getting a baby girl - its more impactful because we’ve seen Hens acceptance of their situation.
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Hen’s other costume for the episode is this orangey red shirt which both contrasts and matches Karen’s yellow floral print shirt it also fits nicely with the oranges and lemons we see on the kitchen countertop next to her. Orange is an optimistic and energetic colour, it provides emotional strength and joy in its positive outlooks however is -ones are connected with superficiality in patients and domination. I think in this scene we can take the positive traits of the colour as opposed to the negative as we get to see Hen and Karen achieve something they’d given up on – the possible permanent expansion of their family – and brings them both full-circle after their disappointment surrounding Nia.
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Chimney
Chimney is wearing a brown shirt with a black check pattern, brown is a colour of stability and reliability, it’s a grounding colour and chimney wearing it here indicates that where he is in his life is grounded in stable, his relationship and impending nuptials with Maddie are built on solid ground and overall this colour bodes well for their marriage. We do need to consider the cheque pattern as being foreshadowing for the potential exploration of Chimney storyline next season, whether that involves Madney actually making it down the aisle without problems arising, or if the show will explore some of chimney’s trauma in more detail remains to be seen however it does appear season 7 May begin a little bumpy for Chimney.
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Kameron
Kameron wearing both the light and Navy blues that we’ve seen Buck wearing throughout this season whilst struggling to open a jar of pickles was a direct reference to Bucks struggles with who he is and who he wants to be. The props and costume work together to hint at Buck getting himself in a pickle and struggling to successfully deal with his issues, the fact that Kameron needed someone else to open the jar is a reference to Buck needing somebody else to help him with his struggles whilst the pickles in both this episode and the previous episode are a reference to Buck dealing with one issue but not his others. The use of blue costume in this scenario tells us the viewer should associate that struggle with buck specifically as the show has taken great pains to show us buck in a huge amount of blue costuming this season. The blue costuming also refers to water and water finding its level this has dual meaning in that it is foreshadowing Kameron’s water breaking later in the episode as well as continuing water theme surrounding buck story arc. The costume (and props) parallel Kameron and Buck and tell us to relate their stories to one another - Kameron being in a pickle with her life - her relationship with Connor - paralleled with Bucks own romantic storyline - both of them looking for support in the wrong place - from the wrong person, instead of with their respective partners - Kameron seeking help from Buck instead of Connor and and Buck seeking answers to being seen from Natalia instead of Eddie.
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Cameron second costume one she’s wearing when she goes into labour continues the blue theme but also plays into the grey black-and-white theme increase seen in the scenes that appear to be re-shoots. The choice of daisies as appropriate for this dress as they symbolise innocence new beginnings and purity, they are also the symbol of fertility and childbirth.
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Maddie
Ok so unusually I am going to talk about Maddie in connection with both Marisol and Natalia because their costumes are all connected by stars!
Maddie is wearing black with a lot of stars in white, while Marisol and Natalia have sparkly stars in fewer numbers on their costumes. the difference is the sparkly nature of said stars whilst the stars make perfect sense on all three of them for their respective scenes, they have different meanings attached to them - both Marisol and Natalia’s stars are a play on the concept of fantasy and dreaming and reaching for the unattainable, there are fewer stars and the glitteriness is a play on the idea of all that glitters is not gold - that the seemingly attractive external appearance is not a reliable indication of its true nature - that it is superficial. That meaning does not work for Maddie, her stars are not glittery or sparkly, they are matt and there are lots of them - there is more substance to her and Chimneys relationship and it is a direct and deliberate contradiction to the relationships of Eddie and Marisol and Buck and Natalia - we are meant to see the contrast - the building of something which has had to be fought for versus the untested and insubstantial nature of both of the other relationships - it all comes back to what bobby told Eddie - Maddie and Chim have sat with each other, taken a moment and stepped into the mess - they are fully aware of the reality where as Marisol and Natalia are both untested and fit much more into the fantasy concept the show has explored this season and the fantasy rarely holds up when exposed to reality.  
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Natalia
Aside from the stars that I’ve spoken about above, it was an interesting choice to remove nearly all colour from Natalia’s costume for scenes where she is present when life is brought into the world. When not in her ‘work’ role, we’ve seen her wearing a fair amount of colour, even if black is nearly always present - lots or red and oranges and whites and greens, however she was all in black for the living funeral and here again we have her in predominately black, with a little bit of navy thrown into the mix the choice to use very dark colours is intentional and these dark colours play into her role as harbinger of death - she is representing death as life is brought into the world. I wrote a post about that scene and her presence in it and how it plays into the fact that death has haunted Buck since he was brought into the world. Natalia’s presence was necessary precisely because of what she represents and because death is still hovering in Bucks life - the fact that Natalia and Buck get together while she is still dressed in this way is very telling about her position in Bucks world - he is still focused on death and its being a part of who he is rather than seeing/ focusing on other things. It all plays back into the ‘she really sees me’ of it all - Buck wants to be seen beyond his death/ beyond the death that has shadowed his life, but he is still falling back into the safety of being seen for death rather than the life he is living. Natalia is a representation of Buck falling back on these safe behaviours and thoughts because he is fundamentally scared of being seen for who he really is and Natalia’s transition from the orange of their ‘first’ date to increasing levels of black in her subsequent outfits shows that representation in Bucks life perfectly.
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Interestingly though we get a direct contrast to all that black in the ‘morning after’ scene with Natalia in white shirt which is meant to be one of Bucks. Honestly - fascinated by this choice! Putting her in a shirt that is meant to be one of Bucks makes total sense, but they could’ve chosen any colour they wanted - Buck wears a lot of colour, but they chose a white shirt. A. White. Shirt. a white shirt that is supposed to be one of Bucks. We all know how things go for Buck when it comes to white shirts - it doesn’t end well - it leads to bad things! Natalia isn’t going to end well for Buck - the white shirt has spoken!. 
The other thing with the white shirt is its contrast to Buck being in blue/grey because it puts her in opposition to Eddie who wore black when on the balcony. The balcony is a place that puts her on the outside of things, she isn’t inside with the mess (the couch) and the colour white is considered both a colour of innocence and purity, whilst at the same tie being seen as cold, uncaring and bland. When placed in contrast to Eddies black- a colour of power, strength security and protection, things don’t look great for Natalia’s future, or her ability to understand and support Buck.
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We have to have a quick talk about Jo and Mallory for the simple reason that they are dressed in Buck and Eddies colours, despite essentially being representations of Christopher and Buck, the implication being that Christopher would retain a lot of the traits etc he has gained from Eddie, even if Eddie were no longer a physical presence in his life, and that Buck would’ve nurtured those aspects of who he is.
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Chris
Christopher in grey as a neutral tone is an interesting choice. The green, specifically khaki green hidden underneath is a nod towards Eddie and, the fact it’s hidden under the grey to me is a reference to Christopher accepting things because he thinks they’re what his father does. But also towards Eddie once again, doing things that he thinks is right for Christopher.
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Eddie
We can’t not talk about the St. Christopher being brought out at this moment! We haven’t seen this necklace since 4x14 when Eddie got home and its use here is so very intentional in a camper van that is essentially a microcosm of the will arc - all of the elements of Buck, Eddie and Christopher’s relationship is shown here in the camper - the will, the fridge, the couch, the coffee , the risk of explosion, and the earth mover van crashing into it, we even get similar camera angles and injuries. the entire thing is supposed to direct us to what that St. Christopher means, what it already represents and it is setting up next season - there is no other reason to include it otherwise.
