#it sucks they were supposed to do their little thing together since before dan even joined :(

[emeritusterzo]

in tears maybe . over dan doing so much as mentioning punk, yeah

[yuukei-yikes]

Here’s a Harutaka ask for you! Do you think they’d get married? If yes what do you think their wedding would be like? Also I hope you feel better soon!

HIII if it isnt the little guy i watched slowly get into kagepro. whatsup. how are u holding up being into kagepro. ALSO THANK U im already a lil better i ate 1 single boiled egg and now im laying in bed

yes haruka and takane 10000% get so married. i have this silly headcanon that haruka is begging her from day 1 to get married because IDK he's just excited about being alive and takane liking him💗💗💗 and maybe he is also terrified of her changing her mind abt liking him and for some reason thinks getting married will solve that feeling of feeling not good enough for her💗💗💗 wait who said that. but takane's all like No haruka we're only like 20 and he's like AUUUUGGGHHH!!! fine

honestly its a hc born from a bit in the novels (im not sure u read them) where haruka says man i wish takane stopped swearing so much she's gonna have a hard time finding a husband💔💔💔 ITS SO FUNNY TO ME idk likeeee since he knew he'd die, he never imagined being an adult at all. this is more in the territory of the early twenties crisis he apparently has post str i guess. which is also hilarious.

i think haruka's like... he thinks of marriage of this weird alien thing bc as a teen he wont even entertain the idea of dating or anything bc HES DYING like he literally shoots down the acknowledgement of his feelings for takane BECAUSE he is dying. he's like man whats the fucking point if im just gonna die this sucks ASS

so marriage. well it's an adult thing. and he turns out to be alive!! and takane REALLY LIKES HIM FOR SOME REASON!!! and he's like WELL WERE ADULTS ARENT WE WHY THE HELL SHOULDNT WE GET MARRIED???? takane's like because we're BARELY adults like BARELY. and also IN SO MUCH NEED OF THERAPY. and haruka's like i dont see how that's related🙄🙄🙄 whatever takane ur such a bore🙄🙄🙄 its just a silly argument they laugh and tease each other about *rips hair out* theyre so CUTE AUGGHHH

yeah they do eventually get married. not IMMEDIATELY though but still probably rly young. like before their mid twenties young. LOL!!! as for a wedding i dont think they'd actually care about one??? because haruka and takane are really introverted ppl and being the center of attention mortifies both. well takane's used to attention bc streamer slay but its not. the same. like that's different BASICALLY i dont think takane would care to throw money in something like this and haruka is also like whatever man just sign the paper so i can officially be ur boywife. they still probably have like a little get together with the dan though. maybe they dont even tell them they're like OH BY THE WAY WE DID SOMETHING FUNNY TODAY wjxnoefuoendoefundkc call shintaro&ayano on the phone like can u come with us to sign as our witnesses. and shintaro and ayano are like WITNESSES OF WHAT? erm. haruka&takane engaged for exactly 14 hours when haruka asks takane to marry him for the millionth time and this time she's like uhhh. yeah alright👍

thats my harutaka wedding hc. that theyre too lazy to have a wedding🫡 ayano mourns it so much she's been like wedding planning her whole life for her siblings. seto&mary get ultra married as soon as theyre 18 im not getting into those hcs i already did but ayano goes so crazy with it. and then haruka&takane are next (tho years later) and ayano's like WH?? BUT IM?? SUPPOSED TO PLAN ANOTHER WEDDING????? WHAT DO U MEAN U WONT MAKE ONE???? and theyre like 🤷‍♂️ maybe she forces them and she organizes it alone and forces them to kiss in front of everyone and only then stops being annoying. sorry i love crazed wedding planner ayano

[indianamoonshine]

Strawberry | Chapter 13 | Common Tongue

Summary: This chapter is titled after a Hozier song. Take that as you will.

Rating: M. If I see anyone minor interacting with this or hear of anyone reading it, I will block your ass.

TAG LIST: @t3a-bag @lumimon47 @dodgerandevans @hallway5 @dancingwiththeplanets @steeevienicks @orneryscandallousandevil @ficthots @gaiusfrakkinbaltar @reginagina-blog1 @loveme-tenderly @lastphoenixrising @rattlemyb0nes @rebellou @alljusthumans @gaiuswrites @lovecatsnotpeople @literallydontlook

“I’m a virgin,” you had said to him one night.

It meant nothing.

It meant nothing because, to him, you were the same with or without having slept with someone. Din knew that - had you chose him - it would be an honor. He would think no differently of you either way, and that even if the two of you never had sex, he was glad to have met you.

Now he thinks he may be addicted.

Part of him really wishes that you hadn’t gone this far; that the innocence would have lasted until whenever it was that he forced to leave. Because now he was in over his fucking head.

Behind the shed, you’d grabbed his hand and palmed yourself against the cotton of your underwear. The song of cicadas did a humbling job of masking your little pants or the way you whimpered beneath him. And, sure, Din did everything in his power to break traditional norms, but he wasn’t going to fuck you behind a shed for the first time. His heart broke when he separated himself from you and you whined underneath your breath in protest.

“Come on,” he huffed, lungs attempting to keep up. “Let’s go.”

|

Three minutes.

That’s how long it took to run from the main house to the cabin. Three goddamned minutes was a record. You don’t recall running that fast since becoming an adult. If your high school gym teacher has witnessed the velocity in which you just sprinted, she’d be amazed.

It was good old fashioned motivation.

Fortunately, Din’s barely taken his hands off of you so he managed to catch your clumsy ass when you tripped over the lip of the front door. The two of you had chuckled against the other before he asked, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” you giggle. You place a hand upon your cheek in feign distress. “But I think I may need to lay down…”

Your tone, which is laced with suggestive demure, has Din raising a brow. “Oh yeah?” he growls.

You nod sweetly, lips still pressed against his. “Mm hm.”

|

You’re so goddamn beautiful.

When he presses you against the plushness of the sheets, he admires the way your hair fans about you and frames your face. Your cheeks are flushed and your lips plump from his kiss, the natural pout of them more pronounced now that he’s bitten and sucked at the flesh. The brilliance of your skin glows beneath the yellow light, neck joining the expanse of your bust which heaves with endurance. He kisses down your pulse point until he reaches the neck of his t-shirt.

His t-shirt.

“Can I?” he whispers against the hollow of your neck, fingering the edge of the fabric.

“Yes.”

|

You’ve never been this exposed to anyone other than the occasional friend (when changing) or your sisters (also when changing). It’s been so long since you’ve gone outside of yourself - into the very thick of reality - so when he asked if he could reveal you to it, the urgent “yes” surprised yourself.

Still - it’s another kind of anxiety; not violent, but in the way. When he’s stripped the shirt from your body - carefully, as though he were unwrapping a priceless antique - it’s a natural instinct to cover yourself, confident of the way you weren’t.

“Take all the time you need,” he whispers against the flesh of your neck. “I’m a patient man.”

It should’ve been enough and maybe in an alternate universe it was. Maybe that version of you threw all misogynistic beauty standards out the window into the night, but in this present day-in-age, you took a minute to go over the mental checklist. What if you weren’t to his standards? What was the situation like down there? What would you do if he wasn’t all that you decided him to be?

How long would it take to heal from that?

Before your mother died she took your hand and made you promise: I will do everything I can to feel joy, as fleeting as it may be. There are lessons to be learned. She’d made you chant it in a monkish way, as though preforming a ceremony in the sterility of a hospital room strung with cheap tinsel and a sad, plastic tree at her bedside. You’d understood what she meant then like the way a student might understand the components of Ancient Greek; not until it is utilized can its full potential make any sense at all.

The philosophers - and your mother - be onto something.

|

Something like a muffled version of his name slips lazily through your lips. And while it’s dissected, pulled apart with a lazy and tense breath, it’s the first time his name has sounded poetic. Din never thought of himself this way; that his person could ever inspire such an organic response as the way you unwound beneath him. He’s laid with women before - three, he thinks - but he’s not positive he’s ever experienced a woman before.

Xian was good at what she did and she knew it; Din wasn’t oblivious to that but it lacked a certain something. The other times his body has been weaved together with another’s was faceless; just hookups he’s tried so desperately to forget. Hazy nights in which he woke up to in the morning, their backs to him, and identity indistinguishable. Eventually he just stopped trying.

It wasn’t until now with your fingers clutching at his hair that he realized how the act - the very dance itself - could be purifying. How it could wash away the very worst of similar experiences and how it made something that always felt cheap now priceless. The body is a temple, his elders would always say, and it never made any sense to him. The body is a fortress made to withstand hurricanes and torpedos. It was no place to kneel, to worship, to inspire anything other than sheer refuge.

How ironic, as kneeling was the very thing he was doing now.

Irony wasn’t the word. Fateful, he supposes, as he tastes the fruit that’s always been so forbidden to him. Your thighs clench around his head and the fingers that have been stroking his hair grip the sheets, white knuckling the starched weave, until a gasp is caught in your throat. And then there is nothing but the pressure of ignition until it crumbles around you, fizzing the air with something akin to champagne bubbles.

There is no nasally whine that follows afterwards like there always had been before you. No wild “yes!” that pollutes the air. Just the instability of a weakened chest, the grasping at air, and the delicious feel of your hand enveloping his after having pulled it from your sex.

|

You weren’t a stranger to penetration though this was was with exceptions; no one had ever done anything to you with foreign or, well, domestic objects. At the age of eighteen, your friends at the time had dragged you to the building on the east end of town that never officially existed until legality said that it did. La Boudoir Rouge was the place ‘vodka aunts’ went to cure the blues, bought mysterious items, and then hid the pink bags in the back of their closets.

So, yes; sex was a foreign exchange policy you’ve never found yourself involved in, but you knew the dynamics. You’d bought equipment and even enjoyed it more than you’d initially expected. Penetration wasn’t at all strange to you.

This made it easier, you think, as Din finally slides in. There was a stretch of course, and it took you a moment to get comfortable enough to brave any movement. Din drops his forehead upon yours, letting out a strangled breath through his nose, as you struggle to come to terms with the size. He’d given off an energy but…

“It’s so big,” you gasp once he reaches the spongey part of you. It feels stupid, it falls short on a botched intake of breath, but it’s the truth.

Din’s composing himself, silent in his endeavor to mold himself within you. His arms are pressed on either side of you, body flush against yours with his pelvis meeting your pubic bone. There’s another moment of silence before he kisses at your temple.

“Are you okay?” he whispers.

A smile graces your lips, though your eyes are clenched. “That’s an understatement.”

|

The pace is fast, sweat inspiring. It drips down your neck until it falls in the valley of your breasts and Din wants so badly to lick it from your skin, but he’s too distracted by the way you clench around him. It’s ironclad - it’s the best goddamn pussy he’s ever had.

He wants to tell you that but he’s unsure of how you’d react. You’ve been letting out delicious gasps and moans reaching an octave you’d never reach sober, but not you’re coherently vocal enough for him to say it outright.

And then you breathe it in a pathetic whine: “It’s yours, Din. It’s yours.”

He almost stops, but his body is hellbent on seeing this through. Whatever the fuck this was; a spiritual experience maybe. Perhaps he’d died after the last mission - broken and buried underneath mounds of dirt - and now rests in paradise where he fucks his way through eternity.

A raw, animalistic response possesses him, the fistful of flesh from your hips is replaced by the swell of you cheeks. He embraces you softly, but sternly enough to incite a whimper.

“What was that, chica bonita, huh?”

You throw your head back as he slams his hips against yours with more force, the excitement conjuring a great wave of adrenaline coursing through his veins. You try to speak but it fails to materialize.

He was balls deep and you were still shy by your interjection.

“What’s mine, sweet girl?” he whispers, mouth tickling along your collarbones. The contrast of gentle words and barbaric thrusts is something he’s never experienced during sex. Ever.

You let out one more mouthwatering whine before saying: “My pussy is yours, Din. Take it. Please, please…”

|

Suffice to say, that’s what does it. The two of you cum at the same time, like a synchronized dance, clutching one another so tightly it leaves red ribbons. Your fingernails had dug into his forearms and his at your waist in which his hands wrapped around. He lets out a deep, broken growl as you whimper, shaking like a leaf, and he pulls out just in time to paint your belly with pearlescent threads.

He collapses on top of you, knocking the wind from your fragile body. You’re absolute jelly beneath him, crumbled into bits, and would never be the same. Let’s stay here forever, you want to tell him.

Din presses his face into the hollow of your neck, listening to the rapid pulse beneath flushed and thin skin. Then he kisses the blood flow beneath once, twice. “My gorgeous girl…”

Stay with me. Stay with me.

You wrap your arms - which have settled from the convulsions - around his neck and hug him tightly against you.

Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.

[story-courty]

For wrapped fics…. 61

Mmkay, this one should be fun!

Number 61 on my Wrapped list is "Lately" by Dan + Shay, a darling little song about a couple who have been so busy they haven't had a minute of time to truly appreciate each other.

And we're back on the Juke train since I'm fairly sure this song is safe!

(the guys are alive for this because writing in canon is hard).

Life. Was. Psychotic.

Between tours, press releases, deadlines, talk shows, and fan experiences, Julie and the Phantoms had taken the world completely by storm.

But even as they brought the world together, their own worlds were slowly falling to the side.

Especially Luke and Julie. They'd eloped on a whim after Julie's twenty-first birthday, right before the world completely exploded, and ever since it felt like they got to see each other maybe once a month. And not just "official band business see each other," because, come on, they and the boys were together all. the. time.

No, it was "married see each other" they were missing, those quiet moments where it was just the two of them. They missed eating cold takeout for breakfast, and making cookies in their underwear, and spending an entire day in bed reading a book together. Luke couldn't remember the last time they did any of that.

One night he came to bed and saw Julie had gone to sleep with her phone open. An article titled, "Julie Molina: Preggo or Fatso?" in blazing red letters over a very unflattering (and likely doctored) picture of Julie walking out of their favorite restaurant was open, and it only took one look for Luke to see that, even in sleep, tears trailed down Julie's face.

Oh. Hell. No.

Normally she let those things roll off and whispered to him that he thought she was beautiful and that was enough.

But when was the last time he'd told her she was beautiful? Or told her that everything about her still drove him completely crazy? Or that he still had a hard time focusing during performances, even after all these years performing together, because Julie distracted him?

He knew there wasn't much he could do about the article; public figures didn't have the same protection against libel and slander as private citizens. But there was something he could do for Julie.

So he made a plan.

He secretly cancelled everything the band had planned for an entire week (Andi would have a fit, but Luke was about ten miles past caring), let the guys know they could spend some time with Flynn and Willie, and turned off all of his and Julie's alarm clocks after Julie had gone to bed.

For the first time in months, Julie woke up slowly, wrapped in Luke's arms, completely and totally relaxed.

Until she saw the clock.

"Luke! We're late!"

He groaned and pulled her closer. "For what?"

"Everything!"

He shook his head and refused to let her get up. "We're not late for anything, I promise."

"How?"

Luke took a deep breath and rubbed at his eyes. "We have the week off."

"Again, how?"

He grinned. "Me. I cancelled everything, and for the next seven days, it's just you and me. And we're going to do this every month from now on, okay?"

Julie rolled over in his arms and settled back into her pillow. "What made you pull a stunt like that?"

He reached up and ran a finger down her cheek. "I saw the article last night."

Horror widened Julie's eyes. "Luke, don't-"

He shook his head. "Nope, none of that. Whoever wrote that sucks as a human being, and I'm not about to let them have the last word." He leaned forward and caught her lips in a long, lingering kiss. "I don't care what that article says, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And I'll be damned if I let you believe anything less. I'm just sorry I haven't told you in such a long time. But I'm going to love you exactly as you deserve for the next week. And for forever after, too."

He kissed her again, and Julie pulled him closer, rolling until he hovered over her. "Well," she whispered, breaking away for a breath, "I suppose I could use a few showers of affection..."

Luke smiled and pressed a kiss to the hollow of her throat. "Mmhm."

"And you could, too."

He lifted his head. "Definitely, but why do you say that?"

She nodded toward her phone. "That article? It was only half wrong."

"I... I don't..."

"I have gained a little weight lately... But it's not from a sudden love of fried food..." She shot him a crooked smile and shrugged a shoulder.

Luke's eyes widened. "No..."

She nodded and moved his hand to her stomach. "Yep."

Luke grinned and nuzzled into her cheek. "Best. Vacation. Ever."

send me a number, I'll send you a fic idea from my wrapped list!

[imagine-that]

Win you back

Pairing: Carter Baizen x Bass!reader

Warnings: a little angsty, kinda sad at some parts, bad writing tbh 🤪🥴🙃

AN: I have been working on this for WAYYYYYYYYYY too long for it to suck this much

“Babe I’m here.” You call, walking into the kitchen of your boyfriend’s family’s home.

You walk around the penthouse, looking for him. Finally his mother appears, eyes glued to her phone.

“He’s in his room.” She mutters, walking away before you can even say thank you.

You shrug to yourself, knowing better than to bother her at all. Turning the corner, you make your way over to his room.

It seemed as though you were always there. His parents were used to you just walking in, as was the maid.

“Hey Baby, your mom told me you were in here and-.” You start as you enter the doorway, stopping when you see the mess of his bedroom. His clothes are tossed all over the place, empty hangers fill the closet and the thing that really makes you stop is the duffel bag laying across the bed.

“Oh! Hey y/n...” He says as he walks out of the en-suite, looking surprised to see you.

“Hi... what’s- what’s all this?” You ask, a feeling of unease settling into the pit of your stomach.

“I,” he begins, tossing some of the clothes and other junk into the bag as he speaks. “Am leaving. I’m sick of this place. And of all this stupid glamour.” He finishes, a smile on his face as he finally looks up at you for the first time since you’d gotten there.

“Oh? And where are you off to then?” You ask with a playful smile of your own, hands on your hips.

“Anywhere I want to.” He responds.

You grin, sitting down on the bed. “Sounds like fun. What if I, say, came with you?” You ask, looking over at him hopefully.

“No!” He exclaims, making you jump a little. “Sorry, I just mean no.” He sighs.

“And why not?” You ask with a frown, feeling a little bit hurt.

“Like I said, I want to get away from all of the stupid glamour.” He mutters, looking back at his things.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You demand with a scoff.

He groans, finally looking over at you again.

“I mean, you’re a part of this place.” He blurts, looking away again as your bottom lip starts to tremble.

“W-what?” You ask sadly.

“You’ve faded into all the glamour y/n. You’re exactly like all the spoiled, gossiping rich girls at Constance.” He cries, shaking his head a little.

“Excuse you?” You demand, glaring over at him.

“I need to get away. From you, from this city, from the money hungry people. It’s nothing personal.” He shrugs nonchalantly, as though he hadn’t just single handedly shattered your heart.

You march up to him, slapping him hard across the face.

“I can’t believe I’ve wasted so much time on someone who would talk about me or my friends like that. Go to hell Carter.” You hiss, tears stinging your eyes as you storm out the door, letting it slam harshly behind you.

You quickly walk back to the elevator and press down, not looking back at all.

—————————————————

Stepping off the platform you sigh, looking around you at the familiarities of the old train station. Memories come flooding back, making you remember the pain and suffering you endured while you were last in New York.

Much like Serena, you’d ran away from your problems. You figured bits of your shattered heart could probably still be found around the city, fragments of your past turned to dust by now.

“Hey! You’re finally here!” Serena exclaims excitedly, pulling you in for a tight hug.

You laugh softly, embracing her and her sickeningly sweet perfume before grabbing your suitcase from behind you.

“Hey. It’s great to be back.” You say, looking around almost hopefully.

“He isn’t here.” She says simply.

You sigh, beginning to walk with her quietly.

“I figured he wouldn’t be.” You say softly, a sad smile appearing on your face.

“He’s not even in New York anymore. It’s like he disappeared or something. So I’m sure you won’t see any of him. Definitely not at the ball.” She assures you, squeezing your arm in support.

“Yeah. Probably not.” You hum absentmindedly. You shake your head a bit, blinking yourself out of the past. “Whatever. Where’s my idiot of a big brother anyway?” You ask, forcing a smile to spread across your lips.

“Surprisingly, he’s not at the empire. He’s actually at cotillion rehearsal.” She says with a roll of her eyes, making you giggle a little.

“Oh? I’m shocked.” You laugh as the two of you climb into the back of the car parked outside just for you.

The drive is silent, you looking out the window in thought of the past and Serena on her phone, leaving you be. She knew better than anyone, even your brother, how much you needed space when it came to thinking of him.

“So, who’s your escort to the ball tonight?” You ask, trying to fill the silence.

“Oh, I’m not going. I just didn’t take much interest in it anymore.” She says with a shrug.

“Ah. I’m sure Cece is pleased.” You say teasingly, smiling a bit.

“I haven’t told her yet but I’m sure she’ll understand.” She says and you raise an eyebrow but she merely shrugs.

After dropping your luggage off back at the hotel, the two of you go off to the dance studio where you find the majority of your old schoolmates in the middle of dance practice, twirling and switching partners with ease.

You watch as your brother dances around with the girls who, to no ones surprise, were practically drooling over him along with his best friend.

“Oh great, y/n is back.” Blair says sarcastically as she comes over and pulls you into a hug, making you laugh a bit.

Though Blair could be hostile, she and Serena had become your honourary family over the years which happened to mean you were used to it.

“Hi B. Good to see you too.” You say with a smile, leaning back against the wall.

