#i told you guys that nana tour would be the end of me

[spamgyu]

COLLEGE!Mingyu Drabble

no bc college!mingyu as someone who lives down the hall from your dorm and you always run into him doing something questionable

"What the hell are you doing?" She laughed the minute she caught sight of the resident she had gotten accustomed running into.

Their dorm was always bustling about, each and every student having their own schedule to manage.

Mingyu's tired eyes brightened at the sound of her voice, letting out an embarrassed chuckle as he continued brushing his teeth. "Running late for practice."

She stopped within a few feet from him, still giggling at his disheveled state – it was nearly 5pm and yet, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed.

His hair was mess, his backpack half zipped and shoes.... were barely on. There hadn't been a single time where she had bumped into him that he looked like he was actually put together.

"When are you ever on time for practice?" She teased.

He was one of the starters on the school basketball team, a key player. But of course, he was the coach's favorite and was rarely reprimanded for his actions.

"I over slept."

"It's 4:57 on a Tuesday." She flashed him her phone screen.

He laughed. "Your dad loves me anyways."

Her dad.

The team's coach.

The man that had nothing but wonderful words to say about Mingyu. practically begging her to make Mingyu his son in law.

"Unfortunately." She grimaced. "Starting to think he likes you more than me."

"Oh he does." Mingyu winked, earning a shove from the girl. "I'm telling dad."

"Don't call him that."

"Why? He calls me his son in law."

"You wish." She rolled her eyes – though she has no doubts her father does love him. There had been countless of times she had tried hanging out with her father only to find out that Mingyu was already with him; either grabbing dinner or playing golf.

He in fact does wish this to be true.

[collecting-stories]

Winona - Rafe Cameron

Request: no.

A/N: Just some shit about Rafe being a dad that got stuck in my head. 

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ 

Even when Rafe was a kid there were just somethings he was absolutely sure of. One of those, the one that seemed to top every list he made, the one that rattled around in the back of his head at every family holiday party, the one he was absolutely, a million times sure of, was that he was never ever going to have a kid. Or a family at that. But most definitely not a kid.  

It wasn’t that he hated kids. When Sarah was born he’d been so excited to have a little sister. And again with Wheezie. He wasn’t always the best but being a big brother was arguably one of the most important things in his life. But even still, he didn’t want kids. He tried to be a good brother but his dad had certainly never tried to be a good father. They clashed constantly and all Rafe could imagine when he thought about kids was one hating him as much as he hated Ward.  

He was never going to have children. It was final.  

When he was in college everyone asked him what he was going to do when he got out and the answer was always exactly the same. Work. For his father. Not the dream but a decent income and he couldn’t imagine leaving the Outer Banks. He’d live in a condo or a house or whatever on the Eight and he’d maybe marry, he wasn’t opposed to the idea, but he would definitely never have kids.  

-

“Daddy!”  

“Win,” Rafe groaned, trying to roll over and knocking the little girl over on the bed, “what are you doing awake?”

“What are you doing not awake?” She retorted, little fingers prodding at his cheeks.  

-

That was the plan of course, until he met you. After college, working part time for his dad on a project, you were not his usual type. That is, you had a kid. A two-year-old named Winnie who came with you on occasions when you couldn’t find a babysitter. She was talkative, even at two, and less of a deterrent than Rafe thought when he finally asked you out.  

He wasn’t the only one who knew that he was never going to have kids. He’d said as much to Sarah and Wheezie on numerous occasions. After Sarah and John B got married (not something he was thrilled about but also not something he could change) and she started talking about kids he was quick to admonish her. Why would anyone in their right mind, especially someone who had grown up with their dad, want a kid?

“You’re really going out with her?” Wheezie had asked when he first told her that he had asked her out.

“Why?”

“Cause she’s got a kid, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, so what?” Rafe was barely even paying attention to his sister at this point.  

“So...” Wheezie rolled her eyes, as if it's obvious, “you don’t want kids.”  

“It’s not my kid.”

That was Rafe’s prime argument. Winona wasn’t his kid. She had a dad. He was a deadbeat loser that swore up and down he wanted a kid until she was actually born and then he hit the road, leaving the Outer Banks and you far behind him. It was a tough situation but it didn’t change anything in Rafe’s mind. Winona wasn’t his and she never would be and that was fine. He didn’t want kids. He just wanted to date you.  

And for a little while that’s all it was. Just the two of you going on dates, you’d stay over when you could leave Winona with your mom, it was like being single and childless again. It was fun but you knew it couldn’t stay that way forever. You had more responsibilities than Rafe and you liked him but you honestly couldn’t be sure that he had any interest in raising a kid. So you did the one thing you desperately didn’t want to do, you broke up with him. Or, you almost did.

“I just think we want really different things; I mean...I have a daughter to think about and anyone I let in has to be willing to accept that. I’m not saying I expect you to be her dad but we’re a package deal.” You said. You were sitting on the back deck of his condo, looking out over the beach, and any other time in the world you would’ve loved the view but today it all felt gray.

Every logic part of Rafe was screaming for him to walk away from this. It was exactly what he didn’t want. He couldn’t raise a kid, he shouldn’t raise a kid.  

Before he could actually think though he could hear himself saying, “I’m in.”  

“What?”

“I’m in. Totally, completely in.” Rafe said, still hardly believing the words coming out of his mouth. How could it be that he was so completely willing to do a 180 when he had spent his entire life convinced that he would never have or raise children. Rafe was always positive that he would make a terrible father. He had no interest in children, especially ones that weren’t actually his. But then he was telling you that he was totally ready to accept the responsibility of helping you raise your daughter and it was like something in him changed.  

No one would ever claim that Rafe was a man of his word but when he told you that he was all in with Winona he wasn’t lying.  

“I think you’re actually spoiling her,” you mentioned the first time you caught him carrying your daughter, by then three, on his shoulders. He’d sworn that morning that he was going to drop her off at the babysitter’s but instead he’d brought her with him to work, walking her through the newly gutted house and talking to her like she was touring the place.  

“I’m showing her around, isn’t that right Win?” He tilted his head back and Winona put her hands on his face, leaning over to see him.  

“We’re tractors!”  

“Contractors,” Rafe corrected, looking down at you. Winona held his hair, not tight enough to hurt, and laid her head on top of his.

“She was supposed to go to the babysitters.”

He shrugged, “I barely have work today, why pay someone to watch her when I can?”

Rafe was better with Winona than anyone thought he would be. He was more patient than he’d ever been, even with his sisters. You were surprised sometimes, when you would lose your temper after a long day, that he managed to keep it together. He loved Winona as much as you did, as much as he would have if she was his own kid and, by all intents and purposes, she was his. She’d never known another father-figure, Rafe was the first guy you dated after your ex left you and when she started calling him dad no one corrected her.  

-

“Daddy,” Winona whined again, trying to pull Rafe’s eyelids up when he closed his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. “Daddy, wake up.”

“I’m awake Winnie...” he groaned, swatting her hands away. She laughed, scrunching her face up the same way you did when you bothered about something.  

“Mommy said we’re going for waffles so get ready mister!”

“Yeah?” He yawned, stretching his up above his head. Winona was five now and a soon to be big sister, her excitement at the prospect of a baby growing every day. Lately you’d been roping her into your waffle craving though she was more than happy to go along with it.  

“Waffles!” She insisted.

When she tried to poke him again, Rafe grabbed her, tickling her sides and smiling when she squealed at him. You could hear Winona’s shrieks down the hall and came into the room, “are you guys ready yet?”

“Daddy won’t get up.”

“Well then we’ll go without him,” you teased as Winona came to the end of the bed, reaching her arms out for you like she was still a toddler wanting to be held. You lifted her up, careful of your stomach as you placed a hand under her. “I’m a living chair.”

“Winnie,” Rafe called, catching her attention once again. “Why don’t you get your shoes on, we’ll be right there.”

Winona slid down your side, feet hitting the carpet before she took off down the hall for her bedroom. Rafe finally got out of bed, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before ducking into the bathroom. You came over to the door, leaning against the frame while you watched him get dressed.  

“Between the two of you I get no peace, you know that.”  

“Can you blame me?” You shrugged, “watching my super hot husband be all domestic and cute with our kid.”  

“You want waffles or sex?” Rafe joked, stopping in the doorway to kiss you before heading back into the room to finish getting ready.  

“Both?”

“Mommy! Daddy!” Winona called, shoes hitting the hardwood as she ran down the hall, appearing once again in the doorway. “Come on people! I don’t got all day!”

“I guess waffles.” You laughed, “come on, we’ll go wait in the car.”

Rafe had been positive, for most of his life, that by the time he was 27 he would be doing the exact same thing as he was at 20, partying, working for his dad, dating around. He certainly hadn’t expected that he would be married or raising a kid or expecting another. It wasn’t what he had wanted at 20 but now he couldn’t imagine wanting anything else.  

-

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[all-my-love-for-harry]

Make the day better.

summary: Y/N's son turns five and Harry doesn't know what to give him.

word count: 2.5k

Based on these requests:

"could you do artemis first bday with harry or christmas??"

and

"Love your writing. I have a request please, celebrating a birthday, could be Y/N, Harry or Artemis birthday"

and

"Can you do a blurb in the single mom series where Artemis is watching videos on YouTube but he sees harry in his 1d days and watches those vids and Artemis really likes and thinks one of the 1d boys are cool and stuff so harry does stuff to make Artemis happy, like maybe call that member or something? Sorry if it's trash I don't mind if you just throw it in the bin😂"

and

“I have an idea! For my shy little boy, could you do something about the moment that makes Harry realize he wants to keep y/n and Artemis forever and decides he’s going to marry her and hopefully adopt the little boy one day? Love your writing!!”

you can find more of my shy little boy here

a/n: saw these pictures and immediately thought about our little family. enjoy!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

December, 2018.

Artemis has discovered something new.

He has discovered old videos from Harry from when he was in the band. At first, he was confused as to why Harry wasn’t alone in the videos he watched like in the ones he was used to see. So Artemis did what always did when he was confused: ask.

Conveniently, Harry was invited to dinner at their house, and the first thing Artemis did when he crossed the door, was tell him. “Harry, I saw you on the TV!”

“You did? Did I look good?” He asked cheekily, sitting next to him on the sofa.

“Watch!” He turned on the television and pointed to it.

Harry chuckled when he saw his young self in the Best Song Ever music video along with the rest of his former band mates. “That’s you!” He said excitedly, clapping with his small hands.

“Yeah, buddy. I was in a band before.” Harry was happy Artemis seemed interested.

“What’s his name?” He asked, pointing one of the guys.

“The blonde one?” Harry questioned, receiving a nod from the small boy beside him. “That’s Niall.”

“He’s so cool.” He commented, kicking his legs back and forth on the couch. “He does music like you?” He asked.

“Yes, he does, mate.”

“He’s my favorite.” He decided.

“Oi! I am supposed to be your favorite!” He pretended to be offended, taking him in his arms and tickling him and making him let out a belly laugh.

“Stop! Stop!” He said in between giggles. “Harry, I’m gonna pee!”

“Say I’m your favorite.”

“You’re… you are… I can’t talk!” He laughed again and Harry stopped but didn’t let him go. “You’re my favorite, Harry.”  

Harry smiled, pleased with himself for getting the validation from an almost five year old. “Go wash up, it's almost dinner time." Artemis ran to the bathroom in the hallway as Harry walled towards the kitchen where Y/N was.

"I was a little behind but it's ready now."

"I'd help you, but you banned me from the kitchen the second i got in." The curly-haired man wrapped his hands from behind around Y/N's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"It was because Artemis has been wanting to tell you he saw the band on the TV all afternoon." She giggled, putting the knife down and turning around to face him. "He asked why your hair looked weird."

"Wha'?" He asked, his accent getting noticeably thicker. "What was wrong with me hair?"

"He didn't like the long haired look." She passed a hand through his now much shorter curls.

"And apparently Niall's his favorite, can you believe?" Harry asked in a fake offended tone.

"Artemis likes blondes because he has blonde hair, kid's logic."

"Should i dye mine?" Harry's tone now was playful, grabbing a couple of his curls.

"Please, no."

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

A week after dinner, Harry was scrolling down his phone desperately, trying to find the perfect gift for Artemis.

He had invited Harry to his birthday party, and although he was nervous to meet the rest of Y/N's relatives, he was more excited to spend this day with his girlfriend and her son. It would be the first time he was there to celebrate Artemis' birthday, so he wanted it to be perfect.

And a perfect day required the perfect gift.

He just didn't know what to buy. "Doesn't he like Legos? Buy him a set." Mitch said, trying to help. They were currently in a break from a writing session and almost everyone was out to get food.

"There isn't a set he doesn't have." Harry groaned, running out of options.

"What else does he like?"

"Books, robots, music..." He paused, suddenly getting an idea. "He likes music!"

"Buy him an instrument or something." Harry rolled his eyes, letting out a he's five to Mitch. "So?! Better start them young."

"Perhaps. But for now i think i have the perfect idea." Mitch looked confused, but Harry’s smile only grew bigger.

He wrapped up the session early and called a friend to see if they could catch up while having some drinks. His right leg shocked in anticipation, looking around trying to find that one familiar face he hasn’t seen in a while.

“Styles!” Harry smiled at that unmistakably Irish accent. “It’s been so long!” The pair hugged each other.

“Far too long. How have you been?” They took a seat on the table Harry was previously sitting on.

“Pretty great actually, tour ended a little while ago but stills feels very fresh.” He sighed. “What about you? Heard you’re dating someone.” Niall sent him a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

Harry breathed a laugh, touching the bridge of his nose. “I am, met her at the beginning of the year. Her name is Y/N.”

“Look at you, you’re blushing!”

“Stop it!” Harry giggle, followed by Niall. “She has a kid, he’s great. They’re great.”

“I’m happy for you, H.” The blonde man gave him a genuine smile. “Is it serious?”

“Pretty much. So Artemis, Y/N’s son, is turning five next Saturday and I’ve been trying to get him the perfect gift.”

“Any luck so far?”

“Not really.” He shook his head. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

“How can I help?” He readjusted himself on his seat.

“Well, I wanted to ask you a favor.” He paused. “The other day he found the band and said, for some reason, you were his favorite.”

“Ooh, and that how made you feel?” Niall teased him, knowing he didn’t like to be second in anything, especially talking about his girlfriend’s son.

“Delightful, next question.” He rolled his eyes playfully and Niall let out a big laugh.

“So want do you want me to do then?”

“Are you free next Saturday?”

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

Niall's appearance was a surprise, even for Y/N. He'd arrive later than Harry, just in time to sing happy birthday to Artemis. In the meantime Harry had to make sure everything else was perfect.

He was in charge to pick the cake up from the shop before heading to Y/N's mums' house. He already knew Ally and Ella, and they seemed to really like him so he felt a little less nervous.

Y/N told him a bunch of her friends were gonna be there, including Adam and his family so that was also nice. Harry wasn't very familiar with all of her friends but from what she always tells him, they're good people who care for her and Artemis.

Harry didn't have a key or anything so he knocked the door with one hand while holding the cake with the other. Ella opened the door, grinning at him right away. "Harry! It's so good to see you, love."

"Likewise, Ella." The woman pinched Harry's cheeks before letting him in. "Where should I put this?"

"In the kitchen! There's kids running around and we don't want them to drop the cake."

He did what she said and walked towards the kitchen, finding Ally decorating some cupcakes. "What do you think?" She took one out of the plate and showed it to him.

"Looks great. You've been practicing with the fondant." The cupcakes had a little whale on top of them, made with blue fondant.

"I made turtles, whales, crabs... Oh! Look at this little octopus!" Ally was so excited every single decoration turned out perfect, as her designated was getting the pastries done. "Y/N's changing Artemis's clothes in the guest room if you want to go upstairs with them."

He nodded, heading out of the kitchen and taking a quick look to the backyard. There were some people sitting on tables and a couple of children running around, but no one he knew so he listened to Ally and went up to look for his loves.

He knocked the door and heard Y/N say 'come in!' so that's what he did. "Harry!" Artemis exclaimed, trying to run towards him but Y/N stopped him.

"Stay still, baby. I'm trying to tie your shoes." She was knelt down in front of him, putting his shoes on. “Hi, honey.” She looked up at Harry as he bent down to give her a little peck on her lips.

“How’s the birthday boy?” Harry sat next to him on the bed and wrapped his arms around him gently.

“Did you see everyone, Harry? They’re here for me!” He said excitedly. He might be say, but he sure as hell likes the attention of his loved ones.

Harry chuckled, messing up his hair a little. “Happy birthday, mate. Couldn’t wait until it was time to open the rest of the presents, so here’s mine.” He handed him a small box wrapped nicely with a bow on the top.

Artemis took it excitedly and was about to tear the wrapping paper apart but Y/N took his hand gently. “What do we say to Harry, darling?”

“Thank you, Harry!” Artemis threw himself at the older man. “Can I open it?”

“Of course, it’s yours.” Artemis offered him a toothy smile, opening the box. Inside there was a package of professional colors, there was one in every shade. “I know how much you like your color books, and these are the best colors ever.”

“Wow, thank you, Harry. I love them.” The small boy hugged him one more time. “Look, mummy!”

“I see, they’re so pretty.”

Artemis hugged Harry once more before hopping off the bed. “Can I go with nana Ally now?”

“Yes, but leave your gift here, okay?” He nodded before handing his mum the box and running out of the room and off to find his nana. “Did you seriously buy professional colors to a five year old?” She asked with a smile, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What? He loves to paint.”

“Thank you.” Y/N said, kissing Harry’s cheek. “It was very sweet of you.”

Harry gave her a dimpled smile. “You look stunning, love.” Y/N was wearing a long, white summer dress with little sunflowers on it, paired with some heels.

“So do you.” She gave him another kiss. “Let’s go, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Going around greeting everyone, Harry had a hold on his phone all the time making sure Niall had the right address to get there in time. Y/N’s mums made a perfect job decorating the backyard, there were balloons everywhere and the tables had different marine animals on the center.

Artemis loved the ocean a lot, considering he lived in London and there wasn’t many beaches to go, he liked watching pictures and documentaries of it. So Y/N thought that instead of taking him to the ocean, she brought the ocean to him.

“Harry, sweetie, would you take the cake out of the fridge and bring it to the table?”

He nodded and went inside again. At the same time he was crossing the door, someone rang the doorbell so Harry went straight to open it, eager for Niall to arrive. “Didn’t want to show up empty handed so I bought the lad a little something. It’s a train set.” Niall said as soon as Harry opened the door.

“I’m glad you made it, mate.” They hugged and Harry closed the door behind them. “We’re about to cut the cake, he’ll be so happy to meet you.”

Harry was so excited for this surprise, ever since Artemis ‘discovered’ his band, he’s been obsessed with Niall so the curly-haired man couldn’t wait to see the look in Artemis’ face when he sees the blonde man walking into his party. He grabbed the cake before leading Niall outside where everyone was.

Y/N was the first one to notice the new man walking in, and her eyes grew wider when she recognized him. She walked towards them with a confused smile on her face. “Harry?”

“You must be Y/N.” The Irish man said with a grin. “Hope it’s okay that I’m here.”

“Uh, yeah. It’s great. Nice to meet you.” She offered him her hand for him to shake.

“I brought Niall to surprise Artemis.” Harry said proudly.

“Oh my, he’s going to be so happy, let me bring him over here.” Y/N went off to find her son. She’d never expect Harry to actually bring Niall for Artemis but it was a very sweet, thoughtful thing. “Honey, come here. There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

The five year old stopped running and walked towards his mum to take her hand and let her lead him to where Niall and Harry were. When he spotted Niall, he got all shy and hid behind her legs, like he always did when he got nervous.

Niall noticed it and crunched down to his eye level. “Hi, bud. A little bird told me you liked my music.” Artemis looked at him with big doe eyes, curious to know what was in the box Niall was holding. “Happy birthday, mate.” He handed him the gift and Artemis shyly took it from him.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Oh my god, he’s adorable.” Niall said, looking up to Y/N and Harry. “Call me Niall, okay? It’s nice to meet you, buddy.”

Artemis finally smiled at him, letting go of the hold he had on his mum’s dress. He came closer to Niall and started talking, Y/N and Harry looked at each other as she took one of his hands in hers to intertwine their fingers.

It was time to cute the cake and Artemis was stood on a chair behind it with Y/N by his side and everyone around him. She motioned Harry to come stand with them and he gladly did so. They sang happy birthday to Artemis and the boy had a big, toothy smile on his face the whole time.

Eventually the guests started to leave, but Artemis didn’t let Niall go before giving him a big, tight hug before making him promise they’d see each other again. Just before all the guests left, Artemis fell asleep and Harry had to take him upstairs to the room Y/N’s mums had for him. When he came down again, everyone was gone and his girlfriend was just finishing picking up some things outside so he went out to help her.

“Did you see how happy he was the whole day?” She said.

“Yeah, he enjoyed it.”

“It was really thoughtful of you to bring Niall, you know?” Y/N walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “He was very excited for it.”

“It was my pleasure, love to see him smile.”

“Thank you.” She told him, cupping his face with her hands.

“For what?”

“Today was good, but you definitely made it better. So thank you.”

Harry smiled happily before leaning down to capture her lips on a sweet kiss, making her smile against his lips. It was good to finally feel he belonged somewhere, and slowly started to feel they were becoming his own family. He’d never deny the way his heart skipped a beat every time Artemis laughed, or when Y/N smiled. Harry found himself wanting to be forever there for the two of them, for every single birthday, anniversary, everything.

He was in love not only with Y/N but with Artemis too, and he knew that feeling was never gonna go away.

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

taglist!!

@myfavfanficsever @odetostep @la-cey @cock-a-doodely-doo @awkwardbullfrog @mellamolayla @moorgannn @bagtan-serendipity @awesomebooklover17 @finelineribs @sunnybusiness @beanholland @sweetenerstyle @cronias13 @vhsharry @maisley @seasidecrowbar @stylesfics-xx @autumnpauley20 @fineline-hs1 @stephaniemalvie @immajustreadwritereblog @jadert15 @iguessweallcrazyithinktho @abundanceofsoph @harrysthicccthighs

[elocinnicole]

A New Year’s Kiss

Summary: Daveed plans to propose to Reader on her favorite holiday as he prepares the night before the proposal he thinks back through memories of their three-year relationship.