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Eddie in blue and in check – blue being connected to Eddie and his family suggests that the check is foreshadowing rocky times for that family dynamic and hints that this new relationship will end poorly whether that’s by fizzling out or in some other way remains to be seen. The other thing about this blue plaid check shirt is that it also ties in with a couple of other things - Eddie rarely wears plaid check - only 4 times before now and generally these are tied with when he’s been having family issues - we see it in the flashback scene in Eddie begins that show family conflict, conversely he doesn’t wear check in flashback scenes where is mind and intention is clear (such as when he argues with his parents and stands up for himself before going outside and asking Chris if he wants to move to LA.) The only other times we see him wearing check and not in a flashback is very much connected with his struggles with Christopher - and being able to support him - feeling like a failure as a father (which he isn’t) such as when he is at Bucks taking about Christopher’s skateboard accident and wanting his kid to feel normal. The only other time we see him in plaid is when he helps Buck move Maddie’s sofa into her new apartment - this is the only scene we have Eddie in non uniform before he goes to visit Durrand and is told he’ll need to get back in touch with Shannon - its kind of foreshadowing the conflict of the school visit when they couldn’t very easily put him in plaid.
I therefore really intrigued by this choice to have him in plaid for this scene when we don’t see any family conflict - so its either foreshadowing upcoming family conflict, or its playing on the idea that he’s internally conflicted - doing what his family wants (dating a woman) rathe than what he actually wants, or if the conflict is going to arise from him including Chris in this new venture into dating (we all saw how well that went last time!)
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The other thing this plaid shirt is comparable with is Eddies Poker suit. Which has me all kinds of intrigued because it really does actually imply that the poker game was in fact going to be played as a ‘date’ (which would’ve likely played into the family conflict theme and thus been in keeping with all the other times Eddie has worn plaid) before they changed tack due to getting renewal and therefore didn’t follow through on whatever direction they had intended to take the Buck and Eddie storyline they had planned when they thought this might be the final season of the show. 
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Buck
Buck in brown with a vertical stripe, the brown suggests solid ground or in a stable place - so Buck is being presented as having made peace with the sperm donation, as well as being a stable place from which to try and help Connor and Kameron sort out their problems. The vertical stripes also play into the theme of vertical stripes we’ve see non him this season. Interestingly, we haven’t seen Buck wearing these vertical stripes around Natalia, which I would expect to see if their relationship was meant to last as the vertical stripes are very much connected with Bucks search for himself, in particular, connected to couch theory (this is the second time we’ve seen vertical stripes in connection with couches/ armchairs) - Bucks version of couch theory, not the second couch theory that he as a character isn’t aware of.
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We have this grey marl tee, which is green tinted - perfect choice for Buck delivering the baby he helped create in a scene that heavily played into Bucks own birth. The grey and green tones have been associated with Bucks arcs this season - either in relation to the sperm donation (the green tones) or the family he has been searching for and is on his way to finding/ fully comprehending (why he wears grey around Bobby and Christopher in their one on one scenes - its the father son relationships being more deeply established). so for him to have both on when he gets to be the one who delivers the child he helped to create is a great choice and plays into both themes - especially when he tells Connor to love that child at the hospital.
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The addition of the check shirt is solely about Buck starting a relationship with Natalia, and them getting together in a moment not that dissimilar to how Buck and Taylor got together - at a moment of Buck reckoning with something important - the trauma of nearly loosing Eddie with Taylor and now with Natalia his reckoning with the sperm donation and having delivered the baby he helped to create. This is a deliberate choice by the show to parallel the two moments, but the use of check is highlighting it further and telling me that this relationship with Natalia isn’t going to be as ling and drawn out as his relationship with Taylor was. Buck doesn’t actually wear check patterns all that often considering the amount of danger and trouble he gets himself into and we’ve seen him wear it in most cases in relation to mental health struggles (the Equestrian centre is a prime example - Buck trying to raise the shooting with Eddie and being unsuccessful because Eddie wasn’t ready - and its parrallel with the grave scene from this season when Buck isn’t ready in return) so for him to be wearing it a second time is short succession and both connected with Natalia (and thinking he’s finally being seen) doesn’t bode well for anything related to their new relationship.
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Buck wearing his watch for the balcony scene is very telling because the scene is meant to imply buck and Natalia spent the night together and this is the following morning when they address down and comfortable and she is wearing one of his shirts, however him wearing his watch suggests that there is already a countdown/ that there is a time limit on their relationship. 
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Buck grey blue tee parallel with hoodie from the Eddie balcony scene - buck not understanding or seeing things clearly. The new one is darker and less blue, which not only plays into the previously stated concept of not understanding, but also suggests that Buck is currently in a less receptive state than during his previous times wearing the blue/grey colourway. The other thing to bear in mind is that Buck wearing a dark grey plays back into his costuming around Taylor in last season - he wore a lot of grey, but there was a distinct difference between the lighter shades we saw him wearing around Eddie and Christopher (which was the building blocks his grey wearing this season was built off of) and the darker greys we saw him wear around Taylor.
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And there we have it - one very late but finished costume meta! I’m off to pray to the internet gods that my home internet will be fixed very soon (current date I’m being given is the 5 June) as I can’t survive much longer without being able to do the things I need and want to! if you want to send up a prayer for me then please feel free to help a girl out 😁
Thank you to all of you that have read one, several or all of my metas for this season. I hope this one was worth the read and I look forward to getting to write metas for whatever they throw at us in seasonn 7!!
As always and for the final time this season, tag list below! 💜💜💜
@mistmarauder @theladyyavilee @leothil @girldadbuddie @kitkatpancakestack  @buckscurls @lemotmo @trashendence @elishareads  @clipboardsandstethoscopes @comfortbuddie @fiona-fififi   @callanee @calyssmarviss @pbandjeremiah @batgrldes @spotsandsocks ��@livingwherethesidewalkends  @idontshitpostbuttheolympicpark @diazboysbuckley @sweettsubaki @shortsighted-owl @sherlocking-out-loud @wh0rebehavi0r @favouritealias @hearteyesdiaz  @ktinastrikesback  @princesschez75 @bucksbuddie @oneawkwardcookie  @leatherati @moniquekatie @wanderingwomanwondering   @asharadaine @ajunerose  @talespinner230 @pop-kam @swiftiebuckleys @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx​ @butchjerry @mandzuking17 @yelenasbuddie @copyninjabuckley @name-code-black-widow @rogerzsteven @bi-moonlight @usercowboy​ @inthecarwithaboy @inandoutoffocus-blog​ @toboldlynerd​ @shammers86
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harry-on-broadway · 2 years
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The Last Line: Part One
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Part One 
Word Count: 9.4K || Series Masterlist || Rating: M
A/N: I didn’t think I’d be writing another series so soon after TYTM but...this little idea of an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story that I’ve been thinking about for a long time just wouldn’t go away. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I’m enjoying writing it. Would love to hear what everyone thinks! 
***
May 12, 2017
Review: Harry Styles Heads In A New Direction
By Penny Sanders
If you know someone, most likely a young woman, between the ages of 13 and 30, chances are you’ve heard of Harry Styles.
Or at least his former band, One Direction.
Styles is one of the five young men that were thrown together by the infamous Simon Cowell to create the best selling boy band of all-time. Over their brief career, One Direction’s discography cast a wide net, attracting fans of all ages. Young tweens and their millennial counterparts were drawn in by the clean-cut look of the lads clad in blazers and bowties and lyrics that felt like they were pulled from a self-insert fanfiction. However, as the years progressed the band added a bit of an edge – tattoos, rumors of an attempted threesome, and lyrics about a loaded gun (read: erect penis). But with 1D in the midst of an indefinite hiatus, all eyes are on Harry, Niall, Liam, and Louis (and Zayn too) to see what comes next.