“Why aren’t you getting your ass out there? I thought you were taking part in cotillion this year.” She asks.

You let out a sigh and push a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Yeah I was. Then... I just don’t feel it anymore I guess.” You say with a shrug and a half smile. She nods a bit, understanding what you mean. She quickly rushes back into the crowd and continues with the dancing, smiling apologetically your way as she glides past.

“So why are you here if you’re not going?” You ask Serena, not taking your eyes off of the couples.

“I’m meeting with grandma and Dan so they can meet.” She explains and you nod, following her through the bodies of dancing teenagers as she goes running over to the boy you’d heard so much about.

“Oh, Dan this is y/n, Chucks little sister. Y/n, this is Dan, my boyfriend and his little sister Jenny.” She introduces with a smile.

Dan waves awkwardly and you nod in greeting, too busy watching the dancers to speak.

As much as you didn’t want to take part in the cotillion, you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the traditions of the whole thing. The dancing was the best part, something magical about moving in sync with everyone else in the room.

Lily enters the room, talking on the phone with one of the many organizers of the event. She lectures them for a moment about how Cece wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t have it exactly her way.

You for one, knew for a fact that that was true.

“Y/n, darling you’re back.” She exclaims as she slips her phone in her bag, hugging you quickly.

“Yeah I figured it was about time and you know there’s no time like the present.” You tell her with a smile and she smiles back warmly.

The two of you chat for a moment but soon Cece arrives and Lily is back to being busy with her planning and with her family.

You stand by your lonesome, swaying to the music as you watch your old friends together, ignoring the nagging feeling of nostalgia tugging at your heart.

When the music stops, your brother comes waltzing over to you with a sly grin.

“Ah so my baby sister finally decides to return to society.” He comments and you roll your eyes, smiling a bit.

“Oh shush. I was away at school, not dead.” You giggle, hugging him tightly. He reluctantly hugs back, knowing you wouldn’t let go unless he did.

To many people, your brother was cold and closed off and a perve. To you, he was a big old softie with a wall around his heart, keeping him closed off to anyone he felt necessary. Still a perve, you knew that much. Just not around you.

“Let’s go runt, you’ll see everyone later.” He says, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

“Yeah yeah. See ya Serena.” You call over your shoulder and she smiles and waves as you walk away.

——————————————————

That night as you sit at the hotel painting another coat of nail polish over your toes, your phone starts ringing. You pick it up, holding it close to your ear and carefully putting down the brush.

“Hello, y/n speaking.” You say, listening for a response.

“Hello darling. It’s Cece.” The woman you remembered so well says sweetly from the other end.

“Oh hi Cece. I’m sorry we didn’t have the chance to catch up earlier.” You say, sitting up a little straighter even though you know she’s not actually in the room with you.

“It’s fine dear, don’t even mention it. I just called to ask if you would consider helping me plan the rest of the cotillion. You always have had an eye for detail, I’d love to have you there as a second opinion.” She asks hopefully.

You look out the large window at the darkened New York sky, pondering your options.

“I’d love to.” You reply, already regretting your decision.

“Oh lovely. The tea that Blair is throwing is tomorrow so you can come with Serena and we’ll discuss it then.” She says.

“Alright, I will be there. Goodnight Cece.” You say back sweetly, not bothering to mouth your confusion to Serena coming to tea. She says a quick goodnight and hangs up the phone.

You sigh, wondering why you decided this was a good idea.

A few hours later, your brother once again comes barging into your room without so much as a knock.

“Chuck, you do realize there’s a door there for a reason right?” You ask him, moving over to make room for him to sit down.

“I’m aware.” He replies.

“Then why didn’t you use it? For all you know I could’ve been changing.” You remind him with your arms crossed over your chest.

“Oh please. I have girls around here often enough that you know not to leave the door open when you’re changing in case I have company.” He says with a doubtful eyebrow raised.

“I’ve also been gone for about a year. What if I had forgotten?” You point out.

He rolls his eyes. “I know you. You have a good memory, you don’t forget anything.” He says simply and you shrug, knowing he’s right.

“Alright then. What exactly did you need?” You ask, leaning back into the pile of pillows behind you.

“”I heard you’re helping with cotillion. You sure you can handle that?” He questions, examining your face for any sign of upset.

“I’ll manage thanks. How’d you even know about that so fast?” You ask, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“A little Waldorf told me.” He says with a smirk.

You make a disgusted expression and smack his arm with a pillow, recoiling a bit.

“That is one of my best friends you’re talking about. And she’s technically your best friends girlfriend. You’re lucky I don’t like drama otherwise I’d have told Nate by now.” You scold seriously.

Chuck scoffs. “You’d betray your own brother like that sis?” He asks, feigning hurt.

You nod. “He’s also one of my best friends. I definitely would.” You say as you pull a blanket over your body.

He laughs a bit, rolling his eyes. “Always the loyal one sis.” He remarks sarcastically before making his way out of your room.

You curl up more, trying to get yourself used to to living in your fathers hotel instead of a quaint dorm room again.

After a few hours of fitful tossing, turning and overthinking, you finally drift off.

——————————————————

“Ah y/n, there you are!” Cece exclaims as you come out of the elevator to Blair’s penthouse.

You’d decided against coming with Serena when she’d told you she was coming with Dan, not feeling like being a miserable third wheel.

“Hi Cece.” You greet with a welcoming smile, pulling your bag over your shoulder a little more.

She gives you a moment, rushing around as you pull off your coat and put it down with your purse and then she comes rushing back, clearly enthralled with the planning.

“Alright dear, I’ve had one of the other volunteers set up a table over here for you to work at. You can also participate in the tea of course, it’s just until everyone else arrives.” She instructs and you nod, taking a seat at the table she pointed out.

You sit there for a good hour, working out the last minute details Cece had no clue what to do with.

By the time you’re finally through everything, the majority of the debutants are sitting in Blair’s living room, listening to Ceces stories in complete fascination.

You recognize the story shes telling and decide it would be a good time to get food, walking over to where you see Dorota standing, ready to help anyone who needed it.

“Hi Dorota!” You say happily, having missed her more than most others. She was always happy to see you over with Blair and Serena when you were young.

“Oh miss y/n! It’s been so long.” She says cheerfully, pouring you a cup of tea.

You gladly take it, chattering a bit with Dorota until she has to get back to work.

You stand in a corner by yourself, not wanting to bother anyone as you try to listen to more stories but your train of thought continues to go back to the time where you were happier than ever on the Upper East Side.

Your thoughts are interrupted as you hear the one name you thought you’d never have to hear again.

“Serena darling, this is Carter Baizen. Your escort for tomorrow night.” Cece introduces and you feel your heart practically stop and you swear you hear it’s slow cracking.

How you hadn’t noticed him with her at all before Serena arrived, you had no clue. You didn’t really care either. You just wanted to be able to disappear into the floors and never come back here.

Memories flood through your brain, making you wince a bit as you feel the starts of an incoming headache.

“Y/n are you ok?” Isabelle asks, clearly concerned.

You wave a hand as best you can, feeling like your feet are glued in place.

“Yeah totally fine. Just busy you know?” You offer, forcing yet another smile.

She nods slowly, clearly not completely buying your response but obviously not caring enough to pester you for more of an answer.

Knowing better than her minions ever did, Blair hurries over to you as subtle as possible.

“Oh my god, I cannot believe he’s here.” She murmurs, sneering at his back. “The nerve of that boy. Are you ok?” She asks, turning back to you with a much softer expression.

“Fine. Nothing I can’t handle.” You mutter, staring down at the floor and away from your former love.

“Are you sure? Because I can have him thrown out of here if you want. It’d be more mercy than he deserves but.” She asks, trailing off a bit.

You smile weakly, squeezing Blair’s hand a bit.

“As oddly sweet as that is B, I’m fine. I swear.” You respond. She sighs, clearly bored by the idea of not being allowed to mess with him.

You usher her away, knowing how badly she wants to go mingle and walk over to the food, grabbing something you can shove into your mouth.

“Very classy y/n.” A voice says from behind you and you turn around, looking at him wide eyed with your mouth full. You quickly swallow the food in your mouth, trying not to choke in the process.

“Baizen. I’d say it’s good to see you but I’d be lying.” You mutter, crossing your arms over your chest to keep from figetting too much.

“Ah, the classic Bass hospitality I see.” He notes sarcastically, his overly confident smirk in place.

“I save it just for you.” You retort with an icy smile.

“Ah yes, that’s exactly what I thought.” He replies, popping an appetizer into his mouth.

“Oh because you know me so damn well.” You mutter bitterly, voice dripping with sarcasm.

He rolls his eyes. “Yes actually, I like to think I do.” He says, lowering his voice so only you can hear him.

“Well, you thought wrong but are we really that surprised about that?” You growl, narrowing your eyes in his direction.

“What are you doing here Carter, no one here likes you.” You ask bluntly.

“It seems Cece does. And besides, I was asked.” He replies nonchalantly, taking a teacup filled with something that is definitely not tea.

“Oh please, Cece only asked you because you were once the model son. She just hasn’t seen your true colours yet.” You hiss with a smile still grazing your lips.

He scoffs, watching in amusement as you walk away gracefully, walking over to find Cece.

By the time you find her, Carter has already been talking with her for a while. You scowl at him before plastering on a smile and aiming it in Ceces direction.

“Oh y/n dear, perfect timing! Carter was just about to tell us all about his endeavours!” She says excitedly as she guides you and the other girls over to a seat around the Waldorf coffee table.

Though you try to excuse yourself several times, you’re forced to sit and listen to Carter boast about his travels, making small and nearly unnoticeable digs at Serena every now and then, trying to gauge a reaction from her.

You feel a twinge of hurt, wondering where they could have possibly been travelling together and why it was such a big deal to him.

“I can still kick him out.” Blair singsongs in your ear as she passes by again. You laugh, rolling your eyes a little.

“B, it’s fine.” You assure her for the hundredth time, hoping it’s believable.

She walks off with a shrug and you stand, not sure how much more of his voice you can take.

Excusing yourself, you walk back over to the table and drown your sorrows in tea and the last minute cotillion details.

——————————————————

“Ok so the girls line up on the stairs and wait to be announced-“ Cece begins, pointing out the places as she explains.

“Cece, I’ve seen so many of these since I was a little kid. I know how they go.” You promise, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

“Alright dear, I have to go get ready so I’ll leave you to it, feel free to change in the bathroom over there if you don’t have to time to go home.” She instructs, waving as she walks over to the door.

You finish setting up after a few hours, quickly rushing into the bathroom and changing into the sleek y/f/c dress you’d brought with you, knowing full well you didn’t have time to get back to the hotel and change.

You fix up your hair and apply a layer of lip gloss before walking out, shoving your makeup bag, clothes and anything else you’d brought into your bag and discreetly placing it in the coat room along with everyone else’s things.

Walking out into the ballroom, you find all the girls and their escorts on the stairs. Quickly, you fix them into the order of their names being called and Jenny rushes around you to help Serena with her statement.

“Hey beautiful. What’s wrong?” You hear Carter say as Serena frowns down at the paper in her hands. You feel another twinge of hurt at the name.

“Serena, either fix your statement or live with it but I have to get it back to the announcer so please hurry.” You mutter, rushing past to fix all the others order and such.

You quickly go down the lineup, fixing the ties of the escorts too lazy to do it themselves, cursing yourself for getting involved in the event in the first place.

As you work you way through them, you fill with dread as you reach Carter.

“Need any help?” You hiss icily, glaring at his blue eyes.

“Please?” He asks cockily, grinning a little as you stand on your tiptoes to fix his tie.

“You know y/n, I’d much rather be escorting you, no matter how beautiful Serena may be.” He murmurs, gazing into your own eyes.

You bite your lip to keep from shouting at him, quickly untieing the knot he’d made and delicately redoing it to a satisfactory level.

“Should’ve thought of that before I was dead to you.” You whisper before moving on down the rest of the line.

You can’t help but feel his eyes watch your every move as you lean close to several of the helpless boys to fix their messy tie jobs.

Finally you finish and walk over to stand with Jenny, watching the cotillion.

It goes perfectly until they arrive at Serena’s statement. You cover your face with your hands in horror the more the announcer reads, cringing at the thought of Ceces reaction.

You knew the minute it was read that it was Carters doing and you felt yourself fill with rage once again.

You stand to the side with your arms folded in frustration while you watch the debutantes dance around the ballroom contently.

Once the dancing had begun, everything was back to its initial perfection and you felt yourself not only mentally but also physically relax, letting your shoulders release the tension you’d hardly noticed until then.

Suddenly, a boy you’d never seen before comes up to you, offering a hand and asking you to dance with him.

Not wanting to be rude, you nod, taking his hand in yours and walking over to the dance floor.

He places a hand on your waist, a little too close to your ass for your comfort but you ignore it, not fully caring as you get into the proper position for yourself.

But before you can even start moving, you notice Carter coming towards you from the corner of your eye, looking like an angry and jealous version of himself.

Before you have the chance to stop him or even register what’s happening, Nate stops him dead in his tracks and punches him in the face. The two start fighting to the ground before you pull yourself together, walking over and helping one of the other poor organizers pull them apart from each other.

“What the hell was that?” You growl at Nate.

“He was making a move on Blair.” He mutters back, fighting against your already weak grip.

You heave a sigh, smacking his arm.

“You’re an idiot! He has no interest in Blair. That I am sure of.” You exclaim, trying to drag him away from the party to prevent even more of a scene than he already made.

Ignoring everything else going on around you, you get one of the other escorts to help you drag him up to the entrance.

You run a hand through your hair and leave him there without another word, on your way back up the stairs when you see Serena taking care of Carter in the hallway. You stop where you are, hiding behind a wall.

Listening in, you feel a bunch of twinges of hurt when you hear him tell her that it hurt when she left him alone.

Wiping away a tear and taking a deep breath, you walk over, hands on your hips.

“Serena, you can get back to the party if you’d like. I can handle this.” You suggest, barely looking over at Carter.

“Oh... uh, ok. Sure. Sorry again.” She says to Carter before walking quickly away, her heels clicking on the floor.

“So...” Carter says, holding the ice to his eye.

“I knew someday you’d get socked in the face, I just figured me or my brother would be the one to do it.” You joke, sitting down next to him and grabbing the ice, gently dabbing it on his eye yourself.

“And I would’ve deserved it.” He admits, a ghost of a smile on his face.

You laugh a little, looking down at your lap. “Yes you would have.” You agree, feeling very reminiscent of the moments you’d spent together.

“I missed that laugh.” He says with a slightly bigger smile.

You roll your eyes. “Always the charmer, huh Baizen?” You tease, a soft smile on your lips.

“I suppose so, though, I never seem to charm the girls I really want.” He shrugs.

“Carter... those things you said... they- they hurt. They hurt a lot.” You start, tears in your eyes.

He looks away, a frown on his face.

“Yeah... I realized that after I said them. I regretted everything after I said it. I don’t know what made me decide to.” He sighs, running his hands through his hair.

“You were a total asshole. I’m still kind of glad Nate punched you.” You murmur with a small smile.

He chuckles a little. “Yeah I was. I hope you don’t think I still am.” He says sort of sheepishly.

You laugh a bit, a hand on his shoulder.

“What?” He asks, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Just remembering Nate socking you in the face.” You continue giggling, a smile taking over his face as you do.

“It isn’t that funny! But I’m glad you think so.” He chuckles.

Meeting his eyes again, you can’t help but let the memories of everything good between you come flooding back. Soon, you can hardly contain yourself, smashing your lips right onto his own in a moment of heat and desperation.

He returns the gesture, kissing you passionately, his hands trailing down your spine and leaving shivers in their place.

As you both pull away breathlessly, your eyes meet again and a glimmer of mischief appears in his.

“Guess that means I’m forgiven?” He asks hopefully, a grin spreading.

You giggle a bit, picking the ice pack back up and resting it back over his eye. “We’ll see about that Baizen.” You tease, but you both know you’re too enthralled with him to ever stay completely mad.

[sterlynwrites]

December 3rd - Icicles.

It was snowing. 

Again. 

Neil sat next to the window in Kevin, Andrew and his own shared dorm. He had moved his desk near the window to get some sort of freedom from looking at the white walls of the dorm room. He was damn near Fox Tower happy with how snowy it had been. 

But, really, when he had said one thing about it Matt had looked at him funny and pointed out, “Dude, we are up north.” 

“But I looked it up.” Neil insisted as he motioned to his laptop. 

“You looked up the weather?” Matt’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. 

“Yes? I can’t go running if it’s constantly snowing. I looked it up and it said that our area should only get five inches of snow.” 

Neil shook his head and sighed as he pointed towards the door. “That is more than five inches of snow.” 

Matt couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “You REALLY hate the weather, huh?” 

Neil couldn’t deny that. 

After all, it meant he was trapped in some way, and that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He might be safe, but he wasn’t exactly used to being safe. His self preservation instincts were kicking into over drive. 

He had only been able to go for a few runs since the winter season had started. 

Matt chuckled and had just patted his shoulder as he turned on something to listen to while he and Neil hung out and studied together. Now Neil was staring out the window as white snow swept across the grounds in visible trails and flurried throughout the side. He pressed his palm to the window, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. 

You’re safe. You’re fine.

Instead of chasing his thoughts down a darker path, Neil let his eyes wander around the campus grounds as he watched several lone figures scurry around. One person even fell on their ass and took a moment to get up. Neil let out a wince in sympathy. 

That would really suck. 

Anything was better than chasing his own thoughts right then. 

He pulled his focus on the grounds back towards the window of the dorm room window. He looked up and at the top of the window just barely formed were tiny icicles. He hummed as he tapped the window with his pointer finger. They were outside and too far up to bother or dislodge. 

“Pretty.” He mumbled as he stared up at them from the safety of his warm dorm room. 

He wouldn’t have been able to stop and do this if he had still been with his mother. He could almost feel the ghost of her hand threading into his hair and tugging. 

Stephan, don’t waste your time on such frivolous things.

His heart picked up in his chest as he let out another steady breath. He was okay. He was in his dorm room, in the warmth, safety, and among friends. He sat back and thought about Andrew, Kevin, Matt, Dan and all the other foxes that made sure that he was taken care of. 

The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he sighed tipping his head back against the head rest of his desk chair. 

I’m safe.

----

He didn’t realize that Andrew must have heard him that morning. 

The other had been in the living room ignoring Kevin’s insistence that they all go and practice. He had ignored him and then they had settled down to watch something on their t.v. Neil had felt a little too exposed so he had kind of kept himself in the room for as long as he was able to. 

Then he had been summoned by Allison to go help pick out gifts. 

“I’m not going to be much help.” Neil pointed out as he got out of the passenger side of Allison’s car. 

She stood up, brushed her hair back from her face, and shut her door. “I’m well aware of that.” 

“Then why did you ask me to come?” 

“Bonding Neil, we’re bonding.” Allison answered with a satisfied hum. 

He wandered up and into the crowded mall beside her. Even before they were fully into the hustle and bustle of the throng of mall patrons, Neil felt his phone buzz. He took it out and flipped it open. 

It was a message from Andrew. 

Well, to be precise, it wasn’t a message but a picture. 

It wasn’t anything grand, but it was an artistic picture of icicles. 

Neil puzzled over it for a second, shrugged and put up his phone. 

“What did the monster want?” Allison asked. 

Neil frowned, “Don’t call him that.” 

Allison waved her hand at him, “Well?” 

“Nothing. He just sent me a picture of icicles.” Neil answered as he turned around and shived his hands and phone back into his pockets. 

“Icicles?” Allison asked again. 

“Icicles.” Neil answered with a nod. 

They stood there for a second, and before Allison could ask anything else, Neil shrugged at her, “Where are we going first?” 

“Oh. Yes, I was thinking that I would get this cute bracelet I saw for Renee. It’s got her asthetic written all over it.” 

Neil frowned, “Asthetic?” 

“Yeah you know, her style. Oh. Wait. You don’t know.” Allison teased him as she eyed him, “For your Christmas present we’re getting you some new clothes again.” 

“Oh boy.” Neil murmured as he followed after the tall blonde as she moved through the crowd with practiced ease. 

---- 

The second picture came later when he was with Kateyln studying in the library. 

They had the same cast off elective, so they tended to work together. Andrew hadn’t said not to work with her, but he still didn’t acknowledge her existence. Maybe that might change a few years down the line after Aaron and Katelyn had more time together. 

“Neil. Why don’t you look up these terms, and I’ll start on the bottom half.” Katelyn suggested with a small smile. 

“Okay.” 

She hummed and fell into a comfortable silence with him. 

If there was one thing Neil had learned about her, it was that she was kind of like him in some ways. The best way was that if it was quiet she didn’t fumble for words to try and fill the space, she just let it be. 

“Oh. I saw that they were doing apple cider and cinnamon cider down on the bottom floor. I think I’ll get some. Do you want some Neil?” 

Neil looked up from where he had his laptop and dictionary both open as he had been looking at one of the referenced articles. “Oh. No, I don’t think so.” 

“I bet the cinnamon one is just spicy. I’ll get one for you to try.” 

With that the vixen was gone with a wave and it was quiet again. Neil sighed and leaned against the study table as he flipped through a few pages in the book and hummed quietly. He had been so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t even notice Katelyn had come back until he felt the warmth of the styrofoam cup against the side of his arm. 

He flinched and looked up. Katelyn smiled apologetically at him, “Sorry.” 

“It’s fine.” Neil forced his fingers around the cup as he peered at the red liquid. 