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x Black!Reader

AN: I’m giving the sisters names since the Reader comes from a big family.

Series Masterlist

It was a cold night in New York City, you sat in the living room of your new three-bedroom apartment sipping on a cup of hot ginger tea. Daniel crawled all over the place, loving the ample amount of space he had to chase the new family dog, Rocky, a Beagle puppy. Daniel’s laughter made you smile widely; you loved the life you and Daveed built for yourselves. The new apartment was coming along nicely, you finally unpacked the last of the boxes, thus ending the living out of a box phase. You decorated the walls with pictures of family and friends, there’s even a wall dedicated to the tv shows, movies, plays, and musicals the two of you have been in. Even though you truly think that it was Daveed’s way to brag about your accomplishments every time someone came over to visit, despite the many times he denied it. The sound of the front door opening alerted Daniel that Daveed was home, he crawled to the front of the apartment, screaming at the top of his lungs. Daveed scooped Daniel and kissed the top of his head where his curly dark brown hair was starting to grow.

“Hey, little man! Where’s Mommy?” Daniel pointed toward the living room. Daveed walked over and plopped down next to you. You shared a quick kiss before Daniel slid himself out of Daveed’s lap to keep playing with Rocky.

“How was your day?” Daveed asked he wrapped an arm around you to pull you close to him.

“It was fine, just like the first day of rehearsals.” After being in The Lion King for about three months, you landed the lead role in a new musical called WET PAINT. “We start previews at the end of February. How was it with Anthony?”

“It was great, babe. We got the song done Rafa’s gonna send in his verse tomorrow.”

“That—” Then there were several loud knocks at the door

“You expecting company?”

“Remember my mom and sisters are coming up for New Years,” You hopped off the couch and greeted your family at the door, they were staying at a hotel not far from your apartment and you planned for them to come over and visit since your sisters haven’t seen Daniel since he was born.

“Hey Mom,” You pulled your mom in for a hug

“Hey, Y/N!”

“Come in guys,” Your mom and three sisters walked into your apartment,

“Where’s my grandson?” Your mom wondered loudly

“Nana!” Just like that Daniel made his way over to your mom who swooped down to pick him up.

“Hi, Nana’s baby, Y/N, I love the new place.” Your mom said as everyone followed you into the kitchen.

“Thanks, we needed more space, with Daniel getting bigger and having a dog.”

“Is there any other reason why you and Daveed needed more space?” Your oldest sister, Fatima, playfully suggested

“Um, girl no, Daniel isn’t even one yet. I’m just getting back to my pre-baby body. Oh, by the way, can you re-dip my braids tonight?”

“I was gonna offer but I didn’t want to be rude,” Fatima teased

“Shut up, rude ass.”

“So,” your older sister, Mara started “have you thought about having another baby?”

“I mean, yeah but not anytime soon.”

“What about marriage?” Your other sister, Kalani, added

“It’s been discussed, we both know we’re in this for the long haul.”

“Wedding bells may be in your near future,” Mara teased

“Can we wait a minute, we just moved, Daniel’s about to turn one, I just went back to work, I need some more time.”

“Girl, you waited three years, how much longer?” Fatima reasoned

“Why are you guys interrogating me?” You asked overwhelmed knowing that Daveed was well within earshot.

“Alright, alright, we’ll leave you alone, come on and let me fix your hair.”

Your sisters and mom ended up staying well past dinner and you didn’t mind it one minute. After graduating from Howard University, you moved to New York and didn’t look back. The last time you saw your sisters, in person, was at your baby shower and that was a year ago. After eating the crab cakes your Mom made and about three glasses of Merlot, you currently playing Black Card Revoked with your sisters, one of your favorite games, India Aire playing in the background.

“Okay, so this is majority rules, ‘You know it’s about to be a fight when you hear someone say? A. We need to talk… B. I just find it funny how… C. So what you not gonna do… or D. Didn’t I tell you…’” Fatima read

“C!” You said confidently, “That’s how all my fights started in high school.

“Naw I gotta go with D,” Mara shouted “D is one of them sneak attacks from behind.”

“Like that time, you grabbed that girl’s hair,” Kalani reminisced

“Yeah, she was bothering Y/N, and I was the only one in high school with her and I was not gonna let some bitch mess with my sister.”

“And that’s on period,” Fatima said

“Pooh!” Kalani added, making the sisters laugh

Daveed noticed your mom in the kitchen washing the dishes and saw it as the perfect opportunity.

“Hey, Daveed, sorry about the wedding talk with my daughters. I promise I didn’t say anything to them.” Your mom said in hushed tones

“It’s okay, I just wanted to show you a picture of the ring,” Daveed pulled out his phone and showed your mother the engagement ring. Shortly after you had Daniel, Daveed came to your mother and asked for her blessing, of course, she agreed and helped him find the perfect ring and the way he should propose. Knowing you were a private person he was going to give you a gift after midnight when everyone left your place, a photo album and on the last page, he was going to pop the question.

“It’s beautiful Daveed, where is it?”

“I keep it on me at all times,” Daveed pulled the engagement box out of his pocket.

“Is that what I think it is?” Fatima gushed

“Shush, get over here girl.” Your mother urged “Where’s Y/N?”

“She’s in the living room, so you’re gonna propose?”

“Yeah,” Daveed said quietly “tomorrow.”

“Aw, I’m so happy for you two, how are you gonna propose?”

“With a photo album,” Daveed replied a small smile on his face

“Oooohhhh, I can’t wait,” Fatima said clapping her hands together

“Fatima it’s your turn and you about to get skipped!” You shouted from the living room

“Girl, skip me I’m winning anyway,” Fatima said walking back over

Daveed sat in the living room long after you had fallen asleep and your mom and sisters went back to their hotel. He was going over the photo album to make sure that everything was perfect for tomorrow. The first picture he came across was from the opening night party of the First National Tour of Hamilton, which is where the two of you met. After consuming many drinks from the open bar the two of you snapped a very drunk selfie. Daveed had kissed your cheek and you were laughing.

March 2017

After you spilled your wine on Daveed, it seemed the two of you were attached at the hip. Between the bar and the dance floor, Daveed was not far from you and you didn’t mind at all. There was a lavish balcony looking over San Francisco, you and Daveed were laughing at a high school story you were telling him.

“So, the girlfriend started hitting the boyfriend mind you, we’re all in line for the Haunted Mansion ride and it got so bad that we were told to get out of line, so I never got to ride the Haunted Mansion. Long story short, my first and only trip to Disneyland before all of this was pretty bad.”

“Well, that just means we have to go back.”

“When?”

“Whenever,”

“Daveed, we can’t just drive to Disneyland and I don’t know you like that.”

“We can fly, that’s not a problem.”

“Did you forget that I’m on a tour right now?”

“Ain’t y’all here until August.”

“Well, I still don’t know you.”

“You can get to know me.”

“What if I don’t want to?” You challenged

“I can get us Fast Passes.”

“Oh, so you got it like that?” You teased flirtatiously

“Yeah, uh, I got some connections,” Daveed smirked

“Alright, let’s go.”

“It’s a date,” Daveed smiled

“It’s a date.”

The next picture was a picture Jasmine took of them at an award show, that night you said I love you to each other for the first time.

June 2018

You and Daveed had attended your first red carpet event of the award season that evening. It was also the first time you were at an exclusive event as a couple. The paparazzi went crazy all of them wanting to snap pictures of Daveed and his new girlfriend. It was all overwhelming to you. Of course, you have been on a red carpet before but not for an award show. While it was exciting it was also draining. Unfortunately, you had to leave that night to go back to New York you had a show the next day, what made it worse, was that Daveed had to stay in LA for an interview about Blindspotting. Now at the airport, you hugged your boyfriend tightly not wanting to let go.

“You gonna miss your flight,” He mumbled into the crook of your neck.

“I don’t care,” You said, tiredness evident in your voice.

“It’s only two days, go make that money,” Daveed said trying to lift your spirits. Daveed cupped your face and kissed you on the lips.

“I love you,” He said tenderly, you looked at him wide-eyed. He mentally slapped himself for saying that out loud. He scanned your face for any sign that you would say it back. When he didn’t he pulled away from you, suddenly.

“Sorry, for saying that, uh—-”

“Daveed—-”

“I um, I hope you have a safe flight. Call me when you land.” Daveed said quickly, wanting to end the already awkward moment. He turned to walk away but you grabbed his arm and pulled him in for another kiss.

“You didn’t let me say it back, dork.” You gave him a quick peck on the lips “I love you too,” Daveed smiled widely and kissed you once more.

“Can you say it again?” You playfully rolled your eyes

“I love you too.” Daveed leaned in to kiss you but you put up your hand to stop him

“I’m gonna miss my flight, messing with you. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

January 2019

“Happy New Year!!” You smiled while you kissed Daveed. The two of you were hosting a New Year’s Eve party for your friends at Daveed’s New York apartment. This was the first big event the two of you hosted. Well, it was mainly you, Daveed just let you do your thing. You pulled away from the kiss and raised an eyebrow, you know that there was something was on his mind.

“What are you thinking about?”

“You should move in with me.”

“Huh? How much have you had to drink?” You asked but you were just as tipsy after taking quite a few shots out the Grammy.

“Not as much as you.” You lightly slapped his chest you examined his face to make sure he wasn’t playing a joke

“You serious?”

“Hella,”

“Aw, so I’m gonna have more than a drawer.” Daveed playfully rolled his eyes

“You can have a whole dresser,” You gave a peck on the cheek, smiling widely.

“I love you,”

“Love you too.”

The next day, Daveed did his best to keep his cool which was easy because your sisters, Mom, Jasmine, Kim, Rafael, Barbara, and Dountes were all at your place for New Year's Eve and served as the perfect distraction. Anthony was in Times Square performing on the Main Stage and would be the last act before the ball dropped so you decided to host a party.

You caught Daveed staring, smirking you walked over to him. You were wearing a brown bodycon dress and matching heels. Feeling the effects of the alcohol had you feeling more confident. You sensually wrapped your arms around Daveed making sure to caress his muscles.

“We have some time before midnight,” you suggested Daveed smirked and kissed your forehead.

“With your Mom here?” Daveed asked with raised eyebrows.

“I can be quiet,”

“After everyone’s gone. So we don’t have to worry about being quiet.” You pouted which made Daveed snicker.

“It’s shot o’clock!” Your sister Mara called from the kitchen

“Oh, so we doing body shots?” Rafael suggested eying your sister.

“Body shots?” Fatima questioned

“I’m down,” Mara responded giving Rafael the same look.

“No one is down for anything, this is not some frat party.”

“How much you wanna bet, Rafa’s gonna—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, I don’t need the visual.”

Midnight came and went and Daveed’s nervousness was at an all-time high. He watched as your guests left one by one. Neither of you were surprised when Mara and Rafa slipped away shortly after the ball dropped. Surprisingly, Daniel stayed up until the ball dropped, but went to sleep shortly after.

“I’m about to go change so we can start cleaning up.”

“Hold on, I wanna give you something first,” Daveed said you sighed heavily.

“Babe, can you give it to me after I change? I wanna get out my shoes.”

“It’s not gonna take long. I promise, go in the living room.”

You sleepily walked back to the living room and plopped down on the sofa, whatever Daveed had up his sleeve better be worth it. Daveed returned with a purple photo album in hand and handed it to you.

“What’s this?”

“Just some pictures, something I put together.” You smiled, tears threatening to fall.

“Aw, you’re so sweet, thank you so much, baby.”You kissed his cheek before looking through the album and reacting to the pictures. It was so crazy to see the timeline of your relationship, who would’ve thought that back in 2017 you would be where the two of you are now.

You flipped through the album until you got to the last page. It was an empty page and dated for today. Confused you turned to look at Daveed only to find him already on bended knee with a ring box in hand. You covered your face as the tears started falling. Daveed gently removed your hands from your face. You saw that he was holding back tears as well.

“When you purposely split your wine on me—”

“Oh my gosh, Daveed!”

“I knew you were something special the first time I laid my eyes on you. Baby, you are the love of my life. I want to spend the rest of it with you. I kept going over what I was gonna say or how I wanted to do this. I wanted it to be perfect because you deserve nothing but perfection. I love you so much. Will you marry me?” You were full-on crying at this point. The album already made you emotional but, the both of you had discussed marriage but still, this proposal is everything you’ve could‘ve dreamed of.

“Yes, yes of course.” Daveed slid the ring onto your ring finger and you pulled him in for a kiss. This is always how you imagine your engagement would be, just you and your fiancé.

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Good Business: Part 11

Fandom: Marvel (Mob AU)

Pairing: Chubby!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a ruthless mobster. He’s also referred to as Big Buck due to his towering strong frame as well as his round stomach. You’re the owner of a small diner, a place that Big Buck decides to visit. Based off this drabble.

A/N: I know, I know. It’s been forever since I’ve updated! But here you go! I really hope people are still into this series...

As soon as Bucky approached the long driveway, your jaw dropped. It was a beautiful estate, two stories high but looked so wide that it probably had thirteen bedrooms!

Bucky chuckled at your state of awe and closed your mouth, “You’ll catch flies, sweet cheeks.” As soon as he parked the car, he hopped out of his seat and rushed over to your side, holding the door open and lending a hand out to help you. 

You kissed his cheek, “What a gentlemen,” and Bucky was beaming. 

“My girl deserves to be treated like a queen,” he says nonchalantly and offers his arm to you, “So, you ready?” 

You sighed, looking down at your dress to make sure nothing was out of place, “As I’ll ever be. Do I look okay?”

“Radiant.”

You rolled your eyes and nudging him, “Alright, smooth talker, let’s get this show on the road.” 

Bucky guided you up the pathway to his home, unlocking it with his keys. As soon as the door opened, he hollered, “Guys, I’m back!”

“Uncle Bucky!” two young boys ran towards him, wielding lightsaber toys. The smaller one with dark brown hair and blue eyes steps forward and points at the taller boy, “Andy refuses to die!”

Their uncle snorts, “Say what now?”

The other boy, you assumed to be Andy, rolled his eyes, “He knicked me with his saber and he thinks I should die because of it, but I want because it wasn’t a full on stab!”

You give Bucky an amused look and he shrugs, “Kids, am I right? Anyway, enough of the killing talk. Boys, this Y/N-”

“Your girlfriend?!” 

He chuckles, “Yeah, buddy. Now be polite and introduce yourselves.”

The older boy steps forward and offers his hand, “Hello, Y/N. I’m Andrew Proctor. I’m 8 and I wanna work for NASA when I grow up.”

The younger boy steps forward, “And I’m Matthew! You can call me Matty. I’m 6 and I wanna work with dinosaurs when I grow up.”

“Dinosaurs are dead, Matty,” Andrew says with an eyeroll. 

“It’s nice to meet you both. You two seem like very smart and fun young boys.”

“We are!” Matty says excitedly. 

Bucky wraps his arm around your waist and tugs you close, “Alright, fellas, go on. Gotta find your parents and grandparents.”

“They’re all in the kitchen. Nana was scolding the cook for not making mashed potatoes correctly,” Andrew and Matty snicker. 

Bucky groans and tugs you along, “Oh fun.” 

As you followed Bucky towards the kitchen, your eyes wandered to the architecture, art, and pictures hanging all over the place. With a squeeze of your hips, you look to Bucky whom was giving you that soft look in his eyes, “I’ll give you a tour of the place later. But right now, I need to make sure my ma doesn’t kill my cook.”

When you neared what you believed to be the kitchen, you can already hear muffled yelling. Bucky pushed the door open and there at the other end is an older woman looking to be in her 60s shouting at one of the cooks. But as soon as she spots Bucky, she stops.

“Oh, Jamie! You’re back!” her eyes then jump from him to you, “And you must be his girlfriend!”

She rushes over to you and before you introduce yourself, Bucky speaks up, “Now hold up, ma. I told you not to argue with the cooks.”

His mother scoffs, “For being professional cooks, they’re being pretty lousy at it.”

“Ma-”

“Winnie,” an older man, you assumed to be Bucky’s father, stood up and approached his wife, “we told you to leave them alone. Bucky brought these people in so you don’t have to stress about cooking. Now, as I requested before, why don’t you drink some wine and cool down,” he handed a full glass of wine to his wife and then offered a hand to you, “George Barnes and this,” he rest an arm around his wife’s shoulder, “is my darling wife, Winnifred Barnes.”

After you shook George’s hand, Winnie shook yours, “It’s wonderful to meet you, Y/N. I apologize for this and please, call me Winnie.”

You softly smiled at the older woman, “It’s not a problem, Winnie. You have a certain way of doing things and I respect that.”

George and Winnie moved to the side so a younger couple could step forward. The woman, you knew, was Becca, and she threw her arms around you, giving you a nice, tight hug, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Y/N! Bucky would literally not shut up about you! He’s always like ‘Sweet cheeks this and sweet cheeks that’.” 

You burst into laughter at the impression while Bucky glared at her, “Bec-”

“Oh calm down. Don’t get your Gucci undies in a twist!”

The man beside her smiled shyly at you and waved, “H-Hi, Y/N. I’m Charles Proctor, Becca’s wife.”

You waved back at him with a polite smile, “Nice to meet you, Charles.” you can already see how different him and Becca are. 

Bucky clapped his hands together, “So, I think we should all head into the living room and let the cooks finish up here.” he went to grab for your hand, but Becca already pulled you with her towards the kitchen door and out to the hallway.

“Snooze, you lose!” Becca cried out and your laughter echoed off the walls. You already liked Becca. 

___________

“RAAAAH!” Andy and Matty yelled as they stabbed Bucky with their lightsabers in front of the fireplace. 

Bucky stumbled back, putting a hand on his chest, “Oh no! I’ve been slayed!” he falls to his knees, looking towards you, who’s sitting on a chair across from where he’s at, “Avenge me, sweet cheeks!” and then he falls to his “death” on the carpet. 

“HAAAH! VICTORY!” Andy yells and him and Matty dance around Bucky’s “dead” body while you and their family laugh. 

Matty pointed his saber towards you, “Now you gotta fight us, Y/N, to ‘venge Uncle Bucky’s death!”

You shook your head, “No way! I can’t beat you guys! You’re undefeatable!”

Bucky sat up with a playful pout, “You’re not even gonna fight for me, sweet cheeks?! How rude!” 

You rolled your eyes and waved him off, “Go back to playing dead.” While Bucky’s jaw dropped in offense, Becca threw her head back and laughed, “I really like this girl, Buck! You got a good one!”

You could feel your cheeks heating up and Bucky smiled, “I guess I did, despite her not wanting to avenge my death.” He stood up with a groan and pat his round belly, “I’m gonna check to see if the food’s almost done.”

You stood up along with him, “I’ll go with,” and followed him back to the kitchen. When you two were out of earshot, you asked, “How am I doing?”

Bucky twirled you around and kissed your lips, “Amazing. They really like you, Y/N.”

You let out a breath of relief, “That’s good to know. I’m really trying hard to be weird or disappointing or-”

“Hey,” he cupped your face in his larger hands, “I told you, just be yourself and they’ll love you.”

You stared into Bucky’s blue eyes and you couldn’t help the question that fell from your lips, “Do you love me, Bucky?”

His breathing hitched and, for a moment, he remained silent, but then he said, “I think I’m starting to,” and you felt your heart soar. 

 Good Business Taglist (CLOSED): @cametobuyplums @sergeantrosabellaswan @asadmarveltrashbag​ @youcanhaveyourspacecowboy​ @reniescarlett​ @j-the-smol-otter @buckysknifecollection @lowkeysebby @rinthehufflepuff @134340-cm @snoot-snoot-toot @seabassali1328 @bluebellhairpin @emzy106 @viarogers @feelmyroarrrr @vxidnik @jasura @jade-cheshire3303 @yknott81 @baliebay19 @jessieray98 @fandommemporiumm @iluvsumbucky @bucksandroses @lecoindenox @ylva-stark @booktease21 @nerdy-bookworm-1998 @cheyenne222222 @momobaby227

[taliel-strykidz]

Difficult

A little Huannie x manager moment :)

Jaemin sucked in a breath as another sharp pain shot up his back for the fourth time in the past ten minutes, he really wanted to ask someone for help but that would result in the older members smothering him. He threw his phone beside him and attempted to get up, but ended up back in his original spot holding his lower back almost instantly. “Come on, just get up.” He grumbled, wishing the pain to disappear, like right then and there. 

He laid back down onto his side for a couple of silent moments, before holding his breath and launching himself up off the bed slowly, using the bedside cabinet as support. “And off we go.” He mumbled to himself before biting his lip and he wobbled out of the room and into the kitchen to find some painkillers. The walk was painfully slow but he reached the destination in the end. He tried to reach for a glass but the sickening pain in his back almost made him crumble onto the floor. He ignored Ai-Huan who was watching him with raised eyebrows and got the cup anyway. 

“NaNa, are you okay?” Lucas spoke up from the kitchen door, his hand on the door frame as they watched Jaemin double over in pain.

Jaemin glared at him. “I really want to hit anyone who’s taller than me today.” He truthfully told him as he gestured to the glass, sliding into the seat on the island as he took the painkillers. Lucas wavered a moment before backing away with his hands up- if it wasn’t for the fact that Huannie had violently gestured for him to get out he would have stayed to taunt the Dream member some more. “Have fun.” 

Once it was just Huannie and Jaemin in the room she turned to him with an expecting glance. “What’s wrong?” 

He ignored her and put a thumbs up, he didn’t feel a pain at the moment, but he knew the painkillers hadn’t kicked in yet. He could fool her long enough to get back to his room and lay down, it shouldn’t be that hard. 