Styles has answered that question with a 10-song debut that is worlds away from the five albums he put out with his former band. Gone are the bubblegum beats, replaced by alternatively somber and bombastic instrumentals. And forget cheeky “wink-wink nod-nod” lyrics to – gasp! sex! Styles readily admits getting himself off in a hotel room in the album’s closer, “From the Dining Table.”
It’s not a poor offering, but frankly, it’s not great either. While he pushes himself to redefine the sound that has been associated with him for more than five years, the result is a generic LP that will likely be forgotten as soon as one of the industry’s legitimate superstars releases a new single. And, to head off the question I’ve already received from many of Styles’ supporters on Twitter, I can guarantee that you won’t be seeing this album or any of its tracks, mentioned at this year’s Grammy Awards.
One of the bright spots on the album, the lead single “Sign Of The Times,” feels like a grand moment, but it also feels misplaced, almost as if it was a song that should have come a decade into his solo career. Despite poignant lyrics (the song is purportedly about a mother dying in childbirth), Styles’ falsetto needs strengthening and at times he sounds like a young boy trying to imitate his elders. He has talent and shows promise, but isn’t able to pull off a ballad of that caliber yet. Other songs, like “Sweet Creature” and “Two Ghosts” are instantly forgettable, though “Kiwi,” while memorable, is just plain painful to listen to.
Styles is obviously popular, and that alone will be enough to propel him to years of sold-out shows and chart-topping albums. But he needs something else – a secret ingredient if you will –  to launch him to further stardom and cement his name alongside his idols Nicks, Bowie, and Jagger. Otherwise, he’ll be nothing but a midnight memory.
***
September 21, 2017
Review: Harry Styles Rocks The Greek Theatre
By Penny Sanders
Months after the release of his self-titled debut album, Harry Styles found himself at the Greek Theatre, ready to play to a sold out crowd that had likely been waiting for this moment since One Direction’s final performance.
And let me just say, attending a Harry Styles concert is an experience like no other.
The intimate venue was a nice change of pace for Styles who was selling out stadiums in the latter half of One Direction’s tour. He was always seen as the charming one, and the small stage makes that even more apparent, giving him more than enough time to banter with the audience, introduce songs, and connect with his audience. I’m sure many of those in the front of the crowd will tell stories for years to come of the night they made eye contact with the heartthrob.
With just 10 songs of his own, he relied on some One Direction hits and other covers to fill out the setlist. With the exception of “The Chain,” most of the covers sounded nothing like the original version, leading anyone unfamiliar with Styles’ career so far to assume the guitar heavy, rocking versions of the songs – notably “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life” – are the standard.
Styles has a charisma like no other, and even though it’s clear it takes him a while to warm up to the crowd, perhaps a symptom of never being alone onstage in his career so far, he’s a born performer who belongs on the stage. But for me, he wasn’t the standout. It was his fans.
The crowd was ready for fun, dressed to the nines, with nearly everyone carrying overflowing bags of merch. They sang along to the songs word perfect and clung to Styles every word, cheering louder than I’ve ever heard when he entered the stage. It was a joyous occasion and had an energy I haven’t seen in any of the concerts I’ve recently attended.
I spoke to a number of women in attendance last night, asking them what drew them to the show. Some cited their One Direction fandom, while others spoke of the sounds of his music, and how it reminded them of other classic songs they love. But for many, Styles himself was the primary reason for being there.
“He makes things really personal,” said Ally, a college student who came from Minneapolis to see the show – her third time seeing Styles this year. “A lot of the other concerts I go to, the artists don’t say anything other than a generic thank you. But Harry makes every show feel special.”
“He feels like a friend,” said Katrina, a local high-schooler. “School’s not always easy and I sometimes struggle with things, but when I listen to his music or go to one of his shows, it feels comforting. Like I’m in a safe place.”
These statements perfectly summarize why Styles’ concerts are so unique.
If he stays true to what his fans want and lets his personality shine on stage, that, in addition to strengthening his songwriting, could be enough to land him alongside his musical icons, and 50 years from now, we’ll see him headlining stadiums on his own, playing a career’s worth of hits as the crowd – full more than just women – sings along.
Longtime readers will remember that I was less than effusive in my review of Styles’s debut, but after seeing him live, I must eat my words and say he’s going places.
***
Transcript from the “Track After Track” podcast, Episode 147: July 21, 2018
Ethan: Speaking of concerts, Penny, you just saw Harry Styles at the Forum, right?
Penny: Yeah, I was there a week ago. Eight days? No a week ago. Sorry it all blends together.
Ethan: I mean, you are at a concert every night, pretty much, so I’ll give you a pass.
Penny: [laughs] You’re so kind. But yes, I was at his show.
Tyler: How was that? I never know what to make of these boy band guys. For every Timberlake, there’s 10 Chris Kirkpatricks.
Penny: It wasn’t terrible. He puts on a good show.
Ethan: Was this your first time seeing him?
Penny: No. I saw him twice when he was in One Direction. And when he was at the Greek.
Tyler: And?
Penny: Like I said, he’s not terrible. It’s clear that his music and personality has resonated with a lot of people, so his shows are filled with fans and have a great energy. Listening to the album on its own is kind of meh…there weren’t a lot of tracks that stuck out as memorable…but live it can be kind of fun. You can tell he loves performing and really feeds off the crowd.
Ethan: Confession: I actually haven’t listened to the album yet.
Penny: That doesn’t surprise me based on the number of EDM CDs in your car.
Ethan: [laughs] Yeah, the genre definitely isn’t my cup of tea, but I think Harry is someone the industry really needs to watch. He’s going to do big things. Well, even bigger since he’s already pretty massive. Tyler, have you listened?
Tyler: Yeah, but I just can’t bring myself to get into it. Like, you just mention his name and you can hear the teen girls screaming off in the distance. I just think it’s a red flag when your fanbase is that narrow. Like if teen girls are your driver, how are you going to succeed? What happens when they’re not 13 and hormonal anymore. You’re not seeing a lot of geriatric boy band fans.
Penny: Wow! Ageism and sexism all in one statement! That has to be a first for you! It’s fine to say you don’t like his music, but to discount it purely on the basis that younger women like it…that’s just plain ignorant.
Tyler: Let’s evaluate this in five years and see where he is.
Penny: Fine, in five years have me back on this podcast and we’ll discuss his Grammy win.
Tyler: You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think Harry Styles will win a Grammy. You need to start thinking with your head and not your – (inaudible)
Penny: Seriously?
Ethan: OK, let’s talk charts…
***
Talking Biz News  
November 8, 2018
Penny Sanders to join media start-up The Moment as Music Reporter
***
Present Day, 2019
“She needs to go back to copyediting and stop fucking up my stories,” Chloe barked, stabbing lettuce onto her fork to match her anger. “She knows nothing about film but is constantly trying to make corrections and I’m just like ‘No?!? That’s not how the fucking industry works.’” She looked across the table at Penny. “Am I crazy?”
“No, you’re not crazy,” Penny said, trying to soothe her friend. “I have the same issue with Darren. He came in thinking he was hot shit because he had been at Rolling Stone and started trying to explain how the charts work as if I haven’t been covering this for years. I can’t tell you how much time I spend undoing his edits before the piece goes to Skylar.”
“Why can’t this newsroom hire a competent editor?” Chloe asked. “It’s not that hard.”
“Probably because no editor wants to work here?”
“Good point!”