Katelyn smiled, “It’s not going to kill you.” 

Of course not. Well, probably not. If it had been Riko that handed him that cup it would have probably had a greater chance. 

Before he could take a sip, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket again. 

Neil set down the cup and took out his phone. 

Another message from Andrew. 

Again, after opening it there was a picture of the overhang at Fox Tower and a ton of larger icicles on the edge. The picture was taken just so that the light hit right into the icicles and made them look like they were glowing. 

“I haven’t seen you smile like that before.” Katelyn teased him, bringing Neil’s attention back to the present company. 

Neil cleared his throat and shut his phone. “It’s just a message from Andrew.” 

Katelyn’s smile waned for a second, before it was replaced with something softly. “He’s something isn’t he? With you it seems like he’s softer.” 

Neil blinked, “Not really.” 

Andrew was just able to let more of himself out. He had been working hard to start trying to patch things up, but there would always be those things that stuck around and made it hard for him to show that to everyone. 

He didn’t need to work to show Neil though. Neil knew without a doubt that there were sides to Andrew that others would never see. They just didn’t care to look deep enough. 

“You’d be surprised.” Katelyn told him. 

-----

The third and last picture was during dinner. 

Dan and Matt had caught him coming out of the library and whisked him off for Italian. They had met Allison and Renee and they found themselves having several different conversations. Neil’s partner at this point in dinner was Renee. 

Things had always been a little awkward with her, but if there was one thing his time at Palmetto had taught him was that Renee could be trusted. She had been beside and still was Andrew’s best friend. They still sparred. 

She had even kept in touch with Jean through his transition into the USC Trojans. 

He had even sent her a small thank you card. 

They had been finishing up their dessert and talking about classes again when the conversation touched on the upcoming full school break and their plans. 

“I think Neil should come up with us to New York.” Allison offered. 

“I think Randy would love to have more time to talk to him. After all he is Matt’s best friend.” Added Dan as Matt nodded. 

Neil blinked, “We’re best friends?” 

Matt couldn’t help the dopey smile on his face as he reached over and ruffled Neil’s hair, “Yeah Neil. We are.” 

Neil swatted at Matt’s hands causing him to laugh and pull them back away from the striker.

Best friend.

It was a foreign word. Another something that Neil wasn’t supposed to have. 

“I don’t think you should include Neil in your plans.” Renee gently added. 

All attention turned to her. 

“Why not?” Allison demanded. 

“I just have a feeling that Neil is already spoken for.” Renee answered diplomatically. 

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. 

Neil fished out his cell phone and there was another message from Andrew. This time it was outside the Italian restaurant, again icicles in the picture. The picture was again artfully taken and there was a note underneath the picture this time: 

Come outside.

Neil looked up and everyone was staring at him. 

“Andrews here so I’m just going to go.” He told them. He stood up and reached for his wallet, but Allison rolled her eyes and waved him off. 

“You have your lover boy waiting out there. We’ll cover you.” 

“He’s not-” Neil started. 

“Oh no. He totally is.” Dan agreed as Matt nodded along with her. 

“Tell Andrew hello for me.” Renee added as she smiled up at him. 

Neil felt the heat in his cheeks. He nodded and turned around waving once, but otherwise checked out. He made his way outside to see the Maserati idling by the curb. He opened the door and slid inside. 

Andrew had the heater on blast and he waited until he heard the door shut before merging back into traffic. 

Neil put on his seatbelt and he turned to look at Andrew. 

The other didn’t look at him, “Did you miss me today?” 

Andrew didn’t answer. He did however put his hand on the console between them. Neil stared at the outstretched palm and murmured, “Yes or no?” 

The intimacy they had was hard won. Neil would never take it for granted. 

“Yes.” Andrew muttered quietly. 

Neil covered Andrew’s palm with his own and threaded their fingers together. Andrew squeezed his hand gently, and Neil squeezed back in answer. 

“So, why did you keep sending me icicles today?” 

“I heard you say they were beautiful.” Andrew’s fingers flinched as his thumb brushed against the side of Neil’s pointer finger gently. 

Neil felt as if his heart pinched hard inside his chest and made it hard to breathe for a couple of seconds.

Whatever this was between them, Neil would always cherish it. 

He turned to look outside as the snow fell softly outside the window as they drove back to the Fox Tower, “They really are.” 

[youremyonlyhope]

The Halloween Apocalypse

Super sleepy since I haven’t slept since Friday night. And I was on my feet for most of the day and also didn’t eat anything but a few pieces of candy between 8am until right now as I eat dinner. I also have a can of hard seltzer because a coworker gave my team a pack as a present. Yay Doctor Who time!

Also why does it say Encore? I was too tired to look into it earlier because I needed to take a nap. But if I hadn’t been working, could I have watched it at the same time as the Brits and not been slightly spoiled? (Answer: yes. Oh well. I would have been working anyway even if I knew I could have watched it)

“All of this is your fault.” “What do you mean!?” Adorable. Oh you just know the shippers went insane over them landing in bed together. So the one spoiler I saw before remembering the episode was airing in the UK first was that some people are really loving Dan. Let’s see why. Ah leading tours and not a tour guide. Got it. He’s not gonna get that date. That gun looks Time Lord. He’s like a blue Voldemort (I hate to bring up Harry Potter but the lack of nose gives that vibe ok) Ok god... the TARDIS is bleeding... Doctor stop hiding things from Yasmin come on.

Oof ok I regret this hard seltzer already. Hopefully it makes me sleepy enough i just fall asleep the moment this episode is done and sleep through till morning.

WAIT. Wait. I saw this as a sneak peek, but now the adult trick-or-treater looks familiar... hmm... Wow, it’s a furry. Doctor, stop eating things off the floor. That miniature house is cute honestly. “We didn’t receive the warning” Ok that’s one way of running away from your problems... not a good way... but a way... Yeah that’s a lot to wake up to. Being held in a cage by a dog on the spaceship. Oh yay, meeting people in the wrong order again. Claire looks sort of familiar. NO the TARDIS is so sick oh god. Doctor, love, taking people on fun rides isn’t the same thing as letting people in. You know this. Martha complained about this a long time ago. MM MMM NOO. NOPE. NOT A WEEPING ANGEL. No wonder Blink was included in the Doctor Who marathon today, not just because it’s a popular episode. Should I also be scared that Midnight was included? (I say as if I got to watch any of the marathon at all) Yeah I’ve blinked like 30 times so far this scene since my eyes are so dry and tired ugh. Yeah that sucks. It got her. Girl, I don’t know why you didn’t slam the door closed and then blink. Gonna just ignore the name of that outpost since I know it made half the fandom’s brains explode just now. Not acknowledging it. Ok, he looks familiar. Unidentified phenomena is right. That’s not good. Their house on the Arctic is cute. Honestly, after ignoring the warning, they deserve Blue Voldy showing up in the middle of the night. Oh ok she’s a grey Voldy and is in on it. Makes sense. Who’s playing the dog guy by the way? His voice sounds familiar-ish too. ”Do things often go wrong?” Yes.

UGH. DOCTOR WHO. I THOUGHT WE WERE OVER DOING THESE LITTLE MINI PREVIEWS IN THE COMMERCIALS. I’VE BEEN COMPLAINING FOR YEARS. COME ON.

Ah yay, another situation where the alien is actually being nice. God this guy on the outpost looks SO familiar and I can’t tell if I actually know him from something or if he just a type. I think I know... but I don’t wanna say in case I’m wrong Awww he’s leaving his post. Wow. I hope he stays ok. Oh Dan calls her Doc like Graham did... I’m sad. I love the TARDIS door opening in random places, though I know it means she’s sick or something. ”I had a mate who had one of these, I think his was a bit bigger though.” oh my god, if this is supposed to foreshadow Dan knowing a previous Doctor...

WAIT. WAIIIITTT. Did the Weeping Angel purposefully save Claire, or was it just attacking her?

SONTAR-HA. This is an interesting throwback redesign. Blue Voldy has on a power suit on now. Those shoulder pads. This better not be the Master. I know the Master looks burnt sometimes in Old Who. I don’t want the plot twist to be that he’s the Master. Where’s Dhawan!Master please. ”The only thing I can do.” Run? “We’re heading to Earth” Umm no don’t. I’m sure Diane will understand an alien kidnapping and universe ending event as a reason to accidentally stand her up. Ah ok Grey Voldy got her. Never mind. Is it gonna be shaped like the TARDIS or something to confuse it? Ah ok never mind, shielding Earth. They should have thought of that before having to painstakingly move each human one by one. WOAH WAIT. Nothing can get through the TARDIS doors (besides those things from Spyfall) and the flux just threw it open. Not good. Doctor stop hitting the TARDIS with a mallet! OHHHH THE TIME VORTEX. Wow I completely forgot about the 1820 dude until they showed him again just now. Honestly, I was still groggy from my nap that point so I have no memory of his scene. Yep that episode was mostly an intro to the rest of the season I guess.

Also, speak of the devil, now Spyfall is on. Do I rewatch it purely for O... hmmm...

Ok. Now I can google the cast. IT WAS GREY WORM. I KNEW IT. The dreads and me being half asleep made me wonder if I was just imagining that it was him, but it’s Grey Worm! Yay! Well no one else who felt familiar has names that ring any bells for me. Oh well. Yay Grey Worm!

(Rewatching Spyfall as I proofread this and I forgot that the Doctor sends O kisses in the message... adorable)

[soda-drabbles]

Sick Day | Dan x Reader

Synopsis : After noticing you're having a sick day, Dan takes it upon himself to help.

Type : Fluff

Pairing : Dan x Reader

A/N : Here's some Dan shit since I barely write him here :')

“You aren't looking so hot.”

Dan's concerned tone mentioned to you after you had another rough coughing fit for the fifth time that day. After you cleared your throat, you ended up rolling your eyes playfully. “Gee, thanks, Dan.” You sarcastically said.

The two of you were at your place for the weekend. Sometimes Dan would either come to yours or Arin's place to hang out. The three of you would hang out together sometimes, just like today since Arin was meant to be coming over later as well.

Dan sat on the couch, one arm thrown over the top of it. His concerned face was directed towards you, who was in the kitchen. “I didn't mean it in that kind of way. You always look cute. I just meant that you look not that good, especially with that coughing fit.”

Your lips pressed together in slight annoyance. “I always look like this.” You folded your arms against your chest.

Dan cocked a brow, “You always look like you're pale as shit and about to pass out?”

You spun to him, head a bit dizzy. “..Yes.”

“You know that there's a stomach bug going around, right? It's completely normal for you to get sick and junk.” He suggested, yet you wouldn't budge.

The man on the couch sighed. Clearly, you weren't going to give in about the whole being sick thing. He stood and approached you. “I'm gonna call Arin and cancel the plans for now. You're clearly sick.”

“I'm not sick!” You struggled to find the words and when they did, they scraped your throat. It hurt like hell and it was clear in your voice, including the way you winced.

Dan's brows furrowed, his own lips pursed. “Look, why dont you go lay down on the couch for me. I'll head to the pharmacy and get what you need, okay? I'll even grab us food on the way.”

Throat too hurt to complain, you defeatedly gave in and plopped onto the couch. Dan relaxed a little and smiled. “Thank you. I'll be right back.” He then reached over to pat your head softly before he grabbed his coat and left.

During that time, you mostly sat there and stared at the ceiling for a good while. You felt as if you were on the verge of sleeping. The temperature was just right and you didn't need any covers, things were comfortable as they were. Just as you were nodding off, Dan rolled in with a couple bags.

“Wow, you actually stayed put.” He teased as he took a seat beside you and placed the bags down. All you could really do was pout at him since your throat was still sore.

Dan then pulled out some medicine from the pharmacy, mostly cough medicine and throat spray. “Alrighty, so I'mma need you to be a big girl for me and open wide.”

His sudden words brought a distinct flush from your cheeks and another coughing fit. “-What?”

Dan didn't think of how the words affected you, as he was more concerned about giving you the meds. “The cough medicine. Open up.” He said as he poured the red liquid in the cap.

He then handed it to you. You then downed the odd disgusting cherry mixture, a twisted grimace on your face. Dan couldn't help but laugh. “It doesn't taste that bad.”

“Danny, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to poison me.” You groaned.

He shook his head, a smile on his face. “Now let's do the throat spray.”

“..Throat spray?” You questioned, looking at him like he was crazy.

He laughed. “Its supposed to be something that you spray in your mouth and it coats your throat or something. School nurses use this stuff so it should be fine.”

You then attempted to use this 'throat spray' which thankfully wasn't as bad as you thought. Upon spraying, it gave you a soft tingle and numbness with a cherry-ish taste. It tasted better than that cough medicine did.

Dan smiled contently after you were done. “Is it helping anything?” He asked. You nodded.

“Yeah, kinda.” You shrugged, “The throat spray thing is kinda weird though, like, tingly and shit.”

Dan chuckled, his tone slightly teasy. “Now that wasn't so bad, was it?”

You folded your arms across your chest and let out a huff. He was looking at you like he knew he was right and of course you knew he was. “No.” A soft pouty mumble left your lips.

Dan snickered and lightly pinched your puffed pouty cheeks, “Aww, don't be like that~” His tone was soft yet teasy. Kind of like how you'd talk to a puppy who wasn't getting their way.

Your cheek burned in his hands, which were also warm. You didn't know if it was his warmth or if you were just blushing.

Afterwards, he pulled out some soup. Many kinds actually. “I wasn't sure what kind of soup you liked so I just kinda went ham and got a bunch.” He mentioned, smiling a little sheepishly. “I had already got you takeout but soup always does help a throat, especially when you're sick.”

Instead of pouting about how you weren't sick, you were silenced by the warmth that tingled your heart. It wasn't because of the cold either. Dan was such a kind person. He always went out of his way to help those who are close to him. You honestly couldn't think of a sweeter person. You wondered to yourself how exactly you got so lucky.

“(Y/N)?” Dan's voice broke through your thoughts, his confused face stared back at your own flushed face. “Are you okay? You seem kinda out of it.”

You nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I am. I just..” Your eyes met up with Dan's and a smile lifted your features. “I'm just thankful to have you.”

His once confused face turned to a relaxed grin. A laugh bellowed out of him. “You really must be sick. You never say that shit to me.”

Instantly, you huff and playfully shove his shoulder. “Let me be nice for once, yeah? Besides, its not like I don't think about that all the time.” A small hint of guilt riddled your voice. A part of you wished you let him know how amazing he was more often.

He smiled still, hand rubbing his arm as if it was sore from where you shoved it which of course it wasn't. “I'm kidding. I appreciate it, I really do.”

That warm feeling was bubbling up all over again. The pit of your belly burned and your chest tightened. You weren't one to go for the idea of love but..

Nope, just another coughing fit. One that brought Dan to rub your back and jump up to make some soup. After you could finally talk, he asked you what kind of soup you would like and of course, you chose good ol' chicken noodle. He instantly got to working at it while you settled on the couch and allowed your throat to rest.

You heard Dan hum to himself in the kitchen as he heated the soup up on the stove. You always loved his voice. A secret of yours was that whenever you missed him or just wanted to hear his voice, you'd turn on some Ninja Sex Party. On certain occasions, his voice would be able to put you to sleep. His voice was just so soft and smooth, perfect thing to both listen and sleep to.

He arrived back with a steamy bowl of chicken noodle and placed it gently on the coffee table. “I'd wait for it to cool down a minute before you dig in.” Dan suggested.

You took his advice, allowing the soup to cool for a bit. During this time, Dan put on a movie. You decided it was finally time to try the soup and thankfully, it was cooled enough. You tasted it and it was pretty good, as chicken soup could be.

Dan smiled down at you, admittedly not really paying attention to the movie. “How is it?”

You shrugged as you slurped some more soup. “I mean, its chicken noodle. Pretty good.”

He smiled, pleased with your response. “Good, it would've sucked if I just got shirty chicken noodle or something.”

Nightfall soon hit and somehow you found yourself with a blanket around you, your head rested against Dan's chest. His arm was around your smaller body, laced around your shoulder gently. The whole feeling was so warm and fuzzy, you thought you could just pass out.

“Dan,” You muttered tiredly, which got his attention. “You know you can go home, right? I'd hate for you to be cooped up here and get whatever the hell I got.”

His head was tilted towards you and the smile in his voice reassured you. “Come on, its the weekend. Plus, I don't exactly trust you alone when you're sick like this.” He hugged you close, his hand lightly squeezed your shoulder. “Are you sleepy?” He apparently noticed the tired tone in your voice.

“Yeah, you may have a point there.” You couldn't help but yawn at the mention of sleep. You snuggled more into his chest, not really realizing what you were doing. “Kinda.”

Dan leaned back, his own head leaned against yours. “Go ahead and take a nap. I'll be here when you wake up.”

All you could do was groan a little. “Goodnight, Danny.”

Dan smiled warmly and chuckled at your sleepy behavior. He closed his own eyes.

“Sweet dreams.”

[kyber-kisses]

Southern Nights (3/4)

Dean Winchester x Reader

Warnings: a little angst, but mostly fluff🤷‍♀️

Summary: After a situation with the BMoL, Dean finds himself running towards the person he fears for the most besides his brother. But even when he finds her safe and alive, he can see that something isnt right.

A/n: So remember when I said it was gonna be two parts and then I switched it to three? Well now its gonna be four. . .Enjoy!

Part 1        Part 2

There is a split second after the words leave your lips that Dean thinks your joking, but then as he looks at you he can see you are dead serious. You don't make eye contact- instead you focus on the orange tabby still swatting at fireflies.

For  as long as Dean and his brother had known you, you had loved hunting.  You loved saving people. There was a method to your madness when it came  to you constantly being on your feet and finding new cases. Keeping  people safe, making the world better. That was what made you happy.

And Dean loved the hell out of you for it.

The older Winchester watched you with a concerned expression, your eyes   still having yet to meet his. The glassy look in your pupils was the first thing he noticed though, even as you tried to avert your eyes.

You had been quiet because you were finding it hard to find the right words. The words that would help the person you loved so dearly understand. “You know-” You began, swallowing thickly. “I was supposed to leave her four weeks ago. Four. I was supposed to pack myself into my car and head off on a vetala hunt in Montana. I had my bags packed up and everything.” Taking a deep breath, you looked down at your hands, taking in the callouses and scars a lifetime of hunting had left behind. “And there I was- standing on the front steps, keys in my hand and bags at my feet. . .and I couldn't get myself to go. I knew I should, there was a job that needed to be done.” You shrugged. “But I couldn't do it Dean. I called a hunter friend, informed them of the case and went back inside. I guessed I had hoped the feeling would pass, that I just needed another day. But it didn't.”

Dean wasn’t  sure which part broke his heart more, your next words and how your shoulders sagged as you said them or how your voice wavered and the tears finally raced down your face. Maybe it was both- either way it felt like a hot poker had been twisted  into his gut.

“I'm crazy tired, Dean. . .and I think I have been for a long time.” Your voice cracked, eyes looking up from your hands and back to the front yard. “I think I’ve been running so hard and so fast for so long that I- that I didn’t realize how tired I was until I was burning on fumes. As much as I love hunting, I think I need to stop.” Your voice cracking once more before falling silent.

oh, Y/N.

“but if you guys need help with this men of letters stuff, I am one hundred percent there-” You quickly added, finally turning to look at him.

“woah, woah, woah hey pump the breaks-” he quickly shook his head as he rose from his spot next to you, only to move and squat down in front of you, his hands on your  knees. “Don’t. Sam and I have got that all under control.”  Sliding his hand into your own, he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“But its not fair.”

Deans eyebrows drew together in confusion as he looked up at you. “Whats not fair?”

You inhaled another shaky breath, trying to find some sort of serenity in those jade irises. “I-”

“Take your time. I’m right here.”

For  a moment you remained stagnant, gripping Deans hand tightly as if it   were a life line. “That I decided to stop while you and Sam are still out there.” You paused when you saw the still clear confusion on his face. “ Dean, I know you're tired too. You even admitted it last night when I brought it up. Its not right that I should get the option to stop when you're in a similar boat. Its not fair.”

Dean couldn't believe the words coming out of your mouth. It was almost like you had stunned him into silence. “Are you saying you feel guilty for putting down your gun?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t be. Don’t.” He repeated, shaking his head again. “Sure I get worn out every once and awhile, sometimes worse than others- but I'm okay.” He gave you one of his soft reassuring smiles before placing a kiss in the center of you palm. “Sam and I can handle the monsters.”

“But-”

“No buts okay?” Slowly rising back to his feet, he extends a hand before pulling you up with him. Dean wrapped an arm around your shoulder before you could stop him, the hunter pulling you in close. Despite the still heavy feeling in your stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of being pressed against him. You sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. “you deserve everything good in this life, Y/N.”

“So do you.” You mumbled, yawning half way through the words.

You're not sure, but you think you can feel Dean smiling against your hairline. Luckily you're correct, your words managing to make something in Dean crack wide open. He lets himself drown for another moment in the complete bliss that is having you in his arm before he prepares himself to pull away, the constant voice in his head reminding him : Arms length away.

Either time had frozen since he pulled you into that hug or you were much more tired than he initially realized, because as he shifted he could feel you sink further into his arms, cheek resting against his chest.

“You falling asleep on me?”

The only response from you was a sleepy mumble, earning a soft chuckle from the older Winchester as he bent slightly to hook an arm underneath your legs, hoisting you up into his arms.