Donghyuk entered the kitchen and took one glance at Jaemin’s murderous face, seeing that he was still in the same mood he had that morning: he elected to leave still salty about early hours this morning being assaulted for waking his friend up.  Huannie put her phone down on the counter and opened her mouth “Are you-” 

“If you about to ask if i’m okay I will throw something heavy at you Noona. No offence.” He pointed to the toaster on the side as reference and the woman shrunk back down in the seat. 

Huannie slowly moved the toaster out of his reach and leaned closer. “Yeah, but why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, my back is slowly killing me.” He looked at her with a blank look quickly diverting his eyes when the look of realisation crossed her face. 

“Why haven’t you told anyone it’s still hurting? Jaemin-ah this is something important, forget your pride for a moment this is your health.” 

Jaemin sighed and stood up slowly, it was bad enough he’d had so many months off work, but it felt like if he was to take anymore time off he’d have no job to go back to, which Jaemin’s pride wouldn’t allow him. 

“If you think i’m going to smother you I’m not Jaeminnie, i’m just making sure you’re safe and healthy ok?” 

And with that she left him with something to think about. 

== 

NCT127′s manager had allowed Jaemin to join the dance for Black on Black, and Huannie and Taeyong were the least happy to hear the news. Of course they were happy that he was making a comeback but now knowing his back wasn’t in perfect condition really shook the two. 

It was clear that some of the members that were debuting with Black on Black were nervous, sat fidgeting in the back of the practice room as they waited for the choreographer to teach the dance break. Huannie sharply elbowed Taeyong   to show him that Jaemin was holding his lower back discreetly. 

The choreographer stood in front of the group quickly introducing himself again to the camera shooting Huannie’s Youtube channel, but as soon as he began talking about a lift involving standing on members back there was quiet murmurs. 

“Huannie-ssi is something wrong.” He asked quickly seeing the look of disgust on her face as she read the blueprint type paper of where each member will be. 

“I’ll make it brief sir, I will switch places with Jaemin.”  The choreographer nodded, stopping himself from impatiently snapping on the woman. 

“Huannie-ssi it’s already been decided. Recently people have been asking for harder choreography.” The choreographer sighed, “And though I admire that you would like to take the difficult part off Jaemin but holding Mark up is a difficult job.” She swallowed, getting worked up at his tone. She didn’t like how he was insinuating that A) she wasn’t strong enough and B) That Jaemin’s back could handle the weight of the boy. 

“And you’re willing to damage his back even further sir? I’m sure you’ve been briefed on his condition?” She asked in her best intimidating voice, it would really come down to if he would give up on his pride at this point, and they only had a limited amount of time until the performance so they needed to get moving. 

The choreographer nodded. “I know of his condition yes, but I was also told that it’s made a recovery. But this is something i’ve already blocked and it’s going to take too long to block again.” His tone told her that he’d already made up his mind and wasn’t going to give up that easily.  She clenched her jaw and shook her head. 

“Once you teach it i’ll reblock it for you if it’s such a difficult task sir, if you still go ahead and put Jaemin on the bottom of that pyramid I hope you’re ready for the law suit to follow it and-”

“Noona, stop now. I can do it.” Jaemin mumbled from beside her, tugging on her hoodie to get her to walk away. 

But Huannie wasn’t about to let the man live this down. 

--

As she began to warm up, Huannie’s manager walked in to gather her attention. “I have heard back from the choreographer,” he told her strictly. “I expected you to treat him wit respect Huan, he’s taking time out of his tour for you guys.” His eyes burned into her own and she felt like she was going to burn under his gaze.

She gulped, wow he took time out of his busy busy schedule, she felt her stomach twist in discomfort. She was barely happy with the fact that he came to scold her for something that everyone knew was the right decision. Jaemin was going to hurt himself, she was positive. Huannie and Jae-geun had a close relationship, she had the kind of brutal honesty that tested most friendships, but he appreciated it majority of the time. They always knew where they stood with eachother. He’s usually stand up for her in front of others, even when he knew she was at fault. Then privately let her know what his thoughts of the situation was and how she should have behaved differently, who she should apologise to and how to avoid making the mistake again. She listened to him because he listened to her. 

Sometimes he could loose his temper and be a right prat like now, then it would be her turn to guide him on how he should look at the problem differently. they were family after all. 

“Why must you argue with everyone? Seriously you need to keep your mouth shut.” 

“I’ll keep my mouth shut when you stop hiring idiots Oppa.” 

“I bet you’ll stop when you’re the one that has to choreograph everything because no one wants to listen to you complain.” 

“Oh I hope that will happen, because then I don’t have to hold Jaemin whilst he cries because his back hurts.” 

Suddenly the noise of the two arguing died in an instant. Huannie attempted to look for what he was thinking, but his face was calculative as he thought about their next move. 

“Do you know the choreography?” 

Feeling nauseated, she nodded slightly. As Jae-geun gave her a hard look, she explained quietly. “I learnt it yesterday, it just needed to be re blocked to keep Jaemin’s back from getting worse.” Her insides writhed. He’s considering it.

As Geun placed his hand on her shoulder she huffed. “I’m sorry i’m being difficult.” She whispered trying to keep an even tone. “I can’t wrap my head why these choreographers can’t maintain the safety of my group.” 

“Hey I didn’t say I don’t agree with you Huannie,” Came the soft tone Huannie was used to, the complete opposite of what had came out of his mouth earlier. Though there was still a hint of irritation in his tone. “I know how you’re feeling it’s the same feeling I get when you perform on a slippy stage.” He continued. “It sets your anxiety through the roof. But you tell me you can do it- so why can’t you let Jaemin say he can?” 

She straightened up. “Because i’m a stubborn bitch, but honestly should I re block it privately or not Geun?” 

“No let him prove that he can do this Huannie, you can’t baby him forever- I learnt that lesson the hard way.” 

“You’re annoying Geunnie.” 

“But you wouldn’t have me any other way. “

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

March 21st

Master List

~~

Years ago, the first time you were here, these lights blinded you. These days, however, between the bedazzling of your dress, the glitter in your eyeshadow, and the pain in your feet from these damnable stilts called shoes, the lights bothered you none. On either side of you, the other members of your group also shone, smiles on their faces as they held your first Daesang, one you knew would be first of many. You, however, kept your face neutral, as was the persona you had been given by your company. You were the unapproachable one, the one who didn’t do aego, the silent, scary genius. 

“How does it feel to win this?” 

“Will you be continuing promotions without Rin?” 

“Nana, over here, tell us about your relationship with Seventeen’s Hoshi.” The questions were thrown at you from all sides as you made your way to the car. As always, you were the last to enter the vehicle, holding up a blanket so your members with shorter skirts didn’t end up going viral for all the wrong reasons. Nana, your lead dancer was standing next to you and shot you a pleading look at the questions being asked. 

“Y/n, Y/n tell us how it feels to have D.O. back from the military.” Your posture stiffened at the question, and you turned quickly to the reporters. You knew the spin alone would go viral, the cut of your dress allowing for a dramatic flair as you turned, paired together with your angered gaze. 

“We will answer no more questions.” You decided. “We thank you for your support in this win, and we ask you to await official statements regarding our members.” You gave them one last curt nod before accepting Nana’s hand and climbing into the van. 

Once the doors closed your other members let out a cheer. 

“Gosh, how can you do that?” Sophia, your makinae, asks, unbuckling her shoes, and you do the same. 

“Do what?” You can’t help but giggle at her. 

“Shut them down like that, if any of us tried that we’d end up crying.” Nana chuckled, shaking her head. “But thanks, I really didn’t want to talk about Hoshi, right now.” She sighs, wrapping her jacket around her bare shoulders. 

“Are you guys alright?” You ask, reaching into your dress to pull your bra straps back onto your shoulders. 

“Yeah, he’s just been away on tour for forever and we were supposed to meet up the other day, but he ended up getting called in for a dress rehearsal.” 

“And then yesterday we had rehearsal all day, I get it. When’s he leaving again?”

“Sunday, I’m gonna text him tonight, maybe go on a drive.” The other girls giggle and ‘ooh’ at the girl, teasing her. 

“Well, I’ve got you beat.” You joke, wiggling your shoulders at them. “I’m going to Kyungie’s tonight, like, right now.”

“Right now?” Sophia gasps, “You little minx.” The other girls give you varying levels of hell for your comment. 

“Oh calm down, ladies, as if I’m the only one doing anything tonight. Lord knows Rin is having plenty of fun tonight as well.” 

“Has she been discharged then?” Bona asks, tapping away on her phone. 

“Yes ma'am, they told her not to fly for a few days, so she’s with Amber in LA. They’re going out tonight for drinks to celebrate.” 

“So everyone’s having fun except me?” Sophia asks. 

“Bona’s not doing anything.” Nana offers. 

“Actually, I’m having a little party with Jihyo, Momo, and Chae tonight. We’ve been planning a girl's night for ages.” Sophia gasps at this earning a few laughs from the girls and Nana lays her head on the younger girl’s shoulder comfortingly. 

“Miss L/n, we’ve arrived.” The driver tells you and you shimmy your shoulders at the girls again. 

“Have a good night ladies.” You grin, picking up your bag from the floorboard as the car comes to a halt. 

“Don’t have too much fun,” Nana calls as the door opens. You’re met with Kyungsoo himself standing on the other side, still in his tux, and clearly having just come back from the show.

“Good evening beautiful.” He greets, offering his hand. 

“I’m not wearing shoes.” You warn him and he only grins, throwing your arm around his shoulder and scooping your legs out from under you. You can’t help the small shriek that escapes you, which has the others around you laughing. 

“Keep her safe, oppa.” Sophia calls. 

“Of course, have a good night ladies.” 

You’re already at his front door when the car finally leaves. He sets you down on his front step opening his door to let you both in and you almost strip then and there, sick of your dress already. 

“So, I’m thinking, a shower, I make dinner, and we follow it up with skincare and bed?” He offers, the door clicking shut behind you both. His arms come to wrap around your waist and his head lands on your shoulder. 

“I’d be content with just falling asleep right here and now.” You mumble, relishing in the moment. 

“But would your skin? Come on, let’s go take off this makeup and put on something comfortable.” 

Thirty minutes later finds the two of you out on his balcony, enjoying the food he made as you look out at the city skyline. 

“Do you ever wish you weren’t the one people saw as cold?” You ask aloud, glancing over at him. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you ever wish you had been the happy one of the group, been more like Baekhyun oppa or Chen oppa?”

“Sometimes, but then I wouldn’t really be me.” You look over at him fully. “Honestly, we have been known as the ‘cold ones’ because it’s partly who we are. We’re the ones who close up, who sit quietly, whose faces naturally fall into blank stares. We couldn’t be like Chen or Baekhyun hyungs, because that’s just not who we are.” 

“You see this is why I’m dating you, every time I feel like I’m going off course, or I just need someone to remind me why I’m in this industry, there you are with wise words and a resting bitch face.”

“You also like my cooking.” He reminds you, leaning close for a kiss. 

“Yeah, just your cooking.” You grin, closing the distance. 

[boymeetsweevil]

Breathe you in

Grouping: Popstar!Reader x Non-Idol!Taehyung

Word Count: ~7.8k

Warnings/Themes: Shotgunning (so thats recreational drug use), Rough face fucking, face-sitting (fm receiving), some background angst, not too scary lol

Summary: Can I pls request an ex lovers trope with taehyung where you broke up with him , but he shows you he loves you and was never over you and wants to be together again? Thanks!

A/N: This is part of the BTS Smut Club Anniversary fic exchange! Thanks for the prompt!

It’s nearing 10pm when the town car arrives in front of your apartment complex. The driver pulls up in the back entrance used primarily for allowing the higher profile residents to discreetly enter the building when needed. Normally the back entrance is littered with snapping cameras or fans who are trying their hand at stalking. Tonight none of those people are there for you because your mini-tour ended a day early, allowing you to return from Amsterdam a day before what’s scheduled on your website.

“Don’t forget,” your publicist sits across from you on the opposite leather upholstered bench of the car, “You’re close to reaching another follower milestone, so you need to do one last Instagram live before bed.” You release a deep sigh that sounds like it came from your bones.

“Shit. Bee, I’m really tired.”

“Language,” Bee admonishes while scrolling one iPhone in one hand before switching to the one in her other hand.

“Can’t it fucking wait,” you hiss, petty from exhaustion.

She pins you with a look that tells you she’s not playing this game with you and continues typing away. “You’ll sleep soon enough once we go through the checklist for today and tomorrow.”

Bee’s phone pings and you watch the set of her mouth grow infinitely more tense before her eyes dart to you. Rarely does hesitation temper her gaze like it does in this moment. You let out a sigh. She’s about to mention your ex.

“Also, Oh! News wants to bring you in some time this week to address statements Nick made about the breakup.”

“Of course they do,” you sigh again.

“I’ve been trying to push the date back but they’re not taking no for an answer. Plus, it might be better to go out and put an end to it so it can become old news.”

You massage your temples. “Yeah, no, I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”

Bee watches the gears in your head turn as you think about the whirlwind that was the breakup. With your departure to Europe only a few days after the PG-13 video of him with another actress blew up, there was naturally a lot of speculation. Most of it hateful and directed at you, surprisingly enough. Having just starred in a movie aimed at 12-17 year olds, Nick seemingly had all of the world’s young girl population locked and loaded at you. Your relative silence while on tour for two months in the Netherlands only fueled the outrage.

“Alright, alright,” she opens the door on your side and pushes your purse into your limp arms. “I had them take your luggage up before you. Do what I told you and then...go get some sleep, Sweets.”

“Thanks, Bee.”

Your penthouse apartment is as pristine as you left it when you push open the door, your luggage waiting neatly by your shoe closet. While you unpack your bags in your bedroom, you take note of the outfit laid out for your on your bed. It’s a pair of leggings that have sequins sewn up the sides and a matching off the shoulder top that will definitely require you to keep your bra on. It’s for the Instagram broadcast, so you won’t have to wear it long. But you want to crawl out of your skin and finally be able to turn off your public figure voice more than anything else. You suppose you can handle waiting a little while longer, though.

When you’re dressed and have your hair out of your face, you take your phone with you to the bathroom before waking up your speaker to play some mood music. A little tripod setup waits for you on the sleek countertop. Once your phone is plugged in and you’ve pulled up Instagram, you begin your livestream and your camera smile is on.

“Hey, everybody,” you greet the viewers already watching.

There’s a little more than 800,000 people are currently watching, more than normal this early in a live video. You attribute it to the tweet Bee sent from your Twitter a few minutes prior that broke your 2 month long internet silence.

“I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long,” you talk a little louder over the music you have playing. “I was so busy in Amsterdam and when I did have some down time, I wanted to really unplug. So I didn’t use social media while I was there. I’ll definitely be uploading the pictures I took, though. I saw some really amazing stuff.”

You begin pumping an oil cleanser into the palms of your hands while stopping to read the comments as they come up on the screen. Some of them you ignore because they’re comments from Nick’s fan accounts. Others welcome you back and some are fans of the artist you were touring with.

“How was touring with Nana,” you echo the fan’s question while rubbing your makeup off. “She was so wonderful, oh my god. I think she’s got such a beautiful point of view when it comes to her lyrics about getting older and dealing with the pressures of being a woman in the spotlight. Also her fashion sense is incredible.”

A few more questions about the products you’re using and what you did on your off time come up. Some people ask if you’re working on a new album yourself and you talk about that as much as you can without breaking any promises, keeping the essentials a secret. Another person asks you to sing a few bars from your verse on the song you did with Nana and you do. By the time you’re tapping moisturizer onto your face, you’ve almost made it through the broadcast unscathed. But then you see a comment that has you breaking character for a second, your muscles freezing.

douknowbt$: OMG Nick is watching the live.

Hopefully no one notices your 2 seconds of panic, but you can’t be sure until someone else blogs about it. You dismiss the comment and finish up with a few pumps of hand cream, rubbing your hands a bit manically as the comments about Nick begin to grow in number. In that moment, you sign off and quickly move to end the live. But with your haste and slippery fingers, you don’t realize you missed the button and the recording was still going.

A few of the viewers try to send messages letting you know that the live hasn’t ended, but you don’t check your phone again after throwing it onto your covers and climbing into bed. With the camera facing up, you’re seen pulling up your laptop and putting on some classical music using the surround sound speakers in your bedroom. From the screen, all the viewers can see you sitting stiffly on your bed, eyes closed for a few minutes in what looks like meditation as the adagio that’s playing washed over you. After a few deep breaths, you open your eyes and reach for your phone.

“Oh sh—,” you keep yourself from cursing at the last second when you discover the livestream didn’t end. “I’m sorry, guys. I was so tired I guess I didn’t realize I forgot to end the video. I’m signing off for real now. Yes, yes, I’m okay. Just tired. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

You triple check to make sure the video is off before throwing your phone across the bed. The day didn’t seem like it could get worse after your long flight and even longer wait at the airport when it seemed like your luggage was lost. Not to mention that you were bone tired and hungry but couldn’t have any of the foods you were craving because of a stupid photo shoot coming up in a few weeks. In that moment, the intercom rings, signaling that the front desk is trying to reach you, but you remain in bed and hope that it’ll stop. It does, for a moment, before starting up again. You groan before getting up and heading to the front door.

“Yes?”

“Hello Miss,” says the cheerful older man who runs the front desk during nights. “I trust you’re having a delightful evening.”

“Hello, Sir.”

“We just wanted to alert you that the delivery person with your order is currently on the 15th floor and should be at your suite shortly. Please anticipate your food’s arrival in the next few minutes and have a pleasant rest of the evening.” The call ends just like that, not leaving you any room to protest and say that you didn’t order food.

You figure it’s just that Bee saw what a huge shitshow your livestream was and she wants to send you something to make you feel better. And no doubt if it was something that came with a delivery person, it was good food. If she came herself, she would definitely have brought something like a salad bowl or a sushi plate. If you eat another vegetarian sushi plate, you're certain you'll die. Not from Mercury poisoning—like your mother always warns you about—but from sadness.

A tentative knock on the door sounds and you open it with a plasticky smile. Sometimes they send people who get a little star struck. Most times you’re amenable to just being subdued but friendly so that they just ask for a selfie or a quick autograph on a take out napkin and don't try to linger or say you were a bitch later on. 

Tonight you're not really in the mood for too much friendliness tonight, though. In the drawer next to the door, you dig around for the wad of cash you keep hidden there and pull an obscene tip out.

“Hi, thank you,” you keep your head down and blindly reach for the white paper bag in the person's hand. “Have a good—excuse me, asshole!”

“That’s not my name.”

The hand yanks the bag out of your reach at the last second, lifting high above your head. You’re not at all in the mood for dealing with a pissy delivery boy who wants to knock you down a few pegs. Putting your hands on your hips, you’re about to give him the verbal lashing he deserves, PR consequences be damned, when you a good look at his face stops you.

“Taehyung?”

“In the flesh,” he shoots back at you.

The man in front of you gives you a muted, smug smile before shouldering his way past you and into your apartment. He stands tall in the foyer of your apartment like he belongs there and has been there a thousand times. You can’t help but drink in the image of your ex-boyfriend from half a decade ago despite the fact that he’s technically intruding. There’s still a whisper of the boy you started dating when you were in your last year of high school, but much of that is overpowered by the man he is now. He’s broader in the jaw and the shoulders than he was before, and there must have been some growth spurts since you last saw him.

“This is real nice,” he lets out a low whistle as he takes in the large open floor-plan of your apartment. You follow closely behind as he starts walking around, head cocked forward with purpose.

“What are you looking for?”

“The kitchen,” he says casually.

“It’s that way,” you gesture before realizing that you need to get your priorities straight. “What are you doing in my house?”

“I came to bring you food.”

The bag he raises gives off a pleasant savory smell and you clench your fist to keep yourself from excusing his sudden appearance.

“I didn’t ask for food. And I certainly didn’t ask you for food.”

“Touchy,” he turns back to pin you with an amused grin. “But you didn’t have to ask. I knew you needed it.”

“You knew I needed it?” You raise an incredulous eyebrow, eager to hear his explanation. “How did you know I needed it?”

He places the bag on the countertop in your kitchen, standing on the opposite side of the counter.

“Because,” he sighs, “I saw your Instagram live and you were playing Elgar. You never play Elgar unless something’s really wrong.”

“I—that’s,” he pushes the bag toward you while you try to come up with a reason while he’s wrong, when he’s not.

You’ve had a habit of playing classical music when you were near your breaking point. It’s been a habit that you’ve had since you were 10, but concealed long before you started your time in the spotlight. While you were dating Taehyung, you were a depressed teenager and he was present for some of the worst times of your life. Several times he’d found you in your room or your parents’ car blasting tragic symphonies as accompaniment for bawling your eyes out. But that was years ago.

“You can eat it. I’m not hungry,” you finally say. He looks at you like he can tell you’re lying, but plays along and shrugs.

“Fine.” He opens the bag and pulls out some smaller plastic containers of food and a spoon.

“I didn’t mean here!”

He chuckles at your outburst, mumbling something about fame not changing you, before ambling out of the kitchen and through the rooms until he arrives at your bedroom. You find him about to sit on your bed and rush over.

“If you took the subway here, don’t even think about sitting on that bed.”

“What? Suddenly my subway clothes are too dirty for your bed?”

“Yes,” you huff. “The sheets alone cost me more than half a grand.”

“What the hell,” he jumps up like he’s been shocked. “Why would you spend that much on sheets?”

“They’re highly rated,” you admit with a small voice. “And they’re used by many foreign diplomats.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re so prissy.”

“We can’t all be members of a practical startup.” When his eyes widen in surprise, you curse yourself for letting him know you still keep tabs on him. “Besides. You used to like prissy.”

“Still do,” he gives you with a molten look that has you moving away from him and fluffing pillows to hide your flustered state.

“Why are you still here?”

“Because you’re hurting.”

“Maybe,” you throw your hands up. “But that’s not your job anymore.”