Penny and Chloe were eating a late lunch in the courtyard of the complex that housed The Moment, the entertainment publication they both worked for. They’d met three years ago during a summer internship at Variety and forged an alliance after realizing they were the only two women in the program. Penny had wanted to cover music and Chloe was determined to become a film reporter, and they’d been thrilled to finally end up at The Moment together after several years of freelancing and fighting for staff writer roles. Now, they were unstoppable, filing stories daily and dodging pointless notes from their first editors.
“Wait, Penny…didn’t you file your piece on ‘Old Town Road’ today?”
“Yes, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why? It’s such an interesting story,” Chloe whined. “And I haven’t seen anyone covering it yet.”
“That always makes me nervous.” Penny swirled her spoon through her bowl of soup.
“It shouldn’t. It means you’re ahead of the curve.”
“Or I’ve completely misjudged the story. Maybe it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. Give it a month and everyone will be talking about it.” Chloe paused. “Is Darren taking firsts?”
“Yes.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Yeah, it’s not looking good for me, Chlo.”
The Moment’s typical reporting and editing process involved a reporter filing a story to one editor, who would do an intensive first edit, fixing the structure of the story, making notes on sections that needed to be added or get cut, and getting the piece 99% ready for publication. The second round of edits was largely focused on fixing grammar and spelling, as well as fact-checking, ahead of publication. Penny typically preferred Skylar, the publication’s editor-in-chief, to take on first edits. While she could be tough, she was smart and kind, and Penny’s stories were always much better after Skylar got her hands on them. When other editors, like Darren, took first edits, Penny knew to prepare herself for days of tears, stress, and questioning her life choices.
“What about you?” Penny asked, wanting to shift the conversation away from her anxiety over her story. “Have things calmed down post-Oscars?”
“Yes. Thankfully.”
Penny knew Chloe loved her job but from late August to early March, she was running from festival to festival, covering awards season. In addition to writing her articles, she, like Penny, found herself taking on media hits as an added responsibility, appearing on morning shows, podcasts, and radio programs to break down entertainment topics for everyday consumers. It was fun and super fulfilling, but it was also exhausting.
“When is Cannes again?”
“May!” Chloe said brightly. “Easily my favorite festival.”
“I have no idea why,” Penny said with a sly grin. “Two weeks on a French beach surrounded by celebrities, eating the most delicious food. It sounds horrid.”
“Oh my God, Penny? What are you doing here?”
Penny and Chloe turned in synchronicity to look at the man who had shouted at them from a table across the path.
“Do we know him?” Chloe asked, mumbling the question through the tentative grin she had plastered on her face.
“I can’t actually see his face,” Penny admitted, squinting trying to gain a better view.
“This is why you need to wear your glasses,” Chloe hissed.
“Of all the food courts in Los Angeles,” the man continued as he walked over to them.
“Wait…Tom? Is that you?”
“It is! How have you been?” He opened his arms and pulled Penny into him. She wrapped her own arms around him.
“So good. I didn’t realize you were out here.”
“I’ve actually been here for a few years now.”
“Shit. Really. I feel so bad that I didn’t reach out,” Penny said apologetically. “And I’m also surprised that my mom didn’t mention you.”
“Eh, it’s not a problem,” he shrugged.
“Care to introduce me?” Chloe asked.
“Ah, yes,” Penny said, composing herself. “Chloe, this is Tom Skoglund. He’s a longtime family friend, although I’m sure that title is being called into question since I didn’t even know he was living here. Tom, this is Chloe. She’s a friend of mine who also works at The Moment.” Penny stepped back to allow Chloe and Tom to shake hands and exchange pleasantries. “Do you want to sit with us?” she asked when they were finished, noting Tom’s sandwich and chips.
“If you don’t mind,” he said. “I’d love to catch up.”
Penny and Chloe sat back down as Tom pulled up a third chair and set his food down. “So you’re still doing the reporter thing?” he asked with a grin. He turned to Chloe. “Penny used to write a newsletter for everyone in the neighborhood. It had news items and opinion pieces all written by her. I seem to remember a glowing review for the second High School Musical soundtrack.”
“It’s full of bangers and you know it,” Penny said with a grin.
Tom turned to Chloe. “Do you also cover music?”
Chloe shook her head. “I’m a film girl.”
“Thoughts on the Oscars?” he asked as he took a bite.
“Anyone who actually pays attention to previous stats knew that Green Book would pull out a win so I wasn’t surprised. I will be curious to see what Netflix does next though. I personally thought The Favourite should have won, but that’s why I’m not a voter.”
“I literally only saw Black Panther and A Star Is Born so I feel like I don’t have room to say anything,” Tom said with a grimace.
“You sound like Penny,” Chloe said with a laugh. “She can tell you the exact week a song hit number one on the Billboard charts, but is frighteningly unaware of the latest movies.”
“I only have so much room for useless facts,” Penny said, earning a kick under the table from Chloe. She turned her attention back to Tom. “What are you doing here? Last I heard my mom said you were working in finance? Is that still the case?”
“God no,” he said lightly. “I had enough of that soul crushing job and decided to head out here to hack it in music. Got an assistant gig and worked my way up to manager.”
“Tom, that’s incredible,” Penny said with genuine excitement. “Who are you with?”
“Full Stop. With Jeff Azoff”
“Wow,” Penny said as Chloe let out a slow whistle. She turned to look at her friend.
“Yes, I know who the Azoffs are,” Chloe said. “And that’s impressive. Congrats, Tom.” Her phone chirped and she looked down at the screen. “Fuck. One of my sources wants to chat. I’ve got to take this.” She looked up at Penny and Tom. “It was so nice to meet you, Tom. Penny, I’ll see you at drinks later?”
Penny nodded and waved as Chloe disappeared across the grass, depositing her empty salad container in the trash. “So Full Stop,” she said, turning back to Tom. “You all have quite the roster.”
“Before you ask, no comment,” Tom said with a grin.
“Tom, I’m disappointed that you’d think I would stoop that low. I have a firm stance on not using friends for work stuff.”
“Well good, because you’d get nothing out of me.” He took a sip of his drink. “Remind me, are you still doing breaking news?” He grimaced. “I know I see your byline frequently, but I don’t always remember which article it comes in front of.”
“No. I moved on from that.” Penny didn’t miss the days of covering the desk at night, ready to pounce on any stories that came across the wire. “I mostly do reviews for concerts and albums now. I’m working my way up to business features, profiles, those types of things.”
“What should I go back and get caught up on?”
“I reviewed Maggie Rogers’ album a couple of weeks ago and wrote a review of Elton John’s show last week.”
“God, doesn’t he put on a great show.”
“One of the best. And I’m working on a feature about TikTok and ‘Old Town Road’ right now.”
“That sounds so interesting. Is it up yet?”
“No. I just filed it to my editor so there is a very good chance that it will never see the light of day. But if it does, I will send it your way.”
“Please. Let me give you my number.”
Penny pulled out her phone and handed it to her old friend. It was a strange feeling knowing that in the heyday of their friendship, they hadn’t needed each other's number, knowing they could always find the other in the cul-de-sac or the school hallways.
“Done.” Tom said, saving his contact information and passing the phone back to Penny, who quickly dashed off a text so he would have her information as well.
“I should probably head back into the office now,” Penny said. “But it was great to see you.”
“You too,” Tom said, standing to hug her. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d want to come to a little party slash happy hour thing I’m having on Friday. It’s super casual, basically just drinks and fancy snacks with a bunch of people from the office. I think they’d all love to meet you and talk music. Off the record,” he added quickly.
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Penny replied. “I should be free Friday.”
“Great. I’ll text you my address and we can take it from there.”