“Alright, let’s get you to bed, Sweetheart.” He mumbled softly against your forehead, placing one last soft kiss there before resting his cheek on your hairline. Using his foot to wedge open the screen door, he slipped inside before softly shutting it behind him. Sam was already passed out on the couch when he passed by, the hunter eventually making it across the living room and into your bedroom before laying you down on the bed.

Dean gifts himself one last look at you before turning to head out the door. He can sleep on the other couch, you deserve to have your bed to yourself even if you rarely sleep in it, plus once again the little voice tells him to not get any closer. Its already hard enough to pull away as it is whenever hes around you.

“Don’t even think about going to sleep on that couch.” You suddenly mumble, face pressed into your pillow, hair already across your face. “Its half the size of you.”

“I thought you were asleep?”

“Nah. I just wanted you to carry me in here.”

That earns a slight chuckle from him, along with a shake of his head. “You sure you want me as a bunk mate? I’ve been told I’m a cuddler.”

“Who the fuck told you that?” You mumbled, slightly confused as to who Dean had been cuddling. You pressed your face further into the pillow.

“.  . . my pillow.” Dean huffed as he toed off his boots and against all his better judgment he allows himself to fall into bed besides you. “But it hasn't complained.”

“Mmm, I wonder why.”

You could feel Deans soft chuckle rumble in his chest as he wrapped his   arms around you and pulled you closer, allowing you to snuggle into his embrace. You should have pulled way, kept some sort of distance between you . . .but you didn't. After a moment you could feel his fingers brushing through your  hair, his attempt no doubt at trying to lull you back to sleep.

“I’m  sorry this life has worn so much out of you, Y/N. I really hope you find some peace here.” He spoke softly, pressing another kiss to your temple.

“You could too, you know. Find peace here. . . With me.” You tried, twisting your fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt. It was another moment in which you shouldn't have said anything but you couldn't help it. Staying here with Dean? Now that would be heaven on earth.

“Oh could you imagine that? Me, not doing anything related to hunting? I might go insane.”

“Maybe you could do what Bobby did, give other hunters advice ya know?”

“Yeah,  maybe.” You couldn’t see it, but Dean had a faint smile on his lips as  he rested his cheek against your head. He had to admit, that did sound  nice. A calm life. . . And with you? That was a picture of paradise if he ever imagined one.

“I mean, you already got the grumpy old man part down.” You joked, smiling when you heard Dean suck in air through his teeth.

“Oh, not gonna lie. That one stung a bit.” He grinned.

“I’m just kidding, you know that right?”

“Yeah, yeah I do. Now go to sleep.”

carding your fingers through his short hair, you give him one last sleepy smile through the dark. “Good night Mo Ghraidh.”

Dean hums under your touch, unable to stop himself from smiling when you speak. For all he knows you could be calling him some rude name as a long running joke with yourself, (Because lets be real, that is something you would totally do just to drive him mad.) But then again he wouldn't care if you were because the way the words roll off your tongue brings a sense of calm. Its something reserved just for him, whatever it means.

And he loves it.

“Goodnight Y/N.”

SPN Taglist: (Still Open)

@familybusinesswritingbro​@a–1–1–3 @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @music-is-all-i-need @agusdoti​ @callmekda​​ @jordangdelacruz​ @orphiceseum​​ @andthatsmyworld​ @marvelfangirllll​ @fandomnerdespressourself​ @gladiosamicitias​ @castielsangelsx​ @lxstgxrl-ck​ @tis-i-the-wayward-idgit @amendoise @phoenixuprisingsstuff​ @ericalynne007 @kaitlaitlaitl  @totallyluciferr​ @supernaturalenchanted​ @dolanfivsosxox@supernatural-ocs @emptycanvasposts​ @akshi8278 @defenderrosetyler​ @heyyy-hey-babyyy​ @supernaturalenchanted@emptycanvasposts @vicmc624 @all-will-be-well-love@busy-bee-angel-misska @starsandmidnightblue​ @lilulo-12fanfiction @beanie-beebo​ @xoxoaudreymarie​ @greenarrowhead​​ @mrsjenniferwinchester​  @mysticalfuncollectorus​ @brebolin​ @biahblue​ @noahandthegiraffe​ @hhiggs​​ @mila-dans​​ @mrsmaybankhere​ @malindacath​ 

[fairyqueenofthedragons]

Witch in the Woods

A bit (lot) late but life happens. Thanks to Library Forest for giving me the inspo to write more for this :)

(Find Chapter One with a search of “Fk ch 1″ on my blog) 

Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/nwwcSQSUjh

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Seth slunk through the bushes and trees until he reached a faint crooked path.

He was glad that there hadn’t been any brambles, that would’ve sucked. But he’d finally gotten on the path, even if it was just a small one. Barely there, like animals had wandered through here enough to cut a path but not enough to clear it.

He paused on the path, studying his sleeves for ticks. There didn’t seem to be any, he’d basically drenched himself in bug spray so hopefully that worked well enough.

He hadn’t seen any ticks so far, so high hopes!

He stooped then and stacked some rocks into a small pyramid to mark the point where he joined the path.

He was pretty sure he’d be able to find his way back regardless, but better safe then sorry. If he did end up taking too long, then he might get caught by Grandpa.

He hummed as he rummaged through his cereal box, studying the compass he pulled out.

The path seemed to be running northeast, though he’d started off heading east. The undergrowth was getting thicker though, so the path was a good reason to head off course a little. It would be far easier than trying to cut through the shrubbery with his pocketknife.

His dad said no to buying him a machete.

Life was unfair.

Seth straightened once more and studied the path.

He shivered despite the warmth, it seemed almost foreboding. The tall trees stood close together, letting through very little sunlight. The bushes waved, and he eyed the large spider crawling up the side of the tree. A gnarled black tree with thorny leaves almost seemed to reach for him.

The forest almost seemed alive, but that was silly. He wasn’t living in a fairy tale.

Seth straightened. It was fine! He was going exploring in a cool forest and he’d bring back a shiny rock or something to show Kendra that it was perfectly safe.

He paused, glancing at the rocks he’d collected.

Yeah none of them were shiny enough for Kendra, she liked sparkly, pretty things.

He’d find something.

He definitely did not jump when something rustled in the bushes but did dig out a small pair of plastic binoculars from his cereal box.

He scanned the area slowly but didn’t see anything interesting.

He shrugged and headed down the path, not making it twenty feet before an animal emerged from the undergrowth onto the path.

He froze, it was a porcupine. It’s bristles gleamed in the faint light and it’s eyes seemed too sharp and intelligent.

It studied him for a moment, then started towards him.

He quickly backed up, it’s slender quills shiny and sharp and very very close.

Weren’t animals supposed to be afraid of humans? Maybe it had rabies? That was bad right? Kendra would definitely tell on him if he got bit by an animal with rabies.

Maybe it just didn’t see him, he was perfectly camouflaged with his camouflage shirt after all!

He stopped backing up and straightened up, trying to look big. He stomped a foot hard and growled at the porcupine.

It stared at him for a long moment, seeming almost unimpressed a it’s nose twitched, but then it turned away and scurried off the path.

He let out a breath, that had been a bit scary. If he’d gotten bitten, or worse covered in those quills, he would’ve had no chance of hiding his excursion into the woods.

And worse, Kendra would stop him from coming back out.

He wished Kendra had come, she might’ve screamed, or spouted some boring fact about porcupines that would’ve made it seem tame. He could have made fun of her instead of being frightened.

Not that he was very frightened of course, but it felt… exposed being stared down by the porcupine with all those bristling quills. He should probably be careful to not step on one in the undergrowth.

He wavered for a moment, wondering if he should head back. He’d come a long way though, and if he went back with nothing to show for it Kendra would say she told him so and then make him stay in the yard for the week.

He nodded, he needed to find something interesting first, to show off to her. Then he’d go home. It wouldn’t be hard to find his way back.

Seth headed off down the trail again. He studied the trees and growth as he passed, noting the trees with moss and lichen growing on them (don’t some mosses only grow on one side of the tree? Or is that all of them? Or something else? He swears Kendra talked about it on the car ride). There was ivy twisting around some trees too, he’d have to be careful cause they might be poison ivy.

He frowned as the path forced, before checking his compass. The right one went northwest, and the other due east. Seth decided to stick with East.

Slowly the trees began to space out, and the shrubs grew lower and more spread out. The forest slowly grew brighter as well, and he was able to see around much further.

He was studying a cool red bird that was watching him from a tree when he noticed something strange.

There was what seemed to be a wall of ivy just sitting in the woods to the left of the path.

That certainly seemed interesting, maybe there was something cool there he could bring back to show Kendra. That would show her, she’d definitely come along next time and he could show her the ivy wall.

He grinned and headed off the path.

The dense undergrowth almost seemed to cling to his legs, the plants darker than the rest of the forest, and he was pretty sure that the one bush was covered in poisonous berries. He shoved through it all, pausing by a tree as he realized that the wall of ivy was actually some sort of structure, overgrown with ivy.

He shifted, something seemed off.

The forest was quiet.

He shook his head, it was fine, it was just some ivy. Honestly why was he so worried.

He trudged closer, studying the ivy. He wasn’t sure what the structure (a shed maybe?) was made of, probably wood but he couldn’t see it beneath the ivy.

He managed to walk around the shed, and faltered when he stumbled onto another path, with a circle that stopped right in front of the opening to the shed.

“Hail, young master,” crooned a silky voice.

Seth spun, looking into the shed and seeing an old woman.

He resisted the urge to shudder. She looked bad.

She was old and wrinkled, with matted white hair that almost seemed yellow. In her wrinkled hands she clutched a knotted rope that seemed to be covered in blood and saliva.

Seth wrinkled his nose as he glanced at his face, trying not to cringe when she smiled, showing missing teeth. Her filmy bloodshot eyes were locked on him and her smile stretched the purple scab on her face, which was matched by more on her arms.

She stood up, supporting herself on the stump.

“What brings you to my home?” the woman asked.

Her voice was lovely, like a song, and did not match her appearance.

He swallowed, noting how tall she was despite her state.

“I’m just out for a walk,” he said carefully. “Do you live out here?”

She nodded, “I do indeed. Would you care to come inside for some tea?”

Seth almost stepped forward, almost, but he caught himself.

Something was off.

“No, sorry, I need to get back in time for lunch or my sister will be upset.”

A fool proof plan: blame Kendra. It always worked for getting out of stuff at school.

“Oh of course,” she crooned. “It’s just been so long since I had a guest. Strange for you to be wandering about alone, what about your sister?”

“She’s doing summer homework,” Seth said immediately. “And it’s my grandpa’s land so I get to wander some.”

“Oh?” she said. “You’re old Stan’s kids then?”

“You know my grandpa then?” Seth asked.

“Oh, certainly,” she grinned. “He’s my landlord after all.”

Seth nodded sagely, “Well nice to meet you, what’s your name?”

“Don’t you know it’s rude to not introduce yourself first?” She chided lightly.

Something told Seth he shouldn’t give her his name, he was reminded of the old tales from his grandpa.

“I’m-“ Seth wracked his brain for a name. “I’m Aaron.”

Sorry Aaron his friend from school, first name he could think of.

“A pleasure, Aaron,” she said with gleaming eyes. “I do wish I had known you’d be stopping by, I must look frightful.”

“You look fine,” Seth lied. “Ms…”

She ignored his question, reaching behind her stump.

“Let me show you something interesting, in apology for being so unprepared for a guest.”

“I’ll send a note ahead of time next time.”

She smiled, somehow looking dangerous despite her appearance.

Seth blinked at what she pulled out from behind the stump. A little wooden man.

It was less than a foot tall and made entirely of dark wood. It was plain, not clothes or painted features, just wood held together with tiny gold hooks where the joints would be. It had a stick in it’s back, that the woman took hold of.

Placing a paddle on her lap, she began to make the puppet dance by moving the stick. It was rhythmic and reminded Seth of Kendra when she did tap dancing, before she picked up piano.

“That’s a cool… puppet,” he said.

He should really get out of here, it felt wrong.

A rat scurried behind her stump and Seth looked away.

“It’s not a puppet, dear Aaron, it’s a limberjack.”

“Where’s his ax?”

“Not a lumberjack, a limberjack,” she chided. “It’s known by other names, a clog doll, or a jigger, perhaps a dancing dan?”

Seth shrugged.

“Well, I call him Mendigo. He keeps me company in this old shack of mine. Why don’t you come over, I’ll let you try him out.”

“I better not,” he said, something was very off. Her eyes were too bright, her smile too sharp, the doll too smooth. “I need to get back; my sister won’t be happy if I get delayed by crazy old witches in the woods.”

Her eyes flashed, “Old witches in the woods give the most interesting presents to those that treat them with respect.”

Seth shrugged, “I don’t need any presents. I’m just wandering. It was nice to meet you-“

“Leaving so soon?”

“I’ll come by another time,” Seth offered, having no intention of ever coming back. “Bye, Ms…”

She didn’t give her name, “Perhaps one last game before you leave, Aaron?”

His instincts told him to leave now, “Sorry, no can do.”

“Just one moment,” she crooned. She put the wooden doll away and pulled out a box and a shining gemstone. “I’ll even show a prize now. Simply touch the back of this box, and you may have this gem.”

Seth hesitated, he could sell the stone, after showing it off to Kendra, and have a lot of money.

But…

But this lady seemed crazy, dangerous, unhinged. And she still hadn’t given him her name.

“I’d rather play with the puppet,” he said. “I have to go. Bye crazy witch.”

“So insolent,” she mused. “Children these days really do as they please. Should you leave on this note your journey home may not be so pleasant, young adventurer.”

He shivered, her tone was dangerous, the air seemed heavy.

“I’m in a hurry,” he offered as he inched around the shed. “Lunch is soon.”

She hummed, her eyes closing as she raised a hand.

He didn’t take his eyes from her though she made no move to follow, her mumbling making his hair stand on end even when she was out of view.

As soon as he reached the far side of the shack he bolted.

Plunging through the undergrowth he dashed back to the path, pushing past the poisonous and dark plants that seemed to mirror the shed of the witch lady.

He glanced over his shoulder and though he saw no sign of her he couldn’t help but shiver. She had looked so wretched and smelled so foul and her challenge…

It reminded him scarily of one of Grandpa’s stories.

A witch in the woods.

But those were just fairy tales, everyone knew they weren’t true.

Seth couldn’t help but feel unsafe as he reached the path. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t following, or that he knew she couldn’t be a witch because witches weren’t real. Something was off and he needed to get back to the house.

Compass in hand he hurried down the path, glancing down at it to confirm the path he winced at the sudden sting in his ear.

He spun, seeing a pebble fall to the ground.

Who-

He looked around, but no one was there.

Could it be the old woman?

Another object struck him in the back of the neck, making him spin again, just in time to find an acorn flying at him.

He dodged it, tense as he noticed a rat scurrying through the bushes.

That was from two different directions.

He flinched, jumping back as he heard a cracking noise, like wood splitting.

A huge tree limb fell where he’d just been standing, a few leaves and twigs swishing him as it did.

The blood drained from his face.

If he hadn’t jumped back-

That could’ve killed him.

He swallowed, looking around, but the dark forest offered nothing.

A large spider crawled up the side of a tree, a rat scurried through the bushes.

Vague murmurs seemed to follow him as he took off at a sprint down the path.

Whispers crawled up his spine, stones and acorns whizzed at him as he ran, stinging his arms, back, legs. He ducked and wove and then cried at as something snatched at his ankle.

His hands ached as he tried and failed to catch himself. Rocks dug into stomach, his cheek was wet, blood? He scrambled for his ankle, finding nothing there. His ankle throbbed with pain, did he sprain it?

That had felt like something hard and thin, like a strong cord. A trip wire? But how? There hadn’t been one earlier, and the woman couldn’t have done it even if she’d started running the moment he’d passed out of sight.

There was a cracking noise above him, and he rolled over just in time for a branch to hit the ground where he’d just been.

Stumbling to his feet he winced at the pain in his ankle, wiping his cheek and swallowing hard at the blood on his hand.

There was a rustling noise behind him, and something that sounded almost like a laugh.

The bushes seemed to stretch out, dark and foreboding.

He flinched at the cracking noise of a dry branch behind him, and then he took off again.

He tried to watch where he put his feet, flinching at ever stone thrown at him.

He raced past the place where the trail forked and sprinted back the way he came.

He wondered if the fairy tales held some truth to them and he’d angered a witch.

But no, those were just tales. This was ridiculous, the lady must’ve had a friend close by or else this wouldn’t be possible.

His breathing was labored, gasping for breath as he felt his lungs struggle to draw. No, not having an asthma attack now, worst outcome.

He forced himself to keep going, ignoring his own wheezing, the heat in the air, the seat on his forehead. He had to get to the house.

He stumbled to a halt, breath a strangled wheeze. He knew that gnarled tree on the side of the path. He’d seen it when inspecting the path.

He used it as a reference to find the pile of rocks, but they were gone. He knew this was where he’d made the pyramid…

Leaves crunched, a cracking noise echoed above him.

Seth took a quick look at his compass to confirm that he was heading West, then dove into the forest.

Earlier he’d walked this at a leisurely pace, studying all the trees and bushes and flowers and toadstools and every unusual rock he could find. He’d even saved one or two. Now he tore through the forest at full speed, his vision blurry and his breathing strangled. The undergrowth clawed at his legs, thorns that hadn’t been a concern before tearing at his pants. Branches whipped against his face and chest, more blood dripped from his face.

And that’s not even counting the continued pebbles striking him, nor the second time he fell (his ankle throbbing, definitely injured now, and the trip wire made of a hard cord sitting innocently in the trees).

Finally, wheezing and gasping and clutching his chest, the energy his panic wearing thin and his strength lagging, he glimpsed the house up ahead.

The sounds of pursuit faded away as he stumbled into the yard, safe at last.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The wall opposite the windows in the playroom had multiple rows of bookshelves and a few wardrobes.

She had searched the wardrobes, thinking of Narnia as she searched through them.

Though she found no secret passages, she did find some very nice jackets, a few even fit her!

There were also little drawers built into the inside of one of the wardrobes, and it held all kinds of jewelry, hair pins, and assorted beauty supplies. There was even one drawer that just seemed to have hidden weapons.

The one bracelet with a skinny blade hidden inside was very pretty and Kendra wanted. Seth would probably find them super cool too.

She’d thrown a few of the jackets that were his size there (there were even cloaks and she’d absolutely claimed one cause… cloak).

The books on the shelves looked very interesting, and Kendra was definitely gonna devote time to reading them, but they didn’t reveal a secret door either.

She’d searched with a stool tool, reaching even the highest shelves.

They did reveal something else though.

Now Kendra was holding a leather covered blue book, with gold letters on the front and edging the pages. The Journal of Secrets.

It was very fancy, and held shut by three sturdy clasps, each with a keyhole. The final key from Grandpa didn’t fit any of the keyholes, but the two she’d found earlier did.

She heard someone stumbling up the steps and quickly put the book back on the shelf and pocketed the keys. She didn’t want Seth joining in the puzzle, that was her thing.

Seth charged through te door and slammed it shut behind him.

She opened her mouth to chide him but faltered when she took in his appearance.

His face was bloody and so were his hands. His pants had tears in them, and his knees looked a bit bloody as well. He was covered in dirt with leaves and twigs stuck in his hair.

Most worrisomely, he was wheezing hard.

“Seth!” she hurried over to him. “What happened? Oh no, lets get some water, and bandaids. Can you breathe? Do you need your inhaler? Stars how did you get so torn up?”

Seth dug through his emergency kit, struggling to breathe and his hands shaking.

“Here,” Kendra said, taking it from him. “I got it.”

She found his emergency inhaler buried at the bottom, and the spacer and shook the inhaler before putting them together, then handed it to Seth.

He struggled for a moment, letting out a strangled cough as he tried to hold his breath.

In, out, in, out, in, and he breathed out all his air, then quickly put the mouth piece in front of him and hit the inhaler, breathing in.

He held his breath for a few seconds, counting silently, before he let it out and broke into a coughing fit.

After a moment he repeated the process.

Kendra turned away, digging through her own bag to find the heart rate monitor.

“How did this happen?” she asked, handing it to him to check his oxygen level.

“Uh, was in the forest-“ he coughed “-and found… found- old lady. Like a witch, she lives in the woods-- in this old hut-“ he paused to catch his breath, coughing more.

“An old lady living in the forest?” Kendra wondered. “Did she attack you?”

“No, but-“ he coughed “-seemed like… whatsername, from grandpa’s stories, the witch in the forest. Stars what’s ‘er name.”

“Muriel?” Kendra asked. “The old wife from like 160 years ago?”

“Yeah- the one locked, in a shack, with the magic rope. The lady, had a rope, and uh-“ he coughed and winced when Kendra shot a pointed look at his inhaler.

He shook it, then copied what he’d done earlier, letting out a breath after about ten seconds.

“Well uh, had a creepy doll too. Wouldn’t say her name.”

“You didn’t tell her yours, did you?” Kendra sked worriedly, checking his oxygen and frowning when it was at 92. That’s lower than it should be.

“No, I said my name was Aaron. But-“ he paused for breath “-but I left, cause she creepy with  creepy box and stuff, there was something, someone? Multiple people?” he broke into a coughing fit and paused to take deep breaths.

“People did something?”

“Threw rocks,” he got out. “Lots. And a trip wire… and branches fell, almost hit me. Big ones.”