He runs a hand through his dark hair, parting the shiny waves carelessly. He’s not sure how to admit that he’s been making sure fame doesn’t eat you alive ever since you broke up with him to pursue your singing career. The memory of that day rings clear in his head even after five years of being split up.

Cliche as it sounds, it was a rainy night. You were at a meeting with Bee a few days before the entertainment label you were flirting with was going to give you the final version of your contract to sign.

Bee was never a huge fan of his, so Taehyung waited outside her office instead of interrupting the meeting to let you know he was there. But with the office door cracked, he could still hear the sounds of your conversation and the soft sounds of your sobs.

His blood grew cold when he heard what Bee was telling you. She told you starting this career with a relationship would hurt your numbers by making it impossible for your male fanbase to project their fantasies onto you because of the presence of another guy in your life. She told you if you were going to make it, you’d need to play up the role of sexy girlfriend to the audience members for the first album at least and that wouldn’t be possible if they got wind of Taehyung.

He covered his own mouth, barely fighting tears from welling up, listening as you tried to plead with Bee. Your voice was watery as you tried to convince her that you could make it without the girlfriend role. That you had enough work ethic and talent to do it. And when she didn’t budge, you said that you loved him and threatened to walk out right then if you had to break up with him. He listened to Bee tell you that you were being naive and that you’d be stupid to throw away all your opportunities for a boy.

And Bee was right.

So when you came outside minutes later with puffy eyes and a white knuckled grip on the sleeves of your sweater, he’d accepted his fate. He’d even accepted the lie you told him about having another guy on the side. Though you couldn’t produce a name when he asked who it was. Though you looked up at him like you wanted to take it all back. Though you leaned your forehead on his chest like you were in the greatest amount of pain. He accepted it all and walked away.

That is, if walking away meant that he created fake social media accounts so he could comment positive things on your first few interview videos and bought tickets to as many concerts he could when you were in the area. He never tried to make his presence known, just stood there and drank in how vibrant you looked when you were on stage and singing your heart out. It took a while for the jealousy to stop rearing its ugly head whenever he looked at how other people would show their adoration for you. By the time Nick came around, he was convinced he was content with how things were. But after seeing the way Nick’s cheating affected you, he had a hard time sitting still.

“Well, I’m not leaving until you feel better. So, you better start talking.”

“What is there to even say?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

You sigh and ignore him in favor of walking over to the large sofa in the corner of your room and collapsing on the large sofa face first. A dip in the cushions near you tells you he’s followed you and sat down. When you finally reveal your face, he’s peering down at you with a sad look in his eyes. The sad, sympathetic look that would always get you spilling your guts when you were still together. So you tell him everything.

It's almost embarrassing to tell him that you thought you loved Nick. At their best, things with Nick were comfortable and sometimes passionate, but it wasn’t anything close to love. Nothing close to what you had with Taehyung. And how could it have been when the reason you got together in the first place was because Bee thought you could ‘scratch each other’s backs’? Nick was not only handsome with the clean image Bee wanted for you, but you were writing and singing the theme song for the blockbuster movie he was to star in. It all seemed to work at first.

It only took one tabloid story suggesting that he was seeing some other younger and bustier actress behind your back to make you see that nothing you had with him was substantial. You brought the story up as a joke, thinking you could laugh about the way tabloids would do anything for story—even lie. As soon as you mentioned it to him, he denied it hastily and made a snide comment about not believing everything you see just because it’s technically press. After that, it was like a switch had been flipped and suddenly you couldn’t be in the same room together for more than 10 minutes without going at each other’s throats. The cheating rumors kept flaring up until they reached a peak a little more than 2 months ago, when someone anonymously submitted a video of him groping and kissing the same actress outside of a bakery in your hometown in broad daylight.

After watching the video about 15 times on the plane to Amsterdam, you concluded that even though he had long since established himself as a grade-A asshole in your mind, he was in mushy-love with this girl. You could tell from the sweet way he cradled her face while kissing her and how he took the extra step to block any potential cameras before giving her impressive rack a squeeze. Lucky for you, the video didn’t really evoke any messy emotions like jealousy. Instead there was just some satisfaction at having your suspicions confirmed and knowing he’d have to clean up this mess. You felt bad for the other actress, though. She was just starting out with mainly B movie roles and there was no telling whether the public would fillet her or ignore her altogether.

Taehyung has to sit on his hands to keep from rubbing your back you as you pour out all the things that had been stressing you out. What startles him is how stoic you are the whole time. When he first met you, you cried at the drop of a hat. It was endearing back then, but there’s no trace of it now. You sniffle a little when you talk about some of the vicious hate mail you received while in Amsterdam, but besides the shining eyes, that’s it. He clenches his jaw and wonders what you must have gone through in the last five years to have lost that quality.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles when the lull in the conversation is longer than he expected.

“It’s fine, I just,” you sniff again, wipe your eyes carefully. “I was really hoping that once the dating clause in my contract expired, things wouldn’t blow up in my face like this. And now I can’t go anywhere without people shoving mentions of Nick in my face. I just—it sucks. I just want to do what I want and I thought I’d earned that right but I guess not.”

“I don’t know. I think you’ve earned it. You’re grammy nominated this year, and you visited 13 countries this year alone.”

“What are you? President of my fan club?”

“Do I look like a 14 year old girl to you?”

You squint like you’re giving it some thought and he squawks.

“I’m just kidding,” you duck your head. “You’re, what, 226?” He laughs at the extra two centuries you’ve tacked on.

“You remember my birthday,” he smiles widely.

“Of course I do.” The way he looks at you makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up so you change the subject. “Alright. I’ve done enough talking. Where’s my compensation?”

“You literally haven’t changed at all,” he says while fishing in the pockets of his dark wash denim jacket. It takes a few seconds and he has to pull a few balled up receipts and earphones out of the pockets but he eventually pulls out a fat blunt and brandishes it like a huge check.

Nose wrinkling, you push his hand out of your face. “Weed?”

“Yeah! You said you wanted a pick-me-up, right? And I just got this yesterday from a dispensary. This is the good, strong shit. Probably could compete with the stuff they have in Amsterdam.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be able to tell.”

“Huh,” he furrows his brow while hunting for a lighter.

“I’ve never smoked so I wouldn’t know.”

“You mean you were in Amsterdam and you didn’t even try to smoke?”

“It’s bad for my voice,” you whine at his judgmental glare.

“Bullshit.”

“It smells like armpit,” you try again.

“There’s the prissy princess. Well, you should know that the only stuff that smells like that is the shit broke evil dealers peddle to broke college students.”

You roll your eyes, but sit up on your heels so you can pay closer attention. Taehyung flicks his lighter to life and lights up the end of the blunt. He takes a deep inhale before letting out a thick cloud of smoke. He gestures for you to take it, but you shake your head nervously.

“What’s the matter now?”

“I don’t know how to do it. What if I burn my lips?”

He squints at you, wondering how you can be such a baby. “The cherry’s not even on the side you put your mouth on.”

“Whatever! I’m still scared.”

“Do you want to try it, though?”

You gnaw at your lip thoughtfully and decide that you need to take your mind off everything for a while. “Y-yeah, I guess. I don’t have a studio session tomorrow.”

“Okay.” He scoots forward on the couch until your knees are just barely brushing. “I’ll shotgun it to you.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll see.”

He takes another drag, this time a little smaller, and holds the smoke in his mouth. Turning to you, he leans in until you can feel his bangs brush your forehead as he tilts his head to get the angle right. There’s about an inch of space between your mouths when he starts to let the smoke billow out of his mouth. You get the gist and try to inhale it as best as possible, but you’re new to it and he’s too far away for you to get the smoke.

“I’m not getting any,” your tone is petulant as the smoke floats up around your face.

Taehyung, on the other hand, is already feeling the effects of the strong blend he bought. He scoots forward once more and then turns to the side so he can take another drag. This next time, he grabs your jaw and brings you forward to meet him. Thumbing at your bottom lip, he coaxes your mouth open and slack before slotting his lips over yours. You feel the brush of the supple skin of his lips and it distracts you a bit, but this time you do manage to inhale most of the fumes. Your eyes drop closed as you hold the smoke in for as long as possible before letting your breath out.

“How was that,” Taehyung asks lowly. His lids have drooped to match his relaxed state. With the high slowly creeping over him, he ogles you unabashedly.

“It was okay. Do it again.”

He nods and quickly burns through the rest of the blunt, giving you the larger hits when he shotguns to you and taking slightly smaller drags for himself. To keep you nearby, his hand comes to rest heavily on the small of your back. You, still on your haunches, somehow end up straddling one of his thighs to stay close. Near the end of the blunt, you’re feeling a bit floaty and like the heat from the blunt transferred to your belly. Taehyung’s gaze feels tangible on you, like a firm-handed caress across all parts of you as he looks you over. Like smoke on your skin. You recognize the feeling as one you haven’t felt in a while and move to sit more properly in his lap.

“I want the last one,” you whisper while tugging on the collar of his jacket. The ends of his long hair tickle your fingers.

He nods and moves slowly to suck the roach dry. Once he’s close enough, you wait patiently. His nose grazes your cheek for a few long seconds before he finally turns to pass the smoke to you. You take it obediently and exhale but then grab him by the lapels to press your lips to his. His hands come up immediately to cup your face and pull you closer. You work your lips over his, drawing low groans from him as your tongue teases his.

“You smell good,” he says groggily between kisses.

“Thanks,” you roll your eyes.

His eyes flutter shut when you begin to press kisses to the column of his throat, your hands moving to unbutton the dress shirt he’s wearing underneath. He tries his best to keep up with you, but he gets slow when he’s high. So he settles for you being in charge, but does let his hands roam over your body.

A lot has changed since he last felt you like this. The strict gym regimen you employ to compliment choreography for songs has given you an amazing ass that he thought could only gaze at in pictures. And he had done quite a lot of that. Though he’s not sure how you would feel if he confessed to jerking off to some of your sexier music videos. He marvels at the feel of you and you’re pleasantly surprised when his hands come down heavy on your hips to grind you down onto his lap. A pleased hum leaves you and you reward him with kisses migrating lower, across the path of his now exposed torso. You leave the couch to sit between his spread knees on the floor. The button of his jeans is your last major obstacle and you still your hands over the waistband patiently.

“You get where I’m going with this, right?”

He nods his head, tongue coming out unconsciously to wet his lips at he takes in the sight of you on your knees in front of him.

“Do want you want me to...” you trail off, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed at asking your ex if you could blow him.

“Do you? Want to?” His hand reaches out to cup your cheek, thumb brushing over you cheekbone.

“Yeah?”

“Then, yeah.”

You move quickly to unbutton his pants and slide them down his thighs once he lifts his butt to assist you. He’s wearing boxers, which is a relief because you don’t want his bare ass on your very expensive couch, and the crotch opening provides easy access. With one hand, you smooth the wrinkles in his boxers over, noting the tent in the fabric and the dark stain where his head must be dribbling pre-cum. Your mouth is watering as you pull him out and test his girth and weight in your hand. Just the sight of his dick in your hand makes you want to swallow him down.

Before he can say anything else, you’re wetting his shaft with broad licks from root to tip. He grits his teeth and lets out a satisfied grunt at the way it feels when you tongue at his slit. You take him in until you just barely wrap your lips around the head, and he lets out a low moan at finally being enveloped in the wet, silken heat of your mouth.

“Can you do me a favor,” he manages to ask you despite the fact that stars are forming in the corner of his vision when you take him against the inside of your cheek.

“Hmm,” you hum around him, causing his hips to jolt up the tiniest amount.

“Can you spit on it?”

You smile in a way that can only be described as predatory and pull him out of your mouth. You spit like he asks, letting some drool pool on him as well, while he moans again and his hand comes out to smooth over your hairline. He’s more vocal than you remember and it gets you wet quickly. Before you stain anything, you kick off your stupid bedazzled leggings so you can return them to Bee in the morning.

“Shit,” he hisses when you start bobbing your head to a fast and unforgiving rhythm. You’re playing with him, you want to wring an orgasm out of him, and he can sense this. “Why don’t we take this s-slow?”

You pull off briefly. “Tae, I want you to fuck my face. That’s not well-suited to slow.”

“Isn’t that bad for your voice,” he mimics your tone from earlier.

You give him a pinch on his thigh before taking him into your mouth again and resuming your ministrations. Since you’re so focused on getting what you want, he decides to try and level the playing field and keeps his hip movements to a minimum and opts to talk through the head instead. He’s determined to get some clarity with you

“I’ve missed you,” he breathes deeply through the feeling of your saliva starting to trickle over him. The slide is getting slicker as you continue, making him lose his train of thought briefly. “So much.”

Instead of replying back with words, you just give a little acknowledging noise that’s too neutral to be a dissenting or affirming noise. He takes it in stride and continues.

“I still think about you all the time. And I—fuck—I’ve tried to date other people, but it’s just never felt quite the same way. You were the only one who understood me so well and who didn’t try to change me.”

His words wash over you and a wave of fondness hits you in a way that has you almost shy. You haven’t been shy in a long while because you couldn’t afford to be in your line of work. People were always trying to capture parts of you, and a great deal of them were trying to capture the uglier sides. There was no room to actually fear that for the last five years of your life because it was inevitable to a certain degree. But as you work over Taehyung, his words make you feel stripped down. You feel bare and small despite the fact that his words have nothing but good in them really.

“If I’m being honest,” he says and you slow your rhythm to stare at him, wondering what he could have to confess. “You might be even further out of my league than when we first met.” You sigh and pull off of him.

“Tae, come on. Give yourself some slack.”

“No, I mean it,” he sits up slowly, tongue heavy with earnestness as he tries to talk through the high. “It seems like you’ve only become more comfortable with yourself since you started singing and the way you move—it’s like you’re from another planet.”

“Oh my god,” your cheeks heat up when he looks at you like you have a halo and wings. “Stop, you’re being so unnecessary right now.”

“I still love you,” he says. The words fall from his mouth like he’s been dying to say them. “And I know you didn’t cheat on me when we were younger.”

Your mouth drops open in shock. To this day you still regretted lying to him like that. But deep down you knew that there was something off about his reaction. He didn’t seem shocked or nearly disappointed as you thought someone might be when they hear they’re being left for another person. Instead, he had just nodded and insisted on driving you home until Bee had to come out and promise him that she’d do it herself. The fact that he didn’t block you on social media or try to drag your name through the mud immediately after your debut made you wonder if he saw through your lie.

“How did you know?”

“I came early to pick you up that day. And I heard Bee tell you what to say to me. How to break up with me.”

“Tae, I’m so—”

He shushes you with a tender kiss to the cheek that’s so soft you’re rendered momentarily speechless.

“I know. It’s not your fault, they didn’t give you a choice.”

“I would have picked you if I could,” you mumble into the space between you. His hands feel like anchors on either side of your face and you cling to them in the hopes that you won’t cry. “I really would have. You don’t know how much I missed you.”

“I feel the same way. It killed me to see you with that Nick asshole.”

You smirk a little at the mention of Nick. “Aw. Were you jealous, Tae?”

He looks down at you for a second, reading your face carefully, before dropping one hand down from your cheeks to the nape of your neck. The weight of it reads as possessive on your skin and you lean forward unconsciously until you’re able to smell the faintly sweet smell of smoke on his clothes.

“You’d like it if I was, right?” His gaze hardens, setting your heartbeat into a rabbit-quick pace. “Hmm? You like me being jealous of him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. Answer me.”

“Okay, fine. Maybe I do,” you nuzzle into his neck to hide the excited smile splitting your lips.

“I knew it. It’s pretty on-brand for you.”

He nudges your bare thigh to signal you need to get up and so you do. You’re about to ask him what the hell ‘on brand’ means for you when he bends down to throw you over his shoulder with a low grunt.

“Tae, what the hell!”

Your raised voice gets you a harsh tweak to the perky globe of your ass and immediately quiets you down. He walks with you to the bed before throwing you down. Not rough enough to hurt but just rough enough to surprise you and give a doe-eyed look to your face. When you look up at him, his charade has fallen a bit, eyes returning to their original sleepy softness.

“Is this how you want it,” he asks you.

His voice is deep and gentle, and it evokes a different but equally visceral reaction. You nod and then shuffle over to the edge of the bed and sit at the edge of the mattress, waiting to see where he’ll take the situation. He smiles darkly at you once more before placing a hand on the back of your head to lead to his crotch.

His erection stands taller than it did before on the couch and he digs his fingers into your hair when you plant sweet kisses on the juncture where his thigh meets groin. You look sweet like this—playful, even—as you mouth along his length with kitten licks interspersed. When you’re about to take him into your mouth once more, he fists your hair and pulls you off him. With your head angled up to look into his eyes, you see a new emotion in them.

“Look,” he sighs. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do the whole thing.”

“What, like sex?”

“No, I mean you and me. I want to be with you. I’ve made my peace with what happened between us, but I know I still love you. So, I’m asking you to decide if you’re willing to do that, to be with me. Because I can’t—”

“Yes.”

“What?” His eyes grow wider and take on an awestruck quality. Like he’s not sure he wants to believe what he heard from you. “Really?”

“I want to try again,” you curl your hands around his hips. Bringing him forward into a hug around his pelvis, you lean your chin on his lower abdomen and try to infuse as much reassurance as you can into your smile.

“You won’t get in trouble with your agency?”

You shake your head and curl your arms around his hips, bringing him into an awkward hug as you lean your chin on his lower abdomen and look up at him. “Nick was an exception because he and I were arranged by our respective agencies, but my dating clause expired last year. I can date who I want. Within reason.”

He throws his head back with the realization that he’ll get a second chance with you. The hand he has on the back of your head softly caresses the skin of your neck.

“God, I love you,” he breathes with eyes drifting closed in contentedness.

“Good. Now can we get back to this? You were being fun earlier.”

“Yeah?” His tone turns gravelly and coy as he coaxes you back towards his dick. “Are you ready to choke?”

You can only nod as you take him in gradually, only for him to wait until you get halfway and push your head further down. You gag around him at the sudden pressure at the back of your throat, but shift your breathing through your nose to get a better handle on it. He pulls you by the hair until you’re at the tip again before slamming you back down, your nose nearly brushing the skin of his abdomen. You gag and the sound causes him to thicken in your mouth and a rush of arousal to trickle down into your panties.

“You feel so good around my cock,” he moans as he begins thrusting shallowly into your mouth. You can tell he’s close from how irregular the rhythm is. “Can you try to deep throat me?”

After you give an affirmative hum and relax your throat as best you can, he takes your face in both hands and starts to pull you up and down his length, going further each time until he knows he’s in your throat from the sudden tightness of you swallowing and the increase in gagging. Saliva is now dripping from your mouth, coating him and your chin, but you don’t care. Your eyes tear up at the burning sensation, but you can also feel your arousal trickle down your leg as he fucks your mouth more intensely. Right as you press two fingers to your clothed center for some relief, he gives you a tapped warning on your neck and his orgasm spills into your mouth.

He quickly pulls off his jacket and shirt, handing the latter to you to wipe your eyes and mouth with. Once your face is dry, he tucks himself back in and climbs around you into the bed. You turn to watch him fold back your blankets and throw the pillows you have all to the foot of the bed, leaving the space by the headboard. Taehyung then lies down, head where your pillows once were.

“Going to sleep already?” Your voice comes out in a sultry croak that has him laughing a little.

“No, I’m getting ready for you to sit on my face,” he says simply.

When you don’t budge, he sits up and pulls you by the arms toward him. You try to escape him, but his grip just tightens the more you protest.

“Tae, wait, I’m not—”

“You’re not what?”

“I’m not...presentable. Down there.” You avert your eyes as you explain to him that it's been a since you were last at a spa to get waxed. You figured since you weren’t seeing Nick anymore and you were mandated by your PR crew to wait at least 4 months after a breakup, there was no need to keep up with such a strict...landscaping routine. He rolls his eyes and moves to pull on the waistband of your panties to peek in and see what you mean, but you shove him away.

“Do you think I actually care?”

“Do you really not?”

“No? Unless you have some disease or infection, what’s the issue?”

“I’m clean,” you pout.

“Good,” he says before placing a kiss on your lips.

While you’re distracted by the kissing, he maneuvers you into straddling his waist before pulling back. Reluctantly, you shuffle up to hover over his ribcage and shyly grab the headboard. He huffs.

“You know I can’t reach you from there. It’s called sitting on someone’s face for a reason.”

He nudges your butt until the seat of your panties lines up with his jaw. He sees a few errant curls peeking out from the leg holes of your panties, so he uses a finger to push your underwear to the side to get a better look. What’s unsurprising is that it still looks like a vagina, though it had been a while since his last non-bald encounter. He doesn’t care, though, and cups your butt in his hands to move you the rest of the way.

The broad strip he licks up from your entrance to your clit takes you by surprise and because you were wound up so tight from a combination of nerves and horniness from blowing him, you let out a high keening sound. Taehyung chuckles beneath you before using his full lips to kiss at the apex of your thighs, sucking your clit into his mouth. The tip of his tongue scrubs figure eights against the bundle of nerve endings and has you squirming over him. More arousal leaks from you and he shifts to drink from you, humming and slurping obscenely. He then starts to lick at you in earnest, tracing strategic shapes across your lips and sucking with varying pressures and paces until you start rocking over him on your own accord.

“That’s my girl,” he praises you from below. “Now, ride my face,” he says before flattening his tongue and pressing up to meet your tentative grinding thrusts.

The combination of saliva and your arousal makes the glide smoother than you expected and it feels so good that one of your hands leaves the headboard to fist in his thick hair. He moans a little at the faint sting and wraps his hands around the backs of your thighs to press you against him harder. His tongue dips into your entrance occasionally, chasing the flavor of your arousal, trying not to let any of your juices go to waste. You bite your lip to trap the wanton moans trying to escape you, but Taehyung realizes what you’re doing and gives you another sharp swat to the bottom to coax them out, mumbling against the inside of your thigh not to hide from him anymore. 