“Thanks, Tom,” Penny said, collecting her trash. “I’m really looking forward to seeing more of you.”
“Same. I’ll see you on Friday.”
Penny waved as she threw her trash away and headed back to her building. She smiled to herself. It would be nice to have another friendly face around. They were too rare in her line of work.
***
Penny promptly shut her laptop at 5pm, stowing it in her tote bag and pushing her chair underneath her desk.
“Have a nice weekend!” she called out to the few staffers that were remaining in the newsroom, before heading to her car. She plugged Tom’s address into her GPS app, hit play on her Spotify playlist, and pulled out of the parking lot. She was about 45 minutes away, thanks to the heavy traffic that was a near constant presence in the city, but made it to Tom’s house before her 80s synth mix was finished playing, which she counted as a win.
She grabbed her bag and fished around in the backseat for the bottle of wine she’d purchased earlier that day. She wasn’t sure if this was that type of gathering, but she felt weird showing up empty handed. Hopefully Tom wouldn’t say no to some Trader Joe’s wine. She locked her car and walked up the path and heard some shouts coming from the backyard. She rang the bell and just a few moments later, Tom appeared with a smile on his face.
“Penny! Come on in!” he said, opening the door for her. “How was the drive over?”
“Not as bad as it could have been,” she replied, shrugging off her cardigan and tote bag.
“I can take those,” Tom offered, reaching for her belongings, and placing them in a nearby closet.
“Thanks,” Penny said. “And this is for you,” she added, offering him the bottle of wine.
“You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“It’s from Trader Joe’s, Tom. It is quite literally the least I could do.”
He laughed. “Well, thank you. I’ll put it out now. It’s an open bar, so help yourself. Once you get a drink, I’ll take you around and introduce you to everyone.”
Penny poured herself a rum and Coke, and followed Tom out to the patio, drink in hand.
“Penny, I’d like you to meet Tommy Bruce,” he said. “Tommy, this is my friend, Penny. We reconnected the other day.”
“Pleasure, Penny,” Tommy said, shaking her hand. “Do you also work in the industry?”
“Sort of. I’m a critic and reporter at The Moment. I cover music.”
“That’s sick. Do you go to a lot of shows?”
“Yes. I was at Elton John’s show the other day and I’m planning to see Post Animal in a couple of weeks.”
“I was at Elton too! I wonder if we ran into each other?”
“We probably did,” Penny said with a laugh.
“Are you planning to go to Leon Bridges?”
“I’m not sure yet. I have to get everything approved by my editor so it’s up to her.”
“I hope you can. He’s so good. Hey, Jeff!”
Tom and Tommy turned their attention to another man that had approached their small group.
“Penny, this is the man, the myth, the legend, Jeffrey Azoff,” Tom said.
“They exaggerate,” Jeff said. “Nice to meet you Penny.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Penny said, moving her drink to her other hand so she could shake Jeff’s. “I’m an old friend of Tom’s from growing up. I work as a music journalist now.”
“Yeah, you’re at The Moment, right?” Jeff said.
“Yes…” Penny said slowly.
“OK,” Tommy said, affably rolling his eyes. “He’s such a show off.”
“I try to keep up with those who cover our clients, that’s all,” Jeff said. “And if it makes me look like a show-off, so be it,” he added, as Tommy playfully punched his shoulder.
As the men continued to banter, Penny surveyed the room, making the silent calculation she faced nearly everyday. Including herself, there were four women total at the gathering, which felt like a huge accomplishment. Working in her industry, she was used to being one of the only women in the room, a blessing and a curse.
The blessing was that whenever she found another woman at an event or meeting, they instantly gravitated toward each other, which meant she’d made a lot of friends in just a few years. The curse was obvious: men.
The men that surrounded her weren’t the worst offenders – they kept their hands and other body parts to themselves and were generally very kind – but being the lone woman was noticeable. Men would casually throw out that someone was a “bitch” or offer Penny an explanation that they didn’t give to a male reporter two years her junior. Penny usually just took it with a grain of salt, sighing internally, complaining to Chloe, and then proving her worth by being the smartest one in the room. Keeping an eye on two women chatting in the corner, she started to move towards them to introduce herself when she caught sight of another person across the way.
Harry Styles.
Or was it? Was that actually him? Chloe was right, she needed to wear her glasses more often. But Harry Styles being here didn’t make any sense. What would he be doing at a random house party?
She felt a hand on her shoulder and stepped over to the side to allow the person to pass and collect her thoughts. The more she thought about it, Harry Styles being at this party made sense. She knew from stories she’d worked on that he was repped by Full Stop, so it wasn’t totally out of the realm of possibility that he would hang out with Tom and the other agents outside of work, but it was still jarring to see him out in the wild.
Whenever she told people she was a music journalist, their first instinct was to assume that she was close to many of the artists she reported on daily, but that wasn’t the case. When she was attending an event, it was a professional engagement. She was there to gather the facts, tell a story, and move on. Socializing with those in the industry outside of that professional setting made her uncomfortable. Especially when she was working on a review or piece of criticism. It was one thing to write those things and send them off into the vacuum of the internet, but when she thought about the subjects of the reviews reading her writing, she started to feel…guilty. She never intended to be mean – she knew how she felt when she received harsh notes from an editor – but the point of her reviews was to offer commentary and opinions. And if she thought too much about the people behind the work, her objectivity disappeared. So, she’d made a concerted effort to keep a firm boundary to ensure her writing was as good as it could be.
The few times she did meet musicians outside of work events, she could feel her brain going a mile a minute to remember if she’d ever written something slightly negative about them for fear they’d call her out on it, as despite what every musician claimed, they always read the reviews. And her brain started working overtime to perform these mental calculations as she saw Harry stop in front of her.
“Haven’t seen you here before. I’m Harry,” he drawled slowly, reaching out his hand.
Penny momentarily froze, but quickly recovered. “I’m Penny,” she said, shaking his hand.
“Do you work at Full Stop?” he asked, eyes glancing over her as if he was trying to figure out where she should be placed.
“No.”
“At one of the labels?”
“No.”
“OK, well I’m stumped as to where you fit it,” he said with a light laugh. “Care to enlighten me?”
“I’m a writer,” Penny replied, hoping the vague nature of her answer was enough to satisfy him.
“Have you written anything I’ve read?”
“Maybe.”
“Care to give me any other clues?” he asked, sipping from the plastic cup in his hand and leaning in closer to hear her response. Penny couldn’t tell what it was, but from the smell wafting over to her, it was something strong.
“I’m a journalist.”
“What do you cover?” Another sip, his eyes intensely focused on her.
“Entertainment,” Penny said simply, praying this game of 20 questions would be over soon.
“That’s kind of vague,” Harry replied quickly.
“That’s kind of the point.”
“Oh! A woman with an air of mystery. That’s…” he paused. “Enticing.”
“Enticing?” Penny quirked a brow and shot him a bemused grin.
“Yeah, it’s like a challenge. You’re making me work for it.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know, maybe a drink?” Harry asked hopefully.
“Wow. Subtle.”
“I try.” The corners of his lips ticked up. “Maybe I should try a little harder though.”  
Penny was thinking up a witty comeback, somewhat amused by the situation she’d found herself in and very pleased that she’d have a new story to share with Chloe at lunch on Monday, when Tom interrupted their conversation.
“There you two are! I was hoping to introduce you all tonight.” He looked at Harry, gesturing to Penny. “This is Penny. She’s a friend from back home who’s a big time writer for The Moment. She writes reviews for concerts and albums.”