Kendra frowned, Seth didn’t have asthma attacks very often anymore, so something definitely happened, and he’s bleeding…

“Did you see anyone?”

“Just some… spiders… and rats… no people- ‘cept her.”

He stood straight, and a check of the monitor said his oxygen was 93.

Good, he’s recovering.

“Do you think Grandpa Sorenson knows he has a creepy old lady on his property?”

“She mentioned him,” Seth said, his breathing still strangled but he could talk easier. “And if she is’a witch then-“

“Those are fairy tales,” Kendra argued. “She definitely sounds creepy though, you shouldn’t go back into the woods.”

“You should come with next time.”

Kendra frowned, “Next time? Seth you’re bleeding! You apparently got attacked by a creepy old lady!”

“Yeah but-“ he paused “-I found a cool thing. And you said if I found a cool thing-“

“I said if you found a witch in the woods you weren’t going back,” she pointed out.

“Okay she’s not’a’witch then!”

Kendra huffed, “Lets get you cleaned up.”

Seth frowned, “I wanna explore more later. I’m gonna.”

“If you come back again scratched up and bleeding and having an asthma attack I’m telling Grandpa,” Kendra said. “That’s dangerous.”

“Fine, sure,” he coughed. “I’ll stay ‘way from the place I found the lady.”

Kendra frowned, but pulled out a water bottle and some napkins from her bag.

Seth brought exploration tools, she brought medical supplies.

“Stay still so I can clean up the blood.”

“You wanna come next time?”

She hummed, getting to work, “We’ll see.”

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to reblog and leave a review, they feed my soul.

What did you think of Seth's encounter? What about Kendra's looking around the room? How about what they talked about at the end?

I had to cut out the treehouse scene, it didn't fit but I'll put it in a bit later.

[natsukitakama]

Headcanon  : Being Marcus Pierce’s significant other (AU)

Author note : I had to confess Tom welling was my very first crush I watch the whole serie « Smallville » just because of him. So imagine how grateful I was when I saw him on Lucifer season 3. Looking even better than before. 

This headcanon will be in another universe when Marcus decide to do everything to make you fall in love with him and fall in love with you eventually. 

Warning : Fluff slight mention of NSFW (sorry not sorry) 

Gif don’t belong to me credits to the owner

The plan was simple : Not being another Lieutenant’s fangirl like all of the girls at the precinct (Chloe, Ella we saw you)

At first it was easy the man was harsh, hell even a dick sometimes

You didn’t like the way he talked to Dan or Ella, or the way he looks at you were worthless.

You hated him

At least that’s what you thought

But Hey no one is perfect

After knowing Chloé won’t be his key to erased his cursed he thought it was over

And then realized that maybe some pure love could erase his cursed like Chloe tends to make Lucifer vulnerable

He first thought Chloe could be useful but she was really closed to Lucifer and this man won’t let him go further

Trust him : He already tried to let him alone on a desert as far from Chloe as possible

It didn’t work : Lucifer was back two days after

Then he thought about Ella : She fangirls around him all the time she was an easy target. But she tends to be super excited, too happy, too loud. Marcus couldn’t bear her.

But you

You could be the one

You were quite attractive (to his taste), with a good spirit. Plus you weren’t afraid to tell when something was wrong. You were badass which was a huge turn on on him.

In addition he felt this hot connection everytime both of you were alone : some colleagues will say sexual tension but whatever. 

If he wasn’t cursed you two would already had the most savage quickie against a wall you would never have.

So basically you were the best candidate

But you were « challenging » (stubborn to be correct) : all the time when he tried to make a move on you, you always found an excuse to reject him or just escape him.

Sure a little challenge was appreciate but he couldn’t wait  until you felt in love with him. He might be immortal but patient wasn’t a quality of him

For a moment he thought about asking question at Lucifer since they were supposed to work together (but in fact Lucifer was trying to keep Chloe away as far as possible from Marcus) but he will make him too happy which couldn’t happen. 

He decided to come and talk to you : like a big talk on his office. You first thought you screwed something and he was about to yell at you and telling you how much you sucked. But that not what happened in fact Marcus started to apologize for being such piece of work (you will say asshole or dick but nevermind), he told you the last thing he wanted was to hurt you. So he apologized.

You didn’t expect it you thought the man was too proud for apologies but again you didn’t really know him, he was so hot and yet mysterious

You decided to use his apologize as a chance to get to know him (for professional’s purpose obviously) and ask him on a date as proof. You never thought he’ll be agree with that you just wanted to tease him.

You were wrong cause not only does he accept your proposal to a date but he gave you his best smirk like everything happened according to a plan (it was but you didn’t know that)

You then went talk to your best friend Ella : You never heard her screaming that loud before, she was a way too excited about it. It’s fine you love her for that.

You then confess your fear about this date being a way to manipulate her or use her for a plan or something. Ella did her best to calm you down and said a quite good argument : for the very first time Mister « I don’t give a ship I’m lieutenant » decided to make a move he even apologized about his behavior. He was trying to change for you so there nothing you should be afraid of.

You trusted her and make yourself ready

You didn’t plan to sleep with him after the date but still you wore your best underwear just in case. You chose your best outfit the one who make you look like an angel again just in case.

Deep down you didn’t think much about this date you expect him to be « normal » so a bit harsh and just accepte his apologize and go back back to your job like nothing happen. This man wasn’t clearly a talker guy so it’ll probably useless. 

You couldn’t be more wrong

Marcus went to your hours just as planned wearing a black shirt that make his body look amazing (especially his arm) with a jean. You couldn’t help but noticed the way his shirt was open just enough to see a bit of his torso but no more.

You went to his house where he cook you the most delicious Italian food you never had. To be honest you never saw him as a cook. He has this huge testosterone aura you expect him to be old-fashioned. For once you were glad to be wrong.

You started to talking. First it was about simple things just to test the water but the more dinner was moving further the more you two start to talk about more private things like dirty things.

Alcool didn’t help. You might confess about how you found him attractive 

when he introduced himself how disappointed you were when you saw him interact with the precinct.

He laughed like genuinely laugh at your speech

He confess he was attracted to you the first time he saw you but thought he’ll be easier for both of you to keep it professional.

« Then why did you accept this date ? » « I wanted to be wrong »

You didn’t know if this was alcohol but his stare made you feel both horny and afraid. He was like a animal looking at his prey. You couldn’t tell if it could lust or some dark instinct.

It gave you shivers 

At end of the night he drove you home just to be sure and having more time to talk to you.

He walked with you until you were in front of your door not knowing if the date should continue on your living room

As if he could read your mind he gave you a kiss and said goodbye

You thought your date end well

In fact it nevers stopped : when you went back to the precinct for work you find some flowers on your desk red rose and a « that night was awesome let’s do it again » card. You didn’t have to question the team you already knew where it came from

For the following days he was very sweet with you : making you a cup of coffee, helping you with case even joined you to interrogate suspect. It’s like he couldn’t stay away from you.

It was really cute but quite out of character to him. Normally you weren’t the one to fall for just act of attention but this man has such an effect on you, it’s like you couldn’t do anything but just fall for him.

You two decided to give a try and started a relationship

You felt good really good, Marcus was nothing but sweet with you. Always cooking you breakfast, be sure you were okay.

Despite his lack of communication it was perfect.

But don’t worry he has other way to show you his feelings to you. You never experienced sex like this before : the man has so many stamina and has the hability to be both rough and deep on you. He ravaged you like an animal leaving you exhausted but so satisfied, like you never been before.

He started to drive you home with his moto the moment you said it was a huge turn on on you

You were closed like you never thought you could be with a man. All the time no matter what was about he listened to you carefully and tried to help you. It was like talking to a wise man, a man who lived so many life before this one.

When it came to him it was different in fact he was starting to lose his mind. It was been 3 months since you two were a thing and yet his mark didn’t disappear. He came to think you weren’t the one after all and he should go see another people.

But he couldn’t help but felt guilty he felt it his stomach was twisted and couldn’t think at you without feeling sad. He has grown quite fond of you. He couldn’t just broke you like this it would break your heart. 

He won’t let that happen  

Little by little, step by step he started to appreciate a lot of things about you and stopped forcing himself to be nice around you. He was naturally. He didn’t have to force himself anymore. He genuinely wanted to make you happy.

And you felt it, your relationship felt even more real like you two started to have a connection a true one. 

He didn’t admit it before but he loved seeing you cooking or just prepare his clothes for the next day. Just saw you being domestic for him make his knees got weak

He also loved seeing you buy new cloth just to flirt with him and please him.

it’s been such a long time since someone cared genuinely about him

it felt good 

Marcus stopped to focus about his mark, like he wasn’t afraid to loose another people he cared anymore.

The truth is the second he stopped thinking about himself and cared about you : his mark was gone. But it took him 3 weeks to realize it

All he wanted to do now that his mark was gone, was to live his life as he pleased with you by his side.

However destiny has other plan for him

At some point Marcus will try to become immortal again

And by doing that will lose you

[katedrakeohd]

What Happens in Paris...(6b)

[MASTERLIST]

Author's note: Part 6 is broken up into several parts, and told from different points of view. Part (a) was told from Kate's perspective, whereas part (b) is from Drake's. I'm trying out a 'read more' that's supposed to work on Android, so I apologize if it doesn't work.

Word count: approximately 1850

Rated PG because these are Drake's thoughts. 😏😉

:::

Later, after Kate and I have demolished a basket and a half of pastries and a couple cups of coffee, we're still sitting around the table with some time to kill before the tea party. 

Looking across at Kate, I can see a smudge of sugary stuff on her cheek and I wish I was close enough to lick it off. She catches me staring at her, and smiles. "What are you staring at?"

Maxwell grins, "Oh, you have something sugary on your cheek." 

"Oh," she blushes, and damn it's so cute, wiping at her face with a napkin. "Did I get it?"

Hana turns in her seat and swipes her thumb across Kate's cheek. "There, all gone."

"Thanks," Kate says, smiling at her.

I frown. Damn, I wanted to do that. Next time I'm sitting next to her, or we're eating alone. Tonight I'm taking her out for a date, just the two of us.

A rush of excitement sizzles through me at the thought. I lean over to talk to Maxwell, "So, aren't you or Bertrand usually in charge of getting Kate dressed up for social events?" 

Maxwell's face brightens, "Yea, why? As her new Beau, do you have a suggestion for what you would like her to wear?"

I feel heat creep up my neck, and settle in my cheeks and prickle my skin, "Don't you ever use that word to describe me again. I..just want her to look good today and not get picked apart by Madeleine again."

Maxwell checks his phone with a beaming grin, "We still have plenty of time, are you saying we should take her shopping!?" 

Hana and Kate both gasp with delight.

"Oh my goodness, yes!" Hana says, "How often do you get to shop the boutiques of Paris?"

"I was actually hoping Hana could lend her something pretty to wear, but I guess now we're going shopping." I mumble, but feel that rush of heat again when Kate smiles at me.

The thought of buying Kate something to wear in a boutique in Paris makes my stomach knot at what it might cost, but she's worth it.

Maxwell jumps out of his seat with more enthusiasm than is necessary,  "Awesome sauce! I'll call us a cab."

..

Riding through the streets of Paris on the narrow backseat of the SUV with Kate was an interesting experience. I had to slouch down on the seat to avoid banging my head on the roof, but it was all worth it to have her sitting next to me. Hip to hip, thigh pressed to denim thigh, with my arm stretched across the top of the seat behind her, all I had to do was turn my head to get a whiff of her hair or nuzzle the side of her neck. Whenever I did either, she'd giggle and place her hand on my thigh. Damn if it wasn't a turn on every time she touched me. If we were alone, and not just sitting a foot away from Maxwell and Hana, there's no doubt we'd be doing some heavy kissing by now. But for the sake of decency we had to keep ourselves in check. Paris may be the City for Lovers, but I didn't feel like getting kicked out of our cab and violating some kind of unknown public decency bylaw or something.

Maxwell and Hana were doing their best to ignore us by pointing out different sights on either side of the vehicle as we passed them. I was impressed by Hana's french speaking skills, although I didn't understand a word, it sounded nicer coming from her than Kiara. 

Although I've been to Paris a few times, I'd always avoided doing the touristy stuff. Probably because of the language barrier. But now that I had Kate to experience things with, I kind of wish I could take her places and we could make new memories. It would be to our advantage to have Max and Hana as our guides today.

Looking out through the tinted glass I didn't recognize where we were, but the traffic was moving slower and I could see shops and cafés along with crowds of pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Kate seemed eager to get out of the cab to explore, and she was leaning forward in her seat to see the stores that Hana was pointing out to her. 

Maxwell turns in his seat to look back at me, "Ready to get out and watch the girls try on pretty stuff?" He smirks and winks at me.

I lean forward and pat Max on the shoulder, "As long as you're buying, sure."

Hana gets the attention of our driver, Henri, and says something to him in French. "Merci Henri. Pouvons-nous réserver le voyage de retour dans une heure?" (Thanks Henry. Can we reserve a return trip back in an hour?)

He nods and then once he finds an empty space at the curb, he parks the SUV. 

I stumble my way out of the cab,  bumping my head twice, and join everyone on the sidewalk. "So where are we going?"

Kate grabs my hand and I can't help but smile at her as I lace our fingers together. 

"Aww, you two look so cute." Hana giggles.

I cringe, "Well don't make a big deal out of it."

Maxwell pats me on the arm before taking up a position ahead of us with Hana as we head down the sidewalk. "But it is a big deal, big guy. In all the years we've been hanging out, this is the first time I've seen you out with a girl on your arm."

Kate squints in the sunshine as she  looks up at me, "Really?"

I loosen my grip on Kate's hand and feel self conscious as I tuck my hands into my pockets instead. "..uh, no comment." 

I glare at Maxwell's back as we meander our way around other tourists, Kate has to quicken her pace to keep up with me. When she grabs my arm, I slow down and apologize. "Sorry. Max kind of caught me off guard."

"It's ok, Drake. I understand." She tries looping her arm through mine, but it's awkward, so I go back to holding her hand.

"C'mon," I say, sidestepping around another group of window shoppers and tugging her along with me, "We better catch up with Max and Hana before we lose them."

Kate laughs as she scampers along beside me, narrowly missing obstacles, and by the time we spot Hana and Max again they're waiting for us outside of a clothing store. We skid to a stop. 

"Geez, guys. You nearly lost us." Kate pants, leaning against my arm. "I'm glad I wore my sneakers."

Hana pulls the door open, "Sorry for the rush, but we only have an hour before our cab comes back. I've been dying to shop at this boutique, ever since I've started following their posts on Instagram."

I glance up at the fancy sign above the doors in gold script. "Mes -...?"

"Mes Demoiselles. It means 'My Ladies'." Kate says, and I smirk at the way her speaking French sends a shiver through me. Damn it sounds sexy.

I hold the door open for her, "After you then, My Lady."

We're all met by a tall woman with a friendly smile, and of course she welcomes us in French. Hana answers and then we're left alone to shop. I haven't a clue what to look at, or what would be appropriate for a tea party so I just follow Kate around as she sifts through the racks.

Up on the wall are photographs of models wearing various dresses and outfits, I try to imagine Kate modeling things for me, and suddenly I feel warm all over. 

"F..find anything you like..K-..Darling?" I stammer and she gives me a little smirk, flipping her hair over her shoulder. 

"What color should I wear, Drake?" She pulls out a pale minty colored dress made of some sheer fabric and covered in flowers, holding it up to herself. "Do you like this?"

I tried to imagine her in it, the minty color did bring out the blue of her eyes, but it made her look too pale to me. There was another dress of the same style in a pale pinkish color, and I pointed to that one. "Ehh, try that one instead."

Kate twists her lip in thought for a moment and then pulls them both, "I'll try them both on and then we'll see."

She hands them both to me and I raise my eyebrows, "Oh..ok."

Hana waves us over to the other side of the store where there are some longer dresses. I make eye contact with Maxwell briefly and he winks at me in some kind conspiratorial way, and I look away with a frown. 

"Ooh, Hana. This white dress is pretty. Do you think I could pull it off? I'm not very tall."

"Oh sure, it might even make you look taller. Try it on."

Kate hands me another dress, and I get a glimpse at the price tag. It's over a hundred Euros. I gulp as I try to hold all three dresses without dropping them.

I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder and then turn to see the shop lady, "Excusez-moi monsieur.  Voudriez-vous que je vous enlève ceux-ci pendant que votre femme fait les courses?"

I blink, "Uh…"

Hana smiles, "She wants to know if you'd like to set these dresses aside while your..wife...continues shopping."

I blush, "Uh..tell her 'yes'...but she's not my wife."

Hana quickly translates, and then shares a chuckle with the woman at my expense. And I feel myself blush even harder.

Kate covers her mouth and giggles, watching me hand off the dresses. "I'm sorry, Drake. You just look so cute when you're flustered."

Pulling Kate into a hug, I bury my hot face into the side of her neck, and whisper. "You're lucky you're cute too, or I wouldn't be caught dead shopping for dresses. Now let me see what they look like on you."

When she sucks in a breath and presses her lips to my cheek, I squeeze her tighter. "Although I'd much rather you helped me out of them," she whispers. 

Maxwell clears his throat, "C'mon you two. Quit your canoodling. We have a party to get to."

Hana picks out a long skirt and a blouse for herself.  On our way to the changing rooms at the back of the store, I notice a mannequin wearing a long cardigan type shawl in an ivory color. I point it out to Kate. "Do you like that?"

She runs her fingers along the delicate stitch work, and smiles, "I do. Why?"

"Get one, there's not much to these dresses and I don't want you to get cold."

Kate kisses my cheek, and then runs over to where they're folded up on a shelf and cuddles it's softness to herself as she comes back to me. "Thank you Drake, it's beautiful."

"You can thank me later."

::

tagging: @jovialyouthmusic @sirbeepsalot @emceesynonymroll @emichelle @mskaneko @speedyoperarascalparty @dcbbw @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @pedudley @kingliam2019 @kimmiedoo5 @gardeningourmet @drakesensworld @mfackenthal @thequeenchoices @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @wickedgypsymoon @griselda1121 @indiacater @texaskitten30 @nikkis1983 @lynne1993 @bobasheebaby @drakesfiance @ravenpuff02 @moonlightgem7 @princessleac1 @janezillow @jlpplays1 @walker7519 @drakesensworld @furiousherringoperatortoad @samihatuli @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @rainbowsinthestorm @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @jessiembruno @msjpuddleduck @princess-andromeda-nazario @princess-geek @mom2000aggie @batgirlassociationofgothamcity

[onceuponakdrama]

Crash Landing On You KDrama Review

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Bingo Card for Crash Landing On You

Synopsis: Yoon Se Ri [Son Yejin] is an heiress to a conglomerate in South Korea. One day, while paragliding, an accident caused by strong winds (and a tornado) leads her to make an emergency landing in North Korea. There, she meets Ri Jeong Hyuk [Hyun Bin], who is a North Korean army officer. He tries to protect her and hide her. Soon, Lee Jung Hyuk falls in love with Yoon Se Ri. 

Overall Main Plot: Rating - 8 out of 10

I was actually pretty invested throughout the entire drama. There wasn’t much I skipped, unless it was giving me secondhand embarrassment. Seeing the divide between the North and the South actually came into play for more than just the romance; there was the tension and threat that Cho Cheol Gang and the military director that come into play with the power dynamics. It was also interesting to see how was affected by the political relations, not to mention the role Se Ri plays as an heiress and CEO and Jeong Hyuk as the son of the Military Bureau. It did make things more dramatic, especially since when one was in the North vs the South and they weren’t allowed to be there and the risk of getting caught made things interesting. However, there were a few aspects that made me a bit tired. 

First things first: the whole plot with Cho Cheol Gang was drawn out for too long. It wasn’t really clear as to why he was so obsessed with taking the Ri family down other than to gain more power. The writers kind of wanted to try to give him some sympathy when he was talking about how he had nothing to lose because he grew up as a child beggar, but it was not working on me. I only felt upset when he died because he wasn’t going to be punished for the rest of his life for targeting Se Ri. If he was going to die, it should’ve been earlier. Anyways, I got really tired of him as the antagonist and the writers should’ve taken care of him earlier or made him more interesting as a character rather than just the antagonist. 

In the beginning, it was actually a really good pace. My only thing about Se Ri in the North was the fact that it took so long for her to get back. I understood that it’s not easy for her to get back, but they dragged it out for so long and I felt disappointed when they couldn’t get her over. I know it was also supposed to set up the couple and have them spend time together, but I was more invested in the fact that Se Ri was supposed to inherit the family fortune and company and I was interested as to how she was going to get that back and she couldn’t get it unless she returned. I don’t know though; that was just my opinion. 

Characters: Rating - 9 out of 10 

↣ Yoon Se Ri [played by Son Yejin]: okay, I absolutely loved her. She gave me major Cheon Song Yi vibes. Her confidence, her vibes, and her everything made me simp so hard for her. I also loved her development on her thoughts on romance and family. It’s very clear through the comparisons of having her wait for someone, relying on someone to help her, etc. I love an independent woman, but I also love seeing her understand that she doesn’t have to be strong all the time, especially considering how much bullshit her family put her through. I also loved that she had a life for herself in North Korea as well because she made friends with the ahjumma ladies from the neighborhood. There’s just so much I loved from her character and growth and I felt so much for her. 