As you start to move more desperately above him, he attempts to fuck you more purposefully with his tongue. It’s just enough that in a dozen more swivels of your hips, you’re cumming all over his face, soaking his cheeks with a glistening varnish. You try to move as quickly as possible, but he stops you with a tight hold on your hips and licks you clean. You squirm away, partly because you’re sensitive and partly because he’s so enthusiastic about it that you’re a little bashful.

Finally he lets you get off him, but he doesn’t let you get too far. He follows you and almost makes it into the en suite with you, but you close the door at the last moment. You pee and clean up and when you come out, you feel like a weight has been lifted. Taehyung looks infinitely more sober lying in the middle of your bed in just his boxers, eyes bright and hair messy as he tries to figure out which remote will turn on your speakers.

You stand by the bed and watch him for a while. He turns to you innocently and holds the remotes in his two hands with confusion.

“What?”

“Nothing,” you approach your closet and take off your borrowed sweatshirt before looking for your favorite well-worn sweatsuit. “You’re just so pretty.”

“You’re prettier,” he shouts over to you. He can’t see you inside your closet, but you’re smiling like an idiot.

When you’re fully changed, you go to the bed and lean over him to kiss him. He still smells like you and you tell him so, to which he responds with a grin and subtly licking his lips.

“So when do you want me to tell the public about you?”

“Whenever you want,” he shrugs.

“Really? Because there’s a good chance you won’t be able to live your life the same way you have been once I do that.”

“Then it’ll just change. I would expect it to if you’re coming back into my life again.”

“Oh my god, you’re so—”, you’re at a loss for words.

You decide to crawl into his space and pepper kisses into his skin. He smells like a strange blend of you and him, but the smell is reassuring in some way unknown to you. You sit there for the rest of the night, breathing him in like smoke

[writing-appreciation]

Faked and Faited

-I know the title sucks, forgive me.- 

SYNOPSIS: Latina!Reader's family keeps nagging her about getting a boyfriend. One day when she was ranting about her upcoming family reunion, Peter jumped in with an idea that was muy loco. 

 WORD COUNT: 2885 

 WARNINGS: Lots of spanish, for obvious reasons. (It's mostly translated, so don't worry!) ((Also bad spanish grammar because I was never taught it as a kid). 

.......................................................................................................................................

 Don't get me wrong, my family's fine. Great even. But when a bunch of the extended family comes it can get a little hectic too quickly. For example, ever since my 13th birthday, they've all been trying to get me to date. It was worse at my Quince when all my tias tried to set me up with boys I invited that they didn't even know. Potential boyfriends now have a fear of my family. It was infuriating sometimes.

"So then, just don't go." MJ threw out boredly, causing my rant to stop. 

 The boys nodded in agreement and made some comment about not going not being a big deal. 

 "Guys, yes it is. Trust me, mexican families are constantly gossiping. If I don't show up, it will cause some big family drama. They'll hold it against me for years. Not to mention..." 

"When is it?" Peter interrupted. 

 "Next weekend." I replied as I absentmindedly played with my food with my fork.

 "I'll go with you." He smiles. 

"You'll what?" Ned and I both asked in surprise. 

 "Yeah, I get a weekend off from the Internship once a month and I'll go with you to keep you sane. Besides, if your family sees you have a boyfriend, they'll lay off of you." 

 I felt bad. I didn't want Peter to use his monthly weekend of relaxation for me. Especially because I knew my family would eat him and his little Spanish II self up. But also I didn't want to go into the lion's den alone again. Besides Peter always asked me to speak to him in Spanish so he could get better, so maybe this could be a learning experience for him. It would come with the added benefit of not being pestered about getting a boyfriend. 

We didn't have much time to discuss the matter further as the bell rang, signaling us to get to class. 

 I walked to class with Ned. We both had a coding class together. He still didn't understand how important a family reunion could possibly be. But he let it go when we sat at our computer stations. 

 Suddenly a vibration in my back pocket pulled me from class boredom. I unlocked my phone and saw Peter sent me a photo. I clicked it open and saw that it was a screenshot of his calendar. It had next weekend marked as "(L/n) Family Reunion." The photo was accompanied with a message: 

 Your reunion is penciled in :) .P. 

I quickly texted out a response before my teacher could see me: 

Peter, seriously, you don't have to go if you don't want to. . (F/I). 

He responded almost immediately. 

 Come on, (N/n), it's not a problem. I love mexican food 🌯🌮 .P. 

I didn't reply because I knew my teacher was watching me. I placed my phone face down on the table. But another vibration slightly shook the table. Once the teacher turned away, I grabbed it again. 

 You're probably gonna have to translate the whole weekend, just a little fyi. Also should I get a crash course in your family, or is that too much? .P. 

Typical Peter Parker. He liked being prepared in advance. If he was going in as my fake boyfriend, then he would definitely need to know a thing or 30 about my family. 

I'll make you a colour coded cheat sheet of my family. .(F/I).

Lmao. You can't have that many family members. .P. 

You'll see soon enough ;) . (F/I). 

 And so the next two weeks were dedicated to making a huge, elaborate story about how we started dating. It wasn't too far off from how we actually met. We decided that we should stick to real life events as much as possible so as to not confuse ourselves. 

The story went like this: We were both called out of class to a meeting about which high school we would be going to. We were 8th graders on a STEM pathway. Naturally, we'd be sent to a STEM focused school. MidTown Tech did group interviews that day. Peter and I were in the same group. We noticed each other from classes, but never really spoken before. Turns out we were quick to become friends. But high school is where the story starts to go off the rails a bit.

 Peter decided his story would be that he developed a crush on me freshmen year. Mine crush wouldn't spring up until the beginning of Sophomore year. By the end of Sophomore year, we found out from our respective friends that we both had crushes on each other. Then that summer, the dating began. First date was simple: a tour of a museum. We're nerds. It's definitely believable. So we had all of our kinks smoothed out, now it was just time to put our plan into action.

 "Alright, who's my Tia Esperanza?" I asked while pulling away from the curb.

 "She's the pregnant one. She's married to Armando, and she's your favourite."

 "Okay, you can leave out that last part." I laughed. 

 "Explain to me the difference between your Nana, Abuela, and your grandmother. I'm still confused." 

 "You and I both Pete." I joked. 

 Truth be told, IT IS SUPER CONFUSING. My nana is my mom's mom. That's simple. But my grandma  (I think) is my Nana's mom. Leaving my Abuela to be either my Grandma's mother or her sister. Our family doesn't just say 'grandma, great-grandma, or Great-Great-Grandma,' so everything is confusing. 

 As we approached the reunion building, it struck me on just how bad this idea was. Peter seemed to catch on to my newfound doubts in the plan. 

 "Hey, it'll be fine. I'm going to be the best fake boyfriend your family has ever seen." He put on a big goofy smile that made me feel better, but the smile fell slightly when I looked away. He almost looked nervous. That's helpful. 

 When I parked, Peter rushed his door open and ran over to my door. He opened it for me. I slyly looked around and noticed family members were already looking at us. 

 "Thanks, Babe." I said a little too loudly and gave him a small peck on his cheek. 

Bad choice. That's how his cheek got redder than the car parked in front of mine.  

"I'm so-rry, are we d-oing PDA now?" He stuttered out. Instead of responding I laced our fingers together and began walking to the building. 

 "(Y/n)! ¿Cómo estás?" A familiar voice called to me before we entered the building. I turned around to see my primo, Carlos. 

 "Quien es?" He gestured to Peter. 

"Mi novio." I smiled and held our interlocked hands up. Peter, little innocent angel Peter looked so lost; but he did smile and wave.

"Sup. I'm Carlos." He introduced as he held out his hand. 

 "Peter Parker, mucho gusto." Peter shook his hand causing my cousin to slightly flinch. 

 "Strong grip." He turned to me, "Un gringo? Estas sería?" He asked with a smile. 

 I pushed him away and pulled Peter into the building. 

 "Okay, wanna translate that whole thing?" Peter said while we were out of earshot. 

 "That was my cousin, he asked who you were, I told him my boyfriend, and he asked me if I was serious." I explained.

Peter had a bit of offence written on his face, but recovered quickly when he saw the back table with food. 

 "Calm down Mr. Speedy Metabolism, we'll eat later." I patted his back. 

 He let out a grumble and a small pout. I ignored him and found us a relatively empty spot at a table and sat us down. I sat on the opposite side of him. I still looked around, anxious that people would put two and two together. Once again, Peter seemed to feel my doubts and placed a hand on mine on the table. 

 "You good?" He asked. I stopped looking around and settled my gaze on him. He had such calming eyes. They looked so full of concern at the moment. Which I'm almost certain was for me. 

 "Maybe some food will make you feel better?" He offered, already standing up.

 "No, dammit Peter. You're so food driven." I laughed and pulled him back down. 

"Oh, and who is this, hija?" 

 Tia Mari. Oh God. I didn't think she was going to come this year. Her son had a recital. But if she's here, then her son is too. 

 "Peter Parker? (Y/n) (L/n)? What are you guys doing here?!" Robert Delmar. 

Fellow classmate and renowned tattle tale. This night just got a whole lot more complex. 

 "Why is Peter here? Aren't you guys just friends, or did Peter finally confess his undying love to you?" 

 What? I'm sorry, what? I looked to Peter for an answer, not presently caring if I blew our story up. My tia also seemed invested in my response. He looked just as terrified and unprepared to answer. 

 "Yeah, he asked me out over the summer and we started dating. We wanted to keep stuff private in case it didn't work out." I quickly explained while trying to remember our cover story. 

"Well, it's about time. Peter's only been pining after you since freshman year. You guys look cute." Robert said. 

We both just nodded and smiled. My tia was eating this up. 

 "Y Peter, ¿Sabes español?" She asked, now focusing on him. 

"Un poco." He cleared his throat. 

She turned to me, "Hablas a él en español, or es un gringo completo?" 

 "Yes, sometimes I speak to him in Spanish." I replied so Peter could understand the conversation. 

 "Well, then you wouldn't mind if I introduced him to some of your tias, no? They will love him. Sabes que ellas le gustan gringos!" She added the second part quickly. 

 Before I had a chance to save him, Tia Mari grabbed Peter's available hand and dragged him away. Once Peter's hand left mine, I noticed how cold my hand got. Robert was about to follow his mom, but my pulled his shoulder back. 

 "Hey, what do you mean Peter's been pining after me?" 

 He laughed, "Seriously? You guys are dating, clearly he likes you." 

 I smiled nervously and nodded. But I was internally screaming. Robert wasn't in on this plan, unless Peter told him, but that's definitely unlikely. So, Peter actually liked me? Since Freshman year according to Robert. I would know though, right? I mean, Peter and I literally hang out all the time. There's no way I've gone through three years of high school and not noticed this. But here we are. 

 The rest of the night went on pretty quickly. Peter was being fawned over my every single one of my female relatives. When  I tried to steal him back one of my tias made a comment about him being nothing but bone. Of course, my abuela was the first to offer him a heaping plate of food. Peter accepted it without a beat. She also said once we were married, I'd have to stuff him right. This was my tipping point. 

 "Perdon." I excused myself from the female crowd Peter had. If I were to hear the phrase, "Cuando ustedes están casado, necesitas...." one more time I was actually going to start ripping my hair out. 

 I decided to talk a brief walk outside the building. The sun was still out, but was obviously starting to set. Today wasn't a complete waste. I guess my family wasn't busy trying to set me up, but now they were busy babying Peter. The only downside was what Robert said. I still couldn't shake the thought of Peter liking me out of my head. If it was so obvious, why hadn't I seen it? 

 I pulled out my phone and decided to text Ned about it. 

 Hey, apparently Peter's liked me since Freshman year. True or False? . (F/I). 

 I hit send and waited. I figured I could pass the time by skipping stones in the lake nearby. 

 "Hey, why'd you leave?" I turned around to see none other than Peter Parker himself. 

 I hummed in acknowledgement. "How'd you even know I left? My tias were busy feeding you."

"I felt your heartbeat wasn't there anymore." He approached and sat on a stone bench beside me. 

 "You can feel my heartbeat?" I asked, now very red. 

 "What? No, not feel. Hear. I heard your heartbeat was gone." He said quickly, rubbing the palms of his hands on his jeans. 

 I didn't know much about Peter's powers. Only that he could stop a bus with his bare hands, he was constantly hungry, he was sticky, and his senses were abnormally good. Good enough to know what my heartbeat sounds like apparently. 

"When everything happened I was freaking out at 3:00 a.m and I could hear a thumping. I thought it was May, but she wasn't home. So I was confused. The next day I found out it was your hearbeat. Everything can be overwhelmingly loud, so I just focus on your rhythm and it anchors me." 

 I don't think Peter realized he switched to the present tense. This implies he still does it. 

 "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. To not one particular question, but to all of them. I wanted to know why Peter didn't tell me about his crush. I wanted to know why Peter never told me about my heartbeat being his anchor. I want to know everything. 

 "Because I'm pretty sure it's not normal to listen to your friend's heartbeat." He laughed as he skipped a stone. 

 I made a face at how far out the stone went. It made it clear across the lake.

 "Cheater, but that's not what I meant."  

"What did you mean?" He turned serious. 

 "Freshman year, Pete, seriously?" 

 He sighed and stared out to the lake. 

 "I didn't want to lose our friendship." He replied blankly, shifting his shoes to mess with the gravel below us. 

 "Well judging by how well received you are by my family, I just may have to date you, Pete." I joked in an attempt to cut the tension between us. 

 "(Y/n), please don't joke about this." 

 I looked up to see the desperation in his face. He appeared to be holding back tears. 

 "Peter, I don't know. I haven't had a good track record with dating…" 

"I know, I've seen. Your family always chases them away, but I'm still here aren't I?" He quipped. 

 Well damn. He's right. Peter was accepted relatively quickly to the family. Some family members even inviting him to hang out outside of the reunion time. I'd also be lying to myself I said Peter wasn't attractive. He certainly is. But not only physically or as his superhero alter ego. He's attractive in the way he is so incredibly kind and forgiving. Flash has literally been a dick to Peter since 6th grade, but Peter still manages to act kindly towards him. Peter truly is a warm and welcoming person. Everybody who's met him can confirm that he's just so nice. He also is extremely loyal to his friends. Even with his heroic responsibilities, he still tries his best to find a balance for us. His eyes crinkle when he's smiling widely, he taps his pencil to his leg during a tough test, and is a killer dancer with such kind and loving rich, deep brown eyes. And oh shit do I like him too? 

 "I think giving this an actual try could be great." He pulled me from my thoughts. 

 "I think I do too." I said, now gazing at him. 

 "I know you do, your is beating nervously fast." He smirked and settled an arm around my shoulders. 

 "Peter! Donde estas! Necesitamos fotos!" I cringed at the heard of women who were all looking around for Peter. 

 "Vamos." I grabbed his hand and lead him back into the lions den. 

 Many photos were taken, phone numbers exchanged, and affectionate insults thrown around as the first might rounded down.

When Peter and I managed to get out of the building, he was carrying a carton of food. Particularly Tia Vani's zucchini tamales. When nobody was looking he snagged 14 of them. We put them in the back seat of my car and waved my family off. My parents and siblings would be staying the night, but we had an academic decathlon tournament the next morning, so we were needed back. 

As soon as Peter hit the passenger's seat, he was knocked out. It left me to my thoughts for a bit. When I pulled up to his apartment he gave me a sleepy smile and grabbed his food from the back. After a tired, quiet "goodnight" he was entering the building. 

I was about to drive to my parking spot, but a vibration from my phone caused me to pause. No cars were around, so I decided to check the notification. A next from Ned. 

 Yeah, he likes you. And you obviously like him. It's about time you guys confessed already. We're so talking about this tomorrow..goodnight. .N. 

I smiled at the text like an idiot. Things were certainly going somewhere. Huh, who could've guessed I would have went into my family reunion with a fake boyfriend, but would be leaving with a soon to be real one? 

[swingerslifestyle]

Best Places to Party in Bangkok

When we first went to Bangkok, we had a lot to think about. We were nervous because it would be our first time in Thailand and we were invited there by SwingersHub to join a swingers party where we could have some fun. We knew that there was a lot to check out but we had no idea how much fun this could turn out to be. 

  When we arrived in Bangkok City, we were taken our hotel on Soi 11 in Sukhumvit called Adelphi suites which is a Girl Friendly Hotel in Bangkok. It's a beautiful place to have fun. It's amazing how the SwingersHub finds these great hotels to have a party at. 

Couples & Girls for Fun  

There were other couples there too that wanted to meet us. So we went downstairs to the Monsoon restaurant and bar which is a part of the hotel. We met a number of swingers there that were keen on getting to know me and my wife better. Whilst chatting with some couples we were told that we are staying in the prime party area of Bangkok and we should consider exploring the nearby locations to have a good time. 

The first place we decided to check out was Nana Plaza which is an amazing place to find a number of bars and girls that are just ready to party. There were so many hot girls everywhere by wife and I were ready to pounce on any of them. We knew that we had to find the Best Places to Party in Bangkok so we went to this bar called Billboard. This is one of the best bars in Nana Plaza that has some really hot girls that get into a tub and are ready to party with you. We had a couple of drinks there and left. 

Soi Cowboy Girls

On our way out, we met a couple that offered to take us to a place called Kazy Kozy. This is a bar that is located at the other end called Soi Cowboy. This is one of the biggest red light areas in Bangkok I have ever seen and I was completely in love. My wife was taken aback by the beauty of these Thai girls and we decided to bring one girl back home with us. Inside the Kazy Kozy club, we saw some amazing things. On the stage, there were girls eating each other out and it was amazing. Joining our fun was the CEO and founder of SwingersHub who is one of the nicest guys we have ever met. He’s a true gentleman and knows how to treat a woman well. He evidently knows Bangkok well and it one of the best tour guides to have. 

Best Places to Party in Bangkok  

We left Soi Cowboy at around midnight with a girl in our hand and we had amazing fun back at the hotel with the other couples we met at the SwingersHub. On our next nights in Bangkok, we went ahead to find other great places to party and we were definitely not disappointed. The girls in Bangkok know how to party and they party hard. We spent 4 nights in Bangkok before moving on to Pattaya where we had some more fun. Overall, the girls, the other members from the SwingersHub and the party atmosphere and music that Bangkok has to offer was amazing. We can’t wait to get back there again.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the SwingersHub, you can join the club by registering here for Swingers Parties. You can also check out BangkokPunters to find the Best Places to Party in Bangkok.

[kimtaetae16ii]

Part 2 (a/n : sorry late haha! Idk how to make the link in one post so tht it'll make u easier to read)

[Monday : 7:45 a.m.]

Hollyyy cowww!  You were still sleepy at that time because for actually you only got 2½ hours of sleep.

In that morning, all of your family had warmth breakfast to fill the stomach for long journey. It took 3 hours to go back to your home.

The fried chicken in the middle of dining table looked so good but you were still sleepy. The crunchy outside really killed you. Without being hesitated, you took the friend hot crunchy drumsticks then bite it.

"Hmph.. So delicious! " eyes closed as you were trying to feel the moment.

After having one drumstick, you took wings part after that. After that, you took the breast part.

"Miss Park, you want more? " the maid asked you.

"Sure!  I would love to eat more. You such great chef." The maid just smiled while you put half strawberry AND chocolate jam on the bread and served into your mouth.

"Jeannie, can you please behave yourself?" Mama suddenly appeared.

"Just let her eat. You serve less food to your children!

Eat some more, honey~"

Nana push the bowl of mushroom soup to you.

"Hehe I eat too much don't I? Hahahahahaha" you laughed so hard while being watched by your parents.

Your behavior changed lately.

"Here your fried chicken, miss Park." The maids served you several parts of chicken for you.

"Wahh!  Thank youuu. Get me cheese sauce, please."

I think having second round will make me full until tomorrow.

Hopefully.

"15 minutes more." Mama said while looked into her watch.

"Chill, Ma. Nana is feeding me right now. Hehe" you teared the chicken wings looked at your nana who was smiling then you continue to eat until all of the foods in the table clear and clean.

[Monday 17:15 p.m.]

You went to jog with your little sister and your mother at the nearest parks in your resident area.

The air is so fresh as the goverment would like to make sure the resident will always get clean environment.

After long walks, we sat at the branch under the shady trees. The day also being windy. The breeze that touched your skin was so ease.

"Jeannie, I have something to say." Your mother speak up.

"What?"

"About your Nana, please assured her saying that you would stay at home instead of her house.

Second, I would feel honoured if you would continue her business it just that, you're still young. You're 18. So, I don't allow you to do that.

Third, I arranged you to enter the Harvard."

You were shocked plus surprise at her last words. Your heart broke into million pieces.

"Ma! I do no want to go that far. Why don't you ask me and tell me about that!?"

"I'm doing this for your future."

Your mother professionally answer you while you were burning inside.

"My future?? Ma, this isn't correct. You don't think about my emotion! I can't go that far because I cannot deal with my emotion! I'm scared of getting bullied." Your tears came out in your eyes.

"You will not getting bullied because your uncle and aunt are teaching there." She still assured you to say yes on her 'arrangement' for your future.

"Suck with what they did there, Ma! It's not 100% guaranteed I would be save there!

No means no.

I'm going home!"

You stand and just straight away going home. No turning to see what happened at the backside. You just cannot deal with tour emotion also in the same time to understand what is your mother's purpose on doing that. That ain't fair for you.

Jane walked to your mother then her small hands in your mother's hands.

"Ma, are you crying?" She saw your mother was facing down. Then, she like wipe something from her eyes.

"No, I'm not crying. The wind brought small dust into my eyes." She smile to Jane.

"Okayy."

"Let's have another walk then we're going home."

"But I want udon at the family mart! " she pouted cutely.

Your mother laughed and buy her attention.

"Okay, we will go to family mart after this." Then they went to walk for another round.

It just that

You had no idea from what your mother told you.

You scared.

Your unknown relationship would broke just like that just because you've been sent to America to further your study.

You scared Haechan would be sad.

Of course your mother would be sad more when you go against her.