Penny snuck a look at Harry and thought she saw a flicker of…something…in his eyes. It was so subtle and so brief that she didn’t have time to think about what it could mean before she felt Tom’s arm on her back.
“And Penny, you of course know Harry.”
“I do. I think one of my friends had a toothbrush with your face on it.”
“Hmmm,” Harry murmured. “Those were a hot item for sure.”
Tom’s eyes darted between the two, evidently waiting for them to continue the conversation he had interrupted. Seeing that that wasn’t going to happen, he excused himself and moved onto another group of people.
“So, music is the kind of entertainment you cover.” The banter was back but it had a harder edge this time.
“It is.”
“Have you ever written about me?”
Penny mulled her potential responses, trying to find one that could cause the path of least resistance. “No,” she said simply.
“Really?” Harry said. The challenge in his voice was evident. “You weren’t the one who said I sound like ‘a young boy trying to imitate his elders?’”
Fuck. Penny felt her face grow hot. “That might have been me.”
“I thought so.”
“How long did you know?”
“Once Tom said the name of where you work. There aren’t that many critics named Penny that wrote a scathing review of my album.”
“It wasn’t scathing,” Penny said, suddenly feeling defensive of her work. “It was critical, sure, but that’s what my job is. I’m a critic. And besides, don't musicians get off on bragging about how they don’t pay attention to the reviews?”
“Hate to break it to you but that’s a load of bullshit. We are all very sensitive creatures.”
“Well, that’s clear based on how you’re acting now.”
“How I'm acting? You’re the one that’s yelling in the middle of a party.”
“I’m not yelling!” Penny said, lowering her voice by a couple of decibels. “You’re the one that came over here trying to score and then decided to pick a fight because you can’t forget about one review from like two years ago.”
“I’m sorry–” Harry laughed in disbelief. “You thought I was trying to get lucky? What made you think that?”
“‘Ah! A mysterious woman! So enticing! I like a challenge. You’re making me bloody work for it. Let’s get a drink!’” Penny shot back in a poor imitation of his slow, deep voice.
“I did not say that.”
“Yes you did!” Penny yelped. “You totally did.”
“Whatever,” Harry mumbled, taking another sip of his drink while Penny just looked at him.
“That’s all you have to say?”
Harry looked at her blankly. “Yes?”
“Oh, I thought you might offer up a sorry.”
“What for?”
“For attacking my work.”
“I hate to break it to you, Penny, but I think you attacked my work first.”
“Because it’s my fucking job!”
“Everything alright over here?”  Jeff asked, stepping into the conversation. The look of caution on his face told Penny that her conversation with Harry had been overheard by the others at the party.
“We’re fine,” Penny said evenly.
“Yeah, peachy keen,” Harry added, earning a glare from Penny.
“I should actually be going,” Penny said.
“Oh, can’t you stay a little longer?” Jeff asked as Harry muttered “Bye, then.” Jeff cut his eyes over to Harry, who avoided his glance. “Alright then,” he said slowly. “It was nice to meet you, Penny. Hope to see you around.”
“You, too,” Penny said before swiftly leaving the group.
“What was that about?” Jeff asked, attention turned back to Harry.
“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
“You were a bit, shall we say…dickish…back there?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“If you say so,” Jeff said. He paused. “Have you read any of her work?”
“I’ve read enough of it.”
“You should honestly read some more. The Moment in general is a really up-and-coming publication. They’ve poached some stellar writers and editors from Billboard and Rolling Stone. And Penny…she’s smart. I think you all would have a lot to talk about.”
Harry glared at Jeff. “What makes you say that?”
“She’s got an interesting perspective. Her reviews always leave me thinking about things in a different way and I can’t say that about many critics.”
“Oh really,” Harry shot back, suddenly combative. “Did you start to reconsider my album after reading her review?”
“Calm down, H,” Jeff said gently. “Your album is a fantastic accomplishment and you know it. And she doesn’t just write criticism, she does cultural pieces as well. Check them out. She was on a podcast last year that you might find interesting.” Jeff pulled out his phone, typing quickly. “Here’s a link. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.”
Harry shot Jeff another glare and drained his cup. “Thanks,” he said dryly. “I’ll move it to the top of the list. See you later,” he called, pushing past his manager.
He tossed his cup into a nearby trash can and combed the room for Tom, offering a wave as he walked out the door. Harry walked slowly down the driveway, feeling the cool night air blow through his hair, relishing the peace. He’d felt a little off all day, but couldn’t put a finger on why, and his encounter with Penny had thrown him even more off balance. He’d been feeling like this a lot recently. Like he didn’t quite fit in alongside the other pieces of his life. He reached his car and unlocked it, sliding inside.
He plugged in his phone and stared out the windshield. Penny. He hadn’t known who she was when he approached her that night. Only that she looked pretty and that the smile she’d worn when he saw her talking to Jeff and Tommy made him want to know more about her. But as the pieces fell into place, it was impossible to look past what she’d done to him two years ago.
He didn’t know why her review had struck such a nerve with him. It wasn’t like his debut had been released to unanimous raves, and after two years of looking back on it, while he was proud of what he’d accomplished, he could see the weak spots in his work and was hoping to improve upon them with his second album. The hurt that lingered was just one of those implacable feelings.
Rolling his neck and feeling it crack, he pulled on his seatbelt and scrolled through his music library looking for something to listen to on the ride home. But after cycling through the entire library twice to no avail, he opened the text Jeffrey had sent him earlier, pressing play on the podcast episode that had been shared with him before turning the key in the ignition. His drive home was long but while he usually grew antsy watching the clock change as he sat bumper to bumper with other drivers, tonight his mind was occupied listening to the discussion echoing through his speakers.
It was an episode from one of Variety’s podcasts last year, shortly after his Forum concerts. Penny was a guest, chatting with the two guys who served as hosts. One of them sounded cool, and the other sounded like someone that he’d like to punch in the face if they ever crossed paths in real life. The episode was about his tour, specifically his shows in Los Angeles. It was weird listening to people talk about him like he was a commodity for consumption, and not like a human, a blatant reminder of why he typically abstained from engaging with anything like this.
Much to his surprise, Penny played the role of his supporter throughout the podcast, jumping to his defense when the Asshole, or whatever his name was, levied harsh words at Harry and his fans. He wouldn’t have expected that based on what she’d previously written. On the track, they shifted topics and Harry’s mind drifted off as the episode played on, ending moments before he arrived at his home. He turned off the car but made no effort to head inside. Instead, he picked up his phone and opened Instagram where he typed in Penny’s name.
Her account popped up right away. He scrolled over her page, unsurprised by what he found. Lots of pictures of concerts, sunsets on the beach, and admittedly delicious looking food. There weren’t many pictures of her but he found one that was relatively recent, posted last Christmas. She was smiling alongside some other women, probably friends based on the caption, and once again he felt something tugging inside of him when he looked at her. Next, he redownloaded the Twitter app, something he swore he would never do, and typed in Penny’s name, skimming through her Tweets. Jeff was right. She was frustratingly and irritatingly smart.
Closing out of Twitter, he navigated back to Instagram, finger hovering over the follow button. He hesitated, but after a minute his finger came down on the icon and it changed from blue to gray.
As he put his phone in his pocket and locked his car, across town Penny’s phone lit up with a notification. She missed the initial alert as she washed her face and pulled on the old college t-shirt she wore to bed most nights, but she finally noticed it when she went to set her alarm: Harry Styles followed you.
What the fuck was he trying to do? After laying into her the way he did at Tom’s house, completely unprovoked, the last thing she wanted to do was interact with him in the virtual world. She deleted the notification, plugged in her phone, and went to sleep.