↣ Ri Jeong Hyuk [played by Hyun Bin]: okay, I have never loved a man more. I know most of the viewers felt the same about him in the sense that he’s such a soft character and, at the same time, a strong character. He also had great development too, in the sense that he opened himself up to love and vulnerability that he didn’t get to feel after his brother died. He also felt that sense of responsibility to protect someone he loved because he was unable to protect his brother. God, I just have so many feelings for him. I loved him as a character and how soft he was for Se Ri and his comrades. But there was also the side where he was so charismatic and.... wow. What a man. 10/10 would recommend. 

↣ Gu Seongjun [played by Kim Junghyun]: I felt conflicted about him. I felt bad for him as time went and felt even worse when he was killed. It was still a good character though because he also had a lot of development and it was clear he was conflicted about the things he was doing and things he was seeing. I was also interested as to his relation with Se Ri; I liked it when the three teamed up, but I wished we got a chance for Se Ri to know that Seongjun passed—he did help her out after all and she let him go after he stole her brother’s money. The writers should’ve given him a happy ending, whether it’s faking his death to escape North Korea or something. He deserved so much better. 

↣ Seo Dan [played by Seo Jihye]: for Seo Dan, it took a while for me to like her because she was centrally framed as the second female lead that just wanted to break up the main couple. She was similar to Se Ri, in the sense that she was very confident about herself and knew how to assert herself—but she was just so insecure when it came to Jeong Hyuk and that made me upset. She also was written as the “I saw him first” girl and I did not like that. I was also upset that instead of giving her a chance of happiness with Seongjun, the writers killed off her love interest for her to be more secure about being single. There’s nothing wrong with her being single, but I don’t think she should learn that as her love interest died in her arms, like. Bruh. 

Personal Notes: I absolutely loved the ducklings squad (Captain Ri’s comrades) and their dynamics with both Se Ri and Jeong Hyuk. I felt so bad for them when they were being separated and then when they were wandering around Seoul because Se Ri would have really taken care of everything for them. I also loved Man Bok and how he was just listening to these conversations and reacting to them. I’m so glad he got the happiness he so deserved and got to move past Cheol Gang. I also loved seeing the side stories with the ahjumma ladies and how they were surviving. At first, they felt like average Asian moms, but seeing as to how they were all close and how they cared for one another melted my heart. There were so many good characters, protagonists and antagonists, because they all played some role with the plot and their relationships with the main characters. 

Romance: Rating - 9 out of 10 

Oh my God. I can’t remember the last time I rooted so hard for a couple. I absolutely loved them and I cried so hard during the last episode. From the separation, the stand-off, and when they got back together.... there was just so much to root for. I already said this, but seeing Jeong Hyuk be so protective of Se Ri and vice versa was so cute—especially since they didn’t really have someone to be there for them before. All of their scenes are absolutely precious. The only reason it wasn’t a 10 out of 10 was when Jeong Hyuk tried to do the stupid kdrama thing and dump her to protect her, only to cause her to collapse and she falls ill. Other than that small note, they were very refreshing—their chemistry was clear (as noted, considering the actors are dating irl) and I think the writers did a good job of making the audience root for them to get together even though it was nearly impossible considering the political relations between the North and the South. We love a forbidden romance. 

Second Plot/B-Plot and Secondary Characters: Rating - 8 out of 10

I felt that there were some characters that could have been better written, even if they were secondary characters. These mainly include antagonists, but Seo Dan is also kind of included (as noted on the character section). Again, I really loved the little found family aspect (the one with the soldiers and the ones with the neighborhood ladies) and seeing as to how they progress throughout the drama. There were a lot of side characters I liked and understood. However, some of the antagonists really felt a bit unnecessary. I know they’re written to be unlikable, but some of them were really questionable. The major question is directed at some of the higher officers: what did they have against Ri Jeong Hyuk and why was he constantly targeted? There was no real motivation. I get that it’s supposed to drive the plot, but it didn’t really contribute anything major and felt unneeded. Other than that, I loved all the other side characters and seeing their lives progress as time goes—it was also interesting to see as to how it connected with the major pieces or branched from the major plot. One other note I wanted to include was Seo Dan’s family and how supportive they were. Her mom was kind of annoying at first, but, by the end of the day, she actually just wanted her daughter to be happy and nothing else mattered and I loved that. Her uncle was hilarious and seeing their little family dynamic was good comedic relief compared to what else was happening in the drama. 

Additional Notes: 

The Scenery/Atmosphere - I really loved the camera work and the colors of the scenes. While dramas like Record of Youth had a nice aesthetic, I think the colors was something that was really nice and worked really well. You can see this specifically when Se Ri goes from South Korea to North Korea. It’s really the attention to details that got me and seeing how the physical environment shaped the drama. 

I mentioned it earlier but I’m still upset that they killed off Seongjun, especially after all that build-up they had for him. They really killed him off on the 15th episode on a series that was 16 episodes long. This just sucked considering how much he had helped out Se Ri and Jeong Hyuk, along with his developing relationship with Seo Dan. It felt like the writers were testing out to see what would happen if they did kill off someone for the sake of the drama. The writers kind of screwed up on that one. 

The Ending - I personally really liked it. It was realistic in the sense that they couldn’t be together because of where they came from, but there was some of plan for them to get together eventually. It was heartbreaking to see them separate, but it was bound to happen. I did like the idea of them getting together in the place that brought them together—although the year long text messages made me cry and the waiting for him to show up broke me. It was still very satisfactory for the main couple and we already know my thoughts on the secondary couple [they 100% deserved better]. 

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Recommended? 

↣ Yes: I think there’s a lot to like about this drama. It’s very romance-centered with very likable characters that you root for. There’s a lot of tropes used, but it actually works. There’s also the aspect of found family vs blood-family, considering how rich families function and those who actually cared about Se Ri. There were also a lot of interesting side plots, so you would never be bored watching the drama throughout. Many twists and turns take place and it made for good entertainment; again, it was kind of tropey, but the writers kind of were just giving the audience what they wanted, so I can’t complain. 

↣ No: there’s a lot of political context, if you want a drama more focused on the romance and romance alone, you probably shouldn’t watch it. Some of the side plot focused on the North Korean military and it did bore me, but you had to pay attention because it actually mattered to the major plot. There are also some parts where it feels exhausting to watch, such as the beginning relationship of the main male lead and the secondary female lead, there’s the pop-up proposal from Seongjun (which came out of nowhere), the fake break-up sequences to try to protect one another, etc. There’s also a lot of emphasis on the heir fortune, so that means a lot of family drama that involves near attempted murder—which is also frustrating to watch. There also should have been a trigger warning, in the sense that Se Ri had a depression period, to where she was borderline suicidal. If you can’t handle any of these things, I don’t suggest watching it. 

[hoboal87]

Elastic Heart Chapter One

Elastic Heart Chapter One

Characters: Y/N Y/L/N, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, John Winchester, OFCs

Pairing(s): None

Summary: Y/N Y/L/N sees a familiar set of eyes in the crowd, and remembers the first time she saw them and how they changed her life.

Word Count: 4300+

Warnings: Show level violence, cursing, pre-Stanford era Winchesters

Notes: Series will be mostly canon compliant, taking place during season 8/9. Also, for purposes of this fic Sam was born in '84 instead of '83.

Please give a comment or reblog and let me know what you think!

Elastic Heart Masterlist

Chapter One - Senior Year

“Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N”

I don’t hear my name being called, I’m in my own world, looking out into the crowd for a set of familiar eyes. I spot them three rows back and smile. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them, and I miss the days where I would see those eyes nearly every day.

Life as a nursing student consists of going to class, lab work, interning at a hospital, and occasionally sleeping. I’ve spent the past two years doing nothing but that. I’ve always been one to do things early, but this was the one thing that, for once, I was on par with my peers. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. From the first time I saw those eyes, they altered my life, sending me down a path that I never planned to be on. Taking longer than we had thought, but eventually, I got back on track.

Finish school and get my fresh start. That had been my goal for the past two years. Move on, with or without those eyes in my life. I wanted them, but I knew that logically, it couldn’t happen. Our lives were too different, especially now. I lost my chance of having them with me always; now, I could only cherish the holidays and long weekends that allowed us to be together.

“Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N,” the announcer’s voice contains a bit of urgency this time, drawing my attention. I step across the stage, shaking my supervisor’s hand, and receive my metaphorical diploma. I look back out into the audience and connect with those eyes again, wide and filled with joy. I take my seat and think back to the first time I saw them and how they changed my life forever.

Fall, 2002

This was it, the first day of my senior year. This is the year I will prove to everyone that I am no longer a kid. This is the year, mom and dad will see that I can act like an adult and make ‘good choices’ but, I’m determined to have just a little fun.

For the last two years, mom and dad have insisted that I take extra courses and go to summer school to ensure I graduate not only with good grades but early. I’ll graduate in the spring and be off to college in the fall. All I really want is to wait, take a year or two, experience life outside of my parents’ house.

I make the point to do as many high school activities as I can. Activities that they discouraged me from doing for the last two years; choir, volleyball, anything that will get me out of the house but still considered a school activity. I joined the decorating committee, wanting to participate in homecoming as much as possible. I know as long as I do nothing life-altering, I’m gonna be free in May.

“Be mindful of your grades, Y/N,” dad said, reading over all the consent forms, “if they slip, you will need to cut these extracurricular activities.”

“They won’t slip, dad.” I roll my eyes. “It’s my last year, let me have a bit of fun, please?”

“Your average drops below an A, and I’m pulling you out of each one of these clubs, understood?”

“Yes, sir.” I mull over telling him the other part of my plan. “I was… thinking about getting a job.” I look down, not wanting to make eye contact. “Something part-time?”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Y/N,” mom enters the room, “You’re going to be so busy already, tell her Rob.”

“Your mother has a point, and if they accept you to all these clubs, when will you even have time?”

“I may not even end up in the choir or the volleyball team,” I argue, “and if I don’t I’ll have a free period every day, I can talk to the counselor about making it my last class and—it’s my Senior Year, please, don’t you guys think I deserve a little more credit than this? I should get to experience a little bit of independence, don’t you think? I’m gonna be away at college in a year, I’m probably gonna have some on-campus job, I need to learn how to balance between the two.” I catch my breath, hoping that they will agree.

“Fine,” dad sighs heavily, “the same deal goes. Your grades slip, no more working. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes!” I throw my arms around him, “Thank you!”

“Maybe you could get a job at the clinic,” mom chimes in, “get some experience in the field?”

“I don’t think anyone wants a sixteen-year-old working at the clinic, Sarah. Maybe at the drugstore, though?”

“Yeah,” I sit on the couch, “maybe.”

I discreetly start looking at apartments that could be for rent after graduation. I look on the outskirts of town and find a garage apartment that a very sweet older lady agrees to rent to me if it is still unoccupied over the summer. Finding a job gets put on the back burner as the school year moves into full swing. It turns out I can’t sing, and I suck at volleyball, but the coach offers me the position of manager, allowing me to still participate with the team at pep rallies and travel with them on away games. As the season comes to a close, and with Thanksgiving break around the corner, I decide it’s time to actively look for a job.

The trouble is finding someone willing to hire a 16-year-old high school student with no experience. I try some local retail stores, but I know that mom and dad will never go for the hours they want me to work. I walk into Joe’s Burgers, my favorite place to get some dinner and continue looking through the classifieds.

“Hey, Y/N/N,” I look over and wave to the man behind the counter.

“Hey, Dan, can I get a Bacon—"

“Your usual?” he cuts me off, smiling.

“Yes, please,” I look down sheepishly, handing him the exact amount of money without being told the total.

“Whatcha got there?” he nods towards the paper that’s now on the counter as he hands me my receipt.

“Oh, I’m just looking for a job,” I tuck the paper under my arms. “Need to earn some money so I can get outta this town after graduation.”

“What’s wrong with the town,” his face grows serious, “I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Shit—I mean, n-nothing. Fuck."

“Y/N/N!” Dan bursts into laughter, “I’m just messing with you! You think you’re the first person who hates living here? We’re a small-ass town in the middle of nowhere.”

“You’re such a jerk,” I say, relieved, “I’ll be in my spot, okay?” He tries to contain his laughter as I walk away, making my way to my usual table. I flip through the pages, seeing nothing that would really work for me.

“You know Joe has been talking about hiring another cashier,” Dan says, bringing my food over, “and you’re practically here all the time anyway, you may as well make some money while you’re at it. You want me to talk to him?”

“Really? Do you think he’d hire me? I can’t stay late on week-nights because of school, mom and dad would kill me.”

“Yeah, we need someone to work the register, Jana can’t do it all herself. Whaddya think?”

“Oh, my god Dan, that would be amazing!” I get up and throw my arms around him to give him a hug. I watch as Dan walks to the back of the restaurant, after a few minutes he returns, giving me the thumbs-up. Before I leave, he gives me paperwork to fill out and a uniform, telling me to return the next day for training.

For three days, I train, working with Jana on the register. She is a few years older than me, with absolutely no filter. She always has me hunched over, laughing at something she has said or done. The lunches are busier than usual with the break. On Friday, she decides it’s time to leave me on my own, ‘best way to learn,’ she quips.

I’ve never been a social butterfly, and the thought of having to deal with customers on my own genuinely terrifies me for a few moments. After giving myself a small pep talk, I turn around to see three large men waiting for me.

The shortest of the three looks at me, and leans over the counter, “I’m here, what are your other two wishes?” he asks, flashing me a wink.

“I’m sorry?” I can’t believe this guy is serious.

“My brother and I were wondering,” he gestures to the tallest of the three, “if it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“W-what?” I feel the heat pooling in my cheeks.

“Dean, knock it off, we’re here to work.” the older man behind him smacks him upside his head, and I have to stifle my laughter. He offers a sympathetic smile toward me.

“Did your mother drop you on your head when you were a baby?” I shot back; it was the only thing I could think of, albeit an awful comeback.

“It’s okay, just blink if you want me,” I stare straight into those green eyes for a solid 10 seconds before turning away.

“Dean, leave the girl alone, how old are you doll?” he asks, turning to me.

“Sixteen,” I say, watching as he rolls his eyes at the other two.

“See, are you trying to go to jail, son?” he says, looking at me apologetically “I’m sorry my sons are two walking hormones.”

“I didn’t even say anything!” the tall one huffs. Green-eyes shrugs and rubs the back of his head.

“Don’t even Sam, I heard you when we walked in.” Their dad grabs them by the shirts and drags them both to stand in front of me. I couldn’t believe my eyes, this man grabbing his two grown sons like they were pre-teens, “Now apologize to…” he looks at my name tag, “… Y/N.”

“Sorry, sweetheart, didn’t mean to offend you,” Green-eyes says insincerely.

“That’s fine, it’s part of the job, learning to deal with frat boys who love to mess with townies,” I smile back curtly.

“What the fu—” green-eyes is clearly trying to contain his anger, but his dad chuckles at the remark, and his brother can hardly control himself.

“Yeah, frat boy, don’t mess with the townie,” the younger one laughs, pushing his shaggy brown hair away from his face, revealing gleaming hazel eyes flecked with hints of green and blue surrounded by dark full lashes.

“Listen, Y/N,” green-eyes looks at my name tag again, “we ain’t no frat boys, in fact, we’re here becau—”

“All right, Dean, that’s enough.” His dad gives him a stern look that is clearly a silent conversation. “Since we’re off to such a wonderful start, let’s start over, yeah?”

I nod politely. These guys are clearly passing through and will be gone in a matter of hours or days, but Joe wants us to make all people, even the ones we’ll probably never see again, feel welcome.

“I’m John, you already know Dean,” he reaches his hand out towards the tall one, “and this is Sam. We’re actually looking into the recent animal-related deaths,” he says, producing a Fish and Wildlife Badge. I study it for a moment before handing it back. “We’re interviewing some of the local business owners and residents in the area of the attacks. Have you heard or seen anything usual, smelled anything weird, anything that comes to mind?”

“Oh.” I look at the three men; here I was being a bitch to the people trying to help. “Um, I just started working here a few days ago, animal attacks?” I look back up to John, who nods. “The only animals around here are coyotes, but even they’re pretty rare. I haven’t heard anything, but I keep to myself. Joe might know something, he’s the owner and knows everything about everyone.” I offer a smile.

“Is Joe in today?” John asks. His grey eyes hold so much pain as he looks at me.

“Um… yeah. He may have a few minutes now that we’ve slowed down. I can see if he can come talk to you?”

“That’d be great, thanks, Y/N.”

“Please, Y/N/N,” I say, blushing, covering my nametag, “No one really calls me Y/N.”

“Y/N/N,” he repeats, “I’d really like to speak with Joe if it’s not a problem.”

“Yeah, shit. Let me go get him,” I say, walking towards the back. “Hey Jana, I’m gonna go get Joe. Watch the register?”

“I got it,” she hollers back.

“Dude! She’s 16!” I hear who I assume is Sam whispering loudly. “Shut up! How was I supposed to know that?!”

“Dean, she’s obviously not 18. Stick to girls your own age,” John responds. “Sammy—.”

I can no longer hear the men as I reach the door to Joe’s office. Jana and Dan had both told me that his door usually stayed open, today it was not only closed, but it was locked as well. I knock, waiting for him to answer. He looks a little frazzled when he opens the door, but smiles at me, “Hey, Y/N/N, what’s up?”

“There’s a guy from Fish and Wildlife; he’s looking into the recent animal attacks? He’s asking about strange occurrences or something? I don’t know, but I know you pay attention to that kind of stuff, so he wants to talk to you.”

“I—shit, yeah, let him know I’ll be out in a few minutes,” he straightens his shirt and closes the door behind him.

I nod and head back to the front of the building. I watch as the boys and their father seem to be in deep discussion. Turning away when I realize Dean has caught me staring. I gather their food, and as I walk towards their table, I can hear that for some reason, I am the current topic of discussion, specifically, my age.

“Actually, I’ll be 17 in a month,” I quip, dropping their food, unsure of why I am engaging with this odd group of men.

“Huh?” Dean looks at me curiously.

“Well, for some reason the two of you are overly concerned with my age, I’ll be 17 next month.”

“Still illegal, Dean,” Sam smirks.

“Yeah, but right up your alley, Sammy,” Dean winks at him.

“Boys, stop treating this girl like she’s a piece of meat,” their father doesn’t even look up from his plate.

I can’t help myself, I’m usually not this brazen, but something about these outsiders coming in, I have to say it, “Well, here in the Great State of Texas the age of consent is 17, it’s not technically illegal,” and before I can stop myself I wink at Dean.

“Oh, Y/N, you are killing me here,” he says, bringing his hand to his chest. “Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to pass, but Sammy here,” Dean grabs Sam by the shoulders, “may be able to help you out.”

Sam blushes furiously; it’s actually adorable. I can feel the heat coming up in my own cheeks, and know if I stay any longer, they will see it very clearly.

“Joe’ll be out in a few minutes,” I say, turning to go back to the register. I walk away, adding a little sway in my hips as I know the younger men are watching. “Lemme know if there’s anything else I can get you,” I shoot another wink, this time in Sam’s direction.

“Thanks, Y/N/N.” John’s baritone voice carries through the restaurant.

I watch Joe take a seat with the three men, the younger boys listening and observing their father very carefully. I watch John grab something—a fork?— out of his pocket and discreetly place it in front of Joe. Why would he do such a thing? Joe and the men continue to speak for 10 minutes until the dinner rush starts, and Joe excuses himself.

The three men finish their burgers and leave the restaurant; concern etched on their faces as they have a heated conversation.

Throughout the dinner rush, I notice that Sam is stationed outside of the building. It looks as though he’s watching somebody. But every time I look up, his position has changed. After it grows dark, I can no longer see him outside; I realize I shouldn’t let him occupy my mind. Jana and I work furiously until a few hours later when we finally close.

“First day on your own,” Jana says, letting her hair down and hopping onto the counter. “You did good Y/N/N, only a couple mistakes.”

“Thanks, it’s not always gonna be like that, right?” I say, sighing, mimicking her actions with my own hair.

“Nah, I mean, the Friday and Saturdays will be, but unless it’s a school break, the nights are not usually too crazy,” she reassures me.

“Thank God,” I laugh, “what about the customers? Did you see those guys earlier? The ones talking to Joe?” I ask, hoping that she doesn’t pick up on the fact that I am blushing at the mention of the men.

“Oh, you mean the green-eyed one who was clearly hitting on you?” She smirks at me, “With the older guy and the really tall guy?”

“Yeah… you have an excellent memory…” I laugh, “he was so cheesy. ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’” I mock him. “I mean, he can’t think girls really fall for that? Even the tall one knew it was a bad line.” I blushed a little, thinking about them.

“Oh my god, you like him, green-eyes.” She gasps, “You wanna jump his bones,” she sang mockingly at me, “you love him!”

“Shut up,” I threw my apron at her playfully, “I do not want to jump his bones. Besides, I’m jailbait. He’s at least 21 or so.” Jana raises her eyebrow at me. “He basically told me he couldn’t.”

“So… you’re saying you would if he was younger?” she giggles.

“Jana! No! He’s not my type. He’s way too cocky—he probably thinks he’s God’s Gift to Women,” I mock him again.

“What about the tall one? He was gorgeous,” she offers, “And the dad? He’s hot, like I will so call him Daddy. Let him just—."

“That’s way too much information, Jana. Anyway, if green-eyes is too old, how on earth is the dad not even more wrong?”

“That’s what makes it so hot… like, the wrongness of it…” she says mock fanning herself. “Okay, so clearly, the giant is the one you’re gonna have to do. You can just climb on top—" she says, moving her whole body onto the counter, “and take him for a ride.”