You were still young to understand what is the best for you to deal with the cruel world now. It cannot be deal anymore. Cruel forever would be cruel.

_________________________________________

[Friday, 11:00 p.m.]

"Jeannie, we will go to Japan for 3 days only. We bring Jane with us. You just take care with yourself." Your mother said while kissed on the top of your head.

You didn't know how to react.

"Okay. But, buy me bunch of chocolates." You smile a little then they got into the car.

You wave your hands in the air as the car already exit from your house area.

I don't fucking mind for being left alone unless they will buy me something as the return.

That's the concept. It just, you want to eat or get any things from the other country as the collection and for gaining your experience.

You went into your house. Then got into the TV room to watch some horror movies.

But before that, you went into the kitchen to grab some foods as you were being hungry so bad.

You texted Haechan to come over to your house as your parents were not at home for three days.

Babe, would you come over here? Sleep with me?

I was left alone.

Sent at 11:25 p.m.

Not for long second you received message.

Oww, sweetheart. I can't as my parents still awake. How about you come over here?

I've been miss you so bad.

Sent at 11:26 p.m.

You pouted.

Lemme think.

Okay then.

Sent at 1:27 p.m.

You put it back into the cabinet but only Oreo chocolate bars of Hershey you bring along.

-

[11:15 p.m.]

You texted him that you already be at the main door of that house. His house is very huge.

Then, the door being opened and made your heart fluttered as you saw his cute face.

Both of you hugged each other then, you pecked his lips.

"You made it." He said with the giggles came after it.

"Yeah~" I said then he put his hands around my waist and heading to his bedroom.

After we just get in there, he threw me onto his bed then, he crawled the bed to be on top of me. "Kyaa~ Lee Donghyuck, what are you doing ?" You tried to push him away. At that moment, everything seems slow down. He came near your little by little then, you guys lips collided znd the passion BOOM !

you never felt that kind of feelings, that kind of experience before that make you felt satisfied with it. His hips was between your legs at that moment and made you guys felt want to feel each other but Haechan is smart enough to protect his princess and the queen will be.

He knew the limit so he was the one who broke the kiss and kiss the top of your head.

"Done, sweetheart. Let's watch a movie then we'll cuddle then we'll go to sleep okay."

"okay, "

Then, he took out his 13inch-MacBook Air. He tapped on Netflix in his laptop then there it served.

He searched for romantic miviebthen you saw the 3rd season of fifty shades. You suggested him to click on it.

"Are you sure about this, sweetheart?"

You smiled in shyness and nodded my head. "I just want to watch it with you."

He giggle at the way you were being cute.

"Okay then."

The movie begin.

At beginning.

There's nothing such things happened yet so like you guys admired them as being such lovely couple.

Climax

Then there's happened. The way Mr.Grey lifted, spanked Anna's butt and so on make you felt turned on.

The way Mr.Gray put the balls in her pussy and told her to stay calm during the party make you already felt wet because you liked feel how the balls got into your hole.

And they got married was the great things for you cus you liked it so much and what happened after that.

You could not stay calm at all. Haechan felt your hands squeezed his arm that you hugged. He knew you wanted that so bad.

Ending

Anna got into planned accident by her husband's enemy and that what make your heart throbbed.

After she awoke, and everything went well. They got a son also Anna is pregnant for their second child was the satisfied things that all the fans of shades darker wanted.

"Finally it met its end." You did long sighed as you just felt tired. Yeah like be with gadget for long time can make your body being weak. That's why people said do not use the gadget for more than four hours.

You guys were making the bed to get comfortable condition and about to sleep while cuddling with each other.

"Babe" he snapped out of something after you called him.

"Yeah, sweetheart" he faced you and wrapped his arm around your waist.

"What is in cuddle?" You looked into his eyes.

He lifted his one eyebrow meant that he didn't get what you want to convey it.

"I mean, what people do when they are cuddling. When ppl say cuddling, I will automatically thinking that they are tickling each other. So like, yeah?  It is?"

He hummed for a seconds.

"Yeah, that's correct. Why?" while brushing yoir hair to the back.

"Nothing. Also like, when i watch The Babadook with Angela and Teressa and Dahlia, the mother been using some vibrate thing. What is that?"

You kept asking him because you were still wondering what it is.

He gulped before to speak.

"That's vibrator. You can search it on Google." he said playing with your smooth back.

You turned on your phone then went to safari and searched for it. You surprised and oo-ed so big.

"Oh my it's disgustin!"

"It is?" He asked you back. While without you knowing the close the distant between you two. You can felt his hips touching your hips too.

"It is. I would never not to have that. Such disgusting things."

"Sweetheart, look at me." The moment you put your phone down, his nose met yours.

"Watching such movies also disgusting. So what about we try it out and feel it's gonna felt." He said in such low-romantic voice. The husky voice.

"Try what?" You cupped his cheeks.

"Let me show you."

And that night, you guys had shared everything related to your body. Your body connected to him. And also that's the new experience that you got.

His hot skin touch yours. His body's scent would never make you disappoint. You gave your everything to him.

[lovemesomesurveys]

1. Do you have a nice yard? If so, do you spend a lot of time outside in it? If not, where do you go when you want to relax outdoors on nice days? We have a decent size backyard, but I never go back there. I’m not an outdoorsy person, I much prefer to be indoors. I don’t relax outdoors unless I’m at the beach. 2. Is there a group of friends that you used to hang out with but no longer do? Why don’t you hang out anymore and how do you feel about them now? I don’t have any friends anymore and that’s completely my fault. I became very distant and withdrawn and just disappeared essentially from everyone. It wasn’t anything they did, I just fell into a bad place and I haven’t been able to get out. I’m such a shitty person for completely abandoning them the way I did. 3. Do your parents enjoy any of the things that you enjoy? Do you bond over these things? My mom and I have a lot of shows we like to watch together, we like a lot of the same music and movies, we both love to read, and we both follow entertainment/celebrity gossip. 4. Did you ever say or ask something that you assumed was a neutral subject, but the person you were talking to became offended and you had no idea why? Not that I can recall. 5. What is the movie that you have waited the longest for/which film do you remember anticipating the most/are still anticipating? There’s been several movies like that. Like for example, I always look forward to new Marvel, DC, and Star Wars movies.

6. Do you have any ideas for a story or movie you’re planning to write or you’d write if you got the time/had the talent? Please share a synopsis! Nope. 7. Do you ever feel like anyone is “out of your league” or does that concept not make any sense to you? What do you do when you’re attracted to someone but find them out of your league? I always get it mixed when it comes to that saying. Like, to me it means that I’m ugly and have no chance with anyone I’m interested in. Does that mean I’m out of their league or they’re out of mine? 8. What is something that an interested guy/girl could comment about you, that would make you instantly open to them (e.g., “That book you’re reading is from my favorite author”)? Hmm. I don’t know. 9. Do you refer to yourself by any sort of fan nickname (Belieber, Little Monster, etc.)? Lol no. I’m old. 10. Do you ever just get lazy and give up on your friendships? I didn’t do it out of laziness. It happened because I’m a mess of a person and I just couldn’t handle or put in the energy into any friendships. I couldn’t even take care of myself. I didn’t give up on them, I gave up on myself. 11. Is there a person in your life (maybe barely) that you feel in constant competition with (even just in your imagination)? Maybe you feel they are consistently outshining you. I had a friend who I felt made things into a competition and tried to one up me in the sense of who had it worse. Like, if I actually opened up about something and expressed how I was feeling, she’d spin it back on her somehow and her problems were always worse of course. One time she even said to me, “what do you even have to be depressed about?” and proceeded to go on about all the problems she has. 12. If you are single, even if you are normally happily single, are there certain specific things you witness that make you wish you were in a relationship (e.g., people getting engaged)? I mean, I’d like to experience love and romance and have someone to experience life with. I want that special someone. I want to do couple-y things. I want someone to get takeout and binge watch TV shows with, someone to drink my morning coffee with, someone to grow with, someone to travel with. I want all that someday. It’s hard for me to even imagine it ever happening, though. I’m almost 30 years old and haven’t found it, yet. I don’t see anything changing anytime soon, either. 13. What sort of situations make you feel most self-conscious or inadequate? Are there any people or places that just make you want to crawl into a hole? If you can’t think of anything specific, can you remember the last time (or any time) you felt this way? I feel extremely self-conscious and inadequate all the time. 14. Out of all your usernames for websites, which one is your favorite? Do you use it for more than one site? I’d rather not say what it is. 15. Are there any cities near you that you’re afraid to go to because of the crime rate or its other bad reputations? I city I live in has a high crime rate and bad reputation. :/ We’ve wanted to move for a long time, but we haven’t financially been able to do so. We really want to try and do so soon, though. 16. If you went to camp as a kid, was it a pleasant experience? Do you think that all kids should be able to go to camp? If you didn’t go to camp, do you feel like you kind of missed out on something? My 6th grade class went to science camp, which was a thing a lot of 6th grade classes did at various schools in my state at least. I don’t know if that’s a thing anywhere else. Anyway, it was actually pretty fun. We we were there for a week and were out in the woods doing nature-y things and learning about that kind of stuff, but they made it interesting and fun. We went to the beach one day, too, which was really fun. We had bonfires at night and sang songs. We did fun things with our cabin mates and cabin leaders. It was cool. I also went to a Girl Scout camp for a week, which was really fun. We put on skits with our groups and did a lot of other fun activities. 17. Do you grandparents ever judge you or stick their heads in your business? If not, is there someone else in your life you dread seeing because of their unwanted input? I love my grandparents, and I know my Nana just loves and cares about me and is concerned for my wellbeing, but yes I do feel judged sometimes. There’s things she doesn’t understand. 18. Have you ever spent the whole day (or multiple days) just looking up one thing on the internet (e.g., videos of your favorite band, how-to videos, quizzes, etc.)? Probably when I was younger. 19. Would you ever go on a media fast (i.e., avoiding tv, movies, the internet, and magazines for a certain amount of time, in an attempt to become aware of how media makes you feel)? Do you think that sort of thing would benefit you? Nah. That would be incredibly boring, ha. 20. Are you happy with where you currently live? If not, what don’t you like about the area and do you plan on leaving? No. I already explained why. 21. If someone told you that we live in a society that hates women, how would you respond? Okay. We live in a society that hates everything. <–TRUTH. <<< Honestly, though. 22. When was the last time you were on a boat? Whose boat was it, and what were you doing? Like 2008/2009. It was a boat that took us across to an island where we were toured Alcatraz in San Francisco. 23. Have you ever been completely blindsided by a break-up or have you sort of felt all of your relationships deteriorating before they ended? If you would prefer not to answer, what is the last instance you can remember being totally blindsided by news you heard? I mean, it shouldn’t have come as a big surprise. He didn’t want to commit and it he didn’t feel the same way I did about him. He completely played and used me, and the worst part is I let him. Then one day he decided he was done with me and it all stopped. There were times things were good and times things were bad and we were on and off, but when it finally ended for good I didn’t know it would really be over. Even though it should have been blatantly clear it was coming. What I was completely blindsided by; though, was when Ty just deleted Facebook and Instagram and fell off the grid. I haven’t heard from him in 3 years. I have no idea what happened to him or what he’s doing and I have no way of finding out. 24. Can you remember the last thing you thought and subsequently thought, “wow, I really shouldn’t be thinking that”? Hmm. Not at the moment. 25. If you ever think about getting married, what are some aspects of the wedding that you would like to see in a non-traditional manner (e.g., a different color dress or “partners” over “husband” and “wife”)? I don’t think about getting married. I don’t plan on ever getting married.

[madelainesvixens]

Sweetvee 44& 20 please

This is my first attempt at Sweet Vee, I hope I didn’t disappoint, xx

Please continue to sent requests from this list of prompt!

44. “You don’t have to leave.”

20. “Get naked. Now.”

.

Following the tradition, Cheryl Blossom was hosting a big end of summer party at Thornhill. And, everyone was expected.

A drink in her left hand, Veronica was laughing and moving hips with Kevin while Archie and Reggie watched with envy. She had a fun summer with the two football star but she didn’t see a future relationship with any of them. Archie had his chance…and he blew it. Oh, Archiekins, you should’ve known better than to fool around with a Pussycat behind Veronica’s back. And, as for Reggie, he was too much of a player for her. Josie could have him.

“Who’s the lucky arm candy going home with you tonight?” Kevin asked, glancing at Archie and Reggie.

Veronica turned to look in their direction and back to Kevin. “No one.”

Kevin’s eyes widen. “What?! The hottest guy at Riverdale High are literally at your feet and you reject them both?” He shook his head. “Sometimes I don’t understand the straights…”

She laughed and sipped her drink. Kevin grabbed her hand and she twirled around the brunet, moving her hips to Cardi B’s latest hit. Boys are fun and all but, nothing beats dancing your life away with your G.B.F. Sorry not sorry, boys.

Two hours into the party, Cheryl decided it was time to spice up the night and suggested they started playing games. Only, this year, Secrets & Sins had been dethroned by 7 Minutes in Heaven. While chaos was thrilling to watch unveil, she was also in the mood for some kissing - or, maybe it was the alcohol talking.

Everyone had a couple drinks in their bodies which was the perfect time to start the games. If you start them too early in the night, it’s not as fun. They all gathered in the living area and sat on the velvet couches. Josie grabbed an empty bottle from Reggie and placed it on the cherrywood table, right in the middle.

Naturally, being the host, Cheryl was the first to spin the bottle and, to no one’s surprise, it landed on Toni. Kevin and Veronica shared a look, both suspecting that the redhead had cheated but neither dared bringing it up. If she wanted to make out with her girl for seven minutes in a coat closet, you go girl.

Then, it was Josie’s turn…with Moose. From across the room, she gave Kevin an apologetic look and got in the closet with the Bulldog, trying to not guilt herself too much. Yes, Moose was Kevin’s crush but, beside Veronica and Josie, no one knew about their bathroom kiss before summer vacation and, according to Moose, it had to stay that way.

It was now Veronica’s turn to spin the bottle and everyone was on edge, waiting to see if it would land on Archie or Reggie. The bottle circled for three complete tours until it landed on Sweet Pea. The room went silent.

Veronica looked up, meeting the Serpent’s eyes, breath catching in her throat as memories of their night together one rainy evening came up. Wet clothes. Black ink under her lips. Strong hands. The room suddenly got ten degrees hotter.

“Veronica,” Cheryl said, pulling the raven haired girl out of her mind. “It’s your turn. We’re waiting.”

She stood up straight, smoothing her skirt and walked toward the closet with confidence, Sweet Pea close on her heels. He closed the door behind him, plunging them in the darkness of the coat closet.

Now that he was standing in front of her - and so close - she could smell his after-shave perfectly. It was musky with notes of vanilla - which were only noticeable if you were close enough.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Sweet Pea returned.

“I heard from Jughead that you had been promoted in the Serpents.”

Sweet Pea pulled his eyebrows, unsure what she was talking about. “Oh. Right. I’m now in charge of the initiations,” he proudly replied. “So, if you want to join the Serpents, I’m the one you’ll have to convince. Little warning, places are limited.”

Veronica chuckled, shaking he head. “Gangs are not for me.”

“Why not? You have the thick skin, the confidence. You’d be a great Serpent.”

“Better keep that thought to yourself. If my father hears about that, he’ll have your head on a silver platter for dinner.” He laughed. “I’m not joking.”

“I run fast.”

“He’ll hire someone who runs faster…and has a gun.”

“I know how to use a gun.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Sweet Pea checked his phone, the light from the screen brightening the coat closet, and saw they had five minutes left. “It’s not that I don’t like chatting with you but, I doubt Cherry will let us come out if your lipstick is still intact.”

She pressed her lips together, feeling her berry colored lipstick. He was right. “What do you suggest?” the petite girl asked, a hint of flirt in her voice.

A smirk curled on Sweet Pea’s lips and she took a step forward, the distance between the teenagers diminishing. “I think I might know a way to take that lipstick off.”

“Do you?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes,” he said seductively, trailing the ’s’.

Veronica looked up to meet the taller boy’s stare. A piece of his raven hair grazed his forehead and she wanted nothing more than to push it back into place and use this as an excuse to run her fingers through his hair. Last time they were together, the dark locks were wet from the rain and she didn’t have the luxury to feel its softness. She trailed her gaze down, biting her bottom lip as her eyes landed on his lips, remembering the feeling of plump lips on her cold skin, back arching as his kisses got lower and lower.

The clock was ticking and soon, they would have to return to their friends and go back to their lives and that meant no Sweet Pea. Instead of wasting any more time, she grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket in her tight fists and pulled him to her. Their bodies collided and they looked into one each other’s faces for a split second before his lips crashed to hers.

It was just like she remembered.

His large hands found home on her waist and jaw, angling her face so he could deepen the kiss. She moaned as his tongue slipped inside her mouth, Sweet Pea’s hands move from her neck to her hips bringing her closer until their lower halves were flush together. Veronica released the leather and moved her hands to his hair, twirling the soft curls between her fingers.

She backed him into the coats and knocking off several their hangers, creating a rattling noise. Sweet Pea smiled smugly trough the kiss and grabbed hold of her thigh, lifting her.

They heard footsteps coming from the other side of the closet and quickly, Sweet Pea set Veronica down. She fixed her skirt, having ridden up her thigh during their activities. Although she was confident with her body, she didn’t want to flash anybody.

Half a second later, the door opened, revealing the hostess. Cheryl glanced behind them and grinned. “I see you two had fun. I heard some rattling in there, you better not have ripped my Nana’s vintage Valentino coat or I’ll slit both of your throat with my dead father’s maple tree knife.”

“Chill, Cherry. Nothing was damaged,” Sweet Pea said, brushing past her.

The game continued and at some point during the night, Veronica may or may not have faked not feeling well and Sweet Pea kindly offered to take her home. Kevin told her he’d call later to check up and Veronica hugged him goodnight before leaving the Blossom’s castle with her Southside knight.

They got into his truck, being the Serpents’s designed driver for the night, and Sweet Pea sped off in direction of his trailer, knowing Hermione and Hiram were home.

Sweet Pea fiddled with his keys when they got to his place and Veronica let her fingertips brush along the waist of his jeans, a smug look on her face as she watched his erection grow in his jeans.

“Quit it, will you?” he asked.

She giggled and didn’t listen. Instead, she gripped him over his jeans and Sweet Pea groaned. That girl was going to be the death of him…

The locked ticked and he retired the keys, narrowing his dark eyes at an amused Veronica. Sweet Pea grabbed hold of her petite hands, holding them firmly. “You’re a bad girl, Veronica Lodge.”

“So I’ve heard…” With his free hand, Sweet Pea opened the door and pushed them inside, kicking the door shut behind them.

“Get naked. Now.”

After round two, Sweet Pea pulled the Northsider closer, wrapping an arm around her back as her head rested on his chest, feeling very satisfied. Not to brag but, the Serpent had a much better stamina than Archie or Reggie - he was also kinkier than them and she really liked that.

“What’s a Gucci princess like you doing with idiots like them.”

“What?” She raised her head from Sweet Pea’s chest, supporting her body with her elbow.

“Reggie and Archie,” he explained, eyes on the ceiling. “They don’t deserve you. Andrews cheated on you and Mantle-” Sweet Pea stopped himself, trying to think of a nicest way to word it. “He’s not the brightest crayon in the box.”

Was Sweet Pea genuinely trying to help her make the right choice or was he subtly fending for himself. Veronica smiled to herself, having a feeling it was the latter. “Well, you’ll be happy to hear that there’s nothing more than games between me and them. At least, not on my side.” She paused, seeing the realist side of things. “I don’t think either of them could keep up with my lifestyle.”

Sweet Pea looked down at Veronica and arched an eyebrow. “Uh?”

“Have you seen my father? Neither of them are strong enough to handle Hiram Lodge. Archie met him once and Daddy made it very clear that he didn’t have the stomach to become a part of the Lodge family.” She trailed her finger down his tan chest, lingering on the tattoo right under his left pec. “He’s too soft for the business.”

“What about me?” Sweet Pea asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

A smirk formed on Veronica’s lips as she slide a leg over the Serpent’s stomach, straddling him. By reflex, Sweet Pea’s hands came up to rest on her hips, fingers grazing at the soft skin.

“It’s almost one-thirty. I should get going.”

She made a move to leave the bed but Sweet Pea grabbed her hand, stopping her. “You don’t have to leave.” Veronica looked down at him and he smirked. “Unlike you, I don’t have any parents who will barge in with a gun if someone’s in my bed.”

At that, she laughed and let herself being pulled back in bed. Kevin was going to be thrilled in the morning when she’ll tell him all about her night in the snake’s den.

[thorne93]

Just My Luck (Part 7 - FINAL)

Prompt: Imagine accidentally walking into the men’s bathroom and seeing this fine specimen (James McAvoy)

Word Count: 2123

Warnings: Language, attack/violence/domestic abuse, mention/attempted rape, sexual harassment,

Notes: Collab fic with my girl @cocosierra94!!! Internal thoughts are in Italics, texts are in bold.

We are working on an epilogue

@missinstantgratification

Tags: @marvel-imagines-yes-please @nilalovessadness @tacohead13 @captain-fuckinglevi @bohemianrhapsody @amarvelouswritings @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked  @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @myparadise19982sand @missinstantgratification @thejulesworld​  @rda1989 @marvelloushamilton @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno @rda1989 @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername@kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr @kaeling @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo

James Mcavoy Tags: @bohemianrhapsody86 @lenawiinchester

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

The way back home went rather smoothly, the whole trip seemed natural as if going to your grandparents’ house was a weekly thing. You could definitely see yourself doing this more often with him. Entering your apartment you asked him, “ So… how did you enjoy farm life?”

“It was hard-- but I loved every minute of it. Mostly it was nice to see how you grew up and now I see why you’re such a hard worker.”

“Well I’m glad you loved it. More importantly I’m glad they loved you as much as I do. Papa was telling me before we left you’re like the city son he never had.”

“He said that did he? Haha, he must really like me then, that’s a relief!”