When Harry woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was check his Instagram notifications. He scrolled past most of them – comments and following alerts from random fans and bots – but among all of the familiar amalgamations of usernames, Penny’s was nowhere to be found.
He laid his phone on his chest and stared at the ceiling. What game was she trying to play with him? And why did he feel so upset? The silence that surrounded him as he laid motionless was so loud.
When he finally found the motivation to get out of bed, he pulled on some jogging shorts and a tank and laced up his sneakers, grabbing headphones on his way out the door. He was hoping that a run might clear his head, but thoughts of Penny from the night before echoed alongside the sound of his feet on the pavement. Clarity hadn’t been found when he reached the five mile point, so he begrudgingly turned around to head home and shower. His mind was still swirling as he got cleaned up, and by the time he was dressed for the day and brewing coffee, he had a plan.
He pulled up his contacts and scrolled until he found the name he was looking for, pacing nervously while the phone rang.
“Hey,” the voice on the other line said. “Is everything OK?”
“Yeah, Tom. Sorry for the early morning call,” Harry said, twisting his fringe around his finger as he continued to do laps around the island. “Are you heading into the office today?”
“Seeing as it’s Saturday, I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Oh, shit,” Harry said, cringing when he took note of the early weekend hour. “I guess I lost track of time.”
“Not a problem,” Tom replied, stifling what seemed to be a yawn. “I’ll be there bright and early on Monday.
“Oh, nice. Would you maybe want to catch up and grab lunch?”
“That would be great, seeing as it’ll have been close to 48 hours since we last caught up,” Tom said a bit facetiously.
Harry said nothing trying to extract his fingers from the knot he’d twisted his fringe into. “Oh, yeah,” he mumbled after a moment.
“H, I’m kidding,” Tom said with a light laugh. “You can always swing by. Would you want to go to the bistro?”
“No, why don’t we pick somewhere more convenient to you. How about Loqui?” Harry suggested naming one of the restaurants that was in the campus that housed both the Full Stop and The Moment offices.
“Uh, yeah that’s fine. I’ll see you then. Have a good weekend, H.”
“You too, Tom.”
Harry hung up the phone and tried to figure out how he’d distract himself until Monday.
***
As Penny sat in her editor’s office Monday morning, she was trying to calculate when her next dental appointment was scheduled for and whether or not she’d be able to add on some x-rays to survey the damage done to her jaw after clenching it as hard as she had that morning.
Darren had finished reviewing her piece over the weekend, and had suggested they review his edits first thing, which wasn't the way she wanted to start the week.
“I think the biggest problem you have here is that this isn’t a story,” he said, scrolling through the copy on his laptop. “You only have one example of this phenomenon if we want to call it that and I honestly don’t think that TikTok is that important to the success of the song. In my professional career, we’ve seen plenty of songs do this. It’s nothing unusual.”
“But you’re missing the point,” Penny said, pushing back. “The whole idea is yes, this hasn’t happened before, but it’s the way forward. This is going to be the new version of Justin Bieber getting discovered on YouTube or Shawn Mendes on Vine.” She could feel herself getting angry and took a breath to calm herself. “You’re always telling us to be ahead of the story and that’s what I’m doing.”
“But this isn’t a story.”
Penny bit the inside of her cheek as she struggled to keep her cool. “OK, then, what do you suggest I do?”
Darren sighed. “Write it up like a regular chart recap and include a couple of lines about how it’s getting close to a record.”
“Because of TikTok?”
“No mention of TikTok. We don’t want to look like we don’t know what we’re talking about.”
“We have a chance to scoop Rolling Stone and Billboard and you’re just ignoring it.”
“Because it’s not a story. End of discussion. I’ve got a meeting to go to.”
Darren stood up and exited the office, leaving Penny stunned and furious. When she’d collected herself, she moved back to her desk in the newsroom. She spun around in her chair, any motivation to work gone.
Editors, specifically Skylar, were constantly telling them to push boundaries and find the stories no one was writing on yet. Unfortunately, they weren’t always on the same page, which led to a great deal of frustration when it came time to file a story. Penny could submit a story thinking it was Pullitzer-worthy, but be left questioning her entire life path after a single round of edits. Almost as if she could sense the tension brewing, Chloe poked her head over top of the divider that separated their desks.
“I think you need coffee. Or a pastry. Or lunch. Basically you just need to not be in this office right now, so we’re going for a walk.”
Penny begrudgingly grabbed her purse and ID and headed towards the exit, close behind Chloe, who was listing off restaurant options.
“Loqui,” Penny eventually said, stopping the list. “I’m in the mood for some spice.”
After walking a few blocks they found themselves at the restaurant, scanning the menu above the cash register. They ordered – a beef plate for Chloe and chicken plate for Penny – and had stood off to the side waiting for their respective numbers to be called, when they were interrupted.
“So we go years without seeing each other and then all of a sudden it’s three times in one week?” Tom called from behind a partition.
“Oh my God,” Penny said, laughing with actual mirth for the first time all day. “What are the odds?”
“Nice to see you again,” Chloe added.
“Are you all dining in?” Tom asked, eyes shifting between the two women.
“Yeah,” Chloe chimed in. “Needed to get out of the office for a little while.”
“I feel that,” Tom replied. “You’re welcome to join us.”
Penny looked at Chloe, who nodded her agreement. Neither woman asked who “us” was.
Their numbers were called and when they’d collected their food they slid into the booth, leaving space around the plate of veggie tacos that had been placed in front of an empty chair.
“How’s your week shaping up?” Chloe asked Tom.
He shrugged. “Mondays are always rough, but it’s all downhill from here.”
“What is management like? Do you have a routine?” Chloe continued. “Like with reporting, there’s a certain cadence with different deadlines and interviews. Is there a similar thing for you all?”
“Sort of. If we’re on tour a lot of people have a routine they like to stick to. When we’re in the office, it’s a little less structured. Depends on what each client is working on.”
Penny kept her eyes on her plate, her thoughts still focused on her earlier conversation with Darren. Eyes on the floor, she saw the white loafers and yellow socks before the face of the man they belonged to.
“You’re out to lunch with Tom?” Penny asked in disbelief when her eyes met Harry’s.
“Yeah. I didn’t think there’d be a problem with that,” he mumbled as he sat in front of the plate.
“I’m Chloe. I don’t think we’ve met,” Chloe interjected helpfully.
“Harry,” Harry returned, extending his hand.
Penny stared daggers at him, but Harry refused to look at her. Penny knew he was observing her though, feeling his eyes burning into her whenever she looked away. Neither of them spoke, leaving Tom and Chloe to fill the silence with banal conversation.
As they chattered on, Penny continued to feel the heat of Harry’s glare on her.
“Can I help you?” she finally snapped.
“What?” he shot back.
“If you have something to say, just fucking say it.”
“I’ve got nothing to say,” he said, spooning some mushrooms and peppers into his mouth.
“Really? Because it looks like you’ve got something on your mind.”
“OK, then,” Harry shot back, putting his spoon down next to his plate. “Why’d you give my album such a shit review?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I do!”
“That’s a great argument,” Penny said, rolling her eyes.
“Well how about this,” Harry said, turning to face her. “I’m trying to figure out how someone who supposedly loves music and everything it stands for can be such a hater.”
“A hater?” Penny could feel the prickly sensation behind her eyes that meant tears were just moments away. “I’m sorry. The 90s called and they want their slang back.”
“Yeah, all of your reviews are just so…mean. It’s like you forget there’s someone behind that album.”
“Almost like forgetting there’s a person behind the review?”
“Don’t twist my words like that.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying it’s a two way street.”