“Jesus, Jana.” I try to suppress my embarrassed laughter. But I blush furiously at the thought of Sam, especially with the image that Jana just planted in my head. I cover my face with my hands as I try to compose myself.

“Oh my god, you are so red!” Jana laughs, “It’s the giant! He’s the one you lo-ove!”

“I don’t even know him! They’re just passing through. You know the type, no one actually moves here. Not for real, at least. They’ll be gone in a week.”

“Y/N/N, that’s why it’s perfect. Hook up, get all that pent-up frustration out of your system, and then you’ll go your separate ways,” she offers. “Wham-bam-thank you-ma’am.”

“I’m really not into that one-night stand stuff,” I say, “I mean, what’s the point?”

“Come on, Y/N/N, that’s the point. Sometimes you just need a release. It’s not like you’re gonna fall in love with some guy you just met and hook-up with once. I mean, you’ve hooked up with guys before, right?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“Oh, my God. Y/N/N, you’re not a virgin, are you?” she whispers so that Dan and Joe won’t hear. I nod, I didn’t have a problem with my own virginity, but other people did. I know I have plenty of time. And with how busy mom and dad keep me, I have no time for boys. “Oh, okay, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I know. Besides, mom and dad don’t even like the thought of me dating; they’d make the guy ask for permission. It’s not that I would ever have time for it anyway. Either way, it’ll happen whenever it happens, and it will probably not be great the first time,” I laugh, trying to break the serious look on Jana’s face. “I have very low expectations, especially if he’s never done anything either. Most boys my age don’t know what they’re doing anyway.”

“Not to be all romantic or whatever, but you know it doesn’t have to be like that. Your first time doesn’t have to suck. It can be really nice if you get the right person.”

“I figure it will either be awesome or okay,” I laugh, “hope it’s awesome, but it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Okay, I’m gonna have one more mom moment with you, and then we can leave, okay?” she grows slightly serious, and I nod my head. “Bring condoms.” I choke out a laugh. “I’m serious. Don’t count on the guy to do it. And don’t trust the ‘pull-out’ method. Dudes always think they can time it right, and half the time…” she makes a gesture I don’t quite understand, I look at her confused. “Inside. Or at least not all the way out. And I’m sure getting pregnant isn’t a part of your grand plan.” She smiles softly. “If you ever need someone to talk about this stuff with, you can come to me, okay?”

“Thank you, if and when the day ever comes, I’ll be sure to tell you.” She raises her eyebrow. “I swear. Don’t count on it being anytime soon, though.”

Jana finishes counting the tips, and I count the register. We grab our bags, say goodbye to Dan, who’s still closing down, and Joe, who’s in the office looking at receipts.

Jana and I live about a block away from each other, and close enough to the restaurant that neither of us bothered driving. Every week it’s getting colder, and I know by the first week of December it will be too cold to walk home at night. But until then, Jana and I walk together, her house off of the main road that leads to mine.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you all the way home?” Jana asks as we reach her street.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Then you’ll have to walk back by yourself.”

“Yeah, but I’m prepared.” She pulls mace and a small knife that’s attached to her keychain out. “If someone or something tries to get me, stab stab.”

“Jesus, Jana,” I laugh out of shock. “No, I’ll be fine, how about tomorrow before work I get me one of those and then I���ll be prepared as well.”

“Fine, but call me when you get home,” she jots a number down and waves goodbye, “I’m serious Y/N/N, call me. If you don’t, I will call your parents.”

“I will,” I yell, turning back to head home.

I feel that I’m being followed. Paranoid, I know. I swear I can hear footsteps behind me, but every time I turn around, there’s nothing there. Freaking Jana, this is her fault. I’ve never had issues walking home at night before, but now I’m hearing things that I probably wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t put “I’m prepared,” in my head, now feeling like a taunt. I’m less than 5 minutes away from my house; what could possibly happen?

I hear a growling, something inhuman; it grows louder as I try to will myself to move faster. I turn the corner, and that’s when it happens, someone, something, jumps out of nowhere and starts running towards me. I try to run, but my legs won’t move, “fuck.”

I hear yelling, but I still can’t move, the creature is getting closer to me, and I get a good look at it. Claws, it has fucking claws. Its eyes are yellow, and its teeth are huge. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a werewolf. But werewolves don’t exist. This must be the creature that John was looking for.

‘It’s some kind of rare species of bear,’ I tell myself, ‘a bear.’

It’s only about a foot away from me; it looks like something out of a horror movie. It’s on its hind legs, unnatural noises leave its body, and before I can even move, it's swiping at me. All I can do is close my eyes and pray it doesn't kill me. A loud bang forces my eyes open, I stand there, still unable to move. I look up to see a set of familiar eyes before me, ones I hadn’t expected to see ever again. Sam.

Chapter 2

[blissedoutphil]

Dan The Personal Assistant Part 11

Dan has to submit an application video to be an assistant for a company President, Mr. Lester. But what happens when he accidentally sends a wrong video?

4759 words of Dom!Phil, sub!dan, buttplug, cock cage, blowjob, exhibitionism/in public, angst

~Part 10~

~Part 12~

or read on ao3!

Dan slowly stirred awake, his senses following suit as he felt warmth press up against his back, and scruff grazing his shoulder. He sighed softly as his mind connected the sensations to Phil placing lazy kisses on his shoulder, his stubble scratching against his smooth upper arm. He stretched a little, and Phil took the opportunity to kiss down the top of his shoulders to his neck.

“Good mornin’,” Phil said in a gruff voice, lips moving against Dan’s skin as he spoke.

Dan managed to croak out a response, blushing at how silly he thought he sounded compared to how absolutely sexy his boss’s morning voice was.

“We’re gonna have fun today,” his boss said decidedly, sending a tingle of excitement down Dan’s spine.

He turned around to face Phil, still somewhat surprised when he was met with those green-blue eyes mere inches away from him.

Phil took his time letting his gaze roam over his boy’s sleepy face. He’d known his boy was pretty since he first saw the video that started all this, but he felt like he’d never got to fully appreciate him until he started waking up next to him everyday. It was a good move to get a room with just one bed after all. He smiled a little thinking back to when he was worrying if Dan wouldn’t be comfortable with it. As it turned out Dan didn’t even question it, and it felt like second nature to sleep with each other. His smile faded a bit when he realised that once this trip ends, he’d be going back to sleeping alone in his empty house.

Dan returned Phil’s soft smile, feeling his cheeks warm a bit under Phil’s gaze. He wondered what Phil was thinking about, but he didn’t want to break the peaceful silence between them.

The longing gaze seemed to disappear and Phil cleared his throat and propped himself up on his elbow. “So. Before we head out to where you planned last night, I have things planned too. Choose one - A, B, or C?”

Dan squinted his eyes in suspicion, “What do those options even mean?”

“Obviously you have to choose first! Then I’ll reveal what they are,” Phil smirked.

“Hmm,” Dan contemplated as he stretched a bit more, “B?”

“Good choice,” Phil grinned mischievously.

“Doesn’t look like I made a good choice,” Dan laughed nervously, “so what is it?”

“Eager,” Phil stalled, “I’ll tell you what you didn’t choose first.”

Phil spoke lowly, climbing over Dan, “A was an anal plug. Would’ve been kept in you as we explore the city the entire day.”

Dan swallowed, not sure whether he was glad or upset he didn’t choose that.

“C was a pretty little cock cage, would’ve been a good choice for you to be honest. Just because we’re gonna be out doesn’t mean I’d keep my hands off you. Wouldn’t wanna show an erection outline in your pants to the whole city, would you?”

Dan whimpered a bit at Phil’s words, feeling himself get aroused at the thought of a bit of exhibitionism. Phil was smirking down at him, his hands on the bed either side of Dan’s head to hold himself steady above him. Dan didn’t even care anymore that Phil could see him obviously blushing at his words.

“Why don’t you guess what B stands for?” excitement was clear in Phil’s eyes.

Dan’s mind was still barely awake, and now that it was getting clouded with arousal, he couldn’t think properly at all.

“Uhm, butt plug?”

“How would that be any different from A,” Phil rolled his eyes fondly, “try again.”

Dan frowned a bit, what toy started with B that Phil could’ve brought along on this trip?

Phil was amused by how hard Dan seemed to be thinking of an answer. He carded his hand through Dan’s tangled curls. “Give up?”

Dan nodded, staring up at Phil in curiosity.

“B...” Phil nipped at Dan’s jaw, “is for...” he bit on Dan’s earlobe, drawing out time to reveal the answer.

Dan almost whined at the suspense.

“Both,” Phil whispered in Dan’s ear before moving back to catch Dan’s reaction.

Dan gulped and bit his lip. They haven’t played with toys in a while and he could feel himself already thrumming with excitement.

“You’ve had your days off, now it’s my turn. And I’m gonna have fun on my only day off. How’s that sound?” Phil asked, although he could see from his boy’s dilated eyes that he was definitely up for this game.

“Sounds really hot. Can’t wait, Sir,” Dan admitted.

----------

They took a quick shower together, where Phil got his hands all over Dan in a personal challenge to get his boy as hard and horny as he could.

“How are you supposed to use your cage if you’re hard like that?” Phil then said disapprovingly.

“You could help to get me off first,” Dan suggested cheekily, to which he was rewarded with cold water sprayed at his crotch until his boner died down.

Once they dried off and got into their bathrobes, Phil took the cage out of a hidden pocket in his luggage. Dan stood quietly as he felt the cool plastic encase his cock, and watched as his boss locked him and pocketed the key. It was a first for him, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to last the whole day with it on. He was already horny from the shower, and he was sure Phil was only beginning his teasing. The denial was surely going to drive him crazy by the end of the day.

He then got on all fours on the bed as instructed. Phil took his time fingering him open, brushing against his prostate. Dan moaned, it had been a while since Phil fingered him, and he didn’t even realise that he’d missed the gentle teasing and prodding, the light squeezes on his ass, the reassuring hand on his lower back as more fingers were pressed into him, all a sure way to leave him a desperate mess, and Phil knew what a desperate mess he could be. He was definitely taking advantage of all the tricks he knew to get him there.

The plug slid in him easily, then Phil was patting his ass to get him to stand up. He sat on the bed and got Dan to kneel between his legs.

“Boy, look what you’ve done to me,” he said as he untied his bathrobe to reveal his own erection.

Dan couldn’t help but smile as he wrapped his lips around Phil’s dick. Phil leaned back and enjoyed his boy’s mouth on him. He toed at Dan’s thighs to spread them apart, before toeing at Dan’s cage.

Dan moaned desperately, feeling himself try to get hard to no avail. His cock twitched pathetically as Phil played with it. He tried his best to focus on the blowjob instead, deepthroating and sucking on Phil’s balls too, relishing in the way he made Phil falter in his teasing movements on his locked dick.

He was an expert in pleasuring his boss now, and it didn’t take long before he had cum down his throat. He licked Phil’s cock clean after he swallowed his load, as he waited for Phil to calm down from his orgasm.

“I forgot to mention,” Phil started when he’d regained composure.

He tugged gently at Dan’s hair to get Dan to look at him. His other hand sneaked into his bathrobe pocket, and before Dan knew what Phil was up to, he reflexively jolted up to his knees.

“Oh,” he grabbed onto Phil’s knee to steady himself.

Phil was giggling, taking a small remote out of his pocket. He pressed a button and the vibrations from his plug died as quick as they started.

“C’mon, get dressed. Can’t wait to go to wherever you were planning to last night,” Phil stood up, leaving Dan on the floor wondering how he was going to survive the day.

--------

Thankfully for Dan, Phil didn’t immediately start playing when they left the hotel. They started their adventure walking around Times Square in a quest for some good breakfast bagels. Phil ordered his without cheese and Dan was offended by his lack of good taste, and the fact that he only knew now that Phil was a cheese hater.

“Stop judging my food choices or your ass is gonna get it,” Phil warned jokingly, but still Dan bit his lip, he’d already almost forgotten about his little predicament.

Despite the toys he was wearing, Dan found himself thoroughly enjoying the day with Phil so far. It was easy to forget that Phil actually was his boss when they made fun of advertisements on the big billboards together and joked about licking their palms after touching the grimy poles in the subway trains. His feelings and stupid butterflies in his tummy aside, Phil felt like a genuine friend he could have fun and be comfortable with no matter where they were.

“You should get a caricature done,” Phil suggested after they walked past what seemed to be the 10th artist along the streets.

So Dan found himself sitting in front of an artist. Which was a fun idea, especially because Phil looked so excited for Dan to do it, until he suddenly felt the toy in his ass come to life. His smile stiffened and he gripped the edge of his seat, having to hold back from glaring at Phil who was sniggering behind the artist.

The artist gave him a weird look, but didn’t question it. He finished his caricature quickly, which Phil paid for.

“Aww, look at that smile,” Phil cooed at the drawing, “a good memory immortalised, of you being horny in the middle of New York City.”

Dan blushed deep, looking at his awkward smile depicted on the art. “I hate you,” he pouted.

“Oh do you?” Phil smirked.

Dan gasped, his pout instantly wiped off his face as the vibrations turned up a notch. He tried not to stagger as he kept up with Phil’s pace. The vibrations disappeared slowly, but after that he was certainly kept on his toes, hyperaware of the plug almost grazing against his prostate with every step he walked as they explored the city.

And the day continued with Dan getting surprised by the vibe at the most random times when he least expected it - while standing in a crowded subway or waiting at a stoplight, while getting a slushie or figuring out their route from google maps.

But Phil never went too far, the vibrations were small enough that Dan would be able to control himself without drawing attention, but they were enough to bring colour to his cheeks and make him pause in his step. Phil found himself getting obsessed with the way Dan looked at him equally desperate and embarrassed and annoyed, and he didn’t tell Dan but the more Dan glared at him, the more he couldn’t resist turning the toy on.

“Oh god,” Dan gasped quietly and shut his eyes as the familiar sensation started again. It never got less frustrating even as he got used to it, since he was forced to remain soft in his cage while being stimulated.

They were standing on an escalator leaving the subway platform, and Dan subconsciously held onto Phil’s upper arm to steady himself. The sadist in Phil had been enjoying his control over his boy, but this was the first time that day he felt a twinge of softness for Dan. Dan could’ve disagreed with their little game, but here he was being at Phil’s mercy just because. Phil lowered the vibrations to a stop, watching as Dan quickly dropped his hand, blushing at the realisation that he had been squeezing Phil’s arm.

“C’mon, it’s already 3pm and we haven’t had lunch. Show me that cafe of yours that can’t possibly be better than the one we have back home.”

-----

“Hm, I prefer how our coffee shop looks.”

Dan tried not to think about ‘our’ too much as they both stepped inside.

“Yeah I agree that the one back home is cosier. But the coffee’s good here. Trust me,” Dan answered.

“Better than Starbucks?” Phil’s voice was dead serious, but his raised eyebrow and smirk said otherwise.

Dan rolled his eyes, and Phil had to resist from turning on the plug while Dan ordered as payback.

They sat with their sandwiches and cups of caramel macchiato and began digging in.

“Okay I admit their macchiato is good. But I have too much of an attachment to my Sunday home to think anywhere else could be better,” Phil gave his honest review.

“Can’t argue with that. But I’ll still miss this place when we get back,” Dan considered.

“What about it will you miss?” Phil asked curiously.

“It’s just a different vibe,” Dan said dreamily, imagining that in another universe, they’d travel the world together and discover little coffee shops in each country that they’d call theirs.

He went for a sip of his drink but almost spilled it when his plug turned on again. He bit his lip and looked up at his boss with wide eyes.

“I think I get what you mean,” Phil said thoughtfully as he looked around, feigning innocence.

The butterflies floating around in Dan’s stomach melted as his arousal took over again. He shuddered, his arousal quickly mixing with frustration as he couldn’t even get hard.

A barista walked past their table and Dan stiffened.

Phil seemed to know how he was feeling. He always seemed to know these days. “Just say if you want to stop and we will,” he reassured.

Dan shook his head. He was finding the exhibitionism hot after he got over being jittery about the possibility of strangers picking up on what they’re doing. The fact that Phil loved it too just made him even more up for it.

“No, it’s just. It’s not fairrr,” he whined quietly, “I hate the cage.”

“Hey, you chose that option,” Phil sat back, enjoying the show that was his boy’s expressive face.

He changed the vibrations to a different pulse and Dan shifted in his seat to try to angle the toy away from his prostate. He could feel his cock straining against its confinement.

“And I’m just giving you something more to miss about this cafe. Bet you’ll miss getting horny in plain sight. Being denied and desperate but not able to do anything about it. Do you think the tables around us can hear you?” Phil spoke low, his raspy voice and his words making Dan’s cock twitch, as much as it could in the cage anyway.

He let out a strangled moan, and quickly coughed to cover it up. It only earned him a higher setting on the vibrations, and he gripped the edge of the table.

“Please, Sir,” he whispered.

“Please what?” Phil shrugged.

“Unlock this stupid cage,” Dan said exasperatedly.

“It stays on until our day’s over, remember? Besides, look at you, you love it. Why would I stop you from your fun? Maybe I shouldn’t unlock you until this whole trip is over,” Phil leaned forward, pushing his plate aside and clasping his hands on the table, “What if. I make you wear both the toys the entire flight home, huh? Let you join the mile high club?”

Dan let out a shaky breath. The thought of that turned him on even more, and he was struggling not to moan out loud.

“Tell me boy, are you leaking right now?”

Dan could feel that he’d been leaking for a while now. He nodded, feeling his cheeks turn crimson as Phil tutted.

“Tsk tsk, dirty boy. You gonna continue exploring the city with soiled underwear after this? I guess that’s another memory for you huh, walking around New York with your cum in your pants,” Phil smirked.

Phil turned the vibrations to a maximum, wanting to help Dan reach his orgasm, even though it would be a ruined one in his cage. Instantly, Dan let out tiny quiet whimpers and scrunched his eyes shut, head down as he focused on keeping still and not drawing attention to himself.

He could feel himself reaching the brink of orgasm, but never actually able to get it since his cock was barely hard. It felt confusing, but the continuous pulse against his prostate was overwhelming his sensations.

“Maybe we should do this in our coffee shop back home, too. It’d make for nice Sunday afternoon entertainment,” Phil commented nonchalantly.

“I’d- I’d love to do anything for you, Sir,” Dan managed to say before gritting his teeth.

Phil wasn’t sure why he was surprised to hear that from Dan, since he’d sort of known that Dan would do anything for him. The boy’s in New York submitting to his atypical boss in the middle of a cafe, for fuck’s sake. He swallowed, not going to let the comment break his character.

“Oh how I’d love to see that cock of yours right now. It must be so pathetic, unable to grow and leaking so desperately from its cage, huh?”

Dan nodded in exasperation, his chest visibly rising and falling as he breathed harshly. He bit his lip hard to stop from moaning too loud.

“Look at me,” Phil ordered, wanting to see the desperation in his boy’s eyes.

Dan’s eyebrows were furrowed as he looked up at his boss, showing Phil exactly what he’d expected to see. Dan’s wide brown eyes met Phil’s and silently conveyed his urgent need for relief.

Just as he was about to beg his boss to stop or unlock him or fuck him in the restroom or just something, anything, they were both jolted out of their little bubble.

“Well, fancy seeing you here!”

Dan felt like his heart jumped out of his chest at the intrusion. Meanwhile, Phil’s just sank to the pits of his stomach as he heard the all too familiar voice.

“Jeezus,” Phil muttered in shock as the man clapped his back, “god you scared me, Frank.”

Dan’s eyes darted up to the man. He’d never actually seen Frank before, and he certainly had almost forgotten about the whole talk Frank had had with Phil. It all felt like a lifetime ago, especially with how different things are with him and Phil now than it was back then.

He was sweating, from their scene but now also from nerves as Frank stood over their table, side-eyeing him. Exhibitionism felt like a good idea until someone who knows them shows up.

Thankfully, Phil had slowed the vibe to a stop, and he let out a muted sigh of relief. He was still a wreck of nerves as he wondered if Frank could tell what they were just doing, if it was obvious from his flushed cheeks and erratic breathing. He looked to Phil for his next move, to save them and get Frank to leave as soon as possible.

“You missed the staff bonding breakfast this morning,” Frank stated matter-of-fact, chewing on his gum.

“I already spent everyday this whole week with you all, just wanted a short break before work again,” Phil retorted truthfully enough.

Dan tried his best to shrink back into his seat, not caring that the plug dug further up his ass as he did so. He wished he could turn invisible in that moment.

Frank looked unsatisfied by Phil’s response, so he turned to Dan, who didn’t know where to look. His eyes darted from their intruder to his half eaten sandwich to Phil, but eventually settled back on Frank since he could feel Frank’s stare bore through him. He gave a small, stiff smile.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Frank, Phil’s buddy at work. And you are...?” Frank extended his hand.

“Um-” Dan quickly wiped his clammy hand on his jeans before accepting Frank’s hand, “I’m Dan.”

Stupid handshakes, Dan thought as he awkwardly let his arm be moved by Frank. He didn’t really appreciate how hard Frank squeezed his hand.

“I feel like I’ve seen you before,” Frank said, his tone suggesting that he knows exactly where he’d seen Dan.

Dan didn’t know what to say, but luckily Phil spoke up before he could make a blunder.

“You here to get lunch?”

“Lunch? It’s like, 5pm now. Nah, I was just exploring areas near our hotel. I don’t have a personal tour guide like you,” Frank chuckled.