“Yeah I saw you two really hit it off. So uh… what’d y’all talk about?” you questioned him while wagging your eyebrows at him.

“Haha, oh no, I’m not telling unless you tell me what Nana really thinks of me.”

“She practically gushed over how handsome and polite you are, but we didn’t talk much about you… I mean we did but not mostly.”

“Well what did you talk mostly about then?”

“We talked ab-- didn’t I ask you first?” you retorted, catching onto his tricks

James countered with a cheeky grin and laugh, “You already started!”

You rolled your eyes with a small laugh. “Whatever, we were talking about me possibly going back to school for photography.”

“Really?! That’s a great idea! What can I do to help make this happen?”

“Whoa, you can start by calming down for a second.. It’s just a thought right now, I’m still not sure if I should or not.”

“Okay, whatever you decide, I support you one-hundred percent. I really hope you do it though, I mean if it makes you happy then why not?”

You smiled giving thought to the encouraging words he spoke.

“Thanks for your your support. Now….. What did you guys talk about?”

“You…. all good things of course, but first you have to promise you won’t get mad at me..”

“....That depends, James, what did you do?”

“Nothing bad, but just so you know you mean everything to me and naturally anything you love I treasure as well.”

“Get to the point, McAvoy.”

“Well I talked to your grandfather about how he might feel if I asked you to move in together.,,, now I realize that we haven’t talked about that, but I’ve been wanting to ask you for sometime now, however, I wanted to get permission before I even proposed the idea. I wanted him to know you would be well cared for.”

You sat there, stunned. You weren’t mad, you were surprised that: A) your Papa agreed to this and, B) that James had been wanting to move in together. It isn’t like you hadn’t thought of asking him yourself, but this man cared enough to ask permission. His voice of concern cut through your thoughts and snapped you back to reality.

“Darling are you alright? You aren’t upset with me are you?”

“No, no! It’s not that...”

“Do you not want to move in together then?” The sadness in his voice just about broke your heart.

“James, honey, I’m just shocked. I should know by now you’re full of surprises,” you said with a small chuckle. “I didn’t suspect you were thinking about that and not to mention that Papa said yes.. He must really like you more than I thought.”

“Ah yes, well he did lovingly remind me of that 12 gauge he has. He even took the liberty of taking me to the old shed for target practice.”

“Haha, he did what?! I’m gonna get that old man.”

“So.. What do you say? Do you want to move in together??”

“Under one condition….”

He looked at you quizzingly. “Depends,” he said, half smiling.

“We get a dog.”

“A dog? Really, that’s it?”

“Yes! I’ve been thinking of getting one anyway. I kinda already have one in mind.” You pulled out your phone to show him.

James burst out laughing. “You’ve been looking already?! Without me? I suppose next you’re gonna tell me you have a name picked out already?”

Sheepishly you grinned at him.”Hehe, this is Chester...”

He laughed jovially. A sound that warms your heart every time.

“Come on just look at that face!”

His eye moved from the screen to your face, so full of love. He lifted you face to met his, kissing you deeply and passionately. “I love you (y/n).”

You smiled brightly, eyes glazed with adoration, “I love you too, James. You know, I think that the first time you’ve said that to me.”

“The first time I’ve said it out loud to you.”

---------------------

Standing on the balcony of your flat, you gazed out over the city as the sun was setting, the brisk wind sweeping your hair all around you. A content, languid feeling filled you from deep within as you had a look back on this past year.

James and you had moved in together, he had bought an opulent penthouse in New York for the two of you. It was probably three or four times too big, and at his core he really didn’t like being flashy, neither did you, but he wanted to be sure the two of you had enough space for his things and yours, and that Chester had plenty of room to move around while you two were at work.

The apartment seemed like something out of a high end magazine or those pictures from “Top 100 living spaces”. Every piece of furniture was top mark, every piece of art hand picked by both of you, every linen the best money could buy. It took a long time to get used to the lifestyle James could afford and lavish you in.

Finally though, the two of you adjusted. You worked around his filming and touring schedule as best you could. You worked diligently with Rachel while trying to pick up a few classes for photography, but with a full time job, it was a little bit of a struggle. James was gone for a good chunk of the year, but it didn’t put a strain on the relationship. Both of you felt it was healthy and a sign of a strong relationship. Of course you called, texted, and video-chatted whenever you could.

Not to say you didn’t have your ups and downs, you did, between the two of you being exhausted and overworked, and missing each other. But it was definitely more ups than downs. Every chance you were together was filled with love, joy, and tender touches.

You would’ve never dreamed in a thousand years you’d be standing here, in an expensive ensemble, getting ready for an event with an elite celebrity as your boyfriend, standing in an ornate apartment. Life had really pulled together for you -- finally. After all the trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, you could finally say you were happy.

James had surprised you, yet again, as he always did about six months ago. Your family farm was having some trouble, and although the pride your grandparents shared tried to keep it hidden, it wasn’t any secret. They already had to sell fifty acres last fall. So, your amazingly wonderful boyfriend took it upon himself to buy the farm - well over what it was really worth.

He turned around and sold it back to your grandparents for $1, handing them deed and all.

But the generosity didn’t stop there.

Working with your family firsthand, James had seen how tiring and backbreaking a farm could be, and he couldn’t fathom the amount of strain it put on your ever-aging grandparents. Which is why he hired some help. He told them to find some farmhands that they trusted and agreed to pay their full wages.

At first, your grandparents were overwhelmed and denied James over and over again until he firmly insisted. He couldn’t bear the thought of them losing their home, your home, their income, their livelihood due to pride. He knew times were tough and he could appreciate that more than most and just wanted to help out.

When they finally caved, it was nothing but waterworks. Nana started bawling like crazy before throwing her arms around James and kissing his face all over and cheering, before pulling you into the embrace, making it a happy-crying-hugging-fest. Papa teared up slightly but tried to hide it before shaking James hand and thanking him over and over again.

Every time you talked to them or called them, they said “Make sure to tell James we love him! And thank him for us!” It was rather adorable and it warmed your heart beyond any measure. They had truly taken him in as if he were there own, and it was a dream come true for you.

“Darling?” James’ voice sounded right behind you, stirring you slightly from your thoughts.

You spun to see him. “Oh, hi, love,” you greeted softly as he walked up, his hands behind his back. “I didn’t hear you come in,” you admitted.

“I sort of snuck in,” he confessed with a slight half smile. “I have a gift for you, brought it back from my trip,” he said.

“Oh?” you questioned, your brow quirking up.

“Mhm,” he said before pulling out a box from behind his back and handing it to you. “Go on, open it,” he encouraged.

“James, you shouldn’t have,” you gushed.

“I should have, and I did,” he said confidently as he gestured again at the box.

Sighing with an air of humor, you worked on unwrapping the bow and pulling off the paper, exposing a normal box. With a slight frown, you opened the box, exposing a camera inside. You pulled the object out, eyeing it with curiosity.

“James...What is this? You already gave me a camera? It works wonderfully.”

“I know...But I thought this camera was extra special,” he remarked as his eyes widened for a moment. “If you check the serial number, you’ll see this is the exact camera that you sold to go back home. The one your Papa got you. I was able to track it down and thought you might want this piece of history back.”

Speechless. No words came to you. Only feeling. Love, eternal and burning love forthis man in front of you.

“James,” you said, tears in your eyes before you finally wrapped him in a tight embrace and he laughed lightly. “Thank you, thank you os much. I thought this was lost forever.”

“No, surely not. Why don’t you fire it up and make sure it still works?” he suggested.

“Alright,” you said as you turned on the precious object, and you noticed there was already one picture on the SIM card. “Oh, looks like they didn’t wipe all the photos. Wonder what it was?” you said with curiosity as you opened the picture, and you were puzzled.

In front of you was a ring, in a box, it was an exquisite ring that stole your breath. You wondered what it could possibly mean, or why they didn’t delete it. You turned to James to show him and ask him, but when you turned, he was already on his knee, the same ring in hand, peering up at you with love and adoration.

Gasping, and nearly shrieking, you almost dropped the camera.

“James!” you exclaimed, your heart racing too fast, your mind doubling in speed.

“Y/N, this past year with you has been a dream come true. I never thought I could meet someone so caring, and sweet, and strong as you. And I’ve known for quite some time that I wanted to make you my wife and spend the rest of my life with you by my side. I will love you so long as there is sunshine. I will love you so long as the sea rushes to shore. I will love you so long as you continue to remain your loving, selfless, intelligent self. Could you do me the incredible honor of giving me your hand in marriage?”

Tears had streaked their way down your face, you hadn’t even realized you were crying, not really. But you were thrilled, excited, shocked, surprised, delighted….you weren’t sure what you were feeling, which made it hard for you to answer. Starting to nod, you realize he needed a verbal response, prompting you to swallow down the crying and finally say, “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”

James stood quickly and kissed you earnestly, where you returned the favor before he slipped the ring on your finger, the two of you marveling at it.

[artificialqueens]

Here I Go Again! (Group Fic) - Epilogue (Finale!) - pureCAMP

A/N - at long last she is done and she is here and she is the dancing queen young and sweet only seventeen

In all honesty, Trixie wasn’t sure she was going to go on a honeymoon at first. As she planned the wedding with her mom, the only thing on her mind was that her mom would struggle to cope. Trixie was in no position to be gallivanting off to the four corners of the world, seeing and exploring because of her frivolous dreams. She was old enough to know that money was tight, the workload was excessive and Sharon would struggle to complete it all without Trixie’s help. 

Of course, she could never say it out loud. She’d planned a honeymoon just so that her mom didn’t question her. Sharon would be mortified if she knew that Trixie had actually planned to stay at home after the wedding, and continue her work. She’d insist that Trixie went out to see the world, found a home elsewhere - but Trixie just knew she couldn’t.

It wasn’t fair.

But things changed on the day of the wedding. With Trixie unmarried, and Sharon now married, she didn’t see why she couldn’t travel the world. Her mom had someone to care for her, even if she swore up and down that she didn’t need to be taken care of. It was no secret that she worked too much, and he could make her take a break. Additionally, they’d want some privacy for a honeymoon of their own - which was the least that Trixie could do for them.

So, with bright smiles and teary eyes, Trixie and Brian sailed away from the island she’d grown up on, heading for the musty airport that would take them all over the world.

They saw America, from California to Texas to Florida to New York. They made their way through South America, visiting the beaches and cities in Brazil and Argentina and Peru and Mexico. They toured Europe, starting in Scotland and making their way round to Ireland, back to Wales and then to England, to France and Spain and Portugal and Germany, moving further and further across the map. Trixie could hardly name all the places they’d been to, the things they’d seen. To her, it was a jumble of new places and new sights and new people and new experiences.

Brian somehow retained everything, which Trixie loved. He rattled off random facts about the cities they had walked through, hand in hand whether it was raining or sunny. He’d even gone to the extent of buying a huge world map, marking the places they’d been with little hearts. To anyone who asked, they were on an unofficial honeymoon. Everything was perfect.

“I miss my mom. Does that make me childish?” Trixie asked one night. She was already in the hotel bed, tucked up to her chin under the thick sheets, waiting for Brian to finish brushing his teeth. When he came in, flashing a pure-white smile, he shook his head.

“No way. I miss your mom too.” He replied, deadly serious. “You’ve written to her, though. At least you know she’s not worrying too much about you.”

Trixie sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. I just wish she could write back, you know? But it takes so long for my letters to arrive from wherever the hell we are when I write them, and then by the time she responds we could be anywhere else! I want to know how she’s doing.”

“Well, judging by your nosy snooping, I’m sure she’s doing just fine with her new beau.”

After Brian had been told the full story - the diary, the three guys, Sharon’s story - he seemed quite amused by the whole situations. Letting him read the diary had definitely been a mistake, though. He thought it was absolutely hilarious, and whilst reading about your mom’s sexual escapades in hopes of finding your dad is one thing, reading it with your boyfriend whilst he laughs is another thing entirely.

“Gross, Brian. You promised not to talk about my mom like that!” Trixie told him off, shoving him as he climbed into bed. Grinning, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, clinging like koala as she struggled.

“I promise not to promise things, such as myself to you and talking about your mom.” Brian said. “Hey, we’re not out here much longer. This is our last week, then you get to see her again.”

For a while, there was a peaceful silence. Trixie had almost fallen asleep until Brian interrupted it.

“Do you think Sharon married Justin because she loves him, or because he’s your dad?”

Trixie rolled over. “Both. We don’t know for sure, but we both… we both think it’s him. And it’s clear how much she loved him then and loves him still.”

Things felt calm. Their previous drama and stress was over. Trixie had seen things she’d never dreamt of seeing in her lifetime, that were worlds apart from the sandy beaches and simple life of her home. Though she missed it dearly, things felt good. As she fell asleep, in the last week of her honeymoon, she dreamt of a happy family, reunited on the Greek shores.

On their flight home, however, Trixie didn’t fall asleep to happy dreams as she had most nights on their trip. A childish excitement had stirred up ever since they’d boarded the plane, with the knowledge that soon enough, she’d be home again. Having grown up alone, Sharon was a combination of a mom, a sister and a best friend, rolled into one. Trixie missed her beyond belief.

With Brian fast asleep on her shoulder, Trixie had alternated between reading her book - a strangely exciting story detailing the love, loss and drama of a new political figure - and making small talk to the old lady sat beside her.

They’d chatted mundanely for a few hours, partially because Trixie felt bad for her. She was clearly travelling alone, with a sad look on her face. At a guess, Trixie would put her at mid-seventies. Her grey hair was swept into an elegant, but slightly dated bun, and was mostly grey. Despite her morose expression, she had a kind face and spoke in a friendly manner, introducing herself as Joan.

“So, what’s bringing you to Greece?” She asked.

Trixie glanced over at Brian, peacefully sleeping, and smiled to herself. “Coming home from a vacation. It’s a pretty long story, but it was kind of a not-honeymoon. What about you?”

Joan sighed quietly. “Returning home, too.”

“Oh, whereabouts in Greece do you live? The mainland?”

“Not… quite.” She said uneasily. “I don’t live there, not anymore. I used to, a long time ago, but unfortunately this time, I’m being brought back by a tragedy, if you will.”

Trixie furrowed her brow. “I’m so sorry, I hope you’re okay.”

For a moment, Joan was silent, frowning to herself. Something about the look on her face was incredibly familiar, but Trixie had no idea why. As far as she knew, she had never met this woman in her life until now. Yet somehow, there was a lingering sense of familiarity.

“I’ll tell you this: you’re young, and you can learn from my mistakes.” Joan turned, staring straight at Trixie. “Teach yourself to forgive. Someone I loved dearly made a mistake once, and I didn’t forgive them. My… My husband’s recent passing has made me realize that life is short and can easily be wasted. I have a fear now that it may be too late to forgive this person, or that quite rightly they won’t forgive me. Learn it young, and don’t make my mistake.”

Trixie nodded thoughtfully. She wanted to further comfort the old woman, but she wasn’t sure what she could say to make any of it better. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how lonely it must’ve felt. Her whole life, even if it wasn’t much, she’d always had her mom. Family was the one thing that Trixie knew she’d always have. Joan had nothing.

“I don’t see why they won’t forgive you.” Trixie said eventually. “Time is supposed to heal all wounds, isn’t it?”

Joan smiled sadly. “So they say. But some mistakes don’t deserve to be forgiven. You surely wouldn’t forgive your mother for kicking you out.”

Trixie frowned. “She wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Then she’s a good mother. I wasn’t.”

“H-Her mother kicked her out.” Trixie found herself saying. “She was pregnant really young, and she was kicked out as soon as she found out about me. She never let it stop her, if anything she grew from it.”

Joan listened intently. “Would she forgive, do you think?”

Trixie shrugged. “She’s… very headstrong. I was never really allowed to ask questions about Nana. She always said we didn’t need her because we had each other.”

“Gosh, she sounds just like my daughter.” Joan smiled, a hint of bittersweet sorrow tainting the happy expression. “She was a firecracker, she did what she pleased. Nowadays it’s celebrated, but we all thought it was shameful behaviour back then.”

Somewhat detective-like in manner, Trixie noted that Joan had said ‘daughter’, rather than ‘someone’. She wasn’t sure why, but the genuineness of the older woman beside her made her want to help unravel the story. She seemed kind and deeply regretful, and the idea of her being able to reconcile with her daughter made Trixie feel all warm inside. Perhaps one day, Sharon would be able to meet with her mom and their broken relationship could also be fixed.

But maybe Trixie was thinking ahead a little too much. Next to her, Brian snored quietly, jolting her back into real life.

“Either way, you have to try.” Trixie affirmed. “There’s no way you can receive forgiveness without asking for it. No matter how scary, you have to try.”

Joan nodded. “You’re very wise for such a young woman. I’m impressed, dear.”

Trixie grinned. “That’s all down to my mom. She’s the best woman I’ll ever know, guaranteed.”

She showed Joan the photograph on the lockscreen of her phone - Sharon and Trixie smiling together on the hotel courtyard, just after Sharon had ended up getting married to Justin. Standing side-by-side, their identical smiles made them look almost like twins.

Upon seeing the photo, Joan faltered for a moment, as if there was a flicker of recognition in her eyes. Within moments it had faded, and the older woman seemed to shake herself, smiling at the image. Trixie brushed off the sudden change in her expression.

“She’s very beautiful, like you. How old are you, dearest?”

Trixie blushed. “I’m twenty.”

Once again, Joan’s face fell for a moment before she regained her composure. The change was ever so slight that Trixie wasn’t sure she’d actually seen it or not.

“This was what was supposed to be my wedding. Me and Brian here were engaged, but we called it off because it felt too soon. My mom ended up getting married instead, but that’s an even longer story. Let’s just say, I threw her life into chaos for a few days and she managed to forgive me.”

Joan chuckled. “I see. Well, Trixie, it’s been lovely talking to you. I should probably rest now, but I’ve enjoyed your company a lot. Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble. Goodnight,” Trixie finished amiably, settling back into her novel. Every page took her a little bit closer to home, and that was all she needed.

—

“TONY! TONY!” Trixie yelled, waving as hard as she could from the docks. “TONY!”

She was running, one hand wheeling her suitcase behind her as Brian lugged the rest, burdened with the weight of it all. As soon as they’d touched down back in Greece, with the sun just an hour away from rising, she’d purchased a garland of fresh flowers from a local street vendor on the mainland and was wearing them around her neck. They bounced as she ran, tangling over her white vest.

Tony, one of the sailors who took people back and forth from the mainland to the island, was a few feet out into the small stretch of sea, fishing by himself. Usually, he would only take passengers on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, but Trixie knew he’d make an exception for her. Much like many islanders, though he wasn’t one himself, he had watched Trixie grow up.

“EH? ÀNGELOS? IS THAT YOU?”

The nickname of ‘angel’ had arisen simply from her blonde hair, a trait which both Sharon and Trixie had. It was a little more uncommon on the island, of traditionally olive-skinned and dark-haired residents, so many referred to her in such a way. Brian, however, still grumbled that he needed to stop making a move on his almost-wife.

“You’re so stupid.” Trixie giggled, kissing his nose. “TONY? CAN YOU TAKE US HOME?”

Tony nodded, and in no time he had sailed back from his perch, handing his fish to one of the market vendors with a shrug. He and Brian carried their bags onto the little boat, and soon enough they were sailing in the early morning sun, ready to go home.

The warm sunshine and cool sea-spray on Trixie’s skin felt so nice. Of course, some of the places they’d been had the same kind of weather, but nowhere felt as right and as natural as her home did. Part of her was convinced that, at this point, she could memorise the exact pattern of the waves beneath her.

“I’m so excited. I feel like it’s been forever since we saw my mom.” Trixie breathed, spreading her arms wide to take in as much as she could.

“Almost four months.” Brian agreed. “Three and half, I think. Have you ever been away from her that long?”

Trixie shook her head. “Nope. I think a week might be the longest.”

“Christ.”

“I never needed to!” Trixie defended herself, laughing. “Anyway, it was probably for the best this time. She deserves some time to relax and celebrate with her new husband.”

Brian wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yeah, you’re right. Justin’s a cool guy, I need to hang out with him. You and Sharon can have a girly catch up, and we’ll have some bro time.”

“Sick of me already?” Trixie teased, mock-offended. “I’m kidding. But no offence to either of you, I don’t think you’ll be having bro time. You’re not exactly the bro type.”

Brian hummed. “I guess not. Man to man time, then.”

“If that’s what you wanna call it. Me and mom just call it, you know, friendship.” Trixie shrugged.

“That works too.” Brian said, and then burst out laughing. “Hey, look, land ahoy.”

Before Trixie could react to Brian’s statement, or make a dumb pirate joke as she normally would, she spotted the edges of the island beginning to form in the horizon. There it was, her home; tall and hilly and with white buildings and white sand and beautiful memories permeating the entire place. Her heart warmed at the mere sight of it.

“I’m home!” She trilled, squeezing Brian’s hand. “Oh my god, I’ve missed it so much. I’m home!”

Trixie squealed and bounced like a little girl for the entire rest of the journey, when Tony assisted their bags off and waved them goodbye. Within seconds, she’d discarded her shoes and was running in the sand, revelling in the knowledge that she was actually, really home.

“Trix? Bags?” Brian tried.

Same as before, Trixie wheeled her one suitcase up the steps, as Brian struggled with the rest of it. It was still early in the morning, so the two of them had time to creep into their new home and dump the luggage there. Sharon had fixed up one of the old parts of the hotel that was no longer used - a similar area to where she had raised Trixie - for the two lovers, as a wedding gift. They had their own little place, with two storeys and a balcony onto the sea, but they were never more than ten minutes from Sharon, should they need her help. Trixie knew they definitely would in the coming years.

“I always thought pink was the prettiest colour,” Trixie remarked, looking around at the teal that made up the entirety of their interior. “But this is seriously beautiful. I love it.”

She flopped backwards onto the bed, breathing deeply. “Mm, fresh sheets… and they smell of sandalwood! My mom is amazing.”