“All you are is a second-rate journalist who isn’t good enough to work for a legitimate publication, so instead of saying things that actually matter, you just share your shitty takes to try to get Twitter clout.”
Penny could feel her lips tremble, but she was determined to not give Harry the satisfaction of seeing her cry. “You know, it’s generally frowned upon to harass a journalist in a public setting just because you don’t care for what they have to say.” She sniffed and much to her chagrin, she could feel her eyes getting wet. “But now you’ve got me crying in a restaurant so I hope you’re satisfied.” She grabbed her purse, leaving her food nearly untouched on the table. “I’ll see you back at the office, Chloe.”
Chloe and Tom’s eyes followed her as she walked out of the restaurant. Harry kept his eyes locked on his plate.
“I should probably check on her,” Chloe said after a moment.
“That might be for the best,” Tom said. “Let me grab a box. You can take her her food.”
Chloe picked up her own bag and leftovers, balancing them alongside Penny’s. “Wish this could have been longer but…” she trailed off as Tom nodded. She looked at Harry. “I’m not entirely sure what this is about but I’ve never met anyone who loves music more than Penny, so whatever assumptions you have about her, she’s not a ‘hater.’ She’s also not second-rate. She’s fucking brilliant, but maybe you’re just too dumb to see that.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the restaurant.
Harry picked up his spoon and started pushing the remaining vegetables and bits of tortilla around on his plate. The air was heavy with the unspoken questions on Tom’s tongue. “Go ahead and say it,” Harry said after a moment.
“Is there something going on with you?” Tom asked, point blank. “You’ve been kind of moody lately and I’m here if you want to talk.”
Harry looked up at him. “That wasn’t what I was expecting you to say.”
“Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed that you yelled at my friend like that, but whatever issues you all have it’s not my business and I don’t want to get in the middle of it.”
“Sorry,” Harry said, a little more firmly. “I just – I haven’t been feeling great and I’m sure this is just a byproduct of whatever that is.”
“Studio stress?”
“Yeah, that,” Harry said, taking the out he was handed.
“Well, you can always talk to me, man. Just gotta let me know that something’s going on.”
Harry nodded and focused on finishing his lunch.
***
Back in the newsroom, Penny picked at the remnants of her lunch that Chloe had deposited on her desk, refreshing the feeds in her RSS reader while she waited on Darren’s edits. When he Slacked her that he was through, she opened the Google Doc to find that he had completely rewritten it. Ordinarily, she would have fought back, challenging him on everything down to the placement of commas, but she felt too drained after her earlier bout with him and the subsequent battle with Harry.
She signed off on the two rounds of edits as quickly as she could and returned to refreshing her browser.
“Are you ready to talk?” Chloe asked, poking her head over the frosted glass between them.
Penny shrugged. “Not much to discuss. I suck at doing my job. Darren agrees! Harry agrees! So does Walt from who the hell knows! I should just quit while I’m ahead.”
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said. “Who is Walt and how does he factor into this equation?”
“Just some jerk on Twitter who also thinks I can’t write for shit.”
“Fifteen minutes,” Chloe said. “That’s how much time you have left to wallow. After that, you have to get up, look in the mirror, and realize that you are a bad bitch who deserves this job more than anyone.”
“I deserve twenty minutes,” Penny shot back. “But thank you for the words of encouragement. I know I just need to move on, but it’s hard to do that when it feels like this happens every fucking day just because Darren thinks I’m an idiot.”
“I know, Pen, but you just have to hang in there.” Chloe looked around before leaning in closer. “I heard a rumor that Darren’s days are numbered so things may be looking up for you.”
“Seriously?” The long running joke of the newsroom was that Darren had witnessed the CEO of the company hit someone with his car and that’s how he managed to land the job and stay gainfully employed for as long as he had.
“You didn’t hear it from me,” Chloe said, sinking back into her desk chair.
On slow days like this one, Penny typically filled her afternoon with source calls and research for future stories but with her motivation subzero, she made her way to the parking garage at 5pm on the dot, ready for a night of wine, takeout, and Friends reruns.
When she reached her car, she was surprised to find Tom there.
“Hey…” she said slowly.
“Hey, I didn’t want to miss you.”
“Should I be worried?” she asked jokingly. “I run into you after years of silence and a week later you’re waiting for me at my car?”
“I promise I’m not following you,” Tom said with a laugh. “I just had to tell you…I know this means nothing coming from me, but Harry isn’t usually like that.”
Penny sighed. “I don’t care, Tom. It’s been a day and I’d rather just move on to prepare for tomorrow’s battles.”
“I know, but it’s important to me that you know the truth.”
“Trying to make sure I don’t start a nasty rumor about your client?”
“No, just trying to make sure you don’t have the wrong idea about a great guy.”
“Great guy?” Penny’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “Are you trying to set me up with him now? Because I’m not interested.”
“No,” Tom huffed, rolling his eyes. “Although there could be something there…”
“Nope, not happening,” Penny said.
“Seriously,” Tom said, the earnestness returning to his eyes. “Harry’s a good guy and I think under the right circumstances you all would actually get along.”
“Tom, even if we were the last people on Earth tasked with repopulating the planet, I’d rather let the human race go extinct than willingly spend time with Harry Styles.”
“Wow, that’s uh, harsh and vivid,” Tom said, scratching the back of his neck. “You just need to understand that he’s under a lot of pressure with the new album.”
“New album?” That caught Penny’s attention.
“Shit!” Tom exclaimed, realizing the magnitude of what he’d shared. “That’s entirely off the record. I’m serious, Pen!”
“Woodward and Bernstein had Deep Throat telling them government secrets in a garage, and I have Tom Skoglund blabbing album releases next to my decrepit Toyota…does this mean my Pulitzer is on the way.”
“I mean it, Penny. I could get in a lot of trouble.”
“It’s fine, Tom. I’m not going to tell anyone. I’ll see you later.”
Tom nodded and headed back to the Full Stop office as Penny climbed into her car and pulled out of the garage.
Later that night after two glasses of wine and about 10 episodes of Friends, Penny decided to sign into her work email. She told herself that she wouldn’t check work emails off the clock, but she always gave into the temptation. She scrolled past the usual news alerts and reader feedback until one subject line stopped her cold.
“An Apology.”
She opened it before she realized what she was doing.
Hi Penny, the email began
It’s Harry. I’d like to apologize for the way I acted at Tom’s party the other night, as well as what I said in the restaurant earlier today. You’re right – it was entirely inappropriate for me to behave that way, and I’m sincerely sorry for any hurt or hard feelings that may have come about on your end as a result.
I just wanted to get this off my chest and conscience.
Hope your evening is treating you well.
All the best,
Harry
Penny was speechless, staring at her phone as Ross Geller’s cries of “We were on a break!” and the subsequent laugh track echoed in her empty apartment.
Harry had apologized.
When she recovered, her first instinct was to text Tom, attaching a screenshot of the email.
Did you put him up to this? she asked.
No, came Tom’s swift reply. See what I mean though? Not a bad guy.
Penny reread the email once, twice, three times, taking in the way he’d introduced himself, but left off his last name. The way his writing was devoid of exclamation points. The effort finding her address and sending the email entailed.
She doubted he’d got it from Tom, seeing as Tom had no clue about the message, which meant he’d either pulled it from The Moment’s website or her Twitter bio. Either option meant he’d taken the time to look her up, typing her name into the search bar to find her profile. Knowing that Harry had searched for her specifically made her feel some type of way. She wasn’t sure what.
She didn’t like Harry Styles, but maybe he wasn’t as horrible as she thought.
***
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