“Still, you should try the smoked salmon sandwich before they run out, it’s like their best seller or something. And we’d better get going,” Phil pointed Frank in the direction of the counter.

Frank looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it. For a terrifying second, Dan thought that Frank was going to suggest joining them for the rest of the day. Instead, Frank only chuckled at Phil’s remark, but Dan thought it sounded almost like a scoff.

“It’s alright. Anyway, have fun you two. See you tomorrow,” he glanced between both men, intentionally not directing his statement to just one of them. He lingered at the table for a while before leaving.

Dan let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding in. He looked at Phil, who was visibly tense now. Dan wanted to say something, but he didn’t even know what. He was still worrying if Frank knew what they were up to mere moments before he spoke to them. Had he noticed them here long before he said hi? Was he watching from afar how Dan got all horny and desperate, did he hear Dan’s little whines?

Phil quickly finished up his coffee, his brows knitted together in a frown. His phone pinged and he looked at it, frown lines deepening as he saw a text notification from Frank.

“Is there a restroom here?” he asked, looking around.

Dan pointed in the direction of the restroom. It’d been a while since he last felt proper intimidated by his boss, but then again it’s been a while since he saw his boss this upset. He’d begun to associate bad mood Phil with Frank encounters. In that moment, he suspected that things between them could possibly go back to square one unless he did something about it.

“Here,” Phil said despondently, holding his fist out.

Dan opened his palm in confusion, and Phil dropped a key from his grip.

“You can just. Take care of yourself. Remove the toys and all that. I’ll wait for you here.”

Phil wouldn’t even look Dan in the eyes, and Dan was crushed by the 180º shift in Phil’s mood. They were both having fun before this, and he wanted nothing more than to forget that interruption by going back to the fun and complete their itinerary for the day, including their little game.

“No,” Dan found himself replying, “I’d like to continue.”

Phil looked incredulous at Dan’s response, it was rare of his boy to go against his orders.

“But I don’t.”

“Because of Frank?” Dan needed to make sense of it, he had let go of the very first muddle regarding Frank but now it’s all coming back again and worse because of all the progress they’ve made being dashed just like this.

Phil didn’t know how to respond. He just suddenly felt disgusted at himself for using and playing with Dan in public like this. He knew they were both having fun, and Dan was here telling him he wanted to continue so there was no reason to feel that way, but Phil just couldn’t continue. He knew he shouldn’t let Frank bother him at all, and they were making such good progress that he sometimes forgot that Dan wasn’t something more than his personal escort. But maybe forgetting that is a problem, and he might not have wanted the reminder in the form of Frank interrupting them, but maybe he’d needed it.

So he just sat back and sighed.

Dan took that as a yes to his question. He placed the key on the table and slid it back to Phil, adamant on continuing their day according to plan.

Phil had to ignore how his heart fluttered at the fact that Dan was insisting to continue their play, showing how much he truly wanted it and wasn’t doing it just because Phil made him and it was his job.

“Fine,” Phil said, looking at the key, “then let’s head back to the hotel.”

“Wha-” Dan was honestly getting upset at this point, “we haven’t even gone to the empire state building yet!”

“We can go there, only if you go to the restroom now and take everything off first. Or you can keep them on, and we’ll go back to the hotel.”

It was Dan’s turn to frown, and he folded his arms as he leaned back in his seat as well. He looked at the key. He’d be damned if he was going to let this moment ruin all the progress they’ve made and go back to all the boundaries and lines drawn between them because of a coworker or whatever Phil was so scared of.

“Fine,” he mimicked Phil, “let’s go back to the hotel.”

Phil was surprised by Dan’s decision, but he tried not to show it. This boy had the opportunity to explore a city he’d never been to like a normal tourist without Phil’s silly sexual games interfering and yet he’s choosing not to? Hell, he had the opportunity for relief after being denied the entire day, and yet he’s choosing not to have it?

“If that’s what you want,” he said, slowly pocketing the key.

Dan knew their day wouldn’t be fun anymore with a moody Phil in tow; there was no point in trying to explore the city further like nothing happened. So he nodded surely and got up, ready to leave this cafe that he won’t miss anymore.

-------

They walked the short distance back to their hotel in silence, only broken by the sound of leaves crunching under their footsteps. Central Park was dipped in beautiful gold and red, the sunset glow further illuminating the autumn leaves. The two men walked through the trees and the leaves falling around them, heads down and too occupied with their own thoughts to fully appreciate the beauty around them.

Phil felt as angry as the bright sunset rays warming his skin and the fiery red leaves he was stepping on. At Frank for interrupting their otherwise good day whether intentionally or not, at himself for still letting trifling things affect him, even at Dan for still foolishly being by his side despite his fickleness and hesitance on their relationship.

The tension followed them all the way to their room. Phil made sure that Dan saw him place the key for the toy on the bedside table, then wordlessly entered the shower.

Dan plopped onto the bed, wincing a bit as the plug in him shifted uncomfortably. He smushed his face into his pillow and groaned into it. He didn’t understand how Frank could influence Phil’s mood so drastically. He knew they needed to talk things out, and potentially disrupt their current arrangement and take the next step. Whatever ‘next step’ means, be it being something more or ending it all. But he had no idea how, and Phil seemed like he won’t speak up first either.

Dan listened to the steady shower stream, thinking about how just this morning, they shared the shower together. He glanced over at his chastity key. He still had no intention to unlock himself, though. It had turned from a display of submission to a statement of defiance for him. He wasn’t going to let Phil have his way right now.

Dan was too busy thinking about what to do after Phil’s done showering that he didn’t hear the first knock on the door.

He shot up from the bed when he heard it the second time. Cautiously, he approached the door and peeked through the peephole.

His breath got knocked out of his lungs. On the other side of the door was the cause of his current problems. Dan stood still, not knowing whether he should answer it or ignore. How did Frank even know that they were back already?

Frank knocked once more so Dan reluctantly opened the door a tiny fraction.

“Where’s Phil?” Frank asked once the door opened, unfazed that his boss’s wide-eyed boy was the one who answered.

-------------

ooo the cliffhanger! the suspense! can’t wait to find out what happens when I finally update in like 2 months lmao!

no but srsly I also have no clue what's gonna happen next omg lol how did this fic that was originally intended for purely office smut turn into *gestures vaguely* this

~Part 10~

~Part 12~

[dvp95]

quiet on widow’s peak (14)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up tags: paranormal investigator, mystery, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, trans character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.4k (this chapter), 46.4k (total) summary: Phil’s got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

"You're Martyn's brother, right?"

"Martyn is my brother," Phil corrects her, doing his best to keep a straight face. He's never met the teenager, but she'd been happy enough to get on Skype with him for his last-ditch attempt at getting some information that isn't useless. He's really running out of ideas, and he isn't sure how much longer he can stretch this case out. "And you're Frankie's sister."

"Frankie is my sister," she repeats. Her grin is wide, her teeth straight and lips painted a dark pink. Phil wonders how that colour would look on Dan.

Great. He'd managed a whole thirteen minutes of coordinating this Skype call without thinking about Dan. It's a new record at this point, and all it took to break it was the memory of how pretty Dan looked with lip stuff on.

"I'm going to start recording now," he says, getting his various windows all sorted before pressing the big red button on his software. "Can you state your name and connection to the case for us?"

"Sure. I'm Val and I'm one of the people responsible for the sigils in the Wilkins place attic."

Phil freezes. He hadn't known that. Val had simply confirmed that she and her friends had gotten in trouble for trespassing in September, and now Phil feels like an unprepared idiot for not seeing how connected she was to the mystery before he hit call. He wonders what Dan would say about that.

He checks the time again. Definitely less than thirteen minutes that time.

"Will you tell us a bit about sigils in your own words?" Phil asks. Maybe if he keeps her talking, he’ll have time to lasso his wandering mind back into place. "I've done my own research, of course, but I think it can be useful to hear it from someone who knows what they're talking about, y'know? Plus," he adds, giving her a conspiratory sort of smile, "then I can use your voiceover instead of recording one myself."

Val laughs and launches into a Sigils For Dummies explanation that Phil does his best not to interrupt. He asks some leading questions and mentions his own hit or miss experience with taking sigils into the house. For a teenager, she's surprisingly eloquent. Moreso than Phil is, anyway.

They talk a bit about the Wilkins place the way he had with the other people he's interviewed, because he's fairly certain that Val's testimony will be the only one that he actually ends up using for his video. He doesn't let himself feel any creeping sense of hope, though. She could still have nothing aside from some fun backstory, and this whole investigation could still be a failure.

Not just the investigation, either. Phil doesn't like to conflate his own worth with the content he produces, because there are always going to be people who are unhappy with what he does - including himself, more and more lately - and he can't be worrying about his future every time a video doesn't pan out the way he wants it to. Something about this case is making him feel that in a way he tries very hard not to on others. Maybe it's how close it is to home, quite literally, or just how helpless he'd felt while waiting for his friends to wake up.

This investigation could still be a failure, and so could Phil. He can't deny how entwined those are right now.

Phil knows he shouldn't be basing his decisions on something as volatile as a single YouTube video, not when he's usually comfortable posting anything that's entertaining, but he feels like the tide is coming in and he's going to get swept away unless he moves somewhere.

"So, back to your sigils specifically," says Phil. He's supposed to be taking notes or something, probably, but instead he's just doodling some half-assed sigils of his own.

"Yes. We heard about all the incidences and, while we were pretty sure that not everything going around was true, my friends and I wanted to check in and make sure. We did a couple of different rituals first, cleansing the space and trying to see if we could find the presence, but..." Val went quiet for a long moment. "Well. I don't know what exactly was in there, but there was something."

"What makes you so sure?" Phil asks quietly.

"Well, you can feel it," she says. She runs her hands over her own forearms, like she's a mime pretending to be cold. "Goosepimples. Hair on the back of your neck standing up. You keep wanting to turn around, but nothing is looking back at you from the darkness."

Phil keeps his own input rather impartial in interviews. There's no real reason to alert anyone to his own opinions on what might be going on - that's what the wrap-up is for.

So instead of telling Val that he felt everything she's talking about, he simply asks, "Is that all?"

"No," says Val. "No, the rituals we tried to do... it didn't work, Phil. And I know you might be thinking that rituals aren't supposed to work or that magic isn't real or something, but it's not just that nothing happened. It's that... it was like something was messing with them on purpose. My candles kept blowing out even though there wasn't a draught and Sammy's sage bundle just... disappeared. It really scared us, to be honest."

"Why didn't you just leave the place alone from then on?"

"We knew people weren't going to stop partying there," she says. "And that's... a choice, I guess. But we wanted to help if we could, so..."

"So you put the sigils on the floor," he says when she can only finish with a vague gesture. "I know that you can't tell me their exact meanings or anything, since you don't know them anymore, but can you give me a general gist of what you guys were trying to do?"

"Sure, yeah," she says, shifting around like she's getting comfortable in her chair. Phil can see an incense burner on her desk next to a perilous-looking stack of books, and he wishes he could light a candle or something. His room, and his parents' whole house really, has been smelling like nothing but cleaning supplies since he got here. "We took different roles, kind of? I focus on minor protection most of the time, so it was my job to make sigils that would sort of protect innocent people from coming into contact with whatever the entity was, while Sammy is more about healing and cleansing - she was trying to heal the house, I think. We tried not to talk about them in detail so we didn't fuck each other's things up, because the whole thing felt a bit too high-stakes for that."

Phil doesn't know nearly enough about sigils to know whether or not the ones in the attic were helpful or harmful, but he's glad he didn't have to talk to a bunch of teenagers trying to summon a demon or anything. For the second time this year.

"That's really good of you to try," Phil says with a little smile. He's trying to figure out exactly how he should play this one. "And you covered a good amount of the floor."

"Of course, that's when the cops got called," Val grins back.

"That's when the cops always get called," he says.

He's got a handful of other questions for her, but Val doesn't actually know much more about the Wilkins place that she hasn't already told him, and he doesn't want a lesson on protection magic today. She says that he can email her when the video is up, and to send her any other interesting magic cases he comes across in the future.

The future. Phil is trying not to think about that too much right now. He promises, anyway, and ends the call on a fairly light note.

He's got more of an idea how he wants this video to look, now that he's gotten one of the small mysteries solved. He exports the video and audio from the call separately, knowing he's going to use a good chunk of Val's answers as narration over the surviving footage. Not that he has much of that - just the tour of the house that he and his friends had gotten the first night and some more dark corners in VHS and Polaroid form. He knows that he can make a video out of what he's got.

The problem is that he also knows it won't be good enough.

Sure, it might be good enough for his audience - most of them, anyway, since he's got a pretty stubborn set of fans - but it isn't good enough for Phil.

His suspicion is confirmed after a couple more hours of cobbling together what survived into a rough edit, which he sends off to PJ. After a moment of thought, he adds a final line to the email.

P.S. I know you already told me that you aren't a gender guru and that was really funny and everything and I don't expect you to like educate me or whatever, but why do things get so effing complicated with it????? Like I had myself figured out and now I don't, and that sucks.

--

PJ calls him a little after dinner, lulling Phil into a false sense of security with questions and comments and suggestions about the video. Phil has almost forgotten about the postscript entirely, but then PJ cheerfully says, "So you're an idiot, huh?"

"Yeah," says Phil. "Wait, why?"

"What's so complicated about gender for you?" PJ asks, and Phil wishes he'd never answered the phone. "Are you questioning?"

"You know that I'm not," says Phil, rolling his eyes.

They've known each other for years, and PJ is his best friend, and there is no way in hell that he doesn't know exactly why Phil is Googling words he'd only ever thought about in passing before. He can practically hear PJ's smirk. He seriously considers hanging up before this gets even more humiliating.

"Yeah, I know, but thought I'd ask in case," says PJ. "It would be irresponsible of me as your token trans friend to act like I know how you feel about your own gender."

It's the first time that Phil has actually heard him use the word. He'd always imagined that PJ talked in riddles on purpose, like maybe he didn't actually want to use words for things when he could use extended metaphors and jokes instead, but it's possible that Phil just hadn't been paying enough attention, because PJ sounds ridiculously comfortable with saying it out loud.

"You're not my token anything," Phil says. He waits a beat, picturing PJ's skeptical expression, before he adds, "Dan's my friend, too."

"Dan," PJ repeats. "You've got it bad, my friend."

"What?"

"I can hear it in your voice. You already miss them, don't you? You've been spending all your spare time with them already, you absolute knob. And let me guess," PJ continues before Phil can even attempt to defend himself, "you've got it in your head that liking Dan makes you less gay?"

Phil touches the tip of his nose and then remembers that PJ can't actually see him.

"Maybe," Phil hedges. He knows that PJ is right and he's sure that PJ knows it too, but admitting that is a whole other beast. "And it's also, like... it isn't fair, is it?"

"Fair to who?"

Despite everything in Phil wanting to brush the subject off and start talking about ghosts instead, he takes a moment to consider the question. He supposes that it isn't fair to either of them, really. His feelings for Dan are throwing everything he knows about his sexuality into question and he doesn't know how to deal with that.

Because Phil is gay. He's very gay. He's known it for a long time, even if most of his family members are still in the dark about it, and he's never had reason to think about it like this before. Sure, he's had the usual fantasies of how much easier things would be if he were straight, but he's never actually wanted to be. Maybe he doesn't talk about it the way some people do, but that's because it's far from the most interesting thing about him. Phil has never really considered it other peoples' business.

That doesn't change the fact that it's a fundamental part of him.

Someone who's gorgeous and tall and has big hands that fit ridiculously well into Phil's own shouldn't be enough to throw a wrench in that certainty. But they have, and Phil can't keep acting like they haven't.

PJ is being patient, waiting for Phil to find the words. There's some kind of video game music on his end that Phil can't immediately place, and Phil has a weird moment of homesickness for PJ and the Brighton house, even though it hasn't been that long since they were there together.

"It's not fair to anyone," Phil eventually says. "I think it's pretty obvious why it isn't fair to me, but it isn't fair to Dan either."

"Humour me," says PJ. "Why isn't it fair?"

"Dan isn't... a man," Phil says, slow. He pulls a face at his ceiling, knowing how clumsy he sounds right now. "And I don't think I'd like them if they weren't..."

"You wouldn't be attracted to them if they had a typically feminine body, right?" PJ asks, and then immediately continues as if Phil had answered. "That's not unfair, Phil. I seriously doubt Dan would be bothered by it."

"We don't know them that well," says Phil. It feels a bit like a lie, because he feels like he does know Dan fairly well at this point, but he needs PJ to understand where he's coming from with this. "And I don't know if they'd even be comfortable enough to tell me if they were bothered."

There's a long moment where the only sound is Phil's own breathing and the music of PJ's video game - Spyro, Phil realises - but PJ breaks it in a mild sort of tone. "I get that. Like, I really do get it. You might not think I get it, but I get it. Thing is... I've been somewhere like this. Because I met Soph after I was already living as a guy, right, but I thought she was totally straight at the time. She thought so too, actually, but I know she's felt a lot more connected to the community for a while now. And I didn't know... how to tell her. Because what if she totally freaked? That's not exactly a low risk, y'know."

Phil is far from an expert, but he does know that much. He's well aware of some of the numbers out there, knows that it can end in more than just hurt feelings when trans people come out to their partners, but he'd never once considered that PJ dealt with that. He feels a bit stupid for it. Sophie - and Chris, he supposes, even if he doesn't particularly know the intricacies there - isn't PJ's first foray into dating. Yeah, they've been together as long as Phil has known him, but that's not an excuse.

"Sorry," says Phil, hoping it sounds as sincere as he feels. "That, um. That sounds like it sucks."

"Oh, it totally sucks," PJ laughs. "And that's why I can say that you're freaking out for no reason. I mean, your own shit, whatever, you can run yourself in circles for months if you really want to, but the Dan thing? It's unfair not to tell them how you feel, Phil. They've been out for a little while now, they know how this works as well as I do. Sometimes there are compromises."

"I don't want anyone to compromise an identity," says Phil. He can't explain why that makes him so on edge. It would take too long, and he knows that his friends are various degrees of fluid when it comes to their attractions, so there's no guarantee of them understanding at all. It's not that he's being stubborn or close-minded or anything; it's that he's gay. "Peej, I'm a Kinsey fucking six. Telling Dan I have feelings for them is opening a bucket of worms that I don't know if I could close again."

"A can."

"What?" Phil asks, thrown.

"A can of worms, you fucking buffoon."

"Why would worms be in a can?"

"The - you know what, Phil? I can't have a conversation like this with you right now." PJ is doing his best attempt at a serious voice, but Phil can hear him trying not to laugh. "Tell Dan you like them. They like you."

Phil sighs. "I know. That's part of the issue here."

"I don't see an issue," says PJ. "You like them, they like you. Go... like each other."

"It's not that simple."

"It's never really that simple," PJ says, giving in to the laughter. Phil smiles at the unrestrained sound. "You think what I've got going on right now was simple in the beginning?"

"I don't like to put much thought into what you've 'got going on right now'," Phil admits. "But... no. You just make it look easy."

PJ cracks up properly. Phil can't help grinning, too, because PJ's Muppet laugh is always a bonus to saying something ridiculous. PJ waits until he's got his breath back before he says, "Phil. You're kind of a moron."

"I accept that," says Phil. "And before you get your lecturing pants on again, I know that it would be best to talk to Dan about this. I'm just..."

"Scared?"

Phil wants to deny it. He almost does, knee-jerk, but the problem is that PJ knows him too damn well for that. He knows that Phil worries about everything to the point that he's got medication to help with the anxiety spirals, and he also knows that Phil isn't exactly jumping to think or talk about his feelings at any given moment. It's normally a bit like pulling teeth, both for Phil and for the person trying to connect with him.

But PJ knows him. So he says, "Yeah. More scared of that than of the house."

--

The lighting isn't as good as Phil has in his room, back in Brighton, but he brings all the lamps he can find into his childhood bedroom to make sure he's decently visible on the viewfinder. He doesn't do a lot of talking to the camera without any external stimulus - the only times he's sitting still and addressing the audience directly is when he's doing the wrap-ups at the end of each video. Sometimes he does an intro as well, but it's usually able to be replaced with some good B footage and voiceover. Phil fixes his hair for the millionth time and takes a deep breath before he presses the record button.

He tells his audience what happened, the night that's been lost. He explains everything, every vibe that felt wrong and every terrifying moment in the attic, every file that he can no longer access. Even as he's saying it, he can imagine what the comment section is going to look like.

"I won't blame the lot of you if you don't believe me. I'll put what it looked like when we tried to access the files on the screen now. The corruption was on our devices, though, and we couldn't retrieve anything."

Another deep breath. They're still not going to believe him.

"And that's okay," he adds. "I'm not here for you guys to take my words as, like, facts or whatever, and it's not my job to convince anybody. I'm just here to tell a good story. I wish it had a more conclusive ending, but I'm sure you're already bickering in the comments about what we all experienced, or if you think we experienced anything at all. So tell me what you guys think, and let me know - do you think I should keep imposing on my parents to investigate this some more or is the Wilkins place a story to leave alone?"

He'd normally start to do his like-and-subscribe routine after that, but he pauses.

"And I wanted to say a really big thank you to everyone who helped me with this project, but especially to Winnie. They really went above and beyond in sending me this one, and I'm not going to forget that."

Phil gives the camera an awkward sort of smile. He might not leave that bit in, but he needed to say it.