Brian laughed, throwing some clothes at Trixie so they could change out of their airport garb into something more topical. As the sun properly rose, filling the room with light, Trixie watched the sea ebbing and flowing. A sense of peace washed over her, like the tide erasing the stress of a day’s footprints along the beach. She was a clean slate.

After freshening up a little, Brian joined her on the balcony. Their view was amazing - they could see the whole of the beach, and a little of the courtyard where hotel guests ate and hung around during the day. As usual, the washing lines were all still strung up, with colourful sheets flapping around in the breeze.

“Sheets are still up. Your mom must be slacking.” Brian nudged her and grinned. “She’s usually up by now, isn’t she?”

Trixie shoved him, even though he was right. “Hey! She’s just gotten married, she deserves a vacation! Her idea of a vacation probably is starting work at six thirty instead of five, anyway.”

Not long after she spoke, Trixie spotted two figures walking into the courtyard. Though they had their backs to her, she knew exactly who they were instantly.

“There, see! Mom and Justin.”

Brian nodded appraisingly. “Guess you’re right. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. In a skirt, no less.”

For most people, the observation would’ve been a little pointless, but it made sense to Trixie. Sharon never wore the kind of long, flowing skirts that she was wearing today, preferring to wear practical clothing that she could work in. Her usual attire was denim dungarees, patched up at the knees where the material had worn thin from her constant toiling. It was beyond unusual to see her in a skirt, but Trixie thought nothing of it for the time being.

“Come on, come on, we have to go down and say hi! I can’t remember what they look like anymore.” She exaggerated, giggling. Her eyes lingered for a couple of seconds on the pair, tearing down the coloured sheets into baskets and laughing together, before she turned away.

“Hurry, Brian!”

They made their way down towards the courtyard as fast as they could, now unencumbered with bags and suitcases. A childish thrill was still holding Trixie’s chest, causing her heart to hammer and thump with sheer excitement. Even though she’d kept on about it, she truly hadn’t realised the extent of how much she’d missed home.

The sound of their footsteps skidding onto the stones caused both Sharon and Justin to turn in unison. Upon seeing her mom’s face, Trixie gasped in delight.

“Trixie! Oh, my baby girl!”

The two all but ran towards one another, hugging as tightly as they possibly could. Trixie couldn’t see, hear or smell anything other than her mom, the most amazing woman she’d ever known. Everything about her was home, especially the tight-squeeze of her full body hug. Trixie blinked back tears, just about managing to subdue them as they talked without breaking apart.

“Oh, my girl. I’ve missed you so much on all your adventures. You need to tell me everything,” Sharon rushed out, all of her words spoken into Trixie’s neck.

Trixie responded by squeezing even tighter. “Of course, of course. Oh, mom, it’s so amazing to see you again. I’ve missed you every single day.”

“You’ve been gone so long, my gorgeous girl. So many things I want to talk to you about.”

At last, Trixie pulled away from the hug, gazing lovingly at her mom’s face. As she had expected, she looked happier - younger, even, like she’d taken a dip in the fountain of youth. Her blue eyes were sparkling, and a pink flower was tucked into her hair, presumably by Justin.

However, her eyes didn’t stay searching Sharon’s face for long. They soon wandered down, noting the definite curve of her stomach that hadn’t been there before. As both Trixie and Brian stared at it, wide-eyed, Justin wrapped an arm around Sharon’s waist and tenderly kissed her temple.

“Welcome home, Trixie.” Sharon said, her voice impossibly soft.

Trixie’s mind was reeling. “Mom, you’re…”

“You’re not upset, are you?” Justin’s tone was gentle.

It took Trixie a moment to realize that they were nervous about her reaction. Sharon was chewing her lip, uncharacteristically insecure, and Justin was rubbing her back. He seemed to be hiding it better, though there was a hint of doubt in his usually-twinkling eyes.

“Upset?” Trixie asked incredulously. “How could… How could I be upset? You’re having a baby! You’re really pregnant!”

At that, Sharon’s face split into a grin, a mixture of relief and tearfulness all in one. Both Trixie and Brian rushed forwards to congratulate the pair. It was possibly the most unexpected news they could’ve heard, but Trixie was positively ecstatic about it. Images of a tiny baby had already started flitting into her mind. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would they have Sharon’s eyes, or Justin’s hair? For the second time that day, Trixie was sure she could feel her heart swelling with love.

“How long have you known about this?” Brian asked. Trixie was overjoyed to see the excited smile on his face, mirroring her own emotions.

Justin beamed. “We went to the twelve-week scan on Monday, so nearly thirteen weeks. It’s already been such an amazing ride.”

“You’ve seen nothing yet, babe.” Sharon laughed. “It’s not all fun and games and cold jelly. Well, not for me anyway.”

Justin shook his head. “Gross or ugly or whatever will happen, I’m here every step of the way. That’s the least you deserve.”

Brian frowned. “Correct me if my maths is wrong, however I had an incredibly comprehensive mathematical education back in Mother Russia so I doubt this frivolous linguistic formality very much, but twelve weeks is three months, yes?”

Sharon nodded. “Yes, I’m three months pregnant. Hence the slightly more forgiving loose skirt.”

“So this happened pretty much straight after the wedding? Justin, you sly dog.”

As they cracked up, Trixie protested. “Hey! Don’t call my dad a sly dog!”

She wasn’t sure why ‘dad’ had came out, nor why it sounded so natural, but it made her stop and smile briefly, her protest suddenly forgotten. Whether the genetics agreed or not, this was her dad, stood with her mom, and Trixie was going to have a little sibling.

From then on, they eased back into a somewhat altered version of their usual routine. Justin, it seemed, had insisted on taking on the physical work, so that Sharon didn’t have to. She still pottered around like mad, doing laundry and sweeping and cleaning and cooking for their few guests. Trixie had noticed a proper reception was now set up, with one singular computer, antennae and wifi-box courtesy of Willam, which meant that a few more people were beginning to hear about the place. There was currently a total of twelve - two groups of young vacationers that had heard about the place from the new-fangled website. It sounded small, but it was their most in years.

Each morning, after Sharon had taken down the dried laundry, folded it away and cooked breakfast for the guests, Trixie and Sharon would head down to the beach, to walk, relax and catch up in the sunshine. By lunch, Justin and Brian would’ve finished most physical work and they’d eat lunch as a family on the sand. Evenings were spent finishing off any odd jobs, Sharon cooking dinner for the guests, and then spending their free time however they wanted, but usually together.

It was perfect.

Justin, for one, was loving the new routine. He got to wake up next to his beautiful wife and spend the days with his daughter and her boyfriend, like a real family would. Of course, Sharon would always protest that it really wasn’t that glamorous, but Justin begged to differ.

He didn’t care that he had to hold back Sharon’s hair as she was sick, and rub her back, and clean up any stains where she hadn’t gotten to the toilet bowl on time. Though she told him he was crazy, he relished every moment of it. This was what he had missed beforehand. If anything, it tugged at his heart to remember that she had done this alone all those years ago. It would be awful of him not to be as involved as he was.

“God, I’m so lucky.” He’d said, the night that Trixie and Brian had returned. The couple were lying in bed, almost half-asleep until he’d spoken.

Sharon had smiled. “Why’s that?”

“It’s amazing.” Justin told her. “I have all the joy of a beautiful grown up daughter, and life-changing experience of raising a baby, and the most breathtaking wife I could ever imagine. As far as luck goes, I’ve got it all.”

At that, Sharon had blushed, even though it was hard to tell in the fading light of dusk. She’d curled up closer to him, guiding his hand towards her tummy as she lay her head on his shoulder.

“Three months… Wow. I couldn’t have predicted this if I tried.”

“Oh yeah?” Justin teased

“Yeah!” Sharon laughed. “You and me? Marriage? A baby? Twenty years ago, maybe, but now? It feels like a fever dream.”

Justin grinned. “I can assure you that you’re awake, doll. I’ve had to pinch myself every morning since I got here and you’re still here, so it has to be real.”

For the most part, Sharon seemed okay with his enthusiasm. He appreciated that she’d done this before, and knew a lot more than he did, but she seemed to be letting him fumble and learn and try to protect her anyway. Thankfully, she wasn’t too shy to let him know when he was being too much, and her stubbornness had helped to ensure that everything stayed the way she wanted it.

It wasn’t all too often that Justin was right over Sharon, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“You’re such a worrier! You’re just like Trixie, a little fusspot. I’m fine, pumpkin. I can handle myself.” She told him, shaking her head affectionately.

“But the repairs are gonna take at least the next few days. I don’t wanna leave you on your own-”

Sharon cut him off with an open palm. “Justin! I’m not gonna be alone, you know that. I have Trixie, Brian if I need him, and anyone else I can intimidate into helping me. I’m only holding down the fort, I’ve been doing this for well over a decade.”

Justin conceded; she was right, after all. Every time he glanced down at the bump, he felt an urge to sweep her up and protect her, but he knew inside she’d hate to be bubble-wrapped and treated like she was fragile. This was Sharon, after all.

So he headed off towards the back of the hotel, where one of the buildings had seen the roof collapse entirely. Something to do with rain, he had been told - rotting wood and the weight of the water had caused it to cave in. It would take a while, but it needed to be done and there was no way he would let Sharon do it.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. She was amazing at handiness and repairs, like she was amazing at everything. It just so happened that cooking and cleaning was amongst the skills that Justin wasn’t so good at, and Sharon’s guests didn’t deserve food poisoning. It made more sense for her to relax and take the easier jobs that he couldn’t do.

Over at the hotel courtyard, Sharon was mentally ticking off the list of jobs she needed to complete. The laundry had been taken down and folded into a basket, ready to be sorted and reused. Breakfast was done, and she was in the middle of serving it. There wasn’t a lot else to do, besides taking in any late arrivals. Maybe she could check her o-mails, or whatever they were called. Willam had set her an account up, and she was finding it quite fun to talk to him all the way in LA.

“Alright, two sausages, one egg and some beans for you…” Sharon stacked the plates along her arms, grinning at the young group of vacationers. University students, she guessed. “Traditional Greek salad… pain au chocolat… and some toast! Hope this is good enough!”

Ever since being put online - or was it on the line? She still wasn’t sure - Sharon had seen a surge in the amount of guests. Not too many, yes, but young people on gap years had begun to show up, having learnt of their whereabouts from the Internet. It was definitely brilliant for business.

“You know, I don’t understand why this place isn’t like, a five star booming business. It’s so nice here! So quiet!” One of the girls said.

Sharon smiled at her. “You’re sweet, thank you. No one really knows we’re here, we’ve just scraped by over the years. It’s nice to see new people.”

Another member of the group nodded. “I’ve been texting all my friends telling them that they have to come here. It’s not expensive and yet it’s worth, like, triple the price. This place is amazing!”

“Texting, that’s like o-mail, right? They’re similar?”

The group laughed. One girl volunteered, “Uh, it’s email… But yeah! Come look.”

Within minutes, the girls had pulled up a chair for her, and were scrolling through their phones, showing her bits and bobs she’d never remember. Texting was easy enough, but she didn’t understand some of it. Instant gram seemed confusing, as did Snapped Chat. Still, she had a lot of fun experimenting.

A little more time had passed than she’d anticipated, laughing with her new guests. It was only when she caught sight of the time, on tiny numbers on top of somebody’s screen, that she realized.

“Shit! My new arrivals were dropped off ten minutes ago! I’m the worst host…” She sprang up from her seat. “Sorry, ladies, it’s been really fun with your Twe- Twi- Twitter, but I gotta dash-”

Before she could go any farther than the centre of the courtyard, Brian appeared up the steps, leading the group of tourists with him.

“No worries, Sharon, I got them. Ladies and gents, this is Sharon, the hotel’s superwoman and owner. If you need anything at all - new towels, bedsheets, a friendly chat, advice on where to go, she’s your woman.” He introduced her, grinning the entire time.

Sharon swatted at him, before pulling him into a quick hug. “Yeah, sorry guys, it’s a little crazy. If you want to follow Brian to our new reception desk so you can sign in and sort your booking, I’ll be right there.”

Under Brian’s control, they headed out, many of them admiring her hotel as they went by. Sharon felt a feeling of pride sweeping through her. It had been hard, yes, and it had taken a lot of work, but she really had something to be proud of. Against all odds, she’d raised a child and managed to run a successful business. The payoff was so worth it.

One of the new guests hadn’t followed Brian, she was stood behind, where she had been at the back of the group. Sharon turned, about to ask the woman if she needed assistance, when all the blood drained from her face, and she stumbled.

“Sharon.”

Everything about her was what Sharon had sworn she would never have to look at again. Loose but smart clothing, telling of somebody who knew the climate well. Christ’s cross hung on a chain of silver around her neck. The same brown hair, though greyer than Sharon had last seen it, in the same twisted bun.

“No. You’re not here, I know you’re not. I’m imagining this.”

Sharon could see this very face in her mind, clear as day, yelling ‘I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU IN MY HOME AGAIN!’ at her. She remembered those same blue eyes looking at her with disgust, not love, and the way those same thin lips had pursed and curled. She remembered being pregnant and scared and cursing herself that somehow, twenty years later, the situation was exactly the same.

“Y-You’re trembling…” One of the young girls reached out to try and steady Sharon, but she only stumbled back further.

“God, she’s as white as a sheet…”

Unable to see straight, Sharon rubbed her temples, trying to make the black spots go away. It didn’t work.

“This isn’t happening.” Sharon said firmly, sure that if she believed it hard enough, it would be true. “You’re not…”

—

“SHARON FAINTED! COME QUICK!” Someone yelled.

“What?!” Both Trixie and Justin yelled in unison.

Bored with having nothing to do, Trixie had spent her time with Justin, helping him with some of the roof repairing. She’d learnt a thing or two from her mom - just enough to be a useful asset.

“She fainted? Fuck, I knew something like this would happen. Quick, come on Trix.” Justin breathed, dropping his tools as fast as she could.

Trixie bit her lip. “Should we just leave all this?”

“Yeah.” Justin decided, his face grim and marked with sweat. “Fuck the repairs, she needs us. We gotta go.”

“You’re right.” Trixie agreed, sprinting as fast she could alongside Justin. Sharon had been there for Trixie her entire life, and would continue to be. The least Trixie could do was be there for her.

As she ran, her heart pounded with fear. She knew logically that her mom would probably be fine, but the worry still had encased her chest in its icy cold fist. Sharon had never fainted before, especially not out of the blue. It was well known that she wasn’t shaken easily. Besides, she was pregnant. Even if she was fine, they needed to check on the baby. Trixie poured on the speed, thinking of her tiny sister or brother and her mom all at once.

“There you are!” Brian gasped, the messenger stood next to him, panting. “I… I don’t know what happened. I didn’t see it.”

All of the new guests, along with the current ones, were gathered in a circle around Sharon, who lay across three chairs in the courtyard. Trixie shoved past them, noticing Justin doing the same.

“I… I didn’t want to risk moving her too much, so I just put her here.” Brian explained, looking distressed. Trixie placed a calming hand on his back.

“Okay, that’s okay. Mom, I don’t know if you can hear me, but you’re gonna be fine.” She spoke quietly, her lips close to Sharon’s ear. Nearby, she could hear Justin taking control of the situation, making everybody clear off and go back to their vacation. The last thing they needed, or even wanted, was everyone gawking.

“Ma’am, that includes you. I know everyone is concerned but I can assure you her family are going to take care-” Justin was saying.

She looked up as he was cut off by the remaining guest.

“I’m her mother, and I should be here too.”

Trixie didn’t have time to make the connection in her head before she was freaking out. She knew this woman; they’d been sat next to one another on the plane. Her name was Joan, and she hadn’t seen it before but she really did bear an uncanny resemblance to…

“You need to go.” Trixie said, forcing urgency into her shaky voice. “You caused this. Get out!”

Joan squeezed her eyes shut, as though she were in pain. “I need to speak with my daughter, when she wakes up.”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that twenty years ago when she needed you. She doesn’t need you anymore.” Trixie replied curtly.

Justin sniffed haughtily in agreement. “She won’t speak to you. She has more respect for herself than that.”

“I know.” Joan said. Not once did she attempt to defend herself. “I have to talk to her, though. You said it so yourself, Trixie. There’s no way you can receive forgiveness without asking for it. No matter how scary, you have to try.”

Trixie scowled. “That was before I knew you were my grandma, the woman who made my mom’s life an unnecessary hell! You could’ve changed everything. I could’ve grown up with enough food on the table and a mom who wasn’t overworked to the breaking point. But I didn’t, because of you.”

“I know.” Joan said again. “I’m ashamed. But with the passing of her father, there’s no one left.”

Justin looked livid, far angrier than Trixie had ever imagined he could be. His eyes were fire, his jaw clenched as though he was exerting an extreme amount of control. Judging by his white knuckles, he was.

“She doesn’t have no one. She has a beautiful, intelligent daughter. She has a husband. She has a baby on the way. She doesn’t need you.”

“I need her.” Joan replied simply. “I’ve been awful to her, but a wise young woman who was raised by the most resilient person I know told me that I had to at least try. My husband’s dying wish was for us to have some kind of relationship after so many years apart. He wanted me to seek her out because he knew he didn’t have long enough left to do so himself. I’ll allow you to think on it, as I need to go to my room. Please, if she awakes, let me have one moment with her. That’s all I ask.”

With a deep sigh, Joan turned and walked away slowly. Trixie watched her back until she was gone, her chest heaving up and down with repressed anger.

“I don’t like this. Not one fucking bit.” Justin spat.

“Me neither.” Trixie agreed. “Why the fuck should she be allowed to waltz in after twenty one years of nothing?!”

Brian rubbed her hand gently, soothing her. “As someone who isn’t technically affiliated with Sharon in any way… I’m kinda looking at this objectively. Sharon’s mom wants to reconcile with her estranged daughter. This could be a chance to apologise and reunite, couldn’t it?”

“But twenty one years, Brian! Why now?”

Brian shrugged. “It’s as good a time as any, really. In a non-biased way, surely it’s better to apologise after two decades rather than never apologising at all?”

Neither Trixie nor Justin could formulate an answer. They didn’t even have a chance to try, as Sharon began to stir.

“I d-don’t know what happened, I-I was just stood up and then-” She spoke quickly, sounded disorientated. “What’s going on?”

Justin was the first one to her side, kissing her cheek and placing his hand on top of hers, resting on the bump. His concern was so genuine and tender that Trixie squeezed Brian closer to her, touched by it.

“You’re okay, baby. Just relax for a moment, before we delve into-”

Sharon bolted upright, moving so quick that both Trixie and Justin flinched back in surprise. Her face twisted into an expression of pure dismay, and she rested her head in her hands.

“Oh, god… she’s here, isn’t she? She’s really here.”

Unable to hear her mom sounding so dejected, Trixie knelt besides Justin. She had to try and cheer her up somehow.

“It’s alright, mom. It’s not a huge deal, right?” She tried. “I was- I was sat by her on our flight back. I never would’ve known…”

Sharon scowled. “I’ll bet she fucking knew. Fuck, Trix, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Trixie was confused.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel.” Sharon murmured. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why she’s here.”

The more Sharon spoke, worrying herself about the sudden arrival of her mother, the more Trixie started to come around to Brian’s idea. Truthfully, she didn’t think Joan deserved a chance to talk things out with her daughter, not after so long, but there wasn’t much else that they could do about it. Surely, she reasoned to herself, getting closure would be better than leaving things open ended like before. Speaking softly in order to try and keep the situation calm, Trixie expressed her thoughts. Justin pursed his lips.

“After everything she did?” He exclaimed. “I shouldn’t have left, but the least she could’ve done was looked after you. I didn’t know. She did.”

Sharon sighed heavily. “I know what you’re getting at, Trix, and you too, Brian, but… I don’t think you understand how scary this is for me. The last time I saw that woman’s face, I was eighteen years old, three months pregnant and not sure what my future would be. I’m in the exact same situation right now, just older.”

In a way, Trixie could understand it. She’d already been rejected once. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it a second time.

Brian cleared his throat. “Sharon, if you don’t mind… Again, I’m the outsider here. I’m not really part of this family.”

He waved off Trixie and Sharon’s attempts to reassure him that he was indeed a part of the family, and always would be.

“The way I look at it… yes, it’s been a long time, and yes, she fucked up bad. But she’s here now, in your home. She can’t reject you or hurt you here. All around her is the evidence of your success. You’re happily married, you have one and half kids - your life is something to be proud of. Make her see that. Let her be sorry.”

Sharon nodded fractionally, like she was afraid to agree. “I-I guess it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”

—

The past few months of Trixie’s life had seen more change than she had ever thought possible, and she loved it.

Her mom, for the first time in twenty years, was speaking to Joan. It was clear from the get-go that no matter what, the relationship would be tense and strained and awkward, but they were at least trying. Sharon had made it clear that she didn’t want her mom back in her life, and Joan was perfectly understanding, but they had talked. Talking was a good start.

From what she’d been told, Sharon had caught her up on everything that had happened, from the day she was kicked out until now. She had said her goodbyes to her mom at her dad’s funeral, feeling much more confident in her decision with the support of her family. Though the damage couldn’t be undone, the air was clear. A building weight of twenty years had been lifted.

Secondly, she’d watched excitedly as her life transformed around her. A baby sister, the doctor had said. Somewhere inside the bump, sleeping soundly, a tiny baby sister was waiting to meet her family, and Trixie couldn’t wait to see her. Hours and hours of her free time outside of the hotel were spent perusing shelves of clothing, fawning endlessly over little pink dresses and shoes and blankets.

Though related, the last and biggest change was the arrival of her sister.

Trixie remembered wondering how one tiny human could look so beautiful. She was a perfect porcelain doll, too pink and precious to be a real baby. As she was swaddled into a warm bundle of white blankets, blinking her big blue eyes at the world in front of her, Trixie swore she felt her heart doubling in size.

A lot of things had happened in Trixie’s life, with many differing opinions on them all. But one thing that everyone could agree on was that Aquaria was the perfect name.